Anarchistelfliege 2 (back to Utopia) : topic:the sacred everyday life

Winter day, finished projects, snowflakes and alien fingers

distelfliege — 2009-12-21T00:40:00Z

Today was the most wonderful winter's day this year. The sun was shining, and snow from the night before was turning everything white. I've taken the chance to take pictures of my newly finished shawl:

And I'm wearing the sweater I made from handspun yarn. I love it so much, I'm wearing it every day. I originally made this "Silk kerchief" shawl (it's not made from silk, this is just the name of the knitting pattern) to give away as a present, but now I'm not so sure any more. I've heard people say how much they admire my Laminaria Shawl with the complicated lace patterns, and I don't want the recipient to be disappointed because she knows I can knit lace and I'm giving her only a garter stitch shawl. I wouldn't mind too much if it was not made entirely from fine handspun BFL and merino yarns. Oh well. It's very soft and warm and I think it's most beautiful. A tough decision - should I give it away or not?

And there's another project I finished:

These are Tridactyl Gloves (The link leads to the free pattern page at knitty.com). I've added a fleece lining to make them windproof and they are the most wonderful winter gloves for bike riding.

I love the winter sun.
What I couldn't catch on camera was just now on my way home, in the middle of the night, when it started to snow heavily. There were snowflakes as big as a quarter of an inch. And there was this moment when I wondered if I could see a snowflake, and I held out my glove and looked what fell on it, and there was the perfect snowflake, big, white, sparkly and wonderful. I think I haven't seen a snowflake like that since my childhood. But then, I had not taken the time to look for snowflake crystals in many years.

And I've seen a knitted graffiti on saturday:

I love this idea. Must make one myself when I've got the time. Maybe a crab. ;)

old and new bike

distelfliege — 2009-08-03T10:48:00Z

Recently, I parted with my old "witch horse" bicycle, and it was really really a hard thing to do. I even had to cry some when I left it behind for good, to go to the bike shop to choose a new one.
I don't own a driving licence and have no car (of course), so my bike is my daily transportation around the city of Berlin. I had bought a diamond back bicycle, in 1998 or so, used, which carried me everywhere, it just flew, like a dream. As my gears and chain and everything were totally worn down again, and some other major repairs were necessary, I had brought it in for repairs, and when they started to work on it, it became evident that the frame was rusty and it was not worth the repair costs any more.
So I brought it to a DIY queer bike repair station, maybe it is still good enough for someone for another 3-4 years of use. As my knees are not really the strongest, I want a bike that runs easy and where everything works well.

My old one, this spring..

And my new one, which I already love!
It has got a steel frame, and since the geometry of the frame is very similar with the old bike, I can just ride it and it feels like riding my old bike. Only that everything is new.
It was made in the Czech Republic, by "Fort".
I'm really happy with my choice!

Summertime

distelfliege — 2009-05-26T21:17:00Z

I love fields full of poppies. This is summer, the real summer!
This pic was taken on a bicycle tour to the garden. 40 km, following the former Berlin Wall.

My bike has been used nearly every day for the past 12 years, and some parts of it just are so worn out. Many parts have already been replaced, but I guess there's a new wave of repairs needed this year. Like any old vehicle. But I like it!

And of course, my new hobby, spinning.

I found that one of the most important things for a smoothly spinning top whorl spindle is a hook tuning. There's also a great Article on how to fix spindle hooks. Since I adjusted the hooks on my homemade spindles, they spin just great.
A wobbling spindle is not just an aesthetic problem. The wobbling slows the spindle down, and for some spinning techniques, especially long draw on the hand spindle, I need them to spin fast. I can really recommend this hook tuning!

project 52: sun, spinning, biking

distelfliege — 2009-05-03T12:27:00Z

I didn't post photos to Project 52 for a while. Yesterday, we went on a bicycle tour on the Berlin "Mauerweg", that is a route for bikes along the former Wall. Of course I brought my spindle with me and this photo was taken at the end of the tour, in a park near our home.

Wanna see Wednesday: Shower Stuff

distelfliege — 2009-04-29T19:40:00Z

This is what I use for showering:
It's a rose shower gel, without animal testing and made with natural ingredients. These "eco" - cosmetics are not overly scented, but the more I use them, the more I like the scent. It's not banging me on the head or shouting at me. This scent is just softly creating good vibes and that's what it should do.
In the front there is a bar of soap coated with felted wool. A friend, Petra, made this. I don't know how to use it yet. I'll have to ask her!

Wanna See Wednesday

distelfliege — 2009-04-23T10:04:00Z

..I'm a day too late here, I posted this yesterday on my german blog:

I got the idea from Nomadin, and also from Belinda, who showed us her beautiful teapots and tea cups. Nomadin and I are showing you our cutlery.

The "big stuff" is in an empty flower pot! I planned to use it only as a temporary solution, but then I really liked the way this looks, and most of all I love the way this works. It holds the biggest kitchen tools, without ever threatening to fall from the cupboard. Really nice.
We don't own a set of matching cutlery, this all came here from one of our late kitchen communities in this ex.squat. And of course our parents gave us some cutlery they don't use any more because they bought themselves matching sets.

cherry plum

distelfliege — 2009-04-12T19:47:00Z

When I came home yesterday, I passed by two cherry plum trees, who reminded me of my Bach Flower Project. I had started to make "Bach Flower Remedies" myself two years ago, but had made none last year. Lack of time.
The days are sunny right now and so I packed my stuff, a bottle of water, a small glass bowl, and a small bottle for the flowerwater.

I picked some flowers and put them into the bowl. Then I realized that this street corner is frequently used by dogs as a toilet. I didn't want my flower water to end up become dog pee water, so I carried it into the nearby park, and placed it on an elephant's back. I then spent the next three hours spinning outside in the sun. The colours of the yarn happened to match the cherry plum tree, so that will be my cherry plum yarn!

Under the tree

..to the elephant

The yarn and the flower remedy.

Spinning wool and fluffyness

distelfliege — 2009-04-06T21:11:00Z

It's been a bit quiet here lately. That was mainly because I had a lot of trouble and not only I, but it seemed like nearly all friends of mine had a stressful time as well. Last week/today, me/my friend Lucia, both of us struggling with problems with neigbours, have had meetings and talks giving us hope that from now on things will work out ok! That's great. I feel much more relaxed these days.

Now about the fluffiness:
The first kind of fluff came in the mail. It's roving for spinning, pure, soft sheep's wool!
I'm planning to spin this up and dye it with plant dyes later - in summer.

Just as fluffy, but also very cute, is Lucia's cat Robin:

wishing you all a fluffy week!

Exhausting

distelfliege — 2009-03-26T23:23:00Z

During the last weeks, I'm sometimes involved in an ongoing conflict in our house, which is an ex-squat. I find it frustrating and exhausting. Especially today. Since I stopped smoking I have been more open, my feelings are more intense and I'm more easily touched by things. I have to speak with a spirit guide about this, who helped me stopping smoking and maybe can help me in this situation as well.

my second handspun yarn is green merino fiber and today I knitted a postage stamp swatch, because I wasn't sure at all if the yarn would turn out nice. Now I'm very satisfied with it.

Maybe I should go back to patchworking for a while, because spinning and knitting invites too many thoughts about the current situation, while I can't do anything about it.

Stitchmarker

distelfliege — 2009-03-05T12:27:00Z

This is my photo for Project 52. I made some stitch markers. On knittinghelp.com I saw in some videos how they use waste yarn, tied to small rings, as stitch markers. So I added some beads and there they were. Another advantage is that should I knit one in, accidentally, I can cut the waste yarn and make a new one in a minute.

Last saturday I nearly had a bike accident. I could hold the bicycle upright and avoid crashing on the street, but my arm muscles, which were cold and relaxed, had very much to do, too suddenly. My arms hurt for the three days following this event. And my bike was in for repairs.

toothbrushes in love

distelfliege — 2009-02-13T16:06:00Z

This is this week's photo (with some modifications) for Project 52. This week I was sent home by my dentist with the advice to not wait so long the next time - well I didn't wait so long last time. The problem was that I had no toothaches and so I didn't realise how damaged two of my teeth were until it was too late. And I see the dentist at least once a year. My teeth are standing really tight together and if the hole starts to form from the place between two teeth, it's nearly impossible for the dentist to detect it.
So now I had my teeth professionally cleaned with a device that shoots micro-particles at them, and I received a precious lesson on how to care for my teeth properly. I bought a new electric toothbrush and an oral irrigator and I had improved my discipline in caring for my teeth since last year a lot. So I really really hope to stop the decline of my teeth that has been going on for nearly 10 years now. It has been quite frustrating that it took me so long to become used to a routine of cleaning the teeth, and the more I did the worse it got. It seemed so paradox and yet, cleaning my teeth more and the correct way is my only chance to get healthy. So this week I made sure that I do it the correct way and I really hope to get to the turning point this year, that it will get better, instead of getting worse this year.
And now that I've stopped smoking I'm sure I will actually make it!

Such a beautiful day

distelfliege — 2009-01-07T23:12:00Z

They say in the news: It has been the coldest night since 1987.
I'm very glad to live in a house where I can turn a knob and the heating works and the rooms are warm. That was not always the case, about 10 years ago this house was in a very bad state and we heated with coal. Even though we burned a lot of wood and coal I had to wear several pullovers, because the room wouldn't get warm enough. And the water taps and tubes froze nearly every winter.

This is what the weather is like here:

I'm not used to degrees Fahrenheit - to me that looks like it would be much warmer than it really is. 14°F - that would be -10° Celsius.

quit-smoking-diary

distelfliege — 2009-01-02T19:09:00Z

On sunday, I will be free of the smoking for 6 weeks. Wow! If someone would have told me that I would really make it this far, just 2 months ago, I would have declared him/her insane. ;-)

I'm still experiencing days when I often seem to think about smoking and craving cigarettes, but most of the week I feel free and I'm much better now. My coughing has stopped, and I have more time now.
But I think the more I'm getting used to life without smoking, the more I forget how it was like to be addicted. I also forget how much better life feels compared to before, because the new life is rapidly becoming a normal, everyday life.
I think it's important to be aware of how good life now is - because the old addiction is not yet dead, and sometimes it's still there and wants to get me.

Since I stopped smoking and started knitting, I knit 3 pairs of socks and I'm nearly finished knitting a scarf. I'll put up photos of that later, when the scarf is finished. :)

New Years' dirt still on the streets. Yesterday I rode my bike through broken bottles all the way to work. Thank Goddess I've put on tyres with an extra layer of rubber to protect against punctures.

It has gotten really cold these days, and next week will be even colder. I need to finish my scarf!

Dieses Rezept für Borschtsch ist total lecker, ich hab das heute gemacht, aber mit Gemüse- statt Fleischbrühe. Und mit Balsamico-Essig statt anderem Essig, weil ich nur solchen da hatte.

I made Borschtsch today, this is a russian dish which tastes wonderful in winter. All ingredients can be obtained from regional sources. I often try to cook using only stuff from my region, because it's more ecological if goods aren't shipped across the globe or energy is used to keep veggies frozen.

1000 cigarettes is the amount of cigarettes that I did NOT smoke - by tomorrow!!

New years day

distelfliege — 2009-01-01T12:29:00Z

What I want to do in 2009:
- get healthy teeth, I hope the dentist and I find the reason why I'm still having problems.
- learn to play saxophone
- go outside and work in the garden more
- do more exercises (my knees could use them)

We made cheese fondue, kind of a new years eve tradition here.

A method of taking a look at the future: melt lead and throw it into cold water and guess what the resulting shape tells you.

And went to the market and bought some fleece fabric, because I really need some kind of cap to protect my ears..

More photos from the sea

distelfliege — 2008-12-29T20:56:00Z

Even though I said some weeks ago that I dislike Gimp compared to Photoshop, I now "gimp" all of my pictures. My Mac has got the Gimp installed and I find it so much more convenient to do everything at one computer instead of booting the other windows computer, and transferring the edited photos later.

In the south of germany, this time between christmas and the 6th of january is called "Rauhnächte" and traditionally the farmers went through the house and the barns burning incense to bless the house and keep evil spirits away.
I don't have to work most of this week and I think I'll burn some incense here as well.