Weeknote #33

• My first ever trip on the Eurostar! It was a long journey but a really lovely way to travel to Europe

• Finished Nick’s new hat (a Hipster Hat) the first evening in Amsterdam

  • I didn’t have the right needles to do the final few rows of decreases so we stopped in at Stephen & Penelope on the way to our hotel to get some

  • It’s made with Sandnes Garn Sunday held double in Electric Blue - it’s really hard to photograph the colour well but it’s stunning in person

• Used the first stitch marker from my yarn advent calendar as my BOR marker - it’s a stunning tiny book to represent Jane Eyre

• On our first day in Amsterdam, we went to Stephen & Penelope for a proper shop

  • Nick bought me some yarn for making a cardigan and a skein of sock yarn as my Christmas present

  • I bought Nick some yarn so I can make him his own Moby sweater - it’s his Christmas present too but I’ll cast it on after I gift him the yarn

• We found the Lego store in Amsterdam which has a really cool, giant windmill made from Lego

• In a bar just over the bridge from the red light district we tried Dutch genever - the raspberry and plum flavours were a little port-y which was very tasty. The bartender served it the traditional way in a glass poured to get a miniscus bulge and the first sip taken without touching the glass. When I tried the apple flavour, he topped it back up after the first sip with cinnamon flavour so it tasted a little like apple pie

• We had Dutch pancakes for almost every breakfast - well, I say breakfast but it was never earlier than midday

• I cast on a new project using my advent calendar yarn. The plan is to use each day in order to create a wonderful stripey jumper and I’m really excited to see how it works up

• Blocked my recent “Lyra” socks and they look lovely - a little more of a snug fit than my previous socks which I really like