Time for Tea

Today I show you the finished object in rose, pink and purple.



It is the Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi by madelinetosh.
You can find the pattern here. The yarn is described in this post.
Knitting the cardi really captivated me. I have a couple of other objects on the needles, but this one came first for the last week. The yarn whispered sweet silky promises to me, the colours charmed me and I just love the pattern. The ruffled sections of the yoke reminded me a lot of the Citron, which I really enjoyed. And as much as I love knitting with my wooden KnitPro needles (and felt very professional and accomplished when I got me this set), this yarn needed metal needles for the stitches to slide smoothly. For more information you can see my Ravelry page.



The angel buttons were chosen by Clara herself a while ago and found their perfect home on the buttonbands (if you buy everything in pink and purple, everything will fit together somehow).



It is knitted in size 6, but as I used smaller needles and less yarn (I just knitted until I ran out of yarn) and Clara is a tall 4 year old, it fits just fine right now. For this winter. Which is fine with me.



It still needs to be blocked and I want to use Eucalan for the soaking. I have heard so many good things about it, for blocking and caring for your woollies, so I ordered it. As you can imagine, I was delighted when I saw the colours of the package.





It comes in different scents (or no scent).



For the cardi I will try the fitting purple choice, naturally.

The Pink Path

As I emerged from the knitting wood I realized a thing or two. Standing at the crossroad I saw to colour signs. One said Purple and the other one said Pink. For the sleeves and buttonbands. The nice & elegant way would have been taking the purple way, I thought. But I still had this shocking pink skein that kept calling me, even though it would break up the nice flow of the cardigan. So, like I tried to express in the little adapted poem, I chose the road less traveled by, as I supposed - the pink road.



While knitting the pink, it talked to me and my mind traveled (that is not unusual) . I remembered the crochet blanket I made for Clara before going on my trip to India, in her favourite colours - rose, pink and purple (as usual).



And didn't I knit a baby surprise jacket from leftover yarn last year that resonated with the same colours?



From quite far away (in knitting terms) another image came up. Knitting a cardigan while I was pregnant with Clara. I didn't know a lot about gauge then and substituted the required yarn with a self patterning sock yarn. The cardi turned out huge for a baby and I forgot about it. When Clara was about three I found the cardi again in a box and it fit just right.
And the colours? You guess...



Conclusion:
To be honest to myself, without noticing I took the road I always take,
the well trodden path - the pink path. Maybe not the most subtle and intriguing, but girls' fun. And when I looked at the colours of the clothes Clara picked out to wear yesterday, I knew I was on the right path.



When pink calls you, you've got to listen to it.

Knitting (Stereo) Type

The good news - I can keep my favourite pastime as I grow granny.
And what she is knitting reminds me very much of my
main current knitting project.

Geschäftsidee

Poem

Two roads diverged in a knitting wood,
And be one knitter, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
- charming, aesthetically pleasing, and actually-the-right-thing to do -
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other,
- drastic, gaudy and kind-of-crazy -
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -



I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(catcouch's adaptation of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken")

Weekend Pleasures

Came down with a cold on Friday night, simultaneously cast on this silky something for Clara to keep my thoughts warm and shiny.

Fresh & Organic 3

All fruit & veg gone except for one red apple and it is Saturday...
Time for our weekly veggie box!

What's inside?



fruit: oranges, apples, kiwis, lemon, bananas, pears

vegetables: avocado, potatoes, leek, carrots, cauliflower, egg tomatoes, red bellpepper, snake cucumber, winter purslane, yellow turnips, beetroot, onions (snakes and eggs? - are we still vegan?)

miscellaneous: hedgehog soft toy (Clara's sense of decoration)

Knit'n'Ride

In addition to yesterday...



I knit in the car. Always.
Someone else has to do the driving.

Knitting-to-Go

A sure sign of a knitting obsession (or call it more innocently a knitting lifestyle) is to never leave the house without a knitting project. You just don't know what might happen.

Some say knitting is the new yoga or yoga-on-the-go. Being a yoga teacher I doubt that. I like the combination of both. What yoga and knitting do have in common is the relaxing effect (once you get past the sometimes frustrating beginner level). For me, knitting is more like a meditation practice. Like for Meera who commented to my post Knitting in India, she uses knitting like a rosary, a mantra for every stitch.

You probably would not come into a headstand while waiting at the bus stop, but you can safely take out your knitting (until your hands get really cold in this winter weather).



and knit on the bus



Waiting time is premium knitting time. I am happily embracing every opportunity to knit.


at the bank counter


in line at the farmers' market (our veggie box is nearly used up)

It makes me patient, even when I am a patient (pun intended)...



... waiting for a massage at the physical therapist.
I like to pretend that the recent tension in my right shoulder does not come from knitting. Medical research proves how healing knitting is.
On all levels. It even blocks pain...

Regular exercise and walking are also known to be good for you.
I enhance the healthy effects of a moderate cardiovascular training outdoors with my favourite concentration practice, knitting-on-the-go.


walking around the block



But I still need to figure out how to knit while riding my bike.

The new yoga again - yoga and knitting do go together in my life.



I knit before classes.

And then there are the classic spots for knitting, of course. Last Knit Night I knit with this cute little baby on my lap, his ex utero premiere.



But my favourite knitting spot in the world remains here...



... on the couch (in yoga pants).

Painting

Once a week Clara and I go to a children's art class.
A place where she can enjoy painting and playing and no worries for me about spilling, sprinkling and cleaning. I met Petra, the artist, at a primary school where we both teach extracurricular activities - Petra teaches art, of course, and I teach yoga for children, of course.



Last week Clara painted this picture and when she showed it to me, my heart just melted.



Our little family of hearts
(in pink & purple)

Tuesday Treats

I have a little routine on my route on Tuesdays. After my mama & baby yoga class I ride my bike to a yarn shop in that area. Often just for eye candy, but sometimes I leave the shop with some treats (my Lace Citron and the Lanesplitters resulted mostly from these Tuesday trips).

Today I was in the definite mood for buying.
Proudly presenting:


My first yarn purchase of the year 2011

It is Louisa Harding Grace Hand-dyed, 50% merino and 50% silk (made in Italy, dyed in Chile) and Debbie Bliss Andes, 65% baby alpaca and 35% mulberry silk (made in Peru). I have not worked with silk before and want to give it a go. Just for the touch of it.

I know that my choice of wool is not vegan, but so was lunch at my favourite Asian place in Oldenburg:


a bento sushi platter

Tuesdays, I like you!

Basteltisch

our crafting table
(is it still Christmas...?)

Goodnight, Dolls!

This is the way Clara put the dolls to bed the other night.



Using a couch cushion as a sleeping bag.

Welcome to the Doll Couch

Dolls have been quite popular around here for the last month, especially celebrating doll's birthdays, complete with presents, songs and games.
Clara has not been a "doll girl" before. But this changed with Esmeralda, or Esmi as she is mostly called, the Waldorf doll she got for her fourth birthday.



Esmeralda comes from my hands, actually I forgot to mention her in my One Year of Sewing post. I wanted to make a Waldorf doll for over a year and was surprised how quickly the doll came together using this book. Great step-by-step instructions and photos, with a whole lot of clothes to sew and knit. I think sewing the dress and knitting Esmi's cardigan and shoes took much longer than making her.


(using the same vintage fabric for the fifth time...)

I was not sure whether Clara would be playing with the doll. And I am so happy now seeing how much the doll is loved and cared for. This totally convinces me of the Waldorf doll concept. They are made from natural materials, soft, great for cuddling, lightweight, often made for a special child in mind. Clara saw me making the doll in the beginning when it still looked quite "raw", so she knows where it comes from. I let her decide on the hair colour and hairstyle, there is a whole hairdo section in the book. The finishing touches were a secret, of course, when the doll came together as a whole and suddenly got her own character and look.

This weekend Clara said to me: "Look, mama, it is still so cold outside. Esmi needs a hat and a scarf." Said, done.



I used some yarn (from a never ending skein) I knitted Clara' socks and my yoga socks with last January.



The bonnet pattern comes from the book. I love how it is knitted in one piece with no seams.



And the scarf is the easiest knitting object I ever made: cast on 10 stitches, knit every row to desired length, cast off.



Dressed like this, Esmeralda was very well prepared for our Sunday bicycle trip downtown to meet a young mama, a baby and two cats.

More Matryoshkas

I discovered some more of those ladies in my house:


a keyring pendant


iron-on appliqué

and these wooden matryoshkas arrived in the mail



for my girl and me to have fun with on the weekend.

(Fresh & Organic) x 2

When our first box of organic vegetables and fruit arrived last Saturday,
I wrote something about enough for a whole week... by Monday it was all gone, completely. Quite understandable with this family that enjoys food and eating. And this (90 percent) vegan person in the household (that is me) who instantly wanted to experiment with the fresh ingredients.

So going with the flow of double things lately, we ordered the box of vegetables for twice the price.

What's in the box today?



Potatoes with a red peel called Laura, apples, oranges, carrots, pears, blood oranges, kohlrabi, broccoli, cucumber, kiwis, Batavia lettuce, watercress, beetroot, fennel, leek, Savoy cabbage, cherry tomatoes and flat mushrooms.

Clara

Summer 2010

Just out of bed and before anything else - straight to the living room to the "crafting table" (Basteltisch, that is what our big table is called and looks like around here). Spending her time crafting with paper and glue, drawing and painting, if given the chance, she would do that all day.



When her parents got up in the morning, Clara had decorated the chest of drawers in the living room. The blue post-its acting as a reminder where to finish her decoration in the afternoon after kindergarten.



She used a curtain clip from her room as a template.



When I said: "How beautiful, sunny flowers in winter!"
Clara answered: " No, mama, these are star snow crystals!"



Some more stars this week. By my girl.
My next sewing project is for her.