Winter

... has arrived. It is so unusually cold, -15°C yesterday, today maybe around -10 and it is snowing again right now. I usually like dry cold weather, a lot better than rain at just above 0°C but that wind makes it really unbearable for me. My face really hurts and I am covered up so that only my eyes are peeking out behind the glasses. A bad head-cold I've had for the last couple of days doesn't help any.

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Mystery socks pictures

I love these. Loved to knit them, love to feel them on my feet. Perfect fit. I love how the ribbing of the leg goes into the lace pattern on the foot. They are great for gift knitting if you don't know the recipients width of leg, as the pattern makes them really stretchy.

As for the KAL - I was so excited in the beginning but got behind during the process and felt the pressure again - that pressure that was the reason to stop doing knitalongs a few years ago. Just the thought in my head that I should be knit more to keep up with all the others. When I told myself that it was just for the fun of knitting, for not knowing what comes next and that I didn't have to rush and compete with anyone - it was ok and I could continue in my own speed, matching my life.

The complete pattern is found here: http://throughtheloops.typepad.com/MysterySock09Complete.pdf Thanks Kirsten Kapur.

The yarn I used is Knitpicks Essential Tweed in colourway 23861. Loevely soft yarn.

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Warmth for a princess on cold winter mornings

I don't think getting out of bed and going out in the cold of a winter moning at -5°C is much fun. Definitely not with a nearly naked belly. so I finally dug out the sweater I had knit for Flavie back shortly after we had adopted her. She doesn't like having somethin around her body but she seems to get adapted to the thing and just wears it. When not with pride so just because she doesn't mind too much... Even off leash she minds her own business and doesn't try to get rid of it.

As aways click on the pictures to enlarge them.

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This and that

I finally found out why I haven't been able to publish pictures here for the last few times that I tried to. Was on the wrong tab, edit Html, wondered why instead of a picture I got jus a lot of text...
So I finally added pictures to the Durrow posts below. Am on the second repeat of the second chart and I so much ove what I knit. I even thought I might knit one for myelf...

I am off work until January fourth and that feels SO great. Though I seem I can't really enjoy my time off as much as I could as Sweetheart has to work. But he had more time off during the year than I could.

Here are the blueies again at the pond.

We had a bit of snow Sunday morning but it all was gone during the day again, then it got colder and the ground is frozen now, around - 5°Celsius in the early morning and a cold wind from the north east. Seems like winter is finally here.

Oh and for all of you that don't know yet: the new Knitty is out at http://www.knitty.com/ . Lots of patterns I might want to add to my to do list... Again.

As aways click on the pictures to enlarge them.
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Durrow

I am more than 10 cms into the seleves, both at the same time, but not both the same but mirror images. I did the ribbing before the cable pattern starts with smaller needles. There is a little error in the first chart, on row 13, where it sais to purl two stitches that are part of the knit cable after crossing, but it is evident from what you have knit before and obvious that it is a typo.

As aways click on the pictures to enlarge them.

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New knitting

I started a new project! A sweater for Sweetheart. It is called Durrow, ribbed body and celtic knotwork on the sleeves. Yarn bought, sleeve started (as a swatch). Love to knit it so far! Pics and link to the pattern will follow.
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Mystery socks are finished

No pictures yet but I really love them! They have so nice little details - like the ribbing isn't just ribbing, the pattern goes down the heel, the pattern runs from the side of the leg to the top of the instep, the toe lets the pattern softly end, the ribbing makes them so strtchy.
It was fun to take part in a knitalong again and in the beginning I was so excited to get the new clue on Thursdays - but I soon felt the pressure again to get them done in time.
But now they are off theneedles, ends weaved in and waiting for their picture to be taken...
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Can't believe

... it is already 4 months - FOUR - that we had to let go Josy. I think of her every single day. She left such a big big hole.

This was taken back in May 2007 during our holidays in Bretagne.


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Mystery at night

Wanna know what this is?

Sure, with flash, the were-dogs:

Dingo ans Flavie wearing their lighted collars. Took me a long time to find something bright enough, not blinking, not sliding under the neck, with good batteries, turning themselves off when not used any more...

With these I dare to let them run unleashed in the evening and they are also great for safety when strolling through the quarter (as on wet nights I avoid to walk in the fields as MY night vision isn't good enough to prevent me from stepping into mud and puddles...) These are really bright, but Josy had a red one which is still bright enough but a lot better to the eyes so that you are not blind for seconds when you have looked directly at the collar.

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This morning

when I got downstairs into the kitchen at 7 this is what I saw through the window:

After getting dressed and having my first cup of tea we went outside

the sun was higher then and I didn't manage to get a good shot of the light as I saw it. But to thi other direction it looked like this and it started rainig about half an hour later.

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Socktoberfest Mystery Sock Knitalong CLUE #3

The heels.



I fell behind but love to knit these socks!

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Fall walk

The light was great this afternoon:

At the pond:

And I couldn't resist to take this picture - if you click on it you can see the geese flying:



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Aberlady

This gorgeous sweater is just waiting for two sleeves to be added!

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Socktoberfest Mystery Sock Knitalong CLUE #2

Both legs are done.

In the meantime heel flap #1 is nearly done and I can only tell that I am going to love these socks, I already do.
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Todays walk

It's a gray, windy, wet october day (a whole lot more season-like that last wednesday when we had 27°C). I went for a two hours walk in the early afternoon and it looked like this:

Not that dark now that I look at the picture... if you click on it to enlarge it you get an impression of the corn field.

I found these guys - only the second time that I saw some turkeys alive -

and this cutie

I love donkeys, most of all the beautiful poitou-donkeys but this one is so cute, too.

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Socktoberfest Mystery Sock Knitalong CLUE #2

I even love it more now! Clue #2 sock #1 is done. And I hadn't looked at any photos before to have the full thrill of the mystery.

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Socktoberfest Mystery Sock Knitalong CLUE #1

(klick on title to get to the home of the Socktoberfest)

After I saw the beginning of Kellies socks here: http://www.celticcaston.com/?p=197 I knew I had to join teh fun. I haven't taken part in a kal for years now and felt the fun immediately after getting the first clue and reading in the ravelry groups about the knitting of the socks.

I chose yarn that I have in my stash for years, Knit Picks Essential Tweed, which I love to knit with. It is very soft.

The cuff displayed on a glass (this gave me the idea of knitting different little lace rings to pull over my little candle galsses) and on my hand.

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Next morning

View to the east and view to the north west - I love how you can see the sun shine onto the clouds.

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Nightfall the same day

View to the west view to the east

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This morning at the pond

I just checked out the different terms for different water bodies, because soemtimes my thoughts wander to questions like "what does the name mean", "what is the difference between x and y". They are called "Weiher" in German, meaning a water body without deep zones like a lake has. Corresponding to pond in English. There is also the Teich in German which has a exit for the water. Mostly used for garden ponds, village pond.

Here are four of these ponds close together, they were made digging up the gravel and sand. In one of them there are still the machines in but I`ve never seen then working. The second is a fishing pond. The third, closest to us, is for mixed uses: fishing, swimming, and the fourth has a swimming pool nearby with access to a beach of the pond, there is a waterball area (I even swa some guy splay waht I would discribe as kayak-polo), and on the other side there is aprotected area where nature should be on its own.

On our way back home I turned back and saw this, if you click on the pictures to enlarge them you can see in the distance the Odenwald hills, eastern end in the northern partof the plain of the Rhein.

And this rose bush full of hips on the other side. I love to watch how the bushes change with the seasons.

Aberlady

This is an actual progress picture of my Aberlady sweater. The back is done, I am nearly at the point where I have to split the front for the neck. Yeah! Wanna get it done in time to wear it this winter! I love it so much.

Baby booties

These are some baby booties I made with Saartjes pattern that can be found here: http://http//members.home.nl/tdpj/Patronen/Bootees/Saartjes%20bootees.pdf

Missing

Oh how much I still miss this view on our walks!

This is the new sock I've cast on for me. A zigzag pattern, very easy to memorize, consisting just out of one pattern row and a knit row. I think I like it. The yarn is a cotton blend from Regia India Color #4307, very "me" colours, wide stripes of tan, green, blue with samller stripes of lime green and mint inbetween, all plied with an offwhite thread.

Gonna like these socks!

A hot september day

Yesterday I had been wanting to go for a real long walk in the early afternoon. I had been working in the garden from after breakfast, then made myself a pan-pizza with fresh picked peppers and tomatoes and herbs of course, eat that on the terrace and then had a cup of espresso and decided to go for a real looong walk as it was quite nice, warm but not hot. I quickly changed and went out the front door. The sun came out and it got really really hot and with the high humidity we had it was nearly too much, even for me.

Did a "normal" round only and came back after an hour, having a cool drink and falling on the tile floor/garden chair (with some knitting of course).
And this is what I will see again tonight - waiting for "Dad" right at the front door... Flavie even allowing Dingo to be so close!

Wanna see my sockyarn???

No need to buy anymore at least for the next five years or so. But sometimes I see a skein just so beautiful I can't resist. Or when I try hard to resist it might be my Sweetheart telling me to take it...

Early morning on the lake

Now and then I love to go for a longer walk on a nice weekend morning instead taking the dogs just in the field across the road. So last sunday our walk took us to the little lakes not far from us. Everything was so quiet and beautiful.


It got a little louder when I had turned around this first lake and came close to those large trees because there is a colonie of perokeets. One of them sat on top aof a large Gingko tree:
Walking on the sun broke through the clouds, let pop out these apples in the brightest red and it got really warm.


Mom, can we go home now, we are HUNGRY, aren't you?
Yes I was!