Latest Forum Posts by: Bastelfan

Thanks for sharing, schnatter. Sewing thread—exactly, I think I still have some of that lying around, or rather, this embroidery thread.

It’s always interesting to see what others have kept from that era. Everything back then was still high quality.

Thanks so much, Petra. I hope soon—we’ll see.

We hardly had any snow at Christmas either—which is unusual for here—but then we’ve had some in January up until now (though still less than usual).

That’s why we’re going to crochet something great with colorful yarn.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

Wollbaerli, that’s been a very long time. I’m sure a lot has changed since then.

Petra, yes, it’s still here—the snow. I’d be happy to send some your way, but I want flowers, green meadows, and warmth. I’m tired of thick jackets and gloves.

My warmest congratulations on your birthday—all the best, good health, and may you never run out of ideas for your projects.
Keep up the great work.
Have a wonderful celebration today with your loved ones. Cheers—to you

Warm regards from me

This is what it looks like in Oslo

Do any of you still have old treasures from the GDR era, maybe even in their original packaging, like I do?

Since everything is green and blooming in your gardens, I’ll show you what it looks like here right now.
Tomorrow, it’s supposed to be -6 degrees early in the morning, with black ice, then sunshine at noon, and then everything will thaw again.

Here are the pictures

I’m still working on a crocheted elephant for a coworker, which I’ll finish soon so I’ll have time for my own projects again.
I also still have some unfinished projects lying around (a crocheted blanket and a crocheted vest).

Not here yet, but bare ankles are “in.”

I actually saw a guy in shorts at the train station the day before yesterday—seriously—and there was snow on the ground. He must have just come back from a sunny vacation. I just wanted to tell you that; unfortunately, I don’t have a photo to prove it.

I'll answer too, a bit late. I had to work over the weekend, but now I'm doing well because I have 3 days off to relax and crochet, and I want to try a few exercises (joint mobility).

Peppermint tea, for me it's more the other way around. As long as I'm crocheting something for myself, everything is great, and I'm motivated too, I can let my creativity run free, but as soon as I crochet something for someone else, e.g. for a colleague, you have to work more carefully, with as few mistakes as possible, and wonder whether they'll like it the way they wanted it—then I lose motivation now and then because the project “drags on,” since I really want to make something for myself again.

All these vibrant colors really put you in a good mood.
I also love all the neon colors, especially when paired with a dark contrasting color.

I really like the colorful caterpillar, too—it immediately catches your eye with its gorgeous colors,
and Ina’s color palette is definitely one of my favorites.

The sun is shining today, but it’s chilly outside. On February 29, I have to work, and winter is coming back with lots and lots of sleet and sub-zero temperatures—yuck.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

In Germany, everything is already blooming and turning green, and for most people, gardening season is just beginning, but there’s no sign of spring here—the weather keeps changing constantly. Still, as soon as the sun peeks out this weekend, we’ll definitely go for a walk or a short bike ride, even if we still have to wear gloves.
That’s just how it is here in Norway.

You don’t have to follow every trend, of course. Today I happened to pop into a boutique again, and it looks like pants with elastic at the bottom are back in style. Not my thing, though—nor are fabric trousers that tie at the waist.

I’ve never liked culottes either.

As CreatOwl says, if the two go well together, that’s fine; otherwise, I’ll just keep looking until I find something I like or until it’s “in” again—or I’ll crochet it myself.
Most of the time, I like clothes that I feel comfortable in and can move around in, or that are practical or versatile.

Nadeleule, that’s a good idea with the frame and the balloon. I’ll have to remember that, thanks. I also need great inspiration now and then.

I knew the idea of making a million out of banknotes too, but I did it with play money.

That just gave me another idea: you could also make a kind of novelty raffle as a quick gift. You often have small items at home, such as a ballpoint pen = a travel typewriter; 2 packets of soup and 1 small mini candle = a candlelight dinner for two; 1 box of matches = an evening by the fireside for two; 1 spring from the ballpoint pen = so there’s always some spark between you, or something like that;

I made a kind of survival suitcase for my parents’ golden wedding anniversary (an ordinary children’s cardboard suitcase), with little things inside wrapped in a funny way. Take a look on YouTube for “funny emergency suitcase”; maybe you’ll find something there.

I once made this little couple using beads and wire. Not sure if that’s your thing, though.
Making a nice card with an origami suit and wedding dress is really easy—just follow video tutorials—and it goes quickly. Spice it up a bit with a punch or embossing machine (if you have one).

Or make a small wooden chest or box and perhaps put a gift certificate inside, or give a small bottle filled with white bird sand and seashells—decorated with little cocktail umbrellas—for an upcoming vacation… there are lots of ideas, but on such short notice?
Or a little beaded tree as a symbol of the tree of life for their marriage.
Buy a large, thick candle and decorate it with candle wax (hearts, clover leaves, or the names of the bride and groom).
I hope I’ve inspired you with a few ideas. Good luck!

I still have some yarn left, too. Plenty of it. I’m working on a crochet commission right now, though, so I’m not sure if I have enough purple. It has to be enough. After all, I’m still sticking strictly to my yarn diet.

Socks over pants—never heard of that. This trend completely passed me by. I’m just not into it at all.

The current trend—sneaker socks, sneakers, and thick jackets “on top”—is just as silly and not healthy at all.

You don’t have to go along with everything, but to each their own.

Yes, I’m still taking part too, and so far I’m doing well with it.
It’s easier with you guys too, yay!

Thank you for your feedback. I'm glad about that.

Wollwunder Petra, I think every child would love to be in Legoland with their favorite characters, and as a child you're right in the middle of it yourself. That must be wonderful.
We always wanted to go there with our children too, but now they're grown up.

Hang in there until Friday—then it's the weekend :-)

You’ve already been hard at work, Monika. I haven’t done that many yet. I just did a rough estimate—it might have been around 500 stitches.

Oh, so that’s what it looks like. Thanks for showing me. You never stop learning.

It always makes me happy when I can bring joy to others, too.
It’s fun, but with this technique, your hands get tired quickly, so I need to take more breaks.

I’m not sure exactly how this works for larger pieces—I’m stumped there. Crochet hooks aren’t even that long, are they? :-)
As you already said, Ina, it’s no problem at all with the small squares.

Well, I mostly crochet for myself, too. I put my figures and dolls on my wall unit and enjoy looking at them every time. Or when I have guests, they have something to marvel at. I’m also attached to many of them and can’t bring myself to give them away.
I like to crochet for family and friends who appreciate it, or when I need a little gift for someone.
I occasionally take orders from coworkers, but then I have to work more precisely and neatly than usual. After all, I want it to be well-received. Sometimes it just happens by chance. When I show pictures of my work at the office, I often hear: “Oh, I want one of those too—can you crochet that for me…?”
I turn down difficult crochet requests that I can’t manage. I don’t want it to turn into stress—after all, the point is to relax.

Oh, Ina, I just had to smile at the topic of winding yarn. That’s exactly how it used to be for us, too—those two old methods. I didn’t like doing that.
Today I buy my yarn in ready-made balls or yarn cakes. If I do have to wind it, I use the usual, tried-and-true manual technique. A yarn winder isn’t worth it for me, since I mostly crochet with thin yarn, and those come in ready-made balls.
Ah, those wonderful childhood days. It’s nice to look back on them.

My first attempts at this Entrelac technique. I hadn’t dared to try it before. I gave it a shot, and it’s really fun. However, I still need to get a long crochet hook, size 2.5 / 3.0. With the thick yarn, I used these plastic hooks—they worked great.

Here’s the swatch


and here’s the finished pillowcase (front and back)



Buttons for the opening

Good morning, Petra, thank you.

Yes, these arches are created by these “extended” double crochets.
The tallest one was an extended treble crochet, or a regular double treble crochet. You also crochet partly into the front loop and back loop.
I’m not very good at explaining it, but it works.

For example: You crochet an extended double crochet; crochet the regular turning chains; insert the hook into the stitch of the previous row; pick up the yarn (there are 3 loops on the hook); yarn over again; and pull it through only 1 loop on the hook (this is actually the extended part of the stitch); then finish the stitch as usual.
I hope this helps.

Well, up here in the far north, it was “normally” windy. Most of the snow is gone, with temperatures mostly around +5 degrees, and sometimes as low as -6 in the early mornings. At least everything here is snow-free, except at higher elevations. And it stays light for longer now.

Well, that sounds great, Sandra, about your vacation. Massages are wonderful. What exactly is a bio sauna? With herbal infusions and things like that?
I had to smile when I read that your Anton climbed out of bed. Yes, I remember that from my kids when they were little. We took a few bars out of the bed so they could climb in and out more easily without hurting themselves. Kids are curious, after all, and try everything.
Have fun,

and I hope all the forum members have a pleasant working week.

Do any of you know these extended stitches? I tried them out (I saw them in the new “Simply Crochet” magazine). I’d never heard of this type of stitch before.
Once you know how to do it, you can crochet little “landscapes.”

Here’s my little wall hanging (1 front, 1 back) as a test.

Well, I currently have 372 on my list, including free patterns. I’ve “cleaned it up” a few times in between, though.
As Heike says, new ones keep getting added all the time.

Once again, there are so many wonderful creations here to admire.
Claudia, I really like your yarn cake too—those are just my colors.

Of course, I haven’t been idle these past few days either, and I was able to finish quite a few things on my days off (finished a UFO—a makeup bag, used up some yarn stash, learned new stitches—extended double crochet and treble crochet, re-dressed my doll, crocheted a bag from leftover yarn, tried the entrelac technique—cushion cover...)

Here are my creations.

Arni, I hope you have a wonderful winter vacation with your sweet little boy. Snow is becoming increasingly rare in Germany, but here in Norway we have some—though less than usual.

I wish all forum members a lovely, relaxing Sunday. I hear it’s going to be stormy where you are, so that’s just right for some crafts, putting your feet up, and enjoying a cappuccino—perfect.

I hope you all have a great rest of your Saturday, and enjoy your Sunday.
Winter has returned here—yes, there’s snow on the ground.

I baked some quark rolls for Sunday breakfast.
Then I’ll do a little crocheting and put my feet up.

Best regards

Tunisian crochet

Crocheting mandalas

I’ve finished my crocheted mouse—the first one has already left my home. This one is staying with me.

But here’s something else that just came to mind about envelopes.
I used to print on my regular envelopes myself—that is, I’d take a bottle of stain remover (I don’t remember what kind it was) and rub it onto the spot on the paper where I wanted my design to go. Then I’d place the cut-out design, printed side down, on that spot, press it down a little, and just like that, my design was on the envelope.
The ink transfers from the design to the envelope.
I only used glossy paper from magazines—that worked best.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo to prove it anymore.

Yeah, Ina, that’s really a great idea of yours. But I did it the same way as Wollbaerli—I just cut an envelope apart—because I don’t have a template like that yet.
I’m just like that—I can’t throw anything away if I can still make something out of it. I’ve always saved these little mini-envelopes to use as templates.

When I read your post here, I was just in the middle of making gift boxes. So I cut open a little gingerbread box, used it as a template, and ta-da—a new colorful box was created from colorful construction paper with butterflies.
Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, so I still need a little something for my sweetheart.

Hemming

Hey Ina,
I had no idea such mats with a grid existed. Thanks for showing me. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.
I don’t need one quite that big. But it’s great for granny squares, small projects, or table runners.
Can you choose the number of pieces yourself, or are they already packaged that way?

I haven’t re-weighed it yet, but I’m still bravely sticking with it and have held out so far.

Have a great work week, everyone, and have fun “dieting.”

Popcorn stitch

Intarsia embroidery

Those are “copyrighted” characters, but it’s still a shame—I agree.

Entrelac crochet technique