Status rapport November

mystery
Originally uploaded by isis1207

After knitting frantically for some time I finished my hat, Grandma’s mittens and dad’s socks. I’m still behind with the squares for my blanket. One block to go and 3 days, guess that won’t happen. I went project diving in the basket with forgotten project and found that thing in the picture. At least the basket is being emptied. Oh yeah, when I’m finished you’ll see that is it. Anybody want to guess?

A baby’s been born

present_owain
Originally uploaded by isis1207

A pregnant friend is the best excuse to buy yarn when visiting the States. I was advised to use Comfort from Berroco for the baby. All I can say is that it’s awesome stuff to knit with. Pity we can’t get it here. It knits up beautifully. Unfortunately it made the Baby Surprise Jacket not for a baby but more for a one-year old. I was so bummed out about that, that I made a cuddle toy to go with it.
On November 16th my friend L gave birth to a healthy baby boy. I took a day off from work to admire the baby and proudly present the mom with my knitting. The baby doesn’t fit the jacket (actually, he drowns in it right now), the color did meet the approval of the parents.

Choices

keuzes
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I know I have too many projects at the moment. In my bedroom next to the closet is a basket with several WIP’s I have uncovered during a cleaningspree.
Right now I have 5 active projects, a pair of socks, a clapotis, the Wolhemel blanket, a hat and mittens. I promised the socks for Christmas, I’m a block behind on the blanket, I’m really going to need that hat soon (I LOATHE the cold), the mittens are for my grandmother and the clapotis is/was a Christmas present.
I need to spend time at working, so finishing everything within the next 6 weeks is not going to be easy. Okay, so the blanket won’t be finished this year but I’d like to keep up with the blocks. So . . . I’ll keep working on the socks, hat and mittens. The clapotis will shift from Christmas present to birthday present 9giving me 6 more months to finish) and the blanket will have to wait until one of the first 3 projects are done. Keep knitting bocks until I’m up to speed and then start something new.

more animals

Done

Crystal_lace_03
Originally uploaded by isis1207

It took me 8 months and it’s finally done. I wore it for three days straight as soon as the buttons were sewn on. It’s great, fits perfect and is warm without getting hot.

Maybe I’ll start a new cardigan next February, that way I’ll have something new to wear in the fall of next year.

Small swatch

wolhemel deken 001
Originally uploaded by isis1207

The blanket Kal started on Ocotber 1st. Unfortunately because the factory delivered faulty yarn to the store, I haven't been able to start yet. Angelique gave me a small ball of the yarn I'd orded from her. WOW.
With that little ball I made a little swatch. I'm right on spot with the needed stitches and rows using the recommended needle size. All I have to do now is wait on the yarn. It should arrive at Wolhemel at the end of the week. After that it should come my way. With a bit of luck I'll only be 4 blocks behind. I should be able to catch up.

Almost

almost
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I sat here and declared that 5 project was enough to work on. On two projects I can’t work constantly because they’re presents. Soon I’ll receive the yarn for my blanket, which is perfect to take along.
Then I saw the new project at Knitting Delight. I printed the pattern, went stashdiving, dug out the needles I needed and put it on the table. Wait a minute, this wasn’t my plan for the next months. I want to finish stuff, not start anything new. It almost went wrong.

The big felting experiment

Baskets_3
Originally uploaded by isis1207

On the plane on my way home I couldn't sleep. I read some and crochet a couple of baskets. The idea is to felt them to make them more sturdy. The morning that I left we went and bought some yarn to felt with. The pattern of the pink and blue/pink basket wasn't working right. I kept ending up with the wrong amount of stitches no matter what I did. Both have been altered. This is what they looked like before.
I threw it all in a pillowcase and together with a pair of old jeans into the washer. In a magazine from Drops I read that it should be washed on 40 degrees Centigrade (that's probably for their own yarn) and use enzyme free soap. Once the washer was done this is what I pulled out of the pillowcase. They turned pretty okay don't you think?

Not everything at once

project_rest_2008
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I have so much yarn and projects lying around the house that I have no idea what to work on first. Most of my problem is that I start way too much and have problems finishing it all. At this time I have 4 projects on the table. There are actually 5, but I have finished my mom cell phone cozy. And I'll add the blanket from this KAL. The yarn won't arrive until halfway October, this gives me some time to make this pile smaller. If only I didn't have to work for a living .........

Back home

Suitcase_full
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I’ve been home for almost a week now. The day after I got home I got this great cold, real fun. At least my suitcase is a lot fuller getting home then is was going away. It took two of us to get it to close (and stay closed). The suitcase was marked “heavy” as soon as I checked in. They were right. I had to empty the suitcase downstairs in the living room, I couldn’t get it upstairs. I neatly put everything away, including the yarn. Now it doesn’t look as bad. Ladies of the SnB: I’m NOT taking the yarn with me tonight, just the two books and a couple of magazines. That way it looks like my spending was minimal.
I had a great time. It still takes me a while to convince people that I really like doing nothing special on my vacation, even if it was in a different country. Unfortunately, that great feeling is fast slipping away after two days of work.

Vacation

empty
Originally uploaded by isis1207

This is what my suitcase looked like yesterday morning. Right now its waiting downstairs in the hall to be put in the car.
I’m off to Charlotte (NC) for a few weeks. I don’t think I’ll be blogging during that time. Hey, it’s vacation alright? Maybe you can read about my weird actions here.

Craftroom

craft_room_01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I have the whole house for myself and I can do with it whatever I want. Still, when I bought this house 7 years ago I did what I thought I had to do. Have a guestroom for example. I rarely have people sleep over and the guestroom turned into a dumproom. I’ve decided to change that. I took the beda apart, removed the shelves from the wall and sorted through the boxes under the bed. The plan is to change this into my craftroom. Unfortunately that means clearing out the attic so the last things can be done to make that a real room (like covering the plastic on the roof). Then I can move the “guestroom” up there and bring all my crafty stuff downstairs. I want a little table to keep my sewingmachine on, a chair to read my books or to knit, and all my knittingbooks in one place.

Good thing I’m in real good spirits to clear everything out. All I need to do is keep jotting down every idea I get about redecorating the rooms and I should be doing great.

Vacation – day 5

vacation_05
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Our last breakfast of the vacation. After de workshop ‘Finishing Touches’ where everybody tried hard to finish some of the projects and an I-cord finish on the entrelac swatch, the weather turned for the better. We dragged the chairs outside and had a great time knitting in the sun. Around 1 o’clock everybody was on their way back home.
In short, it was a great week and I’m definitely going back next year.

Vacation – day 4

vacation_04
Originally uploaded by isis1207

The rain from the day before hadn’t passed yet and we had to have breakfast inside. That also meant that we couldn’t have the workshop outside under the trees. Next to the guest house is a little chapel with plenty of chairs and tables to seat the whole group easily. Today we had the workshop Entrelac. I had never done this before and it’s actually quite fun. Now I feel confident enough to start on Lady Elenor, I already have yarn at home.
We were free to spend the afternoon as we pleased. Because it kept drizzling everybody stayed around the guesthouse. We did visit a craftshop where I restocked on my supply of beads.
It got drier toward the end of the evening. After an amazing meal we went outside where a campfire was started. We sat near the fire knitting straight into the night.

Vacation – day 3

vacation_03
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Still great weather to have breakfast outside. Afterwards a workshop on Lace. Most of us had been winding the skein into a ball yesterday. Check this out to see how concentrated everybody is working on their little project. As you can see we all did pretty well.
In the beginning of the afternoon we took the bike to Roermond (city close by). Right before we got there the chain came of the bike. Mandatory break while the chain was being put back on (I don’t think my bike liked me). Once we got to Roermond we went to the yarnshop Filearte. I think everybody bought something there. It was a hot and humid day, so going shopping like mad wasn’t the plan. After an excellent pizza we were welcome to join the ladies of SnB Roermond. During dinner it had started to rain and when we went home it poured. Must have been pretty neat to see, a row of bikers in their rain poncho’s going by as fast as possible. At least is was dry and warm and comfortable in the guest house.

Vacation – day 2

vacation_02
Originally uploaded by isis1207

We had breakfast outside. Everything was ready for us, how awsome. Truly vacation. After the workshop socks knitting in which I learned a new way to cast-on (and I managed to do it right in 1 try) we took the bikes to Brüggen (Germany). We stopped once to have our lunch. In the nearby water musk-rats were swimming circles. They look like beavers from a distance so I put down my stuff to get my camera. A soon as I did one came swimming towards the shore. Neat, I thought, now I don’t have to zoom in. They’re fast little buggers and this one came in real fast. I sprinted back to the group yelling that one was after my lunch. Unfortunately now you can see it’s a musk-rat and not a beaver.
Brüggen is a really nice little town. We had a guided tour (for those who wished this) and afterward we sat on a terrace for a drink and to knit. Had a great dinner and took our bikes back to the guest house. After tea and some chatting it was bedtime.
Oh yeah, I got a flat tire on the way to Brüggen. To be continued.

Vacation – day 1

vacation_01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

The drive to Swalmen went very well. I only messed up when I accidently ended up in a wrong lane. I got there right on time. The entrance to the guest house was blocked by a fire truck, turned out there was a beginning fire in the forest. After koffie with Limburger cake and spastically trying to remember everybody’s name I unpacked. Because two people had canceled I had a room to myself. The room was on the shadowside of the house which meant that she was nice and cool. The building is completely made of wood.
We took a nice walk through the woods with an awesome guide (I only heard him say that he didn’t know something for sure twice the whole week) and after that the bike to Swalmen for dinner. Slept like a log that night. Day 1 was spend well. To be continued.

Preparation

prepared
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Every vacation needs preparation. Usually that means making sure that you have enough clothes, money and the necessary papers with you. But if you take a vacation here you needs a little more preparation. I stuffed knitting needles, knittingbooks and two knitting projects in my bag. It also looks like we’re going to have great weather the first few days.

The cats have been taken to their vacationaddress. I just need to straighten out a bit here and then I’m off. I’m really looking forward to it.

Happy design

PR 01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Sometimes there are patterns that make you happy. You’ve seen the result of someone who has knit it before, you’ve got the yarn at home and it looks rather easy to knit.
I have that with this pattern. I really like the designer Birgit Freyer and have knit a scarf of hers before. I have no idea what the result is of the pattern, I did have plenty of yarn at home. During my lunchbreak I went out to buy the beads. Just the combination yarn and beads make me happy. Pity I didn’t have enough time the last few days to finish the first clue. Thursday I went to a concert, I got really sick on Friday and on Saturday my grandma broke her hip. Because my parents were still on vacation when it happened I’ve been busy with that the whole weekend.
This week I’m going to sit down and be happy. Results will follow.

Own design

start
Originally uploaded by isis1207

There are so many lace shawls I want to knit that I’d keep myself busy for hours. For most of the patterns I need to buy yarn because I don’t have enough of it at home. If I do have enough I either don’t like the color or it’s not the right weight. Of course I could come up with something myself. And that exactly what I did. You can see how far I got before I discovered a mistake in my chart. This way it’ll keep me busy for hours.

To be continued.

New shawl

ML done
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I finished Mystic Light. The pattern was easy to follow and I managed to keep up with the clues. There were a few rows that gave me some trouble and led to mild frustration. Saturday night the cable on my circular needles suddenly gave way, right on the second to last row. I had a needle in my right hand, a needle in my left hand and noticed the purple wire escaping to the right of me. Mild feeling of panic. Slowly moved the right needle to my left hand and saw the cable moving even more to the right. Noooo!! Grabbed the wire with my right hand so not to lose anymore stitches. Now what? Carefully tread the wire through the stitches (not an easy feat when you’re holding two needles in your left hand). Hoping you’ve saved all the stitches, stuff the wire back into the end of the needle and start counting. Not really a fun thing to do if you have almost 400 stitches on the needle.
I carefully knitted the res of the shawl. I also reported the broken wire to the webstore where I bought it.

New chair

new chair
Originally uploaded by isis1207

After well over ten years of loyal service I decided to trade my old chair in for a new one. I don’t spend hours behind my computer, but lately it was getting more uncomfortable to sit behind my desk for any period of time. The picture is not to proudly show my new chair, but to remind myself that it really isn’t that hard to have a neat room.
Last Saturday I drove to Ikea to get this this chair. Of course it’s not possible to fit a chair in a crowded room. The only way to get from the door to my computer was to sidestep boxes, the ironing board and several other items. My desk was slightly overflowing, the stacks were getting higher and started to resemble the Tower of Pisa.
Emptying out the room and cleaning it was a piece of cake and I’m proud of the result. The rest of the house has become an obstacle course. Guess what I’ll be doing this coming weekend?

Pink light

ML clue1
Originally uploaded by isis1207

A day after the first clue appeared on MysticLight I took my pink wool, needles and printed out pattern to my couch and started knitting. Of course I had knitted a swatch first to see if the holes and cables look fine. All I need now is plenty of time to actually finish the first clue. I like the pattern. So far there are no strange things that make knitting more time consuming.
Clue 1 is in the picture, you can’t really see the pattern clearly. I’ve finished clue 2 also. Let’s see what clue 3 brings us.

Easter in Paris

Paris
Originally uploaded by isis1207

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog. Nothing super exciting happened. I did have a great time in Paris during Easter. My friend I has a colleague/friend J that lives in Paris. J lives about 30 minutes walking from the Eiffel tower. Actually quite a lot is in walking distance from his house. You can imagine that we walked a good amount that weekend. Too bad about the weather though, we pretty much got soaked on Saturday. The fun part that we not only got to see the tourist attractions (we just walked past them) but also the Paris known to the locals. We had a complete dinner in a restaurant for € 14,00 a person. It was a darn good meal.
In short, an awesome weekend. Definitely something I’d do again, only with better weather.

A bit too pink

ML color
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I was offered help from this and this lady to dye my yarn, but I decided to go ahead and do it by myself. I found a KoolAid lookalike (FlavorAid) and had a whopping choice between pink and pink. I guess I’m gonna make this shawl pink. I wanted more color in my wardrobe and pink goes just fine with jeans.
I put out the wool, made the lemonade (without the sugar) and started to wet the wool. That actually takes some time. Wool does not readily take up water. I put the wool in microwave bowls and zapped them. In the picture the lightest part is on top, it doesn’t look as pink as it finally turned out.
After rinsing I was pleasantly impressed with myself. It turned out a nice pink. It reminds me of the color the sky has at sunrise. The following day it looked really pink. This time I was a bit unsure of myself.
I’ll swatch this week, maybe it’s not too bad. And otherwise I have a huge pink shawl at the end of the KAL.

Which colors?

new wool
Originally uploaded by isis1207

After searching for quite some time to find the right yarn for the Mystic Light, I finally found something. It’s thicker than the yarn the designer uses but I don’t mind. I figure it’ll be great to use as a substitute for a sweater on a chilly summer night (I’m a complete woos about the cold). The only problem I have is that this isn’t the color I had in mind. I don’t actually have a color in mind yet. I want to dye the yarn (100% wool) in colors that have to do with light and that make me happy.
Once I decide on the colors I have to figure out how to dye my yarn. There’s enough information on the internet. I haven’t gotten any dye yet, so picking a method is a bit tricky.
Any suggestions on the colors I should use?

February without SnB

Cut_01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I have to do without my weekly night with the SnB-group this whole month. Just because I was too dense to ask which days I had to “work” for the first aid course. Because most nights of this month are also filled I have had little time to knit. Poor me!
I’ll be back to the SnB-night on March 4th. Just try and stop me.

Oh, that wound isn’t real :-)

Not sick enough to knit

Crystal lace 01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Last week wasn’t so great. I got the flu. It wasn’t too bad, as long as I didn’t move. O well, if you have to sit still you beter make use of the time. Right?
I almost finished my scarf. I only need to crochet around the edge. And to make sure I have a simple project in my hands I started a new cardigan. Execpt for the lace on the bottom is only stockinette stitch. No deep thinking, just knitting. Pity I’m well enough to go to work again. Just imagine how far I would get.

Full chair

full_chair
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Nothing exciting happened this week; I finished half of my VisionofDelight scarf. There were no uncontrollable urges to spend an absurd amount of money on knitting related stuff. I did reserve a sleeping place for the cats for when I’m on vacation. Right after I mentioned it three of them crawled on the chair together. The cat on the right (Isis) actually counts as two size-wise. Theoretically speaking I could fit 4 cats on the chair. But the fourth cat (Mickey) felt nu urge to participate in that experiment. If Isis lies down on her side, she covers more than half the seat. Scooter had been sitting in the chair before and got caught behind Isis. The little white guy has been trying to gain a place between the two and he finally succeeded. The whole chair filled with cat. Lucky for me I have a couch to sit on.

Just keep going

Scarf VoD
Originally uploaded by isis1207

It’s not going well. Because of the challenge to knit a mile the focus has shifted from knitting so many rows to how long I can keep going a day and what will use up the most yarn. I figured that shawls will use up yarn very nicely. It went so nicely that I realized that I don’t have enough to finish the SSS. I calculated and recalculated many times just to make sure. Nope, it’s not enough. The only thing left is to frog the thing.
Myrtle is being left alone right now. Out of the almost 13 repeats (there are 40 in total) I’ve managed to knit two without obvious mistakes. It looks like bugs have been eating the leaves in several places. I’m still not sure if I want to continue or to start over.
So, what do we do? That’s right, we pick the next thing. The scarf comes from Knitting-Delight group. It’s a mini mystery project. The whole scarf has three clues. That I should be able to do. It’s also a good destination for the yarn from SSS.

Stash knit down 2008

shawls
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I signed up for the stash knit down 2008 group on Ravelry. The challenge for January is to knit a mile. I can do it if I finish my Myrtle Leaf and finish all the clues for SpringShawlSurpise (yes, I started a new project). Hmm, not sure if I reach that goal. The end date for the challenge is the 19th of February but Myrtle isn’t even halfway done and I’m well over 2 clues behind on SSS. I need more hours in the day. Or longer weekends.

First two projects are done

bunny & socks
Originally uploaded by isis1207

My amigurumi bunny and a pair of socks are done. That’s two finished projects this year. Now I get to started something new. I made a list with all the projects I know should be around somewhere. Right now I have 10 projects (bunny and socks are finished). I think I need a kind of schedule in which I plan what to do and when. During my lunch break I work on the Myrtle Leaf Shawl, when I get home I do 1 row on the Pi Shawl, Saturday night is socknight, etc. Of course I should keep it to a few items in the hope to finish quickly.

Whoa, there is a hole!!

holey ball
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I went looking for yarn for a possible new project (I know, I haven’t finished anything yet. This is called preparation) and decided to put everything in it’s place. Sock yarn in the box with other sockyarn, all the plastic bags with yarn neatly smushed in between something. I found the leftover yarn from the MS3. With a hole!!! There is a hole in my ball of yarn! Aaaarrrrggggh!

Take a deep breath. I tried to take a decent picture of the hole, you can see a few strand of yarn coming from the offending spot. Right near this holey yarn was a skein of very, very nice yarn I bought last November on the SnB-day. Can’t find any holes (yet), but to be on the safe side this is going into the freezer.

How dare these bugs eat MY yarn? Go eat the neighbor’s dinnerjacket.

New Year Resolutions?

VLT myrtle 01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I hope everybody will have an awesome 2008. Is there anybody who has resolutions for this year? I’m not one to make New Year resolutions. It works for about two days and then I go back to my old habits.
What I will try this year is to finish more WIP’s before I start with another one. Being able to switch between projects is fun, but it takes ages for anything to actually finish. So . . . I started the Myrtle leaf shawl from VLT and I still need to finish 1 sock to make a pair. All the other projects are pretty much hibernating. The idea is to finish 2 projects before starting another one. Theoretically it should work.
Oh and I need to use up some of my stash. I bought some stuff right up to the end of 2007, I should be able to make it to July without buying anything new. I think.