The hands of...

Way back when I got a couple of skeins of Manos del Uruguay 100% wool. I made a hat for a good friend and a scarf for my brothers girlfriend, but forgot about the other three skeins in my stash.A blue/green, red and red/yellow/green skein marinated in my stash for a while untill last sunday when I got the idea of making my co-worker a hat. So I got knitting. Gauge? Dude, I don't do gauge... Needles to say that this hat is too small for a normal grown up - my head's pretty small and it's pretty tight on me.

So I'm making another one with more stitches (88 instead of 72) and in a different colorway. I just love working with this yarn so it doesn't feel like punishment at all. And this one? I might just keep it or give it to a child.

Note to self: don't buy any new manos till you've used it all up....

In other knitting news, I frogged one sock in progress because it was going to be too big even for a man with size 12 feet so I'll have to think about this yarn. I did cast-on another pair for another man with big feet. I grabbed the Noro Kureyon from the basket and got started. Not sure how I like it... but I'll get to that topic next time.

The Plan

You know the feeling of having January around the corner and feeling that changes should be made and will be eventually. I'm going through the stash and I find lots of treasures there. Yarns that yearn to be put into something nice. Projects that have been in hibernation since... I don't know when. Old stash. New stash. I have enough lying around to keep me busy and to keep the house and my family warm until Christmas 2098.

I present to you: The basket for 2009




In order of appearance (upper left to bottom right);

Phildar Hobby, Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch, Fortissima Socka, Trekking, Noro, Lang Jawoll, Fleece Artist, Dream in Color Smooshy, Aracunaio (?), Tiny Toes, All things Heather and Sunshine Yarns

These skeins WILL be turned into socks by the end of 2009 (or else!).

Thereby, there are 6 pairs of socks in my WIP/hybernation pile and they need to go. Not sure if I'll frog one or more - fast sollution - or finish them, but I want to end 2009 with no more than two socks in progress - maybe three :)These projects have been in progress for a bit too long:



Check out my ravelry page for more info, but I'm sure you'll hear more about these socks.

Winter

The nights have grown to their longest time, the days can not get shorter... The perfect time for dark thoughts... the worst time to break up. Yet I did. Right before Christmas my mind decided it was made up and needed to spill some guts on my relationship with hubby. We broke up.

(a litte piece of Christmas spirit to distract feeling sorry for me. I made a mess and I will fix it)


Since there hasn't been a real fight or anything, we're still living together in our house till I've found a way to be able to pay for it myself. Fortunately, my parents will do their best to help me and I might just be able to afford it all.

Meanwhile, knitting to keep me sane:



Socks for my dad. Trekking XXL in a mossy shade from my stash pile. 2.25mm needles, my favourite size it seems and I've been knitting with a lot of tension lately. 68stitches. One is finished and fits like a glove. The other one will follow soon.

So many projects, so little time...

Yes, I still knit socks. Lately it seems I've been taken by the 'hat-and-scarf' virus, but there are still a couple of socks on the needles. This one left my Addi 2.25mm needles lately:



Yarn: Opal Rodeo
Pattern: Plain, simple, 72stitches for a reasonable man's foot.

These socks are for the man that revised a 'new' engine for my 1953 Morris Minor - the new engine is origionally from a 1956 Austin A35.

Love this hat. I made it for one of my dear friends who asked for a hat for his birthday. Casted on during a show by Slayer, it was a fast and easy knit. Used just a little over one skein so I might make another hat for me with the yarn left.

Noro Silk Garden 270; 4,5 mm needles; this pattern

Berlin and sleep well, Kiri!

It's been a while - haven't had any time to blog at all - but about the holidya... Berlin Berlin.. The verdict is out. Loved the (yarn)stores there, but the city was just not my cup of tea. I missed a warm heard. I missed the cozyness ('gezelligheid') of cities like Amsterdam and London. I even had a hard time finding nice places to eat or sit and have coffee. Anyway, I did have a really nice time knitting in the car on the way to and from Berlin (7 hours) and allmost finished two shawls. Just needed to cast them off... And between now and then, I did. Kiri is, unphotographed still, done and worn on several occasions - including a wedding. I've received lots of compliments and well, I'm quite proud of my little Kiri.

Now, about the Berlin Yarn...

The first store I went to was La Laine, located near the Kürfurstendam.



Here I got these two skeins of silk garden. Think I'll make a hat out of them.

I also found some nice sockyarn:


Then I went to Handmade Berlin. A shop that had just openend and carried a really nice variety of yarns. Go visit them, they have great stuff! Very expensive cashmere, Fleece artist, Debby Bliss .... I had to restrain and 'only' got these beauties:



Two skeins of each of the "fleur de lis" colors. I've never heard about the brand before and the label is not quite specefic. No yardage, just that it's a nylon-mohair blend. Really nice blue and green, though. Then some milk-based yarn. Feels like cotton, but made out of milk fiber. And, last but not least... Two skeins of Blue Skye Alpaca silk.... The best stuff I've ever felt.

Well, I have tons more to tell, but no more time so I'm wrapping it up for now :)