Whipped by gauge

I have to admit that I've been stuck in a knitting funk for the past few weeks. Something to do with stress maybe, I don't know. I keep starting things and rejecting them because they seem to demand too much attention or they simply don't work out. It's really quite frustrating and I hope it will all be over very very soon. In the meanwhile, I have some old FO's to distract you with!

I made this pannebånd some time in May. It took about an hour, maximum two hours and is therefore a perfect instant gratification project, especially as I think it looks really cool. I first saw it on Rebecca's blog and bookmarked the pattern - I recommend you to do the same, just in case you find yourself missing a gift on christmas eve or being spontaneously invited to a birthday party.

In May (or April... I forget) I also started a pair of beaded wrist warmers. After the first one was done I didn't feel like casting on for the second, so I let it be for a few weeks. Unfortunately it seems that I was feeling much more uptight at the time I made the second one

Considering that I used the exact same yarn and needles, I think it's truly impressive how much difference there is in size. Maybe it doesn't show too well in the picture, but in real life there is enough difference that it's not really possible to wear them as a pair. This should teach me never to succumb to the Second-whatever-Syndrom.

I have a plan to get me out of the funk:

How could these beautiful cakes of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply not cheer me up? These should turn into the Shetland socks from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, a pattern I have wanted to knit for ages. This is the first Rowan yarn I've ever bought and I'm excited to see if I'll love it as much as people seem to do. It's expensive enough, so I'd better like it a whole lot!

I'm off to the summer cottage for a few days. Maybe I'll have something interesting to show on Friday, but if not, I have more old FO's to distract you with. It's good to collect those things - for the dry patches.

Back for good

I'm back in Iceland... for good this time! I left Helsinki a little over a week ago and since then I've been having an internet-free vacation to wind down after all the stress. It felt strange to leave Helsinki knowing that I wasn't returning any time soon. When mom and I landed in Iceland, dad picked us up from the airport and we drove straight home to change clothes and attend my brother's graduation party - he finished his M.Sc. degree that day. When we got there it turned out that they had been scheming behind my back and the graduation party was mine as well! I came into the living room at my brother's place and saw my friends there and it took me an abnormal amount of time to realize what was going on. For a few seconds I was busy thinking why on earth they were there... if they knew someone who knew my brother or what. We had a grand time and in the evening ended up in a bar downtown where, in classic Reykjavík fashion, we bumped into old friends from highschool, primary school and my other brother! It felt nice. Good old Reykjavík, where everyone knows everyone.

Five days later I bought a used car! Isn't it cute?

This is my first car and I just love it. I feel free to drive wherever I want, whenever I feel like it. No more "can I borrow the car, mom and dad?"! Oh no, those days are over.

In more knitting related news, I finished the blue mohair stole. While I was knitting it, I decided that I wanted to give it to my friend Arna who has been having a rough winter. I met her for lunch last week and gave it to her, and the timing was perfect because the following night she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!

Specs:

• Pattern: Cobweb stole (pdf) from Vintage Purls.
• Yarn: Unidentified mohair bought on sale at Menita, 202 g.
• Needles: 3.5 mm, 60 cm circulars.
• Size: 66.5 cm by 156 cm.
• Duration: April 5th - May 6th 2007.

What's going on?

I had this whole post planned about the summer cottage trip but then life has been insanely busy, since I'm moving to Iceland on Saturday. I have uploaded some pics to my flickr site, so if you'd like to see photos of the beautiful Finnish nature, check this out. I love Finland. Despite the mosquitos.

My mom and brother came here last Wednesday and we've been hanging out. They left for the weekend to St. Petersburg and I'm using the opportunity to try to get as much packed as possible. Right now, my apartment looks like a group of FBI agents came and turned it upside down.

I have a whole bunch of finished knitting but it looks like I might have to wait with reporting it until all of this is over. In case I don't appear here until I'm back in Reykjavík, I hope you all have a great week ahead of you!

Off to the wilderness

Thank you so much for your really nice comments on my last post! I was very touched!

This weekend I plan to relax like I'm getting paid for it. I'm off to a summer cottage on an island in a lake in the middle of Finland. I can not wait to go to the sauna, my shoulders are stiffer than ever!

You all have a great weekend! Happy knitting!