Pre-Christmas greetings!

We are leaving tomorrow morning on a 5-days trip to Germany. I can't say I'm really enthousiastic, but I'm sure it'll be ok. Of course spending 5 days with my in-laws is not something I'm happy about or looking forward to, but well, I'll survive.

I've been home the whole week on sick leave. I wasn't that sick but I didn't complain when the doctor wrote me a sick note for the rest of the week. I've been relaxing and enjoying myself. I needed that. I'm way happier knowing I don't have to go to work. I think my boyfriend is noticing this too. It's way more fun like this!

I'm still struggling with the cardigan for my grandfather. I really wanted to finish it today, but I still have one more sleeve to go. Well, I'll knit that one during the trip. I also should finish the sweater for my mother. I haven't even started it!!!

I haven't gotten anything ready for the trip just yet. I should get the stuff ready ,I know!!! I'm just procastinating. I don't have any kind of suitcase anyway.

I'm already debating what knitting to take. Not to much I'm guessing, I always take to much and after all it's only a five days trip!! I just hope I'll have plenty of time to knit. At least I won't have a tv or computer to distract me.

Anyway, I got 2 FO's to show from this week! First there's a hat for me (I'm working on the matching scarf) :















It's knitted out of some super bulky 100% wool. On 15mm needles, pattern is the top down one "Live Dangerously".

Then boyfriend kept bugging me about a hat for him, so I knitted him one too :













Ok, I know, my boyfriend looks amazingly stupid in this picture, but he was just up from work, for a few minutes, and not to keen on posing for me! :D The firs picture also shows the yarn I bought to knit a scarf for my boyfriend, matching the hat, using Danica (from knitty). As for the hat, It's knit from my own - very first - handspun, using this pattern.

Speaking about spinning, I got my new spinning wheel yesterday!!! Look :











It's Louets S45, a nifty small spinning wheel. Ideal to spin laceweight and fingering weight yarns, my favourite. I didn't get tiem really to try it, as I've been knitting like mad on the cardigan for my grandfather (while I'm not running around to get a new cell, as my old one went in for fixing 4 days ago and I'm still without a cell! It's killing me!).

I've got so much more to do, sorry guys, I'll have to update again after the holidays. Keep save, spend some lovely time with your family and just enjoy!

Not yet gone!

Nope, I haven't dissapeared just yet! :D I'm awfully busy though, that's the reason I haven't been around to post. Well, I do have a lot to tell and a lot to show, but that'll have to wait till the weekend.

I'm afraid I won't be able to properly keep up with this blog till after New Year though. I'm going to make some real commitments into getting me some more free time and all. But now I'm knitting on a few Christmas gifts like crazy (luckily I'm not at home at Christmas, we are going on a 5 days trip to Germany - I first didn't want to go till I thought about all the yarn shops over there, so I made my boyfriend promiss we would at least go shopping one day! :D) and I think I'll never make it. After that I'm hoping to make a few things for myself, though I have 3 orders going. The following :

• fingerless gloves (I will be paid for these)
• felted hat (for my fave LYS, got the yarn for free but of course won't be really paid)
• lace scarf (same as above)

Once those are finished, I'm off to things for myself! Have to say I think I'll be enjoying the scarf and gloves. Might enjoy the hat.

Anyway, I must thank my SP6! I got my lovely last gift last week : a pack of 4 balls of lovely wool (will become a scarf + matching hat for me!!!) and a Filati pattern mag. Love it so much! My pal also revieled herself! It's Eva from Pappardele and she's from the Czech Republic! That's so close! It's just wonderful to meet people quite close by who like knitting just like me!

As for my SP, or at least the one I'm pampering, well, I'm so late with my package and now my pal is on a months trip to India, so I agreed on mailing it at the end of the month. I feel awful for having to let her wait. I'll reveal who she is over the weekend!

My LYS asked me to give knitting lessons! Imagine, me giving knitting lessons! *grin* I'm not sure yet as I don't have much time right now and I'm not sure I'm the right person. The person who used to give the lessons is ill now and she can't knit. She also recently lost her father and now her MIL is really ill, so I guess she won't be back any time soon. It's kind of strange, I don't want to take her job really.

Ok, ok, there is so much more to tell, like the new spinning wheel I'll be getting! But I'm off to bed now ,I'm so so tired! And I should stay up whole night to knit really. But well, more over the weekend, and I'm back for regular posts after the New Year! Don't give up on me yet!!! :D

A bit of knitting

Ok, sorry, again, I didn't update in a while, did I? Well, busy, I guess. Tired most of the time, and often being away from the computer. I don't have the energy to sit down here to long. Hopefully it'll get better again. I do need a brake. A brake from knitting, well, better said : knitting for others. I'm constantly knitting for others and getting no thank you or gratitude at all. It's so tiring.

My mom asked me to knit her a laice cardigan (a long one, if anyone knows any free or downloadable patterns, let me know!). She thought it would be cheaper then buying one at the store. Not really counting that I'm a yarn snob. But I found some super yarn at a really nice price (at my fave LYS!). Now the problem is my mom has never been supportive towards my crafts. Somehow, being crafty herself, she doesn't seem to understand the things I like to do. Her fave mainly is flower arranging right now (and she's great at it, really!!), she used to do jewelry. She's sews. She used to knit but thinks it's a waste of time now (??). When I started penpalling she found it a true waste of time. When I started my collage art she just couldn't understand why I spend so much money on this stuff (though she and my sisters were always in my room to get crafty stuff for school projects etc., I think she misses that now, realizing how much my material was worth!). When I started knitting she really thought I was nuts.

Anyway, I knitted this scarf for a girl at her job (my moms job, she works at a mental institute) I was so proud and could hardly part with it, look (be honest, please!!) :

It's a 80% angora 20% wool blend which I handpainted in mainly olive colours. The stitch pattern is really nice and it was a rather quick knit. Well, when my mom saw it she hardly looked at it and said "oh, fine, looks nice", totally uninterested. Pfff ...

So it's kinda hard to get motivated. I'm slowly moving forward on the cardigan for my grandfather but most of it is plain boring stockinette and I already had to rip a couple of times. I guess it's because of the boring-ness of the whole thing. I swear, I'm not doing big projects for Christmas ever again.

I have so many Christmas gifts and orders that I can hardly concentrate. I miss knitting for myself. Unless some others (I'm reading the Yarn Harlots second book right now! :D) I like the finished objects and as I seem to be the only one who appreciates them I prefer to knit for myself. But I do like the process as well. Anyway, here's a list of the projects I need to do (those with an * behind them are Christmas gifts) :

• Cardigan for grandfather *
• Cardigan for mother (* - partly, I'll give it to her as she has so little money for things like clothes)
• Felted booties for aunt * (asked for them over a year ago)
• scarf for grandmother * (so she won't be jealous, she's extremely jealous!)
• scarf for sister
• lace scarf for owner of favourite LYS
• Felted hat for owner favourite LYS
• White fingerless gloves knitted on 1.5mm needles (still waiting for the needles) (paid order, no real time limit)

Then I also urgently need to put a huge package together for my SP who I've neglected so badly! Will be done over the weekend for sure!

Here are a few things I just finished :

Pattern : Mosaik socks for the SixSocksKAL

Yarn : Regia 4Ply (Black), leftover Handpainted Sock Yarn (HelloYarn)

Needles : 2.5mm addi turbos

Finished them in little over a week, knitted only on the train and during breaks at work. Loved the pattern (really quick one too!!!) and the socks are super!!

By the way, the new pattern for the KAL looks neat too! Not before Xmas though ... .

Pattern : Susans free top down pattern

Yarn : Handpainted (handspun? no label) yarn from Neauveau

Needles : 6mm circs (I think ... don't even remember! *grin*)

Knitted in about 2 days, lovely to wear, fits perfectly! Going to knit more real soon!!!

So that's it for now, I think I'm back to my knitting, I'll try to update more over the weekend.

Ps.: We had some huge snowfal over the weekend, to bad it all dissapeared. But it's pretty cold and this might just be a hard Winter. One can only hope! :D