Month: January 2018

I took my knitting to the Caribbean

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

So this “thing” I’ve been hinting about for a while now… I have been writing blogposts in my mind for days now and I’m not sure what exactly to tell about it.

The good stuff is simple.

The good part goes like this: hey, we’ve temporarily moved to a tropical island to live and work there until the end of March. And we’re probably going to move here permanently within a few years.

Yes. We’re back on our lovely island in the Dutch Caribbean, Curaçao. (If you’re new here and curious about previous visits, you can read about them here – if you’re wondering how Curacao is on the other side of the world but still sort of in our own country; I found this wonderful and funny video explaining it all (and also the difference between Hollanders and Dutch – I’m both)

So what’s the bad part, you ask? To make a long story short: I’m worried about my husband’s health (though he does feel better in the tropics) and I feel guilty about being 8000 kilometers away from my family. I have to admit though, being here again feels good. It’s hard to describe. It’s a sense of belonging, feeling home.

People say about this island you either love it or you hate it. I”ve loved it and all it’s quirks and faults since I first set foot on it five years ago. I always cry when we leave and I teared up when I saw the first glimpses of it from the plane just before landing (our last visit was a very short week in May 2015).

Anyway. We’re here now and we’re trying to work out the kinks. Meanwhile I try to enjoy our time here as much as I can. We’re staying with friends in the most luxury apartment we’ve ever stayed in and the view from our porch is stunning. I plan to enjoy the much simpler housekeeping here and to write a lot, figure out where to go with my blogs, my novel writing and my dreams of earning some money with that (since we’d love to buy a house here).

One more important issue: can one knit here? The answer is simple: yes! I did that before. I also knew I’d go crazy here without knitting since I tried that a few years ago. That time I didn’t bring any knitting and I found out buying yarn here is a challenge, so this time I packed 11 skeins, at least enough to make a hat a week. I’m going to look around to see if I can buy yarn somewhere. I guess wool is too hot, but cotton could be nice. My husband promised me to find a way to import yarn if we end up living here permanently.

I have to be careful what yarn to bring, since 100% synthetic tends to melt a bit, which makes it hard to work with. Wool, wool blends and cotton work fine though.

I’m working on the third hat right now.

 (linking up with Jeannie Gray Knits’ Maker’s Monday)

Right now

~ Maggie ~ Leave a comment

Right now I am…

:: thinking I should not be writing a right now post a few days ahead of time

:: trying to accept that I have to do it this way to prevent myself from stressing out

:: smiling at myself for knowing that my word for 2018 “Relax” is chosen so well

:: feeling sad that the last two weeks were far from relaxed, but trying to accept that I’m a work in progress and that’s alright. I’m only human

:: still feeling a bit uneasy about the things happening in my life right now, but also feeling excited about it.

:: promising to talk about these things next week. I’m not trying to be secretive, I’m just having a hard time with some changes around here and need to work things out before telling the whole wide world about it 😉

:: finishing my second hat

:: looking forward to casting on for the next one

:: reading a cozy mysterie (The Patchwork Puzzler) and enjoying it very much

:: not even able to remember how many times I tried to take a picture every day. I never made it through a whole year. But it’s fun to try.

Here’s my first week.

I was going to pick a favorite, but I can’t. I like the one of my glasses on my planner, but I also think the one from my parent’s church is quite nice. And that leaf on my honeysuckle (way too early!) isn’t too bad either. What’s your favorite?

:: wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

52 hats :: 1 – True Blue

~ Maggie ~ 14 Comments

Well, the first one is done. So I’m off to a good start.

I had this linen/cotton blend in my stash (a thrift shop find) and thought it would be an even better start to use that first. I was going to do something more intricate, but the uneven yarn worked better in a simple design (I frogged my first attempt).

 

Hmn. I guess that’s all I have to say about it right now. So, so busy, but I can’t seem to get myself talking about the hows and whys before the thing I’m so busy preparing for is actually a fact. So stay tuned for that… 😉

Edited to add: Want to join me in my challenge to knit 52 hats/one hat every week (if you start later) this year? Let me know in the comments. If enough people decide to join I could create a weekly or monthly link-up. Or I could just be the mad hat knitter again and do a hat link up every week, without commitment to a challenge. Could be fun. Any thoughts on this?

Linking up with Frontier Dreams’ Crafting On

The last hat (from 2017 that is)

~ Maggie ~ 3 Comments

Thanks for coming over to my new blog! Some things still need tweaking, but that will take some time and I’m very busy with other things at the moment. So I hope you will excuse broken links and messy layouts. I will take care of it, eventually.

Even though it was a (very,very) slow knitting year, this last hat (I finished it on New Years Eve around nine, so it was a close call) makes nine hats in 2017. On a total of twelve knitting projects (the other three being dishcloths), that’s still a lot of hats I guess.

I already mentioned I love this yarn (I made this hat with it too) and I’m also in love with the fancy stitch I used on the brim.

I found my grandmother’s knitting book in a box of forgotten stuff when I helped my parents downsize. My mother happily parted with it when I asked I could have it.
It’s full of fun stitch patterns like this. I’m looking forward to work through all of them.

(linking up with Ginny from Ginx Craft and Jeannie Gray Knits’ Makers’ Monday

{Yarn along} a hat, romance and DIY

~ Maggie ~ 5 Comments

Knitting :: a hat. Of course. Though I still don’t think it would be wise to commit to the idea of making a hat a week, I did start one. So who knows? I really like that yarn (a thrift store find). It’s a dark, but rich blue linen/cotton blend. It may end up as a gift for my father. And yes, that would mean a good start for another knitting goal.

Reading :: a romance novel. I like it. It’s a fun, simple read. But I’m intrigued by the fact that though the author is Dutch, the characters and the setting are British/Australian. It reads like a translated novel and I think that’s a good marketing choice (we Dutch tend to prefer foreign authors). Something to think about for my next novel I guess… (a quick internet search on the author reveals that her next books are set in Holland though. So maybe it didn’t work out the way I thought it would.)

I’m also reading Young House Love. I have read their blog for years, but never bought any of the books (no budget). I was very happy to discover both books are included in the e-book “library” I recently subscribed to. I have to admit, a book like this is probably not really suitable for an e-reader, but it’s good enough for a bit of browsing. I think I’ll try reading it on my computer next, especially if it turns out I want to try some of the DIY projects in it. Linking up with Ginny of Small Things’ Yarn along

Happy 2018! (and some knitting goals)

~ Maggie ~ 1 Comment

Happy New Year!

(fireworks in surrounding villages – our tradition is to go outside and watch others set fire to their money 😉 )

I’m always excited to start a new year. I love a clean slate. I have to admit though that the last few years I find that transitioning into a new year is a lot like traveling: you can’t leave yourself behind.
I woke up on January 1st feeling all excited about the new year, only to realize that I was very tired (since we traditionally start a new year by going to bed real late). We had a slow morning and in the afternoon we picked up two of the girls to go visit my parents (a one hour drive away from us). My brother was at my parent’s too and we talked for a while. That’s something we usually don’t seem to get to, so that was good. But his life isn’t easy at the moment, and I found that our conversation resonated through my night.
One day into the new year and here I was, worrying my sleep time away. Got to work on that, I guess. I tell myself that it would be alright to worry if that would really help someone, but since it doesn’t, it’s a waste of time.
My word for 2018 is “relax” and that’s not an easy goal.

Anyway. Knitting. I spent the afternoon of the 31st unpicking and frogging this sweater. It’s funny to look at that picture, since I don’t look that fat on it, but that sweater was way too big on me now. It looked ridiculous, so I never wore it anymore. And since I got that (very expensive) yarn as a birthday present from my husband, I decided to give it a second chance.
First I wanted to make a smaller sweater, but it’s a combination of silk and wool with a lovely drape. I’m not sure that drape will work for a fitted sweater (it was a bit of a problem the first time around). So I’m making a shawl now (also eliminating the size problem if I put on weight again or loose even more).

I finished the second green hat on New Year’s eve, but that one will get it’s own post. My knitting plans for 2018:

  • finish that shawl
  • make myself a sweater/cardigan that fits
  • or maybe two (one to wear when working in the garden (my shalom is way too big too – even after shrinking it deliberately), one to wear inside if I’m cold)
  • hats. It’s not a good example of being relaxed to commit to challenges, so maybe I shouldn’t, but I’m still contemplating a “52 hats” challenge this year. I bought some yarn to start, so maybe I’ll just give it a (relaxed) try.
  • gifts. I would love to be able to start giving handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas again. That’s a bit of a challenge too since the first birthday is my father’s, this Saturday.

Hmn… See where this is going? Too much commitment, too much stress… You know what? Scratch all that. This year I’m going to knit what I want and when I feel like it. Relax!

So, do you have a word for the year?
Any big knitting plans?

p.s. I deleted my ravelry account last year and regretted that ever since, so I started a new account. You can find me here (username “maggienas”).

Linking up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams’ Crafting on