Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Ugly (?) socks

Of course, ugly is a very subjective thing, and even I am not sure if I think this pair is ugly or not. 

I loved the yarn, and it looked good enough with the bit I divided for toes/heels/cuffs, and I thought, they are going to look like this knitted up.

What I have not calculated with is the fact that I have smaller than average feet. 

As I already told you before, I often use leftover bits of sock-yarn for my everyday socks, and knit them toe up, not the least to be able to use all of the yarn I have, while not risking to run out of it before I cast off.

I start with 24 stitches, do a short row heel, and knit the feet with 48 stitches around, and most of these self patterning yarns are calculated for about 60 stitches, so having that much less is likely to throw off the colorsequence, producing an odd pooling. 

And it did just that. One side go the dark petrol and yellow stripes, the other the spots, though the two feet looked rather silimar, I am showing you the two sides.

What was interesting though that when I increased the 4 stitches I always do after turning the heel, one leg produced a more or less egular stripe (what I originally expected), the other continued to pool... Go figure.

The truth is, I don't mind it that much, I use these socks mostly in the fall/winter, in high top shoes and ankle boots, most probbaly only the cuffs and maybe a couple of centimeters will be visible.

So that is one pair more in my sock-drawer.

Monday, April 20, 2026

Weekly Pattern (knitting)

 In my quest to find *that* pattern I looked through an enormous number of pages in Ravelry, and though I have not found (yet) what I was looking for, I did find so many other lovely patterns. 

Like looking through all the patterns from the magazine Rebecca, which I always loved, in fact, I knitted this jacket from one of their issues, and I found the one I am showing you now.

It does not have a name, it is listed as " #03 Pullover mit Lochstreifen".

I love the lace panel, especially on the sleeves, and the feminine shape. 

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Short Comment

Getting back to basics...



 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Weekly Strong opinion - on the Hungarian election

 The truth is politics never really interested me. PJ, Chris’s father was a „news-maniac”, he listened, watched the news at every hour, and he kept berating me, for „only seeing what is under my nose”, while I always thought, he was hiding away from his everyday-problems behind the world’s news.

Of course, I always voted, and always had opinions, but never interested me deeply, and I was very careful not to let my opinion seen, let’s say on the social media, even as much as a like.

All this changed, when they very spectacularly, forcefully, and I am sure, for some pity revenge, they took away the special entrepreneur tax, KATA, and not only took it away, making these people pay double, but they were called swindling, thieving traitors, pulling the rug under many hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, who, instead of using the government’s money/aid, were trying to make do from their own (human) resources, without getting any paid vacation days, subsidiary, etc.

I’ve seen Ervin Nagy at a poem-and songs event, and admittedly, I was not taken with him. He was seating, with his legs apart, his jeans threadbare at his crotch (I am a dressmaker, I notice clothes), with slightly bored face, while others were reciting/singing. Sometime later, there was the case between the dubbing studios and the payment of dubbing actors, that blew up especially because of some Marvel movies, and as a translator, dealing with dubbing studios, I understood their problem, even if translators are even worst paid than actors. Anyhow, as I watched his actions, I started thinking, now, he IS a guy, who, if decided to go into politics, I could vote for- without having qualms.

When Peter Magyar popped up on the scene, I though, finally, a guy, who has balls to stand up to the current regime. I said, these two could really do something. Two days later Ervin Nagy announced that he will join forces with Peter Magyar, and from then, I watched them even more closely.

Yes, I know, he came from the inner circle of FIDESZ, and yes, I have my reservations, but if nothing else: he stood up, rallied up so many people, and made us believe that change IS possible. He might be an egoist, he might be only good at marketing, he can be many things. HOWEVER, what this man carried out either physically, with going around in the country, either with how he stood and took all the slaps, all the blows, all the shit the current regime could throw at him, how they looked not only his bedroom, but even under his smallclothes, how they tried to get a handle on him, and he was not falling over, he did not even bend… that deserve my respect.

And not the least, quoting a well-known standup comedian, when your house is on fire, and a firefighter arrives, you don’t start to complain, that he is not the type of firefighter you imagined. And our house is blazing. Not a little.

With all that, I have no illusions.

Almost 20 years ago, when, after nearly 20 years, I was trying to get out of an –emotionally- abusive relationship, a friend said to me: I can’t say, it is going to be easy, because it will not. It will be darned hard (she used a different word, but you get the meaning). It will be so hard, sometimes you’ll think, you gonna die. But, believe me, it WILL be BETTER.” She was right. I try to pass this on, whenever I am talking to someone trying to get out of an abusive relationship.

I think the very same thing about the time that is coming. Unbelievable, but we did it. We ousted the Orban government, to quote he famous poem „Ships may sail above the flow, and the water runs below, at the end only the water rules” (my translation). On Sunday night (rather the wee hours of Monday), I went to bed being proud to be a Hungarian once again. However, we have to know, what comes will not be a picnic in the park. There will be empty treasury, scorched – not only scorched but salted land, burned bridges, deep trenches, hidden bombs and skeletons falling out of everywhere, for all of which the new leadership will be blamed, even if the old one is guilty. It will be hell of a difficult job, lot of work and energy, and sacrifice to climb out of this one. Let’s tie up the bloomers or whatever needs tying up, collect all our might, and watch, watch very closely, so we should not have to make another system changing revolution again.

 

 Photos: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

Friday, April 10, 2026

Pink Hydrangea

 When I failed with my New Years sweater, and finished the white biking sweater, I wanted to knit something for the spring... 

I had the pink yarn in my stash for about a year now, and I knew for a long time, that I wanted to knit Elenor Mortensen's Hydrangea pattern from it. And it was not difficult to pick out colors for the pattern. 
There isn't much to write about it, as I did follow the pattern fairly closely.
Only added a small pattern repeat just above the cuff, that is wider than the pattern says (because I like the wide cuffs), and just before I started the ribbing at the waistline. And I omitted the slit of the ribbing at the waist. 
Now, this sweater should be more like a swoncho, that is why the yoke is wider, but after wearing it a few times, I find, that I am not such a fan of this shape. If I would make this again (who knows, I might even do that, with different colors), I would separate the sleeves just before I changed from the purple flowers to the pink ones, and do those patterns separately on the body and the sleeves. But I still love it, and wore it quite often, since finishing it.
Az a gyűrődés a nyakán, egyébként nincs, a képen csak azért látszik, mert elfelejtettem megigazítani, azután, hogy levettem a pulcsi fölött viselt dzsekit. Nézzétek a képen a dzsekivel:
Minta: Hydrangea by Elenor Mortensen

Fonal: zoknifonalak

Kötőtűk: 2,5 (bordásminta), 3 (harisnyakötés) and 3,25 mm (minta)

Képek: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto.

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Weekly SO

 My strong opinion today is, that spring flue should just quit. Also, breathing is an unnecessary luxury.

Monday, April 6, 2026

Weekly patternmuster (sewing)

 I was asked for the pattern of my bubble pants, but I cannot give it, as I drew it myself, it is not PDF compatible, nor it is serialized, I only have it in one size, it is not even ... I don't even know the right word, but let me just say, some seams do not line up,, and I sometimes add, or take away the width of the legs, I sometimes add a cargo-pocket, etc.

However, I brought you one bubble pants, that are really bubble shaped, and seemingly does not have a very high waist (having a "short waist", or some kind of anomaly that makes all pants go up way to gigh on my waist, that is a good poit for me.)

Here you, go, these are the Dilara pants from Viki sews. I've seen a few of them made up on Instagram, and I rather like those.