What I did on my Easter holiday

1. Redesigned this page. I realise that most people read blogs through Google Reader these days, but I still wanted to do my part to prevent another eyesore from occupying valuable Internet space. Plus, I like playing with all the pretty colours. I might have used too many pretty colours, in fact, but I can't be bothered about that right now.

2. Went to Istanbul! It was fabulous, and I'd post pictures if I wasn't 99.9% certain that everyone currently reading this blog also reads my personal LJ. If I am wrong, let me know and I will happily post my Spice Market photos again. Really, I just love those photos and will take any excuse to look at them, although they do cause me to crave Turkish delight something fierce.

How about some Istanbul flowers, instead? I was there during the tulip festival, and since the tulip is the official flower of Istanbul, they were showing off their mad growing skillz. I decided that I was quite possibly a fabulous nature photographer who only remained unappreciated due to the fact that I never actually took nature photographs. I corrected that by shooting every flower I saw. Since this is a solid example of my floral photography skills, perhaps I did not miss my calling after all.

Now, I did an awful lot of shopping in Istanbul, but had no plans for stash enrichment. Then, just outside the Spice Market, I happened to notice a tiny little shop. I've had walk-in closets bigger than this shop. I wasn't about to quibble over the size, however, when the shop sold yarn. Lovely Turkish yarn, even. Now, I know my stash is already out of control, but it was a souvenir, right? And when I found out that I could buy an entire bag of 100% silk yarn for £5, I didn't even attempt self control. Shown here are two skeins, though the colour is very washed out. Imagine I shot these during the day or took the time to play with hue/saturation in Photoshop for a better sense of the colour. I bought three bags, total -- there is a gold one kicking around my room somewhere, but it seems to have wandered off. I suspect the cats.

These skeins arrived with no labels, so I have no idea how long they are or what the recommended gauge is. It seems to be approximately an Aran weight, so I'll soon be swatching as I try to figure out what I'm actually going to do with this yarn. Something pretty for summer, I'm thinking.

3. Almost finished Sahara! I had almost no time to knit while on holiday, so the work was delayed, I still need to knit the sleeves, sew the neckline and weave in the ends, but I am definitely approaching the finish line. I had a tremendous number of setbacks working the diamond rib pattern around the neckline and the hem, but that is entirely due to operator error and is not the fault of the pattern. It did slow things down a bit, though. I hope to have it completed and blocked by the end of the week.

And now, alas, my holiday is over. Only 11 weeks till summer break! Ahem. Not that I'm counting, of course.