On Hey! What's the Big Ideaaaaa?!

First attempt at designing [105:366, 14.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 13th May 2008
Finish: WIP
Needles: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% superwash Merino Sockenwolle, "Frosch"
Pattern: My own, based on a stitch pattern.

I have been debating with myself whether I wanted to blog about this one or not...but I guessed that since the picture's public on Flickr anyway, I might as well talk about it.

Anyway, so this is "Salomé (Dance of the Seven Veils)". Since I've taken this photo, the sock has grown to the point where I'm putting in my own design. But it has already come to a halt due to the fact that I still need to work on my thesis.

When do you start calling a design your own design? At the moment, this is a modification or a put-together of a pattern out of a pattern book. But I have plans for this one.

What do you think? I think that if I'm successful at figuring everything out with this pattern, the biggest problem would be sizing, since I wear EUR 44 / US Men 10.5....and the stitch count for the pattern adds up just perfect for my size. This will mean that there will be problem with sizing for smaller feet. Or maybe I should just do this for men only. ;-p Although I already have some great ideas for sizing down...however, I will be able to work that out only when I've finished this sock.

You wouldn't believe how many times I've frogged and restarted the sock before I settled on this. I started off with another yarn, then figured I should just use Wollmeise. Chose the wrong colourway, then another wrong colourway before I ended up with this one. (Not to mention the first try with that other yarn....it involved about 6 times of frogging...now I know the pain of designing.)

I'm still not sure what will happen with the design, i.e. whether I'm going to submit it or sell it or publish it for free. I'll have to see.

The Yarn Wench: "Feather" [111:366, 20.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 16th May 2008
Finish: first bobbin of singles on 17.05.2008; second bobbin of singles on 18.05.2008; Plied on 19th May 2008
WPI: 15 WPI
Yardage: Bobbin: 304 metres / 82 g; Spindle: 48 metres / 13 g
Fibre: 3.3 oz / 95 g of The Yarn Wench Domestic in "Feather", sent to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Singles spun worsted and two-plied on Kromski Minstrel, 8.5:1 double-drive. Left-over singles Andean-plied on Butterflygirl Designs 1.6 oz carved Agate top-whorl

Anyhow, since I have no real knit FOs to show, here's at least a spinning FO.

I'm really happy with the result of this yarn. It's my first real 2-ply using my wheel and tensioned lazy kate.

I got the bobbin so full while plying that it wouldn't take on any more yarn, so I had to break off and make an Andean-bracelet to ply on the spindle.

Interestingly, the spindle plied yarn seems to turn out differently...probably because the two-ply resulted from the same singles and not from two strands of different singles. The colours are a bit heathered and the yarn is fuzzier. Mind you though, it might be the fact that I hit the singles in the part where the colours are lighter than other parts, too.

All in all, I'm happy with the yarn. I could probably get a decent size anklets out of the skein.

Here are some more photos:

The Yarn Wench: "Feather", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The Yarn Wench: "Feather", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Anyway, it was my 4th Blogiversary on this past Sunday (18th May 2008). I said in a previous post that I would do some kind of contest. Well, I haven't thought of anything yet. So, it will be on hold for the moment until I can think of something. Then we'll have a contest. ;-)

Lastly, before I try getting back to my thesis, I'm going to share with you the real reason why I'm blogging right now instead of doing my thesis. Thing is, this morning, I heard a song that's been stuck in my head all day long now....and well, I can't concentrate because of it. Some of you might already have an inkling of the song from the title of the post...so be warned, you might get it stuck in your head, too. LOL. The song is at the end of the post. ;-p

Have a great week every one!

ETA: I might have a very exciting piece of news concerning myself soon. I don't want to reveal it at the moment - so not to jinx it. And just to be clear: No, Dr. D and I aren't getting married or anything like that. Just in case you were thinking along that line. :-p

Current Mood: Jiggly
Food for the Ears:

On Yarn pr0n!

"Spring Flowers", Navajo-ply lace-weight [84:366, 22.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

"Spring Flowers", Navajo-ply lace-weight, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

"Spring Flowers", Navajo-ply lace-weight, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 13th February 2008
Finished: First bobbin of singles on 10th March 2008, second bobbin of singles on 17th April 2008 - plied 20th-21st April 2008
Yardage: approx. 230 m / 50 g
WPI: 23 WPI
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, navajo-plied on 16:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

Okay, seriously, what the heck is wrong with me? I seem to not be able to get fingering-weight. Either my stuff turn out DK-weight or lace-weight. I was aiming at getting fingering-weight with this one, and from my last experience, I knew that I had to spin the singles thinner in order to end up with Navajo-plied fingering-weight....but obviously, my singles was waaaaaaaaaay too thin. I mean, really: 23 WPI..plied!

Well, at least I get a good yardage out of these two skeins. Each of them has almost the same amount of yardage and weight, i.e. about 230 m / 50 g. That means, with the two skeins, I can make a small shawl out of it! Mind you though, the skein from the second bobbin was a bit of a hazard. Seemed like I got into spinning cobweb singles that the singles ended up breaking about 10 times while plying.

Oh well....overall, even though I didn't get fingering-weight, I'm still pretty happy with the result.

This is all Bockstark's fault. She got into spinning and has thus been throwing rapid fire questions about wheel spinning at me...and so that re-kindled my spinning fire. Otherwise I guess these two skeins would have just sat there for three more months or so. :-p

Last weekend was the Sauerlacher Spring Market, where the Wollmeise was going to have a stand to sell her yarns. So, what does a good Wollmeiseholic to do? Of course, go over and get yarns!! Here's my loot:

Wollmeise: Sultan, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Am Kalten Polar, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Brombeere, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Miss May, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Granatapfel, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Feuerwanze, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Kraeuterbeet, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Koralle im Meer, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Vergissmeinnicht, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Spice Market, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Yup, 9 skeins of sock yarns (I got 2 skeins of Koralle im Meer) and 2 hanks of lace-weight! They're soooo gorgeous!

It was such feeding frenzy at the market. We (me, Bockstark and a couple more knitting friends) got there and literally a minute afterwards all hell broke loose with all these people coming in all at the same time. I ended up standing in one corner and couldn’t get out and had to defend the skeins that we put aside because people were grabbing from that. LOL. It was fun and it was great!

Anyway, I got the 2 skeins of Koralle im Meer in order to re-start the Mystic Light. I originally got the Wellensittichvogelfeder in lace for it and have already started knitting it...only to be frogged after two days. The colourway was just too busy and it totally obscured the lace pattern. Wellensittichvogelfeder has four contrasting colours: black, yellow, blue and green. Whilst Koralle im Meer has contrasting colours on it, but it has only 2 main colours, namely blue and orange/red. I was skeptical when I was knitting up the Koralle version because it seemed that the colourway is going to distract from the pattern again. However, I thought that I would really give it a go, besides, the fingering-weight - which was originally called for the pattern - seems to work better than the lace-weight, since the cables seem more pronounced.

And I think that my perseverance with this colourway has paid off....it worked:

Mystic Light, 60 rows done [83:366, 21.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 19th April 2008
Finished: WIP
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)

It's interesting that you can see the lace pattern quite well when the shawl's not too close. But if the shawl's close enough, you'll be distracted by the colours. ;-)

I definitely will stick with this one...it's really growing on me now.

Well, that's all for now. Hope everybody has a good week!

Current Mood: Good, but in need of some tea...

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 Icarus!

Icarus Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th April 2007
Finished: 03rd April 2008
Needles: 3.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace circs
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Lace-weight, 100% superwash merino, 300g Hank (530 m / 100 g), colour: "Poison No. 5"
Pattern: "Icarus" by Miriam Felton from Interweave Knit Summer 2006

"Nam ponit in ordine pennas a minima coeptas, longam breviore sequenti,ut clivo crevisse putes...postquam manus ultima coepto imposita est, geminas opifex libravit in alas ipse suum corpus motaque pependit in aura; instruit et natum 'medio' que 'ut limite curras, Icare,' ait 'moneo, ne, si demissior ibis, unda gravet pennas, si celsior, ignis adurat: inter utrumque vola. (...)

...cum puer audaci coepit guadere volatu deseruitque ducem caelique cupidine tractus altius egit iter. Rapidi vicinia solis mollit odoratas, pennarum vincula, ceras; tabuerant cerae: nudos quatit ille lacertos, remigioque carens non ullas percipit auras, oraque caerulea patrium clamantia nomen excipiuntur aqua, quae nomen traxit ab illo. (...)

At pater infelix, nec iam pater, 'Icare,' dixit, 'Icare,' dixit 'ubi es? Qua te regione requiram?'

'Icare' dicebat: pennas aspexit in unis devovitque suas artes corpusque sepulcro condidit, et tellus a nomine dicta sepulti."

Finally, it's finished! I think that it's really beautiful. Even though knitting the body was tedious and boring, but the result was well worth it. Now I have to pack it up and send it off to my mum for her birthday.

I went to do the photoshoot yesterday and took about 30 photos. They all turned out so great that it was hard to choose. So, I picked out a lot of them. Hope you like them.

I chose some passages from Ovid's Metamorphoses "Daedalus and Icarus" and posted it above. If you want to read the translation, you can find it here.

Photos are taken at Königsplatz.

Here are some selections of the photos. You can find the rest of them here.

Icarus Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Icarus Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Icarus Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Current Mood: Good

On Telly and Wingspan

"Icare, ubi es? Qua te regione requiram?" [69:366, 03.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th April 2007
Finished: 03rd April 2008
Needles: 3.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace circs
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Lace-weight, 100% superwash merino, 300g Hank (530 m / 100 g), colour: "Poison No. 5"
Pattern: "Icarus" by Miriam Felton from Interweave Knit Summer 2006

LOL, the wingspan part is a teaser. More to come. ;-)

"Icare, ubi es? Qua te regione requiram?"

Anyhow, yesterday, I was on the German...well, Bavarian telly knitting and spinning. It's kind weird seeing yourself like that. I reckon that I looked and sounded horrible....but it's a nice 5 minutes of fame.

They filmed me back towards the end of February and beginning of March. I was followed around on two days. The first day, I was filmed and interviewed at Lanaiolo, i.e. the LYS I work in...and they also interviewed the owner (Katharina Ritter). Then they did a shooting with me in downtown Munich...which was quite an experience, as the town was full of people and they just stared - which contributed to my nerve-wrecking nervousness. Then on the second day, they came and filmed me at my tiny flat while I spun on the wheel. After that, we went over to the SnB and filmed the whole group.

Anyway, I don't think that they put the video up on the web to see...but who knows, someone might put it on YouTube. Mind you though, the thing's in German. ;-)

ETA: Thanks to a friend on Ravelry, there's a YouTube video now:

And here's a translation/transcript of the text for those of you who don't speak German:

Narrator: Too wacky or too corny. Too ordinary or too expensive. Victor W. from Thailand can’t do much with the normal mass products. But self-reliance is the name of the game.

Elemm: I always have my knitting with me. I knit various projects during the same time and this here is going to be a scarf.

Narrator: He started with the handiwork two years ago when there were problems in his relationship.

Knitting is not (well-)known in Thailand and so Victor taught himself how to knit with instructions from books and the internet. At first, he knit small squares and then also garments and accessories, which he either gives away or wears it himself.

Elemm: This, for example, is my scarf. I knit this about a year ago and it is….well, yes, I wear it pretty much all the time.

For me, knitting is an addiction…but a good kind of addiction, because it’s meditative, relaxing, creative and very productive.

Narrator: Victor can’t get enough of his object of desire: The wool/yarn. The solution? He works at a shop of another birds of a feather, Katharina Ritter.

Elemm: To work here is like a dream come true, because I’m at the source. There so many different kinds of yarns here that I can try out. And I also get to know the different kinds of yarn.

Katharina: Here we knit with high-quality yarns, a lot of which are from organic cultivation. The customers ask about it. Say, if the yarn comes from China, then they don’t want to have it. However, the products that we have here are geared more towards (producing) ready-to-wear garments. It’s a fashion that you can really wear.

Elemm: …it has to be soft and not scratchy. I would say that good quality can be found in a wool that’s not scratchy.

Narrator: To produce a knitted garment by yourself is a lot more fun than just buying clothes off the rack. It just takes longer.

Katharina: I want to have a beautiful jacket that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. This is half wool, half silk and it feels great. And it is really mine. I made it and it’s probably one-of-a-kind in the whole world. You wear it with a matching pride, because you made it yourself. I also found out about a nice side-effect and that is the fact that it makes me feel good, because I did something using my own two hands…on the contrary of my normal office job that I have. And I end up with something to wear.

Narrator: Victor can speak 12 languages (LIIIIESSSS!!!! – it’s just 6). He has lived in Germany for 8 years, but it’s through his hobby that he has found a lot of friends (also a lie!). He takes care of 3 knitting groups.

Chit chat at the SnB

Petra (short blonde hair): …and if you have to tink back and have to frog because something didn’t work out then it’s pretty nerve-wrecking but you get over it.

Narrator: Victor and his friends stand by their hobby. To knit in a café you need to have some guts…especially as a guy.

Elemm: I think that guys just aren’t brave enough to knit in the public…especially in the midst of women.

Marion (blonde with glasses): …it’s not something that a man would normally do. It’s a typical female work. If a guy were to stand there with a saw and do some woodworks, then that would probably be more accepted in the public than a guy knitting.

Petra: There are people who say some stupid things to us. There are people who want to order something from us. A lot just come to the group and so there are always new people coming to the group because they can see us and suddenly go: “Oh, I also knit, too. When do you usually meet?”

Narrator: And here is Victor with his new passion: Spinning. The hobbies have changed his life.

Elemm: I would say that it has made me more colourful. I feel more confident wearing more colourful stuff…well, good, at the moment it’s more with the socks. But also scarves and mittens have become more colourful. And through spinning and knitting, I’ve also become more patient.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Current Mood: Good
Food for the Ears: "In the Deep" - Bird York (from "Crash" Soundtrack)

On two FOs to show

Mystic Waters Shawl [60:366, 24.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Waters Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Waters Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Waters Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Waters Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th October 2007
Finished: 27th February 2008
Yarn: Wollmeise lace-weight in "Pfefferminz Prinz" (dark)
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm / 80 cm
Pattern: Mystic Waters Lace Shawl by Anna Dalvi (aka Knit & Knag)

At last I got around to taking some photos of this shawl. It's so huge that I can't get all the details in....at least not without help of a model.

Anyway, as you can see, I've finished this shawl back in February.

I'm extremely proud of this FO. It's such a beautiful pattern coupled with gorgeous Wollmeise yarn.

Funny story attached to the shawl: On Saturday (22.03.2008) I went over to show the shawl to a friend who works at a LYS. When I got there, there was an Arabian lady (you know, the type that wear total black and cover everything up apart from the eyes) with her son there. She was crocheting something and was talking to my friend. As soon as she saw my shawl, she wanted to buy it off me. I'm pretty sure she would pay a very high price for it....but with the shawl being such a work of toil and its being my first one, I couldn't part with it. However, having someone who was willing to pay a handsome sum in Euro for a shawl that I knit is such a compliment.

But wait, there's one more!

Raku-Clapotis, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Raku-Clapotis [58:366, 22.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Raku-Clapotis, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Raku-Clapotis, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 05th February 2008
Finish: 21st March 2008
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, 100% Superwash Merino in "Raku-Regenbogen" (Light and in an older version of the Raku)
Needles: 4.5 mm - 80 cm Addi Lace
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert from Knitty Fall 2004

Yay! It's finished. I really like it.

I used up most of the yarn. By the end, I have about 15 g of the yarn left. I think I could have added one more repeat to the straight rows (I've added 3 extra repeats already).

I'm going to send this one away. ;-) I've also started on a new one for myself in "Emil".

Well, that's all I have to show. Have a great week, everyone!

Current Mood: Good but tired.

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 an epiphany over Le Sacre du Printemps

Le Sacre du Printemps (Firestarters - FO), [366:13, 05.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 03rd October 2007
Finish: 04th February 2008
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, colourway "Bob"
Needle: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Firestarter by Yarnissima via The Loopy Ewe
Modifications: I needed to modify the stitches to make it fit my foot. 72 stitches instead of the 60 stitches from the pattern and one extra cable repeat before the gusset increase as well as extra cable repeats on the leg. I also used the Judy Magic Cast-On instead of the provisional CO as well as EZ's sewn bind-off instead of doubling the yarn and do a normal bind-off.

Yup, my pair of Firestarters is completed. Best fitting pair of socks that I've knit so far....and perhaps also the brightest pair colour-wise.

Fortunately, this FO also coincides with the first triad of this year's Project Spectrum!

Anyhow, I finished these last night and was wondering what I could bring in to work today to knit. I picked up my Beetlejuice JayWalkers....I continued knitting on it a bit today at work, only to find that my gauge had changed significantly and I wasn't very sure what was the last step I was doing 5 months ago. So I decided to frog it and re-start.

Then I had an epiphany: I'm not going to re-start it and I'm going to start frogging some of my old projects that had been on my needles for too long. It feels very liberating. I have been feeling burdened by all these UFOs that I don't really feel like knitting on any more and I kept telling myself that I would finish them "one day". Well, that "one day" seems to take too long. So, I'm frogging quite a bit of projects. This of course, doesn't really extend to projects that are more than half finished (especially twin-less socks like my Vinnland - well, actually I have to frog the twin and re-knit it - and the blue Jaywalkers from last Project Spectrum). I'm probably going to frog my Montego Bay Scarf and re-knit the yarn into a Clapotis instead...I'm still considering frogging the Clapotis I started when I started off knitting two years ago....then there are various projects that I had started but haven't gone far into it yet. I'll see.

When I've done frogging, I will be left with less UFOs....which in turns means that I should be able to at least cast-on something new...like a another pair of socks with yarn that I want to try knitting. Sounds like a deal, eh?

Well, I better get going on the frogging then! ;-)

Current Mood: Good and excited about the frogging!

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...Life is extremely good!

Wollmeise Christmas Gifts, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I was woken up when my doorbell rang this morning. At first, I considered not opening, because there had been incidents where some brats from the first floor was using me as their portier. But then i thought better of it and opened the main door to the building.

The mail man was there and he handed over a 5 kg heavy box to me. I was still a bit dazed from sleeping and was pretty perplexed about the package. I didn't order anything and wasn't really expecting anything to come in either....well, I know that eventually there will be a package coming in for the Knitters Uncensored from Socktopus Mike...but I wouldn't have thought of a package in that dimension.

I opened up the box and was then wide awake. It's my Christmas presents from Claudia, aka the Wollmeise!!!!

I was so shocked because I ddn't expect anything at all...besides I wasn't even doing any Christmas present this year either...that package contained some yummy stuff...and full of FIBRES!!!!

And so I rang up Claudia immediately to thank her and had a chat....

Thank you so much Claudia! You're such a wonderful person! Take good care of yourself and get some rest over the holidays.

And now on to the content:

Wollmeise Christmas Gifts: Yummies!, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

She sent me a Christmas card along with some stickers (not in the photo), a box of French truffles, a bag of different sorts of Elisenlebkuchen (gingerbread of sorts) - three of which are already gone - and lastly: Absinthe! I've always wanted to try out absinthe!!! OMG....I'll have to find an evening to try it out with Dr. D!

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 60 g Gottland Lamb's Wool, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 250 g Hand-dyed roving, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 530 g Baby Yak, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 400 g pure Linen, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 520 g Silk-Merino, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 1 kg combed rovings, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise Christmas Gift: 700 g rovings in assorted colours, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Now, that's A LOT of fibre! I think that I really to consider the possibility of getting myself a wheel soon, because my arm's going to fall off if I ever want to spin all of this. I don't even know what it's going to be like trying to spin 100% linen on a spindle. That'd be quite an experience....especially the Baby Yak!

Thank you so much Claudia!

Then I was downtown before and went to the LYS (Wollkorb at Sendlinger Tor) to ask them whether they will ever get the Noro Sock Yarn in or not. Apparently I wasn't the first one who asked. :-p But they said they don't know yet. Anyway, I also asked whether they've got the new issue of the Filati Men's Special or not. They did. I was going for my wallet and she just handed the magazine to me and said that it's a gift and Merry Christmas to me. It took a couple of seconds for that to register and I just had to beam. I just thanked them, wish them a Merry Christmas, too and hop out of the LYS.

Ladies and Gentlemen, yes, today has been a very good day and I'm still extremely happy about things. Now, I have to get ready to go see Dr. D. Poor thing has a cold sore...I wonder if I could still kiss him. :-p

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Current Mood: Fuzzily elated
Food for the Ears: "Santa Claus is coming to town" - Frank Sinatra, listen to the song on my Vox

On an exercise in patience