Secret Pal parcel!

Look what I was able to collect yesterday - the first package from my lovely secret pal!!


Isn't it fabulous?

That is a ball of beautiful and soft 100% wool yarn that you can see in the upper left-hand corner, handspun and dyed, from a co-op in Uruguay. I love the colour and feel of this! I think it might be destined to become either a hat or another Flora...

And do you see that orange roving? That is Corriedale top in in my current colour obsession - burnt orange. *drools* I'm already contemplating how to spin this...

There is also a book - Crosswords to boost your brainpower. A boost in brainpower is something I could do with right about now, so this is great. ;-) And after I had taken the photograph I realised that there was another tiny prezzie, which had been hiding inside the book. It's a very cute little frog stitchmarker!

Thank you so much secret pal, I'm over the moon with my parcel! :)

Self Portrait Tuesday - Self Documentary Series #3

Clutter

We collect things. Our memories are given shape by objects, artefacts, keep-sakes, souveniers. It is only when an object looses its personal meaning and has no other purpose to perform that it becomes clutter.

This morning I took stock of our belongings. I dragged D's magazines out from under the bed and sorted them into neat piles for him to look at when he gets back tonight.


There are no monsters under our bed - only dust, old newspapers, and the bit of the floorboards that we forgot to paint...


I am in no way better in keeping my room tidy. My desk is too full to work. I can' think when the objects around me start cluttering up my brain.


I need space to breathe. But where will things live after they get moved from their temporary homes?


What is there to do when the bookshelves are full?


And so are the yarn drawers?


There is a balance between clutter and minimalism. Our home will never become a minimalist haven, and nor would I want it to, but some calm and empty space is necessary for the mind to rest and to stretch.







Other series are in the Self Portrait Tuesday Blog

Knitting and Stitching Show - the haul

I'm not going to say all that much about the show at the Ally Pally, simply because other knitters on my reading list have already given accounts of the show, but I thought that there is an obligation for every knitter to at least show their new stash aquisitions. As for the show, suffice to say that I had a great time and I loved seeing all the beautiful yarns and visiting all those places like Get Knitted, HipKnits, Colinette and Texere that I frequently order from online up close.

I went down by coach, which was pretty easy and stress-free, and arrived at the Ally Pally around 11am. I spent most of the day at the show, met up with a friend at 4.30pm at Covent Garden for some tea and cake, and took a train back home at around 7.30pm. I was quite tired by the time I got back, but it was definitely worth it! Also, D had cooked some delicious food with some of the late courgettes and pattypan pumpkins he had found in our vegetable patch, so that was just the thing to pick me up again after a long day. :)

On to the shopping then!! I thought that, if I say so myself, I was quite restrained. Not that I didn't spend a fortune as it was, but I could have bought SO MUCH MORE! As it is, I came away with some lovely silk from HipKnits, which will be a present:


And when I passed the stall again later, I couldn't resist the temptation of some cashmere sock yarn after all... And that after I'd been so good the first time round:


Apart from that, I bought some needles from Get Knitted and treated myself to some lovely and soft Alpaca fiber. N, when I met up with her at Covent Garden, stuck her hand into the paper bag and noted, a touch disturbed, that it felt just like hair. ;-)


And last but not least, I got 800g of carded fibre from Texere:


This is going to become the yarn for this:


Yes, I am making my own 'Big Wool' - it will cost me about a 5th of the price the yarn would have cost me. Now, wish me luck that I'm actually able to spin this at the right weight. :)

And that's it. No more purchases! Although I was sorely tempted by a good few yarns and books, in particular the pretty hemp yarn that I found, and the pattern booklet that went with it. Unfortunately I just didn't have enough cash by the end of the show, so this will have to wait.

Managed to knit another few inches on the Greek Pullover on the train back home, so I'm up to the armhole shaping on the back of the pullover now. And I have yet another knitting project that needs to be finished before xmas. How could I forget that my friend K's baby is due around xmas?? She is going to have a little baby boy, and I finally get to knit some baby clothes! Must search for patterns later...

Spent most of today tidying the house, mowing the lawn (hadn't been done for months! Can you imagine what hard work that was?!), researching sky and cable tv deals, paying bills, and doing laundry. Some knitting on the Greek pullover, but not enough to warrant a photograph. No work on the thesis so far, but at least I feel like for once I'm on top of the domestic work. This, I hope, will provide enough justification to enjoy my trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show at the Ally Pally tomorrow! I can't wait!!

I'm going via coach, at 9 am, and will come back in the evening. Hopefully I will also be able to meet up with a friend of mine while in London, so I will probably not take the coach back but get a train a bit later...

I'm currently writing a list of things that I might get while I'm there. If you are not going, anything that you'd like me to get and send on?!

This morning, I was woken up by a gentle kiss on the brow bestowed on me by my dear husband, while he whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

Well, not quite. Rather, what he whispered was: "the cat's been sick in the kitchen - it's all over the counter and the floor. Bye then, see you tonight!"

Romantic, huh? ;-)

When I staggered downstairs shortly afterwards to get my morning cup of tea I could see that indeed, one of the cats had been sick during the night and indeed, had managed to be sick over the floor AND the counter. What fun I had, cleaning all that up before I even had breakfast.

Oh, the joy!

Now, obviously the culprit could have been either of our cats, but I am fairly convinced that it was Kipper, our black cat. See, I gave them some different cat food yesterday evening and, as with everything that is different, Kipper was immediately all over it. His brother didn't even get a look in while he was wolfing down the food. When he came into my office later on, I thought he was moving rather slowly and cautiously and he looked a bit peaky all evening. Upon checking the bowl, I saw that he had managed to eat the whole lot.

Somebody told me once that cats, unlike dogs, don't overeat and know exactly how much food they need. On the whole, I tend to agree - we leave dry food out for our cats all the time, and they just help themselves when they feel hungry but don't tend to eat very much of it. They eat some canned food as well, which they get in the morning and the evening, but they pace themselves. Neither of them is overweight. When there is different food to be had, however, Kipper at least tends to forget himself a bit. As he as a kitten had a quite unfortunate and dangerous accident involving a tub of diesel oil (we still don't know HOW this happened but dealt with the consequences at the time) and has since that episode had a rather delicate stomach, he tends to get sick when he does that, which is gross. What is amusing, though, is his continued enthusiasm for new food and his apparently complete inability to learn from past suffering. If there was different food ever day you could imagine his internal monologue as something like this:

"Oooh, new food! Got to eat it all, quickly!"

"Bleagh, don't feel so good"

**barf**

"That's better... My stomach feels rather empty now, though."

"Oooh, new food! Got to eat it all, ...."

Lather, rinse, repeat.


I'm sure there is some kind of lesson to be learned from this - something about not biting off more than you can chew maybe, or something about learning from past mistakes, which I could stretch to apply to my life and my knitting plans until xmas but ... let's not elaborate, shall we? And as I don't seem to have any clear idea where I am going with this post, let's move on to some knitting content.

I have finished the Hourglass sweater. It isn't blocked yet, but I had to show it off anyway:


Is it not pretty? Here is another picture:


Stats:
Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Lang Yarns - Fantomas Superwash. Aprox. 6 or 7 balls (can't remember)
Needles: 4mm circulars
Time: started at the end of August 05, finished on 13th October 05.

The only gripe I have with it is that the neckline is a bit too wide; the sweater almost slips off the shoulders at times. If I knit another one, I'd make sure to change the neckline a little to make it a bit deeper and a little less wide. Also, currently the sleeves are a bit short, but the blocking might still change that so I'm reserving judgement.

This means that I was able to start on the Greek Pullover (IK, Fall 05):


I'm only half-way through the increase section, but I can already say that I LOVE Rowan Kid Classic. It's soft and lovely to knit with and the knitted fabric has a pretty haze to it.

Big knitting plans for the next few months.

I'm planning on finishing the Hourglass today. There are 2 more rows to knit, plus all the seaming, but it will be just the thing to do tonight, while watching a bit of tv.

Then I'm starting the Greek Pullover. Finally. I've been meaning to knit this for ages, but what with the missing copy of IK it wasn't to be until now. Still, I have all the yarn - bought it months ago - so all I have to do is cast on! :)

Also, there are more socks in my future. As you can see from the KAL button on the right, I've joined the Socktober Fest 2005. I loved the name - reminds me of living in Munich and the Oktoberfest (Beer Festival) - and I think it might be just the thing to make me knit a little quicker. Also, it means that the beautiful soft sock yarn that I bought from the Natural Dye Studio (ebay) will not sit around for too long:


And a close-up:

Is it not pretty? And it's so soft. Apparently it's merino yarn.

There is more, but I haven't taken a picture yet. :)

But back to the plans for the next few months:

I desperately need to have some kind of bag for my laptop - I carried it around in my backpack yesterday and it's already scratched. Oops! ;-) Might attempt Satchel (knitty) soon, as D was asking for a felted bag anyway.

I have also promised to knit him a hat from our first-ever handspun New England yarn, so I will have to squeeze that project in somewhere.

And last but not least, I have bought a batch of Amy Butler fabric and am planning to make some bags for various friends for xmas.

Do you think I'll get all this done before the end of the year?! What are the chances? ;-)

Can you guess what just arrived in the mail?

My missing copy of Interweave Knits, Fall 05.

It's only 2 months late.

*falls over*

Things I want to do...

Someone on my friends page on LiveJournal posted a list of things she would like to do. Following her example, here is my list:

• Finish my PhD.
• Go on a road trip across the US.
• Run down a hill in open country.
• Write a novel.
• Dance wildly and sing at the top of my voice.
• Take a photography class.
• Lie in a cornfield, looking at the blue sky.
• Live by a river.
• See New Zealand.
• Start playing the piano again.
• Sit quietly and feel no guilt about doing nothing.
• Learn to play the violin.
• Read all the books I own.
• Get. Things. Done.

If you feel inclined to post a list of things you want to do I'd love to read it! :)

Self Portrait Tuesday - Self Documentary Series #2

Mornings

My morning routine -- getting up; drawing the curtains back; showering; getting dressed; making tea; sitting down in front of the computer.


Other self documentary series are HERE

Oh well...

I have frogged the decrease section on the Hourglass after all.

I'm no good with mistakes that I know about, never mind that most likely nobody else would have noticed.

*sigh*