Springtime Cowl and Beanie

The winter of 2019 seems to be just as endless in Chicago Land as last year's - so I thought that my friend Barb might welcome the warmth of a cowl - doubling as a beanie for the really Chicago-windy days - and in the spring color of green, with a few red, blue and yellow beads thrown in for good measure as a stand-in for spring flowers!

 Springtime Cowl and Beanie

The pattern is called: Barb’s Springtime Cowl and Beanie!

First: It is a cowl. Secondly: It is a beanie. Thirdly: You can wear it with the greener part at the top or at the bottom, upside down, inside out. And finally: The I-cord is removable and can be woven through the holes between the stitches either at the top or at the bottom. I crocheted the last two rows and the elastic bind-off to make an even hole-spacing for the I-cord.

 Springtime Cowl and Beanie

 Springtime Cowl and Beanie

After weaving the I-cord through the spaces between the stitches, pull it tight, make a bow and there you go, take a bow! Wear your beanie upside down whichever way you please. Oh yes, lest I forget, if you don't want the I-cord to show you can gather the cowl together at the top with the I-cord, make a bow, turn the cowl - now a beanie - inside out and there you go. How versatile is that!

Springtime Cowl and Beanie - I-Cord

Springtime Cowl and Beanie

Of course there is the option to wear it inside out and upside down, but that is totally up to the wearer-ess. The spiral-like green beads on the one end I bought in Shanghai in 2008. The colourful Rocailles (beads) I bought in Vienna in an incredibly well-stocked bead shop sometime at the beginning of this century. And the various yarns were bought during the past 6 decades of picking up so-called orphan yarns, i.e. where only one or two skeins are left in an orphan basket in yarn stores of every country we visited. Now they are orphans no longer but united in a hopefully useful accessory. They are in the colors of spring flowers. 
So there you go! An international Barb Beanie and Cowl!

 

Succulent - not a cowl or beanie, but green!

Do you prefer cake ?

Kindling your imagination: A small road in the countryside - leading your vision beyond the horizon.

Countryside

Buying yarn has something to do with having a vision. It is an exciting and rewarding experience, mind-stretching and nerve-racking at the same time. One visualizes the existing stash, colors, textures, quantity, suitability... The very probability of actual use takes second place to desire for more. We split our personality into two, one on the outside, giving us as much positive feed as we want, and one on the inside, the reality person, reasoning, weighing the pros and cons of the potential purchase, but also soberly searching for excuses to add to a vast existing stash and so forth.

 Doesn't this wrap's shape and strong neon-line colors set your fantasy in motion?

Then there is the lure of the yarn's presentation! We perceive not just skeins, cones or hard core balls, we visually caress Hankenskeins, and yes! CAKES and donut balls! See these and more in this illustration (Interweave). Various known and unknown gadgets cast their spell on us and our credit card. A Nostepinne (Wickeldorn, Ball Winder)
in various new versions, incredibly easy-to-handle Bamboo Curved Needle Sets for socks, hats and loops, a true must-have for a dedicated sock or cowl knitter... Dream on, knitters and yarn fanatics!

 

This wrap created itself in my hands last winter (2016-2017). The meanderings are the opposite to straight lines, back and forth they rise and fall and add peaks and valleys to the structure. Smaller glossy beads and heart-shaped buttons in green, black and purple will catch the eye when the wrap is worn and thus becoming alive. It is a gift for Hélène, our Parisian family member, and - true to proverbial expectations - a très chique and beautiful Parisienne, wearing the wrap with great aplomb (Glitzy freeform wrap / scarf for Hélène)

Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis

Photographs copyright Valerie Mader + Ute Mader

Beads and Buttons and Books

Three of my four favorite things to have or work with start with a "B" - but this store even has another "B", a collection of badges. Recently, I visited Vienna (Austria) and chanced upon this incredible shop for buttons and beads and books and beautiful old things one would probably call vintage today. I hesitate to use that expression -

A wall full of shining buttons and beads

it is not just vintage in the present-day interpretation of the term, these items are truly classic in their style, their usefulness and practicality is still present as is their beauty of design - they are the very essence of form follows function. Exciting examples of how to use buttons and beads and ribbons and lace are found in just one click - the creations of Mizzie Morawez!

A few steps into the store and your eyes start shining...

The owner, Mr. Thomas (Heinrich Thomas, Burggasse 11/1, 1076 Wien, Austria, Tel. +43-664-3580701; speaking German and English) is still driving to markets all over Europe where buttons and beads and antiques are offered and sold - a true collector and a treasure trove for anybody who appreciates his collection -

Entrance to the store for buttons and beads and badges and...

and yes, you may acquire most things you see in the store, be it old textile craft items or other interesting books, china, glass bottles, dolls... click here another description of the store.

Vases and mirrors

if you love such stores, plan on spending a lot of time there, sifting through the treasures... (also see my last blog post about this store which includes some information like opening hours, tel. number etc.)

Spend a day in a shiny store!

And what do you think is in the envelopes at the top?

...gilded buttons, studs and badges, all in absolute mint condition!

b

Treasures - hidden away for a long time

One should turn this beautiful shop into a museum 

Below some pictures of beautiful china and glass vases just waiting for you to take to your home ...

A thermo-clad coffee pot - in the style of Art Nouveau Bauscher Weiden

Lovely cups that want to be held in both hands...

These decanters look like a still life painting

I am sorry but the lace found its way into my bag...

This stirs every lace lover's heart!

Heinrich Thomas (Vienna) - one more link - click here . 
Read more on our trip to Vienna in these posts: Emilie Flöge and the Lady in Gold and Beholding Beauty

Paths are Made by Walking

This quote is attributed to Franz Kafka and in my view it translates so well into the technique of Freeform. With every freeform creation new trails are made, no piece must resemble the one previous, shapes and colors in countless varieties and combinations. It is also like writing a book, quoting Kafka again: “Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.”

Freeform Creation by Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - All Rights Reserved)

Freeform pieces or scrumbles, single or joined, shaped into recognizable clothing styles or running wild, unpredictable and adventurous like the creations by Mizzie Morawez or the beautiful shapes and interpretations by Mitsuko Tonouchi  Freeform is a trail-blazing art, full of creativity and inspiration. 

Mitsuko Tonouchi is a renowned Japanese Textile Artist, especially her freeform work is met with a lot of admiration and high praise. Many of her fabulous imaginative pieces can be viewed on Pinterest. I posed two questions to Mitsuko Tonouchi with regard to her work

Wall Hanging - by Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - All Rights Reserved)

Q: "Do you start out your project with a specific shape or color in mind, or an approximate design that you first put down on paper and then create with fabric or yarns?" 
A: "I start without a plan. I sometimes get something very quickly like in a flash. If anything, I conceived something from... a word, a photo and a connection... I look for inspiration (for example: popping up a picture book, looking at art magazines and go for walks to take photos...
Q: "Do the voids between the scrumbles / freeform pieces carry a meaning, or are they sometimes even the carriers of a message?"
A: " Sometimes, and I think I need to put a meaning or a message... I worry it would not have individuality."

Deep Sea Fantasy - Mitsuko Tonouchi (Copyright - all Rights reserved)

Please note that the 3 pictures above are copyrighted (All Rights Reserved) and belong to Mitsuko Tonouchi. Please respect the property rights.

My own freeform work is progressing all too slowly - my day job is in the way! The Wisteria scarf is finished and I found some lovely beads for it in a Button and Beads store in Vienna... here is a picture to give you an idea of how hard it was to leave that store: 

Buttons and Beads Store in Vienna (Austria)

If you can't wait for more pictures and happen to live in or visit Vienna, here's the address: Knoepfe und Perlen. Heinrich Thomas, Burggasse 11/1,1076 Wien, tel. +34 (0) 6643580701 - and the Opening Hours - note those whimsical Viennese distinctions!

For more information and pictures see the post: Beads and Buttons and Books

TEXTILE ART BERLIN II

The TEXTILE ART BERLIN presented the work of amazing textile artists. I would like to show you the creations of two more artists who participated in the exposition. Click here for all posts with the topic Textile Art Berlin

Hildegard Braatz: 9-Patch 1. Old Lace Fragments and hand-dyed fabric

Hildegard Braatz - quilt artist extraordinary. An interview with her can be found here, also more pictures of her beautiful, unusual quilt creations.Click here for her personal website. Some of her quilts combine handmade paper with pieces of antique lace and embroidery - and she sells small treasure packages with different lace snippets and pieces so you can fulfil your personal lace dream collage!  (hildegard.braatz@quiltware.de). The pictures are by Hildegard Braatz.

Hildegard Braatz - Spitzencollage - Lace Collage

Hildegard Braatz - Spitzencollage - Lace Collage

Another artist presenting her work at the TEXTILE ART BERLIN was Eva Lippert. She is catching and weaving textile dreams on a small table loom, combining treasures such as beads, lace, yarns, feathers etc. into glistening, precious pieces of jewellery-like cuffs or long wrist / arm warmers. If you wish to own some of her creations, write to her at: evalippert56@googlemail.com

Cuffs by Eva Lippert

Aren't these cuffs just magic: each one is different and it takes time to discover and sufficiently admire all those lovingly added details. I stood at the glass vitrine that held some of her creations for a long time and found it so hard to leave, especially since a small and very pretty girl was dancing around in the booth, bringing a smile to everybody's face!

The next two pictures are by Eva Lippert:

Eva Lippert: Fireworks. Woven arm warmers

Eva Lippert: Rosengarten. Woven cuffs.

A child's world

This blog post must start with a textile crafty item before we get to the world of children: here are a few flowers, made of leftover Rowan Kid Silk Haze (see Medallion Wrap). The winter 2012/2013 has been unusually long and I felt I needed to hold some blossoms in my hands! The flowers are really easy to crochet (or knit): chain 30, turn work, make 2 sc in every chain stitch, turn work, make 1 treble into every sc, cut thread and weave in, roll up, pull bottom edges together and secure with some stitches and while you are at it add pearly bead in the center and there you go. I made a slip stitch chain (See this excellent Bosnian crochet stitch Tutorial) at the very edge with a contrasting color and some beads for extra dew-drop glam and to accentuate the spiral shape - click here to see the purple flower brooch as the final touch to a scarf. The flowers are For Sale - contact me and while you are reading on, listen to this alltime favorite: Petite Fleur, played by Sidney Bechet.

In recent years there were several trends, dare I say fads, of taking pictures from unusual angles. The Lomography craze, shooting from the hip and from all angles was state-of-art... for a while. Then the trend to take pictures non-stop with a Memoto camera, as if documenting every second of one's life, or rather every two minutes. This reminded me of the 15 minutes of fame, proclaimed by Andy Wharhol in 1968 - and this statement held so many interpretative options - especially the question of "What is fame?"Or even: "Andy Who?"

Our grandson Victor received a sturdy children's camera for Christmas last year. One might assume that a small child, not even four years old, would not be able to make pictures like adults do, chosing the object, the frame, focus etc. And what a surprise! Victor chose carefully, delightfully tried out angles and places and we found amazing pictures on that sturdy camera chip. First things first:  He took a picture of his face (above), of his his eyes and nose (below) ...

And then of his face, drinking juice through a straw, again taking a picture of himself just to see what he would look like drinking juice through a straw....

He fully understands the process, focusses the camera on what he wants to photograph, and expertly checks the result right after the click. And the pictures are literally taken at his level.

Maybe we should try more often to meet small children at their eye level, and it will be quite helpful to go down on your knees to share the child's view, it is truly a big world out there! Come to think of it: Easter seems to be a perfect time for that - crawling around on a level playing field under bushes looking for all those Easter eggs!

(For a nest chockfull of helpful knitting/crochet tips and tricks click here and go to bottom of post)