finally!

After 3 phone calls in 2 days the staff from getknitted.com added Turkey to their shipping list. Yay! Yupppy! I already placed my order for KnitPicks Options Interchangeable circular needle sizes 4.5, 5.5 and 6.5 mm. I can't wait to receive my order. I am so excited, worse than a small kid.

Cleo inspired tank

Today I finished another project: a Cleo inspired tank. I used for this project handspun yarn received from my ravelry swap pal, cjkopec (Coby). I really like this pattern, I think I will knit another one but with thinner yarn, so I can wear it during Summer. This handspun yarn is bulky, I will wear the top on something else this winter.




It's first time when I'm using handspun yarn. Frankly speaking, I didnt trust handspun yarn till now, I was convinced that nothing can beat the factory-made quality. I was wrong, so wrong. This handspun yarn is so gorgeous, a very soft blend of natural fibers: merino, tencel, mohair and Romney wool. If you've never tried handspun yarns and don't wanna go wrong for the first time, I strongly recommend Cjkopec Creations. Coby is an amazing lady, very kind and very customer-oriented.

Bamboo Knitting Needles

Look what my DH brought to me from his loooong trip to China. All these bamboo knitting needles need to be sanded for a smooth finish but I already have different sizes sanding paper.

Shopping for yarn in Istanbul

lori l. , who will visit Istanbul soon, asked my recommendation for yarn shops in Istanbul. Well lori, there are 2-3 good brands: Feza (the best yarn), YarnArt and Anchor (in this order). You will see Bravo (which looks so nice, a true eye-catcher), but I don't recommend unless you never wash your knits. One brand is very popular here: Nako. It is quite cheap, they have mostly acrylics. From Nako I suggest only yarns with minimum 50 % wool.

Yarn shops are everywhere here, as 90% of Turkish women are knitting. But, the magic yarn land, a street only with (cheap) yarn shops is in Eminőnű district and the place's name is Kűrkçű Han. Actually, this district of Istanbul, Eminőnű, is the shopping paradise. Words are not enough to describe the experience of shopping here. One day is not enough. Here you can find everything (gold jewelry, yarn, clothing, kitchenware, spices, beading accessories, fabrics, etc) at any price. As a foreigner, YOU MUST BARGAIN. The rule is: you say you like the goods (never offend a Turkish seller by telling him his goods are not nice just to get a discount) but you can't afford this price. You pretend you leave his shop, he calls you back to "talk again", you still say you don't agree and leave again, he calls you again. Patience. This "game" might be tiring for you but is usual here.

It seems lori l. will have a great time in Istanbul.

Knitted Bags

Since one week I have been knitting a lot. I am going to visit my parents in Romania at the end of March. I want to give to my mom and my sister a knitted bag each as a present. I am working (knitting) hard. But I don’t complain. I recently discovered a “magic cabinet” in my LYS. “The magic cabinet” is packed with discontinued yarns, and of course the price is so low. The yarns are beautiful. It takes time and a certain amount of luck to find 2 or 3 skeins of same yarn but it is worth it. It is a real pleasure and joy to knit with high quality yarns. I don’t like anymore 100% acrylic yarns. It is like: "after fresh Danish pastries, dry bread tastes horrible". My favorite LYS owner knows I am knitting to relax so she recommended me good knitting needles too. Knitting with cheap, low quality needles and yarns is so frustrating. You wish every single second to finish the project asap. Grrrrrrrr!

So, here are my projects (finished and unfinished).

First pic is of a small black purse (my “failure” in felting) knitted by request for my mother-in-low. It is embellished with silk ribbon embroidery (my first attempt of silk ribbon embroidery)

And ENTRELAC bag for my mother. I can’t wait to see her face.