I decided to move back to my original blog location… I have less and less time to blog these days and hosting ”on my own” was creating additional burden on me…

I apologize for those of you who couldn’t reach my Foamy pattern for the past week…

Please feel free to comment on here if you have any questions… thanks again for your interest in my pattern.

foamy_26_12_09 (in english)

kopuk (turkce)

Until then enjoy the photos… These are from Gulluoglu Karakoy to me it’s the best baklava in Istanbul. (again, just like there are a gazillion versions of pizza out there, there are a gazillion versions of baklava, and everyone’s preference is different). For my US readers, just a while ago, Gulluoglu opened a location in NYC. We ordered from there before for gatherings in Memphis. Although not as good as their location in Istanbul it’s pretty respectable. Don’t get me wrong, the quality of the products is the same, it’s just not ”perfect” and  just cannot be, since I am sure they cannot find the same ingredient choices and vendors over there. If you decide to order, try the “burma kadayif” as well… that product is almost identical to the ones in Turkey…

Macun getting ready to be rolled on sticks...

*Turkce blog icin yazinin sonundaki linke tiklayin… Macun bizim kulturumuze ait birsey oldugundan, bu yazi icin Turk olanlarin Turkce blogu okumasini tavsiye ederim… Ingilizce yazi daha cok yabancilara yonelik…

I have been collecting so much material to post in Istanbul and other cities we are visiting in Turkey. I find it almost impossible to update the blog in the evenings… And then after a few days pass I am not that interested in that place, or topic that I thought about… I had writer’s blocks before… but I am new to this opposite… There are too many things to post, but I just don’t know where to begin… it’s very similar to having too many knitting projects on the needles…
So for a few days I will try to post instant updates “from location” using my iPhone… this post was meant to be a test post, but I couldn’t figure out how to upload my pictures. (will solve that soon). Of course the quality of the photos will suffer, hopefully the content will make up for it. I will try to follow with more explanatory posts such as this one, especially if I am writing about a location, restaurant etc. Feel free to comment and and ask for additional info…

The view from Pierre Loti Cafe

Today we were at Pierre Loti Cafe in Eyup. It’s interesting that I have never been there for the 7 years I lived in Istanbul although it’s just the type of place that I would enjoy… We also found out that neither my husband nor my best friend’s husband has been there… Since Ferda (my best friend) has been the only one that has been there, she also took the courtesy to drive the car through the claustrophobic Eyup weekend traffic ruled by chaos.  This historic cafe, or more appropriately tea/coffee house, has direct panaromic view of the “the Golden Horn“. We sat at a back table under the trees and sipped our tea.

When I walked down to take the above picture I saw a vendor selling “macun” (direct translation “paste”). This is a form of chewy candy that is wrapped on sticks. It comes in various colors and aromas… There really isn’t something identical to macun in the modern candy culture. The taste is identical to hard candy, but it’s as chewy as marshmallow but you cannot bite into it. The candy sticks to your teeth for dear life. The best part is to order what you want, and then you have the option to have the top dipped in lemon.

see that lemon waiting for its own share of this perfect candy...

We used to have these candy vendors all around the shopping areas when we were kids. Then when candies started being produced and sold by factories these vendors dissappeared. In my hometown, we used to have something similar to the ice cream trucks… but instead of mobile ice cream, these vendors provided a ”mobile merry-go-round”. When I heard the music of the approaching truck, I used to run upstairs to get permission and coins from my mom… That same truck also sold “macun”… I guess I learned about that tactic in my MBA class as product lining (marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products).

I haven’t seen a macun vendor for at least 15 years. I was soooo happy to be able to offer my kids macun… Of course I also got one for myself… But you really have to be a child to appreciate the soft candy sticking to your teeth while your are trying to manouver the dangling strings from your chin… As expected “macun” won their hearts immediately, nothing can beat that smile in a child’s eyes when they find some new taste and enjoy it to the last bite…

the best tastes always come wrapped around a stick!!

Macun cubuklara dolanmayi beklerken...

Son gunlerde blogumu o kadar ihmal ettim ki… Aslinda, bir suru fotograflar ve malzemeler birikti… Ancak o kadar yogun gunler yasiyorum ki… gorecek cok arkadas, konusacak cok sey ve gezilecek cok yer var… Gunun sonunda da genelde cay icip, abur cubur yiyip cene calmayi tercih ediyorum… Yukardakilere ek olarak, yazacak cok sey var, ve ben nereden baslayacagimi bilmedigimden bir suru yaziya baslayip yarim birakmis durumdayim…

Bu sebeple, onumuzdeki haftalarda iPhone’umdan guncellemeler yapmayi deneyecem, ancak teknik sorunlari oncelikle cozmem gerekiyor… Bu blog yazim da aslinda “test iPhone” yazimdi, ancak fotograflari gondermekte sorun yasadim. Tabii ki iPhone’dan guncellemeler yapinca, fotograf kalitesi oldukca dusecek, umarim “icerik” ve konular fotograflarin ayibini ortebilecek… bakacaz… siz de lutfen yorumlarinizi ve sorularinizi esirgemeyin…

Pierre Loti Kahvesi'nden manzara

Bugun Eyup’tekiPierre Loti Kahvesi’ne gittik. Nedense bu tarz yerlerden cok hoslanmama ragmen, Istanbul’da yasadigim 7 sene boyunca hic gitmemistim… Son zamanlarda Amerika’da Turk dizilerinde, filmlerinde burayi gorup “ya buraya neden gitmedik?” diye hayiflanip durdum birkac kere… “Oraya mi gidelim? Buraya mi gidelim?” derken, Emre’yle(cocuklarim babasi) Ergun’un de(Ferda’nin sayin kocasi) daha once buraya hic gitmedigini ogrendik. Bir heves yola koyulduk. Daha once sadece Ferda gittiginden ve direksiyon kendisinde oldugundan Eyup’un bulantici haftasonu trafiginde yolumuzu pek sasirmadan 10 dakika’da tepeyi arabayla tirmandik ve yakininda bir otopark bulduk. Ferda daha once yuruyerek Eyup’ten cikmis… 2 cocukla pek cesaret edemegimizden kendisinden gelen “hadi inelim, yuruyelim.. cok ruhsuzsunuz…” ara gazlarini bertaraf ettik.

Pierre Loti, Halic’i tam tepeden goren, tahta sandalyeli tarihi bir kahve. Adi 19. yuzyilin sonlarina kadar “Rabia Kadın Kahvehanesi”ymis. Pierre Loti (1850-1923) ilk olarak 1876 yilinda Istanbul’a gelmis. Sonradan bu kahveyi sik sik ziyaret edip, nargilesini icmis… (kim bu manzara da icmez ki)… Ve bu tepeye, ve kahveye ismi verilmis…

Benim icin gunun suprizi kahveden 3-5 merdivenle asagiya inip fotograf cekmeye calisirken geldi. Sagimda bir macuncu belirdi… Sanirim 30-35 yasinin ustunde Turkiye’de buyumus herkes “macun”un ne oldugunu bilir… Macun kivaminda Osmanli’dan kalma, cubuklara dolanip satilan sekerdir kendisi… Degisik renklerde ve aromalarda sunulur… Kagit helva, pamuk helva vs gibi cocuklar icin “kacinilmazdir”… Bizim Cukurova taraflarinda, macuncular ben cocukken carsida, pazarlarda olurdu… Bir de benim favorim “seyyar atli karinca” kamyonetlerinde satilirdi… sokakta oynarken, kamyonetin muzigini duyup hemen kosardim eve… Bozuk paralari kapip, 3-5 tur atli karincaya binip, sonra olabilecek en buyuk macunu alirdim… Sanirim 15 yildir macuncu gormedim… 25 senedir filan da yemedim… Bugun tabii fotografi cekmeden, aldim macunumu… Elmali ve bogurtlenli… “limona batiriyim mi hanfendi” diye sordu, turistik kiyafetli ve oldukca beyfendi macuncu… “azcik ust kismina lutfen” dedim.. agzimin suyu akarak…
Yukari bizimkilerin yanina cikarken, Emre uzaktan elimdeki macunu gordu ve basini saga sola salladi… Ergun de “ne macun mu buldun? nerden buldun” diyince… “hep bulur boyle pis seyleri” diyerek beni ozetledi sagolsun… -haksizlik etmiyim, kahveye girmeden, kagit helva, simit ve pamuk helva da almistim…
Afiyetle yedim macunumu… cocuklar “anne lick-lick” diye tezahurat yaptilar… Ergun sagolsun, gidip onlara da aldi…

macuna batirilmak icin heyecandan olen limonu goruyor musunuz?...

Son 2 senedir cocuklarim sayesinde bircok cocukluk anim depresti… Ancak bugun Halic manzarasinda, cay icip, cocuklari macun yerken seyretmek tarif edilmesi zor bir keyifti benim icin. Sonucta macunun zevkini tam alabilmek icin cocuk olmak gerekiyor… Dislere yapisa yapisa, her isirista lif lif sekerlerin oraya buraya yapismasini kefsetmenin keyfi ancak o yaslarda olur… sagolsun macuncu sayesinde ben de yillardir andigim macundan yedim ve super keyif aldim…

nedense tahta cubuga takilmis herseyin tadi enfes olur!!

 Noro Hat by Saartje de Bruijn (this pattern is free)
Yarn: Rozetti Panco, worsted 10 ply, 100% soft acrylic (very similar to Vanna’s choice) 100gr / 224 yard (205 meters)

Color: Dark Purple, 1/2 ball , Lavender 1/2 ball
Needles: don’t know exactly probably 6mm or 7mm, gauge : 13 stitches to 4″ (10cm)

I had this hat on my “ravelry favorites” for a while. I wasn’t planning to knit it anytime soon though, at least until next fall…
When we arrived at Eskisehir a few days ago… It would be nice to say we froze our rears off… the wind and the cold kicked our butts… of course, since we had spring in full swing back in Memphis and since I had no intentions to pack all winter, spring and summer clothes, we had no beanies for the kids… My MIL found a hat for my son, who has a huge head and would be fine with an adult size hat… my daughter on the other hand, refuses to wear hats and can only wear extra soft, loose hats, that she likes the colors of… again, she is only 2, but she is a she like many people who read this blog and I am sure most could very well relate…

I knit this hat on 2 needles instead of the circular ones that the pattern calls for because I didn’t have my needles with me. We are visiting my in laws and I didn’t bring all my needles. I felt like a chef without my own knives…

I had to knit it quickly, so I held 2 strands together of this worsted weight yarn and knitted with the largest needles in my MIL needle stash. The needles were really old and I wasn’t able to read the size. They were made in UK and in mint shape… it is bad for my blog, but good for the project. I got 13 stitches to 4” (10cm). I actually didn’t gauge my work first -I know, I know put me in knitting jail this time-, and I made a hat for my daughter’s baby doll instead (see below picture)… I wonder if I learned my lesson about gauging yet, please remind me next time when I screw up a day’s worth of work…
My daughter’s head circumference is 50cm and I cast on 65 for her hat.
For the doll’s hat, I cast on 40 which is perfect size for a newborn (this doll is huge and I am pretty sure it will fit a newborn). Again, don’t forget, I held 2 strands together and got 13 stitches to 4”.

I knit 4 rows, purled 4 rows with the same color ( 8 rows per color) per original directions. This pattern is so simple, yet very clever and looks amazing.

My daughter is one of those toddlers who refuses to wear hats, so far she loved this hat, because it’s a bit loose on her head without falling on her eyes…

The yarn that I used was purchased by my husband’s aunt here at the local yarn store and is almost identical to Vanna’s Choice. It might very well be from the factory who makes Vanna’s choice, since that’s also made in Turkey.

The last modification I made was I made decreases early on and more agressively. I started after 32 rows. First I decreased twice on alternating rows, then on every row. Again, I used 2 needles and knew that the “beehive” effect wasn’t going to happen… All I needed to knit was 40 rows on 2 needles…

I am pretty happy with how this pattern turned out. And will make more with using DK weight and circular needles…

 Noro Hat  Saartje de Bruijn (this model Sarrtjenin sitesinde ucretsiz)

Yun: Rozetti Panco, 100% akrilik 100gr / 205 metre

Renk: Koyu mor, 1/2 yumak , Lavanta 1/2 yumak

Sis: Kendim sisim olmadigindan emin degilim ancak 6mm veya 7mm

Ornek model: 13 ilmek duz orguyle 10 cm’e denk geliyor.

Bu sapka uyesi oldugum ravelry sitesinde uzun zamandir, favori modellerimin arasindaydi. Acikcasi, onumuzdeki sonbahara kadar ormeyi planlamiyordum.

3-4 gun once Eskisehir’e geldik. Yani, “soguktan popomuz dondu” desem kibarlik olur… Soguk ve ruzgar anamizi aglatti. Tabii ki Amerika’dan zaten cocuklarin tum baharlik ve yazliklarini getirdigimden, bir de kisliklarini koymadim, onumuz bahar diye… Sogukta oglum icin kayinvalidem bir sapka buldu. Zaten koca kafa oldugu icin buyuk sapkalari ona hemen hemen oluyor. Kizimiza gelince, zaten sapka giyme kavramina cok karsi. Bir de nadir durumlarda giyerse, illa super yumusak olacak, kafasini sikmayacak kadar bol olacak ama gozune dusmeyecek, bir de modelini begenecek. “Yahu bu cocuk daha 2 yasinda” demeyin. Bu sitenin cogu okuyucusu gibi o da sonucta bir disi varlik… eminim siz de kendinizi onun yerine koyabilirsiniz…

Bu sapkayi modelin onerdigi gibi, misinali sisle ormedim, cunku yanimda sislerim yoktu. Acikcasi kendimi bicaklarimi unutmus sef gibi hissettim…

Cabucak ormem gerektigimden, yumaklari ikiye ayirdim ve iki ipi beraber tutarak ordum. Sis numarasini tam veremedigim icin ozur dilerim… ancak Amerikan sis numarasi sistemine alistigimdan Turkiye’deki sisin uzerinde yazan 6 mi, 9 mu? Bunun yaninda milim midir, numara midir bilemedim… sanirim 6-7 mm gibi bilir sis olacaktir. Ornek modelde , duz orguyle 13 ilmek 10 cm olacak… Itiraf ediyorum, her zamanki inatciligimla ilk basta ornek yapmadim ve de ilk yaptigim sapka kizimin dogumgununde aldigi cirkin bebegin kafasina oldu… Bu sene ucuncu defa “ornek” yapmadigimdan iki gunluk isim bosa gidiyor. Bu da bana ders olmadiysa daha ne diyim…

Kizimin kafasinin capi 50cm -olcme islemi de biraz zor oldu, yaklasik olarak 50 cm diyelim)… 65 ilmek basladim.
Kucuk bebegin sapkasi icin, 40 ilmek basladim. Acikcasi, yeni dogan ya da 3 aylik bebege tam olacak boyutta bir sapka. Unutmayin, yunu cift ip tutacaksiniz, ve 13 ilmek 10 cm olacak… Benim gibi ornek yapmamaya inat edip, kucucuk bebelerin kafasina dar sapkalari gecirmeye calismayin lutfen..

Modelde tarif edildigi gibi ayni renkle 4 sira duz, 4 sira ters ordum. (her renk 8 sira)… bunun disinda modelin hicbir zahmeti yok… cok basit, ancak duz orgulerin iceri kivrilip, modele derinlik kazandirmasindan dolayi akillica bir model…

Modelde son yaptigim degisiklik, kesmelerime daha erken baslamam ve daha sikca yapmam. Kesmelere 32. siradan sonra basladim. Once 2 sirada 1, sonra her sirada kesmeleri yaptim. Cift sisle ordugumde orjinal modeldeki “ari kovani” etkisi pek olmadi… ustu daha duz ve kalpak gibi oldu.

Sapka-antipatisi-olan kizim bile begendi bu sapkayi… Acikcasi bu kadar kisa zamanda bitmis bir proje olarak ben de memnun kaldim. Daha ince iple ve sislerle, baska renkler yapmayi planliyorum insallah… Mesela sari-kirmizi renklerde guzel bir bere ortaya cikacagini dusunuyorum

Instead of the Elmo pinata that I wished for, here’s what I got from my husband for my birthday!!!

For some reason these wild daisies are not available where we live in the US… I guess, since you can pick them up for free, they don’t care to sell them?? Shame on them!!

I have always been in love with them, and this was also my husband’s first birthday gift when we started dating… it was a great surprise, and we filled 4 vases with it!!! the next time I am planning to ask him for a flower bucket to go along with it…

Hugs and happy spring… g.

Efendim dogumgunumde paralamak icin istedigim “Elmo pinata” yerine kocamdan bu papatyalari aldim… Amerika’da yasadigimiz bolgede bu papatyalar satilmiyor… Klasik Amerikan pazarlama yontemlerine ters dusuyor sanirim. Sonucta, kirdan cayirdan bedavadan toplanabilecek seyi satma geregi duymuyorlar sanirim…

10 yil once ilk cikmaya basladigimizda da, koca bir demet (demet demek iltifat olur, balya diyelim) papatya almisti bana… 4 tane vazo bile almadi papatyalarimi… onca yil sonra tekrar koca bir papatya demeti almak cok hosuma gitti acikcasi… tesekkur canim…

Sevgiler… baharin tadini cikarin… g.