haekelmonster

‘My sister does not knit’ would be an understatement. Unfortunately, it’s more like: she doesn’t care about yarn, is neither interested in design nor in the craft itself (at all).

And yet she surprised me a few days ago with a little something, a thoughtful present. No birthday, no nothing – just like that. Because she saw it and thought of me.

What can I say? Bull’s-Eye!

Four balls of yarn, perfect and round by Werkstatt Holzwolle. Red, blue and two shades of green, 212 grams in all. Wool from mountain sheep, slightly scratchy, washed and spun without further chemical treatment. Mountain sheep, which – and that really pleases me – live barely 50km away from my parents’ house (and I didn’t even know they existed …).

I keep looking at those balls of yarn, winded up so tightly without a ball band or anything. The colors are beautiful. It should be enough yarn for a kid’s cardigan. Or maybe gloves.

My sister says she had been to a market in the area and when passing by the yarn stall she just knew she had to give some to me. However, she had no idea what to get, what I might like and therefore she had just reached into the box with the leftovers.

What I might like?? Wool of happy sheep, sheep that I can actually visit if I like to. Local yarn. Yarn with a story to tell.

Just like the yarn she gave me ❤︎

When was the last time you got all excited about a specific yarn?

My friend Tamara’s mother knitted socks for me. Just because. Hence, totally unexpected, I now own a pair of super-beautiful, colorful socks.

Of course, I had to try them on, the minute they were given to me (way over 85°F outside …). So pretty and they do fit – the highest bliss, if it had not been for the socks’ toe section.

It was way more pointed than my toes and as the lovely knitter had pulled the thread several times through the last stitches, there was now a solid little “knob” at the top of each tip, pinching my feet …

I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Hoping for the knob to soften with time or for my toes to get used to it? Put the socks away as it is too hot outside anyway? Stop being difficult? Or redo the socks’ oe section …

I decided for the latter, unraveled and grafted the toes using kitchener stitch.

However, now that the socks are super comfortable, it feels like I did something wrong. My friend’s mother had made them for me. And every sock knitter knows how much time and affection is in a sock. I changed it nonetheless. Was I entitled to do that?

What would you have done?

Due to power outage things went haywire today. No radio, no TV, no internet, no PlayStation (yay!). Nothing but quiet. No kettle (no tea), no toaster (no toast), no oven (no leftovers from last night) … that’s worse. To top that: the son’s power bank needs to reload, just like his cell phone. There is no warm water to take a bath. All of this happening while on summer vacation … Unacceptable for a teenager.

There is more than enough water outside though: Since this morning, rain comes down in sheets, which makes things even worse. Anything pleasant (basketball) as well as anything rather unpleasant (mowing the lawn) is impossible. Not only outside the house, but inside as well.

Ironing? Vacuum-cleaning? Bankwire? All impossible. There is not much left to be done without electricity. Definitly something I should think about more often. As luck would have it, I listened to a short book review on the radio the other day and it was about the very same subject, only worse: Blackout by Marc Elsberg. The story: In winter, all power grids collapse in Europe for several weeks. No gas stations, no ATMs, no tap water, no food logistics, no heating, but anarchy in the streets after little more than a week. Reviews range from awesome to boring, from gripping to lengthy. The German version has 800 pages that I really want to read. Especially after today.

“Fast, tense, thrilling – and timely: this will happen one day. Highly recommended.” (LEE CHILD)

Luckily, no electricity is needed for knitting. This is why I got to put up my feet early today to cast on something new: baby hat Alida for baby Sophie, who was born the day before yesterday (her father is a basketball coach). The pattern is from the fabulous KlompeLompe book that I wrote about a while ago (in German).

The little bonnet is very cute, fits a tiny basketball and was done in no time. I sure hope it will fit the baby as well.

Nevertheless, I would like to have electricity now. And toast with apple jelly.

I remember market bags from when I was a child. Back then, there was no grocery shopping without them. They were colorful and made of polyester or plastic. All of a sudden, they are back and I see them everywhere, handmade and in better quality: knitted or crocheted, big or small, some rather long, others more roundish.

Paula strickt came up with the nicest pattern ever (I sure hope there will be an English translation sometime soon).

Following her pattern, I knitted a bag using linen yarn, adding cotton for a (crochet) edging, as I wanted the yarn to look more like yarn, rather than twine. However, my color choice needs definitely some improvement.

But that bag is such a wonderful in-between-project!

Size and shape are perfect – once finished, it seemed to be so small but it is not. See how easily a basketball fits in there? I’ll have to knit (at least) another one. Maybe even two.

For groceries and my knitting. And for a basketball or two …