Lyra row 116

my progress yesterday: row 116 and it's still very much fun
In fact this is really addictive (just like Soo said in her comment...:-))
I love doing this and just can't understand anymore, why I was so scared of starting the gorgeous Lyra.

Happy Birthday, Donna!

Happy Birthday, dear Donna!

Today you are 12 years old and getting nearer to your teenage-years every day!
I just wanted to let you know, that i love you ever so much and hope you stay as lovable as you are now!

May the sun always shine for you and may God bless you in every way!

Lyra row 58

Ein Kunstwerk... / a piece of art...

...von meiner mittleren Tochter Elena auf die Straße gebracht!
Ein paar Blumen, um Euch den Tag zu versüßen!
Draufklicken dann ist es doppelt so schön! :-))


...made by my middle daughter Elena!
A few flowers to sweeten your day!
Click on the picture to see it larger and to double the beauty! :-))

Have a nice day, y'all!

Cast on: Lyra

I finally cast on the Lyra by Herbert Niebling, I'm on row 35 already and so far it is great to knit.
I just can't stop! Another 145 rows to go.......ufff!

No further progress...

.... on the "Fischer sin fru"-Shawl. I did the swatch and started the first clue, but somehow i lost my love for it.
When I see it on other blogs and admire, how lovely it looks , I would like to cry whine over my own lack of discipline (wait a minute: I admitted that in an earlier post, didn't I?)

Do i have to admit, that I discovered I am not a shawl-knitter after all?
I just hate lace-yarn on broomsticks aka needles that are fatter than 3,00 mm (and that is only acceptable with fingering weight yarn).
I love the look and the feel of shawls and I am subscribed to quite a few Mystery-KAL's, but somehow............

May I still call myself a laceknitter?
I love doing doilies and tablecloths with laceyarn or crochet-thread on incy-wincy needles. I really do, I enjoy myself knitting with small needles!
But large needles? yuk!
But: I really enjoyed doing the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl!
Then again, that was sock-yarn on appropriate needles, so this was fun!

Am I a "needle-snob"? Yes I guess so.........*lol*

I would really love to complete the shawl, but somehow I got the roll on lace-doilies right now....so I shall put it aside and try not to let it bother me any longer. Or should I frog it?
I have no clue ! (pun intended)

I need some advice here, can you help me?

How to avoid Second-Sock Syndrome

I have some methods for this, but right now i am as lost as all who suffer the SSS.

But Chelsea aka "small hands" has some great advice for us all.

Read here:
small hands blog

My thanks goes to Chelsea for that great advice :-))

Happy Birthday, Dad! ... and socks....

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, dear Daddy,
Happy Birthday tooooooo yoooooouuuuuuu!

Have a nice day and a great new year! You are the best!

Here are the Birthday-socks for my Dad:

I used 2 strands of sockyarn (one was dark-red, one natural) on 4 mm broomsticks needles to make them warm and cozy for him. On the sides i added a little cable, which is not really visible, but it prevented boredom while knitting.
Size is 43

Little Flower Doily

by BadCatDesigns

This is a sweet little doily, quick to knit up and very suitable for Laceknittingnewbies.
I really loved to knit it!

Mission accomplished!

The Daffodil Design by Marianne Kinzel is a FO now.

Here it is unblocked (just went over it with the iron)
And now blocked out:
and now nicely arranged on my table:
I am happy I have finished it, although i am not so pleased about the difference in colour the two yarns had. But adding white yarn would have been worse.....lol
Still contemplating on dyeing it to a different colour.
What do you think?
Any suggestions?

Pimp your desktop...

...with Desktopcalendars by MadLinDesigns (<-that's my mother)
My Mum makes them for every month and they are absolutely free.

Did I mention, that she does a fabulous job on them? No? So I will have to say so now!
(and i am not only saying that because she's my mother....)

They are absolutely gorgeous!

Go and get your favorite desktopcalendar today at:

MadLinDesigns

(Just click on the preview and a new window will open with the actual calendar, then right-click and choose "as background" ->there you go!)
And feel free to sign the guestbook (with suggestions for future calendars) and spread the word!

Here is a preview of the one I chose:

Keeping a promise...

..to myself!
I put up some "New Year's Resolutions" and promised myself to clean out my "UFO"-basket (UFO=Unfinished Object) this year.

Which means:
1. What is meant to be knit, will be finished this year
2. What will never be finished, will be frogged

So, because I finished the wheat-doily and am not in the mood to knit the socks for my Dad's Birthday, I got this one out of hibernation my basket:
The Daffodil Design by Marianne Kinzel (out of the 'Second book of Modern Lace Knitting')
Can you believe I started this one in September 2005?
Well, I am ashamed of my lack of discipline and my inability to finish certain things in a good measure of time.

No, to be honest, i ran out of the original yarn for this one (the crochet cotton I used was obviously discontinued after being in my stash for about 10 or more years) not far away from the end (only 40 more rows or so), so i didn't frog it but thought maybe the yarn would magically replicate itself and then it would be enough to finish this design.

(which i really wanted to do, since I have already done the 'Balmoral thistle design' and am planning on knitting the 'Rose of England-design')

So there is was and it really sucked, because every time I went into my basket it stared at me and was giving me bad feelings......

In September last year my Mum came to my place and gave me some yarn she bought especially for this project, which was perfect: nearly same colour and same weight of crochet cotton!
And she said: " I really want you to finish that Daffodil Doily! Try this yarn"

But ........ still I just couldn't get my guts together to look up the pattern and get going.

Then the promise i made for this year and a thread on one of the groups in Ravelry
(Group: So much to knit, so little time Thread: Turn your oldest WIP into a FO) made the decision for me.
Not after talking to my Mum on the phone and asking for some encouraging thoughts though.....*lol*
(after all I was still contemplating on frogging the bugger)

And here i go: on Row 131 with the new yarn and growing strong
In fact: I FEEL SO GOOD ABOUT MY DECISION TO KNIT THIS NOW!

Thanks to Mum and the Group and all of you out there
(for your sweet comments on my last two doilies really encouraged me!)
I got back into the rhythm of this and i am very happy!

WOOOOHOOOO! THANKS!

Hooray for FOs! Part 2

and nicely arranged (this time with an angel my daughter Elena gave me for X-mas)
the doily or should I say "coffee cloth" looks like this:

click on it for a larger picture

Always amazing, how blocking can change wet noodles into a beautiful piece of lace...
Hooray for Finished Objects!!

Psssst.....
I would like to knit the Lyra by Herbert Niebling as next project,
but I have to whip up some socks for my Dad's birthday first (poor old me!)
Thank goodness I have knitted the Birthday-socks for Donna already
....just can't knit socks right now....
...don't know why...

Hooray for FOs!

After blocking the wheat-doily looked like this:

a detailphoto:



it took me 45 minutes to block this sucker thing and 192 pins (!!!) to get it pinned out.
It's 72, 5 cm (25 inches) in diameter.
My back and my knees hurt now, I just feel like an old rag lady.
But it is worth the work and the pain, can't wait to unpin it in the morning.

Undressed....

Another doily just jumped off my needles. I am ever so happy!!!

As it's just called "white doily", i will give it this name:

"End of summer doily" (or "wheatdoily" or such)

The pattern is from the Mag 'Diana Special-Strickdeckchen D 449' from 1998

I really had to show a lot of patience knitting the last 30 rows (i had between 700 and 900 stitches on my needles, which felt like "bloody" 3000 stitches), but then I just told myself: "Go on! Go for it! One row down, another 30 (29, 28 etc.) rows to go!" and at last I made it.........WOOOHOOOO!
It's still undressed, so it's far away from being a beauty, but:

Now I am going to wash, starch and block it out....this is going to be "fun" *yuk*
wish me luck :-))