Crafting continues in Zurich

I am in Zürich all of this week (hence why I've not been posting much and commenting on blogs....the company has blogger and wordpress now blocked so while I can post via an e-mail, and read via bloglines, I can not comment yet....they will come on Sunday hopefully!

I've had a good few days meeting all of the new folks that I will be working with as well as talking to the old folks who are also based here. During each of the 4 meetings I have had so far the same question was asked....

"So when are you moving here to Zurich?"

To which I gave a rather vague and convoluted answer with long run-ons and slight pauses....basic gist of my answer was that I can not move right now due to personal reasons, but that I would still consider moving if my personal situation (the BF can not move) was cleared up.

As for the crafting, I am in the process of making another hat. This one the Basket Weave hat found also on Kody May's site: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brother-in-law-basket-weave-hat

I am using Gedifra Airmix in a charcoal gray for my boyfriend after he complained the other day that I was always making things but never anything for him. If he loses it (he has a habit of losing things, including a sweater I gave him and one of my umbrellas (thankfully a cheap 2€ one) I will probably strangle him..... I can see the headlines now "American strangles boyfriend for losing his hat"......do you think I can make a long chain and attach it to his coat like people do with children and their mittens?

I'm also working on some more coasters and the lantern potholder, hopefully some more finished items soon!

I am going to be visiting the yarn store here in Zürich Saturday.....I'm going to try not to buy anything, but I've never bought yarn here before! So perhaps just a little bit! =)

Patons SWS Review

I love the colors. I love the stripping. I love the patterns that have been designed for this yarn.

I do not love the yarn itself.

The skein that I used to make my hat yesterday had been cut and tied in not one, not two and not even three but four different places that I came across in the part of the skein I used.

Its also very scratchy. My head itches when I wear it. I have not washed it yet, so perhaps that will make it softer.....one can hope this is the case since so many people are making hats with it.

I still have several skeins that need to find projects. No idea what they will be though since I really am not up to making more hats with this yarn, although I really do like the stripping and the colors and the hat patterns that are available for this yarn!

Anyone else have any thoughts on SWS?

Waterloo....I was defeated you won the war

Hello! I do hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and those in the US survived the holidays and the Black Friday shopping events.

Here in Belgium I spent a wonderful few days with my friend Zori....We both agreed that it was like she had never left at all. Strange how easily you fall into old familiar patterns....walking down the street, singing Mamma Mia, pointing out the same things to laugh at.

I did find some time to do some crafting while Zori was away visiting with other friends in Brussels. Here is a first for me: That's right! I made my very first hat. I can not believe that it has taken me this long to find the courage to make something for my head. Pardon the crappy picture of me.....it was after 2 in the morning but I was determined to finish this up last night.

The details:
Yarn: Patons SWS Soy Wool Solids in Natural Plum
Amount: <1 skein
Needle: 5.0mm Addi bamboo circular
Pattern: Asminah's Hat
Designer: Kody May Knits
Time: 1 day

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

To all of my friends, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

May your day be filled with family, friends, laughter and food.

Zori's coming......

One of my best-est friends in the whole wide world will be in Belgium in less than 7 hours and counting! And she will be here for 3 days, and then I'll see her all next week in Zürich - yay!!! I just love how I managed to plan a business trip to Zürich when my best friend is there.

I am feeling kinda better.....we think that the cough is being partially caused by the heaters here at work - icky things! I'm still taking it easy and drinking TONS of tea and orange juice. My new office is the farthest possible from the bathrooms (literally, unless they stuck me downstairs in the garage, there is no other office in the whole entire building as far from the bathrooms) so with drinking lots of liquid is causing my lots of treks to the bathroom. I'm getting my exercise in if nothing else.

I spent last night cleaning the apartment from top to bottom. Even enlisted Meti's help to clean. Its sparkling and pretty and organised......Well, until you look at the craft section. I'll have to take a picture of it. My yarn no longer fits in the totes, so I have some in a laundry basket, some in a large box, others in large bags.....its kinda funny and really really messy! Lets hope my stash busting efforts calms it down some!

Remember when I started on my second round ripple and I said that I was flipping the colors but I was only worried about running short on green, so I had a friend buy a skein of green while she was in the US? Well, the green turned out fine, not even short, and just a little bit left which will be perfect for a cupcake top. So off I'm working on the yellow.....finished the 3 rounds of solid Yellow....switch to yellow and pink held together.....I barely managed to finish one round. I'm one round short of yellow - drats!!!! I know one thing I'm buying while I am in the US! If anyone finds the Bernat Baby Coordinates on sale in the US, please let me know.....aside from the one skein of yellow, I want to buy enough skeins to make at least 2 more blankets.

I do believe that is all for now! Have a super Thursday!

Mine? Or Mimi's?

Mimi commented on my Poinsetta Coaster "That is so delightful to see, Kimberly! (I even thought that was one of mine ;)"

Well, to be honest, it might have as well been one of Mimi's! Lets see here....

The Pattern? Mimi's lovely poinsetta coaster pattern

The thread? Bought way back when from Mimi - Monaco Cotton

The hook? Why, yes, I bought it from Mimi

So should I really be calling it my coaster? Or should it be Mimi's Coaster?

********

I am feeling actually very well.....no issue with my sinuses, the ears are fine, no headaches or body aches....the only issue is that I have this cough that will not stop. Its a hacking "my lungs are going to explode out of my chest while I crack a few ribs" kind of cough. Everyone has their own idea on what is causing the cough....

Bird Flu (darn trip to the UK)
Tuberculosis (Gee Meti, I love you too)
Pertussis (aka Whopping Cough)
Some weird African disease that has no name
Too much smoking (umm, I don't smoke although I sound like Selma from the Simpsons)
Pneumonia
The flu
Bronchitis

My vote is just 'tis the season but we shall see....if it does get worse I'll have to find a Doctor to go visit.

Sunday, That's my fun day......

So what have I accoplished today? Not a whole lot.

Two more rounds on my Baby Round Ripple....I'm to the point that its monotonous to finish a round. It will get done though.....5 more rounds to go.

I finished one of Mimi's Poinsetta Coasters.... I think that it turned out wonderfully! I just might need to make a whole set...or two...or three.....

And I finished another Crazy Cloth (are you all getting sick of seeing these yet?) Which I made using two different colors instead of just one.....

I do believe that will be all for this weekend. Here are the sources for all of the recently made patterns:

Crazy Cloth - http://cityofcrochet.blogspot.com/2006/10/crazy-cloth.html
Cupcake - http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/bake-me-a-cake/
Poinsetta Coaster
Cabled Clutch - Can be found in the pattern book "101 One Skein Wonders" - note that pattern has errors in books which are easily found, or I have found the pattern on-line as well here: http://www.bellafilati.com/free-knitting-patterns-details.asp?BBProject_ID=4
Turtle Pattern - Sorry - this pattern is no longer available on-line that I can find

Happy Crafting!

The thing about being sick....

and coughing non-stop to the point where you wake yourself up....you can get a whole lot accomplished in the morning on Saturday!

While I did attempt some cleaning, the majority has been crafting.

Of course, I needed to stop for a tea break and drink some tea with honey for my cough and a little bit of sustenance. I used the tea cup I bought in China today.


I had a few visitors come to visit me, braving the wilds of the houseplants to make an appearance.


We had a great time visiting and talking about their future home, but they soon left and I had to do a little bit of washing dishes.


I am off to the store now to pick up some food for dinner. I had best grab my purse...perhaps I can take my new one.

Email Blog Posting

This is a test message to see if I can post to my blog via an e-mail......the company is cracking down on external sites, and Blogger is one of the now banned sites, so no more posting during my lunch break unless I can find a work around!

I've been working and have almost finished a stash buster project. I picked out one of the projects from the One-Skein Wonder book that I bought in the US a while back.

My choosen project is the Quick & Classy Cabeled Cluthc which I made with just over 1 skein of Ornaghi Filati LAND in white. I had binded off....now to block and add the handles and then I'll be done! Hopefully it will be just right to use as a little holiday purse......all signs are pointing yes!


Edit:
Yay! It worked!

Here are the pics of the current project:



Off to work some more on the Round Ripple....the clutch can wait until the weekend to be finished!

Is this not lovely?

Here I am in the UK....and this is what I see in my e-mail this morning:

Worldcue® Alert
Severity: Informational Alert
Health: U.K. officials Nov. 12 confirm H5 avian influenza on turkey farm in Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Risk to humans extremely low.

This alert affects United Kingdom.

This alert began 12 Nov 2007 19:54 GMT and is scheduled to expire 11 Dec 2007 23:59 GMT.

Current Situation
U.K. officials Nov. 12 confirmed that H5 avian influenza had infected birds at a turkey farm near the town of Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Authorities will cull the approximately 5,000 turkeys, geese and ducks on the farm, as well as domestic birds within 3 km. Government veterinarians do not yet know whether the virus is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread throughout Asia, but that information should be available within days. The source of the H5 virus is unknown.

Officials immediately imposed movement restrictions on the farm and have established a 10-km surveillance zone, in which authorities will restrict movements of poultry and farm vehicles and monitor for more bird infections.

Background
In February 2007, the U.K. reported its first outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among poultry on a Bernard Matthews turkey farm near Lowestoft, Suffolk, approximately 50 km (30 miles) east of the current outbreak. Bernard Matthews representatives say the company is not associated with the currently infected farm, and owns no farms within the surveillance zone. The source of the February outbreak was likely commercial poultry trade with Hungary. Doctors identified no human infections associated with that outbreak.

In March 2006, authorities found a wild swan on the coast of Scotland infected with H5N1.


AdviceThe risk of contracting avian influenza in the U.K. is exceedingly low. However, if you are in the area of the infected farm, avoid contact with surfaces or objects contaminated by bird droppings.

Another weekend over......

and another week begins.

So there I was yesterday, doing laundry, a little bit of cleaning and organizing and then it hits me. I'm going to the UK the next day. How can I forget something like that? There goes all of my plans for the week and I'm now sitting in the UK. I'm only here for 2 days, but I have a ton to get accomplished as I am in the process of handing over files and processes and trying to get all of them in good shape before I do.

The weekend went well. I am happy to report that I found Mister N....he was hiding out in a bag with a slender little F hook.....has a little thing going on the side.....lets hope that Mrs. N does not find out about that one!

I did not finish anything.....worked 2 rounds on the Ripple, a few rounds on the Crazy Cloths, started a stash buster project. I've decided that for my stash busting I am going to start by using up the oldest yarns that I have. So I'm on quests to find the best projects for each of them. Luckily I have some projects already in mind, including more Crazy Cloths for the cotton that I have.

Okay, may everyone have a wonderful week!

Calling Mister N!!!

If anyone has seen my Elusive Mister N, could you please tell him that I am looking for him desperately so that I can finish my Round Ripple? He has gone AWOL and while his fellow hooks claim that he is in the apartment, I have to say that Mister N has left the building....probably jumped out the window along with all of my Elusive Number 7 Steel Hooks which seem to disappear faster than an ice cream cone in July.

Last night was not a good night for crocheting....every time that I went to find one of my WIPs, something was missing....hook, yarn, pattern, the WIP itself.

I am trying to update my Ravelry page with my WIPs....added the following four today from what I snapped pictures of last night:

Yet another Crazy Cloth, this one done also with Anchor Magicline and a F hook....its now a little over half way done - should be finished tonight (Stash Buster)
A Crazy Cloth...this one done with a D hook and Cotton 8 bought here in Belgium....this one is about 25% done and should be finished this weekend. I also have a Crazy Cloth with this yarn in a dark Magenta being worked on at work......since I never have down time at work, that one will probably be finished by the end of 2008!
A Lace Scarf from the July 1978 Workbasket Magazine, the first pattern done using a lot of Workbaskets I won on E-bay during the Spring....more to come as I start Stash busting!
Yet another Stash Buster, Irish Hiking Wristwarmers done with Airmix..nice, warm and soft! I will probably make these both one repeat longer than called for in the pattern.

More stash busting WIPs to come.....I really want to use up some of this yarn. I bought while last in the US a pattern book "One Skein Wonders" which should help me to get rid of some of this yarn!

I'm still here

I've been really busy and while that is my excuse, it should not be the reason that I am AWOL - I really need to find the time to post more!

I've been busy working on several projects, including a scarf from the July 1978 Workbasket. I am going to clean my craft area this weekend and make a firm list of my WIPs / UFOs.....my goal is to finish 50% of them by the end of the month. I am also on a strict yarn diet. I won't say exactly how much I've spent on yarn & accessories the past month, but its a staggering amount when I looked at my credit card (does not include those I paid cash for - eek!) I really want to start using up some of my stash.....either that or actually selling some of it off would be a good thing!

Christmas....I am torn on what to make for Christmas gifts this year. I don't really have time to make everyone something, and nor would it be appreciated I think. I had a negative reaction to my Ice Skate ornaments so even my idea of making those and embroidering on everyone's initials and using as gift tags is not going to happen.

I hope that everyone is having a great week!