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

Solarfärbung 2 - Rhabarberwurzel - Türkis - Kurkuma

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/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…