Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Hugging my mom

Good evening,

Beanie No. 2 has just been finished. It only took a day. Now it fits perfectly. I used thinner yarn and only 80 stitches. Wow, it went much faster with the thinner yarn than with the thick one.
That had been bothering me.
What a difference. What do you think?

Thanks Monika for the recipe. Your flatbreads look so delicious, and so do the different ingredient variations. I’ll have to try this sometime too.
Could I use dry yeast for it as well? I also have baking soda here.

What is the bread like when it comes out of the oven? Is it more like crispbread, or just like regular bread?

Enjoy it!

I’m so delighted by your positive feedback; it brings me so much joy and makes me want to keep knitting. Thanks again.

Monika, you’re already a more professional knitter than I am. The hat really does look difficult. I had to read through the pattern twice first before I knew what was meant. Well, the joining together isn’t explained in the pattern, nor is that eyelet row. I learned what I needed from YouTube videos, and it’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
It’s only knit and purl stitches, and suitable for knitting in front of the TV for you, too.
Monika, if I managed it, as a beginner, I’d say, then you can manage it too.

Then we’ll put all the pictures together and admire our triplets with their hats haha.

I now know how the eyelet row works, but I had to leave it out on my hat because it had become too big anyway. So it’s sort of become a hat-with-scarf.
And with this bamboo needle from the Casy-Trio, I’m thinking about it for next time. Thanks for that tip too.

Now the question is, what do I knit next? Maybe these baby shoes from the hat pattern?
We’ll see.

Have a lovely evening

Exactly—I love these crocheted granny squares, too. You can use up your leftover yarn with them, and when you piece them together one by one, you end up with something big, like blankets, pillowcases, jackets... there are so many possibilities. You can also vary the patterns within a granny square. You can really let your creativity run wild with them. (Animal motifs, flower motifs...)
A granny square like this is quick to crochet, and it never gets boring. Oh, and you can even make bags out of them. Perfect.

Yeah, it’s me again.

Marion, I’m really pleased to hear that. I’ve never knitted hats before, let alone knitted separate pieces together. I didn’t know that at all. I’m proud as punch, and Krümel is thrilled.
Next time I’ll know to use thinner yarn and fewer stitches, like you did.
It’s too big for my other doll, too. Practice makes perfect.

Ina, the new crochet hook takes some getting used to—it’s different—but I’ll give it a try for now. I also ordered three more of those things. We’ll see.
My C2C blanket will be about 65 x 80 cm. The yarn cake is partly 3-ply and partly 4-ply, but it’s relatively thin, so it’s not that noticeable. I’m lucky that the colors go well together.

Monika , your DF project already looks really pretty.
I’m definitely tempted to try that out someday, but one thing at a time. For now, I’ve finished the hat. My C2C blanket still needs to be finished. Once I feel more confident with knitting, I can broaden my horizons. Your projects really motivate me to keep going, though.

Okay, see you later—I’m going to start making dinner

:-) :-) :-)

Yay, I did it! I just finished the hat—it’s a little too big, unfortunately, but whatever. Kruemel still looks cute in it.
Knitting it all together was a real challenge, but I managed to figure it out after watching a video.

What do you think?

I forgot to show this earlier—this is now becoming a baby blanket for Kruemel.

Crocheting with a surprise effect: I wound leftover Bobbel yarn into balls, and that way I never know which color will come next, but the colors still go together.

Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.
But first, I still have some other projects to finish.

Have a nice afternoon!

Hi everyone,
First off, thanks for your tips—I jotted them down right away.

I just have to show you how far I’ve gotten so far. I’m really happy with it myself. You can already see the pattern pretty clearly. But I cast on 88 stitches, just like in the pattern, and with the yarn I have, it looks pretty big. Oh well. If it doesn’t fit, my other doll will get it, or I’ll just use it as practice.
Ta-da! Started yesterday

Hey there,

Josefa can really read minds. I had that same idea just recently.

I used to work with Keramofix a lot—salt dough would be a good alternative—but how long does it take to dry? I once read somewhere that it takes 1–2 days—is that right?

Your creations already look great!

I didn’t check in for just one day, and lo and behold, there are such great projects to admire.

I can’t show anything yet, but I’ve started knitting this devil’s pointed hat. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.  But I have to see for myself first what it looks like when it’s finished, to make sure everything fits. Then I’ll share a photo. I think my yarn is a bit thicker.
It’s so much fun. After a few rows, you can already see the pattern, so I’ve done everything right so far. But I still had to take a little break from knitting. I’d love to knit all night long. Why didn’t I start knitting sooner?

A question for Marion. When the hat is sewn together at the top, is it better to bind off the stitches first and then sew them together, or to put the stitches on a scrap yarn first and then sew them together stitch by stitch? How did you do it?

Ina, that’s really a great idea to crochet a cover for your exercise ball. I used to have a ball like that, too—it broke at some point. Great for using up leftover yarn. It’s already looking very promising.

Monika, your DF swatch already looks very pretty pattern-wise. I’d probably still have problems with all those color changes. I’m excited to see the finished piece.

My new ergonomic crochet hooks arrived today. They work well, but I’m not used to them yet. As for my Trio Case needles, I ended up ordering ones that are too thin and too short. I’m not very familiar with knitting needle sizes and how they turn out. There’s nothing written on my old circular needles. The new thin ones will do for now, just to try them out. What size do you use for your doll sweaters, Monika?

Well then, my dears, sleep well, see you tomorrow

Andrea

Dear Claudia,

it’s good to hear that things are slowly looking up again for your sisters. I wish them both a speedy recovery and hope everything goes well. Wishing you lots of strength.

Stay healthy

Best regards
Bastelfan

Oh yeah, thanks, Marion—I’ll give that a try.

Exactly, Monika—it’s really fun, but I don’t want to overdo it with my arm; it’s another unfamiliar movement, but you’re right—it’s better that way.

Well then, good night!

It’s not exactly easy for me to cope with all of this either. Far away from family, no contact with coworkers because of furloughs, no friend or neighbor living around the corner to go for a walk with or chat to. Now that I have time, I find myself brooding so much…
and housework is always the same…

so I’m really glad this forum exists. You don’t feel quite so alone; you can exchange ideas. This is, so to speak, my connection to the outside world. You get motivated to try new things because so many people show off their amazing creations here—you want to show something too. It’s really fun here, and I’ve even gotten to know some people on a more “personal” level.
If I didn’t have this, things would look pretty bleak.
Well, I can keep myself busy—there’s plenty to do—but everything’s just different right now; we’re all going through this together (because of the pandemic).
But the waiting and hoping—when will things finally get back to some sort of normal? Nobody knows.
As long as I still have enough craft and needlework supplies, I can get through this time just fine, thanks to all of you here.

Warm regards

Visits from your children

It’s definitely needed. Over the next few days, it’s supposed to be -13 degrees here with sunshine—it always feels colder that way. The roads are clear, though there’s still some snow here and there.

Thank you so much for liking the hat. It’s my very first attempt at knitting a hat.
Let’s see what I knit next. But first, I still need to finish crocheting my C2C blanket.

Have a nice evening :-)

oh how cute Marion, I already admired Mäxchen’s outfit in the gallery. It looks absolutely wonderful. The hat with the point has something really adorable about it.
I’ve already downloaded the pattern too, but I still need to practice a bit. I still don’t quite get knitting the two edges at the top together and the lace row.
Your sweater looks interesting, but I don’t dare try it yet; it looks complicated.
Soon I’ll practice top-down raglan when my Casy Trio Set arrives; it’s been ordered. It should come in the next few days. I’m curious to see how it goes.

But... I also knitted a hat for my Krümel (picture in the handicrafts thread).
I usually upload my pictures with the tablet; now I’m writing on the PC.

ok, see you later. Have fun crafting, I need to start making dinner soon

Andrea

Being together with family

Hey there, you hard-working little bees!
My little one got a new knitted hat. It wasn’t that hard at all. How do you like it?

Stay a while

I use a standard sponge batter

150 g sugar
150 g margarine
3 egg yolks (egg whites at the end)
1 packet vanilla sugar
1 packet pudding mix
200 g flour
1/2 packet baking powder
3–4 tbsp milk
3 medium apples, sliced
A little lemon juice and cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients and pour into a springform pan. Place the apple slices on the batter, drizzle a little lemon juice over them and sprinkle with cinnamon

Crumble topping:

100 g flour
75 g margarine
1 packet vanilla sugar
75 g sugar

Bake at 150–160°C until golden, about 20–30 minutes or longer depending on the oven

Good luck

I baked again, too. Since all the Amerikaner pastries have been gobbled up, we needed more. Apple cake with streusel
If anyone would like to bake it too, let me know, then I’ll post the recipe.

Here you go

Hi there,
Wow, schnatterdesign, what a lovely doll collection you have. The big dolls at the very back on the left almost look like the doll I had as a child.
The smaller ones are so chicly dressed. I still have some like that too, but unfortunately they still have to freeze. They’ll get something to wear soon.
Those little dolls with the reddish-brown and gray hair, did you glue that on, or did they come that way? It looks really interesting. You could make a grandma out of one of them. I’ll keep that idea in mind.
Thanks for showing us

Monika, I posted a picture in the handicrafts thread. I really did knit again for once. Just a simple scarf for my Krümel to start with, in knit and purl stitches. Strangely enough, it worked, and it really is faster than crocheting, could that be?

Have fun with your little dolls

Hi,

I last knitted more than 8 years ago, and I wanted to see if I still had what it takes—just knit and purl stitches—and this is what came out of it. Strangely enough, it worked out.

Yesterday I baked another batch of Amerikaner, and today we’re having the rest.
This time I used sugar instead of honey. My husband said they were crispier than the others. But they taste just as delicious.

I’ll probably bake some more tomorrow; they’re quick to make too. Then my husband can take some to work, and an apple cake with streusel is also still on the list. We’ll see.

short break

I wish you all a lovely weekend

The sun is shining here today, and I’d say it’s relatively warm for Norway. Everything is thawing. It’s starting to feel a bit like spring.

It’s not that easy to keep my hands/arm still. It’s going okay.
But... I had an idea yesterday that it might also be because of my crochet hooks. So now I’ve ordered these ergonomic ones from a...i, and even a Casy Trio knitting needle set.
After admiring all your DF projects here. Maybe that will help with the crocheter’s tennis elbow.
Someone here wrote that they take their knitting/crochet ideas to bed with them. You won’t believe it, but I was lying in bed like that yesterday too, mentally knitting a DF swatch. This magic is contagious, just like with the little dolls.
After Monika made such quick progress with it, I’m really on the verge of starting to knit again. Even if it’s just knit and purl stitches at first, no matter.
Most of the time I only have cotton yarn, which isn’t supposed to be that suitable, right? There’s still time until then.

Have fun, I’ll check back in again later

Today we’re eating the rest of the Amerikaner pastries; they really are delicious.

Oh yeah, Monika, me as a saleswoman in a toy store—that’d be it; I’d feel right at home there. I could totally “get lost” in that.

Marion, I’m itching to crochet your pretty blanket for my little doll. But I’ve taken on a bit too much crochet-wise and have to take a little forced break, even though I could actually get started right away. Oh well. There are worse things.

My question: with that dark blue granny square and those light blue rows next to it, how did you crochet them together—or did you just crochet row by row and then insert the hook into the granny square at the end and join it with a stitch?
That was a great idea of yours with the colorful blanket, and the arrangement really has something to it.

Anyway, I need to rest my right arm—I’m just reading along here.

Have a lovely evening, everyone, and a relaxing weekend!

Keep things organized

Just popping in here for a quick look,

First off, thanks, Ina , for the info. I googled it. I’ll read it more thoroughly later. But first, I still have to bake another batch of Amerikaner.

Monika , you misread that part about the 5.0-meter length :-). Ina had first test-crocheted a different pattern, and that would have made the blanket that long. Now it’s 1.80 m

. Have fun—I’m off to bake now, and then I’ll have to take a forced break :-(

Motivation

Hello at this late hour,

you’ve conjured up such amazing things again. Knitting isn’t really my thing, but when I marvel at your DF projects like this, I’m blown away.

ines, your crocheted egg cups look so pretty.

Ina, your temperature blanket has such a great color gradient—I already love it. I’m curious to see what it’ll look like when it’s finished.
My arm’s doing okay, but lately it’s been giving me trouble when I crochet. Maybe I’m holding my arm too high, or the blood isn’t circulating properly—I’m not sure. I’ve never had tendonitis before, not even from typing on a typewriter or computer. No idea. But I just can’t keep my hands still. I take more breaks and admire your creations, then my fingers start itching again, and… before you know it, you’re caught in a vicious cycle :-)

Monika, it’s amazing how you manage to do it all. That DF pouch is great. Oh man, I want to be able to do that too, but patience isn’t my strong suit.
Actually, I don’t really like sewing by hand either, but that was just a small section of the doll’s jacket—it’s doable, and you’re done in no time.

Marion, I’ve already admired your doll’s baby blanket in the other thread. I find the arrangement of the motifs and the simple pattern so interesting. Very colorful. I like it.

Have a nice evening!

Dear doll moms,

Marion, I absolutely love your blanket. Are the appliqués sewn on or crocheted in as you went?
It looks so colorful. I need a blanket like that for Krümel, too. I really like it. I’ve got plenty of little leftover yarn lying around anyway.
Monika, my Krümel still says “ow” and even gives a little “kiss.” It’s really funny. Yeah, my husband always has to laugh when she says “Daddy.”

Have fun with your babies!

Have a nice afternoon, 
There’s a lot going on here, and plenty to admire, but more on that later.

I just wanted to show you the new jacket for Kruemel. I think she looks really cute in it.
It even has a zipper instead of buttons. I still had that zipper lying around. I can’t even remember the last time I sewed in a zipper.

So I need to get the coffee table ready first. See you later 

Yes, unfortunately the fun didn’t last long. After two hours, he had simply vanished—he was no longer there, melted away. Such a shame. It was so much fun.

A spur-of-the-moment idea after shoveling snow. When kids play, they stay healthy.
Since it’s thawing a bit, the snow was just right—otherwise, it’s just powder snow. It may not look perfect, but you can still tell what it is—yay!

Perseverance

Monika, yes, I saw that too, that your little star only has one touch point on its body. So Krümel probably makes more sounds.
You can even hear a cough, laughing, snoring, a kind of peeing sound. It’s just so much fun. When she snores like that, I just can’t stop laughing; it always looks so cute.
Just like you, after undressing Krümel to adjust the crochet piece, I dressed her again right away so she wouldn’t get cold. Somehow I just can’t leave Krümel sitting there half-naked like that.
I always have to laugh when all “three” of us are sitting on the couch drinking coffee. Krümel in the middle. She gets her bottle then too.  My husband thinks it’s funny too. It’s lovely when there are such understanding men as our two.

I’m still happy. Well Monika, doesn’t your little star need a playmate too? Lots of fun guaranteed, I can only confirm that :-)    :-)     :-)

Warm evening greetings

Calling family and friends

Crochet break,

ines66, my arm’s doing okay so far, but whenever I bend it and want to crochet, some muscles start to ache—no idea why. It’s not from shoveling snow; that actually went fine. So I’m just taking a little forced break, drinking my tea, and reading along here. I can manage a little writing.

a-mano, those knitted little pouches look really great—I wish I could do that too, but I’m still a long way off. I’d buy them from you in a heartbeat. I like them, and these colors too—awesome

Wollbaerli, it’s a shame about your crochet/knitting break, but English seems to be important to you right now. You’ve got this.

So everyone, keep working away diligently—see you later…… coffee

Yeah, it’s me again. I had to rip it out again because the sleeve section of the doll’s sweater or jacket was too big. I hadn’t counted the 4 corner stitches. It looks much better now—I tried it on.
And since the pile of unraveled yarn looks so funny, here’s a picture.


Thanks, Monika. For now, I’m going to crochet the dark brown part onto the tunic as far as I can get, then we’ll see.

See you later
—I still have to shovel snow.

Hi everyone,

the tunic is coming along slowly. I’ve now joined the two tops together, but here’s my question: which yarn color should I use next? I’ve already had to improvise a bit with the colors. Either the rest of the top in red/black, or the rest in dark brown with glitter—if you can even tell that much.

That little thing there is my swatch for my little one—a sweater or jacket, I’m not sure yet.

Hi everyone,

you’ve all been so busy again.

Monika, your diaper cover is so cute. It looks great. I’m sure it could also be adapted into a little pair of panties.

I’m currently crocheting the first top-down raglan sweater for Krümel. It’s still in the trial phase.
For my tunic, I still need to crochet the two upper parts together, and then we’ll see how everything works out with my leftover yarn cakes. I don’t have many color options left (yarn diet).

Now I need a crochet break for a while; somehow my right elbow hurts. Besides, I’m about to prepare dinner: vegetable stir-fry.

See you later for now

best wishes

Mmm, those look delicious, and half with glaze and half without. I haven’t tried it that way yet. Thanks for sharing

Oh Ines, those look totally delicious and crispy.
Now I’m craving apple turnovers again. But I can’t bake right now—I’m out of flour.
Enjoy!

Trust

Respect

Dear BineHummelbunt,

Even your nickname alone sounds so cute.
I’d also like to send you my very best birthday wishes. Stay healthy. Have a wonderful day.

Warm regards

Unfortunately, all the American cookies are gone, so I had to make more. They’ll be fresh on the coffee table later.
This time I brushed the right side. Delicious

Mmm, Petra, those look delicious. They make you want to take a bite right away. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us.