Gentleman's Simple Winter Socks

Another pair out of Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks book, these are the Gentleman's Winter Socks for the KAL from that book. While I had originally planned to make them for MyGuy they are now my socks. The yarn was a Regia and I knit them on 2mm bamboo needles. The heel construction was a bit weird, the sole part of the heel is rather thin. A first day of wearing showed them to be alright as far as the comfort went, however, so I will keep them this way.

White Socks finished

Over the last few days I sewed the 10 blocks that I had decided I needed to add when I first laid out the 70 existing blocks and sewed the top together. The pattern is Jewel Box and you can see that I once again chose to have two color scrappy quilt. This is one of my favorite types of quilt. I am thinking about adding a border, but the quilt already is 160x200 cm and I think just a red binding might be enoug.





I finished my white socks that were originally intended for the knit the classics for January. Though I had planned to use a simple eylet pattern, I could not resist when I found Gothic Lattice in one of Barbara Walker's Treasuries. After all Woman in White is a gothic novel. I am not sure if I would do the toe part like this again, but it's not bad enough for me to redo it. The socks are Regia Silk in white and very soft.

TBR Book 2

I have started book 2 for the tbr challenge this morning. Inspector Montalban will be my train reading for the moment. I have actually finished a book (The Ghost and Mrs. McClure) since posting about my reading funk, but am still starting book after book and not going through with any of them. Very bad when you consider that I should read 5 classics till the end of this month for the Classics Challenge. Guess that one I will not meet. But at least I am keeping up with the tbr.

African Socks

I knit these socks while I was home sick this week. I couldn't handle anything more complicated than stockinette and that was great for this yarn. It is Regia Africa and the redish color reminds me of the dirt roads in Ghana. I am happy how they turned out.

Also on the needles are the white gothic socks and I started the Simple Winter Socks for the Vintage Socks KAL. At first I was sorry those were the selected socks for the KAL, but I am still not completely recovered, so they make the perfect blog reading knitting. They will be for MyGuy, I think he will like the brown and natural colors.

Silent Poetry Day

BERT BRECHT
Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters


Wer baute das siebentorige Theben?
In den Büchern stehen die Namen von Königen.
Haben die Könige die Felsbrocken herbeigeschleppt?
Und das mehrmals zerstörte Babylon,
Wer baute es soviele Male wieder auf? In welchen Häusern
Des goldstrahlenden Lima wohnten die Bauleute?
Wohin gingen an dem Abend, wo die chinesische Mauer fertig war,
Die Maurer? Das große Rom
Ist voll von Triumphbögen. über wen
Triumphierten die Cäsaren? Hatte das vielbesungene Byzanz
Nur Paläste für seine Bewohner? Selbst in dem sagenhaften Atlantis
Brüllten doch in der Nacht, wo das Meer es verschlang,
Die Ersaufenden nach ihren Sklaven.
Der junge Alexander eroberte Indien.
Er allein?
Cäsar schlug die Gallier.
Hatte er nicht wenigstens einen Koch bei sich?
Philipp von Spanien weinte, als seine Flotte
Untergegangen war. Weinte sonst niemand?
Friedrich der Zweite siegte im Siebenjährigen Krieg. Wer
Siegte außer ihm?

Jede Seite ein Sieg.
Wer kochte den Siegesschmaus?
Alle zehn Jahre ein großer Mann.
Wer bezahlte die Spesen?

So viele Berichte,
So viele Fragen.

WIP Wednesday

First a finished object. These are my railway socks from Vintage Knitting, finished in time for the January challenge in the yahoo group. The pattern is not very visible with this yarn, but I do love them and am wearing them now.















This one is an older WIP with blocks inspired by Gwen Marston's wonderful book Liberated Quiltmaking. I am considering leaving it like this, adding a sawtooth border or adding a flying geese border (both borders liberated, naturally). Any input will be welcome. I do not have any of the grey left, but have a lighter grey that might work. I love the bright pinks, they cheer me up in dreary January.







I am quite sick this week (again!), but obviously, so are my knits. My red sweater will have to be ripped back to the joining of the body and the sleeves as the raglan looks bad and does not really fit well. Without photo, but also aiming for the frog pond are a Make Waves sock in blue (to tight) and a white sock (ladders! I can not remember having ladders in my socks. But then I normally do not do them in purl stitches. I think doing the offending stitch in combination knitting should solve the problem, but it means ripping back.) Then I really wanted to knit simple stockinett socks and I made a mess out of the yarn ball- I finally cut the offending part of to untangle seperately and started the sock. I normally have left overs, so hope this will be fine.

Reading Funk

Currently I do not feel like reading anything at all. I have a bunch of books to read for several challenges and am unsurprised that I do not want to read any of those. But I do not want to read anything else either and that is unusual. None of my new books or my favorite authors really tickle my fancy...

I guess that way at least I get my Railway Socks for the Vintage KAL finished. I started sock number 2 yesterday and it was my blog reading knitting.

My red sweater is almost finished, but I do not like the way the raglan looks, it is lumpy under the arms and along the raglan line. Likely I will rip it. Ugh. But with that sweaters karma not surprising, after all I needed three starts to get that right. At least the body looks good and the sleeves are fine, too, now I just need to get the yoke right.

WIPs

Railway Socks. These are for the January Challenge in the Vintage Socks Knit Along. The yarn is not ideal for this pattern, but I like both, so I just keep knitting. I will need a second one for the challenge, so I better keep going.



These are my broadway mitts. As you can see, not much is missing, but since it is warm enough to not consider wearing a jacket when going for lunch, I feel no need to hurry them along. Especially since they are on the 3mm needles I do not really need.



This is the first of my making waves socks. As it is not going well without cable needle, they are progressing really slowly. Finishing them is likely going to be part of the Project Spectrum Challenge for February/March.




This is the mitt for Sharfika, inspired by the pink scarf I am knitting from Grumperia's pattern Sharfik.



And this is the actualy Sharfika. Neither the Sharfika nor her mitts get much work done on them, because, you guessed it, it's too warm.

Atwood April

Since quite a few people have Atwood on their list for the TBR challenge I was thinking of having a month were we would read a book by Margret Atwood. April because of the alliteration and because just now I have to much must read books. I have three books in my piles that would work. Anyone else interested?

Widow for One Year finished

This is the third time I am writting this post, so I am going to keep it short.

This was the last of my winter stack challenge, so I successfully finished my first reading challenge. As usual I enjoyed Irving's disfunctional family and the way they dealt with life and each other. The last part of the book was actually quite a bit of a turn off as all the ends tied up too neatly and it was just too much happy end. Luckily I was in the mood for a happy end otherwise it would have pissed me of quite a lot.

I am happy to have this heavy hardcover out of my bag as carrying it to and from work weighted me down quite a bit. I will happily stay with my paperbacks. I have started Das Buch vom Salz, a ficitional report from Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas cook in Paris. Despite this being in my mother tongue it is not an easy read so far, I need to get the rythm of the writing that is quite different from Irving. This book was a christmas gift from MyGuy and I am sure he will be happy to see me read it. It always makes him unsure if he got the right thing if I do not read it right away. Besides it will be a nice change before I dive in the classics for the classics challenge as well as the Knit the Classics.

Blind Assassin

This was my fourth book for the Winter Stack Challenge and I finally finished it yesterday. This book was just what I have come to expect from Atwood: dark and multidimensional. This time there were 3 lines to follow plus some newspaper extracts. The present day line, the life line and the book line were interwoven. If you do not enjoy jumping back and forth you might find this book off putting, but I always enjoy it. I could sympathize with the main characters wish to see herself in a positive light as she is aware of it. Though on occasion I got upset with her for being such a "drifter" in life.

Quite a few people are reading a book by Atwood for the tbr challenge and I am wondering if anyone would be interested in reading her at the same time, for example in April? I have Edible Woman and Penelopeide to read and Handmaid to reread, I also want to read Surfacing.

I am now reading John Irving's Widow for one Year. The main reason this has been on my tbr stack for ages is that this is a hardcover and therefore not easily tugged in a purse or coat pocket. It was bought when I still lived in Giessen, so at the very latest in 1997. 10 years later I am finally reading it. So far it is a good read. Though Irving is not exactly a light weight either compared to Atwood it's less work (so far). I am considering to rebuy this in paperback as I want to keep it for my Irving collection and the hardcover has to go as it takes up too much room. So if anyone wants it in February, let me know.

Ann Granger - Mord ist aller Laster Anfang

This is the first book for my tbr challenge. When I got the flu I needed a light read, blind assassin is neither light in weight nor in content. While Say it with Poison was an interesting mystery, it left me curiously cold. I am not sure if that is the translation that is bugging me or if the original was as stiff, but the language was just not captivating me and as an introduction of a series it failed. I am a consumat reader of series, but here the main characters did not really interest me nor is their beginning relationship of much interest.

At least I am done with it and can now list it on Amazon. (If it will let me, those guys are maintaining the site right now.)

And another pair of socks...

This are the Child's First Sock Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks in Meilenweit Cotton. This socks have been WIPs ever since blue month in Project Spectrum and I got fed up with them hoging my needles and my sock bag, so while I had the flu the last 4 days I finally finished them while watching biathlon and skijumping.

In front of the blogs I knit on my red sweater, but that has not been photographed yet again. But I just measured it against my beloved Rosedale and I think it will work great. I have reconsidered the Hybrid approach as I am not sure I will like the saddles with the shaping and the yarn. I do however consider either a yoke with moss stitch patterns or a raglan with a polo-shirt collar. Hmmm. 6 more rows at the body I think and then the sleeves, that will give me some time to consider the options. It may depend on what patterns I can find. I am thinking chevrons.

I am also reading my first book for the tbr challange and am not enjoying it all that much. Nonetheless I managed this morning to ALMOST miss my train station not once but twice. I guess I needed a getaway. My flu was annoying enough spoiling 3 days of work, but this night My Guy's father had a stroke and went to hospital. Luckily the reports are very favorable. I have not been as I consider it unwise to spread viruses or bazilla in an intensive care unit. Sent good thoughts for him, there are more health issues there.

I hope everyone else is starting the new year on a more positive note. I have made only one resolution and that is to give up coke for all of 2007. I did it for a month in 2006, but have a hard time keeping the intake down, so I am kicking the can completely this year.

Gentleman's Fancy Socks finished

These are my finished socks. The yarn has been in my possession for ages and finally found socks to be in. Actually it was coincidence that the yarn and the pattern go together so well as I had completely forgotten how it would knit up. The socks turned out almost identical, much to my delight. I have AIMED for identical of course once I saw how great sock one looked, but as I had just started knitting with whatever yarnend there was, I am pleased how well I matched the place in the repeat for sock 2.

This is the beginning of my red sweater. Actually it is the third beginning of that sweater. First there was Mrs CB's Camp Jacket: much too busy yarn for the pattern (Chicknits). Then I cast on Park from NoroKnits: I liked the changes I had made, but decided I did not want a hoodie after all. So this is the third cast on and I am winging it with EZ. I thought I would make a Hybrid, but with the waist shaping I am not sure the saddle shoulders would look good. Any comments or ideas on this?

And then there is this. That is the view out of my office at work. Luckily neither the trains nor the buses are all that loud and at least it easily reachable by public transport (=knitting or reading time).

Looking for a book

I am looking for a book that I held in hand the other day and now of course can not remember the author or the title. It was about a family that for one year tried to go with all the RIGHT choices as far as environmental, social and ethical effects of their lives were concerned. Does anyone know the title of this?

Thanks in advance.

I really need to get a booklet and a pen for my purse to write these things down.

One year of blogging

I only realized today that I have been blogging for over a year already. Yeah me! I did not think I would stick with it when I started, but even with my usual changes of interest I am still blogging ones in a while about all sorts of things.

I had a goal list then, it might be a good idea to start that up again.

Share reading

Click on the title and you will end up at green man press' blog and a wonderful picture for fantasy loving readers.

Gentleman's Fancy Socks

I have finished the first of my blog reading socks this morning and have to say I like it a lot. I have cast on for sock 2 and it seems that I have managed to at least make them closely related, though so far I am only 7 rows in. I am happy with those and can imagine that I will do more with this pattern at another time. I still love my Thuja pattern even more, but this is great too.

I am thinking about casting on Eunny's Chucks Cable Socks. As a matter of fact I joined the KAL. But the cast on is 76st and I normally do about 56, so I need to read the whole pattern to see if I will decrease or if I need to switch to much smaller needles than my usual 2.5mm ones. I also need to decide what colors to use, I am thinking black and turquois.

Eragon - the film

You might remember that I read the book in a frenzy to have it finished before the movie started showing in Germany. I liked the book quite a bit, even with all the bad rep it got for being a rip off of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Dragonriders of Pern. After all how many original ideas do you get in romance for example? I'd rather read a well written retake than a bad original in this case. I am looking forward to reading Eldest as part of my chunkster challenge.

But the movie, oh boy, so bad. It is naturally a very shortened version of the book, but it was in some places hardly recognizable at all. Jeremy Irons was good and I liked the look of the guy who played Murtagh, but apart from that it was deciedely blah. MyGuy has only seen the movie and he thought it was more a fairy tale for kids than a decent fantasy for grown ups. So while the dragon animation is good for the most part, the movie fell flat of our expectations both for the reader and the non-reader. We spent a nice evening, but this is not going anywhere on our recommendation list.

Flush and away which we saw the week before however was funny and I am sure will end up in our DVD collection.

Lost and Finished

I lost my brown knitted hat last week when dozens of people behind me leaving the bus and walking to the train did not see it fit to mention that my backpack was open. When I noticed and turned around to go find my knitting some "kind" soul said "you lost something back there". I was ready to strangle the bitch and I fill the urge whenever I see her commuting on the same train with me every damn day.... Anyway, at that time I did not notice that I should have walked further back and retrieved my hat somewhere too. So I did what any sensible knitter does: I knit a new one. I had been itching to make an Odessa from Grumperia. It did turn out nice, though you can not see too much in the photo. I left the beads of and knit the YO through the back to prevent holes and am happy with the result.