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.
I don't know why exactly, but I think that I just have been avoiding writing a bit because thoughts have been accumulating and I just couldn't be bothered.
I'm turning 26 in a couple of weeks and it got me thinking. I don't have anything against growing a year older. But for some reasons, I'm over the 25 threshold....and now turning 26 means that I'm only four years away from hitting 30. It's kind of weird. I can't really put it into words....I guess it's about taking the responsibilities, being grown-up and all. I had been thinking about the fact that here I am, on my way to being 30 and I still don't feel like I've really achieved anything in life. Well, to be honest, I think a lot of this has to do with the pressure and expectations my parents are putting on me. I just wish they would get off that trip. I would feel a lot better if they would change their "encouragement" strategy by encouraging me positively instead of using the reprimanding side and scare-tactics that I'm going to turn a loser if I don't start getting ambitious and try to "reach to the top".
What's with it with being successful and having lots of money? I doubt that would make me happy for long.
Anyway, I better stop there before this post turns into a very long rant. Bottom line is I'm turning 26 soon. *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*
Nothing happened much last week. I went to the Deutsches Museum with Dr. D on Saturday. It's kind of our first day-out alone and it was great. :-)
Not much to report on the knitting/spinning front. I've been doing it on and off...probably more knitting than spinning. But nothing major....well, apart from the fact that I can also now properly knit English style, i.e. throwing, without much of a struggle and my gauge seems even.
Sorry, I'm just feeling uninspired at the moment. Have to get back to reading up for my thesis now.
BTW, thank you so much for the outpouring of comments on my last post. I think that's the very first time a post has generated more than 30 comments!
Well, then, have a nice week, everyone!
Ps. I haven't forgotten about the PIF survey...like I said, I'm just pretty uninspired at the moment.
ETA: Yeah, sorry people, but I'm in one big time fucked up mood today. I promised my co-workers that I will bake something today and bring it into work tomorrow morning. The base of the slice worked out okay...but I fucked it up while doing the icing. I thought: "Fine, I'll make a new one". I also realised while making the first batch that I actually needed vanilla essence. So, I went out to this small supermarket near my place, instead of going to the bigger one which would take a longer walk. Got everything I needed but couldn't find the vanilla essence. So I asked someone there and they told me: "Sorry, we don't have that kind of thing. We only order it in during Christmas baking time."
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! I mean, are you expecting people to bake only during Christmas time?! WHAT KIND OF A FUCKED UP LOGIC IS THAT?!!!!!
Sorry about that...but I really need to vent. I think it's the Föhn in Munich today that's driving me totally nuts.
There are altogether 2 songs that can make me cry on the spot (usually I jump up in time to change the songs or leave before I have to hear them) and 2 other songs that after repeated hearing I'd start bawling...
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!
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:
Start: 25th December 2007 Finish: 27th December 2007 Yarn:The Fibre Bin Exotic Llama Yarn, 2-ply, 60% Llama, 40% Wool in black Needles: 4 mm Addi Lace for ribbing and 4.5 mm Addi Turbos for the pattern Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood from Brooklyntweed, in Interweave Knits Holiday 2007 Notes: I did the smaller version (4 pattern repeats instead of 5)
This is the first time that I can go stash shopping for a yarn that's not sock-weight or lace-weight (yes, my stash now consists mostly of those). I could have used some Wollmeise worsted that I have here (Iris Sibirica and Amazonas), but I wasn't quite brave enough yet to be sporting green hats. That was when I remembered the somewhat scratchy llama-wool blend I got from Cashyie back in the days prior to Knitters Uncensored. It was perfect.....apart from the fact that it felt pretty scratchy and it moulted like crazy while knitting (not to mention while making the yarn cake. It looked as though a black cat had been shedding off its coat on my desk). I hope for the best after the washing. :-p
Anyhow, I started the hat on Christmas and knit only for a couple of hours on it in the evening with lots of interruption (working - yes, I was knitting at work -, chatting, emailing, eating, watching TV, DVDs, reading for uni, etc.). Up until last night when I picked it up and finished it in one go....so I ended up finishing the hat in a matter of 3 days. I'm sure that I could crank one out in this gauge in one day.
I did only four repeats of the pattern, because I like hat and not woolen bag that goes over my whole head. I'm pleased with the result, even though I'm not a hat person (because I'm vain and I don't like my hair being messed up - unless it's by Dr. D. And admit it, no one likes hat-hair either).
The wool bloomed and softened after the washing....but it got even more fuzzier than before. It's still somewhat scratchy to the touch, but when it goes over my head and hair, it feels soft and lofty. The yarn is a 2-ply and I would dare say that it was hand-spun because of the slubby nature of the yarn and the loose ply.
This was also the first time I've ever knit with such exotic fibre as a llama blend. I have been wearing the Koolhaas around all morning long here at my tiny flat and I notice that it will certainly keep my head really toasty warm outside, but surprisingly, it's also very comfortable inside and it regulates the heat very well.
And so is my Koolhaas story.
No decision on the wheel yet....although I have to admit that I'm tending towards spoiling myself due to the fact that I didn't get to celebrate Christmas (damn work!) and that I will also have to work over New Year's Eve and New Year. Maybe I might ask what Dr. D thinks about it....not that he can decide for me. Perhaps, I'm waiting for some kinds of signs to tell me whether I should go ahead and get the wheel or just keep the money for other purposes. Who knows. ;-)
Have a nice and lovely weekend everyone, and if I don't get around to post before New Year (yeah, I don't know what's going on with the sudden burst of posting in the past week with me either): A very Happy New Year 2008 to all of you!
ETA: Here are a couple of things I want to set goal for in 2008:
Get rid of all those WIPs by either frogging them or finishing them off (namely: Mystic Waters, Icarus, Flower Basket, Firestarter, La Digitessa, Montego Bay, Vinnland, Beetlejuice JayWalkers, Blue JayWalkers, Silk Garden Kolenyas, Pro Natura Socks, Clapotis and Pink MSCS). Then I'll try to keep my UFOs to only 3....but looking at the list of my UFOs, the future seems pretty bleak. :-p
Knit at least one more sweater (this doesn't count to the point above)
Get a wheel (re: the whole post above...and yeah, I really think that I'm going to go for the wheel, despite what people say) DONE!
Finish off my thesis by April and study for my diploma
Get another job that's not so tolling on my schedule
Go jogging again once it gets warmer
Cook a proper meal at least once a week (probably will be doing that with Dr. D anyway)
Current Mood: Extremely good (coz Dr. D's going to be back in Munich this evening *yay!*) Food for the Ears: "Christmas Oratorio" - JS Bach
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!!!!
Quote: "Anand, through Pollwatch, was to secure an alliance that, despite tensions, would serve sections of the post-May liberal intelligentsia and bourgeoisie well."
Comment: I'm currently on page 93...but the quote from page 161 still means something to me. ;-)
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 th
