Surfaced

This is my new home.

Hello everyone,

Yes, it's been a while since my last post... again. Lots of things have been going on chez d.knit, like the search for the perfect new full-time job and working two other jobs at the same time, then I had an operation on my tailbone (don't worry, it was nothing serious, it just needed to be done and I'm almost back to normal again), lots of thinking about the future, and other stuff. There was knitting, too, but so far I didn't feel like taking pictures. Just like I didn't feel like blogging over the past months, but I think (hope) both is going to change soon. Oh, and I still haven't heard back from my ravelry yarn-exchange partner. Seems like my first thought about her wasn't so wrong at all.

Anyways, right now I'm working on knee stockings for K, originally intended for the Oktoberfest which starts this Saturday. I promised him last year I would make traditional stockings for him, but I started them too late this year so he probably will have to put on normal socks when he goes.

Gotta go... I promise pictures soon!

Update to last post

Knitter #1 messaged me today, explaining why I hadn't heard from her in a while. Apparently, she was snowed under with work and other stuff. Seems like I jumped to a conclusion a little too early.

Ravelry = Schmavelry?

I'm a bit upset right now, and it's all Ravelry's fault. Well, not really Ravelry's fault, but it's sort of the cause for my anger. I had some yarn in the "trade/sell" section of my stash, and was contacted by another knitter who was interested in that particular yarn. I agreed to swap the yarn because I thought this would be easier than selling. Just before we exchanged postal addresses, another knitter wrote to me, willing to buy the very same yarn. But as I had promised it to the first knitter, I had to say no.

Anyways, knitter #1 and I exchanged addresses, and she said she'd mail the yarn she wanted to swap with me in the next couple of days. I myself, on the other hand, didn't get to mail the yarn she wanted only before Easter (even though I hadn't received anything in return yet). Because I had mailed a few things before that did not arrive at the addressee, I decided to go with a registered letter. The mail person gave me a receipt with a tracking number, so I could check where letter was. So, that's how I know that the yarn landed at the address I was given. However, I haven't heard a thing from knitter #1 since. Not even after I messaged her to ask if she had received the yarn she had wanted to swap. (Needless to say that my letter box remains pretty empty - no yarn)

I guess it's quite logic that I'm pretty pissed off right now. So far, I learned that knitters and the knitting community are very nice and generous; but now, knitters rip off other knitters. I'm not sure if I'm more upset or more disappointed.

Published

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a journalist from a women's magazine, asking if I'd like to make an interview with her. The topic was hobbies in general and why it's important to have a hobby. The article would also feature a couple of women and their "unusual" hobbies, like playing bagpipes, flying a small plane or fly-fishing. Or knitting.

I didn't jump at this interview right away because I was a bit skeptical. A camera team from a big TV station came to our knitting group once, and I didn't like what they made out of the material they got (let alone they cut out my part) because they pretty much let hand knitters look like freaks. So, I inquired about the article's content before I said yes. The journalist, however, seemed like a really nice person and I liked the idea she had in mind for the article, so I did it. And it was fun! We did the interview part on the phone, and then there was even a photo shoot! That one was really interesting - we went to a museum, but they would only let us take photos in the cafeteria after they learned that we brought knitting needles. Like I would have run wild in the museum and attacked the exhibits with 2mm bamboo needles... yeah, right.
The photographer had brought a machine-knit scarf in signal-red and 5 meters (that's about 5.5 yards!) in length, and I was "knitting" on it. There's a photo on the magazine's website, and whoever speaks German can have a look at the June-issue of "healthy living" on page 124. Have fun reading!

Holiday... celebrate...

Warning: picture-heavy post ahead, the photos might take a while to load!

The vacation was perfect. It was the first time in 2.5 years that I got to get away from home and relax (going to my parents' place for a weekend - while it's nice - doesn't really count). I got to breathe through, leave everything behind me and relax. We actually stayed all the time - 3 weeks - in Melbourne, despite having planned on going to Byron Bay for a couple of days. But in the end we scraped that, as there were too many friends to catch up with and too much to see; and we really didn't want a completely planned out holiday where we had to stick to a schedule.

We had to leave Munich early in the morning, the plane left at 7am so we got a taxi at 4.15am. On the way to the airport, I turned on my mobile phone and received a message that our flight to London (our route was London-Hong Kong-Melbourne) had been cancelled and that I should either go online or call the service number. Okay, online I couldn't do, and I knew that calling the service number wouldn't help because no one was working there until 8am. So we went to the airline's service counter at the airport and waited there with a bunch of soccer fans - Bayern Munich had played Aberdeen FC the night before, and Aberdeen had lost. Many of the fans seemed to have stayed the night at the airport, and now they were told that their flight was cancelled... you can imagine how pissed off they were. Fortunately, an airline employee found a batch of like 30 seats on a different plane for them, so most of them left and the line got visibly shorter. Then, however, travelers to the US got taken care of first (apparently, it didn't matter much to the airline that we had a plane to catch as well), so we had to wait in line until we got to the counter. They ended up putting us on a plane to Cologne, and then from Cologne to London, cutting our stay in London just about 1 hour short (we should have had 4 hours, so it wasn't too bad).

Sunrise_on_a_plane, originally uploaded by d.knit.

I took this picture on the flight to Cologne because the sight was so beautiful... it really marks the start of our holiday!! Then in Cologne we had to rush because we had to get our boarding passes and only about 1 hour time. The lady at the airline counter was really sweet to us, and while we waited we saw 2 TV-celebrities (we only waited about 20 minutes)! This can only happen in Cologne as quite a few TV channels are headquartered here. Then, after security (the guy there even made me take off my hooded cardigan! I was about to ask him if he wanted me to take off more of my clothes), off we went to London Heathrow and caught our plane to Melbourne without any problems. Even our luggage arrived in Melbourne with us, I was really happy about that because I feared that our stuff would get lost somewhere in transit.

And before you might wonder, no, I did not knit on the various flights; I didn't even pack any knitting! Now stop looking at me like this, I knew I wasn't allowed to take knitting needles on board and I didn't feel like trying to bring wooden needles. Plus I knew that I probably wouldn't feel like knitting because the flight was so long (about 12 hours to Hong Kong, 2 hours at the airport there, then about 8 hours to Melbourne), and I was right about it. After about 2 hours on the way to Melbourne I just wanted to get off the plane and lie in a real bed. So, no knitting on the plane, and no knitting for me in 3 weeks. To be honest, I didn't even miss it. But then again, we were so busy and hardly stayed a night in; over here, I usually knit in front of the TV (which I didn't watch in Melbourne). And I only went to a yarn shop once, but only because K took the initiative and made me go. It was the same shop he took me to when I lived with him 5 years ago, so it was kind of a nostalgic visit.

It was so good to be back in Melbourne! I hadn't been back in 4.5 years, and it was a bit weird because it felt so normal. So... right, like I was meant to be back. Anyways, even though we were there for 3 weeks, time was too short to see everything we wanted to, but we did get to see lots of new places. I noticed a lot of graffiti (like the one below), probably because there's hardly any in Munich.

StKildaGraffiti, originally uploaded by d.knit.

The graffiti is in a side street in St. Kilda, an inner city suburb of Melbourne at the beach. Not too far from the graffiti is Luna Park, an amusement park with roller coasters and stuff. The entrance is just beautiful:

LunaPark2, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Right next to Luna Park is the Palais Theatre, (sorry, no link!) a very beautiful building but I think it's empty now after the neighboring Palace nightclub burned down just a few years ago. I hope they renovate the place and reopen it, it's just a very nice place.

PalaisTheatre, originally uploaded by d.knit.

And finally, a photo with knitting content! It's a close up of the cardigan I've been making all fall and winter, and it won't be finished until spring is in full bloom. Talk about perfect timing... I really like the pattern and the yarn (100% alpaca...), but I'm starting to hate the cardigan. I had to rip the first sleeve to the cuff because all of a sudden, the tension wasn't right any more and the sleeve would have fit an orang-utan; I made a mistake with the cabling of the second front-half, so I had to rip most of that too; I didn't get the waist shaping right of the first front-half and some of the back, so I had to rip some there as well. I'm now knitting the second sleeve, and I can't wait when I'm done with that! Hopefully without ripping it. Then, there's "just" the button band left and sewing it together and all that stuff. And hopefully, it'll fit after all that!

GlamCardiganPattern, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Coming up soon: more vacation photos, and a stash sale including a couple of books! My stash is just too big for my apartment and I have quite a few mispurchases that I'd like to get rid of. There's nothing wrong with those yarns, I just don't like them any more or wouldn't knit with them... you know how it goes, sometimes you just have to have a certain yarn, then it sits in your stash and when you look at it again it's suddenly not as nice any more. So, stay tuned for more!

Can't wait! - Update

Oh my God, the vacation is only 9 more days away! And my graduation is this Friday. My parents are coming to town for that, they'll be here for the whole weekend. My sister is coming with her family as well, but not for my graduation or for visiting me, actually. We might catch up for a coffee though, I really want to meet my new nephew! He was born on New Year's Eve but I haven't met him yet. My exams were in the way, and afterwards I just wanted to sit back and relax. I took up knitting again (even knitting was too exhausting during exam time!) after reading "The Friday Night Knitting Club", but so far I was too exhausted/lazy to look for my camera software, so I didn't bother taking pictures. Plus, I had to knit, frog and re-knit quite a few times, so it wouldn't have been too interesting anyway.

Anyways, as I'm going to Melbourne soon, I was wondering if there are any yarn shops in the area that you think I just HAVE to visit... let me know! When I lived in Melbourne I used to go to a shop near Tooronga Station (because I could just get off at that stop on my way back to Glen Waverley), I think the shop was called Wondoflex. Is it still worth a visit?
Off to bed now... I'm almost falling asleep while I'm typing this... Good night!

Yehaw!

I passed all my oral exams at uni! That means that I now have my degree, Magister Artium (pretty much the same as Master of Arts), and that I never have to go back to University! And now I'm looking forward to a real free weekend.

Thanks to everybody who had their fingers crossed for me! Your support meant a lot to me.

My condolences...

... go out to Heath Ledger's family and friends.

Heath, you were too young to die. You will be greatly missed.

Braaaaains...

Your Brain is Purple

Of all the brain types, yours is the most idealistic. You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense. Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Going...

to a land Down Under! The tickets are booked for the last week of Feb until mid-March. Yay! I had wanted to take a picture of the tickets and post it here, but the tickets are E-tickets and the travel agent is going to mail them three weeks before we go. Plus, the camera software is still not taken care of on K's computer, so you have to be patient with me.
Today it turned out that my laptop's hard drive is pretty much bu**ered and that I have probably lost all data of the past 4 years. I knew that I would have to buy a new computer, but to lose all that data... I hope I can find a solution to recover at least some of it.

I hope to post again soon, but right now I'm burried in books (again).

I like coffee!

I'm in Knitters' Coffeeswap Three (sorry, sign ups are closed!), and I'm answering some swap questions for my pal to be. So, here they are:

1. Whole bean or ground?
Whole bean! I have a grinder at home. And it should be espresso beans, I only have a little espresso machine (like the ones in this photo)

2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Even if I drink my milk with a little espresso inside, only fully-loaded is the real deal.

3. Regular or flavored?
Regular.

4. How do you drink your coffee?
I usually drink a very milky coffee, like a latté.

5. Favorite coffee ever?
Latté macchiato! (That's like a latté for those outside Germany)

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
I'm not very fussy. As long as it's good beans. ;-)

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Sometimes I put syrup in the coffee, like caramel or chocolate. Any kind of cookie is good, too!

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
I like my coffee hot... but that's not really something my pal could influence.

9. Yarn/fiber you love?
Anything that feels nice!

10. Yarn/fiber you hate?
Acrylic and any other yarn that feels cheap. (Sorry, I'm somewhat of a yarn snob!)

11. What's on your needles?
An alpaca cardigan for myself, and I'm just finishing a baby hat and a sweater for my boyfriend.

12. Favorite colors?
Oh... this is a though one. I love bright colors (as opposed to muddy colors)... maybe it's best if you check out my pictures on Flickr (there's a link in the sidebar).

13. Allergies?
No yarn or food related allergies.

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
'Nuff said!


I'm still working on the computer/posting-pictures problem... I hope to find a solution soon!

Getting there...

Finally, the finish line is getting closer: I handed in my thesis yesterday!

Now, there's "only" a 4-hour written exam in early December and 3 oral exams some time in January. But then I'm finished for good, have a full-time job (most likely) waiting for me and I'll be going on holiday to Melbourne (the one in Australia) in late Feb! Which will be my first holiday in 2.5 years by then... so I'm really going to need it!

Who needs a life if there are movies?

I stole this list over at s-knitting's... seems like I don't have a life!

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up.Have fun!

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
( ) AirplaneTotal: 7
( ) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 9

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 15

(x) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 18

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 23

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
( ) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 25

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 28

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x)Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 31

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 35

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 37

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 42

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
( ) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 48

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 57

(x) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 60

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 66

(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 70

(x) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
( ) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 75

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 78

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 82

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 88

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
Total: 94

No news is good news...

...or so they say. My foot, or my feet and knees as I should rather say, are indeed getting better. My physiotherapist is very happy with and surprised by the progress I've made so far. Thanks for all your comments and well-wishes!

In knitting news, I (finally!) finished the Sockapaloooza socks for my pal. Now all I have left to do is weave in the ends, give the socks a wash and get some goodies for my pal as apology for the socks being late. I did start something new in between though... I saw a gorgeous cardigan in a German knitting magazine, and I just had to cast on! It's the same incredibly soft alpaca yarn as the K_sweater (ahem... the K_sweater is sitting on top of a box, waiting to be put together... but the turtle neck is too tight, so I'll have to reknit it), so knitting it will be a joy! And I will have to squeeze in some baby knitting, so many people I know are having babies this year and next year. Something must have been in the air somewhere...

I'm writing this post on K's laptop today because the screen of my own laptop died last week. Fortunately, my thesis is saved on a usb-stick, but the past 4 years of my life in files are on this laptop. This means I don't know when I'll be posting my next pictures, as the camera software is - you guessed it - on the other computer where I normally saved my photos. All of them. So I'll have to do some sweet-talking to K to let me install the software on his laptop and save my photos here...
Now, back to work. The deadline is approaching waaaay too fast!

Hello again

I didn't blog for quite a while, even missing my blogiversary. What should I say, life has got in between me and my blog, and honestly, after this post I don't know when the next post will follow. I feel I just can't do it right now. I'm still knitting, reading blogs, following the knitting scene, just not blogging. Some of the reasons for this I don't feel like talking about, and another major reason was that I was sick the past weeks. Basically from the end of June onwards.

One day my right heel started to hurt, just like a sore muscle. Two days later, the pain got stronger, and my ankle was swollen - so much that I could not see the ankle bones any more. Well, off to the doctor I went, and I was diagnosed with Achilles tendinitis. Ouch! Anyone who ever had this knows it is tedious and painful... and I learned that I'm not as patient as I thought I was.

Well, about a week or two into the tendinitis, my left heel started off like the right one. Only this time I went to the doctor straight away. Diagnosis: Achilles tendinitis. Fortunately, not as bad as the other one. Soon after this though, my left knee started hurting when I bent it (like you do when getting up from a chair, or sitting down, or when walking stairs - I live on the third floor (fourth floor for my American readers) without an elevator), followed by the right one. The good thing with my knees was that nothing major was affected. The bad thing: due to my tendinitis, I was moving my body differently which caused my knee pain - the knees were overexcited. I was, too. Especially as other joints like my shoulders, elbows and wrists, even one of my thumbs, were giving me trouble, too. On top of that, I couldn't walk a) fast and b) far. I pretty much spent July in the streets around my house, walking to the doctor was the furthest I'd go. I didn't work much either because of the pain I was in: sometimes, I'd wake in the middle of the night because my ankle or knee hurt so much. Getting up in the mornings wasn't much better either, because apparently what's typical for a tendinitis is that it hurts most in the morning and in the evening. Yay me. (And I didn't even tell you about the edema in my feet... they made my feet look like I weighed 200 kilos. Fortunately, the edema are gone, but now the skin is very stressed and wrinkly.)

So, why did I get an Achilles tendinitis in the first place, you might ask? Well, I don't do much sports, especially not lately. I didn't twist my ankle, I didn't wear shoes that were too tight for the Achilles tendon, I didn't suddenly do workout, nothing like that. In fact, I didn't do anything exceptional. Turns out that my pelvis is lopsided, or something like that (I have to ask my physiotherapist again, I didn't quite understand it yet), and it probably was for a long time, eventually causing all this crap. And while I'm better now (though still not back to normal, not even close), it's going to take me quite a while until it's going to be good. I reckon another few months until I can seriously think about starting to work out. Until then... wish me luck!

Guess what arrived..?

sock parcel, originally uploaded by d.knit.

My sock pal's parcel! Ruth did an amazing job:

sockpal_sock, originally uploaded by d.knit.

The pattern is called Dublin Bay, the yarn is Lorna's Laces Uptown, colorway No mods. The fit is just perfect! The picture doesn't do the color justice though, but I couldn't make a better one. Modeling socks is kinda hard right now, with all the tendinitis stuff going on... makes the feet pretty immobile.

Ruth didn't stop here though. She sent me this gorgeous yarn:

LL Swirl DK, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Lorna's Laces Swirl DK in Argyle. Swirl DK is 85% merino and 15% silk. Lucky me!

knit xmas ornament, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Then, Ruth sent me this cute little knitting Christmas ornament. She actually handmade it herself! It will definitely get a special spot on my Christmas fir branches (my place is way too small for an actual tree, but I buy some fir branches and decorate them for a seasonal feeling).
Ruth didn't stop here though: she sent me a cute little monkey purse and a local specialty: Jelly Beans! I can't believe I still have some left... I'm trying to eat less sweets, but the Jelly Beans are going to be savored this weekend!

Ruth, I was very lucky to be your pal. I couldn't have had a better one! Thank you so much!

My sock pal, on the other hand, (the one I'm knitting for) is slightly worse off. I still haven't finished her socks (I told her that they'll be late though) and I'm afraid they might be a little large for her. She's almost my foot size, only 0.5cm smaller (0.2in), and the sock fits me well. Oh well... I hope she likes the pattern!

sockapaloooza sock1, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Here's a detailed shot:

sock detail, originally uploaded by d.knit.

I'm approaching the heel of sock #2, and I hope not to take much longer.

In the meantime I did get to finish my Baudelaire socks, the larger version with larger cables:

BaudelaireSock, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Pic with my messy apartment in the background... don't know why the Baudelaire photos are so small; if I'm up to it, I might post larger ones, but don't set your hopes high.

Here's a detailed shot of the heel view:

Baudelaire_detail, originally uploaded by d.knit.

Alrightey, what else was on my "To-Blog" list..? Oh yeah, I received my Ravelry invite a while ago (you might have noticed the Ravelry button in the sidebar). My name there is dknit, pop in and say hello!
I wanted to thank Erica for sending me this gorgeous book (sorry, no pics, I was too eager to open the parcel!), some yummy Tofutsies yarn in color "Sweep you off your feet" and a sock blocker keychain sock. Or is it keychain sock blocker sock thingy? I guess you know what I mean. The packet arrived already on Tuesday, mea culpa for not thanking earlier! Thanks Erica! In case you are wondering how I deserved such a great parcel, I promised Erica to help her with the translation of these books.

I think that's it for today - see you next time! Whenever that may be...

Blog Break

I'm taking a break from my blog. There's so much other stuff going on right now that I need to take care of. You can still reach me through the comment section or by email, but I don't guarantee that I'll have the time to get back to you quickly.

Anyways, wish me luck! I'll be back in a few weeks.

Knit Food

Just found this on the interweb:



Isn't it hilarious? I don't know this cereal (I think it's sold in the UK), but I love the ad!

Now, back to work.

Again...

instead of real content, another quiz/test/meme:

Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?
this quiz was made by Lori Fury

Another piece of information that I probably never wanted/needed to know. Real content (on a ton of books I bought recently - eBay, I love you!) should follow on the weekend, the latest.

Meme Time: 7 Random Facts

I've been tagged by KC with the 7 Random Facts Meme... I think I saw an "8 Random Facts" meme somewhere... maybe the bloggosphere is getting meme'd out. Anyways, here are the rules:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blog the 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you are tagging a note in their comments so they know they have been tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!

Okay, I will answer this meme but I won't tag anyone because I think everyone's been tagged with this one already. I'll try to keep it random because I think I did a weird-things-meme before. So, here are my 7 random facts:

1. When I drink hot drinks, I like them really hot. I get pissed off when I'm served lukewarm coffee and I'm very likely to return it.
2. I absolutely love dairy products: milk, cheese (couldn't live without it), yogurt (if it's with fruit, then only organic yogurt), just about anything.
3. A book I read fairly recently influenced me quite a bit.
4. I get a sunburn pretty easily because I have quite fair skin.
5. Despite this, I want to live in Australia for a while.
6. I wear glasses and wouldn't want to trade them for contact lenses.
7. I started wearing my glasses all day long only when I moved to Melbourne for a year. I didn't want to look like a tourist when I was trying to find my way around the city.

I hope this was random, but not too random!