We knit our way into Advent

I'm particularly enjoying planning my knitting for the time between the years. So while the Santa stocking and the knitted animals for the children are still waiting to be completed (there's still time!), I'm making a list of knitting ideas for the winter in my head.

The Effie sweater from Marisa's pen is brand new this week. Knitted from Como Grande and Premia - both from Lamana - it will go over your needles quite quickly. The stockinette body will give you hours of mindless knitting, while the ribbed cuffs provide variety and an eye-catching feature.

We have several yarn ideas

If you are looking for a slightly cheaper alternative yarn, you can use Snefnug from CaMaRose and Premia from Lamana. Mary-Anne has created the kit for you - including matching color suggestions. Simply click on the drop-down menu "Your own color selection" above the colors. And if you don't want to knit mohair, you can also knit Como Grande or Snefnug on their own. However, this will change the character of the Effie Sweater. So you should definitely bear that in mind. In terms of quantity, you can use the kit as a guide - but leave out the bobbin thread.

Knit this cozy sweater with a turtleneck and batwing sleeves from the top down on 4 mm needles or according to the gauge swatch. The shoulders are designed with a dropped shoulder and short rows ensure that the Effie Sweater is longer at the back than before. When measuring to determine the right size, please note that the model is knitted with a positive ease of approx. 40 to 60 cm. So it's definitely a cozy knit for all situations and you won't have to hold back when eating cookies. That's a pleasant prospect! As usual, the pattern is also available to buy separately as a pdf.

It's a well-known fact that some things you don't even know you need. Kitchen utensils can be one of them. Or, of course, knitting accessories such as cola cords and stitch holders.

In terms of knitting design, our new maschenfein hot water bottle cover Filli definitely falls into this category for me. Definitely a piece that you probably didn't have on your knitting list - but now you do!

In any case, the hot water bottle is being used a lot at home at the moment. Whether it's by me at my desk or by the children in the cargo bike. A little makeover wouldn't hurt, would it? For my part, I think Filli is simply fabulous.

I'm really happy with my knitting at the moment: I've always had the feeling that I don't have that many knitted items (finished projects, mind you, let's ignore the ones I've started for a moment). But now I've realized that I've accumulated quite a lot over the last few years - and that makes me really happy!

When I open my drawer in the morning, sweaters, cardigans, tops and scarves smile at me - all with their own story. It's such a joy to make your own clothes and only have your favorite pieces.

And I don't mind that one or two pieces take longer. Knitting is a process, manual work takes time - and in the end, the appreciation for clothing and its production wins out.

So I'm really enjoying planning my next knitting projects. The hot water bottle cover is on the list, but I would also like to make (another) shawl. I'd like it to be really cozy. So what would fit better than the cable knit series from ChrisBerlin?

After the enthusiasm for the Rabea Scarf, Chris developed two more variations: the Rabea Shawl and the Focaccia Shawl. The name of the latter is unmistakably due to its resemblance to raw focaccia dough. What can I say other than "Delicious!"?

All three designs share the cable pattern, which creates plenty of volume without making the knitted piece too heavy. The pattern for the Rabea Shawl and Focaccia Shawl each include four sizes, with the Rabea design being smaller overall. The largest Focaccia model ends up being 260 cm long, the Rabea version 200 cm.

Different yarns come into play

Chris has also varied the yarns used: While the Focaccia Shawl is a luxury piece thanks to Cashmere 6/28 from Pascuali, the Rabea Shawl uses Lima and Premia from Lamana. This makes the shawl less expensive - but the combination is also gorgeous. Otherwise we wouldn't have chosen it for this year's Christmas shawl...

Of course, there are always many possible yarns for shawls (for the Focaccia Shawl, for example, you can also use Como from Lamana), so everyone should find a yarn that suits their preferences. And who knows? Maybe a more expensive knitting kit is just the right Christmas present!

For example, I would also like to give myself the kit for this design here: Gujo Collar by aegyoknit. It's exactly mine. Which is why the kit says "This product is already on one of your wish lists". Oops, sometimes I'm just ahead of myself!

The shawl collar is knitted from the top down in Carpe Diem by Lang Yarns. In addition to the high collar, the half-flap and the visible decreases are eye-catching. Or as I would put it: I need it! I want it!

Take Poppy, for example, the new yarn from Sandnes. The Norwegian yarn manufacturer didn't announce it at all - suddenly it arrived and we were immediately taken with it!

The construction is similar to Kos. The difference, however, is that instead of being blown into a nylon tube as with Kos, alpaca and virgin wool fibers are blown into a cotton tube. If you're thinking: I know that from Snefnug - right! The composition varies slightly and - probably the biggest difference - Poppy 's color palette is much smaller. Instead, Sandnes has limited itself completely to a speckled look.

To make it easier for you to get started with the yarn, there is also a new magazine: In magazine 2313 you will find two patterns - one for women and one for children (I have linked both as products above). I'm not usually the type for speckled yarns, but I have to say that both the yarn and the designs really appeal to me. For my children I would definitely choose the color Tutti Frutti, for me I would prefer Autumn Leaf.

I also couldn't wait for the release of the Montalcini swe ater by Miriam Walchshäusl. The top-down sweater in a half-pattern is particularly impressive with its zig-zag pattern and side slits. The sweater is inspired by and named after the Italian neuroscientist Rita Levi Montalcini. As always with Miriam, this is a woman with an eventful and moving story. Feel free to google her - I found the Wikipedia article very interesting!

Miriam chose Camel DK and Manada by Pascuali for the yarn, which is exactly why we have created the kit for you. Camel DK is made from 100% camel hair, Manada from mohair, silk, wool and yak. It is always fascinating to see what kind of yarns our animal fiber suppliers make possible. This makes it all the more important to value and care for these animals, which Pascuali consistently pursues.

It is precisely this company philosophy that we value so highly - which is why we also check how each of our manufacturers deals with resources and suppliers (both human and animal). Of course, this also applies to our own products, such as our accessory pouch.

The small bag is made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and offers space for all the little helpers you need as a knitter. Whether scissors, wool needles, measuring tape or stitch stoppers - there's plenty of room here. The bag is big enough for accessories, but also small enough to fit quickly into any project bag. And of course, nothing works here without the wonderful scribbles of our favorite accessories drawn by our graphic designer Stine.

The first edition was gone in no time, but next week Tuesday, December 5th, another limited number of bags will go online. Sign up for the waiting list and you'll receive an email to let you know when they're available again!

And thanks to a clever little gnome who messed up our pre-planning, you can be doubly happy today: our Advent calendar wasn't actually supposed to start until tomorrow. But as is the way with Secret Santa, they like to mess things up. So hop over to the first door right after your Saturday coffee. You can find it here.

What's it all about? Every Advent Sunday (or Advent weekend today ...) up to and including Christmas Eve, we'll be giving away a knitting kit for one of your favorite knitwear designs on the blog and on the Maschenfein Instagram account.

What do you need to do and which kits are involved? You can find out everything in the blog post. We also send out a newsletter so that nothing is forgotten. So feel free to subscribe to it - but don't worry if you don't receive one due to our current delivery problems. You can take part until the Tuesday after the respective Advent Sunday - always via the blog and/or the Instagram post.