Kopitoto

Today's hike was quite leisurely, almost a walk in the park, short and easy - a traverse from Zlatnite mostove to Kopitoto and back. Kopitoto is one of the lower peaks on Vitosha, only 1345 m. It is situated low and right above the city, which is probably the reason why the tv tower for Sofia region was built there.

A hut near the Zlatnite mostove

There were swarms of insects in these lower parts of the mountain, 

it's time to take out the repellents.

A view to Lulin mountain and the town of Pernik in the distance

The Tv tower, I know, obviously :)

A common finch. I don't know if it is because of the nice and sunny weather 

after another week of rains, but the finches were singing their hearts out, 

with gusto and almost no fear of the humans around

Sofia. It is amazing to see the town from above, but not from too high above -

 the individual buildings and streets are distinctly visible

We sat on the rocks and had a cup of homemade 

coffee and biscuits, enjoying the view

Freya Cardigan Modeled

So here's Freya - a small spring/summer cardi for extra warmth on a chilly morning or evening in a neutral natural color. The yarn - Italian bobbin, 70% cotton, 30% linen, is very thick and coarse and the cardigan is heavy for such a small piece - approx. 425 g. The buttoning can be done in sections, but I'm not sure if this is practical - time will show.

Pattern: Freya Cardigan (personal pattern)
Yarn: Italian bobbin cotton/linen, 425 g
Needle: 3 mm rib, 3.5 mm body
Time to knit: three weeks

These days Facebook is abundant with photos of people with the new statue of Bulgarian writer and founder of the organized tourist movement in Bulgaria - Aleko Konstantinov, so, to be in line with the trend - Gaby with Aleko :)

Boyana Falls 2016

After several very cold, very gloomy cloudy and rainy days the sun was shining again this morning and we packed our backpacks and went to the Boyana Falls. Today's hike was a repeat of a hike husband and I did last year - from Dragalevtzi to Boyana lake, then Boyana Waterfalls and back. April and May are the best months to visit the waterfalls after the spring melting of the snows on Vitosha, so when we have nothing special planned we usually go to the falls. Today Gaby was free and came with us too.

The beech forests of Boyana are among my favourite forests, especially in spring

A view to Sofia

The secret garden - a divinely beautiful meadow with wild flowers and a view to the TV tower on Kopitoto peak

The Boyana lake

and one of its many noisy inhabitants

Petrovska river, a tributary to Boyana river

And the Boyana waterfalls again. We had our picnic here, with a front view to the falls :)

WIP - Freya Cardigan

My current work - a short cotton/linen cardigan. I'm not using a written pattern but rather designing it as I go. The yarn is Italian bobbin yarn, 70% cotton, 30% linen in natural color. It is in the form of a fairly broad band and is a bit coarse and thick. This short cardigan will weigh at least 420 g, I had to order an additional 100g bobbin, as my initial 400 g decreased rather quickly as I knit the rib band.
The name Freya - the Norse goddess of love, beauty and spring came to me as I was listening to a series of lectures on the Vikings and I thought it matched well my perception of this cardigan.

The lace is a combination of 4-stitch cables and a classic 5-stitch YO and k2tog lace in a rib-like structure.

The body is knit back and fronts  together up to the armholes, with a broad rib band at the waist.

The button bands are knit together with the fronts and the buttonholes are three clusters of three close placed holes for small buttons.

I've knit the two sleeves, the back and one front, so I have to finish the second front, do the neckband and Gaby will have a new cardigan.