Friday, December 19, 2008

Hola from Buenos Aries!!!!


A quick picture of me, Zori & Leen out and about in Buenos Aries last night. Having a great time down here will be sad to leave tomorrow but also happy to go on and visit 2 days with my Grandfather. Vacation is flying by faster than the speed of light - wish I had another week or two or three here to enjoy!

More details on the trip to come. I did manage to find 2 yarn stores so far, will see if I visit any more tomorrow with Vik!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Only 2 more to go....

Days that is!  I leave Friday morning for my 2.5 week voyage.  I am flying first to New York and then on to Argentina.  I will spend a week there and then fly to McAllen Texas to visit my Grandfather for 3 days, and i will then fly up on the 23rd to Chicago and drive around to Michigan for a week with my parents and all my nieces and nephew!
 
A VERY busy time, but all will be well worth the time spent on airplanes and waiting in airports. 
 
And did I mention that I am in Zürich tomorrow?  Ick!  But I am going for a good reason so that makes it worth the additional airplane time this year.
 
I am busy working on a few last minute Christmas presents - hopefully my time on planes and airports will be well spent!
 
I hope that everyone has a great few weeks and will talk to you all soon!!
 

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Pattern Tester Needed

Anyone have a days time on their hand to knit up a charted dishcloth?  I have the dishcloth both charted and written out so anyone comfortable with either method would be able to knit my newest design.
 
If anyone is interested, please contact me either on Ravelry (user name: Kimberly) or via e-mail at KAML19 at YAHOO dot COM
 
As the cloth is intended for New Years, it would need to be knit rather quickly.
 
Cheers!
 
 

Monday, December 01, 2008

Foreign Country does not equal not understood

What is it about some people that make them think that just because they are in a foreign country others will not understand what they are saying?

While eating tonight in the hotel restaurant, I had the great experience of having a "lovely" American couple sitting behind me. I would estimate that they were in their upper 60s or so.

During their conversation I heard about their romantic life and what he intends to do to her tonight. Their financial status including the cost of this trip and how American Express cards work. A rant about foreigners in America...are we not all foreigners and children of immigrants? His own sense of self-importance.....how would the world function without him? That maintenance road workers drive around with the lights on top of their car lit up to make them feel more important the "#$*!&$# *!*$# !$*#@$*" and so on and so forth.

I really held myself together until the whole romantic escapades section came up and then I had to leave. I mean ick! I don't want to hear about that while eating dinner....well, I was done eating so while digesting my dinner.

Please, I ask everyone to consider when traveling to a foreign country to please realize that others around you just might speak your language!

In Dublin I had some French speaking people talk about me rather rudely after I told them in English that the chair they wanted to take was occupied.....the expressions on their faces when I told them after listening to them basically say how ugly and stupid and bitchy I was that "perhaps they misunderstood my English, but the chair is occupied by a friend so they can not take it" in French was priceless. Needless to say they quickly left the area.

*sigh*

Other than the dinner experience Zürich is good. Colder than Brussels with a covering of snow on the ground in places.

I did notice tonight that I have somehow managed to chip part of the ruby in my ring off. Not so happy about that one. Especially as I replaced not even a year ago one of the diamonds that fell out of the setting in the ring. It is not so noticeable unless you look closely at the ring, but now that I noticed it I can not help but look for it every time the ring catches my eye.

*sigh*

Okay, I hope that everyone has a great and wonderful week!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

I think its done!

I've been working on an idea for a dishcloth, a knit dishcloth, and i think that I have it finally done.

I've charted out a design for a New Years cloth with a champagne bottle, 2 glasses & 2009 on the chart.

I just need to print off the instructions and go back through the written details versus the charted details to make sure everything is in alignment as I made changes to the chart several times as I went along.

Fingers crossed, it will be ready to be published by the time I return from Zürich on Wednesday night!

I've had several ideas for charted dishcloths floating in my head - its a nice feeling to get one onto paper. I charted it out using my handy dandy excel and then pasted the chart as a picture into my document, so hopefully all is readable! My only fear is that now every time I open Excel for work I will start thinking of knitting charts......not going to make my new boss that happy if my productivity goes down!

Okay, I need to finish doing dishes from the cookie making experience! Great fun was had - my french is getting better as I was able to converse with the 5 year olds with no problem, although a few times they laughed after I said something....must have said it really wrong, but none the less they understood - yay!

Cheers!

Today is cookie baking day!

I am so excited to be making cookies today! Yummmmmyyyy!!!

My co-worker Marjorie and her two children are coming over. Will be interesting to see how my apartment handles two 5 year old twins! I am figuring that the boy will not last that long with cookie making, so its a good thing I have the PacMan game and the Wii to keep him entertained afterward! I also pulled out all of my kid movies so those are also a fall back, but I think the Wii should keep him well entertained!

Pictures of the event will be coming along with pictures of the finished cookies!

I am going to Zurich tomorrow morning for 3 days. Some issues came up on Thursday and Friday last week so I am going to Zürich to straighten them out as best as I can. Or at least attempt to. It all depends on my new boss and the VP being behind my way of thinking which is at least more rationale than my colleagues in the US who started the issues.

Okay, must go get all the ingredients ready for the cookie making! I hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

To all my fellow Americans, I wish to you a very happy and joyful Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is able to spend this day with family and friends as we give thanks to what & who we have in our lives.

I will be spending today working as it is not a holiday here in Belgium and then tonight I will do a big dinner with my fellow Americans who are here - it should be fun.

I am preparing a ham, and lets just say it will be interesting! It is a raw ham from a freshly butchered pig, no pre-cooking or curing done on it. I've never cooked a ham this way, so I am taking the butchers advice on this one and preparing it the way he told me to! Thankfully one of the other girls is preparing a Turkey, so we will have that as a fall back if only not really enough meat since there are 10 of us and the Turkey is 10 pounds.

I've been busy crafting. My Argentinian yarn hat is about 3/4 of the way done, my Santa Cloth is about 1/4 of the way done, and I am making some snowflake type things from a pattern in a French magazine a colleague gave to me. The flakes are charted and I've never seen a chart like this before so it is interesting. I've hit a point where I am a bit stumped by the chart and what it wants me to do, but I will figure it out I am sure!

Pictures are coming - I'm just too lazy to get them posted lately it seems....At least I am doing better on posting, so that is half the battle!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Snowflakes keep a coming!

Everything melted that we got yesterday but its finally started back up again.  Nice big fat snowflakes are drifting past my window here at work.  Really pretty if you overlook the view of the wet train yard.  It will not stick though since it's too warm out still. =(
 
Being in the Christmas mood I cast on yesterday for a Santa face dishcloth in bright Christmas red.  The pattern is really cute and can be found here on Ravelry:
 
 
and here on the web:
 
 
This should be a fairly quick knit for me, but since I am working on 10 other things at the same time, who knows!
 
I'm planning a big thanksgiving dinner on Thursday with my fellow Americans here in Brussels.  My friend Te-Keisha has her mom coming in to visit this week and she's volunteered to make the Turkey which will help since we all have to work so dinner will be around 7 at night I think.  I'm bringing salad and desert.....still trying to decide what desert to make - perhaps apple pie, but I'll have to think about it.....if I had know I would have picked up premade crust and pumpkin at the Commissary last time I was there and made Pumpkin Pie! 
 
Okay, I must finish up a few things and then I am heading home!  Have a great week everyone!
 
 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Snow flakes are falling....

And not a one is sticking. I love watching the snow come down, I only wish it would stick around!

It is super cold here in Belgium this weekend, low in the 30s which is almost as rare as the snowflakes we have seen on and off all weekend. I'm not complaining though -I love the snow in any form. I even wish that we would have more than a few days of snowfall every year.

The hat I've been working on is coming along well. I still have not decided on how big I am going to make it.....I would like something that fully covers my ears as several of the hats I've made are a little too short for super cold days.

Meti has asked for another hat, so I need to get busy making that one. Not idea which pattern I am going to use. He looked through several of my patterns and picked out one that I already made him. Not going to re-do that one so I need to think about it. I'm thinking something rather simple - ribbed collar and then basic stockinette, but I've been in the mood for cables lately.....will wait until I finish my hat to decide so I have several days to think about it!

I am off to snuggle into a blanket and get warm - my apartment is freezing today as the 2 working heaters are not enough to warm the apartment the whole way through it seems.

Have a great Sunday!

Friday, November 21, 2008

I do believe she is on a diet....

Otherwise the knit skirt I made for my niece's Cabbage Patch Kid would fit mine perfectly right????
 
I finished the skirt last night, grabbed my CPK doll to check the sizing out, and its seriously falling off her! 
 
My doll is fairly old...about 25 years old, so I am going to live in hope that my doll has just merely lost her figure over time and slimmed down a little bit.....okay, a whole lot of bits!  I'll take the skirt to the US with me and see if it will fit, otherwise I'll tear out the decrease rounds and do them over on smaller needles with a tighter gauge in hopes of modifying it to fit.  The bright side is that I don't need to sew anything then this week - yay!!!  =)
 
Having this come out so huge has put questions into my mind on the sweater.....I don't want to spend the time on that and then have it be way too big as well....I'll need to think about this one a little bit!
 
Oh well, I'll work some on my hat then and get some progress / pics of that going.
 
Have a great weekend!!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Wow! Two days in a row! *grin*

I spent some time during my lunch to update my Ravelry projects with the few items I snapped pictures of last night -
 
A Purple Cabbage Patch Kid skirt and an Off-white Cabled CPK Cardigan for my niece for Christmas are on the needles - going rather slow, but progress is being made!  I bought a pattern book off of E-bay for these designs and when I received it I realized that several of the patterns were for sweaters that a neighbor made for my Cabbage Patch kid when I was little!
 
I'm working on a dinosaur from a Jean Greenhowe pattern.  I was to the assembly stage when I realized that the head just did not look right.....I misread the instructions and made it too small - that will need to be frogged and redone.
 
I'm also trying to figure out what to make with a few "one-skeins" that I have lying around the house include a skein of Malabrigo and some of the individual skeins I bought in Argentina a few years ago.
 
Speaking of, I leave for Argentina in 3 weeks from tomorrow - yay!  I was told today that several of my friends there are taking the week off of work while I am in town!  Yippeee!  I get in on Saturday and we are going to Celebrate Vik's birthday that night, and then on Mon-Wed I will be at the beach.  I'm back in BsAs then until I leave on Saturday. I need to work on the Thursday though as my boss is new and we have our monthly conference call with the US that I usually lead so I'll have to call in for that one for an hour or so. 
 
Okay, speaking of the monthly call, November's is today so I had best finish preparing myself for that one! 
 
 

35 days and counting.....

Goodness yet another year flying by with only 35 days until Christmas.....And I have yet to start the majority of my originally intended holiday knitting or crocheting - oops!! I seem to do the same thing every year and wait and wait and wait and then Wham!  Not enough time to get anything done.....a plot you ask to get out of spending time and energy into crafting something big......you got that right!
 
I did start a hat recently with some of the yarn I bought the last time I was in Argentina - it is turning out pretty so far!  Will see if I can actually finish it this year!
 
I also have a few other small projects on the hooks and needles which are close to being done and could become Christmas gifts if needed. 
 
A few dishcloths and potholders should be put together along with perhaps some coffee cup sleeves or mug warmers!  Quick and easy is what I need this year, and a scarf is never quick or easy for me regardless of what others say - I have trouble staying focused on one project I think so multiple seem to be the way to go as long as they are small and fairly simple!
 
What are you planing for your holiday crafting?
 
 

Monday, November 03, 2008

Pattern Testing Photo Shots

I've been testing several patterns for the Yahoo Holiday Mystery Gift group. Here are two that have been published recently so I can finally show my pictures!

First up is a Lace Cap in Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It came out larger than planned as I knit with kidsilk really loose.

Next up was a Mystery Knit which turned out to be a holder for Chapstick / Lipstick. I made up several and even added a keychain holder to one of them.


I was kinda busy this weekend - spent the time baking some - a yellow butter cake with Chocolate frosting and some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - yummmy! I also found time to clean and pick up most of the apartment as well as going to dinner and drinks with friends.

I hope that everyone has a great week - I am in Belgium all this week so I should be able to find some time to blog more!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Just popping in to say "hi"

Things are slowly starting to slow down for me at work so hopefully I will have more time on my hands soon....although since my most recent spare time has been taken up by Meti begging me to play the Wii with him, I don't know when that time will materialize.

I am still living in Belgium - have not found a job yet back in the US to transfer to. Mainly due to there not being any open, and not me being picky. I am thinking that I will be here now through January or February - hopefully long enough for me to take a ski trip this year somewhere nice. I really would like to ski again, but we shall see if it happens or not.

I have been crocheting and knitting, although mainly all as a pattern tester for unreleased patterns so I can not show anything....will post once they are released though!

On the needles currently is a scarf in Malabrigo, but I am not liking something about it - not sure if its the colorway or the pattern I choose.

I did finish the Ball-Band Swiffer Cover:
DSC00241

And finally finished my Fat-bottom bag, although it does still need to be lined:
DSC00236

I've also finished some small instant gratification projects but they have all been given to home without pictures being taken. I am sure I'll be making more, so pics will be coming!

I hope that everyone has been doing well!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Is it over yet?????

Our budget process that is, and I have to say that I don't think so! Things have been going well, if not continually busy here. The work travelling has gone good - just too much of it! I look forward to being back in the US and not having to constantly be on planes and trains.

Speaking of planes, I have to say that I've gone and done it again.....booked a ton of flights to go on in a very short period of time! 7 flights in all over 2.5 weeks of time! Here is the schedule......

Brussels to New York, New York City layover 10 hours, New York to Argentina
Argentina 1 week
Argentina to Dallas, Dallas to McAllen Texas
2 days with my Grandfather in McAllen
McAllen Texas to Dallas, Dallas to Chicago Drive to Michigan 3 h 30 m to 5 h (gotta love traffic)
Michigan - 1 weeks
Drive Michigan to Chicago 3 h 30 m to 5 h, Chicago to Brussels 8 h 5 m

I am so excited about going back to Argentina and seeing Vik and Zori. It should be great fun! I'm already thinking about how I am going to pack my suitcase with enough clothes for 2 very different climates. Last time I took 2, this time it will just be one case, so it shall be interesting!

I've been singing the following all morning again:

You oughta know whatcha gonna get in me!
What's new Buenos Aires?
I'm new, I wanna say I'm just a little stuck on you
You'll be on me too

Hello, Buenos Aires
Get this, just look at me dressed up, somewhere to go
We'll put on a show

Stand back, Buenos Aires
Because you oughta know whatcha gonna get in me
Just a little touch of
Just a little touch of
Just a little touch of star quality


That is it for now - I will try to get some pics and things up on the crafting side soon - promise! I hope that everyone is doing well and thanks for sticking with me while I've been MIA with work and life! *hugs*

Monday, September 15, 2008

It has to get better one of these days....

Mu blogging that is!  I am ashamed that I have not been blogging that much.  Time just does not seem to materialize to where I can grab a few minutes.  Plus a major case of sleep deprivation leading to a mind that is numb and barely functioning does not exactly result in a stimulating blog post!
 
I've started another round of traveling.  I am in Zürich for 3 days this week, in Dublin for the weekend, back to Zürich for 3 days next week and then potentially off to Oktoberfest two weekends in a row depending on travel schedules of some friends.  Plus I want to take a trip to Versailles and Mont Saint Michel in France, perhaps visiting the Beaches of Normandy and the town Alecon where my family came from. 
 
My return to the US is still not known.  It will be sometime this fall, but so far I have not found a job back in Chicago with my company.....anyone know of a company wanting to hire a finance manager with a lot of International experience?  =)
 
Crafting is at an all time low, just not the time as my work days have been 11+ hour days once again.  As I keep saying, I'll be back to normal craftiness one of these days!
 
One of the best parts about moving back to the US would be a return to more normal working hours, which should hopefully allow me more time for knitting and crocheting and other fun assorted projects.  Also better access to yarn, so when I have the urge to make something I'll have fast access if it does not exist in my stash. 
 
I had best get back to inputting my budget - I hope that everyone is doing well and will be in touch soon!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

My 3 day weekend is over, and for the most part I was lazy.....if you don't consider the 12 loads of laundry, cooking and dishwashing that I did.....no cleaning - place is still a disaster, but I will fix that one soon hopefully!

I did drag Meti onto his first roller coaster in about 20 years....he was not too sure of it, but did say he had fun. But refused to even consider going on it again or anything else for that matter! I'm a HUGE coaster fan so that is not a good sign for our relationship *grin* Will just have to take my nephew how seems to share my "no fear" policy and has since his very first coaster.

The Flower carpet was in Brussels this weekend - absolutely gorgeous once again. They make this HUGE carpet of flowers every other year here. Simply stunning.


And last but not least, some crafting progress is being made! Lookee! I have 2 finshed dishcloths that flew off my hooks in no time at all, and the Crafting in Public shot...I pulled out my purse dishcloth and was working on that while having a beer and people watching at the Irish Pub next to the Bourse (Belgian Stock Exchange building)


Have a great week!

Vacation snap shots

I did finally get my pictures loaded from my Camera to my PC.....these are only the ones from the second half of the trip after I bought the new camera....still waiting for my parents to download their pictures on-line (hint hint Dad!)

A quick snap shot of my and the kiddies…Andrew was mad because we had to take more pictures, and Abby just want to get to the Piano to plink plunk away on it. So did I if I tell the truth! I miss not playing the piano and wish I had rented one over here…heck, I could have bought one and had it paid off in the 5 years I’ve been here! Will get back into it when I move to the US…..might actually decide to take lessons….nah, 30 years of self teaching has worked fine so far! I’m happy just to fiddle around with it.

Another Gorgeous Lake Michigan sunset. Saw this one with my big sis Becky.
Here are the kids in front of the Mackinaw Ice Cutter at the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven.
I think we have a new job career in mind…..she looked a natural sitting up there steering the Canadian Coast Guard boat we toured. Actually she is determined at this point in her life that she is going to be a chef when she grows up!
My Mom, my sisters and me.
Some pictures of the weekend and the most recent crafting come up! Stay tuned!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Yes, I am back!

Hi everyone.
 
I am indeed back from vacation now.  Just in a funk and not able to get back into the swing of things.  Jet lag seems to be really hitting me hard this year....I think I can blame it on the fact that I turned another year older while away....the whole jump into a new decade must have worn me right out!  =)
 
Vacation was great.  I spent 2 great weeks in Michigan with the family.  Spent a lot of time at the beach with the nieces and nephew - even managed to get my youngest niece to be unafraid of the water......took about 45 minutes of coaxing and holding her on my lap and slowly getting her in before she suddenly snapped and went off a trucking into the water!  we would look at her and her teeth would be chattering from the water and we would ask her if she was col and she would asy "Yes...coooold" so we would take her out and dry her off and set her in the sun.  Yet, within a minute she would be off and heading back towards the water - she really loved it!  She got over her sand phobia also and was bellied out in the sand pulling it towards her.  Too cute!
 
Did get the Cool Aunt award for my car this vacation!  I rented a convertible and the kids loved it.  Called it the Red Rocket and said it was the best car.  I took the kids and my mom into Grand Haven to see the Coast Guard Ice Cutters and on the way back to the mall for lunch I looked in my rear mirror while going down the highway and saw 4 little hands sticking up.  I glanced behind me and the 2 kids have their hands up in the air while giong down the highway and were saying "Whhheeeeeeee!!!" and giggling like crazy! 
 
I did buy a new camera while home - mine had finally kicked the bucket so as a happy birthday present to me gift, I went out and bought a new one.  I really like it as it is smaller than my old one.  Still need to get the software installed on my PC so that I can download the pictures, perhaps I'll do that this weekend!
 
I joined the Mystery Stole 4....will see if I can actually not only start the project this year, but actually finish this one as well!
 
Joined up for the Ravelry Olympics, but I am behind and have not started my project yet....I'm considering myself one of the last events of the games =)
 
Okay, I really must run and get back to work.  Will start to write more and will show you what I have been working on.  I did finish a few small projects while home (play yarn food - sausage and bacon) but of course forgot to take the pictures. 
 
Ciao!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Hello from Michigan!

Vacation is going great so far! Made it home to my parents without any missed flights, lost luggages or any other assorted traveling problems. My niece and nephew surprised me at my parents house when I arrived so I took them out for dinner in my cooooooool car. Its much cooooooooler than Grandpa's I was told =) I rented a convertable, so they were excited about that.

Went to a friend's wedding on Saturday, my littlest neice's birthday party on Sunday and today it is off to the beach! Burnt skin here I come! It will not matter how much lotion I put on, how often I put it on, what strength it is, with my lily white skin it is guarenteed I'll come home lobster red. *sigh* I wish I was like my sisters and Mom who only have to look at the sun to turn tan. Me, I look at the sun and fry.

I will not be posting much the next 3 weeks, so I hope that everyone is having a great summer and will talk to you all when I am back in Belgium!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The week of WIPs continues....Try 2

Okay, the first message sent on its own for some reason so lets try this one again....

The week is moving along great so far. No new projects started - a record I think! *grin*

I have finished the centers of the Baby Blankey Grannies I am working on. The centers are all pink and the outer section will be in green. The pattern comes from Crochet today!'s March/April 2008 publication. Very cute!

I'm working on my WIP at work a little bit - I have a Crazy Cloth in one of my desk drawers and I'll pull it out a little bit after lunch for 5 minutes to work on it. This one is being done in a variegated Anchor Magicline. Love the colors.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Vik who helped me with the Knit in Stitch below concept...it was a duh moment. It helped too that I put an extra stitch out of the pattern on each end so its not looking funky any longer and has a cleaner border...now lets hope that I have enough yarn! It calls for 120yds and I have 147yds but I think that will make the scarf too short.....it remains to be seen though! Loving the look of it though...I might need to make more!

I think that is it for now. I leave in a week tomorrow for 3 weeks - 2 weeks in the US with my family and 1 week in Chicago looking for a new job. That is right. I am moving back to Chicago. We are thinking that I will leave in Oct / Nov but it depends on the job I find.

Talk to you all soon!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Happy Birthday Ismet!

Just a big happy birthday to my boyfriend Meti.





Ps to Meti - Te dua pak *grin* err shum

Sunburst Lantern

Here is the first finished WIP for my Week of WIPs:



Project details:

Pattern: Lantern Potholder by American Thread Company

Thread: Coats Manila Bay Cannon Cotton Thread bought from Mimi

Hook: Size 1.5 Inox

Time: Several months due to SEVERE procrastination

Final Opinion: Love it!

Now on to the next WIP or two!

Knit one below? Huh?

Does someone, anyone have any experience with "Knit into the stitch below the one on the needle"?

While not really a WIP since I frogged it to start back over (semantics), I have been trying to make the Last Hurrah Scarf also found on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/last-hurrah-scarf

My issue is that I can not grasp the knit below concept...you want me to do what? When I thought I had it my whole project fell apart....rather amusing looking back but at the time I was not so happy!

The advice on Ravelry is "Also called a double stitch: insert your right needle knitwise into the center of the stitch below the stitch on the needle and knit, catching both stitches"

Huh? So I put it into the center of the stitch below, but how do I manage to catch both stitches?

I am sure this is something VERY simple but my simple little mind can not grasp it!

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Week of WIPS

Once again I feel like I am overrun with WIPs and some UFOs that just won't make up their minds if they are going to be frogged or finished.

So, due to this horrible habit I have of working on umpteen things at one time, I am declaring this upcoming week my WIP week. No new projects started, just working on those on my hooks and needles.

I got an early start with WIP week and worked on this today:


Cute eh? I love how it turned out - the Katia Cotton Club was so soft and silky to work with. I see more dishcloths in my future....I am glad that I have other Katia cotton-club skeins in my stash which I can still use since this yarn has been discontinued.

I have been working today on the lantern.....I could easily still finish it tonight, but my fingers are sore from weaving in the thread ends! I crochet with thread really tightly, so its difficult sometimes to weave in the ends, and there have been a lot of ends to weave let me tell you! I have 6 of the sections finished, two more to go, and then the final assembly. In order to cut out the number of ends that I have to weave I am attaching the sections together as I go, which will eliminate 12 ends to weave.....which left me with 52 ends that I had to weave.....not that I am counting or anything =)

I hope that everyone had a great weekend!!!

Week of WIP updates coming soon to a blog near you!

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Back to our normally scheduled programming

It has been just a few days since I talked about crafting so I figure that it is about time...that is what this blog is about after all!

First of all, thank you to all of you who have commented and talked to me about my Weaved Hotpad. I've met a lot of new people thanks to this pattern and received a lot of nice compliments which mean a lot to me. I hope that everyone enjoys the pattern!

Yes, I been knitting and crocheting....and its not Play Yarn Food! Amazing eh?

I tried to start the Seafoam Vest from Interweave Crochet's Spring 2007 editin...yes, I tried a wearable. Follow the directions for my bust size.....realized after 2 rows that there was no way unless I became anorexic would the thing ever (and I do mean ever) fit around my waist. I would not consider myself fat, I know I have a few extra pounds (don't we all?) which need to be shed, but I'm healthy and happy so no crash course dieting for me coming up. So that one was frogged and the magazine hidden away to not taunt me.

Speaking of my Weaved Hotpad, I have finished the fourth version of it, this one using two different variegated colors for the ovals and a solid square.


On the needles, I've started another dishcloth. This one using Katia Cotton Club (I think that it has been discontinued) in a pretty green on my Grandma's size 3 needles. The pattern is Spring Up Flowers found on Ravelry here with the pattern on Kristen's blog here


I have picked back up the hook again to work on my Lantern Potholder. Since the picture was taken I've weaved in all of the ends (they are hidden underneath all of the sections) and finished another white section. 3 more white sections to go, the final outlining in yellows and then the assembly and I'll e done....its taken me almost 8 months to get this far....I should be done at this rate by Christmas! =) Nah, I've just not really worked on this project - had others that I wanted to get done, but this one has moved up in priority so hopefully before I leave for summer holidays in 2 weeks.

That is about it for now. I have an urge to create some stitch markers so those will be showing up on my blog soon I am sure! Although I really don't need any more stitch markers so I have no idea what I will do with them, but I'll think of something I am sure!

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Thank yous from Megan

My niece Megan owes a big thank you to Anita. Recently I was picked as a winner on Anita's blogversary contest, and she sent me a little gift. My niece opened it up and was squealing with glee at what was inside!

Oh boy! Look what is in here...

They are donuts!!
Or they can be used as goggles....
Megan called the beads on top "jewel sprinkles" and is totally in love with them my Mom says!

Thanks again Anita - she loves them and sends big Thank You's to her Aunt Kim's friend!
_________________________________

She also got that day all of the food I had been making her (my Mom took it back with her).....I think she has enough finally! =)

Sleeping Beauty.....

Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Germany.....


Look! We're in Austria!!
A side trip to Brugges Belgium during the week that my Mom was here:
Our stop in Lucerne Switzerland - the Lion of Lucerne monument which is for 700+ Swiss Guard soldiers who died while protecting Louis & Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution - very moving carving!

Some Alpine Horn players in Lucerne - very pretty music!
Meti & my Mom in the Grand Place
Is it me, or does Meti look a little bit like Bono when he wears my sun glasses?
Me & My Mom while in Belgium waiting for the Canal Boat tour.....
That is it for now!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Pictures are coming....

You will have to wait for the pictures, but I can tell you that me and my Mom had an excellent time together!!

 

We took a trip to Brugges one day on the train.  Which was fun - no driving, got to work on some knitting.  And spent a lovely afternoon wandering around Brugges with my Mom.

 

We then decided that we needed to take a full fledged road trip.  So we left on Thursday mid-morning.   Drove out of Belgium, into Luxembourg....kept on going into France and right on out into Switzerland.  Did actually stop at a rest stop where I introduced my Mom to Carmel Magnum Ice Cream bars - oh yummy!

 

Ended up that evening in Zürich where we wandered around and had a great dinner.....I had cheese fondue (of course) and my Mom had a yummy stuffed chicken breast.  We ended the night by going and watching a Euro Cup soccer match - Spain versus Russia I think it was - at the Fan Zone in Zürich - tons of people and a HUGE movie theater size screen to watch it on - what fun!

 

The next day we headed on the train down to Lucerne.  Decided to take the train for convenience and we needed to head back toward Zürich anyways for our next destination.  Had fun walking around Lucerne - a very pretty little city.  Only disappointment was the low cloud cover in the mountains - really hazy and not easy to see even though the sun was out!

 

Hopped the train back to Zürich and off we went.....towards Germany.  Although we detoured through Austria to get there which was unexpected, but that was the way Lucy my GPS lady told me to go!  Ended up in Füssen Germany after traveling behind an insane semi-truck driver from the Netherlands!  Curvy mountain 1x1 roads, and the Semi-truck was just a truckin along at 100km an hour.  A few times he had close calls with other trucks / cars / curves.  He took off and passed a car once and me and my Mom looked at each other and went "Waoh!"

 

And then we were on the first of our autobahn experiences, but we were too busy looking at the Alps to really go fast.....no worries, that came later!  =)

 

Füssen where we ended up the night is the closest large village to the Sleeping Beauty Castle right at the foot of the Bavarian Alsp...talk about gorgeous!!!  The next day we walked up to the older castle before walking up the mountain to the Sleeping Beauty Castle - both were gorgeous with magnificent views.  Of course we had not had enough walking so we decided to walk back up to the first castle to go to the gift shop there where we had seen a really gorgeous bowl for a wedding gift that my Mom bought. 

 

After all that walking we decided to head back toward Belgium..Home Lucy!  Of course Lucy tells us we will be back at 12:40 in the morning....okay, not so bad.  autobahn here we come.  Oh yea - vroom vroom vroom.  I got on the autobahn and let my little Audi wagon go......hit 200 during a windy stretch which was not so nice - just wanted my Mom to say she had went 200km on the Autobahn (about 125mph).  Backed down to my cruising speed of around 170km (105mph) where we toodled along until I got really mad at a car which kept cutting me off and then slowing down, speeding up to pass me then slowing down again.  So I told my Mom that I was going to get away from him.....so vroom on the gas peddle.....next thing we know I am cruising along at 210km (130mph) and we look at each other and neither of us felt that we were going that fast!  Once away from the car though I backed down to my cruising speed.  We hit a Burger King for dinner at a rest stop...SLOW!!!  There added 45 mins to our stop - argh!  then of course we get going again and some genius in highway maintenance decided to take the 3 lanes down to 1 lane right where there is a major junction.....there added about 30 mins.  So we ended up getting home at about 2am.  Safe and sound though and glad to sleep in my own bed.

 

Took Mom to the train yesterday morning and was sad to see her leave - had a great time and both me and Meti enjoyed having her stay with us.  Wish she could have stayed longer!

 

Thanks Mom for coming over and for a going on the road trip with me - lots of fun - wish we could do it again....Want to come back and go with me through Normandy? =)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Momma is coming tomorrow!

My Mom will be here tomorrow - I am so excited!!!!!

She said that she is bringing her knitting...we shall see if she really does.....if not, I have more than enough yarn and needles to help her start a new project.....perhaps not slippers this time!

I will drive up to Amsterdam in the morning, about a 2 hour drive or so to pick her up at Schipol Airport. I've never driven there before, so it will be interesting...lets hope that the GPS knows where she is going!

Okay, time to finish cleaning and watching the last of the Croatia-Turkey Euro Cup match!

Monday, June 16, 2008

5 more days....

I am sitting here looking around my apartment...every chair, radiator, door handle etc is covered with laundry. Plus an ironing board sitting piled high with clothes.

Have I mentioned lately just how much I despise ironing? Some of the pile is probably 2 years old in waiting to be ironed. I had all of the shirts hanging behind my bedroom door on hooks. Since the door is never closed, out of sight, out of mind came into role big time! I have since moved the pile onto the ironing board in the middle of the kitchen.

Do you think that helped any?

Nope, I now either walk around the board or simply more it clothes and all out of my way. I fear that my Mom will arrive and the darn thing will still be sitting there, shirts and all!

I suppose I could just be lazy......gather all the shirts up and take them to the cleaners.....sound like a plan? =)

I need to get busy crafting. My colleague who had the baby is bringing him in on Thursday...I know that I will not have the blanket done but perhaps I can make something else up really quick.....now to decide what exactly.

Okay, I am off to walk around that ironing board some more and get the dinner dishes done......Dishes are a close second behind ironing in things that I really do not like to do!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

And the monster makes 3

3 posts that is for today!

Yet another finished project that I do believe I have forgotten to show.

So I will take the time to introduce my very own....Swamp Thing!!
SwampThing 1
The details:

Pattern: Swamp Thing by Jean Greenhouse in Jiffy Knits
Yarn: Saskia Acrylic bought at Wibra
Needle: Size 3
Eyes: 2 Goggle Wiggly Eyes
Time: Fast to knit....I took forever to assemble it

I really enjoyed the pattern - simple Garter Stitch. The putting together was a fit fiddly with having to separate all of the hair strands. But he turned out cute and is sure to bring a huge smile to my nephew's face!

Happy Daddy's Day!!

Happy Father's Day Dad I love you VERY VERY much!



Thank you for all of the support and love and advice and wisdom you have given me over the years. I greatly treasure each and every moment that we have spent together and cherish all of the memories we have made....even the "Bear Hunt" in the middle of 90°+ weather....humidity.....and a 5 mile trek...just to read a sign that said "Lincoln Slept Here" in the midst of a bunch of weeds.

Happy Father's Dad to the Best Dad a girl could ever have!

Shut the door!!!!!

"Why does it always rain on me?

Was it because I lied when I was 17? Even when the sun is shining I can't avoid the lightening." (A song by a band called Travis)

How is everyone doing? I spent another day in Zurich on Wed and then in Munich on Thursday for a meeting . It feels lately like I am spending all of my time on planes and in airports waiting for those planes.

Did I mention that while on the train back from Neuchetal to Zurich last week I saw a lady crocheting? And the previous week I saw a lady cable knitting a sweater? Yarn work seems to be popular in Switzerland, yet I have only even found one yarn shop. I need to investigate some more I think!

I had my projects with me of course. Here is what I managed to complete on the first trip to Zurich:

Deserts

This past trip I have been working on a baby blanket for a friend here in Belgium. I am doing the Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book.

I am staying in Belgium this week and in 6 days my Mom will be here!! I am so excited that she is coming over to visit me and to meet my boyfriend for the first time! I need to drive up to Amsterdam to pick her up - its about a 2 hour drive or so to the airport there. Thankfully her flight gets in around 11, so I do not need to get up too early on Saturday morning to go pick her up.

Have a great week!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Off again!

That's right, I am heading to Zurich for the rest of this week - I just can not stay in Belgium matemy it seems! It should be a good 3 days there though, including a meeting with the CFO o the company. A little bit nervous about my presentation I have to give, but it should be a good meeting.

On the crafting front since that is why all of you are reading my blog.

First up is from Fruits and veggies as requested by my neice Megan:


Lemon Merangue Pie anyone?



Some more finished food items are coming up, as well as a knitted version of a crochet pattern I saw (my hands were too tired from crocheting to do any more) as well as some non-food and non-dishcloth items *gasp* yes it is possible!

Have a great rest of the week and we will talk to you all during the weekend!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Wow!

That is all I can say!

 

Thank you to everyone for all of your comments on my Weaved Hotpad.  I really enjoy the pattern and can only wish that I had posted it sooner!

 

Now that this one is off the hooks and onto the paper so to speak I need to start thinking about the next pattern.  No idea what it will be. 

 

I have been making a lot of "Play Yarn Food" so perhaps I will have to think of some items along those lines.  Although I keep having visions of doll size clothing in my head, so^perhaps I'll finally get around to making some Cabbage Patch clothes up.

 

We shall see!

 

Off the design front, I've started a few more projects the past fews days.  A few Play Yarn Food patterns for my niece, along with another DouDou (little doll in French) and some more odds and ends. 

 

One of these days I'll finish what I have already started.....just not today!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Road trip? I think not!

Or at least I will not be taking a Road Trip here in Europe...the US is a totally different story. I just might be able to afford that one!

I am sure all of you who are in the US must be thinking I am nuts right now. Right? I am sure that you are sitting there thinking "Gas is around $4 a gallon.....no way!"

But, the sad thing is, that is cheap. Honestly.

I filled my tank up last night. And spent 1.41€.....for a liter. That is 5.34 Euros a gallon....want to know what that is in US dollars? It costs me $8.41 USD for each gallon of diesel I put in my car.....and in Europe, diesel is the cheapest option! Unleaded would cost over $9 a gallon!

So, I'll continue to avoid any long trips by car here in Europe, and be doing a happy dance when I go to the US this summer and fill my tank up for half the cost for me =)

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Weaved Hotpad

Weaved Hotpad
Designed by Kimberly A Langlois
Copyright © 2008 Kimberly Langlois All rights reserved.

This pattern can be found as a PDF download on Ravelry, at the following link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/weaved-hotpad

Or you may email me at: kaml19 @ yahoo . com Please include in the subject line "Weaved Hotpad Request"



Requirements:
2 colors of worsted weight cotton
H hook

Legal jargon:

Copyright © 2008 Kimberly Langlois All rights reserved.

Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than for personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law.

This dishcloth may be made for personal use only. Should you wish to make the finished dishcloths for sale, please contact for permission. Should you wish to use this pattern for a class or event, please contact for permission.

Coming Soon to a blog near you.....



After an extremely long procrastination period, the pattern is in final testing stages, and once done, it will be released for public use!

Stay tuned for updates.......