Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Holiday Preparation

With two more weeks to go, things are getting serious... filling out forms, finding passports, test-putting up tent... For me, the first serious sign for the getting-mentally-prepared-process is choosing my knitting projects for the holidays.



And as knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmermann says in the Knitter's Almanac, shawls make great traveling companions.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Fresh & Organic 19

EHEC-free organic delivery:



Countries of origin:
Germany: potatoes, kohlrabi, spring onions, red radishes, Batavia lettuce, strawberries, Savoy cabbage, mushrooms, cucumber

Spain: water melon

Italy: cherry tomatoes

Ecuador: bananas

Thursday, May 26, 2011

More Jewelry



I have become a regular customer at the new bead shop down the road. And with the birthday of one of my mother-in-laws, a great chance to create something special. In autumn I knitted this shawl for her.



With the red-and-black-colour-combination in mind I set out to make her matching earrings.



with little pink roses



And then I thought a necklace would be nice, too.



A perfect little gift, I think.



PS: My other mother-in-law gets the recently finished Multnomah Noro. For Christmas. Or probably earlier, within the next days. There can be cool Northern German nights. But that's another story.

PS II: No, I am not married to two different men. It is my father-in-law who remarried.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Day Off



With my real life voice nearly completely gone, I need to recharge my batteries for the four yoga classes I am teaching on Wednesday...
What is a yoga teacher without a voice?

Fortunately, I don't have to talk too much from Friday to Sunday when I will attend the First German Kundalini Yoga Festival, which is happening just around the corner from here. Just get inspired!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Work in Progress

Knitting...



Blankets... more for winter... (???)



How I photograph things:



What it usually looks like around the picture in focus...



Current sewing progress...



more for summer... (!!!)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Doll Couture

Weekends are becoming doll dressing days. I discovered the German edition of the French book Vetements de poupées: Crochet et couture
by Carole Atzu. Now I am prepared for all wishes and occasions.

I chose a little crochet cardigan.



I don't know, but maybe it is because the designer is French, even crochet looks classy, reminding me of bouclé. A very thick texture; I used nearly two 50g skeins of cotton yarn, the cardigan seems to weigh more then the doll. But a couture result!



The buttons come from a thrifted and then felted cardigan.



I did some modifications of the original pattern: two coloured, the buttonholes are smaller, the sleeves five rows shorter and I added the bottom edging. My crochet hook was a size 2,5 instead of a size 2. And so it fits Clara's Waldorf doll who is taller then the 30 cm dolls the clothes of the book are designed for. Ravelry notes here.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Fresh & Organic 18



Unpacked and in random order:

potatoes, carrots, bananas, cucumber, apples, red bell pepper, zucchini, Batavia lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, apricots, red radishes, onions, spring onions, kiwifruit

Friday, May 20, 2011

Beautiful / Practical

That is what my stitch markers used to look like:



Practical. They served their purpose within their aesthetic usefulness.

A couple of weeks ago a new Bead Shop opened in Oldenburg and nearly every day I was cycling by, but the opening hours of the shop didn't coincide with my schedule. I have not really worked with beads before (not speaking of the children's kind of play with wood and plastic beads).
I had stitch markers in mind I had seen with fellow knitters and on the Internet. I found this helpful German tutorial here.

Yesterday I also found a time gap and got started.



The owner of the shop was even so nice as to lend me the tools for a day.



Ready in a couple of minutes at the end of a busy yoga day.



And sooo beautiful.
I went to bed with a happy feeling and new glittery ideas.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Long Road to Multnomah



I am here. Multnomah. Not the county, but the finished shawl. Starting the trip on January 3rd I arrived there last Wednesday, at last. Two skeins of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn. The shawl in progress was carried around, taken to the Bremen Town Musicians and waited patiently while I was facing the mental challenge of skeins of wool that didn't seem to get smaller and endless rows.



But then, while watching the six-hour-marathon Royal Wedding of Wool & Cake and knitting, I began to see the finishing line.



I have never been to Multnomah County and don't know what the landscape looks like, but my Multnomah is vast (a wingspan of 173 cm or 5' 8'') with long plains of garter stitch and soft rolling hills.



Breathe out.

(Ravelry notes here)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sunday: A Bug's Life at the Museum

International Museum Day - and also an Open Day at the museums in our city. Clara and me went to the main art museum, the Horst Janssen Museum Oldenburg.



What could be better on a cool Sunday afternoon, especially when a special children's programme is offered.



Inspired by a bug the Oldenburg born artist Janssen had painted on a paperboard plate, the children could do the same.



Using feathers, buttons, different kinds of paper and cardboard, glitter, ribbon...



And some time for mama to have a coffee and browse through some art magazines. Happy mama.



Happy child.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Fresh & Organic 18



Fruit: rhubarb, pears, plums, bananas, apples

Veg: potatoes, kohlrabi, cucumber, carrots, May turnips, mushrooms, watercress, Batavia lettuce, cherry tomatoes, leak, red bell pepper

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Knitting Summit

This morning after my Business Yoga class at Oldenburg University, two important people met for the first time: Annkari, "head" of Oldenburg Knit Night and let's call her XX, head, hand and heart of the Oldenburg Yarn Guerilla. Hope to see great results!