Not-So-Secret Pals... (eng)

Secret Pal 10 is drawing to an end, and a few revelations have taken place...

My "downstream" pal was Pikku-Kettu, and my "upstream" pal was Maijamirjami ... both are Finnish knitters, both very nice people, and both very skilled (in different ways) in many things crafty. Do check out their blogs! It was lovely getting to know you both, ladies (I know that you read each other's blogs) and I hope we'll keep in touch for a long time to come!

Needless to say that I enjoyed this Secret Pal round (my first) very much. I loved making presents, I loved receiving them (of course) and I loved learning a bit more about crafts in Finland; apparently many kids learn to do crafts there from a young age, and this apparently results in (among others) interesting yarn production and, of course, many very skilled and dedicated crafters. At least, that's my impression so far! I've always had a soft spot for Scandinavia, and being matched with two Finnish ladies was therefore very fortunate, as far as I'm concerned.

Now, look at the lovely final package that I received from Maijamirjami...!



It had superb stamps on it (even one with Lordi, if I'm not mistaken). What a good way to start! And then, the contents... four balls of lovely, fluffy Drops Symphony; this yarn looks and feels like angora, but it's actually merino! And a pair of beautiful handknit fingerless gloves in the same 'old pink' color -- look at the finishing, and the lovely elegant cable on the little finger. Beautiful. There was also a keyring in old pink (Grumperina would call it periwinkle, I think), two bars of chocolate (yum! gone immediately!), a novel by Virginia Woolf and... a very elegant felted bag with lace! I'm very curious about that last one -- it's beautifully made, and would it be "found" or vintage lace, or even bobbin lace that Maijamirjami has made herself? I still have to find out.

In any case, my boyfriend can witness that I was in an exalted mood for hours afterwards :-)

Terug / Back !

Sock goodness!, originally uploaded by Breibeest.

Ik ben nu een paar dagen terug van vakantie... het was heerlijk en veel te kort. Tja.

Since a few days, I'm back from holidays and, as usual, it was fabulous and WAY too short. Oh well.

Een dag na onze thuiskomst zat er gelukkig als troost een heel leuk pakje in de bus, en wel uit Finland... van mijn Secret Pal uiteraard!
Blijkbaar hebben we heel wat gemeenschappelijk -- onder andere een onverbeterlijke sokkenverslaving. In het pakje zat:
- hele mooie kruidig-oranje sokkenwol (Sisu)
- lekker knallend rode wol in sportdikte (Maija)
- twee toffeerepen die ik al snel met veel smaak verorberde
- en bovenal een geweldig PAARS (!) paar Cable Twist Socks... ze zitten heerlijk en ik heb ze de voorbije (frissere) avonden al volop gedragen.

One day after our return, there was a lovely package in the mail. From Finland -- from my Secret Pal of course!
We have quite a few things in common -- including an obsession with sock knitting! Ha! So, the package contained
- some lovely spicy orange sock yarn (Sisu)
- very cool bright red sport weight Maija yarn (which is already whispering to me that it would like to become a nice pair of gloves)
- two yummy toffee bars which I promptly devoured...
- and, most importantly, a super pair of Cable Twist Socks, purple of course! I've worn them almost every (chilly) evening; they fit perfectly and feel great!

Op het brei- en handwerkfront heb ik verder zelf ook niet stilgezeten, maar daar blog ik binnenkort over.

On the knitting and crafts front I've also done a few things; I'll blog about these pretty soon.

Blogging, Knitting, Holiday-ing!

Tomorrow, we are leaving for a short (but probably very sunny, and in any case very welcome and well-deserved) holiday! Wheee!

In a very timely manner, Bobbi, our Secret Pal 10 host, asks us the following questions related to holidays and knitting.

Assume that you will be gone for ten days to someplace "foreign" that is known for having great knitting locations.

1) What do you pack to knit?
On this holiday, I will take two pairs of socks... but I think I will try to take a break from knitting this time. I have some good books waiting for me (one is a collection of robot stories by Isaac Asimov... very cool) and taking naps on the beach doesn't sound too bad to me either ;-)

2) What do you hope to shop for?
We are not going to a location that is famous for knitting supplies or that has a strong knitting tradition... alas. But if we would, then I'd buy way too much yarn. I'd look for local yarns, and of course for sock yarn. I would, perhaps, also buy knitting needles as a useful souvenir.

(Bonus: Where would you go on a "knitting holiday"?)
Well, there are a few places where I'd like to go.
- To San Francisco; I have the impression that there are some very good yarn stores there. And of course the city is so cool. My boyfriend and I went to California on a holiday, 3 years ago, and it was our best holiday ever.
- To Finland. My Finnish Secret Pal's gifts are so fabulous... there are apparently many good yarn stores there. I'd love to do a Yarn Store Grand Tour in Finland!
- Finally (and she would probably find it a bit strange) I would like to be a Wollmeise groupie. I'd like to follow Claudia from Wollmeise yarns to all the German markets where she sells her yarns. And I'd buy way too much of it. So much that the Wollmeise could probably take a holiday herself with all the money I'd spend on her yarns. My boyfriend and son wouldn't appreciate this, I think... strange, no? ;-)

While we're speaking about Secret Pal 10... look at this!

This may look a bit strange, but it's a screenshot of an email attachment. My Secret Pal sent me the Thelonious sock pattern by Cookie A! One of my faves! Yeah!
Since I received it, there are a few skeins of sock yarn in my stash that have become a bit restless. This Scheepjes Invicta Extra is begging to be turned into a pair of Thelonious:
This Scheepjes yarn looks pretty good, actually. It's not very well-known but looks sturdy and comes in very nice colors. I think I'll grant its wishes :-)

Sheep & Dog

Sheep & Dog, originally uploaded by Breibeest.

Vorige donderdag ontving ik een leuke verrassing via de post: een extra pakje van mijn Secret Pal! Met twee grote strengen zacht, fluffy garen in prachtige natuurtinten, licht- en donkerbruin.

Maar wacht eens even...
Wat is dat beest op het etiket? Dat zo vrolijk staat te kwispelen?
Jawel: een HOND! Dit garen is 50% schapenwol, 50% hondenhaar... als dat niet cool is, dan weet ik het niet meer!

Het licht- en donkerbruin past zo goed bij elkaar dat ik al een project met strepen in mijn hoofd heb. Ik vraag me af of dit garen makkelijk kan vervilt worden, ik moet dat maar even uittesten met een klein proeflapje.

A very nice surprise reached me last Thursday: an extra parcel from my Secret Pal! With two large skeins of very soft, fluffy and lovely yarn in beautiful natural colors, lighter and darker brown...

Wait...
What's that animal on the tags? The one that wags its tail?

Yes, it's a DOG -- this yarn is 50% sheep and 50% dog wool! Isn't that the coolest thing?!

The lighter and darker brown match so nicely together that I'm already envisioning a striped project. Would this yarn felt easily? Perhaps I should give it a try with a small sample...

Back To Craft

Trekking XXL 147 Jaywalkers, originally uploaded by Breibeest.

Na een onmogelijk drukke tijd op het werk ben ik weer in mijn "gewone" routine teruggevallen -- aan de job tijdens "normale" tijden, en daarbuiten weer echt vrije tijd waarin ik lekker kan handwerken!

Heerlijk! Of hoe "gewone" dingen je echt gelukkig kunnen maken.

After an impossibly busy period at work, I am back to my "normal" routine: day job during "regular" hours, and outside of that, lots of free time that I can dedicate to crafts!

That's bliss... life can be good for very simple reasons.

Ik maak nu van de gelegenheid gebruik om allerlei kleine, leuke dingetjes te maken voor mijn Secret Pal. Die heeft (vanwege de drukte) nog altijd geen pakje van me ontvangen, foei. Maar deze week zou ik dat echt goed willen maken.

Dat betekent natuurlijk dat ik nu even geen foto's van huidige projecten kan tonen. Geheim!! Daarom maar een kiekje van de Trekking XXL Jaywalkers (kleur 147, gekocht bij Wolhalla tijdens de handwerkbeurs in Zwolle) die ik al een tijdje geleden afgewerkt heb maar nog niet geshowd in hun volle glorie. Ik ben er echt wel trots op!

So, I am now making all kinds of tiny nice things for my Secret Pal. Because of my busy schedule, she hasn't received anything from me yet -- bad pal that I am... But this week I intend to send out a nice package to her.

Of course, this means that I can't show any photos of current projects. Top Secret!! That's why I present a picture of the Trekking XXL Jaywalkers (colorway 147, bought at Wolhalla, a super cool Dutch online sock yarn store) that I had finished some time ago already, but hadn't shown in all their glory yet. I'm proud of them!

Easter goodness... (eng)

And this was inside..., originally uploaded by Breibeest.

Yesterday, I received a mysterious package from Finland... yes indeed, filled with Secret Pal goodness!



As you can see on the photo, it contained a collection of joyful gifts in Easter and Spring-related colors.

My son surely appreciated the Bob the Builder card (his first introduction to the phenomenon indeed :-) and his brand new handknitted socks. Aren't they totally cute?



They're still a bit wide but his feet are growing like mad, so soon they'll fit him like a glove! The grass seeds are planted in a pot, waiting to come out -- we can surely appreciate some fresh greens around the house! The egg (solid, yummy chocolate in a real egg shell) was delicious (it didn't survive for very long ;-). And the two balls of cotton yarn: I adore the color, and am thinking about using it for a summer hat for my son (he needs one -- and I do hope we'll get a lot of sun this Summer).

Overall, I adore the colors and the springtime freshness of the yarns!

Secret Pal -- your present is much appreciated, and many thanks for your kind words in the accompanying card! It's pretty cool that we both have a little boy... I wish you very nice Easter holidays!