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 Mystic Light Shawl, Optim and Rothenburg o.d. Tauber

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Mystic Light Shawl, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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.

Anyway, I've also finished spinning up the Optim:

Chameleon Colorworks Optim: Tahiti, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Chameleon Colorworks Optim: Tahiti [97:366, 06.04.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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:

Le Flambé du Pacifique [100:366, 09.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 8th May2008
Finish: WIP
Yarn: My own hand-spun - "Tahiti", merino optim from Chameleon Colorworks
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm - 80 cm (US#4 - 32")
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2006

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.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Plönlein [95:366, 03.05.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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.)

<

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 I'm still here

Butterfly Girl Designs Spindle in action, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wow, feels almost as though I've been unplugging from the blogosphere. I think I kind of lost a bit of my blogging mojo. But well, as the photos accumulated, I felt that I either need to blog off some of them or otherwise scrap a whole load.

Anyways, if you've been following, I've finished my Mystic Waters Shawl (yeah, that's the temporary photo. I still need to take an artsy one).

Apart from that, my birthday has been a kind of extended one. What's with all the packages that came in in a period of every couple of days. The photo above is actually the second package. A good friend who wished to remain anonymous to the net sent me my much coveted Butterfly Girl Designs paua shell mosaic drop spindle.

Another birthday present: BGD Paua Spindle! [44:366, 07.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

I had been lusting after the paua shell version of her spindles ever since she made the first one and put it on the shop.

Apart from this, I also got the spindle with the new kind of swan neck hook, which really reduces the wobble when spinning to as much as none when comparing to the old style hooks that BGD used before (not that the wobbling ever bothered me at all).

Birthday presents from Alala [42:366, 05.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Apart from that, the first birthday package that came in the mail was from Alala, who got me my birthday presents from my Amazon Wishlist (English one here).

So, I got the European version of Brokeback Mountain (2 discs collector's edition) and Inspired Cable Knits (that book has been on my wishlist for so long now!)

More B-Day Gifts [48:366, 11.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

A couple of days later, I received the next package. This time from Charles. He got me a small vintage Kromski Niddy-Noddy, 2 mixed CDs of Indie music (not in the picture) and his own hand-made card. Thank you very much!

More belated B-Day Gifts [50:366, 13.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The last package came from a collaboration between three dear friends of mine, two of which, I think, would prefer to be mentioned anonymously (but those in the knows can pretty easily guess who they are). Otherwise, the third one was BockstarkKnits. Thank you sooooo much!

So, I got the Kromski tensioned Lazy Kate with four extra bobbins. The Wollmeise Wellensittichvogelfeder in lace-weight for my Mystic Light KAL and a hank of worsted-weight each of Pfefferminz Prinz and Amazonas....and of course three test hanks.

That seems to conclude the birthday present bonanza.

I've otherwise been working on my thesis, as well as knitting and spinning.

Hemlock Ring Blanket, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 06th March 2008
Finish: WIP
Yarn: Gedifra Shetland Deluxe: 50% New Wool, 25% Baby Alpaca, 25% Mohair
Needles: 4.5 mm / 100 cm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood from Brooklyntweed

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Midnight Stars, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 28th February 2008
Finished: Singles finished on 7th March 2008, Navajo-ply on 12th March 2008
Yardage: approx. 160 m / 50 g of light fingering-weight to almost DK-weight
WPI: n/a
Fibre: 50 g roving of extrafine merino in black with white mulberry silk
Spindle: Singles spun worsted on carved Agate top-whorl spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs, Navajo-plied on Kromski Minstrel on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

I'm pretty proud of this spin! It was just a test-spin for the roving that I bought in order to see what it would turn out like.

I spun the singles on the spindle and navajo-plied on the wheel...and it turned out soooo perfect!

The tweedy effect came from the un-dyed mulberry silk, which also in turns lent a certain shininess and sparkle to the whole appearance of the yarn.

The yarn's not staying with me though, because I'm going to give it away as a prize for the contest over at Knitters Uncensored. You can enter, too, even if you don't listen to the podcast. Just go and read the show notes for the latest episode to see what you have to do.

Yarnwench: Galway [49:366, 12.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 13tg February 2008
Finished: First bobbin of Singles on 10th March 2008
Yardage: n/a
WPI: n/a (aiming for navajo-ply fingering-weight)
Fibre: "Galway", 3.8 oz/108 g Domestic wool top from The Yarn Wench given to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 12:1 ratio in double-drive mode.

I also got halfway on this one. The spinning is taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r.!!!! The singles is really time consuming and the prospect of spinning another full bobbins of singles and then navajo-plying two bobbins full of it is pretty hair-raising already. But I'll persevere. :-)

Spina di Pesce from Alala [52:366, 15.03.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Lastly, I also received my PIF from Alala.

I couldn't believe it, but she knit me a pair of Spina di Pesce from Yarnissima in the special Wollmeise colourway for the pattern!

I had been wanting to knit this pattern for myself for quite a while now (and yes, I'll buy myself the pattern...or the kit and knit another one). But WHOA, Alala used up th yarn and the leg's long. If I pull it up all the way, the cast-off edge touches the bottom of my kneecap! (You can see the curve of my calf covered by the sock...and I never had that before.)

Thank you so much!!!

And no worries, I've already started doing my first PIF project. It'll take some time though, because I've got a lot going on right now.

Well, that's all I have to tell you for now. Hope everybody's well!

Current Mood: Okay

On 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 Yarn, fibre and more yarn

EGMTK: Bracken Ridge, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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.

That said, here's one with the 2-ply:

EGMTK: Bracken Ridge, 2-ply, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

And of the Navajo-ply:

EGMTK: Bracken Ridge, Navajo-ply, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

And talking about the fact that I'm getting good at Navajo-plying:

On the Bobbin: Navajo-plied, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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.

Aiming for sock yarn, The Yarn Wench "Grange" [366:03, 23.01.08], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Working towards a sock yarn, The Yarn Wench "Grange" [366:04, 24.01.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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:

The Yarn Wench: Galway, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The Yarn Wench: Bittersweet, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The Yarn Wench: Feather, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

She also inserted the last issue of the Spin Off Magazine with the package! (Well, I actually asked for it.)

Thank you so much, Naomi!

Then after an odyssey, I finally retrieved a package that was sent to me from the post today...and the content? Have a look:

Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn: S95, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn: S149, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn: S185, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Yup, three skeins of Kureyon sock yarn!!!

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:

1. Lolly from Lolly Knitting Around
2. Alala from Alala
3. Debra from Cashmere Dreams
4. Erin from Damknit
5. Mandy from Ewe Give Me The Knits
6. Peachy from Peachy Knits
7. David from Cabin Cove
8. Dickie from Cashmere Blend
9. Stephen from hizKNITS
10. Mike from Socktopus

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:

On Spin City

Heathland, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Heathland, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Heathland, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 11th January 2008
Finished: single finished on 13th January 2008, Navajo-plied on 18th January 2008
Yardage: approx. 90 metres
WPI: 16-18 WPI, light fingering to heavy lace-weight
Fibre: 100% Corriedale from THIS given to me by KnottyNaomi
Wheel & Settings: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 8.5:1 ratio in double-drive mode. Navajo-ply on 6.5:1 ratio in single-drive mode using Scotch Brake.

Yes, I've been spinning up a storm this past week. I've pretty much worked out the wheel settings and am controlling my treadling pretty well. There are parts where things are a bit yucky, but it's not major.

I'm really pleased with how "Heathland" has turned out, especially the fact that my Navajo-plying on the wheel was successful. Now, the only problem is that I don't know what I could make with only 90 metres of fingering-weight yarn. Any suggestions?

Just Like Chocolate, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 14th January 2008
Finished: The first 50g of single finished on 14th January 2008; 2nd batch of 50 g single spun up on 16th January 2008
Yardage: n/a
WPI: n/a (single is fingering-weight)
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

Inspired by Brooklyntweed's hand-spun scarf, I set off to spin and knit my own hand-spun scarf (yeah, total copycat...coz I think I might even go for garter stitch). Depending on how it turns out in the end, Dr. D might end up getting the scarf. Although I don't think he wears brown (haven't seen him wearing brown before)....so I'll have to see.

Anyway, I went hunting through my fibre stash and found my Bracken Ridge from Ewe Give Me The Knits. The roving so reminded me of thick hot chocolate with cream and caramel swirled in it...so I think that the yarn will end up with a different name.

Traveling Rhinos Batt: Waiting to be plied, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

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

And just in case you think I had ditched all my drop spindles in favour of my wheel. ;-) Totally not the case.

Yes, yes, this batt had been on the spindle for quite a long time while I was playing with my wheel. I just thought that I ought to finish it off.

So, I'm leaving the single to rest for a while. Considering the thinness of it all, I think I'll have to Navajo-Ply this. Not that I'll have enough yardage to do anything with it when it's all done though. This is all about the process. ;-p

That's all I have to reveal for now. There will be a kind of revelation in a couple of weeks....but I have to keep quiet for the moment in order not to jinx it. Just keep you fingers crossed for me.

Dr. D got to meet a few of my friends on Friday. Was quite an interesting thing to see....not that I got to see that much, coz I was cooking. But it was nice to finally got him to meet my circle of friends.

My blogging might become sporadic from this week on because I need to really tackle the reading for my diploma thesis and really start writing properly. There is still a whole load to study for my first exams in September, too. (I emphasised "might" because I know that I can't keep away for too long. :-p)

For the three of you who are in my PIF group: Please keep an eye out for a survey that I will either post here or email to you individually. I should get around to it either this week or the next.

Y'all have a great week!

Current Mood: Good
Food for the Ears: What a difference a day made - Jamie Cullum

On Valrainë

Frosted Plum, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Frosted Plum, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Frosted Plum, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 10th January 2008
Finished: 11th January 2008
Yardage: approx. 105 metres / 100 g
WPI: 9-11 WPI, bulky-worsted weight single
Fibre: 100% space-dyed Australian Merino
Spindle/Wheel: Kromski Minstrel, spun worsted on 6.5:1 ratio in single-drive using Scotch brake

Yup, it's yarn!!! This is actually my first real intentional yarn that wasn't a practice skein.

I've done about three skeins already. The first two were pure practice and they were pretty much fugly (one navajo-ply and one thick and thin single). :-p Then I did another half-pra