Blown To Bits And Pieces

A storm raged over the Netherlands yesterday and this is what it did to our -what in the summer is a pretty- balcony...

The wind is blowing stuff to bits and pieces and it's a perfect theme for this post which is really about nothing and about all kinds of things at the same time. I'm feeling a little chaotic like the weather...

I'm worried about the climate, it changes really really fast it seems. The only winter I've seen so far is this morning when I found I'd left the freezer door open. Pretty snowflakes huh?
These babies were brought from the island of Texel, in the North of our wee country. Last year my friend Zita bought a white skein of handspun there with all kinds of different colours spun into it. I completely fell in love with it and when she visited Texel again this 'winter' she called me up and -together with boyfriend Henri- described the available colours through the phone. You should have been there, Henri could be heard in the distance; "No Zita, it's more of an army green and a sea blue!', really funny stuff. I couldn't help myself and ordered more than my bank would alow me if it had anything to say about me. Luckily it hasn't... so now this beautiful handspun and hand dyed Texeler yarn is mine, MINE, MINE!!
With the help of Constance in my S'nB group, I've figured out what to make with it. It's really rather scratchy so a hat or scarf won't be my first choice. And it seems this particular fleece doesn't felt well, so I've decided on this perty thang. Can't wait to cast on!

Last year I knit a monster. Yes, I did. It was a sock, a sock monster. Totally clueless I just started knitting a big sock pattern, disregarding all swatch rules and knitting common sense, resulting in the biggest most monstrous sock you've ever seen! This creature was intended for my friend Steve. Well, not the monster version, but two fitting slipper socks in his size. I wrapped it anyhow and gave it to him, we had a big laugh about it and I promised him that I'd make him some real slipper socks as soon as I got the hang of it. I waited for his birthday to come around again and designed and knit these for him. They have cables on the sides. The cables are knit so close that it looks like diagonal knitting. The pictures aren't great, sorry about that.

So, what else....?


Ever seen these cuties?
Please ignore the incredibly clever marketing scheme that goes with them and focus on the cuteness of them handmade squeez'ems. They seem to have something in common with us...Check this out!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

And seeing this on someones blog, I couldn't resist...
I really just don't believe it, there must be some Dutch people in the US with my name... The Dutch freakin' build New York...right? There are a gazillion people with my name in the Netherlands and not one in the US where people have weird names like Porche, Shaneequa and Kip....(means 'chicken' in Dutch...) I just don't buy it.

This is me with my friend Valesca last weekend on our way to the Noorderslag festival in Groningen. It's thé weekend for(pop)music professionals. There's a two day festival called Eurosonic all over town showcasing the hippest, the newest, the best in new European bands. The third day of the weekend there's a festival at the largest venue showcasing only Dutch bands and musicians. The whole weekend, during the daytime, there are workshops and seminars to go to. And of course a-lot-of networking to do.

Every year it's a blast. For people that work at pop venues it's their one yearly treat since their employers mostly can't afford other trips and christmas gifts. It's basicly a lot of bonding and partying with coworkers. The seminars get attended mostly out of guilt and with a huge hangover. (Or is that just me?)

This has probably been my last year as a professional visitor since I've finished the assignment to make the communication more efficient at the last venue I worked at. With my new job I'm probably not going to have these kinds of getaways, but I ám invited to the opening of the International Film Festival Rotterdam which happens to be my all time favorite event! So I'll still get to go to some cool events, festivals and openings they'll all just be a little less rock 'n roll.

I'll definitely miss that part of it but I'll never miss the lack of money and the horrendously outdated hard & software we were supposed to work with. I'm in love with my new work computer and the fact that the office gets cleaned every day (!), there's people that do stuff for you and multiple work trips and a Christmas gift. What luxury!!

Morning light in Rotterdam @ Hofplein