There goes my plan for this weekend - Hyvästi vaan, viikonloppusuunnitelmat!

This is how the world looked like on Saturday morning when I was prepared to take my car out for a spin. Fearing that there would be too much danger of a real spin, I had to leave it in the garage and abandon the plan altogether. It would have been too late to catch a train, and besides, one can't be too sure of the trains going anywhere either. In fact, this morning when I was listening to the news, there has been quite a chaos on the roads, loss of electricity in some areas so that people couldn't even go grocery shopping, the shops being closed and deep-frozen stuff not being so frozen any more.

But hey, I'm a Finn and this amount of snow won't stop me walking. I'm just ever so surprised seeing the local ladies wading in the snow and slush in their beautiful but not so practical shoes. And I mean shoes, not boots. I have a nasty habit of wearing something water-proof and then skipping on the wet streets, slightly smiling, as my feet aren't wet - and apparently annoying fellow citizens. What a nasty person!














Tällaiseen maailmaan herättiin lauantaiaamuna, jolloin olis pitänyt kaivaa auto tallista ja lähteä pikku kierrokselle. En sitten kuitenkaan uskaltanut, koska niitä kierroksia olis voinut tulla vähän enemmän kuin olis toivonut, ja ne olis voinut tapahtua myös akselin ympäri. Junaankaan ei sitten olis enää ehtinyt, ja tokko niitä ois kulkenutkaan, joten koko suunnitelma haudattiin nyt sitten lumeen. Tänä aamuna kattelin uutisia, ja täällä on näköjään ollut kunnon tsembalot koko maassa, liikenne tietysti kaaoksessa ja sähkökatkot pitäneet mm. kaupat kiinni joillakin alueilla. Siellä ne pakasteet sitten sulaa liruivat.

Vaan suomalaistahan ei tämmöinen lumen määrä estä liikkumasta vaikka sitten jalkaisin. Onhan sekin pieni (sairasmielinen) huvi katsella paikallisten naisihmisten kahlaavan lumisohjossa pikkukengissään. Mikä siinä on, ettei voi laittaa saappaita/saapikkaita jalkaansa? Mä tunnustan olevani vähän vahingoniloinen, kun vedän jalkaan jotain vettäpitävää ja porskuttelen sitten jalat kuivina, pieni hymy suupielessä paikasta toiseen. Tämä nähtävästi ärsyttää paikallisia, mikä on vähän niin kuin tarkoituskin. Hehee. Pienestä sitä täytyy ilonsa etsiä.



It seems that my last sunflower also has trouble facing the realities of life. Or, to be more precise, the facing part is going well, it just can't seem to accept that the summer is over and it shouldn't be green and in flower any more. Can't blame it for not trying, though.















Kesän viimeisellä auringonkukalla on ilmeisiä asennevaikeuksia. Periksiantamattomuudesta kuitenkin täydet pisteet.


But when it's gone, these sunflowers will remain in full bloom. Provided that I ever finish this project.


















Vaan senkin muisto elää näissä ikuisesti kukkivissa aukukissa. Jos siis joskus saan tän valmiiks.


This is one of the projects that has been hanging in the "after this is finished, I'll have time for all the other things" category for quite a while. Couldn't finish it, because one final ball of yarn was busy travelling between Denmark and Belgium. It's the infamous Vanhulsta scarf, hanging here on the top of a door which is slightly tilted, hence the scarf looks a bit biased. But it's not. I won't confess anyway.






















Tässä sitten se yks "sitku"-kategorian edustaja. Sitku tää on valmis, voi taas keskittyä paremmin muihin jobeihin. Vaan milläs saat valmiiks, kun tilattu lisälanka seikkailee postissa? Täsä tää ny kuitenki on, kuvattuna roikkumassa välioven päällä. Ovi puolestaan on vähän raollaan, joten huivikin näyttää vähän vinolta. Muttei oikeesti ole. En ainakaan tunnusta mitään.

Perheuutisia osa 3: baby!

Jippii! Joulun tulossa on se hyvä puoli, että kaupoissa alkaa olla kaikenlaista erikoisvalikoimaa. Nyt löytyi kauan hakemani Be Delicious -minipullo... tosin se edellytti yhden normaalikokoisen EdP:n ostamista (pidän sen tuossa avaamattomassa pakkauksessa, jos vaikka joku haluais ostaa sen, kun tuun jouluna Suomeen - vink, vink). Edellinenkään puteli ei ole vielä kauheesti kulunut, pitäis kai ruveta oikein pluttaamaan näitä päällensä. Tai juomaan?


Hooray! After months of searching, I finally came across this miniature bottle of Be Delicious perfume. However, I have to confess that I had to buy one full-size EdP first, and even the one I bought earlier this summer seems hardly opened. Maybe I should go through a generous spraying routine several times a day.






Kun kerran shoppailun makuun päästiin, ostaa pläjäytin tämmöisen hupi-dvd:n. Enhän minä toki Abbasta erityisemmin tykkää, mutta...



I'm not going to show you all the things I bought, but let's make an exception here. Now I just have to convince you that I'm not really that into ABBA. I'm not! I'm not!

Perheuutisia osa 2: En kerro kuinka jouduin naimisiin...

No en kerro niin kun en itekkään tiiä.

Tilasin lokakuun alussa Tanskasta lankaa. Pakettia ei alkanut kuulua, vaikka myyjä sanoi postittaneensa sen samantien. Lähetti siis uuden paketin kadonneen tilalle. Kävin viime perjantaina noutamassa sen, ja samalla siellä jakelufirmassa varmistui, että se eka paketti on palautettu lähettäjälle maininnalla "return to sender, addressee unknown".

Ai miten niin unknown? Kohta 10 vuotta asunut samassa osoitteessa. Noku kyseisen firman atk-systeemissä mun nimeksi oli merkitty ANNE VANHULSTA ja se oli tietysti tulostunut kuriirin ajolistaankin sellaisena. Voin kertoa, että jos pakettikuriiri tulee tähän osoitteeseen, se ei todellakaan tiedä, mitä ovikelloa pitäis rimputtaa kun yhdessäkään ei lue Vanhulsta. Niin että kai se on sitten mun miähen nimi (paitsi että koko Belgiassa ei ole ketään VANHULSTAA, vähän vastaavia nimiä kyllä löytyy). Se taas olis aivan liikaa vaadittu, että paketin tuoja lukisi, mitä siinä paketissa lukee päällä, tai että se soittaisi kännykkänumeroon, jonka lähettäjä myös on kirjoittanut pakettikorttiin. Puhumattakaan sitten siitä, että viime kädessä paketin palauttaja yrittäisi edes vähän selvittää palautuksen syytä.

Mutta onnitelkaa mua! I'm so happy now! Sain puuttuvaa lankaa, sain miähen (josta ei ole pahemmin ollut harmia ainakaan tähän asti). Ja jos kaipaatte lahjaideoita, niin hmm-hmm-hmm.

Se hyvä puoli tässä tietysti on, että kyseisestä kovanonnen langasta valmistuneelle huiville ei tartte etsiä nimeä sen kauempaa. Sehän on tietysti Vanhulsta-huivi. Tuikkaan kuvia näkyville viikonloppuna, nyt on liian pimeää eikä kuvat onnistu salamalla eikä iliman.





Honestly, I don't know how this happened, but apparently I got married. At least my family name has changed quite radically.

Here's the story: In the beginning of October I made some yarn purchases in a Danish internet shop. After several weeks there was no sign of the parcel, although the seller said they'd shipped it immediately after receiving my order. Luckily they agreed to make an identical parcel and send it again, and last Friday I made a trip all across Brussels to the depot of the delivery firm. My second parcel was there, safe and sound, and at the same time one of the clarks found out what had happened to the first one. In fact, he showed me the screen with ominous words "return to sender, addressee unknown".

What? I'm unknown after living in the same place for almost 10 years? The reason they couldn't find my doorbell was that they were looking for ANNE VANHULSTA - someone had typed that name into the database, and apparently the driver only follows his own printed delivery list. I have several neighbours, but none of the names is even close Vanhulsta, but my own family name does start with a 'V' and ends 'TA', but that's where the similarities end. The only explanation is that I've got married, and it must be quite a guy because I've wowed I'll never change my family name.

Obviously it's too much to ask that the delivery person might actually read what's written on the parcel, or called my GSM number (it was written there by the sender), or that the person who made the decision to return it tried to find out whether there was any information missing.

But the main thing is that I'm so happy now! Got the yarn, got married... and the hubby doesn't bother me at all. Oh, should you wonder what we would appreciate, here's an idea.

Oh, and the shawl is almost finished. What shawl, you may ask. The brand new VANHULSTA scarf, of course. Photos will follow during the weekend, now it's too dark.

Bonuskuva erityisesti Kirsille: juu ei oo sama.

A knitter visits a museum...

...and everywhere she looks, there are just knitting patterns. Scary, huh?

Leven in steen exhibition

But not as scary as this piece of creativity.

Just a few details of the things I've come across lately.


The very last sunflower of this season. There were even some unopened buds last week, but I think Saturday's frost killed them.





















This Easter cactus has gone bonkers as well. I just realised this first flower after returning to my office today, and there should be more on their way. I just love its colours: soft pink and salmon, and it's almost self-glowing.



















And finally: even though I occasionally complain about life in Belgium, it's not that bad. Or it shouldn't be. We lead a very disciplined life here. For instance, you're not allowed to skate in a supermarket. Now there's a thought... I wonder if other shops haven't forbidden it, I could take my skates there just to test the floor.

The past few weeks have been a total chaos, and I have trouble remembering what I did a few days ago. One thing I know for sure that I managed to escape the office for a while and went to the monthly knitting meeting. Even though I haven't been able to attend that many meetings this year, I think that last week was so much fun. This time I didn't take any photos, I was too busy trying to figure out what to do next with this thingy. I just knew I wanted something rustic and contemporary, nothing too refined. This wrap or whatever you may want to call it is just perfect to throw around your shoulders, tighten the straps and you're ready to go.

Oh, one thing I should have photographed was Kim's revolutionary way of knitting gloves.



























Viime viikot on kuluneet yhdessä hujauksessa. Alkaa olla vaikeuksia muistaa kolmenkin päivän takaisia tapahtumia, mikä on aika pelottavaa. Sen verran on kuiteski jäänyt mieleen, että viime viikon keskiviikkona oli paikallinen neuletapaaminen, jonne yksinkertaisesti karkasin töistä kun en kestänyt enää. Kovinkaan moneen neuletapaamiseen en oo tänä vuonna päässyt, mutta toi viimeviikkoinen oli kyllä yks parhaista. Kuvat jäi tällä kertaa vallan ottamatta, kun ähelsin kasaan tätä ruttanaa. Tai siis kutaletta. Tai ihan mitä vaan. Mielessä väikkyi vaan toivomus jostain nykyaikaisesta, ei-liian-viimeistellystä olkapäälämmittimestä, ja vaikka itse sanonkin, tämä kyllä täyttää nuo kriteerit aikas hyvin. Remelit vaan solmitaan eestä kiinni ja sitten menoks.


Kuvaamisen arvoinen olis ollu ainakin Kimin vallankumouksellinen käsinetekniikka.

After a weekend's stitching marathon, I'm only down about 400 stitches / day. If I had any sense of reality, I'd start looking for another Christmas present for Mummy. Just won't give up yet.

Perheuutisia

Tällä viikolla blogiin on tulossa muitakin yllätysuutisia, mutta aloitetaan nyt tästä perheenlisäyksestä (vähän väärä järjestys, juu, mutta tää on sitä nykyaikaa).

Taisto-poika saapui siis yllättäen tänne - kiitos vielä kerran biologisille äideille! Kyöstille otti vähän koville luopua omasta asemastaan ja toivottaa tulokas tervetulleeksi, mutta kai tästä vähitellen päästään normaalielämään. Aina kun silmä välttää, kynnet ja hampaat otetaan käyttöön, mutta kameralle kyllä poseerataan näin kavereina:


























Ja Kyösti ei sitten yhtään nappaa tassulla! EI! Eikö sana kuulu vai eikö se tehoa? Kiusaaminen loppuu sitten tällä puheella! Matte lähtee nyt töihin, toinen teistä jää sohvan toiseen päähän ja toinen toiseen. Ettekä sitten riitele kaukosäätimestä vaan kattelette telkkaria ihan sovussa, jookos?

Kidman versus Bucket - also known as plan B - how your mind wanders when knitting

It's still not finished, I know. I just can't resist presenting you this current project when I was able to photograph it in broad daylight. This is the time-sucking nerve-wracking but-oh-so-sweet thing I've been working on ever since returning from Italy. I picked the basic pattern from the knitting book I bought in Rome, and since both the pattern and the colour remind me of hyacinths, that's what the finished shawl might be called. But when you hear the word 'hyacinth' , your mind associates that with this. So, alternatively I thought the shawl might be called 'Nicole' - it would suit just perfectly someone with Ms Kidman's hair and complexion. So not me, that is. For a moment I even toyed with the idea of sending the shawls to her publicist asking her to forward it. I quickly came to my senses, though, and dropped that plan. If not for other reasons, her wingspan is so great that this shawl would look ridiculous on her. Hmm. I wonder what I should concentrate on while knitting. Something more down to earth. Like the amounts of yarn I've bought recently.

Fortunately this pale lilac matches grey hair as well, and although I'm going down that road, it's not totally grey yet.
















Joojoo, tiedetään, ei oo vieläkään valmis. En nyt vaan voi vastusta kiusausta lämmätä muutamaa kuvaa näkyville, kun sai kuvattua luonnonvalossa. Tässä ny olis tää aikaavievä hermojakiristävä mutta ah-niin-ihana keskeneräinen projekti, jota olen vääntänyt Rooman-keikan jälkeen sen mitä nyt muulta elämältä on aikaa jäänyt. Lanka ja kuviomalli on molemmat peräisin Italiasta, ja koska molemmista tulee mieleenhyasintti, huivin nimeksi saattaa tulla Hyacinth. Paitsi että heti kun päästää tuon ajatuksen mieleensä, tulee välittömästi assosiaatio tähän. Siispä toinen nimivaihtoehto olis 'Nicole' - ollapa vaan neiti/rouva Kidmanin ihon ja hiusten sävy. Vaanku ei oo. Neuloessa mielikuvitus ja ajatukset tuppaa laukkaamaan (mulla ainakin), ja vähän aikaa leikittelin ajatuksella, että kun huivi valmistuu, lähetämpä sen Kidmanniskan agentille tai tiedottajalle tai kelle vaan edelleen toimitettavaksi. Aika nopiaan tulin kuitenkin takaisin todellisuuteen. Jos ei muusta syystä, niin niin pitkällä immeisellä on siipivälikin niin suuri, että tää huivi näyttäis vaan naurettavalta. Heh. Mitähän sitä pitäis keskittyä ajattelemaan neuloessaan? Ehkä johonkin arkipäiväisempään. Ostettujen lankojen varastokirjanpitoon?

No juu, sopishan huivin väri harmaisiinkiin hiuksiin, ja vaikka sillä tiellä tässä vähän jo ollaan, ei nää ny sentään kokonaan harmaat ole. Sen sijaan...

Wasn't prepared for this. There's a huge gaping hole in the four corners of the shawl.
















Tähän en ollutkaan varautunut, kun reunusta rupesin vääntämään. Kulmiin jää hervoton aukko.

No matter. Just grab a knitting pattern book and find something which could fill that hole. Here are two candidates.


























Vaan emme lannistu moisesta. Siirtyminen neulekirjaston puolelle, vähän aikaa kiihkeää pitsineulekirjojen selausta, niin johan tuli vastaan kaksikin mahdollista reiäntukkimismallia. Jahka ny ollaan niin pitkällä, että nää olis ajankohtaisia.

This should be a Christmas present for my mother. Doesn't look good. The first photo shows the situation in September, and I really haven't made much progress since (what a surprise: either I'm never at home, or if I am, there isn't enough daylight). Yesterday, when I finally grabbed the projet after a long break, I calculated that basically there are about 27,600 stitches and 40 days until Christmas. Hey, that's less than 700 stitches I should do per day!

Fortunately we aren't that big on Christmas, or like I wrote above, if I really want to give Mommy something then, she could have the lilac shawl, hence plan B. Her birthday is in the beginning of March, so that should give me some leeway with the cross stitch thing. Hmm, about 60 days more means that I'd need to make *only* 280 stitches a day. Hey, I feel the pressure being lifted. Not.





























Juu, vaikkei me joulua isommin vietetäkään, olin aatellut tästä joululahjaa äiskälle. Muuten hyvä suunnitelma, mutta työ ei oo pahemmin edistynyt sitten syyskuun. Kumma juttu, mistähän johtuu? Voisko olla syynä se, etten ole koskaan kotona, tai en ainakaan silloin kun olis päivänvaloa ja mukavampi ristipistoilla? Eilen tartuin tähän oikein tosimielellä, mutta vaikka tein parhaani, ei tää kyllä etene toivottuun tahtiin. Kohotin vielä tunnelmaa laskemalla, että valmiissa työssä on noin 27600 pistoa, ja jos kerran jouluun on noin 40 päivää, niin keskiarvoisesti tarttis pistellä tuommoiset 700 ruutua päivässä! Help!

Jospa antaisinkin muorille ton lilan huivin ja tästä tuliskin syntymäpäivälahja maaliskuun alkuun mennessä? Nopeasti laskettuna saisin noin 60 päivää lisää tekoaikaa, jolloin ei tarttiskaan enää saada valmiiksi kuin 280 pistoa päivässä. Hihhei! Kylläpäs paineet helpotti.

Lassie come home

I'm a woman of extremes - it's all or nothing for me. During the trip to Rome I started knitting a shawl made of mohair yarn (needle recommendation 2mm and gauge 41 stitches / 10 cm). I bought 100 grams of this Royal Mohair and there might be some left. - Then, last night I caught a haunting image of Rowan's Bigga Print which should magically transform into a long coat. Yesterday would have been a perfect day to wear it - too bad that I haven't even started knitting it yet. It's just that even though I thought I bought "plenty" of that yarn, there's only about 30 metres of it in each ball. I may run out of yarn before I even realise. Maybe I should reconsider another pattern. Like Highland Lassie here on page 1.

So, what about the Italian shawl then? It's a s-l-o-w process, I'm telling ya. I've just kept myself entertained by inventing names for it. Photos will follow, you'll be welcome to throw your suggestions in then.

And don't say I didn't warn you! - Ja minähän sitten varoitin!

Sorry it's taken a while to go through the exhibitors' list of the Knitting and Stitching show, but here comes (at least some of them). I tried to gather them in groups - and thank God not all of the exhibitors have web pages. Now, ladies, it's time to go and hide your credit cards - I cannot be held responsible for your actions if you throw caution to the wind.

Vihdoinkin sain listattua Lontoon Knitting ja Stitching show'n osanottajaluettelon - tai itse asiassa vain osan siitä. Yritin vähän ryhmitellä näitä aihealueittain, ja mukana on tosiaan vain osa näytteilleasettajista. Luojan kiitos kaikilla ei ollut nettisivuja joko lainkaan tai sitten ne oli niin väsähtäneen oloiset, etten viittiny listata niitä lainkaan. Muutenkin tässä tuntui jobia riittävän. Mutta nyt ladies, menkääpäs ensin piilottamaan luottokorttinne, ettei tule tehtyä harkitsemattomia ostoksia. Ja disclaimerina: minä en sitten ota vastuuta jos riehaannutte shoppailemaan.


Knitting yarn - Neulelankaa
21st century yarns
Alchemy yarns
Alpaca select
DT Craft and design
Elle Yarns
Habu Textiles
Simply Shetland (Check out Shetland escapes)
Kaalund yarns
R.K.M. Wools
Shetland Wool Brokers
Shilasdair Yarns
Sirdar
Taj Crafts
Texere yarns
Threads & More
Touch Yarns New Zealand
UK Alpaca
Get knitted


Cross stitches, embroidery - Ristipistoja, kirjontaa
Avidstitch
3D cross stitch Meg Evershed
B.M.Designs
tsekkaanimi
Colray Crafts
Embroiderstitch
Japanese Embroidery
Midori Matsushima
Get Stitching
Pearsalls Silks
Simply Cross Stitch
Travellers' tales
Westend Embroidery


Individual artists, workshops, courses, kits, patterns, general inspiration - Tekstiilitaitelijoita, kursseja, työpajoja, tarvikepaketteja, malleja, yleistä inspiraatiota

The Textile Directory This goes into my favourites
Linda Westerman
Gilda Baron
Bill Baber
Buttercup Knitwear
Coats Crafts UK
Computer Textile Design Group
Tracy A Franklin
The handweavers' studio
Lizzie Houghton
House of hemp
The Knit Tin
Opus school of textile arts
Jennie Rayment

Sasha Kagan
Debbie Bliss
Teva Durham
Jane Ellison
Kaffe Fassett
Di Gilpin
Louisa Harding
Kim Hargreaves
Brandon Mably
Sharon Miller / Heirloom knitting
Jean Moss
Jo Sharp
Alice and Jade Starmore


Buttons, beads - Helmiä, nappeja
The Bead Scene
Ilona Biggins
GJ Beads
Dora Schubert
Glass Beadmakers UK
Pandorion
L. Nichols vintage glass buttons


Just stuff - Muuta sälää
Kaspareks rubbers stamps
African fabric
Antique crafts
Ario
Art Van Go
Ash Tree Designs (not so much design, more yarn actually)
Euro Japan links - Japanese cotton
Felt Head to Toe
Firefly designs
Stef Francis
The original reenactors market Check 'traders gallery'
Earthues natural dyes extract
Rainbow silks
Ribbonbox
The Silk Route
Silver Viscount Yarns and threads lists yarns for machine knitting
Springwood House DesignChristmas trinkets
Studio Fay and Kay / Fay Maxwell
Textile techniques
The Thread Studio


Guilds, clubs, organisations and such - Ammattikiltoja, kerhoja, yhdistyksiä yms.
The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
The Beadworkers Guild
The Braid Society In my humble opinion, they should put some effort to their website - too bad that those elaborate Kumihimo braids we saw at the KSS aren't presented better
The Cross Stitch Guild
Oxfordshire craft guild
Embroiderers' Guild
International Feltmakers Association
The Lace Guild
National Needlework Archive

Finished? Not quite yet This is something I found on the way

Well? What did you buy then?

Who said that they didn't find any yarn shops in Rome? The only trouble I had with them was yarn overflow. Guess who came home with more than two kilos of new yarn? No wonder my suitcase gave up and a wheel fell off. I wouldn't have missed any extra weight in the luggage.

Thanks to Niina, there was an excellent story of yarn shopping in Rome in the very first issue of Ulla, the Finnish knitting magazine. I had printed her story plus a listing of some of the most promising shops, and those surely kept me entertained during the flight. Even when just wandering around the city I kept finding small yarn shops here and there, and was I glad that there wasn't too much extra space in my bags.

Yarn shops in Italy - lankakauppoja Italiassa:
Italian Yellow pages. Type 'filati' in the 'cosa'(what) box and the name of the city/area in 'dove' (where) box. And off you go...



Ulla...eiku Niina Roomassa

Cafilan

This was a bit out of my route, but maybe next time?


From the left:
What: 100 % pure wool, needle size 2-3mm. White.
Why did you buy it: This is not fluffy, chunky, uneven or fancy in any way, so I think it should be perfect for knitting a couple of lace scarves. And that's after I've released my creativity and dyed it first. Can hardly wait.

What: Grignasco's Nature yarn, 50 % merino wool, 50 % alpaca. Off-white.
Why? Did you read what I wrote above? Do I have to find reasons? I AM NOT A YARN SNOB, in fact, quite a big part of my stash is something else than pure wool, but this yarn just won me over. It's soft and rustic at the same time, not too refined. I just wish I had a Labrador I could take out for a walk when wearing a sweater made of this yarn.
















On the left 100 % wool, its colour is somewhere between soft orange and toffee. It was the very last ball, and I'll use it for felting.
On the right some velvet/chenille yarn in deep shades of red, burgundy and black. It's joined some other balls in the same colour family, but I'm not sure what they'll turn into.

















And of course, when in Rome, or when in Italy, you just *have* to buy some of that soft mohair yarn they produce. On the top you see the details of the big hank of blue/violet mohair yarn I just couldn't resist, even though it was a bit pricey. I kept telling myself it's just one hank, it's not that much, but since I don't have a kitchen scale at home, I still don't know how much that one hank weighs. Several hundred grams in any case and it's relatively thing yarn, so I might be in for surprise how far it'll take me. And those smaller amounts were just souvenirs. Once again, both the material and colours were something you don't see every day, so resistance was futile. Funny thing: I started knitting a shawl using that pale lilac shade on the right. The shawl itself was finished during my trip, but now I'm getting desperate with the borders! First I couldn't find a pattern I liked, and when I did, I couln't figure it out. SO frustating! Finally it started to make sense and I've been working on it for like three days, without too much visible progress.










And then, finally, the patterns. The knitting magazine is not as bad as it may seem, I just picked the worst piccies to show you. When looking at them, it's hard to believe that Italians are renown for their style and elegance. I just hope he got a handsome reward for his efforts. Obviously I passed a treshold with my yarn purchases, since the maga was thrown in for free, and then I bought the Marie Claire guide for two good reasons: I needed to find a lace pattern so I could start knitting something using the mohair yarns presented above, and besides, the knitting terms were explained in Italian so this could be used as a reference book. We-hey! Couldn't be happier.

It's time to move on - just some more photos from Rome

Here we go again... mummy, I want one of those!
















Even garbage looks nicer with a bit of green, doesn't it? The brooms were made of bright green plastic.














These puppies would have been up for adoption - for free. I'm not quite sure whether that's the best way of reducing the amount of mistreated animals. A local animal shelter had set up camp on the street - there were kittens in cages, but I remained firm. No animals in this household as long as I travel so often.



















And my trips aren't complete unless there's some strange textile activity involved. Just by accident, I happended to find a public display of ancient Persian and other Eastern rugs. Great colours, great details, and the folklore-based patterns were inspiring as well.

A few months ago a story surfaced in the European media: Italy was to re-introduce systems and places where mothers could leave their unwanted babies, without being seen or prosecuted. I'd heard there was one ancient Rota wheel in Rome, at the entrance of a hospital (the hospital is still fully operational, the rota isn't), so I went searching for it... and here it is.















Italia palaa keskiaikaan, kertoi Jussi jo syyskuussa. Mä lähdin ihan vartavasten etsimään tätä pyörää Roomasta, ja löytyihän se vihdoin.


The ruins were easier to find:

Cats in the Area Sacra ruins.




















Among the ruins there's a sanctuary for cats, and during weekends you may take part in a guided tour through the area. Or you could just pop in, visit some more docile cats and buy various cat items or donate money directly for the wellbeing of the cats.

















Oh, those Romans...