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.

just one of those things ...

That's actually the pattern name for one of the shawls I knit a couple of months ago.

Shawls are wonderful for travel knitting, just one skein to carry around and usually keeps me busy for a few weeks, so I guess that's why I like knitting them during the summer.

Pattern: Simmer Dim, by Gudrun Johnston

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock, in Cordovan (one skein)

Ravelry project page here

Pattern: Just one of those things, by yellowcosmo
Yarn: Malabrigo sock in Ravelry red (one skein)
Ravelry project page here

a visit to Ulm

Thank you everyone for your kind and encouraging comments on my previous post. To know that this blog inspires you and that my posts can be helpful is the best gift I could get. Also, it's lovely to get feedback on what I post about, so please do comment when you can (believe me, I know how hard it is sometimes to find the time ...)

Last week I turned 41, and I spent the day in Ulm, Germany, where we stayed for a few days. While A. was on his conference me and S. walked all around the old centre of this city. It has a large pedestrian area full of shops and restaurants. In fact, I read somewhere that Ulm has the most restaurants and cafes per square meter in all of Germany - not sure if that's true but I can confirm that there were quite a lot.

Sights worth visiting: the Ulm Minster, of course - on our last day we climbed the 768 steps up to the top for the glorious views and it was exhausting but worth it. Then the beautiful Rathaus building and the fishermen's quarter with its timbered houses and the Schiefes Haus hotel, the most crooked hotel in the world.

I also took a morning to visit the Wiblingen Monastery, located in the south of Ulm (and a 15 min bus ride from the main station), particularly to see its beautiful library.

Finally, an interesting trivia about Ulm: all around the city you'll see statues of sparrows, particularly above shop signs in the centre. The reason why can be read here.

:: the Ulm Minster

:: Fishermen's quarter

:: the Ulm sparrows

:: the Rathaus

:: market day in the Minster square

:: at the Wiblingen monastery (with a small playground right across the street)

:: the Wiblingen library and church

:: Views from the Ulm Minster tower