four

Happy Birthday, little big girl.

(Looking at old photos I can hardly believe that this big girl once was so tiny. Ok, she was a huge newborn, actually, but in comparison to now it’s still unbelievable.)

We’ve had a wonderful birthday party yesterday, with lots of friends dropping by. The kids played Hit the Pot and they danced and we made an adventurous treasure hunt.

Oh, and there was lots of super delicious cake!

I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful, stubborn (!!), charming, lovely, clever big girl. ♥

 

days of rest

A busy week lies behind me. And when I say busy I mean this superbusy kind of thing which hardly leaves you time to breathe deeply once in a while.

So what was going on? I decided to re-work my patterns. All of them. I wanted them to have the same layout, to have schematics where they make sense, to use the same style sheet and to all have the same look and feel about them.

Now, when I had the idea it sounded like a great one to me, but somehow I had underestimated the amount of work I had to put into this. I currently have 27 patterns online, each translated into two or three languages, which left me with about 70 files I had to re-work. Not to mention drawing schematics, editing photos, adding romance blurps, proofreading everything again and again and trying to keep my inner sanity while doing all this…

René was super thoughtful with me and gave me as much room and time as possible, but our nerves really wore thin by the end of the week.

But (and stories like this always have a “but” to them, no?) finally I was done. It’s just a great feeling to be done, really. I can have a coffee now all in peace, without worrying if I maybe forgot something (no, I didn’t. I checked a million times, really) or thoughts like “I’ll never finish this, how the hell could I ever think it was a great idea?!” or putting the kids off because no, I don’t have time to build a LEGO tower now and I can’t watch you dance either.

It’s wonderful to have time again.

What do you do when you have time? When all work is done and you can totally freely decide what you want to do?

For me, honestly, it’s always been knitting. When I started to knit this was a calming counterpole to my stressful everyday life. Evenings on the couch with my knitting basket right next to me, sometimes listening to an audiobook and rejoycing in the slow but steady progress of my work.

But things have changed. Knitting has become (one of) my job(s) now and I never knit “only” for the fun of it. I still love knitting, of course, but it is not my place to find rest and peace anymore. Deadlines are pressing, I have todo lists longer than one page of paper (which makes me nervous if I think too much about this fact) and I’m even playing with the thought of making knitwear design my day job, which brings up even more annoying things to think about like health insurance, pension insurance, our mortgage and, and, and…

So just recently I picked up an old hobby of mine again.

I’ve always been amazed by drawing. I could watch artists hours and hours with increasing enthusiasm, totally struck by their talent and skill.

I don’t feel I have talent for this myself, but this doesn’t keep me from scribbling. And I do feel that it’s a lot about technique which is in fact learnable. And the point that I don’t HAVE to learn it at all keeps my mind at ease. Yes, I want to become better, but I have no deadlines and no pressure at all. If I scribble for the next five years, that’s totally fine for me as well. (Of course, being able to quickly sketch a fashion croquis IS a useful thing for a fashion designer which will surely prove useful for me in the future. But this is not the reason I’m doing this.)

And of course, picking this as a hobby gives me the wonderful excuse to spend money on things like paper notebook, pens and markers. I really fall for this.

This is my small, but growing, collection of COPIC markers.

They’re a great tool and just so much fun to use. The downside is, they’re rather expensive. You can easily spend a couple of hundred dollars for a set of them, and this is far more than I feel would be reasonable for now. But it’s ok – as I said, I allow myself to progress slowly.

And these are my prismacolor pencils.

Do you draw, too? What are your favourite materials?

 

Pattern: Nangou

I got so many wonderful comments on Ravelry for my Nangou shawl that I decided to shorten everyone’s waiting time a little bit. ♥

The pattern is available for pre-order sale on Ravelry from now on until May the 22nd, which means that you’ll be able to purchase it for 2.90 EUR instead of 3.90 EUR. On purchase you’ll find page 1 and 2 of the pattern in your library right now, including all information you need concerning yardage, gauge, needles and size so you can start swatching right away. On 22nd of May the pattern will go live and everyone who bought it early on will find an update with the entire pattern in their ravelry library. (Obviously you have to make sure you’re logged in to your Ravelry account before purchase!)

But enough of that now – let me rather tell you a little about the shawl.

It all started with an idea that I almost discarded in the same second. A garter stitch shawl, ok. Two-colored, fine. Eyelets and asymmetry. Hm, let’s make a sketch first…

I really liked the look of it, but I was a little afraid that the shawl would simply be too… simple. Would anyone at all like a design like this? Isn’t it too boring, too easy to knit? That was the point of time when I almost crumpled the paper and threw it away, altogether with the idea.

I thought about it for some days, but finally I made a decision. I don’t design because I want to create something complicated that only skilled people can make. I design because I want to create beauty, that should be my first aim. If this involves complicated techniques and patience that’s fine. If not – fine too!

I just went for it and started swatching right away…

Isn’t that a cute little swatch? Actually, the final version of the shawl is different in almost all aspects, but it was good and important to see the idea come to life. I swatched in lace yarn, not in fingering, I worked the eyelet rows in stockinette and not in garter stitch, the colors are different and I think the rate of increases, too. But I could capture my original idea and I noticed: I really liked this design! Yes, it’s simple, but it’s terribly awesome at the same time.

I started looking for the perfect yarn for this pattern and soon I decided to use Shibui Staccato. An adorable blend of merino and silk. It has a wonderful sheen and lovely drape, and it was a pleasure to knit and wear. It is so important that pattern and yarn work together in a harmonic way, and here both are just perfect together!

I was so glad when my yarn support finally arrived here and I could cast on. (Thank you so much for that, Shibui!) I knitted the shawl in about a week, I think, it was just so much fun. I simply couldn’t put the needles aside.

Since then I hardly took it off anymore. The weather here in Germany is… well. Something between fall and spring? Grey skies, lots of rain, but at least there are no minus degrees anymore. Not so great, really, but just perfect for wearing a silky, drapey shawl like Nangou.

I really love the way it turned out. It’s elegant, but it’s casual enough for everyday wear, and the neutral colors make it combinable with almost every piece of my wardrobe.

All in all, it was a very satisfying workflow for me and I’m so happy I made the decision pro simplicity in the beginning!

But enough said – it’s getting late and I hear my bed calling me. I really hope I didn’t bore you with this whole story and that you like my little Nangou! ♥

 

Lil’ teaser: Nangou

Happy Mother’s Day!

I already got a lovely (!) gift from my big girl a couple of days ago and today she sang me a song. So cute! ♥

Apart from that we managed to get some photos done for Nangou today.

Taking photos is usually the hardest part in writing a pattern for me. There are just so many components that all have to be great if you want to get a good picture. First of all – time! Then I’d like to do it without the kids, cos (sometimes) I prefer pictures without a kid’s hand or foot or nose right in front of the model. Styling plays a role, too – do I have something great to wear that matches the shawl? And if so, does it still fit me (sigh)? And so on…

As the list grows longer the odds for a great shot are constantly getting worse. My boyfriend’s mood plays a role, too – he hates taking photos and is rolling his eyes behind the camera all the time.

You see, it’s not an easy thing to do.

But even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while and sometimes we really manage to get this one shot we aimed at. I really like the one for Nangou! And now that I got it all done, I’m practically ready to publish the pattern. Stay tuned!

By the way, the hero shot for Targetty is such a picture, too. I really like how it came out, but can you believe that René was really cheesed off when we took it and I had the flu? Haha, not kidding! Here is the shot:

 

Off-center experiments

I’m crazy for asymmetry in knitting, and there are a million ways to combine these two.

 

With this shawl I’m trying to use a real unusual way with a center spine that’s, well, not centered at all. It’s hard to see from the picture, but I don’t want to reveal too much as I’m only at the beginning of the process and who knows, maybe I’ll mess it up completely…

I’ll keep adding photos to the ravelry project page, so just peek in if you’re curious.

The yarn, by the way, is great to work with! You surely recognized it from my last blog post, it’s Wisp from Dream in Color, a silk merino blend. Super luxurious! I’m so excited how it will feel once it’s washed and blocked!

And did you notice the ball I wound on the picture? I actually don’t own a swift and a ball winder. I do it by hand. Every time. Must have been a couple of miles of yarn that have gone through my hands! I really plan on buying these tools one day, but somehow other things are always more urgent. And, to be honest, I somehow like the process, too. It usually gives me a first feeling of how the yarn behaves, how it will be to knit up and – last but not least – if there are any knots in a skein.

 

 

Administrative stuff…

Did you actually think a knitwear designer spends his days knitting?

Believe it or not, but I’m hardly knitting at the moment. There are just so many other (knitting related) things that have to be done and they all are eating my knitting time.

René is on a business trip for three days, so I’m all alone with the kids. I got up at 6:30, dressed them, made breakfast and brought them to kindergarten and to their day nanny. I got time until 12:00 before I have to pick them up again. Four hours, that sounds so much, but actually three of them are over now and I didn’t knit one single stitch.

Instead I prepared a pattern submission for Twist Collective and one for Interweave Knits. I put so much work into both of them, because I love these publications and I enjoy their style and the designs they feature. It would be great if I got accepted, so keep your fingers crossed!

Also, a long-awaited parcel finally arrived here today!

It’s four amazing skeins of Wisp by Dream in Color, a heavenly soft blend of silk and merino. I’ll be designing a shawl with three of them, there’s gonna be a KAL and I’m free to give the fourth one to one of the participants, so make sure to stay tuned.

So, my todo list is two points shorter now, which is great. Tomorrow and wednesday I’m having four hours time in the morning again, and I’m seriously planning to eliminate all of the others, too! Gotcha!

 

May

So I’m sitting here drinking a glass of red wine. The kids are in bed, René is out with a friend to see a soccer match and I’m giving the final touch to one of my latest knitting patterns.

 

It’s called Nangou and is made out of Shibui Knits Staccato, a yarn I’m just so happy to have discovered. It’s so soft and cozy, and it is a pleasure to knit and wear. I’m hardly taking this shawl off at the moment (and the weather is just right for wearing it. Summer’s not here yet.) Also, the people at Shibui are a bunch of super helpful and friendly guys and I’m sure this was not my last Shibui design.

Lots of other things happend in the last weeks, too. One of the most important ones: The little girl turned one! Can you believe it? It’s hard for me… doesn’t seem like a year ago when we had to leave her in hospital all alone on her first night. I’m just so happy that she’s with us now.

Unfortunately the doctors just discovered a big hole in her heart just the other day and obviously I’m thinking about this and worrying all the time now. There’s still a chance that the hole will disappear, but if not it’s gonna have to be closed in a couple of years. I’m really trying not to think about this. Everything will be fine. Keep your fingers crossed for her, will you?