Give your heart away

A few years back: On a whim I crocheted a heart and then added some embroidery. An idea for you: A variety of different hearts would make a nice Valentine’s Day table decoration! (Valentine's Day)

Valentine's Heart - Crochet and Embroidery (front)

Valentine's Heart - Crochet and Embroidery (back)

And a tiny heart for my daughter Valerie !

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

Design Ideas Unlimited

No new post since the beginning of the new year? It isn't that I wouldn't know what to write, admire and share. In the the contrary, there is so much to write about, so much to share - but so little time. But then the freedom of time lies just beyond that wall of commitments we choose to erect ourselves. So let me plunge right into the ongoing second quarter of the year 2015.

Three Designs by Victor

My grandson Victor has this uncanny feeling for his Oma's favorite activities, apart from spoiling him as much as his parents will allow. He surprised me with the request: "Can you teach me how to knit, Oma? We can knit a jumper together!" Now if that isn't music in every grandmother's ears, a fanfare and wake-up call to dash to the nearest LYS with my grandson. He made three designs in a matter of ten minutes, bold colors, and not a moment of hesitation - and off we went.

Victor and his Little Prince Scarf

To stick to the time frame of 8 days from start to finish, the bulky jumper turned into a colorful scarf, spring is coming and no pampering of British school children, please! The second project would be a tropical fish and finally he wanted to chrochet a palm tree at the sea. All designs were color-coded and annotated, both in writing and verbally. The blue line escaping from the top of the palm tree ought to be disregarded though, it was "just a thought, but you can ignore it." (What a relief!)

Design by Victor: Tropical Fish

He knew exactly what he wanted and in the yarn shop, he wavered not for a second when chosing the yarn and colors for each project. We also picked up knitting needles and a fat crochet hook. He danced and skipped along the sidewalk on our way home, carrying the bag with his yarn loot. I found it endearing that he checked on all facts, such as "fat needles" are not a sign for beginner knitters, and we began to guess what size of needles were used for the jumpers/cardigans of people we met on our way home. Victor would jubilantly pass someone with a bulky jumper and sing out loudly: "UK Triple 000" (his favorite!).

Victor's Palm Tree on a Sandy Beach at the Sea

He loved going through the motions with the "fat needles" and when he took some time off, just to get that latest Lego completed, he had me under his supervision: "Keep on knitting, Oma", he admonished me when I let the knitting drop in my lap to have a sip of tea. For the land-sea scape he did crochet the palm tree trunk while I was responsible for the blue backdrop added later. I love his confidence that Oma can just knit anything he wanted (sadly: except Lego) and why not? After all we have picture knitting, intarsia, fair isle etc. all at our disposal.

Scarf: Knitting needles US 15/10-12 mm. Chunky yarn such as "Seriously Chunky" Cygnet. Cast on an odd number of stitches, ca. 17. Knit the first and last 2 rows in seed stitch 3 and last 3 stitches in seed stitch to prevent curling. Change color 4 times, not exactly at 1/4th of the length of the scarf, it looks more casual if the halfway point is a bit off. Add tassels if you wish. Neatly weave in ends from color change before your grandson cuts them off without much ado. The fish receives an eye made of one small button placed on top of a larger button and sewed to where the fish eye is supposed to be. Ask Victor.

Joan Ingilby

During our vacation in the UK, I happened to chance on this link about little known knitting facts you might enjoy reading. And below is a clip from a newspaper, telling about Joan Ingilby (born near Ripon) who was "a chronicler of centuries-old rural life in Yorkshire and the co-author of "The Old Hand Knitters of the Dales".  Unfortunately the bookshop in Ripley Castle did not carry a copy but if you come across the book it promises to be an interesting read.

Ripley Castle Gardens

And one more item on the extile front: A nice and versatile stitch I saw recently is this one: "twice-turned-stitch" with an excellent video tutorial.

Sample knit with Lighthouse Waves on US Size 9 needles

and there is a pretty free cowl pattern using this stitch as well. I would imagine that a lacy yarn and larger needles would produce a wonderful lightweight shawl or wrap for those cooler summer evenings. In winter time the option of knitting a baby blanket appears to be the obvious choice.

A few dark colors: Slate roof glistening after a heavy rainfall

Many bright colors: Victor painted a pepple and hid it for the Easter Bunny

If you are interested in more helpful knitting/crochet links check out this post (scroll to bottom)

Poppies on the High Plain

In the beginning of summer in the high plain, The Meseta Central in Spain is bursting into colors, predominantly poppy red, delivering one of the two colors of the Spanish flag, the other being the golden yellow of the sun.

The expansive Meseta Central covers a large area of Castilla y León in north-western Spain. At a height of 800 m on average, the air on the plain is fresh and the breeze carries the fragrance of millions of wild flowers gracing the landscape stretching into the far horizon, fusing with the sky. They are lining the roads criss-crossing the area, selflessly providing a source of pure visual and olfactory delight.

Sometimes we can fill our soul's need for joy, for happiness and bliss simply by looking at the roadside...

Happiness is also finding that a lovely yarn store, Elisabeth Tricote, recently opened in our little town. It is like getting an unexpected birthday gift, something that will - hopefully - be a source of delight for years to come. A few pictures and an interesting background story will follow shortly. And as usual when exposed  to a yarn environment, I spent a long time soaking in the wealth of yarn colors and textures, not leaving without at least a small yarn helping: a soft mohair for a wispy light shawlette, and a small roll of fine flax. The two new treasures are already transformed and will be part of a gift to a friend who is not allergic to wearing mohair.

Beads lined up on a transparent thread outline the delicate linen/mohair flower, the center accentuated with a bead in pastel blue. See this Miracle Design Post for the pattern and don't forget to listen to Petite Fleur by Sidney Bechet while you are there!The shawlette is so stretchy and light one can even wear it around one's shoulders during a summer evening, at night, when a fresh breeze awakens and the hot temperatures of the day subside.

The pattern is easy: CO 24 stitches (or more, divisible by four), I added 2 for the edges left and right. Knit 2 rows. Knit pattern row: K4 (YO, K2tog, K2) and repeat until desired length. Knit 1 row. Cast off loosely. I used a US size 12 knitting needle. The pattern is by turvid2008 and published on Ravelry and in her blog. 

 

The pattern looks and in fact is identical on both sides, which is nice if you wish to turn this shawlette into a larger shawl or wrap - reversible patterns that don't have the smell of effort are invaluable!

 

 Links and tips for your textile crafts: this Helpful Tips Link might interest you (scroll to bottom of post).

Visits from my grandson

There is always the need of clothing for babies! A friend of mine is expecting her child at the end of the summer and I thought a light-weight bonnet would be something practical to have:

The bonnet is made of cotton yarn, crochet hook 3,5 (E-4). A crochet fan pattern, and the edge outlined with simple dc/sc stitches, using a fine contrasting yarn. The bonnet is closed with two ca. 25 cm ribbons, the chains made like a Solomon stitch crochet cast-on. E-mail me if you need more information. Need a suitable card for announcing the birth of a new baby? Here it is, in Cindy's blog Scherenschnitte - Papercuts. She lives in the US, does masterful papercuts, also on commission.

To my great joy and delight, I was able to see my grandson Victor for a week earlier this month. A four-year old boy, charming, lively, intensely interested in just about everything except going to bed. And maybe due to my steadily advancing age, and reflecting on the wars that have been going on for all the years in my life at some place or another in the world, I once again began comparing the life of present-day children, their environments and everyday happenings with mine so many years ago. How lucky many of us are, living in an area without hostile conflicts or worse.

I would like to enclose a link at the end of this post as an invite to KIVA. By accepting the invitation, you will not be asked to give sensitive information, especially no credit card number, in fact, you won't have to spend a single penny. A generous overall donor has provided a huge sum of loans from which you will receive US $ 25.00 earmarked to lend to a borrower of your choice, provided on KIVA list of borrowers. There is no financial involvement at all. Note: The sum of US$ 25.00 is paid back to the original overall donor.

And this is only half of it: by accepting the invitation, the account of the person sending the invite will also be credited with US $ 25.00 to lend to a borrower. Note:  again the loan will be paid back to the original overall donor.

There is simply no better offer around for you to make a difference. Click on the link below to register with your e-mail, select a borrower and click to accept the free loan. It will make a huge difference to the lives of many, especially to children.

Clicking on the link will not automatically get you involved in anything, just gives you more information!
So here is the LINK to first check out the details, click on "Free Trial" (still does not commit you to anything)  and in another step maybe accept the invitation - at no cost to you at all!

Thank you for reading this post.

(Here the link I try to include in every post: Helpful Tips and Links for Textile Crafters) Scroll post down to the end).

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)

Noblesse oblige

This project suggested itself: I found some beige 8-ply cotton in my stash about the same time this potholder pattern from the Ravelry Projects page crept up on my screen. A nice waiting room project I thought and a short time later this pretty cloth emerged from the cone. It looked so fancy and noble that I just had to add some embellishment - and now there are little golden bullions or a bird leaving golden footprints wandering along the seam, from the bottom end right into the hanger.
 

 For the embroidery, I used my mother's 2-ply DMC cotton that was in her embroidery yarn box. This cloth turned out just too pretty to be a lowly potholder for wear and tear in the kitchen... it looks really too precious! So in honor of the International Women's Day - here we go from rags to riches!

The idea is from Michelle Gibbs, she saw the hotpad frequently on the Internet and finally sat down and wrote out the pattern, sharing it with Ravelry friends. It is soon available also in German.

How small, practical and ordinary things can suddenly take on their own beauty!

Pinterest

Literally Touring Countries and Continents

Writing a blog and visiting the blogs of readers can hold many unexpected surprises. It literally leads to new literary ventures and adventures. I would compare it to opening doors to unknown worlds, holding secrets yet unknown. It is a bit like working freeform - patterns and yarns fall into place in structures one would consciously never have planned before the yarn went into this or that direction.

Maybe I was always aware of the popular saying that there are 'so many books and so little time' because I cannot think of a day I did not read at all.  When I was much younger, in a pre-blog and pre-Internet time, my reading mainstay were books written in English by English, Australian and American authors, as well as books in German, this being followed by a distant second from ROW - the rest of the world.

Sometimes authors from other continents and countries caught my attention in the bookstores I frequented or in magazines I read regularly. And it was always a very enriching first experience of 'discovering' authors for myself, old and new, until finally the map of my reads showed a bit more of a global balance.

In January 2013 I chanced upon the lovely blog of Vibeke from Norway "A Butterfly in my Hair". This sparked my interest in more contemporary Norwegian literature, quasi on top of those famous Norwegian authors of old we had read in school and the inevitable all-Scandinavian specialty of crime stories.

 
Novelist Per Petterson was the first author I chose, reading his book "Out Stealing Horses" - a novel having won an incredible array of awards. I was sad to put the book down after I had read it - as if it held a golden bowl of beautiful phrases and story lines that had suddenly come to an end - but they will linger on in my memory for quite a while.

Per Petterson is a famous writer, his books are translated into 60 languages and his work has won many distinguished awards and prices. As I said: so many books, and such little time... But please feel free to add your favorite book in the comments box at the end of this post!

This post is for Vibeke and her beautiful blog, generously introducing so many artists from countries around the world.

Speaking of Norway - don't we associate cold and long winters with Scandinavian countries? And long summers with short nights, and the further North we travel the longer the days until the sun never sets...

The above shown muffs in my No Chill series are useful against winter chills. Two square modules are crocheted together - you might recognize the POP blanket pattern?

A warm fleece-type fabric is cut to size and sewn together, forming a tube and sewn invisibly into the muff as a liner, making it reversable. Just before closing the last corner, I stuffed Scottish sheep fleece into the space between liner and knitted sleeve. Finally I added the the ribbed ends on either side (k2, p2) as cuffs, finishing the edge with a crocheted picot stitch. [Some muffs are for sale - please contact me via e-mail].