No words

T'is the season!

Finally - it got cold.
Cold enough to wear scarves and scarflettes and shawls and neckwarmers and hats and berets and even mittens!



I'm currently finishing On The Edge of the Fringe, a short-sleeved sweater I started in Edinburgh back in August. Made entirely out of Schoppel's Zauberwolle. Almost done, very colourful and indeed - on the edge ;-)

I'm also almost done with Aestlight, a wonderful shawl. I'm using Fyberspates Scrumptious for it, it looks like a crystal clear winter sky at night.

And then Knitty came out!
I finally found the perfect pattern for my Oeland wool: Four Corners in Tokyo
The yarn I'm going to use is not that varigated, a lot softer, and I might take the pattern and run with it by knitting it in garter stitch completely to give it more oomph.

Quadrat is another favourite and I might have the perfect yarn for it. Only issue - it's not all in one colour. But hey - another reason to take the pattern and run with it. Two-tone might make it look more kimono-like.

Bubble Skirts

I think, they made their first appearance back in the 80s.
I had made myself one, much to the dismay of my dear Mom, who neither liked the fabric I've chosen nor the design. Of course - I liked both!
Back then, I made it out of a T-Shirt fabric with a colourful Paris-esque print (Eiffel tour etc), now it's made out of a wonderful corduroy, embellished with sequins.

I wore it to the office, of course I did.



I love it!
And it's so simple. I can see more of those skirts in my future.

What I have done today so far

It's only 12:30 in the afternoon, the potatoes are cooking and soon the cauliflower and broccoli will be steamed and served with fish for lunch.

So, I went ahead and bought art.

Just like every now and then I went through my favourite blogs and visited the virtual reality of some of my favourite artists.

Rima made me aware of some wonderful music she created the artwork for (and she is quite the amazing artist herself) and I went ahead and gave Telling The Bees a first listen. The perfect music for this time of year, for any time of the year, but with the wild weather outside a wonderful counterweight - soft and soothing.
So I bought their CD.

Then I visited Victoria.
You really should watch the little Argine movie about dreams coming true she has posted a couple of days ago, it is simply wonderful.
I also slightly robbed her Etsy store - she had my favourite knitting mermaid as a pendant and I couldn't resist the Birdcatcher lady neither.

So I had birds and bees today. Just perfect!

I really wonder what the rest of the day will be like.

Under the weather and knitting

No, we are not going to talk about the weather - unless you get your delight from me mentioning rain and storm and thundery showers on a daily basis.

We better spend the time with knitting:

My version of the baktus is ready, a squishy little number in cotton and garter stitch. Surrounded by a loving border of DMC Petra 5 crochet and picots:



The picture was taken during the daily 15 minutes of sunshine. Which was promptly followed by a cold downpour.

Sigh.

When I'm not behind the computer...

... I try to feed my creative soul.
Back in August, I had bought a lace collar at Armstrong in Edinburgh.
It was a dirty off-white and stained, still after giving it a good wash.
Earlier this month I went ahead, prepared a bowl (as in salad bowl) full of tea (black - I think some Earl Grey was involved) and gave the collar a bath, then a wash.
It came back a nice vintage light brown, a lot less dirty looking.
But still I wasn't quite happy with it.
Last weekend I took some of the sequins I had, needle and threat, light some candles, got a coffee, put on some music and started embellishing that thing.
It's now lined with sequins and the place where a button and its buttonhole have been are now covered in two flowers. What an odd place for a button to begin with!

Today I wore it for the first time. It's been 14 degrees Celsius out there, far away from the autumn feeling I would like to have in November and by no means even close to a pre-Yule feeling.



The earrings, though barely visible here, have also been made by me at some point. Left over yarn and two wonderful wood buttons - and voila, earrings. Some crochet was involved ;-)

There is one thing that I enjoy particularly in autumn.
Something I have enjoyed ever since I could combine walking with fallen leaves:



Shuffling through heaps of dry leaves! Brings out the child in me anytime!
I haven't managed to collect chestnuts or acorns this year, the cat love kicking chestnuts around and I love acorns, but alas...not this year.
We don't live close to any big trees with autumn fruits and nuts and there is no forest around here, normally I would bring them home from Germany, when visiting the parential units.

I love the colours of autumn, I love fog, I even love storms. We had our first "south western" beginning of this week and a second storm front is coming in next week. I love how the air smells of sea and tastes of salt.
We didn't have much of this so far, instead I thought I spotted the signs of new blossoms on trees. Not good!

Which reminds me - I need to get my balcony sorted. I'm planning to grow some tomatoes and carrots, next to some herbs next year. Also some wild flowers - my bees and butterflies invitation ;-)
Dutch gardens are usually more a terrace with a couple of plants in pots, so not really a good feeding ground for my winged friends. I don't care if the neighbours hate me - it's a pretty sight and makes me smile every time I look out of the window in our living room.

Oh, and lavendar...I need lavendar!

Stepping stones

Since it is the season of harvest, of retrospective...

Birth Right
You draw your strengths from the symbolic 1. Grounded to the earth, the 1 stretches to the heavens. You shine bright with this birthright of leadership, initiative, independence and individuality. You are driven and capable, creative and perceptive. You are decisive.

You can enhance the positive aspects of your birthright by trusting your instincts. Be aware of your negative side: You can be bossy, impatient and intimidating.

Careers that you will excel in allow you to use your motivation and ambition as well as your innovation. Consider opportunities in: design and illustration, writing and speaking, medicine/surgery, self-employment.

Talent
Your talent is your knack for self-expression. You can draw on this and express yourself through any creative media (acting, music, dance or writing).

Consider playing to your strength while indulging your playful side. Channel your inner joy toward something innovative and you will attract opportunities for love, romance and business.

Hint: Combine your imagination and creativity with your birthright's ideal career and you will have fun all the way to the top!

Heart's Desire
Your inner person is understanding and generous. You are loyal and have a strong sense of right and wrong. An idealist, you enjoy creating beauty in your surroundings for yourself and others to enjoy.

You love powerfully, deeply and sometimes possessively (something to watch); you demand to be loved as deeply as you can love. You are also optimistic and nurturing in all relationships; you enjoy helping and serving your family and others you care about.

How to be true to yourself: Create a peaceful and loving home environment. Bring elements of nature into your decor to make it more serene. Invite others into your world to enjoy it with you.

Personality
People perceive you as an absentminded-professor type. When they first meet you, they are drawn to your wisdom and ability to share knowledge. You radiate intelligence but a little disorganization as well. Your preference is comfy clothing; you're probably not concerned with the latest fashion trends. That's OK: Choose fabrics that feel good on you - just be sure they flatter your figure too. You can look stylish on your own terms.

Summer's End - Oidhche Shamhna

The end of the lighter half of the year.
The beginning of the darker half.
My favourite day in my favourite season.
I love the fog, the moisture in the air, the smell of wet leaves decomposing and becoming one with the earth that nourished the tree they fell from. Beginning and endings, indeed.

The ghosts are gathering.



I'm sure many alters will be build and dedicated tonight.
I don't have one, I don't need one. I have this:



It's been an interesting day so far, in an introvert way.
I noticed change in me the last couple of weeks, a more relaxed state of mind.

My tarot reading for today, as well as my rune reading both tell me the same: I walk the path of self-healing, I have the power in me to make changes if I'm only willing to listen and ingnite that power and open myself up. Everything suggests happiness if I dare to let go of my security blanket.

There is only one thing I'm aware of, consciously aware of, that I would love to change: my job. Not the job itself, but the majority of people around me, making life miserable and a daily struggle. Being forced to make other people's false promised reality. Making things happen on the whim. While I still find satisfaction in dealing with my customers, their managers' brainless decisions and thoughtless reactions make me cringe and lament. I feel that I could develop myself further, just not with them. Too many against too little.

I have toyed with the idea of going, leaving this all behind me. With no idea of what next. Finances don't allow this, not in the current climate.
But this will change eventually. I might need a little more patience.
I have that patience.

I follow the trail.



We won't be going out tonight, there is no Halloween Trick or Treating here, so I'm looking forward to a nice and quiet night with the husband and the cats. We have a DVD we'd like to watch, I have some knitting to do and we both still fight a seasonal cold. Candles will be lit, tea will be drunken, spicy chicken will be eaten and stories will be told.
Ghosts are welcome.

Rainbow

Your rainbow is shaded black and blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate mystery. You share hobbies with friends and like trying to fit into their routines. You may meet people who are afraid of you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Sum of it all :-)

Things that made me happy this week

Amongst others:

- Reading I'm with the Band.
I see parts of myself in there, only about 20 years later. I wasn't a groupie, but a musician's girlfriend. And I am a fan of many of the artists Pamela met ;-)
- Tori Amos' version of Strange little Girl.
I always loved this song, but Tori's version just reaches me one touch deeper than the Stranglers. Though I like their video better ;-)
- BPAL making 12 AFP related scents.
F* yes!
- BBC 4's program on Friday night about 60s rock music, followed by The Doors.
That doesn't need any futher explanation, does it? It's especially nice when you are reading a book about exactly those people at the same time... How I wish I could have been there!
- my cats!
Cats are important and always right!
- the carrot balsamico dish I prepared - yummy!
It's so simple (carrots and balsamico vinegar, plus some parsley, mint, pepper and a little sugar) and my favourite.
- knitting.
I find peace in knitting.
- finding a watch I like.
The Fossil Peace watch is right up my alley!
- Birkenstocks!
I have a very hard time finding shoes that fit me due to wide feet. And Birkenstocks have been my living room for feet for more than 15 years.
- tea.
And that from a caffeine addidct. But the coffee in the office is so bad (tar, scraped off the street, grounded and boiled, if you ask me) that I became a tea addict as well. Earl Grey with Lemon...yummy!
- seeing my parents.
It's always good to see how they are doing.
- finding a functioning Agfa camera from 1950 for Euro 10!
I kid you not. Now I need film for that thing!
- my supershort hair
I used to have long hair, but many many moons ago I cut it off and it not only got shorter ever since, it never got longer than 3 inches at most. And I just love it that way. I'm sure you can tell. I don't feel boyish, just slightly androgynous ;-)

Things I'm looking forward to:
- seeing my friend Shaby next week after years!
- concerts! Dream Theatre, Opeth, UnExpected and Big Elf in two weeks and a couple of days later Epica!
- finding books in my letter box. A couple are on the way and I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait.

Inspiration Collection

Marc Jacobs



Jean Paul Gaultier



Missoni

Can't stop loving

Tori....
it's love, all the way since 1992, when I heard Crucify for the first time on radio.
"Got enough guilt to start my own religion"
Then came "Winter" and "Precious Things" and there was no stopping me. I was hooked.
She lived my life in more than one way and when I didn't have words she had the songs.
Still, it took my many years to finally see Tori Amos perform live.

And on Friday I got to see her again! And my dear hubby joined me, his first ever Tori concert. Let me tell you, her magic worked on him, too ;-)

She surprised me with "Bells for her", but "Strong Black Vine", "Space Dog" and "Big Wheels" just kicked me off my seat. Especially "Big Wheels", which was eclectic, to say the least ;-)

Raspberry Swirl would have made my day, but that's just egoistic little me ;-)

The only negative I can mention is that there were too many bubbleheads talking all the time and some very restless people getting up to buy beer. I would have wished that Tori would have told them off :-p



We spent Saturday in Amsterdam, enjoying the city off the beaten tracks, had a fantastic coffee in a small show, walked in sunshine, raided Lush (what do you mean, there will be a vanilla soap with coffee undertones coming out?), petted a kitten and just had a great time.
The trip back was rudely interrupted by the usual (aka almost daily national event) of an accident on the train tracks (I kid you not, almost daily. Mainly cars ignoring any warnings, thinking "I can just make it"...NOT). So we got off in The Hague and went for food and more window shopping.

I'm still full of wonderful music :-)

Knitting: Amethyst

Cast on 70 stitches on 8mm needles
Knit two rows of k2, p2
Switched to plain stockinette.
One ball was appr. 20cm worth
I knitted up until I had about half a ball left, ended with two rows of K2, p2 and cast off.
Closed the sleeves and added a k2, p2 border around it.
Wore it to the office as seen in the pictures and got compliments! I love knitting!

And I swear that thing is straight ;-)
And yes, I'm wearing two different earrings.
And yes, that is my necklace collection there in the back. At least the vast majority of it. 2/3 is selfmade.
A girl has to have hobbies ;-)





Still to finish: On the edge of the fringe, a mad jumper out of Zauberwolle on 3,25mm needles (what was I thinking?) and Josephinentuch.

Already in love with: Riverbanks and Bel
I find myself liking quite of few designs of the autumn edition.

Knitting

Ravelry made me do this:



Pattern: wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer
Started August 7 and finished August 8, right before I went on vacation.
Contains several meters of various leftovers, including handspun, Colinette Firecracker and who knows what else.
Knitted on 8mm needles.

While I'm not really waiting for winter there are moments where I wish I could start wearing my vast assortment of hats and cowls and scarves.



The scarf I was wearing today was knitted out of some wonderfully silk yarn from Lana Grossa. I only had something like three balls in total and it morphed into this little piece. A perfect public transport project.

Honey, I'm home!

Back after two weeks in Edinburgh, back from two weeks of clouds with rain and sun.
Back from two weeks of tea and peas



Back from two weeks of being on the Edge of the Fringe:


(Amanda Palmer at HMV Picture House, during her entree. Shot in darkness and with no flash. Sums up the experience nicely :-))



(Group of musicians at Grassmarket. We liked them!)



(Ensemble of Doctor Faustus)



(Female half with Lilly, from the Lilly through the dark ensemble. It's a story about a little girl loosing her beloved father and trying to bring him back from death. When the last words were spoken I wasn't the only one in the audience crying. It's breathtaking and stunningly wonderful.)

Two weeks of books



(Neil Gaiman at one of two events he held at the Book Festival. I'm a fan girl...)

And two weeks of inspirations







I bought yarn (and hell, did I buy yarn) and knitted up a storm.
I bought beads and within 15 minutes I had a new necklace.
I ventured through many charity shops.
I got interviewed by the Edinburgh City Council.
I bought far too many books and had to re-pack our luggage to distribute them evenly.
I discovered a bookshop called Elvis Shakespeare and had the idea of opening a shop next to it called William Presley :-)
Had fudge and macroons. Partial on the first, in love with the latter :-)
Can't see peas or sweetcorn for the rest of the year or I scream ;-)
Had to leave a very broken pair of Doc Martens in Edinburgh after the sole and half of the shoe ripped open on the last day :-(

Had fun!

In fact, got so inspire and relaxed that I went and got my hair cut and coloured a vivid magenta today. On my way to a Delirium inspired punkish flapper do :-)

And now - believe it or not - back to tea and knitting. I only have to face the grinding mill on Monday, so I kick back with music, art, crafts and movies until then. And cuddle two cats to heaven...they were lovingly looked after by my parents, who spent their vacation at our place and had wonderful weather and a ver good time!

Castlefest 2009 - aftermath

Dusty and bloody fantastic!
I find myself more and more drawn towards anything medieaval, celtic, nordic, scottish and so we actually spend most of our time around the stalls and vendors of that kind.
Talking to a potter at length about clay,



talking and learning about herbs and teas to a lady selling the most delicious Lammas liqour (and sweets for the husband)...

Hubby tried his hands at tin pouring and made his own Thor's hammer pendant.



Though his craftiness was nothing compared to these gentlemen:



Or even these ;-)



One of my personal favourites:



And then there was music.
Especially Valravn, a band I had already seen at Castlefest 2008, when it started to pour down as soon as their set kicked off.
This time we had - yes, of course - one very brief splash of rather welcome rain and other than this they kicked the proverbial rear end and we kicked dust:



I haven't felt so alive in weeks!
We bumped into two friends and their daughter we hadn't seen in ages, we feasted on roasted champignons and potatoes and fresh fruit, we went on an almost impossible quest for coffee (water, yes, beer, yes, coffee...difficult) and we learned the fine art of torture.



And tomorrow it's back into the dungeons...with a head and heart full of music :-)

Statt upp og dansa!

Must not forget

Doors are everywhere by Pixie Redhead featuring Gareth Pugh

It was an interesting week. And I won't mention work, though it had an impact on something that happened yesterday ;-)

Always too busy and working on beautiful

I'm looking forward to crawl into this tonight:



We've been de-cluttering a lot lately and this place is shaping up nicely. A trip to Ikea got us some wire baskets for our rather small closet - it's only 2 meters wide, though rather high. We share it with the two of us and keeping it tidy is more than challenging.

I also found this treasure somewhere between books. It's a picture of a picture, the original paper picture was taken in 1992 and is a double exposure. I remember that there must be more from that particular day...hm, must go treasure hunting.



Wild hair, already back then. Was an attempt to grow a short cut out, didn't last long.

Became this a couple of weeks later. Me in university.



Hennaed my hair and got yet another wisdom tooth removed. Three down, one to go. Still hurts.

Spun some more yarn and picked up knitting again.
Next week is going to be long and difficult and I can't wait for Castlefest in three weeks and leaving for the Fringe in four weeks. Tickets to Amanda Palmer and Shooglenifty arrived yesterday, tickets to Neil Gaiman are waiting for us in Edinburgh and we have two stop-overs in London. Coventgarden and B never too busy to be beautiful, I'm coming!

Now just to not loose mind until then...

Happy Hippie therapy

Went shopping!

A cat on a hot tin roof

This is where I spent a couple of lunch breaks.
On the roof of our office building is a terrace and it's quiet and peaceful.
Inside it's a subtle battlefield. Ever since the bancruptcy there is backstabbing and badmouthing going on and it's getting difficult to maintain a friendly and positive attitude.

So, I escape.
With knitting and book.
It's warm, yet breezy up there.

At the end of another week

Got my new glasses. And it's amazing to see clear again, I always realize after getting new glasses how crappy my eyesight was with the old ones:



Fell in love with this hair. It's an ad for a postal service, but I adore this lady:


And I got an email with this picture attached to it. Taken in Leiden, spinning in public as knitting didn't appeal to me that day.
It's also published on the website of a friend and shopowner. She is fun and the Oland wool is to die for. I got the Sky Pink one (so subtle and perfect for lace knitting,though I will knit up mitered squares and make a sweater) and keep on oogling the dark purple one.
My husband will get a funny winter head out of Rainbow (Regenboog) and another, thicker one out of troll wool in red.



The shawl next to me was knitted out of the blue-yellow-pink Oland yarn and reminds me of Kauni. The sweater in the background is Sky Pink as far as I remember.

And last, but not least:
I finally managed to watch Dark Labyrinth last night.
Yes, it took me until yesterday to see this epic piece of art and cult status and I absolutely fell in love with the Podlings. My kind of beings!

I wish...

..I could get my hands on those stamps.
Maybe they will still be out when I go to Scotland in August?

Mythical creature stamps: once long ago, in a land not so far away ...

Grand Day Out - the Bee Market (Bijenmarkt) in Leiden

Travelled up to Leiden today to go to the annual Bee Market. My first visit!
The main theme is bees, obviously. Honey, mede, plants...and lots of crafts.
And since it's also KIP day - knitting in public day - I brought my spinning and knitting and had a hippie day out:





I love the colours!


Spinning in Progress and two new fountain pens



Folk Band - with nice Irish tunes to sing along to!


And a Bluegrass Band. Perfect summer feeling!


Undine, my WIP
Pattern: Josephinentuch
Yarn: Fyberspates

After I got my eyes checked yesterday - yeah, new glasses, another half a prism on top of the two I already have (I should have gotten a whole, but they never do this, to keep the eye from getting too lazy) and I can see for miles and miles (far sighted, even more) I got me some new eye shadow: