happy holidays !

workshop de sabonetes :: soap making workshop

No sábado de manhã fui aprender a fazer sabonetes. Era uma curiosidade que tinha já há algum tempo e finalmente agora tive oportunidade de experimentar. O workshop dado pela Ana foi fantástico e só posso recomendar...

Last saturday morning I learned how to make soaps. It is something I've been meaning to try for a while now and finally I had the chance. Ana's workshop was amazing and I highly recommend it. 

flannel tova

A new Tova shirt, this time in soft flannel. I haven't worn a flannel shirt in years, but this is so warm and comfortable to wear I'm tempted to make a few more.

 

a sunny cardigan

The yarn Sara chose for her cardigan when we went yarn shopping in Ulm was this soft yellow superwash merino from Wolle Rodel. When we got home I gave her several patterns to choose from, but in the end she said she wanted the same cardigan I knit her last year, so although I don't like repeating patterns I obliged by casting on another Springtime in Hollis. The yarn was just enough to finish the collar, so I didn't have any to make the i-cord. I decided instead to make a fabric ribbon and used the same fabric to cover the buttons.

Pattern: Springtime in Hollis, by Teresa Cole
Yarn: Wolle Rodel Soft Merino, Color 364, 5 skeins
Size: 4T
Raverly project page

a brincar à Elsa :: playing Elsa

Like every 4 year old toddler girl she's been obssessed with Elsa since she watched Frozen for the first time. I came upon this great tutorial for a no-sew Elsa cape the other day and decided to make a few for her and her friends to play with. I made them with some light blue organza, and decorated with appliqué snowflakes made of white satin.

dyi bat costume :: fato de morcego

What to do when your toddler asks for a bat costume for Halloween ? You google it and find that there are amazing tutorials out there to make it happen. I loved this one, so part of last Saturday morning was spent assembling it. It's really easy (it was probably trickier to find the black t-shirt on her size) and for the mask I decided to just make it a regular one instead of taping it to a pair of sunglasses.

 

Tip: I didn't have any boning strips at hand (and have no idea where to buy them locally) so I used some cabling strips we had lying around (see last picture).

dragonflies

Another pattern I've had my eye on for a long time. I also had the yarn (Madelinetosh DK in Tart) chosen for this since the beginning and knew I had to knit it someday. It's one of my favorite yarns for sweaters and cardigans, since it has amazing colorways and pills very little but it's also quite expensive and not so easy to find in Europe

When Joji announced the Fall KAL I couldn't resist the opportunity and cast-on as soon as we came back from vacation.

Changes: just the ribbing - I knit a twisted 1x1 rib instead of garter

Otherwise followed the pattern as written and didn't have any problems with the directions.

Sizing: I knit the smallest size (30/32) because my experience with this yarn tells me that it grows a bit with blocking and the lace pattern on this sweater is both in the front and back and so quite stretchy. I could've probably added some waist shaping if I wanted, but decided not to in the end.

Pattern: Dragonflies Jumper, by Joji Locatelli

Yarn: Madelinetosh DK in Tart (used a bit less than 4 skeins)

Ravelry project page here

 

bianca top #3 #4

It seems I can't stop making these tops...

And this is why:

• it takes very little fabric to make one (about 1.2 m for the smallest size). So it's a great way to use remnants of special fabrics I've been hanging on to for ages.
• it's very quick to assemble and sew - I made these two in one afternoon
• easily adjustable as well - I changed the placement of the elastic on these two, putting it lower than on the original pattern

Summer seems to be back in Lisbon for now so I've actually been using them a lot. 

Top #3 - made with the blue geometric fabric that I purchased in Ulm

Top #4 - I used a leftover from this Tova shirt, and was originally purchased from Nunoya

yarn shopping + eating in Ulm

Still a post about our trip to Ulm, where I found quite a few yarn shops and some excellent cafés and restaurants. Below a list of my favorite spots ...

:: at Wolle Rodel - this is a German chain store, I think. I first came across it in Munich (near the Viktualienmarkt) and seem to find it in most German cities. Some of their own labels are quite nice, especially the merinos. Here we got some soft yellow superwash merino for Sara's new winter cardigan (already in progress)

::my second favorite yarn shop, wolle + ideen. A lot of Rowan yarn (I didn't get any), but couldn't resist getting a bit of that blue geometric fabric on the front window (already made into a top, which I'll show you later)

:: dinner at Yamas. a lovely restaurant serving mediterranean inspired food - everything was delicious and so well presented.

:: tea at Kammerzelf café (Kohlgasse 4). A very cosy place, with delicious cakes.

:: finally, the conference dinner was at Boothaus, a really nice restaurant by the river.