In Memoriam

Lizzy - May 1994 - 27/06/2008

Lizzy passed away yesterday evening. She is now with her two siblings Justus and Biene and missed very much by not only her two humans, but also her two other siblings Pooka and Silly.

Very sad. There is an empty space where you used to be.

Happy Midsummer Night!

No outdoor celebration for me - though it seems to stay dry, but I am "on call" and have to be in reach of a PC in case the emergency number gets called. It's my first call out and I still have to get used to carrying this mobile phone with me all the time.
So - the day will be spend knitting a summer shoulderette, listening to audiobooks and cuddling the various cats. It's a straight forward knitting - can't brain at the moment ;-)

The Sidhe are having a party tam is finished and I have started embellishing it. Once it's done I will take pictures and post them.

I have to wind a couple of hanks into balls, but not now...

Another week has passed

Work: living hell, continued. Not happy. Not with the actual work, but a project that got so horribly wrong it is really not funny at all. To be continued. It ain't over until the fat lady sings - maybe I should start singing in the office tomorrow morning. Something has to give, and soon!

Knitting related: my parcel of yummyness from K1 Yarn arrived yesterday. Happy as a pixie on sugarcookies! The Fyberspate Cutie is the perfect colour for my Astrodome hat, that will be based on the Urchin pattern by Ysolda

The Araucania chunky cotton will be a sweater, actually, it was cast on last night as a project during Dr Who. I only recently got into Dr Who, it's mainly David Tennant who keeps me watching. Though I liked this episode and look forward to the second part next week. Beautiful yarn, wonderful colours - a simple stockinette sweater or top. Sometimes the yarn needs to speak for itself and we just need to listen.

I also started my "to go" project yesterday - a beret based on a little story from two years back.
The yarn, "designer ends" was bought during our holiday in Edinburgh, somewhere in a knitwear shop... I must have that bag here somewhere...
We took two tours and on one of them, on the way to Stirling and the Borders we drove through a lovely heathery landscape. Heather to the right and - wait a second - heather and a balloon to the left! "The Sidhe are having a party" our guide remarked, more to himself than to us. That remark stuck with me and yesterday, after two years with the yarn in my possession I knew what it wants to be! A Sidhe party hat! And that's what I'm working on.
The yarn ends are all of different gauge and colour, I chose a garter stitch to have a bit of the shrubbery roughness of the landscape, there is some glitter, some fuzzy yarn, there will be beads and a kilt pin. Maybe a button. Whatever makes the Sidhe happy. Or the Pixie in me.
It's been knitted while listening to Shooglenifty, Dervish, Kila and Old Blind Dogs.

‘Tis said their forms are tiny, yet
All human ills they can subdue,

Or with a wand or amulet
Can win a maiden’s heart for you;
And many a blessing know to stew

To make to wedlock bright;
Give honour to the dainty crew,
The Pixies are abroad tonight.

More yummy goodness arrived: frog buttons and a ring with books and a cup on and a brooch depicting a girl with black hair, a cat and a ball of yarn. I already have knitting earrings from the same artist.
I love Etsy!
Ordered more yarn from Sassa Lynne.

Can't wait for it to be September. Next to the Saxon in me there must be something celtic and/or viking. Well, the Saxon is viking enough already (at least the tribe my father's family descends from), so I need to identify the celt in me ;-)

Now off to more party hat knitting.
Must not think of tomorrow.

Quick and dirty

Work has been fluorescent hell from the moment I came back from vacation on Monday. Frustration level is high, anger level is getting lower.
Haven't had a single second to knit since Sunday. Worked, worked, cried, didn't sleep - lather, rinse, repeat.
It's been bad, really bad. So bad I told my manager I had enough of the company and its people. I think he was somewhat surprised by my outburst of anger and frustration, but it felt good to get things off my chest.
Having a nice cup of tea now and will cuddle up with cats and knitting in a couple of minutes.

On the positive side: we arranged our summer vacation in September, we will venture to our favourite town across the canal again and stay in Edinburgh for slightly more than a week.
I wonder if I get my crochet hook through customs again...my trusted glitter hook from I Knit London. I will buy yarn locally for the flight back, my project at that time will be securely packed in the suitcase - as usual.
Flight and hotel are booked, it only needs to be September. I'm counting the minutes! Knitting and whiskey, what more can I want?

The last thing I finished Sunday night was a little neckscarf out of Perle 5 yarn, a lovely creation by Sassa Lynne. It's been worn already on Monday to the office.



It's nothing special, a really simple design, but it uses up the complete hank and shows the colours beautifully. I have another two hanks, a greenish and a yellowish one and I will be raiding her shop shortly for a new idea, something layered...
One can't have enough hats and one can't have enough things to wear around the neck.

And now I'm off - though not without my song of the day, or better: the chorus I've been belting out for the past thirty minutes in intervals of about two minutes:

'S tu mo Leannan, Leannan o
'S tu mo Leannan, Leannan o
'S tu mo Leannan, 'S tu mo Leannan
'S tu mo Leannan, Leannan o

Exiled

Searching my heart for its true sorrow,
This is the thing I find to be:
That I am weary of words and people,
Sick of the city, wanting the sea;
Wanting the sticky, salty sweetness
Of the strong wind and shattered spray,
Wanting the loud sound and the soft sound
Of the big surf that breaks all day.

Always before about my dooryard,
Marking the reach of the winter sea,
Rooted in sand and dragging driftwood,
Straggled the purple wild sweet pea.
Always I climbed the wave at morning,
Shook the sand from my shoes at night,
That now am caught beneath big buildings,
Stricken with noise, confused with light.

If I could hear the green piles groaning.
Under the windy, wooden piers,
See once again the bobbing barrels,
And the black sticks that fence the weirs;
If I could see the weedy mussels
Crusting the wrecked and rotting hulls,
Hear once again the hungry crying
Overhead, of the wheeling gulls;

Feel once again the shanty straining
Under the turning of the tide,
Fear once again the rising freshet,
Dread the bell in the fog outside,
I should be happy!—that was happy
All day long on the coast of Maine.
I have a need to hold and handle
Shells and anchors and ships again.

I should be happy, that am happy.
Never at all since I came here.
I am too long away from water;
I have a need of water near.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

The weekend is almost over :-(

What have I been up to this weekend?

I coloured my hair blue-black. While it is a rather harsh colour on me I like it in combination with the colourful wardrobe I recently started wearing.



Seen Indiana Jones. I liked the movie, it's simply a well-made action flick and I really don't understand the hooha of Russia's yesterday communists. Who might want to study their own history a bit more closely, yet open mindedly.
No spoilers from me, you have to go and see the movie for yourself. I had a good time, a couple of good laughs and even one scream. You go and figure where!

Knitted. Finished another neckscarf out of Sassalynne's Perle cotton, continued Astrid's Evilla hat (she wrote the pattern, but she won't get the hat ;-)) and started the Cinema sweater. Knitting in the dark with black yarn can only been done blindly. My Crystal Skull with blind eyes sweater. Pink and black, yes ma'am!

Decided that our summer vacation will happen in autumn (September)and will be spend in Edinburgh. I discovered a yarn shop there (k1yarns), we discovered that we still haven't seen everything we wanted to and we are lusting for the wonderful smoothies that one shop up at the Castle could make. So even if it rains...Edinburgh it will be.

Found my access card - which means I have no excuse to not show up tomorrow at the office. What a pity :-(

Following the Phoenix Mars Mission. Though I found the news that Jupiter is growing a third eye a lot more interesting. I'm sorry, Mars, but you are dull compared to Saturn and Jupiter. Still, the astronomy-holic in me is curious.

The day is nearing its end for me, I will knit some more, listen to Schandmaul's latest CD, maybe watch some TV and then have a date with Nyx's son Hypnos and the Oneiroi.

Silver necklaces and pendants

I love wearing things around my neck.
Scarves, scarflettes, necklaces - it doesn't really matter and I often combine.

Today I was wearing my spiral collection and a seahorse pendant my husband got me.
From left to right:
- Newgrange slab inspired necklace, bought in Ireland at Newgrange
- another Irish spiral, bought online
- a Scottish spiral, a Sheila Fleet design after a found in Skara Brae, a place I'd love to visit. I acquired this piece in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- an oxidized copper spiral, bought earlier this year at Elf Fantasy

I also own a copper spiral necklace with matching earrings.

Many of my rings also feature spirals - my wedding ring is a spiral design, next to it I wear a huge spiral (on my pinky).
On my left hand's ring finger I wear a matching spiral ring to the Sheila Fleet pendant, with a spiral/wave ring from Brittany on top of it.
The other rings vary, depending on day and outfit.

I love spirals for a reason I can't explain. They have a certain beauty that speaks to me.