White summer

What can I say? I love white and I love summer. This summer we had hot times, but we also had pretty cold ones too.

I had about 300 gramms of Patons cotton yarn from the second hand shop. It was too much for a tank top, to little for a sweater. So a short sleeved summer cardigan seemed a good idea. I just couldn't find one I liked so I designed one :-)
Simple top down seamless raglan construction, with stockinett bodice, and a lace skirt/peplum.

There are increases hidden in the reversed stockinett columns so it is slightly A line

Also slightly puffy sleeved with crocheted picot edge. Typical of me, eh?

I think it will go well with summer dresses just as with soft, loose pants.

You know, who was the photographer, don't you ;-)

I've been spinning

The stress of the last few week affected me more ways than I care to count :-(... one of those was that for weeks I just could not knit.
Yes I know. I've knitted through all kinds of things, including parting from P... Me, who is capable of turning back from the gate because I had no knitting in my bag (even if I was going to work). I was just sitting there looking at the knitting... Even if I took it into my hand I've put it down after a few stitches... I couldn't concentrate even on stockinette. Me who would knit in the dark at the movies. It was really scary, I have all this yarn, what am I going to do with it???

I don't know what made me try the spindle, but I am glad I did, because spinning took me through it now...

That is me in the park, shot by my friend, Kriszta, when we took the kids.

I finally finished the turqoise merino and silk, you've already seen the finished shawl. I still have about 200 meters or so, but no idea what to knit... maybe I will chain ply it and make a lacy fingerless glove.

Then I finally finished the alpacca I was making for the Helm's deep shawl. 200 gramms, about 700 meters.

Thats my son's hand... maybe gives an idea about the thickness.

It is soft enough to wear it around my neck...even when it is pretty warm.

And then I was spinning this beauty of softness... Up until now, this was the softest, loveliest rowing I've spun. I've started out with this 50 gramm of rowing which was 50% silk and 50% yak. Used the spindle I bought from Steven. Ended up with...

420 meters od the softest yarn I ever touched. Even if I say so myself. I would love to put it under my pillow. Or rather over my pillow.

I tried to do it as thin as I can, so it would be enough for something. I have no idea though what would that be.

Love that barberpoling, marbled effect too.

Any suggestion what should I knit from it?

Handspun giant

I've been spinning this yarn for a while now, it's appeared in the blog now and then, but i finally had enough to finish the shawl.I knew it is going to be big when I took it off the needles...

But when, doing blocking the edges didn't fit on a queen sized bed, I was sure.

There is something so immensly satisfying not only wear your own handknits, but make them from your own handspun.

I've put some beads in just for good measure:

And see how big it is:

Now I can REALLY wrap myself in it :-)

Or in sarong style...wear it as a dress

Even two of us is fitting in it:

But the truth is I wear it like this:

But I can't get enough looking at it

The wool is available in this shop.Unlike the other shop I bought it first, her service was impaccable. Spindle came from this shop.
The pattern is Heartland lace by Evelyn C. Clark.
I used knitpicks 14" straight needles.

Maybe even the beads can be seen...I used up almost every one of the big pack...hardly any left...like I would have counting them before buying.

I think I'll keep it :-)

Oh and my personal photographer...By now I don't have to tell who done the modelled pics, do I?

As long as we are talking about purple

Yep... I tend to have those color periods...I guess it is because of my need to match things up and if I have a -let say- purple skirt sooner or(rather than) later I will have some purple sweater to match things up...I had this yarn for a while (the recent happenings made me watch my budget very closely...so I decided to knit from stash. I haven't bought any yarn, or fiber for a whole month. Imagine that.
For some years I had my eye on a cardigan in one of the german magazines (I guess it was a sabrina special edition), but as we all know my german knowledge it rather limited, besides the cardigan needed a lot of modification anyway. So, as usual, I looked at the charts and made up my own version.

In the empire style I love so much (almot as much as wrap cardis :-)

Slightly A lined (but not as much so it would look like a maternity thing)

Long sleeves:

Crocheted button band (as it has more "hold" than a knitted one).

Yarn is Yarnart's jeans (50% cotton, 50% polyester) in lilac color. I used less than 400 gramms. 3mm addi circular needles (the body was knitted in one piece) and 3 mm straight bamboo ones for the sleeve. I knitted teh two sleeves at the same time. I would hate more trying to think what and when did I do with the second sleeve than sewing up the seams.

Also crocheted picot edge around the neck and the sleeves just to add even more romance.

The modelled pictures were shot by my favourite personal photographer.

Guess who is it :-)

Yep, it is my boy, who also figured out the automatic mode in the camera. Is he talented or what?

Thank you sweethart.

The queen of second hand

So now back to regular blooging schedule...and an (almost) regular post type, about my adventures of hunting in the land of second hand stores.

Those who know me, also know that I have a "thing" about colors and matching things up.Up to the underwear. Blue undies under purple clothing??? NO no no!!! Also I have a ton of clothes, but I swear I do not spend all that much on them. Ever wonder how do I put toogether those outfits that mix and match all over? Here is how it happens.

It all started with a skein of yarn. I found it in a second hand store, not even in the one I find most of my treasures.

I don't even know why did I bought it, because the color (purplish magenta) is not really me. Also it was thick and thin and I am not such a fun of those "effect" or "art"yarns. For me it means instead of good knitting one is relying on the yarn to make an impression. But who knows, it maybe looked fun, or the fact that it had cotton AND linen in it (I am a great fan of linen. Show me something white and linen I want it. If it has mother of pearl buttons even more). But that still doesn't explain why did I bought that one skein (which is enough for about...nothing).

It was hiding away in my stash for a year now. I almost gave it away in the WWKIP day raffle, only I couldn't find it at the time, and those days I wasn't in the mindset for methodical search.

Then I found a skirt. Once again the color was magenta-ish purple, but it had a different shade of purple underskirt, and beside cut I like and which suits me it had beads. BEADS. Yumm. Look:

Then I found a top almost exactly the same color than the underskirt... and then I remembered I have a bra and panties in similar colors in the bottom of my drawers.(Though both came from second hand stores, both of them still had their store tags, so nobody ever used them.)

Then I bumped into a bag that had the same colors. It was in the sale bin so it was cheap, even by SH standars.

Only, only then I remembered the hank of yarn, and between job interviews I went through methodically my stash and dug it out. Just the perfect color to complement the outfit...Maybe I could make some accesory out of it...
But what?. It is linen and cotton, so only something really light would work. But it is thick and thin, defnetly not lace material. Now how do I make something light out of that? Should I make a shrug? There is less then 200 meters of the thing. OK, a scraf might work, but only if there is a LOT of holes in it. But already agreed it is not good for real lace...

Ahhh, there is is, the basic grid of the not a drop scarf...

Lots of holes, I got that right.:-)

Knitted with 5.5 mm short bamboo needles.
Those who used to see me in all white in the summer were surprised, but seeing how all matched up they knew it is ME.

(and you know what? The pic does not show, but I have a pair of purple T strap shoe to go with it. And the hair thing with the felted flower Ariadné gave me also goes...So there.)

I am coming

back...
Do I owe you an explanation? Maybe not, as this is my blog, and I can do whatever I can, but still...

The things is, that little more than a month ago, I suddenly found myself out of my job. I could say it was not totally unexpected, there were signs, and when they announced that that the big project we were working on for years now, will not be completed I knew things are not good, but I still hoped. Hoped that the results achieved through the years mean something. Hoped that the exceed expectation evaluation means something.That never missing a deadline (however unreasonable that is), that getting the best feedbacks about my work mean somethings. That I went to work sometimes sick, or from my vacation just to finish some certain task means something. That an american owned multinational company needs employees with fluent English an translation skills better and faster than the professional ones.

No, it did not matter. And it was no comfort that I wasn't alone. More than a few of us was sent packing. Most were people with such a knowledge and being decades with the company. Even if it was not my case it still hurt to see that the decisions were based purely on money. Older, people with more vacation days and higher salaries had to go. Pure and simple.

It was hard to face a lot of things. Look into the mirror and see my old demons live again. To see that it doesn't matter what I do, how hard I try it is just not enough. That I am not enough.I spent nights thinking about what could I do differently, but the truth is that the ones who did things differently got the boot just as well. The truth is, that no matter how I wanted, it was not so good for me there. I tried for years making people understand that I am capable of more than collecting time sheets. It took me ten month just to make them value my English knowledge and translation skills. I kept going to my leaders, kept asking for meaningful tasks.Did not got them. I waited almost a year for the project to reach the point when I could start translating the manuals and other docs. The time never came.

Of course there is always a logical explanation, the economical circumstances etc... But it is no comfort if they tell me a thousand time that it was not our work, which was exceptionally good. Yeah? So???

Of course I was afraid of P.' reaction. How many time did he said that without him I would be nothing? That withouth his support I would end up under the bridge? That I shouldn't be so full of myself, and my results they worth nothing. (at the end he was right...wasn't he?)

But then I learned a lot in the last few weeks. About myself, and about others too. Who is the one I thought as a close friend, but avoided me. Who was who promised every help, and didn't even picked up the phone to me. Who is the one who instead of giving some comfort added a kick or two. Who is the one who wasn't a close friend at all, but for the first word jumped and helped. Who is the one who was not a close friend, but tried to help without asking...

At the end it took me slightly more than a week to find a new job. It is not a perfect one, it is farther away and pays less... but it does pay the bills... and I didn't given up the search for the perfect one. (Actually, I had four offers in the last four weeks. That might mean something at the end.)

So here we are. i am starting next monday.
Tomorrow i will be back with knitting, clothes and the whole sheebang. OK?

This will be...

Original lyrics by Janos Bródy

Original lyrics can be found here.

And here is a rough translation:

See, I’ve come back
I might be ashamed
But there is no guilt in my heart
Needed some change
I went and sailed
Over far away seas

I sailed through a stormy sea of wildflowers
I sailed through the tired sea of shining stars

But see I have come back
Don’t let me ask,
Just hold me tight again.

The end of the world called for me
And the distance drew me in

Chased by my blood
My passion won over reason

I sailed through the stormy sea of temptation
I sailed through the sea of loving fairy girls
But see, I have come back
Don’t let me ask
Hold me tight again

Say you waited for me every day and night
Say waited for me after each stormy time
See the sky is clearing up
And under the clouds
The sun is shining now

I sailed through the stormy sea of temptation
I sailed through the sea of loving fairy girls
But see, I have come back
Don’t let me ask
Hold me tight again

Say you waited for me every day and night
Say waited for me after each stormy time
See the sky is clearing up
And under the clouds
The sun is shining now

This was

The original lyrics can be found here. (For some reason their embedding code doesn't work)

A very rough translation:

I am walking under dark skies
There is no one on the streets
Dark clouds are above me
And heavy weight on my heart

The doors and windows getting closed
The silence is stuffy before the storm
My soul is attacked by dark visions

I am walking under dark clouds
For long years in row now
The comforting sunshine
Rarely visits my life

The doors and windows getting closed
The silence is stuffy before the storm
My soul is attacked by dark visions

So I welcome the screaming windstorm
Lightning that blinds
The deafening thunders
And downpours crashing down

Just lift this paralyzing pressure
Maybe then I could calm down