Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Socks with sandals? Nah, that’s not necessary. Do you mean white socks? That’s a total no-go.
But there are exceptions (for example, seniors in nursing homes who can’t fit into normal shoes and have comfortable sandals—in those cases, socks are appropriate, of course).

But with slippers in summer, I sometimes wear those sneaker socks because of blisters on my feet, since I sweat easily. I have black and white ones to match my shoes, so they don’t stand out.
In sandals, I generally go barefoot (I have nice comfortable, soft ones, so nothing pinches).

Thank you so much for the feedback on the sweater. It’s still going to have long sleeves. I’ve crocheted a bit more in the meantime—I’ll post a picture later.

Monika , I really like your bunny, too. The proportions are just right—I’m pretty sure it’ll get lots of hugs right away.

ruthk , the cotton swab box looks great—the blue matches the lid perfectly.
You’ve all been busy again.

That’s a great idea, Akela. And I heard on the radio that you can also use bias tape.

You’ve all been busy creating again. Great things.

I wanted to show you how far I’ve gotten with my sweater (AL CP)
I’m making slow progress.


I’m continuing to crochet now with this skein. I used 2 different Bobbels.

Have a nice weekend, everyone

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

I haven’t bought any yarn since January 2020. I’m on a yarn diet, crocheting through my stash little by little. But it’s still not getting any smaller :-) just very sloooowly.

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

Mmm, rhubarb cake—that looks delicious. Well, enjoy it—though I’d love to have a slice right now, too :-)

Thanks, Monika—oh, so that’s the bunny, okay. Yeah, he looks a little sad, poor thing.

Thanks, Ina—it was delicious, too, and was devoured in no time.

Once again, such wonderful things have been created here. I always love admiring other people’s work—it’s so diverse.

Monika, your bunny already looks so cute; you’ve really nailed that facial expression. Which CP pattern is that?

It’s interesting that there are still people who actually know how to use a spinning wheel—it’s quite impressive. I can’t do it. My ex-mother-in-law back then had one of those sitting around as decoration. Nobody actually spun with it.

I used up some leftover yarn again today. Just a small project.

Fruit flan with whipped cream, latte macchiato, and sunshine,
what more could you want.
(my photos)

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.

empty highway,
even spotted a tiny bit of snow still left; hardly any sun reaches there,
climbers are often out on one of the rock faces (photo)
plenty of sunshine today—but only 8 degrees
(all my photos)

Today we spotted an adder basking in the sun by the side of the path. They’re generally venomous, but not deadly to humans. They actually live here in Norway. You rarely see them, but they’re beautiful.
(my photo)

Thanks, I wish the same for all of you.
The sun is out again, mixed with a fresh breeze. Let’s see if we can sit out on the patio—then it’ll be time to crochet and drink coffee again.
Stay healthy, everyone.

For me, it all started with these amigurumi, then later crochet dolls. I scoured the internet for ideas and patterns, and eventually ended up “sticking around” here at CP.
The variety of patterns is huge—so many cute little figures and so much more—and the way everything works here made me feel right at home right away.
Everyone is so kind, friendly, and helpful.
I feel the same way as Monika—we’re like one big family, and that’s what makes it so wonderful.

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

I’ve crocheted a few rounds on my RvO crochet sweater. It just isn’t going as smoothly as I’d like because the rounds are so big. I’ve already done some unraveling and started over three times because I kept ending up with more stitches in the back than in the front.
But I’m slowly working through my yarn stash.

Then I simply sewed my two mosaic crochet swatches together and turned them into a little wallet with a zipper.

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.

Easter was nice and quiet since it’s just the two of us. I had dyed Easter eggs (my mom had to send me the dye all the way from Germany—I can’t get it here). I snacked on lots of chocolate bunnies.
My husband and I did some crafts; the weather wasn’t really suitable for sitting on the patio.
We cooked a delicious meal: fruit tart with whipped cream. Everything was great.

Well, Monika, you really got to experience nature at its best—what a stroke of luck for you with that mole. I haven’t seen one in the wild either, just those molehills. But I do get to watch birds, pigeons, and magpies here—they’re constantly flitting around, and they’re always pooping all over our patio furniture :-)

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.

The Drammenfjord can be seen in the background (it’s a 20-minute walk to get there)
(my photo)

Happy Easter Monday to everyone. It's very stormy here today, so here's a sunny photo from 2 days ago.

View from the kitchen window onto the patio

Oh, Monika, can’t you send us a little more sunshine? It’s only 4 degrees here now, and it was below freezing this morning—no warmth in sight. I want to sit outside again. You really have to make the most of every ray of sunshine here.

Good morning, Maren,
Oh, so the bunny is for a toddler? No, better not use a toothpick—that’s a bad idea.
But the scarf will give it some extra support—that’ll work.
And Pepis idea is also an option.

Hi Maren,
I’m not sure how big your bunny is. I also crochet a lot of amigurumi and dolls. It’s always tricky to fix this after the fact once the head is already sewn on—unpicking it is a real hassle.

I’ve had the “wobbly head” problem before, too. I just sewed around the head again—that sometimes helps. If your head is falling backward, just sew it down again at the front and pull the thread tighter toward the bottom.
Depending on the stitch pattern, you might be able to insert a toothpick into the neck?
Hope you can fix the problem.

:-)) no Ina, Mrs. Claus wanted to come along too.
Chuckle chuckle.

Yes, those are Styrofoam eggs beaded with rocailles (I even have a book with instructions for that), made years ago, and I’m not giving them away either; they’re my treasures. They’re too heavy to hang on the branches, so every Easter they go in the little basket.

I used to do a lot of paper crafts with my children. There are lots of origami patterns online, including easy ones.
My youngest used to invent his own board games and draw them, and make the game pieces himself.
Sort of like a dice game, with spaces for “skip a turn,” “roll again,” or spaces connected by a drawn ladder (i.e., go back a few spaces) or something like that.

Dice/or a dice cup with 6 dice (straight, or Yahtzee).
Puzzles are good too. There are also coloring books with “paint by numbers.”

We also had those plastic dominoes, set up like on Domino Day, all over the living room, tap one and all the pieces fall over.
Or playing with Lego—I still like doing that today, but unfortunately I don’t have any here.
So I have lots of ideas, but only for younger children; older children have higher expectations too.
You can also make small furniture with those popsicle sticks, a table or fruit crate for the dollhouse.
Fimo or that shrink plastic—you draw your own design, put it in the oven, and afterward you have your own bag charm.....
I have lots of craft punches here too; you can make confetti with them.

10 degrees might sound cold to you, but the sun is already strong, so it was pleasantly warm—and there wasn’t a breeze either.
You get used to the temperatures here. For us, 10 degrees is already a luxury. :-)
Over the next few days, it’s supposed to drop back down into the single digits, with rain and wind—so I’m envious of all of you enjoying 24 degrees.

Thank you, Ina, for your kind words—it really does feel good to take some time to relax.

Two days ago, we brought our patio furniture back out—finally able to sit outside in short sleeves and crochet, since last Saturday we were still out and about in jackets.
But it’s not more than 10 degrees today.

Oh, sorry—that’s my photo; I took it myself

I just tried my hand at mosaic crochet, and now I know how to crochet the patterns.
Petra Perle and her amazing granny squares also inspired me.

Here are the test pieces—I just couldn’t stop. It’s so much fun.



Here’s what it looks like from the back.

At some point, we'll see the "light at the end of the tunnel" again

I wish you all a restful Easter. Here, Maundy Thursday is already a holiday.

You always need pins. Right now, I’m using “regular” pins with larger “heads”—they’re 4 cm long.
But the pins that used to be common, with the tiny glass heads (which aren’t always available), I like to use as eyes for smaller amigurumi. Just snip off a little bit and glue them into the stitch. But they’re often white; I need black or dark blue ones.

With such small figures, you can’t always use those safety eyes with a washer.

I also often use these doll needles for “larger” crocheted dolls—they make it easier to reach the spots for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

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.

Well, my yarn stash is slowly dwindling—I’m kind of rationing it out, and I only have a few skeins of several colors, so I’m only planning small projects.
I’ve also been on the “yarn diet” since January 2020, and it’s working out well for me.
The stores are all closed anyway, so there’s no temptation to buy yarn.
Everything’s great
Let’s stick with it, all together—have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Today I started and finished a little crocheted heart with this candy cane edge.

And... I went for a little bike ride to the Drammenfjord, sat in the sun, and enjoyed the warmth on my face—I even brought a drink and some cookies with me. It’s just lovely out here today.
In the meantime, a strong wind is picking up, so I’ll keep crocheting on new projects indoors. We’ll see.

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.

lasting beauty

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!

Hey there, misstressdarkness,
I have the book too, though I haven’t crocheted it yet.
My idea would be to maybe crochet the first 4–5 rows several times before the curved edge starts, so you can reach the height you want. Or add a few complete rows of double crochet in between, if that helps.

Best regards, Andrea

Gøteborg

Hey Mods,
Of course we’ve thought about it, but it’s still strange until you get used to it again.
To be honest, I don’t need this time change; it can be abolished, in my opinion.

Wishing everyone a good start to the week; the sun is shining here today

Best regards
Andrea

That's right, I hadn't even noticed.
But if you've downloaded it, like I did, it's still there under "Free Downloads"

At Petra’s place, everything is blooming so beautifully. That’s what’s missing here; everything is still gray.
And it’s not snowing here. The sun has come out, but it’s very windy and chilly.
Other than that, I wish everyone a good start to the week, and hope you make time for your hobbies. Stay healthy and simply enjoy your time at home.