On Mystic Light Shawl, Optim and Rothenburg o.d. Tauber

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 19th April 2008
Finished: 30th April 2008
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% superwash merino Sockenwolle in "Koralle im Meer" (light)
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm / 80 cm
Pattern: Mystic Light Shawl by Anna Dalvi (aka Knit & Knag)

At last I got around to taking some photos of the Mystic Light Shawl. I surprised myself knitting this whole thing in only 11 days. Admittedly, the shawl's not that huge...but it's still a good sizes shawl.

I have problem with the colourway though. It is pretty busy that it obscures the lace pattern. But thanks to clever photography tricks, I can get the lace pattern to show on the photos.

I might knit this shawl again in a more solid colourway. I'll see.

All in all, I reckons that the shawl is beautiful and it wasn't such a hard pattern to knit like the Mystic Waters. The cables that run down the middle and along the top edge of the shawl as well as the true lace border add an interesting point in the knitting.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I was racking my brain trying to think of a nice setting to take photos of the shawl because I had to represent light somehow. I started out thinking about taking the photo of the shawl with a lamp post...but that was tacky and out of the question because I couldn't reach up the lamp post anyway to hang up the shawl. :-p I settled for the small park around my flat and hung the shawl up on the tree with the sunlight streaming through the shawl to represent the light. The branches of the tree created shadows and helped representing the mystical part of it.

It was so windy when I was doing the photoshoot that I thought the shawl would fly away. Alala reckons that the colourway reminds her of Superman. LOL, imagine if the shawl had really blown away and flew around in the wind. It's a Superman Shawl! Thank goodness the tree barks were so rough that the shawl hung on to it very well.

Anyway, I've also finished spinning up the Optim:

Chameleon Colorworks Optim: Tahiti, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Chameleon Colorworks Optim: Tahiti [97:366, 06.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 22nd April 2008
Finished: 05th May 2008
Yardage: approx. 412.5 m
WPI: 18 WPI (plied)
Fibre: "Tahiti", 4 oz/113 g merino optim from Chameleon Colorworks given to me by ClaudiaWarner
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode, navajo-plied on 16:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

There are some super thin parts on the finished yarn...I just hope it won't break because I'm already knitting with it:

Le Flambé du Pacifique [100:366, 09.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 8th May2008
Finish: WIP
Yarn: My own hand-spun - "Tahiti", merino optim from Chameleon Colorworks
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm - 80 cm (US#4 - 32")
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2006

I'm knitting a Swallowtail out of my "Tahiti" optim hand-spun.

"Flambé" is French for the Scarce Swallowtail...it's native to Europe and not the Pacific. I chose the name "Le Flambé du Pacifique" (Scarce Swallowtail of the Pacific) because the colourway "Tahiti". Besides, I reckon that the colours on the Flambé's wings also reflects the colourway of this shawl.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Plönlein [95:366, 03.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Lastly, Dr. D and I went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber together last Saturday. It was our first trip alone together to somewhere, where both of us haven't yet been.

Nice picturesque hamlet....but it has unfortunately turned into such a tourist trap. Things are overpriced and everywhere there are only shops selling knick-knacks to fill the clichés but that nobody actually needs.

We went to two museums there: Reichstadt Museum and the Mittelalterliches Kriminalmuseum. Otherwise we just walked around town and looked at this and that.

Oh, and I got to try some "Schneeball" (it's a kind of snack and a specialty of Mittelfranken), which kind of made me sick afterwards because it's so fatty.

Very last thing though, I really would like to thank every single one of you who sent me words of encouragements and understandings concerning my last post. I'm feeling a lot better now that those things are out of my system. I have to make it clear though that when I talked about the negativity on Ravelry...or rather about HipKnits, it wasn't about the customers or something like that as some of you might have thought (well, those of you who knows the story wouldn't have needed any explanation anyway), but it's about the scandal that came with the shop's closing down a whole load of other things - no idea why I thought the shop had closed. I won't go into detail about it here since it doesn't really concern me (I never bought anything from there)...but if you're curious, I'm sure you can find information about it all over the net anyway. ;-)

ETA: Oh, dear Eru! Now there are even people copying spindles! That's getting kinda bad....if not very bad.

Well, so now you've caught up on everything. Have a great week, everyone!

Current Mood: Good
Food for the Ears: (If you listen to the Knitters Uncensored Podcast, you might remember this song....oh, and the video might not be very kid/work-safe.)

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On Catch-Up Time!

AustralMerino Ombria [76:366, 13.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 13th April 2008
Finished: WIP
Yardage: n/a
WPI: n/a
Fibre:100 g of AustralMerino Ombria from Die Wollfabrik
Spindle: Open work Italian Resin top-whorl spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs

You know, it's been quite a while ever since I actually just really blogged instead of copying whatever I've written on Flickr underneath the photos and just post it here. So, I guess I have a bit of catch-up to do.

I actually went off spindling for a while...or actually off the spinning at all. But thanks to Bockstark Knits, my spinning passion came to a new bloom. You see, Bockstark got into knitting with some hand-spun and now she just wants to spin herself. And from there, the spinning bug just jumped over and bit me again.

Another catalyst was the spindles that I ordered from Butterfly Girl Designs came in the post at last...and of course, I had to start spinning again.

The one that you see above is an Italian Resin top-whorl. It's really light (0.5 oz) and is really great for fine spinning. BGD has put up a tanned whorl colour and a white one....I had been eyeing the white one for quite a while but held myself back because I have so many spindles already, only to feel kinda disappointed when I saw that the white resin one was sold. I just found out that it was snatched from me by Stick and Whorl...*grrrrr* LOL. She sure does a great job with the spinning. ;-) And now I have new blog to read. Yay!

Butterfly Girl Designs: Black Lip Mother-of-Pearl Top Whorl [75:366, 11.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Then I also got this BGD spindle with Black Lip Mother of Pearl whorl. It's even lighter than the Italian resin one and is the lightest spindle I have around here. I'm resisting about spinning some random stuff up with this spindle, because I have just ordered some batts from Copperpot and I think I want to spin one of the batts up with this spindle. Not that I have any project in mind. I think that I'm also a process spinner. :-p

Right now my fingers are itching to just try out different fibres. I think that after I finish this entry, I'm going to break out some of the sample fibres I have here and then play with them a bit on one of my spindles.

Opal Socks [77:366, 14.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 06th April 2008
Finish: 12th April 2008
Yarn: Opal "Wintermärchen" ("winter fairy tale") sock yarn in colourway #2155
Needles: 2.75 mm Rosewood DPNs from Lanternmoon "Sox Stix"
Pattern: None....just plain stockinette over 68 stitches, eye of partridge heel

I've also finished a pair of socks. Honestly, the colourway's not really my cup of tea..but hell, I'm not going to say no to a pair of hand-knit socks. I got the yarn as well as the DPNs from the Handarbeits- und Hobbymesse in Cologne that I went to a couple of weeks ago with my boss from Lanaiolo.

I've decided to follow Bockstark's footsteps in having simple mindless (read: stockinette) socks on the needle at all time. And this was one of the first pairs.

Canyon Lands Toe-up, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 12th April 2008
Finished: WIP
Yarn: Interlacements Tiny Toe, colour #214 "Canyon Lands"
Needle: 2.75 mm Lanternmoon DPNs
Pattern: Universal Toe-up Sock using Magic Cast-On

And so the second pairs of simple socks follows. I'm using the yarn I won from a contest over at Esoteric Knitter's almost a year ago. I really love how the colours are turning out knit up and the feel of the sock is also really great.

Lastly, you should go and listen to the latest episode of Knitters Uncensored! Why? Because we finally got the Wollmeise to come on the podcast!

Well, that's all for now. I want to go spin! *Wheeeeeee!*

Current Mood: Craving some spinning
Food for the Ears: "Somebody" by American Heartbreak

On I'm still here

Butterfly Girl Designs Spindle in action, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wow, feels almost as though I've been unplugging from the blogosphere. I think I kind of lost a bit of my blogging mojo. But well, as the photos accumulated, I felt that I either need to blog off some of them or otherwise scrap a whole load.

Anyways, if you've been following, I've finished my Mystic Waters Shawl (yeah, that's the temporary photo. I still need to take an artsy one).

Apart from that, my birthday has been a kind of extended one. What's with all the packages that came in in a period of every couple of days. The photo above is actually the second package. A good friend who wished to remain anonymous to the net sent me my much coveted Butterfly Girl Designs paua shell mosaic drop spindle.

Another birthday present: BGD Paua Spindle! [44:366, 07.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I had been lusting after the paua shell version of her spindles ever since she made the first one and put it on the shop.

Apart from this, I also got the spindle with the new kind of swan neck hook, which really reduces the wobble when spinning to as much as none when comparing to the old style hooks that BGD used before (not that the wobbling ever bothered me at all).

Birthday presents from Alala [42:366, 05.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Apart from that, the first birthday package that came in the mail was from Alala, who got me my birthday presents from my Amazon Wishlist (English one here).

So, I got the European version of Brokeback Mountain (2 discs collector's edition) and Inspired Cable Knits (that book has been on my wishlist for so long now!)

More B-Day Gifts [48:366, 11.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

A couple of days later, I received the next package. This time from Charles. He got me a small vintage Kromski Niddy-Noddy, 2 mixed CDs of Indie music (not in the picture) and his own hand-made card. Thank you very much!

More belated B-Day Gifts [50:366, 13.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The last package came from a collaboration between three dear friends of mine, two of which, I think, would prefer to be mentioned anonymously (but those in the knows can pretty easily guess who they are). Otherwise, the third one was BockstarkKnits. Thank you sooooo much!

So, I got the Kromski tensioned Lazy Kate with four extra bobbins. The Wollmeise Wellensittichvogelfeder in lace-weight for my Mystic Light KAL and a hank of worsted-weight each of Pfefferminz Prinz and Amazonas....and of course three test hanks.

That seems to conclude the birthday present bonanza.

I've otherwise been working on my thesis, as well as knitting and spinning.

Hemlock Ring Blanket, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 06th March 2008
Finish: WIP
Yarn: Gedifra Shetland Deluxe: 50% New Wool, 25% Baby Alpaca, 25% Mohair
Needles: 4.5 mm / 100 cm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood from Brooklyntweed

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 28th February 2008
Finished: Singles finished on 7th March 2008, Navajo-ply on 12th March 2008
Yardage: approx. 160 m / 50 g of light fingering-weight to almost DK-weight
WPI: n/a
Fibre: 50 g roving of extrafine merino in black with white mulberry silk
Spindle: Singles spun worsted on carved Agate top-whorl spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs, Navajo-plied on Kromski Minstrel on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

I'm pretty proud of this spin! It was just a test-spin for the roving that I bought in order to see what it would turn out like.

I spun the singles on the spindle and navajo-plied on the wheel...and it turned out soooo perfect!

The tweedy effect came from the un-dyed mulberry silk, which also in turns lent a certain shininess and sparkle to the whole appearance of the yarn.

The yarn's not staying with me though, because I'm going to give it away as a prize for the contest over at Knitters Uncensored. You can enter, too, even if you don't listen to the podcast. Just go and read the show notes for the latest episode to see what you have to do.

Yarnwench: Galway [49:366, 12.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 13tg February 2008
Finished: First bobbin of Singles on 10th March 2008
Yardage: n/a
WPI: n/a (aiming for navajo-ply fingering-weight)
Fibre: "Galway", 3.8 oz/108 g Domestic wool top from The Yarn Wench given to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

I also got halfway on this one. The spinning is taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r.!!!! The singles is really time consuming and the prospect of spinning another full bobbins of singles and then navajo-plying two bobbins full of it is pretty hair-raising already. But I'll persevere. :-)

Spina di Pesce from Alala [52:366, 15.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Lastly, I also received my PIF from Alala.

I couldn't believe it, but she knit me a pair of Spina di Pesce from Yarnissima in the special Wollmeise colourway for the pattern!

I had been wanting to knit this pattern for myself for quite a while now (and yes, I'll buy myself the pattern...or the kit and knit another one). But WHOA, Alala used up th yarn and the leg's long. If I pull it up all the way, the cast-off edge touches the bottom of my kneecap! (You can see the curve of my calf covered by the sock...and I never had that before.)

Thank you so much!!!

And no worries, I've already started doing my first PIF project. It'll take some time though, because I've got a lot going on right now.

Well, that's all I have to tell you for now. Hope everybody's well!

Current Mood: Okay

On Rolling in Yarns and Fibre

Wollmeise: New members, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Lawdy....this is what happens when I start saying that I won't have time to blog: I get an explosion of contents that want to be blogged about. So, I'm going to retrace my steps backwards.

Last night, we recorded the new episode for Knitters Uncensored. So, keep your ears perked for the new episode on your iPods. After the recording, I also got to hand-pick the new Wollmeise colourways out of the tub over at Bockstark Knits. I kinda ordered a skein each of the new colourways but told the Wollmeise that she doesn't need to hurry them to me - I mean, I hardly have the time to knit anyway. At any rates, I got the following skeins (in order from left to right in the picture. Click on the name to go to individual pictures):

• Franz (light) in 100% Superwash Merino


• Vincent (medium) in 80/20 Twin


• Paul (light) in 80/20 Twin


• Emil (medium) in 100% Superwash Merino


• Boboli (medium) in 80/20 Twin Wild Thing

They're all sooo yummy. I'm in such a yarn and fibre overload right now that I don't know what to do. I really want to cast on for some new socks...but I have the dilemma with all the WIPs lying around and also I don't know which yarn to use. Wollmeise is always on top of the list, but I also want to try out some yarns I have in my stash.

Talking about fibre....going back even further, while we were recording, I also received my belated Christmas pressies from Bockstark:

Niddy Noddy & Alpaca with a Twist, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

She got me a much needed Niddy Noddy! Now, I still need extra bobbins and a tensioned lazy kate. :-p And along with that, she got me 200 g of 100% Baby Alpaca combed top from Alpaca with a Twist! And OMG...this stuff is gorgeously soft!! I'm already planning something for it...although it will be quite a while before I get around to it. Right now I have a bigger ambition in mind with my spinning. ;-p Won't be telling you about it just yet though.

That's not all. She also brought back this:

Hazel Knits: "Green Lake", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

It's the super squishy sock yarn from Hazel Knits, who Bockstark stalked during her visit back home.

From Hazel Knits website: "Inspired by a lake right in the middle of Seattle surrounded by a super bike/walk/run path. Greenlake is a beautiful blue with a hint of algae and lily pads caressing its edges."

Then there was also another gift from a listener:

Tofutsies (789), originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I'm not so sure about Tofutsies though. But I won't say anything just yet until I knit with them first. ;-) Thank you very much for the yarn!

Otherwise my weekend was pretty good. I got to spend pretty much the whole weekend with Dr. D. It's Fasching at the moment...not exactly my type of celebration (I don't really like dressing up and being silly). Anyhow, Dr. D and I were at his friend's place on Saturday night and I cooked. We had a bit to drink and they started with the Karneval songs....I got a good bit of alcohol in me and so I started being silly and danced around, too (on the table, that is). It was kinda funny. Not so funny however was the part when we went over to the neighbours to continue the party. Everyone except me were smoking and I just don't really have it with smoke. I drank a bit more and that just got me. I was feeling sick and had to run to the loo a couple of times. The last round ended my night, because I was on the real verge of throwing up (I was regurgitating already). So Dr. D took me home (very sweet of him - I actually told him to just stay and party on and I'd just go home by myself, but he said that that was a silly idea.)

I got better once I got in bed and got to lie flat on my back for a while.

Going back further on last Friday....I had been keeping this quiet....but guess what? I started work at the new LYS!!!! I'm doing this parallel to my reception job at the hostel for the moment. If the LYS really takes off, then I'll probably just work there. Anyhow, if you're around, come and visit me. I'm working there Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The place is called "Lanaiolo" in Grillparzerstr. 35 in Munich. I'll try taking a photo this Thursday when I go in.

And the last bit for this post? I have a spinning FO to show:

The Yarn Wench, "Grange", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The Yarn Wench, "Grange" (2nd bobbin), originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The Yarn Wench, "Grange" (1st bobbin), originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 22nd January 2008
Finished: First bobbin of singles spun on 23rd January 2008, second bobbin of singles on 28th January 2008; first bobbin navajo-plied on 28th January 2008, second bobbin plied on 29th January 2008
Yardage: 105 m / 55 g (first bobbin), 135 m / 55 g (2nd bobbin)
WPI: approx. 14-16 WPI (DK-weight to fingering-weight)
Fibre: "Grange", 3.7 oz/105 g Domestic wool top from The Yarn Wench given to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted and plied on 8.5:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

I was originally aiming for sock yarns but ended up not having enough yardage for socks. However I'm happy with how the yarn turns out. The first bobbin has some inconsistencies but the second bobbin turned out pretty even.

I really love the colours. The photos are pretty accurate colour-wise (at least on my monitor) and I didn't tamper around with them much at all apart from turn the brightness up a notch.

So, that's all I have to report for the moment. I promise that I will get my survey out of the Pay-it-forward people this week. So, keep a look out for that!

Have a great week, everyone!

Current Mood: Good

On New Toys and Christmas presents

Butterfly Girl Designs: Carved Agate Top-Whorl Spindle, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Butterfly Girl Designs: Carved Agate Top-Whorl Spindle, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Carved Agate Whorl - 2.25"
Tapered Carved Dark-Wood Shaft - 10"
Weight - 1.6 oz

From Butterfly Girl Designs.

Butterfly Girl Designs: Lapis Lazuli convertible spindle, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Butterfly Girl Designs: Lapis Lazuli convertible spindle, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

A custom order from Butterfly Girl Designs: for me:

Lapis Lazuli Whorl - 1.5"
Dark-stained Walnut Shaft - 10"
Weight - 1 oz

Yes, I got new toys from Butterfly Girl Designs! LOVE both of them, especially the carved agate one. Both the spindles spin like a dream!

Lapis Lazuli is one of my most favourite stones of all time. The reason it is my favourite stone is because of its esoteric properties, i.e. it enhances your psychic ability. I used to be very into esoteric stuff...but not that much anymore. However, the love for this stone has stayed on...and I'm so happy to have Lapis whorl spindle now. The quality of the stone itself is pretty good: It has a rich dark but vibrant blue colour and it hasn't got too much impurities in it (the white part - calcite - of the stone)...and for my personal taste, I always like the golden pyrite running through it.

As for the Carved Agate one, I'd been drooling over that for a while and then just decided to get it anyway. ;-) Right now I'm spinning up a certain project on it:

Lace-weight singles: Midnight Sky, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 17th November 2007
Finished: WIP
Yardage: n/a
Fibre: 50 g of 18 micron Merino from Wollwerkstatt
Spindle: Carved Agate top-whorl spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs

I'm definitely spinning THIS in to a lace-weight single and will be knitting a shawl with it....depending on the yardage I'm getting. If I get approx. 400 m, I think I'll make either a Swallowtail or Woodland Shawl...since the Flower Basket Shawl isn't available on the Knitting Daily anymore (unless one of you guys out there have it). OMG! Thank you so much to Jess, Chocolate and Knitting!!!

Anyhow, we recorded the 10th episode for the Knitters Uncensored podcast today...and since I wasn't sure whether I'll get to see Bockstark Knits and Cashyie before Christmas or not, I decided to give them their presents.

Cashyie got her Kolenyas:

Kolenyas #09 for Cashyie, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 07th January 2007
Finished: 15th November 2007
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, 100% Wool, colour #124
Needle: 3.5 mm INOX dpns
Pattern: Kolenya from Sheep and No City

This had been in hibernation for such a long time. I finished it in just one day and gifted it to Cashyie for Christmas. However, my gauge changed when I was making the twin...and so it's tighter than the first one.

Then Bockstark Knits got this:

DK / Worsted-Weight: "Merry Berries", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

DK / Worsted-Weight: "Merry Berries", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

DK / Worsted-Weight: "Merry Berries", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 18th October 2007
Finished: 09th November 2007
Yardage: Approx. 150 metres / 100 g
WIP: n/a
Fibre: 100 g of 100% merino; 18 micron; from Wollwerkstatt
Spindle: Ashford Classic Bottom-Whorl

There are some thick and thin parts, but mostly it's pretty consistent. I also fulled the yarn while finishing it and it fluffed up quite a bit. It's really soft and squishy.

Overall, I'm very satisfied and proud of the resulting yarn. I hope that Bockstark Knits would be able to make something pretty out of it.

And here's one pretty photo of the spinning in progress

DK / Worsted-Weight: "Merry Berries", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Sorry that I'm not very talkative today. I'm totally knackered from work at the bar two nights in a row (still have to work at the bar starting in an hour and a half tonight) plus I got home from work last night and couldn't sleep until 3.30 a.m. and had to get up early today to go record the podcast. At least I hope that the pretty pictures made up for words. :-)

Current Mood: Tired but good
Food for the ears: MuggleCast episode #119

On Chocolate....just add caramel

"Dental Floss" single, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 22nd September 2007
Finished: 25 g, spun in single on 11th October 2007
Yardage: approx. 225 m
WPI: n/a (but definitely more than 25 WPI)
Fibre: Anettes Wollwerkstatt merino batt, 19.5 microns
Spindle: Anettes Wollwerkstatt Turkish Cross Spindle

Yes, I finished spinning my brown dental floss....and now the yellow one is being spun up.

I can't wait for the yellow one to be done and then I can ply it together with this brown one. Really curious as to what it will look like.

"Dental Floss" single, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

"Dental Floss" single, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Anyway, on Thursday, I received two packages full of rovings that I ordered last week. I still have one more package to come though...but I'll keep quiet about that last one for the moment.

The first one that arrived was one kilogram of 100% Australian merino rovings I got from Wollknoll (in German). It's a huge ball of roving...and just for sizing, I put a skein of Wollmeise sock yarn beside it for you:

Australian Merino Rovings, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I'm thinking about spinning a (semi-)worsted-weight single out of about 150-200 g of this and knit up a My So-Called Scarf...although I'm not sure whether I would be able to wear the colour or not. We'll see.

Then the second package come...and OMG this one:

Ashford Corriedale-Alpaca mix, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

This is 500 g of Ashford Corriedale-Alpaca mix I got from Wollinchen (also in German). The percentage of the mixture wasn't stated, but I'm guessing something around 80/20 or 70/30.

Anyhow, this stuff is super soft! I can't wait to spin this up. I'm not so sure how I'm going to spin this one up though. Any suggestion?

Wollmeise Sock Yarn: "Fratello", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

So, before I go over to Vaterstetten, I better show you this. Yup, it's the "Fratello" colourway from Wollmeise. It isn't available at her shop though, since it's a special colourway for the sock kit in co-operation with Yarnissima. I've had this one for quite a whiel now, but I never blogged about it because it wasn't announced yet. I was supposed to test-knit for Yarnissima, but I never got around to it. Bockstark Knits did though. Yeah, I know, bad knitter, no cookies, right?

Wollmeise 80/20: "Tiefer See", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

So, Vaterstetten.

Yesterday, I went to the wool market in Vaterstetten with Alala and another girl from the SnB...and no, I didn't take any pictures. :-p

I fully intended to go and get myself another spindle (with the weight in between the two that I have, which is 40 g for the Turkish cross spindle and 120 g for the Ashford classic low-whorl). Unfortunately, there wasn't any shop that sold spindles at all. This was quite a disappointment for me since it said on the back of the flyer I got at Benediktbeuern, that the supporting programme included "wool carding, hand spinning". I totally thought that the hand spinning part would mean there will be spindles on sale. Bummer, eh? (Okay, maybe there might be some today...but I'm not about to go over there again today. Besides, I spent all my money that I allowed myself for the market yesterday already.)

Anyway, the picture above is part of my haul from the market. Obviously, the Wollmeise was there. I originally intended to get one hank of yarn for a specific project from her....but since I couldn't get any spindles, I had some allowance for something else. And of course, I just had to try out the new "80/20" sock yarn. And what a coincidence that she had "Tiefer See" there! I had been dying to get my hands on this colourway for a while now but never got around to getting it.

From the initial petting, I can say that the yarn is very squishy comparing to the 100% merino sock yarn. It's also very soft....not that I'm saying that the 100% merino isn't soft. The 80/20 just has a different kind of softness to it. I can't say which one I'd prefer until I've knit the 80/20. So, be sure that I'll get back to the review again.

Wollmeise Lace-weight: "Pfefferminz-Prinz", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

So, originally I wanted to go get a hank of the Wollmeise lace-weight specifically for the Mystic Waters KAL (yeah, I finally caved in for one of these mystery KALs). Originally I wanted the "Tiefer See" colourway, but the Wollmeise hasn't got any left in the lace-weight, but she suggested the dark version of "Pfefferminz-Prinz" instead....and OMG! It's even more perfect than "Tiefer See"! "Pfefferminz-Prinz" doesn't have a "water" name, but thinking of water, the colourway is perfect...the darker green/teal/black part really adds to the "mystic" part of the KAL. And it really gives depth to the water itself!

Wollwerkstatt Roving: Navy-Green, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollwerkstatt Roving: Green-Brown, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

And to make for the market not having any spindles, I found some gorgeous rovings and got these two for myself. They're both 50 g of 100% merino with 18 microns...so they're super soft. They're both from Wollwerkstatt (in German yet again).

The top one has some very deep green interspersed with the dark navy. You can't see any of the green in the photo though, but believe me, it's there. ;-)

So, that's my haul from Vaterstetten. Before I finish this post, I have some story to tell from yesterday.

When we arrived in Vaterstetten, we had to still walk to the market itself. We asked for direction a couple of times. The last time though, I went up to these three ladies and asked them whether they knew where the market was. Turned out they were from Nuremberg and didn't really know either. However, they had directions from Google with them, so we tagged along. At one point, one of the lady turned around to me and asked whether I'm on the internet (i.e. this blog here). So, OMG, someone recognised me from my blog! So, here's a shout-out to the lady from Nuremberg!

Then when I was petting some pretty lace-weight over at the Wollmeise stall. There was another lady who was browsing through. I was talking to the others, but I noticed that this particular lady kept looking at me. At last she seemed to have plucked up enough courage and came to ask me whether I'm one of the Knitters Uncensored! Turned out she's Shaun (Ravelry link because she's blogless) and she's a listener and also member of the Uncensored Knitters Group on Ravelry.

It's just so funny that I got recognised twice on the same day. But well, we were at a wool market after all. ;-)

Well, that's all I've got right now. Wishing you all a great Sunday and a good start to the week!

On Benediktbeuern Report

I got back home from Frankfurt on Friday night at 11.30 p.m. after having spent the whole day in Frankfurt with only 2 hours of sleep after work at the bar the night before. So, you can imagine how exhausted I was when I had to get up early the next morning and pack my bag for Benediktbeuern weekend and went out to meet those who arrived early at 8.30 a.m. (FYI, I usually pack my bags at the very latest the night before I leave for anywhere....so the fact that I packed my bag on the morning when I was to leave should tell you that I was totally knackered the night before).

So, I went off to the main station and met the first person who had been there even earlier than me. DeKnit got in a lot earlier with the night train from Bremen, so she was equally tired as I was. We got coffee to keep ourselves awake and waited for the others to arrive. One by one, the participants arrived and the group was complete with Cashyie, Ms. B, Alala, Tini, Fbz and Projektleiterin and her mum who were joining us just for the day.

We took the train to Benediktbeuern with only one change of train in Tutzing. On the way to Tutzing, Tini was seated beside this old couple and she was constantly being questioned by the guy, Ron (photo hotlinked from Tini - hope it's okay), about what she was doing. Ron was unusually interested in what we all were doing and he was picking up our names and tried to use it ("Look what Cashyie's doing!"). I mean, in a way, it was cute but otherwise it was kinda creepy and annoying. Ron's wife kept telling him to leave Tini alone to count her CO stitches.

However, the first train was delayed causing us to have to wait an hour at the Tutzing station for the next train to come. No problems at all, since we just go get ourselves something to drink at the cafe in the station and just whipped out our knitting. :-p

Project bag, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

During the train ride to Tutzing, Ms. B started distributing her project bags among the participants. This is the one that I got.

Wollflur: Brown Batt, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Tini also gave me a present, which is this batt of natural brown wool for me to spin. There isn't any information on which kind of wool it is, but I'm guessing that it's merino with about 20 microns. Thank you so much, Tini!

We got in to Benediktbeuern and made a bee-line to the Wollmeise stand where we met up with the Wollmeise herself and Yarnissima. The tag you see on the project bag was made by Yarnissima and was also distributed among the participants. We were then joined up by Andrea from Das Schneeschaf and her oh-so-cute boyfriend. ;-)

I then got the group to go check in. We were all very impressed by the rooms we got. We paid EUR 29.50 each for a double room with breakfast....and the rooms were huge!

Turkish Cross Spindle with rovings to play, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Annettes Wollwerkstatt: Merino Batt, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Annettes Wollwerkstatt: Baby camel and silk, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

After we had stored our bags away, we all went down to plunder the Wollmeise stand and started dispersing throughout the market. I ended up getting myself a new Turkish cross spindle which is a lot lighter than my current Ashford one and will allow me to spin lighter weight yarn without constantly breaking the yarn. At the same stand, which is Anettes Wollwerkstatt, I also got some sample rovings to play with and to demonstrate how to spin in the evening. I got the brown and yellow one and will be spinning them both up and plying them together. From the same place, I got about 50 g of this light blue batt of merino wool at 16 micron and it's very soft! (Anette explained to about the correlation of softness and micron worth to me). But the loot that I drooled over was the 100 g of un-dyed batt of baby camel-silk blend that is super soft. I can't wait to spin all these up soon!

After that I went to look around at other stands and went back to the Wollmeise stand where I picked out some yarns and got them put aside for me because I didn't have the money to purchase them at that moment.

I talked to the Wollmeise and asked whether she would like to get my Clementine Shawlette to put on show at her stand, to which she warned me not to bring it down. Apparently a lot of people wanted to buy the FOs she had on show there and she was afraid that my Clementine will be doomed there. Apart from that, if they can't get the FO they'd want to get the pattern, which wasn't readily available for free.

Despite her protest, I ended up bringing down my Clementine to show her and told her that if anyone express interest in buying it, she should just sell it to them. Which led to the next question of how much I wanted to sell it for. I was totally unprepared for that question and never have given any thoughts to it. While I was struggling to find an appropriate price for my beloved Clementine, the Wollmeise wrapped it around her shoulders and looked at me and rephrased her question to "How much do YOU want for it?".....so I told her that if she wanted it, she could have it. We struck a deal and I "sold" my Clementine to the Wollmeise for some yarns that I picked out and I paid for the rest of them. ;-)

And here are my loots from the Wollmeise:

Wollmeise: Natur, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Johannisbeere & Brennnessel, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Red Hot Chilli, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Spice Market, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Löwenzahn, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Frosch, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

It will be pretty interesting when I get around to dye yarns again to try and dye the Wollmeise stuff. ;-)

It's also interesting that my colour palette had been extended towards the red spectrum. I have always liked blues, but ever since since I started knitting, I have extended it to green and now red. What is it going to be next?

We all gathered at the Wollmeise stand again at about 6 p.m. that evening and heded off to have dinner together. The whole group took over one large table. It was a lively group. The few highlights at the dinner table was the northerners trying to cope with Bavarian food terms. The very real highlight, however, was when Andrea (Schneeschaf) took out her bag full of MariSilk and every knitters at the table just jumped up and pounced on the yarn.

Andrea told me over at Ravelry prior to Benediktbeuern that she would come join us, so I told her to just bring her MariSilk along because I'm sure that we all will want to buy it....and buy it we did.

Das Schneeschaf: Storm Cloud, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I didn't buy any, because I didn't have the money for it...but the fabulous Fbz_, who took the two hanks of Storm Cloud that I was petting beforehand, handed over one of the hank for me just like that! Thank you so much Fbz_!

Wollmeise Socks from Fbz_, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

After dinner, we all gathered in my and Ms. B's room with lots of booze (linked photos courtesy of Ms. B).

Then Fbz_ outdid herself again by handing over a pair of hand-knit socks out to me. She knit me a pair of socks out of Wollmeise's "Wellensittichvogelfeder"! She did it because I moaned on the podcast about the fact that nobody ever knit me anything and boom! Fbz knit me a pair of socks! Thank you soooooo much! I LOVE them and have worn them a couple of times already.

The night progressed on with a lot of fun. We ended up getting too drunk and didn't do any kind of "workshops" as planned, but just had a whole load of fun together. Fbz, Andrea and I were spinning whilst the others were knitting or talking. All of us were drinking (apart from Andrea herself, because she still had to drive) and the night got progressively drunk. At one point, I just hit the limit and had to get in bed and the group left to go to bed. Cashyie stayed on knitting and talking with Ms. B and they apparently had a drunken adventure going out to buy Cashyie's train ticket for the next morning (she had to leave earlier than the rest of us), of which I had no idea of, since I was long in slumber-land.

The next day was spent walking around at the market and having something to eat together and knitting around. Ms. B and I made an interview with Andrea, which you will hear on the next episode of the podcast.

That pretty much concludes the Benediktbeuern weekend. I didn't take any photos (well, I took about 3 pictures), but you can view the photos Ms. B and Fbz made as well as go read the reports done by the others.

Well, that's all for now. I want to go spin some yarn. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Current Mood: Good

On hooked on spinning!

Spun "Filzwolle": Details, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I finished spinning up the singles yesterday while we were recording the podcast. This is the first time that I can do something while podcasting. I seem to not be able to knit while podcasting, because I end up trying to count and can't concentrate. But with spinning, I can just let the thing flow through my hand!

Spun "Filzwolle": Details, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

And look at how even the singles are! I'm really getting the hang of this!

Anyway, I came home with the singles and was determined to learn to ply. Miss Violet told me about Andean Plying, but Island Girl left me a comment and told me about the Handy Plying. So, after I've read about the Handy Plying, I opted for it.

So, I started putting the single on my hand...and it was a lot. I started plying and thought that I would end up with a tangled mess. But things went well. I plied then I washed it and hang to set the twist....and here's the result:

Hand-spun: Midnight Lilac, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Hand-spun: Midnight Lilac, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Hand-spun: Midnight Lilac, Details, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Specification:
- Rovings from Wolle Roedel "Filzwolle", 50 g in colour blue-lilac
- 2-ply
- 51.75 m (approx. 56.25 yrds)
- 8-10 WPI

And can I say that I'm feeling totally smugged and chuffed about this! I LOVE it!

I just can't believe how good my first ever 2-ply hand-spun turned out! I really don't know what I'll make with it. It's only more or less 50 metres long.

Anyway, right now, I'm just going to bask in the happy radiance of having achieved something all by myself!

The next batch of rovings has already been started on the spindle. No pictures yet though, but that will follow! ;-)

That's all for now. Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Current Mood: Good
Food for the Ears: Ready, Set, Knit! Podcast

On Sock-a-licious

Sunset in Winter Footsies, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 30th July 2007
Finished: 11th August 2007
Yarn: Regia 4-ply, Hand-dyed by me (75% superwash virgin wool, 25% polyamid; 50 g / 210 m)
Needle: 2.5 mm/100 cm Lang Needles (comparable to Addi Turbos)
Patte