SPOTTED

...on the Boulevard Beaumarchais in Paris last month.

A very retro looking cardigan sweater in the Harley Davidson Bastille shop window.

I love the simple gray wool and reverse stockinette with big ribbing and over-sized collar. This would be an easy DIY project!

Have you spotted anything cool lately?

SPOTTED

...while window shopping on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in Paris in November.

A gorgeous knitted pin! 

How easy would it be to make this? Pretty easy, I think! Grab some fingering weight wool and small double pointed needles. Start cranking out the I-cord and then experiment with arranging the cords. 

Don't forget to find a super funky pin to top it all off!

Extending your living space

The weather here in Finland is getting nicer! We've had a week now of gorgeously sunny days, and we're up to 11h11m of daylight as of today. In just one month we have gained almost 3 hours of daylight (Vermont - you've only gained about 1h15m!) After experiencing a very dark winter here, you can bet that I'm excited to enjoy every moment of daylight and sunshine that I can get.

Which is why I'm doing a couple of crochet projects for our outdoor living space. Utilizing your outdoor space here is important, especially when your indoor space is on the small side. We Americans call it a patio, but Finns call it a parveke (par-vay-kay). Whatever you want to call it, we've got two of them, and they give us a lot of extra living space once it warms up outside. Last year was our first year here, and I wasn't really sure how to utilize our outdoor space. We didn't have the "right" patio furniture to make it feel like a room, so it kind of felt like a sun deck/eating outside area/grill area/laundry drying area. The large parveke faces due west so it gets quite hot with the sun shining on it from about 1pm-11pm. It was so hot that using it was unbearable at times.

This year, I'm determined to make it liveable - since we would like to enjoy the space. We're going to put up some sun shades to keep the temperatures down a bit during the hotter parts of the day, and we just got some porch furniture to make it feel more like a room. I'm happy to say that I'm already using it, despite temperatures being in the 20s!

I'm taking a break from knitting wearable things and have begun some crochet projects for my "living space". I'm crocheting 2 large scale rugs - a circular one for Helen & Sophie's parveke and a rectangular one for ours. 

 

The circular one is going to be beautiful. I am totally flying by the seat of my pants on this one. I'm proud of the work I've done so far, but circular crochet is harder (for me) than just back and forth! Luckily I haven't had to rip out too much. I haven't written a pattern up for this, but I think that once I am finished Barb (our most seasoned crocheter) should be able to look at it come up with a great pattern. We'll probably make one up in Brown Sheep Burly Spun. (Did you know we are carrying that again? YAY!)

My circular rug taking shape.

My rectangular rug is going really well and is much easier because it's just single crochet. I bought some remnant Ikea fabric and after washing it, ripped it into 1.25" strips. 

The easy part is the crocheting. The tough part is the preparation of the strips! When I rip each strip there are a million threads I have to remove. It's a bit time consuming. 

This ripping was a total arm workout.

But, it's my very first crocheted rag rug and I am super excited about it.

Maisy is already enjoying the rug

For both rugs I'm using the largest hook in my Denise Crochet Kit (a US size 19/15mm) and I won't lie, it's tough on the hands! But the rugs are both so thick and comfy underfoot. I know they'll be awesome this summer.

The past few afternoons at 3pm I've ventured out with a cup of tea, my rug project, and my fabric strips and have joined the girls while they do their homework. 

Soaking up some sun

We open just one section of the patio windows to get that direct vitamin D, and now we're really itching for nice weather!

Not a bad view!

Yep. I saw the Queen. Twice.

This morning we arrived at Buckingham Palace over an hour early to see the Changing of the Guards. The crowds were already 4-5 deep at the gates, and we knew we wouldn't see much of the actual ceremony. The actual "changing" procedure starts at 11:30am, with some other stuff starting to happen at 11:15am. But we got the best spot we could, and proceeded to wait. Fortunately it was a beautifully sunny day. While we waited, we watched some men do a little "touching up" to the paint on the gates. I guess everything needs maintenance from time to time.

At about 10:45am, the Horse Guards rode by and went down the Mall, and few minutes later we noticed some activity inside the gates of the Palace. The crowd started cheering and all of a sudden some cars (including a Bentley with a flag on it) & security people drove by. In the car was a woman (wearing a hat) who was waving. I didn't see her face, but come on! Who rides in a Bentley, wears hats, and waves as she is driven from Buckingham Palace?  I assumed it was the Queen. But it wasn't confirmed. Yet!

I didn't last through more than 5 minutes of the Changing of the Guard. Perhaps it was the poor view I had, or the thousands of people crushing me forward into the royal gates. Helen and I ditched Marc (with Sophie on his shoulders) and went to sit near the Golden Gates for a calmer scene and a bit more oxygen. When they finally joined us, I had been chatting with a woman from Germany, who had captured a picture of the woman in the car. Even though she was shooting directly into the sun, she captured a wonderful photo. It was clearly the Queen, waving to the crowd and sitting with Prince Phillip in the back of the car. 

When the ceremony was over, Marc and Sophie joined us. We rested a moment or two and then got up to walk over toward Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. All of a sudden, the motorcade came into view again and we ran over to the road to get a better look. Sure enough, there she was, the Queen of England, back from her little jaunt and returning to the palace, waving to the crowds.

Ok, my photo is blurry. But there she is!

Of course Helen and Sophie are beside themselves that they got to SEE the Queen. Honestly, the were hoping to see Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge (good old "Kate" to them) but I think the Queen will do.

We basked in the gorgeous weather (after all, we know what we're in for when we head back to Finland on Sunday) and took in some classic London sights.

And since this is not a travel blog, there are knitting related things as well. I found an adorable hand knit purple Aran sweater on the lawn by the Golden Gates. I tried to find the little owner or her parents, but had no luck. Very sad!

I saw this easy-to-knock off chunky cowl at Buckingham Palace. I love it, and may just have to make one. I'm thinking Spud & Chloe Outer would be perfect.

And then I saw this gorgeous bulky shawl at Westminster Abbey. I'd make this one in Rowan Alpaca Cotton.

And then we found this really cool knitted bag with fringe and leather straps at the Michael Kors shop on Regeant Street. 

But 195 British pounds? What the...!?!? For those of you not up on currency conversions, that is about $300! I'm seeing a much more reasonable DIY hand knit version in my future. It was double stranded, and I think Berroco Ultra Alpaca or Plymouth Galway would be great choices for this.

And look at all the yummy Rowan yarns at Liberty!

Here are the girls with Laura, who works at Liberty and was so sweet. (PS She's NEVER seen the Queen, so she made us feel special!)

Only one shopping bag, and small. I showed serious restraint.

And I knit all the way home.