Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Asker
(the town next to ours in the Viken municipality), Norway

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

Naumburg

nursing home

Dear Diana,
I’ve just read the sad news. My sincere condolences. I’m so sorry for you and your mom.
In any case, I think it’s a great idea to make up for it once things have settled down.
Then I wish you lots and lots of strength for tomorrow. We are all thinking of you.
I’m sending you a big hug from afar.

Thanks, Ina—you too, and get well soon.

Good question, Petra. Maybe it’ll turn into a giant “coronavirus” made of grannies—the tall ones are the “spikes.”
I have no idea. We’re looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Right now, I’m not working on any UFOs, but on lucky pigs—my son wants some, and I’m making them for his coworkers as good-luck charms during these difficult times.

Yes, and it feels sooooo good

Oh, how lovely—everything is blooming so beautifully over there. Thank you so much for these wonderful glimpses of spring in bloom; even if it’s just online, I can practically smell spring in the air.
The forsythia hasn’t even come out here yet, and the wind is freezing cold—it’s enough to make your ears fall off.

Akela, that is such a lovely collection, with such beautiful motifs—they would all appeal to me too. Thank you so much for showing them.

I don’t use one myself either, but somewhere in my sewing box there’s still one made of plastic (that little plastic needle tube; the thimble was attached at the top with a tassel).
I think my mom still has a metal one from her mother.
In the past, people still did a lot of hand sewing or embroidered linens, so they needed one then too.

I’ve got a few UFOs lying around too—though still in the single digits—waiting to be finished.
My problem is that I work on several projects at once because otherwise it gets so boring, or I lose my motivation if I work on one project for too long. Now that I have the time, I can finally finish them.

But I also agree with Akela —that’s how it should be: finish the old project before starting something new. Unfortunately, my “inner slacker” is often stronger.

Happy birthday from me, too. Despite the restrictions, I hope you still had a wonderful day.

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.

ruthk, your dollhouse is so beautifully decorated, and I admire it again and again. That’s a great idea for my dollhouse.

You’ve all already decorated for Easter. It looks great.

Arni, well, someone is really happy, and the weather is ideal for it.

That’s great—I’m glad to hear it. I really enjoyed doing it.

Here, you can sit by the fjord and enjoy the sunshine today.

glorious sunshine today, so we just had to get out. A walk to the Drammen Fjord, only a 20-minute walk from our place.
Here are a few impressions

yes, that's me in one of the pictures

have a nice weekend

Oh yeah, needlework class at school—I didn’t like it much, except for those embroidery exercises on canvas and crocheting pot holders.
Once we had to sew a skirt, and that stupid teacher threw mine on the floor because it wasn’t sewn right. That wasn’t very nice.
That’s right, the boys didn’t have to take the class.

Thank you—I wish the same for all of you. Enjoy the sunshine, and finally tackle those pending tasks without any time pressure, all at your own pace.
After all, we have this forum so we aren’t completely cut off from the outside world.

Take care of yourselves and stay healthy—that’s the most important thing.

Oh, Petra, that’s so sweet and funny at the same time. Thank you so much. Please post more like this.

:-) Wonderful—yeah, we had those carpet beaters, too. Awesome.
Your mom really did a great job with the costume.
The ingenuity back then helps many of us today be creative with wool and similar materials.

Thank you so very much Wollbaerli, I also think it’s great that so many are joining in. A trip down memory lane like this is good for the soul, too.

Here are the carnival pictures I promised, from me; I think I was 3 and 5 years old there.





Did you have leather pants like these too? I loved them. :-)

Thank you so much for your rhyme,
and greetings to everyone at home.

We always make the best of it—
folks, get out the yarn!

I’ve also written a little poem for you

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 only think: which one should I choose?

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

Is there enough yarn? Is there enough?
YES

Have a lovely evening, I hope you enjoyed it

Diana , thanks for sharing—those are lovely pictures of you. I really like the carnival photo.
I still have some carnival pictures of myself, too; I’ll upload them when I get a chance.
It’s pretty impressive to see what kind of clothes we used to wear back then, how different the school cones were, and the hairstyles. Every era has its charm.

Wishing everyone a lovely, sunny weekend—stay healthy and make the most of it.

Yours, Andrea

Good morning, Monika!

I wish you all the very best and send my warmest birthday wishes to you today. Maybe you can enjoy your day outside in the garden or on the patio, even if it’s just in a small gathering.
Take care and stay healthy. Cheers!

Warm regards from Andrea

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

Warmest birthday wishes from me, too.

My UFO is turning into an unravel-and-redo UFO, which will then “grow” again and soon become a finished piece.
Sounds good, right?

Thank you, Ina, maybe from time to time, especially at times like these, we all need to think about something nice.

Enjoy your free time in the sunshine

I cleaned the windows yesterday.
Today, I did some unraveling on my unfinished crochet vest because the armhole didn’t fit—I still need to crochet a few more rounds before I can work on the sleeve opening.
Maybe I can sit out on the patio today; it was a bit too chilly yesterday, but my laundry dried nicely outside.

Have a wonderful day, everyone—enjoy it.

A really beautiful poem. I like it.

I’ve always written poems for birthday cards, too, or for my parents’ golden wedding anniversary.

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

I always had these awesome bows in my hair that my mom still ironed for me.

It’s wonderful to see your old childhood photos—thank you so much for sharing them. I found another photo with my mom. I have no idea how old I was in it.

This is what it looked like in Oslo over the weekend—completely deserted. It’s like a ghost town right now.
In the background, you can see King Harald’s castle.

Thanks so much, ruthk, for sharing. I always find it interesting to see photos from other decades (especially before 1960). You look really chic. Back in my day, we still had pleated skirts and white knee-high socks—I really loved wearing them. Those were the good old days.

Wow, I’m really amazed at all the beautiful things you’ve all created again. You don’t check in here for a few days, and then you just can’t stop being amazed.

That doll kitchen is absolutely amazing—it makes you want to be a kid again! And there are plenty of crocheted ingredients, too.

So, Monika, the speed at which you knit all these things is record-breaking, and they’re so even—I can’t keep up; I prefer crocheting.

And I think Petra’s rugs are wonderful. Your place looks so cozy—your terrace, too—everything’s so idyllic. Unfortunately, it’s still a bit chilly outside here, even though it was pleasantly sunny today—perfect for window cleaning.

I tried out a new crochet pattern (that Polish star). It’s easier than it looks. My test crochet piece still needs some work, though.


Have fun here, everyone, and have a lovely evening together

Thanks, Ina, and everyone else. It can also be another photo of you as a kid. Doesn’t matter. Or a Halloween picture—yeah. I’m looking forward to seeing them.

Get well soon, dear Elke. We’re all here for you—together, we’re strong.

I’m starting a thread here showing us as first-graders, and I’ll go first.
I’d love to see your photos to admire. I’m sure it’ll be fun.

Who’s hiding there?

AL from the Simply "Cuddly Amigurumis"
book is actually a duck, but I turned it into a chick

Here’s a spring greeting from me to everyone, to cheer you up

I’m home for two weeks for now too—on furlough, or “short-time work,” as you say.
The hotel is closed; no guests. No one knows how long this will last...

This morning I went shopping; we needed a few little things, but in the end I ended up with two big bags full. Not panic buying. The store was almost empty, no lines, and I had no trouble getting almost everything—except for canned tuna, which was sold out, and the large packs of pasta, which were all gone. So I just picked up different ones. As for toilet paper, they only had the 6-packs left instead of the 12-packs. No big deal. We don’t need much anyway, so we’d be fine for a week.
There’s still plenty of yarn, too—I crocheted an Easter chick today; it’s almost done. There’s plenty to do, so I definitely won’t get bored.

Despite everything, have a pleasant week, everyone!

Hi Ina, I just read this late at night. You’re going through a lot—of course I wish you a speedy recovery and hope everything heals well as soon as possible.
We’re all thinking of you. For me, too, it would be a bummer at first not to be able to crochet or knit. But things will surely get back to normal once you can move your fingers—that’s already a good sign. In the meantime, just take a little creative break and find some new inspiration here with us, which you can then put into practice once you’re feeling better.
In any case, you’re not alone. We all stick together—sharing stories, encouraging each other, and joking around.
Even just a quick “Hi” every now and then is enough—it lets us know you’re reading along. Then we’ll pass around a virtual latte macchiato for you, and you’ll feel better in no time—you’ll see.
In the meantime, I wish you a pain-free good night.

Warm regards from me
Andrea

Oh, thank you so much for the beautiful spring pictures—they’re a treat for my eyes, because there’s still a bit of snow here and there. Today it’s drizzly and windy, nothing’s blooming—everything’s black and white,

so to speak. But… tomorrow I’m going to bring a little spring cheer home with me and buy myself a gorgeous bouquet of tulips. That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I think it’s a good idea that we keep sharing our thoughts on crafts here. Distraction is the best medicine.
All you hear everywhere is “coronavirus.” 

I had to work this weekend, and when I arrived in Oslo by train, the city looked like a “ghost town”—hardly anyone on the streets, and quite a few shops were closed.
I work at a hotel, and starting Monday, it’ll be closed too—no more guests, so no work for us.
There’s a silver lining,
though. Now I can do whatever I want for two whole weeks. I can finally finish all my unfinished projects, continue my crochet projects, sleep in... I still need to buy a few small things—let’s see what’s left :-)

Anyway, I hope you all have a pleasant week, and keep sharing and showing off your crafts regularly. Together, we’ll get through this with positive crochet energy.

That was a kind gesture, Marlies. Tears of joy immediately welled up in my eyes—I know exactly how that feels, because I’ve worked in many nursing homes in Germany, and I always put my heart and soul into it. It felt so good to see the elderly residents happy when I was on duty.
They’re so grateful, and they deserve our respect and love.

No way—you still have the Sandmännchen dice game? I hope we’re talking about the same one. Were the game pieces little figures with pointy hats, arms, and legs? And Struppi in the basket—meaning you skip a turn?
Oh man, I loved that game. Unfortunately, I don’t have it anymore—such a shame.
I still have the Fix & Fax book, Tuppi’s bow, the three rascals, and some funny stories.