Secret Pal 12 ~ Question of the week 3 and 4

I’ll answer these both questions together.

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?
I think, there is no perfect stash…
At the one hand I would have all sock yarns, on the other hand a big stash can crush me and during all the things I don’t fell well. At time I will reduce many things in my household (books,…) and only buy the things, I really need.

What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
I think,  there’s no chance to make my stash complete, because there are so many nice yarns I would like to try. But of course there are yarns that I’d like to try, f.e. Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Flat Feet Sock Yarn, Wollmeise,….

What yarn do you never want to be without?
Definitely sock yarn.

Strick-Goodies / Knitting-Goodies

Heute bekam ich Post aus Amerika. Vor einiger Zeit habe ich dieses Strickzubehör (Needle Gauge und Knitters Rule) in diversen Blogs gesehen und “musste” es einfach haben.

Bei Etsy bietet KaraStix in liebevoller Einzelfertigung erzeugte Strick-Goodies wie etwa dieses Nadelmaß und das Lineal (aus Bambus-Holz) an. Hier findet man viele weitere Beispiele ihrer Künste. Mithilfe von Lasergravur und Fräsmaschine schafft sie ein präzises Maß-Werkzeug, dass sie händisch schleift und verschönert, indem sie es händisch bemalt und durch das Lackieren mit einem speziellen Lack ergibt sich ein seidiger Glanz.

Today I get post from America. In different blogs I saw this knitting goodies (Needle Gauge and Knitters Rule) and it was a must-have for me.

In Etsy you can obtain these wonderful things have been made personally by KaraStix using a laser engraving and cutting machine to ensure highly accurate measurements. It is then lovingly sanded and embellished by hand with colored pencils and coated with a satin polyurethane finish and polished to a silky feel.
Here you can see some examples from her wonderful work.

Secret Pal 12 ~ Question of the week (2)

As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

Ohh, that’s difficult to answer … it’s sooo long ago…..
In my childhood, we never spent holidays in foreign countries. Our greatest wish was to see the sea. We always stayed at home. Sometimes I was allowed to visit my grandma for a week.

Nevertheless we had great holiday. We slept late and went swimming very often. I had much time to read many books. In our neighborhood lived many children and we played together, went by bike…

In Austria school is closed for nine weeks during the summer holidays. That’s a long time and the last few weeks I was regulary bored and I was looking forward when school startet again.

Secret Pal 12 ~ Question of the week (1)

Whats your favorite summer time drink? Or winter drink? (for those of you in the southern hemisphere)

I am hooked on carbonic acid. I prefer iced sparkling water. Usually, I like iced Cola (or orange juice or other lemonade) mixed with sparkling, too.
In winter I like to drink tea, too; my favorite tastes are blood orange, orange, or special winter teas.
My first drink in the morning is also iced sparkling or iced cola with sparkling.

Time to knit

The next days I’ll have many time to knit because I have to go in the hospital for a few days.

Secret Pal 12 Questionnaire

This is was my first SP; so I am a little bit nervous. Maybe I’ll complete these questionaire at a later date.

1.What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like knitting with typical sockyarn, Bamboo/merino blends, silk/wool blend, cotton/wool blend, or blended yarns with only a little amount of acryl. I prefer yarn with over 50 % natural fibers. I like hand dyed sock yarn.
I don’t like mohair/nylon blends, bucle or acrylic yarns or novelty (designer) yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I use some boxes.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I learned knitting in school. I am sorry to say that I never liked it.
Last year I saw beautiful sock yarn – and this has resulted in knitting my first socks.
I would consider myself to be beginner.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes

5. What’s your favorite scent?
I’m not fond of scents/candles/etc. From most scents I get headache.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes, I have a sweeth tooth. I love nearly all sweets and candies. But I don’t like sweets with alcohol or whole fruits. I like Gummi bears, chocolate, candies,…

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I am making cards.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like quite a mixture – the most time I listen to the radio. But I have quite a lot of mp3s on my PC. Yes, I am able to play MP3s.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I like blue, red, pink, orange.
I am not a great fan of neons.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am single and have five cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I don’t wear hats or ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks, socks and socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I knits socks and mini-socks to make an advent calendar

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I use 6“ needles from Knit picks 2,5 and often 2,75. I don’t like 8 „
I have a weakness for colored or extra ordinary knitting needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I neither have a yarn winder or a swift. Although I’d like one.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I don’t really know.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I like Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I collect knitting books, sock yarn and knitting tools.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I’m looking forward to experience yarns or brands I didn’t know before or which I can’t buy here in Austria.
I’m very interested in Flat Feet http://www.conjoinedcreations.com/Flat_Feet.html and Sock Blank http://www.knitpicks.com/Sock+Blank_AD24207.html
I would also try to knit Noro Kureyon Sock yarn, Socks That Rocks, ….

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
I want to start dyeing with acid dyes.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I am a sock knitter, yes. Usually I use dpn. But I will learn magic loop and 2 circular methods.
I’m a size EU 38.

23. When is your birthday? On May 18th I was 40.

24. What’s your Ravelry ID? Mathemia

Es scheitert am Maschenstich

Ich hatte im März im Rahmen einer Sockenwichtelei von Sabine eine wunderschöne handgefärbte Wolle bekommen.

     

Da ich leider (noch) keinen Wollwickler besitze, hatte ich leichte Schwierigkeiten, einen von innen strickbaren Knäuel zu bekommen.

Sehr oft gefällt mir ein Strang Wolle besser als in verstricktem Zustand; bei weitem öfter als umgekehrt. Hier hat mir zwar der Strang auch gut gefallen, aber verstrickt noch viel mehr. Die Farbenpracht kann man hier auf Fotos gar nicht widergeben. Jede einzelne Masche zu verstricken hat großen Spaß gemacht.

Mein Maschenstich hat bislang nie so ausgesehen, wie er sollte, was mich immer störte. Trotz hilfreicher Tipps wurde er nie “schön”. Als ich dann von meiner Wollfee zum Abschied wunderschöne Socken geschenkt bekam, hatte ich erstmals auch eine Vergleichsmöglichkeit in Natura.

Was ich auch immer tue, er sieht immer wieder so aus. Deshalb bitte ich euch auch erneut um Hilfe. Ich möchte auch gerne einen so schönen Maschenstich hinbringen….

Solange mir das nicht gelingt, werden die Socken so bleiben:

In March I got a swap package from Sabine with wonderful self dyed wool. Because I don’t own a yarn winder, it was very difficult to get a ball knitable from the inside.
Often the skein looks better than the knitted yarn. The picture don’t show the blaze of color. It was amusing to knit each stitch.

But I have great troubles with the kitchener stitch….

Wollfee7-Socken

Hier noch mal ein Bild von den Socken, die ich von meiner Wollfee bekam. Sie sind wirklich wunderschön und es ist äußerst schwieirg, diese Farbenpracht auf dem Foto überhaupt einfangen zu können.

This is a foto from the socks, I get from my pal. This are very beautiful and its dificult to see the beautiful coulors on the picture.

Ende der Wollfee 7

Gestern habe ich das Abschlusspäckchen von meiner Wollfee erhalten. Enthalten waren wunderschöne Socken, die mir sehr gut gefallen, ein PVC”Needlekeep” (Nadelhalter für 20 cm-Stricknadeln), ein neuer Katzenroman, ein Postkartenbuch mit Karten auf die Erde von oben, eine Handcreme, Schoki und - super - Fruchtkatzen (Gummibärchen in Katzenform). Die Zeit vergeht immer sehr schnell und schon wieder ist eine Wollfee vorbei. Herzlichen Dank, liebe Eva!

This was the last present from pal Eva. I got very nice things (beautiful selfknitted socks, a pvc needlekeep in 8″, a hand cream, a novel telling from a cat, a book with postcards and sweets). The time passes always very fast and this is the end of the Wollfee. Many thanks, Eva!

Lange fertig

ist dieses Sockenpaar, welches im Abschiedsgeschenk auch an meine Wollprinzessin ging. Mit dabei auch ein Schlüsselanhänger aus der selben Wolle.

This pair of socks and the key follower were a präsent for my pal in a german swap.