a spring shawl

It's done!

The one I started a few weeks ago. This one?

the beginnings

Now it's done! My fancy schmancy lacy shawl is done! Wanna see it?

oooh....aaaaaahhhh....

Isn't it pretty all pinned, and stretched tight so that the points actually come to a point? Wanna see those closer?

purrrdy, ain't she?

Here's the pattern link again, if you're interested (it's the Ashton Shawlette on Ravelry). I made it a little larger than the pattern called for (it gives instructions how to do that). It ended up being almost 200cm x 100cm. Sounds huge, doesn't it? I could have blocked it even larger, I think, but I didn't push it.

I like how it turned out. I wish I were more of a shawl wearing kind of gal, but I'm going to try to wear it at some point anyways. I put too much work into it not to. It didn't hold the points when I unpinned it though. It's 90% acrylic yarn, and acrylic yarn doesn't block very well. I would have had to add starch to it or something. That would have taken away the lovely squishy softness though. So I'll live with it not being all pointy at the bottom.

It really is a shame that I'm not much of a shawl wearing kind of gal. Cuz I'd really like to make another one. A different pattern, but more shawls.

Are any of you shawl wearing kind of gals?

Would you like a shawl?

Can I knit you one?


please?


I so love knitting.

xxx

Five Years Ago

What were you doing five years ago?

Five years ago I moved to The Netherlands. Five years! It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years already. It feels like a lot less. It’s been a little bit of a bumpy ride so far, but it’s getting better. I expected the bumps though. I knew that it was going to be quite a transition and guessed it would take five years to get into my Dutch groove. I called it a Five Year Plan. I thought surely in that time I could learn the language, get a decent job and make a good life here. Last year (or maybe even sooner?) somewhere along the line I revised that Five Year Plan into a 10 Year Plan. I made some great headway into The Plan in the first five years, but still need a couple more to make it to the finish line.

While living in another country has presented more challenges than I expected, it’s also allowed me to do things that I would probably never had the chance to do if I still lived in the States. If I hadn’t moved here, I might not have

-become semi-bilingual! I took French in school for 5 years, but studying a language in a classroom is a whole different ballgame from learning it while living there.

-seen upclose the horrors of the haulocaust. Visiting the site of a concentration camp in Germany was very eye opening.

-traveled to Prague, Czech Republic. Very special! Not only because of it being near to where Dad’s family is from, but because it’s such an awesome old city. If you ever get the chance to go there, I’d take it!

-taken up knitting. If I hadn’t moved here and had so much free time on my hands, I might not have started crocheting. If I hadn’t started crocheting, would I have learned to knit? That would be a shame, since I love knitting.

-learned that I love brussels sprouts. It’s all been worth it to find the love of my vegetable life.

-started a blog! I am pretty sure that if I didn’t live thousands of miles from family and friends and want to come up with a way to show them a slice of my Dutch life, I would never have started this blog.

As difficult as the transition might have felt sometimes, it’s still brought about many good things (many more than I’ve written here, I’m sure). I wonder what the next five years will bring?


xxx

Street Market

This past Sunday there was a street market in our neighborhood. They do it every year at the end of March. This was the first time I've been to it. I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured it would be a few booths selling things. I don't know what kinds of things I was thinking they'd be selling. I guess I didn't think about it.

I didn't expect it to be like the market that we have down town every Wednesday and Friday. Smaller, but with the same kind of booths. Food (warm stroopwafels...mmmm, those smelled so heavenly), plants, fruits, clothes, shoes, cleaning supplies, pet stuff. Everything under the sun! And it was crowded too.

booths all the way to the end of the building in the back

You can't really tell how crowded it was from this photo. I have another one that shows more people, but they are a little too easy to recognize, so I'm not going to post it. (I should have waited until everyone had their backs turned.)

The market took up the whole block, a main street through the neighborhood. It was fun to shop in the middle of the street! I kept thinking "Hey look! I'm right in the middle of the street! Cars drive RIGHT. HERE. " I'm a dork. What can I say.

The shops were open too. I took advantage of that by going into the local yarn shop and bought some cotton thread/yarn for my next project. I had a little conversation with the owner, and she paid me a compliment, saying that I speak very good Dutch (for being here for just 5 years).

I'm definitely going back there again.


Flattery will get you repeat customers.


xxx

It's Spring!

Is it the first day of Spring already?! WOW! That sorta snuck up on me! I shouldn't be so surprised though. The weather here has been just beautiful.

Ludi is loving the fact that winter is over.

I sort of feel like "Wait, did we even have a winter?"

Well, the nicer weather is going to stay around for a while, so I'll have to wait until next year for more dreamy snow. Instead I'll be happy with these

daffodils!!!

There's a median a few blocks away at an intersection, and they have it planted with a whole bunch of daffodils. Or are they narcissus? I can never really tell the difference. They're yellow and so springy and just beautiful en mass like that. I remember it being more flowers though. Perhaps they need separated...or thinned... what's that word for what you do when bulb flowers naturalize and multiply and you need to spread them out more or they'll choke each other out? I can't remember.

Whatever it's called.

shines like the sun

They sure are pretty.

Enjoy your Spring Day!


xxx

Knitty Show and Tell

Ludi's work gloves were falling apart (the ones he wears under the leather gloves that keep his hands dry. He works in a freezer, where it's -35 degrees Celcius all the time.). I wish I had a before picture to show you. In one fingertip there was a giant hole. There were probably 5 other holes that needed patched too.  It was one sad pair of gloves.

So I patched those up for him best that I could, and decided that I'd make him a new pair. Since I'm a knitter and all, right?! I can do that! I bought some (hopefully) warm wool/polyester mix yarn and went to work. This is what flew off my needles.

Glover gloves, from Ravelry

My first pair of gloves! What do you think?

Since his fingers tend to get extra cold, I doubled the yarn to do the fingers. He says they work better than the other pair, so

SUCCESS!!!

I even got to use my DPNs on this project (on the fingers). I can knit with DPNs now too! YES! All around win, right?!

After finishing these I took a break for a while and made some puffs.

 wheeee! lovely puffs...

And when I needed a break from puffs, I started a shawl. I've been wanting to make a shawl for a while. Something a little more challenging than just stockinette. There were so many patterns that were so pretty I had trouble deciding. I ended up with the Ashton Shawlette on Ravelry.

mohair-wanna-be softiness

It's coming along well, so far. It sheds like crazy, but that's alright. That's the nature of the yarn, I guess. I hope this one turns out better than the pink tent I made (that was supposed to be a capelette). If it turns out nice, I'll show it off. If you never hear of it again, you know how well it ended up.

What have you guys been up to lately?

xxx

Spring is coming!

It should be here in full force soon. It's still a little chilly here, but with these in bloom, it can't be far away, can it?

purple stripes!

Sorry about the blur on that photo. You should see the other shots - this was the best one! Wait...

...you SHOULD see the other shots.

what is my phone looking at? The dirt?!

slightly better, but not great

I should have known to take my camera with me on my walk the other day. But I totally didn't think about it until I saw the crocus. Which at first I thought was a bunch of garbage strewn across the ground. There were clumps of white in the lawn behind the recycling bins in the neighborhood. At first I was cursing out the lazy SOBs who can't be bothered to clean up after themselves, or are too lazy to throw their trash into a bin that is less than 3 feet away from them. This is what I thought when I saw it from 100 yards or more.

Obviously I need new glasses. Because it was groups of crocus. All over the city they have crocus planted in grassy areas. This one is just a little sparse, so I couldn't tell that's what it was.

I was happy it wasn't trash, though.

Speaking of trash, why can't people clean up after themselves? Why do they think that littering is ok? And don't even get me started on the people who let their dogs do their business on the sidewalk and then don't clean it up. I have a whole new vocabulary for THOSE people.

So has spring sprung there? Is it getting ready to?


xxx

A new cafe in town!

There's a new cafe in my town. It's a KNITTING CAFE!!!

YES!!!

It's actually a commercial space downtown that I think must be used by a few different people/clubs. The knitters are there every Thursday night. I went last night for the first time, and it was fun! It was great to be around other knitters. Even if I wasn't able to speak perfect Dutch we still were able to communicate with each other.

I was really nervous before I went. That new-experience nervous, not sure what to expect, etc. I wasn't  worried that the people there would be mean, or unaccepting. I don't think I've ever met any nasty knitters! It was just my nerves getting the best of me. I almost didn't go. But I'm glad I pushed my fears aside and went. I will go again, I'm sure!

I knitted a hexipuff while I was there. They were a little surprised at the size of my needles (2.5mm), and the fact that I was doing magic loop (they were mostly working on straight needles), and they all LOVED the puff I took with me.

french knot sheep

I'm rather fond of that puff myself.

It's so much easier to explain what I am working on (Bee Keepers Quilt) when I have a finished puff as an example.  They asked how many I needed to make. I laughed.

Hundreds.

It's a long term project. Definitely long term.

In other crafting news, I'm still feeling like I want to Craft It All. I am busy right now making this:

knotty goodness

A friendship bracelet. Remember these?! I remember making them in high school. Gosh they were popular. I saw a post online about these a few weeks ago, and didn't think much about it. But when I needed a quick small gift for a card exchange, I thought about these bracelets. Perfect for mailing! And easily adjustable in size too. Just right!

And it fits in just right with my craving for more crafty endeavors!

Back to the knitting cafe... after the get together last night, I kept thinking how awesome it would be to have a totally dedicated to knitting (and crafting in general) place to have these events. Imagine the possibilities in decorating this space! I'm thinking a big comfy living room. Fireplaces along the walls, big comfy overstuffed chairs and couches with knitted or crocheted blankets! A big table for other crafty things. Like a dining table! A library of books for inspiration and knowledge! Different areas for different crafts - maybe a sewing corner, or a painting corner - the sky is the limit! Refreshments would be served, of course! Coffee and tea in vintage tea cups! As well as crafty supplies of all sorts. Yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, paints, papers, beads - you name it!

How awesome would that kind of place be?

Oh, the possibilities...

~floats away dreaming of her own crafty shop~


xxx