Thursday 26 June 2008

Like an old shoe....

.... I'm worn-out. This past week has been anything but relaxation. I've been working my behind off, day and night. My time-tracking system tells me that I've been battling numbers and technical challenges (thanks for nothing, Microsoft!) for about 50 hours. You may sit there and think that it could be worse - and it was! On top of the 50 hour work-load I also took care of my full-time job. So that's an additional 37 hours. Since - oh when was it now - Monday morning I haven't had much sleep; around 14-15 hours in total. I've neglected Moe, friends, family, knitting, the garden, cleaning the house.... you name it. Actually, I've probably neglected you too. If that's the case - from the bottom of my heart - I'm sorry!

I don't know why I do this to myself. But! There's a bonus waiting for me out there in the not-so-far-away future ;) I'll tell you about it.... when I wake up again.

See ya.... zzzZzZZZzZzzzz......ZZzz..Zzzzzzzzz......

Thursday 19 June 2008

The Yarn Diet

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It doesn't really work as well as I wanted it to. I keep buying more yarn. Two days ago I resisted temptation - today I didn't. But good things come of it :)

Say hello to the lovely Noro Sock yarn!


I had 12 different colour ways to choose from - not an easy task. Had the yarn not been so pricy I would probably have blown my diet and budget completely and bought 3-4 balls.

I won!

On WWKIP day Sys from Fandango told me that the following Tuesday we would compete for Louisa Harding kashmir yarn. With the cockiest attitude ever I told her that there would be no need for this competition; the yarn would be mine no matter what! Sunday and Monday went, and Tuesday came. Too much work almost kept me from showing up. But then I remembered that knit night is 3 hours of relaxation - and God knows I need that these days. Off I went.
I was a weee bit late but with a perfect parallel parking (you know when you get out of the car and take the time so simply admire your own parking skills there for a sek? if not, never mind) I managed to get there on time.
Everyone drew a slip with a number on it from a bowl. I dug in and got lucky number 5. In a cocky fashion I showed my competitors the "winning" number and let them know that they would lose big time. They all disagreed ;) I then told them that they would soon enough experience enlightment ;) The atmosphere was so laid-back and cheerful, and we laughed a lot while chatting, knitting, eating strawberries, drinking coffee and such. Boy, do I love these knit nights!

After a while Sys drew out the winning number from a purse of some sort and declarede that it was NUMBER FIIIIIVE!
Sweet mother of holy kashmir!! The yarn was now mine.... mine, mine, mine :D
The other ladies there sat with their mouths open and could not believe that this annoying and overly confident pain-in-the-neck knitter won the luxury packaged.
Let me show you what I got.


That's right - not only did I win 10 balls of this wonderful red kashmir yarn in DK weight, I also got the Louisa Harding magazine to go with it. I could and will not ask for more :)

Now I have to find out how the yarn should be used. I did a quick scan of some of the models in the magazine. Tough choise, I'm telling you. I'm open to suggestions. _________________________________________________

Cherry Cheeks

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Yup, this one was found among all the other not so bum-like cherries in the bowl. I'm simple-minded - hence this photo. The tiger in the background? That's Knut :)

Sunday 15 June 2008

WWKIP Day

Saturday was spent at the Town Museum of Aarhus. Great day!








We stayed in all day because the weather was somewhat unpredictable. I didn't mind although it would have been nice to sit outside saying hello to people passing by on the path between the museum and the stream that winds its way from one end of Aarhus to another. Maybe next year.
Some of the knitters there were from SSS others were representing no-one but themselves, which was just as good.
In total Lise (bottom picture - she's working on this beautiful sock that makes me what to knit socks though I'm not very good at it) and I knit for 7 hours. I had brought three different things to work on, but I never did let go of the skirt I recently fell in love with. It's designed by Ruth Sørensen, and it's called 'Hyld' (Elderflower). You can see Ruth's version right here. I wish I could say that after 7 hours of intense knitting the skirt is finished and ready to wear; but no such luck, I'm afraid. I'm not even half way there. Perhaps in a few weeks or so.... or months ;)
Back to the WWKIP day. I really had a good time. There was a lot of knitting and chatting going on. Many familiar faces and many unfamilar ones - I enjoyed both. It all made me wonder: Why on earth is there only one single WWKIP day per year? I don't get it. I realise that if we did this kind of thing every week, it would probably lose its magic. However, I strongly believe that we could - without jeopardising the whole thrill of the event - do this, say, twice a year. I would definitely be there :)
The museum closed at 5 p.m. and Lise and I were the last ones to leave. It's always "just one more row" with us ;) I came home sat down on the sofa and began (continued?) to knit. Big surprise, eh?

Friday 6 June 2008

Toys!

I have needed(!) a swift and a ball winder for a very long time - or so it seems. And because my mother never knows what to get me for my birthday, she and my dad give me a handful of cash AND presents. It's weird but I won't complain.

One of my friends gave me a gift certificate to a book store. I went there today a bought.... yeah, you guessed it, a book! It's called 'Kæk og klassisk børnestrik' and it's all about knitting, i.e. patterns for 2-10 year-olds.

Back to the toys!

See how the yarn sneaks up on the swift....? It can't wait for the fun to begin! ;)

Thursday 5 June 2008

The Harlot, Kimberly and I

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I've participated in a couple of yarn swaps on the Internet - all via ravelry. One of the other members on ravelry was in search of as much Noro yarn as she could possibly get her hands on, and because she doesn't know enough English to make things happen, I decided to help her out. To make a long story short I got in contact with Kimberly from Rhode Island. Emails went back and forth. It then turns out that she too is a Yarn Harlot fan! I had just finished the 'Secret Life of a Knitter' and I was very well-entertained all the way through which made me want more.





Kimberly came to my rescue. She sent me the new Yarn Harlot book: Things I Learned from Knitting. Signed and all! Not only that, she also sent copies to the ravelry member looking for Noro AND to Lise. In fact, the package was full of goodies. I owe Kimberly big time :) I'll pay her in Kauni when she decides on colour and amount :)

Summer Cardigan update

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To knit something larger than a baby sock on needles 2.5 mm takes forever! I don't mind, though. If I weren't knitting this cardigan, well, it would be something else: knitting versus knitting equals knitting :)

This is how far I've come on the cardigan.

Finished Object at large - Backyard Leaves

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This pattern was a bit unusual. It even called for stitches I had to look up to be sure I made them the right way. When I feel lost I always turn to knittinghelp.com. After a somewhat difficult start I managed to stop thinking about the pattern so much and just focus on doing what it told me to. Funny how that works sometimes :)

Specs!
Pattern: Backyard Leaves published in 'Scarf Style'
Yarn: Soft Silk - 100% bourette silk
Needles: 3.5 mm
For: my mother
Start to finish: May 4 - June 5

Lovely presents

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Birthday presents are nice. Some of them are very very nice. Here are a few...
Not only do I feel lucky that these lovely things were for me. I also appreciate the fact that both friends and family realize that yarn and jewelry are always welcome. They seem to understand that, yes, I have a lot of yarn but that's because I love yarn - hence more yarn is what I like. Thanks, Lise! :)
I can't say that I have a lot of jewelry but I think that has something to do with me being a bit picky. And unfortunately I prefer the not so cheap stuff. Moe knows this. He is also the one who bought the extremely beautiful earrings - and for the first time ever he wrote me a birthday card! I simply could not thank him enough.