on playmobil

I've never been a huge Lego fan, and instead my childhood was filled with some great memories of playing with Playmobil with my brother and my best friend. We'd spend long afternoons playing with a few different sets that had been gifted from my aunts who live in Brazil (at the time they were more popular there than here), taking over the whole living room floor with our make believe games.

So it was a nice surprise when a few weeks ago I discovered that Playmobil had launched a line called Playmobil 1-2-3, suitable from 18 months. I had planned to get S. a set of Lego Duplo for Christmas, but guess what she'll be having instead ?

And guess what else I discovered ? There's a Playmobil Christmas market ... I almost ordered this for myself, but managed to have some restraint ...

...

(photo above: Dresden Christmas market)

We arrived back from our trip a couple of days earlier, having changed our return flight at the last minute due to a possible airline strike. Then the strike was cancelled but we were back in Lisbon already so there wasn't much we could do. We did visit all the places we had planned to, and although we had to cut short our visit to Cesky Krumlov we had a great time anyway. I'll try to sort out the photos soon and post a full trip report.

So with a whole weekend on our hands and all the unpacking done we decided to spend Saturday morning shopping downtown, which is something we hadn't done in a while.
Here's something we picked up to send to a friend in Switzerland ...

And then we decided to bake some cookies ...

Made this apple cake for the third time, and each time it seems to only get better

(I've decided to change the blog's template so if you're not seeing this on a feed you might've noticed a few changes and probably a few glitches ... I'm still working on it, hopefully I can finish soon)

it's that time of the year again ...

 
Time to go visit some Christmas markets, that is ... This year we decided to visit Prague - I was there almost 15 years ago, and A. has never been, and supposedly the Christmas market is amazing. We also plan to spend a few days in Dresden, and then in the lovely town of Cezky Krumlov. See you back in 10 days !

entrelac tee

Pattern: Betty's Tee
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran, 3.5 skeins
Size: 33 (to give a 32)
Ravelred here

catching up

So I know I've been missing, but there's been very little time for blogging lately, and running around after Sara seems to be filling up all my available hours ... I don't have many new projects to show, although I did manage to finish a couple of things.
But first, some old knits I wanted to share with you: the smocked baby cardi I made for S. at 3 months, and which still fits her now at 16 months (although short sleeved) ... and the yellow daisy cardi I made last year and which finally fits her like a glove - really cute, right ?


 

As for new knits, I also made S. the red gnome hat above, and for myself an Angostura vest with gorgeous Fyberspates yarn (wool + silk).
Pattern: Gnome hat by Skruddevutt
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Merino Big
More details on Ravelry here
 

Pattern: Angostura, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Fyberspates Scrumptious DK, in Cherry Red
Details on Ravelry

This was my favourite pattern from Ysolda's latest book, Little Red in the City. The book is a mine of information about sizing and shaping and adapting the projects to have the perfect fit, and as always Ysolda's patterns are very well written. The yarn is amazing, although a bit splitty while knitting, but the end result is stunning. Very good stitch definition, and so incredibly soft.