Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Myyrään:

Taas on kamaa kertynyt siihen malliin, että jostain päästä täytyy ruveta luopumaan. Osa näistä on siis ihan uutta tavaraa - mulla kun on tapana ostaa uutuustuotteita tai muuten harvinaisempia tarvikkeita ihan siltä varalta että joku muukin on niistä kiinnostunut. Olen ensi viikon Tampereella, joten voin ottaa kirjat mukaan vaikka Kädentaidot-messuille tai tai voidaan sopia jokin muu vaihtopaikka - postikin tietysti kulkee, ellei tärskyt jostain syystä onnistu (olen Suomessa 17.-25.11.). Niin ja valitan vääristyneitä kuvia, yritin välttää heijastuksia kameraa liikuttelemalla mutten oikein onnistunut.


'Joustavat' minipyöröt vaikkapa sukanneulontaan, paksuus 2,75 mm. Siimaosa tosiaan joustaa vähäsen ja puikko-osalla on pituutta sen verran että näitä on vähän helpompi pidellä kuin ihan mikromittaisia pyöröpuikkoja (puikko n. 7 cm, siima 13 cm, eli kokonaispituus n. 27 cm). Lisäksi siimaosuus on sen verran pehmeä, ettei se estä puikkojen heiluttelua. - Näitä uutuuspuikkoja oli myynnissä Rotterdamin Stitch'N'Bitch-päivän kauppiailla, muualla en ole näitä nähnyt. Hinta on kyllä kieltämättä aika korkea mutta a) mä ainakin tykästyin näillä neulomiseen ja b) hinta on aivan sama jolla ostin nämä itse, eli en vedä välistä. Kahdet puikot jäljellä, hinta 12€/kpl.



Samasta tapahtumasta kaksi ruotsalaista kirjaa, Tvåändsstickning ja Smygmaskvirkning + nimenomaan tähän tekniikkaan sopiva alumiininen koukku. Molemmat K. Jönssonin itsensä signeeraamia; mukaan tulee vielä englanninkieliset lisäohjeet. Hinta 25 €/kirja (koukku tulee tuon vasemmanpuolisen kirjan mukana).


Sitten kaksi "käytettyä" kirjaa - todellisuudessa nää on melkein uutta vastaavia. Kotoa alkaa yksinkertaisesti hyllytila loppua eli jotain täytyy tehdä. Näiden hinta 10€/kpl. (lisääkin saattaa tulla myyntiin jos ehdin ratsaamaan kirjahyllyä...mutta kun pakatakin pitäis ja käydä kaverilla kastelemassa kukkia ja töissäkin pitäis kai käydä näyttäytymässä...)




Varaukset hoituu varmaan helpoimmin kommentoimalla suoraan tähän postaukseen.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Obsessive-compulsive behaviour?

A few months ago I bought some Isager alpaca yarn at Maschenkunst. I guess that's when this obsession started. The yarn is like solified cream, it just flows through your fingers feeling wonderful. There's 800 metres per 100 grams, and the two first balls I went through didn't have one single knot in them.

The goal was to knit three Hyrna Herborgar shawls but somehow things got out of hand. The yarn just wouldn't end - not before I'd made five of them. Then, somehow, I got my hands tangled in Grignasco's ultrathin merinosilk, and finally, seven (or was it eight?) Hyrnas later, I think I'm done with this pattern. (except for the bashful wish of Mari who might talk me into knitting just one more...but that'll only happen after New Year.)

I'm just a tiny bit worried that the whole episode makes me qualify for some traits of obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Therefore, I tried to snap out of it and continue knitting...




squares. Dozens and dozens of squares. Next threat: repetitive strain injury?


This has to have something to do with the fabulous yarns of Maschenkunst. Even this Noro Kashmere Flavor was bought there.

Sorry, I've got to go back to this addictive pattern and material. Even on the way to work, a fellow passenger started yanking a bit of this shawl and asked what it was going to be. (Nothing for you, so will you let go of it, pleez?)

________


Nyt mie en sitten jaksakaan kirjoittaa samaa juttua enää suomeksi, mutta kyllähän te tuosta pysytte kärryllä. Täytyy tästä tosiaan palata tuon koukuttavan ruutuneulonnan kimppuun, mutta pläjäytetään tänne taas pari linkkiä kun en muista kenen kaverin kanssa näistä on ollut puhetta, ja voi näistä toki joku muukin olla kiinnostunut.

Ensin tuo yllä olevaan wikipedia-artikkeliin suomenkielinen linkki - siinä muuten on semmoinen kohta, jota EN-tekstissä ei näyttäisi olevan.

pakko-oireinen häiriö Pakko-oireiseksi potilas voidaan määritellä silloin, kun pakonomaiseen ajatuksiin tai toimintoihin menee aikaa yli kaksi tuntia päivässä tai oireista on muuten merkittävää haittaa ihmisen toimintakyvylle. --- Köhköh, on tainnut olla semmoisia päiviä, jolloin on tullut pisteltyä Hyrnaa yli kaksi tuntia päivässä, ja takaraivossa on vaan jyskyttänyt että "pakko saada valmiiksi, pakko saada valmiiksi".

Sitten olis tämmöinen särkyneiden sydänten taidenäyttely ja
kissojen vessakoulutusta. Tunnelmasta toiseen, sano. Ai juu, ja sitten vielä tää: tooosi reipas kissa

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Great day, lousy photos

Greetings from Rotterdam, where the second Dutch Stitch'n Bitch Day took place on Saturday! Last year I'd planned going there, but due to a reason, wasn't in a fit state to do so. Even this year, although things weren't as dramatic, it seemed for a while that one might miss this experience again. However, after some last-minute negotiations I was heading for Rotterdam with a knitting friend, and had made arrangements to meet someone else at the fair. Hihi, won't reveal R's identity, but thank you very much for guiding us around!

So, I'd been waiting for this event for such a long time, yet somehow missed the slot when one could sign up for the workshops. There should have been a workshop on twined knitting, Japanese knitting and spinning, but by the time I found out how to sign up, they were fully booked. After that I sort of lost interest and didn't even print the programme, and now I realise that I missed some 'open' workshops and happenings too..but on the other hand, the day was packed as it was and don't know how I'd been able to fit anything else in it.

The fair is held at an old coffee factory, and all the wide spaces are a bit tricky to photograph. The side alleys with the vendors' stands were terribly crowded, but luckily there were several seating areas as well where you could just sit down for a minute, knit at the table, have some coffee and then continue, hopefully refreshed. Met some friends, made some new ones, and then there was one more surprise waiting: found my very first BookCrossing book ever, and once I've finished it, it'll travel to Finland and be released at a local crafts fair.

(I'll return to this posting later on and add some links to other blogs which will tell you more about this special day, but first I'll check their privacy policy.)




Here are direct links of the Dutch and foreign vendors.

And believe it or not, I'm still trying to reduce my yarn stash, so it was like torture to walk past all those yarn stands - so many brands and materials I'd never seen or touched. The colours of hemp and linen yarn were just delicious.




But you know me, I wouldn't just go to a crafts fair and buy nothing even though yarn was off-limits. Here's a selection of cotton fabrics which should turn into a bag lining. The one on the top should be just perfect for the black felted thingy presented some weeks ago, and then I just couldn't resist the two with knitting terms printed on them.


Kerstin Jönsson's workshop on twined knitting was fully booked, so I had to make do with her books. (Ostin näitä muuten tuplat ihan siltä varalta että joku muukin on kiinnostunut. Kirjat on siis upouusia ja signeerattuja - täytyis vaan löytää kuitit jotta voin pistää ne myyntiin. Mutta jos kiinnostaa, hihkaise vaikka kommenteissa.)



One of the things I love about these fairs is that you get to meet your knitting gurus, and although the thought had crossed my mind, I still didn't carry all my old books of Jean Moss to Rotterdam to be signed by her. Instead, just bought one more. Was glancing through this new one as well, but somehow managed to leave it at the stand.



Last but not least, a quick look at the paraphernalia I bought (although now looking at it, I should have put in a measure tape to give you an idea of the scale). Might add that later, but here goes:

On the left, a special crochet hook for the Bosnian crocheting (smygmaskvirkning) technique, then two ultrathin crochet hooks for adding tiny beads to knitwear and then the 'pièce de résistance', an elastic circular knitting needle for making socks. The novelty about this whole thing is that the cord stretches a bit and it's supposed to make knitting easier... and it does. The packaging says that the needle is 10 inches long but actually it's just a bit under 11 inches (27 centimetres which consists of 7 centimetre needles and the cord of 13 cm). Again, there are some extras - will return with the details later on. (hirvee hinta mutta kun nää on olevinaan maailmanuutuuksia ja patenttihakemus on sisässä niin kai sen ymmärtää. Tulevat Tampesteriin ihmeteltäviksi ja extrat tosiaan lähtee uusiin koteihin.)



This shows how effortlessly the size 9 beads slide onto the crochet hook.


Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Life is not fair

Gosh, I don't know how many times I have started writing this posting and then erased everything. Can't tell you the details but once again, it's been a time to reflect upon life...but before you might get worried, let's move swiftly on and have a look at this wonderful parcel which my Secret Pal sent to me. Once again, I'm sorry for this delay in showing it.

Look! There was a October card, a magazine with a wide selection of knitted accessories, a natural soap and a soap dish both in leaf form (hihi, I really start to think you know me or have some insider information - have you seen my curtains? Or my favourite Villeroy & Boch series?), some chocolate and coffee to enjoy, and last but definitely not least, two hanks of superb lace yarn by Malabrigo. I could have eaten it, too, it's just so lovely to touch. Now, the only problem is where to find a good enough pattern for this yarn - I may spend some more months just playing with this yarn. Thank you, I loved everything in here!



This might be my next bag project:



and here's a closer look at the handpainted yarn and its wonderful changing tones:


Other readers, did you have a closer look at the coffee pouch? It's of Max Havelaar fair trade brand, a gesture which I truly appreciate. How many of us knitters refuse to sell our products for too low a price - how does it feel when you don't get compensated for the work you do? Wouldn't it be fair to follow the same principle when buying food? The people who do the hard work deserve their pay and shouldn't be exploited.

About two weeks ago, it was also the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and to coincide with that occasion, one of the biggest local supermarket chains, Delhaize, organises a campaign to collect groceries for the less well-to-do in Belgium. According to statistics, 15 % of the population can be considered poor, which means an monthly income of 882 euros for single persons or 1726 euros for a household of four. During this special action week, when entering a Delhaize shop, the customers were given a plastic bag and basic instructions on what to buy (non-perishable food like tinned cans, rice, pasta, cooking oil, sugar, coffee etc. You'd paid for the stuff you bought and leave it at a collection point where it would be transported further and sorted before final distribution.

Now, although I don't find that too efficient a way to help, I still do it every year. But just for the sake of the argument, what do you think of it? For me, it's a bit strange that the shop obviously benefits too: the sales increase, and even though they say that they provide the logistics for free, is that really enough? If (and when) people are willing to help, is it fair to buy the food for full retail price when they could just collect the money and buy the products in bulk? Yeah, like my friends have pointed out, this is a very concrete and an easy way to help, but is it effective? Then there are the details: if you're doing your own shopping at the same time, is it fair if you buy yourself a high-end product but put the cheapest alternative to the help bag? And how much ahead should you think: should you buy a can of meatballs, for instance, if the package is going to a Muslim family? (Sigh. Do I have a tendency to make my life more complicated than it really should be?)

If you want to read more on the subject, here are a couple of links: food banks in Belgium
Poverty in Belgium (FR)
and a couple of Finnish knitting bloggers have also pondered on this "save the world" theme lately, Ziina (in Finnish) and Heidi (in Finnish and in English)

Oh, and one more thing under this title of fairness. Last weekend's big surprise was when one of the favourite couples of Strictly come Dancing were sent packing. It was only week four of the competition and the level of dancing was uneven, to say the least, but one thing is certain: it wasn't fair to drop
these two

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Piiloviestintää - Hidden messages

Kaikenlaisia testejä on netti pullollaan. Laitetaanpas tähän "neuleblogiin" tämmöinen kotikutoinen testi, jolla pääsee testaamaan omia luulojaan. Onkohan nämä seuraavat jutut tarkoitettu juuri Sinulle? Saa sitten huutaa hep jos tuntuu osuvan kohdalle.

"Ne" keskeneräiset vähän työteliäämmät hommat on nyt sitten neulottu ja pingotettu. Muutama langanpätkä täytyy piilottaa paremmin. Lankaa jäi vielä sen verran, että siitä saa vielä yhden pikkuisen H:n, ja kuten joku sanoi, mä oon nyt tehnyt niin monta Hyrnaa, että yksi menee ihan huomaamatta siinä puikkoja jäähdytellessä. Samoin ex-työkaverille tarkoitettu ristipistokortti on pistelty valmiiksi, mutta korttipohja on vaihteeksi hukassa. Kateissa olevan tavaran määrä on vissiin vakio. Jotain löytyy, jotain muuta hukkuu.

Nyt voisi siis vihdoin aloitella jotain isompaa työtä, vaikka noita työmatkaneuleretaleitakin on roikkumassa siellä sun täällä. Yksi isompi työ on koetilkkuneulonta-asteella - semmoinen ihan kiva takkimalli on katsottuna, mutta ei tietenkään sitä voi semmoisenaan toteuttaa, sehän olisi ihan liian helppoa. Toista työtä varten olen piirtänyt kaavat, mutta se taas ei ole päässyt alkuun, koska ensinnäkin on ollut liian lämmintä neuloa siitä langasta vielä mitään (viikonloppu oli aurinkoinen ja melkeinpä kesäinen, 17,5 astetta lämmintä). Sikstoiseks sen työn kanssa on aikas kovat suorituspaineet, joten vähän pelottaa edes aloittaa. Kolmas työ taas olis sopiva kompromissi, mutta *köhköh* nyt täytyy vissiin olettaa, että joko se Suomen tai Belgian postipoika on taas jäänyt lukemaan mulle tulevia käsityölehtiä. Ei oo meinaan näkynyt. Mutta edelleen ihan rehellisesti: on tässä ollut projektia ilmassa ihan riittävästi muutenkin.

Niin ja siitä viikonlopusta: taas nähtiin, ettei kannata lyödä ohjelmaansa ihan lopullisesti lukkoon tai kantsii ainakin olla avoin kaikille ehdotuksille. Huovutuskurssi jäi nyt sitten käymättä, mutta oli muuta kivaa ohjelmaa. Ja tähän taas tämmöinen arvoituksellinen sivuhuomautus, että on se kyllä jännää, miten paljon sähköpostin kautta tulee viestejä ihmisiltä, jotka ei koskaan jätä kommentteja tänne blogin puolelle vaan tulevat ikään kuin takaoven kautta sisälle. Vaan haitanneeko tuo, kun vaan saisin kaikki jutskat poimittua talteen ja muistaisin ja ehtisin vastata jajaja. Tähän sopisi siirtymäksi vaikkapa Secret Pal. Jonkun salainen ystävä "tuulen alapuolelta" saa lähipäivinä paketin. Mun oma salainen semmoinen lähetti kortin ja lupaili lisää tällä viikolla, ja mun oma saajaystävä puolestaan... hähhää, enpäs menekään tähän halpaan. En kommentoi ennen kuin homma on kokonaan ohi.

Lopuksi vielä kuvan muodossa terveisiä jonnekin. Tässä taas nähtiin, että mitään ei kannata heittää pois. Kinder-munasta pomppasi Prince Charming -hahmo, joka koki uuden tulemisensa voodoohenkisenä neulatyynynä. Enhän minä edes tunne koko hemmoa, mutta siitäs saat! Ja siitä!

(Ja nyt sitten lukemaan koko viesti lopusta alkuun, jos sieltä seasta löytyisi vielä jotakin. Mulla on semmoinen tunne, että jotain unohtui, eli jos palaan myöhemmin sen lisäämään, niin ei tartte sitten ihmetellä jos teidän mielestä teksti oli alun perin lyhyempi.)



The internet is full of all sorts of tests and questionnaires. I know this is supposed to be a knitting blog but since I can't quite yet show you what I've been up to, please allow this posting which can also be used to test our paranoia. Is she talking about me?

Yes, the "things" I've been busy with for quite some time are finished now and just unpicked pins from the last of them which has been blocked now. Or, should I say that there's yarn for just one more of "them"? Someone just commented that I've made so many of them in relatively short time that one more is easily created while let the needles cool down. Another great relief is that a cross stitch card is finished too (although the stupid card I was going to attach it to, is lost. Or not really lost, just misplaced. It'll pop up one day.)

Having finished all of those, I could get my hands on something bigger. Rowan's Biggy Print would be big enough, it's just too warm for knitting that yarn. Then there's another idea being developed and swatches being knitted at the moment - I just wonder why I can't choose a pattern from a knitting magazine and follow the instructions. No, things shouldn't be too easy. Then there's a third pattern I might have the perfect yarn for but that magazine hasn't arrived in the mail yet. I've expressed this fear earlier on - the mailman might be a pervert who likes reading Finnish knitting magazines.

In the meantime, an easy new project has seen the daylight. Something I can knit while sitting on the bus or on the subway or in a cafe, waiting for somebody. Thus, that was the perfect project for past weekend which I spent mainly in local public transport. I'm glad that the two previous plans didn't materialise and I was free to do something else. Met some lovely people, and parts of this city look really different when seen through someone else's eyes. -- Is it too obvious, if I start talking about Secret pals now? Let me just say that someone's downstream pal should receive something later this week, my own upstream pal sent me a lovely autum card again and said that something else is on its way too (this suspense is killing me, help! And who *are* you?). And for my own downstream pal... ha-ha, I won't fall into that one. No comments before the whole round is over.

Finally, here's something I prepared earlier. Got this Prince Charming figurine out of a Kinder surprise egg, and due to recent events somewhere, just had this idea of using him as a pin cushion. Ha! Take that! and that!






Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Mää oon ny tauolla, nääs

Puhhuh, taas on neulottu puikot sauhuten. En voi kertoa - ainakaan kielillä - mitä on tulossa, joten heitetäänpäs tänne taas tämmöinen välipostaus kun syyskuun langankulutus on näköjään jäänyt raportoimatta.

Suurimman osan ajasta ähelsin Habu-huivin kimpussa. Ensin suorakaide Habun silkki/terässekoitteesta, joka on ihan käsittämättömän kevyttä. 14 gramman kartiossa on noin 280 metriä lankaa, joka kuluttaa etusormesta nahan, ei lopu koskaan ja elää ihan omaa elämäänsä. Neuloin huivia jossain vaiheessa junamatkallakin ja ihan piruuttani kokeilin, miten se käyttäytyy ikkunan vieressä olevien ilmanvaihtoritilöiden päällä. Lähti lentoon, vaikkei siinä mikään isompi tuulenviri käynytkään. Reunoihin käytin kolme kerää Kasumia, joka näyttää lähinnä merisiililtä, jolla on paha hilseongelma. Koko komeus (hahhah, todella) oli tarkoitus virittää ylle erääseen lokakuun häppeninkiin, mutta en nyt sitten ole sinne menossa. Enkä paljon muuallekaan. Tulevana viikonloppuna olisi huovutuskurssi, johon osallistumista sitäkin harkitsin aika pitkään. Olisi ollut tosi mielenkiintoinen kokoonpano: kansainvälinen meininki, opettajia Unkarista ja osallistujia ties mistä, mutta jotenkin vaan taas elämä takkuaa niin etten saanut tehtyä päätöstä enkä ilmoittauduttua. Olisi pitänyt viedä mukanaan tavaraakin yhden peräkärryllisen verran eikä mulla olis edes ollut semmoisia kamoja, joita listalla oli (mm. kolmen litran kasari, tarkka vaaka villan punnitsemiseen, isoja vanhoja lakanoita, pyyheliinoja, iso kulho, joka ei saanut olla muovia, karkea harja, sekin luonnonmateriaalia). Haluttomuuden ja saamattomuuden taustalla on varmaan se joskus aiemmin mainitsemani pomon järkkäämä juttu, jonka valmistelut on taas aiheuttaneet jos jonkinlaisia mielenilmauksia töissä, mutta reilun viikon päästä pitäisi senkin olla ohitse. Sitten voi taas elää rauhassa omaa elämäänsä. Hmm-hmm-hmm-projektikin etenee, joten ehkä tästä piakkoin pääsee nostamaan jotain isompaa puikoille.

Jeps, piti siis heittää kehiin syyskuun lukemat ja näyttää vielä ne kuvat, joita en oo esitelly aina jonkun pienemmän työn valmistuessa. Tarkoitus olis ottaa näistä edes vähän parempia kuvia yhteen teemapostaukseen, joten tässä vaiheessa vaan vilautuksia.

Miinusta kertyi siis yhteensä
1106 g laukuista (violetti konttineule, ruskasävyinen Pocahontas, musta+karkkivärinen nonparellilaukku, lällynkeltainen bambi ja vihreä möbius, josta kuva alla)
388 grammaa huiveista (viimeistelty merinosilkkinen Hyrna joka ei ole mukana laskelmissa; valmistunut Habu, yksi röyhelölankahuivi ja yksi punasävyinen sekametelisoppa)
50 grammaa yhdestä isosta mallitilkusta, jota en nyt tähän hätään aio purkaa eli joka jää siis neulotuksi saldoksi (harmi että nuo kuun alussa tehdyt 4x100 gramman mallitilkut täytyy purkaa, muuten ei lanka riitä)
näistä miinusta yhteensä 1544 grammaa

ja plussana
28 g Habua, 26 g ohutta Noro-sekoitetta, kolme kerää lisälankoja, joille on jo tarkoitus mietittynä eli yhteensä 204 grammaa (

eli tavoitteesta jäljellä 10000 - 1544 + 204 = 8660 grammaa
Oma paino etenee suht samaa tahtia eli voi sanoa, että 8,5 kiloa jäljellä. Aika huolestuttavaa, että tarvittaessa pystyy päivässä neulomaan monta sataa grammaa lankaa, mutta teepä sama oman painon kanssa.


Olkalaukku Pirtin kehräämön villalangasta. Olkahihna on tehty möbiusnauhana, joten se kiertää sillain jännästi kun laittaa laukun roikkumaan, ja laukkuosuuden neulomista on sitten jatkettu tästä lenksusta.


Sävysävyynjutska I

Sävysävyynjutska II - Lana Grossan India-lankaa, joka on tähän asti ollut jo kahtena huivina ja nyt taas muuttanut muotoonsa. Ei olis enää pitänyt, sillä leveä nauhalanka nuhjaantuu ihan auttamatta, mutta kun tää sopii yhteen mun asuun niin hyvin, etten pysty luopumaan. Tuon toisen langan nimi on mulla tällä hetkellä täydellisessä pimennossa. Joka tapauksessa se on sekoitetta, jossa on mm. silkkiä ja pellavaa ja taitaapa olla viimeinen lanka, jota olin ostanut ennen prosenttiliikkeen alkamista. Ja hihhii, niinpä vaan sekin tapasi kohtalonsa.


Nyt siellä voi joku jo kysellä, miksi olen ottanut kuvia patapatapallukasta. Noh, jos vaikka kyllästyn tähän teräshuivi-ideaan, niin huivi muuntaa tarvittassa olomuotoaan tosiaan vaikka kattilanpuhdistusnyttäräksi...

tai koiran leluksi

tai sitten sen voi viedä suihkuun ja kuoria selästä kaiken kuolleen ihosolukon.

Monday, October 08, 2007

A tale of two cities

Sorry to mislead you right in the beginning - this is a tale of just one city, Tilburg in the Netherlands. And it's not even a real story, just a collection of photos.

I visited Tilburg during last weekend, and in many aspects it reminds me of Tampere, my home town. Tilburg was the center of textile industry but little by little the activity there ceased. Again, that's pretty much what happened in Tampere as well. I wonder whom I should contact to suggest that these places start a sister city project.

The main target of this visit was to see the activity of the textile weekend before their local museum closes for renovations. This one special weekend contains lectures, workshops and crafts markets and was well advertised within the city. However, here in Brussels which is only some 120 kilometres away, one has hardly ever heard of it... (and now that I've got into complaining mood, it seemed to me that the organisers assumed that everybody was familiar with the surroundings, so no detailed map was necessary. There was indeed a map with several red dots on it, but no explanations were given, whether they were galleries or workshops or something else. So, I missed some venues and only realised that after returning home and checking the details on my computer; "hey, I didn't see that at all, where was it?" Anyway, in general it was really interesting to get there and even if I missed out on the yarn and wool market, it's not like I'd run out of stash in the near future anyway. Oh, and then I met a really nice lady, Ineke, and I really hope she finds her way over here. That's one of the highlights of this kind of gatherings: you never know who you're bumping into. So many interesting people involved in all sorts of fields of expertise - if you just open your mouth and start talking, you never know where you'll find yourself next year.


Let us start with a couple of photos from the city. This highrise building was standing right next to the railway station. I would imagine that a) those balconies can create a bit of friction between the neighbours. "Why do the Joneses have a balcony and we don't?", and b) the temperature get mighty hot in them.


What's that green thing? Is somebody keeping a gym ball on the balcony? Just be careful, please, and remember that the walls are made of glass.



Too bad that this panorama option decreases the finished photo. I know that people like to use bicyles in the Netherlands, but even so, seeing the area around the railway station was some sort of shock. It was just a sea of bicycles.

Again, being a shoe lover, I noticed something odd which might have gone unnoticed for some. Just look at branches of this tree.




Yep, there were dozens of shoes hanging from it. I would have gone closer to take some photos, but there was a suspicious group sitting near it. Having met by two not-so-pleasant men in the first ten minutes in the city, I had no desire to meet any more locals. Sorry. (What would you make of it, if on a peaceful Sunday morning you were to be approached by someone begging for money and a few minutes later, someone else *offering* your money? On Sunday morning! Come on!)


Go fishing instead!






The museum shows the whole procedure of turning wool or cotton or other materials into yarn. Spinning, twining, dyeing, weaving, knitting - you name it, there was a machine for each and every stage of the procedure.

I just thought that this is a place my mother should see.


From my point of view, these tubular knitting machines were the most interesting ones.
There was a machine that would knit tubular socks with a heel. I have a short video in my camera, all I need now is some assistance as how to add it here in the blog. Help, please!



Some first stages in treatment of the material.


This was really impressive too: this big wheel was connected to a steam engine which gave power to most of the machinery.


Save energy, lose weight! This is a pedal-powered loom.



Tapestries are local specialities. There was a whole tufting gallery with several different artistic styles of tufting.

Some patterns were based on paintings.



I don't know what really happened here, but it sure was a beautiful sight, all those yarns being put together.



Oh, and all the colours! Difficult to keep one's hands off.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

What not to wear. Or watch.

As if there weren't enough of various pieces of knitwear I'd like to make, it seems that I can't even watch the tv any more. Knitted items are everywhere, never mind the type of program you're watching.

Let's start with this young man who was brave enough to enter the 'What not to wear' show. He didn't make it through the pre-selection, but even so, Mica made some comments on his outfit (and remember the hat or whatever it was from last posting? It would have matched rather well with this sweater, don't you think?).

What not to wear






Then, in an old Judge John Deed series, there was this lady wrapped in lace. Too bad one couldn't see the details.



Bad luck continued in 'Waterloo Road'. This lady was wearing a smashing cardigan and cracking jokes at the dinner table. Next thing I knew, she went upstairs and committed suicide. There goes the hope of seeing the ever again.




Same goes for this cable sweater worn by Lara Flynn Boyle in Twin Peaks. How can a simple telephone cord destroy so many details?


Eventually she lost the phone. Or the plot.



Robin Hood was almost too fast to be photographed. By the time I've grabbed the camera, a dozen men had got killed and the rest were riding so fast that no details could be seen. I wonder what happened to this chap - he seems to have been frozen which doesn't surprise me since that's a relatively open weave. (which reminds me that in 'Friends' there's a scene involving a crocheted afghan.)


Dolores Umbridge of Hogwarts seems to be a fan of the classic 'Fifi' pattern, a favourite of lots of Finnish knitters.



And last but not least, look how Friday night with Jonathan Ross and his dog turned out. The poor pooch was wearing a commando mask which was allegedly padded so that the dog's ears were protected against noise. Yeah, right.