Hi, I am Calypso Citlali, passionate about knitting and fiber arts.
My favorite color is red, and unlike most knitters, I didn't learn it from my grandma. I was born and raised in France, where a family friend, Jeanine, taught me knitting and purling. I made a pink and white jumper for a monkey soft toy. Shortly after that, my family moved to Germany, and I kept insisting with my mother that I wanted to pursue knitting.
We were living in the Black Forest; I turned 11 in October 2003, and that winter my mother helped our neighbor shovel the snow. Assuming that our neighbor, being a grown lady, knew how to knit, my mother asked her if she would teach me. A few days later, I crossed the street and rang Ute’s and Hartmut’s bell. It turned out that Ute is an exceptional knitter. We lived in the Black Forest for five years, and I spent almost every afternoon at their place, knitting in the kitchen while the melodies from Hartmut's grand piano filled the air.
Ute taught me to cast on, shape my garments with short rows, make neat seams, and be accurate with swatching and gauge. Eventually, we left that village to live in the bigger city of Freiburg im Breisgau, but I continued visiting Ute and Hartmut on the weekends. I like to think that every garment I knit carries the memory of the time I knitted it. One thing is for sure; all my garments carry the wonderful friendship and trust Ute and Hartmut bestowed upon me.
Today, I live, work, and enjoy my life in the vibrant capital of Germany, Berlin. I have completed a B.A. in Intercultural Applied Linguistics, which gave me the opportunity to study for one semester in Japan. Also, I hold a B.A. and M.A. in International and European Governance, which brought me back to study in France for two years. My brother and I were brought up by a Mexican mother and a German father. We are both polyglots, love to travel, and still speak in French with each other.
I used to run a knitting blog while pursuing my first degree but had to prioritize working in yarn shops to support my studies. In total, I worked in three different yarn shops, each offering a unique insight into the vast world of knitting preferences. Guiding both new and seasoned knitters to explore beyond their comfort zones became a passion, all against the backdrop of delightful colors and squishy yarn. Unfortunately, the last yarn shop in Berlin where I worked had to close. The two others were in Augsburg, where I also interned a couple of months at the Museum of Textile and Art. I did a further internship at the Natural Fibre Company in England, which deepened my understanding of the magic—perhaps mechanics—of wool processing, under the ownership of Sue Blacker, may she rest in peace.
I have been knitting without interruptions for more than 20 years now, and my passion has helped me through difficult times and dressed me for the good ones! I think I belong to the adventurous knitters! What I love most about knitting and fibers are the endless creative and technical options this craft offers. In fact, my first project was not from a pattern: it was a big dark blue sweater with a front pocket to warm my hands, which Ute helped me calculate and finally sew together.
A decade ago, I learned how to spin with a hand spindle and on my Kromski wheel because of my desire to own every aspect of the creative process. I experimented a little with dyeing as well but decided to leave that to professional independent dyers. I figured that I could create colors by mixing fibers before spinning as well (i.e., on a blending board). I love the ritual of choosing yarns, imagining garments, and making them stitch by stitch. What I love most is that they always turn out a little bit different from what I had imagined. The real magic lies in the delightful surprises that emerge, making each piece an expression of creativity in my handmade wardrobe.
