I´m back

I am back to blogging after a long hiatus. I had stopped writing here because I was focusing on other aspects of being a knitwear designer. There´s a lot to do and only so much time. But right now the writing mojo is back.

I have been teaching two colour workshops early this month. In both of them we have been thinking about colour theory, about things to consider when choosing colours for our knitting projects and about flattering ways to distribute colours in garments, among other things. The actual knitting part has been themed around stranded knitting for one, and around intarsia for the other workshop.

I immensely enjoy teaching, it is very rewarding to pass on a bit of the knitting knowledge I´ve accumulated throughout the years.

But it is a wee bit frustrating to me that I cannot talk about everything that I want to say in the workshops. There are many more interesting aspects in the wide field of colours than can be squeezed into a two to four hours time-frame, where the focus naturally will be on the knitting technique.

And oh did I try. For the first ever colour workshop I taught I had planned to talk about all techniques that use colours in one way or another. Because there was no way that we could make a swatch in each technique, I prepped swatches so that knitters could knit a row on each of them and swap them around, I guess I was thinking of the circuit training in sport. Needless to say this is a suboptimal way to teach. I learn from my mistakes and we now have lots of time to focus in-depth on the one technique I am teaching. I still wonder how it happened that knitters walked away happy from that first ever colour workshop.

But even after slowing down and all these workshops I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO SAY STILL. So here I am. However, I have decided to write in English only from now on. It just takes up too much time to write every single post in two languages. I apologise to my German readers.

Not all posts here will be strictly knitting-related. But having thought a bit deeper about colours may help when it comes to choosing colours for your next project, so knitting will always be on the back of my mind when I am writing. Stay tuned for my colour chatter!

Advertisement

Meet my new tech editor!

Apologies to my German readers, this post will be in English./Entschuldigung für den Beitrag auf Englisch.

It is already the end of January, and I am only now writing the first blogpost of the year! There never seems to be enough time for everything – and for me writing definitely often gets the short end of the stick. Right now I am working on a few very exciting projects. I will be able to talk about them soon, so please do check back in!

I am starting into 2016 on the blog with something that I don´t do too often, even though I always enjoy it tremendously; I have an interview for you all! James Bartley is my new tech editor and a very fascinating guy. He is a mathematician who used to be a professional dancer. Also, he has a knitting podcast that you can find as “DancingGeek Podcast” on Youtube and iTunes. On Ravelry, Twitter and Instagram he is using the alias dancinggeek as well.

James was really generous with his time and answered all of my many questions – and the best is: He is accepting new clients. So if you are a designer looking for someone to check your knitting patterns make sure to get in touch with him.

 

Hi James, thank you for taking the time to talk to me on my blog. Let´s tell people a bit about you. To start things off, how did it come about that you became a knitter and when was that? I first tried knitting thanks to my Mum, who was very talented and multi-craftual! It wasn’t until many years later, when I saw my sister knitting, that I tried picking it up again. That was about 4 years ago, and I’ve been hooked since then.

What things do you knit the most often, and do you have any favourite colours? I’m pretty sure I must have knit more socks than other projects, I know they’ll get worn lots, they’re a smaller project, and the complexity can vary to suit all moods. I love knitting blankets on my giant 27mm wooden needles, but don’t do it too often as it needs a lot of yarn and then I have to find a home for the finished item!

My absolute favourite colour is orange. It’s vibrant & warm, reminding of the sunny Mediterranean, citrus fruit, pottery & clay. All earthy, warm and joyful things for me. I love to see it mixed in with blue, green and brown. Those four together cover my entire wardrobe, I suspect.

Which designers do you like? I really like geometrical patterns & textures in knitting, so a couple of designers that pop to mind are Josh Ryks & Anthony Casalena. They both do a lot of beautiful shawls that make me wish I liked wearing shawls more often! If I knit more jumpers I would make them based on their shawl designs.

Do you have a local knitting group that you attend? There is a local knitting group that I went to a few times, but I find it difficult to knit and socialise at the same time. I love to get engrossed in my knitting and the patterns, so trying to hold a conversation at the same time really stumps me. That’s why I love Ravelry, podcasts, and the online knitting community in general. That and I’m a big nerd!

You have a popular knitting podcast. What are your experiences with it, and are you planning on recording new episodes this year? I really struggle to think of my podcast as being popular, though I’m lucky enough to have meet some wonderful people who pay me lovely compliments on it. It was originally started as a way of joining the community, as I find forums difficult to engage with, and it has been such an uplifting experience. I have said this many, many times: the online knitting community is the nicest place I know.

I’m always thinking about the next episode, so I’m always planning on doing another. I always want to do more, both in number and content, however I’m learning that I have limits on what I can achieve without burning out. I’ll keep recording, even if the gaps between episodes vary sometimes.

Which part of your podcast gets the most feedback? The stuff that gets the most consistent feedback is when I talk about my personal life. The knitting side is what binds us together (who doesn’t want to look at pretty yarn, right?!) but I consistently find that it is when I talk about myself that I connect with people, who then write some amazing messages to me.

Do you have any hobbies other than knitting and podcasting, and what´s your professional background and career path, I know you´ve changed directions quite a bit? Hobbies wax and wane for me, right now I’m thoroughly obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons! Others include foreign languages, maths, dance & running. And anything online.

My career path is not a traditional one for sure; I left uni with a degree in maths, fluent in French, & time spent studying contemporary dance. I then went and did customer support for software for schools, obviously! Following that I had some time out and changed to working as a freelance contemporary dancer and lecturer. After a while, my obsession with knitting started to take over, and I have recently turned professional as a Tech Editor for knitting patterns. It may not look like it, but these jobs are all connected by a love of patterns and systems. I love to be a nerd, I just change which domain I’m in.

How did you decide to start a tech editing business? Deciding to Tech Edit came through coming into contact online with a wonderful lady called Joeli, from Joeli’s Kitchen. At some point she mentioned that Tech Editing would probably be a great fit for me and I was curious, I’d never heard of this work before. I started to find out about it, had some great conversations with her, and after working through her exercises realised that it was something that I could really enjoy and be good at. The idea that someone would pay me to do this was perfect!

Why do you enjoy editing patterns and does your math degree come in handy? Editing patterns is so natural, that I do it whenever I follow one. It didn’t occur to me at first that other people don’t do this! I’m always checking details, making sure the numbers work, and asking questions when something seems wrong. I’m a perfectionist, which has its downsides, but makes editing fun! Mathematics uses the same skills, if more abstracted. It’s about making sure every detail works, and makes sense together, otherwise the whole thing could fall apart. If it wasn’t such a fun puzzle I imagine it would sound quite stressful.

Since I am enjoying the random question section your your podcast very much, here are two very random questions for you.  What invention would you like to see happening next, knitting-related or not? Oooh, great question! I think it would be awesome to be able to teleport. I love being abroad, but I hate traveling. To be able to just appear somewhere immediately would be amazing! Spend a few hours in Kenya, a day trip to Australia, a meal in a different continent. The internet does a lot to make the world a smaller place, but there’s something special about physical presence still.

Who would you like to talk to if you had the opportunity and what would you say? Who to talk to? That’s tricky. World leaders, late family members, admired performers. How to choose?!  I’ll go for my future self, so I can ask if everything works out ok. Life can be hard, so a little reassurance would go a long way!

Thank you James for taking the time to answer all those questions and for making it a fascinating read!

Neu!│New!

Zum Jahreswechsel denke ich gern zwölf Monate zurück. Was war gut, was möchte ich verbessern? Das letzte Jahr stand definitiv unter dem Zeichen “alles Neu”. Nicht dass ich Altes besonders geändert hätte, aber es gab einen ersten janukke-Mystery, ich war auf meiner ersten Wollmesse und meinem ersten Raveller-Treffen, habe meinen ersten Workshop gegeben und zum ersten Mal in meiner Gruppe einen Adventskalender gestaltet. Besonders Letzteres ist noch ganz frisch in meinem Kopf und hat mir riesig Spaß gemacht. Diese Explosion an Kreativität in meiner Strickgruppe hat mich richtig umgehauen. Es gab Rezepte, Bastelanleitungen, Gedichte, Geschichten, Lustiges, Nachdenkliches, einfach eine bunte Mischung. Und natürlich auch viele Gewinne. Schenken gehört einfach in die Weihnachtszeit.

Ich habe eine Menge positive Rückmeldungen für den Kalender bekommen (und das Lob geht an alle, die eines der wunderschönen Türchen gestaltet oder einen Preis gespendet haben), weswegen es dies Jahr wieder einen geben wird. Und auch die anderen Dinge möchte ich gerne wiederholen. Mit dem Raveller-Treffen ist es noch nicht sicher, weil es für mich eine wirklich lange Anreise nach Regensburg ist, aber alles andere sollte drin sein.

Dann gab es noch die allererste janukke-Spendenaktion. Von jedem bis zum 31. Dezember verkauften Muster von “See the Rhythm” gehen 1,50 Euro an Ärzte ohne Grenzen. Insgesamt sind stolze 225 Euro zusammengekommen!

Nicht neu sind dies Jahr meine Preise für die Muster. Vielleicht habt Ihr es schon gehört, ab dem 1. Januar gelten neue Umsatzsteuersätze in Europa. Genauer gesagt, die Steuern müssen jetzt europaweit dort gezahlt werden, wo der Kunde sitzt. Dadurch fällt die bisher in Deutschland geltende Kleinunternehmer-Regelung weg, nach der man erst Umsatzsteuer zahlt, wenn man mehr als einen bestimmten Betrag verdient. Ich habe beschlossen, erst einmal abzuwarten und dann, falls es notwendig ist, zum nächsten Quartal hin meine Preise leicht anzuheben.

 

  ————————————-○–○–○———————————–

At the turn of the year I like to think back twelve months. What was good, what would I like to improve? Last year definitely was the year of new things. I organised my first mystery-KAL, was at my first wool trade show, gave my first workshop and for the first time put together an Advent calendar in my knitting group. Especially the calendar is still fresh in my mind. It was great fun. This explosion of creativity blew me away. Knitters sent in recepies for delicious food, poems, stories, funny and philosophical stuff, simply a colourful mix. And of course, in the spirit of the season, there were many prizes. 

I got a lot of positive feedback for the calendar (and this goes to everyone who contributed), so there will be another one next year. And all the other things will hopefully be repeated this year. Just the Raveller meeting is not certain, it´s a long drive to Regensburg.

Then there was the first janukke-charity. For every copy of “See the Rhythm” that sold until Decembre 31st, 1.50 Euros are donated to Doctors Without Borders. We collected a whooping 225 Euros!!

Totally not new are my prices for the knitting patterns. You might have heard that there are new VAT laws in Europe, starting on January 1st. Sellers now are mandated to pay taxes in the country where the buyer is located. Since there are no thresholds as with the old law, this will probably mean that I will have to augment my prices eventuelly. For now everything will remain the same though.

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jetzt liegt das Neue Jahr frisch und unbenutzt vor mir und ich kann es gar nicht erwarten, es mit neuen kreativen Projekten zu füllen und mit Euch allen, wenn Ihr sie nachstrickt, eine tolle Zeit zu haben!

Now the new year lies fresh and empty in front of me and I cannot wait to fill it with creative projects and to have a great time with all of you when you knit them too!

Merry, merry

Jetzt habe ich den Blog ein wenig vernachlässigt. Vielleicht habt Ihr schon entdeckt warum: In meiner Ravelry-Gruppe haben wir zusammen einen Adventskalender organisiert. Von überall auf der Welt haben StrickerInnen Geschichten, selbstgeschriebene Gedichte, Bastelanleitungen, eigene Strickmuster und der kreativen Dinge viel mehr eingereicht. Jede StrickerIn hat so ein Türchen erstellt. Zu gewinnen gab es Wollpreise, Anleitungen, Köstliches, Maschenmarkierer … und und und. Es hat mir riesig Spaß gemacht und ich plane für nächstes Jahr auf jeden Fall wieder einen solchen Kalender. Falls Ihr es verpasst habt, ist es aber nicht ganz so traurig, Ihr könnt alles während der freien Tage gemütlich nachlesen. Ein Klick aufs Bild führt Euch hin.

Now I´ve been neglecting my blog quite a bit. Maybe you´ve already spotted why: We´ve organised an Advent calendar in my Ravelry group. From all over the world knitters sent in stories, self-written poems, origami and other handicraft instructions, their own knitting patterns and more of all kind of creative things. This way every knitter created their own window. You could win yarn, knitting patterns, delicious stuff, stitch markers … and and and. It was great fun and I am planning another calendar for next year. If you´ve missed it, it´s not all that bad. You can use the free days to read it all up curling up on your sofa enjoying a cup of your favourite tea. A click on the image will get you to the calendar. 

Bleibt mir also Euch besinnliche und fröhliche Weihnachten im Kreise Eurer Lieben zu wünschen. Tankt die Seele zwischen den Jahren kräftig auf und kommt gut ins Neue Jahr! Wir sehen uns dann.

Have very merry and happy Christmas among your loved ones to all of you! Refuel your spirits and heal your soul in between the years! We´ll see us next year.

who´s designing here?

Today I´d like to tell you a bit about my co-designer, or the mastermind I should say, of the Rivulets sweater from my previous post. That is, she´ll do the talking herself. I was lucky enough to meet Brandie through one of the very first designs I ever made, she was one of my test knitters (have a peak at her Siris scarf of Doom!). Since then we´ve become friends, and as a translater and reviewer, she´s been helping me out with quite a few tech edits of knitting patterns. She´s also one of the kindest and smartest people you´ll ever come around. So, let´s hear from her about how she´s experienced our collaboration on the Rivulets sweater:

 

Brandie, you are not a professional designer, was this the first hand-knitted design you have ever worked on?

Absolutely! I have been knitting for a long time now, but always from patterns. I have occasionally had ideas for pieces I would like to knit for myself from scratch. But I am an impatient person, so I had never taken the time to experiment with my yarn and needles. Truthfully, I was afraid of the frustration that would come from failure. My tendency was to prefer the “safety” or “guaranteed results” you get from a good pattern.

Do you do craftsy or creative work in other areas?

My craft obsession before knitting was card-making. I have an enormous collection of gorgeous papers, stamps and inks that is sitting idle at the back of my closet. But sice I started knitting, I haven’t invested much time in other creative pursuits. It seems I am a monogamous crafter: one hobby at a time!

How long have you been knitting? And what do you like to knit most?

I have been knitting for around 10 years. My knitting personality is similar to my travelling philosophy: I like to go somewhere I’ve never been. This means I’m usually drawn to projects that feature something new to me, whether it is the garment type, construction, stitch pattern or yarn. I especially enjoy making sweaters because I think they are the ultimate reward for a knitter, but lately I have been really drawn to hats because there is so much variety and they are always quick projects!

What was your source of inspiration for the Rivulets sweater?

I once owned a sweater whose shape was similar to the silhouette of the Rivulets sweater. It was my favorite piece of clothing and I wore it with practically everything – skirts, capri pants, sundresses – in the spring, summer and autumn. It was my dream sweater, but it eventually had to be retired and I longed for a replacement.

How did you come up with such a stunning stitch pattern?

I had a very specific goal for what I wanted the Rivulets pattern to evoke: drops of water that stream down and merge with other droplets. I wanted it to flow and undulate. The only way to figure it out was to start experimenting. Because I don’t do much lace knitting, I wasn’t even familiar with how to make eyelets! I browsed through a lot of stitch dictionaries at the library, and noted the stitch combinations that yielded the kinds of effects I was aiming for. Then I started combining them. In all, I probably knit about 10 different swatches in 3 yarns before I settled on a stitch pattern that conveyed what I wanted. The biggest challenge here was knitting swatches in the round because the yarn-overs and decreases simply didn’t work on the reverse side of the work.

How did you like the process of designing the Rivulets sweater?

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis has a sense of Jana’s openness and generosity of spirit. Working with her was the best part of this adventure. We communicated by email and Skype and shared lots of pictures. At every stage, Jana was very receptive to all my ideas and was brilliant at interpreting my vague descriptions of what I was hoping we could create. Readers can only imagine the laughable result of my first misguided attempt at chart writing! I love that we each tried out different yarns and stitch patterns and even sleeve types to determine what the final product would look like. The pattern repeat is big and the stitch count is not very accommodating, so to me the most incredible thing was when Jana found the perfect way to avoid the math challenges of grading the pattern!

I know that as a translator and reviewer, you are used to working closely with texts. How did that knowledge help you with writing a knitting pattern? How is writing a knitting pattern different from what you usually do?

My work as a translator and editor demands attention to detail. This means I already have the patience it takes to write and rewrite the text until it seems right. Everything I write or review must be perfectly clear and explicit. I hope that this is reflected in our pattern, because I would not like to leave knitters to fill in the gaps. Writing a pattern from scratch is very different from my everyday work. When I translate or edit a text, the ideas come from someone else. In this case, all the content was originated by Jana and me, so there is no one to blame for any faulty logic or missing information!

What does knitting mean to you?

Knitting is a way to explore the world. With all the different fibers, weights and dyeing techniques, I think I could spend a lifetime playing with yarn. I travel often and yarn is a great souvenir for me. I try to go into yarn shops in every city I visit. Although I’m trying to tame my stash, I always allow myself to buy something if it’s locally made or somehow specific to the place. My business trips cause me to spend lots of time in airports, airplanes, subways, buses and so on. There is a lot of “dead time” and knitting is my refuge in these moments. As soon as I sit down, I pull out my knitting. It’s a great conversation starter: passersby ask what I’m making or how I learned to knit or if it’s hard. Sometimes they tell me about their own knitting or their family members who knit.

Finally, I get a lot of pleasure from the finished result. Some people are about the process, but I’m all about the product. I enjoy wearing my hand-knitted garments. And I am even more delighted when I give away a hand-knitted project. Knitted items are the most thoughtful of gifts: the pattern and yarn are chosen specifically for the occasion and every stitch is worked with a thought for the recipient. It is very gratifying when a friend or loved one recognizes the time and care that have gone into a hand-made gift.

alte geschichten│old stuff

Ist der Februar wirklich schon mehr als zur Häfte rum? Ich kann´s nicht glauben, wie schnell die Zeit verfliegt. Ich habe ganz vergessen, euch zu erzählen dass ich ein paar alte Muster überarbeitet habe. Sie haben ein neues Layout bekommen und ich habe sie meinen neueren Standards angepaßt. Man bekommt ja mit der Zeit ein bischen Übung beim Musterschreiben.

Die Anleitung für die Eulenspiegel-Stulpen habe ich zum ersten Mal in einem pdf zusammengefaßt. Sie sind das allererste Muster, das ich je geschrieben habe. Ich hatte bisher nur auf meinem Blog über sie gesprochen. Aber jetzt habe ich sie auch bei Ravelry eingestellt, es ist einfach praktisch, um Projekte zu verlinken und zu gucken, was andere Strickerinnen so daraus machen. — Da fällt mir auf, dass ich also doch schon einmal mit Mohair gearbeitet habe. Es ist nur ziemlich lange her.

————————————-○–○–○———————————–

Is it the second half of February already? I cannot believe how time flies by. I almost forgot to tell you that I´ve been looking over some old patterns of mine, gave them a new layout and made them match my current standards for knitting patterns. `Cause, you know, one does get some practise over time.

And I´ve also for the first time written down the pattern for the Eulenspiegel cuffs in pdf format. They were the first pattern I ever wrote. Originally I had just talked about them on my old blog. Now I´ve also added them to the Ravelry pattern database, so that you can browse other projects. — Btw, I just realized that this means I have been working with mohair before. It´s just been a while. And it´s a totally different thing to use it in a garment.

Außerdem habe ich zwei alte Tutorials aufpoliert. Wenn ihr auf meinem alten Blog schon mitgelesen habt, erinnert ihr euch vielleicht an meine Maschenmarkierer aus Faden und meine Gedanken zum “richtigen” Wickeln eines Rundschals mit doppelter Verdrillung.

Und das Beste am Ganzen: alle Muster und Tutorials sind umsonst! Irgendwie muß ich ja schließlich mal Danke dafür sagen, dass ihr mein Design unterstützt und so absolut liebe Kommentare schreibt. 🙂 Ohne euch könnte ich lange nicht so viel Zeit mit Designen verbringen und der Spaß wäre auch irgendwie weg. Also, habt sehr viel Vergnügen mit den Mustern und Tutorials! Ihr findet sie hier. – Falls ihr nicht allein stricken mögt, seid ihr herzlich eingeladen, in meiner Gruppe vorbeizuschauen und bei unserem gemütlichen KAL mitzumachen. Es gibt sogar eine kleine Preisverlosung. Und wer sein fertiggestelltes Projekt in diesem Thread einstellt, hat einmal die Woche die Chance, eines meiner Muster zu gewinnen. Also, schaut mal bei uns vorbei!

————————————-○–○–○———————————–

Also, there are two tutorials that I´ve polished up and put together pdfs. You might remember my tassel stitch markers and my musings on wearing a cowl, if you´ve been following me for a while.

The best thing about it all: All the patterns and tutorials are free! It´s my way of saying thanks for all your lovely comments and continuing support. I couldn´t spend as much time designing if it weren´t for you and it just wouldn´t be half as much fun. So enjoy the updated “blog extras/tutorials” page on my blog! You´ll find it in the menue on top of this page.

If you´d like to knit in company, join us at the KAL in my group! There´ll be a giveaway and if you post your finished project in this thread, once a week you´ll have the chance to win any one of my patterns. See you there!

hinter den kulissen│behind the scenes

Ich habe meinen Blog diesen Monat ganz schön vernachlässigt, und das obwohl es sehr viel zu erzählen gibt. Ich hoffe, dass ich das in den nächsten Tagen und Wochen nachholen kann.

Am Wochenende war ich mit einer Freundin unterwegs. Wir haben zwei entspannte Tage verbracht, waren spazieren und haben vor allem geredet und gestrickt. Ein bisschen waren wir auch fleißig und haben  Strickdesign-Fotos gemacht.

Eigentlich soll es ja auf dem Blog um´s Stricken gehen, aber die Natur war so schön, dass ich nicht anders kann, als euch ein paar der Bilder zu zeigen, die sozusagen hinter den Kulissen vom Strick-Shoot entstanden sind.

Am Morgen hat sich über dem Meer ein phantastisches Naturschauspiel ereignet: Dort, wo die Sonne die Meeresoberfläche erwärmt hat, hat das verdunstende Wasser wabernde Nebelschwaden gebildet, die sich auf das Ufer, also auf uns, zubewegt haben. Es war großartig. Und kalt.

————————————-○–○–○———————————–

I have been neglecting the blog a little. There´s a lot to talk about though. I hope I can catch up within the next days and weeks.

This weekend I´ve been on a small trip with a friend. We´ve had two relaxed days, went for a walk, and, most of all, talked, and talked, and knitted some. We´ve also been good and took some knitting-related pictures. You´ll see those soon too.

I know that the blog is about knitting but the nature was so impressive that I cannot help but show you the photos anyway. They are shots from behind the scenes of the knitwear photo-shoot, if you will.

In the morning a fantastic natural phenomenom happend: Wherever the sun warmed up the the water, it evaporated into wafts of mist that were moving towards the shore where we stood and watched. It was awe-inspiring. And cold.

 

Es ist wirklich kalt im Norden von Deutschland.

It is cold in northern Germany.

 

Was abends am Strand so aussah:

Which, in the evening, looked like this on the beach:

 

In diesem Sinne, macht es euch einfach warm!

In this sense, be safe and keep warm wherever you are!

2014

Mir wird gerade erst so richtig klar, dass 2014 schon in vollem Gange ist. Ich hatte einen etwas langsamen Start dies Jahr, um es mal sehr vorsichtig auszudrücken. – Mein Tipp für euch: Falls ihr krank seid, geht besser zum Arzt! Ok, außer mir braucht wahrscheinlich niemand diesen völlig übertrieben offensichtlichen Hinweis. Immerhin kann ich ihn jetzt jederzeit nachlesen, egal wo ich gerade bin. 😉 – Zum Glück bin ich jetzt, wo die Antibiotika anfangen zu wirken, wieder da!

I am only just now realizing that it´s a New Year already. To say that I´ve had a slow start into 2014 is putting it mildly. – Word to the wise: If you are sick, go to the doctor. Duh. I guess there won´t be many people in need of hearing this simple and rather obvious advice. – Luckily, now that the antibiotics are doing their job, I am back!

Immerhin hab ich in meiner Zwangspause gestrickt, was zum Glück fast in jeder Lebenslage geht. Ich habe phantastische Wolle auf den Nadeln. Die kupferne Farbe ist “Feentraum” aus reiner Maulbeerseide und wurde im Wollkenschloß handgefärbt. Ich wünschte, die Fotos würden auch nur annähernd zeigen, wie genial sie changiert. Es ist wirklich ein Märchentraum mit ihr zu stricken. Außerdem versuche ich mich zum ersten Mal an Mohair. Mensch, ist die ergiebig! Aber bis daraus das von der großzügigen Spenderin (huhu, Sandra!) bestellte Top wird, dauert es noch etwas. Ich muss mich noch einstricken.

But I´ve been knitting over the holidays, which luckily can be done in almost all predicaments. I have some amazing yarn on my needles. The copper coloured yarn is called “Feentraum”, fairy dream. It´s extremely luxurious: 100% mulberry silk that has been hand-dyed by a friend of mine. I wish the pictures would give you a better idea of its shimmer. It´s mesmerizing. – I am also giving mohair a try, for the first time! I cannot believe this, but 50 g might actually be sufficient for a summer top. Until I´ll have a design to present, it´s going to be some time though. I am still getting used to the yarn. It behaves very differently from the yarn I usually work with.

————————————-○–○–○———————————–

Außerdem habe ich eine Liste mit Neujahrsvorsätzen gemacht. Sie erinnert mich sehr an die vom letzten Jahr. Also war ich wohl nicht sehr erfolgreich. Aber ich gebe so schnell nicht auf. Insgesamt bin ich eigentlich sogar ganz zufrieden mit dem letzten Jahr. Ich habe regelmäßiger als früher Muster geschrieben, meine eigene Gruppe auf Ravelry gegründet und mit wunderbar talentierten deutschen Handfärberinnen zusammengearbeitet.

And I´ve made a list of New Year´s resolutions. It´s curiously similar to the list of last year. Which means that I have not been particularly successful. 😉 It doesn´t mean I´ll stop trying though. Plus, all in all, I am really happy with the last year. I have been designing more regularly than I used to, started my own group on Ravelry and been co-operating with some extremely talented German hand-dyers.

Für dies Jahr habe ich auch ein gutes Gefühl. Es ist viel geplant. Ich fange damit an, dass jede(r) StrickerIn, der/die sich bis Ende Januar für meinen Newsletter einträgt, einen Coupon-Code bekommt, mit dem er/sie sich eines meiner Muster auf Ravelry für umsonst herunterladen kann. Bisher sind schon eine Menge Abonnements zusammengekommen. Tausend Dank, euch allen! 🙂 Auch für eure lieben Kommentare und Nachrichten. Es ist schön, wenn das was man macht gefällt. Ich gebe zu, dass ein Teil von mir auch ein wenig eingeschüchtert ist und sich einfach zurückziehen und eigenbrödlerisch vor sich hin designen möchte. Andererseits wäre es einfach nicht halb so schön, ohne den Austausch mit euch. Vor allem ist es ja wohl der Sinn vom Musterschreiben, die Muster auch zu teilen. Also ist alles gut.

I am very optimistic about 2014. I have many plans for exciting projects. For a start, I have set up a promotion that everyone, who will sign up for my newsletter until the end of the month, will get a coupon-code so that (s)he can choose any one of my knitting patterns for free. So far, I am getting tons of subscriptions. Thanks so much, everyone! Also for your lovely comments and messages. It´s great to feel that (some) people like what I do. It´s a bit intimidating too, because part of me is very shy, and just wants to hide and work on new designs in solitude. But then, communicating with knitters has been the source of a lot of happiness for me in the past. And, of course, sharing is the purpose of writing knitting patterns. So all is good and well. 🙂

willkommen! │welcome!

Herzlich willkommen auf meinem neuen Blog!

Jetzt fragt ihr euch vielleicht, warum ein neuer Blog? Ich habe einfach einen Webauftritt gebraucht, der perfekt zu mir passt. Ich mochte meinen alten Blog auch, aber es hat irgendwie nach meinem Gefühl immer etwas gefehlt, um ihn ganz zu meinem Online-“zu Hause” zu machen. Jetzt hab ich das Gefühl, genau das ist mir hier gelungen. Natürlich ist alles noch ein bischen nackt, aber das wird sich sehr schnell ändern, denke ich.

Auch allen Neulingen Willkommen! Wie schön, dass ihr zu mir gefunden habt. Ich werde meinen alten Blog nicht löschen, wenn ihr mich also ein bischen kennenlernen wollt, könnt ihr in ihm stöbern.

Ich werde hier wieder über das Stricken, Design und Strickmuster schreiben. Demnächst gibt es einiges Neues, also bleibt gespannt!

Hi everyone and welcome to my new blog!

Why a new one, you ask? I kind of needed a place that was a little more “me” than the old one. Not that it was bad or anything, I just wanted something a little different. So far I really like how it´s coming along. This blog already feels like my new online “home” to me. It´s still a bit naked, but I am sure this will change very soon.

To all newbies: Hi to you too! I am glad you found me here. I will not delete my old blog, so if you want to get to know me a little, you can always check that one out.

I will be talking lots about knitting, design and patterns. There´s a lot coming up, I cannot wait to share!