days like this...

There are days, days like this one today, I wish I could forget asap. Our TV broke down, the washing machine sounds aweful, hubbys computer decided not to cooperate and oh, our local chimney sweeper noticed that something is wrong with our gas heating. Do I have to mention how cold it is outside? Aaaarrrgggg... I n e e d t o k n i t ! ! !
But there are good news too :)
I found some time working on my second brown sock, finished all my tasks for Uni next week and.. ravelry seems to be very fast these days :)
Found you!
You signed up on October 15, 2007
You are #44423 on the list.
7894 people are ahead of you in line.
5400 people are behind you in line.
70% of the list has been invited so far

While dealing with insurance companys (our car, remember?), fighting with the plumber company because they did repair our heatig system in June and now we have trouble (with natural gas, no less) again, calling the support hotline for our washing machine etc. I found the time to think about new patterns for my beautiful new sock yarn. The linen/wool mixture is to thin for cables (its structure is more like cotton sock yarn) so I need to work out a nice lace pattern. If I can't find one I like online I'll need to experiment. That'll keep me calm I hope :)
But even though modern technique seems to have let me down today, it still was a nice day (I need to focus on good things more ;) )
- I spent time with the loveliest husband on earth :)
- my cats are fine
- the weather was foggy and windy but somehow absolutely perfect for cuddeling inside
- I had time to work on my sock
- I finished the last required reading for next week
- and I planned some sewing time ahead :)

At last... everything seems brighter when I focus on the nice things in life :)
So, off I am to knit some more :)

I've got balls...

no, really ;) I did order some handpainted yarn from Drachenwolle since I wanted to reward myself a bit for all the learning I had to do :) Aren't those skeins pretty?

The left ones are made of 80% wool and 20% linen, the right one is "normal" sock yarn. All three of them are handpainted and the colours are so vibrant I hardly can wait to start knitting :) But first.... first I need to finish the brownish socks. I really ought to.

While being mad at some idiot who thought it'd be funny to try and steal our Mercedes star (I'm not even talking about the 2000 Euro damage that we'll have to pay for) I couldn't concentrate on work, so I wound those pretty skeins into balls:

I know the picture is pretty bad but I guess you can see that I had to wind them manually (I don't own a ball winder or swift). They were a dream to wind, the strands were untangled and the material felt great. I guess those won't be the last ones I ordered for Drachenwolle :)

In other news: there are about 8200 people in front of me which is great. I hope I'll be able to log in after my dental surgery next friday. It'll help to forget the pain ;)

For now that's all, I really need to finish some reading (see the big book behind the yarn? Yes? Tons of pages of grammar for a long lost language... *sigh* ) and go to bed, it's already past 11 p.m. here. So good night :)

ravelry update and new beginnings :)

Those people at ravelry really have gotten fast:

Found you!
You signed up on October 15, 2007
You are #44423 on the list.
12139 people are ahead of you in line.
2586 people are behind you in line.
65% of the list has been invited so far

Only 12139 people in front of me. And no, I'm not ironic! I'm actually happy that my life isn't that demnading as theirs :)


Today university starts again. I still need to pack my bag, check the train schedule that got wonky during the last weeks and then I'm off again :) I'm not sure why but I hardly can wait to start classes again, it has been quite a while since they stopped and now I really need to learn again :) Todays classes are Late egyptian which makes me a little nervous and a class about dynasties 27 to 30 which I will like (I'm pretty sure because those classes are always fun ;))
Oh, and I wanted to take a few pictures to show you... I just need to wait for some proper light :)

Arrrr....my matey, one sock is finished...

... ok, so I just either need an one-legged Pirate or start knitting the second one ;) I am a bit miffed that I found out about the Rainbow Socks to late because I hate knitting simple stockinette socks. But I had this brownish self-pattern sock yarn lying around and wanted to use it.
Over the last year I found myself getting more and more off the stripey-coloured sock yarn and buying more and more solidcoloured yarn to use for more difficult socks. I keep the occasional self-pattering (how on earth is it called in english???) yarn for stressful times and mindless knitting but I prefer more elaborate socks nowadays.
I guess next will be some cabled socks like this one or this one. Well, at least I hope I'll find the patience to knit these because I am quite "out of shape" when it comes to more difficult patterns. I spent most of my summer trying to sew and finally I think I get better. One of the patterns I want to sew in the next few days is a dress which will be worn over Jeans. I really hope I won't look to ridiculous though. You'll decide when I finished it ;)

Phew, I finished the test I spoke of yesterday and I think I passed easily :) Well, we'll see when I get it back. Production planning isn't really one of my favourite subjects.
So, what does that mean? Yes, you guessed it right :) Time for knitting :D (well, after my laundry is done, the kitchen cleaned and a birthday cake for hubby has been baked).

As for ravelry:

Found you!
You signed up on October 15, 2007
You are #44423 on the list.
14369 people are ahead of you in line.
826 people are behind you in line.
57% of the list has been invited so far
See, I wasn't the last one to apply for an account there as I thought ;) So, maybe in December I'll join you :)

I'm off to sweep the leaves away in front of our home and do the laundry. My needles are calling ;)

ravelry, and company ;)

To get things going over here I decided to sign up at ravelry. It's a good thing that it takes a while to get invited otherwise I'd simply quit work and stay online for the next weeks *lol*


Since I wanted to know how many people are in front of me I checked the "antsy"-button and this is what it said:





Found you!
You signed up on Today
You are #44423 on the list.
15328 people are ahead of you in line.
0 people are behind you in line.
58% of the list has been invited so far





Just 15.328 people in front of me, oh my... I wonder if I'm the last knitter with online access to sign up there ;)





From tomorrow on I'll be able to knit and sew again, phew. I had to work hard to learn for my upcoming test (just one thing: it is never good if your husband looks at you and starts laughing when you have a serious mathematical question, so you can guess what I did over the last few weeks... studying and cursing ;) )


There is still the back part of Lavolds Gyrid tank-top on my needles (in a convenient black so I can use it as vest over white blouses) and even my sock-project had to be put on hold shortly before sock no. 1 was finished. Hopefully I'll finish them before it starts to get really cold over here. Warm feet aren't an option, they are a necessity for me (again, ask my hubby, he'll tell you what happens when my feet get cold... ;) )








Totally unrelated but beautiful nonetheless:





a view out of our bedroom. The sky is rarely so brilliantly blue like today. I wish I was able to capture the flaming colours of the leaves. When it gets grey and rainy I hope I'll remember those few days ;)

I'm off to study a few definitions I hopefully won't need to recall tomorrow ;)