On Drunk Blogging

Ahhhh...such tantalising thought [132:366, 17.06.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

For some reason, I forgot to post this picture the last time I posted on my blog. No, I didn't burn the book...the picture's pretty symbolic on how I felt after having handed in my thesis.

Anyway, I'm not really drunk (yet). Just home alone this weekend, since Dr. D's away visiting his family for his uncle's birthday....it's been kind of a weird day. The weather is really warm. Would have been nice to go out and sit in a beer garden, but well, I'm kinda broke since I still haven't got paid yet.

Perfect summer drink, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Ended up being at home most of the day. I made Paella (not really, it's already made, I had to re-cook it....for those in Germany, it's the Frosta stuff) and felt like drinking something alcoholic and cool, since it's so hot today (I even got out my Capri pants to wear with my jandals today because I felt that I looked ridiculous in my jeans and proper shoes). Stupid me, however, forgot to get some beer earlier when I did my groceries. Luckily, I still have a semi-dry Riesling I got as a gift from my students back in the days when I was still teaching English at Siemens.

Anyway, while I'm at this, I might as well answer this week's SP12 question: As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

I guess I actually looked forward to go off on the summer courses. That's when I got sent off into a foreign country with a group of youngsters to learn English. That way, I've ended up in and seen a lot of places in the world. I don't know, I just wanted to get away from home. Apart from that, I always looked forward to not having to worry about doing homework and all those stuff.

Le Flambé du Pacifique: Blocking, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 8th May 2008
Finish: 17th June 2008
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 also wanted to update you on some of my knitting. I finished my latest Swallowtail out of my own handspun. I still need to do a proper photo shoot for it though, so you'll have to wait a bit more for the FO pictures. ;-)

Emil Clapotis [134:366, 20.06.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 24th March 2008
Finish: WIP
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, 100% Superwash Merino in Emil
Needles: 4.5 mm - 80 cm Addi Lace
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert from Knitty Fall 2004

Also, in my attempt to reduce the numbers of WIPs I have around here, I picked up my Clapotis again.

Laminaria Shoulderette [135:366, 21.06.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 20th June 2008
Finish: WIP
Needles: 3.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace
Yarn: My own hand-spun: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"
Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman, from Knitty Spring 2008

And lastly, I frogged my Flower Basket Shawl because it was too boring and so I'm using the yarn to knit Laminaria instead.

This is all because Cashmere Dreams has egged me on with this pattern.

So, that's all for now. I'm getting drunk. :-p Have a great weekend, y'all!

Current Mood: Missing Dr. D and getting drunk
Food for the Ears: The following songs bring back some very fond memories to me....the second song pretty much outs me as child of the 80's. ;-)



Also listening to (can you remember the Listerine ad?):

On Some breathing space

Flowers [131:366, 15.06.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Well, I handed in my thesis of doomy-doom-doom yesterday. So, now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that things will go fine and that I'll pass that first stage and get to the exams. This will also mean that I have to gear up for the revisions. *urgh* Can't it just all be over now?

I think that for the moment, I should answer the SP12 question from last week:

What is your favourite summer drink?

I really don't know. I just drink what I feel like. Some kind of fruity cocktail, I guess. And wine's always there....perhaps more cool white wine in the summer.

I just don't drink soft drinks any more apart from the Schorle stuff.

Hehe, yeah, that's all I can come up with. Sorry, but my brain's pretty useless at the moment. I took yesterday off and visited a friend who just recently had a baby....which reminded me of an FO that I haven't shown you:

Baby Surprise Jacket [123:366, 01.06.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 23rd May 2008
Finish: 31st May 2008
Needles: 4 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace
Yarn: Handgefaerbt.com, Winter Abo 2007
Pattern: Baby Surpise Jacket (BSJ) by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yup, I made my first BSJ. It's still too big for the little girl though.

Anyway, I think I'm going to retire for the day to just lounge around and do nothing apart from knitting and spinning and think about the first package for my downstream SP12. ;-)

Y'all have a great week out there!

Current Mood: Addle-brained
Food for the ears: "Daschn" - Claudia Koreck

On O, Microsoft, how I am coming to loathe thee....

Still no time to really blog. Drowning with thesis stress right now. Just want to write here a bit, so that my Upstream SP12 doesn't think I've been sucked through the floor (although I really feel like that right now).

Peepz, tell me whether you hate the automatic numbering thing on Microsoft Words or not. It's driving me nuts right now because it's not doing what it should do. I got the sequence like: 1., 1.1, 1.1.1., 1.1.1.2, etc. Then suddenly I got 4. instead of 2.!

What.The.EFF?!

And it wouldn't let me change it. When I got around to change it, it consequently effed up the whole thing.

ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!

Oh, yeah, just got off the phone with Dr. D. He's the one in a good mood right now (usually it's vice-versa). He laughed a bit when he heard about how down I am right now. No, no, I didn't take offense (his laughters did cheer me up a bit...exactly what I need right now). He said that it's because he really believe me now when I said that I understood him when he didn't have time for me because of his stuff at work/university. Apparently he didn't totally believe me before. LOL. Oh well, it's nice to know that he believes me.

Anyway, I'm absolutely knackered. My brain's just about to explode and I don't think I ever want to hear about Thai politics ever again after next week.

Drinking a big glass of Vintage Port right now and then I'll hit the hay.

I'm not even going to start about what's going on at the hostel at the moment. *sighs*

Hope your week has started off better than mine. Take care, y'all.

Current Mood: ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! *meh*
Food for the ears:

On just a short update

Drowning a bit right now. Gotta get my thesis done by next week to hand in the week after. So, you won't be hearing from me for a bit, but hopefully I should be able to get back to updating something after I've handed in my thesis. Besides, I have to work quite a bit this month, and I have to admit that the work at the Hostel sucks ass big time at the moment....I was *this* close to just telling them to shove it all up their arse and just walk out yesterday. (No, I didn't say it and I'm still there - but that was only after they apologised to me after the "incident", of which I won't talk about.)

*sighs*

Anyway, the posting delay will also apply to my Upstream SP12 Pal....so don't be alarmed if you don't see any updates here from me right away. I'll make an effort after handing in my thesis to post more frequently.

So, back to drowning. *urgh*

Current Mood: Stressed....like, totally.
Food for the Ears: "Dies irae, dies illa" from Verdi's Requiem (yeah, I'm serenading my doom at the moment)

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 only a week away...

Getting to know my own root...reading for my thesis [33:366, 25.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

...until I turn 26. ;-p

Time to act a bit more responsible and do some more work on my thesis. So, yeah, I've been good today and have been reading for my thesis....going to give up on the reading for the day now, because things are getting a bit jumbled up in my head.

Writing a political-scientific thesis on my own country actually opens up my eyes about a lot of things....most prominently about the lies and propagandas that were taught to us in school back in my childhood. Some of the things I'm finding out right now is pretty hair-raising.

All this instills in me a bit of a conflict. I know for sure that I really do not want to go back and live there ever again (or at least until some serious changes in attitude take place there...but I doubt that would happen for the next 20 years). But on the other hand, it does bring up a question whether I actually want to help develop it in the other way.

Knowing it as it really is and having lived there...I doubt that I could change much, were I ever to decide that I wanted to make a difference there.

*sighs*

Flower Basket Shawl Detail [23:366 15.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 21st November 2007
Finish: WIP
Needles: 3.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace
Yarn: My own hand-spun, 100% 18 micron merino, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"
Pattern: (Ravelry links), Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits, Fall 2004
Modification: Since I have only 500 m of this single, I can't double the yarn up and use the bigger needle. So I'm just down-sizing the whole thing.

And it's not as though I haven't been knitting at all. I was getting bored with the stockinette knitting on my Clapotis and so I decided to dig another WIP out (okay, I actually have also started a new project, but that's another story).

This is actually the first project I started knitting using my very own hand-spun. I'm knitting this in singles and so it's going to turn out smaller than what is expected of the shawl, which supposed to use 2 strands held together. Maybe I'll add more repeats to the body...that depends on how much yarn I have though...I'll see.

Oh, and I'm also knitting this English style instead of my usual continental...so that I can practice at the style. ;-)

Bootees to boot! [27:366, 19.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 17th February 2008
Finished: 18th February 2008
Yarn: Wolle Rödel Sport & Strumpfwolle Maxi-Ringel, colour #17498
Needles: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace
Pattern: Saartje's Bootees from Saartje Knits

I also made these for a friend who is expecting a baby soon. I just need to find buttons for them and present them to her. ;-)

Heathland Cellphone Cozy: Hightech meets Urban [28:366, 20.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start & Finish: 19th February 2008
Needles: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Turbo
Yarn: My own hand-spun, 100% Corriedale, "Heathland"
Pattern: My own. 40 Stitches knitted in the round with 2x2 ribbing at the top.

And in the midst of my bigger projects I really felt like casting on for a new pair of socks - regardless of the twin-less socks I have around here -, I opted to a less damaging bail-out by casting on for a small instant gratification project and also using my own hand-spun.

I have had this project in mind ever since I've finished spinning up my Heathland. The yarn knits up surprisingly well. It has a rustic feel to the touch. The yarn itself didn't feel supple or stretchy, but it did behave like wool does: it stretches and thus was pleasant to knit with.

I usually keep this cellphone in my coat pocket for fear that the big screen might get scratched if I threw it in my bag. Now I have the cozy and it should protect the screen. However, I still keep the phone in the cozy in my pocket....because now I have to the advantage of fondling my own hand-spun knit up, too. ;-)

Mystic Waters; back on track again [29:366, 21.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th October 2007
Finished: WIP
Yarn: Wollmeise lace-weight in "Pfefferminz Prinz" (dark)
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm / 80 cm
Pattern: Mystic Waters Lace Shawl by Anna Dalvi (aka Knit & Knag)

And after a long hiatus...I finally summed up enough courage to pick this project up again. Yeah, I finally fixed my Mystic Waters shawl.

I messed it up towards the end of last year and put it away until now. I decided that if I ever want it to be finished, I better give fixing it a try.

Basically, I lost a stitch or YO somewhere where there are YOs, k2tog's, ssk's left and right of that particular stitch. I tried fixing it and ending up losing 4 stitches. I tried fixing it back then but got really frustrated and that was why I had to put it away...to gain some distance from it. Otherwise I would get too frustrated with it and would probably have frogged the whole thing.

So, after about 2 months, I finally picked it back up again. I really spent the whole afternoon manipulating those four stitches...and after about 5 hours, I managed to get things to look pretty correct again. The YO over the fixed area seems bigger than the other YOs....but that's to be expected after much repeated pulling and tugging and frogging (thank goodness that Wollmeise yarn can take such harsh treatment). So, I'm just hoping that the unevenness there would be blocked out in the end.

So, we can expect a gorgeous FOs in the next few weeks!

And to close this one off, I better put up my questions for the people participating in PIF (Nikki, I know you're reading. So could you please also answer these questions and send them to me via E-mail):

1. Do you knit/crochet/spin?
2. Do you live in an area where you can get extreme coldness?
3. What are your favourite colours?
4. Are there any particular colours that you definitely will not wear?
5. Are you allergic to anything (particularly wool or something like that?)
6. Tea or coffee?
7. Dark or milk chocolate?

So, those are what I can come up with for now. There might be additional questions that I might post later on. But for now, this should suffice.

Have a great week everyone!

ETA: Oh, and the German lady with the Brooklyntweed Noro Scarf who popped in to Lanaiolo last Friday: You could have said hi to me and just say that you came because you read about the shop on my blog. I don't bite, you know? And you wouldn't have disturbed me at all (yes, I know, I was teaching someone at the moment). Yay, she wrote to me on Ravelry!

Current Mood: Calm
Food for the Ears: "High & Dry" - Jamie Cullum

On growing a bit older...and perhaps wiser

From the Sundial Garden at Deutsches Museum [25:366, 17.02.2008], originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Wow, I've been off for a bit, eh?

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.

Current Mood: Blah

On...Game On!

Mystic Waters Shawl: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th October 2007
Finished: WIP
Yarn: Wollmeise lace-weight in "Pfefferminz Prinz" (dark)
Needles: Addi Lace, 3.5 mm / 80 cm
Pattern: Mystic Waters Lace Shawl by Anna Dalvi (aka Knit & Knag)

I'm trying to catch up with the Mystic Waters KAL, since I'm two weeks behind on the clue. Clue #07 comes tomorrow and I'm currently half-way through Clue #04. The picture is from this morning and I was at row 239. Right now, I'm up to row 249. I could have been a bit further along were it not because of row 243 where there was a mistake in the chart and I thought it was my fault and was trying to fix it. Until it dawned on me to compare the charts (left side with right side) and go see in the message boards about errata. *sighs*

After that, it was smooth sailing. I'll be knitting for the rest of this evening.

Another thing is that I'm now officially registered for my diploma thesis and exams! *woohoo!*

The marks for my last seminar paper isn't that great, but I don't care, I just needed to pass it in order to get the certificate to register for the diploma and I've already done that! So, now I really have to start with the real reading and writing plus learning for the exams. I don't think that I will get stuck in such a rut again like where I've been the past two years with my studies. But with the good marks on three out of all four seminar papers - all of which I'd written in such a short period of time consecutively -, I have found new motivations for my studies again. :-)

I'm feeling pretty good about a lot of things now after a long time. Things seem to be looking up a bit for me in various departments. *winks* So, I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed. ;-)

Game on!

And now, back to the Mystic Waters....I'll leave you with a detail photo of the spiral / whirlpools part of the shawl:

Mystic Waters Shawl: Spiral Detail, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

ETA: OMG! I want a Pleo!!!

On...ut aliquid fiat

Tiger's Eye, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Tiger's Eye, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Tiger's Eye, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Choco stat:
Started: 22nd September 2007
Finished: 25 g, spun in single on 11th October 2007
Fibre: Anettes Wollwerkstatt merino roving, 19.5 microns
Spindle: Anettes Wollwerkstatt Turkish Cross Spindle

Hokey Pokey stat:
Started: 11th October 2007
Finished: 25 g, spun in single on 27th November 2007
Fibre: Anettes Wollwerkstatt merino roving, 19.5 microns
Spindle: Anettes Wollwerkstatt Turkish Cross Spindle

Plying:
Started and Finished: 01st December 2007
Yardage: approx. 300 m
WPI: approx. 25 WPI
Fibre: See above
Spindle: Carved Agate top-whorl spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs

FYI, the title of the post means "So that something happens".

First, I've finished my spinning project that stretched over 3 months! What do you think of the Tiger's Eye? This yarn really made me work for it. The single took a long time in spinning, due to the fact that I got bored with it.

Nothing special about the plying. But when I went to re-skein the washed yarn, everything got tangled up so bad that I spent five hours playing kitty with it. I got really close to the point where I just wanted to throw the whole thing away. But I kept at it and the effort was well worth it!

300 metres of yarn is however not enough for a shawl...besides, I don't really think that I want a shawl in yellow either. Maybe I'll do a Tiger Eyes Lace Scarf (Ravelry link) out of it.

Anyway, there's something that really makes me feel elated today. I've been having some sleepless nights over the weekend due to my studies. Like I mentioned before, I was worried about my seminar paper marks not getting in to the uni in time for me to register for the diploma, which is this coming Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, I handed in my very last seminar paper and the prof marked it over the weekend. I got the result back and was already elated. I got 1.7! Now I have to explain the German marking system briefly here. Basically you can get marked from 1 to 5. With 1 being the best, like an A+ and 4.3-5 being the worst, i.e. an F. In my whole university career, I got another 1.7 only once before and that was ages and ages ago (yes, I've been digging around quite a bit). It's not so much the 1.7 for this paper ,"Defective Democracy: Theoretical Concept (with the example of Russia)", that got me in such a good mood, but the fact that I wrote the paper pretty much more or less in one single day....and I got such a high mark for it!

So, that was one paper down. I had 3 other papers that I handed in a semester before this semester, but I still haven't got the results for those ones back....until today.

I had been running around the past couple of weeks and had been trying to rouse the two profs who have my works (2 papers with one prof, and one more with the other). They both promised to get the markings to the university in time for the diploma registration.

It's just sooooo close to the registration now that I was getting really worried about it. Anyway, I had been at work all day today (early shift from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.)...and I got only two hours of sleep last night due to my worrying about what would happen if the my papers still haven't been marked.

Anyway, I made a bee-line to the university right after work. I got there and found the secretary and asked her whether she had got anything back from the profs. She told me that everything is there and that I can register for the diploma thesis and exams! *woohoo!* Then she told me that I could go pick up the two papers from the one prof, but the other one is still being processed into the system. Never mind that, it took a whole load off my heart to know that I've reached the next step.

That was one thing to be happy about.

I went to get my two papers, both in the area of political theory, and I almost dropped dead when I saw the marks:

"Theory of Power after Michel Foucault" - 1.3
"The Deconstruction after Michel Foucault" - 1

That's an A and a freaking A+! I've never got such marks before in my whole life! I just couldn't believe it! I guess that something did get stuck in my head after all these years of digging around at the university after all. I mean, I did go to all the seminars and lectures...but if you ask me whether I've been paying attention? Well, that would need a different kind of answer. ;-)

I just drifted out of the university with a stupid grin on my face. :-) Now, I'm just curious as what kind of marks I'd get on my last paper. But I can say that I'm really happy overall now. Things seem to be looking up with my studies. I had been digging around in the past two years because I just don't feel motivated any more and I started to dislike my studies. I felt as though I never could understand a thing they talked about in class....but well, my marks are showing me otherwise and now I'm feeling motivated again! So, diploma thesis and exams, here I come!

ETA: I thought I'd give you guys the marking system according to my university here:

1.0 - 1.3 = Very good
1.7 - 2.3 = Good
2.7 - 3.3 = Satisfactory
3.7 - 4.0 = Adequate
4.3 - 5.0 = Not adequate, i.e. failed

Current Mood: Tired, but really euphoric

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 A Diploma Thesis in Sock Knitting...

Suzanne Vinnland: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 01st July 2007
Finish: WIP
Needles: 2.5 mm/ US #1.5 Addi Turbos (100 cm)
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Sockenwolle, colourway "Suzanne"
Pattern: Vinnland by Becca Compton via The AntiCraft, issue Beltane 2007

Yeah, if I could write a diploma thesis on that topic, my life would be a lot more easier...but alas, I'm not studying designing and so I have to face the music and dance as best I can and write a thesis on politics. *sighs*

Hi...I'm still alive. Having quite an ordeal this week. The only thing I'll say here is that I had a huge fight with my parents over the weeked about my studies and things are just not going that well. The only positive effect on this is that it has kicked me into gear about working more on my studying and just to get it done and over with. Even though I'll first be finished in March 2009, but I can't do anything about it.

So, yeah, I'm not feeling that great at the moment. Had quite a fitful sleep last night and had weird dreams about alien attacks on earth and giant polar bears (the result of all the stress plus the fact that I watched the trailers of 1-18-08/Cloverfield and The Golden Compass before going to bed last night).

Vinnland's chugging along...even though things will go slower now on the knitting front as I have to re-direct my focus back on my studies. I first thought about frogging the Vinnland because I thought that the pattern wouldn't show with the yarn, but after having tried it on, I came to really like it and will keep on with it.

Fleece Artist Nova Socks: "Pinata", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

If you've listened to the last episode of the KU-podcast, you'll know that I had been having quite a Stash Enhancing eXperience. What you see above is the wanked version of the Fleece Artist "Pinata" we got from Peech Purls and which I took. :-p

Charlie Brown Blues (aka Billy Reid Socks): Started, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Start: 10th July 2007
Finish: WIP
Needles: 2.5 mm / 80 cm Addi Lace, MagicLooping with two socks at once
Yarn: Regia 4-ply, colour #324 (Solid Navy Blue)
Pattern: Charlie Brown Blues (My own)

Do you know how hard it is to take photos of very light or very dark colour? Yeah, well, that's navy blue in the photo, just believe me. :-p

Anyway, see? I finally cast-on for the Billy Reid socks! It's my own simple design. Maybe you might get the idea from the name already, but I won't say anything more about it at the moment. I ended up having to put one side on a thread last night and frog the other side, because I did something wonky to it and couldn't fix it. So now I have to knit that frogged one up again to the same place as the one on the thread and then re-insert both of them back on the needles. Again, this will be going slow due to my seminar papers and thesis preparations.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock": "Scottish Highlands", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock": "Lucy in the Sky", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

The early Christmas feeling hasn't yet stopped at my place....

...yesterday I received a package from Socktopus, with whom I did a swap with. I sent him some sock yarn from Wolle Roedel and he got me these two gorgeous hanks of Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks That Rock"!

I seriously think that I need to get on a yarn diet again, since I haven't the time to knit up everything at the moment, but my stash has grown exponentially in the past weeks. Not to mention the fact that most of the hand-painted sock yarns had somehow migrated to live permanently on my desk now.

Well, that's all I have for now. Have to go do laundry and then run off to the library. Good vibes are welcomed that I'd make it through this difficult part at the moment. I'm sorry that I haven't been visiting all the blogs and leave comments...but you know how it is.

Have a great week, everyone!

Current Mood: Stressed and anxious
Food for the Ears: Rufus Wainwright's "Release the Stars"

On...I'm high on Caffeine

Okay, the title's lame, but hey, my brain's fried.

I feel that I actually accomplished quite a bit today, although I'm ready to drop dead now. You see, this weekend and next weekend I have this block seminar at the university. Both on Saturday and Sunday. The seminar is with a professor from the USA and she just got in on Thursday, so we had an introduction lecture on Friday, i.e. yesterday.

For the seminar, we had to prepare an in-front-of-class-presentation of about 15 to 20 minutes. We had the topics since the beginning of the semester, but the date of our presentation were given out on Thursday. I had my topic ("The 'Advice and Consent' Powers of the Senates and the Executive Branch") already and had been preparing for it....my presentation was today and I was supposed to be the second one in line.

....on Friday, after the introduction lecture, to my horror, it seemed that my line of research was totally off track (I was really looking at the domestic politics side of the 'Advice and Consent', but, stupid me, the seminar is in international politics....so I was supposed to be looking at the foreign politics side of things). I went to talk to the professor, a really lovely lady and told her my dilemma. She told me not to worry and just do what I can and present it.

So, I ended up staying up until 3 a.m. this morning doing internet research and totally re-writing my presentation. I felt that I did such a craptastic job at it (my perfectionist side talking), but I thought that it was the best I could do and I didn't want to go to the seminar sans sleep, so I wrapped everything up and went to bed, hoping for the best.

This morning, I got up at 7, totally groggy and got myself breakfast and coffee and got myself ready and ready to go. The seminar started at 9 a.m. and we found out that the guy who was supposed to have his presentation before me got something mixed up with the orderings...so he ended up not doing his presentation, which left me to be the very first in line to deliver the presentation.

Now, if you know me, you know that I'm pretty confident in a lot of things, but when it comes to stage-fright or public speaking, I'm usually reduced down to either some kind of a cowering gibberish or I get extremely snarky and scary (usually before a concert, I ended up having to find somewhere to be alone, lest I ended up literally biting someone when they come to close - yeah, that's how bad it is).

So, yeah, I had a craptastic script to a not-well-researched topic that I had to present. But I faced the music and danced anyway. Nobody asked questions....the prof didn't really say much...I definitely thought that I was going to have to go and bury my face in some dug up holes somewhere after the seminar.

...but then came the discussion and the prof actually ended up saying that I presented some points really well (I used the Kyoto Protocol as an example...I won't go into details here, but just to give you some points: The Byrd-Hagel Resolution played a role, as well as the fact that the US actually signed the Treaty without having really seek the formal Advice of the Senate, etc. etc.). And then as we were leaving the class, one of the student actually told me that my presentation was very well-delivered. So, I guess it wasn't that craptastic after all.

Yeah, so that's my day. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my next dose of coffee before I keel over. I just don't like to sleep during the day...besides, my neighbour's having fun drilling at the moment, so no chance of sleeping anyway.

Current Mood: Tired, pumped with caffeine and I feel kinda weird

On....Ravelry much

Pink & Green Bike, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

(The photo above is for for April-May, with the colours: Green, Yellow and Pink)

Please, don't mind the title. If you're not a knitter/crocheter, you probably won't know it. I'll get to the knitting content a bit later on.

So, hey everyone (not that anyone's reading at all....coz I hardly get any comments nowadays *sobs*). Yes, I'm still alive and well. I'm still in Germany. Yes, I haven't been kicked out of the country and I shouldn't have had worried that much anyway. Thank you for all of you who expressed kind words and encouragements.

What's the story then?

Last Tuesday (8th May), I finally summed up enough guts to go to the foreigner office (henceforth "KVR") to face my doom. I was armed with a letter of confirmation / prognosis from my university, the four certificates of participation from the lectures I attended last semester, positive thoughts and a lot of charm. :-p I got to the KVR, filled out the form, went and get some horrible ugly fugly fubar photo of myself done in the photo booth (EUR 6, thank you very much) and then waited for my number to be called up with something akin to a brush with nervous breakdown going on in me. I decided to do some learning (I brought some uni stuff to read) against knitting, because:

a) I might look menacing with knitting needles and thus would make a bad impression of myself,
b) I was so nervous that I think I'd probably drop 50 zillion stitches on whatever I was going to work on, which would lead to;
c) me swearing furiously at whatever, which would then lead back to (a)

So, I settled down and read and try to forget what ever else was going on around me.

My number was called up and I went over to the room I was supposed to go to. I was half expecting the stern guy who processed my stuff two years ago, who also gave me the hard time at KVR and who was one of the causes for my fear of dealing with the KVR at all. I knocked and open the door only to be greeted by a not-German-looking woman who seemed to be very sympathisch, i.e. likeable.

I said hello in the most polite Bavarian way possible and seated myself down before handing her my visa extension application form, my fubar photo and my passport. She flipped through everything briefly and walked over to the shelf to get my file. She got that, flipped through that briefly and remarked whether I have done my pre-diploma yet, because I should've done it already but the certificate isnt in my file. Yes, I've done my pre-diploma already and there should at least be a letter from my university in my files. She found that, at which point I also have procured my Studienbuch (record of study book), where there's also a confirmation that I've passed my pre-diploma already. In that time, I noticed that she found my last extension application from two years ago and the letter of agreement that I should have finished my studies by now or I could be kicked out. I started to panic and tried to draw her attention away from that letter of agreement by telling her that if she still needs any more confirmation, I have this letter from the university and that I know about the fact that I have at most 10 years to do my first degree, blah blah blah....she just looked up and told me that I was still on good terms with the time limit. That just took loads off my psyche!

So, I thought that I should just grease up a bit and fished out my four lecture certificates and gave them to her asking whether she might need them as evidence of my studies. She took them and copied them and flipped through them....she raised her eyebrows and asked me whether I've done all these in the last semester. Yes, I said. She went on to remark that I was diligent comparing to some other foreign students who always come in totally empty-handed and haven't done a thing at all during the semester!

Yeah, I was being extremely charming.

To cut it short, she gave me until March 2009! (Another EUR 30 processing fee, thank you very much). Yeah, I'm sooooo grateful for that and I definitely will not be dilly-dallying around any more.

I'm so relieved that I have this time-limit pressure lifted off my back. So, I'm constantly working on my papers now, but am not rushing them like a mad man anymore. Thus I could relax a bit and pick up my knitting again...

...which brings me to my next point: Knitting (okay, so y'all who aren't interested in knitting content, that's all there is to read. Glad you dropped by. Do leave a comment, because I'm a comment whore :-p )

Icarus: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 24th April 2007
Finished: WIP
Needles: 3.5 mm / 60 cm Inox circs
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise Lace-weight, 100% superwash virgin wool, 300g Hank (530 m / 100 g), colour: "Poison No. 5"
Pattern: "Icarus" by Miriam Felton from Interweave Knit Summer 2006

Yes, that's how much I got so far with the Icarus. I'm going slow on this one, as it's for my mum (as her Christmas pressie) and I don't want to muck it up by being impatient. Besides, I've 100+ stitches now with each row....but well, it's still a long way away until it's going to be finished.

Apart from that, I've been busy with this:

Clementine Shawlette, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

.....which during the meantime had grown into this:

Clementine Shawlette: Progress, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Started: 11th May 2007
Finished: WIP
Needles: 3 mm / 60 cm Inox circs
Yarn: Rohrspatz & Wollmeise sock yarn, "Drachenblut"
Pattern: Clementine Shawlette by Michele Rose Orne from Interweave KNITS Spring 2007

(NB: The colours in the latter photo are darker in reality....but I had to lighten it up on the photo, otherwise it's just going to look like a lump of something dark. You can compare the colour of the yarn to this photo)

I started the Clementine Shawlette partly as a reward relieve project for getting the visa extension and partly because I'm getting on the lace-binge. For the first time after my catastrophic encounter with lace last year, I finally found the courage to knit lace and see the beauty of lace.

Now, thing is, the Clementine Shawlette's going to be for myself. No, I'm not about to cross-dress. But I can see the beauty of a lace shawl and I find it unfortunate that men can't wear it (yes, men can wear it, but have you ever seen any men walking around in public with a lacy shawl wrapped around their shoulders?)....and well, I just want something lacy for myself. So, I decide to knit myself one and to use it in my own privacy at home (and no, I will not take any photos of me wearing it and post it here). I think that's fair enough. ;-)

Also, please take note the gorgeous stitch markers a friend from Cologne (who I got to know through Daniela) made for me. She made two sets of four markers. One set is on the Icarus and one marker is on the Clementine Shawlette. Aren't they just beautiful and the perfect complement to the project?

And I've learnt something new today:

Entrelac try-out, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Yes! I can finally do Entrelac! And thank goodness I've already learnt how to purl backwards...otherwise all the turnings would've driven me nuts.

Lastly, is there anything more that I could say about ? Most of you knitters/crocheters out there should know about it by now. ;-) And Oh.My.God! This is one of the best thing that could happen to the knitting community! I just can't tear myself away from it. I'd been spending so much time taking photos of my FOs, WIPs and stash, just so that I can upload it onto Ravelry and get everything organised.

Okay, they're still in beta and not everyone can get on yet. But do put your name down if you want to join. I was so happy when I received the invitation in my email (it was 11 p.m.) and I started to squeal and jumped around until my neighbours thumped the ceiling. *oops* But yes, I'm so glad that I'm on Ravelry now. ;-)

Lastly, do you remember these two hanks of Wollmeise?

Wollmeise Sockyarns: Rhabarber & Kräuterbeet, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Well, now I can talk about it a bit, because they're now being loved by their recipients, who are ! ;-)

Well, that's all for now. I hope you guys have a great week! Thanks for dropping by (and please do say hi if you were here!)

Current Mood: Definitely a whole load better than last week
Food for the ears: You are always on my mind by Michael Bublé (Call me irresponsible) - Listen to the song on my Vox

On Stitch by stitch...or why Foucault should've learnt to knit

Green Wharf Facade at Starnberger See, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Hi guys,

yes, I'm still alive. Shernoh's been here from 25th April to 1st May. It was a wonderful week with him...although I don't have that much to report on that week since we didn't really do anything special (apart from the fact that we went to Lake Starnberg, which was where I took the photo above). I got to go BBQing with him and a couple of his friends...and also met up with one of his old friend who lives here in Munich.

Anyway, the reason why I've been quiet is that because I'm just about to die. Yeah, from my work load for the university. Okay, first I have to really admit that this is all my fault procrastinating about everything for this long.....

....so the back story first. When I changed from the University of Munich (LMU) to the Academy for Politics (HfP), the foreigner authority (KVR) made me signed a kind of agreement saying that I should finish my studies by May 2007, i.e. now. The time limit is based on the prognosis from the university stating the very minimum time I would need in order to finish my studies. Now, the prognosis says that I could finish my studies in May 2007....

So, yeah, my visa's actually running very soon....as in the coming Friday. And my studying? It's nowhere near finish....okay, well, actually, it's near finish. Look at it like this, if I were to be climbing a mountain to reach the peak - and the peak is when I get my diploma -, then I'm at about 70% up there....but I'm digressing.

Anyway, my visa's running out and I'm freaking out that the KVR's going to kick me out of Germany....and well, I don't want that to happen...there are several reasons as to why, but I don't want to talk about them here (well, Shernoh's one obvious reason). All I know from a friend of mine - who's also a foreign student and had some huge problems, too -, is that I'm allowed to take up to the maximum of 10 years for my first degree here. This is said in the form that there has to be some kind of prognosis saying that my studying won't go over the 10 years. Now, I'd been studying pretty long....but it's not near 10 years yet and I could be finished within a year's time (we'll get to that later).

My plan is to get the HfP to state another prognosis saying that if I manage to get everything done, I would need one more year (or a year and a half, depending...but I'm hoping for myself that I would need only a year). And then I would present the KVR with that.

Now, thing is, I want to get this thing over soon, too....because I'm totally sick of it (even though I'm kind of scared of what might be coming after my studies but that's beside the point). In order to get my diploma in a year (on the condition that I get good marks on the thesis and pass all my written and oral exams in the first go) I need to register myself for the diploma in this semester. And the deadline for the registration is on 04th June.

No problem, you say? Hehehe, well, you're bloody wrong. In order to get the registration done, I have to hand in all the certificates of the courses that I've done. And well, there are four outstanding certificates right now from my 4 seminars. How do I get the certificates? Well, I have to write 4 papers from about 20-25 pages each. And the number of completed and handed-in papers up to the 1st May? None. Zero. Nada. Niente!

Yeah, are you feeling ill yet? I sure am. Anyway, I couldn't take it