Sunday 22 July 2012

Knitting challenges!

Hello everyone!

I'm home! After 4 months on board I'm back in Hamburg with Matt!
It's been a great time but I'm happy to have a little break! And little it is, I have 3 and a half weeks holiday before I start rehearsals again for my next ship! I'll be leaving the 1st of September, and will be going to the USA and Caribbean on my next contract!

I have never sailed this route so I'm very curious! We'll be visiting New York, Baltimore, Port Canaveral, Miami, Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Tortola, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, Isla Margarita, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba!

But enough ship talk, time for some projects!

Before I left for the ship I did some major knitting again! Well, it was pretty major for me, because I made my first ever sweater! I decided on a pattern by Jared Flood called Cobblestone.
It's a pretty basic sweater, but I really liked the way it looks and it didn't look too hard, all though I was a little bit scared...

So, I bought some lovely yarn from Cascade Yarns: Heathers, in a very muted blue color. Off I went to knit, knit knit! I knitted hours and hours in a row because I was so excited, and I have literally no patience at the beginning of a project! I got most of it done within a couple of days, but than I got a little bit lazy again. I find it hard to do something twice, for example the arms. After making one arm, I could get myself to make the other one, which is quite essential ;-) But I pushed through and got it all done!

The receiver was of course Matt! So I really hoped it would fit! And it did! A little bit of pulling it in shape on his body and all was good! He wore it for days in a row! I was so proud having finished my first sweater, and having Matt wearing it as well!

Another project I've made is a shawl. Another pattern I chose by Stephen West: Vulpix. I was so excited after seeing the pictures of this scarf, that I had to make it! I bought some yarn from Malabrigo: Arroyo. It's a little bit heavier weight than sock, but comes close. The feeling of the yarn is just amazing, and the stitch definition is beautiful! And than there's the rich and warm color of the red/brown!

The challenge of this scarf was working with Japanese short rows! I had safety pins hanging everywhere on my work, but somehow it all came together! The color work also wasn't as hard as it looked!

I started my Vulpix about a week before going on board, continued on the long bus ride to the ship and finished it in the first week on board! What a pleasure! Too bad that I had no room to block it on board, so I had to wait till I got back home! Yesterday evening I did my little blocking process and today it was already dry in the morning because of the sun shining through our windows!

It was a little bit hard to photograph since it's a very big big big scarf!


I actually did some more knitting and crocheting on board but I sadly have no pictures of my finished projects since I gave them away! I already asked one of the girls to send me some pictures of the product I made for her! The other girl I will see again on my next contract and will take some pictures of her wearing her new scarf then!

I'm going to enjoy my free time now and look forward to our holiday in Barcelona!
Have a lovely sunday everybody!

Dennis xxx
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Monday 16 July 2012

Iceland & Norway

Hello everyone!!!

Another little update about my adventures on board!

It's been almost 4 months now that I've been away and I'm counting the days! I'll be home on Saturday and I can't wait! It's been a lovely contract but it's always nice to go home again!

So, what have I been up to? Well, playing the shows every day of course, and visiting some more beautiful places here in the north! Oh yes, very beautiful indeed! Iceland is my favorite destination of this cruise we're doing.

Wanna see how beautiful Akureyri (a little city on Iceland) and it's surroundings are? Have a look!


Me at Godafoss Waterfalls

So Peaceful!

I could have spent all day here!

You see this a lot in Iceland!

Hot steam out of the earth!

The beauty of nature does not come without it's flaws: SMELLY!!!

Crazy jump shot!

With some of my lovely colleagues!

Oh yes! Iceland is beautiful. But we also visited Geiranger Fjord again, where I already got to spend some time last year! It's such a beautiful place in Norway! Everything green, waterfalls EVERYWHERE and the pure smell of nature! Such a lovely day again!!!

With my lovely colleague!

How very very lovely!

Me at the water!

And then there was the North Cape again! Well, this time I did not rent a quad, but stayed close to the ship! There was an ice bar there, and we decided to check it out! It was a little bit disappointing but still a nice experience!

BRRRRR COLD!

That's it again for now! Can't wait to come back home again and enjoy Barcelona with Matt!!! I think we can both really use it and we're very much looking forward to it! Of course you will read all about this when we're back!

Have a lovely week everyone, and thanks for all the lovely comments on my last travel post!

Dennis xxx
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Monday 9 July 2012

Silver Linings

Well hello there!!!! How are you all doing? It's been a little while since we all had time to sit down and chit chat chatter with each other, hasn't it? We're all here now though, so that's the main thing :-)
So what's new?

I've been going full steam ahead for the last couple of weeks, balancing school and work. I've got to be honest, I've questioned how much longer I can go on like this for. Exhausted is the word that comes to mind, plus I've been a little moody :-S
It's ok though, there appears to be a silver lining to my big tired cloud! It comes in the form of a HOLIDAY!!!
I've decided a week away from German school and work will do me some good. A silver lining in the form of a week in Barcelona with Dennis! I can not wait!!! Just two weeks to go!

Talking of silver linings!! It's been pouring with rain all day here in Hamburg. However, for a brief moment the clouds parted and the sky was a glorious bright blue, scattered with big fluffy clouds. I grabbed my camera to share the loveliness with you all!


What with feeling tired and having lots of other things on my mind It's been tricky to find project inspiration and ideas. Today the 'idea tap' switched back on again and is now flowing heavily!

I picked up some Zpagetti yarn whilst in the city today. It's a type of yarn made from off cuts of cotton fabric. I've been looking at this yarn for months and figured why not give it a try?


I couldn't resist taking a picture of it as if it were actual spaghetti! I'm a geek.......I know!


I haven't started making anything with it yet, but it looks like it's going to be fun to work with. I'll let you know how I get on.

I also picked up some gorgeous bright turquoise lace. I'm going to give making a light lace scarf a try. I was going to go for a more neutral colour but as its for a friend I let her decide on the colour she wanted. It's a very vibrant choice!


I'm very excited to give both of these new yarns a try. They couldn't be any more different from each other. It's yarn chalk and cheese.

One last thing to show......My mum picked up these buttons for me whilst on a trip to Bangkok.
They're so fun!!! Plus buttons are so expensive here in Hamburg, so It was lovely to receive them. I'll definitely put them to good use!



Now that I've shown you all of new yarn and buttons, hopefully I'll have some exciting projects to share with you soon. 
I'm going to go have a play with the Zpagetti yarn for an hour before settling in to bed with my new book. 
A dear frieed of mine bought this for me!!! SOOOOO sweet of him!!!! THANK YOU T.A!!! I can't wait to start reading it!!!
 

My Silver Linings:

1. Holidays in the sun with Dennis
2. My lovely yarn filled hobbies
3. My gorgeous family and friends
4. Blue skies with marshmallow clouds
5. You guys, our cheeky blog readers......thank you so much for taking the time to visit Dennis and I here on our blog, It means so much to us both!!!

Hope you have a week full of silver linings!!!
Matt xxx
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