Framed

The place where I get most of my frames and the mats cut, had a nice sale a week ago and as I had a voucher as well, I went and had a custom frame made for the Northern Lights sampler which I finished back in January. It is a bit of an unusable size (though, after I got the frame home, I discovered that the frame for the Legends of the Dragons is almost the same size) and we debaded a while if I should have a mat or not, but in the end we decided not to have one. I brought the frame home on Friday and imidiately went on putting the whole thing together. The there was the part where I had to decide where to hang it. The space I first thought about didn't work, so now it found a home in the little corner next to the window where I have my stitching corner.

The picture is a bit on the smalish side, I know. With a double click, you shoudl get a bigger picture.

As I was actually at home last week (having a training in our home office) and not at a hotel somewhere, I've made quite a bit of progress on King Tut.


At the moment I'm working on the lady in the the right hand corner. All in all think it's about 35 ~ 40% done. At the moment I really enjoy stitching him - I love the colors and how the whole picture is done.
I've ordered the Kreinik that will replace the gold thread that was in the kit - have to see when it will arrive.

Next week the light house will get some attention again.

Here a little (very little actually - it's about one inch across) thing I've also made last week. I was doodling a bit in the training and then decided that I should try and convert it into a cross stitch pattern.


Ah, almost forgot, the LotR symphony was quite impressive, really. A large orchestra, three choirs (boys, women and men - around 40 people each) and the drawings of Alan Lee. I really liked it and it was a wonderful experience.
Only 'complain' I've had was the fact that because I know the soundtracks of the movies so well, I did spot a few (really only a few) not quite perfect notes in the brass section. And the men's choir fell a bit short on the choir used in the the films.
The boys soloists (they had two), on the other hand, were really good and the soprano soloist was very good - I liked her version of 'Into the West' better than the one from Annie Lennox.

Sound of Music

Tonight I'm going out to see the Lord of the Rings Symphony in the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt. I've saw that this event was on when I went to something else with my parents after Christmas and we got our ticket pretty soon after. The tickets we got are actually some left over tickets - the show was pretty much sold out by then. We didn't know that they would go and schedule a second concert the same day (at 3pm) - we might have gotten better seats there.
I guess I'll let you know how it was next week :)

Quite a few things have happened last week.

I found out that I'm going to Japan for a week in three weeks.

I've booked a flight to Seattle in summer to visit my friend in Alaska (I managed to get a bonus flight, so it's really a good bargain, even if I had to buy some extra miles to get there - on the other hand I still need to buy the flight to Alaska - this one couldn't be arranged through the bonus program I'm in)

I decided to buy a new camera and use the voucher I've got from the company for 10years for it - got a pretty sweet deal, really.

I've got some trouble with my credit card - I need to call the bank to find out what the problem is.

I've finished another pair of socks:



My own pattern, a simple knit 3 purl 3 with a shift every four rows (one direction in one sock, the other direction in the other sock). The wool is Wollmeise Sockenwolle in the color 'Gewitterhimmel'.

And I made some good progress on King Tut since last week.


I've started with the gold bit (upper left), but there's never enough gold in the kit to stitch all of it - so I ripped it out and subbed it for Kneinik 102 braid I've got in my stash. A pretty good match to the gold in the kit, but I don't think I have not enough of it either. I have to see how far I get.

And, last but not least, I've went a saw '300' - I was reluctant at first, as it is a pretty violent picture, and I've read a lot about about controversity how the Persians are shown. But, with this in mind (it is the addaptation of a graphic noval after all), I did enjoy it in the end. And I was very pleased about the part David Wenham got to play (I've liked him a lot in Lord of the Rings) - I didn't know it was to be so large.

And with this the circle closes and I'm off to see the wizard ... of Middle Earth ;)

1st Communion

My middle nephew went today to his first communion. So the whole family (except my sister in Sweden) and friends came together to celebrate this event. In the restaurant we sat out in the garden and after a while everybody started to search for the shade - it's the middle of April, but it was already over 27°C (80°F). If this isn't global warming I don't know what is. It is certainly not normal for April.

The Easter feast I've prepared for the family went well and (at least I didn't hear anything different) everybody enjoyed the food.



On the needle craft front, I've finally made some progress on King Tut


I've did all that background stuff right side of his head and am now back to the mask itself (which is more fun)

So, gotta run. Still need to pack for the next couple of days and I haven't watered the plants yet.

A Happy Dance Not to Forget

Yeah!

Not Forgotten is done *bounce*


My version of the rainbow and I skipped the title, but else there are no changes. I even used the recommended fabric (which was really nice to stitch on)
Next thing is to get is framed and then find a nice place for it. At the moment I've got no clear idea where to put it.

Even though it's a long weekend and I should be working on my 'at home' project (aka King Tut) I've staying with the lighthouse. Just more in the mood for it, I guess.

Easter weekend (btw, happy easter to everybody) I'm enjoying the time off and use it to do a hundred little things around my place. Fun things like finishing my photo album from New Zealand (hey, it's been only two years I've been there) and less fun things like window cleaning.
Also, tomorrow (which is still a holiday here in Germany) the family is coming over for lunch. It was decided last year, as I finally have a large enough place I take over the cooking on easter (x-mas is at my sister's and then on my parent's place). It will be my parents and my middle sister and her kids and husband. I'm pulling all the stops and plan on a fancy dinner with a three course meal and a cool decorated table. I even bought a new table cloth with matching napkins. And I've made napkin rings :)



The pattern is from Knitty (where else) . I've used silver wire and some larger beads I've found in Dresden last week. The seed beads I've got in my stash.
I've made six of those little suckers (well, actually, seven, as the first one was a bust and I needed to re-think the pattern)
I think they are pretty cool :)

Close to finish

Even though 'Not Forgotten' is officially 'only' my travel project, I've worked on it all weekend. I'm sooooo close to finishing it - but still just close. Still got to do some back stitching and stitch the yetis (with rainbow wisper). I did hope to finish today, but somehow I don't think I will manage - I've got a pile of ironing to do *sigh*
So, no pictures today.

I did pick the next traveling project: 'Mariner's Light' from Dimensions' Gold Collection. I've only swaped the aida for some 36ct evenweave. It will be a companion to 'Voyages at Sea', which I stitched last year on the same fabric. (pic here)

Other then that the week was pretty un-exciting. Work, some more work, and, yep, work.
Yesterday, I went and spent some of my hard earned money, got a new bathing suit, a blouse and a pair of new sweat pants to hang out in (need to shorten them though)

Did anybody say Spring?

Wednesday was the offical start to spring - this pic was taken on Thurday on my way from Berlin after I've seen the Lord of the Rings exibition (which, by the way, was better then when I saw it in London a couple of years back, simply as there was more room and less people)

Pot holders: the blue one
See, blue pot holder on green pot holder.

Update pic on Not Forgotten:

Out of the Yellow Light

Well, that's where I am at the moment. Customer's cleanroom. And the light is yellow.

Short background to this. I'm an engineer in the semiconductor industry. Now, in order to create those niffty little computer chips everybody is graving, you need a very clean enviroment. I sit here with a white overall, two pairs of gloves (one over the top of the other), a face mask, a hood and some special pair of shoes (other customer prefer booties, but else, this is about the norm)
No danger of me getting durty - I'm the danger, really.
To get into a clean room, one has to walk through a long corridore with an air shower, just to blow any dirt that's sticking to you, off you.
Air conditioning is running all the time - normally, I don't notice it anymore.
And the light is yellow, because in the section I'm working in, we have photo-sensitive resists. Sort of like a dark room, only there you can work with a red light - here the resist have no problem with the yellow light.

Well, of course, the fact that I'm still working means that another weekend has been lost. Work vice I've made some progress, but I'd have prefered to spend the time with my friends.

Over the week I've was pretty busy with work, so all I managed was the finish the second pot holder in blue. I tried a few things to improve the pattern (like seperate cast on of the two colors) and most of it worked. I'm still not 100% happy on how the edges have turned out, but well, you can't have everything.

Last night, I also picked up 'Not Forgotten' again. And discovered that I have run out of 807 - the sea dragons will miss a bit, until I'm back home. I *think* I have another skein a home.

No pictures for obvious reasons (like having no camera with me)

Spring!

Yeah! It's spring *happy, joy*



It was a lovely, sunny day today. So I went and took a couple of pics of the finished pot holder in the sun - and I'm stunned how different it looks from the 'real' color.

That's a pic indoors - pretty close to the real color.


And that's the same pot holder outside in the sun.


Blue? When did that pot holder turn blue?
I swear, this is one and the same piece of fabric.
Funny though, that this looks pretty close to the colors I've picked for the second pot holder I'm going to make - I've already got the wool.

Here's the proof that I really finished the second cable sock - for a while I thought I wouldn't do it.



I've got about 25 grams left - I have to think what to do with it. Not sure yet.
Anyway, I'm off socks for a while - I've knitted to many lately, I've got no idea what to do with them. And I kinda lost my drive to knit them - at least at the moment. I have to see how long this lasts.

At least, this way, King Tut got back on the agenda. He's been terribly neglected the last couple of weeks. Didn't got much done on him today (at least nothing photo worthy) but he's back out of the bag.

I'm due for another working weekend next weekend, so don't expect any pictures for a while. It should be the last one for a while and at least I'll get overtime paid (due to the fact that I still have so much overtime from last year, that there's not chance in heaven or hell to get rid of it in a while - that is unless I'd take a month and a half off)

I plan on treading my somehow when this is over. I have my eye on the Lizard Ridge Blanket. It takes around 21 skeins of Noro Kureyon! I've got one skein which I bought last year at the Nadel and Faden in Osnabrück and used it to knit a test square and I think I'm hooked.

So, I'm off to pack ...

Knitting From Both Sides

Loads of work last week. I did manage to finish my part of the project, proofing in the process that the change that was done, might not have been such a good idea. Well, one more machine to inspect, and than that's over with.

Enough of the whining.

I finished one of the cable net socks and am about 60% done with the second.


The cable stands out wonderfully, but I didn't manage to get rid fo the 'ladder' that runs down the side of the leg *sigh* - at least I think it's obvious, don't know if others do.
It is still very slow knitting, but I hope to finish the second one some time soon.
The sock itself is wonderfully soft, a pleasure to wear.

Frustrated with the slow progress on the sock, I've started another little project. Pot holders.
Yippy, so exiting.
Of course, they do have a twist.


This is the back and the front side of the pot holder - and both are knitted at the same time, at the same needle. I've seen that technic at some sides on the internet, and I always wanted to try it. Of course, when I went looking the other day, I couldn't find any pattern. So I somehow worked out the 'how' on my own - I'm a bit surprised that it worked.
I plan on crocheting around the side with one color when I'm done.

Finally, the promised update on 'Not Forgotten'.
I finished the rainbow (my version) and stitched the phoenix (incl. backstitch) and the gryphons (without bs)

Sunday at work

Sorry, not pictures today. Not much today of anything, really.
Sadly, I have to work this weekend - I have to finalized the acceptance of the last tool we've installed at a customer side in Dresden, and as this is already overdue for two weeks now, there's a lot of pressur.

On the creative front, I've finished the first of the cable net socks. I also went back to 'Not Forgotten' - finished the phoenix and the rainbow and got most of the gryphens done. I promise it picture next week.

Else, lots of work ....

Leftover Blues

I always thought that I had a reasonable speed in knitting - that is, a pair of socks a week is normally no problem. This is good for the socks output, this is bad for the need to buy new sock wool (though, I have to admit, I've still got enough sock wool left to keep me busy for many, many weeks, and that never really stopped me from buying more)
Looks like I've found that sock pattern that breaks the pattern - I'm working on them for one week, and am not even at the middle of the foot! The foot, I should point out, of the FIRST sock.


This is the Cable Net pattern from Knitty.com. They call is extra-spicy, and boy, they are not kidding. And I cowardly bowed out and did a 'normal' heel, instead of the cabled heel the pattern offers, and still it takes forever.
The wool is Regia silk, which feels like a dream and knitts like a bitch - well, not really, but it's a bit clingy and I forever pull the thread away from my clothing.

On the photo front, I've managed to take finally a picture of the Esther socks on my foot and it's in focus!!


So, that's more like it - the color is like it should be and the pattern is better visible.

Finally, last weekend, I made Leftover Blues Socks - I simply have a lot blue sock wool left over, hence the name.


Hmm, looks like I have a real big foot and a very narrow leg *grin* - when in truth it's rather the other way round ;)

After all that knitting I didn't get around to stitch any. I really need to change that.

Pomegranate

the new socks are not exactly photogenic. I took about 20 pictures - and every single one is out of focus. That is, they are out of focus as long as the socks are on my feet. Off the feet they are fine. Meaning, I guess, that I cannot wear a sock and take a picture of it at the same time.


So, here are the feetless socks. The pattern is Esther from the Socken-Kreative-Liste. More or less. I didn't do the picot edge (I tried, but this one just doesn't work for me) and made a small variation on the heel. But the pattern is true (here the only pic on the foot, that wasn't totally out of focus).


I enjoyed knitting it (even though some tinking was involved ... who do I kid: a lot of tinking was involved :))
Wool, by the way, is Wollmeise Superwash Sockwool in pomegrante. The true color is somewhere between the first and the second picture.
I weighted the left over wool and I've got 80 grams left - should be enough for a second pair. Luckily I have small feet (not very photogenic ones, but one can't have everything)

I didn't do a single cross stitch the whole week :(

I also had a cold last week, so I was a bit handicapped. I seem to be over it by now, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wool from the Tit

... and if this doesn't sound strange ;)

Thing is, I've ordered last weekend three skeins of wool from 'Wollmeise' and if you translate that name it's the 'wool tit'



I think I am in love - this is the softes sock wool I've ever got. And the colors are beautiful. I've seen warnings that this wool is addictive and I begin to see why.
From top to bottom it's Granatapfel (pomegranate), Wellensittichvogelfeder (budgerigar bird feather) and Gewitterhimmel (Thunderstorm Sky) all in superwash sock wool.
I've already started on the first sock with the red wool.

What else? Some progress on 'Not Fogotten' - pics maybe next week.
No progress on 'King Tut' - he's a victim of the knitting needle.
I finished the Fetzenmuster socks


I did knit both, I swear. Wool is Hunderwasser 'Seeschlange' from Opal. For the photo I did wear a white sock underneath in the hope that would make the pattern more visible. I have the feeling it didn't work too well. Ah well, at least they fit.
What a difference to the new wool - the Opal is downright scratchy against it.

Started a new book. 'Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder' by Joanne Fluke. That is, I'm almost through with it already. Great fun and I'm sure to check out the others in this series.

Yeah, Germany won the world championship in handball. Contratulation to the boys.

Fetzen-Muster

No update on King Tut - I didn't stitch on him at all this weekend.
Instead I picked up my knitting needles and started on a fresh pair of socks.
I'm using this pattern here. The wool I'm using is Opal Hundertwasser Seeschlange.



One sock is done - after ripping is up (twice!!!) as I wasn't happy with the cuff and also not too happy how the pattern came out. So I switched to a standard knit 1 purl 1 for the cuff and also use a 7 repeat instead of an 8 repeat for the pattern.
You can't see the pattern very well in the picture, though you might get an idea.
I should have both socks by next weekend.

Stitching wise, an update on 'Not Forgotten'

I did decide to go for my rainbow, and started to do the right hand side (so I can finally do some backstitching on the dragon ...)

Yeah, Heroes has a new episode. The more I see of that show, the more I like it. Very well acted and written.

New Atlantis episode, too. I loved how McKay mangled the name of that one scientist.

Quote:
*shooting*
Weir: Weapon's fire.
Sheppard: 9 mil, this way.
McKay: Oh yes, let's race towards the gunfire.

*sigh* only two more to go, until the long time without new episodes.

King Tut II

Got quite a bit of progress on King Tut. It is an easy stitch (at least so far), but luckily not a boring one.

I've also got some progress on 'Not Forgotten' as well. The right dragon is almost done.
I'm thinking about changing the rainbow - the one in the pattern is a little bit too ... not circular. It's sort of filling out the edges, which from a design point of view, might be a good idea, but from a physicist's pov, I prefer a perfect circle. So I put the shapes of the poenix and the dragon (the only two who intersect with the rainbow) into PC Stitch and tried to plot a more circular rainbow

What do you think, should I go with this rainbow, or should I go for the original one?
Here's a link to the original one: Not Forgotten by Dragon Dreams
Not that much of a difference really ....

New Stargate Atlantis 'Sunday' - I liked it, except one bit, but that was to be expected *sigh*
Now Ii'm waiting for the fanfic to come pouring in.

Finally finished with 'Eragorn'. I thought it was sort of okayish, and I'm going to go on witht he series, but I will read something else in between. No idea what, though.

Holy blooming plant,Batman

I don't know if it's the mild weather, or something else, but I didn't even know that a schefflera could bloom. But mine is.
I've 'rescued' the plant from a broken off plant part from my office several years ago and it never did bloom before.



The blossoms are tiny, and as far as I can tell, don't smell of anything. But it's somehow cute. I wonder if I get seeds ... well maybe not.


Update on King Tut. Got quite a bit of him done.


Still a long way to go :)
He's a fairly easy stitch - no fractionals, no special stitches, no blends. I have to see how long it's going to take before I'm bored out of my mind. The pattern is 205 x 244 stitches (though not every single field is stitched, a good part is).
When I opened the kit (which I bought half price in London about a year ago) I've found that one thread color was missing. But a quick e-mail to Lanarte got me the DMC number and that's okay....

New Stargate Atlantis: The Ark
(only four episodes left in the season ... sniffle)
Good solid episode with a few nice interactions. I think it's kind of cute how by now they sort of expect that Rodnes is able to pull a technical miracle out of his hat every single time (though, this time he couldn't ... not his fault, really)
I also liked how they made the 'bad' guy's motiation understandable (at least the second guy's ... the first one, well, this is never a solution for me) - as Teyla said in the end, John would have done the same.

Nice Ronon / Sheppard moment, as there's a good chance they're about to die and Ronon says that he'd rather die fighting:
Sheppard: Look if this rock burns up in the atmoshpere I'll fight you to the death myself. Deal.
Ronon: Your on.

Northern Lights Sampler

Yeah, finished my latest 'at home' project: Northern Lights Sampler by Jeannette Douglas


It really has been fun to stitch, interesting to try many different technics. I also remembered why I didn't like stitching with beads.

I did use the recommened fabric and color, but instead of a 28ct I used an 32ct (the shop I bought the fabric from didn't have enough of the 28ct, and as I don't come as often to the US as I like, I took what they had). For most of the pattern it didn't really matter, except maybe for the beads, which look a little crowded.
I've also got the embellishment package, which was plenty of most of the fibers, except the Wisper W88 white - I didn't have enough in the package to finish the last white dog. Luckily I've already got some of the Wisper for 'Not Forgotten', so it wasn't a real problems.

Now to find a good frame and a place to hang it up.

I'e also picked up a new 'at home' project: King Kutankhamen by Lanarte
I've bought the kit about a year ago for half price in London (else it would have been too expensive). For a change, I already know where I'm going to hang it once it's finished.
I've checked the theads and found that one color is missing (the card has a tear in the place it should have been). I've wrote to Lanarte - have to see what their reaction is.

A Dragon New Year

A happy new year to everybody.

Last days of the years I've snuck in a smallish Dragon Dream Pattern: Lost Dragon Sampler.


Cute and fun to do, too. My excuse is that I needed to find out how much of the specialty threads is needed, as I plan on kitting it up for a present for somebody I'm not going to name here (and for the records: less than a meter of each is plenty).
I've altered the 'it' in the lower text to 'him', switched two band colors (by accident, really, not that anybody would notice) and changed the color of the word 'Lost' to Distant Hills from Budding Leaves.

Also, for my travel project, I've started with 'Not Forgotton' also from Dragon Dreams.


My at home project (Northern Lights Sampler) is pretty far now, maybe five or six bands left to do. I'm sort of undecided if I start on a Teresa Wentzler next (either Castle Sampler or The Fortunate Traveler) or start on a large kit I've got in England last year.

I've discovered the series 'Heroes' and love it. I can't wait to see how it will go on.

No New Years resolutions, btw. Maybe loose some weight, but that's not something new, and considering the two parties I've been to the last three days, I had a pretty bad start at that anyway ...

I've finished posting my Thunderbird Story. Not many reviews *sigh* But it seems that it's not really a good season for reviews. I'm not the only one who noticed that there were little. Of course, that draws a little bit the fun out of writting. And it doesn't help that I looked at the stuff I've wrote for 'Where the Stars are Quite' (the next TB story I'm working on) and decided to trash the last two chapters.

Tomorrow it's back to work.

Merry Socks

I did knit some ...



















I'm in love with those socks. The pattern is a simply snowflake pattern I've found in a magazine, the wool is Admiral ombre from Schoppel Wolle. It was my second attmept on a boomerang heel, and it also worked fine.

And knitted some more



















I've had some of the Schoppel wool left and always wanted to try entralac, so I started this. No idea what to do with it, it's more of a swatch than anything else, but I think it works very well with this wool, and maybe I'll find something for it.


And I also stitched some














I was just looking for something simple I can carry around with me during the x-mas season, ad found this. I picked the pattern up at the Nadel & Faden in Osnabrück. Cute, easy (though I'm not looking forward to stitching the sky)

Merry Christmas to you all.

There's a Dragon in the Greenery

Last week I've linked to the new issue of Knitty and the cute little dragon that I found there. Well, here's what I've made of it. Not quite the same as the original, but still somehow cute. He's about half the size he should be, and the legs and the back ridge is bigger than it should be. And the tail is almost not there ...
Well, it was a first try and I'm sure to make another one.

Besides, I've decided to show an update on the Northern Lights Sampler



I'm about 2/3 done, I'd say. Currently I'm working on row 21. I've skipped row 17 for now, as I'll do all the beads in the end.
It's more or less my focus piece for home, that is if I'm not working on anything else - which happens a lot.

Yeah, I'm finally done with some Thunderbirds fic. First part is here. All in all there are 15 parts and if all goes well, I'll post one part per day.

And, new Atlantis. I've watched it already three times today and yesterday. "Tao of McKay"
Happy sigh.

One quote (of many possibles ... but I don't want to spoil too much)

McKay: …now is Sheppard still bugging you to let him use the ancient device to turn himself into some kind of superhero?
Weir: Oh Yes.
McKay: …despite the fact that the ancient database states that its effects on people are wildly unpredictable, and that I’m just lucky I wasn’t, er, instantly melted down into a pool of protoplasm?
Weir: Yes.
McKay: Well maybe, you should let him…
Weir: I think not.