Crafts - Mustardseed done, Morticia next - beading awesomeness

My knitting/beading hack from last post? Worked like a charm! But first things first...
After working the first beading rows I was hooked ;-) It's fun, it's a challenge (sometimes), it's variety and it's fun! Here's a picture of a lace border repeat, the shawl almost done.

 

Today I managed to actually wash and block the thing. Did I mention that I -hate- blocking? I still hope I did a reasonable job (minor adjustments happened after this picture was taken)...  I love(d) the pattern and I think, apart from the Dragonfly Shawl, this has been the second fastest piece I've worked. Did I mention I'm on vacation next week and have a lot of knitting time on my hands?

 

So, now that I knew how to work beads and stumbling over a pattern I've been wanting to do for quite some time, AND Bev calling out March to be M-KAL month (knit-a-long with one of her patterns that start with M) I finally decided to give the Morticia pattern a go. Seriously, how can a (half-)goth like me resist a piece named after a favorite goth/knitting TV character? *grin*

I actually wanted to use the exceptionally beautiful yarn my friend Betsy sent (see this post) but I had used the Lana Grossa Lace Lux in various other projects before and remembered there was a black variety of the yarn as well. So I decided this will probably be a better fit and went to acquire some at one of my favorite stores, Wedermann. Because... my friend & co-worker Anja, who does lots of beading work, recommended Perlenmix as a source of beads to me so naturally I had to go and check. As they're 5 minutes walk from Wedermann one thing lead to the other... and here's what I came home with - I've been good, I swear! ;-)

 

So, I've cast on my Morticia today and what should I say - it looks way more complicated than it actually is. Bev's directions are meticulous and perfect, everything fits together perfectly (yarn, needle size, beads - thank you, instinct!) and I can't wait to have this beauty finished.The beads are a little bit smaller than I the ones I worked with the Mustardseed shawl above, but as the yarn is a little bit thinner as well they're a perfect match.

Crafts - Work in progress & fun with the kids

While I haven't written much here I haven't been idle, quite the opposite :-) I've finished a shawl as a birthday present which will remain hidden until the recipient has the thing in their hands, which you will probably understand. All I can say is I'm really proud of it as it features some fickle yarn which doesn't allow for mistakes or even frogging and I hope it really meets the presentee's taste! Pics and details as soon as the cat is out of the bag.

One of the other projects I've been working on is a cozy, snuggly and lightweight jacket for myself. I bought the yarn out of instinct (ahem) at a sale and found the perfect pattern for it via the Usual Channels (aka Ravelry search for projects made with this yarn). The story behind it is a nice one I think... I went to look for the pattern which was only released in a German speaking magazine. I checked online resources and the publisher's website to get my hands on it but to no avail. The issue out of print and completely sold out - not a happy camper! By chance I went to the store I bought the yarn at as it's around the corner and at the off-chance I asked the shop owner if she maybe had some of the back issues of the magazines around? She indeed had the one and sold it to me for less than half of what the magazine initially cost. Me? I was doing a happy-dance all day! So I heartily recommend the store for expertise, great assortment of goods and very friendly staff - Neidhart's Nähkistl in the south of Vienna (23rd district). Should you ever visit it please say the black-clad woman with the twins sent you ;-)

So, about the jacket itself - it's a very basic and simple pattern called "Trapezförmige Jacke" (trapezoid-shaped jacket) from the magazine Rebecca #46. It's my second project which I use the KnitPro needles for (wooden tips, though). So far I'm pretty happy and am looking forward to finishing and wearing the garment.

No pants, just front and back in one piece!

Beautiful dark purple

What else have I been up to... last Sunday it was Father's Day here in Austria. I had the idea to make a custom tee for both my husband and my father, with a saying which sadly only works in the German language I think ("Papa, wir stehen auf Dich" which literally translated means "we stand on you" but actually means "we really dig you". The kids had a blast making the shirts - "dirty" feet and doing artsy stuff :-)

I was surprised the colors turned out better on the black fabric (the second shirt is a dark blue one) but was happy how easy the textile colors were to use. Needless to say both fathers were super-happy with the gifts and proudly wore the shirts right after they got them!