Green gable hoodie

The front is quite plain ...



But the back is what made me knit this




Pattern: #28 Vihervaara -huppari / GreenGable -hoodie, by Mari Muinonen (from Vogue Knitting Fall 08)
Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Extra MErino Big (11 skeins)
Needles: 6mm





Notes + Changes: Knit this with smaller needles to suit my yarn, so I made one size up. As usual, added some waist shaping, and didn't bother putting any buttons since I like the neckline as it is.

It's a very straightforward pattern except for the hood finishing. I couldn't really follow the pattern instructions here (kept getting the wrong stitch count) so I followed Mason204's directions (ravelry link) and it didn't turn out too bad.

In the end the body came out too long, so I had to frog from the bottom and reknit the ribbing a couple of times. A note about the yarn: after washing this will stretch a bit lengthwise, so if you're using this particular yarn, take that into account.

~quiet weekend~

watched the cat take a nap ...



tried out a new (for us) Thai restaurant in town. We liked it, and definitely recommend the red curry with duck.




went downtown on purpose to get a new pan for making pancakes. Then A. made these for breakfast yesterday ...



watched movies. Loved Slumdog millionaire and Vicky Christina Barcelona a little less. Also, finished one knitting project and started another one right away ... what can I say ? I fell in love with some o w l s



Oh, and Happy Chinese New Year ! It's the year of the Ox (my year) so I'm hoping it's going to be a good one :)

Val d'Isère / Espace Killy

Probably one of the best ski weeks in years ...











































More photos at Flickr here

* handmade *

The handmade gifts of x-mas 08 were made quite ahead of time this year, which is probably why I totally forgot to show them here even after they had all been given and opened. So here they are ... most of them were really fun and quick to make, so no doubt I'll be revisitng some of these patterns again.

Anime hat
Pattern: Top down bonnet with anime, by Adrian Bizilia
Yarn: Rosários 4 Caricia (1 skein double stranded)
Needles: 4 mm

Changed the pattern a bit, since I was afraid it would turn out too big.




Leafy baby hat

Pattern: Greenleaf Baby Hat, by Evelyn Uyemura
Yarn: Rosários 4 Bambino (maybe half a skein)
Needles: 4 mm




Penguin hat

Pattern: Penguin Pal Hat
Yarn: Brancal
Needles: 6 mm

Had to resize pattern for this one, but I think it turned out OK. Very cute result !




Green hat

Pattern: Robin's egg hat, by Rachel Iufer
Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Extra Merino Big (1 skein)
Needles: 5 mm




Thorpe hats

Pattern: Thorpe, by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Brancal Manchester
Needles: 6 mm



Leafy mitts

Pattern: Leafy mitts, by Ruth Stewart
Yarn: Gedifra Fashion Trend (1 skein)
Needles: 5 mm

These are now a favorite. I made these as a gift, so I'll have to make a pair for myself very soon.




Orange Cowl

Pattern: Crofter's Cowl, by Gudrun Johnston (free pattern available through Ravelry)
Yarn: Not sure, something from stash
Needles: 4 mm




There was also some sewing involved, just a few knitting needle cases and purse organizers.







And that's it !
Now back to my regular knitting, which has been put aside during the last weeks. The cabled hoodie is almost finished, and I've started two other projects as well (I usually have multiple projects to keep me distracted).

In the meantime, here are some photos of my recent yarn shopping from the last trip






Most came from the Wolle Rodel shop near the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, but I also picked up a couple of skeins from the Tolle Wolle shop in Nuremberg. The inside of this shop is packed full of yarn and handmade items, as you can see in the photo below, and also has one of the friendliest dogs we met.