Wool on Sunday #5 - On A Christmas Wednesday

Merry Christmas all you lovelies!

Still no baby but I managed to finish this scarf for my brother-in-law just in time. My joints are aching - these last days I've retained water in my hands which I hadn't before and the power knitting probably didn't help - but I'm happy.

It's a simple as can be k2, p1 pattern but I've made it more interesting cause colour changes and vertical stripes!

Happy holidays!

Wool on Sunday #4

Dang, I'm sure glad that I decided to bind my Winter Baby Girl Quilt the other day. Knowing that I can add my hand quilting whenever and yet already be able to hang it prettily over the crib has freed my mind so much. I've been able to get other things done - crafty and non-craft related - without feeling guilty. For instance, I knit up a hat for my sister that she asked for in return for her "small to medium craft project of your choice" birthday voucher.

She picked Armour Love as a pattern and a beautiful blue wool. I've been sporting the dark grey version since last winter and we only decided to make the brim a little tighter. The pattern is a really quick knit with very pretty and comfy results. The diamonds do look a little like Christmas trees, don't they?

Thus, I'm able to put a second parcel under the tree for her. Very pleased. I've got another knit project on my hands as we speak which might be ready in time for Christmas, too, or not. If not there's a plan B. If yes the babe still keeps us waiting.

Happy knitting & sewing!

Wool on Sunday #2

This huge parcel arrived on Thursday and got me very excited so I'm sharing it with you.

Tons of pretty wool: Grey...

...a teal-ish colour (you must have expected that, right?), and a darker blue.

Unfortunately today is a grey-ish, autumnal day and the colours don't really pop in these pictures. Anyway, I'm looking forward to knit some pretty two-toned scarves with these.

Circular needles in lengths and sizes not yet in my stash had to be added as well, of course.

All in all, a lovely haul which should keep me busy when I'm too tired to sew and might just yield a present or two.

Happy knitting!

Sunday Stash

This weekend I've been feeling like a bear of sorts preparing for hibernation or a baby with a sleep eat repeat routine. A nasty cold knocked me out right after the work week was finished, sigh, but I'm confident that another herbal bath and early night will have me restored just in time tomorrow.

Since I've got no finished skirt to show you, much less pictures of me outside wearing said skirt, I thought I'd show off what I couldn't resist buying the other day when I went into the store for necessities only - it's always like that, isn't it? - two luscious fat quarters. No idea what they'll become but I had to have them.

Taking a peek at a different front, progress on my sister's scarf has been slow but I've knit up the first blue ball and am set to soldier on this coming week.

That's it folks, just a quick update. Now come on an join the Sunday Stash fun over at The Floral Suitcase.

Happy sewing!

You Guessed It - More Knitting

So, after my last post, you've come here expecting to see my shiny new skirt? Maybe even a picture of me actually twirling around in it? Meh, I thought so. Alas, I have to let you down, sewing wasn't on the cards this weekend.

Instead I took up knitting my sister's scarf. The yarn is doing its best to drive me crazy. Well, technically that's not true but I'd rather blame the yarn than my attention span for requiring five attempts to start this thing. I kept on twisting my work when joining it in the round and only realised this after at least two rounds each. Boo. Such a waste of perfectly good time! Anyway, now that my brain the yarn's decided to behave I'm making good progress and am a little stunned how different it looks in these colours.

It's been a while since I played with the grey and blue squares. Originally I'd meant to make a second quilt for my nephew (still cute a s a button, I can assure you) but then life happened - as it does - and I struggled finishing quilt number one so I put the squares aside. However, good friends of mine are expecting their firstborn in January and this imminent arrival of another wee little boy is a great opportunity to finally turn them into something special. So I'm back to playing with the layout.

In not totally unrelated news, my laptop's graphics board is playing up and keeping me offline a lot but I hope that the husband can fix it soon-ish and I'll probably catch up with you during a lunch break or two this week.

Happy sewing and knitting!

My Perfect Weekend...

...included hilarious attempts to make cake pops with my sister & Indian takeaway on Saturday, relaxing with the husband & homemade roast duck on Sunday, and this...

As planned I cut the pieces for my skirt. Success! Even though I didn't actually sew a stitch, I did iron interfacing to the yoke and am ready to start sewing any minute now. Well, I might assemble the yoke and the pockets on a good evening during the week but most of the work will be kept for the weekend. No need to rush and repeat stupid mistakes like this.

Intense knitting was also part of my perfect weeked. I still have to weave in the ends of all the balls of yarn inside but it's finally time to learn how to merge the ends and turn the whole thing into a loop. The pattern does link to a tutorial which I've not yet bothered to look up. Risky to start a pattern without having internalised all the know how? Maybe but I'm positive I'll be fine.

This means I can finally start with my sister's version. Fingering weight yarn and smaller needles should keep me busy for a while but I'm pretty confident to make the deadline of her birthday in late November. That's still a whopping six weeks from now. Eeeeaaasy, right?

I'm glad that my weekend included more crafty things than the last few. I think I'm slowly getting back into managing a proper dose of hobbies into the work and household chores routine as well as seeing friends and family. How was your weekend?

Happy sewing!

Zig Zag Update

I hope you're not yet sick of this scarf because I'm more in love by the day. These days it's my only creative outlet, too, filling at least an hour after work and dinner, helping me to unwind. (Work's still going swell and I'm feeling right at home, by the way.) Last night I got to glorious 116 cm! Only 46 cm until the162 cm the pattern calls for. Whoohoo. This close to actually wearing my pretty.

Knitty enthusiasm aside, though, I hope I get to get sewing this weekend. I'd prepped my latest skirt fabric haul Friday last but felt like I might have caught a cold so kept a low profile with lots of sleep and tea, hot baths and cuddles. Still, definitely longing to work with this, I miss the sound of my machine.

Happy sewing, well, and knitting, of course!

Knitting Along

I'm right in the middle of another fabulous week, enjoying the colder but sunny autumn days just as much as working with my new colleagues. I'm also knitting up a storm in the evenings.

My zig zag loop is now 1.5 the size it was on Sunday and will certainly be double the size come Sunday.

At 65 cm the scarf's more than one third done - I think a finish in a little over a week is highly likely and I'm very much looking forward to wearing this beauty soon.

Anyway, now the husband's off to play footie with his friends after a yummy homemade Schnitzel lunch, I'm going to celebrate The Day of German Unity and my day off by reading your blogs and writing a few long overdue emails. Watch out!

Happy sewing!

Sunday Stash - Yarn, Yarn, and Some Fabric (long post, scroll down for fabric)

First things first, I'm alive and well and very busy. Four out of five applications led to interview invitations. Once the first two resulted in job offers I cancelled the following interviews because I knew from advance information that number two had the best pay, a more challenging work description, and I felt really good during the interview. It's still only an intern but I'm still really happy with my decision because the team's super nice, pay has improved a ton from the previous intern, thus alleviating our financial situation, and suddenly the prospect of a real job is on the horizon, too. These past two weeks have flown by without sewing but with the fulfilling knowledge of moving on and upwards and with the not unwelcome rhythm of a regular work schedule.

Knitting, however, has continued. Evidence A.

I still like the pattern but I think I might unravel these 30 cm of work again because I don't feel the width at the moment. The first ball lasted longer than I'd anticipated so I could make it wider without losing the length I want. For now, I've put it away to ponder my options. Instead, I've started this loop.

Jenny Faifel's lucky no 7 in a thicker yarn. This is a wearable test run - I love these colours! - for the scarf my sister would like for her birthday in late November made from this fingering weight yarn.

I'm not completely over my dread of the time-consuming thinness but seeing the progress I'm making with my scarf I'm a lot more confident about making that deadline.

The pattern is yarn-hungry, roughly three balls of 120m for 45 cm (18'') so I've stocked up and even had to reorder the grey at the shoppe. Some thicker grey wool (right side) for a warm hat begged me to be come home with me.

Yesterday was quite the stash day. On top of yarn from the first store I stocked up on wadding, rattles and a squeaky sound-making thing for plushies at store number two.

Half metre cuts of these pretties had to be purchased and are likely to become seasonal cushion covers.

All I had originally intended to come home with were these essentials for a new skirt from my tried and approved Burda pattern. Hehe. I think it will look simply fabulous with the zig zag loop. Also, it's got to have pockets. I pulled out my lovely Alice skirt the other day and have fallen all over for pockets again.

Last but not least I even bought elastic to fix the husband's sweatpants. Something he's asked me to do for months. *hangs head in shame* I have to put this out here with a picture or it might take another shamefully long period of time before I tackle it. Hah, fixing things simply isn't fun and therefore no priority. Am I right?

Another pretty addition from three weeks ago which will leave soon is this beautiful mirror ball dot print. I'd seen the collection over at Molli's and knew it was perfect when my sister asked me to make new cushion covers for her brown sofa. Now I only need to sew them!

Oh, and another important addition made a week ago is this Cake Cabarita Knit Top pattern that I bought from my dear friend Perlendiva to finally make a perfectly fitting top for myself. She just opened Santa Lucia Patterns to make it easier / quicker for us Germans to buy indie designer patterns. She's even offering translations. Go on and take a look. I think she's doing a fantastic job and am hoping this business will take off in no time.

Whew, quite the post. Congrats and thanks if you've made it to the end! I really hope more regular posting and blog reading will resume once I've really settled into my new routine. It's weird to neglect this space and my crafty friends like this.

Happy sewing and join Sunday Stash, this time hosted by Blossom Heart Quilts!

Sunday Stash

Are we even capable of making a short trip to the shop for one or two essential supplies without adopting other things? I went to buy basting spray and was only browsing the yarn section because my sister has implied that she wouldn't mind a new scarf for Christmas or her birthday in November. No serious intention to buy anything yet, I swear, but then I saw this lovely grey and the vibrant yellow mustard nestled against each other and couldn't help it. They begged me to take them home.

 

Perfect for my autumn goal to learn knitting in more than one colour. I even found just the right pattern after browsing Ravelry for the longest time. (I think. You never know until you start.) Only to discover that I will have to adapt it to thicker yarn and a larger needle size. Sigh. Frustrating.

I had to satisfy my knitting itch, though, and so I cast on a different project with a luscious merino / silk blend that I've been stashing since December 2011. I chose this pattern but have made it about 2.5 times as wide because I want it to be more like a stole and not just a scarf.

This is the quick and easy 2P 2K band I managed yesterday evening. Let's see whether I'll like and stick with it once I've managed a pattern repeat.
 
Happy sewing!

 
P.S. Yep, I guess that much knitting on my mind is a good indicator that summer has moved on. Seriously, the temps have dropped considerably over night, there's autumn foliage in the park and the air smells differently, too.

Owls Are in the Eye of the Beholder

The hat has eyes! I followed Lyn's suggestion and featured one owl. So this one is wide awake whilst I imagine the other ones asleep. Considering how much time babies spend snoozing that's kind of apt, don't you think?

Would you believe what my husband said when I happily thrust this in his face?

H: Don't you think the eyes are a bit close together?
Me: What? Too close together? I can't put them much further apart. They need to be inside of the head!
H. Sure, you could put one here and one there. points in the middle of two different owls' heads
Me: That's two different owls! Are you kidding me? Why should I make monocular owls?
H: OWLS?
Me: Duh, don't you see this is an owl? This is the head, the body, the feathery stuff on top.. points.. There's six owls all in all! points some more
H: Sure. laughs Great owl! laughs as if I'm the insane one here..

Yeah, sometimes he doesn't get it. Still love him, though.

As you can see I finished my cowl. I still have to weave in the ends and make the eyes/no eyes decision. A trip to the shop to stock up on thread is in order, anyway, so I can take a look at their button selection. Do you reckon mother of pearl would be an interesting option? I'm compose a post with all the details and proper pictures soon.

Today I'll be working on block number three of my Fish & HSTs. I'm becoming way too attached to these! Don't I always?

Happy sewing!

T.G.I.F.F. - With a Little Help From My Friends...

Spot the mistake!

I've been working on my little owl hat. By the way, did anybody notice my glaring mistake in Wednesday's picture? Yep, I totally skipped the cabled row that turns simple knitting into proper little owl heads! Gah. Well, I had to frog this. Thank goodness for the generosity of the crafting community that shares their wisdom because I really didn't want to go back three rows stitch by stitch. I'd pinned the solution a while back and could finally apply it. There's a silver lining to everything, eh?

It was a bit fiddly but the last pic shows my knitting back on track. Yay. I then rewarded myself with these. Nom nom.

The hat's now finished but I'm a teensy tiny bit stuck. Eyes or no eyes? Don't fear, I'm convinced my firend won't leave little C unattended to play with and choke on buttons, so we can put decoration over safety issues for once.

Unfortunately I don't have enough of the bottom two buttons (salvaged from shirts) to decorate all six owls, only three each. Anyway, what do you think? Eyes? No eyes?

For a glamorous parting shot, let me introduce my beloved childhood doll.

You can tell she's a true 80s girl from that terrible terrible fluffy fringe. One hot mess! I love her nonetheless and think she's one of the reasons why I've always been envious of natural gingers. Dye for me if I want to look like that. Anyway, look how much cuter she looks with the hat to cover that fringe!

I'm falling in love with her all over again!

Happy sewing!

Linking up with TGIFF, this week at What a Hoot!