Quietness

So in the end of january I deleted facebook and instagram. I had wanted to do this for a year or so, I felt that I´ve become to addicted to it and it was controlling my life.

When I heard that meta was going to end their fact checking program and people could just write whatever hateful bullshit they wanted it was the kick in the ass I needed to delete everything from meta.

The first week without meta was very strange, so quiet and a bit lonely. I have got a lot of time back wich I have been spending crafting and reading. I have been reading more ebooks, I usually read mostly audiobooks.

I still use tumblr, you can find me as shadowy nerd witch (I love that moniker :)

I find tumblr totally diffirent than meta. It´s less addicting. The only bad thing is that nobody I know is on there.

Cozy sunday

 Two weeks ago or so I tried making a engish tea loaf for the first time.   You have to soak raisins in strong tea overnight.  I like both tea and raisins so I decided to try it.  The recipe had a little too much liquid so I´ll use less next time I try it.  It was good but way too wet.  I had it with some ceylon tea, watched the sunday youtube videos (always a lot of videos on sundays) and did some steampunk jigsaw puzzles.  A very nice sunday.

Reading, listening and watching

Reading:

Legends and Lattes, Bookstores and bonedust by Travis Baldree. I really liked these two. I do love me some fantasy and these books were quite good. I liked all the characters. Somehow you don´t expect a book about an orc, opening up a cafe. Especially when everybody is writing about faries these days.

A court of silver flames by Sarah J. Maas. Speaking of fairies I finished the court of thorns and roses book series. A court of silver flames is the last book and previously I had given up on it.

I like smut as much as every other lady but that book was just too much smut. The book would have been much better without it, it didn´t add anything, it was just annoying. I did like the first 3 books of the series but I feel the author really shot herself in the foot with the last one.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

So I saw one of the people I fallow on Instagram talking about the book and I got exited.

Maisie Dobbs works as a private eye in London in the 20s. She start looking into a resort for former soldiers from ww1 were everything isn´t as it seems. This book reminded me a little bit of Miss Fisher murder mysteries (wich is a show I love and rewatch often)

It was a little slow getting into but it got very interesting. There is 18 books in the series so I see a lot of Maisie Dobbs in my future.

I have actually read books 1 and 2 of Miss Fisher´s murder mysteries by Kerry Greenwood and I´d like to read them all. I really like the characters.

Listening.

I´ve been listening to a lot of hardcore punk recently especially Dead Kennedys.

Ham. This band is always in rotation. If you are not Icelandic Ham is a rock band with cult status that is still active. I´m actually going to see them tonight. I´m very exited.

Twee

I have some twee playlists on spotify. Twee is cute indie music like Belle and Sebastian, She & him and camera obscura.

Recently I bought a casette player. I´ve wanted to do this for a long time. I´m visually impaired and therefore quite clumsy so I thought casettes would fit me better than vinyl (although I use to have record player when I was a teenager). It also fits my minimalistic lifestyle.

The first cassette I bought was Mitski´s Be the cowboy and I really enjoy it.

I have bought 4 more cassettes and I have been raiding thrift stores but I have not found anything but accordion music and 80s tourist tapes from Grand Canary. I´ll be looking around for some more.

Watching

The apocatary diaries. I watch this anime hoping it would akin to Violet Evergarden (wich I really love) It´s not but still very good.

It´s about Maomao who is kidnapped and sold to the imperial palace. She becomes a healer and a food taster and gets into many adventures. It is set in China in the 7^th century. I look forward to seeing season 2.

A lot and lot of youtube videos. I mainly watch youtube and anime because it´s short. I don´t have the attention span for long shows.

Moving

So in the end of march I moved yet again.

For the last 8 years I have moved 8 times, I was in the last place for 3 years so before that it was approx. 2 moves a year.

Now I have gotten lucky (finally) and I got a place I can stay for the rest of my life. I´m so relieved. The constant stress of appartment hunting sure takes a toll.

Now I can breathe.

New socks

 

I recently (yesterday) finished a pair of socks. The pattern is called monte socks by an Icelandic knitting designer Sveina Björk Jóhannesdóttir. I changed it a little (that´s how I do) I skipped the eyelet patterned and made them reach to my calf.

The pattern has a special heel that I like very much, it´s isn´t very complicated and it looks great.

The socks a very comfortable and warm and I´m very pleased with them. I will definietly will be using the heel again, I hate most other heels especially german short row heels (they always have a lot of holes) I guess the heel flap and gusset are the heel i´ve used most often.

 

 

I really want to make a sock pattern called tea and scandal (a miss marple inspired socks) by this handmade life.

Call me miss Frog

 

I frog a lot. I am currently frogging a granny stitch cocoon sweater I thought I would love but didn´t really work out for me (it was too irregular). It will be a bitch to frog all these little squares and it´s trying my patience.

I have this sweater I frogged 4 times and finally on the 5^th go it finally worked out. I don´t really regret any of the frogging, I think it´s better to frog something 4 times than have something in my closet that doesn’t work for me.

So I guess you can call me miss Frog :)

For those who don´t know what frogging is, it´s a crochet and knitting term for undoing something. It´s called frogging because you “rip it”

Off the hook

Recently I finished to the point shawl by Wilma Westenberg.  Pattern here

 

 

I had made this shawl before out of wool but I am changing from wool to cotton and other plantfibers because I have some sensory issues and I can´t take the itchyness.

So I made it out of Drops loves you nr. 7 (I think) and now I can enjoy this beautiful shawl without constantly scratching myself.