Absolutely Great Beginner

In the absence of my own finished knitting objects I am very pleased to show you something knitted by a yoga friend of mine - Monika. She started knitting at the beginning of this year - a mere two months ago! Aftert the inevitable garter stitch scarf she jumped bravely into knitting a dress for her daughter's first birthday.



The pattern is by DROPS Design, the German written version you can find here. All patterns come in 14 languages at www.garnstudio.com!

Congratulations, what a beautiful result! And it gives me hope, knitting minutes will come back later this year, also for me.

A Secret Glance

... at a secret project.

With the deadline March 1. What I can tell you - it is my humble contribution to a quite awesome installation by an artist friend of mine. More about it in March!

Pants for Annie

I have regressed to making doll clothes lately - even knitting for a (growing) babe is too much of a non-possibility right now. So while grocery shopping at the supermarket in January and passing the magazine rack with oh-so-many seductive knitting magazines whispering at me, I risked a glance and grabbed a double pack with dolls on the cover.



Upon closer examination back home I found out why the clothes looked so slightly off-fashion.



They come from a time when the Deutsche Mark was still the currency in this country - 11 years ago at the youngest. Somebody at the publishing house must have cleaned the archives. While some yarn choices make you smile, the patterns itself are still ok. I wanted to knit something for my big girl's dolls and let Clara pick a (realistic) pattern.



Clara talked about "jeans" for her doll Annie who was still pretty much bottom-less. One month of on-and-off knitting and yesterday afternoon with a surprisingly sleeping babe and and a mama who ignored the chaos all around her... for my inner sanity it was more important to finish those pants at last...

With some leftover yarn from this yarn shop in Sedona/Arizona they turned out less "jeansy" and more pinky. My Ravelry notes here.



And when I came into Clara's room this morning Annie had already mingled with her friends. In her new pinky pants. What more can a knitting mama ask for?

After the Frost

Snowdrops... around for a couple of days now.

And another quick Tuesday impression:



From the as-of-today-started knitting group at the community center (where Clara used to go for glitter). And don't be fooled by the seemingly never changing knitting perspective of mine with Carolina in the sling. This baby is awake and active most of our days now. We had just been to the mama and baby group in the community center and when Carolina fell asleep, I dropped by and knitted for ten minutes. That is a lot these days!

In the Jungle

EC and its side effects...



Since we have embarked on the journey of elimination communication with baby Carolina, adventurous things happen along the way - for example a huge interest of indigenous cultures on my part.
Reading, reading, reading (not knitting...).

Consumer behaviour is changing, too - my last trip downtown was the day before Carolina was born, 2,5 months ago that is. The Internet comes in handy - for ordering things you probably wouldn't need in the jungle like splitpants and babylegs that make all the changing of diapers easier (no pants and tights that need to be put on and taken off all of the time).
I really considered knitting some legwarmers, but, but... very lively little human beings around me.

And as for the silence from our jungle camp - fever and stomach bugs...

Sunday

... with the girls.

Some Stitches

Yes, I am still there. And yes, I still knit.
Sometimes.
When the baby is asleep. And I am not.
My two recent mini projects even have two things in common, I realized.



Ribbing and AmEngl seed stitch / BrEngl moss stitch.
German - Perlmuster - pearl pattern.
Precious pearls of knitting time.

White Impressions

We (Carolina baby and me) stay mostly inside the house during this winter period right now, cozied up. But every once in a while we are reminded to get out, be it the need for food, the desire for fresh air or to pick up the big sister from kindergarten. It is just a short walk to Clara's kindergarten, yet long enough to see some fresh fallen snow.













Snow looks pretty even on man-made material.



Speaking of human inventions, this technical gadget (and a very competent and relaxed papa of two girls) made my first postnatal night out possible - teaching prenatal yoga.



White is beautiful.

Real Men Knit Pink

... as seen on German TV.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Winter! Here! After all!

With freezing temperatures outside for the first time this winter (spring can wait another while), it was perfect timing for an "ice cake" as a gift for Grandma's birthday.



The finished "sun catcher" has three layers of ice, with pieces of nature in between. You can see a sun catcher similar to ours here, because when ours was completely frozen, it was already too dark to take pictures in Grandma's garden. Quite a fun project, especially with children.



Clara added some crafting of hers and made Grandma "a book", with drawings, photos and good wishes (and blank pages for Grandma to fill).

I was wondering why I don't feel cold this winter despite the frost.



Natural body-to-body heating.

Men at Work

... as found in India by a friend of mine.