On Hey! What's the Big Ideaaaaa?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some more photos:

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

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

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

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

Have a great week every one!

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

Current Mood: Jiggly
Food for the Ears:

On Yarn pr0n!

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

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

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

Started: 13th February 2008
Finished: First bobbin of singles on 10th March 2008, second bobbin of singles on 17th April 2008 - plied 20th-21st April 2008
Yardage: approx. 230 m / 50 g
WPI: 23 WPI
Fibre: "Galway", 3.8 oz/108 g Domestic wool top from The Yarn Wench given to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode, navajo-plied on 16:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

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

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

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

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

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

Wollmeise: Sultan, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Am Kalten Polar, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Brombeere, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Miss May, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Granatapfel, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Feuerwanze, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Kraeuterbeet, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Koralle im Meer, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Vergissmeinnicht, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Spice Market, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On Catch-Up Time!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Canyon Lands Toe-up, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

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

On an epiphany over Le Sacre du Printemps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current Mood: Good and excited about the frogging!

On Rolling in Yarns and Fibre

Wollmeise: New members, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

• Franz (light) in 100% Superwash Merino


• Vincent (medium) in 80/20 Twin


• Paul (light) in 80/20 Twin


• Emil (medium) in 100% Superwash Merino


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then there was also another gift from a listener:

Tofutsies (789), originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great week, everyone!

Current Mood: Good

On Swag from Scout (spoiler alert!)

Scout's Swag November Sock Club: "Mohawk", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 01st July 2007
Finished: 23rd July 2007
Needles: 2.5 mm/100 cm Lang Needles (comparable to Addi Turbos)
Yarn: Drachenwolle sock yarn wool-silk-ramie in Rust-Teal-Grey/Beige
Pattern: "Mohawk" by Lisa Shobhana for the November Scout's Swag Club
Modification: Eye of Partridge heel flap

I had been dying to reveal this for such a long time now!

I test-knit the pattern for Scout back in July. The socks fit me perfectly and have been one of my favourite pairs to wear. As to the Drachenwolle wool-silk-ramie yarn...it feels so different from the rest of the sock yarns I have knit with so far and it wears really well....I've got lots more of the yarn here and I'm looking forward to knitting with it again soon.

I really like the simplicity of the pattern. It is a very easy and quick to knit - more interesting than just plain old stockinette - and it's unisex, it would also work with all sorts of colourways. I will most probably knit the pattern again when I want a pair of simple socks!

Now I'm just wondering what the socks will look like in the real club colourway....

Scout's Swag November Sock Club: "Mohawk", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Scout's Swag November Sock Club: "Mohawk", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Kaj nun, mi havas demandon al vi: Cxu iu de vi parolas ankaux esperanton...do esperantista trikisto? Mi komencis relerni denove la lingvon kaj mi deziras havi iun kun tiu mi povas paroli aux eskribi en esperanto. Mi pensas ke mi rekomencos eskribi ankaux iomete en esperanto cxi tie...sed mi ne estas tre certe cxu mi povas fari gxin regule. Ni vidos, cxu ne? ;-)

Current Mood: So far, so good

On...Lollipop lollipop oh lollipop...

Firestarter: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 23rd September 2007, frogged and restarted 03rd October 2007
Finish: WIP
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, colourway "Bob"
Needle: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Firestarter by Yarnissima via The Loopy Ewe
Modifications: I need to modify the stitches to make it fit my foot. 72 stitches instead of the 60 stitches from the pattern and one extra cable repeat before the gusset increase.

No, no, not my foot. That's definitely NOT a lollipop (well, with the exception of those with foot fetish *LOL* Besides, the colours of the sock isn't that far off either! XD )

Okay, seriously now. I don't know why I didn't post about this any earlier. I've been posting over at the Firestarter KAL page though...so I guess I just kind of forgot about it.

The Firestarter had been neglected for quite a bit because I was so hell-bent on finishing off the Swallowtail Shawl first (and BTW, thank you soooo much for all the nice comments about it!). Not that the Firestarter's going to get any faster because Swallowtail is finished, since I still have other stuff on the needles that I want to get off, too. Not to mention the Mystic Waters KAL which starts tomorrow..and then I also want to design something. ;-)

Anyhow, I like the way my Firestarter is looking. And hanging out with Bockstark Knits had rubbed off the tight-knit on me again....and I have to say that I really like how the fabric's feeling knitted so tight like this.

Now I'm just praying that I won't have problems with the heel turn because I modified the stitch count.

Well, that's all I have to tell for now.....and there's also a reason for the title of the post, too, but you'll just see it at the end. ;-)

Current Mood: Good
Food for the Ears: Lollipop - The Chordettes (yeah, the song's been running in my head for the whole day now, out of nowhere, really! And I really cannot stop listening to it! Listen at your own risk, I won't take any responsibilities if the song gets stuck in your head! XD )

On Forgetfulness...

Today didn't start out so well. Things chugged along well enough...up to the point when I was going to leave the house to become EUR 400 poorer due to the university tuition fee that they've just introduced this semester. *Urgh*

Anyhow, I put my earphones in with my iPod as I usually do when I leave the house...but the sound only came out of one ear-bud. Bloody hell, does that have to happen now?! If I remember correctly, I bought these new earphones back in April...and guess what? I can't find the receipt anymore. *sighs* And because I just paid for my tuition fee, I don't have any money for a new earphone either. So, no podcasts/music on the road for me for a while.

But well, that seemed to be just it. The day could only get better, right? And it did. First, I received an Amazon package. I was pretty perplexed at first...until I opened it up and saw my copy of Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning! I heard Kelly reviewed this book on her podcast a couple of weeks ago and I just went straight to order it....and I promptly forgot about the order. And so it was a bit of a surprise at first.

Anyway, flipping through the book quickly, I really have to say wow! This book's really good for comprehensive information! I'll have to go through it thoroughly though. I really like it because it offers both hand spindle as well as wheel techniques. It also talks about fibre preparation, different types of fibre, plying techniques, making novelty yarns, dyeing, etc. etc.! GREAT book!

Then as I was just about to make my way out again, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, I was greeted by the hottest delivery man EVER! Seriously! I was considering putting down my phone number on the signed slip for him, too....but I thought better of it. :-p

Anyway, I got another package...of which I had absolutely no clue about. I looked at the sender's name and it rang some kind of bell...then I caught up with the facts and just ripped the box open to find these:

Handgefaerbt.com: Winter '07 Abo, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Handgefaerbt.com: Winter '07 Abo, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Handgefaerbt.com: Winter '07 Abo, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Handgefaerbt.com: Winter '07 Abo, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

(I might be replacing all the photos again when I get natural light) (Photos are replaced)

Yup, I got my Handgefaerbt.com yarn subscription for Winter.

Back in April, I was egging on Bockstark Knits to do the subscription with me to try out the Handgefaerbt.com yarns. We sent in the order...and again, I totally forgot about it. :-p

I have to say that with the exception of the very first one, I like all the other colourways. The first one is just not very me...although it's very Christmasy. ETA: It's growing on me though...

So, yeah, that's all I have to share...two packages in a day really made me happy (I'm still waiting for some rovings to come in from Australia, as well as two new hand spindles I ordered from Etsy - yeah, I know, I went on a bit of a splurge there).

Before I go: Swallowtail is finished and blocked. Hopefully I'll get some nice photos tomorrow. ;-)

On Benediktbeuern Report

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

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

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

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

Project bag, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

Wollflur: Brown Batt, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

Annettes Wollwerkstatt: Merino Batt, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

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

And here are my loots from the Wollmeise:

Wollmeise: Natur, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Johannisbeere & Brennnessel, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Red Hot Chilli, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Spice Market, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Löwenzahn, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollmeise: Frosch, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

Das Schneeschaf: Storm Cloud, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

Wollmeise Socks from Fbz_, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current Mood: Good

On Bad Knitter, No Cookies!

Suzanne Vinnland: To Frog or Not to Frog?, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 01st July 2007
Finished: WIP
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, colourway "Suzanne"
Needle: 2.5 mm / 100 cm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Vinnland by Becca Compton via The AntiCraft, issue Beltane 2007

Crappers, I really don't know what it is with this pair. I couldn't memorise the pattern until I started doing the second sock.

I soldiered on with the twin....but when I tried it on, it turned out a bit tight comparing to the first one, which fits comfortably.

I didn't realise it until I tried both on and looked. The first one, I started off doing the version for 10.5" foot circumference...then midway through the very first pattern repeat I decided that it looked too sloppy and that the 9.5" version would fit better. But instead of frogging back to the toe increase, what did I do? I just decreased the four extra stitches and then knit on.

I put the damn thing down for almost a month after I finished the first one and have started the toe for the twin.

Then as soon as I finished my Hundertwasser Jaywalkers, I decided that I need to finish up Vinnland, too. So, I picked it up and knit on.

One problem was that my gauge became tighter (again)...but the most humongous problem was the fact that i started off the twin knitting in the 9.5" version. That means, the toe is missing 4 rows altogether for the 4 stitches increase for the 10.5" version. I started the gusset increase and the heel at the same place as the first one. This thus resulted in the fact that the twin is a bit shorter (by four rows) and due to the tighter gauge, it's pretty tight on my foot. *sighs*

If you look at the beginning of the pattern on the socks towards the toe, you'll see that on the right one, the pattern starts off later than the left one.

And since I'm half-way up the leg of the second one already, I really don't want to frog....Mind you though, I think I'll even have enough yarn left to knit exactly another pair. This means I could practically make another pair to match up these two....but the prospect of knitting another mis-matched pair to match up this pair is going to drive me nuts....

I think I'll just finish this one off and then mull over my options. Admittedly though, I could live with the imperfection in this pair, but it still bothers me nevertheless.

ETA: I've put it away for now and its fate will be decided later. I need time away from it, since it's so close to finishing that I just can't bring myself to frogging it. But maybe after a week or more, I'll be able to deal with it.

Current Mood: @!#%@&!!

On MINE!!!!!

Hundertwasser JayWalkers, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 3rd August 2007
Finished: 10th September 2007
Yarn: Opal Hundertwasser: "Singender Dampfer in Ultramarin III" (75% virgin wool, 25% polyamide; 100 g / approx. 425 m)
Needle: 2.5 mm/ US #1 - 80 cm Addi Turbos circs
Pattern: JayWalker by Grumperina on MagKnits
Modification: I'm doing this using the toe-up version modified by Natalia Knits and I'm also using the Magic Cast-On instead of the provisional cast-on suggested

So, another pair of JayWalkers down. And this pair is now MINE! MINE! MINE! All MINE!!!! *muahahahahahahahaha*

Okay, that's my moment of insanity.

This pair was supposed to be a commissioned project for a(n ex-)friend. But since he turned flaky, I just took the matters in my own hands. :-p The pair fits me perfectly and they're of the same size!! The stripes almost match! ;-)

I'm saying that the pair is of the exact same size, i.e. it's of the same height, the gauge didn't change by the time I was knitting the twin, the length of the leg is exactly the same, etc. This is due to the fact that it was commissioned and so I kept a note on every single steps I made with the first sock. ;-)

Well, I can say that I'm happy. I'm wearing them now, it's been washed and draped over the heater last night, so it's all dry and is ready to be worn today.

I've wound up another yarn cake already...was going to start something last night, but one look at my WIPs stash told me to hold back and try finish off at least on more thing first before starting another one. So, the Vinnland twin is being knit up right now.

I'm starting my job at the hostel* in a couple of hours. So, this will keep my feet toasty warm for the evening.

Well, that's all I have to report today. Hope y'all are having a good week!

*yeah, I got a job at the reception of a hostel/hotel near the main train station here in Munich. Starting today I've got bar shifts and night shifts. That's going to make me feel like a zombie, but hey, I'd rather have a job than nothing. ;-)

Current Mood: Okay
Food for the Ears: "Betty" - The Lascivious Biddies, listen to the song on my Vox

On a little knitting and a lot of spinning

Hundertwasser JayWalkers: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 3rd August 2007
Finished: WIP
Yarn: Opal Hundertwasser: "Singender Dampfer in Ultramarin III" (75% virgin wool, 25% polyamide; 100 g / approx. 425 m)
Needle: 2.5 mm/ US #1 - 80 cm Addi Turbos circs
Pattern: JayWalker by Grumperina on MagKnits
Modification: I'm doing this using the toe-up version modified by Natalia Knits and I'm also using the Magic Cast-On instead of the provisional cast-on suggested

No, I haven't crossed the Styx to the spinning shore totally yet...I'm still commuting between the two shores. :-p And just to prove this to you, here's the progress of the Hundertwasser Jaywalkers. Especially blogged for the SoS 07.

If you remember, I'm actually knitting this pair and another pair in Regia for a "friend" of mine who commissioned the socks. Well, this "friend" seems to turn out to be quite an a**h*le. He's been avoiding me for two weeks now. Two weeks ago, I asked him for some help, which he said he would give...but ended up didn't do so. I haven't heard from him ever since and he's ignoring my messages. I'm giving him until the end of this week and then I'm calling him on the phone straight. If he answers, then I just want explanation and to sort out what he actually wants. If he doesn't answer, then it will just confirm my suspicion that he's an a**h*le. Which in its own turn would mean that he's not going to get the commission socks either....not that I think he seriously wants them. Thank goodness the socks fit me (even though it's a size smaller - yay for wool!)...and to tell you the truth, the couple of times I tried them on, I always moan to myself that i don't want to give them away. *LOL* So, it seems that I'll have a couple more lovely pairs of JayWalkers for myself. :-p And my lovely "friend" can go and shove his lovely attitude up his own arse.

Wollhuhn France Series: "Roscoff", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wollhuhn France Series: "Montpellier", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

While I was writing up the entry, the mailman rang my doorbell. And guess what I got in the mail?! Yummy yarns!!!!

I got two skeins of hand-dyed sock yarns from Wollhuhn (blog in German). She's a hobby indie-dyer, so she doesn't dye to sell. But I've been following her blog for a couple of months now. She is really talented with the colours and I kept drooling over them. Recently she dyed a whole batch of different colourways under the series of "France". The ones she sent me are "Roscoff" (the top one) and "Montpellier" (the bottom one). "Roscoff" is my favourite. Not only because of the colours, but because the base-yarn is Regia Silk...and it's oh.so.soft! Of course, I really like "Montpellier", too, but I prefer the "Roscoff".

Icarus Shawl: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th April 2007
Finished: WIP
Needles: 3.5 mm - 80 cm Addi Lace circs
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise