Sooza's Knitting Stuff

 
And here we are. Another year in front of us. Full of new possibilites and challenges. Time to see what's been going on knitting wise here at Sooza's. The clever Ravelry database tells me I've got 35 projects logged in for 2011. Not bad. Lots of this has actually been crochet which was a surprise for me. The year 2011 was all about re-learning and improving my skills with a crochet hook. And it's been fun.

Another skill I wanted to try my hands on was weaving. No progress on this front though. But I've got the loom now and it will be one of the projects I'll take with me into 2012.

What else has been going on? I discovered the concept of everyday carry and fell down the rabbit hole of collecting pocket knives. To keep this blog mostly about my crafts and some personal side notes I've been setting up a Tumblr blog for my EDC hobby - Sooza's EDC and Stuff. I'm thinking about putting out some knife reviews in the upcoming weeks. Will have to see wether I find the time.

 
Here's a knitted FO from back in October that went to a friend as a gift. Ishbel by Isolda Teague is one of rare patterns I've knitted more than once. And since the results are always so nice I'll probably do it again. I'm thinking Wollmeise this time. Project details on Ravelry.

For the better part of this year I've been tumbling down the slippery slope of EDC carrying. What's EDC? Here's how Bernard Capulong, founder of the Everyday Carry Blog puts it:


As any good EDCer I'm always looking for ways to optimize my EDC - trying stuff out, carrying it around for a while, swapping things, getting new gadgets to try out, slimming things down. It's a fun process. But I'm not only looking for functional stuff, it's also got to fit my personal style. The most important part of my EDC seems to be my keychain and the stuff in my pockets. I usually carry my phone and a pocket knife - preferably a Spyderco - in my pockets. As for the keychain, well those have undergone a few changes in the last 6 months. Most importantly I reorganized the decluttered them. The one constant thing so far has been a Victorinox Classic of some kind and the carabiner. As far as lights and other keychain tools go I've been through a few iterations so far.


 
I wanted a light source on my keys. It started out with a cheapo promotional LED light. Updraged to an iTP A3 EOS after a while and quite liked this neat little light. The three modes are very convenient. Somehow the A3 EOS migrated from my house keys to my car keys and I find they come in handy there more often than not. But now I was in need of a replacement light for my house keys. I discovered the follow-up model of the A3 EOS was going under the Olight brand as "Olight i3 EOS" and it even came in purple. No question as to whether I would buy this one or not ;-)


The other must have for my keys was a bottle opener. Something small. I tried the True Utility KeyTool for a few months. And while I really liked the ingenious idea with so many cool functions in one small package I didn't like it so much in real life. The one thing I got it for - the bottle opener - was a pain to use. I never managed to pop of a bottle cap at the first try and on top of that the sharp edges of the tool cut into my hands painfully. I dumped the Key Tool and got myself a Gerber Shard instead. While Gerber promotes the tool with 7 functions - "Phillips driver, small and medium flat head driver, bottle opener, pry bar, wire stripper and lanyard ring" - I don't really believe they all are actually worth anything. Except for the bottle opener and the pry bar. Which is perfectly fine with me. Will see how this one carries in real life a couple of months from now.

One other thing I've been trying was a key-chain lighter. I've had the True Utility FireStash but after only 3 or 4 months it broke down on me. I got a couple of cheaper key-chain lighters from EDCdepot.com but while they are they are a bit more comfortable to use they are also too large for my keys. I'll keep one on a lanyard in my hand bag just case though.

While at first I thought this whole EDC business was a bit over the top and really, how much stuff do you really need on an everyday basis and what's with all the firearms, I was surprised at how interesting and appealing the idea of EDC as a lifestyle and philosophy becomes once you've started to dig deeper. And it's not only a guy's thing either. Especially women seem to carry around everything but the kitchen sink in enormous purses and hand bags. It's fodder for jokes between the guys in the cafeteria or break room. A little more EDC thinking would certainly not go amiss. I hated not being able to find the stuff I knew was sitting SOMEWHERE way down there in my bag. And if push came to shove I was still missing this little thing that could help me out in this particularly situation. I went over all my stuff with a critical eye and made some serious changes. I feel better now that there's less clutter and more thoughtfully assembled stuff. And I'm not done by a long shot. I'm more critical now when it comes to packing my bags. And of course there's always more cool tools to discover and to try :-D

While washing some of my woolen garments for winter I was shocked to find my beloved Wollmeise cardigan with two holes and a thin spot on the collar. How can this be? I frantically searched my wardrobe for other signs of moth infestation but couldn't find any. Which is good, of course. But what happened to the Wollmeise cardi? I really don't know. Gourmet moths maybe only out for the finest Merino?! It seemed fine the last time I wore it but after washing it suddenly turned up holey :-( May didn't like the washing machine. Now what to do?

I knew I didn't have any of the original yarn left because I gave the left-over skein to my sister. But I knew there was a swatch somewhere in my binders with project notes. While I'm not the most religious swatch knitter ever I do so most of the time to calculate my gauge and do the sizing. As predicted I found the swatch tacked to my notes and it was quickly unraveled. I sat down and carefully retraced the stitches over a few rows - not so easy in moss stitch - to close up the two holes as invisibly as possible. And it worked quite alright. It's not totally invisible but also not right in your face either. I undid maybe a third of the bind off row on the collar and replaced this one too to take care of the thin spot there. Steam ironed it a bit and now it's as good as now. Let's hope this doesn't happen to more of my hand-knits.

Yesterday the best husband of all took part in the last autocross events on this year's schedule. The weather even though mighty cold in the morning warmed up nicely during the day and made the last day of the season a huge success. The number of participants was astonishing and it seemed like everyone wanted to take their car to the track one last time before winter lowers its white blanket.


I enjoyed the trip through the flat Brandenburg countryside prettied up by the low autumn sun and those awesome tree lined country roads. This one here is on the terrain of former Soviet air base in Groß Dölln. The clearing on the right side would have been the parade-ground. Weird how quiet and peaceful this place is today. Privately owned "Driving Center Groß Dölln" has become a mecca for motorsports enthusiasts across the country. And imagine, it's still an active air strip. So from time to time you'll have small air planes making their way down onto the tarmac where the guys do their dance around the cones. But with two air strips of 4000 meters there's plenty of room for everyone.


With the switch from DST to regular time the evenings start mighty early all of a sudden. Four o'clock in the evening has had us seeing the most beautiful sunsets this past week. For most knitters this turn of the clock signals the upcoming high season for our hobby. There's mittens and socks needed to keep small hands and feet warm. Wool garments pulled out of the closet to ward off the chill. Christmas presents to be planned and materials to be acquired. And the of course there's much knitting to be done. Let the fun begin :-)

I am beyond happy about the pink Delica. The Delica model is about my favorite Spydie with the only drawback that it's not legal to carry in Germany because it locks and is one hand operated. This one has been a special edition for the Spyderco distributor Midwest Gun Exchange and I secured one via eBay. The other three knives are non-locking folders and therefore legal. The Kiwi is really cool and I particularly like the Wharncliff blade. Unfortunately my husband thought so, too and the knife is now his :-)

 


I've probably quoted this before but somehow this time of the year always brings this particular Green Day song to mind. After a summer that mostly seems to have left a cold and wet impression we seem to be hitting a mild early autumn period for a change where you can still enjoy the parks, gardens and terraces.

On the one hand I'm kind of sad to see summer go. But as a knitter and crafts person I can't help looking forward to shorter days and cozy evenings at home. My mind is awhirl with new ideas for knitting projects and other crafts stuff. A trip business trip to Salzburg over the last weekend triggered some interest in traditional alpine/Tyrollean dress. I bought an interesting book about the history of the dirndl and traditional dress and I bought some accompanying sewing and knitting books. Those dirndls are so very pretty and really versatile. I'm a bit sad to live in a region where wearing a dirndl is pretty much out of the question.


 
In the picture above is also one my latest obsessions - a Spyderco pocket knife. Somehow I've been sucked into the world of pocket knives and found them to be incredibly useful to have at hand. Opening parcels and letters, cutting card bord, peeling an apple, cutting a roll and putting on butter while outdoors, small stuff in the garden and around the house. I'm particularly fond of Spyderco. Spyderco's trademark is the so-called 'spyderhole' in the blade serving as a means to open the knife one-handed. I really like their style and the superb quality. In the picture there's the still fairly new 'Squeak'. It's a small non-locking blade mostly geared towards markets where pocket knives are under very heavy restrictions regarding size and locking capabilities. It's manufactured not in Asia or the United States but in Maniago, Italy's number one place for steel blade making. Unfortunately most of Spyderco's knives fall under §42a of the German weapon's law. Which means they are locking blades and feature one-hand opening. Those are not allowed to carry in public on your person. But Spyderco is one of the few companies aware of the fact that more and more countries put quite severe restrictions on knives and tries to find ways innovative solutions while staying true to their trademark look and feel.


 
This is probably my favorite Spyderco model - a Delica 4 FFG. I've got one in purple and one pink just for kicks. The size is just right even for bigger tasks while still being light-weight and compact. There's more pictures to proof my hopeless decline into just another obsession on Flickr ;o)

With only about 7 months in the making this crochet blanket hasn't been the most epic project I've ever done. But after years of blocking out crochet completely this one feels like a real achievement. And after a handful of cute crochet scarfs this is my first big project off the hook. I already liked working on this big project and I sure am in love with the finished object! It turned out better than I might have imagined. The Granny Stripe Blanket by Lucy of Attic24 is such an accessible pattern and in combination with the right yarn it's plain magic in the making.


 
I used Schachenmayr nomotta Cotton Linen yarn for this one because I fell in love with the powdery slightly toned down colors. Apart from the colors it's also comfortable to work with and the resulting fabric has a good drape and a crisp handle. I started out with every color in their range but decided to drop the black and navy because they were too harsh a contrast with the other colors. After the first batch was used up and more than half of the blanket was done I reordered and discovered that the "coral" color wasn't available any longer and I plain forget to order the sky blue. Well, no help for it but to go on without them. For the border I had stashed to extra skeins in the natural color-way.


 
I started out this project way back in January with the hope that over the course of this spring Little Girl would grow to like her room and her pretty white princess bed and outgrow the parental bedroom. As an incentive I wanted to add a cute blanket as a bedspread. Well, turns out I'm actually a bit late. She's been in her own bedroom for a few months now - ever since we painted it all purple and pink back in May. Maybe the blanket project was a good omen. In any case, it's a nice addition to the girly room :-)


 
Details
Pattern: Granny Stripe Blanket by Lucy of Attic24
Hook: 4 mm/G
Yarn: About 32 skeins of Schachenmayr Nomotta Cotton Linen (78% Cotton, 22% Linen)
Size: 140 x 85 cm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I've got to admit, mountains were never quite my thing. Too high, too much snow, too far away. But this vacation was seriously fun and Austria turned out to be a really great place for a vacation with kids. It's got everything from beautiful lakes to VERY high mountains and on top of that all kinds of cultural and outdoors stuff. I'm looking forward being back in Salzburg this autumn on a trip with the company.

This has been an extra crafty weekend thanks to the husband. Who would have thought that he would come up with idea, the books and the material for knotting bracelets? But not any old bracelets, mind you, but manly and incredibly useful Survival Bracelets using Parachute cord (Paracord) original developed for military purposes. I'd never heard of that one before but a Google search turns up an incredible amount of pages and shops either offering information on how to make them or selling the bracelets themselves.


 
What the heck is a survivial bracelet, you ask? Well, I didn't know either so I did the research. Originally it's been a military thing. The basic idea is to carry around some strong cord in case an emergency situation comes up where some of said strong cord might save your ass. But since loose cord is a bitch to carry around someone came up with the clever idea of knotting a bracelet. The knotting technique makes sure that you neatly fit a considerable length of cord into a tight package that can be worn but can also easily be unraveled if need be. What has been an emergency item for military members obviously has found the way to a wider public if all the Etsy listings for 'paracord bracelet' and paracord webshops are anything to go by. Today Paracord is available in a wide range of colors that turn those accessories into fun fashion items.


 
There's a few good tutorials and videos online that show how to make your own bracelet. As a starting point check out Stormdrane's instructions that can be found in several places, for example at instructables.com. I think it's basically macramé but don't tell the guys ;-)



 
The original Paracord is a bit difficult to get here in Germany. eBay is probably the most likely source. Outdoor stores carry similar cord though and even a trip to the hardware store might prove enlightening. We found nylon cord in different diameters and colors and even the brightly colored cord that's been used for the kiddie bracelet in the picture above. So DH and me spent the weekend knotting some bracelets and key fobs. Perfect activity for an otherwise rainy and drab weekend.

Our family car, a Subaru Impreza 2.0 R, had been fitted Eibach Springs Pro Kit a while ago. While the 2008 model already looks awesome on its own the lowered suspension makes it stand out even more in a sea of nondescript Volkswagen clones. But apart from that the lowered body also makes it handle better and increases mileage. Good looks and practical use. Totally win-win situation, if you ask me. It's really a great, sturdy car and the all-wheel-drive rocks - in the midst of a snow heavy winter as well as on Brandenburg's notoriously unpaved side roads.


 
Eibach Springs established a Facebook Fanpage and from time to time they have some cool fan action going. In our case they asked everyone for pictures of cars with Eibach springs/suspension and offered Eibach stickers to everyone who posted a pic. As happy Eibach customers we posted to picture above, got our sticker and proudly showed our brand appreciation.


 
Unfortunately the hatch started to suffer from a known rust problem under the chrome trim over the winter. Obviously we weren't the first ones to encounter this problem and Subaru handled the issue generously and uncomplicated. They took on the cost for a paint job for the hatch and we got the car back all shiny and new. Unfortunately my beloved Eibach sticker was a thing of the past. Thank goodness the nice people from Eibach had thought ahead and had sent two stickers back then. Today I managed to put on a new one and we once more show the the Eibach Springs brand proudly.


 
And since one sticker isn't enough and the guys from Speedhunters.com are without a question the height of cool when it comes to auto journalism their sticker got a place of honor on our Subi, too.


 
Oh, yeah, and Mr. GeekSpeed, the man who organized the stickers adorned the roll bar of his Miata, too. And another one on the hatch.

Over the past years indie dyer "Wollmeise" has gained an incredible popularity allover the world. When I first ordered a few skeins of 100% Merino yarn with Claudia it was a small affair with the distinctive, cute flash based Wollmeise website. The page showed yarns in maybe 20 interestingly named, bright colorways that you could order via email. Some knitting enthusiasts spread the word and in short time Wollmeise was a well known protagonist in the young and hip knitting world across Germany.


 
I ordered a few skeins back in 2007 and thought they werequite nice. Great colors, maybe a bit difficult to knit with. Apart from that, the 100% Merino so called sock yarn was useless to me. I had walked holes into a pair of Wollmeise in under 3 months. The second Wollmeise skein stayed the only ones in my stash for a number of years.


 
While I was pretty much ignoring the Wollmeise hype the yarn became higher and higher in demand. The small scale Wollmeise business couldn't keep up with demand. And to makes things even worse with the advent of Ravelry - a social community for knitters worldwide - the Wollmeise yarn became an international hit. Somewhere along the way the Wollmeise online shop went online but the high demand couldn't be met with a steady stock. The weekly updates were introduced where the shop would be stocked once a week and thousands of people were trying to snatch up a precious skein of Wollmeise. It's been a crazy race and the shop couldn't handle all the orders. I rediscovered the magic of Wollmeise yarn when using my second skein for a Beret and matching scarf. When I tried to get my hands on some more Wollmeise I found that things had changed considerably. Ordering became a frustrating experience and people had started to vent their frustration openly. I think it all cumulated in some online auctions where Wollmeise yarn went for immense sums of money. I decided to just give it a rest and not bother with the stress. Up until this day Wollmeise yarn and the whole cult around it divides opinions. People are usually not on the fence about it but are shouting loudly at each other from opposite sides of the fence.


 
The thing is, you can try to resist all you want, Wollmeise is going to seduce you with its lucious colors ;-) There's just something about the yarn that makes even - or especially - the most basic patterns stand out. And the ladies in my knit circle brought so many pretty skeins of yarn and projects to our meetings. They finally had me when Claudia introduced her semi-solid range. So I jumped the wagon again and tried the shop updates again. Some Fridays have been disappointing in terms of yarn or color choices in the updates. But somehow things seemed to have calmed down a bit.


 
Nowadays it's not impossible to at least rescue a few skeins from your basket to the cashier. And then there's always the wild idea of the "We're different" grab bags. The bags contain colorways that didn't quite turn out as intended and you can only choose a yarn type, the color range or opt for a complete surprise. Last Friday I chose to order a small grab bag "Kunterbunt" which means there can be anything. I got a lovely multicolor skein of "We're Different Franz" and one not so hot skein of "We're Different Brombeere". But it might work out nicely as a pair of socks. That's the deal with the grab bags. You never know what you get. And sometimes I'm totally in the mood for a little surprise :-)


 
And what happens with all those pretty skeins? Well, knitting with Wollmeise is certainly different. The yarn is somehow different from other wool yarns. Very smooth. Not very elastic. Almost like cotton. Knitting with it can be a chore sometimes but the end result is ALWAYS worth the bother.


If you haven't had a chance to try Wollmeise yarn I would totally suggest you check the shop for the Friday afternoon grab bag update. Things are bit more relaxed there because not everyone is in the mood for a surprise. So snag yourself a Wollmeise grab bag and check out the 20'000 and then some Wollmeise projects on Ravelry for some serious inspiration. And if you're not interested that's just fine, too. One word of warning though, it's getting and addictive habit very quickly :-)

Elizabeth Zimmermann (EZ for short), knitter and knitting teacher extraordinaire claims garter stitch to be one of the most versatile, useful and fun stitches in knitting. Most other people think it's the most basic and therefore boring thing ever. I've got to admit I've always been a bit of a garter stitch snob. It does have it's uses but it never struck me as particularly inspiring.

But then you go and check out Jared Flood's aka Brooklyntweed's blog with its beautiful photography, pretty projects and his love for all things EZ. And suddendly you feel the magic. I mean just look at his Tweed Baby Blanket or the beautiful Bridgewater Shawl. Most of their charm is derived from a very basic garter stitch square that's topped with a bit of fancy lace. Further search on Flickr and Ravelry quickly uncovers EZ's Stonington Shawl as one of those very easy pretty much all garter stitch patterns that seem to produce stunning results. And the construction on this one seemed really intriguing. Well, what else is a girl to do but jump over her shadow, pick up some delightful Shetland lace yarn and dive in head first into hours and hours of garter stitch?!


 
I cast on for this shawl back in 2010 before going on a weekend trip with the company that involved airports and bus transfers. The diamond shaped center worked up quickly enough but after that things slowed down considerably. And let's be honest here. Miles and miles of garter stitch IS a fairly mindless endeavour.


 
In the end it took 8 months to complete and I had to reorder two times with Jamieson and Smith in Lerwick, Shetland to finally be able to finish this shawl. After the plain garter stitch got done I decided to go for a slightly deeper and a more elaborate edging than the original pattern asked for to spice things up a bit. The double diamond row works nicely with the simple garter stitch body if I dare say so myself.


 
The whole shawl only took 8.5 skeins of Jamieson and Smith 2ply Lace yarn. That's a mere 212 grams of yarn. On 4 mm needles the fabric is open and airy but not too flimsy. As always I really enjoyed working with Shetland yarn. There is nothing artificial to it. Just a natural beauty that makes even the most simple patterns stand out.

 
 
Has this been a lot of work and long time in the making? Sure. Was it fun to knit? Totally. The construction with the diamond center and seperately worked border sections and knitted on edging make for a literally seemless construction. That's fun all in itself. Would I work another one of these? I'm pretty sure I would. The combination of simple yet beautiful and classy is timeless and alluring.

Details
Pattern: Stonington Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine
Yarn: Shetland 2ply Lace by Jamieson and Smith, Color L63 heathered jeans blue, 212 grams (1440 meter)
Needle: 4 mm
Finished size: 135 x 135 cm

It's not even middle of April and the autocross season is already in full swing. This weekend the Husband competed in 3 club tournaments and brought home one class win and two third places. Congrats, GeekSpeed :-)
 

 
The autocross tournaments and the lovely spring weather provided ample opportunity to try out my new zoom lens, a Canon EF 75-300mm/ 4-5,6/ III USM lens for EOS. It's really useful for taking shots all the way across the autocross track. And it works nicely for close-up shots, too. I'm quite pleased with it considering that it doesn't have an image stabilizer and was an affordable piece of technology.
 

 
Apart from shooting 400 something pictures at autocross I've also managed some gardening and simply admiring nature's awakening.
 

 

 
Spring is finally here. The Forsythias are in full bloom and those trees with the lovely pink blossoms are cheering things up quite a bit, too. I have no idea what kind of trees those are. Maybe Cherry? They look awfully nice anyway.