We’re experiencing all kinds of craziness and will be back soonly with pictures, ramblings and whinging.

Went to the…uhm, not sure what it’s called, will have to ask Himself. Anyway it’s a street market that pretty much takes over all of Altstadt Markdorf.

I scored! Yarn! Wooooo! Got 4 balls of GGH Soft-Kid in a nice green for 3€ a ball. A 150g. ball of Regia Country Colour (oddly called Onion Country, it looks like stained glass colors with black). A ball of 100g Regia Cotton Java Color (aqua color) and 3 50g balls of Lang Teddy in a burnt orange.

The prices were amazingly low. I didn’t need any of this but I about lost it trying to paw through and decide on what to get. Obviously now I really have to get the whole sock thing overcome. The GGH Soft-Kid is going to be my neck cowl. No doubt about that. It will be lovely and something I never would have bought otherwise. I couldn’t see €36 for something I would only wear walking the dog, but I sure can see €9.

Mmmmm, mohair.

Interesting fuzzy stuff. Didn’t felt particularly well but it did lead to be being even goofier than usual. Learning to felt is a new offshoot of my knitting. The hat that was just too ridiculous to live felted down to…

…this poor, lumpen thing which I am inordinately fond of now. It’s just so ugly duckling I can’t help but like it. So, after making another bowl, intentional, not hat-gone-horribly-wrong out of the Lang Teddy (and being a silly thing and only using one strand) I ended up with a container for the Ugly Duckling (yes, sometimes I don’t know when to give something up as a bad job)…

I know. Seek help.

Also snagged some 2.5mm, 15cm DPNs in Bamboo from a company named Klass & Gessmann (Spezialist feiner Handarbeitsgeräte). Never heard of ‘em but I was happy to get the short DPNs. These were €5. I got a new clue…seems that here if you want short DPNs you need to look for “glove knitting needles”. Makes sense and never occurred to me to look for that type.

All of that for about €22. Yeah. I scored.

Had been hoping to find something for felting…bags, bowls etc. but, as usual, just sock yarn and some of the obvious sweater/garment stuff. Meh. That’s the story of my life down here. Socks, baby stuff and the occasional sweater is all anyone ’round here seems to want to do. And very rarely is there anything 100% wool. Hence my supporting mail-order. Wish it were otherwise, would love to find a local LYS but those that I know about are pretty much strickly socks. Very little of anything else.

The Market was neat. Lots of good stuff, lots of silly stuff and lots of food. After the blustery, damp, soggy weekend weather we had a nice day today. Was still on the chilly side (just above freezing) but the sun was out and the wind was down to a level where it wasn’t painful. Was very nice walking The Dawg this morning. This evening at the Market was nice to be out smelling all the good smells of Glühwein and wurst and the spice merchants and tea sellers and the cold, fresh air. Oh and beer. Heh, can’t forget the beer. Even got some hot roasted chestnuts. A nice way to spend a couple hours.

Pictures either later tonight or tomorrow, for posterity, of my finds. Including a wee basket that Will be nice, once lined with a bit of cloth, for a small project holder for around the desk as opposed to the current system…which really isn’t. Just yarn and projects stuffed on the desk wherever they fit.

Just tried out the GGH Soft-Kid and I about lost my mind. The yarn itself is fine but I cannot find any needles I can work with this stuff. I want to do a simple cowl that can either be pulled up as a hood or pooled around my neck instead of a scarf. This’ll be grand for that but I think it’s going to require Addis. Nothing I have works…stuff pulls at the joins something fierce. I suppose I could try with DPNs but I’m still not over the “hedgehog wrangler” aspect.

Bah. Well next time I’m ordering I might just have to get me a pair of Addi Lace needles. Poor me.

Looks like the first significant snow of the season is bearing down on us. And it’s bleedin’ COLD out. Now I don’t get cold easily but today? Holy moly. Wind is coming out of the NW and I swear it’s the express from the North Pole. On the morning walk, tears were streaming, nose was…uhm…dribbling and my ears were hurting something fierce (they both have been frostbitten so they are kind of sensitive).

And me without a hat. Problem is, I don’t like hats. I look like a giant tuber root in hats (’cept cowboy hats for some odd reason), especially winter type hats (sensible ones anyway). Now, if this keeps up I may end up not caring how silly I look but I am making a THICK headband tonight from Lana Grossa Bingo in a green which comes close to matching my coat. I so wanted to wait ’til the rest of my Twilley’s Freedom Spirit arrived but no way. I hope to pull off this headband with one ball of the Lana Grossa but if not, I have plenty. I just do NOT want to go out there tomorrow morning without something on my ears.

My Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf made from the Twilley’s turned out beautifully. Very pleased. And nice and warm. Forgot it this a.m. (hey, I’m lucky if I can remember how to walk first thing in the morning never mind such niceties as a scarf I hadn’t fully processed I own) and made sure to wear it this afternoon. Really nice. No scratchy bits, warm. Glad I did it.

When the rest of the Twilley’s gets here (maybe tomorrow but more likely Monday…meh), I’ll get going on the gauntlets from it (since I’ll have this headband done and the need won’t be so urgent). Not a fan of gloves either but I may have to get over that. My fingers aren’t what get cold, it’s the backs of my hands and my wrists so I might escape with just gauntlets. Happily, I can do a pair of those in a day of dedication or two days of just knitting whenever I’m in front of the ‘puter.

Snow. Meh. Supposedly only about six inches but could be interesting with the way the wind is blowing.

But it’s okies, I will have a headband tonight. Pictures when it’s done.

Took a quiz about which Discworld character I was and this is what I came up with.

You scored as a Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax

You are Granny Weatherwax! The most powerful witch on the Disc! You often
use headology rather than actual spells, and are a very good witch,
despite the fact that you sometimes wish you were a bad one. You play a
mean game of Cripple Mr. Onion, and have a very powerful stare. By the
way, you should really get that broom fixed!

If you’re at all a Discworld fan, you might want to give this quiz a try yourself.

I didn’t have the sense to take a picture of the hat that I made from some really nice Crystal Palace Merino Stripes. It turned out, uhm, pretty badly. Not quite sure what went wrong with it but it just wasn’t something I was pleased with. Kind of shapeless. Didn’t much care for the yarn either, was funky feeling coming through my hands to knit and the end product was, well, only term I can think of is “lifeless”. Matte. Limp. So, last night I tossed it in the washer with a load of jeans and boy, did that sucker felt.

At first I couldn’t even find the thing. Took everything out and didn’t see it. We have a front-loader (pretty much the only kind you can get here) and sometimes things end up sitting on the “fins”. Nope. Not there. Start searching the stuff I’d pulled out and finally found a little green ball in one of the pairs of jeans.

Keyword: little. About the size of my fist. Heee.

That was some efficient felting, it was. So, I decided that this would become a little bowl for my desk that I could toss odd bits into and proceeded to shape it thusly. Crammed a DvD into the bottom to flatten the bottom and then pulled and tugged ’til I got the shape I wanted and stuck it in front of my little desk fan overnight. And the result I have decided to call:

“Organic bowl With Mysterious nubbly things that I Can Stuff Stuff Into”

or…

“Mess With Me? I’ll Felt The Bejabbers Out of You!”

Kind of looks wobbly there, it really isn’t. Just the poor light and having to use the flash.

Well, it was better than just tossing it and no way to unravel that beast. Good for holding all the little bits that float around on my desk and it also taught me that my washer will felt the living hell out of things. I mean this was a hat. A very large hat.

And it was meh and so…I keeeeeeled it.

What I learned?

If I don’t like the way a yarn is working up, probably best to stop and rip out. Might be that it works better elsewhere. I was hidebound to make a had from this yarn. I did. I hated it. But I also learned that sometimes a mistake can end up being useful if not exactly gorgeous.

Was doing my evening reading on CNN and saw this story:

School Shooting In Finland

How incredibly sad: for the people who died and their friends and families, for the shooter (you HAVE to be pretty messed up to think to do such a thing and it is horrible that people GET that messed up) and for the human race in general. So sad that we feel the need to kill one and other.

And I expect that this will incite EU politicos, yet again, to try and blame video games for this sort of occurrence. Look elsewhere, folks. Look to individual pathology, look to governmental involvement in wars, look to bullying behaviour being overlooked in schools and workplaces. Unfortunately, look to human nature.

So sad.

Sometimes I buy yarn having no clear idea…why. It is like I go into some sort of trance and BOOM, yarn is now in my stash. My 2 balls of Noro Aurora are a prime example of this. I have no earthly idea what I was thinking when I bought this. I’d like to think that I just didn’t notice the sparkly bits because I am so not a “sparkly” kind of person. Had I done ANY research into this yarn, I would’ve know about the sparkly. So I must conclude I was in an altered state. Problem with that is, this yarn is mocking me from my stash. Somehow the bloody stuff always manages to work its way to the top or front of the wool yarns.

Mocking me. Daring me.

So, since I always like to have a mindless project (tossed in handbag, or when reading message boards or even when I’m in the mood to just read a book) I decided this stuff was going to be de-stashed and outta here. Farrow rib was what I decided on. Easy, works with just about anything and I can generally count to 4 even when totally occupied with something else.

Was really put off by how coarse and scratchy this Aurora stuff is (never mind the whole sparkle thing). Googled around and am reassured that after a washing it gets a lot softer. Indeed I saw a sweater made of it that actually looked like, well, something one could wear. Given how this feels knitting up, I would think it would make splendid chainmail. Still, as the yarn comes through my fingers and I am working with parts that don’t have the uhmm….Aurora bits, it doesn’t feel all that bad.

I suppose if I don’t care for it after gently washing it and blocking it, I can wreak my revenge upon it by felting the bejabbers out of it, slamming it on the wall and considering it a reminder to Be Mindful When Buying Yarn.

This is highlights an issue that recurs often here. The inability to feel, see, fondle, molest yarn before buying it. No real place to do that ’round here save one LYS whereI just cannot fathom their prices (I understand that they have overhead but yeeouch) nor does the store carry much that I would work with (Germans around here seem to deem knitting to be sock/baby only and screw everything else…oh for some worsted! Or even DK and forget much of anything in a bulky.). There’s another store that does have a wider variety but it’s all manufactured by one company. Now this doesn’t mean they don’t have some nice stuff but making a purchase there requires knowing what you’re after and trying to find the “knock-off” of it there. I’ve had mixed results. To be fair mainly because I am not all that conversant with all the popular yarns having never laid eyes nor hands on most of ‘em.

This is all kind of moot right now though. I’ve a great plenty of yarn to work with. I just have to get to it. Once the holiday knitting is done, then I’ll start de-stashing. Did finally get my sock kit from Angel Yarns (it was on backorder) this morning. Regia Clown. I got a huge kick out of this colourway. I mean, goodness, how bright, cheery and happily obnoxious is this? Just what I want for wearing with my Birks. Pictures will arrive here after I’ve gone downstairs and snagged the camera. Kit came with generic metal DPNs, 2 balls of the Regia and some cute stitch markers. The pattern? HAHAHAHAHA, uh…no. I’ll be going with something out of Ann Budd’s Getting Started Knitting Socks. Which leads to…

A sock quandary. After looking at oodles of actual socks (mine, husband’s, stuff in stores, patterns etc.) I’ve come to the conclusion that whilst I prefer to work short row heels, they aren’t for me. The “fitted” (heel flap) works far better for me. Any other sort goes sliding around my foot in a most annoying manner, efficiently causing blisters. This sucks because I find the “fitted” heels to be crazy-making. But, this is something I will learn and I’m willing to bet that after it finally clicks and makes sense to me, I’ll be saying: Doh! I just wish that moment would hurry up.

I’m still stressing about this Airy Scarf. I do NOT like how it looks right now. I just don’t. I can’t help but feel that I’d like it better a needle size or two smaller. I am totally torn as to whether to just finish it up as the pattern tells me to and hope like hell that blocking renders it something akin to a nice bit of lacy scarf. Right now, I’ve my doubts but then again, I’ve never done lace and I have no earthly clue as to whether what it looks like now is as it should or whether I’m going to be wasting time doing according to pattern. I have gauge so I am assuming it is meant to look this way but yuuuuck.

Nasty cold and damp today. When I was walking The Dawg earlier it was the first time I was really cold. Of course I hadn’t thought to get gloves, hat or scarf since the thermometer fell within a range where I’m usually not at all cold (it’s 45°f) but … the damp. :(  And it’s that time of year where my skin dries out abominably (and how this can happen when it’s constantly damp, I don’t know). Already the cuticles are cracking, all my skin is tight and itchy. This is problematic as most lotions cause me to react badly. The few that don’t aren’t very good to use around knitting. So I can only use ‘em at night before bed.

Ah well, back to work for me. Holidays are looming.

Whilst working on the YH1RS (scarf, Yarn Harlot, one row) which has become a bit on the auto-pilot side (please knitting gods, don’t smite me for that one. I have truly paid my dues on this scarf!) I have been doing a lot of reading over on Ravelry. One particular thread caught my eye “What makes one a real kintter.” Hee! Obviously spelling it right would be a help. I can’t believe I just typo’d “knitter”. I’m going to leave it like that and I think I’ll refer to myself henceforth as a “kintter”.

Anyway…

This is an issue that I’ve been dealing with for awhile now. I often find myself thinking that I need to do this or that before I can consider myself a “real knitter”. Sweater, fitted socks, lace, gloves etc. But…I’m not much interested in any of those except the socks. I am so sick of poorly fitting store-bought socks. So I didn’t really consider myself a “real knitter” until I read that thread.

I was making the mistake of thinking that I had to be proficient in all aspects of knitting in order to be a “real knitter”. I don’t think that’s true anymore. No more so than being able to cook every style or paint in all media. I *could* do all those things (sweater, lace, gloves etc.) if I were inspired to. But I’m not. I don’t generally wear sweaters, not fond of gloves enough to want to arse myself and lace? Well it is beautiful and I can see doing some small bits but an entire lace shawl? Not interested. No one I know would use it and it’s not something that I have a burning desire to take on.

Ah but the things I do do? I have done…lots. And mostly done quite well (perfectionism is a thing with me). I’ve improved greatly since I re-started knitting about a year ago. I can see obvious growth in technique, choice of yarn, pattern choices etc. I still need to learn how to finish far better than I do now. Granted I’m not one for making garments but I do make some things that require seaming and one of my goals for 2008 is a nice big “let’s use up all these bits and pieces of yarn” blanket that I will probably do in mitred squares and they will have to be joined. Meh.

And the fitted sock thing…I’ve let my inner-wuss dictate far too long on this one. I’m going to chug ahead and let come what may and truly learn how to do this. Not just yet, am under the gun with birthdays, christenings and Christmas/Yule coming up but there are the doldrum months of Jan., Feb., and March. I imagine I can get the sock thing down then.

And so, I have discovered that I really am a real knitter (kintter!).

This makes me smile.

Going to have a bit of a rant today. But first, many, many, many thanks to Himself (my husband) who kindly migrated my blog to my domain and without much whinging at all even when I was most unhelpful due to ignorance. He was heroic and didn’t even argue with me when I made noises about not wanting to deal with all the intricacies, even though I might’ve said something along the lines of “Can you make Chateaubriand?” at one point. It was around the time when I was moaning about not liking any of the available templates and why wasn’t the one I used over on my old blog available and waaaah, waaaah, waaah. Then I about killed him with wanting my Flickr feed and then I was whinging about order of stuff on the sidebar. It’s a wonder he didn’t tell me to figure it out myself.

Seriously, he did a wonderful job and I am truly grateful. Now turn off the damn lights!

And now…I shall rant.

Was reading over on Ravelry’s forums and there was quite an active thread about “yarn snobbery”. This is a real hot button for me. Pretty much any snobbery, elitism, etc. gets me going. I’ve been on the receiving end of the attitude that barks “why bother if you’re not going to use ‘good’ yarn?”. Why? Because I can. Because there are times when an acrylic is just the right thing. Case in point, afghans for around here. No way in hell am I going to make an afghan out of nice wool or even a blend because they are hair-balled on, spilled on, cig ends and ashes dropped on etc. Then there’s the whole price aspect. Both of us prefer a nice, big afghan (none of this “lap-robe” business for us) and one that is fairly dense in fabric. Now I’ll grant you wool or a nice wool blend would increase the warm/dense factor but we’re not made of money(I about freaked when I saw a gorgeous, luscious, gimmegimmegimme afghan made out of Kureyon. I mean holy shit! I wish I had that kind of money.) Himself likes an afghan that’s about 6.5′x 5′. Do the math. This is even more a consideration in that I generally crochet afghans rather than knit (the idea being to get the thing done before I’m too senile to enjoy it) with the exception of baby afghans. Those I knit. Of course that means more yarn gets used.

So I’ll say it straight up, I miss being able to go into a Michael’s, KMart or the like and grab a cartload of acrylic and churn out an afghan. Sue me. I am especially cranky about the lack of “decent” (for the purpose) acrylic here in Germany. I’ve had little luck finding much that would correspond with, say Red Heart or Caron offerings in any quantity. I generally find it in grocery stores once or twice a year and then in quantities that do not lend themselves to crochet afghanage (it is too a word!). Only source I’ve found is mail order and I’m still not happy with it as it’s not worsted weight. It’s a bit less bulky than I liked for my default afghanage. The 2 LYSes around here don’t deal in acrylic much (maybe the odd bit here and there but always in 50g amounts for about $4.00 per). They tend toward the stuff that makes me want to sell Himself and anything else salable to buy mass quantities. Too…my “style” is so…utilitarian that it just doesn’t make sense to use much of what is on offer at the LYSes. Plus, at least in this part of Germany, apparently only two things get knit…socks and baby items. Good luck finding anything above 2 on the Standard Yarn Weight system. Occasionally a 3 but that’s generally…acrylic or “fun” yarn.

Sure, I’d love to be able to use any of the wicked nice yarns out there for huge projects but it’s just not going to happen. Too, I make bankies for the critters at the local Tierheim (animal shelter). They are a no-kill shelter and generally have about 90 critters that could use bankies. Uh huh. I’m gonna be using wool/wool-blends for that. Riiiight. Never mind care issues. They need to be able to wash these bankies at high temps and cram them into a dryer.

Another argument I see against acrylics…the environment. Give me a bleedin’ break. Usually this is said by someone with a HUGE SUV parked out front and someone who wouldn’t dream of re-using a water bottle and always has a fresh one to hand and has a designer leather handbag. That sort. Seriously, that’s the sort I’ve always run afoul of when being snobbed at. It would be funny if it weren’t so annoying. We buy one tank of gas every 2 to 2.5 MONTHS. We recycle (okay, we’re forced to so I can’t really take the high road here) and try to not munge up the environment whenever it’s feasible.  I pick up trash as I see it on my daily walks and bring it home to recycle. So, I think I can be excused for using acrylic occasionally. Hell, if we’re going to be concerned about ecology, how about all of us who use wood needles? Especially the really nice wood needles? Or those who use plastic needles/hooks? Goodness me but those plastic hooks/needles are made of…petroleum. Even those wonderful Denise Circs.

I have problems with knitting with wool as I’ve got very dry skin to begin with and wool just sucks out any moisture that might be there. Limited lotions that can be used without messing up the wool so after a long knitting session, I’m kind of crunchy-skinned. Too, a lot of folks don’t get on with wool (I’m not a fan of pure wool, too itchy). Himself refuses to consider anything that is wool and, yes, he can actually tell straight away if something is wool. Kureyon is the worst for me. Gawd, that stuff is so rough when being knit with. Now I do like a nice blend of wool and silk or soy or bamboo (I love bamboo yarns).

I guess my point is that there is a yarn for every purpose and there’s a reason for that. I wouldn’t make a sweater (shaaa, like I could anyway) out of acrylic simply because it wouldn’t be suitable for me to wear (or Himself). Hats? Oh yeah. Scarves? Yup. Afghans? You damn betcha. For gifts or special items that don’t require a lot of yarn, I love to go with really nice yarn. But there is a budget and I must knit.

So, those of you who have your snouts in the air muttering “why bother if you’re not going to use ‘good’ yarn?” mind that you don’t drown in a rain.

Got my invitation to Ravelry tonight and there went the evening. Been wallowing around over there and it’s looking grand. Lots of the known goddesses of knitting over there (and Gods too) and I think I am dehydrated from all the drooling I’ve been doing. I now have an embarassingly huge queue of projects I want to do and I haven’t even been through all the patterns (something like 64k of ‘em).

The site is going to be a major boon and success, that is obvious. The system they have set up is easy to use, ties in with Flickr and will make a lovely place to “journal” all my work. I think they have done a splendid job and they’re not even done yet.

Took some more pictures with the “good” camera so that I could attach them to my WIPs over there (the Airy for Oma and the scarf that is going to make me crazy even though it’s so simple). I’m chicken to start looking at the yarns because I’ll cave in and buy. I just know it. And this month is not a good month to be buying any more yarn or knitting related stuff. I’ve plenty, anything else would just be greed.

I hate bein’ rational.

Ravelry is a great resource. I’m thrilled to be in there and looking forward to what comes from being there. All those real knitters!

For the record? 93 things in queue.

Err, me.

Been knitting for about a year now. I enjoy it greatly. Even when I hate it. I’ve been thinking about it a lot as time goes past. What do I want to do with my knitting? Do I want to be a sweater maker? Churn out lace? Do complex patterns? Design?

I’m not sure. Worse, I’m conflicted. I see works all over the ‘Net by folks who completely blow me away with their talent. In all cases I appreciate the work but in a strangely large percentage, I don’t care for it. I’ve been trying to pinpoint why. Is it a subconscious thing where I decide I don’t like it because I don’t think I could ever do it and am, therefore, jealous? That might be part of it but then, it is really a matter of two stitches done in different orders and ways. I suppose that I could. If I wanted to and usually, I don’t.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m an old fart and prefer…”classic”. Or stodgy. Or anything that is definitely “not hip” (for example, I just don’t “get” some of the amazingly clever and talented stuff I see on, say, Craftster. ). Me? I love a beautifully executed scarf. Or a simple, classic sweater (although I do admit that Aran sweaters cause me to get all tingly but then, I’d call them “classic”.). An afghan one can burrow into for years? That’s my idea of “worthy”.

I was saying that I didn’t like anything that wasn’t “useful” but I realised that’s so subjective that it just doesn’t cover what I feel. To me a lacey scarf or shawl is about as “useless” as it gets and that is ONLY because of how I live and who I am. Lace and I are not acquainted nor will we likely ever be. It’s just not “me”.  When I see things like this from the Yarn Harlot I absolutely think it’s gorgeous. But not something I would ever, ever use. If I took the time to make that it’d sit, carefully wrapped, somewhere forever or until I found someone else who would use it and I don’t know of anyone else who would. To me a shawl should be something to keep you warm on a winter’s evening whilst…knitting! Or to toss on when you run out to the mailbox or to let the dog out. Not something so gossamery (probably not a word, but meh) or lovely that I’d have to have hysterics if someone even came near me whilst wearing it.

I’m a simple person who can admire (deeply) the works of those for whom the delicacy and beauty of intricate patterns, yarns and designs is a goal. But for what I want in my life, coming from my needles? Sturdy, down-to-earth, practical.

And I can always see the beauty others create whilst I am snug in my stodgy, practical stuff.
Knit on, folks, there’s beauty in all of it!

Sometimes I just want to knit and not have to think about what I’m doing. Works nicely when I want to read or surf the ‘Net. Usually works out just fine…a scarf or a pair of booties or a hat etc.

I had seen Yarn Harlot’s One Row Scarf (gorgeous yarn she had) and wanted one. So I got my Twilley’s Freedom Spirit and cast on. This was the scarf I set on fire. So I’ve started over. And I keep messing it up. How in the hell does one mess up K2, Kthruback, purl 1 repeat?

I manage. I’ve had to tink several times since starting over. It’s embarassing! I was getting angry until I saw the humour. I don’t think this scarf wants to be knit. Is it the yarn? Seems perfectly fine to me. I like it rather well. Needles? John Rivers commuters of which I am inordinately fond (I like short needles). Don’t know. Whatever it is, this simple scarf has become symbolic of my refusal to give up.

I expect that before this is done (and it was almost done before I lit the damn thing on fire) I shall have had several more arguments with it.

Sometimes I wonder what knitting is trying to tell me. I suspect this item is screaming something at me and I’m just too thick to get it. We’ll see.

Bit the bullet and started the Oma Scarf which is actually the “Airy Scarf” from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I went with exactly as recommended in the pattern (e.g. Rowan Kidsilk Haze and 6mm needles, in this case Lantern Moons, more about which later).

It looks like a hamster exploded at this point…

…but I am assured that is normal. Gawd, I hope so. This is a crappy shot, I know but I was too lazy to go downstairs and get the Canon. This is courtesy of GnomeCam (cell phone).

What I’ve learned so far:

1. Lantern Moons whilst lovely, marvelous, a sight to behold, are not the best for this work. Points are too blunt for this fine a yarn. This, of course,  could be rectified by getting a sharper needle but I am not sure where I’d find ‘em ’round here. And Addi Turbo lace needles don’t seem to come any larger than 4mm whereas this calls for 6mm. Wah. So I shall soldier on and unless this still looks like an exploded hamster after blocking (of course I’ve no idea how to block lace but hey, that bridge’ll get crossed when I come to it). Then I will be more arsed to find, pointier needles. Enough of the Rowan to, supposedly, do two of these scarves.

2. The Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Ye gods and little fishes. I’m bleedin’ knittin’ with sewing thread here. I am enchanted, though, with this yarn. I sat here tossing a strand up in the air and watching it float down to the desk (yeah, yeah, easily amused). And it feels lovely. My eyeballs are crossed using this stuff (probably and indication that I need a new prescription for my glasses) and I’m doing this mainly by feel. Dangerous since I’m a complete novice here.

3. My instincts are telling me to go down one or two sizes in the needle. Or maybe it’s my “clenched” tendency. I have a strong preference for a firm fabric. Not strangulated, mind you, just firm. So why am I doing lace? Because my Oma is special and deserves it. Still, I may do another 2 of these (they aren’t very time consuming) one of which will be done on a 5mm and one on a 4mm, adjusting for gauge changes. How someone manages to do an entire shawl in lace? I dunno but major kudos to them. I don’t think this is my thing.

Will replace this picture with a better one when I arse myself to get the Canon and will update when fist one is finished.

Apparently due to using the word “Hell” 3 times and “Queer” once.

Goodness.

Check yours here.

Today I reached a new point in my knitting journey. I set knitting on fire.

I smoke (yeah, yeah, epitome of evil…but it’s my last bad habit. All the others are gone.)

Well here in the EU cigarettes are incredibly expensive. A pack of 17 is 4€ (approx. $5.80) so we make our own using a machine thingie that you put the tobacco in and then stick a tube of paper with the filter on into the machine and out comes something that resembles a cig if you’re enough of an addict (raises hand) to accept such as a cig. Problem is that sometimes they aren’t exactly packed right and you can have a bit of a disaster with falling bits of burning material. Usually this does not occur until you get to the filter end but, today, that all changed.

I was 3/4 of the way done with my Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf and I had been checking it for goodness (okay, I was petting it) and I set it down on my desk in front of the keyboard whilst I continued my fondling jag with some Rowan Felted Tweed in the bin nearby the desk. Before I got up from the desk, I put my cig in the ashtray to the left of my desk, thus passing it over the knitting. Apparently, some burning bits descended. Upon my knitting. Upon my beautiful Twilley’s knitting.

I smelled a sheep on fire. Didn’t register at first and then. OMG! There it was, a nice, smouldery hold in the middle of the scarf.

I’m sure the neighbours heard what came out of my mouth next as I was bashing away at the scarf trying to put the smouldery bits out. The Dawg came running because he finds it interesting when The Mama starts yowling and jumping up and down.

The damage? A honking big circle of burnt bits right in the middle of the scarf. I had no idea how to fix this so…ripped back to the first third of it and removed the nastiness.

No pictures because I didn’t have the wit to take any.

I will cry, later, in the privacy of my bedroom.

And then I will thoroughly kick my own ass.

Although I think I’ll be waaaay outclassed there, I’ve been waiting patiently (well mostly) for my invite to show up. Looks like it might be happening soon. I found the following when I checked today…

patiently awaiting your invite?

If you’ve added your name to the invite request list on our front page then you can use this form to check your place in line.

Found you!

• You signed up on October 5, 2007
• You are #39944 on the list.
• 567 people are ahead of you in line.
• 12276 people are behind you in line.
• 67% of the list has been invited so far

When I started I was like a brazillion * and now? Down to 567. So, soon!

Knitting continues today as I’m not up for much more. Something has invaded my digestive track and I’m a bit wobbly. Wobbly enough where Himself took pity and did my first-of-the-day walk of The Dawg.

Also received shipment from the folks at Kangaroo Yarn. Rowan Felted Tweed and Rowan Scottish Tweed DK plus two more sets of John Rivers commuter needles (6mm and 7mm ). I love those needles for scarves and other small bits. Pictures when I get the ambition to set up the shots.

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* For the “brazillion” to make any sense, this helps:

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing.

He concludes by saying: “Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed.”

“OH NO!” the President exclaims. “That’s terrible!”

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, “How many is a brazillion?”

Tired, been busy! Went out today to do some marketing and forgot that it was the opening of the new mall in Markdorf (ugly thing that it is). It’s not quite done but it was done enough I guess to be opened. Place was a freakin’ zoo. Only reason we went in was to check out the “Outdoor” store (Himself is still in the market for another winter jacket). They had some nice stuff. Actually had a jacket I’d consider wearing but both of us wanted to get the hell out of there. It was wall-to-wall people. Seriously. Not sure where they all came from but they sure were there. And hey! Markdorf obviously needed more shoe stores. I think there were at least 2 of ‘em in that mall, maybe three. Mall also has a shortage of bookstore, yarn store and computer store. So, meh. Did take a couple shots of the hideously ugly building which has ruined the ambiance of Markdorf.

Ugly not-finished building. Was a beautiful day though. This place just jars me every time I see it. Markdorf is such a pretty town with some beautiful old buildings. Then they did this. It seems to me they could’ve echoed the architecture of the town, at least the lines but they had to go and put what looks to me like the ass end (stern) of a ship. Inside is all manner of bright, shiny surfaces with lights glaring on everything. They did manage to get the escalators set up “correctly”. I’ve noticed that many escalators down here have the “up” side on the left side which is contrary to what I was used to. They did it with “up” on the right side in this mall.

Side entrance (from Edeka parking lot) with shoe store (how unusual…not) windows. The stair going up to that entrance are not quite done and easily tripped on. I discovered this for myself. Looks like the building also has offices and maybe apartments, not sure on the latter. What kills me is that there is a section of Markdorf off to the east where there are quite a few tech companies who have already set the tone for modern architecture. That is where they should’ve built this. It’s convenient, lots more space for parking and wouldn’t have mucked up old Markdorf.

I shall now attempt to get over it.

A storefront just around the corner from us which has been the home of several small businesses, none lasting very long saw the opening of a pet store. Very convenient for us! Looks like they have a decent stock of fancy food for cats and dog. A somewhat mediocre stock of toys and leash/collars and treats. Nice cat trees and beds though. So we got a couple small bags of fancy stuff (dog and cat) and a new scratching post for the DemonCats. I shall introduce them to it this evening.

Got my shipment from GetKnitted (speedy as usual!) which contained my Rowan KidSilk Haze, Lantern Moon needles (oh my, they are lovely) and a sock kit. Pictures when I take ‘em tomorrow and natterings about the stuff. I had gotten the laceweight yarn for Oma’s birthday present. Going to make her a Airy Scarf (Google for a large selection of shots of others’ FOs) from Last Minute Knitted Gifts which I think would make a nice, quick (oh, optimistic me!) gift for her. Dainty, something she could use to dress up a dress a bit for Church. I’ve never done lace before so I decided to go with the recommended Rowan yarn and I splurged a bit on the Lantern Moon needles. I started it and completely lost my mind due to interruptions and had to rip back and re-start. So now I’ve got about 4 inches of it done. It looks like a hamster exploded just now but even I know that blocking will help that. More on that tomorrow.

Got another couple inches done on the Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf and declare it about half done. I like it. It is simple, elegant and the yarn (Twilley’s Freedom Spirit) is very nice. I might just keep this one for me! Not a scarf fan but this might just change my mind. If not, I’ll order a bit more and make a neckwarmer/cowl from it.

Been searching for a quick pattern (crochet or knit) for some slippers. I’d like something to stick on in the house when I’m up here in the office in the evenings. Been rummaging, haven’t found anything that screams “DO THIS” yet but haven’t been looking long. Maybe something for Himself too, he gets so cold easily.

Oh well…need to write a letter, get something hot to drink and try to make it an early night. Could do with a bit of extra sleep.