A Trip to DHL

I finished my Christmas cards for my Christmas card swap on swap-bot. These green stars are from the same packet as the white ones that I used in my Christmas decorations. I also finally mailed the scarf that I finished eons ago (see here). The deadline for mailing the scarf got moved from December 1st to December 15th. I hope I get mine before I leave for Ireland. My main reason for heading to DHL today was that Arlo needed some application materials mailed. This job search is really taking a toll on him and I'm trying to help wherever I can. There isn't much that I can do ... but I'm really good at walking to DHL.

Now here is the weird thing. Arlo's officemate took his envelopes of application materials to the Post Office and was charged 8 Euro per envelope to mail them to the US. I took a batch (a week or so ago) to DHL which is owned by Deutsche Post (the post office) and was charged 4 Euros per envelope. But today when I took in the packets of materials, I was only charged 2 Euros per envelope. Maybe Deutsche Post is owned by Xeno.

It was quite an international shipment today. Arlo's materials were being mailed to the US and Canada. The scarf was mailed to Sweden and the three cards were mailed to Belgium, Australia, and the US. I should have mailed something to Chris and Renee in Japan just to round it off. Maybe next time.

Strickentreffen and other Knitting news

Sunday mornings in Tucson found me in Espresso Art (a cafe by the University) knitting with a great group of women. While I love knitting alone, I really like the social aspect of gathering to knit. I've noticed that I don't knit nearly as fast in these groups as I do alone ... but I love to see what everyone else is doing. We end up teaching and learning from each other and just sharing our lives.

Since coming to Germany, I've been trying to fill some of this void with my internet explorations. The knitting/personal blogs that I've been reading have been quite inspiring. I really like the knitting podcasts that I've been listening to. I treat these almost as I would a knitting group ... I put on the podcast and start knitting. But it is not the same.

I went into a yarn store here in the Fußgangerzone but the proprietress was so unfriendly that I didn't ask her if she knew of any knitting groups in town. I posted an ad on Craigslist -- Köln has a city entry but Bonn does not. I figured Köln is not too far away and perhaps Bonn people look at it. This would have the advantage (or disadvantage, however you look at it) of reaching knitters that speak English. But alas, I had no response to the ad.

One of the women in MPI suggested that I go to the Münster (the main catholic church right in the city center). She was fairly sure that they had a knitting group. So I found the Münsterladen (church store) and asked about this. The nun I spoke to (I started in German, but she switched to English) was very confused by my question. She wanted to know who had told me that the church did such a thing. After much explanation she said that no they do not have a knitting group. I should try the Protestants ... they do that sort of thing.

Well before I could go to Kreuzkirche (the big Protestant church in the center of town) I went into a different yarn store in town. This proprietress was very friendly. She responded to my attempts at speaking German by speaking very slow, simple, clear German herself. So I asked if she knew of a knitting group that I could join. She owns two stores and her store in Rheinbach (two towns over -- about 20 minutes by regional train) has a Strickentreffen (knitting meeting) every Thursday evening. I've gone twice now and it has been great. I get to listen and practice German ... but if I'm really confused they will clarify in English. It costs 5 Euro per week. I wish it didn't but if you think about it, I spent about 5 dollars each week buying a coffee in the cafe where I met up with my last group.

So now some postings of my latest projects:
Here is a scarf I made for my niece in California. It is based on the scribble scarf in Mason-Dixon Knitting. It is very lightweight and yet snuggly ... perfect for California. This was made with stash yarn. I think the blue is shine sport from Knitpicks and the white is boucle that I got in some super yarn sale Michael's had last summer.

I mentioned that I didn't like the washcloths here so I was knitting a few out of some cotton yarn I had in my stash. It washes nicely but after one use it is completely out of shape. I think I could get used to knitted washcloths, however, I like the feel on my face.











I finished Arlo's hat (Mütze auf deutsch) I like how the crown looks on his a little better than I like the look on mine. That's okay though since I won't see the crown of my hat when I'm wearing it. Although, I will be hard pressed to see the crown of Arlo's hat when he is wearing his.

Lastly, I finished my first knitted swap project. It is not due for mailing until December 1st ... won't my partner be surprised when she gets this in October. I knitted this 6 foot 2 inch scarf from the touch of whimsy pattern. I had never done an I-cord cast-on and cast-off. That combined with the double knit edging makes for a beautiful border.

I'm still working on the baby jacket for Isobel. I have the back and the two front pieces done. I'm working on the arms now. I would like to start a sweater for myself. I think I will go buy some more of the blue yarn that I used for the scarf. If I get truly bored, I could always knit one of these ... if only I knew a horse:

Podcasts and Craft Swap

I have been spending a lot of time listening to podcasts lately. It has been great! Since I am so late to the game, when I find a podcaster that I like, there are tons of back podcasts to listen to. My favorite knitting podcaster is Kelly from Knit Picks. Knit Picks is my favorite internet yarn supplier and I'm very sad that they won't ship to Europe.

Well, I've made it through all 21 of Kelly's podcasts (22 comes out later today sometime ... but I probably won't hear it until Monday) so I've started in on Sister Diane from Crafty Pod. She posts to the blog daily ... with all different crafts and posts a podcast once every other week. (You can click on the podcast category to find all of the podcasts). I still have 43 of those podcasts to go. That should last me a few weeks.

I've learned about all sorts of craft ideas from Crafty Pod. Currently I'm excited about this idea of a craft swap. She had an interview with the founder of Swap-Bot (Crafty Pod episode 45) which is a website that features all sorts of craft swaps. Here's my understanding of how this works. An organizer says I want to start a swap for ___. They post it saying when people need to sign up by, when items need to be mailed and how many partners each person will have. People sign up to swap ___. Once the sign-up deadline arrives, the computer matches people ... this is done in a way that an uneven number of participants can play. People get emails saying who their swap partners are. They can then look up information on their partner's profile and make a very special ___. They send theirs out and they get one in return ... made specifically for them.

So I've signed up for three starter swaps. One paper craft, one knitting, and one networking. The first (and easiest) closed today. I should get an email tomorrow as to who my partners are. I will have four partners to whom I email my blog address. I will also get four blogs to check out. It is encouraged to post comments and actively participate. -- So look lively folks, we're about to get company. My paper craft swap is to make three Christmas cards and send them out. That should be fun. And my knitting swap is a winter scarf. This swap is a Europe only swap so I will "meet" two other European knitters (one that I send my scarf to and and one that sends a scarf to me).