Still no time to really blog. Drowning with thesis stress right now. Just want to write here a bit, so that my Upstream SP12 doesn't think I've been sucked through the floor (although I really feel like that right now).
Peepz, tell me whether you hate the automatic numbering thing on Microsoft Words or not. It's driving me nuts right now because it's not doing what it should do. I got the sequence like: 1., 1.1, 1.1.1., 1.1.1.2, etc. Then suddenly I got 4. instead of 2.!
What.The.EFF?!
And it wouldn't let me change it. When I got around to change it, it consequently effed up the whole thing.
ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!
Oh, yeah, just got off the phone with Dr. D. He's the one in a good mood right now (usually it's vice-versa). He laughed a bit when he heard about how down I am right now. No, no, I didn't take offense (his laughters did cheer me up a bit...exactly what I need right now). He said that it's because he really believe me now when I said that I understood him when he didn't have time for me because of his stuff at work/university. Apparently he didn't totally believe me before. LOL. Oh well, it's nice to know that he believes me.
Anyway, I'm absolutely knackered. My brain's just about to explode and I don't think I ever want to hear about Thai politics ever again after next week.
Drinking a big glass of Vintage Port right now and then I'll hit the hay.
I'm not even going to start about what's going on at the hostel at the moment. *sighs*
Hope your week has started off better than mine. Take care, y'all.
Current Mood: ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! *meh* Food for the ears:
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:
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)
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.
So, this is what you do when you work in a LYS...you go around posing with yourself in the photo because you have been waiting for this moment for the past two years.
I was there today because I had to fill in for someone. The owner had to go to a funeral and the other lady who works there couldn't come in today.
Anyway, it's good for me because Dr. D's not here this weekend and I would have been lost by myself. Besides KnitLady came and knit with me and kept me company. Today was the fourth time I've worked there. FYI, if you feel so inclined to come visit me, I work part-time there Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m....
Up until this moment there's nothing much going on. I mean, the shop's new and so it still needs to be noticed. There is going to be a Knit-Night next Friday (15th February 2008) from 7 p.m. on. The catch is that, the owner's asking for a participation fee of EUR 10. There's a free soft-drink included....and also a surprise. ;-) I know part of the content of the surprise. Anyhow, she's offering non-alcoholic drinks and toasted sandwiches. If you're new to knitting and want to learn, you can on that evening. You need to register for it, the contact info is as follows:
When you register to come, you'll also receive a 5% discount on the yarn you buy before and on the Knit-Night. We stock the most GGH in Munich and we also carry Gedifra, Lang, Schachenmayr Nomotta, Regia and On Line.
(Rant in)
Anyhow, the only thing that happened today was a lady who came in with her husband. It was obvious that the husband didn't want to come...but she probably had dragged him in.
She came in and wanted me to help her fix her short-row heel ("Boomerangferse" in German) which was full of holes. I asked her whether she did the wrapping ("Umschlag" in German, which also means YO), she said no "because it's not in the instruction". So, I tried explaining to her that she needs to do this wrap-and-turn in order to prevent the holes, instead of just do a k2tog.
She looked at me and blinked.
And then she asked me whether I have never heard of the "Boomerangferse" before. I said, I know exactly what it is and how to do it and that there are variations on how you do it.
She looked me up and down again and blinked. The husband started huffing and shuffling around.
She gave me her socks on the needles and told me to frog it back and pick up the stitches for her.
I told her that the best way was to insert a life-line where the heel knitting begins and then frog down to that part and then pick up the stitches, do the short-row with W&T.
She looked at me, blinked and repeated her last sentence....slower this time. She also pulled out the copied page of how to knit the sock with short-row heel sans W&T. She jabbed at that piece of paper and said that there is nothing about the "Umschlag" on there and looked at me angrily as though I didn't understand a damn word she had been painstakingly enunciating to me. The husband opened his mouth but didn't say anything...so he resorted to shuffling around again.
I told her calmly that I can try tinking it back for her and show her. And so I tinked back a stitch, and showed her how to do the W&T....
....she snatched the sock out of my hands and stuffed it inside her bag and said that she would do it herself and that I don't have any idea about knitting socks and that she reckons that I don't even know how to knit.
I just smiled, said sorry that I couldn't help and showed them out.
After that I just sat there fuming and cursing her under my breath. How dare she?! If there was a person who had no idea, then it was her. If she reckons she can do it better herself, then fine. Suit yourself. But don't come accusing me that I didn't know how to knit. That was absolutely rude of her.
(Rant out)
So, that's what happened today. I better go knit a bit. :-p
Come around and visit me at the shop when I work there...or come to the Knit-Night!
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!
Started: 14th January 2008 Finished: ca. 50g of single finished on 14th January 2008, second 50 g spun on 16th January 2008. Plied on 22nd January 2008 Yardage: 2-ply approx. 80 metres; Navajo-ply approx. 40 metres WPI: approx. 10 WPI Fibre: 22 micron Merino Top from Ewe Give Me The Knits, "Bracken Ridge" Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 6.5:1 ratio in double-drive; 2-ply (right hank) 6.5:1 ratio in single-drive using Scotch tension and Navajo-ply (left hank) 6.5:1 ratio in single-drive using Scotch tension
OMG...I just can't keep away from blogging, because otherwise my photos will pile up and I just won't be able to fit them all in one post. Especially now that I've joined the Once A Day group on Flickr.
Anyhow, I've already mentioned that I was venturing out to spin enough heavy DK to make a scarf. Well, the dorkiness that is me spun the second lot of singles thinner than the first and ended up with more singles yardage. So when I went to do a 2-ply, I ended up with left-overs from the second batch. So, I ended up Navajo-ply what was left. Luckily, I ended up with pretty much the same weight yarns.
I found that as long as I don't have a Tensioned Lazy Kate, Navajo-ply was the way to go. Making 2+ ply out of multiple singles will leave me to a swearing kitty, because the singles keep twisting on to each other while I'm pulling them out. Besides, I'm getting pretty good at Navajo plying. ;-)
And because I've got so many photos to fit into this post, I need to select them carefully. So I won't be posting every single one of them. You can always check the rest of them out over on my Flickr anyway.
Started: 12th December 2007 Finished: single finished on 20th January 2008 Yardage: n/a WPI: n/a; Single seems to be very light lace-weight to cobweb Fibre: approx. 45 g of Merino batt with some sparkles (either nylon or Angelina) from Traveling Rhinos, sent to me by KnottyNaomi Spindle: Lapis Lazuli convertible spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs, used as top-whorl. Navajo-plied on Kromski Minstrel on 10:1 ratio double-drive
Yeah, I kinda cheated. If you remember, I spun the singles up using a drop spindle. Granted, I could have Navajo-ply it on a spindle, too...but I was in for instant gratification and chose to ply with Valrainë. It's still on the bobbin...still have to skein it and set the twist, then I'll know the yardage.
Started: 22nd January 2008 Finished: First bobbin of single spun on 23rd January 2008 Yardage: n/a WPI: n/a, I’m aiming for navajo-plied 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 on 8.5:1 ratio in double-drive mode.
Yeah, seriously, it seems that I just can't stop with the spinning. The Bracken Ridge from above hasn't even been cast-on yet and I've got another project in mind already. ;-p
I'm really hoping to be able to get a Navajo-ply sock yarn out of this....enough for a pair for me, of course.
You might ask why I'm spinning like mad? Well, blame it the generous KnottyNaomi, who decided to support her fellow spinner (i.e. me) and lighten her fibre stash at the same time. So she sent me these gorgeous Domestic tops from The Yarn Wench:
I mentioned in one of my posts last year that I would love to try them out....and what do you know? N., a blogless reader just wrote me an email offering to send me some and told me to go choose the colourways. That's just an offer you can't turn down.
She refused my contribution to the cost....so, I've decided to just add her to my PIF-list! So, N., please keep a look out for my questionaire. You don't have to make gifts for anyone, because you're not officially participating in the PIF. And you can't avoid this gift from me either, since I've got your mailing address now. ;-p Thank you so much for your generous gifts!
So, are you guys getting sick of me yet? Last thing though:
I was nominated TWICE for this "You-Make-My-Day-Award"!!! Wow! I'm really honoured! I've never really been awarded anything out of the blue before. (The Rocking Guy Blogger Award was kind of collaborative.) Thank you sooo much to: Malin Knits And... and Smoking Hot Needles, who nominated me for this award!
So, here's the rule: “Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.”
And I would like to nominate the following bloggers:
The very last thing: I finally joined FaceBook a couple of days ago. So, please add me. If you don't know how to find me and want to get my full real name, then please email me. You can find my email address towards the end of the "about me" section on the top left of this page.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you have a great weekend!
Current Mood: Itching to spin Food for the Ears: "Vincent" - Don McLean:
I'm still sore from working at the bar last night (same thing again tonight)....started at 5 p.m. and it was totally crazy until about 11 p.m. when suddenly everybody just kind of left. I stood around the bar until 1 a.m. (okay, I went out to watch the firework a bit at Midnight) and just closed the bar, even though the boss told me to do open-ended. Yeah, my arse I would - besides, I stood there for 3 full hours with absolutely no guests).
One thing happened though: Right before I left work, i.e. literally was just about to open the front door to go out into the street at 1.45 a.m. some jerks put on some kind of fireworks right opposite the street from the hostel I work at, where there's another hotel that's being completely renovated, i.e. a construction site. There were the pop-pop-pops of firework going off on the ground when suddenly, my hand almost at the door, something really detonated. There was this huge flash of light and a huge explosive boom that shook the whole front panes of the hostel. The glass door I was about to reach opened up a bit inwards and I felt the rush of the air pressure. Thank goodness nothing else happened, no panes shattered, nobody injured. I just went "Holy f**k. What the effing hell was that?!"
I hesitated to go out because I was afraid that some assholes might detonate another one of whatever it was. But I decided that I better go...so I just went out and took a really brisk walk to the tube station.
I guess that was my welcoming to 2008.
Anyway, I didn't ring in the New Year with anyone...well, not officially, since Dr. D didn't want to come down to my work (I can't blame him, my work place isn't the most romantic place to visit your boyfriend), but he sent me an SMS shortly before Midnight that pretty much took my grudge away for having to spend New Year's Eve alone at work.
Well, here goes the new year. Another year. 2007 had been kind of tumultuous with me....but I'm still alive and that's gotta count, eh?
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:
No, not because of the Mystic Waters shawl...and definitely not for myself. It's a whole other story altogether.
But first, the shawl: It's growing slowly. The KAL is over, but I'm still behind. *sighs* It's beautiful though. :-)
Anyway, this whole post will probably turn out not being about knitting...but about some deep thoughtful stuff I would like to leave with you all during this festive times....and I guess that it's a kind of call for action. I have absolutely no intention in offending anyone here. I just want to voice out my opinions and thoughts about things.
Now, I know both of these gals personally and I'm not going to take side. It's just sad for me to see how things can get out of hands because of opinions expressed in a way that the person thought was appropriate, but people just got the wrong end of the stick.
The whole point is that I've just been thinking to myself: Why can't people just play nice? Sure, everyone has their own rights to criticise and complain about things....if you don't ever do that, you'd probably eventually go bollocks. I can understand both parties here. S-knitting defending her city was in its own right appropriate. I don't know however her perception about life as an expat. Because living as an expat there sure are things that annoys you in the country you're living in comparing to your home country...the point of which Bockstark was coming from.
I felt pretty sad especially when I saw another comment made by some of my friends, who I know personally - and I know you'll be reading this -, which just seem to assume that we expats just don't like living in the country at all. I absolutely do agree with you that there are some expats like that, and I'm sure you know exactly who I'm talking about....but do keep in mind that this in absolutely no way would apply to all expats.
I'm going to reiterate again that there sure are things expats don't like about the place they live in, but there must be things they like about it that keeps them living there (assuming that they can leave, if they ever wish to do so). I, for one, really love Munich and wouldn't want to leave...at least for the moment. Sure, I have my dream of living in Paris...but I'm happy in Munich. And sure, I definitely have things to complain about Munich as well as Germany on the whole...but heck, who the hell doesn't? There are also better things in Thailand that I can also compare to Munich, too. But hey, I'm still living in Munich. If I were to start complaining about Munich, I'm sure that given enough time I would be able to rattle off a whole list. The same also applies to Thailand or any other places I've lived in. I can always compare it to another country or my home country and say that certain things are better here or worse there. But it doesn't mean that I loathe the place I chose to live in.
Apart from that, things that you encounter in your daily life would seem to be more prominent than other things another person might perceive as more prominent. I'm the sort of the person who just adapts...so I usually just shrug off the things that annoy me and go my way. So if you hit the jackpot and had 9 out of 10 garbage bags ripping every time in Germany whilst none ever rip in the US, then you definitely are going to be pissed off about it.
It's just like hearing some extreme knitters facing off extreme crocheters, where one just can't stand the presence of the other at all. Sheesh, try to get along people. :-)
I'm all for tolerance. But yes, even I do have my own limits. Everybody has. And there's no point in tolerating something that's so detrimental that it will eventually affect your well-being. But we're talking about perceptions here....and surely you know that "de gustibus non est disputandem". ;-)
So, I thought that this might be a good place to call for an action. If you have the time, try to think about at least 5 thi
