It's a beautiful world, and I'm a part of it:)

The gray scarf I showed you here finally made it to the other side of the Atlantic (although it took longer than I'd expected). Karen, who bought it, writes about it here. I loved knitting this scarf - the yarn, the pattern, everything. And I am so happy to hear that Karen is happy with her purchase:)

There is a "it's-a-small-world" story behind that sale. I am still relatively new to Etsy, discovering awesome things every day. There is a feature called "Treasury", which is basically about making collections of interesting items available in various Etsy stores. When I first learned about it I just had to make one myself:) I called it "Back to Wuthering Heights". This is what it looked like (well, almost, one item is missing):

Back to Wuthering Heights

One of the items I included in that treasury was a gorgeous bracelet cuff made by WillOaksStudio (second item in the second row in the picture above). Karen, who is the owner of this shop, emailed me, and told me, she used to live in the city I live in! How cool is that?! A stranger living thousands of miles from me, met completely by chance, once walked the same streets, looked at the same buildings, enjoyed (I hope) the post-industrial atmosphere of Łódź. You've got to love the Internet!:)

I'd love to show you the said streets, buildings and atmosphere. And one day I will. But for now, let me take you to my favorite part of Łódź. Below are some photos I took at our Botanic Garden last Friday.

there are many sundials in the garden - this is my favorite

 

apparently butterflies love asters

for some creatures it was a very busy day:)

another sundial

a perfect model...

... and another one

this magpie wanted to befriend some ducks...

...but they weren't interested

lunch time:)

and finally, the most beautiful tree in the garden

Olive-green cowl

I've been knitting cowls like a maniac recently:) This one was made to order, so it's a bit wider than usual. Knitted from a blend of mohair with acrylic, ribbed (so it stretches).

Perfect for hat-haters - you just wear it around your neck, and when your head freezes, you pull it over like a hood.

All my cowls are seamless - there is no thick stitch on the side. And I knit them around the neck, not from the bottom up:) So how come they're seamless? Well, being the lazy gal I am, I just knit a rectangle from a provisional cast-on, and then, when the whole thing is long enough, I grab a needle and join both ends using the Kitchener stitch. Just like that:

It's actually easier than it looks, but I need to be extra careful to lead the needle the right way. Otherwise, it won't look as seamless as it should:)

I have two more cowls to show, but for now, this one will have to do. And soon I'll be able to show a new lace scarf (I'm finishing it off right now). Plus, there is one more thing from this olive-green mohair: an infinity scarf. I'd love to say I'm finishing that one too, but since it's infinity, it might actually take a while:)