Colorful, voluminous and happy – that's "Alegria" by Manos del Uruguay. With 25% polyamide, it is even durable enough for a pair of cozy socks. But the best use you can put a handdyed skein of "Alegria" to is to make a fun shawl like Hitchhiker, Hitchhiker Beyond, Easy or Puerto Montt – with its yardage of 445 yards per skein it's just perfect!
Summers of my childhood were spent camping on the island Fehmarn (Baltic Sea), where my father had grown up and my mom had strong family ties. During the six weeks of summer vacation, we had a few lazy sunny days at the beach, where we snacked on rolls with cheese and wurst prepared in the morning that had that certain beachy taste and crunched from the grains of sand they had gathered. Most of the time it rained hard, and we would sit in our caravan playing cards, snuggled up in the few summer clothes we had packed while being too optimistic about the weather. On those days, this shawlette would have been perfect: The colors of the Baltic Sea and the rain, and a pattern of small summery waves, adding just a little warmth on not-so-hot summer days.The shawlette is knit on the bias, giving the classic chevron pattern an unusual twist. Each side of the triangle shows a differently shaped wave – just like the Baltic Sea in wild weather.
In this video I talk about the yarn and the pattern.
Measurements Length 140 cm (56 in), Depth 32 cm (13 in) Shawlette size is adaptable to the amount of yarn you have.The pattern "Baltic Summer" is part of Martina Behms book "The Hitchhiker Collection".
A cowl that looks like a scarf that looks like a shawl, is an easy-peasy knit and has an unusual construction, accentuated by stripes in my most beloved colors – that sounds like a new favorite project of mine, and that’s exactly what “Berry Skies” is! I have been playing around with different ways of making cowls, and this one struck me as particularly suited for a “Trio Aquarell” by Dibadu: Three colors with just enough contrast to emphasize the stripes and zig-zags that are in perfect harmony nevertheless – just like clouds in the sky over Damsdorf, my home, at sunset. The cowl is entirely knit back and forth in garter stitch with only a few purl stitches and minimal ends to weave in when you are done. Depending on which side you decide to wear up, the light or dark colors will show more. Choose your favorite way to wear it, and the geometric zig-zag elements will be more prominent or less, making it one of the most versatile knitted pieces of your wardrobe!The pattern "Berry Skies" is part of Martina Behm´s book "Strickmich! Knitting Inventions".
Why garter stitch is my favorite? Well, mostly, you don‘t have to purl.That makes it easy and relaxing to knit. It might take a little longer for progress to show because you need to work more rows than, say, in stockinette stitch to see what you have done. But that is made up for by that wonderful stretchy fabric that is such a pleasure to wear and makes fingering weight yarn warm and cozy. Plus: Most hand-dyed yarns look really fab in it. So I just could not resist to design another little garter stitch shawlette: Lintilla. It comes with a special long and narrow triangular, slightly asymmetrical construction and a beautiful scalloped, subtly ruffled edge that is really fun to make. This is my fourth shawlette that is named after Douglas Adams‘ „The Hitchhiker‘s Guide to the Galaxy“ series: Lintilla an intelligent and beautiful woman (she appeared only in the BBC radio play, not in the books), who was accidentally cloned too many times – so her pretty face could be spotted in every part of the galaxy. Who knows, maybe that‘s what‘s going to happen to this shawlette as well?
This pattern, as the other triangular shawls I have designed, is very flexible: You can use any amount of yarn and end up with a small neckerchief, a small or bigger shawlette. To achieve the size shown in the pictures, you will need about 525 m (575 yards) of fingering weight yarn.
Here is a short video tutorial on how to do the wraps and turns.The pattern "Lintilla" is part of Martina Behm´s book "The Hitchhiker Collection".
Strickmich! Big Bowl is the more voluminous version of her little sister, the Strickmich! Bowl Accessory bag: Open it up and it will expand to a useful bowl that holds your yarn balls when knitting. Sturdy cotton with a wool felt bottom protects your precious yarn, and knitting from it is a breeze. When you close it, you can carry it with the attached sling. Strickmich! Big Bowl holds 250 to 350 g yarn (on the ball or knitted) plus your needles.The smaller version (Strickmich! Bowl – accessory bag) is suitable for knitting accessories or small projects with up to 100 g yarn.The yarn and decoration in the pictures are not included.Strickmich! Big Bowl is sewn by Manomama in Augsburg, Germany after an idea by knitwear designer Martina Behm: Sturdy organic cotton fabric that will hold its shape and a reinforced bowl bottom with wool felt from German sheep who live in the Black Forest. The contrast-color zipper looks great with the Strickmich! logo tag and is made in Germany as well. Manomama is a project by Sina Trinkwalder, who established Manomama in the old textile hub Augsburg in Bavaria, employing people who find it hard to find work otherwise. Fair pay and good working conditions are an essential part of the project. Materials100% organic cotton from Tanzania, woven in Northrine-Westphalia, Germany, GOTS certifiedWool felt from sheep from the Black Forest, GermanyZipper made in GermanyMeasurementsDiameter upper edge ca. 30 cmDiameter bottom 18 cmHeight of Edge approx. 13 cmLength when closed approx. 37 cmWidth when closed approx. 17 cm
Addi Circulars with 80 cm (32 in) length and extra sharp tips are ideally suited for most of Martina Behm's designs. These needles are great quality "Made in Germany", and they make even the most complicated lace pattern a pleasure to knit. The needle sizes are printed on the cable (metric and US). Addi lace needle tips are made nickel-free.
This is probably the softest sock yarn in the whole wild world – and it's made out of mulesing-free Merino fiber from South Africa. Hence the name! Besides the softness, the best thing about this yarn is that it is color-changing: As you knit, exciting stripes in a number of color combinations will emerge. It's perfect for an interestingly constructed shawl like Easy, Puerto Montt or Match & Move. "Lazy Lion" is superwash and consists of 25% Nylon, so it will be durable enough for socks and other hard-wearing garments – all of this while being incredibly soft!
The sample "Trillian" from our book "Hitchhiker Collection" was made out of one skein of this yarn, colorway "Brittas Favorite".The sample "Puerto Montt" on the cover of "Strickmich! Knitting Innovations" was knit out of 2 skeins of this yarn, colorway "Flower Bed". The knitted cover of Strickplaner 2020 was made out of this yarn in the colorway "Bunch of Roses".
Luxurious and so soft! "Fino" by Manos del Uruguay is a voluminous single-ply consisting of 30% silk and 70% merino wool – really soft and perfect for a pretty shawl like Samadhi, Baltic Summer, Hitchhiker, Heaven & Space or Lintilla. The multicolored versions are perfect for Martina's designs, and one skein of 450 m per 100 g will yield a decently sized shawl.
The yarn is hand dyed by a cooperative in Uruguay that offers employment to rural women in difficult life situations. The merino fiber comes from South America and is mulesing-free.
Please note: Handwash only.
The sample "Samadhi" from our book "Hitchhiker Collection" was made out of one skein of this yarn, colorway "Watered Silk".The sample "Wolkig" from our book "Strickmich! Knitting Inventions" was made out of one skein of this yarn, colorway "Silver Teaset".