Os presentes vêm sempre juntos / Presents always come in pairs

Pois é, esta semana começou e terminou com presentes: na segunda deram-me uma máquina digital, e hoje recebi uma encomenda da minha SP! Segue-se a foto e os meus comentários... (Sobre a minha prendinha para a SP-r não posso falar, é segredo!)

This has been a good week! On Monday I received a digital camera, and today I received a package from my SP! Here is the photo. (I cannot talk about my SP-r package, it's a secret!)



São três meadas de mistura algodão/acrílico, macio, de uma cor indefinida entre o laranja, o salmão e o tijolo. É mais claro do que a foto mostra. Eu gosto! Quando tiver tempo (que me vai faltando :( ), será para um top de Verão, ainda não decidi qual. (Quantos metros serão?) Por cima delas, um bilhete da minha SP. À frente, dois postais do Porto, cidade que está no meu coração... E finalmente, um envelope cheio de "selos" do SP5. Obrigada, amiga!

Three skeins of cotton/acrylic yarn. It's soft, the colour is nice, I like it. It's lighter than the photo suggests. When I have more time, I will knit a summer top with it. A note from my SP, and two postcard from Porto, a city I love. And the package was full of SP5 "stamps". Thanks, pal!

Mais info SP5 / More SP5 info

As my SP5 is a Portuguese-speaking knitter, and as I'm tired, I will write this only in Portuguese.

Olá, cara SP5. Lembrei-me de algumas coisas que me esqueci de dizer no questionário, e de uma ou outra correcção. Podia mandar-te um mail, mas vou dizer-tas aqui mesmo, no blog/blogue.

a) Afinal a minha pele permite-me uma percentagem um pouco superior de angorá. Verifiquei, e a tal camisola tem 30% de angorá. É bem macia, e só me causa problemas quando tenho uma crise e a pele já está demasiado sensível. Mas uma vez experimentei tricotar com uma linha que continha 60% de angorá, e essa causou-me alergia ao fim de uns 10 ou 15 metros a passar pelo meu pescoço...

b) Lembrei-me de três aromas que aprecio muito e que me escaparam da primeira vez: mel, erva doce e anis.

c) Falando de anis, desde a infância tenho um fraquinho terrível por doces de anis. Era muito fácil a minha mãe descobrir se era eu ou o meu irmão quem andava a comer rebuçados às escondidas: se fosse eu, desapareciam só os de anis. Outra coisa que gosto é de doces com brandy ou rum.

d) Acerca das lãs de que não gosto, esqueci-me de referir que não gosto de lãs muito muito grossas (quando ouço falar ou vejo agulhas de 15 ou 20 mm quase fico arrepiada), e que raramente aprecio a chamada eyelash yarn, lã com pêlos compridos pendurados dela. Só se for para um pormenor nos punhos ou no cós, ou talvez no colarinho (se não me causar alergia). Uma excepção: um dia, quando souber tricotar melhor, hei-de fazer um ou outro boneco em tricot e talvez a lã com pêlos compridos possa ser útil.

Um beijo à minha SP!

As minhas linhas / My stash

Já sabeis que não tenho máquina (mas terei...) donde não há fotos. Fica a descrição por palavras. Sim, porque o meu stock de linhas é tão pequeno que o posso descrever por palavras :( . Mas irá aumentando!

1) Alguns novelos do trapilho (o tal do casaco-UFO). Suficientes para o terminar e talvez para sobrar um pouco. A linha até é gira, mas o casaco não me está a "encher as medidas" como as outras malhas que já fiz. E gosto pouco de tricotar com linhas-fita.

2) Alguns novelos de lã bouclé, uns amarelos e outros brancos. Antigos, da minha mãe, e nenhuma de nós sabe a marca ou a composição. Parece ser lã com um fio fino de acrílico ou nylon a entrelaçar os bouclés. Hei-de fazer uma camisola às riscas com esta linha. Talvez no próximo Inverno.

3) Alguns novelos de lã mohair rosa forte comprados nos anos 80. Suficientes para fazer uma camisola. A marca de linhas ainda existe, mas a cor já não. Talvez os combine com uns novelitos (incompletos) da mesma mohair, de cor pérola e cor de vinho. Para mais tarde.

4) Aquisições recentes: dois novelos de Schoeller Esslinger Merino Soft em cor de tijolo (Arabesque). Para fazer um cachecol surpresa para a minha mãe (espero que ela não descubra o meu blog!). Um novelo de lã mesclada em azul (lã de meias) com a qual comecei um pequeno cachecol simples para continuar quando vejo TV. 240 metros de uma lã cinzenta muito fininha para descobrir se gosto de trabalhar com agulhas menores que 3 mm.

5) Uns mini-novelos de uma linha que encontrei em saldo noutro dia. Dois lilás, um azul claro, um verde seco escuro e três rosa. 60% algodão e 40% acrílico, macia. Custou-me à roda de 3 euros e tenho cerca de 400 a 500 metros. Vou fazer um top de Verão, às riscas, para mim. Se ficar esquisito, paciência, pelo menos foi barato...

6) Dois novelos de um acrílico horroroso que comprei à pressa para um projecto de caridade porque as cores eram bonitas. Desfia imenso, e os pontos notam-se pouco, mas pelo menos não é demasiado áspero. Talvez faça com ele um saco para o saco de água quente.

7) Meio novelo de lã preta.

8) Amostrazinhas (de 10 m cada uma) de dois clubes de amostras que eu subscrevi. Para experimentar muitas lãs de uma só vez. Cada mês mandam-me 4 amostras (cada clube) que dão mais ou menos para um quadrado 10x10 cm.

9) E a lã de Arraiolos, para os tapetes. Não para tricotar, pelo menos enquanto não terminar os tapetes.

É tudo. Só tenho isto!
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As I don't have a camera (I will have...) there will be no photos. I will describe my stash in words. Yes, my stash is so small I can describe it in words :( . But it will grow!

1) Some balls of the printed ribbon (of the UFO-cardigan). Enough to make it, and maybe more. I like the look of the yarn, but have not fell in love with the cardigan as I always fall in love with my knitting works. And I'm not very fond of knitting with ribbon yarn.

2) Some balls of bouclé wool, a few yellow and the rest pearl-white. Their were from my mother, very old, and none of us remembers the brand name or the composition. It seems to be mostly wool with a thin acrylic strand around the bouclés. I will make a pullover with this yarn. Maybe next winter.

3) Some balls of mohair wool, fucsia pink, bought in the 80's. Enough to make a pullover. The brand still exists, but the colour has been discontinued. I have two small balls of the same mohair, one in white and one in bordeaux, and maybe I will use them in some detail. Later on.

4) Recent acquisitions: two balls of Schoeller Esslinger Merino Soft in brick colour (Arabesque), to make a surprise scarf for my mother (I hope she doesn't find this blog!). A blue variegated/striped yarn ball in blue (sock yarn) with which I started a small simple scarf to knit when I watch TV. 240 meters of a very thin grey yarn to see if I like too knit with needles thinner than 3 mm.

5) Some mini-balls of a yarn I found in sale some weeks ago. Discontinued colours. Two in lavender, one in sky blue, one in dark olive green and three in pink. 60% cotton and 40% acrylic, a soft yarn. I paid around 3 euros for between 400 and 500 metres of yarn. I will make a summer stripey top to me. If it ends up weird, at least I did not pay a lot for it...

6) Two balls of a horrible acrylic I bought without thinking, to a charity project, because the colours were pretty. It's very splitty, doesn't have stitch definition, but at least it's not scratchy. Maybe to make a hot water bottle cover.

7) Half a ball of black wool.

8) Small samples (10 m each) of two yarn samples clubs I have subscribed, so I can try a lot of yarns. Each month they send me 4 samples (each club) with which I can knit more or less 10x10 cm.

9) The wool to the Arraiolos carpets. I will not knit with it, at least not while I don't finish the carpets.


That's all. My very little stash...

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O que se passa com o Gmail? / What's the matter with Gmail?

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Dar e receber/Giving and receiving

Já fui contactada pela minha Secret Pal (abreviatura SP). E já contactei a pessoa de quem eu sou Secret Pal (abreviatura SP-r, de Secret Pal receiver, não me ocorreu nada mais imaginativo).

A minha SP parece simpática (também a pessoa que é SP-r parece simpática, mas não posso falar muito dessa pessoa para manter o meu anonimato, no improvável caso dessa pessoa ler o meu blog...). E hoje a minha SP enviou-me um postal virtual com esta imagem deliciosa:



Além de toda a gente (ou quase) gostar de dar e receber surpresas, esta iniciativa tem muitos pontos a seu favor: 1) como temos um interesse importante em comum, é fácil trocarmos prendas que sabemos que a outra pessoa vai apreciar, e que ela vai usar; 2) permite fazermos amigos online; 3) no meu caso, está-me a parecer que vai ser um incentivo para eu mesma aumentar o meu stock de linhas e tricotar mais... porque ao pensar em linhas para oferecer à pessoa minha SP-r, vou descobrindo linhas que eu quero experimentar.

E vou começar a actualizar mais frequentemente o meu blog, que a minha SP não me pode conhecer se eu não o fizer!

--------------------------
I have already been contacted by my Secret Pal (acronym SP). And I have already contacted the person whose Secret Pal I am (acronym SP-r, Secret Pal receiver. I know it's a weird name...)

My SP looks nice (my SP-r also looks nice, but I should not speak a lot about that person so that I can remain anonymous, in case my SP-r some day stumbles into my blog). And today my SP sent me a virtual postcard with the wonderful picture above.

I believe everybody (almost) likes giving and receiving surprises. But there are other good points in this initiative (sp?): 1) as we all have a common interest (an important one!), it's easy to exchange presents that the other person will like, and will use; 2) it's a chance to make friends online; 3) in my case, I believe it will be a good reason to make me increase my (very small) stash and knit more... because when I start thinking what to give to my SP-r, I find lots of yarns I want to try out myself.

And I will start to post more frequently here, or else my SP will not get to know me!

Secret Pal 5 answers

I will post this only in English, I don't feel like translating this into my mother-tongue.

SP5 Questions/Answers

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

Of course I prefer higher quality, and mostly natural fibers. But I don't think of myself as a yarn snob. And as my budget is somewhat tight, I cannot be a snob. I have knitted with acrylic and found it satisfying (it was a good acrylic). I discovered some time ago that I don't usually like ribbon yarns, and I don't like splitty yarns either. Other than that, I have a slight skin problem. I cannot wear scratchy yarns, or my skin will get red and itchy. Please see the entry on allergies.

I also usually prefer yarns that knit with needles 3mm to 8 mm.
But still, I'm not picky. The most important thing is that the yarn shouldn't be rough on the skin. All the rest is secondary.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I crochet. I have one big crocheting project in hands. I don't usually crochet with wool, though. And I don't usually crochet clothes.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

I don't like the smell of smoke, but I'm not allergic to it. I have a skin problem (a mild one). So I cannot wear fibers which are not smooth. And I should prefer natural fibers, but I have found (trial and error) that some artificial fibers work great for me. The important thing is: they should be soft. Oh, and I remembered: they should not have a high percentage of angora. I have a sweater with 10% angora, and I can wear it with no problem, but a 50% angora yarn might be troublesome to me.

4. How long have you been knitting?

I don't know. I learned when I was a child, but soon lost my interest. I got interested again more or less 5 years ago, I think.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Because of my skin problem, I must be careful with things I use on my skin. (If you wish to send me a bath product, choose it like it was to a baby sensitive skin). Anyway, I like vanilla, cinnamon, almond, apple, mint (but please no mint-smelling bath products: potentially aggressive to my skin), pine, lavender, frankincense, rosemary... I don't usually like strong, heady scents (oriental-like).

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Yes. In chocolate realm, I LOVE dark chocolate (the darker and the more bitter the better) and hate white chocolate. I like bittersweet and sour candy, also. I don't like excessively sweet things.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Cross-stitch, half cross-stitch, Arraiolos rug making (I have made 1 and a half small rugs... I wish I had more free time!).

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD)

Yes, my computer can play MP3. I don't own a stereo. My radio/CD player cannot play MP3, though.

I like classical music, especially choral. I love sacred music (ancient, medieval, gregorian chant, baroque...), and also some profane music from the same periods. I don't like the pop gregorian phenomena (sp?) though. I'm curious for byzantine and orthodox sacred music. I also like heavy metal, and rock. Some examples: I own all Metallica CDs prior to 1994 (I don't like their new style). I like the newest Rammstein albums (Mutter and Reise, Reise), but not the older ones. I LOVE Queen, every single album of them. But the safest bet is sacred choral music.

And I'm starting to like soundtracks of movies (the orchestral ones, like LOTR or Star Wars).

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?

I usually prefer secondary, complex colors. But I also have some primary colors clothes. An example: I don't usually like orange, but I love rust color. And I have one orange T-shirt.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Single (and available ;) ), sharing a house with 3 other girls (I would prefer living alone, but my budget does not allow it). I don't have pets, and will not have them until I can afford living alone.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Being happy. Building a family with someone that brings out the best of me, and bringing out the best of him. Finding a job that allows me not to share a house (the other girls are nice, but...) unless I choose to do that, and that I can wake up every day looking forward to another day at work. Making people happy around me. Being a better person, and a better Christian.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Yarns that knit with 2.5 mm to 5 mm needles. Really, I prefer finer yarns!
But I still like yarns up to 8 mm needles... I don't usually like ribbon yarns, but once I knit a sample of a ribbon yarn I liked.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Scratchy fibers. Splitty yarns.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

I don't think I have any.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Don't know. I'm knitting scarves now, because I'm very busy and not having time for bigger projects, but I like sweaters and cardigans as well. And I have plans to design and knit a simple top soon...

17. What are you knitting right now?
Scarves (2). And also Yarn of the Month samples and Elann samples :)

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)

I cannot understand them. Nobody wears ponchos here since the 70s, anyway.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

I have never knitted with circular needles yet. Because I don't own any and in the special kind of needles I use they are harder to find.
See below.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer aluminum coated with a greyish enamel. They are called INOX, I believe it's the brand name.
But I use an unusual kind of knitting needles: needles with a hook.
I knit the way everybody else does, but I use this kind of needles. I could not find a picture of straight knitting needles with hook, so I will illustrate with double pointed needles and a picture of the hook.

My mother and my grandmother, and all my family knit with needles like these, and I cannot knit well with other kinds of needles. My mother owns DPN and circular ones, all with hooks in the ends.
So, please do not send me needles unless they have a hook like the ones above.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

No. My mother can knit socks, though, and as soon as I can, I will buy DPN (with hooks) to try.

22. How did you learn to knit?

My mother taught me, and I keep learning by reading online references.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

3 years old, I think.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Favorite animal: cat. Favorite mythological animal: dragon. Favorite animated character: I don't know. Favorite movie character: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. I love his duality. I also love the Star Wars universe...

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter (I'm Christian!). But also Christmas Eve, a strong holiday in my country.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Coins. But I believe sending money in mail is forbidden. Illustrated postcards, written and unwritten.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None. (Tight budget...)

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Some good knitting reference books (any suggestions welcome!). The Star Wars books, also. Hard-core theology books, especially the ones from John Paul II/Karol Wojtyla (I know I'm weird...). I can read fluently in English.

I am looking forward to contacting my SP and also my SP match (the person I will be sending gifts), but I haven't been contacted yet...

Secret Pal 5

Vou entrar nisto. Parece divertido!

I will be participating. It seems fun!