Berlin Rawks Socks; Or, How My Socks were Rawked in Berlin

So, the second stop on my trip to Europe was Berlin.
I'll let the pictures do (most) of the talking.


You'll notice the weather was lovely.
Here is the Berliner Dom on Museum Island.


Brandenburg Gate.


How cool is this sewer cover? I totally dig.




Reichstag. Getting all angled and whatnot.


By the river, real close to the Reichstag.


There's a number of ways the Wall and its former path are physically marked out. This is just one of them.


Hey, cute buns!


I was lucky enough to be contacted by a blog reader, Jennifer, who was very kind and acted as my very own tour guide for an evening! Yeah, guess where we met up? How could I say no to yarn tourism! Here we're in front of the lovely shop, Handmade Berlin.


How thoughtful! Jennifer gifted me these adorable candies.
Yum!


This is some of what I came away with.


Chillin on a bench outside of Handmade Berlin, and this wee guy joined me!


Panorama nearto the Brandenburg Gate. Such a lovely day.


Panorama in the Pergamon Museum. Berlin is for art lovers.


Layers of posters. Reminds me of home!
Berlin was overall very comfortable. Things seemed familiar. I didn't feel like I had to always watch my behaviour, afraid I would do something "wrong" and look a fool.
I recommend Berlin to everyone!

Ok, I promise I'm almost totally done with all these.

Just one more installation... Munich!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Vanessa Smith
Blog: Knit Rhapsody
Rav ID: NessaRenee
Some Great Designs: NessaRenee's Rav Designer Page

This designer's work is so amazing, and I've known about her designs for so long, I had assumed I profiled her ages ago.

I felt awfully foolish when I discovered I was wrong!

So here is the very long overdue indie designer profile of a fantastic, hip, feminine, wearable and wonderful knit designer, NessaRenee.

You've probably seen her work around the interwebs. I'll point out a few of my favourites:

Pictured is the Chantalle sweater. The whole thing is great, but check out the pattern page to see pics of the back of the neckline. It rises up and hugs the nape of your neck, in a very lovely detail.

Julissa, a straightforward, cabled, 3/4 length sleeve knit, is done up in great style by this designer. She has (what I happen to think) is the exact right amount of ease, interest, wearability AND knittability in this design.

Well, in all her designs, really.

To give you a taste of a non-sweater garment, Dyade is a set of fingerless mitts and a cowl: photographed wonderfully, styled perfectly, knit in delicious-looking yarn, and utilizing great texture to create interest.
Fantastico!

She can do shawls and lace too.

Check out Kaliope and Sarai. These two knits have quite different vibes (one's sweet and feminine lace, one's a hip and modern take on simple shape and texture) but both contain the hallmarks of this designer's style: knitability, wearability, youth and femininity.

Love your work, NessaRenee! Can't believe I didn't profile you earlier!

What Paris Did for Me; Or, What I Did in Paris!

I know, I know. It's a narrow segment of the general population that actually enjoys looking at vacation photographs.
I believe the diplomatic word to use is "regaled". You've been, "regaled" with some stranger's boring vacay photogs.

I'm sad to say, I'm remarkably just like everyone else; I want to regale you with my photos.

And, in a multi-post series, no less!

Herein you see my sampling from Paris.

It's difficult to pick a place to begin in the photography inundation!
I'll try to keep it to my favourite spots and images.
The one above was taken in the gardens surrounding the Musée de Cluny.
My favourite museum in Paris. That's right, favourite.


Above: the Unicorn Tapestry room in the Musée de Cluny. I used the nifty Photosynth app on me iphone to capture this panorama.


Above: just because it's adorable! The audio tour icon on some of the labels in the Musée de Cluny is a unicorn wearing headphones.
Sweet.


Above: exterior of Musée de Cluny. Crenulations! Oh, be still my heart.


Above: seems like I came to Paris at just the right time! Full of beautiful tulips and flowering trees. Here's a sampling from alongside Notre Dame.


Above: witness wet wet feet. I think I should thank the rain for making Paris' flowers so lovely and grass so green.


Park bench nearto Notre Dame.
Meeting of the birds.


Notre Dame itself! You won't be surprised when I tell you I have nearly 100 pictures of the place. It was difficult to find a pic where I wasn't grinning inanely.


We got to ascend to the (almost) tippy top of the cathedral. Made friends with some gargoyles and got me some cloudy-sky pictures of the Eiffel tower.


Guess who this gargoyle reminded me of?


Above and below: while it might have made my hair a damp mess, the rainy drizzle that followed us along the quay certainly made for some pretty photo opportunities.




Pretty Metro. Ah, even the public transit is lovely.
Thanks Paris, how am I supposed to return to the real world now?


One of my favourite things evar is stained glass windows.
So you better believe I made me a stop in Sainte Chapelle.
Half of it was under repairs, but even blotting out so much of the walls with scaffolding won't hold back the shining, radiant, gem-like glory of the place.


With only three days in Paris, you've got to make some sight-seeing choices.
While I did not actually go to the Eiffel tower, I took a chilly and wonderful nighttime river cruise right along past it.


The Arènes de Lutèce. A Roman ampitheatre, now a park, right smack dab in the midst of Paris.
I actually got wifi here.
Fab.


Ahhh, you know I had to satisfy my yarnny inclinations! Here's me with my spoils from La Droguerie. It's so much awesomer than you can even believe. Yarn and beads and haberdashery to the rafters.
I was a bit shy to take many photos inside the shop. It was quite busy when I arrived, and I didn't want to put anyone off by randomly click click clicking away.
Below, you'll see a shot of some of the beads on offer.





Dude, you know I couldn't write a post about Paris and NOT include some luscious photos of food! Above and below: two different bakeries, window displays to make you want to forget all you know about health and what you *should* and *shouldn't* be putting into your body.
I totally had some macarons.

Regaling complete!
If this hasn't soured you yet, I've still got two more cities to gush about.
Photographically.
Check back in a couple days for Berlin.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Milja Uimonen
Blog: Starling Knits and Crafts
Rav ID: Miljaska
Some Great Designs: Miljaska's Rav Designer Page

A designer with a full resume of various garment types, Miljaska has given me quite the fantastic list of knits to show you today!

First I'll point out the Adele Skirt. Very cute and wearable - make sure you click the link and check out the pics of the back of the skirt as well. The pretty lines of lace detail are complimented by a row of button closures along the top band. Very feminine.

Moving on to a head-topping accessory, the Faye Hat demonstrates this designer's skill with cables as well as lace and a good drapey fabric. Short row-shaped ribbing on a hat = very cool.

Her Rust and Stone Cardigan is one of those pieces you can imagine yourself wearing all the time. Jut throw it on over a plain t shirt and comfy jeans, and you've created a whole new vibe to your outfit. One of my favourite parts of this piece is the sliiiiightly ruffly bit of edging. Just perfect.

Finally, there's Sunbeam: a nice, simple shawlette that takes advantage of a couple of your best, most wonderfully coloured yarns and a wee touch of lace along the edge.

Indie Designer Revisited

Designer: Zoë Scheffy
Blog: Seaside Knitting
Rav ID: Luome-Cloudberry
Some Great Designs: Luome-Cloudberry's Rav Designer Page
Original Indie Designer Post: October 30, 2009

Looking at the list of publications Luome-Cloudberry has been a part of exemplifies, quite perfectly, my initial desire to create these Indie Designer Revisit posts.

First off are the pictured Sweetheart Legwarmers. Published in Knit Picks in 2011, these pretty leggies, simple and wonderfully decorated, make me want to: start dancing again, make more leggies, and wear different ones on each leg! I think it's cute.

In knit.wear's premiere issue, they featured Luome-Cloudberry's Ruffle Sleeve Pullover. One of my favourites from that publication, it makes perfect use of ruffles to add just the right amount of detail to a lovely, simple knit.

It's also good to see she's continuing with her self-publishing: two examples of thesesuch pieces are the Linen Stitch Tweed Hat and the unique and pretty Art Nouveau Headband. The Linen Stitch hat uses are great brim and cute wee ribbon to create personality in a very usable, classic, functional knit. The Art Nouveau Headband is, conversely, an historically inspired throwback to the early 1900s. Embellished with ribbon, button and a feather, this piece is fashionable whimsy at its best.

Luome-Cloudberry has also had the distinction (twice!) of being published in Interweave Knits. See her Latvian Braid Mitts and Nautilus Mitts. Both are wonderful examples of her style, which I think is summed up greatly in her blog name, Seaside Knitting.

Check it out! She has plenty more designs to see!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Mary Annarella
Blog: marymealittle
Etsy: maryrock
Rav ID: marymealittle
Some Great Designs: marymealittle's Rav Designer Page

My knitting friends like to joke about me and my affinity for the small-yarnned. "Oh, just wait. Teresa's gonna show up with a sock-weight onesie some day!"

I say, they shouldn't be giving me ideas. I'm very suggestable ;)

Knowing my love of lightweight yarns, it should come as no surprise to you that I'm waydeep in love with marymealittle's design style.

Tending toward the fine gauged, I've listed three here to whet your appetite:

Iolanthe (pictured) is so pretty and delicate and feminine while remaining young and fun. I'm always a bit leery of using lace in my own designs... perhaps an unfounded fear of looking "old-lady". But this lace, this collar shape, this cute succession of buttons and off-centre front opening make this a fantastic marriage of lace and youth.

Making Waves Cardigan makes use of another (sometimes) overlooked design element: ruching. Gawd I love this ruching. It's done so well in this small gauge, placed along the front edges and collar, adding just the right amount of detail to this simply-shaped cardigan. Bravo.

Finally, Posy Cowl again capitalizes on the strengths of a fine gauge. You can't get that beautiful, fine texture and cables with anything else. Stunning.

Off Off and Away

Photo Credit www.lakesidebearsandfriends.com

Hi all!

I'm off, to return at the beginning of May.

Here's to hoping, with loads of fantastic stories, great stories, and wondrous yarn.

I've still got the Indie Designer posts set to go live; I won't be able to check/respond to email until my return.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Inês Sousa
Blog: seni
Rav ID: seni
Some Great Designs: seni's Rav Designer Page

This weeks' designer has an aesthetic that just feels like spring.

First up is the pictured Afago, a wonderfully textured cowl with interesting shape manipulation. How could you not artistically swoon over that collar?

Along with Afago, Eira is part of a five pattern e-book My Basic Collection Book 1. Eira is a light and airy scarf/shawl/wrap: one of those great pieces that can work in many ways.

And there's just something about Luz. I think it's the ratio between full on stockinette and lace, if find it dreamy.

Mayla is a great slouchy hat from another of the designer's ebooks, My Eco Collection - Book 1.
It's great to see a designers' style applied to a variety of garments, and I'd say this is one of the most light, spring-like berets I've ever seen!

Paris, Berlin and Munich; Or, I remember a time when...

This blog has become about lamenting a lack of knitting, rather than knitting itself.

And I do indeed lament wholeheartedly!

There's this and that excuse or reason (depending on your mood and inclination); at this particular moment, I'm choosing to give the reason for lack of progress as being my rapidly approaching vacation.

My countdown is on: I'll be away in less than a week, and have thus dropped all other of everything and am devoting my researching, leisure and otherwise time and efforts into detailing the minutia of travel.

Fun facts:

-"travel tips" seem, to me (and on the whole), to sound awfully close to stereotyping and racism.
-as soon as you buy your plane ticket, your airline will sound grumblings of strikes and employee strife. You then stress.
-no matter how you plan, your passport photo's gonna look terrible
-you suddenly realize how well you've squirreled away everything in home when you try to note down where all the "important stuff" is for your housesitter.

Anyhows, I figured "There's great people, knowledgeable people, who read this here blog. Maybe they'll have some great travel tips to share!"

How about it folks? I'll be heading to Paris, Berlin and Munich.
Any travel tips? Fascinating stories? Pitfalls to avoid?
____________
ps: That hard to decipher pic up top is a google maps of the yarn shops in Munich. I haz my priorities straight, I do!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Joanne Lew-Goltz
Rav ID: Jnnlw
Some Great Designs: Jnnlw's Rav Designer Page

I couldn't wait to share this week's designer. She has two of the prettiest, most delicate patterns I've seen in a long time.

First off is the pictured Modern Juliet. Ruffles done right, I'd say! Wonderfully romantic, echoed in the very appropriate name of the knit. I really dig the asymmetry of the button neckline and pocket.

This designer has but two patterns, and both hold the same sort of whimsical delicacy that appears to be her aesthetic. Pianissimo Symphony Series is an in progress knit, and my is it lovely! The drape, the detail, the delicacy. I can't wait til this one is published!

Oh, the Joy of a Meme

Wheee! Meme time!
I like reading other people's memes too, so if you are creatively inspired by this miasma of "I like this" and "I hate that", then please leave a linky to your meme in the comments.
I'd like a time-kill today, folks.

1. A Picture of Me

Super classy Instagram pic.

2. 10 Random Facts about Me

• If you had offered me sushi three years ago, I would have vomited in revolt and charged in the opposite direction. Nowadays I can have it every night. Can I please? Anyone want to come to my place and be a sushi chef?
  
• I try my best to avoid using any idioms - especially in writing, but also in everyday conversation. Not sure why - I think I enjoy the challenge of slapping other random words together to create my OWN phrases!
  
• I still have items in my closet from high school.
• Pet peeve: people who approach me at work and imply that I must be so bored and have nothing to do all day. Yeah. Thanks. That's right. I do nothing at work all day.
• It took me six months to muster the energy and sew some curtains for the kitchen. The breaking point? It's getting warm out now, and people will be in their backyards... looking right into my kitchen... not cool.
• I check the weather network all the time for the forecast, but never *really* believe it.
  
• I want Netflix, but am currently too lazy/busy to figure out if it's actually cheaper than cable.
  
• For some reason, I'm incredibly cheap when it comes to my hose/tights/whatever you wish to call them. I know they're generally rather inexpensive, but dammit, I try to repair those run, sew those holes, and scrub those evil shoe stains out so I don't have to buy new ones (what's with those shoe stains? It can't just be me.)
  
• I recently read my profile in the book The Secret Language of Birthdays and was rather disturbed by its apparent accuracy.
• The last yarn I purchased was some Rowan cotton. I felt like a shell of myself purchasing cotton - I swore I'd never do it again, and yet here we are.

3. Question Time

1. What was the first album you ever purchased (vinyl, tape, or cd)?

Well, my parents bought me the New Kids on the Block single for "Tonight Tonight". On tape. Then I think I bought myself Barenaked Ladies "Gordon". On tape.
And my first cd purchase, I believe, was Bryan Adams "So Far So Good". Canadian girl! (don't ask me what my first concerts were. You'd cringe. Laugh. And possibly never ever take me seriously again).

2. What was the first accessory you bought with your own money?

With my own money? Can't recall. Likely some sort of studded dog-collar-esque Goth nightmare. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what it was, since I distinctly recall being oh-so-proud of my authority-defiance when, after being asked by the Vice-Principle to take off that 'dog collar', I did absolutely nothing.

3. Favourite gift you’ve ever received?

Tricky! Hm, I think I recall being very excited by the (not digital) camera my parents bought for me in high school. Also was really keen on the Simba and Nala kissing stuffed animals I was gifted in grade 8.

4. The coolest person you’ve ever met?

Pfft, my friends are all cool. Don't make me choose.

5. The item in your home with the most sentimental value?

I think it might be the house itself, seeing as how it was my grandparents' place, where my mom grew up, and I have loads of childhood memories from.

6. The grossest thing in your refrigerator right now?

There's probably some sort of veggies thisclose to rotting in the crisper. I try not to open that part.

7. Something you always purchase at the grocery store?

I went through a chocolate chip Clif Bar phase. Now I've moved on to yogurt and crap-loads of eggs (they're a superfood!)

8. One thing you hope to accomplish this year.

I have such a cool knit collection languishing in my brain. We'll see if my wrist lets me get that published this year.

9. Your current favourite song.

Too hard to pick, but I'll tell you, I've had "Summer of '69" stuck in my head since I typed that business about Bryan Adams up there.

10. What we’d eat together if I showed up on your door step today.

I do believe I just referenced sushi up there too... Want to get some? I'll take 20 piece of salmon sushi, followed by some Red Dragon rolls and white tuna sashimi!

Opinion Poll: Miss Manners Says Knit Knit Knit Away

I'm late to the party.
Again.

Oh, why do I live under the rock I live under?

Here's a link to a reply Miss Manners gave to a reader who had a problem with knitters knitting when they should otherwise be paying attention.

Generally I entirely agree with Miss Manners. There's a few exceptions, but I find most of the advice she gives seems to be common sense.

Except this nugget.

I don't happen to think it's common sensical to knit in a place where you would otherwise be expected to pay attention. In a place where your apparent (apparent, to non-knitters, of course) lack of attention is read as insulting and rude.

I know I can pay attention to the world around me and knit at the same time. I know my knitting isn't loud, I'm not moving around and creating a distraction for other people.

But, a lot of living in society, dealing with other people, and operating under the banner of politeness dictates that you must take other people's feelings into account: act empathetically.

I figure most people (especially non-knitters, but knitters aw well) would read one's harmless knitting as rude.

Your thoughts?

Indie Designer Revisited

Designer: Thea Colman
Blog: Babycocktails
Rav ID: babycocktails
Some Great Designs: babycocktails' Rav Designer Page
Original Indie Designer Post: May 7, 2010

I love designers. They inspire me so much.

Especially when I see the prolific and consistently high-quality out-put of talented people like babycocktails.

It was almost exactly two years ago when I first profiled this knitter, and whoo boy, has she given me a lot to talk about!

This is just a brief tasting of the wonderful work babycocktails has done. She's one of those designers who's adept at designing different types of garments, with a variety of design elements. That's no easy task!

It was difficult to pick and choose what to talk about in this post, but I've decided to limit myself to three:

The most recent publication, Vodka Lemonade, you see pictured at the top. With instructions made easy-to-modify, this vintage-vibe spring sweater is both adorable and eye catching. I have a crush on it. Might be the colour, too. Good choice!

Many of babycocktails' patterns are self-published. I get really inspired when I see successful designers who work like this. You can also find at least one of her pieces, Allegheny, published in Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People, along with other fantastic designers such as Stephen West, Anne Hanson, Gudrun Johnston and Olga Buraya-Kefelian.

I have a thing for luscious cables and legwarmers. Vernors Legwarmers is right up my alley: so very pretty, so very functional.

I'd also like to point out her blog: it's really a great read. So, not only is she a fantastic designer, she can write too! I've got yet another knitting idol to look up to! Thanks for the great designs, and looking forward to all to come.

Where's the Ugliest House on the Block?

Someone told me once that if you can't find the ugliest house on your block, it's likely that you're in it.

Methinks that's the situation for my place.

Here's the wee property as it stands.

I've worked and worked on the interior: now that the weather's turning well, it's time for me to focus on the exterior.

I'm a total newb when it comes to gardening, home reno and the like, so I thought it might be fun (maybe more for you, dear readers, than for I, especially when you get to laugh at my foolish failures!) to design, dream and hopefully create this new lawnscape along with ya'll.

First thing I did was peruse magazines, other neighbour's lawn-scaping, and a hefty amount of Pinterest ogling.

I'd LOVE to be able to have a verdant, confusing muddle of a cottage garden, but logic tells me 1) I'm too lazy for the properly cultivated upkeep a seemingly muddle cottage garden needs, and 2) I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Other constraints include:

-North-facing front lawn
-Zone 4 gardening (I do believe that's North-America-wide, if not: it's the same as the Niagara Region of Ontario).
-and yes, the aforementioned ignorance and possibility that I'm the Angel of Death for plants. Let's hope that's not true.

Herein lies the beginning of the beginnings, with many a (successful!?) update to follow over the coming months.

If you have any gardening tips or suggestions, favourite plants (simple to care for is key for me!) I'd love to hear them.

Thanks everyone! I look forward to reading and learning from your planty knowledge!

I Knit, and Here's the Proof

Why yes world, I do knit on occasion.
I might be metaphorically winded by my bitty wrist issue, but progress that can be made shall be made.

Herein you see evidence of my knitterly endeavours.

This is part of the planned publication of February's YearLong YarnSong. I'm really rather excited to wear it, so the rapidly approaching spring, if nothing else, has spurred me on to completion!
You can't go wearing a wool cardigan in the heat! Or at least, I certainly can't.