Snowy Vitosha

We had our traditional snowy Christmas hike today, a couple of days after Christmas. Unlike other years, this year Christmas was pretty cold and snowy and we had to wait for the weather to clear a bit and for the mountain roads to be accessible, to go on a hike.

The snow on Vitosha was at least a meter high - which husband found the wrong way, by stepping outside the trodden track and getting stuck in the fresh snow almost up to his waist!

We climbed the trail from Zlatnite mostove to hut Zvezditza. Our initial plan was to go to hut Edelweiss, then cross the panoramic track to hut Kumata, have our lunch there and from there return to Zlatnite - a pretty common and beloved route. Unfortunately, the trail between Kumata and Edelweiss - the cherry of the cake for this hike, was freshly snowed and not trodden. We tried a few meters, but the snow was too deep and it was impossible without snowshoes, so with some regret we had to abandon the idea and instead continued to hut Zvezditza.

Hike info:

Destination: Zvezditza hut

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 10 km

Elevation gain: 330 m

Total duration (plus rest): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 5 / 10

We had our lunch in one of the snow covered gazebos on the meadow in front of Zvezditza hut. Hot herbal tea with sugar and a splash of dark rum has never tasted so delicious!

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, Burda green longsleeve, Burda grey hoodie, Burda Cargo Pants, orange hat

I:  lingerie, Grasser black top, "Page" hoodie, blue C.C. Copycat hat

Gaby: white C.C. Copycat hat

The pine forest was really beautiful in its winter outfit

White C.C. Copycat Beanie

My second knitting project this year is a hat for Gaby. As in that Bulgarian saying about having the button, so the only thing left is to make the coat, I had the white pompom (bought to round up an online order, you know how these things go :), so I had to make the hat.

A few year ago I made a white sweater for Gaby and I had quite a significant amount of sequin yarn left. I have also lots of white Italian bobbins of merino yarn, bought with the intent of dyeing it one day. And I have a very clear step-by-step instructions for the C.C. Copycat Beanie on my blog. All I had to do was take out the yarn, combine a few strands to get the right thickness and follow my own instructions. Easy peasy lemon sqeezy.

Although the fact, that I have the description of the hat was one of the main factors for choosing that design, it was not the major one - I simply adore the pattern and in my mind it has the best balance between slouchy, beanie-volume and visual interest. And it is so easy to knit!

Pattern: C.C. CopyCat beanie
Yarn: three threads, merino, polyester, sequins
Needle: 4.5 mm, 5 mm
Time to knit: 5 days 

A while ago I bought a collection of leather "Handmade" labels and I have plenty of white ones, but all white can be sometimes too much white, so in the end I chose a brown label for interest.

And I also made a simple cozy lining for the hat out of a piece of double-knit white fabric I had in my leftovers bag - Gaby prefers her hats to have a warm lining.

I used the opportunity that Gaby is visiting for Christmas to take a picture not only of the hat, but also of the jeans and the pink hoodie I made for her earlier this year. I'm really happy that she appreciates and wears the clothes I make for her.

Men's Knitted Socks

A pair of men's socks I knitted this year in between many other project. I took these photos while we were at Pchelina lake in November, but put off publishing them, mostly for lack of time, until today.

For the socks I used again my usual sock recipe for toe up socks for men, with 64 sts, Judie's magic cast on, fish lips kiss heels and stretchy cast off. I used pre-striped sock yarn by Alize and my 2.5 loop needles. This is my first and one of only two knitted projects I finished this year, the other being a hat, I plan to post about soon - my knitting mojo is still away, mostly for lack of time - the year was super, super busy.

Pattern: Striped Socks (personal pattern)

Yarn: Alize Superwash, 70 g

Needle: 2.5 mm

Time to knit: unknown, between projects

I like how these came off and it was fun to knit them, but next time I use striped yarn, I think I'll make the heel an afterthought heel and keep the stripes, or add a solid color for the heel and toes.

Dupevitza in December 2024

Peak Dupevitza in Lulin mountain is one of those places we hike whenever we want something quick and not far from home. The round trail to the summit of the mountain is about 10 km long and usually takes us 3 hours with picnic and pauses for pictures, with the added bonus of the delicious mineral water of Gorna Banya, which we rarely miss to fill up a few containers with, when we travel in this direction.

The forests on Lulin presented a mixed scenery, late-autumn like in the low parts of the mountain and with remnants of muddy snow on the ridge. The day was fairly warm for December, with some sun behind the clouds and cold and strong wind on the peak.

An early hellebore

Sofia from the peak, covered with thick smog

We had our quick picnic on the peak, but the wind was so cold and strong, that we literally gulped our tortillas and hot tea and got out of there in no time.

Hike info:

Destination: round trail to peak Dupevitza

Mountain: Lulin

Total length: 10.5 km

Elevation gain: 320 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

The only significant quantities of snow had kept on the ridge. It is snowing in the city right now, so I suppose if one were to hike there today or in the coming days, there will be lots of snow there as well.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda longsleeve, Orange Hat

I:  lingerie, Grasser black top, Hayward pullover, CC copycat hat, brown shawl in the backpack

Sofia from Dobrinova skala

The slopes of the mountain after Dobrinova skala were sheltered from the wind and had a very late autumn vibe

The Gold Dress

And here's the dress I sewed for Gaby's graduation - sheath dress out of intricate jacquard fabric, integrating black cotton, golden color threads and black velvety patterns. Taking pictures of it under the bright sun is a bit tricky, as it is quite chameleonic in nature and changes its outlook, depending on the angle of the sun rays, falling on it.

The pattern is the same sheath dress from the Burda autumn-winter 2015-2016 catalogue in petite size - such a joy to be able to sew without constantly making changes to adjust for the height.

The sewing of the dress went quite smoothly, I took into account all the small issues I had noticed with my first dress out of this pattern. The fact, that the fabric is kind of striped and pretty stiff also made the cutting and the sewing a piece of cake.

Pattern: Burda #6890 dress

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: cotton jacquard, polyester lining

Time to make: 10 days

My only small issue is with the width of the sleeves - it seams to me they could be a little tighter to fit the overall outlook of the dress. At least this is what i plan for my next make out of this pattern, when the time comes.

I think this will be the last dress for 2024, but can you believe it - I've made eight dresses this year. It seams every year there is a hidden theme in my sewing and this year dresses is definitely the name of the game :)

Kopitoto in December

This Friday's hike on Vitosha was like from a winter fairy tale. The sun shone brightly, the sky was crystal clear and blue, the trees were covered with frost and everything was just out-of-this-world beautiful.

Sofia remained under a thick cover of clouds and smog, but once we were near the 1500 m altitude mark, the clouds cleared and the sun was finally visible.

We followed our usual round route from Zlatnite mostove (Golden bridges) to peak Kopitoto, then up to Momina skala hut and back to Zlatnite.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the frost-covered forests, I always find these views simply breath-taking.

Hike info:

Destination: peak Kopitoto (1345 m)

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 8.8 km

Elevation gain: 140 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 2 and a half hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

A group of children with their supervisors were playing on a hill near Momina skala. We were actually impressed, knowing how much effort it takes to take on a trip and supervise your own children, not to mention a whole class.

Once we got near the tv tower, which is situated lower than Zlatnite, we were again in the clouds. The tower itself looked very impressive, like a launching rocket.

The "view" from the peak, or rather the lack thereof :)

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda longsleeve, Orange Hat

I:  lingerie, Grasser black top, Chaika pullover, CC copycat hat, brown shawl in the backpack

We had our lunch on our favourite bench, overlooking the city and the nearby Kamen Del peak.

It was amazing how clear one could see the ridge of the Balkan mountains on the horizon, rising higher than the clouds, covering Sofia valley.

Friday was a rare exception and I am so glad we took advantage of the extraordinary weather. back in Sofia, it's been rainy and cloudy again all weekend.