Wedding Bells

Friends of mine got married last weekend.
All the best to Sabine and Felix.

As they asked for money for their honeymoon, we got a little creative. We filled a glass bowl with coins, then poured sand and water with gelantine (well, technically, we used agar, as Felix is vegitarian, so gelantine was out) on top of it. Then some plastic palms and musle shells, some special beach towels and the happy couple represented by their lego counterparts. And finished is the wedding present.

I may have shocked those who know me at the wedding by actually wearing a dress. I have not worn a dress in the last five years. But as it was 30°C I thought I give it a try and actually found one I liked.

Actually, I think I was the one shocked the most.

And Now For Something Different

My sewing machine and I have a love hate relationship.
I'm not sure what my sewing machine is thinking, but convincing it to sew a straight line with the upper and lower tension exactly as it should be is a tricky proposal.
But then, last week, it decided to cooperate and so I made two bags.

The first one (here in a not quite finished stage - the shoulder strap is missing) used scaps of fabric I had sitting around for ages. The dark brown on the right hand side is actually leftovers from a pillow I'm not using anymore. The heavily patterned farbic left of this and on the straps, I bought in Japan a long time ago.
For a test ballon to see if I can make this work, I'm actually quite happy, though next time I would re-think my color choices.

The second bag fills me with loads of happiness. It was fairly easy to make, and I love how it came out (especially as I totally made a mistake when I worked out the sizing). This bag also marks the first time I made a buttonhole with my sewing machine. The bag is already in use as a project bag, and it's absolutely perfect for it.

 

This was super fun to make and I have the feeling there will by more bags in the (hopefully near) future.

Easter Menue

This year's menue starts with a terrine de salmon enveloped in zucchini, with horseradish/whipped cream and pomegranate sauce and seeds:
The main course is lamb with lemon in a bed of potatos, carots, leek and garlic (lots and lots of garlic)

For the desert we have strawberry panna cotta

Please be seated and enjoy.

Happy Easter

Great, it's Easter and I've got a cold. Nothing all winter and now it hits me.

Being the Lemming I am, I hopped (ey, cool, an Easter reverence ...) on the bandwagon for another project everybody else is knitting, and started a Nuvem from the lace yarn I picked up in Pfaffenhofen last weekend.
The Nuvem is basically a large hexagon shaped wrap that's knitted in the round.

And, in case knitting just plain stocking stitch is getting too boring, I also started on a pair of socks using some of the yarn I dyed two weeks ago.
Pattern is 'Drip Candle' and can be found in the book 'Think Outside the Sox'.
I'm using four different reds/purples I dyed plus some Wollmeise 'Brombeere'.

Zugsocking

'Zugsocking' is one of those new word creations that doesn't really make sense, but somehow still hits the nail on the head. Zugsocking is when a group of knitters come together, hop on a train and travel to a destination where they can buy yarn. And while on the train ('Zug' in german), they knit. It doesn't have to be socks, but as socks tend to be small and portable, this happens more often than not.

Well, a couple of friends and I traveled from Frankfurt to Pfaffenhofen to the holy grail of yarn stores:

Inside we found yarns of all colors (well, almost all colors - I was looking for a 'Regenbogen' but when I asked for it, I heard only loud laughter)

Still, I managed to find a skein or two ....

From left to right: 4x Nautilus, Wasserratz, Wolke, 47Ag, Cassis, NiP Amethyst dark, 2x natur, NiP Iris Sibirica, Am kalten Polar, Thriller and Single Malt.

We stayed over night in Pfaffenhofen, and after breakfast we just sat outside in the sun for a bit. We totally lucked out on the weather - the forecast was overcast and rainy, but even though it was not exactly warm, we had blue skies and sunshine.Later we moved on to Ingolstadt, where, after a long walk from the train station, we stopped at the Paradeplatz where an easter market took place. I loved this fountain which was covered with hollowed out eggs hand-painted in blue. An amazing piece of work.Later we hoped back on the train and knitted our way back home.

Great weekend, with great company and great yarn - what else can a woman want?