The first week of the year is almost all gone. I was sewing, quilting. embroidering and knitting this week. A very promising new year beginning, I think. Blogging got a little bit neglected due to camera exhaustion and will be back here as frequently as usually next week. In the meantime - by the end of the day- I will put the final stitches on 3 projects started this week. Other 4 got finished during the week. Oh, and the big Valentine sewing and crafting starts tomorrow! Wishing you a lovely new week!

I realize now, I've written no post in English since Dec 7th! Writing independent posts in both languages - Bulgarian an English seems to have a minor hiden disadvantage in busy periods... So here is what is new here: We had snow! It was a beautiful snowy afternoon last Thursday. It all got white and wintery in half an hour! And I was driving at this time... I am sewing a bit and knitting a lot! Longing for a good pair of "my" sock for quite a long, I finally did finished my first pair! Number two is in progress now. Hopefully all done tomorrow. Christmas lists are almost done - still need wine and cookies, but ready with gifts! Just need to pack and buy some spices and wine... I have a little special something - mini patchwork quilt to play with on Christmas /here it is -  with some rambling in Bulgarian about it, blog post in English will be here for Christmas/ and... it is said we expect a warm Christmas this year. Which will definitely not keep me from baking! LOL Did I shout loud enough how happy I am with these socks? Well, despite the size error... LOL

The heat here is unprecedented... almost 35C plus too much humidity to breathe easily and today sea water temperature is  above 31C... No one remembers something like this... I am slowing down and then getting back to normal. Had a relaxing Saturday with my knits - Clapotis #1 is growing. It is the first time ever I name a knitting project "#1' before I start the second one. There will be #2 for sure! Knitting pure wool in this hot, hot weather felt strange at first but just normal after half an hour or so. Hopefully back to sewing today.

This one was all knitted in Jule-August 2009. it then waited for me to decide if I really want it this big... It is huge - around 2m width...  In October I considered it done and decided to block it just before wearing it for the first time.. sometime in summer 2010. Long story, isn't it? Well, I blocked it and wore it this August. It was a lovely addition to a thin-straps vivid turquoise dress and a special occasion. No pictures of this beauty on contrast background yet. I blocked it, surprisingly had it dried in less than three hours in a hot but extremely humid day and wore it a few hours later. It proved to be comfy, eye-catching and just as warm as needed in a warm windy night.

This is the latest progress of my Clapotis - it is not ready but it will soon be. I love the colour and each row makes me appreciate it even more. It is something I can hardly believe, as I really loved it at the every beginning of this knit. LOL The special thing about this project and pattern is, it is transforming with every new section. I love the purl columns too. May think of a diagonal purl blanket in the future... Knitting pure wool in hot weather may seem strange. It feels good though - no pressure to finish and still great chances to finish it just  in time for July-August night by the sea. I started new woll slippers too today - part of the World Wide Knit in Public Day. The pictures below show my latest knitting love - little needle jewelries.

I was part of it today! Yay! It is the second knit in public event in Bulgaria this year, as far as I know and I think the first in Varna. It was not huge. Just a nice gathering of a few women, chatting, knitting and crocheting, with mini workshops, yarn discussions and mall talk near the sea. I am happy I was there - met lovely people, learned new things, got inspired. It was an adventure as I had a bare foot walk today as part of the event. Pretty unexpected, but it felt good. Check the nearest Knit in public event around and join if you can. It is fun!

I have not knitted for awhile. Started knitting again few days ago. I continued knitting the Clapotis started few months ago. It is a lovely rich wool, spiced with tropical colours in the form of a cotton thread added. It works pretty quick and is pleasure to knit. Dropping works fine too. Even though the pure wool was supposed to cause some problems, it does not.

I have been an active knitter for a year. And by "active" I mean almost 20 projects knitted  - all small and fast but still 20, so I am officially knitting. LOL! I started with worsted yarn, and though I will never move to cobweb... so impractical and so slow... You know - never say "never"! I got my first lace weight yarn last week. It is Angel Lace one ply alpaca-cashmere-silk blend and is so thin - 1200m in 100g. I must be crazy... But I am happy! This yarn is one of the The Natural Dye Studio creations. Lovely yarn! It is not wisteria colourway. Stardust! How lovely this name is!

This is the shawl that made me knit last year. Well, it was not only because I loved the way it looked, but also the drape and colour, and softness... made me want to knit one. So I started one a few days ago. It will be a big and heavy one - almost 250-300g, I think. But it will be warm. I am knitting with two strands. This gives the fabric very interesting sheen and texture. Here is one of the threads. The other is pure wool.

These are the magic slippers. Why magic? They are beautiful, orange, warm, made of eco wool, easy to knit... lovely! I knitted them for someone special and for the knitting class at DOMOSHAR.net. I see more slippers in the future but maybe next autumn... Too many spirng-summer items on my list now.