15 posts tagged “knitting”
Today was my first day of holiday, and the first day of my last week in Roma.
First I packed everything I possibly could to see if they'd fit, and organise what I'd like to send via the post office either tomorrow or wednesday.
Then, I went to San Pietro's and climbed the dome! I think I preferred the one I climbed in Florence but it's absolutely worth it, the views are stunning, you can see right over the Vatican gardens and over most of Rome.
After I came back down, I took the train to Metro Repubblica and went to the church there, Santa Maria degli Angeli.
It was very interesting, with some modern art to balance the older stuff, and a back courtyard from which the Roman remains were visible.
I also ripped out a huge lot of my knitting since I didn't like it, and I much prefer the new design I've made.. in terms of the actual pattern, all the increases are at the same spot as the row ending, as well as where the colours end, which means that you have a huge heap of loose threads, and it's difficult to increase neatly. I don't understand why it couldn't have been done on the opposite side, but meh, each to their own I suppose, maybe there is a method to their madness?
ok, that's it from me for now voxies!
xox
R
Did you know I discovered this week that the italian word for the @ (chiocciola) symbol is literally translated as snail?!
So on Friday I had my last day of internship. I gave them my thank you card and the Aboriginal art poster my parents sent from Sydney, and then after work I went for drinks with the other intern. We met these guys and at first they were alright, but we went with them to a second club, and it went downhill from there, they were huge jokers, lying about everything, and saying things like 'my reason for staying in Italy is much deeper than that - I have to be here" and then refusing to elaborate, which made me think, "you don't appear mysterious and sexy, you appear to be a fool, and your stupid comment has made me think of the following possible scenarios":
you are a drug smuggler
there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest in whatever country you are originally from
you have a wife and child you're escaping from
you have wife here that you can't divorce
CLEARLY none of these things are good, and he would have done himself a massive favour but just saying what the hell his reasons for being here were (probably very boring ones too!). As the night went on he got really touchy feely and I had to use my 'teacher' voice on him when I was leaving.
The other girl didn't seem worried, didn't seem to mind him buying her a drink, or him repeatedly asking me the exact street I lived on (yes of course I'll tell a strange man I've just met exactly where I live!) and then his friends showed up so there are 2 girls and 5 guys, and they wanted us to come with them to some other bar! They were just a bit tipsy and having a good time and joking and laughing and stuff but frankly this scenario screams DANGER in huge red letters to me, but the girl I was with didn't want to leave, and I've been taught that you absolutely go home with whoever you start the night with, that you don't leave with random men, you don't put yourself or your friends/companions in potentially dangerous situations. Since I didn't feel like leaving her alone was the right thing to do, I stayed for hours longer than I wanted to, feeling increasingly bored, irritated with this fool guy, and concerned. Since he had claimed earlier that he lived near me, I was worried that if i said I was leaving, he'd suggest going with me.
I finally got away from them, I was furious though, I got soaked to the skin, walked a million miles to find out that there is no night bus from Piazza San Silvestro, and had to take a taxi home.
It was fast, dry and not that expensive though so I was just relieved to be home!
Then today I hibernated - I ate, I slept, I watched masses of Bob Ross (I love you Bob) and started my next knitting project!
I'm going to modify this DROPS pattern for fingerless mitts:
http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=98&d_id=8&lang=en
since I'm using my angora stash, I'm modifying it with my own fair isle pattern of leaping bunnies. I'm excited!
here it is so far, no bunnies yet...
I also finished the cowl I was making my Granny! done!! blocked and everything. I haven't been able to get a good photograph of it yet but I'll give it a go sometime soon.
I also went out for drinks with Maxie and her boyfriend and some of their friends tonight, they were all really nice although it was tough for me since they spoke only in italian and I could follow the basic convo but found it difficult to contribute without butting in - by the time I understood one topic and had formed a response, they were already on to the next topic and I'd missed my chance! I like Maxie though, she and her boyfriend are very normal people and their friends are just nice, without being either too conservative and boring, or too over the top and crazy.
So that's about all my news... YAY for starting a week of holiday! so my little list of things to do...
tourist bus
climb the San Pietro Duomo
a few museums and churches
knit my fingerless mitts
possibly a day trip to Pisa
In reality I'll probably end up lying in bed and watching Bob Ross, lol!
buona notte Voxies!
I was super brave last thursday and went and got my hair dyed! in Italian! go me! I also got the fringe recut, although I'm not a fan of the way that turned out, it wasn't even so I tried to fix it myself, and we all know what happens when you do that. Exactly. Anyway! here it is - I got blonde streaks in it, and apparently it will lighten up as time goes on. I imagine when they say that, it means the same as when they tell you that denim jeans will stretch - if you need them to, they won't, but if they fit just right, then they'll streeeeetch til they're way too large.
I also bought my lone ticket for New Moon! in English!! on the 20th of Nov (next fri) I so can't wait... haha it was funny, the guy behind the desk said, how many tickets? and I said, um, one, and he kind of paused, and I said, "very sad" and he was all like "oh, no! not at all! lots of people buy one ticket...." but he knew and I knew that I'm that lame girl in her mid twenties going to see a teen flick alone.
But I don't know anyone else that would want to go, so if I want to see it, then it has to be by myself!
What else? I went out with Carla, Guiseppe and their friends on friday.... I met them at the metro Ottaviano, and we went to a tiny little place around the corner that you need to sign a membership form to go to. It was really cool - kind of darkish with warm coloured wood and stuff. Then I lost my motorcycle virginity when Guiseppe gave me a lift home on his motorcycle, which was actually pretty scary... I clung on like a limpit and had the biggest cramps in my hands when I got off, haha!
Then I had a very dull weekend, I haven't left the house at all, although I'm going to go and get some pizza in a minute.. I did heaps of washing, I finished my gryffindor scarf! at long last! can you believe it? almost 3 months to the day. I'll have to post some pictures tomorrow. I did a fair bit on my grandmother's cowl, still haven't got up the courage to restart my own cowl in angora, we'll see, I have quite a few balls of wool and no idea what to do with them, and taking them home is just going to be a pain, much better to have a few knitted items instead.
I actually started packing! just the Christmas gifts that were lying around, the shoes that I won't wear between now and Dec, stuff like that. Only 15 days at work to go, and only 4 weeks until I leave for Australia! this time next month I'll be at home. Weird thought, I can't imagine it.
Anyway, time to go order my pizza!
buona notte voxies!
R
I decided to alter a beautiful lace pattern I found on ravelry to create a cowl for my grandmother.
I thought when I visit her December, it would be nice to bring a present, and a knitted gift will give me something to do on the train up to visit her. I thought we could spend the evening doing some knitting, and then I'll go back to London the following evening.
Here's the design so far:
she loves red so I bought the brightest, boldest red wool I could find.
The pattern seemed a little complicated at first because I couldn't figure out exactly which parts were the 'v' design and which were part of the scarf pattern the designer had chosen, but in the end I simplified it down to the basic 9 stitch repeat, which works out like this:
After casting on a multiple of 9, joining and and knitting the first row (if working in the round) or purling the first row (if working flat)
(k3, k2tog, YO, K4) repeat until end of row
purl entire row (knit, if working in the round)
K2, k2tog, YO, k1, YO, SSK, K2 until end of row
purl entire row (knit, if working in the round)
K1 k2tog, YO, K3, YO, SSK, k1 until end of row
purl entire row (knit, if working in the round)
knit entire row (knit, if working in the round)
purl entire row (knit, if working in the round)
repeat until desired length
I'll post when it's done! speaking of, my gryff scarf is almost complete but I usually remember to work on it after I'm already in bed, and as I need to confirm how much longer it needs to be by standing up, I end up working on something else instead. I have a pair of socks and my own cowl in angora to do before I leave Roma, as well as a few balls of left over wool I don't particularly want to carry home so I have a few things I can work on!
This morning Marisol and I went to the post office to send off another huge box, and then went for fragolini pastries at Romoli. Last time we went in there, I lost my knitting request virginity when the barrista asked me if I'd make him a hermione hat! We were kind of taken aback so we said I was leaving shortly so I wouldn't have time to finish one, but since I'm going to be here another 5 or so weeks, it's going to be kind of awkward going back there, which totally sucks since their pastries are to die for!
speaking of hermione hats, I finally finished Marisol's! here it is:
Yesterday I bought a pair of Levi super skinny 603's! I 'm super excited because they fit my legs as well as my ass! in Australia, when I buy skinny jeans, they are too baggy on the leg if they fit me on the ass, or too tight on the hips and butt if they fit my legs. But... check out the wonder of jeans fitting my body shape!!!
Tomorrow is Marisol's farewell dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then Saturday we're off to Venice! bring it on!
Other than that I'm still struggling with a pattern for a cowl, I wanted something kind of lacy and saw a few I liked but the pattern really just didn't work out for me. So boo. I think I'll do my own pattern, so much easier I think!
AND! I spoke to my grandma and have 'booked in' a trip to see her for the first two days I'm in London - arrive in the morning, go straight from the plane to the train, get to her house in the evening, make her dinner, do some knitting, and then leave the following afternoon. Now I just have to buy the tickets!
Then I can spend the rest of the week doing whatever I like, and whatever I like is going to involve a lot of shopping, museums, and burgers! woohoo! can't wait!
It's done! tada! I guess I should write at least a rough pattern so I would remember how it was made, but in reality, I made it up as I went along, measuring it against my water bottle to confirm it would fit!
I should warn that I have no experience writing patterns, and I'm simply recording from memory what I did.
Materials:
2 and a bit skeins/balls of Main Color [MC]
a small amount of Contrast Colour [CC]
1 pair of circulars, size [US]
4 buttons in [CC]
RIBBED NECK
cast on 44 stitches, and join in the round (careful not to twist) knit 2, purl 2 until you have approximately 20 cm of tube. Insert a stitch marker at the beginning of your round, and then count 22 stitches and insert a second stitch marker - this is the halfway point.
SHOULDERS
okay, now you want to start increasing for the main body of the cover. At the start of a new row, make an increase on the first 2 stitches, knit 18, and then increase on the next 2 stitches. You will have reached your 'halfway' marker. Increase the next 2 stitches, knit the next 18, and then increase on the last 2 stitches of the row.
Essentially, you are creating a flat 'back' and a flat 'front'. You will continue this pattern (increasing on the first and last 2 stitches of each 'half' until your work is wide enough to cover the shoulders of your water bottle. For me, it was approximately 6-10 rows, until I had increased from 44 to 120 stitches.
MAIN BODY/HEART PATTERN
Knit 3 full rows of the main body. Next, you will begin your heart pattern. Each heart (including spaces) will be 7 stitches wide, and 4 rows long. The stitch markers will indicate where the front and the back start.
For me, I needed to Knit the first 4 stitches of the main body of my cosy, and then I copied the following chart:
|
M |
M |
C |
M |
C |
M |
M |
|
M |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
M |
|
M |
M |
C |
C |
C |
M |
M |
|
M |
M |
M |
C |
M |
M |
M |
M = Main Colour
C = Contrasting Colour
The end of the first half should have 4 (or 5) stitches, and then I did the same pattern on the back.
The rest of the cosy is simply plain knitting, until you reach approx. 2 inches from the bottom of the hot water bottle (you can test for fit as you knit, another benefit of round knitting).
You will then start k2 p2 rib, and continue on for 1.5 inches. Then, you will measure how many buttons you'd like as your closure. I had 4, so I spaced them evenly and stuck a pin in the purl part of the ribbing, where I wanted my button holes to go. Knit/purl the row as before, and then, when you reach the purl where you'd like your hole to go, Yarn Over, then purl 2 together. Continue the rib until you reach the next marker, and again, YO, p2tog. Complete the rest of the row in this way.
Complete another 3 rows of ribbing and then do a full row of knit 2 together. Cast off. Sew in ends, sew on your buttons and you're finished!
That is pretty much the only exciting thing that has happened in the last few days, haha! I have to get back to knitting my gryffindor scarf now, I'm itching to wear it, although I also have Marisol's christmas Hermione Hat to get started on... and my first pair of socks! yay for knitting!
On Saturday I met my penpal Marco. I took Marisol along and we did a bit of shopping, had lunch, coffee, saw the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain... it was nice, he bought us coffee and tiramisu.
After he left to get his train, Marisol and I went shopping for groceries and I found a leather bag on Via Nazionale! It's the last bag I wanted to get - a soft brown one. So now I have a smart brown one, a smart soft black one, and a smart soft brown one.
Here it is:
we also visited Di Cori yarn store so Marisol could buy some more wool for her scarf, and I bought some balls to make the Hermione Hat for her as a christmas present, as well as some red buttons for my water bottle cozy.
I got quite a bit done of my hot water bottle cover! I decided to design my own because I couldn't find one that was constructed in a way I felt confident about - mine is knitted totally in the round, top down - no stitches to pick up, no seaming to do, only a few ends to weave in. Nice and simple! I put a circle of hearts on it to make it more interesting:
If anyone likes it, I suppose I could write the pattern out for them, but I'm just making it up as I go along!
Today we haven't done much, I skyped with my parents (and Anna and the beast of course) and then Marisol and I went for a coffee at Romoli, a beautiful pasticeria down the road from us that I'm sure I've mentioned before.
We had fragolini pastries and cappuccinos. I'm going to miss that place when we go home!
Afterward we popped into the Tigre for a few supplies. We couldn't help snapping a picture of these baby food jars though, rabbit AND horse flavours. Tasty!
ciao voxies!
My sister left this morning. I really enjoyed having her here, and I already miss her a lot! it's really hard saying goodbye to people so many times in such a short period, but would I give up the enjoyment of the last 10 days with her here for a few tears when she left? No, I wouldn't.
Last night we did a bit of shopping and then went for dinner in Piazza Navona, which was beautiful but freezing.
Then this morning we had breakfast at termini together and I helped her onto the train to Fumicino. And now I'm back at work. It looks like the next few days/weeks will be quite busy, although I'm actually quite tired so I'd prefer a break.
I did a major clean out of stuff when Anna was packing to leave, and threw a lot out as well as cramming quite a lot of stuff into her suitcase. I still have HEAPS of things I want to post back home though, as I haven't even bought christmas presents and it would be nice to get the girls some pretty things from here. It's going to cost me a fortune to get it all home but what can you do? I'll be wearing a lot of it I think though, because I am freezing and it's only October!
what else? supposedly dinner at the ridiculous hour of 9pm at a mexican place tonight, possibly the vatican this weekend, and there is the film festival next week or the week after, and we also need to book venice if we're going to go....AND! I need a bodkin to sew the ends in on my hat and when (if) I finish my scarf I have to sew those in as well. I might go to the yarn shop today and see what they have. I do love that place, although taking all these needles and yarn home will be hard as well!
anyway, that's it from me!
ciao a presto!
I'm back in Rome! the weekend in Paris was pretty cool but hold onto your hats because this is going to be a looooong post!
We arrived in Paris around 4 pm, because our plane was a little bit delayed, although they didn't make any kind of announcement so we don't know why. During the flight there was some pretty bad turbulence but again, no announcement. Anna and I were fine until a foolish American woman behind us started screaming and freaking out. I half expected her to say "we're all going to die!" although she didn't. It was very unsettling and I couldn't really relax after that! They announced laterthat we'd had to go through a thunderstorm which was why the turbulence was so bad.
When we arrived we went straight to our hotel which was very nice actually, and not that expensive. We then got dressed ready for the Moulin Rouge, as you have to be there 20 minutes before the show. The line was quite long but moved quite quickly. Now, maybe I have very high expectations. Actually, yes, I do, because we paid $300AU each for the MR tickets, and the same price for accommodation for 3 nights, so you frankly I expect excellent service.
They forgot to give us butter, and we had to ask 3 or 4 times. Each time the waiter would say yes, but then would stand there and do something else, and not bring it. We got it eventually but most other tables didn't even have to ask. Then, our plates were left on the table for a very long time (like half an hour), and although there seemed to be 3 or 4 waiters for our area, they mostly seemed to be standing about, letting their colleague, a youngish guy of about 18 do most of the work. Anna's meal was cold inside, and the waiter accidentally poured half a glass of champagne into Anna's water glass. While he did apologize, he promised to bring a new glass, which he didn't.
It's not really that big of a deal, and could easily have been corrected, since it was a simple mistake, but when you are paying as much as you do at the MR, I would expect not only a new glass - immediately, I would also expect a second apology and possibly even a fresh glass of champagne to replace the one that had been wasted. He didn't do any of these things.
The show was amazing, there was a shadow puppet guy, a fabulous juggler, a ventriloquist, mini ponies, the woman in the pool with the snake, and the dancers of course, but Anna said the dancers weren't as good as last time, they were slightly out of time and the actual place was quite run down and shabby. I certainly wouldn't go there again - you are paying as much as that because you are supposed to be getting a really amazing evening, with absolutely impeccable service and an incredible show, and that simply isn't what we got. Anyway. I'm glad we went as it was definitely interesting.
On Saturday we went to Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle in the morning, and Versailles in the afternoon.
Sainte-Chapelle was incredible, it was two floors on top of each other, each with the most stunning stained glass.
There was actually a mass going on in Notre Dame, with lovely singing, although it was just too busy and crowded and I much preferred Sainte-Chapelle which was more intimate and beautiful.
I suppose i have been in Rome for too long, because I was quite shocked that many of the churches in France have shops inside the main room of the church! I thought it seemed somewhat disrespectful, since most of the things weren't even religious items, but postcards or toys and things.
Versailles was a bit complex to get to, as you have to change trains, and this wasn't mentioned anywhere, so we ended up halfway to nowhere and had to get off and go all the way back to the change over point, and then set out in the right direction again.
When we got there, we'd missed Aude, who I know through makeuptalk.com. We'd planned to meet at 12 but because of the mistake we'd made, we got there are 12:30 and she'd left - she emailed me later and said she came back at 1pm which is exactly when we left so we must have almost passed each other twice!
Versailles was awesome, I wish we'd had more time there. We went on a tour and saw some private areas that regular tourists don't get to go, but we didn't really have enough time in the gardens, as we only had time to take a little train down to the Grand Trianon and the Petite Trianon, and not enough time to get out and see them properly. We also missed the hamlet which was disappointing as I'd wanted to see that. In the gift shop I got a few really pretty things, including a long thing silk scarf with the monogram of Marie Antoinette on it, I thought it would be pretty to tie onto my handbag. I also got one of those black pencils they sell everywhere here, that has the place name and a sparkly jewel on the end - of course I got pink, and it says Marie Antoinette in curly gold writing down the side of the pencil.
We got back to Paris and were going to go up the Eiffel Tower quickly before going to dinner, but that idea was a joke - it took us 3 hours to go up and come down, spending no more than 10 or 5 minutes at the top. We waited to be security checked, we waited to buy tickets. We waited to get a lift to the first or second floor, and then again to get a second lift to the top. There was then another line to take you down to the second floor again, and a final line for the lift from the second floor to the ground. If I ever have a partner who suggests the Eiffel Tower as a romantic possible proposal place I think I would punch him in the face. It was the least romantic thing I've ever done and I don't think I ever want to go back there. We went to a random place for dinner as there was no time to go anywhere else, we got down at 9pm!
On Sunday we went to the Louvre, which was HUGE. I think they need little golf carts to take you around, we were exhausted walking around in there. Yes, the things inside are absolutely amazing, but it seems a shame that many of their beautiful paintings are just walked past, as there is too much to see. I think that they would be so much more appreciated if they were spread around a little bit more in a few museums, rather than one massive place.
On the plus side, because I had an EU passport and am under 25, I got entrances to many places for FREE! here in Rome it's a reduced price but never free, it was a bargain because some of the tickets were really quite expensive.
Sunday night we went to the fondue restaurant Anna had been to on her last visit, and also visited Sacre Coeur. The restaurant is pretty crazy, you can write on the walls, and so Anna wrote on the window sill near our table and I wrote on the bathroom door. They have baby bottles of wine to drink out of, and a set menu with either a meat or a cheese fondue. It was really quite good value as an entree, an aperitif cocktail and dessert are included, although it was a bit weird, they made me climb over the tables to get to my seat!
Monday morning we went to Galeries Lafayette, which was very very pretty, although we didn't buy anything. We also passed this epic pizza place, Speed Rabbit Pizza! I wish we'd had time to eat there!
The leather shoes and boots are cheaper here in Rome so we didn't bother getting anything in Paris, but we were in the mood for shopping, so as soon as we got back to Rome we went out to the shops near the Trevi fountain and bought a pair of boots each.
Friday night I met up with Marisol and we went to a yarn shop I'd heard about on Ravelry. I bought some nice yarn, some circulars, and some double point needles, and then we met up with Natalia and Sofia for hardrock cafe burgers followed up with a huge chocolate brownie that we shared. Natalia is going back to Ecuador on sunday, so it was kind of a farewell dinner for her. Afterwards Marisol and I checked out the event at my internship -Ulysses Borgia, a baritone singer. He was really good although it made me giggle a bit because he reminded me of Fabio, the most beautiful man in the Cosmos, LOL.
Marisol bought some pretty varigated blue wool and i showed her how to knit in Piazza Navona while we waited to see Guiseppe and Carla.
We had dinner at a pretty nice place called Motecarlo, and it was really nice to catch up with them. They got engaged! although because of the paperwork, Carla is going to have to return to Brazil for 20 days, and then come back which sucks.
When we first got to the yarn shop it was closed, so we wandered around Campo Di Fiori, and found a pretty cool exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's machines, which was fun. I got some pretty groovy pictures actually:
We also arranged to have dinner at Carla and Guiseppe's house on monday night, which is going to be hectic, since Anna arrives early on tuesday morning!
Today I went to buy her a towel, and bought possibly the most ugly, lurid thing you've ever seen, but there was nothing else open. It's drying hanging out of my bedroom window and goodness knows what my neighbors think of my taste in towels, since my own towel is a really brightly coloured kid's one!
Tonight we're supposed to be going to go for Mexican food for Marisol's friend, Gina's birthday, but we haven't heard from her so we might end up staying in, which I'd prefer to do actually as I'm still tired, and the next few days are going to be busy.
Anyway that was about it this weekend.
Ciao voxies!
R
