So the story continues...

Spring is in the air again....I am lucky to have the chance to experience Spring Air for the 63rd time. It is a grand event, not too cold not too warm, and exciting enough to start something.
I have to start something. So I am.
- Final training push for a 1/2 Marathon in June.....I can't help it. Running makes me feel accomplished.

- Final submission to KnitPicks for my Shawl/Stole Design. See Me went live this week. Publishing a knitting design makes me feel accomplished.

- Final decision on the next children's project is made. This project is still only in my head, but the yarn has been decided. Washable, dryable, that was the main requirement this time. Bergere de France, Ideal delivers. I can see it now, the A-team with lace tops, playing in Seattle.

Inspiration:

- Final touches are worked on my latest sleeveless vest for Ruben. The V-neck stitches were completed last night. Now it just takes time to knit the second front panel and sew it all together. It never is as easy as it sounds, though. For this vest I want to incorporate a pocket that will hold a 'smartphone'. We all know that the size keeps growing and with size comes weight, and with weight comes the challenge to keep the pocket from stretching when the phone is inside it. Should I perhaps try the sideways stripes instead of horizontal stripes, or what if I make a pocket out of ribbing used when you want a nice snug fit, same as the border. I am most assured by my brain cell's that this problem will be solved TODAY!
So stay tuned, the results will be shared with you.

The old and the new

By know everyone knows that I work fulltime, run, cook, sew, crochet and knit.
As life is in transition, we all know it never stays the same RIGHT!, the order of things occurring is slowly changing. What is first becomes last......and what occupies us most of the time drifts into the background or completely goes away.
- I am preparing for no more working. No more driving in 18-lane highway traffic every morning and evening. That is what I now look forward to the most.
- My running has been helping me to relive the stress created by my job. Now in my 60ties I know not to expect this to be possible endlessly. Sooner or later I will have to slow down to walking.
- Cooking might be one of those activities that are on the borderline, not sure if I will be doing less or more in the coming years. If it stays the same, 3 to 4 times a week, I would be ok with that.
- Sewing has not had a grip on me for a while, but projects are piling up. The bedrooms need new curtains. The material is already in-house. I can see the days, months ahead, with my friend the sewing machine and a Netflix Season of some kind or other.
- Crocheting has my interest and with more time there will be more of that coming from me in the future. I am on the lookout for crochet charting software. Once I found that, watch out crafting community!
- Knitting, my passion. I don't think I could ever do less and can't wait to have more time for much, much more knitting, creating and sharing.

This week was very exciting for me because a ravelry group decided to offer one of my sock designs for a KAL (knit a long).The group is creating 12 pairs of socks, one pair a month. My Rozanna's socks is the March 2016 selection.
 http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rozannas-socks

It is nice to see the effect my work has on others. The pattern is creating socks and eventually comfortable, warm feet for someone.

In the knitting world comfort and warmth are words mostly associated with 'winter knitting'. So it is not a surprise that I am currently working on a sleeveless vest for Ruben. He wanted stripes. So stripes he will get, but the Renate way.

OK, as you can see, I am busy. On a rainy day, like today I am sure the back for this vest will be done in no time.

hounds tooth (Hahnentritt) mania

I am not sure where the time has gathered permissions to go by so fast. Looking back at July and August, September, and October I did complete and name some of my visions.
First there was the hounds tooth socks project "don't bite me". Today I am still working on the written pattern.
There was some special learning involved on this pattern, the wandering jog.
After much you tube viewing, I decided to do the wandering jog method. Imagine the way a stripe goes around a Barber Pole, that's how the hounds tooth pattern goes around the leg of the socks.

The cuff, heel and toe were knitted in the solid dark color. The optical vision is supported by knitting all three sections the same length of 30 rows.

The finished socks are a mater piece in my book.

When I first started out I had a design of three different hounds tooth patterns. 4 stitches - four rows; 6 stitches - 6 rows; 8 stitches - 8 rows.

And, because I liked the finished socks so much, I decided to make another hounds tooth project. The black and white Lion Brand special 100% merino yarn that I bought a while back seamed the perfect choice.Ruben could use another sleeveless west.

Decisions I made were simple:
keep the black as first and last stitch no matter what the design beginning and end is.

Make sure that both the front piece and the back piece begin and end with the same pattern, so that, when they are joined, the pattern appears seamless.
The right end begins with the solid black,

 

so the left end ends with the solid white

Since the design was the 6 stitches - 6 rows pattern, I had decided to use a band of 1 purl 2 knit pattern to accommodate the rhythm.

 

The west is now finished and I am hoping Ruben will be ready today to make some great pictures.

As always, San Diego is sunny, warm and irresistible beautiful on this November Sunday.

Our World

How lucky we are!

I am sitting at my living room table in my home. UNBELIEVABLE, you got that right!
This iron worker's daughter, born in Sulzbach-Rosenberg-Huette in Germany in the early 1950s, is buying her own home in beautiful San Diego, California.
I am listening to Little Steven's Underground Garage on SiriusXM radio, on the TV. UNBELIEVABLE, mind blowing.
These songs playing right now are so 60s it's like someone bought all my old records and is playing them one by one, just for me. Eric Burdon and all the other British invasion bands. Me as a German back than heard more British than American music anyway. It's almost like they are doing this just for me.
I am writing a blog entry, now that is certainly the most UNBELIEVABLE!
Actually being comfortable on the computer, blogging, writing about my knitting, crocheting, sewing adventures, life adventures, dogie adventures, cooking adventures, etc. I could have never guessed that. Not back then when the music was recorded and not even 10 years ago.
After blogging on this Sunday morning I am also going to finish a pattern I wrote. The German version still needs to be published on Ravelry.
I am finally writing all my ideas down, create them, photograph them and then sell them. If that is not UNBELIEVABLE then I don't know what is.
The ravelry site and the etsy site are up and running selling my yarn-stube design. Recently I found another website named Patternfish. I will have to find the time to publish the patterns there too.
The most UNBELIEVABLE however is that I am working on the next aircraft carrier for the Navy. Yes, that is the most non grasping personal challenge that I could have ever wished for. I have become an American citizen and totally enjoy going to work every day. Shut the front door AMAZING!

OK, seriously. I must get back to writing the pattern. Stop stalling Renate.
More later

Cau Cau Surfer Girl

My next adventure is called Cau Cau surfer

The test gauge and knitting pattern trial shows already how the waves will translate right into the finished garment. I can't wait to see the finished work on Miss Allison and show it all to you. So far I have the sketch of the finished dress, the knit stitches I will use and the gauge swatch. This will be a great knitting weekend!!!!

Since it is early and I am still on my first cup of coffee I thought you would enjoy to see my glamour shoots of the last design I have published. The pattern for 'My red Kimono-Hoody' is now for sale at www.ravelry.com and will be added to the www.etsy.com store shortly.

The pictures are from a trip to the "MIDWAY" Aircraft Carrier on Presidents Day last Monday.

shot from the Idol stage were Jessica Sanchez was selected to go on to became the Idol 'runner-up'

finishing it

I know finishing work is not only my biggest problem.
Many of my 'knitting' friends tell me the same story: It takes way too long, all the threads to hide, the blocking, the sewing together of all the seams, ....
Well my friends, it is what it is!!!!

With my latest project "little red riding hoody" I shortened the finishing time a little by blocking my work as I finished each piece.

First the back. Then the two front pieces, and then the arms. While the arms dried I closed the shoulder seams and knitted the hood right onto the garment. I did not cast off the middle diamond design stitches on the back piece so I could continue the design into the hood. The button band was knitted on next. I repeated the 8 rows from the jacket and arms edge and added 5 buttonholes in the top half of the hoody. The bottom half remains open.

Once the arms were done blocking I sewed them on. By 'sewing' I mean I crochet them on. I have given-up on using a sewing needle to close any knitting seams. For me the best way is to use a slightly smaller crochet hook and a single crochet stitch to close a seam.

I think you can see in the picture that I did not have the hoodie's side seams closed before sewing on the arms. I also did not have the arm seams closed. I like this method of sewing (crocheting) in the arms open.

It gives me full control over the placement:

-making sure the middle of the arm is placed at the shoulder seam.

-sewing down the back half of the arm and then the front half lets me adjust the arm width to end exactly where I want it to be. It also is much easier to crochet small sections and 'open them again' if it did not quite come out perfectly.

After that I can sit back and take one evening to close the long side and arm seam. All in one. For this little red riding hoody I left a few inches open at the end of the arm's seam and at the other end of the body. That leaves this hoody light any airy. It is not meant to be cuddly warm, rather just a small soft little chill-remover, for evenings near the ocean or cool spring evenings on the porch.

Comparing it to the sketch I made when I first played with the idea of a kimono hoody, this looks a lot like the vision I had. Don't you agree!

I know that the ladies from the Normal Heights knitting group are asking for the pattern. I know, I know. It's time to write it down.

My husband gave me a super Christmas present. It's a Phone and Pad in one, the Galaxy Note II. So guess what! I need to learn how to make the design notes while I am knitting and making the decisions, so I can just push copy - paste and have the pattern already done.

That's the goal for my next project.

But for now I need to get on it. It's time to remember the way I did it, so everyone that wants to make a hoody like this can do it. I am wearing it a few times a week and it goes well with casual and business styles a like.

Oh and Maxy likes me wearing it out on HER walks.

The Pettern is now for sale in German at my ravelry store:
http://www.ravelry.com



My 'little red riding hood' jacket

As you might have guessed from the title of today's blog, my jacket is taking shape. The entire body is is done. The front panels the back and also one sleeve.
My current dilemma is that I am not using any written pattern and have to size and try everything before going on to the next step.
These decisions were paramount to a successful Jacket design:

• - for the first piece, the right front section, deciding the cable design and the length of the Jacket
• - for the left front deciding that the pattern should be knitted opposite ( the cables are starting in the opposite direction )
• - for the back deciding the new middle cable design. I have trial knitted swatches to see what will work in concert with the front. I was only sure that I wanted to come up with a bigger diamond design that what is framing the front panels.
• - for the sleeve there were many little decisions and it took a few days to decide:
• how wide at the start
• how wide at the end
• how long of a sleeve
• what pattern, if any

 Now that I have both front panels, the back and one sleeve completed I dare not just go ahead and knit the second sleeve. I need to loosely sew the body together and sew on the sleeve to see what it will look like.
I don't have a mannequin!
The sleeve has been done since Saturday and I am avoiding the sewing chore, I wonder why? I feel like I am stuck like a writer with writer's block.
But today, first things first. It is election day in America, after all.
Today really means so much to me, a proud first time Presidential Election voter.
I can not believe it took me 60 Years to arrive at this point in my live, better late than never.

Summer Fun

Yes, I like knitting and traveling
Yes, I do other crafts and projects like crocheting, sewing

Yes, I make it a special mission every year to read at least one book in English and one book in German

and Yes, sometimes another 'new' passion sneaks into my world.

I have discovered cooking soup.

First it was just a few soups to have something different than the same old meat. It was actually my husband's constant searching for 'other' meat that brought my idea to the fore front. Soup can be with or without meat and does not take long at all to prepare, usually about 30 minutes.

I have settled on a few favorites now.

• Fennel soup, with Fennel, Chickpeas, Tomatoes, Garlic, Chicken broth, and a big Potato
• Sicilian Wedding soup, with Spinach, baked Meatballs, Noodles, Garlic, Onion, Carrot, and Celery. The broth for this soup can be Chicken broth or Beef broth, both work well.
• Potato soup, with Potatoes, Leaks, Carrots, Celery, Garlic and Steak strips, Chicken broth, and Onion
• Chicken Noodle, with Celery, Carrots, Garlic, Chicken pieces, Noodles, and Onion

There was something else that contributed to this soup idea and that was my little raised garden bed out front. I started growing Basil, Tomatoes, Hungarian Peppers, Green Beans, and Chives last year.
All the best ingredients to spice up a home made soup.



on the left, below my porch, my husband built the raised garden bed for my plants



Today, I spent some time at a Nursery to buy this years second growing season plants. I researched on-line that San Diego has the right climate to plant some winter vegetables. This afternoon I was busy planting 2 Tomato varieties, one regular and one purple. The purple came very much recommended from our friend the gardener. I also bought two Pole Beans, and seeds for Cool Weather Pees, and Kohlrabi.

 I have also reviewed some Garden Magazines last month. Hard to believe that there was still time for that between the knitting, the Olympics watching and the finishing my 900+ pages Dragon story book.

In the magazine I found the chairs I wanted for my porch that my husband built for me 2 tears ago.

Finally the right chair, I thought. Luckily there was a store in San Diego that had the chairs. I wanted the yellow ones. The woman at the store recommended to take the chair outside to be sure the color was what I wanted. I am so glad she did that because the yellow was more orange glowing than I wanted. Seeing them up close and in the sunshine made me change my mind. The ones I bought are red and beautiful.



Now I sit out there in the morning shade and cool air to celebrate the beginning of
another day with the first cup of coffee



As you can see the chairs are also used for modelling some of my knitted wares, like the Poncho I made years ago



Don't you agree the icicle shawl from 2007 does look better on the chair than on me