Paris details

Last month, right after New Years, we took a train to Paris to go visit a few friends who live there.
I had been to Paris once before when I was 12, and I remembered it being a gorgeous city, yet it managed to blow me away with its beauty as if it were the first time I went.
Since anything I could possibly write about how beautiful Paris is would just end up being cliché and trite, I though I would just show you a few pictures I took of small details that grabbed my attention while I was there. My boyfriend was perplexed at the amount of pictures I took of the rooftops in Paris, but how could I not when they looked like this... 

It was freezing cold but I proudly wore my black merino hat I made last fall (I had been wanting to make myself a black hat similar to this one for ages, and finally managed last November, as evidenced by this instagram picture I took of the work in progress).

Beautiful, beautiful design

Let's just take a minute to admire the beautiful design of these amazing sweaters from the pattern library of Brooklyn Tweed, shall we?
I love the wearability, versatility and clean lines of each and every one of them...

Palmer by Michele Wang

Nila by Véronik Avery

Ilia by Michele Wang

Prime by Michele Wang

Larus by Norah Gaughan

Corvid by Jared Flood

All images via Brooklyn Tweed

Ephemeral

If, like me, you have a deep fascination for New York City and its history, I suggest taking a look at Ephemeral New York.
The website is a treasure, each article tells you a little bit about the history of the city, the hidden worlds within it, the way it used to be, the lesser known historical episodes that occurred there, the characters that have lived in it and their way of life... I can get lost in it for hours.
It makes me long to go back to that amazing city and try to look at it with an eye for hidden details.
I suggest exploring through their archives, but if you live far away from New York, be prepared for a healthy dose of Wanderlust...

 

 

 

 

 All images from Ephemeral New York

Texture

As I've been struggling with my productivity a bit lately, looking back at pictures my dad and I took of things I have made during the years encourages me to create more. I especially love the detail shots, so many amazing yarns, so many beautiful textures...

Japan

The past two weeks I had the opportunity to travel around Japan and attend my childhood friend's wedding there. Beforehand I had never been further East than Turkey so the whole experience felt entirely new  to me, it was like being in a world that is somehow similar to mine yet entirely different.
Japan is an amazing country, and what I loved especially was getting the chance to appreciate the diversity it offers...from the huge modern cities full of lights and people to the quiet and peaceful temples hidden in luscious forests, from the incredible contemporary art museums to the old town centers with wooden houses and narrow roads, from foggy mountain tops to beaches full of highschool kids in uniforms.
There was something about Japan (and probably being on vacation helped as well) that calmed my spirit, and I really hope I can maintain this state of mind as long as possible as I move on into my daily life.
Here are a few pictures from the trip...

 

 

Spring knitting inspiration

This past winter has been probably one of my least productive from a knitting perspective.
I am still having a hard time managing my time and adjusting to my schedule and fitting everything into the limited hours of the day and this has made it hard for me to sit down and knit as much as I would want to.
Lately I've been slightly obsessed with learning more about minimalism. I have been consistently reading and following blogs and youtube channels about minimalism and simplifying your life (some of my favorites are The Minimalists, Becoming minimalist, Light by Coco etc.)
I know that it has become very much a trend this past year (as for instance with the whole KonMari method obsession), but I believe that even when the novelty and trendiness will have worn out, the important message behind the whole movement will remain. We have seen enough excess, it's time to slow down.
What I have found very interesting is that all of these bloggers and youtubers and writers don't just concentrate on physical objects, they also focus on simplifying your life and schedule. Owning less and doing less in order to have more time (and money!) to concetrate on the things that are truly important to you. This has really made me evaluate the way I live my life as I have always had a tendency to fill every waking hour of the day with stuff to do, and have always had a very hard time saying no to people. It is something I am trying to work on. Time is limited, I have to learn to let go of some things in order to enjoy others.
In hopes of finding more time to work on what I truly love (knitting projects, ça va sans dire), here is some knitting inspiration I found on Quince and Co for beautiful spring projects.
I love how all of these items are simple, wearable and make perfect sense with the warmer season.

Enjoy...

Amalia by Pam Allen, via Quince and Co

Jessamin by Melissa Labarre, via Quince and Co

Zara by Dianna Walla, via Quince and Co

Tamsin by Dawn Catanzaro, via Quince and Co

May by Bristol Ivy, via Quince and Co

Last bits of winter

This morning we woke up to the first snowfall of the year.
It has been a pretty warm and dry winter and I had forgotten how beautiful this city is when it snows...

I am actually really starting to look forward to spring but this brief moment (the sun came out later in the day and soon enough all the snow had melted away) reminded me of how calm and simply beautiful winter can be.
With that said, before winter comes to an end, here is a cold weather item I added to my shop today...

As always...details on my Etsy page!