WIP Wednesday, on a positive note

Since my last post, nothing much has changed in the Tokyo-having-my-brother-in-it situation. He is now with his boss and some others from work, and even though they briefly toyed with the idea of leaving, they haven't and won't if things stay the same.

I know a lot of people have left, and I am glad for them and their loved ones at home (quick wave to Annie Bee's sister, who is about to touch down). I understand that enough is enough and you just want to get home. However this is not something I want for my brother, who has really come into his own during the last few days. Starting out panicky on the phone during the weekend, he gave a sublimely down to earth interview on the Wereldomroep, a Dutch radio station that broadcasts worldwide. He gets that from me, by the way. Ahem. I think we're all clear on one thing: if he were to flee now, it would be very difficult to return. The risk of an earthquake is always there in Tokyo, nothing has changed that, even with the nasty powerstation-thing. No, he's made a decision which wasn't the easiest one, but the best one for him.

If I were a sentimental person I would start a weepy story about how proud I am of my little brother, but I'm not (a sentimental person, proud I very much am). This is WIP Wednesday after all!

Unfortunately, I have nothing to show you!
Peaks Island only needs a few ends tucked in, and the secret knitting is blocked and ready to be written up. It's still a secret, so no pictures yet!

I've started and am about to frog what I knit of a silky scarf, because I'm still not quite liking the cast on yet. It has Estonian flowers and shiny beads though. I have a few bad pictures on my phone, but for some reason they won't find their way unto this blog. It will have to hold... and either way, it's about to be frogged.

So instead, for your delectation and delight, some happy pictures of a happy place.

SCOTLAND, I WILL BE IN YOU ONE DAY!

So now that you've looked at the pretty pictures, tell me, have you donated yet?

WIP Wednesday, unfinished business

Oh dear, oh dear.

As it turns out, I get a lot less done now that I'm more or less back to full time work (surprise!). Choices to be made, which means many things do not get chosen. Think: kid-who-gets-picked-first, instead of last-to-be-picked-for-the-team.

The secret knitting project which was last started received a little pepper to put up the proverbial arse, so it's getting most attention these days. There may or may not be a group willing to test-knit. I better have something to test, won't I?

basket of unfinished goodness

So there are 4 WIP's that got started this year and none have been finished. Peaks Island is probably 75% done, and has been for a while. O.W.L.S. is waiting, but I'm dreading to cut it so I can fix it. The spun yarn for the birds'omasomething has been decorating a pillow for weeks. It sure looks pretty, but it can't stay. I might one day need that pillow for my head.
The first-picked WIP is at least at 50%, because that is how much yarn I have left. More or less. I tried to do the numbers, but maths and excel sheets are not my strong point after 18.00 (after 15.00, but don't tell my boss).

Somewhere, Manu is still waiting, Mythos is in hiding, I have only 1 Manolo sock and the Spot Check Socks have been frogged because I needed the needles for the Favoured Secret Project. I'll try again sometime, on my new short circulars. It might go a lot faster now that I've mastered the art of two-handed stranded knitting. Hurray for the internet! The other Secret Project won't make it to its recipient in time to do any good. Sorry.

I promise not to start anything new, and to finish something soon.

Deep Breaths.



PS: the underpaid nifty job-people sent a reply to this extent: "this job would be great for you, but we're not actually hiring due to re-organisations, so send us your cv next year please." Which seems awfully useful, trying to find a job soon. Big strike through this one then...

WIP Wednesday, only it's Thursday

Uhm yeah, so all plans were out the window yesterday. Apparently, that's where all of my plans live. I can only assume it's getting crowded out there and it is quite cold, so maybe some will drift back inside. One can always hope.

No essential work was done in the end, but I made back ups (long overdue), updated my phone's software (so the reminder could stop draining the battery) and lots of annoyance with the one camera in this family was more or less solved today.

All of this happened so I could show you some lovely pictures of some new projects. Yeah I know, I have a few (a lot) on the needles already, but sometimes it just feels good to start something new and exciting. (Startitis, much?)

Exciting, no?

Last weekend I cast on for the Peaks Island Hood, which has been in my list for over a year. The Hysteric Yarn is nice in places, and a bit over-twisted in others, but who cares?

I don't

And then for the piece de resistance (in French, obviously) I figured I could design something myself. It worked out alright in the beginning, the size was just what I calculated but I didn't quite like the way it lacked 'widening' after the brim. So I frogged. And decided I didn't like the edge anyway. I came up with another one, and spent all evening watching progress bars move slowly and knitting a 180 stitch picot edge. This afternoon, I re-read Alice Starmore's Fair Ilse Knitting, and decided to change the k1mc,k1cc colour edge as well to a k1mc,p1cc.

I moved on to larger needles this afternoon, after the brim so for the first time, I could tell the actual size. And now it fits 2 heads.

Pretty though, isn't it?

or 4 yarncakes, if stretched

Guess what, I'm frogging again and abandoning the picot edge. The k1mc, p1cc can stay, after I measure again.


It's not all doom and gloom, today at work we learned that not one, but two girls found themselves another job so no one is sent home (yet). Next elimination planned for the end of March. I'm not over the moon about it, though I guess I should be. The best I can do right now is "meh"

WIP wednesday, a week of finishing and starting all over again

This week, the golden oldies are still where they are...

My scarf got a little work done on the way back from the airport, but I slept most of the time, so I'm still not half-way done with the supposedly superfast scarf. The last secret Christmas knitting didn't gain a stitch, but that's ok. (I'm being nice to me!)

I did manage to finish the pink monstrosity I posted about last week and even made its blue sister in time for the plane they needed to catch, neatly stuffed into the Texan's hand luggage.

The dreaded kilt hose were done on the second day of Christmas, so technically, that was on time as well. I'm just a little proud of the way they turned out!

After the Airport Trip, I finished the last bits of the therapeutic spinning, and plied all together into 500 mtr of coloured goodness. It'll probably become a Peak Island Hood (announcement for future WIP)

Since I didn't want this winter to pass by on unfinished projects, I started another one in a bulky yarn. O.W.L.S. Oh yes. Just this evening I finished the 2x2 ribbing (2") on 128 stitches in the round. So far, I'm loving the speed of it, but not the fact that the picture I just took refuses to sync from web albums to Picasa proper so it's not blogged this week.

In spinning news: I'm already trying to work out how to combine natural colours of wool into a Fair Isle project I haven't started yet... Oh dear