Startitis

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

Well, that was fun! I usually have only one, maybe two projects on my needles, but sometimes I just have to give in to the urge to start more. And so I did.
I have no less than four projects going right now and I’m actually thinking about casting on for just one more…

The first one I cast on for was Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket. No, there are no (grand)baby’s in my immediate future, but I’ve always wanted to make one. And I figured I’d better start practicing before I’ve got baby’s to knit for.  Or something like that. I just wanted to try this.
I have to admit though, that I almost gave up on it. I had to start over a few times because I didn’t read the pattern right. But now I’m well on my way and enjoying seeing it grow.

My second project will hopefully turn out to be a swimsuit (or bikini) cover-up. I’m winging it, so I hope I get this right. It is a lovely soft cotton yarn though and I love knitting with it.

Next project in line is a simple shawl, knit in a lovely shiny (but slippery) cotton on needles that are a size or two too big, to create a light and see-through fabric.

And then, of course, there’s a hat. This was actually the first project I started after finishing the cowl, but then I got distracted with all my other ideas. I was going to do something creative with that ribbing and I hope I remember what it was when I get to it.

So, two out of four projects that I can actually use myself and around here. Not too bad, isn’t it? The baby jacket is knit in cotton too, so I may find myself a baby on the island to gift it to.
I am running out of project bags, by the way (must make more), but luckily my knitting bag is big enough to handle them all and even more (yes, I always keep a book I’m reading in my knitting bag too, don’t you?).

Beach party

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Last Saturday we spent an afternoon on the beach with friends. We had a bbq, drinks and lots of fun. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is what makes life here on the island so great.

I love the fact that this whole thing was “planned” only a week in advance (which was actually rather early, usually it’s just a few days). One couple brought up the idea and the location (San Juan beach – we’d never been there before) and asked who was coming, we made a bbq in the sand and everyone brought (way too much) food and drinks.

In Holland, it used to be so hard to plan a gathering with friends or family. You’d have to set a date weeks or even months in advance and it still would be hard to get everyone together in the same spot on the same date. It was often stressful to decide who to change the date for or not. Also, gathering inside most of the time, or in a (small – in The Netherlands we don’t have that much room) garden, means you have to be careful about how many people are actually coming.

Here, gathering with friends is so simple and relaxed. And that makes it so much (more) fun!

Current Cowl

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

I’ve loved this cowl/showl from the first time I saw it on Chris’ blog, and I was so happy when she send me the pattern (it’s not available online yet, I think). But of course, life got in the way of making it right away. And then I started, but let it sit for a while.
That was all my fault though. The pattern is written well and the instructions are quite clear. It’s also not the most difficult lace pattern to remember. I kind of had a hard time with all the counting for the increases, but that’s my problem completely (you know, headaches, sinusitis, knitting in company).
When I finally took some time to sit down and concentrate, it knit up like a dream.
I made the biggest size (V.3) and even though I think it’s supposed to be a bit larger, I love how it sits around my shoulders and I’m looking forward to wearing it, though that will probably mostly be when I’m in The Netherlands since this is acrylic yarn and it will be too hot most of the time.
Now I want to make one in cotton, so I can use it here.

I love…

~ Maggie ~ 6 Comments

In honor of Valentine’s day, I thought I’d list ten loves (besides my husband and children and family). Yes, I know that’s quite similar to yesterday’s post, but it never hurts to make more lists like these, especially when I don’t feel so well (both physically and mentally).
My life is really kind of wonderful, I just have to make myself see.
So here it goes:

I love

1. this house, the large garden and all it’s potential

2. the view from this house

(I didn’t say this would be new and original loves)

3. this silly cat, that makes our house just a little bit more like a home

4. my kitchen and all the things I (want to) make there

5. flowers! The one thing I do miss around here. Lots of green, but not too many flowers (most plants and trees bloom just for a few days).
I did plant bougainvilleas (they bloom year-round), but they’re struggling a bit. The desert rose is still going strong though (I’ve had flowers all year) and right now my aloes are blooming too.

6. laundry drying outside (year-round!)

7. weekend plans (happy hour, beach bbq with friends, some garden work and a lot of doing nothing)

8. papaya (not from my own trees yet, but I do love eating it – with a bit of lime juice)

9. blogging, because it helps me to think of happy things to share

10. you! because blogging is more fun when people are reading along

Three things that make me happy

~ Maggie ~ 6 Comments

(continuing this series, because focusing on what makes me happy is always the right choice)

1. being bitten by the knitting bug again.
I’m almost done with the Current Cowl and I’m about to give in to a serious case of startitis. Fun!

2. seeing T. being all excited about the new business he’s starting.
He’s always been very interested in solar installations. Reading about them, contemplating installations and working out the kinks has always been a hobby of sorts for him.
We had solar panels in The Netherlands for years and we have them here too. We’re even still off-grid here and though we’d like to be connected to the net for back-up power, recent islandwide outages have made us think we’d better invest in more solar panels and batteries. A lot of people we know are also very interested now (these outages last whole days!), so he decided now was probably the right time to start selling and installing off-grid solar installations. We’ll see how it goes.

3. looking forward to a shift in my workload.
That new business means there will be more administrative work to do for me (I already do all the bookkeeping and taxes and other occurring tasks for T.’s other businesses).
I’ve felt overwhelmed by work for a while now. Sometimes it’s slow, but when it rains, it pours. I often feel like I don’t have any time and/or energy left for household tasks and gardening, let alone writing books or sewing and things like that. And, to top it all off, it doesn’t pay very well (an hourly rate that is so low that I could never make a living out of it).
So we talked it over and decided that I’ll quit (or at least pause) the editing work I do for my publisher. If our new business is a success that won’t necessarily mean less work, but there will be fewer deadlines and it will mean work that is easier for me to plan and shift around.
Of course, taxes do have deadlines, but I won’t have to wait for others to decide when those will be (taxes have fixed deadlines) and I also don’t have to wait for others to do their jobs. No emailing back and forth with the publisher, authors, and graphic designers will save me such a lot of time (and stress)!
I will have to finish the editing jobs I already accepted though. One down, two to go.
Oh, the things I plan to do when I’m done!

Linking up with Carole’s Three on Thursday

A hat!

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been browsing the blog to make sure, but this seems to be my first finished knitting/crafty project this year. Oy! No wonder I feel off…
Anyway. This simple hat actually took me a while to knit, but it turned out just as I wanted it to be, a simple k2 p2 ribbing, followed by garter stitch. I love it! If we had the right temperatures for it, I would be wearing it a lot.
Now I’m secretly hoping the beginning of May (when we’re in Holland again) will be chilly enough to wear it (nah, not really! – I’ll safe it for December).

What I did:

CO 80 st.
K2 P2 to end of round
repeat until desired height

switch to garter stitch (alternating K rounds and P rounds)
repeat until desired height

start decreases:
SSK to end of round (40 st left)
P
SSK to end of round (20 st left)
P
SSK to end of round (10 st left)
pull thread through remaining stitches, weave in ends

Right now

~ Maggie ~ Leave a comment

Right now I am…

:: hearing the birds sing to welcome the new day
:: seeing the sky slowly getting lighter and the moon shining less brightly
:: remembering the beautiful full moon we enjoyed last weekend (that’s the moon in that picture!)
:: feeling a bit better than yesterday and a lot better than last weekend. I seem to be on the mend.
:: worrying about T. He’s got it bad now.
:: rather tired, because he was tossing and turning all night
:: thankful that I took the time to rest so that we’re not both sick right now
:: hoping he will be well soon too
:: also thankful for the news about my mother. She’s not having any treatments, but the cancer is growing much slower than expected. She’s still mobile and enjoying life as much as possible
:: not yet thinking about the work I have to do today
:: looking forward to some knitting first
:: wishing you all a great day!

A sick day (or three)

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

Last Friday, I felt seriously under the weather. I had been sniffing a bit throughout the week, but I woke up that morning with a sore throat and feeling feverish. Although the media assure us that The Virus is not on the island, I thought I’d better be safe than sorry and rest as much as possible (I tend to ignore colds).
That was actually really, really hard.
But I managed.

I did a little bit of laundry, some cooking and the dishes and I wiped down the toilet, but other than that, I just rested, read a book, browsed through the archives of soulemama.com*, did some knitting and drank a lot of tea and lime juice.

Did it help?
Well…

I intended to wake up Saturday and get back to work. My garden has been neglected since that one weekend and there were some other chores to do too. But I felt even worse than Friday, so I took another day off. And on Sunday I felt slightly better, but still not up to work.

So that one sick day turned into a long weekend. Oh well, I guess I needed it.
Today, I do feel better. Still not good, but at least up to some house and computer work. I’m still coughing and sniffing though. And now T. is still in bed, feeling sick…
I guess this won’t be a productive week.
Although all that sitting and resting is good for knitting. I almost finished that hat and I finally got a big part of the Current Cowl done too.
I may need to rest just a little bit more…

*yes, I know I’m obsessed, but her blog -especially the older posts – always make me feel happier, relaxed and more grounded

Postcards from Klein Curaçao

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

Klein (Dutch for little) Curaçao is a tiny island east of Curaçao. It’s symbolized by the smaller star in the flag.
Even though people always say going on a boat trip there is one of the things one should do when on Curaçao, we never did it. Until a few weeks ago. We took D. there and we had a wonderful day. We spent most of that day on the beach, just relaxing.
You know what was one of the best things about being on a small island? I couldn’t get off when I was done sitting and doing nothing, so I had to continue relaxing until it was time to go home. 😉

Three things that make me happy

~ Maggie ~ 8 Comments

1. I’m knitting a hat. Yeah, I know. I was going to knit things that could be useful to me and hats certainly are not (since I’m living on a Caribbean island and only visit colder regions a few weeks a year).
But I wanted to knit a hat. I love knitting hats (ha! I guess most of my readers are aware of that) and knitting is supposed to be fun. So here I go again.

2. The little basket on my table. We brought the basket from South Africa ten years ago and right now it’s filled with stones, shells and (dead) coral I find on the beach.

3. We won the battle with the wood-eating-bugs in our kitchen cupboard (it took us several months), so I finally got to put my stuff back into it again.

Linking up with Carole’s Three on Thursday