Month: May 2017

A wonderful good morning to Saturday coffee with a little this and that from the knitting world.

In the last week I have achieved another big milestone, namely the step photo shoot for my foundation book. For this I have made Thursday so really nice off and even had a few hours of time just for me. In those hours I shot a little video for you. That may have been fun, I'm sure I'll do more of it soon!

Remember my Spring Waffle Shawl from last year? The same pattern is used for this beautiful baby blanket, you need 8 balls of Nazca and the blanket is knitted on 7 to 8mm needles. The pattern is even easier because you don't have to knit increases and it goes in a jiffy!

A new Knit Along fever has spread in the Maschenfein knitting community. It's unbelievable how something like this happens and suddenly infects everyone. The other day I told them about my plan to knit a Hinata (the cover cloth of my first book) and suddenly it spread like wildfire and everyone is knitting along! So let's make it a Knit Along and start together next week Wednesday. Of course you can join in with all the Hinatas that are already on the needles, or just join in. Many use the Knit Along now to finish their Hinata. Many new Hinatas are made either from Milano or two-threaded from Premia and Piura. I have now retreated to my old color scheme and am knitting a Blue Beige shawl. Since my Vneck Boxy is already very out of my regular scheme, I wanted to knit something more adapted. Even though I still find the red-white combo mega!

If you also want to participate, you will need:

• the pattern for Hinata, they are in my book.
• the knitting kit with mohair Luxe or
• Milano in two colors, 4 balls each, or
• Premia in two colors and Piura in two matching colors (2 balls each), that's my combination, or
• only Piura in two colors, 2 balls each, or if you knit Piura double-threaded, double the amount.

We use the hashtag #maschenfeinKAL and #hinataKAL, ok?

Cordula from Hand Herz Seele wrote to me a few days ago and told me about her beautiful knitting retreat at the Baltic Sea. Few places are still available. That sounds so beautiful! Already since 2015 she organizes such workshops and creative weekends. Check it out, maybe it fits into your schedule.

Summery decoration I have discovered for you, namely these sugary sweet, pretty crocheted feathers. I'm usually not so the crochet decoration type, but I find the just too great.

And if you're still in a summer sweater mood, this striped Purl Soho classic might be something for you.

The slightly warmer variant, but with little drunter also suitable for cool summer evenings is this sweater. I find the already pretty cool, matching and different mohair variants I have all in the store, so the color choice is immense.

Tanja's pattern for the BRITT cardigan knitted from Premia are finished. It looks so fluffy, as if you could lie down in it and never get up again. I'm looking forward to discovering more of it on Instagram and the like. At the moment, Premia's basalt blue is sold out. But Lamana has already ordered supplies (likewise for the tweed yarns), everything will come in again in July. Fortunately, the color palette is large enough!

So beautiful colorful I liked the Fancy Mee cloth from Bine at Auf den Nadeln. Since one sees also once again how beautiful radiant colors can make. Bine, you are just the absolute pink-pink type! Anyway, it suits you very well!

Have a wonderful sunny weekend!

A wonderful good morning to Saturday coffee with some nice links from the knitting world.

I get little to browse the web right now, but what I do constantly and far too often is to browse through Instagram. I just wrote a few beautiful Instagram accounts together for you.

For example, there is the feed from Blue Sky Fibres with beautiful landscape images and designs. I especially liked this picture. But also this. Or this! Hach.... Will someone please make me pictures like this for my blog?

Very appealing I also find the feed from Oilega. And hey, just a lot of curry!!! You know, new pink and so.

Shibuiknits you know for sure, I also like the feed. The images are often too "cool" for me, but the colors and this at all so reduced style. Simply beautiful.

The Koel Magazine feed is totally inspiring. Beautiful pictures that make you want more. Such a booklet, for example, as a source of inspiration for new ideas and colors. No time, but great, right?

Speaking of the magazine. What do you actually think of Pompom Mag? I've often thought about getting it for you in the store, but I'm not sure if you're interested in something like that at all. It's in English, of course.

What else is there? I'm making lots of plans for the infinite amount of time I'll have after the books. Do you know this? I mentally write lists of what I could knit. I'm constantly coming up with new pattern, while the many for the books are still not quite in the dry.

For example, I admired this red and white Hinata-to-be and it was about me. Red! That would be it at all. Way up there on the knitting list - a hinata in red and white! From Premia, Piura, Milano or Premia AND Piura. I don't know yet.

And now please take a look at this wonderful ITO scarf. Knitted from ITO Sensai double thread on 4mm needles. A great favorite piece!

Have a nice weekend.

A wonderful good morning to Saturday coffee with some beautiful inspirations and ideas!

Big in the trend are just Urugami and Shio knitted together, quite clearly! I knit with it in the few free minutes I have left, the V-neck Boxy in the color Tangerine and have planned 6 cones Urugami and 3 cones Shio. Sandra and Kerstin are also in Urugami Shio fever and are now knitting the Summer of Ankestrick with it. Kerstin in daring orange-pink (a combination that Carina also has on her needles right now and that you will also find in the new shawl book ) and Sandra in sea colors. I am very excited about it! By the way, the Summer from Ankestrick is not to be confused with the Hint of Summer, which so many of you have already knitted. Some of you have also knitted it in Urugami-Shio!

Do you actually already know my closet pinboard on Pinterest?

I would love to be as structured as Karen in terms of closet planning. I always knit more from the gut. I don't really have a strategy yet, do you? But... it's not quite right. I pay a lot of attention to the materials and patterns I knit, because by now I can differentiate between "I like it, but I would never wear it" and "it fits in my closet and I would wear it". There are yarns that I constantly see somewhere and find beautiful. But I don't like their feel and color effects on myself at all. After all. I have learned that over the years.

The wool package to the Whippet is also just in the store again hard. I can also really only recommend him from Milano. Even after many months of wear I still love him very much!

Some of you have asked what else they could knit from the Premia. I have a tutorial that I want to knit for a long time. However, it is more of an autumn/winter project: The Cirrus! Isn't it mega great? And I think it's the perfect project for Piura-Premia in combination. We'll keep that one in mind, won't we?

So, I must now make myself to the pattern lobe writing and knitting. Now that I've really cleaned up my workspace and cleared out the book chaos, I'm freshly motivated for the final spurt! That's why I wish you a wonderful weekend!

And if you like, you can browse a little more at Auf den Nadeln.

A wonderful good morning to Saturday coffee with a little knitting net talk and a huge jump of joy.

Last week I really realized once again: I have the world's best and most amazing, knit-fine readers I could ever wish for. My two new books are now available for pre-order and one of them is already #1 bestselling knitting book! Isn't that just nuts? In the meantime, my three books (two of which won't be released until late summer) have even taken the top three spots. You can't imagine how much I've been jumping around in circles here. But now once again officially here in the blog: May I introduce?

• Knitting - stitch by stitch (my basic book), August 2017
• Knit even more shawls - 25 new maschenfein projects for every occasion, September 2017

Thank you for just being as happy as I am! What a wonderful, maschenfein community. This is the greatest motivation for the final spurt and some insights can already be seen here and there. For example on Instagram with the hashtag #geheimgeheim.

If you not only like to leaf through books, but also attend workshops from time to time, you'll find plenty to do in Berlin, Hamburg and in Münster over the next few months:

Sora aka Mrsmama has namely announced the day before yesterday her new knitting courses in Münster. This is certainly a great thing, because she knits not only incredibly much, but also super beautiful and tasteful things. If you are interested, you could already send her a non-binding email, which makes her planning easier.

In Berlin there are now in May, June and July great workshops at Frida Fuchs. Among others a workshop with Ankestrick and Chrisberlin and one with Janukke.

In mid-May there will be a workshop on Steeken at Mylys in Hamburg! Steeken is simply cutting open the knitted piece after it has been worked in rounds. It's probably better to do this together the first time, right?

By the way, in the photo above you can see the beginnings of my V-neck doxy, which I've been working here in between. I had to rib after a few rows but then because I noticed that I knit with the new needle system that I tried thereby, but much looser than usual. Yes! I, the stitch test expert, had actually dared to knit with different needles than in the stitch test. I was just too curious about this new system... now I have returned to the good old fine knitting needles (3mm). So it swell and for sure I will show you more soon and call you to knit along. Some are already doing it! I knit after long trial and error with Urugami and Shio, because this sample simply made me the most desire for my new sweater and I liked at the same time exactly this color.

Mmhh. What else is there?

I'm not sure if I had already linked it, but I think this sweater is also very, very pretty. So if you wish a little more pattern.

And here are a few more pictures I've been excited about over the past few weeks: The collaborative knitting of my designs at Wollen Berlin. And this sunshine shawl aka Brianna from my first book. And finally, this super big cozy cerlane. Thanks for showing it to me!

Have a great weekend!