Author Archives: Claudia

Why I will never find an apartment

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Photo credit: Wikimedia

Good morning! Buongiorno!

Here is a half-serious list of reasons preventing me from finding the right apartment in this city. The only completely serious is money. Florence real estate market is in fact incredibly expensive, either because it is a city of art or because it has several historical buildings.

That being said, I thought it could be helpful for me to write why I will never find an apartment just to reflect.

Well, let’s see…I am searching for:

1) a top floor

Pro: After a whole life living in a flat I think it would be better not to have anybody living above. It is not so nice  being waken up on Sunday morning by the noise of someone dragging the chair across the floor.

Con: I do not like heights…

2) a habitable terrace space

Pro: I could organize amazing outdoor dinners with my friends. I could even put a porch swing!

Con: in this neighborhood there are neither terraces nor habitable balconies.

3) an apartment only in the quarter I currently live in

Pro: I have been living here for several  years and I know the pros and cons of this quarter.

Con: in this neighborhood there are mainly buildings with small balconies.

4) an elevator

Pro:  should I really explain why? Even if we have no skyscrapers in Florence, carring a stroller or supermarket bags up to the fourth or fifth floor can be quite daunting.

Con: buildings in this quarter were built in the 1920’s which means no elevators at all, except for some.

5) something easily resalable

Pro: the possibility to sell it quickly in case my husband get a wonderful job proposal and we have to move abroad.

Con: my husband is not even looking for a job abroad.

In conclusion, to find an apartment here is becoming an operation of titanic proportion. Maybe I’ll remain in this small apartment still for a while…

After all…am I lunatic or not? 😉

Summer Sandals Knitting Pattern

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Red summer sandals

Hello!

The hot season is finally in the air!
My summer sandals knitting pattern is now born. I was inspired by the memory of my first pair of shoes for the beach when I was just 1 year old.

Of course I can’t exactly remember those moments but I saw some pictures last day while tiding up my dining room. My shoes were red too and I liked to re-create them for little babies.

I hope you like them.

Kim Kardashian’s Wedding here in Florence

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Hello!

I have just learnt of the imminent wedding here in Florence (Firenze, in Italian) between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. They are going to get married on Saturday, May 24 at the Forte Belvedere.

In the past

This Fort has been built between 1590 – 1595 under Ferdinando I De’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The main purposes of this building were to protect the city and to show the power of the De’ Medici dinasty.

Today

Today it is possible to visit the Palazzina di Belvedere, inside the Fort, which is open for exhibitions or other particular events.

From the exterior walls it is possible to have a gorgeous view of the city.

Kim, listen, I am very sorry that I will not be able to attend your wedding ceremony but next time (and I am sure there will be a next time) please let me know in advance so that I will not take other committments.

Joking aside, this city is very loved among foreigners and there are many couples who choose it for their marriage or honeymoon or simply for a trip.

Have you ever been here?

 

Knit Strawberry Hat

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Hello!

I haven’t abandoned my blog, I’ve just been on holiday lately.

But here I am again and this is what I knitted with some of the spring yarn I bought recently: the strawberry hat. It looks juicy and fresh with the little holes decorating it. The green leaves on the top make this hat even cuter.

The pattern is availabe in three sizes: 0 – 6 months, 6 – 12 months, 12 – 24 months.

Let the summer begin!

 

Spring yarn shopping

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Yesterday it was a beautiful sunny day and so I went downtown for a walk.

Walking in Florence is like walking in an open-air musem: it is just wonderful.

The truth is that I did not plan to buy yarn: but those places where they sell yarn were nearby and I could not resist to see the new spring yarns!  😉

Here is what I bought: some bright skeins of pure Egyptian cotton and a couple of skeins in natural color.

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As soon as I arrived at home I knitted a swatch in stockinette stitch just to test the lightness of this cotton and I was satisfied.

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In conclusion, sometimes happiness can be reached so easily: just take sunshine and add some new yarn skeins! And the planning of new exciting knitting projects, of course. But attention: spring shopping can cause yarn addiction!

What puts you in a good mood?

 

Fiocco Spring Ballerinas

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Hello from sunny Italy!

These are the Fiocco Spring Ballerinas I created lately. I chose the fuchsia color as the symbol of the flowers blooming. I embellished them with an elegant tulle bow to make them prettier and perfect to match any outfit.

The pattern is written in three sizes:

0 – 3 months
3 – 6 months
6 – 9 months

They are easy to knit, even while watching TV!

I hope you like them.

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Mary’s first knitted bikini

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Hello!

This is the first knitted bikini I created for Mary. As maybe some of you remember, in one of my previous posts I was thinking about what to knit with some blue yarns in my stash.

So…here it comes! I love the softness and the shades of blue of this yarn. I embellished both the top and the bottom with turquoise ruffles. The top has shoulder straps crossed at the back for a more comfort.

This swimsuit will be perfect not only for the beach but also for the swimming pool.

I wrote the pattern in three sizes: 6 months, 12 months and 2 years.

It is available from today both on Etsy and Ravelry.

Happy knitting!

 

 

Hand knit sweater for my nephew

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Hello!

As I promised in my previous post, these are a couple of pictures of my last winter project: a hand knit sweater for my three years old nephew.

I chose a nice and soft cobalt blue yarn and worked it with circular needles. It was quick to knit, I made it in a couple of days. Well, I should say that I finished in a couple of days because I started this project in the middle of the winter and then put it in stand-by. When we decided to go to Rome, I had to hurry up to finish this sweater for my little nephew.

I worked the sleeves flat and then sewed them. The sewing was quite fast, not only the sleeves but also the underarms. I shaped it with raglans, for more comfort. I made the neckline big enough but elastic in order to avoid buttons.

Since my nephew is a huge fan of Cars, I applied Lightning McQueen’s patch on the front.

And this is the final result:

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Being a little boy, he didn’t seem to appreciate this present quite as much as I had hoped. I had more luck with a small car!

Luckily his mother appreciated it more than him.

Spring is coming!

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Spring is coming! Finally!

We went to Rome and were greeted by the cherry blossoms in the park.

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Many people stayed outdoor and some of them were even preparing pic-nic on the grass. Others were playing sports and children played aloud and ran around.

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This is one of my favourite photo which I took through an ancient Roman arc. I think that it represents the winter which is almost behind our shoulders and the spring showing its beauty.

Before saying goodbye to winter, I knitted a wool sweater for my three years old nephew. I guess he will wear it next autumn because these days are too sunny and warm up to 20 degrees Celsius / 68 Fahrenheit. I will post some pictures soon.

Enjoy the spring!

Happy Carnival!

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Last weekend we were invited by some friends to celebrate the famous Carnival in Viareggio.

I had bought for my daughter a ladybug costume a few days before and I was wondering what to put on as hat in case it was windy at the sea. Guess what, I decided to knit a ladybug hat that could mach the costume. It was Saturday evening and we had to go to Viareggio on Sunday morning, so…

I needed to knit a hat at the very last second! So I tried to knit something simple, quick but beautiful at the same time. This is how the ladybug baby hat pattern came to life.

 

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