In my free time...

Hi everybody and whoever pops in here for a peek :) Just a quick blog update on what I've been up to for the past few days... Well... There's been some cross stitching... My interest in making the tiny little x's on a canvas has come back after some cross stitching break (boredom?). Recently, I've reached out for some small cross stitched cards projects and I'm also currently trying to finish one of my UFOs - a set of 4 sizeable Easter cards that I've been stitching for 2 years now!

With Easter over or not, the stuff has got to be finished at some point! So I made a promise to myself that I won't be starting any new big projects untill at least some of my UFOs (= UnFinished Objects) will be finished and I've got at least 5 of them kicking around! Let the UFOs land! :) In the meantime, I will allow myself to stitch only some little projects like those little cross stitch add-ons you find attached to the  crafty magazines. They are quick to stitch and I won't have time to get bored :)

Today a colleague of mine, Andrea, presented me with another knitting book that has been given to me by her mum. The book is about knitting sweaters including the fair isle style, which I wish to learn to knit in the future :)

Love this set! The fair isle patterns are so pretty and they seem to be never out of fashion :)

Love this chevron top too! Uaaahh, I want one!

Really like the book as it's a good source of patterns. 

Thank you Andrea + Andrea's mum!!! x x x

Last Sunday I found at Tesco a new issue of Simply Homemade with these lovely goodies attached: "stitchy" stamps, mother of pearl buttons and a supa cute metal tin for pins - love it!

Think I have a weakness for pretty tins :)

Not just crafts on my mind. Been relaxing by reading some books recently. Trying to catch up with my reading targets and mind you, the statistics are always shouting that people don't read enough nowadays. Well, I'm contributing to those statistics then :)

Currently I'm rediscovering my favourite writer - Julio Cortazar, whose unique, magical, unpredictable, whimsical and dream-like short stories as if coming from the crack between the dream and reality captured my heart forever. So I grabbed my 2-volume set of book, which is a full compilation of his stories written throughout his life and I'm relishing them again. One by one. Just before my sleep. Strongly recommended :)

I'm reading the stories in Polish as the translation by Zofia Chądzyńska (Cortazar's close friend!) is a really good one and you get that thorough sense... deep meaning better :) Nothing lost in translation ;)

On my way to work I'm currently enjoying a totally different book - "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - a postapocalyptic novel about the world facing its last days and about how humanity fights for its survival. Spooky, a bit disturbing, yet intriguing.

Well, I guess that's all news at the moment. Enjoy your evening and thanks for stopping by. x x

Martha

"Skins"

Time flies and I even don't know where it really goes. We already have half of May!!! Thank God winter is gone for good. Springtime is such a lovely time of year. I just couldn't wait! More sunlight, warmer, nicer though not necessarily drier ;P not at least with the weather in Wales :P 

So after hours I keep myself occupied knitting my evenings and nights away :)

Here are some recent knitted woolly balls skins waiting to be steamed and stuffed...

I've knitted a triple coloured ball using 3 different colours. Though it takes me a little longer to knit this gorgeous Eskimo-inspired pattern, I'm gonna knit more of its coloured variants in the very near future. So more balls photos to come soon!

Crafting is one thing but there are other nice things out there to relax with after work :) Recently I have treated myself to a gadget I've been wanting for months - a Kindle e-book reader and I must admit I'm loving it! It's a whole new reading experience!!! For those traditional readers claiming that there is nothing like a traditional paper book in hand, I can only say that Kindle gives you so many possibilities normal books can't - instant access to your books and dictionary anywhere and anytime, massive storage, the possibility of making bookmarks, notes, clippings, tweeting and sharing on Facebook, wireless download within seconds...no postal charges, no lost parcels, no queuing at bookshops. How good is that!!

Now I've started reading on my way to work! Every spare minute has become precious for me as it gives me an opportunity to read my favourite books anywhere and anytime. At last I can do both my crafts and read my books without giving up on either. To be fair, purchasing a Kindle, in a way re-kindled my interest in books especially in novels and cultural stuff. My first novel I bought for my Kindle was Call the Midwife - Jennifer Worth - one of the bestselling books that caught my eye in WHSmith's :) and I also bought the other books of J.Worth in a paper form too.

Having a Kindle doesn't obvously stop me from buying books in a traditional form :) I still relish the opportunity of rummaging around at the bookshops and 2nd hand bookshops or even car boot sales. Amazon is also a fabulous source of kindle ebooks and so are the friends :))) Oh, and of course I always buy craft books in a paper version :) Can't imagine otherwise.

See? My evenings are totally taken now! No even time to blog more frequently!
I shall try do so though! Promise :)