Northern Italy Part Tre ~ Como

Como is situated at the bottom of Lake Como and you can reach it via train from Milan. The train travels through the town, right next to the road and drops you practically on the lakeside.

The cloud was hanging really low on the day that we visited in April but I love the effect it gives in this photo. You also got wonderful glimpses of the mist-shrouded mountain in between the closely packed buildings.

We took the funicular up to Bernate. It was almost like a ghost town. I don't know if this was due to it being off season or beause it was the time when all the shops were closed for "siesta". I did notice that wherever we went, there were a lot of buildings which looked slightly shabby. Possibly due to the economic climate?

Nobody Lives Here Anymore

Como was the most touristy place that we visited but this didn't detract from it's charm. I was surprised by how many of the Italians didn't speak to us in English. I don't know if that's because we were giving their language a try. Como was the only place where one shop keeper spoke to us in English.

This photo below was taken in the piazza where Como's Duomo was. This sums up the mediterranean lifestyle for me. Cafe chairs and tables in the square. Looks good even in the drizzle. I love the balconies.

If you love architecture, art, food, scenery and walking, I would recommend that you visit Milan and it's surrounding areas. I say walking because even though mostly it was a city break, you can never underestimate how much walking you'll do, even if you use the public transport as well.

I've just touched on a few places that we visited, but I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the photos!

Thank you, Gillian.

All of the images are available as prints or greetings cards. Please contact me for details.

You may also like:

Northern Italy Part Uno ~ Milan

Northern Italy Part Due ~ Stresa

Knitting Notes ~ Casting On

It's been years since I knitted anything bigger than a hat or scarf for myself. So I decided to treat myself and get a pattern for a cardigan. It's knitted in the lovely, soft Sirdar Click yarn and is a Sirdar pattern.

It started off by instructing you to cast on using the thumb method (or one needle method). I have only ever used the traditional casting on method, then knitted into the backs of the stitches on the first row, but I decided to look up the thumb method on good old YouTube. Such a wonderful resource for all sorts of crafty things.

I used the first video I found which was this one from Deramores and apart from having to start again because I hadn't left enough of a tail (I found that four times the width of your work was better), it was a great tutorial.

The casting on looks fabulous and I can't believe I hadn't used it before!

I'm onto the second sleeve of the cardigan. My least favourite bit as they always seem to take ages. I'll let you know how the cardigan turns out.

Happy knitting! Gillian.

Photo Friday #44

Beach Pebbles

A pebbly beach shot framed by the dunes and the reminders of the defences in the war.

Druridge Bay, Northumberland.

For prices please visit my Fine Art page.

Northern Italy Part Due ~ Stresa

When we visited Milan in Northern Italy, we felt we were so close to the lakes that we couldn't miss the opportunity for a day trip.

The town of Stresa, on the banks of Lake Maggiore, is only a train ride away. There are three islands on the lake and this is the largest. You can take a boat trip across but I thought it looked fantastic from the shore of the town.

Isola Bella

We took the cable car halfway up Mount Motterone as it was overcast and we weren't sure how much we would see from the top. There wasn't much to see from halfway but there was a tiny, quaint drinks shop which had this ladder leaning up against it. I loved the colours.

Alpino Bar

On the way up and down the mountain you got a good view of the richly coloured terracotta roof tiles.

Boats in the harbour. I'd like to visit Lake Maggiore again and I would like to take a trip over to Isola Bella as there is a beautiful garden to visit.

I loved the look of this island so much that I couldn't stop photographing it! I converted this to black and white because the haziness of the mountains gave it an ethereal quality.

Thank you for reading. Coming soon Part Tre - Como

All of these images are available to purchase as prints or greetings cards. Please contact me for details.
Gillian.

You may also like:
Northern Italy Part Uno ~ Milan
Northern Italy Part Tre ~ Como

Photo Friday #43

Pink Astrantia

A beautiful "pin cushion" astrantia. I had these in my bridal bouquet and have some in my garden now.

Available to buy as a greetings card or prints from RedBubble or directly from me.

Thank you for looking.

Virtues of the ipad to a crafter

When my IT, gadget-loving husband told me he was thinking of getting an ipad, I probably rolled my eyes. How much more technology do we need? When he brought it home though, I realised what advantages it could have. Now, whenever he picks it up to browse the net, there's always a knitting or crochet pattern on it!

There are so many free designs and patterns on the internet for you to use in your creative projects now. I did find that I would browse on the laptop - which is permanently plugged in in our study - print out a pattern, only to discover it wasn't quite what I wanted when I started making it. So now I can sit in comfort on the sofa with a pattern on the ipad and save paper!

I've been crocheting flowers to decorate a cushion cover with designs that I've followed on the ipad. I'll probably bookmark or copy out my favourite ones to use again but the ones which haven't been successful won't need to waste paper and ink!

Gillian.

Of course, there are other tablets available.

Crochet Crazy ~ Ruffled Scarf

Here is my latest craft project, a ruffled crocheted scarf. I've only been able to crochet properly for about 3 months. I've been able to knit for years but no one sat down with me and taught me how to crochet until recently. Since then I've got crochet crazy...I love it!

I found a basic pattern for a ruffled scarf on the internet which used treble stitches but I felt they were too long and made the scarf too holey. So I changed a few of the stitches and came up with this.

I used the equivalent of dk yarn for the main colour and Sirdar Reflections (which I think has been discontinued but as of this post you may get clearance online) for the edging. It took about 160g of yarn and I used a 5mm crochet hook.

Chain approx 203 or as many stitches for the length of your scarf.

Row 1:     dc into 3rd chain and each chain across

Row 2:     ch3 turn, 2dc into each stitch across

Row 3:     ch3 turn, 2dc into each stitch across

Row 4:     ch1 turn, 2sc into each stitch across

Row 5:     change to contrast, ch1 turn, sc into each stitch across

Finish off and weave in ends

Useful links:
How to make a single crochet stitch (sc)
How to make a double crochet stitch (dc)

My husband said he thought it looked like coral.

My current project is a cushion cover. No doubt I'll share that with you soon.

Gillian.

Photo Friday #42

Blazing Winter

I love the vibrant colour of the orange sky in this photograph.

Gillian Cross Fine Art Photos