Adventures in Strange and Distant Lands (and some car references)

Usually, I don't wander off in the Land of Knitting. I stay in my natural habitat which is filled with #0 needles and thin woollen yarns. Well, this really:
hansa
I have felt comfortable in the miniature scale. I know how to get around the small needles and to be able to work with thin yarns. To me, these projects were almost like hot hatchbacks: buy one, drive it around for a million miles, and it still shows no signs of being finished. And you have a lot of fun on the way.

Mie yleensä pysyttelen näissä miniprojekteissa. Niiden kanssa saa rauhassa tuhertaa kiljoona tuntia, ilman sanottavaa edistystä, ja mie olen jo tottunut siihen, että kädet tuntuu jättiläisen käpäliltä puikkoihin verrattuna. Niinpä ihmetys oli suuri, kun tarrasin 8 millin tikkuihin lapasprojektin jälkeen.

Lately, I have found myself amongst the strangest things. I no longer feel like a giant, I feel small now. I also discovered something odd called acrylic, which I never played with before.
cloud
Judging by the little pieces of scrap yarn to act as stitch markers, this is highly uncharted territory for me. I dug out all my pretty markers, only to realize I didn't have stitch markers to fit the #11 needles. This I realized only after I found out I don't have #11 needles, and I ended up buying the worst plastic needles ever.

Kuten pienistä jämälankapätkistä voi päätellä, mie en todellakaan harrasta näitä isojen puikkojen otteluita. Tajusin ensin, ettei varastossa edes ole 8 millin tikkuja tälle langalle, ja vasta sen jälkeen, ettei minulla ole ohjeen mukaisia silmukkamerkkejä niin suurille puikoille. Jouduin ostamaan hirveät muoviset puikot, ja silppusin langanpätkiä silmukkamerkeiksi. Mie aloin tämän kanssa taistelemaan vain siksi, että tarvitsin nopeasti jotain lämmintä Karvakintun työpaikan joulupippaloihin. Ne on laivalla, ja siellä on kylmä, joten nyt on ainakin jotain lämpöistä hartioille, etten vallan jäädy.
cloud 2
Truth be told, I wouldn't have gone into this at all, had it not been for DH and his announcement of a company Christmas party. It is held on a boat, and it will be cold there, so I needed something warm and fast. So now I have something, if I cannot figure out anything else.

To me, projects such as these are like big SUV's. You pay arm and leg for one, drive it around for a few hours, only to discover they feel lumpy and horrid, and after a while they're finished and you're left with that feeling, "if only I had gone for that little Golf". In roughly 3 hours, I have already used 2 balls for this Cloud Bolero Wrap thingy, I absolutely hate the yarn and the needles (although the color is pretty), my hands ache after using the needles, and I still am not sure of the outcome (but this is merely because I am not used to seeing stitches a mile long). This first adventure in the Land of Giant Knitting hasn't exactly been a pleasure. Besides, I've always been a GTI kind of girl myself.

After putting the whole Cloud Bolero episode behind me, I have been glad as there are new prospects of adventures looming before me. They came in the form of three books, all the way from Germany.
uberlieferte strickmuster 2
If you are a fan of Austrian Socks (in Favorite Socks) or Eunny's Bayerische Socks - and I am, you will fall in love with these. After seeing these, both aforementioned projects seem rather simple and dull. These three books are full of exciting cables and projects. I know I will try something, obsess about it, realize it will take me a lot longer than expected, abandon the whole thing in my closet, dig it out in about 15 years, fall in love with it again and finally finish it only to realize it's way too small for me then. But for now, I just look at the pictures and imagine what's before me.
uberlieferte strickmuster 1
Sain uusia kirjoja: pieniä kippuriaisia palmikoita Favorite Socksin Austrian Socksien ja Eunnyn Bayerische Socksien tapaan, mutta niitä on kolmen kirjan verran! Ja ne on hurjan kauniita joka ainoa. Näitä on ilo ihan killistellä, mutta kohta täytyy saada puikoille jotain pientä ja vaikeata. (Tässä yhteydessä emme mainitse lainkaan puoli vuotta seisonutta Cablenet-sukkaprojektia, jossa ei muuta olekaan kun näitä pieniä palmikoita.)

En ole juuri neulonut, olen hiplaillut uusia ihania lankoja. Trekking-lauma Saksanmaalta, turkoosi mohairyllätys omilta LYS-reissuilta ja Freedom Spiritiä matkailleelta ystävältä. Samaiselta ystävältä myös pieni kivinen rasia, jossa asuvat kauneimmat silmukkamerkit.

Besides the mitten project (and it's going to the Pond) and the blur of seafoam, I haven't really knitted anything. However, I have been admiring my new yarns.
trekkingit

mohairit

from wendy
The Trekkings came from Germany with the books, the turquoise mohair surprise (and another #11 project!) I bought myself, and the Freedom Spirit was a gift from a friend. She also gave me the little trinket box, which now holds my stitch markers. (Well, some of them.) The little "box" is made of some stone, she reckoned it could be alabaster. It is very pretty, but very brittle, too, and I love it.

Next time, I promise I will show something finished. And not just mittens!

14 comments:

Linne said...

Hei,
en oo tainnut kuuna kullan valkeana nähdä ennen tuollaisia palmikoita... jään mielenkiinnolla odottamaan mitä niistä taiot ? Miten sait nuo kirjat ?

Tuulia said...

meri: nuo lienevät Baijerille ja Itävallalle tyypillisiä perinteisiä palmikoita, ja aika huonosti tunnettuja muualla. Sain kirjat Saksassa asuvan neulepolkkaajan kautta.

Löysin yhden sivun, josta löytyvät nuo kirjat:
http://www.museum-joanneum.steiermark.at/cms/ziel/4744500/DE/
Kenties niitä voi tilata sieltä?

Agnes said...

I hate that! I mean having a boat party in December ... what are they thinking? It would be a good idea if we are living in Australia or New Zealand ... but in the northern hemisphere? Anyway, wish you would have something ready by the time of the party ... and have a good time.

Unknown said...

Aivan upeita palmikkoja ja lähes ennennäkemättömiä! Kuinkahan yleinen taito tuollaisten palmikoiden teko neuleeseen on aikoinaan ollut? Kiinnostavaa!

Hilde C. said...

Your mittens look lovely already, I'm sure they will turn out really beautiful. Thank you for the tips regarding the books, they look very interesting :-)

Hilde C. said...

I've tried googling for the books, but it doesn't give any result. If you bought them online, would you like to share the link?

Stricker said...

Hyvältä näyttää kirjat, aika samantyylisiä ilmeisesti kuin Bäuerliches Stricken-trio, jotka mulla on jo hyllyssä. Täytyypä lähteä etsimään noitakin.

Makepeace75 said...

Wau, kirjat näyttää sangen mielenkiintoisilta. Upeita ja erilaisia palmikoita. :o)

dorothee said...

Wow, how cool is that?! I just ordered those same books! I hope they get here soon, but then again Munich is not that far away from Austria. Do you speak German, or do you understand the instructions anyway?

The mitten is beautiful!

Tuulia said...

agnes: I know, crazy, right? Luckily, the party is partially inside, but it still is a boat, and it is so cold out on the sea! I am going to freeze there..

hilde c: above there is one URL I found when looking for these. Apparently they're out of print, amazon.com and amazon.de say you can't get them through those, so you'll have to dig them out somewhere else. I found the museum, and I think one of my books came from them (through a fellow blogger), so maybe you can write them and ask if they'll send them to you. I hope you find them!

stricker: millaisia noi toiset baijerilaiskirjat on? Jos ovat kovin erityyppisiä, joutunen metsästämään niitäkin ;)

MP: juu, niitä on ilo vaan lueskella ja killistellä ja ihailla :)

dorothee: wow, amazing :) I speak a little German (though it's awfully rusty), but the instructions seemed very clear as there are charts for all cables :)

Anonymous said...

Kyllä google löytää/ Yes Google finds:
http://www.directshopper.de/9783900493486-Uberlieferte-Strickmuster-aus-dem-steirischen-Ennstal---Teil-1-Erlbacher--Maria-_search_p

Sorry tähän saksankielen taitoni päättyy/ Sorry I can´t any German

Hilde C. said...

tuulia: I didn't see the link since it was embedded in a language I don't understand. I did find it now :)

Anonymous: Thank you for the link. The online shop you refer to have got all three books. I don't know any German either, but all online stores do it the same way, so it was easy to order from them :)

dorothee said...

Just wanted to add that I have the link to the museum that sells those books: http://www.museum-joanneum.steiermark.at/cms/ziel/4744500/DE/
contact details are on the very bottom of the page.

annekk said...

Oo, upeita lankoja ja mielenkiintoisia kirjoja. Kiitos kirjavinkistä. Täytyy pitää nuo mielessä ja tutkia, josko niitä joskus jostain saisi.