Hellooooo!

2012, can't believe how fast the days are passing by. *whooosh*

As is usual, I do have a few resolutions and yes, I'm not above it all and will tell you about the most important one:

Tomorrow I will go and get myself a health checkup and the incredibly fit person doing it will certainly tell me I need to shape up. And I am going to do just that.

My back is killing me but test results show it's nothing to do with intervertebral discs (at least not yet) but is due to a lack of tummy muscles. So I need more tummy muscles and that's the reason I've booked into a fitness center. They do offer Zumba and there's an adjoining spa so...

And then there's stash reduction and the likes *patati patata*.

End of resolutionary post.

Work, Life and So Much More...

I've been drowned in work and life and people.

Work: Success! TQM rulez!

Life: The Big Day is approaching. Rapidly. Details are already set but what to place on the menu??? And a Kindle e-reader has moved in with us. I've finally broken down and invested. Makes me happy. Makes bf a lot happier (no more books crowding "his" living-space and no more lights getting on his nerves at night...living with a guy who doesn't like to read can be slightly trying).

People: Family can be alarmingly obtrusive, be it mine or the prospective in-laws. Especially mine. And the prospectives. Can't decide.

And fluffy-puffy heffapuffles are invading all free time left...you know what I mean, I'm sure!

Ahemm...

Life has been quite meddlesome these past weeks and months.

There have been massive changes on the big scale of things but yeah! I'm alive and kicking and reallyreally pleased my career is finally taking off in a direction which is both personally and financially rewarding!

Three cheers for me sticking through!

Knitting has been sidelined, sadly, I got a few things done, but right now I can't even find the time to knit those plain socks for a good friend *lesigh*

Learning Curve

Still working on the Irish Cottage Technique on dpns.

It took me quite a while to find an efficient way of wrapping my yarn around my right hand and still manage a correct tension.
The way I do it now seems to produce results which are acceptable:

Wrap yarn around right hand middle finger clockwise once (I have the yarn running over the back of my hand before I wrap it), then position ring finger under the yarn. The middle finger just holds the yarn, the ring finger actually applies the necessary tension.

The needle is positioned between the right hand thumb and forefinger and both play an important role when sliding the needle backwards through the loop, because then they make contact with the needle and guide it on it's way.

The limiting factor regarding speed so far has been my left hand which is not fast enough in pushing the stitches upwards.

I have managed to synchronize the motion of my right hand with that of the right hand needle when it goes through the stitch to be worked, but have not been able to do the same for my left hand.

So...practisepractisepractise and practise some more.

I am...

right in the middle of some serious spring cleaning! And I did find the energy to finish a sewing UFO. *yay*

Today...

I will, for the first time, meet a few people who are just as crazy about knitting as I am. *yay* for ravelry!

Sick leave...

and trying to learn a new knitting technique! I have sharp needles and 2000 m of waste yarn and I will prevail!

Alive and kicking...

No, I'm not dead. So much has happened around here, I don't even know where to start. And I have been knitting, actually a lot. My sewing machine is buried under at least a foot of dust (not really, I try to maintain a dust-free home since my allergies tend to protest, but it does yell at me, alas I can't bring myself to start one of my many wips which I've banned from the living room to sit and whimper in the cellar) and knitting seems just the thing to do right now. I've started and finished quite a few projects (care for ravelry) and yes, I am proud of most of them. And yes, I know I have to take pictures of them. Project infos without pics are stupid. And I will. Just not today ;o)

Hiatus...you bet!

Since my announcement, I was forced to work a lot...and since my work allows for knitting but not sewing, I did knit:



This is the lace border for my Snowdrop shawl. And I love it :oD

Hiatus!

With a costuming deadline creeping up, I need to take a knitting hiatus!

See y'all in a few weeks!

And lest I forget...

a picture of my latest addition to the household (employed here with lovely Evilla laceyarn 8/1):

I am back!

Wehell, back I am and really busy straightening out everything that was sorely neglected these past few weeks.

And of course I have pictures (two that is) of my knitting done during my trip to my sisters'.


The Snowdrop Shawl, preblocked and yet without the finishing lace border. Done in Wollmeise's gorgeous lace yarn in the undyed colourway. Intendet first as a present for a very good friend of mine, I have since learned she'd rather like a brown coloured shawl, so I am going to keep this one! *yay*

This is the Rebecca Shawl I did before for a German Christmas Swap. As I cast off that one, I knew I needed one for myself and since my wonderful and great pal from SP10 had sent me a parcel full of lovely things, amongst them the prettiest red yarn speckled with colourful bits of gorgeousness, I decided this would be the right yarn. Sadly, my inability to take nice pictures produced only this blurry picture which does neither justice to the yarn or the pattern...the shawl is also in its sad preblocked state.

Just in case...

anybody is wondering where I have gone off to...I am not at home :o)

And won't be till the beginning of March! *yay*

I took along two knitting projects, one is already finished, the second one just as good as and so I went out and bought some green yarn I hope I will not find hideous too soon and started knitting an afghan which will take AGES!

This is all.

Well...

I have been doing some knitting.

Pictures as soon as the thing is finished! (Hopefully tomorrow!)

Then I spent some money on a yarn winder and a swift and I do wish for the swift to arrive tomorrow so I can begin to wind my lovely, lovely Evilla and Wollmeise lace yarns into workable cakes!

I also started to sew my costume project (supposed to be finished by April).

Life goes swimmingly!

And when she was good...

Today, I got up early and... really cleaned the flat. All is done now except the windows.
That I will leave for my boyfriend who managed to have an appointment today. Why am I not surprised?

Still kickin'

I am still alive and now I will have time to do a little living!

Meee...

OMG, I am just SO susceptible to trends...!

I SO want an Asus Eee PC!

Deadline creeping up...

me feeling dead.

No knitting, no sewing.

No nothing but learning dreadful boring stuff...*lesigh*

Feeling weak...

First, let me wish everybody a belated Happy New Year!

Ahumm, with two major tests coming up, my knitting is rapidly dwindling to ZERO!

And I am feeling a bit drained and weak (I hope there is not an illness creeping up...)

I did knit something, a pair of socks for my sister and she loved them but I haven't got a picture.

There you are.

And now I will go to bed and think long and hard why I did not study something more fun and relaxing. *grrrr*

And in between it all, I knit...

this:



A shawl (Pattern: Rebecca 32 #21/33) out of mystery yarn for an ongoing Christmas swap in my costuming forum.

Since the recipient is less a reenactor but a dresser-up, I was able to find some yarn in the price-range set by The Rules (€5,- max) in my stash and knit her that shawl (which, after some washing and gentle steaming lost it's very stiff-chafey-poly character and became soft and fluffy) which I think will keep her snug and cozy on days outside when costume does not allow for a warm jacket.

I just jope she likes it! (My first shawl ever...but not the last one since I have lots of people who might need one...*hehe*)