Seaming on Halloween

It is an amazingly satisfying thing to see a project, which has been in pieces for months, finally come together with the magic of seaming. It's currently 5 pm here in Italy, where I sit cozy and warm in our room, watching the night descend and the rain fall outside. Usually, I can see the adjacent hillside, which is covered in trees, a small vineyard, and more olive trees. Right now, it's shrouded in gray - it's been raining since this morning.

My Notre Dame de Grace sweater has one sleeve attached now, and I can't wait to seam the next one on! Seaming, for me and many other people, looms like a monumental nightmarish task - as bad as watching a B class Halloween movie. ;) This is the fourth sweater I've made, and even though I dread seaming, I find that once I have passed the beginning point, I enjoy the process. There is a certain joy to seeing stitches close up together, one by one, and separate pieces become complete.

Halloween is a new holiday in Italy - there is no trick or treating, or costumes... but the idea of Halloween marketing has certainly spread here. We've seen many shops decorated with a classic Jack O'Lantern in the display window, and orange lights. But, that's about as far as Halloween extends.

Still, even though there will not be trick-or-treaters knocking on our host Giovanna's door tonight, I feel a connection through the rainy weather to Halloween in Oregon.

To my wonderful knitting group at Textiles A Mano in Eugene - everyone, I'm thinking of you tonight. Have a wonderful, magical evening of knitting, watch out for witches & warlocks, and.... Trick or Treat! :D

Tweedeldee in Venice

Here is a picture of Tweedeldee, the Textiles a Mano travel owl, visiting famous Venice! We had a great time exploring the tiny streets and canals - it is a city of so many textures and colors.

Today we leave Venice for nearby Padua! It will be nice to have more open space - here in Venice, there are mainly little closed in alleyways and streets, and always too many people. The wide open green spaces of Oregon are truly to be treasured!

A lazy morning

We have arrived safely in Passau, Germany! Our travel began on Monday at noon, and didn't end until 22 hours later on Tuesday evening - a very grueling day! We did get some sleep here and there along the way - four hours on the plane to London, and a couple one-hour naps in airports and on the short flight to Munich. We then took a two-hour train to Passau, and a taxi to our hotel. Devlin is working here for Hewlett-Packard until Saturday - and very conveniently, HP is in the same building as our hotel! All he has to do is go downstairs, and he's at work. :)

As a result of our long travel day, I was very lazy Wednesday morning. After we had breakfast in the hotel cafe (cold meats and cheese, a roll with "krauten" cream cheese - this means "herbs" in German - mainly chives, I think), and Devlin went downstairs for work, I got straight back in bed. I took out my tablet and my knitting and put on "Ratatouille." It was wonderful, and so relaxing, and I finished one sleeve for my Notre Dame de Grace sweater!

But, after lunch, I was ready for an excursion into the outside world. I went on a 5km (3 mile) run from the hotel, first through some beautiful woods, then chugged up a very steep hill, and then down again, and finally, became lost in a residential area. Luckily though, with my phone's gps, I was able to meander until I found my way back again. :) Here are some pictures from my run - the trees are all changing colors, and it was fun to see different styles of houses! The one below is rather neat.

And now, to take a break from blogging/travel planning - I'm going to go knit! In bed. And probably I'll watch an episode of Poirot. :D