September WIPocalypse - Memory Lane

And yet again, it has been a few days since my last update, and I have a lot to show for it as well - still, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I'm having a very busy time at the moment - both at home (lots of fun stuff, but still busy) and at work (not so very much fun).
But first things first; for the latest WIPocalypse checkin the question is Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces. Now, even after almost three years of stitching and blogging, I still feel relativly new to this hobby - before that, I only stitched occasionaly, so there aren't that many stories to share from then. And even in the last three years, I need to think long and hard about something with a real story behind it...I know, I'm boring :D But I think this one will do nicely:

Angel of Frost by Teresa Wentzler

Teresa Wentzler's beautiful pattern - and Carla and Nancy gushing about her - was what first brought me into blogging here, and in meeting stitchers on the net. And while this is not the first of her designs I worked on (the first big finish, though) it still came from that first batch of books I ordered, when my grandma saw the pictures and decided she *needs* this one. So in 2014, I decided to stitch this as a Christmas present for her. I didn't really now what I was up to then - so many blended stitches, confetti, speciality stitches, beads...but boy, was it a journey! I learned so much when I was working on this - marking my pattern, pre-threading needles, even a first bit of parking, and I had a ton of fun. At first I could only work on this in my room in private, so grandma wouldn't see - but then in October of 2014, Felix and I moved in together. AoF was one of the last things I packed, and one of the first I unpacked in the new apartment - I needed to finish it! I was also working on my Master thesis at that time, but nearly all the free time I had in November and December went into this, and I just finished in the nick of time. Still one of my favourite projects ever, and by far the biggest and most complex still!

Now for my latest - albeit not as exciting - progress. On the stitching front, I mainly worked on Cut Thru' Cottage - as you can see, I am almost done with the cross stitch on page 7 - and on The Halloween SAL, where I managed to finish the second motif. I still need to stitch the corresponding section of the border, though, which I am really looking forward to.

 

Then you might remember that huuuge list of gifts I have planned to finish this year? Well, I have to report that I added a few more projects to that list (I know, crazy...it had to be done though!), but I also made some headway. First, I started the two toddler-sized scarves for the tein sons of a friend of ours (the pattern is calles Sharky-Pie by Martina Behm, the Yarn is Merino Superwash 150 by Lang Yarns). The first one took me about four days, the second one was finished in just one busy Sunday (busy with stuff that allowed knitting on the side!). Isn't that border lovely? I am very suprised I managed to knit both scarves out of one 50g skein, with a bit left, and they *did* turn out a bit smaller than expected - but I checked, the will (just barely) fit around my own neck without chocking me, so they should be okay for two skinny two-year-olds! I also made some progress on the socks for Felix' dad, finishing two more repeats of the basket pattern, which makes the first sock ready for the heel. The leg part is a bit longer than usual on these, but I think that is a good thing as they will also fit in nice with his traditional bavarians clothing.

Then last Sunday, I had to go on a business trip to Aachen on short notice (Actually I was supposed to be off work this week...well that didn't happen, but hopefully will soon-ish!), and as I like to combine duty and fun, I allowed myself two new starts on the way - both from me gift-list. One is the next Baby Suprise Jacket, for another coworker of mine - finally, that baby is going to be a girl, so I get to use some yarn with purple! On the train ride to Aachen, I was kind op adopted into a group of older ladies that were travelling together, and as they knitted too we got talking over stitches and had a very fun and relaxed ride, despire the train running late and all of us missing a connection (thankfully, we didn't have to wait long for the next one). I also took some stitching on this trip, and to keep things simple I just grabbed one of the Mill Hill kits I'm stitching for friends - you can probably guess, but it's going to be a cute little Panda. I hope I'll find time to finish this soon, I'm really looking forward to the beading!

 

And that brings us finally up to speed. The week has been very busy so far, and tomorrow will likely be no exception, but with Monday being Germany's national holiday, I have a three day weekend coming up without any plans for a change...I'm really looking forward to some quiet time after all the stress lately!