Out on the ice

I know some people already complain about that the winter never seem to end, but I haven't actually grown sick of the snow just yet. Nor the cold weather. For some reason I've actually starting enjoying the blistering cold. It's nice to put on a lot of warm, soft and woolen clothes. The only thing that's actually bothering me, is that my skin turnes so dry during the winter. Right now both my face and my hands feel like sandpaper.

The nature is really the best part during the winter, especially now that the spring is coming and the sun is shining more and more. Unfortunately I usually don't have that much time to go outside and enjoy it. That's probably part of the reason I feel so tired all the time. But I'm not complaining about that now. In stead I wanted to post some wintery photos I took already a few weeks back.

It was in the middle of the day, but the sun was still only this high. Although I think the sunshine itself is actually prettier when the sun isn't as high up in the sky as during the summer. The light is somewhat softer.

Kids ice-skating.

Next we went out for a walk on the ice, i.e. the sea outside Helsinki. This is on the way to Seurasaari. I love the way the wind had formed some figures on the snow and how a single rock had forced the ice the burst around it. Like someone who want to be free.

A small animal had been there before us :) I think you were almost able to hear the quiet, small steps it had taken. We were the only ones out there too. Everything was so quiet. You couldn't even hear the sound of the traffic. And even though it was cold, you were still able to feel the sun warming your nosetip.

Lace and cables

I finally had time to finish, photograph and post my new socks for my winter boots. They've been ready for almost a month already, but I've just been too busy to do something about it. But here they are:

Pattern: Palmikkosukat by Novita

Yarn: Gjestal Janne

Needles: 3 mm

I have to say I really love these new socks. I especially like how the cable turns out much more beautiful when it's a little bit stretched out. And the lace pattern is pretty too, even though it's so simple. The whole pair of socks would have been a really fast knit had I only had the time to really sit down and work on it. Actually, the only think I'm angry about, is that my gauge was a bit different when knitting the second sock, so it turned out much tighter than the first one. I don't think you can see it that well, but I feel it very clearly when I wear them. I just hope the other sock will stretch once I've used it a bit more.

I think the past two weeks have been the most stressfull weeks of my life so far. I've just been running from one place to another, following a tight schedule and counting minutes. The good thing is that I have lessons again, which actually gives me a chance to sit down and relax. I've brought a knitting project with me almost every time and I've noticed that it's much easier to concentrate on what the lecturer is saying when I at the same time have something to do with my hands. If I only sit, doing nothing at all, my thoughts just start wandering and thinking about all the things I should do. I don't know what the lecturer thinks about people knitting during his class, though. I don't know if he understands that I am in fact listening and not just killing time. However, I'm actually not the only one knitting. There's always one other girl who's kniting too. But while I've been struggling with my 2 mm needles, I've jealously been watching how her sweater keeps progessing so fast with her 6 mm needles. Oh, I miss working with thick yarn. With thick yarn and big needles you actually notice you're doing something. But with this thin yarn I have now, my progess was only some 5 cm during three lessons... if even that much. Sigh.

But hey, you know what? Spring is almost here! Even though it's - 17 °C outside right now, the sun has still be shining and I've been able to feel the warmth from it. Only two weeks till March!