Kuschelschaf

It's all Birgit's fault. She was the one who gave me the yarn.

When I looked up on Revelry what to do with the super fluffy yarn, I came across the pattern for this: das Kuschelschaf (translated: The cuddle sheep)

Here it is pre-assembly: (is that just me, or does that look like somebody has killed the poor sheep and is now waiting for the crime scene people to find out who did it?)

I did run out of the lighter blue yarn after I made one of the ears, so I decided to rib up the diagonal scarf, which I didn't like anyway, even though it was very soft and warm, and recycle the darker blue yarn for the ears and the tail of the sheep.

And here he is in all his glory:

That Stupid Grin

I did go and saw the Star Trek movie last night and still have difficulties to get that stupid grin off my face. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptic about the movie - it's been a long time since anything Star Trek really was any good - but, boy, that movie did deliver. First of all, the chemistry between the actors was great. There were many, many nods to the good old times, enough to made me laugh out several times. The actions was good, too, and the special effects a thing of beauty. And the story didn't suck either. All in all, a very happy old Star Trek fan here.

Well, I've been busy as well.

This top was done within ten days. I used some yarn from an old project which I had not liked how it came out. I could - with about 30cm to spare - have made do with the yarn I had, if I had foregone the little armlets, but as I really like them I'm happy had I made the trip to my favorite yarn store and got another skein of the yarn.


The pattern is a variation of something I saw in a German magazine, but really, all I took was the basic stitch pattern and made up the rest pretty much on the go.
This time I'm happy with the outcome, so I don't think I'm going to rip that up again.

Another thing I finished is a summer scarf I've started last summer in June and was sitting around doing nothing for the longest time.


Pattern is the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the Summer 2008 issue of Knitty. The yarn is some mysterious yarn from Japan (Gokuhoso by Wister) and I knitted it with 3mm needles. I tried to block it, but the yarn just springs back to curling inward, so I guess it's some sort of acrylic. It's soft enough, though, and I really liked how it came out.


Finally, I have two new starts. One is almost done already, so I'll make a post about it when I done. The other is a pair of Monkey socks. It is, by far, the most popular sock pattern on Ravelry and I finally decided to give it a try.


I do like it so far and the only down is that within 3cm of knitting, I managed to break one of my brand new KnitPro wooden needles. Luckily the set came with six (instead of the usual 5) needles, so I could go on without hunting down another needle. But still, it is annoying. I don't even knit that tight, really.

Live long and prosper

Movie Month May

May looks to be good - at least on the movie front and compared to the last four months of the year. I've been to the theater twice since the beginning of the year; once for 'Twilight' (which I, I admit, watched twice) and then for 'Monsters vs. Aliens' (which was cute enough, but didn't blow me away like 'The Incredibles' or some other animation movies I love to pieces)

But May, May looks good.

1) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I've seen all the other X-Men movies and quite liked them with the exception of X-Men 3, which, honestly, sucked. One of my biggest complains about those movies, though, is that my favorite X-Men character is missing in all of them (though I have to admit, if they had underused him like they did i.e. Angel in the last one, it would have been even worse). Now, Gambit's finally there and, wow, he's so cool (still not enough of him, but at least the part is good, and he's gotta kick ass)


It doesn't hurt either that Mr.-Sexiest-Man-Alive aka Huge Jackman is also in the movie quite a bit (*cough, cough*).
I went to see it on Friday and quite enjoyed it and am going to watch it once more with a friend tomorrow night.

2) Star Trek
I've been a Star Trek fan for a long time now. Much less active in the last 15 years or so, but I've did it all: I had the uniform, the toys, the magazines, I did go to conventions and spent nights on movie marathons. I used Star Trek to learn English and most of my friends I've met through the fandom. I've been through the up and downs that come with being a fan of the franchise and for the last couple of years I've thought it to be over with.
But I'm really excited about the new movie. What I've seen so far does look very, very nice and I'm looking forward to seeing it next weekend.
I even would dig out my old uniform, if I though it would still fit *wink*

3) Angels & Demons
I loved the book, but I am a bit apprehensive if Ron Howard is able to give it justice on the big screen. Davinci Code was already a let down, really, and so I will go into that movie with a good dose of scepticism.
Still I'm planning on going.

4) Terminator Salvation
I'll be back!
Who could ever forget Arnie saying those words? It's been 25 years, yes, but this is still one of the most memorable movie quotes there is. I've seen T1 and T2, but skipped out on T3 (I've heard it had been awful ... what is it with those really bad 3rd parts anyway?)
This movie is on my I wouldn't mind watching it, and am willing to fork over the money, but if I should miss out on it, I probably won't be heart broken. Christian Bale is an awesome actor, but I'm a bit afraid the movie will end up to be a little bit too gritty for my taste.

5) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
The first part of that movie was something that I happened to watch on a plane flight from A to B. Nothing I would have really considered to watch if I had anything else to do, but if you're stuck for hours and hours inside of a big flying tin can, one does get desperate. Surprisingly enough, I liked it, and when it was on TV over Easter I watched it a second time and again, I really enjoyed it.
Hence my willingness to go and see the second part in the theater.


So, in summary, two movies I HAVE TO WATCH, and three I'm more than willing to spend money on, which is way more than what was available over the last four months (or longer)

And, in June there's one more I'm really, really, reallllllllllly looking forward to, and that is Transformers 2. The trailer alone is made of win and it will be so awesome. I've already made a movie date to see it in Reykjavik.

A New Start

I finished the More Stripes shortly after Easter.

It does fit well and the yarn is really nice and soft. I could stroke it all day.
The knitting has been fun, as usual when I work with Noro. Just all those color changes are really pretty cool. I've had about one knot per ball of yarn - the downside of Noro, but I spit-sliced them and it's really hard to tell where they have been.

I was knitting away on an older scarf project (I started knitting on this one on my last trip to Japan, which has been over a year ago), when last week I German knitting magazine fell into my hands with a pattern I really liked. The pattern is using ribbon yarn, and as it happened I still had that semi-finished Bombshell (just scroll down a bit) sitting around. I finished the sweater, but never wore it and eventually decided I don't like it at all.
By now I've ribbed all of it up (with the help of some friends), wrapped the yarn into hanks and washed them, so all the dirt and the crinkle get out.

I started knitting, with some modification to the pattern.

So far so good.

After Easter Lunch

Traditionally, at Easter it's my turn to feed my family (that is my parents and my sister and family) at my place. At least that's the tradition since I finally have a place big enough to do so - meaning for the last three years.
Now, this year my sister and her family went away for Easter (we had the good weather at home, they didn't), so we moved the whole event by one week.

As the asparagus season already has started I decided to make an asparagus salad for the starter. It turned out quite yummy, if I may say so myself.


But the (sadly photoless) lamb with potato gratin and green beans was also very good. And by the time the lemon cream with raspberries (made by my mom) came round, we were all pretty stuffed.

Facing the Facts

I've always known I've got a bit of yarn. I have some in some boxes in my bedroom (mostly the really old stuff that moved with me at least two times), some in my workroom (sock yarn mostly) and some in my living room (sock yarn again and the cotton and some of my odds and ends)

Today I took all the yarn to one place and took a long hard look at it.


Realizations:
- I have a lot of sock yarn (no surprise there, really, I had known that, though I have to ask myself why I keep buying more if I already have plenty?)
- I do like the color blue (again, no surprise)
- I do have a lot of single yarn balls (which would be okay if I'd knew what to do with it)
- I think one of my next projects needs to be a crazy quilt afghan or something along that line in order to get rid of all those single yarn balls
- I may have enough yarn for the short sleeved cardigan I've been thinking about since last weekend (how cool is that?), though the yarn is fairly old and I need to take a good long look at it before I decided I really can use it
- I have a lot of yarn I have no idea why the heck I ever bought it (other than I may have been on sale)
- I really should stop buying more yarn ... at least for a while (who am I kidding? I know I will buy more yarn, though I hope to be more project orientated than before)

Something Really Scary

Happy Easter to everybody!!!

If there's one thing a knitter fears it's putting a scissor to your knitting. It's just not done. It's evil. It's really, really scary.

Now, the More Stripes Vest was asking me to do just that *shiver*
The idea is to keep the continuity of the stripes at the left and right hand side of the neck opening. As the stripes are coming naturally from the yarn and they have really long and fairly random repeats, there's no way to keep the symmetry if you knit the left and the right side separately. So, what you do is to knit the neck opening in one go and then *gasp* cut down the middle of the knitted piece in the end. This, by the way, is called steeking.

Before you cut, you sew two lines on either side of the intended cut with a sewing machine. To illustrate this I drew white lines (for the sewing lines) and one red line (where the cut is being made)
Some people recommend a strong drink before cutting, but I managed without.

(just after the first couple of snips - hmm, could be the picture is a bit out of focus because I'm still shaking so much ;))
Right now the front - with open neck hole is blocking, and then I'm ready to sew everything
together.



I'm also presenting to you the block number 18:
and block number 19 for my Aran Afghan

Spring's Here!

Finally!!!

In the last week, the temperatures have risen by a good 15deg C, there's sunshine and I spent some time on my balcony today and yesterday.


The trees are not really green yet, but they're working very, very hard on it.

On the knitting front I'm back to potholders. After trying to show my friends how the double knit technique works, I got back into the mood and did some more.

First pair is basically a repeat of the pair I made a few months ago (--> link), so only a detail picture this time to show off the colors.

Second pair in the works is the resurrection of the Transformer potholders I've tried to do a while ago, but found a bit confusing at this time.


First the Decepticon symbol and I'm in the middle of the Autobot symbol (doing it red on black). It certainly is fun to do and if I come up with a few more pattern, I will probably give it a try too. I've got a good set of colors now, though I might run low on a few eventually. Finding the black was pure luck last week, as I had not been successful before, but then discovered three skeins in the clear out bin at the Wolle Rödel in Frankfurt. Only, they are discontinuing that yarn, so there won't be any more.

Stripes

I finished the back of my vest, even though I gave it a second start after knitting 4 or 5 inches. It did look a little tight on me, hence the ripping and fresh start.


So far I used two full skeins of the black/brown/grey color and a little less than two skeins of the blue/green/purple one, so I should be set (I have four skeins of each color)
Knitting is fun, especially watching how the colors develop and which color combinations show up. I had a couple of knots though, very typical for Noro yarns. The Silk Garden does feel much nicer than the yarn I used for my Lizard Ridge blanket, though. It's more expensive as well.

All Socked Out

I bought this (Noro Silk Garden, colors 201 and 236):
And want to make this:


And the start to it is this:

I think I'm all socked out, so I decided to do something else for a change. I've had my eyes on that vest for a while and finally decided it's time to give it a shot. My gauge was off though (19 stitches to the 10cm instead of the 22 stitches in the pattern) but I didn't want to change the needle size to something smaller, as I really did like the tension as it is - anything tighter and it would have been too stiff. I did some math and hope it'll work out.

While I was waiting for my chance to get the yarn, I fell back to the Aran Afghan I started ... ehr, a while ago. The first square I tried I didn't like so I ripped it up and did this one instead.


It's the one by Ann McCauley and there are a few tiny mistakes in it, but I decided I don't care and won't rip it up (again!!!).

28 of 64

Last week a fanfic bunny attacked me viciously. I have those attacks once in awhile and usually I can resist. I know I'm a decent, but not a brilliant fanfiction writer (especially, because I write in English, which is, after all, not the language I've grew up with). Usually find the effort to hammer out a story, especially if it's a long one, too tedious to bother, and I'm not exactly a fast writer. I have a couple of rules when I write fiction and one is that I won't start posting a story, unless I've finished it and somebody has betaed it. I do love reviews - who doesn't - but I will not go and hold my readers hostage, by telling them I will only continue writing if I get at least x amount of reviews.

Well, I'm not going to break my rule this time, but that means I'll be spending a lot of my time the next few weeks behind the keyboard, writing. So not much knitting, not much stitching.
I've already written over 18.000 words and I think there will be about the same amount again before I'm done, which means this will be the longest story I've ever tackled. The fandom is Twilight, which is also not the fandom that I thought would get me back to the keyboard. But it happened, and I'm helpless, so I write on.

How does that quote go? "A true writer is somebody who write because he has to, not because he wants to."


At least I've now got 28 of the 64 squares of the Sampler Game Board finished. That's almost half.

And I also finished another pair of socks. The pattern is the 'Undulating Rib Sock' pattern from the Favorite Socks book, but I inversed it, as I like the inside better than the outside. As the shaft and the foot are knitted inversed from each other (that is, I knitted the shaft following the pattern, then turned it inside out, and then knitted the foot bit with all the purls as knits and all the knits as purls) the foot stitches look a little bit different then the rest. Not too noticeable I hope.


Jutta, if you like then, give me a shout and I put them aside for you. I think they meet your request that they have to match jeans. They're a bit scratchy though.

Another Place Holder

Just to let you know, there's nothing to show this week, really. I've made some progress on the Sampler Game Board, but that was it basically.
Sorry about that.

Wicked

Yesterday my family and I went to see the musical Wicked in Stuttgart.
It was the birthday present from my sister and I for my parents. Even though it was 'only' an afternoon show the theater was packed. I enjoyed it a lot (though I still prefer the English version ... but that's me *shrug*). The cast was fantastic, especially the actress who played Elphaba.



Other than that, I've finished one pair of sock (oh, what a surprise) and started the next already.

Finished pair: Yarn is from the sale at Aldi, the pattern simply plain socks with short row heel and toe.

I'm in a bit query with the second pair, though. The pattern is the 'Undulating Rib Sock' pattern from the 'Favorite Socks' book (which, in itself was a pretty good investment, as this is like the fifth pair or so I'm making from the book)
You see, this is the pattern's right side:

And this is the 'wrong' side:
And, well, I like the wrong side better, so it looks like I'm going to knit this one inside out for a change. I have to see how it works out.

Gloves

I finished a pair of fingerless gloves:

This is the same yarn I used for my hat a while back, so this was actually using up some left over yarn. The pattern is 'Knucks' from Knitty, though I left out the stitching. I do love them and they are surprisingly warm.

I did some more knitting (some simply socks, about 70% done) and also stitched some on the Game Board Sampler, but nothing too exciting, so no photos for now.

I also wrote a short story for the Twilight fandom, but fanfiction.net is acting up and I can't upload it at the moment. *grumpf*

The Castle is Framed

I finally got the frame back for the Castle Sampler. I had it custom ordered, but they never let me know that it was done. So much for customer service....


I wrangled it into the frame last Saturday and am fairly happy with it. It's maybe a smidgen too small, but considering that I don't exactly have fabric to spare on the left hand side, it's okay.
Now, I've already decided where it's going to be hanged, but that means a) I will have to take of the pic already there and b) I'll have to nail in two new nails.
Maybe next weekend.

I'm still fairly distracted by the Twilight saga. I've finished the last book last weekend (I think it's the weakest in the lot, but that's mostly because how some things developed. I still breezed through it) Now I've immersed myself into the fanfiction, giving my old e-book a good work out. Some really, really good stuff, some less so, but that's fanfiction for you. If the story is crap there's always the famous delete button.

Despite the distraction, my first pair of socks for 2009 has been finished.


Some cheapy yarn I've picked up in Dresden last year and the cross rib pattern from the favorite socks book. Love how the colors pool. The orange does pop, that's for sure.

I'm also back on the Sampler Game Board, after I've sorted out a little color problem I've had. The bobbin on the right is what I took of a new skein of 3787 and it should have been the same color as the border. Well, obviously something was incorrectly labeled, as the 'real' 3787 is the one on the left. My thanks goes to a very good friend, who helped me out quickly after I realized the problem, so I could work on.

Quilt

Last August, when I visited my sister in Sweden, I think I might have dropped a supple hint that I wouldn't mind too much if she would make me a quilt.

Yesterday, I did pick her up at the airport for a visit here, and look what she had in her luggage:


My very own quilt. All for me! Mine!
My precious!
Yeah!!!
This quilt is pretty damn cool. Size is 47 x 59 inches (120cm by 150cm) and the perfect size to snuggle in on my sofa and read a good book.
Which I'm going to do now.

Bye!

Distractions

There's not much to show this week. I knitted half a pot holder (second to the one I've already showed last week) and one single block in the Sampler Game Board.
That's it.
Nothing else.

Reason for the lack of progress is a distraction in form of a book - or rather a book series.
It's been a while I've read a good book I could sink me teeth in (sorry about the really, really bad bun) let alone a whole series. Last book I've read where I was really looking forward to pick up every evening and read on was 'The Unexpected Apprentice' by Jody Lynn Nye (and I'm still debating with myself if I should pick up the hardback for the sequel in April or wait until the paperback is coming out)
I have my favorite authors (I love almost every single book from Mercedes Lackey) and, of course, I've loved all the Harry Potter books.
But it has been a long while (I guess since HP7 came out) that I was almost incapable to put a book down (just one more chapter...) and last night I was up and reading until 2 am.
The series in question is the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers, the tale of Bella (human) and the vampire Edward she falls in love with (and he with her). Romantic, downright sappy in places and riddled with oh so many obstacles to their love. Corny.
And I can't stop myself from reading and wanting more.
I blame it all on my friend Petra, by the way, who took me to see the movie two weeks ago. It's all your fault!

Just to have at least one picture in here (and, oh is it hard to look at ;)) a shot of Edward and his family.



On another note, I plan on winning the 35 Million Euro jackpot this weekend.
Just so you know.

More Pot Holders

I'm working on more pot holders.
First was an experiment in double knitting, which, if I may say so, turned out pretty good. The motive is the Tardis from the TV series Doctor Who.

On one side she's blue on black, on the back side she's black on blue.
This is a fun technique and my next project is done the same way.


I have a few more ideas for this, so I guess I'll end up with many, many pot holders, or my friends and family will end up getting a lot from me.
Better than socks - at least I don't need to care about them fitting any feet, right?

Too Heart To Handle

Before my mom had her stroke a couple of years back she made pot holders for me and my sister.
Now the pair she made for herself suffered a heat involving accident, so I offered to make her an new set.

The first one (the one in darker blue) is a bit bigger than the second one, because I knitted it on a smaller circular needle (less tension). Guess is doesn't matter too much.
I hope.

Other than that, I've been stitching and made some progress on the Sampler Game Board.


It's still a fun project and one where you can easily see some progress. 14 squares down, only 50 more to go.
(hmmm, putting it this way, maybe it does look a bit more depressing than before ...)
*grin*

They Really Did It

Friends of mine got married ... after 18 years they've been together.
I was a very nice, low-key wedding and we all witnessed how they said yes.

As they've got several Star Wars themed presents, I've thought a little Star Wars cake would be fun.
I did have the figures (and yes, I know, Merilyn Monroe is not exactly Star Wars, but really, I couldn't have Leia marry Luke, right?) so all I had to figure out is how to make the cake. I wanted something simple, but then I think that the whole idea got a bit away with me. In the end (after many changes in the plan) I've made a simple chocolate sponge cake with raspberries and a marzipan cover.


I think they liked it *grin*

Brrrrrr

It's cold!
Very cold!
At least cold for here. They say it hasn't been that cold in 22 years (which might be, but then I do remember it being pretty cold two years ago)
Proof:


The temp on the upper right side is the outside temperature (in Celcius) last Wednesday morning. I know, this is not even 0°F, but, hell, I think this is pretty, damn cold.
In some parts of Germany the temps dropped to below -25°C
*brrrrrr*

On the other hand, the weather is sunny and together with the snow that came down on Monday, it makes for good photo opportunities.


I did go on a two hour hike today, and beside some cold legs (which is really my fault, as I can't for the life of me find my long johns) it was really nice.

I did start a new project and already have to show some good progress. The fabric arrived on Tuesday and I had some good stitching time the last two days.


Compared to the castle sampler, this is EASY. But still interesting enough to not being boring. There are a total of 32 houses (64 fields) all in all, so I've already got about 10% done.

Short Interuption

...just to let you know (as you have probably already seen) I've played around a bit with the layout of my blog.

Not 100% there yet, but better. I think I'm going to fine tune the title picture a little bit more, maybe even make a new one where all the threads are properly lined up.

Drumroll please

I finally did finish The Castle Sampler:


(Pattern: Castle Sampler by Teresa Wentzler)

I worked on it for quite a while, but with at least two larger (like several months long) interruptions. I did the center panel first, then worked my way left and up, only to discover that I'm pretty, damn close to the edge of the fabric. So I sewed a stripe of extra bit of fabric to the left side which helped a lot. Eventually I finished the outer border, though I did work a bit on the figures in the bottom part in between. The last two sections where the musicians and finally the lady on the right hand side.

I did write the year 2008, even though I did actually finish it in 2009. But, really, the major part was done in 2008, so I think this is okay.
The frame I've already picked out, but, as it will be custom made, I'll have to wait for it a little bit.

I've picked already my next project. It will be the Sample Game Board from The Drawn Tread. It is a bit more on the simple side than the Castle Sampler (but then, what isn't). I had to order the fabric though, so I will have to wait a bit before I can start.

On New Years Eve and New Year I was at a friend's place and didn't want to drag the big project with me, so I picked something small and simple.

Moon Dragon by Dragon Dreams. I've did this once already in August 2007, but then gave it away as a present. This one I plan to keep and make into a bookmark.

On the knitting front I've made a simple hat

(and if you believe it's easy to take a picture of yourself with pointing a camera over your shoulder at a mirror ... think again)
2x2 rip until I figured it's long enough, then degreesing for a bit, then bind of.

On the bird house front, the word (or is that the peep) is getting around.

I've noticed that the girls (I have to admit I'm sort of guessing here, but I do think those are female birds) are far more willing to share than the boys. I've been watching one bright colored bird to chase another one off not just once but several times.

Look, A Birdie

Happy New Year first off. I hope you all have a good start into the new year.

Yesterday, the bird house finally found some interest. And I have fotographic proof.