KnitFreak

The German team played Sweden yesterday at the World Cup (Football, that is. Or soccer, depending on where you're from) here in Munich yesterday. K and I went into the city center to get some of the atmosphere:

 ... and they sure made a lot of noise!

 You should be able to listen to it with Winamp (I hope. I'm not a great nerd at this). This is the sound to the picture... on Marienplatz, not in the stadium! Pretty noisy, huh?
(And no, I haven't figured out how to make videos with my camera. I've only had it for a year now, so what do you want from me? Miracles?)

Last Saturday (wow! Time is flying... it's been a week already) I received a little packet from sunny California. And in it were... my SockapalOOOza socks! Made by my sock saviour Agnes! 

 I really lurve them! They fit just perfectly, the colors are so yummy, and I'm absolutely into this pattern! Simple yet subtle. Unfortunately, it's too hot these days to wear them... but the yarn is very nice (Knit Picks Sock Garden). Thanks Agnes!!!

These socks really came as a surprise. I know that my "original" sock pal had a lot on her plate (a PhD thesis, the renovation of the house she's going to move into, a pregnancy), so I told her she could take all the time she wanted to finish my socks. I'm not sure if she was aware I was assigned to a sock saviour... So, if you read this, I've got some socks now. So, hmmm... how should I say that without you getting me wrong? Well, if you still want to make these socks for you, I won't say anything against it! But if you decide to just skip it because you have enough other stuff to do (and I know that you do), I'll be fine too.

There are still no pictures of my knitting! I'll say goodnight with a picture of a few Munich sights instead.

From left to right: the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) with the twin towers and the Munich Rathaus (the town hall) with its grey tower.

A certain somebody is going to receive their socks some time soon... I mailed them yesterday, so I guess they should arrive in about a week.

 I saw on Grumperina's blog that she modified the sock label with all the sock details:

 It was really easy, just with a little help of Photoshop... and it can be done even when you're not a Photoshop expert (believe me, I'm not!).
I really really hope that my sockpal will like them and that they are going to fit!

The blog world has me back! There's been lots going on over here during the past week and a half, and not much of it was good. First, I had this bad cold, nothing too serious, I was just not feeling well. You know, when you're in the stage when you're not sick enough to stay in bed the whole time, but you're still not well enough to go on with your regular work. And that annoys the heck out of me, every time I have it! Plus, my right eye was troubling me. A lot. Five years ago, I've been diagnosed with a disease called Uveitis, which appears in batches. The disease is basically an inflammation which appears in the background of the eye; my eye looks perfectly normal though, because only an ophthalmologist can see it with their things. And just before Easter, on my dad's birthday, I had another one. Fortunately, it's not as bad as it could be (it can affect the visual nerve), and so I don't need to take heavy medication (if it gets bad, you'd have to take steroids and cortisone for about 4 weeks, and while doing that, you'd have to get your liver functions tested on a regular basis); in fact, the doctors said I couldn't do anything. So, what's so bad about this, you might wonder... the only way I notice that something is wrong with my eye is that I can't see properly. It is as if there is a grey-ish cloud in my right eye, in the right-hand center of my focus, and this cloud is moving with my eye movements. And it won't go away, at least not for a while. A long while, that is. (5 years ago, when the Uveitis first occurred, I asked the doctor at the University Eye Clinic in Tübingen how long it will take for this cloud to go away. He said it would take about 3 to 4 months. A few years later, I could still see the cloud. Another doctor told me that there is no way anybody could tell me how long it would take until the thing goes away.)
Well, now you know why I wasn't feeling too well lately... this whole affair affected my mood a lot.

But now to something more cheerful! For those of you who live in Munich or Munich-area, a group of knitters is meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, April 25) from 6.30 pm onwards at a restaurant/tavern/cantina place called "Esszimmer" (= Dining Room), to knit together and maybe learn a few things together. If you want to come, either leave a comment on my blog, or contact Amélie. Everybody's welcome! Oh, and we'll probably speak German, but that shouldn't scare English speakers off!

Now, finally, I'll come to the knitting content!
I'm still, or, again, knitting sockapaloooza socks!

The pattern is again from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks, the shell pattern. It might look complicated, but the instructions are soooo easy-peasy! And the yarn is called Singapore, from Ewa's place. (I know, I know, the site's still not in English, but we're working on it! If you want to order some of her yarns without speaking any German, I'm happy to assist. Her yarns are very seasonal, she makes about 10 balls from each color)
The heel on this sock is turned and I'm on my way down towards the toes. I know, I already made a pair of socks for my sockpal, but this is the yarn I originally intended for her. Remember, I wanted to knit the socks as my Olympic project, but then the yarn didn't arrive... The only problem is now, I won't be able to finish the second pair of socks in time to mail them so they arrive on May 1st. I'll ask my pal if she prefers either one pair of socks on time or a pair of socks and a surprise, but a bit later... I'll see what she wants.
Oh, and if my sockpal aka the person who's making socks for me is reading this: in case you need some more time, take it! I don't mind waiting a bit.

There's another project I've been making without posting about it. See, my nephew's christening is coming up in May, and my sister asked me if I could make a cardigan that he could wear then. Although the christening is in late May, the weather might be chilly; or it might be so warm that he doesn't need a cardigan at all. Anyways, I agreed to knit the cardigan (what did you think I'd do?), and we chose the cardigan with fair-isle yoke from the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino book. My sister and I said we'd make a different pattern for the yoke though (well, she says, and I make) because we didn't like the colors of the pattern as in the instructions.

All I need to finish now is the button bands and the sleeves. Although I'm not sure how long I should make the sleeves... my nephew doesn't live nearby, so I can't just go over to my sister's house and try the cardigan on. I might make the sleeves and try them on the day before the christening, and then seam them, or... I'm coming up with a different idea. I don't really like the thought of making everything in the last minute, but what can I do?
Here's a close-up of the yoke:

Isn't it pretty? I hope the little one will look just gorgeous!

Wasn't there another project, still unfinished? Yep, Josephine. She's still unfinished, because I didn't touch her since the last time. I basically told her to bugger off until I feel like finishing her. Which most likely won't be until I'm done with the sockapaloooza socks and the christening cardigan. Josephine will have to wait. And then there's still Starsky to think about... and I want to reduce my stash a bit over summer.

Oh, and before I forget it: I'd like to thank everybody who commented on this post. I decided to leave Josephine as she is, I won't frog her or anything. You cheered me up a lot, so eventually I'll just set in the sleeves and weave in all the ends. Thanks you guys, YOU ROCK!!!

Knitting + Olympics = Knitting Olympics

I'm in the final spurt! I'm about to start the toe shaping (yes, my feet are that much bigger than my pal's, and yes, I'm going to wash the socks before I send them away), and my guess is that I'll be done tonight! Yay!

Update: The socks were completed around 6.30-ish p.m. Munich local time. That means: Gold for me!!! And socks guaranteed for my pal. Now I have to wait until May 2 until I can ship those two beauties... and in the meantime I'm going to decide whether my pal is going to get two pairs of socks...

To make my progress official:

Despite the whole yarn-being-late-thing, I'm very lucky with my pal as she doesn't want the leg part of her socks very long, just a bit above the ankle. That saves knitting time!
The finished sock looks a bit strange, I think, but I tried it on before I finished the toes, and it fit pretty well - I was surprised actually. Unfortunately, I can't model the sock for you because my feet are way too big for this sock size.
Now I'm more confident that I can manage to finish this project before the Olympic flame goes out...

okay, I think I kept you on tenterhooks for long enough now. At first I thought it was very tricky of you, to leave me an anonymous comment, but then I thought, 'hey, I have a pal of my own who I can puzzle by leaving anonymous comments!'

And yes, it is only lace (for socks) that I wouldn't really wear. I appreciate the knitting part, but not for me wearing lace socks. But, as for other patterns, you can knit your heart out! I'm good with anything that makes sense for socks.

Thanks for asking!

Cheers,
Dorothee

Sockapaloooza is about to come! Thanks to Alison. I wonder how many people will sign up this time... My guess is 500 and more. What do you think?

***

There are news from Josephine as well (sorry, now photos!). I finished the back part and made it a bit longer than the pattern required, so now I'm a bit paranoid that the yarn isn't enough although I bought plenty so it should definitely last. I also finished one sleeve and now I'm working on the right front part. Last night when I couldn't go to sleep I rethought the whole sleeve pattern (2x2 rib). I've got a cardigan that I like a lot, especially the sleeves - they are in a 1x1 rib and then plain stockinette. Looks quite nice, I actually should take a picture to show you. Anyways, I'm thinking of something like that for Josephine so that it doesn't look too bulky. My imagined sleeves would start in 1x1 rib and then they'd be in a reverse stockinette stitch.
On the other hand, would that work for a bulky cardigan? Bulky body and non-bulky sleeves? Or does a bulky body require bulky sleeves? Hmmm... I might knit up that other sleeve pattern I'm thinking of, or actually, I might take pictures of the sleeve I'm thinking of to show you and then knit up the other sleeve to see if it would suit the rest of the rest of the cardigan. Or I'll come up with a total different sleeve idea ;-)