Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Oops, sent that too quickly.

I enlarged the picture a bit—if I’m seeing it right, the face is embroidered, isn’t it? With the embroidery machine? That’s of course great for that.

I just took a moment to admire her in the gallery. She’s dressed so elegantly, and let’s not forget those sparkling eyes. It was definitely worth the effort.

Getting to be a doll mom :-)

Have a lovely afternoon,

just wanted to pop in briefly. You’ve created such pretty little projects again. I always love these too, and they’re quick to make in between other things.

ines, your star-shaped egg cups with the beads look so pretty. I’m imagining them right now on the Easter breakfast table in every color imaginable.

Ina, I like your Filzies with the colorful curls. I’m just picturing what my Filzies might look like. The Filzies in neon pink or green, with that high knit cuff—the cuff turned up—and those colorful curly locks along the bottom edge of the cuff; that would definitely look awesome. If you can picture what I mean. I could really use those right now, because it’s damn c... cold here—-12 degrees—and I’ve been freezing all day, even though the sun is shining beautifully outside.

We already have our craft projects all mapped out in our minds before we’ve even crocheted a single stitch. Imagination and creativity must be in our genes.

Have fun crafting—but first, it’s time for a coffee break, along with those delicious Amerikaner pastries (recipe by Monika).
See you later,

Andrea

Maintaining relationships

Work

Oh yes Monika, that would be lovely. A doll-mom coffee get-together, with fruit flan, your pretzels or Amerikaner cookies, and looooots of yarn. And then you teach me top-down raglan knitting with your trio thingy, I can’t think of the name right now. I can’t manage a set of double-pointed needles at all.

Let’s keep that in mind for a knit-and-crochet meetup (knitting crocheting) in Germany. Maybe Ina will come too, bringing the building plan for the doll bed, and everyone else with their babies.
Monika, now you’ve really set something in motion. I can already imagine it being very funny. Lovely.
We have a goal in sight again :-)

Yeah, of course—the smooth side needs to be coated. Thanks, Monika—I’ll keep that in mind for next time. That just goes to show how long it’s been since I’ve had any.
Coffee’s coming up.

See you later

Traveling to your home country

So I’m back, hello first of all,

Oh Monika, I’m not completely innocent though *hehe*

And she does suckle after all, looks cute


thanks for the link to the little duckling. I thought I’d crochet it with thin yarn and a 1.75 mm hook, but that ended up being way too tiny; she’s holding it unfinished in her hand.

Wishing you all a wonderful day, 
And the sun is shining. That made baking even more fun.


Here are my mini Amerikaner. Fresh from the oven. The first ones are a bit smaller because I wanted to see how they would "rise" first.
I used regular flour, and icing made with powdered sugar, water, and lemon juice.
I've already tried one; they're delicious. We'll have the rest later with coffee when my husband gets home from work.

Closeness to your loved ones

good evening, dear doll mommies,

it’s so nice when doll mommies can chat with each other. So I’m not alone with this fondness after all.
The group photo of everyone together looks so sweet, thank you Wollefaden.
It really warms your heart. If this forum didn’t exist, I probably never would have gotten myself a baby doll. So at least a wish for a child from days gone by has now come true. A floppy little doll, soft, and she makes sounds..., like a real one,  simply lovely.
And because I don’t have any “real” grandchildren, Krümel is now our pride and joy, and you can crochet/knit for her to your heart’s content.
I think exactly the same as Monika. You simply live out your “inner child,” which you’ve kept all these years. In the current times, when grandchildren and grandparents can’t see each other, it’s a little comfort, but it feels good to bring yourself some joy now and then, and to be able to share it too. So you’re not quite so alone.
So my Susi now has a little sibling, so to speak, although Susi is already 49 years old, and I was given her when I was 8. Once she’s appropriately dressed, I’ll introduce her to you.
Thank you Ina for your selection of little beds. I like the top one very much. My husband is very handy. I already brought it up with him, and he laughed. Later. First he has to finish building his modules for his model railway layout (laying tracks, soldering cables). It’s never boring at our place. Maybe I’ll try Monika’s cheap version with the cardboard box sometime. All in good time.

I feel really good in this doll thread.

have lots of fun, Krümel has to go to bed now - on the couch

Contact with family

Ina, your baby looks really cute too, and has such an adorable face.
I’m just imagining a group photo of our babies together. It would definitely look funny.
My Krümel doesn’t have a sleeping bag or a little bed yet, though. I could imagine that, then you could sew or crochet cute bedding.
Monika, I spotted the duckling for your Sternchen right away too. It’s so cute. Did my Krümel bring along his little teddy right away. Is the duckling pattern still here?
ursulapetra’s picture was removed, so now I don’t know which doll it was. I tend to like them small and cute.
Monika, my dollie doesn’t suck her thumb, she can’t get her arm around that far.
So we don’t need to break her of that habit *grin*

Our “triplets” are already the perfect cuddle-and-love size
I talk to her every day. Crazy. But healthy *laugh*

best wishes to all doll mommies

So much has happened here again.

Arni, those coasters for your coworker look really fun. Thumbs up—great

job! I used to do a lot of crafts with my kids, too. You can find so much online these days. But back then, it wasn’t like that yet—we had lots of craft books. Now you can also print out coloring pages and color them in. Or make a memory game (by gluing simple symbols onto cardboard), or make little school cones, or fold paper airplanes out of origami paper...
I still enjoy crafting today. But there aren’t any occasions to use up my leftover materials.

Monika, those egg cozies look so cute. They look so tiny, but they fit. It’s a nice change from those figures.
As for my tablecloth, I still have quite a bit of crocheting to do. So far, it’s only about half the intended length. I still have some leftover yarn cakes, but the colors don’t really match—oh well. I’m going to crochet up everything I have now. (Yarn diet)

Ina, that made me laugh—about black being slimming. Actually, the black was supposed to come at the end of the lower part, but I didn’t quite have enough yarn for the top part, so I had to start the second skein. And the yarn from the center started out bright red, which somehow didn’t really go with the dark purple. Oh well. I don’t even know yet what the whole thing will look like in the end. Let’s wait and see.

Okay, then I’m going to crochet a few more rows on my tunic. I had a little project in between. Every now and then I have to switch from a thin crochet hook to a thicker one.

Have a nice evening,

Andrea

Have a nice afternoon, 

I’m only making slow progress on my tunic. In my eagerness, I crocheted the wrong sides together and first had to rip it out. 
At one point, I couldn’t continue for a short while, but thanks to the quick help, that wasn’t a problem. 
Then I also have a C2C project in the works that is supposed to become a tablecloth. How far I get with it depends on my leftover yarn. We’ll see.

Hi Silke, I sent you a private message

Monika , yeah, that’s true—she looks so natural with that sweet little face; you just have to love her.
I’d love to take her to bed with me, but my husband’s not having it *laughs*

Hey, Wollbaerli,
Krümel is 46 cm tall, has a soft body (I love floppy dolls), and there are 2 batteries hidden in her back.
She has several touch-sensitive spots on her body and hands—when you press them, she says “Mama” and “Papa.” She laughs, cries, blinks her eyes, and she even snores and then closes her eyes.
But when I lay Krümel down, she doesn’t automatically close her eyes.

I have so much fun with her. If you give her the bottle, she really sucks on it and blinks her eyes. Just so cute.
She’s not just for little doll moms. With her, you become a kid again yourself.

Thank you so much, dear Monika, for the recipe—they look delicious.
Maybe I’ll bake a batch tomorrow just to try them out.

Wow, I’m just as excited as you all are. Even I’m still amazed by all the things Kruemel can do. So my dream has come true.
The outfit alone is already so cute. I’m sure I’ll enjoy this little one for a long time.
We practically have “triplets” here on the forum, if I’m not mistaken.
I still can’t believe she’s here. Yippee!

Hi everyone,
I’m soooo happy. We’ve got a new addition to the family. Let me introduce you to Kruemel—she’s moving in with us starting today. Isn’t she cute?
She was born here in Norway and comes with all kinds of accessories. It’s totally crazy. I’ve already told my parents that they’re now Grandma and Grandpa. Kruemel is such a sweet little rascal, and she makes us all laugh

It’s me. Just popped in here for a quick look, and lo and behold, something new to marvel at.

Arni, your Woodstock looks so cute. I love Snoopy stories

Monika, oh, mmm, yummy, mini Amerikaner pastries. I always loved eating those in Germany. Of course, I’d definitely love to have your recipe so I can bake a little taste of home here. You can’t buy them anywhere around here—they don’t know them here. All the cakes and chocolates here are extremely sweet anyway. I’m going to virtually snag one right now. Sorry.
Your sweater’s almost done. It’s amazing how fast you can knit.

Well, good night, see you tomorrow

Andrea

Thank you so much, Marion. It only took me a day to make this.

Every now and then, I need little side projects to work on in between. Crocheting on just one piece all the time wears on my patience. This way, it’s more fun.

Best regards, Andrea

Have a wonderful Sunday,
everyone—so many new creations have already come to life. It’s always a pleasure to admire your work.

Petra Perle , that potato with a face looks a little creepy. As Ina already said, it could be straight out of a fairy tale. It reminds me of those talking magic trees with faces—I could totally see that crocheted.

Ina , thank you, and thanks for your idea. So far, my cat blanket is sitting on top of my laptop.
The felted slippers for Oscar look so cute standing there on the shoe rack—totally adorable, those tiny little slippers next to the big shoes. With the colorful sailboats, he’ll learn to tell “left” and “right” right away. Great. He was surely happy about his new slippers at Grandma’s. I’d love to have grandchildren, too.

So keep up the good work, everyone. Let’s see if I can continue crocheting my tunic today—if no last-minute ideas pop up that I want to try out first.
But first, I’m having a latte macchiato, since the coffee machine is working again. The valve was broken.
I’ll check back in later. Take care,

Andrea

I’ve been crocheting with leftover yarn again. This c2c pattern works great with these squares.
I found a better way to join them together in a video. It looks a bit neater somehow. This was so much fun that my tunic had to wait. It turned into a small pillowcase, and my pillow fits perfectly inside. I’ll add a ribbon or button as a closure.


Back side (bottom picture)

Thanks, Josefa—I wish the same for you.

We still have snow here, but it’s freezing cold—I think it’s supposed to get down to -11 degrees. It’s cloudy, so I’ll probably just lounge on the couch and do some crocheting or something—we’ll see what I feel like doing.
My husband will surely keep working on his model train layout.
I think it’s nice when both partners have a hobby.
If the sun does end up coming out, then of course we’ll go for a walk.

Have a relaxing weekend, everyone!

Hello, all you hardworking knitting and crochet friends,
hello, sweethearts,

First of all, thank you so much for the feedback. This is crocheted using single crochet stitches; the colorful yarn is practically crocheted right in, and you don’t need to weave in any ends—those will become the fringes later.
Exactly, tapestry technique.
I don’t know yet what I’ll use it for. I wanted to hang it on the wall, but then the fringes would have to be at the bottom.
It’s actually too nice to use as a placemat, but it’s sturdy enough. We’ll see. Now that I know how to do it, I can experiment with embroidery patterns as templates

Monika, exactly, like with Ina’s blanket with the threads as fringes.
I’d never heard of Dorn therapy either. Learned something new again. It definitely has its advantages when someone in the family can do that, like your husband.
I know that thing with pressing those cones on certain points from videos by Lie... and Pra....
I used to go for massages and acupuncture before कोरोना, and it did me a lot of good.
There’s definitely something to it.

a-mano, the hat looks great. It reminds me of a ladybug too. For younger children, I could also imagine adding "antennae" to it. I like it.

Wollefaden. The glove has beautiful colors. I could also imagine it as a sock. Unfortunately, I’m not really into knitting socks. The main thing is that it keeps you warm, and I hope your hand gets better soon.

Well then, I’ll get back to crocheting my tunic, but first I’ll have a cup of coffee when my husband gets home from work.

until then
lg Andrea

Even at this late hour, I still have something to show you. I finally finished it. It was a store-bought pattern, and just before I finished, I was about to lose my motivation, but I bravely persevered. As promised, ta-da—here’s the result


and I’m still just getting started on my tunic

Hi Gaby , welcome!
Just being part of it is what counts, and you can do it, too. I’m sure of it.
At first, I thought, “Well, maybe three months,” but then it ended up being a whole year.
Together, we can all do this.
Of course, I couldn’t resist chocolate—that wouldn’t work for me, since I love snacking so much.

I just checked—it’s actually been a whole year since January 4, 2020, that I haven’t bought any yarn. Yippee! I’m officially joining in. It’s crazy.
Of course, I’ll keep working through my stash—it’ll last a while longer, mostly for smaller projects, but that’s okay.

Monika, I’m jealous of you—getting yarn as a gift. But then you’ll have to work through even more yarn than before :-)

Every now and then I do get the itch, and I browse through online shops. But then I think, no, I have to use up my stash first. Exactly, Monika—you’re only cheating yourself.
With this cold weather, sitting at home on the sofa, those skeins are slowly but surely disappearing.
I’m so happy—I’ve already stuck with it for a whole year. And the best part is, you can already look forward to buying more supplies again.

We can do this!

Good evening, everyone,

Wollbaerli, you really do have a lovely big collection. But that teddy bear in lederhosen, if I’m seeing it right, is absolutely amazing. I thought I had a lot, but I’m not the only one. Oh, that’s so nice. Thanks for showing us.
Monika, you were lucky again with that back pain. Yes, things like that can happen quickly: one wrong move and that’s it. But don’t be sad; we do have more snow, but it’s not good for building a snowman either, what a shame. I want a snowman on our patio too. It’s just powder snow.

But today was overcast, with a bit of blue sky, not much, but it was freezing outside. My husband said it was -12 degrees this morning, feeling like -20. I only went to the mailbox and took the Christmas decorations into the garage, and after that I first had to make myself a hot tea.
Right now I’m crocheting a tunic for myself (pattern from here), and on the side I’m working on another little crochet project; it’ll be finished soon, then I’ll show it to you.

It’s nice when you keep popping in here, and once again so many wonderful things have been made that you can admire.

Well then, see you tomorrow
Andrea

I don’t really have any resolutions, but I have plenty of wishes: that hotels will finally be allowed to reopen, and guests will come back—then I’ll have work again;
that we’ll finally be able to travel to Germany again (to go on vacation, hug our parents and kids again, and meet up with old school friends). That’s what I’m hoping for. Good health for everyone, and that we’ll get the virus under control.

We're all out of pretzels. Time to make more. Instead of pretzels, I decided on the spot to make rolls out of the dough. We'll have them with coffee. I'm curious to see how they turn out.

Well, today we’re getting glorious sunshine again, but it’s freezing cold—it feels like -10°.
This is what snow looks like; I’ll send some over virtually to all of you who haven’t gotten any from Old Man Winter 😉

Hi everyone,
After Monika showed off her many teddy bears, I decided to take a
group photo of my own “residents” too. They’re all scattered around here.
Only the ones at the top are sitting on the couch. The moose in the front snuck into the picture. He’s so cute and really special. My husband gave him to me when we first met. They all have their own stories. 
The one on the far right in the middle—the little beige one—I got from a good friend; he’s also a bit of a nostalgia fan, with movable arms and legs. My former bowling buddy gave me the red cuddly teddy for my birthday once. The polar bear in the middle is from a flea market (20 years ago)

Here they are

Here’s my little scarf made from fringe yarn. It keeps me nice and warm. I think I only knitted knit stitches.

If I can make you happy, then I’m happy.
Yeah, days like this with snow and sunshine—I just love them. Bundled up warm, and then when you get back home, it’s so cozy and warm, and then coffee and pretzels—what more could you want?

Warm regards

I still have this “treasure.” First edition, 1987, Verlag für die Frau

Welcome, Hilde,
Your sign turned out absolutely beautiful—very inviting.
Was it entirely from one embroidery pattern, or did you put together your own design from several patterns? I really like it—especially the holidaymaker in the camping chair; that would be my favorite motif.

Best regards
Andrea

Fringed yarn is actually better suited for knitting—the fluffiness really comes through, and it looks better than when crocheted. I used to knit back in the day, too. The best thing to make is a long, wide scarf; even with the fringes, I could still see the stitches.
When I get the chance, I’ll dig out my little scarf and take a photo.
I still have quite a bit lying around. I need more time for everything—and 10 hands—to finish all my projects.

Thanks, Ina—I kind of took you all along on my winter walk, so to speak. That way, you could experience a little bit of that winter feeling.
We had coffee afterward, but instead of fruit cake, we had those delicious pretzels.

Have a nice evening, everyone!

Thank you, Marion for the pretzel recipe.
Fresh from the oven (I got 2 trays out of it). Three pretzels have already been eaten. Oh man, they are so delicious. Now I have a stomachache.

Sunrise and blue skiesRocksView of the fjord, the other sideThe ski slope is in the center in the background

Ina, this already looks interesting. As far as I can tell, the pattern consists of sc and ch. I always call it the “yarn-eater pattern,” but the effect is sooooo beautiful. Or are you using different patterns as well? After all, the year is long. You’ve used some gorgeous colors.
It already looks fun—your little jars filled with that beautiful yarn—and you even had some helpers for it. I’ll have to keep your yarn-selection system in mind if I ever crochet something big and multicolored.

I found the pattern. It’s in the magazine “Dein Kreuzstich,” issue 2/2008.

Petra, yes, it’s all embroidered with cross-stitch, but very finely (using only 2-strand embroidery thread). I had lots of those A4 cross-stitch booklets. But I have no idea where the pattern with the boy came from. It’s been too long.
Your angel looks interesting, too.

Hey there,

Ines , well, that sure looks wonderfully wintry. Thanks for sharing. I really love it when the trees are covered in snow like in the picture on the left. It has such a fairy-tale feel to it.
We’re also getting some sun here. It doesn’t show up very often. The next few days will bring more gloomy, snowy days again.

Marion, :-) I didn’t even notice “without yeast.” I would’ve realized that while baking.

We’re going to take advantage of the sunny, cold weather right now for a little walk. If I try your pretzels, I’ll post a picture, of course.

Until then
, Andrea

This is what it looks like here today. The sun is peeking out now and then, but it’s -4 °. We’re going to take a short walk. I’m sure I’ll snap a few pictures.