About the Lunamuse...
Besides being a knit wit & spinner of yarns,
she is a multi-faceted artist and brings an artistic approach to every aspect of her life.
She is always happy to share and apply her talents in her local community, combining the left and right hemispheres of her brain in equal measures of logic and creativity as a self-employed IT Consultant, Graphic & Visual Artist, Singer, Painter and Writer alike.
yoga teacher & student of life
devoted mom
stranded singer, weaver of words
mermaid in disguise
"Fall in Love with Fiber"
Knitting & Spinning as
Self-Expression of the Soul
Interview in Spin Artiste
Follow-Up Interview in Spin Artiste
"History"
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Manuela grew up in Germany.
Her home town Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre. The "Great Ravensburg Trading Society" ("Große Ravensburger Handelsgesellschaft") owned shops and trading companies in all over Europe. It was founded by the Welfs, a Frankish dynasty in Swabia who became later Dukes of Bavaria and Saxony and who made the castle of Ravensburg their ancestral seat. By a contract of inheritance, in 1191 the Hohenstaufen Frederick Barbarossa acquired the ownership of Ravensburg from Welf VI, Duke of Spoleto and uncle of both Frederick Barbarossa and Henry the Lion. With the death of Conradin 1268 in Naples the Hohenstaufen line became extinct. Their former estates became imperial property of the Holy Roman Empire. Like many other cities in Swabia, at the end of the 13th century Ravensburg became an Imperial Free City in 1276.One can see Manuela's rich ancestral background mirrored in the creation of her exquisite hand-spun yarns and her hand-knit designs which both give witness to extraordinary craftsmanship as well as her distinct design lines fit for royalty. Manuela has been part of a local artisan scene for as long as she can remember. From Germany to New England's rich crafts to beautiful & sunny Sonoma County in Northern California to avantgarde Asbury Park at the Jersey Shore to now the small island 7 miles out at sea off the coast of Maine, she allows local elements to be part of her design process, every piece of land calling on a different part of the soul waiting to be expressed.
"Her Story""
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Originally born & raised in Germany I was transplanted to the United States in 1995.
Most moving boxes contained my Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel, tons of knitting needles and pounds of fibers in various stages of incarnation...
I fell in love with knitting when I was 5.
I taught myself to knit from my mom’s one and only knitting book and basically got hooked on knitting & crocheting before I learned reading, writing and basic math skills.
Thankfully I know those by now too, it really comes in handy for following patterns & designing my own designs & knitting patterns, which are now also available on Ravelry, as well as Etsy, specifically developed with handspun yarns in mind :)
I started to make my own yarns in my early 20ies.
At the time I worked with developmentally disabled adults in Camphill Communities.
For over 7 years I was running a sheltered workshop guiding the residents, exhange students, volunteer workers, co-workers and their kids how to process wool & dye fibers, as well as learn fiber quality and ingenuity, spin, knit, crochet & weave.
Now in my 50ies I am no longer working in a sheltered workshop, but still enjoy processing fibers, and creating my own yarns & knit designs.
"The Vision"
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Fashionable contemporary knitwear
deeply feminine and elegantly functional
“Designs dedicated to the flow of soulful harmonies
from the raw living fiber in my hands
to the finished garment,
embodying a woman’s authentic essence,
allowing her spirit to soar freely,
transformed and transcended -
while staying connected to and
acknowledging her roots in (r)evolution”
“My designs compliment the
‘Modern (Luna)Muse’
intelligent, creative, passionate,
with delicate strength of the heart,
inspiring and pursuing creative endeavors
while remaining true to her emotional integrity -
despite today’s epidemic disconnect of the intellect from the heart”
