Archive
The problem with living in Germany and being a patron to the local library, and blogging in English is that I get to read really interesting books - which are available only in German. I usually then just leave them be and blog about something else, but recently I've read two books which I really want to write a review about. Maybe they will one day be translated, or you will get interested in the theme and find some books on the issues in English / your own language.
The first book is called "Kinder auf dem Strich" by Cathrin Schauer. The title translates to "Children on the game" and it talks about child prostitution on the German-Czech border. The author has worked in the region as a social worker for years. The book discusses the views of the different parties involved - the children, the pimps, the adult prostitutes, the buyers, the police and the general public.
For a little swap hosted by the Ravelry Finnish stashbusting group I knit this red hat. The pattern is called Slouched Tuva hat and it's a really simple, lacey free pattern. And so quick to knit! It took me maybe two evenings to finish the hat.
My swap partner said she has a big head, so I cast on 120 stitches. I did the ribbing on 3,5mm needles and the main part on 4,5mm 40 cm circulars and the crown with 4mm dpns (I don't have 4,5mm dpns, otherwise I would obviously have used them. Didn't really make a difference though.) The yarn is Marika Moon, the same I used for my Versatility.
Just two more pairs of little preemie socks for charity. I'm also counting them in the Sukkasato sock KAL.
The yarn is a nameless sock yarn I received from a friend a while back. The socks are made on 2,5mm dpns, and have 28 stitches around. The cuff is 1x1 rib and the foot is plain. As simple as it gets!
I've actually been one of the biggest fans of Green Day - about 15 years ago. I would say one of the worst things that happened to me in 1995 was that I couldn't go see their concert in Helsinki (Finland). But I was only 12, so I guess my Mum had a point. However, after the album Insomniac I didn't much follow them anymore, anyway. Until this year, when I realised I live in Germany now, a land where big bands come play gigs, and that Green Day is a really big band now.
So in May I bought two tickets to the Green Day show in Köln (or Cologne) - that gig took place this Monday, the 5th October.
And it was great! Long and full of energy. Great music. Great atmosphere. Nice arena. The band still looks the same as they did in 1994 (yum!). Full of attitude as well! I really loved it, I must say! Luckily I bought all their albums since 1997 as preparation for this concert, so I'll be listening to them until the next tour!
I noticed I haven't made a work-in-progress post in a very, very long time! So to fix the loss, here are some of my current WIPs.
The first one is my current pride and joy, the Bramblewood vest in the making. I'm making the 40 in size, and was afraid it will be too small, as my gauge was a bit off, but as usual it seems I don't need to worry about that. Even when I measure gauge and everything seems fine, the garment ends up one size too big. So I'm hoping this vest, which should according to calculation be snug, will fit perfectly!
I don't mean it's corny in the meaning of tacky or ridiculous, I mean it's made out of corn! The whole shawl is knit with 100% maize yarn, the Finnish TeeTee Poppari.
The pattern is also Finnish, the Minttumaari shawl from Ullaneule.net. The shawl is knit on 6mm needles, and it used up a bit over 150 grams of yarn.
The pattern was somewhat boring, and I from time to time lost interest as the rows grew longer, maybe that's why it took me months to finish it, even though I made it a little bit smaller than the pattern calls for (did only 8 repeats of chart 2 instead of 10). I do like the result though!
