Introducing 'Constantia', my slow fashion model

Hey - who is this?

Let me introduce 'Constantia' to you! A bit shy yet, she is, but I guess you will see more of her before long!



When Sara came to visit me, we talked about the possibility of using a doll for our knitting and other textile experiments, thus being able to try out patterns and ideas in a smaller scale.

We agreed on keeping the dolls quite simple, not too small, and on using the same outlines for both, hers and mine. As Sara is far more experienced than I am in doll-making, I asked her to outline it and to teach me how to sew and stuff it.

I wanted a doll looking more like a grown-up woman, with ample bosom and belly and a few grey hairs - well, more like in real life, if you see what I mean :-)!

Constantia measures about 80 cm/30 inches and is entirely made out of stash material and what I had at hand: an old cotton sheet, dyed with black tea, a red and grey tangled wool, a bag of padding and a little black acrylic paint for the boots. (For these first photos I just dressed her in one of my daughter's T-shirts - it's getting a bit chilly outside.)

Although we had almost a week together, Sara and I started making the dolls only a few hours before she had to go - so she left with only a paper pattern and I had a kind of empty fabric skeleton without a face in my hand ... So well, Constantia is not perfect - neither am I - but she's my first try-out and I would like her to serve as a model for a bit of slow fashion, for handmade and recycling wearables.



(German summary: Dies ist Constantia, eine 80 cm Stoffpuppe, die ich gerne als Model für selbstgemachte Anziehsachen verwenden möchte. Als Sara bei mir war, haben wir diese Möglichkeit des verkleinerten Ausprobierens diskutiert und zusammen ausgearbeitet - es wird also auch eine zweite Version davon geben!)

Emily's green and orange bag/Emily's grünorange Tasche

My daughter Emily celebrated her 11th birthday today and she had asked me to make her a small bag in her favourite colours green-orange-and black.

I spun the wool, plied it with an orange thread, knitted it - except for the black edge and the strap, which are crocheted - and finally punched it with the embellisher (but only from the front side). I found a lovely flower button to suit it as well!

She had also asked for a scarf some time ago, so I crocheted it (with sock wool!) in the green and orange colour scheme as well ...

When she got it this afternoon, she was so happy and content and wore it the rest of the day - it's a wonderful thing to do something for her, as she appreciates it so very much ... I'm a very lucky mum!



I'm also knitting on my 'Stone Age Project' - I guess it's going to be a sweater when it's ready - although I've been thinking about doing a pullunder with loose sleeves to button on, too ... don't know yet. Nevertheless, it's a funny way spinning small amounts out of the raw wool, then winding it onto the niddy-noddy, washing it several times in hot soap water, drying, winding into balls, knitting - and spinning again ...

The wool turns out very soft, very natural, clean but with a tiny, tiny smell of sheep, which I must admit I love, if it's discrete enough ...



I've also found a gorgeous book, a bible for all knitters who want to work freely, not wanting to be bound by rigid knitting patterns and special yarns recommended but shaping their own personal sweaters:



And tomorrow Sara is coming ...!

(German summary: Meine Tochter Emily hat sich zu ihrem 11. Geburtstag eine von mir gemachte Tasche und einen Schal in ihren Lieblingsfarben gewünscht. Die Tasche ist hauptsächlich gestrickt - aus selbstgesponnener Wolle -, ein kleiner Teil gehäkelt, dann mit dem Embellisher gepuncht/verfilzt. Ich stricke auch an meinem Steinzeitpullover - d.h. ich spinne die Rohwolle direkt, so wie sie ist, dann erst wasche ich sie und stricke weiter ...)

Back to Basics/Zurück zum Ursprung

Sorry to have kept you waiting again - of course I've been doing some textile things inbetween, but somehow, I was in the mood where nothing seemed worthwhile writing about or interesting enough to show ...

I'm not even sure about it now, but I'll share it with you anyway:

At the moment, I'm back to basics, re-reading books like "The Good Life" and "Simple Food for the Good Life" by Helen and Scott Nearing, "Gardening When it Counts" by Steve Solomon, "Spinning in the Old Way" by P.A. Gibson-Roberts and "Wer wandert, braucht nur was er tragen kann" by Anne Donath.

I've finally got my high-whorl handspindle, which I use for spinning a thick, yet soft single yarn out of quite harsh and rustic, 'original' fibers: the dark one is Mongolian sheep, the light one a Russian Karakul sheep blended with camel undercoat fibers.



This is truly slow work, spinning small amounts on the handspindle, then knitting the yarn in 10 stitches small squares, using my chopsticks, in a pattern similar to the one of Scandinavian birchtree bark basket weaving.

Although these are sturdy and archaic fibers (except the camel undercoat), the yarn still turns out quite delicate and comfortable through the handspindle and the loose knitting.

I just felt that I needed a break from all those soft and softest modern silky yarns in pastel colours - and as a friend told me of a journey to the Indian mountains, where she had seen a very basic way of spinning and knitting right out of a basket of raw wool, I knew that I wanted to try that out, too.



As this is a very basic wool, it will certainly be possible to felt it too, if I'd like to.



I haven't decided yet if to use it for a wrapping or for a garment - it has a touch of stone-age to it and might not be everyone's cup of tea - but it is basic, for sure ...

(German summary: Ich experimentiere gerade mit sehr ursprünglicher Wolle - grobe russische und mongolische Schafwolle und teilweise noch sehr fette Lockenwolle, die ich unkardiert direkt verspinne und erst danach wasche ... Es ist eine angenehme Abwechslung zu dem supersoften, pastellfarbenen Designergarnen - und irgendwie brauche ich das jetzt!)

Knitting blue-green diamonds/Gestrickter blauer Diamant

So, I've done a bit more on the blue-green diamonds - it's quite fun to do, and it's a colour combination I don't use very often!



As I have just seen Sara's 'Dragon Shawl' ready, I guess I should post the 'African Impressions' shawl as well! I consider working a fringe - maybe braided - at the short ends ...

(Unfortunately, I'm not so good at taking photos and working with the photoshop program - that's why this shawls looks a bit like a table runner ;-) ... but I guess you'll get the idea!)



(German summary: So, noch ein Stück von dem 'Blauen Diamanten' ist gestrickt, es wächst einfach von selber - und der Schal ist auch fertig, bis auf eventuelle Fransen!)

A chopstick experiment/Ein Experiment mit Eßstäbchen

I've always been convinced that it should be possible to knit with chopsticks - and today I tried it out. I got hold on a pair of those take-away chopsticks, sharpened them with a pencil sharpener and smoothed them with a fine grained sand paper.

When I measured them, I found out that they are about No. 5 needles and that they are light and comfortable to knit with.

And what's more: for this project, they are perfect for using with the normal, thin sock wool!



I'm knitting diagonal squares in garter stitch, which gives the piece a classic patchwork look and makes a very light and elastic knitting, well suitable for a scarf or an indoor poncho - or maybe even a pullover, if I'm patient enough ...



The variegated colours in green and blue form the pattern of light and shadow all by themselves.

This knitting bears many possibilities, and I'm still trying to work out how to use it the best way.



(German summary: Heute habe ich ein paar Eßstäbchen zu Stricknadeln umfunktioniert - mit dem Bleistiftspitzer gespitzt und dann geschmirgelt - sie entsprechen Nr. 5-Nadeln und liegen leicht und gut in der Hand! Ich stricke diagonale Quadrate in Blau- und Grüntönen mit der Sockenwolle und überlege noch, was man alles damit anstellen könnte ...)

African Impression shawl - knitting short rows/Schal mit verkürzten Reihen

There is a German saying something like 'that what your heart is filled with is what you keep talking about' - and I guess not only my heart but also my basket is now filled with so much colourful sock wool, that I just cannot help going on with it just a little bit longer ...

(I even found a few new ones while visiting a nearby village the day before yesterday ... sigh!)

While trying out one of the new balls and searching my mind for a solution on how to get straight coloured areas without having to cut up the wool into small units, I suddenly got the idea of using short rows (this means that you're knitting only over a part of the stitches for a couple of rows, before joining up knitting over all stitches again) - eureka!

The colours on this yarn remind me of Africa ... just the right colour scheme to brighten up a dull European fall and winter!



(German summary: Ich kann diese Sockenwolle doch noch nicht ganz lassen - bei diesem Schal habe ich verkürzte Reihen gestrickt, damit der Farbwechsel größere, einheitliche Farbflächen ergibt.)

Puzzled knitting/Rätselhaftes Stricken

I guess I'm a bit crazy to be inspired by a book which hasn't been published yet - but when I saw the front page presented in a Swedish magazine ("Hemslöjden"), it looked so startling and interesting that I just had to try out an own version of that 'puzzled knitting' ...

Do I need to say that I used some of that variegated sock wool ... ?



Below is the front page of the new Swedish knitting book "Stickning. Ett hantverk att utveckla" by Britt-Marie Christoffersson, which will be available on September 24.



(Both pictures above are from www.svenskslojd.se, photographer: Thomas Harrysson)

(German summary: Ich hab' mich von einem noch nicht erschienenen Buch inspirieren lassen ... aber die Vorderseite war schon so vielversprechend, daß ich etwas Eigenes in dem Stil einfach ausprobieren mußte!)