It’s that time of the month again…

I love the end of the month, as it is “Mollie Makes” – Time…

do you know “Mollie Makes”? If you are British, you might have come across it, and there is a German version available in Germany as well.

It’s a monthly Craft Magazine, which covers a range of craft with a focus on needlework (knitting, crocheting, sewing), but they also write a lot about what’s going on in the crafty scene, blogs, trends, events, book reviews…

I like it a lot because a) it’s lovely made, great photos, there’s always a “goodie bag” with the monthly UK version with all the stuff you need for a little project so it b) gets me interested in the world beyond knitting and c) it is a bit quirky.

So. End of October it is, and I can sit down on a quiet afternoon, sip a cup of coffee, read my magazine, and get well again…

I love these fingerless mitts!

current mood: a bit tired

current soundtrack: Sophie Solomon – I can only ask why

planned projects: these mitts!

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Life…

…has been a bit rough-and-tumble in the last few weeks…however, I should be on the mend now, hopefully.

By doctor’s orders I’m supposed to have as much outdoor excercise as I can- which is an easy thing to do at the moment: all around there are news of gale-force winds and terrible downpours – and we are having quiet, peaceful autumn days here down by the riverside.

Which led to some beautiful autumn walks…

…and a Saturday spent at Lake Constance – great views, not so great food at a very touristy place in Meersburg and a lovely walk through the vinyards.

Knitting related news: I finished “Miss Winkle” by Martina Behm (http://strickmich.frischetexte.de/shop/shop-misswinkle) and am just waiting for it to dry to show you some pics. Blocking is fun on this project, as it involves the abuse of household appliances, in this case a broomstick…

For Miss Winkle, I used Ponderosa Wool (http://de.dawanda.com/shop/PondeRosa-Wolle), just a simple sock wool blend, but it was nice to knit with, and the colourway – called “very British” of all things! – is beautiful.

My pic for today: some Autumn finds which remind me of the lovely walk I had today, up on the hills overlooking the town…

current mood: are things getting better?

current soundtrack: Laura Marling – Alpha Shallows

currently on the needles: Mormorio by Heather Zoppetti, Strandwanderer by Lea Victoria,

…just a little reminder…

…for myself, and everyone else who’s in need of it

current mood: very quiet

current soundtrack: Agnes Obel – Aventine

currently on the needles: Miss Winkle by Martina Behm, Mormorio by Heather Zoppetti, Strandwanderer by Lea Victoria,

Now…to the knitty stuff…

…I am very far from being more than a casual knitter, and have only recently returned to knitting  after years of absconding…however I’m enjoying it immensely. I am still wondering why this simple movement of two needles which produces (sometimes) something wearable is providing me with so much pleasure and entertainment…

…then, on the other hand, I discovered recently that I’m much more able to concentrate whilst I’m doodleling – a habit which is considered at least impolite by some, and very offensive by other people.

I guess there is a connection between the two – something about keeping your hands busy to allow the brain to process information or something – any brain scientist out there who might be able to shed some light on this?

Anyway: this is what I’ve been working on since this summer:

solar dyeing – something fabulous in my opinion, if you have little time and are willing to deal with surprises – you put stuff into a jar and leave it in the sun for two weeks…you’ll find lots of information on the net, for example here:

http://needlesinthehay.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/solar-dyeing-project-part-1/

or here:

http://www.thejournalforwsd.org.uk/application/workfiles/resources/art234.pdf

also, there are some groups for natural dyeing wool on ravelry, both in English and in German

Knitwise, I have finished my Hitchhiker on my way to France, and have currently a lot of stuff on the needles:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hitchhiker

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tulpen

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miss-winkle

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miss-winkle

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mormorio

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mormorio

Quirina Cardigan from the current issue of Verena Stricken Herbst 2013

I am also suffering a severe case of “starteritis”, and I’m only glad that the lovely women of my local knitting group – and hopefully this blog! – are teaching me some perseverance…on the other hand: because of my parallel knitting several things, I had a time in June in which I finished about three pair of socks and a scarf within two weeks…

Some more, not knitting related news: We went for a walk yesterday – we had the first bit of sunshine for about a week, discovered a lot of nice spots in the Black Forest…my fellow knitting retreat guests would have loved all the funghi we discovered…

in the end, we went to a cafe with yummy cakes, salads and coffee…

and then this happened:

…I was definitely not amused, as you can imagine…no knitting for about three hours!

…but it was a lovely sunday nonetheless 🙂

knitting, woodturning and “islanding” in France…

…and sorry for the following picspam 🙂

We left the riverside for a week of knitting and woodturning at Sue and Culli’s (and Bebop’s) beautiful home in the Charente-Maritime Region in France…you can visit Sue’s Blog here http://www.knittingworkshops.blogspot.com – and if you check the September 2013 entry, you’ll actually find some photos of our stay there.

We had a brilliant time there and enjoyed our stay a lot – Sue and Culli are excellent hosts! Only letdown was a cold that I brought along with me from home, which knocked me out for pretty much the first three days of our stay – still, I started on my first big project (a cardigan from the current issue of Verena (Herbst 2013) – and I actually managed to finish the back by the time we came back to Germany. Pics will follow…

On Tuesday we visited Lina, who is an expert into dyeing with funghi, as is Irene, who was another guest at the knitting retreat.  She not only provided us with a very nice second breakfast…(or was it elevenses?)…but showed us some amazing examples of the colours you can achieve by dyeing with funghi…

lovely second breakfast

all of these are dyed with the same mushroom…just using different mordants…

paper made from funghi

beautiful colours

 

On Wednesday, we visited Bordeaux (and the amazing treasue trove which is “La Drogerie – I bought some pins and buttons to make myself a shawl pin (for the many shawls I’ve yet to finish!)…

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

© Susan Culligan 2013

Frank had four excellent days with his tutor Roger (and Culli) – he set out with the objective to make a yarn bowl…and left with a very beautiful “Not-yarn-bowl” 😉 – for which we now may have to purchase a special “Not-yarn-bowl”-shelf in order to present it accordingly…

© Susan Culligan 2013

On Friday we left…and drove further west, and further west…until we reached the Ile d’Oleron, where we stayed for another six nights…a beautiful, quiet (at this time of the year), down-to-earth place…

beach finds – Île d’Oléron

I love to be at the seaside

Seaside

Harbour impressions

beach huts at Saint Denis, Île d’Oléron

Phare de Chassiron, Île d’Oléron

View from the Lighthouse, Île d’Oléron

Phare de Chassiron, Île d’Oléron

Evening at the beach

We visited La Rochelle – a lovely town with quirky shops, lots of nice places to eat, and – although the weather was a bit murky that day, providing a lot of nice photo opportunities…

Impressions from La Rochelle

Impressions from La Rochelle

Impressions from La Rochelle

Did I miss something or are we still in France?

now…this doesn’t look promising

Impressions from La Rochelle

Impressions from La Rochelle

Impressions from La Rochelle

Impressions from La Rochelle

Going through my pictures, I realised that I did not take many pictures of knitting related issues, which is a shame, as I’ve done quite a lot of knitting – so knitting pics will have to wait until the weather and the light are better to take some WIP pictures…

current mood: ready for the next holiday

current soundtrack: Lisa Hannigan – Home

currently on the needles: Mormorio by Heather Zoppetti, Strandwanderer by Lea Victoria, One Love by Claire Ellen

Coming back…

…from a holiday isn’t always the easiest thing to do, in particular if the holiday has been as good and inspiring as this one…

we came back yesterday, and I’m just in the process of uploading the pictures, so hang on and I’ll tell you something about a great knitting (and woodturning!) adventure in France…