handmade fantasy

WIP Wednesday: Just the two (rows) of us...

2012-01-11T17:31:00.000+01:00

In December I startet to knit this wonderful "Sea Pearls Hat" I found on Ravelry (if you aren't a Ravelry user you can see the hat here). I got two balls of mohair wool for Christmas and tried to finish this project until New Year because I wanted to wear it in my holidays.
Maybe I was too hectic or just stupid but just five rows before finishing the hat I realized that I forgot to knit the main part of my work. How stupid is this?! I knitted the cuff and than started the decreasing rows.
Because mohair is so hard to frog it took some days and I restarted my project this week.
I hope I have enough time between all my university stuff to knit on this evening. Because there are only two knitted rows until today I didn't want to show you my project but this wonderful row counter bracelet my dear friend Weird made for me.

Rough Sea Cowl

2012-01-09T20:39:00.001+01:00

My mother is an enthusiastic knitter - especially her knitted dresses are great! Sadly they don't suit me.
My Mum is a little shy and unsure with internet things. It made a lot of work to persuade her for a Ravelry registration - but here she is!

I gave her one of my favourite art yarns for Christmas: Rough Sea. She knitted a wonderful cowl / scarf / whatever out of it and you can admire it on Ravelry now.
Maybe you like to give her some hears and comments :-)

(Did you discover her wooden earrings? They are selfmade, too!)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-29T15:14:00.000+01:00

(c) by bupowski
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas / Yule / Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate! Maybe there were some nice wooly presents? I hope so. :-)
Tomorrow, on December 30th, I'm on my way to meet friends in Southern Germany to have some great New Year's days. We will be outside for walks, have a sauna, play boardgames and - as always - eat wonderful food. I'm so glad! Hopefully this will be a great end for this so bad year 2011 and make the following year much more lucky, happy and healthy.
I'll be home on January 2nd and restart shipping yarns on January 3rd. If you like to order some yarns you have to be a little patient.

I wish you a happy new year - have a wonderful party :-)
See you in 2012, which starts with my first shop anniversary.

Colours of December

2011-12-08T14:38:00.000+01:00

Lst weekend I restarted spinning art yarns. I didn't spin for a long time because there was so much chaos in my life. I'm in my new flat since October but here is still a lot to do. I didn't unpack all my boxes, I have less furniture and had to wait for my money. So I was in a bad mood and uncreative.
In November everything became a little more positive and so I'm back! :-) As you can see I'm in love with colourful yarns and prefer flowers and glitter.

The red yarn is my favourite, it's simple but so beautiful. It was really hard to decide if I want to sell this yarn. I'll spin a similar art yarn for me, I think. You'll find all yarns in my shop soon (the firs ones are already there).

If I had a wish...

2011-11-26T11:13:00.001+01:00

If I had a wish or two I would love to get this items for Christmas. This are some of my all-time-favourites from my favourite Etsy shops and some new things I discovered.
What would you like to get?

New fibres from LadyRamone

2011-10-25T06:45:00.001+02:00

On Friday I got a consolatory parcel from some good friends. There were a lot of wonderful things in it, among other things I got new fibres dyed by LadyRamone. And I love love love them :-)

It's a merino / tencel blend and I'm really curious to spin tencel the first time. (I had to look it up at Wikipedia because I didn't know the fibre.)
The very suitable name of the blend is "Summer Party".

Thanks a lot, Weird & Twisted (I think Twisted is the giver?), for this present!

German Raveler Meeting

2011-10-21T15:30:00.000+02:00

Last weekend the 2nd German Raveler Meeting took place in Frechen near Cologne. I was there on Saturday and a little surprised: The hall was not so big as I thought. The attendants sat at long tables like in Hogwarts or in a henhouse :-)
It was loud and crowded and I was so happy to recognize some familiar people. I met Aud and Dagmar in Essen last year and was so agog to meet LadyRamone in reality.
I had some nice conversation and knitting / spinning time with these so kind women. I met some other people but I'm always so shy in these situations...

I just took one photo of LadyRamone and an other Raveler (I don't know her name). At Maschengold's blog are a lot of photos, among others there are two where you can see me :-) I hope it is okay, that I stole them (the firs ones in this post).

Of course I had to spend some money and bought such a wonderful little wooden spindle made from plum. And I bought some blue fibres.

WIP Wednesday: Lady Marmelade armwarmers

2011-10-21T14:40:00.000+02:00

I'm "a little" late this week, I know. I'm still renovating my new flat and my first semester as a master student started last week - so there was and still is a lot to do for me.

Last weekend I traveld around because I was at the German Raveler Meeting in Frechen/Cologne and at the Frankfurt Book Fair - but I'll blog about this later.
As always I went there by train and had some time for starting new fingerless gloves. I used yarn which I spun from LadyRamones fibres. This is really cool, because I met her the first time at the Raveler Meeting and she is so pleasant :-)

Shelly Coat Scarf

2011-10-08T12:17:00.000+02:00

Last week my friend Antonia bought one of my favourite art yarns: Shelly Coat. She started knitting a super soft scarf and yesterday send me some photos of her wonderful work.
Sadly you can't see the shells in this photo but it's nice for a general impression.

My sister's armwarmers

2011-10-07T13:20:00.002+02:00

My sister can’t wear animal fibres because her skin is very sensitive. So I knitted some armwarmers from cotton / synthetic fibre for her birthday in August. I always forgot to take some pictures of the armwarmers - but yesterday my sister e-mailed me some.

Take a look on Ravelry :-)

WIP Wednesday: Still Blue Dust

2011-10-05T14:52:00.000+02:00

It's the same like always: I love knitted socks but I'm such a slow sock knitter...
I started my new Blue Dust three (3!!) weeks ago and just finished the first sock. This is so embarassing :-D I don't know why sock knitting is so exhausting and less exciting for me.
But I'll finish this pair and will practise sock knitting in future! They are always so beautiful and nice to wear, this has to be fun.

Hello Etsy!

2011-09-17T15:54:00.000+02:00

Watch live streaming video from etsy at livestream.com

I'm a little sad because I don't have time and money to be in Berlin NOW. This weekend HelloEtsy takes place in Berlin.

"The conference will be organized loosely around the entire process of coming up with an idea, turning it into a product, taking it to market, and building a business that is mindful and sustainable. Accordingly, the sessions will fall into one of four tracks listed below."

Blessedly there is a livestream where I can watch some of the speechs at the conference. It's great to get some impressions.

Etsy in German

2011-09-15T08:45:00.004+02:00

Maybe you already know it: Since this week etsy.com exists also in German! As a German user it is possible to look at translated shops and items (if the shop owner translated his/her shop) and you can search in German and can find German AND English results.
I was one of the beta testers and am really excited that etsy.com is still one homepgae but you can switch between the languages. Some Germans are a little to shy and unconfident to use an English page and maybe to order items. They are scared not to understand everything.
For me as a german shop owner the new "functions" of etsy.com is a very good possibility to reach my German custumers more easyly.

Und jetzt noch mal auf deutsch: Seit dieser Woche ist es möglich, etsy.com auf deutsch zu benutzen. Ihr könnt in der Suchfunktion deutsche Begriffe eingeben und werdet zu deutschen und englischen Ergebnissen weitergeleitet. Zudem bekommt ihr Shops, deren Besitzer_innen sich die Mühe einer Übersetzung gemacht haben, auf deutsch angezeigt. Von nun an braucht also niemand mehr Angst vor der Bestellung auf einer englischen Homepage zu haben.Ich war Betatesterin für die deutschen Funktionen und bin bisher sehr begeistert. Etsy bleibt eine Community, aber ist eben nun auch für Deutsche einfacher zu bedienen. Mehr Infos findet ihr auf dem deutschen Etsy-Blog, den ich euch auch generell ans Herz legen kann.

Ich habe bisher nur das Grundgerüst meines Shops übersetzt, werde mich aber demnächst auch an die einzelnen Garne machen, wenn dies gewünscht ist. Vielleicht habt ihr ja Lust, hier mal ein bisschen feedback zu geben :-)

WIP Wednesday: Blue Dust

2011-09-14T21:07:00.000+02:00

Here is my newest try to knit socks for me. I've very small feet and so my latest socks were a little to big for me. I had to give them to my (ex) boyfriend.
Now I try to knit with only 54 stitches. The pattern is a really easy one, just k4 p2.

WIP Wednesday: Renovation

2011-09-07T10:24:00.000+02:00

Long time no hear... Is anybody still there? :-)
I'm so sorry for blogging rarely but my life is currently absolutely messy. Since one and a half week I live at my parents' house in the very little guestroom (it was my parents' room before I moved out). Living with parents and little sister again is really strange and a little stressful. I have to become accustomed with the new situation.

I want to move to my new flat in October. I have to hang wallpaper, paint and lay flooring. I'm glad that I have a lot of help from my cousin. We are no perfect crafswoman but we are a good team, I think.
Hopefully there will be some time and power to spin a little. I brought my spinning wheel with me (Can you see it on the first photo?) and three carded batts. My other fibres and stuff is in the basement and I can unpack it only in October.

Nanny is back!

2011-08-12T15:05:00.001+02:00

So you remember my Nanny Ogg art yarn?
Mary bought it some months ago and today I received an email from her: She knitted a wonderful scarf and - if you like it as much as I do - you can buy it at her Etsy shop.
Come on, discworld fans! :-)

Find the scarf here on Etsy.

WIP Wednesday: Move

2011-08-10T21:44:00.001+02:00

Last week I told you about the end of my relationship. During writing my thesis I have to pack my life into boxes. I want to leave our flat after finishing my thesis (end of August). I found a wonderful new flat but I have to renovate it in September and can move there only in October. So I have to live in my parents' house in September because I don't want to live with my ex-boyfriend longer than I have to.

I'm spinning some yarn for a swap now and after this I don't know if there will be enough time to spin. But I hope I have some time and passion for art yarns :-)

Good News and Bad News

2011-08-03T09:16:00.001+02:00

Maybe you already guessed: My Mermaid's Dream was featured on the Etsy front page! I'm so proud and grateful for this. I got a lot of new fans and hearts and this is really cool.

I'm extraordinary happy about the frontpage because there is a lot of chaos in my home life these days. The bad news are that my boyfriend left me and I have to look for a new flat now and I have to organize my "new life". And I must finish my thesis...

A Scarf for Stars

2011-07-23T22:15:00.001+02:00

Two months ago I won this wonderful art yarn made by LadyRamone. It's name is "Sea of Stars" and it's spun from merino wool in different shades of blue. You can find a lot of stars in varous sizes, organza ribbon, beads and a lot of sparkling fibre in it.
I knitted a beautiful scarf of it and hope to find someone who is interested in a swap.

Christmas is near!

2011-07-23T22:00:00.002+02:00

Christmas is near - yes, I'm serious! Time runs faster than you think and so it's a good moment to plan the first presents. And so here is my first Christmas art yarn!
This art yarn is spun from white fairytale wool, white ramie and handdyed light blue bamboo. The soft fibres are combined with creme-colored organza ribbons, faceted and black beads.

The Christmas Dress
229 m / 250 yd
139 g / 4,90 uz
15-17 wpi

The Christmas Dress is one of the yarns I've spun during the Tour de Fleece which will end tomorrow. Sadly there was a lot of chaos in my family and so I didn't spun as much as I wanted. But there will be another tour next year ;-)

Find my new art yarn here in the shop.

It's Christmas in July! Use JULYCHRISTMAS2011 and get 10% off until July 31th.

In Anticipation of Halloween

2011-07-06T21:17:00.002+02:00

Last year I saw a really cool video on the Etsy Blog. It was about needlefelted eyeballs. WWhen I thought about Halloween art yarns I remembered this video and buyed a felting needle. I started felting the first eyeball and the needle broke... Yesterday I received a new order and today I started felting.
I want to string the eyeballs on a thread and spin them in an art yarn. I hope there will be some time to mix and card fibres.

Tour de Fleece: Day 1-4

2011-07-06T21:07:00.000+02:00

It is TdF's 5th day's evening and I want you the two yarns I spun until today.
Both are Halloween art yarns and inspired from a book about mythological creatures. I borrowed the book from my parents. I thought about buying it but it's a little two expensive and in reality there are only this two creatures I want to work up to an art yarn.

Jenny Greenteeth

205 m / 224 yd

108 g / 3,81 uz

14 wpi

fairytale wool

My first TdF yarn was inspired by Jenny Greenteeth. Jenny is a witch from English folklore but you can also find her in one of Terry Pratchett's discworld novels.
I think the glow-in-the-dark beads are perfect for this character.

Shelly Coat
184 m / 201 yd
129 g / 4,55 uz
13 wpi

alpaca, mohair, merino

Shellycoats are water spirits from Scotland. They wear coats cluttered with shells. Shellycoats like to frighten humans.
I wasn't sure if I should keep this yarn because it's soooooo soft :-) But you'll find both yarns in the shop the next days.

I raised my stash!

2011-06-28T20:34:00.000+02:00

Tour de Fleece is near and I had to raise my fibre stash these days.
I swapped a lot of fairy-tale wool with Vanessa. I have to spin some wool for felted knitting for her. I hope there will be some time the next weeks.
I also received beautiful handdyed firestar from Lady's Turn. I love the colours!

And today my order from Wollknoll arrived: A lot of white dutch wool, merino and alpaca I want to dye and some balls of violet, red and blue merino wool.
I think the storage will be a big problem. My commode is too small for all this fibres...

Vampires, Gardeners and Holiday

2011-06-27T12:30:00.001+02:00

Today I want to show you my latest yarns. Two of them are available on Etsy since a little time. Maybe you want to have a look at my shop and check them out: Click!

Fancy Gardening
159 m / 173 yd
90 g / 3,17 uz
12-14 wpi
merino/silk

Lacrimosa de Magpyr

141 m / 154 yd
100 g / 3,53 uz
11-13 wpi
merino

Lacrimosa is 200 years old and a teenage vampire from Terry Pratchett's discworld novels. She behaves rebellious, quarrelsome and grumpy. Lacrimosa likes to torture cats and to be brutal to everybody she meets. And she uses a rash of black mascara.
All in all she is unsympathetic over head and ears but sometimes this characters are the most interesting.

Caribbean Holiday
115 m / 125 yd
100 g / 3,53 uz
8 wpi
merino, linen, silk, bamboo
corespun!

Caribbean Holiday is spun in special technique called corespun. It means that the fibres are spun around a commercial thread at an angle of 90°. This technique needs a lot of fibre but the looks quite beautiful and extraordinary.

Caribbean Holiday is my newest creation and will be in the shop this evening or maybe tomorrow morning.

Etsy in Cologne - What a nice Meet-Up!

2011-06-25T15:13:00.003+02:00

As I told you there was a little Etsy Meet-Up in Cologne on Thursday. Marie from the German Etsy Team and Anda from USA were in Cologne for an exhibition and take the chance to meet some Cologne Etsians.
It was really nice to establish contact with some sellers face-to-face. We talked about beeing a seller (and a buyer) on Etsy and showed some of our products to each other. Marie wanted to get some feedback about new features for German sellers.

Everyone was really nice and we hope to meet again in future. I hope to stay in contact with Froschkind, Bombina Studios, Karamelo and Zeitlos.

Thanks to Marie for organizing the Meet-Up and the Etsy souvenirs :-) I really love the bag and the name tags!

By the way: Did you see the "Handmade Köln" (Köln = Cologne) button on my sidebar?