http://peachyknits.com/blog/

I moved!!!

 http://peachyknits.com/blog/

so please, update your feed readers / links – because now I have my own domain and blog there! And the bets is – the WHOLE blog moved, including all comments and such!

Isn’t that great?

soon to be transferred

to my own .com domain! Including a hell of a lot of webspace, too!

After spending nearly a half day of looking for the ideal webhost, I have found it – and since I got a reply to my 3 (test) questions within 10 minutes, I think that’s the one for me. I don’t intend to need support a lot, it seems as if I could do all the stuff I want to do there, so once that is settled I’ll set a wordpress blog up there – I think I remember a forwarding option when setting this bugger here up, but we’ll see. Soon I’m on my own!

Oh, about the dyeing

With the CHUMtorial I totally forgot that there were 2 more pics on that memory card – the outcome of the first ever peachy dyeing session!

in the skein (not reskeined):

and wound into balls:

Aren’t they lovely? Taken, the Regia, the one on the right, that I handpainted on saran wrap, looks like a candy bar, but the kettle-dyeing with the merino (from OnLine) went really well. The reds are not really vibrant but a little bleached, and the green went out a lot, but for a first try I’m more than satisfied!

I love those blue mail sacks

Most UK yarns come in them – and today one small sack waited for me on top of the mailbox, containing this:

Sock yarn from the Violet Green Wool shop! The dark skein is the “Cassandra” colourway, in 100& merino, the lavender is the October Special, in Merino/PA mix. looove both! The lavender might actually become the toe-up sock for the CHUMtorial, I’m a bit out of the green phase at the moment. And the shop also carries Cascade 220, as I just found out! With those low shipping charges I’ll stay a loyal customer for sure!

I also got a set of bamboo dpns – and now I’m not sure if I should keep them, or send them to my secret pal. The other bamboo dpns I had I snapped because my tension is that tight, but I have those clover takumi in 4mm, and I love them! Well, we’ll see.

Now I’m not sure if I should order that solid colour merino roving from my local dealer to get delivered to my doorstep, or if I should wait until my lazy Kate arrives, and pick all up together. I mean I can wait, I have too much to do at the moment anyways – but still … meh. I guess I’ll wait, and see if I can’t delay

actually thinking

yeah, it happens not very often, but I DO think

Jibes aside, I’m thinking of getting my own domain/hosting thing, first for the blog, second for eventual books to be written, third for a small shop (patterns and the likes).  I guess “BLOG” will be the most used thing there. I do have some free space with my account at the university, but I hate the ftp, cannot have blogs there, and as I want to have a domain, too, that all keeps pointing at getting such a package. I also looked around, there are some very useful-looking hosts around here (although I tend towards those who actually put money into their web presentation!). the cheapest is local, and starts with 3 EUR per months, .com or the likes domain included, and seems pretty okay. And I could soo afford that! They just do limit the traffic, and I don’t know how much I’d need.

The second one is in Germany, but that’s not the problem.  it is looking similar, with no traffic limitations, is a bit more expensive, but also a favorite at the moment. Still waiting for the it guys from my contact list to get back to me about that. maybe I can make a deal with one of them, as I know some do host servers, and I know they can be bought with Chinese food

So that’s what I’m think about now. What do you think about this? Do I need stuff like this?

me and my typos

So yesterday has been fun – 10 hours D&D less dungeon, more fellow players hacking (okay, rather bickering), but still … and I got 10 gigantic rows on my sock knit!! I’m the fastest knitting in the world

The new week has started, and my motivation is next to nothing. Instead I got my loom over to the computer, and will now spend the next hours weaving while listening to podcasts. I think that’s good for the soul.

I’m also trying hard to decide wether to join the sockin’ sock club 2008, or not. I mean I loved all the yarns, and all patterns but one, but I haven’t knit a single stitch of those, and they way I’m going it would be soo much cheaper to wait the year and buy the yarn when it’s open to all, plus the patterns I like. And I have 2 other socks clubs that I love, and intend to go on with, so … hard to decide.

And I love the yellow leaves infront of my window.

btw, the title of this post? I don’t know what I tyoped in last time, or on some comments, but apparently I cannot even type “loom”. stupid little me!

I’m such a dork …

I just ditched my plans of writing that discussion – to go spinning and weaving. Honestly, my mental well-being is more important than a week of finishing earlier. and when I aid “I’ll bring it in on Friday” that did not really tell which Friday …? Yep, I’m a dork, I know, but one happy spinning weaving dork at that.

I need a time machine!

Please, someone invent a device for me so I get an extra 10 hours every day for crafty purposes?

Because – I have a new addiction – weaving!!

As I already blared out to the world last week, I took a weaving class yesterday. First came the choice of yarn to use for the rigid heddle loom woven scarf-to-be. I was presented with some bouclée mohair yarn from ashford (because the great woman running shop & classes is the only ashford dealer around here) – I now checked and it is only 9 % nylon, but I was skeptical to say the least. The colours I was advised on also looked strange – two variegated ones, one in greens blues yellows, the other in violets, purples, blues – that together? But I trusted – and oh, that was a good decision!

While this was not a private class, I was the only pupil for the first 30 minutes, and in that time I got a roundabout of the loom, how patterns are done, we warped it, and I was set to start weaving. And 2 hour later, tata! Scarf finished! And sooo great!

I had every intention of buying a loom if it went well – and that#s why I left with the Ashford Knitter’s Loom under my arm. Now behold the glory!

The loom is yet to be assmebled, but the neon pink case inside the box – pretty! Also the “Just add yarn” line is great!

Here a closeup on the scarf:

Doesn’t that look totally like designer garment? And it was the easiest thing I ever did! Soooo love the loom. Now I know what till become of all that handspun … hehe. I’m just looking for some inspiration, and possibly some patterns online, because the two ashford books are yet to be looked at, and bought, in the future. Plus some gorgeous solid merino, 500 gr each, in lime green and a deep violet. Pretty – and sooo worthy of a woven scarf.

In other news, today was the first snow of the season! nearly of the year, because we had no winter last year, but still …

I looove that dark first-snow weather – and yes, that’s snow on the roof opposite. Not much (will get more in december, likely), but still – yay!

Just woot!

I’m generally not a real believer in anything. But this week has proven again: what goes around, comes around, and when one part of the world is biting your ass, the other will make up for it. So true!!

So I did some food colour dyeing yesterday. Right now it’s soaking in the tub -

Lots of yellows, reds and reddy browns, and I learned a valuable lesson (no, two!). First, green plus yellow will not yield blue. Never . and Second, before you despair because of the lack of blue you should go through the cupboards your mother stocked ages ago, because I found a whole box full of food colour packages. Of course after dyeing, but still – I have enough for the next round soon to come! But so far I loooove the colours!!

Then, the mailman was to lazy to lug two packages to my door – most catalogues will weigh more, but I had to fetch them seperately. Behold the goodness that comes from White Willow – as always, I’m stunned with Brooke’s stuff!

The colours are a bit off, the bag is white in the background – and I sooo love it! The yarn is lace weight, in “autumn oak” and much more vibrant than here, or on the website. Go buy her stuff, now!! I just looked, that Tinkerbell lace weight – don’t buy that, I want that, too! So worth double the money she wants for it!

The second package that came was from Mandie (you should know the link to her shop by now!!) – ever lovely optim goodness! I think at least all 3 are optim, although they have merino top designations – but whatever, I loove them!

Better pics will follow once they hop onto my bobbins! And see what I got for being a pesky customer and little-sister-in-substitute:

Sunshine Daze Dread Scarf!!
Now, I would surely have hunted down that merino top if it hadn’t felted up – but it is sooo lovely! No, really, the colours – just stunning!

And as all that wasn’t enough – my Chumtorial got mentioned!!! On Craftzine!!!! When I saw the mentioning of that in one of the comments, still with sleepy eyes and no caffeine, I was literally sitting beside myself. I’m a crafty celebrity, now!! At least I can tell that my bruised ego, and while offer bright shiny smiles at the cats throughout the day – they seem quite scared of the effect! Strike!!

All that taken together adds up to just one thing: I feel loved! Plus, my new nifty cold weather jacket just arrived, and now I’m warm out- and inside

Honestly, now I just have to sort stuff out with my thesis, get a place for my PhD – and the world will be 110% good. Things are just great at the moment, and although I still have my downs, I think that’s really just related to my inner stress levels because of that thesis (and the 2.5 year old protocols that I still have to submit). I know perfectly well that once I get my lazy ass out of the flat, sort out the university stuff (which needs less sorting and more handing over stuff), life will be great.

So life, thanks for listening to Miss V, now help her with the car and stove, and then – stay that way!!!

strike!!

Behold the glory!!

And here’s the front view of the dyes:

Now I’m ready to dye, like, a ton of yarn!!
In colors green, yellow, and strawberry red.
But getting just 3 really small flasks would have cost nearly as much as one of the big ones, so I opted to get three of them – and if dyeing really didn’t work out, I can always make red noodles

I don’t know yet if I’ll do kettle dyeing or painting – but for tonight I’ll skein up the regia and some other yarn I have at home for month and soak it in water / vinegar. And tomorrow we’ll see what comes of this.

Also, wen I opened the wordpress site, I saw this:

See what I mean? If not, take a closer look, above the “done” in the broswer bar, left – see it now) What is that doing on the worpress homepage? It’s also in the blogging window. Cute!

Plus, now you know that I listen to apocalyptica while surfing with firefox