Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Thanks, Christina. This cough is still bothering me.

Veronika, your blanket looks interesting in terms of color. I’m curious to see what it’ll look like when it’s finished.

Thank you all for the get-well wishes.

That’s right, Monika. I still need to finish my mom’s birthday card in the next few days, make some place cards (4 of them), and bake a cake for her little coffee gathering. All by Friday.
The cough is still bothering me despite the drops, and my whole stomach hurts from all the coughing.

Ursulapetra, your lecsó looks delicious.
Petra, wow—a pizza oven! The things people come up with. Is it only for outdoor use?

Weekend vibes or not. On the one hand, yes, but on the other hand, I have to recover from a bad cold and hope that my trouble swallowing gets better.
I’m sure each of you knows the feeling of having swallowed a piece of candy that’s stuck in your throat—that’s how I feel. So I went to the doctor today, and now I have a week “off.”

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A problem shared is a problem halved.

My UFOs are still manageable. I keep them all together in a bag inside the fabric box in my closet, and I still remember which AL that was. I don’t take notes on yarn or hook size, since I always crochet with the same hook size and cotton yarn.

Yes, that’s right—as soon as I start a new project, the other one (the UFO) gets put aside. Eventually it resurfaces, but by then I have something else to crochet, and so it continues its dark existence in the box. Someday it’ll definitely be finished. I promise.

To start with, you might want to use a larger crochet hook than specified (one size larger), since beginners tend to crochet quite tightly.

Oh my, I didn’t even notice the date.
Thanks for the info

Hey Jana,

I’d also be interested in and have time for small projects. I have Filet crochet yarn on hand. NS 1.75, right?

Best regards, Andrea

Crochet charts (different symbols stand for different types of stitches) are read in the right side rows always from right to left, and the wrong side rows (even-numbered rows) always from left to right.

Personally, I like working from crochet charts with symbols.

Thank you, and I wish you all a great weekend, too. 🌞

The vacation mood is a thing of the past—it’s back to work now. I had the day off today and spent it doing crafts and DIY projects.
It’s finally nice out. The heat really takes a toll on your mood.
Next week I have three days off, so I’ll be devoting myself to my hobbies again (crocheting, making birthday cards, crafting beaded angels).

Petra, your picture looks like something out of a fairy tale movie. Great snapshot.

I’m in the same boat. I do exactly the same thing. Summer means summer decorations and motifs, winter means Christmas trees, and fall means pumpkin decorations.

That’s right—I remember the slide rule from my school days. They came in metal and plastic, with a sliding bar and that movable transparent sliding part for reading the result. I thought it was great. Too bad it’s gone missing.
Do they even make those anymore?

That wooden coffee grinder with the crank on top—my mom used it a lot, sometimes even at the campground, since you didn’t have electricity there. As a kid, it was really fun to grind coffee with it. Later, I kept it on my kitchen cabinet as a decoration. No idea where it ended up. It’s a shame, really, about such great treasures.

Is that offset printing process still around? It involved thick white sheets of paper, and you needed that purple tracing paper that rubbed off so much and stained everything (not carbon paper). You’d type on it with a typewriter, and there you had the master for the thermal copying process— or whatever it was called.

Scrap pictures for poetry albums or similar things. I think you still see those every now and then. Decal stickers?

Exactly, Ina, I used to love doing that. Or that cat’s cradle game. Just your fingers and a long piece of string tied in a loop, and off you went. Kids today don’t even know it anymore.

There were also plastic bottles with screw caps; we’d make a hole in the cap, and once the bottle was empty, it was used as a “squirt bottle.” We’d simply fill it with water, and then we’d “write” words outside on the concrete paths. We were pretty inventive; we were never bored.

I really liked the cap guns. They’d probably be banned today. The caps came on a roll. You put them in the plastic gun, pulled the trigger, and then the little metal lever would hit the caps; it always made such nice sparks and was loud. Or we’d take a stone and tap the caps to make them spark.
Yes, I didn’t just play with dolls.

Weather-wise, here in the lowlands it’s cloudy with a bit of sun, and finally there’s a light breeze. It’s nice for airing things out, but still warm. It was already 17 degrees this morning.

I need to cool off.

Everything is always so cozy at Ina’s.
Exactly, Monika—everyone wishes they had a sister like that. I’m picturing it all right now: sitting comfortably in Ina’s garden, enjoying some delicious fruit cake. The pond is babbling nearby, and a light breeze is blowing. That’s really wonderful.

We just aren’t getting any rain here. The few drops that fall evaporate in a flash. It’s stuffy in the apartment—no relief from the heat.
This morning we opened all the windows to create a draft and cool things down a bit. But now the sun is coming out again and heating everything up. It’s not getting any cooler on the 3rd floor.

Have a wonderful Sunday anyway, everyone.
I’m enjoying my last day of vacation, because tomorrow I have to get up early again.

Best wishes
Andrea

Once upon a time, long ago, there was a woman who had a beautiful garden full of colorful flowers. 
One day, she went into the garden to check on her beautiful little pink flowers, as she did every day.
Then she heard a soft little voice singing a beautiful little song. 

The woman paused to listen and understand the words. 
She was enchanted and felt transported back to her own childhood.

For her flower fairy mother had always sung her to sleep at night.

Lost in the sound of the voice and with her thoughts in the
past, she continued strolling through her flower-filled garden. 
Then she discovered a tiny little creature under a rosebush.

"Hello, little flower elf, I haven't seen you in a long time," said the woman with a smile. 

The two chatted about old times over a little glass of blossom nectar. A lot
has happened since their last secret meeting here in the garden by the
rosebush. 

The cute little flower elf plucked a leaf from the nearest
bush, rolled it into a proper joint, and began to
smoke. The woman was shocked: Had anyone ever seen such a thing from a
flower elf?

The woman said: "The beautiful roses." They can't tolerate smoke.

To you, dear Claudia, and to your sister, I wish you all the very best, lots of strength, and that everything goes well with the rehab.

Your shirt turned out really great.

Oh, and that portable TV, called the “Junost”—I had one of those as a young girl in my first one-room apartment.

Oh yes, the good old days.

Ina speaks for all of us secretaries. That’s exactly how it was. The heavy shift key, lever for line spacing, typewriter ribbon, and so on.
As an apprentice, I got to type on those "Optima" typewriters , or sometimes on those old black ones with the round keys (when the colleague who always typed on it wasn’t there); that one was super easy to type on. As a teenager, I only had that portable typewriter at home (similar to the Erika).

We, too, initially had to shovel coal piles into buckets and down into the cellar; later came the sacks with the briquettes. As a child, I didn’t like going into the cellar in the evening to bring up coal; it was all the way back in the corner, and I was always scared there.

Does anyone still remember the good old ponytail holders, with the two little balls on them and elastic? I loved them in all colors. I still know how to use them today.
I could actually make some myself. I do have elastic cord and beads here.

Do those foldable toothbrushing cups made of plastic still exist? They were plastic rings in different sizes that stacked inside each other when folded up. The whole thing had a bottom plus a lid. Folded up, it looked like a round tin. Pulled upward, it looked a bit trapezoid-shaped, and it held water.

Warmest birthday wishes to you today—all the best, lots of happiness, and good health.🎂🍾

Warm regards from
Andrea

Here are a few more photos.

The Frauenkirche from the outside and inside. Doesn’t it look great? 

Thank you, my dears.
I even found a craft store here and managed to find some craft supplies. They had so much fluffy wool, among other things.
But I only bought two small balls of wool. Nothing else fits in my little suitcase.

Today we went on a paddle steamer ride, and we also visited the Frauenkirche—we even went up to the top of the tower. The view was magnificent.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the famous dairy shop—Pfunds Molkerei.

See you later, my hard-working little mice

Lots of love from me

Warm vacation greetings from Dresden.


Hugs, Andrea

Thank you so much, Monika.
Crocheting these patterns is really fun, and you can arrange them however you like.

So I kept using this little tabletop spin dryer for a long time, because back then, as a young girl, I didn’t have my own washing machine yet (only one in the communal laundry room). The spin dryer was great for hand-washed laundry.

My mom also kept washing with this WM66 (pulsator washing machine) for a long time, and used this tabletop spin dryer with an inflatable rubber ring alongside it. If you didn’t put the laundry in smoothly enough, it rattled like crazy. You had to hold it firmly with this lever.

Back then my grandpa rode the Berliner Roller (moped/motorcycle)

Do you still remember those plastic carry baskets for girls/women? You could snap them together at the sides to make a basket.
I recently rediscovered this basket bag in a well-known shoe store. Everything comes back eventually, just more expensive.

Yeah, exactly—that paper dress-up doll. I used to love playing with that, too.

It’s great that something like that still exists. Thanks, Veronika.

Make Your Own Quark Mask

Once upon a time, long ago, there was a woman who had a beautiful garden full of colorful flowers.
One day, she went into the garden to check on her beautiful little pink flowers, just as she did every day.
Then she heard a soft little voice singing a beautiful little song.

The woman paused to listen and understand the words.
She was enchanted and felt transported back to her own childhood.

Because her flower fairy mother had always sung her to sleep in the evenings.

Lost in the sound of the voice and with her thoughts in the
past, she continued strolling through her flower-filled garden.
There she discovered a tiny little creature under a rosebush.

“Hello, little flower elf, I haven’t seen you for a long time,” the woman said with a smile.

The two chatted about old times over a glass of flower nectar.

On Sunday, the time has finally come,

For me, it was some craft supplies and clothes (a short pajama set and thin summer pants)
Crafting is always great, and so many supplies—awesome.

Once upon a time, long ago, there was a woman who had a beautiful garden full of colorful flowers.
One day, she went into the garden to check on her beautiful little pink flowers, just as she did every day.
Then she heard a soft little voice singing a beautiful little song.

The woman paused to listen and try to make out the words.
She was enchanted and felt transported back to her own childhood.

After all, her flower fairy mother had always sung her to sleep at night.

I still have my SKT, too. pressure cooker Original GDR. I just don’t have the aluminum inserts anymore. You can still buy those rubber sealing rings now and then at Ossi markets; it’s still in good shape, not brittle. My roast always gets nice and tender in it.

I also still remember those hot mangles from my grandma. I once went along when she picked up her laundry there back then. Today you might only still see some lettering above the shop.

Online at a....n there is also a book about these “vanished things” from GDR times.

I even still have my cutlery from school days (school meals), and I love using it.

Plasters for injuries

How about this? I still have it and use it. It’s just that this little bottle cap doesn’t fit anywhere. It used to be for those little coffee cream bottles.

Thank you so much for your positive feedback.

There are still a few pattern rows left to crochet, but right now it’s the size of a baby blanket. Crocheted with size 3.0 needles.

Fork

Exactly, Ina, we secretaries know that. The carbon paper (sometimes purple, too) really stained your hands. The copy sheets were so thin, almost like parchment.

I still remember shorthand (dictation shorthand), too—the pen and the shorthand pad.

Those teletypewriters are gone too; writing on them, with punched tape and punch cards, was part of our training back then.

Changing the ribbon on Optima typewriters.

Spinning tops (toys from the GDR)—they came in different sizes and colors, along with a wooden stick with a string attached. I’d love to try that again sometime.

Diskettes and floppy disks and much more.

Nude swimming at the nudist beach

It’s not quite finished yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer to show it to you.
There are still a few rows left to crochet.

This blanket features waves (the ocean), muffins, strawberries, a sunset, a sandy beach (brown stripes), a checkered tablecloth (center section), and much more.
What do you think of it?

The first thing that comes to mind is my “Flotte Lotte.” Do they even still exist?
I was still using mine in Norway, but then I threw it away because I didn’t have enough space in my moving box.

It was a strainer with a handle, and inside there was a kind of blade attached to a crank. I always used it to make applesauce. Turning the crank would force everything through the strainer.

My beloved bread bag from my childhood days. It was a cult classic. You can only find something like that in the East German Museum now. Leather on the outside, a plastic liner on the inside, and that awesome metal twist clasp with a slit.

Does anyone already know the brand-new crochet pattern with which

My dear husband probably wanted to remind me of our first wedding anniversary with a visit to our greengrocer with an extremely
spicy, but piquant

I’d also like to wish everyone a relaxing weekend, and a speedy recovery to anyone who’s feeling under the weather.

Yeah, the ups and downs of the weather really get to you. I’m having a hard time dealing with it, and so are our residents at the nursing home.
I can’t drink nearly enough to keep up with how much I’m sweating. Then there are these hot flashes—they’re exhausting—plus the stress at work because everyone’s going crazy. Today was another one of those days. A total disaster.

But… starting Monday, I’ll have two weeks of vacation, and I really need it.

Warm evening greetings
Andrea

The only one I can think of right now is the phrase you used when you weren’t very good at knitting yet:

“two purl, two knit, and drop one.”

Movie theater visit

This morning I was already annoyed when my front doorbell suddenly rang at 7:00 a.m. and then at the same time
my cell phone beeped,

This morning I was already annoyed when suddenly my doorbell rang as early as

It’s nice that you all still have your poetry treasures.
I had two. One got lost during all the moves, and the second one is nowhere to be found. It’s a shame, really.
It’s especially frustrating about the first album—it had great sayings and little drawings in it.
I’ll have to go through everything again. Maybe I’ll still be able to find it.

Oh my goodness, Ina. Your beautiful harvest. That’s so unfair—those hailstones that came down were huge.
It’s frustrating, but the main thing is that nothing happened to any of you.
We’re powerless against nature, and you’ve put so much love into your garden.
We feel for you.
In the meantime, let today’s yarn swap cheer you up a little.

Sending you a loving hug
Best, Andrea

Dear Ina,
first of all, I’d also like to thank you very much 👏🏼 for organizing this swap. I—and I’m sure everyone else here—always have so much fun “diving into the yarn,” and now these yarn treasures have found a new home with you. That’s great.

The pink yarn—I don’t remember exactly—might have been mine, because it was too thin for me. But it’s just right for your doll fashion projects. I can totally picture it on your dolls as a pretty dress or sweater. I’m excited to see what you’ll knit or crochet for them.

Have fun working with the swap yarn, everyone 🧶

Best wishes
Andrea

Elephants have fun because they try to make funny papier-mâché figures with giant banana leaves for Carnival, using them to