52 Knits // Hand-dyed socks

Pattern: my own

Yarn Used: about 60grams of hand-dyed sock yarn that I got on Granville Island

Needles: 2.5mm DPNs

Modifications:

Note: I have to admit that I was quite impatient to finish these so they turned out to be a size 6 or 7. Ooops. Oh well, some of my friends have small feet so these socks will be gifted to a lovely person with small feet ;)

This is project #10 of 52.

As part of my 2012 goals, I want to finish 52 knitted items this year. You can see all the items I knitted so far on my blog or on ravelry.

See knits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

52 Knits // Snappy Hat

Pattern: Snappy Hat by Corrina Ferguson

Yarn Used: less than one skein DROPS Andes (65% Wool, 35% Alpaca)

Needles: 7mm circular needles, 6mm DPNs

Modifications: none

Note: I needed an easy project for knitting club that I could knit while talking to the other girls so I decided to make a quick hat out of the skein of super bulky yarn I had left from the Burberry Inspired Cowl I knitted last year. It took a little less than one skein to make and I could've easily finished it in one evening if I had brought DPNs to knitting club. This hat will probably be a Christmas present - it's never too early to start making Christmas presents, right?

This is project #9 of 52.

As part of my 2012 goals, I want to finish 52 knitted items this year. You can see all the items I knitted so far on my blog or on ravelry.

See knits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8

UBC campus in the spring

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday. Unfortunately, most of my 'favorite spots' on campus are currently unaccessible because there are construction zones everywhere on campus. But I tried to capture some of the fresh spring atmosphere on campus.

Happy Sunday!

A Gorgeous Day

We've had a gorgeous day here in Vancouver - sunshine and above 10°C!
I decided to take the beautiful weather as an excuse to go outside and take some pictures of the campus instead of spending the day catching up on my readings. Although it wasn't really warm I decided to wear a cardigan with 3/4 sleeves. It was pretty chilly in the shade so after taking tons of pictures I went to Starbucks to get a soy vanilla latte ... soooo good. I'm gonna miss having several Starbucks coffee shops within walking distance of my home. I got the red leather bracelet at a thrift store in Santa Barbara last month - for $1! I love it and can't wait for summer when I can wear short sleeved tops every day because the bracelet is too bulky to wear it with a hoodie.

I'll post some pictures of the campus tomorrow - hope you've had a great day :)

52 Knits // Red Habitat Hat

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood

Yarn Used: Cascade Yarns 220 (100% wool)

Needles: 4.5mm and 5mm circular needles, 5mm DPNs

Modifications: none

Note: This is my second habitat - I wear the one I knitted last year almost every day and love it. When I saw the yarn on sale I couldn't resist the color (more accurate in the picture below, better pictures will follow). It takes quite some time to knit all the cables but it's definitely worth it - love love love the design.

I knitted more than just this one hat in the past weeks but I can't post the other projects yet because they are either presents or they wait to be wet blocked (as soon as I'm back in Germany...). I also continued knitting some of my WIPs (work in progress) but I'm thinking about frogging two of them :(

This is project #8 of 52.

As part of my 2012 goals, I want to finish 52 knitted items this year. You can see all the items I knitted so far on my blog or on ravelry.

See knits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Decisions, decisions...

One of the most important things I have learned since moving to Vancouver is that it's okay to make the wrong decisions. I made many decisions in the past years that I'm thankful for because I learned a lot from them. Eating the wrong foods, dating the wrong guys, procrastinating studying until two hours before the exam, getting the wrong hair cut and making the wrong friends are just some examples.

But that's okay. My hair will grow again, I found new awesome friends and I'll go back to my 'normal' body weight once I change my eating habits back to the German "I eat carbohydrates in form of bread all day but never gain weight" diet.

I have decided to transfer to a German university next year, probably even in my hometown Göttingen.  It was a really tough decision to make because I love everything about Vancouver and UBC. But after only a couple of weeks here I realized that my dream of studying and working in Canada was not worth spending all of my parent's savings and asking my family to give me a student loan(fyi, in Germany there's no such thing as student loans because we don't have tuition fees in most parts of Germany and banks won't give you a loan unless you work full-time.). So after many restless nights and long conversations with my friends and family I have decided to go back to Germany for my undergraduate program to save money and go abroad (hopefully to Canada <3) for graduate school.

I'm applying for a business program at the University of Göttingen and universities in Berlin. Living costs in my hometown are about 1/3 of the living costs in Vancouver and I'd get to see my friends and family whenever I want. Not to mention that the apartment I'd live in is close to campus and I'd live across the street from my best friend. And being able to borrow my parent's car from time to time would be convenient, too. It sounds fantastic but having to give up my dream (at least for awhile) is hard and hearing my friends talking about where they're gonna live next year, which courses they wanna take and their travel plans for the summer makes me incredibly sad and wish I could live this dream for just a little bit longer.

Something I love about living in Vancouver? You wake up and it looks like a cloudy, gray and rainy day but when you get out of class the sun is shining and the sky is blue and you're wondering how the weather can change completely within only 50 minutes. Yesterday was one of those days and I took a couple of pictures (yes, they were all taken on the same day.)

I usually go with my waterproof Timberland boots because they are the obvious choice most of the days but after lunch break I decided to switch them for my new Toms (seriously, I've been dreaming about wearing Toms for yeeears. But since they are overpriced in Germany (and Canada) and they never seem to be on sale purchasing them for $60+ was never an option. But when they had a sale last week I couldn't resist...shoe addict?!). Needless to say, 30 minutes later it was pouring rain and my feet were completely soaked. I guess the shoes have to get used to getting wet...

Although it's way too cold to talk about spring here, I found some hidden flowers on campus. Several friends asked me where I took the pictures because they didn't see any flowers on campus. Hah, guess you have to take a very close look to find them :)

I used to think of rain as something dreadful but after living in the Great North West for only half a year I got used to it and kind of missed it after one week of sunny California weather. Living here really makes you appreciate the warm and sunny days :) And Vancouver wouldn't be such an incredibly green city if it wasn't for all the rain.

Last but not least some awkward self portraits (I didn't take that scarf off since I got it... literally). I love my new $6 umbrella that I got at Target in Santa Barbara (why do they even sell umbrellas?! I guess only tourists buy them because they're cheaper than in places where you actually need them haha) and I finally got a UBC hoodie (although it was on sale, it was still overpriced. But it's sooo comfy!)

Anyways, hope you have a great weekend!
Lots of knitting time for me and hopefully some more sunshine so I can take some 'tourist pictures' in Vancouver

Oh my...

... how I wish I was sitting on a comfy couch with a cup of hot tea, a sleeping cat on my lap, watching a good movie and knitting one of these gorgeous patterns:

Photo Credit: Spring Thaw by Brooklyn Tweed

My heart melted when I saw the new designs - Jared Flood isn't only an incredible designer but also an awesome photographer. My favorite designs from the new lookbook are Quill, Oslo, Hege Mitts and the seasons hat.

I hope this inspiring lookbook brightens up your day. I'll spend the rest of the evening studying for my psychology midterm but the thought of having an almost homework free weekend with lots of time to knit makes me happy!

30 Days of Lists: March 2012 Update

My approach to the 30 Lists project is pretty minimalistic. Washi Tape, Markers and three bottles of paint is all I have here at the moment. But that's fine for me because it makes me try new things, e.g. doodling.

I hope you've had a great weekend :)


Curious about my 30 Days of Lists minibook from Septermber 2011? Click here.