X-mas Knitting & a Ruined Ego

I thought I was pretty clever, designing and whipping up this shrug a day before Christmas, to match my new sleeveless dress...

And then my MIL went and showed me this....

She's making a dollhouse and everything in it herself... There's some mean knitting, lacework and embroidery going on there...!

Have you ever seen hand knit mittens this small??


And this is how she does it:


And along with all sorts of other presents she also got me this:
sock yarn!! great colors, perfect to wear with jeans. I love having a MIL that knits! Even though she's ruining my knitting ego with all her teenytinyknitwear...

Check, Check, Doublecheck!!

I should have seen it coming...
Something should've clicked when I had to use two needle sizes bigger than the suggested ones. But I got tracked sideways when I knit and re-knit, knit and re-knit and knit and re-knit the first decrease round.
I took it to my Stitch 'n Bitch group and let 'the wise ones' take a look. After letting me rattle on for a while, one of the wise ones asked me questions as if I just explained her that apples come from a tree, as if I wasn't just throwing the k2tog's and the purl stitches and markers around in an incoherent and totally chaotic way... I swear, this lady must have some sort of genius gene, like a photographic memory, but then something to do with translating one dimensional ramblings into three dimensional pictures of the problem.
Eventually, after knitting a round to show them what the problem was, there was a frown, a sigh and eventually the words: 'did you check the errata?' shut me right up. I didn't...
Luckily I'm stubborn and creative at times and I was able to make it work, insecurely checking if I made the right decision every row or two.

I knitted on and then the fact that it took me two skeins instead of one should have tipped me, right? Well, I wondered about it checked the stitches and the gauge (verhouding) and it was fine, so I ignored the signs, knitted on and cast off....

with this as a result:

You know, slouched hats are all the fashion. Wendy @ Knit & Tonic had designed a version and I'd actually love to make/ have one. But this one was intended for my grandmother and it's no where near just slouching...

IT'S A MONSTER! And it's eating me!!

this is how big my headband is compared to the beret...

I have this to say for myself:

The gauge was right, and the stitches too..... I swear!
Well, I'm off...maybe I should check those errata right?!

I do seem have a way with stitches though. The way my ribbed stitches go into the stockinette stitches is apparently an elegant one where my stitches don't lie 'on top of' the knitting... Gosh, who knew...

ps I have site feed now. The wise one also let me in on this piece of magic. Except for wise, she's also nice, look what she made the S'nB group:

I swear, if we were in Lord of the Rings she would be freackin' Gandalf!

YKP = Young Knitting Professional

Daniel's Breipod (he came up with that name, Brei-means knit in Dutch...)

picture by himself

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I've heard that the comments section of my blog didn't work... Please try again, it should now... if you see a weird comment in Dutch, it's Boyfriend Dear own charming way of double checking it.

I have a confession for you...

I've been missing the feedback.
Turns out that I've grown attached to you people and I've been missing the comments more than I think I would. Can you imagine what the Yarn Harlot must have felt like, during the days her whole blog was offline (SHOCK &HORROR!). She gets about 200 comments a post, and I'm not exaggerating when I say this... She could have her whole self image ánd esteem based on her readers comments. She wouldn't need anything else.
Me, I'm over the moon if I get 12 comments, my personal record, and I'm not sure what that says about me. I just get the feeling I used when somebody sent me snail mail way back in the early nineties. I feel appreciated and - not like Oprah- I love surprises!
So po-lea-se, keep 'em comin'!

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Kim's Bulky Bones Scarf, I can't show it completely yet,

I've sent it in and am hoping it will get published.

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On knitting:
Lately I've been working on a couple of orders. Yes, orders... that's what it's called when you work for money, right? I'm a professional knitter now... hehehe! Kim wanted a scarf and Daniel and i-pod-nano-cover. "No problemo, can do", I said. Who knew you can get hunted by orders. At least I did. I felt guilty for not finishing it fast enough, I felt guilty for that one stitch that was off, I felt bad about the fact that I used my money to buy Cd's and ran out of it when I finally found the right yarn and to top it off, after all the work and emotions, I felt guilty about asking a certain amount of money for it. Not that my designs aren't worth it, with the material costs, the hours of work and the fact that they are my original designs. It just felt weird getting paid for work. (Did I just say this...? Me who always asks for a raise whenever I feel it's appropriate. Me who feels deprived when over hours have to be compensated by days off...)

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Tempting II in the making, k1p1k1p1k1p1k1p1, need I say more...?

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So I've figured something out. I'm not going to be a knitting entrepreneur any time soon. It just takes to much out of me. And what else... it's eating up my self-knitting-time, my-designs-in-the-making-time and my knit-for-presents-time. I hardly read books anymore since I've become an obsessive knitter but when the knitting gets in the way of the knitting, well... than you should just really stop, drop, roll over and think about what you're doing.

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The Tweed Beret from this winter's issue of Interweave Knits for my grandmother, using Drea Renee's New Zealand Hummingbird 100% wool in great purple shades.

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And, let me just be honest here, even though I really like a buck or two on my bank account, I'm not seduced by the dough. I ám seduced by all the possibilities of what I can knit and design in the fore coming future. I ám seduced by all the happy faces when presented with a hand knit item just because I love the recipient. Makes me wonder, does this mean good knitting karma that translates into knitting flows and creativity splashes.... Sorry, wandering off...

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my second pair of socks ever (these were the first) and my first own design, knitting cables to make it look like diagonal knitting on the sides. (not sure if it will be a huge success, but no risks no glory right?!)

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I'm torn now because I have about 7 assignments in back order. But it's hard to determine if they're real. Let me explain this to you. I've heard quite a lot of "Oh my gosh, that's so cute, I want that too, make me one, MAKE ME ONE PLEASE"-es the last couple of months. These exclamations might be just that, but they might be serious too. There's the guy that collects hats. He has about every sort of hat you can imagine but he'd love some (!) hand knitted ones. He has some pretty fixed ideas about what they should look like too. And then there's the guy that would love some mittens, preferably the ones where the tops flip of, but his face dropped when I gave him a slight idea of what it might cost him. There's the best friend that does an exclamation like the above about every time I show her a FO. And there are the soft and sneaky hints: "Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to have such a hat/ scarf/ sweater."

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The WIP I've been working on the longest without ever frogging it out of frustration. You can tell how long it's been in the making, things grow on it...it's this scarf by the way, great starter project for lace knitting.

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There's no way that I can determine who really expects a hand knitted item presented within a certain amount of time and is willing to pay for it, which people really want it, but only when the price tag looks similar to the ones at Hennes & Mauritz, what employer was just really commenting and complimenting and doesn't expect anything, who's questions are merely just a hint and are hoping for a gift. So as flattered as I am by all these things, because all of them are really just great big huge compliments, next time I will tell them flat out: "Thank you so much, I'd love to make this thing for you, but it will take me X time and it will probably cost you about X euros. Or maybe, just maybe, you will be surprised on your birthday or at Christmas..." I will give them my biggest smile and continue knitting...

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One YUP and one YKP working on a regular Saturday.

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Tagged / Tikkertje

Without knowing I got "tagged" by this gal, asking me to do this:

Describe 6 strange habits about yourself.

Only 6?
Ok, here goes:

1. I'm an extreme time manager when it comes to the route and order of doing things indoors or in town. I plan out carefully where to go first, what to take with me and how to do stuff just so that it is the most (time)efficient. It gets so bad that I get confused and frustrated if it doesn't work out perfect. Other than that I'm not too anal...
2. Oh wait... I am... I make loads and loads of folders to file my emails, in my favorite list of websites and at work. But that's just because I'm so chaotic in real life, it's not so much strange as absolutely necessary...
3. I leave messages on my own voice mail whenever I have an idea I can't write down because I'm on my bike or something.
4. I eat M&M's (correction used to eat...) in logical order. That means whatever seems logical at that time.
5. I walk under ladders on purpose, not to tempt faith, but because I believe that by being self assured, nothing bad will happen. So it's reverse superstition or something...
6. I once build a nest... for myself. behind the couch with cushions and fluffy blankets, a disc man and a bunch of magazines and books. I needed to get away from the magical 'pull' of the TV... and the couch blocked it. This is not technically a habit though...

After thinking this over I figure it's more logical to ask another person what your strange habits are. I'm asking Boyfriend Dear tonight. Let's see what he comes up with...

For now, consider yourselves tagged:
Drea Renee and Miriam!

How About Them Apples?!

I've been crazy productive lately. Only not so much on the blogfront. But knit wise I have this to show for myself:

1. The Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature. The hardest thing I've done so far. It was not that hard, but those bobbles just take forever... it takes a little getting used to a round taking about triple time than it does usually, but it's really worth it. It's a fast knit and a great look.
I used dpn's 6 (mm) instead of 5 because seeing other pictures online they all seemed too small to me. And since I have a big head...
I've knit it in the round, not because I thought that would be easier or better looking, I just didn't read the pattern right. Would be nice if that big head did some thinking once in a while...



2. A hat and scarf from Garnstudio using this and this pattern. I bought the yarn at the Stitch 'n Bitch Holland day. It's Drops, Eskimo. Great stuff. It smells of sheep. Call me a weird, but I like the smell of sheep...
I'm not crazy about writing down all the things I've changed in the pattern and including the errata* but let me just tell you this; if you're knitting this hat, you don't need to make it 54cm long, that way the hat's going to be way, way to wide. (even for my great big head)




3. And also... I've been working on my own designs. Two of them. And they shall remain a big secret until I hear from the goddess herself. It's an entry for the next S'nB book full of designs for men. I have to hurt myself to stop me from saying what they are, so I won't. And then there are about 4 other designs galloping about in my head, eagerly waiting to be knitted into reality.

4. I've started Tempting II. I know it's going to be a bit boring, but it's also going to be relatively fast and easy and I know this design is perfect for my (luscious) body type. So I've got to have it. Even though my first effort with Tempting wasn't really a great success but that was mostly due to my bad yarn choice. I'm confident this will work!


5. I'm getting myself ready to start working on the Ram's Horn Jacket from Knitting Nature or A Cardigan For Arwen from the last issue of Interweave Knits. I have a gift certificate lying around for my fav yarn store and I'm letting it depend on the kind of yarns I can find to decide which one to start. At the S'nB day I fell madly in love with Klazien's Kreatie, she had a fab green tweed which is perfect for both, but I can't leave this certificate lying around now can I?


In between all this knitting I've caught myself a big big fish... I've found a new job. It's a dream job and it's fantastic. After 5 yrs of working as communication manager at several pop venues/clubs, this is it. It was great but to be honest, I can't wait to work on a computer that doesn't have a steam engine, to be invited to business trips and paid for workshops. I'm ready to move up the ladder a step or two. So as of January I'll be project leader of campaigns at an organisation that supports events and festivals. So now it's not just music, but literature, dance, theatre, sports, you name it.

On other things that might or might not interest you; I've visited the Antiques Road Show (Tussen Kunst & Kitsch) with Boyfriend Dear my SIL and my BIL. SIL & BIL are actually in the vintage design business so I expected them to be rich by the end of the day. But they brought all kinds of stuff that isn't in their direct area of expertise so to them it was as exciting as it was to me, bringing 4 miniature paintings that used to belong to my parents. To be honest... it was all a bit disappointing. SIL & BIL had nothing that was extremely valuable and even got the old: 'That would be worth as much as a fool would pay for it.' And me, well I know that my miniature paintings weren't postcards in a frame as I suspected, but actual paintings, reproductions to be precise and not worth a darn thing...

Have you seen that the winter issue of Knitty is now online? I hoped there would be more sweaters and cardigans, but there's some fun stuff there! As if I need any more projects to distract me...

Oh and NEWS NEWS NEWS...
best news EVER EVER EVER
My favorite grocery store now sells apples that people with an apple allergy can eat!
I haven't eaten an apple in about... ehm... about 23 years... Ever since I was a kid I've been allergic and in time my food allergies got worse and worse. You can't even begin to imagine how happy I am, I actually choked up at the store... and not in a Snow White kind of way... I love genetic manipulation! Can't wait for the other fruits and veggies and nuts to be manipulated so I can finally start eating that stuff!

How about thém apples?

* this doesn't mean that if you want to know the details I won't tell you. I'd love to, just send me an e-mail and I'll help you out!

Real Men Knit

All we need now is CUTE men who knit... ;-)