Have you noticed how uninspired my post has started out? Yeah, the aftermath of the thesis plus the heat plus the onslaught of revision plus work are all contributing nicely to turning my brain into One.Big.Mush.
Okay, okay, I've been enjoying my time with Dr. D for the past five days, too. We hardly got to see each other in the past three/four weeks. First, it was my mad-rush to finish off my thesis. Then there's my job at the hostel...I do the morning shifts and so I start at 7 a.m. This means I get up at 5 a.m....yeah, sure I can get up later and do a mad-dash to be in time for work, too...but that's not my style. I need my time in the morning chewing on my Muesli and taking a shower. So yeah, 5 a.m. to get up that is. And sure enough, that's not such an attractive time to get up if you were spending the night before at your boyfriend's, eh? So, in order to make up for the past weeks, I've been seeing Dr. D everyday for the past five days, which is a new record for us. It wasn't 24 hours spent together though. I had to leave to get home and do a couple of stuff in between, too. But the best surprise for me was on Friday evening when I wasn't expecting to go over to him because there was a knit-night...he rang me up and asked whether I wouldn't want to come over. Now, that was new for me. None of my previous boyfriends were like that. All they ever asked me was along the line of "Haven't you got somewhere else to go?". Yeah, Dr. D's definitely for keeping.
Anyhoo, Dr. D's leaving to go on a week long vacay with his family tomorrow....so I'll be all alone *queues "All By Myself"*. But fear not, for I have a whole load of stuff planned to do (well, work is still there to do and also revisions...but let's be honest, who would want to know about those?). And it's pretty sure that there will be blogger-visit on Thursday...not telling you which one though. ;-p Anyway, I got to meet up with Dr. D today after work for an afternoon tea (lawdy, that sounds absolutely bloody prissy, doesn't it?) at our favourite place: Victorian Tea House. So, that was extra nice to see him after such a nerve-wrecking day at the hostel (no, I'm not going to start telling you here about how dealing with international guests can really make one goes bonkers)....so yeah, I at least got to see him before he leaves tomorrow. ;-)
Apropos, blogger-visit. I was pleasantly surprised last Thursday when MunchOfLife really popped into Lanaiolo! He wrote to me a couple of weeks ago on Ravelry asking for some LYS suggestions in Munich and I told him a couple as well as my LYS...and he actually made it there! Great to have met you!
I've been feeling really bad about SP12, too. I haven't given that much thought as needed be for the package for my downstream pal. And being the perfectionist that I am, I don't want to give away any clues that might reveal anything about me. But it's just hard when you're living in a foreign country. Oh well, I guess at least revealing the country you're living in isn't going to hurt, eh? But because of this, I still haven't got everything together for the first package. I guess I should make it priority number one for this week to get the package together and finally send it off.
Talking about SP12, I guess I should answer the week's question, too: What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?
Now, that's one hard nut to crack. I used to think that I could never ever have enough yarn...but the confining space actually got me re-thinking about it and I'm happy with what I've got right now. I reckon that the perfect amount of stash is the amount that you feel comfortable with without having any guilt on "having too much". I always jokingly say that I have waaaay too much stash, but I know that it's puny comparing to some of you out there. Bottom line is, I'm happy with it and that's what counts. ;-)
So, that' all for now. I've got too many UFOs on the needles and the attempt to reduce them only mysteriously procures more new projects. Don't ask me how I managed to do that...but it just happened. Hopefully I will have a cute FO to show you soon. ;-)
Right now, I'm going to pop in a DVD (no hostel work tomorrow, since there's a guy coming to read last winter's heat usage in the building and I'm not leaving my keys with my so-called neighbours, since I don't know jack about them) and knit on one of the new UFO. Y'all have a great start to the week, eh?
(Oh, and one last thought thrown in: Boohoo on Germany for playing such a lousy game last night resulting in ending up being second for the European Cup. Junx, Ihr könnt echt viel besser als das gestern! - Don't know when I turned into such a footy. LOL.)
Current Mood: Missing Dr. D already...but I'm feeing good, as long as there is enough ice-cream. Food for the ears: Okay, okay, so this first clip is not music. Thanks to the Gal with the Orange Body-suit (TM - harhar, you know who you are), I'm now addicted to Jeffery and Cole on YouTube. They're absolutely hilarious and got me ROFLing every time I watch a new clip (besides, I think that Jeffery is such a QT!):
And in order to not leave you dry without music, here's what I'm...well, anticipating (OH.Mah.Gaaaaaaaaaawd, I'm so gay in this post!):
Yeah, and the song in my favourite mise-en-scenes:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.)
I'm still here...just not really saying much. There are things that have been bothering me so bad and I have been on edge about whether I want to write about them or not and ended up chicken out and not blogging about it. There's some stuff on the internet and then there's some personal stuff. I'm not sure where to begin.
Let's start off so: Yes, I've been busy with work, boyfriend, thesis, studying, life....yeah, kind of in that order...and so I haven't been blogging. I skim through my bloglines, but I could hardly find inspiration to say something. I'm the kind of person who goes by the motto of "if you haven't got something nice to say, then just don't say anything". Lately though, I've come across so many things that just totally tick me off and I'm finding it harder and harder to hold back. I'm not a fan of critics, I don't like getting any (who does?). I know that constructive critics are good, but still, they will make you feel bad. I don't know whether it comes from my studying and writing my thesis that I've become more critical in most things I see. I start to analyse what people do and say....and I'm not sure whether I sometimes forget to analyse myself.
So, I'm laying my cards on the table and I'm open to the critics that definitely will ensue after this post. I'm sure that I'm bound to offend someone, if not a lot of people with what I'm about to say. I'm sure that people will turn the stick around and say that I'm doing the same thing, too. Perhaps, yes....but I'm just going to be dickhead and tell you that this is my space and I'm going to say what I want to say. I need a space to vent and I'm not going to do that in secrecy anymore.
Let's start off with the internet...or more specifically, Podcasts. In the past month, I found myself deleting some podcasts off my listening list, because I just can't stand the content any more. Yes, there were knitting podcasts that got scrapped because of the same reason...but there is one particular podcast that's not knitting related. I'm not going to do advertisement for this podcast and link to it. Here's the scoop: I started listening to this podcast back from its first episode. It is now up to its 476th episode and I must say that the content has deteriorated so much from when it started. It used to be about technology, news, movies...basically fun stuff and the host - I'll refer to the host as "he" - did a great job at presenting it in a fun way. Problem is, he started to expand and created several different podcasts based on the same line but on different stuff. All of them are well produced and entertaining. What happened was, he would do about 5-6 episodes and then just leave it off....whilst announcing in his main podcast that he will definitely continue doing those other podcasts. Yeah, that was like two years ago. He keeps doing that, i.e. creating new podcasts and then leave it. For goodness's sakes, follow up with your work!
I wouldn't rant about this, but thing is, the expansion doesn't go to just new podcasts. But all the time, he keeps recruiting other podcasts to join up in his "network"....which IMHO is pretty much like a little empire. He got other podcasts to join him, whilst he himself is neglecting all the 10 other podcasts he created. He keeps those neglected podcast online saying that it's a good resource for newer people to find. Sure...but when you listen between the lines, it sounds pretty much like: "I'm leaving it up there like a fishing net, so that people would end up coming to me in the end." Sure, there's nothing wrong with doing that...but how he says it in the shroud of his sliminess is sickening.
Towards the end of every year, he would start this donation marathon, so that he would get money in for the podcast. Let me state here that he's doing the podcast as part of his job, but he's not getting paid for it. His employer tells him that he needs to come up with his own funding for it. Great, isn't it? In my case, I would do it, but I wouldn't go around begging for money in such an offensive way and giving reasons that just don't live up to what it's worth. I got so pissed off and disgusted two years ago at listening to 45 minutes (on a normally 30-minutes podcast) of why the heck we should "donate" the money to the podcast that I ended up writing an email to the podcaster telling him that I find his method ridiculous and that he should be ashamed of what he's asking. No answer. Last year, the same thing.
The only thing that happens now in his podcast are emails and messages that he would broadcast because they glorify his "success" and "how great the podcast" is. He says that he answers every email....yeah, so what the fuck happened to mine? He hardly comes up with new content for the podcast any more, apart from using listener's feedbacks to fill up about 90% of the podcast. The 10% left is used to glorify himself and advertise for his other hibernating podcasts and his minion podcasts.
Second thing on the internet involves knitting....more specifically stuff that's been going on in Ravelry. I'm amazed at how many bad stuff has been cropping up in the knitting community (Keywords: Mystical Creations Yarn, HipKnits, MagKnits to name just a few). Perhaps it's just the perception because with Ravelry, everything got thrown out in the pot and everyone can see them in one place....so that probably makes it more visible to me.
What I'm getting at though is about the craziness about Wollmeise yarns. Don't get me wrong here, I'm really happy about people loving Wollmeise. If you know me long enough, you know that I support her wholeheartedly and wouldn't give any second thoughts about doing advertisement for her. But what's really getting to me are 1) people who are trying to make profit out the demand from Wollmeise right nowm, i.e. eBay and 2) people who can't seem to know when it's enough and stop asking for more..
Let's make this clear here: I have enough Wollmeise with me. I hoard them. I have access to Wollmeise easily enough for you to tell me that I'm not in the position to say things like this. However, let me state that I'm not the one asking for more more more. I have them and I'm happy with what I have. I don't mind having more, or every colourways...but I don't go around trying it get it with every chance. I know there are people out there wanting to try some but weren't lucky enough to get some (yet). And that's why it adds to my loathing of people who got the Wollmeise and put them up on eBay to get profit out of it. Don't you dare tell me there are other reasons like you need the money immediately and need to de-stash. Because in that case you can just put it up on eBay for immediate sales and not for auction. I wouldn't argue either if you put it up for immediate sales and add your shipping costs that you've paid originally to your price. Oh, and yes, I know who you are.
I kept having to tell people that they need to realise it's just one person doing all this and that they should cut Wollmeise some slack. But no, all they want is more....never mind that the one person doing it might just as well drown and die.
I try to accommodate for everyone on the Wollmeiseholics group on Ravelry. I do realise that I can't please every single one of you....but I'm also getting vibes that all you want is more. Sometimes, I just feel really left out and lonely there. I'm still a human being and I do want some kind words and some recognition for organising things. But lately it seems like I'm being commandeered around to do this and that. Seems sometimes people don't realise they're actually dealing with a real person on the other end who is doing this thing in his own free time and getting nothing out of it apart from seeing some people being happy about it. I'm not asking you to write an apology in order to ask me to do something....but some nice words would have been nice.
Lately, I've been hearing more and more critics about Lanaiolo. Yeah, I know you guys read my blog, so please, do note of how I feel about all this. The shop is relatively new, we still need to acclimatise on how to run the shop most effectively. Yes, the yarns are over-priced in some views, but it's still only some amount. Yes, I know you can get probably the same yarn elsewhere for cheaper and I'm not going to say anything about it. However what I'm going to say here is that you've said all those things to me once and that's enough. No need to hammer it in on me. Do realise that I'm just an employee there and I'm not the one running the shop. I can mention it to my boss once, but that's all I can do. I can't tell her how to run the shop because I'm not in the position. You, as a customer, are in the position to criticise constructively to her. But it doesn't bring anything to try getting me relaying all those things to my boss, because I'm not going to do that and put myself in such an awkward position. Sure, I don't always agree with my boss and I'll tell her my opinions...but still she has the last word. If you've never run a shop yourself, then I would suggest you not to start telling other people how to run their shops - yes, constructive criticisms and suggestions are still welcomed...but don't just go right out and say that what she's doing is wrong, unless you really know better because you're in the business yourself.
I'm also feeling left out by some real life "friends" around here. Sure, I'm busy with other things and I'm doing a lot more with Dr. D than with you. But it just seems to me that I'm being left on the edge with things that you do. I've addressed this issue a couple of times now and I don't want to nag about it. But it's making me extremely sad that I'm not being included. Sure, mea culpa for always saying that I can't join...but at the least, I would appreciate the fact that at least I was asked. I do put on a brave face when I get to see you, but really, I'm wilting inside. I'm not sure whether it was because of what I've said or done in the past that you stop including me. I don't know whether you don't realise you're doing it. I don't know whether you don't see it as I do. But yes, it hurts.
Lastly, I'm terrified about the prospect that Dr. D might have to move away for his job. It's nothing specific yet...but still the thoughts just terrify me to no ends. I mean, it's not like he's going to be out of the picture....and it's not like I can't move with him. But at the moment, I can't imagine living in another city apart from Munich - although admittedly, I've been getting fed up with Munich lately. It's just that I'm the kind of person who needs a lot of close contact with my partner and I just can't imagine doing distant relationship.
I'm really grateful for having Dr. D...coming to think of it, he's actually the most considerable of boyfriends I've ever had so far and he's patient with me. I've learnt a lot about myself in the past 6 months that I've been with him and I notice changes in myself and my attitudes, however gradually it is. Even though I might not have said it or show it blatantly to him, but he's one of the very few things right now that really makes me happy and I sure hope he knows it.
Anyway, sorry about the gloomy, ranty and venting post. I've got fibre/knitting related stuff to show you, too...and that will come. My 4th blogiversary is coming up and I'm thinking of doing some kind of contests. I'll see.
Please, people, don't hate me for what I've said above...I've just come to the point that I can't hold it in any longer and need to make room for other things in my head....I just hope that I won't be regretting this post afterwards.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Current Mood: Pensive...I guess Food for the ears:
So, there you have it. I'm now officially 26 years old. It doesn't feel any different at all, apart from the fact that I can feel more responsibilities looming over me. :-p
Thank you very much to everyone who have wished me happy birthday, either here, via email, on Ravelry or on Facebook. I really appreciated it.
I had a wonderful weekend and a wonderful birthday on Monday. I actually asked Dr. D to come around to the SnB group on Sunday evening a bit later on so that the camera crew would have finished filming and interviewing us (I was filmed and interview by a German TV channel on Thursday about my knitting and spinning, then they also did that on Sunday with the SnB group). He first said yes, but ended up not being able to come. So he sent me a message saying that he took Monday off work (mainly because he needed to do some work preparation for the day that follows) and will spend the day with me. That was actually the best birthday present ever for me already....
So, I went over to his place afterwards. Earlier in the day, I told him that I don't really celebrate birthday (and yes, that's a fact). All I ever want to do on my birthday is spending it with people I love and care about and just being there. I don't need all the tra-la-la on birthday. Sure, I like to get presents and I like to get congratulated on my birthday...but I don't measure too much of a meaning into it, apart from the fact that this shows that people are thinking of me, and that's the most anybody should ask for on their birthday. So, I was surprised and really touched that Dr.D went over to cram out some stuff from his wardrobe when the clock hit midnight and presented me a profiterole with a candle on top and a box of my birthday present. He told me that I told him too late about the fact that I don't really celebrate. Anyway, I ended up crying a bit because I wasn't expecting this...
The present he got me was a mouth-blown glass fountain pen along with a bottle of green ink with green tea aroma and a cute card. The gift was really thoughtful. Two weeks ago when I went to the Deutsches Museum with Dr. D was the first time we saw this glass fountain pen. Dr. D said he wanted one but didn't buy it back then. I told him that I like it, too, but couldn't imagine having one because I can only use it at home (you have to keep dipping the tip into the ink, like the old fashion feather) and can't just take it to the university to use. Well, now I have one. :-) Dr. D bought himself one, too.
Anyway, Dr. D also treated me to a brunch yesterday before he had to start doing some work preparation. So, I left and met up with Celina, who I haven't seen since November last year. She treated me to an afternoon tea and then invited me over to her place to have dinner with her and her husband. And that rounded off my 26th birthday really well.
So all in all, I can say that I had a great birthday. :-)
Going back a bit further, we went to have breakfast/brunch with one of Dr. D's friends on Saturday. The weather was really weird. It was pretty mild, but was cold with the wind. When Dr. D and I went down to the tube, everything was fine. By the time we got out and came to the surface, the ground was covered with snow, frozen rain and water...and it was sleeting. We ended up trudging through everything and got our feet and shoes totally soaked.
The weather cleared up while we were in the restaurant, so we all decided to go for a stroll through town, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos. We went into Theatinerkirche which is one of my favourite photo motifs here in Munich.
Afterwards we went to have afternoon tea before heading back our own ways. By that time, the blue sky you could see from the few photos above was turning really murky again.
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):
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:
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.
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."
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:
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!
Yesterday I kind of mentioned to him my dilemma about whether I should get myself a spinning wheel or put the money aside to pay off my debt. He just told me to get the wheel. Yeah, just like that.
Mind you though, it's still my money...but the fact that he actually gave me the nudge to do what would actually make me happy was such a wonderful gesture for me. Besides, Jeanie pointed out a good point in her comment: What would matter about paying off the debt is also the total amount of the debt itself. And let me just tell you, the little extra money that I have right now would be just a droplet on a hot stone....so, I would justify my getting the wheel on that note.
Besides, like both Alala and Bockstarkhave pointed out, I need to find a way to keep the fibre stash down before it consumes me in my tiny flat. :-p
So yeah, I've ordered the wheel. ;-)
On a different note: I went on a walk with Dr. D and his friend yesterday in the park to the Nymphenburger Palace and I took some random photos. Here are some of them:
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.
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!
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!!!!
Started: 22nd December 2006 Finished: 14th February 2007 Yarn: Regia Canadian Colour 4-ply sock yarn, colour #4733 "Ottawa" Needle: 2.5 mm/ US #1/#2 Inox dpns Pattern:JayWalker by Grumperina on MagKnits
Wow, I haven't blogged for over a week now....don't ask me what happened, I wouldn't know myself (well, probably something to do with the fact that Frank had been sick since Saturday...but that's another story)
Well, at last I finished my second pair of JayWalkers. Although it seems that my gauge had tightened when I came to the second one (the one below - notice the toe, there's no pink stripe going through the brown), so it turned out somewhat smaller than the first....although I have to say that the stripings match up almost perfectly on both socks.
I've washed them already but won't be wearing them just yet...maybe on this Sunday to SnB.
Started: 1st February 2007 Finished: WIP Yarn:Lana Grossa's Meilenweit Magico, colour #2528 Needle: 2 mm/ US #1 Addi Turbos circs Pattern:JayWalker by Grumperina on MagKnits
Now, I've also started my first Project Spectrum.
This is the first time I'm doing a sock on MagicLoop and I really like the technique. I also like DPNs....however I'm not very fond of the 2 circs technique....so it seems that I would stick to using either DPNs or MagicLoop for now on and reserving 2 circs for when I don't have spare needles. (I ordered the Addi Turbo extra for doing MagicLoop)
I have to admit though that I've started this before February, but ended having to frog the whole thing out and start again. I started off using the 2.5 mm Addis (my usual size for socks), brushing aside what I've heard about the gauge being looser with Addi Turbos than with normal knitting needles....I got about 3/4 of the leg in the picture done and asked an opinion of my friend, who rightly pointed out that it seemed too loose. So I ended up frogging the whole thing and restarting with 2 mm Addis instead.
And, yes, it's another JayWalker. I know, I'm so pathetic. But really, I can't find any other patterns that I like out there....most of the sock patterns seem to gear towards women, i.e. lacey...and I don't think that I want any holes in my socks, thank you very much. If it's something for men, it's kinda dull with chunky cables. It's also a dilemma that I don't want to just knit a pair of simple stockinette socks because it's just going to bore me to death....but maybe it might be a good mindless knitting. I might attempt it. But for now, it's JayWalker all the way. :-p
...and I walked past this interior design atelier on Sunday and they had these colourful carpet samples showing in the window. Thought that it looks kinda pretty and suitable for Project Spectrum.
Anyhow, like I had mentioned, Frank's been sick since Saturday and he doesn't seem to have got that much better yet. Poor thing...I'd been taking care of him though...
So as it turned out, we did nothing for Valentine's Day....but then again, isn't Valentine's overrated anyway? Firstly, I personally don't really mark this day. Yes, I got Frank some flowers...but it wasn't much because it was Valentine's, but rather because yesterday actually marked the half-year that we'd been together. Although I don't know whether Frank really cares about such a thing. I kind of mentioned it to him a couple of times in the past few weeks, but it didn't seem to interest him. Besides, he's sick anyway...
...and then again there's also my stupidity (but with good reasons) that I was being a jerk to Frank on Tuesday night. I won't go into details here, but suffice to say, I got a bit pissed off at him and he also at me. It's kinda okay now but there are issues at stake here which I absolutely need talk to him about....and get tabula rasa over everything. I put off talking to him about them yesterday because he was such a sick baby....but these issues still nag me very persistently, so much that I haven't been sleeping very well since Tuesday night now....so sick or healthy, I really need to talk to Frank soon.
Well, at least I got that out of my system...feels a little bit better, but not 100% though. :-(
Anyway, hope you guys have a good week...and also a great weekend coming up. Take care!
Started: 26th January 2007 Finished: 03rd February 2007 Yarn: Wolle Rödel Soft Merino, 100% superwash merino, colour #359 Needle: Two 4.5 mm Addi Turbo circs (using 2 circs method) Pattern: Shedir from Knitty's Breast-Cancer Awareness Mini-Issue Modification: Since I'm using bigger yarn and needles than called for, I did only 3 repeats of the cable pattern before decreasing
Yes, I finished off Shedir on Saturday night...and I'd been wearing it since. I can't exactly say that the pattern is fun to knit. It was quite a fair bit of work to knit all these cables...thank goodness I know how to cable without a cable needle, otherwise I'd have gone bonkers dealing with the extra needle (although I used 2 circs instead of dpns to knit this).
One of the nicest features that I find on Shedir is the crown decrease. It makes quite a nice pattern.
I might knit another Shedir some time in the future, but I think I'll go for a smaller gauge and better yarn. As for now, I'm satisfied with this one. :-)
And FYI, I had the yarn in my stash already and I'm not yet cheating on the StAL 2007!
Anyway, on Saturday, Frank had to go to work really early and no, this was not usual. Anyhow, he had to be there quite early and so in the process, also woke me up and the day got kinda thrown out of pace. I spent the morning trying to finish off my Shedir (but ended up finishing it over at Frank's in the evening).
When Frank got back to me early in the afternoon, we couldn't decide on what to do. Frank suggested we go swimming. I wasn't sure about it since my parents were ringing me up on that evening, but I got my stuff together anyway. On the way to Frank's, however, we started talking about dinner and Frank got this idea of doing a Japanese Sukiyaki for dinner. So we ended up going shopping for the ingredients instead. You can see the photos of the food that Frank made. I don't think that there's any need to mention how delicious the meal was, right? ;-)
On Sunday, we went out to take some photos...above is one of the good shot I got. Here are Frank's loots worked in HDR (if you have Flickr, then go leave him some nice comments).
Well, that's just about it, but before I leave you, here are two more I got from yesterday:
And yes, that's a crocus. There are heaps of croci everywhere, and it's February.
The weather's gone mad. The forecast's saying that it's going to snow tomorrow....even though the temperature right now is about 6 degrees centigrade. And it had been pretty warm the past week...so temperature's going to plummet again tonight....
Wow...Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for all the comments in the last post!
I didn't get around to blog during the whole Christmas/New Year time at all...but well, I'm still here and still very well alive. Worst thing is, I haven't really catch up on all the blogs yet...and I probably have over 100 entries that I haven't read, so I'll probably be doing that after posting this. :-p
So, how was Christmas? Nice. In Germany, they celebrate on Christmas Eve. I was, of course, at Frank's. We had a wonderful dinner...there were however only three of us: I, Frank and one of Frank's ex (don't ask), which was fine by me since I'm usually more at ease with a small group of people.
We had seafood for hors-d'oeuvre: Oysters, scallops and lobster. Then for the main course, Frank made Duck à l'orange (one of my favourite dish of all time) and for dessert we had Mousse au Chocolat. Not to mention the three and a half bottle of alcohol we had a champagne, white wine, red wine and half a dessert wine...The dessert wine with the Mousse au Chocolat gave me the last kick in the butt to go say hello to the porcelain trophy in the bathroom. :-p
I'm not sure about the dates any more now, but at some point during the holidays, we went to see Babel with one of Frank's friend. Not really sure what I think about the movie...the length notwithstanding, I still liked the movie.
Then last Friday I finally went to see The Holiday. Nice movie. And for you knitters out there who might have seen the movie: OMG! Did you see that white cabled cardigan Cameron Diaz was wearing in the movie??? OMG!
Anyway, New Year's Eve came a-rolling. My parents rang me up earlier in the evening to say Happy New Year to me and told me about the bombings in Bangkok....nobody I know was hurt. Anyway, later on I and Frank went over to Frank's friends' where we had raceltte and other yummy stuff....enough alcohol that I had to stop myself at some point. Midnight came and we went down for the fire-crackers....and I was being bad...or tried to be (photo at the end of this post). We stayed at his friend's until about 4 a.m. Frank saw me in party-mood for the first time. We got back home (my place) and this time, it was Frank who won the porcelain trophy (my fault, I should've looked after him and gave him water. The whole evening he drank just one glass of water...and and immeasurable amount of alcohol).
So, that was the festivities.
Frank's hubby (well, ex, to be exact, but they still live together - and yes, I know him and we talk...so, we'll just leave it at that) has gone away yesterday, so it was my very first time that I got to stay over at Frank's. Just wanted to point that out. :-p
Well, that's all for now! Wishing y'all a good start to 2007!
