Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Here you go, Ina.
Thanks to Ines, Monika, and Petra.

We really do inspire each other. That’s the beauty of this close-knit forum. I love being here. There’s soooo much to discover

Wishing everyone a relaxing midweek break.

You’re very welcome.

And I’d also like to go “home” to my parents and my kids again sometime. It’s kind of a bummer, actually.

When it comes to crocheting, there aren’t that many options.
You can often achieve true opacity with single crochet stitches, half double crochet stitches, and perhaps even crossed stitches (i.e., crocheting the second stitch in front of the first).
You can also achieve beautiful opaque patterns using the tapestry technique, where you crochet patterns with multiple colors—and it’s sturdy, too (though it’s better suited for bags; it’s too stiff for shirts).

I had forgotten to include this one.

My husband and I will once again be sitting comfortably at home by ourselves, with a few Christmas decorations, some cookies, enjoying a nice cup of coffee, and watching fairy tale movies.
Since no one can really travel, our children and parents won’t be able to come visit either.
It’ll be a day just like any other. It’s hard to feel that real Christmas spirit. Everything is different this year.

Happy birthday, and have a wonderful day.

Warm regards, Andrea

I’m glad to hear that, Ina. Have a wonderful day, too.

Warm regards from Norway

Thank you, Ina. Your sunroom is really lovely, too—you can even sit out there when the weather’s bad.

I’m currently using these green cutting mats from PRYM, 45 × 30 cm. I mainly use them just for making my cards, so I only cut paper on them.
The scale markings are usually just printed on, which wear off quickly, but other than that, I’m happy with them.
When stringing beads, I can use it to measure my thread length, as well as the diameter of buttons or beads.
I also used to have this black cutting mat from Panduro, which had the centimeter markings further subdivided. However, it became illegible due to wear and tear, and I haven’t been able to find another mat with that specific layout yet. It’s a shame, really.

A belated birthday wish at this late hour. Hope you had a wonderful day. All the best to you.

Love, Andrea

Thank you, Ruth

I’m going to do some crocheting again, too. I just put my apple cake in the oven (a batter cake with apple chunks)—we’ll have it with coffee this afternoon.
Since the sun isn’t out yet, we’re going to do some tidying up and decluttering; later, we’ll sit out on the patio to have some coffee.

Have a nice, peaceful weekend, everyone!

Thank you all. We’re back home now. It was a wonderful and relaxing trip. We still have the rest of the week off until Sunday.

I haven’t bought any yarn since January either. So I’m still on my “yarn diet,” and I don’t mind it at all. My stash is still enough to keep me going

Wow, Ina, that looks great. I really like it.

Into the water, swimming and cooling off

Hey Monika, that looks really delicious. I like that seeded bread, too.

I’ve also tried baking rolls before—the kind made with quark and yeast dough. They’re quick to make, and you’ve got your Sunday rolls in no time (I found the recipe online).

Hello, everyone!
I’ve actually been here for over 5 years now. It was more of a coincidence that I ended up here—I was searching for crochet patterns—and I was welcomed so warmly. I feel right at home here.
I look younger than I am, though I’m already approaching 57. I have two adult sons (ages 31 and 33), I’m married for the second time, and I have a lovely husband who also has his own hobby. We complement each other well. I moved to Norway eight years ago, and I live and work there. The scenery is gorgeous, but the winters are long and cold—still, it’s beautiful here, and it’s quiet with pleasant, crisp air.
I’ve had several jobs (secretary, healthcare and nursing assistant—I worked in several nursing homes, which I loved—and now I’m a hotel employee). I also once worked for a master carpenter as a temp and driver of a small van, delivering and picking up chair parts from the lumberyard; that was fun. The master carpenter was my landlord at the time; we were on a first-name basis. I’ve also planted trees (as part of a job creation program), and I worked as a “finisher” at the Bad Kösen stuffed animal factory. I picked up a lot by watching others, bought myself a sewing machine, and sewed a doll from a pattern. I usually had fun at work.

A warm welcome to the “newcomers” as well, and to everyone else. I’m just realizing how quiet my life is, compared to yours (lots of kids, lots of pets, a garden…). Hats off to you for still finding time for hobbies. Amazing.
I have several hobbies, like crocheting, diamond painting (painting by numbers with adhesive stones), embroidery—I used to make more cards (including those thread art cards, where you embroider cards with thin, colorful thread and beads). I also string bead figures from patterns and make my own bead jewelry.
My latest “relaxation activity” is doodling or Zentangle. There’s so much inspiration to be found online.
I’d also like to give a big shout-out to the sellers—you come up with such great ideas; it’s often hard to choose, but that’s part of the fun.

Mmm, a delicious barbecue—I love that, too.
That’s great, thank you. 😎😉

The second pillow is finished. It turned out a little bigger.
I used up some leftover yarn.

Thank you very much for this information.

So, one painting is now hanging on the wall

No more weekend for me. After being on short-time work, I got to go back to work again today, and of course tomorrow too. I’m so exhausted and tiiiired today.
Of course, it’s check-outs at the hotel. Only 40 rooms are occupied.
Let’s see how all this develops.

Wishing everyone else a nice, relaxing Sunday all the same.
Rain is in the forecast here, and it was so hot today.

Right now, I’m also on a “yarn diet.” Since I usually plan smaller projects and can crochet, my yarn stash will last for a while longer. It’s also enough for a few large projects where I don’t need stuffing. My stash is only slowly dwindling. I’ve decided to stick to crocheting things from my existing yarn stash for now.

That all sounds pretty funny with your four-legged friends. Yeah, you definitely experience quite a bit with them.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any pets—they’re not allowed in this apartment. I used to have a few animals (a hamster, a budgie, fish, a turtle). My budgie was always pecking holes in the pages of my books.
You can watch cats for hours on end.

Please, please, Monika.
No, my husband’s driving; I’m sitting in the back. :-) I don’t have a motorcycle license—just a car and moped license.

There are front and back post double crochets (you can look up the explanation).
These are often used to add texture to a crochet piece or to create certain types of cable patterns or other patterns, such as checkered designs. For example, a checkered pattern might alternate 5 front post double crochets and 5 back post double crochets.
I often use them as a cuff finish on garments. In knitting, they’re like knit and purl stitches, so to speak.
I can’t really explain it very well right now.

I think this popcorn stitch is crocheted with single crochet (sc), and these cluster stitches are made with double crochet (dc).
If I’m wrong, I’d love to learn more.
I love both types of stitches. This cluster stitch is also used to crochet a “thumb” on crochet figures (on the hand), and this popcorn stitch is used as a texture pattern on blankets or pot holders...

That's true again, dear Monika.

Oh, how nice—and there are still so many of them. Awesome!

Edit: No information about obtaining patterns for characters protected by design rights is permitted.

Have a nice weekend

Hey Babett, do you mean where I ordered this? It was on sale at a....on—the set of four. I think I ordered it last year, but I don’t remember exactly.
It’s addictive, I know. Let’s see when I’ll tackle the next picture.

Thank you, Monika—you too.

Thank you, Josefa—I wish the same for you and everyone else here on the forum. Have a great time and stay healthy.

Thanks, Ina and Monika—I would have loved to invite you.

Yes, Ina, and everyone else, thanks for the kind comments.
Everything here generally turns green later than in Germany. Most of the time, there’s still some snow lying around until March or April. This year, everything’s different anyway.

Today, for example, it felt like the height of summer again—blazing hot on the terrace in the sunshine. I think I got too much sun today, but it was wonderful; you literally “soak up” the warmth. That feels good.
The hedge and the birch tree are slowly turning green, and the lawn doesn’t look so gray anymore, but the ground is just still too cold, so there are actually still patches of snow in the shady spots (see photo above). Today it was even 14 degrees—it felt like 25 in the sun. But as soon as the wind picks up, it gets cooler right away.
The sky here is really such a beautiful, deep blue. A picture-perfect idyll, as I always say.
Even though there were actually so many people out and about today, it all feels spread out—you have peace and quiet, you can relax, and so on and so forth...

Actually, there were two small adders; one quickly hid, and this one first slithered toward us, then backed off, and using the zoom, we were able to take this photo as proof—it had just been basking in the sun and was lying there quietly.
Yes, afterward we looked it up online and found out that it was a venomous common adder. We weren’t entirely sure, but based on the pattern, we were right after all.

I also like watching the fish in the pond—it’s really soothing. We used to have an aquarium at home, and in my parents’ garden, the neighbors also had a pond—it was lovely, and there were even little toads hopping around somewhere. Pure nature.

Thank you, Monika. Today we were able to sit outside again, but it was windy.

It looks cozy at your place too, Claudia. Lovely.
The only thing still missing here is the warmth. We haven’t grilled yet. That will all come, I’m sure.

I wish it were already much greener and more colorful. It always looks gorgeous in the picture, but there’s still a very crisp, cold wind.
But… on the bright side, we don’t have that much pollen in the air yet.

I did manage to spot some little spring blooms after all.

There are just the two of us too, so there will definitely be time for handcrafting. If the weather permits, maybe even outside on the patio, which we “christened” yesterday, so to speak.
The patio furniture has been put out, and we had coffee outside for the first time... and... of course, crocheted. But it’s not getting above 11 degrees here. I’m really envious of all of you right now.

Anyway, I wish everyone a relaxing, lovely, peaceful Easter with looooooads of yarn.

I also found some old school yarn from the ’70s. I don’t really like crocheting with old yarn like that—it feels weird. But it’s still good for doll hair.

A Cor(on)a bag? Looks interesting.

Yeah, it’s me again.
You now have this repeat (for example, about 20 sts, i.e. the chain). First, you need to know how long or wide the border should be. One repeat measures about 7 cm.
If you want your border to be about 40 cm wide, you’ll need to crochet the repeat a total of 6 times—that’s 20 sts × 6 repeats = 120 sts/ch that you’ll need to make, plus the turning chain, and then work according to the crochet chart.
First, crochet the 1st row, then crochet the 1st row again a second time, a third time, and so on, until you’ve done it 6 times.
I hope I’ve explained it reasonably well. Good luck!

I’m constantly struggling with these safety eyes, too. They’re often really hard to work with because of these new plastic discs. The older version of the safety eyes with the metal disc went in easily without any help. Unfortunately, you can hardly find those anymore.
Here in Norway, we have 5-krone coins with a hole in the middle—I always use those to attach the eyes. It takes some force, but it works.
They fit right in the center, but I should mention that I often use smaller eyes (5–7 mm) for amigurumi.

Otherwise, I think you can find a mounting tool like this in craft stores or at Buttinette, OPIC—I’m not sure. They’re pretty expensive, too, I think.

That’s awesome

Thank you all for the positive feedback.
The walk was balm for the soul, and if it did you good too, I’m all the happier.

I wrote a little poem for you too

We all love wonderful things,
that truly bring us joy,

we don’t want to grumble,
there’s so much to knit and crochet.

Whether shawls, sweaters, or scarves,
we’re always spoiled for choice.

The selection of patterns is so large,
you can only think, what should I choose?

Once the choice has been made,
there’s still one thing to hope for,

is there enough yarn? do I have enough?
YES

have a lovely evening, hope you enjoyed it

Nadeleule, wow, that looks great. I love all sunrises and sunsets anyway—colorful lights that glow in the dark...