Keeping a minimalist pantrty

So about two years ago I started my minimalist journey, I got rid of more then half of my possessions (much of them had been in my basement for years)

Minimalism has made my life much easier, it is quite a handy tool to get rid of distractions and to take a more realistic look at one self.

It is a long term thing minimalism and I am still figuring things out, for example my newest purging has been in my kitchen cupboards. I have stopped shopping for things I think I should be eating just because it´s healthy and would be good for me. 

I hate quinoa and I have been buying it because I think I should and it has stayed in my cupboard untouched. This has also sparked questions in me about superfoods and not falling for advertising. So I having whittled down my cupboards quite a bit. I don´t need to have many types of pasta or rice, one or two will do fine.

Looking through my cupboard is much easier and now I just need to buy some baskets to organize them wich is much better doing after getting rid of stuff then before

I would like to write more about minimalism in the future it´s such a interesting topic

Summer faorites

Summer favorites

We had a rather disappointing summer weatherwise but hey I live in Iceland and wasn´t really expecting anything but there have been a few glimpses of sunlight that have been great.

Now my favorite season is on it´s way and I look forward to candles, hot beverages, wool socks and warm blankets and just living the most cozy life possible.

But for this season that is ending I have some favorites in books, film, tv and more.

Books

Elinor Olyphant is comepletely fine by Gail Honeyman.

This one really surprised me. A book about lonelyness, kindness and human bonding and it filled me with hope in humanity while also being about cruelty and violence. It leaves a lot behind and I really loved it and can´t wait to read it again.

Shipping news by Annie Proulx. For the longest time I have been on my way to read this book and finally did. I like reading about little communities and the one in this book was very interesting. The main caracter Quoyle had my simpathy from the beginning but I never felt like it was forced on me, I just find him very amicable.

Television

Miss Fisher´s murder mysteries.

I have watched this so often I lost count. I love it that much and I watched again this summer. The show is about the fearless and fabulous Phryne Fisher who doesn´t know what to do with herself so she becomes a private detective wich isn´t so easy in the 1920´s. I find the story interesting and the caracters fun to watch, I find the female caracters to be very strong each in their way. Australians sure know how to make good tv and look foreward to seeing the movie (I hope it comes on Netflix)

Outlander.

So for a while now I´ve had this problem with tv shows that are overly dramatic and conflicted (I think I might be one of this highly sensitive people)

So first when I started watching Outlander I stopped because I thought it might be to scary but the girls in my vkn told me not to worry. It takes a little time to get into but I quite liked it. I also like it is loyal to history and learning more about Scotland is fun.

I took a little break but mostly I have a bad case of Neflixitis and like to switch between shows.

So really I´m currently watching Outlander, mind of a chef, Star Trek the next generation, Gilmore girls and Brooklyn 9-9 and now I feel like a millennial, I´m 43.

Yarn

Drops Flora. I really like this yarn it´s a blend of wool and alpakka and so soft.

I did frog a half knitted sweater the other day and it has one good thing about it, I actually look forward to using the yarn again, I even found quite beautiful pattern so my fingers are itching.

Podcasts

Inside nr. 23

I´m so glad this podcast returned after a long break recently.

The podcaster Kate is british knitter and I really love her podcast. Thought I am mostly a crocheter I enjoy watching a few knitting podcasts, hers is so interesting in many ways so she has my attention the whole time ( no zoning out)

Music

Marie Sioux. I actually heard her song Wizard flurry home as a intro song on the Gentle knitters podcast and really fell for it. At the moment I am very much into folk music (including nordic folk), it´s very soothing and satisfying. I do love her lyrics and singing style.

Hairstyling

So I decided to get a undercut about a month ago. I have very thick hair and it´s dreadful in summer (yes even Icelandic summer), it gets so heavy I can´t have it long and I´m totally unable to use regular hair accessories like a hair clamp. So my friend has clippers and she wanted to learn how to use them for her son. She did pretty good for a first time and I feel so relieved and light. It can look totally normal when it´s down, it still has some heft to it and if I´m very hot I can put it in a ponytail.

I even want to try put curls in my hair sometimes (I really want to get into 1930´s style, I just don´t have anything that has the look from the period yet and I find most vintage clothes way to expensive. So it´s something I´m working on, I have some crochet patterns lined up.

So learning to do my hair in the meantime would be nice.

So that´s it for now.

Karamell sweater

So I´ve wanted to crochet a sweater for a while now and I was very happy to find a pattern that is crochet in a round with raglan increases because I really don´t like having many crochet parts I have to sew together.

The pattern is very simple and well written and I´ve already started crocheting another sweater for my friend´s son. I like the pattern that much.

Here is the pattern

I used Drops saffran wich is a cotton yarn and a 4mm hook/3 mm hook for the cuff.

I did change the cuff from single crochet to a front post/back post ribbing (wich I´m in love with at the moment)

I am really happy with the outcome. I used a bigger hook for the body and sleeves and I like how it comes out like mesh.

The sweater sits well and I love the blush pink color

Crochet socks

So my best friends birthday was coming up in may and she had told me that she wanted some cozy socks like I had made for her son´s birthday in january.

His socks were based on a pattern called tv socks that are a knit pattern which has been very popular in Iceland since television got here in the sixties.

Unfortunately the pattern is only in Icelandic.

So when it came to my friends socks I was running late her birthday was almost here so I found socks that were very easy and I liked the look of them.

Here is the pattern

I decided to make the cuff longer then in the pattern

I used aran weight yarn, the one that come is the huge skein.

I really liked the pattern, I find some crochet pattern way to complicated with weird vocabulary.

I also finally learned to make a front post back post ribbing and I really like it. I don´t think I will be doing the other kind of crochet ribbing again. I always found it annoying to make the ribbing and trying to fit it to a garment.

My friend really liked them

Cozy time blanket

So I finally made a granny square blanket.

I have made some for newborn babies of friends but never a one for myself.

I found a pattern called Drops bohemian oasis wich I liked. I´ve never crocheted so complicated granny stitch and it came to me fast. I really love this square pattern, I´m very much into boho chic.

It took me a year to do it with some breaks because I got kind of bored with it. I slipstitched the squares together wich I kind of regret, I couldn´t figure out how they were put together according to the pattern. Later I did see my mother do it and then I´d already started putting it together.

I used Icelandic worsted weigh wool called kambgarn for the blanket so it is very warm.

I was so happy to decommission a crappy flece blanket I was using and I want to make another blanket for my futon matress. The pattern I´ve chosen to do is Attic 24 granny stripe blanket

So now I´m sitting under my blanket (wich is really colorful and gorgeous), sipping tea and watching Kirsten Dirksen videos.

Making a choice

Making a choice.

For a while now I have been thinking of starting my own knitting and crochet podcast.

After procastination and anxiety I have decided that podcasting isn´t for me, I think it would only become something I´d dread.

So instead I have decided to start the blog up again not that was ever a regular thing. I think I would like to talk about my crafting, cooking and other interests.

I think I will try to blog here once a month for start and I´ll see how it goes.