I’m still here!

Good morning!

How are you!? I haven’t popped in to see you in a while, but believe me, I am here, well and still knitting! I’m just also busy as hell these days.

You see, my boss has returned from his sabbatical but only for a couple of days before he leaves again and the past couple of days have been filled with group meetings, progress reports and planning for the upcoming months. The Boy and I are also packing, cleaning, organizing transportation, people to help us with the move, cancelling internet connections etc etc etc, i.e. all the things that we need to do before we get the key on Tuesday and start moving our things! Can you believe this moment has finally arrived?! I think we realize at some moments, but mainly it hasn’t really sunk in yet! We just know that all the things we have to do are a bit overwhelming all at the same time, so we are taking things one by one!

I have also been working like a maniac on the master’s and last night around 00:35 I sent my Prof the latest (and hopefully last) version of the text. It was version No4! I also booked myself a ticket and I am going back home on the 18th of June to defend said thesis on the 21st. I hope everything will go well…!

On other news, I was so fed up with all the work, that I went on a shopping therapy spree on Saturday and bought myself 2 balls of the softest, prettiest, most colorful 100% wool that I have ever seen! As soon as I laid my eyes on it I knew that it was supposed to be turned into a pebble vest! And as you can see from the above photo I’ve already knit through the first ball and now I am ready to start decreasing for the shoulders. It’s the cutest little thing! I think it will be done by the weekend!

What have you been up to? What have you been working on?

Lots of love,

Liz

Froggings and “newish” beginnings

Good morning!

How are you today? Are you happy that the week is almost over? That the weekend is approaching and you’ll finally get some time to relax or, as in our case, do laundry and packing on Saturday and host a brunch on Sunday!? I’d say that Sunday seems like more exciting than Saturday!

Anyway, froggings and newish beginnings! What do I mean!? Well, I’ll show you! Remember this?

Well, it’s not with us any more! You see, I’ve been trying to sort out through my WIPs, more specifically I’ve been trying to turn them into FOs, since in exactly 3 weeks from today, we’ll be able to move to our new apartment. Also, since the building is new and all 21 apartments have to be filled at the same time, the real estate agency, in order to try to avoid an overflow of people and moving vans, has assigned a 2 hour window for each one of the apartments, during which we are “allowed” to move…2 hours! 2 freaking hours on a Friday morning from 8 to 10 (in our case)! Which means that during these 2 hours we have to be incredibly fast and work strategically. Which also means that I won’t have the chance to move my WIPs lovingly and carefully! They will have to be stuck into a box, basket or bag and moved quickly and unceremoniously! Which by itself means that some of them might not make it…! Therefore, I’ve been knitting like the wind whenever I get a chance! I already finished my May’s hat, but more on that later!

So last night, after about 30 people came to look at my apartment (potential new tenants), we had dinner and sat with a coffee to watch a movie (The Big Lebowski) and I sat down with May’s hat, finished it, put it on, admired it, The Boy said a “Wow” when I told him that it’s actually my own design (again, more on that later!) and then I took it off without taking photos or really caring about it and took another project out of the WIP pile. The next thing on the pile was my Mom’s shawl in the above photo. I worked a couple of painstaking rows (they are really fussy since it’s lace) and then I saw it! There were 2 live stitches hanging out of NOWHERE in the 3rd row from the beginning! I was on the 14th row…! So, I took the needles out of it and started frogging! It was my first lace project and I wasn’t going to try to fix it! Not at 22:30 last night! At some point, after I had frogged about half a row, The Boy noticed what I was doing and we had a very funny discussion:

The Boy: What are you doing?! (horrified expression on his face)

Me: Frogging (calmly and still watching the movie)

The Boy: What do you mean frogging?! WHY?!  (still same expression on his face)

Me: I made a mistake! (I didn’t have to explain what frogging is, he already knows! Still watching the movie)

The Boy: Can’t you fix it?! (do I even have to mention that the expression hadn’t changed?)

Me: Not really. It’s on the 3rd row and I’m already on the 14th. (my attention still on the movie, there was a whole lot going on about Jeff Bridges’ rug having been peed – is this even a word?- on)

The Boy: But this was for your mother, right? (the horrified expression had mellowed a bit after I mentioned that the mistake was 11 rows behind)

Me: Aha (now there was a lot of bowling going on, I’m not that much of a bowler)

The Boy: So now what are you going to give her? (finally calmly but looking a little sad)

Me: I’ll just make her another shawl after we move. (I had just reached the part where I made the mistake, I threw it a few angry stares, ^$^%&*$#%$@#$%^%$^*%$#^*%$^*$ mistake!)

After the frogging of the shawl was over, we took a break so I could look for the next WIP I would work on and The Boy could check his emails (he’s going on another business trip next week and there are a lot of things that have to be taken care of before that).

Remember this?! This was my first attempt at the Atomic Hat. Well, the first attempt didn’t go very well, moths ago, and I had to frog the first few rows before I could make any progress. Then I frogged it completely and the yarn just sat there for months. But, being the stubborn little girl that I am, I started it again a few weeks ago, without telling you (I couldn’t bare the embarrassment if I had to frog it again) and I was now on the 14th row. So, being a WIP, I started working on it. After 2 rows I decided that crocheting cables wasn’t as easy as it seemed and it really wasn’t worth all the trouble, especially since I can just knit a hat with cables (and I have a few patterns lined up). So, I took the crochet hook off the loop and started frogging.

The Boy: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? (shocked expression this time)

Me: Frogging (calmly as last time)

The Boy (this time holding the hat at the point where the yarn was unraveling): Wait a minute, let’s talk about this! (still shocked)

Me: The pattern is too fussy. (apparently there was another Mr. Lebowski?!)

The Boy: But it’s so pretty! Couldn’t you just finish it!? (a little sad now)

Me: It doesn’t make sense to crochet cables, I can just knit them, they anyway look prettier! (the second Mr. Lebowski was filthy rich!)

The Boy: OK…this is actually quite interesting (having let go of the yarn and paying attention at how it unraveled as I frogged)

When the hat was frogged and the yarn put next to its brothers and sisters for safe keeping until future projects arise, I got up again and picked up another WIP that I haven’t showed you so far…

Being inspired by the scarf that Christina Richie wears in the movie Penelope, I decided to write up a pattern to recreate the scarf that had caught my attention, with my own colors! It was a Fair Isle pattern that I started with fingering weight yarn and which I was really fond of! The problem was that I didn’t want a back side (the back sides of Fair Isle patterns are always messy), so I decided to work on the scarf in the round. I started it many months ago and it never went forward, because it was stuffed in a corner at The Boy’s apartment. But on Tuesday that we were there packing and disassembling furniture, I decided it was time that this cutie came home with me. So, last night as I sat there with 3 balls of fingering weight yarn and a set of 5 DPNs, it dawned on me that this scarf would probably never end…so I decided for a change of plans! As you can imagine, it was also frogged!

The Boy: NO! SERIOUSLY?! AGAIN?! (looking at me with his mouth half open in despair)

Me: Yep! (apparently the filthy rich Mr. Lebowski had a trophy wife less than half his age, what a shock!)

The Boy: Is this a joke!? (incredulously)

Me: Nope! (she had a very nice shade of green nail polish on…)

The Boy: What’s wrong with this one!? I though you liked it! (having given up to talk some sense into me)

Me: It’s going to take a few years to finish if I go on like this! (she was a real piece of work! I won’t even mention what she wanted the Jeff Bridges Mr. Lebowski to do…)

The Boy: But you liked it! (looking at the unraveling yarn)

Me: I’m going to make it again, double stranded and with less stitches cast on (again bowling…)

The Boy: OK… (a little sad)

This frogging took some time, because the 3 different strands of yarn kept knotting with each other, but in the end I finished that too. Another trip to the WIP pile left me with the first 16 rows of a pair of socks, actually, only one sock, which was way too big, so it was also frogged. I knew that was coming though, it was just a matter of when the frogging was going to take place. The Boy didn’t protest that much at the frogging of the sock, because after I had put it on a couple of days ago to try it for size, it was clear that it would never work.

But then, the next trip to the WIP pile (after the insanely quick frogging of the sock) landed me with a half finished hat that I started about 2 years ago, in a bright yellow acrylic yarn…! The pattern, I have to admit was really pretty, it had a flower on top of the hat, but I unfortunately didn’t take a photo. I looked for the pattern on the internet for a few minutes, but for the life of me, I couldn’t find it, so we had, once again, reached the inevitable.

The Boy: Oh come on, again!? (seriously exasperated this time)

Me: I can’t find the pattern (Julianne Moore was the artistic daughter of the filthy rich Mr. Lebowski)

The Boy: Can’t you just finish it without it? (again holding the yarn where it was unraveling)

Me: I could try, but it’s not even a good yarn (Julianne Moore had pretty hair)

The Boy: But it looks so pretty! (again a little sad)

Me: Aha (why couldn’t I have that hair color!?)

The Boy (I had reached the top of the hat and the little flowery pattern): Can we keep this (he wouldn’t let go of the yarn)

Me: Keep what? (my attention on the almost frogged hat now)

The Boy: This top part. Can’t we cut the yarn here and keep this? It looks like a doily! (puppy eyes…!)

Me: Why would we keep this?! (a little distracted by the puppy eyes!)

The Boy: Because it’s pretty? (still puppy eyes…!)

Me: No, it’s acrylic! (trying to shake the lightheadedness invoked by the puppy eyes)

The Boy: Please?! We could put it under the vase! It’s really pretty! (DAMN those puppy eyes!)

Me: No! (more firmly now, having failed to resist the puppy eyes, so trying not to make eye contact…I am about to fold here people!)

The Boy: Pleeeeease?! (seriously how is it even possible for a grown man to do the puppy eyes so successfully!?)

Me: No! (still not making eye contact)

The Boy: Pretty please?! (damn, they are also green!)

Me: No! (looking at the yarn and the yarn ONLY!)

The Boy: But it’s like a doily! (I wasn’t looking, but I can guarantee you the puppy eyes were still there in full force!)

Me: No, if you want a doily, I will make you a doily, so we can put under the vase, with nice cotton lace weight yarn (I was gaining ground!! I hadn’t looked!! )

The Boy: OK, but can’t we keep this too?! (I think at this point he knew he was losing ground…)

Me: No (firmly, still not making eye contact!)

After that there was a small wresting match during which I was mainly saying “Give it to me” or “Let go of the yarn” and he was saying “Please, let’s keep it!”, but I won’t bore you with the details. In the end, I won and the rest of the hat was frogged and the yarn put with the rest of it on my desk. Next item on the pile was this:

When The Boy saw it, he actually seized it and told me firmly that I am not under any circumstances allowed to frog this! You see, it was the first scarf I started for him months ago, but the fingering weight yarn and all the repetitive little knots were starting to get to me, so I made him another one and this one went into hibernation! After I reassured him that I wouldn’t “harm” the scarf, he gave it back to me and I worked a full repeat of the pattern before we decided that it was time to go to bed.

So, as you can see there was a lot of frogging going on last night and sort of a new beginning! Sort of, because this is something I started working on months ago, but this time I am determined to finish it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lots of love,

Liz

Referencing and pebbles

Good morning!

How are you today?! Did you go out yesterday to pick up flowers, demonstrate, or hike in the mountains?! Here the weather was really good, but The Boy and I spent it packing boxes and disassembling furniture.

We are pretty much done at his place (only a few things remain, like a few towels and some soap, so we can wash ourselves when we are there) and at my place there is quite some work left to be done still. The thing is, we are staying at my place, so for the next 3 weeks, until we can move, we still need things like plates, clothes, the bed and other necessary things that allow us to live and function and go to work normally!

I did pack all my yarn (I kept a few skeins out for on-going projects…) and it turns out that I have a lot more than I thought I did! Most of it has been bought with specific projects in mind, some of them on-going, some of them still in “idea” form, but I still have some left over yarn from other projects and 5 skeins of multicolored mohair that I have no idea what to use for…! I bought it on a whim because I liked the colors and because it was on sale. But for the life of me, I have no idea what to do with it! I am leaning towards a really big knitted cowl, but I still haven’t made up my mind. Any suggestions?!

Anyway, by now you are probably wondering what our preparations for the move and the 5 skeins of mohair have to do with the title…well, I digress! That’s always the case! The title actually refers to what I am doing at the moment!

At work, I am adding references on Endnote for my Master’s, I am almost done with the writing and referencing is what I usually leave to the last minute, because, even though it’s necessary, it is  I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-Y  boring! All I have to do, is take the pile of printed papers that have been littering my desk and write down the necessary information in Endnote and then attach them to the correct place in my text. Again, nothing difficult, just boring!

And during this mindless typing, I can’t stop thinking of the little knitted project that I have been working on for the past couple of days! Do you want to see!?

It’s a baby vest! Actually it’s called Pebble vest (see the connection to the post title now!?), the pattern is from here and it is the cutest little thing!!! It took me only 3 days to make (with a lot of packing in between) and even though I was pretty sure that it wouldn’t fit any baby (it looks incredibly small to me), The Boy, who has a niece and nephew, kept reassuring me that they are really tiny when they are born, so it definitely would fit a baby.

So far I have no nieces, nephews, no friends have had kids, so the only contact I have had with babies is when I smile at them on the bus! So, since my experience with babies is somewhat limited (if not, non-existent), I took his word for it, but I still lined it up next to its big brother (or sister, according to the colors) to look at the difference! And it really has a BIG difference!

Anyway, I still haven’t completely finished it, though. I still need to sew seven buttons, weave the ends in, wash it and block it, but it’s going to have to wait until after the move, since at the moment I am kind of busy! I am knitting like a maniac to get some things finished by the time we move, because I am a little stressed with how easy it will be to move knitted items that have live stitches on the needles! I probably will freak out if a needle comes out and then I have to pick up dropped stitches (I hate it, in case you haven’t realized…)!

Anyway, I think I have to refill my coffee mug and start working on the references again, so I’ll leave you with the colorful little photos above! See you soon!

Lots of love,

Liz

Edited to add: I forgot to wish you a very happy month ahead!

Handmade gifts

Hi again!

How are you?! I know I don’t post that often lately but I got a comment on my previous post by Patch asking me what I will do with the hats that I make every month (there will be a total of 12 until the end of the year).

That’s a very good question!

I have no idea what I am going to do with them! I can’t sell them, because they are made from free patterns, so I don’t have the copyright (and even if I could, I don’t know if I would), but I could give them out as gifts! Actually, I already sent February’s hat to my aunt as a birthday gift.
The rest, we’ll see! You see, the “problem” is that I don’t know that many people who know what making a handmade object includes (regarding the price, effort and time it takes to make it) and if I do give them out as gifts, I want them, at the very least, to be appreciated! I would hate it if I gave somebody an object that took me a couple of weeks to make (or even months) and they say “Thank you” with a look on their face that clearly states that they think I’m being cheap and they would be happier with something store-bought.

I mean, let’s face it, a pair of handmade woolen socks will cost you a minimum of 10 US dollars for 1 skein of the yarn that you would use, plus an average of one week to make the actual socks.

For a hat, you probably would need somewhere around the double of that price for the yarn, plus the same amount of time – per average always – to make the hat.

For scarves, multiply the time and budget by a factor of 3, at least.

Sweaters and blankets even more. And I am not talking about the best of yarns either! If you use a good merino or alpaca then the price of your finished product will be much much higher!

But non knitters/crocheters don’t understand that! I actually had an “incident” in the past, when I made a pretty long crochet scarf for my Brother’s ex girlfriend for her birthday and even though it cost me about 30 dollars (I used 5 skeins of 6 dollars each), it took me about a month to make (I wasn’t that experienced…) and the fingers of my right hand hurt like hell after it was finished, she never had it on. But she was much happier (and used regularly) a pair of 9 dollar earrings that another friend bought her. I think that was the last time I made anything for anybody. Until now of course that I gladly make stuff for The Boy.

So, no, I don’t know what I will do with the hats, or the baby stuff that I like to make lately and I really hope I knew more people who appreciate these things. It’s really motivating to work on a project if you know that it is destined for somebody who will cherish it.

What about you? Do you know people who appreciate the handmade gifts that you give them?

Lots of love,

Liz

April’s hat

Good morning!

How are you!? Are you having good weather where you are?! Yesterday was the first time that I was holding my jacket around my arm, instead of having it zipped up to the top! Right now I have the window in my office open and I am contemplating starting to drink iced tea instead of boiled one!

With weather like this, showing you a woolen hat might not be very appealing, but since April is almost over and the hat is fresh off the needles, I will show it to you anyway!

Forgive the insanely pink background, I took the photo last night and the artificial light makes bright colors brighter and muted ones dull!

Top of the hat photo as well, since I really like the pattern!

I used 4.00 mm DPNs, a lovely superwash wool with a bit of nylon in it and this pattern. I have to admit, I frogged it about 4 times before I finally got it right! I really liked working the lace and the finished hat is beautiful!

A quick post because I have to leave you. I have to make myself a coffee and start looking for a pattern for May’s hat!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lots of love,

Liz

Birthday Boy!

Good morning!

How are you?! Is your 25th day of this year’s April treating you well!? Despite all the work related problems, I am in a terrific mood! The weather is beautiful (finally after a week of only clouds and rain), I worked a few rows on my knitting this morning, I already had 2 coffees and most importantly, today is The Boy’s birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made muffins yesterday evening, so he could bring to work today and since I made a few more than needed, we had a ready breakfast for this morning and a tiny birthday cake for last night!

What you see above, is one of the lemon muffins, with a good dollop of chocolate mousse and a single candle that I made him blow as soon as I heard the church bell clock next to my apartment ring 12 times! Actually the whole truth is that I was stalling until it was midnight so I could make him blow out a candle, knitting and drinking peppermint green tea in the meantime, while he was waiting for me in bed, but he must have been so tired, because I actually woke him up at midnight in order to do this! At least it was a surprise!

I also wanted to surprise him with a full blown birthday cake this evening after dinner, but I left work much later than I wanted to, so I got busted while baking!

I did tell him a very elaborate story about a cupcake bomb going off in the kitchen and advised him not to enter because it was a whole mess, but given that my gimlet sized apartment only has the one room, the unmistakeable smell of baking,  the fact that my story had a teeny tiny hole in it – something concerning an elephant that followed me home and apparently was only being fed with cupcakes (inspired by this Pinterest photo) – and the fact that he is quite a smart guy, he didn’t buy it! So, the fact that I was making him a cake was a surprise, but not the cake itself…!

Being that The Boy is quite a big chocolate fan, I opted for a Black Forest birthday cake. Unfortunately, this is only a progress photo above, because I was really sad with the almost finished cake (it’s still not finished, it’s in my fridge cooling down, before I apply the ganache topping and decorations after work). You see, I started baking it yesterday evening and the cake itself was so fresh and yummy and a little warm when I started the assembling, that the middle part (what you see in the photo) broke in – I think – 3 pieces as soon as I put the top part on it! Normally I start with the cake part the day before, but being that I wanted this cake to be a surprise (I really failed on that one…) I tried to do it all at once! Big mistake! Anyway, The Boy still likes it and I’m pretty sure it still tastes the same!

So, I am hoping that tonight the pizza that I promised for dinner and the (hopefully) delicious cake will be distracting enough, so that the few guests (twins, my brother, etc) won’t notice the fact that I still haven’t had the time to go get his birthday present (even though I know what I want to get him)! He definitely won’t care, but come to think of it, mentioning this in the blog is not a very good idea, since he always reads the posts – even though his only interaction with yarn or needles or hooks is when I ask him to hand me one or to wind a skein into a ball while we watch something! Anyway, I don’t really sweat what the guests will think about the lack of a gift and based on his reactions concerning the “surprise” cake and the birthday muffin last night, I think he’s more than OK with getting pampered instead of an on-time gift! He appreciates handmade stuff more than anything! Aren’t I lucky?!

If you also have somebody in your life who is sharing a birthday with The Boy, many happy returns! For all our loved ones!

Lots of love,

Liz

Working, writing, knitting, socializing…

…being tired!

Good morning!

How are you? Did you have a nice weekend? Did you rest at all!? If you did, I have to admit that I envy you! I am trying to juggle quite a few things at the same time and somehow, this is coming back to haunt me these days!

As I told you, I have my twin friends visiting this week with the boyfriend of one of them. They are staying at The Boy’s place, actually at the apartment that he pays the bill for, at which we go once a week to pick up mail and in which we haven’t stayed since before Christmas last year…! Anyway, we are trying to show them around and make sure that they don’t get bored and have something to do or see or try at all times, while still going to work and trying to fix our respective problems in our respective labs! Research is a bitch, but that’s a post for a different day! So that’s one thing I have been trying to juggle these past few days.

I have also been trying to fix my lab problem, as I’ve mentioned before and also trying REALLY hard not to freak out yet about the fact that my Prof is coming back from a 4 month sabbatical in less than a month and I have pretty much nothing to show him…! Those are things numbered 2 and 3 on my juggling list!

Number 4 is the Master’s thesis that I’ve been trying to finish while doing all of the above…! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before and I am too sleep deprived to go through my archives, so in case you’ve read this before, just skip this paragraph. I have a Diploma in Chemical Engineering, which means that according to the Bologna Agreement for Higher Education I have a Master’s degree. However, this doesn’t really mean anything where I come from, so in the year that I was looking for a phD, I started another Master’s in Analytical Chemistry. The problem is that Professors in chemistry and chemical engineering don’t really get along and the collateral damage of this rivalry are unfortunately the students! So, when I started the Master’s I was somehow stepping into the foreign territory of a war zone and I received A LOT of hits! This had the effect that I learned to pretty much hate the Master’s and I really had to push myself to get out of bed on the 4 days of the week that I had classes, or all the evenings and weekends that I had to work on semester projects or study for exams. By the time I was accepted for a phD position, I hated the Master’s so much that the only thing that kept me going was the stubborn fury that had developed in me over the course of a year, that told me that I had to finish it so I would be able to prove them wrong for all those times that they asked me a very detail oriented question that none of my colleagues knew the answer to either and proceeded to ask me with raised eyebrows in front of the rest of the class “You don’t know the answer?! My my, what DO they teach you in that department?”…well, other things! Anyway, since I started the phD, I have used most of my vacation days to go back home and finish the experiments I had to do for the Master’s thesis (apart from the trips to Paris and Amsterdam with The Boy), I wrote most of it and corrected it a couple of times according to my supervisor’s instructions. Right now I have to write a chapter about motivation, conclusions, a summary and add the references. Things that are not difficult to do, but incredibly boring! This is what I was doing, or actually forcing myself to do, before I started writing this blog entry! I thought that maybe a bit of easier writing (a post) would inspire me somehow! No luck yet!

Finally, Number 5 in my juggling list is my knitting! But this, along with the socialization, is making me feel better! Tired, since I knit into the night because I don’t have any more hours in the day left, but happy!

I’ve made a little progress on my Mom’s shawl and I’ve also cast on for my April’s hat, since April is almost over anyway!

I’ll be able to show it to you in a couple of days. And I have a couple more things to show you regarding the long term project that I’ve been thinking about, but they are going to have to wait for next week at least!

OK, I think I have procrastinated enough. It’s time to go make myself a coffee and start working on the damn Master’s. I’ll be so happy when it’s over! See you soon!

Lots of love,

Liz