The Third Chakra

The colour of the third chakra is yellow. The element is fire. It is the center of personal power and commitment. This is where the strength for inner balance, inspiration and good health is developed.

PS: How can it take so much commitment to sew on three buttons?

Pink & Purple Springtime Interlude

Sit down, have a rest, relax in the subtle sun and enjoy.

The Second Chakra

The second chakra is related to the element of water. Related to my about-to-be-finished-knitted-object it means taking it to the sink and giving it a good soak. The colour associated with the second chakra is orange - the way the water kind of looked after the soaking. And after I had randomly picked some towels for blocking the garment, I realized that I had automatically chosen two very familiar colours.



the usual suspects...

PS: The main theme connected to the second chakra is creativity.

The First Chakra

An unusual colour for me - actually the first red I have knitted so far. Most of the time I am drawn to pink and purple. From the yoga perspective red is the colour of the first chakra (energy center), the root chakra, located at base of the spine. It is connected with security, stability and the earth (ergo the earthy coloured buttons, I guess).
Seems like I need some nesting at the moment.

The First Red

Putting the last finishing touches on something springy-swingy...

Fresh & Organic 11

Spring has arrived in our vegetable box with the first red radishes.



other vegetables: carrots, potatoes, red bell pepper, avocado, batavia lettuce, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, tomatoes

fruit: apples, bananas, lots of kiwifruit, blood oranges, red plums

The Lifespan of Yarn Graffiti or How does it disappear?

As you might know, personal priorities differ in relationships.
Saturday morning at the breakfast table.
My husband says: "Oh, as I see you knitting, that reminds me that I also spotted some yarn graffiti yesterday, at the traffic lights when I picked up Clara from kindergarten..."

Me: "Thanks for telling the next day."

- no picture -

(all gone by today)

Knit the University

Word has spread. Last Night at Oldenburg Knit Night, Annkari (the soft knitting force behind our weekly meetings) mentioned more yarn graffiti she had seen near the university. But nobody in our circle has a clue who the yarn stormers are. The proximity to the university assumes that guerilla knitting students are around ...

Pink Guerilla

It wasn't me.



Last night on the way back from my Kundalini Yoga class:
Johanna (from Oldenburg Knit Night) and me were riding our bikes home when we stopped at some traffic lights and saw THIS! Imagine, two knitters seeing their first yarn graffiti. In Oldenburg, of all places.

It wasn't Johanna either.
Anyone?

Shakti Power

Shakti Power was the name of my weekend yoga retreat at the North Sea where I taught women's empowerment through Kundalini Yoga.



Shakti is the female creative energy and we had a wonderful retreat -
great women, inspiring atmosphere, fantastic sunny spring weather and
a magic full moon Saturday night. Besides all the intensive yoga work we still had enough time for a long walk at the sea.













One yogini (the female form of a yogi) said she could see my aura - it was white, orange and, of course, pink!

PS: Happy and sunny (inside & outside) first day of spring to you all!
I saw a first yellow butterfly today.

Fresh & Organic 10

What is the difference between this picture and the other vegetable boxes?

The photo was taken by the man in the house while I was away on a weekend yoga retreat.

Fruit: apples, pears, oranges, mango, bananas

Vegetables: potatoes, onions, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, corn salad, mushrooms, egg tomatoes, red ball pepper, mini cucumber

The organic veggie yoga vibe can go on!

Silence

Japan

Over the last couple of days since the terrible events took place in Japan and shocked every one of us, I have been thinking about my connection to Japan and what I could do. I didn't have to look far. I found the answers right before my eyes and in my hands. Most of my recent projects were knitted with Japanese Noro yarn.



the Lanesplitter skirts



and my Multnomah shawl

my wall organizer is Japan-inspired





I drink Japanese green tea with roasted rice



and my last fabric and appliqué purchase has Japanese elements, too.





And even if I can't do much, I can put a healing thought for the Japanese people and our earth in every stitch I knit with my Noro yarn.
We are all connected.

Sew Knit

During my fabric filled weekend I started thinking about sewing and knitting, and knitting and sewing, the differences and the similarities between those two crafts and what they might mean to me and other craftistas. I found out:

There are knitters.
There are seamstresses.

There are knitters, who also sew.
There are seamstresses, who also knit.

There are knitters, who never sew.
There are seamstresses, who never knit.

One element seems to be predominant.



I am a knitter, who sometimes sews. Knitting seems to come more naturally to me. I learned to knit and crochet as a child and started sewing last year. It is as if knitting and sewing take up different areas of my brain.

Knitting relaxes me through continuous automatic movements and my wandering thoughts, for sewing I need to be absolutely focused but I can also get into a flow. For sewing you have to work quite correctly, where as some knitting allows some sloppiness (not talking about lace). Also: knitting can be more social (talking while knitting), easier to fix mistakes, portable and couch comfort adaptable.

What are your experiences?

(Ravelry "Sew Knit" discussion can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/sew-obsessed/1576165/1-25#17)

Two Buttons

On Mondays after my mama & baby yoga class I am near this yarn shop.



I just wanted to buy two tiny buttons to get over my SSS.

I got all of this.



The friendly lady who owns the shop gave me the buttons for free.



Like last time...

Spinster

And now?

Vintage Weekend

Lots of family fun and loads of fabrics this weekend.
(This is going to be a long post.)

To make space for all the new stuff that was about to come into our house I eventually found the time to do something that had been on my list for a while - declutter our wardrobes in Clara's room. I took radical measures - empty all the contents of the closet.



So much more fun with the help of two lovely ladies.




And my parents' she-dog.
(the men were watching sports in the living room)

Before:





And after:





Very proud.

The thrifting could start!



Clothes from a church sale on Saturday (remind me of Clara's Clothes...).

A couple of weeks ago in my chatter from the sewing box I kind of asked the blogging universum for a knitting basket. I got an answer from a basket that had been in an attic for twenty years (my parents').



A knitting bag full of vintage fabrics from the Eighties from the East (Soviet Union, bought by my mama) and the West (Western Germany,
I had a grandaunt who was a textile designer, the basket is also a one of her gifts).

And then my grandaunt Ilse, who was also very well-traveled, went to the Soviet Union and bought these tunics (the left one is hand embroidered with cross stitch).



Those tunics were only available in hard currency shops called "Beryoska"("little birch").

Filled with these fabulous fabrics I thought I was pretty immune to the big Dutch fabric market (more about it in this post) that comes to Oldenburg twice a year.










Pretty immune.

PS: A new entrant to the Doll Couch. For weeks and weeks I have been hearing a certain b-word over and over from Clara. So I said: if Barbie, then thrifted.


befitting her rank on the vintage chaise longue