I have 3 KAL’s that start on January 1st. Of course that’ll never work. The Spring Shawl Surprise and the Bad Nauheim are mystery KAL’s, no idea how they will turn out. So I decided to participate in the Victorian Lace Today KAL. I already have yarn for this one, I know what it will look like and it’s been on my to do list.
I’ll just collect the clues from the other two and make them some other time.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
I am mad
Hello, my name is Eban, better know as little man. It took me 7 years to train my human to do my bidding. I am willing to get off the table when she enters the room, to sharpen my nails on the nice chair only when she’s not in the room and to get off the chair when she threatens to sit on me. All I want in return is a soft spot to sleep. The box I’m sitting is NOT soft. Why I’m sitting in the box? My human blocked the wicker basket with all the nice soft balls and knitted fabric. Do you know how long it took me to get all those things ordered? How long it took to get those sharp pointy things in there moved to the side? It was bad enough that she took the soft balls out of the basket everyday and just to put them back without looking if they were in the correct place.
I’m mad. Stupid human.
P.S. Brigitte here: a white cat in your knitting basket full of yarn and WIP’s is not funny. Stupid cat.
I’m mad. Stupid human.
P.S. Brigitte here: a white cat in your knitting basket full of yarn and WIP’s is not funny. Stupid cat.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Christmas knitting is done
Everything I wanted to make for Christmas is done. Completely done. No more seams to do, no ends to weave in, but done. All I have to do now is to wrap them.
Happily I started on my cardigan. Because my gauge is way off from the pattern I had to do some calculations. Everything was nicely recalculated and I cast on. After about 4” I thought it was a bit wide. After 6” I ripped the darn thing out. I don’t feel like doing the math again so I have something that fits properly, I’ll just have to find yarn that works.
I have more than enough other projects that need to be finished. If I’ve done my math correctly I’ll be busy with them for quite some time. Pity, there is so much I still want to knit.
Happily I started on my cardigan. Because my gauge is way off from the pattern I had to do some calculations. Everything was nicely recalculated and I cast on. After about 4” I thought it was a bit wide. After 6” I ripped the darn thing out. I don’t feel like doing the math again so I have something that fits properly, I’ll just have to find yarn that works.
I have more than enough other projects that need to be finished. If I’ve done my math correctly I’ll be busy with them for quite some time. Pity, there is so much I still want to knit.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Prague
Just going to a party. Friday morning I got up at 4 am, picked up I. At 5 am and got to the airport at 6. We flew at 8. The flight is about an hour and 15 minutes. In Prague we got in the waiting bus to go to the hotel. Everything was ready, all we had to do was to pick up the key. At noon we were ready to explore the city.
We didn’t really have much time, so we only went to see the highlight we thought we had to see. We saw the clock and the Charles Bridge. After that we tried to find someone who knew where MarLen was. It took some time, but we found it. They make their own yarn by combining different yarn types. I bought a skein, about 200 meters long. It’s going to be a summer scarf.
At night we had the party. Getting up really early and walking around a cold city really gets to you. We were both pretty tired. At a quarter to six we took the bus to the party. Once we got there we got a snack and something to drink. After half a glass of wine I felt it. Dinner was perfect. The party afterwards was lots of fun too. There were 4 Dutch artists that performed, with the last one being pretty big in this country.
After that we took the bus back to the hotel and crawled into bed. The next morning we got up reasonably early, had a good breakfast and got on the bus back to the airport.
I got home Saturday afternoon around 2 o’clock being dog-tired. All I did the rest of the day was sit on the couch.
But it sure was fun :)
We didn’t really have much time, so we only went to see the highlight we thought we had to see. We saw the clock and the Charles Bridge. After that we tried to find someone who knew where MarLen was. It took some time, but we found it. They make their own yarn by combining different yarn types. I bought a skein, about 200 meters long. It’s going to be a summer scarf.
At night we had the party. Getting up really early and walking around a cold city really gets to you. We were both pretty tired. At a quarter to six we took the bus to the party. Once we got there we got a snack and something to drink. After half a glass of wine I felt it. Dinner was perfect. The party afterwards was lots of fun too. There were 4 Dutch artists that performed, with the last one being pretty big in this country.
After that we took the bus back to the hotel and crawled into bed. The next morning we got up reasonably early, had a good breakfast and got on the bus back to the airport.
I got home Saturday afternoon around 2 o’clock being dog-tired. All I did the rest of the day was sit on the couch.
But it sure was fun :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Preparation
My boss is having a party this weekend because we’re soo good (hum). The party wil be this Friday and Saturday. Why 2 days? The party is in Prague and it’s not possible to get all the employees and their partner there at once. I’m leaving this Friday.
To keep myself busy while waiting and on the plane I started a crochet project. I’m not really comfortabel taking my knitting needles (however small) on board. I have to admit that I have no idea what I’m going to do with the bag once I’m finished. It feels good to be crocheting again.
To keep myself busy while waiting and on the plane I started a crochet project. I’m not really comfortabel taking my knitting needles (however small) on board. I have to admit that I have no idea what I’m going to do with the bag once I’m finished. It feels good to be crocheting again.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Lot’s to go
Now that I’ve finished my socks I can start on the last three Christmas gifts. Mom and my brother are getting fingerless gloves (Fetching and Dashing). I’m gonna make some slippers for my sister-in-law. Someone at my SnB-group gave me a really simple pattern to make slippers. On the way home I had already rummaged through my left-over yarn in my head deciding what I could use. Once I got home I realized that I have a really neat pattern for cabled footies in the book One Skein by Leigh Radford. I have yarn for all three projects and they should be easy to do. Which is a very good thing considering it’s almost December.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Extra dry cat
There are moments when you have to try something new. For some living here that means a new sleeping place. This is the first time that one actually picked the dryer to sleep in.
For others it’s trying to recalculate an entire pattern. I plan to use a yarn that gives me a completely different gauge then mentioned for the tilted duster. Right now I have half of the pattern written out for my own gauge and the final measurements still look good. I guess I’ll have to cast on soon, just to see if my math really is that good.
For others it’s trying to recalculate an entire pattern. I plan to use a yarn that gives me a completely different gauge then mentioned for the tilted duster. Right now I have half of the pattern written out for my own gauge and the final measurements still look good. I guess I’ll have to cast on soon, just to see if my math really is that good.
Monday, November 5, 2007
SnB day, November 3rd 2007
The second national SnB day has passed. Together with L I volunteered to man the daycare center for men. This was for all those nice men who had to come along with their wives and partners looking at yarn all day. It was very quiet, in those 2 hours three showed up. One was with his little girl, the other two kept themselves busy. After daycare we made a quick run past the stands. I bought yarn for a cardigan (the blue stuff in the picture). After that I had 2 workshops; spinning with a spindle and a sideways knitted sock. The spinning actually went pretty well, I just need some more practice. I’m definitely making the sock, after finishing other projects. After the workshops another round past the stands. This time I bought a skein of laceweight, dpn’s in the sizes 6, 7 and 8 and some yarn for the baby surprise jacket (scroll down a bit). It really wasn’t a bad day considering I had planned to spend more money. So I transferred the leftover knitting money to her including an order.
I am very content.
I am very content.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Swift
The mess is nicely on its way to becoming a sock. Because I’d rather not do something like that again I went searching for a yarn swift. There are some real nice ones with even nicer prices (from the seller’s point of view). On the Ravelry forum I found this manual, looks easy enough.
At first I wanted to send the link to the males in the family with ‘Christmas present’ in the subject line. That would mean that I’d have to wait 2 months before owning it. That’s pretty long. So I’m going to try it myself.
First I checked to see what I had lying around in the shed, which wasn’t much. Up to the hardware store and I bought a bolt, a small beam and a dowel. Measure, mark, saw and sand. After 2 hours I had everything finished, except for the holes. Asked dad for help on this one since I lacked the necessary drill bits. Dad made some holes for me and look, it works.
It’s not completely straight, the bottom is made of a board that was already warped and sawing straight isn’t my strong suit. But . . . it works like a charm. A skein of 1460 yards became a ball within 30 minutes.
Those spiders are not real, they came with the yarn. My cats love them, I’m not so sure about it.
At first I wanted to send the link to the males in the family with ‘Christmas present’ in the subject line. That would mean that I’d have to wait 2 months before owning it. That’s pretty long. So I’m going to try it myself.
First I checked to see what I had lying around in the shed, which wasn’t much. Up to the hardware store and I bought a bolt, a small beam and a dowel. Measure, mark, saw and sand. After 2 hours I had everything finished, except for the holes. Asked dad for help on this one since I lacked the necessary drill bits. Dad made some holes for me and look, it works.
It’s not completely straight, the bottom is made of a board that was already warped and sawing straight isn’t my strong suit. But . . . it works like a charm. A skein of 1460 yards became a ball within 30 minutes.
Those spiders are not real, they came with the yarn. My cats love them, I’m not so sure about it.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Fun with yarn
Last night I frogged a couple of socks and sat down with my woolwinder. One soch was too small around the ankle, the other one was simply too big. I couldn’t find anyone with bigger feet that wanted to wear purple, red and green striped socks so I had no other option than to frog the poor thing. I’ll use the yarn for another sock.
I also had a skein of sockyarn that needed winding. Working a bit fast, not all too secure, a bit of pulling and yanking and I ended up with a gorgeous mass of tangeld yarn. I spend the whole night trying to get it untangled. Who says you can’t have hours fo fun with a single strand of yarn? And I plan to make socks from it, more fun with yarn.
I also had a skein of sockyarn that needed winding. Working a bit fast, not all too secure, a bit of pulling and yanking and I ended up with a gorgeous mass of tangeld yarn. I spend the whole night trying to get it untangled. Who says you can’t have hours fo fun with a single strand of yarn? And I plan to make socks from it, more fun with yarn.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Minus two, plus one
I had the fullest intentions to finish some projects and then to start on my cardigan. I still don’t have any yarn, so you’d think I’d keep up with finishing things. I’m planning on buying the yarn on the SnB-day so I have until November 3rd to finish stuff.
You’d think that what I’d do.I finish two WIP’s, the gloves form the MittensKal and the Clapotis. Especially the last one went faster than expected, I ran out of yarn right before the end. So what do I do next? I start knitting a test pair of Fetching. Yes, a test pair. I want to give these away for Christmas, but I don’t have the right colors for the intended recipient. Actually, this is just a good excuse to make them for myself.
You’d think that what I’d do.I finish two WIP’s, the gloves form the MittensKal and the Clapotis. Especially the last one went faster than expected, I ran out of yarn right before the end. So what do I do next? I start knitting a test pair of Fetching. Yes, a test pair. I want to give these away for Christmas, but I don’t have the right colors for the intended recipient. Actually, this is just a good excuse to make them for myself.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Knitting break
No, I’m not taking a break from knitting. I started knitting during my lunch break at work. I took my knitting to work for the first time this week. During lunch I found a quiet place and sat down to knit. At first I felt really awkward, what will people say? Will they look at me?
At the moment I feel a lot less awkward. I have some quiet music on my I-pod and focus myself on knitting for at least 30 minutes. This is really a work break.
Another good thing about it is that I have some progress on my WIP’s. The downside of Ravelry is that there are too many things to be seen that I want to make and I end up starting project after project. At some point I have to start finishing things. I really want to make the Tilted Duster from Interweave, but I have to finish at least one thing before I start.
Besides, I don’t have the yarn for it yet.
At the moment I feel a lot less awkward. I have some quiet music on my I-pod and focus myself on knitting for at least 30 minutes. This is really a work break.
Another good thing about it is that I have some progress on my WIP’s. The downside of Ravelry is that there are too many things to be seen that I want to make and I end up starting project after project. At some point I have to start finishing things. I really want to make the Tilted Duster from Interweave, but I have to finish at least one thing before I start.
Besides, I don’t have the yarn for it yet.
Friday, September 28, 2007
New square
I saw Monique’s square and decided that I didn’t like my own anymore. A bit boring actually. So I ripped it back. Of course I still needed to keep the ideas I had originally, no pattern to take along, no counting row and easy to take along. I think I managed that just fine. I wonder whether I still like them al lined up. I’m thinking about making a shawl with them.
Monday, September 24, 2007
I’m in!
Last week I got my invite for Ravelry. I didn’t really have time to check it out until Sunday and realize that I’ll be busy for a very long time just looking around. You could find me behind my pc way after my bedtime on Sunday and that is something rare.
I’m known as breikat, the English version knitcat was already taken.
I’m known as breikat, the English version knitcat was already taken.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Finished at last
The baby blanket is finally finished. It’s now waiting for the baby itself. E’s duedate is September 28th, I really finished in time. Mystery Stole 3 is also finished. The whole stole including the beads is almost 2.16 ounces (60 grams). If you put it on it’s almost like wearing nothing. I really like knitting lace, I think I’m also gonna do MS4.I’m busy knitting the mittens from MittensKal. This will give me more yarm for my sockblanket (blanket made from my leftover sockyarn). I’m also busy with the August pattern from Six_Socks_Knitalong. The first sock has the heel turned. Onward to the toe and the second sock. Jippy, more leftover yarn.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Square
Last Saturday we had an event in Waalwijk where I got to be a first aider. Usually this means waiting around until something happens. I went through my knitting and reached the conclusion that I don’t have anything appropriate to take with me. I want something that doesn’t require me to take a chart with me, where I don’t have to count rows so the second one is equal to the first and it has to be portable. Knitting squares is the solution. I started knitting from the center and I increase 8 stitches every 2nd row. I have no idea how big they’re going to be or what the end result will be. It is easy to take along.Unfortunately I had no time to knit on Saturday. It was too busy to sit somewhere quietly.
Monday, August 27, 2007
It doesn’t fit
I was very happy knitting my Conwy (sock pattern by Nancy Bush). The pattern is fun to knit, not too complicated and yet challenging enough. Once I got to the ankle I suspected that it might be a bit too tight. After I turned the heel I was pretty sure of it. I went in search of smaller feet and was told that they were tight. And the top was too loose.
I stared at it for about a week and decided to rip the whole thing. I can use the same needles and change the pattern so it will fit, or go up a needle size and start with the amount of stiches I eventually need (sock decreases from top to heel). It should fit the smaller feet. Hey, could be a Christmas present.
I stared at it for about a week and decided to rip the whole thing. I can use the same needles and change the pattern so it will fit, or go up a needle size and start with the amount of stiches I eventually need (sock decreases from top to heel). It should fit the smaller feet. Hey, could be a Christmas present.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Sure I know the pattern
According to my own planning I’m a bit behind with the baby blanket. I want to knit 5 rows a day to make sure that I finish half September. Last SnB-night I knitted away while chatting with my co-knitters. At the last row with the pattern I pretty much knew how to do it. Or so I thought. I purled the last row and when I turned my work to knit again I realised that all the little holes had moved over. (Sorry, no picture, thought it was rather stupid of myself). Got my crochet needle to work dropped stitches and got it looking straight again. You can’t even see that I messed up.
Girl, you gotta learn to check the pattern every now and then.
Girl, you gotta learn to check the pattern every now and then.
Monday, August 13, 2007
A week off from work
Yeah, last week I had a whole week free. Messing about the house, reading, knitting. The best thing is that I don’t have to get op early to go to work.
I cleaned out the cupboards. I had things in there with an expiration date somewhere in 2005.
I have 2 projects that simply won’t progress, MysteryStole3 and a blanket for my niece/nephew. I know there has to be some progress because I keep track of the rows I knit, but it doesn’t feel that way. I have until the end of September for the baby blanket. I like to finish earlier just in case it happens to be an impatient baby. With the mystery stole I got stuck on clue 4, which seems to go on endlessly.I made a deal with myself that I won’t start anything new until I finish the blanket. So far so good.
I cleaned out the cupboards. I had things in there with an expiration date somewhere in 2005.
I have 2 projects that simply won’t progress, MysteryStole3 and a blanket for my niece/nephew. I know there has to be some progress because I keep track of the rows I knit, but it doesn’t feel that way. I have until the end of September for the baby blanket. I like to finish earlier just in case it happens to be an impatient baby. With the mystery stole I got stuck on clue 4, which seems to go on endlessly.I made a deal with myself that I won’t start anything new until I finish the blanket. So far so good.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
New blog, old news
I got a complaint form this girl about my other blog, it’s all in Dutch. Well, eh . . . good point. So I decided to have a mirrorblog in English. I’ll translate a few of the current topics on the other blog and after that keep both of them updated. One in Dutch and one in English.
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