I got mail :)

Loads of pictures in this one. I received my order from Get Knitted yesterday! Inside was the newest issue of Vogue Knitting and although I don't think it is as good an issue as a few of the previous ones have been, there was a lot I liked.
I really liked these:
















And I already ordered the yarn for the scarf in the last picture. It's by Debbie Bliss and done in her Cashmerino yarn (Super Chunky weight). I've been wanting to try the Cashmerino range (any of it!) for a while and thought this was the perfect chance :)

I also kinda liked these, but they do require some changes if I ever decide to do them. All of them need to be done in a different color for starters :) I'd like to do the middle one with lower neckline.























I also received ten balls of Rowan Cotton Rope in white. Can't wait to make something out of them for next summer!


















And I've been stitching (one hand only, I swear!). I'm still not done with part 1 of the sampler mystery but I'm getting there. Here's a little snippet of the right side border (it's the same thing all around):

I've been tagged!

Christine tagged me for my first ever meme! :)

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Cleaner
2. Office assistant
3. Retail sales person
4. Freelance journalist

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Hours
2. Love Actually
3. Lord of the Rings trilogy
4. Forrest Gump

Four places I have lived:
1. Helsinki
2. Tampere
3. Joensuu
4. Robina (Queensland, Australia) (Had to put this one in although it was only for few months :))

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The O.C.
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Sex and the City
4. Amazing Race

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Australia (East Coast)
2. Thailand
3. Vietnam
4. Great-Britain

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Tampere University (to check my email there)
2. My blog (for links to the blogs I read)
3. The Chatelaine BB
4. My other emails

Four of my favourite foods:
1. Pancakes with whipped cream and jam
2. Strawberries
3. Chicken in black bean sauce (the Chinese dish)
4. Salmon

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. Anywhere in Australia
2. London
3. Paris
4. New York
(Yes, I'm anxious to travel :))

Four bloggers I am tagging:
I don't think I yet know anyone in the blogging community well enough to tag them (except Christine).

I'm so bored...

I haven't blogged because there's nothing going on.
I've been surfing the internet a lot. And I found the previews for both the new Rowan magazine and the Spring IK. I'm very excited about them as both seem to have a lot of things in them I'd like to do, but I'll tell you more when they are released and in my possession. I also did some shopping and I'm waiting for my goodies to get here. On Monday I guess and hope. I also saw the new Chatelaine design and although I've not previously felt drawn to these "small stitching toys" I really like this one and feel tempted to do it.

Back home :)

I'm here and I'm alive :) And feeling quite good. But hopelessly bored. The surgery went well and was pain-free. It was done by anesthetizing my left arm completely and heavily sedating me. And that combined with me being extremely nervous about the whole thing didn't make a good match. It was one of the (if not THE) strangest experiences in my life. But it's done now.
It doesn't hurt much unless Itry to do something. They gave me quite strong painkillers but I haven't had to take them that much. But like I predicted I can't knit, stitch or write on the computer (prperly that is, I'm doing this with my right hand). But I also can't read books for long stretches at a time either (I can only hold them up or keep them open with my right hand). And I can't go out for walks.. The weather has turned quite cold now (-15C) and I can't put on anything that would be warm enough! My left wrist, besides being unbendable is, about five times as large as it normally is (with the bandage) so it won't go through the sleeves of my regular clothes. So far I've been able to dress myself in pajamas and DH's huge cardigan with a zipper in front (and that was difficult enough). Comfortable definitely, but not very fashionable and definitely not something to wear for a walk. Anyway, enough about that. I'll survive :)

Here are pictures of the Embossed Leaves Socks. The first one is a bit blurry but shows the patterning a bit better than the one I took with a flash. The second one shows me wearing one. The color is also truer in the second one, although the yarn isn't shiny eventhough it might look like it. These were a lot of fun to knit and I found the instructions to be very well written. This is only the second pair of socks I've ever done and I was about 10 when I made the first pair, so it's been a while!

Soon

I finished the socks last night and I love them! Didn't quite get the Sampler's part 1 done, but I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Pics to follow later as there's no time now. I have a bit over an hour before I have to go. The surgery is done in Tampere, so I have to catch a train there. I'm going to meet up with a friend for a couple of hours and then I have to go in. My mom's picking me up in the evening and bringing me home. Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm sure it'll be alright, but I'm still very nervous!

Genius

I've finished everything I had to do and have made progress on the Sampler and on the sock. Today however, I've not had much time for my hobbies as I've had a lovely day with DH. First a looong walk in the woods, then shopping and now we've just finished watching Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (which I've already seen and which I today found from a sales bin) while enjoying good cider, warm garlic baguette and candies.

I received my Amazon order on Friday and among other things I got this:



This is such a good book. I've already found 17 things I want to make out of it! The hood on the cover got me thinking about the one I posted about earlier. I couldn't quite make up my mind which one I liked more (both without the fur edge), but after a bit of thinking I decided I'm going to do mine following the earlier pattern but making it short like this one and with a similar closure. I said I didn't know when to wear one, but the other day I really could ahve used one. Imagine a windy winter day when youhave to walk outside even for just a tiny bit, and you want your hair to look good when you arrive at your destination. Wouldn't a hood like this be just the perfect thing to wear? It keeps you warm and keeps the wind from messing up your hair and doesn't squash it either. Genius!

What can you do with just one hand?

It's confirmed. I'm going to have the operation done on my wrist next Monday. Four days from now! With the date came the realization that for the next three weeks I'm going to be unable to do the things I now spent most of my time doing: writing on the computer, knitting and stitching. Well, I could write one handed, and probably will do so for short blog entries and such, but otherwise it would just be too much of a bother and by the time I'd finish one sentence I'd forgotten what I wanted to say after that. So the question I've been asking is what am I going to do?

I'm trying to write the article I've now been doing research on by Monday morning so that I can start the research process for another one while recovering from the surgery. I also hope to write up all the material that I now have waiting to be written for my thesis so that I, once again, can do more research during the following weeks. Knitting, well, there's nothing I can do. Sob. I think I can stitch with the work on my lap stand using just my right hand. It'll be slow, but at least I can do it. I'm going to collect a pile of books I want to read and probably spent an enormous time surfing the internet. I probably should also cook up some meals we can just heat up for the first few days after surgery. In addition to these must-do things, I hope to finish up the Embossed Leaves socks (so I can wear them as a consolation prize of sorts) and finish the stitching on part 1 of the Sampler Mystery. So, I'm headed for a busy, busy end of the week.

Speaking of the socks, I've finished the first one and just cast on for the second. They are going to be so wonderful!

Movies and books

On Saturday we went to the movies. We wanted to see Narnia, but it was sold out. Neither one of us wanted to go straight back home, so we went to see King Kong instead. ...yawn... It was way too long. Technically and visually it was a great movie, the actors were great etc. but there just wasn't enough of a story to make a movie over 3 hours long. The island bit just went on and on and towards the end DH and I were just laughing at how ridiculous it was. And then I was actually yawning out of boredom. But the very end back in New York wasn't so bad. And I loved the clothes the women were wearing. Those hats were really cute and now I'm thinking that maybe I could knit and felt one for myself. I'd need to find a pattern though... And I also liked the skirts and dresses. Especially the one Naomi Watts had on when they first went to the island and then the dress she had on at the last scene.

Yesterday I went to pick up the books I had preordered at the book sales.
An embroidery book with old Finnish patterns for tablecloths etc, an orchid book, Kaffe Fassett's Patchwork book and a soft cover one called The Victorian House. I've browsed through them all, but haven't had time yet to read them properly.

And I also got some yarn. These will eventually become this, without the furry thing at the edge. I don't know where or when I would wear it, but it looks cute :)

Photos

Blogger is driving me crazy at the moment and it seems no matter what I do I can not change the order of the photos... So the first thing you'll see is my new knitting WIP. It's the Embossed Leaves Socks from the Interweave Knits winter issue. I'm using Fortissima Socka yarn and 2.5mm needles. I didn't have the best of starts with this one. The cast on method and the following 2 rows were something I'd never done before so had to learn those first. Then for some odd reason my stitches were way too tight and thus the sock threatened to become too small. So I ripped and started again with larger needles. Well, this time I didn't knit so tightly and the socks threatened to become too big. After I made a mistake in the leaves (knitted the same row twice) I decided to rip it all off again. And started again with the 2.5mm needles and this time, by some magic, they are spot on!

Here is then the latest finish: a pair of wrist warmers in Rowan Kid Classic. Again, the pattern was from a Finnish magazine, but I'm sure it's available elsewhere as well. These were super fast to knit! They're done using both of the colors at the same time, knitting with 7mm needles.
I had a bit of trouble with the lace cuffs, having never done lace before. I ripped and started over four times, only to realize I'd had it right the first time. Lesson learned: lace doesn't look good until you have plenty of rows done.

And here's a pic of me wearing one. They are very warm and will be very useful when I'm writing on the computer (it can get a bit chilly in the room). The only minus is that they are a bit itchy and I have quite sensitive skin, so I have to wear them on top of sleeves.

Just a quick update

Today has been a fantastic craft day.. The new Suuri Käsityölehti (a Finnish craft magazine) came in the mail today and I've been leafing through it. There wasn't that much in it that I wanted to do. A simple knitted scarf in a new variegated thread (Inka by Garnstudio), a mohair lace scarf (thinking of doing this in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze eventhough the gauge isn't correct and needs to be fiddled with) and a largish crocheted basket made from fabric strips. No stitching, but then there never is. Well, there IS, just not anything I'd ever want to make. There were some great news. A huge yarn store has opened up about a 30 minutes drive away! Definitely going go check that out next week!

DH is out with his friends this evening, so I've been knitting and stitching. I actually finished a pair of wrist warmers that I started only yesterday! They were way faster to do than I imagined. I also got an hour and a half on Sampler Mystery. Pics to follow tomorrow as it's so dark right now I don't think they would turn out well. Now I have lots of choices. I could a) go to sleep, b) read a book in bed until I fall asleep or until DH gets home, c) stitch more or d) start a new knitting project. Oh decisions, decisions. I think I'll go and start my next knitting project (just a few rows) while I drink some tea and then I'll grab my book and read.

A finish and a beginning

I did it! I finished the bolero! Here is a picture of it (placed over a tank top):

I love, love, LOVE it! It fits me perfectly and I love the color and the feel of it. The yarn was Rowan Calmer, knitted with 5mm needles. The pattern is from a Finnish magazine, but I think it is Rowan's so should be available elsewhere as well. The pattern had shorter sleeves, just past the elbow, but I wanted mine longer and now they end at the wrist bone. The front pieces were definitely the hardest things I've ever knitted. Mainly because the instructions weren't so clear. They told you how to make one and then just said to make the other a mirror image of the first one. Well, with all the increases and decreases (some visible, some at the edge) and the sturdier edge at the center, I had to really use my brain and all the help I could find from other resources, and rip rip rip, to be able to make it, but I did it! And I learned a lot as well.

I also started the Sampler Mystery II and it's looking very promising. The first part is a border, so I've been going round with just one color so far so there isn't much to see yet. Hence no picture of that at the moment.

Happy New Year!

2006 is here! I'm so looking forward to what the future brings.
Today was the beginning of a new year (well day 2), new month and new week. It didn't have a very promising beginning. DH had made porridge in the morning and left it on the stove for me. I put the heat on and managed to completely forget about it the very next second. I left the kitchen to do something else and about 15 minutes later I started to wonder where that awful burning smell was coming. Now I need to find some wonder product to clean the pan with and the house stills smells of burnt porridge 8 hours later! Oh, joy.

I had to go out to the university library to return and pick up some books (yes, I actually worked on my thesis today :) ) and to get some groceries. I also needed to buy a needle to sew the knitted bolero pieces together and to get 7mm needles for my next knitting project. Within minutes of leaving the house I was soaking wet. It was raining and the snow that had been on the ground had turned into that lovely watery slush. The yarn store was my last stop so when I got there I was feeling very miserable and felt like a deserved a treat and got some yarn in addition to the things I went in for. I know what I'm going to use them for, so I didn't buy them just because. After I got home I ate, did the dishes and dusted and then spent time playing with my new yarns doing gauge swatches. Everything worked out just the way I had hoped.

Now I need to start making dinner. After that I'm going to start Martina's new Sampler Mystery II (provided that DH remembered to print it for me) and finish finish the bolero. But right now I'm going to go and read some blogs and actually leave comments (one of my New Year's resolutions).