April Projects 2021, Part 3: the Crazypatterns Handicrafts Group

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Dear users, dear authors,
here is Part 3 of the April projects.

You can find the earlier posts at the link:
April Projects 2021, Part 2: the Crazypatterns Handicrafts Group

First :-)
Maybe...

A little sneak preview of my UFO.

Andrea, your knitting is coming along great. It’s looking good already.

Monika, the dress for Juna is looking really nice too—I really like the colors.

Anja, is that going to be a shawl? The colors are really vibrant; it’s sure to look beautiful when it’s finished.

I didn’t get around to any crafting again today.  The garden is calling—we need to add soil and reseed the lawn.  But maybe I’ll still manage to get some done tonight.

Good morning,

Anja is that going to be a shawl? I have to join Marion with my question there; it looks exciting with the beautiful colors.

Monika, I also really like the little dress you’ve started for Juna so far; I’m curious to see how it will look as a whole in the end..... I could imagine that the turquoise color as stripes in the little skirt gets wider again toward the bottom???

Andrea, I like the shawl too. I also didn’t know what I-cord was, but I had already knitted it that way once I got the info. I think it’s a lovely edge/beginning....... nobody had just told me that’s what it’s called..... anyway, now the child has a name too.

Me, even if I’m not showing anything at the moment, I’m not being lazy; I’m just always setting several things aside to photograph, and actually there was supposed to be a shoot yesterday, but then 1000 other things got in the way again. Today is another crazy day too; I hope I can still get into the garden a bit this morning, not all that much has happened there so far.

Yes, it’s going to be a shawl made from wool I once bought from an American woman at a flea market. It’s super soft, but I never knew what to do with it—it’s just a weird amount. That’s why I bought some German wool to go with it, where the colors match more or less. 

Anja, your shawl looks amazing. I’d really enjoy knitting that, too. Colorful is always a good choice, especially for shawls. Keep at it, and you’ll have a lovely, cozy new piece of clothing. You’ll definitely be able to use it in the summer, too, when it gets a little chilly.

Marion and Ines, thanks for your feedback. I’ll decide as I go along what colors to use for the little dress. That’s often how it goes for me, which is part of the fun. :) The window installers are finally here today and are getting everything ready. They’ll replace the windows tomorrow. Phew, I’ll be so glad when everything’s done and our furniture and belongings are back where they belong.

Have a great day, everyone. The sun is shining here.

Hi, my UFO is a sweater based on a pattern by Järbo. I thought the small, simple pattern was so pretty. It’s a pleasure to knit and perfect for watching TV. 

So colorful, Anja.

This is my first time crocheting with a very fine hook:

Hello everyone,

After yesterday’s wonderful sunny day, today’s weather is unpleasant again—rain and wind. So I have time once more to admire your lovely pieces.
Thank you so much for your feedback.

I probably won’t be able to knit much today, because ever since yesterday’s bike ride, my right eye has been kind of swollen shut. I’m guessing it’s birch pollen—I haven’t had this happen in years. No idea. Hope it clears up soon.

Anja, your colorful knitted shawl already looks great. It’s a simple but interesting pattern—I think I can manage that too. I’m not quite ready to tackle difficult knitting patterns yet.
Monika, the little dress for Juna already looks very pretty. I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished. And I’m happy for you that things are moving forward with your windows.
Ines, thank you. Yes, those English terms are always very misleading. Can’t we just call it a “knitted edge”? You never stop learning. And here in the forum, you really do learn a lot and meet nice people—that’s wonderful.
DieausdemGartenkommt, your sweater is looking very promising too. I took a look at the Järbo website—the pattern is simple, yet so strikingly beautiful. Great

Have a wonderful afternoon, everyone

I’ll be relaxing on the couch today

Just saw this, CreatOwl—wow, that looks really pretty. You’re crocheting with a hook that’s even smaller than mine. Impressive. My smallest crochet project is made with a 1.75 hook.

I bought this needle years ago, Andrea.
Now it’s finally getting used.

You guys have such eagle eyes! You’ll strain your eyes to death looking at that. My progressive lenses just can’t handle such tiny, fiddly stitches. Maybe I should get myself a pair of magnifying glasses. Darn, I’m getting old...

Yeah, in Petra’s pattern, what looks like garter stitch to me is actually a shifted seed stitch. That was already too much of a hassle for me *laughs*. I always have to keep counting anyway. Nope, it’s got to be TV-friendly. 

I’m nearsighted, so now I can take off my glasses when I want to read or do crafts.

@dieausdemgartenkommt
I like the pattern you’re knitting there. I also enjoy knitting patterns when they’re simple.

Marlene, you’ve got another delicate piece on your needles. I’ve tried crocheting with such a thin hook and correspondingly thin yarn before. It’s really not for me. Size 2 and up is okay, but not anything smaller.

The first window was installed today. Two more tomorrow, and the last one on Friday. It looks good, though, and at least the rain won’t be coming in anymore. Now the weather is more stable and it’s getting warmer.

Have a nice evening, everyone!

Anja, I love this colorful mix—it’s going to be a truly extraordinary shawl. I’d love to hear more about the story behind the yarn from the flea market ;-) Was that in the U.S.? Or was it an American woman who was at a flea market in Germany? Fascinating either way.

Andrea, I hope your eye is feeling better already!? That’s so mean :-( Get well soon, anyway!

Monika, glad you guys finally got started. Then you’ll be done with it soon, too :-)

DieausdemGartenkommt, the pattern really stands out with those accent colors. Are you using tension threads? It looks so beautifully even on your project.

Marlene, I’m nearsighted too, but that’s no reason for me to work with such thin needles *laughs* It’s too fiddly for me, but it’s great that you can do it. What are you making?

My Eiffel Tower is now finished; I just have to bind off. Today my mind was obviously so far away that I knitted two rows twice—I didn’t even notice until then, how silly of me. I had to use my crochet hook trick quite a bit... But now the pattern is back on track.



I hope you all have a lovely evening, too!

I’m nearsighted too, and I can see better without my glasses—but not for very long, since I also have astigmatism.

Yay, windows—finally! 

Thanks for the email, and yes, I do use tension threads. The small pattern really helps ensure it comes out even. But I’ll still stretch it anyway.

Silly correction🤔 It should say “a-mano”—sorry

Sonja that turned out absolutely enchanting! A knitted painting! Sooo cool! I’d totally hang it on my wall.
I’d go crazy with all that counting!!!

Andrea, I’m sending you my best wishes for your eye to get better, too. ♡

I tried to keep crocheting on the tunic today, but fate decided to mess with me. First, my row counter disappeared, only to reappear after I’d resorted to using a different one and had to count the rows myself. Naughty counter! Then I’d picked up a skein that I’d unraveled and had wrapped the yarn across the yarn cake. While crocheting, I somehow managed to pull some of it loose, and it ended up getting all tangled up. :-(
So I spent half an hour untangling that mess and winding it back up again. That’s why I only managed to crochet three rows in the end. My neck and shoulders weren’t cooperating either, so I did some exercises with a ball and now I’m just watching TV with a hot water bottle on my lower back.

I bought the yarn at a German flea market from an American woman. There are a lot of Americans stationed here.

It’s going to be a doily, Sonja.

Guess today wasn’t your day, Anja—tomorrow will be better.

That’s actually going even better than I thought, Moni.

I’m in the garden, cutting up an old sheet into T-shirt yarn.

Here you can see some of my crocheted decorations in the garden.
Pennants and a mobile—I crocheted foundation chains onto a ring. 

Sonja , you’ve outdone yourself yet again! It’s beautiful and so typically Parisian! I think Anja’s idea is great, and I’m seriously considering knitting that doily as wall decor!
CreatOwl , what size hook do you use? And what kind of yarn do you use? I still have lots of little balls of yarn left over from crocheting around handkerchiefs…

Sonja, wowww! I’m totally thrilled and can only marvel when I look at your Paris motif. It’s a truly first-class work of art. You’re simply in a league of your own with your DF artworks. It turned out beautiful! What are the dimensions? I can also imagine it very well as wall decoration. The idea is fantastic.

@DieausdemGartenkommt
I’ve never worked with floats, not even with Norwegian patterns. Maybe a silly question: How do you, or all of you, do that? I’d be happy to learn something new.

Andrea, I also wish you a speedy recovery for your eye. I once had really awful hay fever and know all too well what that’s like. A homeopath was able to help me 30 years ago, and it’s been gone ever since.

Anja, you really do get yourself into things. Well, the motivation will come back, and then everything will work out with the skeins. That always happens to me when the motivation is somehow missing. Maybe your beautiful colorful shawl would like to keep growing?
Tell me, how do you get the decorations into the tree? Did you climb up there a bit? I imagine working with strips of fabric like that is pretty difficult. It must be quite hard on the joints, right? It wouldn’t be my thing, and I admire those who can do it.

One more idea for the fine, thin crochet threads. My neighbor often crochets pretty borders like that onto the bottom of her older T-shirts. It really looks very pretty. Maybe you’d like to try that too sometime.

Our windows are now installed—except for one. What’s still missing (unfortunately) are the blinds. I hope we’ll get them delivered soon.  Otherwise it will get pretty warm soon. And then tidying up is on the agenda for the weekend...

Now I’m going to keep working on Juna’s little dress for a while.

Hi Monika. It’s not so bad with two strands. Right now, I still have to pick up the carried strand again on the back after each pattern section. But I’ve already ordered a metal thimble from Prym—it has two eyelets for each strand. That’ll make it easier. I took a photo of the back.

Monika, could you please take a photo of one of your neighbor’s shirts with trim?
I still have so much of that thin crochet yarn, too.

Yes, I climbed a little way up into the tree with the ladder. Unfortunately, everything gets tangled up in the branches when the wind is strong. Then I have to climb back up and untangle it. 

Man, uploading pictures here is a nightmare. It really takes the fun out of it. Even with the avatar, and Support gives vague answers—that’s no help at all; it’s very frustrating.

@DieausdemGartenkommt
Have you read this info text yet?
https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/bild-im-forum-hochladen

Please remember that you may only upload or use your own images (= images for which you have the rights, that belong to you).

Yes, Josefa, I read it and followed the instructions. But since I don’t have a computer—just a phone and a tablet—I can’t resize the images; I can only use them as they are. Trying to adjust the image size back and forth while taking the photos is complicated. And all I get from Support is that I should use the correct format. 😕 Then I won’t upload anything anymore—too bad...

If you search Google for “resize images,” you’ll find websites where you can resize and crop your images online without having to install any software.
Would that work for you?

I’ll see if I can find that and give it a try—thanks for the tip.

If that doesn’t work, just post it again in the forum.
Somehow, we’ll all figure out a solution together. :-)

I found an app called “Resize Images Puma”—you can also adjust the MB there. Here’s the back side I promised. Thanks again to Josefa.

You’re welcome.
Looks great.

I also use Puma to resize images. 

I’m really learning a lot here. I didn’t know about the Puma either. Interesting!
Thanks for the tip about carrying the yarn. I have a finger attachment like that for double-faced knitting, too. It hadn’t even occurred to me to use it for pattern knitting. Great idea!

Anja, you really are a crazy one. ;-) There you are, climbing so high up the tree just to hang a tree mobile. I’d never even think of that—it would be way too much of a hassle and dangerous for me.

As for taking photos at my neighbor’s house, she’s very particular about that and doesn’t like it. Too bad! I wanted to take a photo of one of her knitting patterns once, but she wouldn’t let me. It’s actually really simple, though. Just look up crochet patterns for trim. She measured the circumference of the T-shirt at the bottom first and then crocheted the trim to the right length. Then she sewed it on. It definitely looks great in the right color.

First of all, thank you so much, Christina, Anja, and Monika, for your feedback on the placemat. I really don’t see what your issue is—I wouldn’t have a problem splattering something on the Eiffel Tower ;-) But I probably won’t get the chance, because my two girls have already decided among themselves who gets “Paris” first—first Nily, then Lucy, and then they’ll take turns. Other users (my husband and I, for example) are not intended for this placemat. That’s how it goes.

Anja, I also think untangling yarn is a really awful job! Hopefully things will start going better again soon. I think your crocheted decoration is very original, but also a bit daring :-) The tree is pretty tall, after all :-)

DieausdemGartenkommt, your floats look really nice and tidy. It’s going to be great!

Monika, at least you’ve already managed almost all the windows. When are the blinds coming? So it does have one good side that the warm spring is taking a little longer to arrive (you can find something positive in everything if you just look long enough :-) ). With my gauge, the placemat measures 30 x 44 cm. For a wall hanging, you’d be flexible with the size anyway, and with the yarn too.

Now I wish you all a lovely evening!

Unfortunately, Monika has to give up her hobby—she won’t have time anymore because she has to clean so many windows. 😉

Don’t worry, Sonja —I share cardigans and pajamas with my daughters here. And that’s even though there’s a 2–4-size difference between us. 

Anja, oops, I’d better hand over the placemat ;-)

Oh man, I had to scroll quite a long way up to catch up.

Sonja, your “Paris” placemat looks absolutely stunning. That really is true knitting artistry. Much too good to use. So many color changes—that would drive me crazy. Hats off to you.

Monika, it’s great that you finally got your new windows, and as Anja already said, you’re on a knitting break because you have to clean all the new windows. After that, you’ll have a clear view again and can get going with your yarn again *lol*.

Anja, I’m just picturing you scrambling around in that tree to hang up your decorations. It wouldn’t be worth it to me, since it’s so big anyway.

We only have a small tree on the lawn (it belongs to the landlord’s property). It looks so spindly and ugly (except when it’s in bloom) that decorations would be far too good for it.
The other two trees (fir, birch) were cut down a long time ago. Unfortunately. But at least we have more sun on the terrace now, and those old leaves aren’t lying on the car anymore.

Thank you very much for your get-well wishes. My eye has already gotten a bit better. I guess it’s not a pollen allergy, because then both eyes would be red and bloodshot. It’s only the right one. I must somehow have gotten a draft from the wind. It was really swollen, as if I’d just come from a boxing match. It’s still watering a bit. But that didn’t stop me from doing a little crocheting today.
Here in the forum, the colorful entrelac potholder inspired me, and now I’m experimenting to see what I can make from it. I’m still on a yarn diet, so I have plenty of leftovers.

I wish you all a pleasant night, and later on, happy crafting.

Best regards

Good morning....

so much going on here, I’ve now opened a second tab right away so I don’t forget anyone

Anja, so you’re going way up high to decorate the garden, oh dear, that would be too exhausting for me; getting up isn’t the problem, but getting back down.....

Sonja, my mouth really did drop open, you could kind of make out the Eiffel Tower, but the whole thing is a little work of art to me, so I can understand your two girls liking it.....now a 2nd one has to be made, grin....it really would be a shame for a placemat, but maybe it will end up in the girls’ room as wall décor after all??? You must have spent quite a long time on the design, that really is a lot of work.

Monika, now you have new windows, that’s nice, they’re certainly quite a bit more airtight than older windows; the only pity is that the window cleaner needed for them didn’t come in the package too :) I usually then have the bad luck that it rains again on the freshly cleaned windows soon afterward.
So your handicrafts are on hold for now? But knowing you, you’ll still find the time in the evening to knit a little on Juna’s dress—if there isn’t a pattern involved, it works in front of the TV too.

Andrea, I hope the eye is getting better day by day? I don’t like it when you have a gunky eye; I usually get it from drafts and can almost count on it happening.
I like entrelac too, I once crocheted a potholder first, just to try it out, I think I showed it here too, but I’ve been thinking of making the squares bigger and crocheting a blanket; that would then be another side project while watching soccer, but as a doll mom you’re sure to find something you could make with it. I once saw a little sleeping bag, it was really very pretty, also here on CP, but I have no idea anymore who it was by.

the one who comes from the forest, nice that you ended up here too, the beginning of the sweater you showed looks good to me, something different for a change.

Marlene, ooh, how I always envy those who don’t break their fingers like I would when working with such thin yarn and needles; the beginning looks quite good.....my mom used to crochet borders around these handkerchiefs and still has several boxes of the crochet thread, also filet crochet thread....ask me when she plans to use it all up-

I also got a little done that I’d like to show, next week I can finally show the cardigan too...but now my smaller projects.
I thought my kitchen window with its short curtain looked so bland, so I made myself a window hanging

I haven’t gotten around to hanging it up yet, I still have to clean the window, but the garden was more important for now

and my 2nd project is a potholder for everyone who likes Tunisian crochet, here’s the first pattern, another one is in progress

Wishing you all a lovely afternoon

Wow, Ines, your potholder looks great. I haven’t tried Tunisian crochet yet.

I also crocheted a little something—entrelac. I’m going to make a second piece, crochet them together, and use them as coasters.
I crocheted a few two-tone cords following a YouTube tutorial.
My shawl has only grown a tiny bit—just a few rows.

I’ve also thought about making an entrelac blanket. But one thing at a time.
I’m flexible about that.

In a bit, there’ll be coffee and Bundt cake with almonds, lemon, and rum flavoring. Delicious.

 
And I made mini books for the dollhouse following a purchased tutorial

Wow, there’s a lot going on here again.

Ines, you’re always so hard at work. Once again, you’ve crocheted such pretty decorations—and pot holders to boot. Wow, there’s even a pattern in there. It looks great! I really like Tunisian crochet too, but it’s not really my thing to do it myself. Double-face suits me much better.

Andrea, Entrelac—that’s the first time I’ve heard of it. It looks amazing. I really like it. Making those little mini-books out of magazines (?)—how cute! Do you still have your dollhouse? If I had more space, I’d want one and decorate it with lots of love.

So, our windows are in, and now we just have to get the chaos back in order. It seems like none of you really like cleaning windows. Well, imagine that—my favorite guy actually really enjoys it, so I let him have the fun. As for the new windows, they’re sparkling clean and don’t need any cleaning for now. We do need to repaint the area around the windows, though. It’s taken quite a beating. But we’ll take our time with that. First, everything has to be put back in its place.

Of course, I’ve also been knitting—I managed to find time for it here and there. Now I’m all the way at the bottom of the little dress and thinking about how to finish it off. So it’ll be done soon.

We had American cookies again today—this time the chocolate version, with cocoa in them. Very tasty! And our contractors were happy about them, too.



By the way, my friend was really happy with the pot holders and especially the little gift bag. She was totally amazed at how I managed to make them. :-) So I was able to make someone happy again—that’s really nice. Now I’m thinking about knitting her the Paris placemat too, in the same colors as the pot holders. I’m sure she’d love that.I

Yessss, guys, you’re really making me jealous with all your goodies... 

This craft group is really super active—it’s hard to keep up! Great things have been created again; huge kudos to everyone—I can’t even go into detail about everything.

I’ve also done what Monika describes with the trims on T-shirts. I have a few short T-shirt summer dresses that I don’t really want to wear so short anymore. So I sewed on some crocheted trims in the same color to make them longer. I didn’t use yarn that thin at all (Catania fine, 165 m / 50 g, or Catania, 125 m / 50 g). I’ll have to see if I can find some photos of them—then I’ll show them to you.)

Inspired by Sonja’s Doubleface, I designed a crocheted gift bag for Mother’s Day:

Yes, Ruth, I’d really appreciate a photo like that—thank you! 

Just popping in briefly again.

It's true, you simply can't keep up anymore if you can't write along for a day or two.

So, an equally huge compliment to everyone. Sonja's DF project is really amazing, though. That's a tremendous amount of work, and it turned out beautifully.

Ruth, I liked your little gift bag right away too. I treated myself to the pattern, but at the moment I still don't have the time to make it. But it will happen someday.  

I do have something to show, though. It wasn't quite that easy, but it was worth it.   

The pot holder turned out beautifully, Marion. How did you do the lettering on the back? Is it written in mirror writing, or did you crochet the pot holder twice?

I couldn’t find a decent photo of me wearing my summer dresses, Anja, so I took a picture of one on a hanger:

Have a nice Saturday,

Ruthk—that looks great. I hadn’t even thought of crocheting around T-shirts like that. I actually still have some thin yarn. Thanks for the inspiration.

I’ve finished another project, too—a coaster, nice and thick. It seemed too good to use just as a pot holder. I love this Entrelac crochet technique. You don’t have to sew anything together. Everything is crocheted right in place. Ta-da!

Ruth, your packaging looks super cute. It’s very similar to Sonja’s style.
Yes, exactly—just like you crocheted the border along the bottom of the dress, that’s how my neighbor did it with T-shirts. The yarn was relatively thin, but her thinnest needle is a size 2.

Marion, your shawl looks beautiful. I find this side more interesting, and the paws are easier to make out.

Dear friends, I’m in a yarn frenzy. It’s like Christmas and my birthday all at once. The night before last, I went on another shopping spree and took advantage of a few deals. Today, the package with various types of Drops yarn arrived. It’s sooo beautiful and colorful! I’ll be able to make quite a few things with it. I ordered the Drops Fabel (sock yarn) specifically for DF projects.



And the little dress is almost finished in terms of length. Here’s what it looks like now:

Hello, my dears,

it’s time once again for a little look back at what you’ve all been creating over the past week. By now I already have to open 3 windows just to see all the new posts.

First of all, many thanks for your comments about me and my writing style. I’m very happy that I can enrich our forum with my posts. Just as every post does, really. One person alone couldn’t create this kind of variety.

So what has been made in the meantime?

Monika, I really wouldn’t have thought that you would like the colors of my new cardigan (which still isn’t finished). I thought that you, as a “blondie,” were more into warm colors. The blue-purple-heather shades are more on the cool side and suit my gray hair better. But you’ll be able to see that for yourselves at some point.

I’m still keeping the purpose of my temperature blanket a secret. Before I started it, I had to think about what it should become in the end. The length of 1.80 m could be calculated based on the pattern. But for the width, I really had to think about what it was going to become. And you’ll see that next year. In any case, I like the idea, and in my mind’s eye I can already see it there.

The potholders for your friend turned out super beautiful. I love this cheerful bird motif; it just instantly puts you in a good mood. It also fits spring so well. And if they then come along in the little gift bag à la Sonja, all the better. Then it feels like you’ve received several gifts at once :-)

The little dress you’ve started for Juna already looks beautiful!

Ruth, I can understand your other granddaughter all too well. Who wouldn’t want such a personal picture—hand-embroidered by Grandma? You simply couldn’t imagine anything more special.

Andrea, your miniature bag is absolutely enchanting. It would go with your new doll with the pink hair, wouldn’t it? And the colored pencils and coloring book are sooooo tiny, too. Very cute. But who is going to color with those mini pencils? I had no idea such tiny coloring supplies existed.

It seems the striped pattern with the I-cord edge just won’t let you go. We can feel your enthusiasm, and before you know it, the swatches get bigger and bigger row by row, simply because you’ve got the hang of it. In general I’m not a fan of stripes, so
the motif hurts my eyes a little when I look at it. But that shouldn’t diminish your joy in it. I gladly believe you that it knits up well. If you now had two skeins, each with its own color gradient, then in my eyes it would also be a beautiful
shawl. The different color gradients, changing every other row, would create an exciting look and visually soften “the hard striped design” a bit.

Christina, thank you so much for explaining the pattern for the two-color dishcloth to us. Once you know how it’s done, you can achieve a special look with little effort. And the potholders really look fantastic! It’s lovely that you told us how it works.

The white sheep in the chic packaging surely went over well with your sister. Both are very nicely made. I almost like the bag with the handle even a little better, because when you receive it, the excitement rises and you start to feel that tingle. Anything at all could be hidden inside. And the little bag is so elegantly made, too, with the flap and the handle. A really good idea, and even better, the pattern for the bag is available from us on CP. I have to remember that.

The first potholder with the little bird looks very good. Very neatly knitted, and the red-and-white color combination looks fresh too. I could easily imagine that in my kitchen as well :-)

Marlene, the close-up picture of the pattern of your scarf looks veeeery promising. If it becomes a long scarf and is blocked into shape, I imagine it will be fantastic. Unblocked, you can only guess at its beauty. So I’m very excited to see how it looks in the end.

You really do make delicate things! A crochet hook size of 0.60 is veeeery small. You really need good glasses for that. I’ve experimented with it before too, but I found it difficult more in the hand. For such tiny stitches you only have to move your hand minimally, and that really strains the hand. I like the pink yarn very much. Too bad it doesn’t come in thicker weights; that would be something for me too. What is the yarn called, or what weight is it?

Sonja, your placemat (why actually a placemat?) looks very romantic and enchanting in terms of the motif. It’s not so much the Eiffel Tower that catches my eye, but rather the couple in love on the bench. They are a young couple in love, too, because the girl has a ponytail. And the lanterns next to the bench underline the mood. It just makes you melt. I could also imagine such a lovely motif as pillows (light pink and hot pink) for a teen’s room. A white picot edging all around—maybe crocheting in a few little beads too... Lying on the table, I wouldn’t be able to surrender to this magic of being in love—which the picture radiates—quite as much while looking at it. There you sit properly at the table with a plate and cup in front of you. To me, it belongs more in a romantic setting with a white girl’s bed... oh yes, now you’ve done it... here I am, a woman over 50, sitting at the PC and daydreaming about dreamy images. That’s the effect your motif has!

Thank you also for uploading the clover motif to your blog for all of us. It really is a universal motif and so nice and large. Everyone who can knit DB will enjoy making it. You can basically give it to anyone who needs luck. And who doesn’t need that?

Sandra, your unicorn is not only cute to look at, it also delights the body and soul of your nail technician. She’ll surely be thrilled to receive something so special from you. Everything heals faster right away. And the unicorn will always remain something special to her.

Marion, oh, I know all about having a bigger construction site in the garden—we have that too. But even so, every day I look forward to my “woolly construction sites.” The cardigan looks very pretty—nice color gradients. Is that sock yarn? Who is the cardigan for? It looks so small. And your little Mäxchen also looks very cute. The pants, hat, and little jacket all go together perfectly. You want to pick him up and cuddle him right away. Now all that’s missing are the little shoes, otherwise he’ll get cold feet.

And your first paw-print potholder turned out very well too. That makes it fun to make the second one. Precisely because they are both different. Two identical ones would be boring to me. I like it when things go together but aren’t the same. Ines designed that well, and you made it well. You could give it to any dog lover. I would then embroider the doggie’s name very small, making it even more personal for the “master.”

Anja, with you, it’s colorful! The shawl only becomes so interesting and exciting to the eye because of the color changes. I’m curious to see how it looks in the end.

DieausdemGartenkommt, (unfortunately I don’t know your first name), the pattern of your sweater already looks promising. I hope we get to see more. Until then, I wish you continued enjoyment with this project.

Sonja, ... on page 2 of our forum I was now able to admire your finished “Paris set.” Finished, it’s no longer the couple in love that draws my attention; instead, it feels more like a little excursion with a view of the sights of Paris. Anyone who has been there before will feel that special flair inside when looking at the motif. Well, now I find it less romantic for a girl’s room and more like a big postcard. You could almost hang it on the wall in a frame... I’m sure you’ll find the right purpose for the beautiful motif.

Ines, your window hanger is also a real eye-catcher: beautiful flowers and leaves. And you can redecorate it from time to time. A lovely idea and execution.

Oh dear, now I’m out of steam... I’ll draw a line here for now and go have coffee and cake. When you’re always so busy, there’s simply a lot to look at. I’ll come back again later and look at the rest... and show what I’ve been making.

Until then, I wish you all a pleasant afternoon.
Warm regards from Ina

Sonja gray hair??? Based on your writing style, I’d imagined a young blonde. 😀

I kept battling with the crocheted tunic... don’t ask... Slipped over by one stitch in the row and then continued the pattern wrong and frogged it again... aaaaahhh 
and that’s me, when I’m really not blessed with much patience... what I don’t like so much about the Bobbels is that the strands always split apart, a bit annoying. But the color changes motivate you to keep going; you want to see how it develops. 

Hi, Ina. My first name is Gabi.

Oh, I just mixed up Ina and Sonja. Tssss...

Freshly fortified, I’m quickly writing Part 2 now ... since no one should be overlooked. So it continues with ...

Andrea again - the little entrelac potholders - that’s what I’ll call them - I like them very much, too. I like the evenness that continues so consistently. I also like the soft colors here, a lovely color combination. Otherwise, there are still a few other things to admire from you. You’re in a learning phase right now: I-cord edge, knitted cords, new “stripe pattern” - in any case, you’ve got a lot of energy for new ideas at the moment. I’m excited to see what you make of them.

The little books are just sugar-sweet. Too bad I don’t know what I would do with them. They’re simply beautiful to look at. Maybe because you usually only see things like that in large size, the miniatures fascinate us all the more.

Monika, congratulations on your new windows. Such major construction work is always a bit stressful, but afterward you have a clear view again and time for crafts. When I looked at it, I already thought that Sonja’s Paris motif was smiling at you. If I could knit DB, it would have done the same to me.

Ruth, oh, how lovely! Such beautiful little gift bags, I get hearts in my eyes right away. First of all, they’re very prettily packaged in your motif. But overall they’re also adorned with flourishes like a border. That is such loving packaging. I like it veeeery much! Since I can’t do DB, that would be an alternative for me. Thank you so much for coming up with something so beautiful.

Marion, you’ve finished the second potholder. That one turned out really great, too. You can read everything nicely and the paws are easy to recognize as well. Very nice set. Is it for you?

Anja, your tunic is really taking shape. Now that the color changes are more visible, you’re probably even more eager for it to grow and for you to be able to wear it soon. The pattern is nice, too. I’m curious to see how the shape and the color change continue to develop. I think you’ve already gotten quite a nice piece done. It’s worth sticking with it.

Oh, I’m glad if my writing style makes me seem younger, but blond? Two years ago I had my hair cut short (before that a brown bob with a precise edge and dyeing every few weeks), and I haven’t dyed it since. The result is my natural silver gray, which is lighter at the bangs than in the back. The advantage is that I never have to dye my hair again! Visually it does make me look older, but I’m over that vanity. And that’s exactly why I need more color in my clothing. Okay, a picture is needed ... here you go, this was last summer with my 3 grandchildren ...



Gabi, how nice that you told us your first name. Many of us put it in the signature, then you can always peek there :-)

Now on to my creative works. Well, actually there isn’t much to show. I spent the last week(s) waiting for yarn. For my cardigan, I was looking for a matching solid-colored yarn. In the meantime I have 4 different colors here, but none of them really wanted to match. Then I had decided on one from my stash and started the shawl collar with it. I had shown you the picture.

Thank you to those of you who wrote that the shade works. Sometimes you just get blind to what you’re doing. So I knitted with the cyclamen-colored sock yarn “Lanartus” Fine Merino Socks held triple. But my stash only lasted up to 9 cm of shawl collar. I thought I’d just quickly order some more. But no such luck—the whole internet had nothing to offer. This shade hasn’t been produced for a few years now. Unfortunately.



Of course I was grumpy—either unravel everything and use one of the other shades, or use the colorful yarn from the jacket—or just pack the jacket into a bag and put it away “for later.” But then luckily I remembered my yarn shop “Wollke 7” in Berlin. I had bought the yarn there in the past. But they don’t have an online shop. So I quickly called ... and yeeees, they still had 3 balls on the shelf. We arranged a handover appointment, and yesterday at an agreed time we exchanged goods for money. That’s how shopping works today. In any case, now I have 3 balls of the coveted yarn.

However, they wouldn’t be enough for the whole shawl collar if I kept knitting held triple. And so I decided after all to unravel the collar and knit it again held double. And yes, now I think it’s perfect - I actually like it a little thinner even better, because the knitted fabric is more supple. And this is what the whole thing looks like now:



I wish you all a lovely evening and a pleasant weekend.

Best wishes from Ina

Andrea, it looks like you were writing at the same time as me. I just noticed you now. Your coasters look great. You did a wonderful job with them. They’re a great way to use up leftover yarn.

Ina, that photo of you is really pretty. You’re practically beaming as brightly as the sun. This helps us picture you even better.
What made you think I’m blonde? I’ve always had dark hair, but for the past few years, the gray has been taking over. ;-) Just like you, I haven’t dyed my hair in two years (with natural dyes, by the way). I’m embracing the fact that natural gray is my color now. And for me, too, it’s lighter in the front than on the sides or in the back.
For me, purple and heather are more on the warm side, and I have them in my wardrobe as well.... By the way, I have blue things too, and I think they’re pretty nice every now and then. However, the red and yellow tones are definitely my favorites.
Your jacket looks really nice in that color combination. I can totally picture you wearing it, and I think it definitely suits you. It really brings out your style.
Thanks also for your feedback on the pot holders and the little dress. Could it be that your blanket is going to be a runner—like a rug?
Yes, Sonja’s pattern has me itching to get started. Now that I know my friend thinks the DF knit is so pretty, too. She’ll definitely love the placemat.

Wow, Anja, you’ve been so hard at work! Your tunic looks amazing and is almost finished! I’m really impressed by the patience you’ve shown here. It’s turned out to be a work of art. I really like it. You can already look forward to wearing it. It’s nice and airy—bring on summer!

Gabi, I also think it’s nice that we can now call you by your first name. It’s so much more personal.

Well, I wish you all a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Ina , I’m so happy to see your photo—thank you! When I read your posts, I always imagine the person behind them… Something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while: Did you work in a language-related field?

Gabi , it’s great that you found your way to the group. By the way, I like your nickname, though it’s a bit long for everyday use. All the better that we now know your first name, too.

Andrea , I really like your Entrelac pot holder in those soft colors. I’ve never tried the technique, but I’ve had a pattern for it for quite some time.

Anja , the pattern on your tunic is very pretty, and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished piece. I’ve been planning to make a tunic for a while now, but I’ll probably knit it instead. The yarn cake is waiting impatiently…

I wish everyone a lovely spring Sunday!

Et voilà: Now with a border.




 

This time, something a little smaller made from scraps of Drops Safran—a dishcloth for Nala’s bowl:

   

Is it just me, or does the cat look friendlier in the lighter version???

Hi everyone

Gabi, it’s nice that we can now address you by name, and it’s great that you’ve found your way into the group too.

And hey, there’s a lot going on here again,

Ina, there was plenty to read. You always find such lovely words for each person here and their work. Your jacket is slowly getting finished now too, and the color is simply gorgeous. I think that because the yarn is a bit thinner, this seed stitch shows up even better. As I’d already written, I’m still working on one for my mom; I’ll show photos this week, I still need to steam it. I’d like to knit the jacket again for myself, but with very thin yarn, 50g/170m, plus a top, so a twinset... I’m so taken with it; we’ll see how it works out. This time I had the specifications... my mom is getting it for Mother’s Day.

Christina, the dishcloths for Nala’s bowl are beautiful. Did she help you unwind the yarn again? I always really like double knitting, but I just can’t get myself to simply give it a try. My head is already spinning when I read about it; I just don’t understand how it works with the strands, I’m probably missing something somewhere. Oh well, I still have my tapestry crochet, so everyone has their own thing.
That said, I think both kitty heads are cute, but light colors always make things look a bit friendlier

Anja, your tunic is taking shape too, and I think it looks very nice so far. The temperatures really should start rising soon so you can wear it then.

I am going to finish my projects now and photograph them today so I’ll have something to show again this week. Wishing you all a sunny Sunday

Wow, I was only gone for a little while, and already there’s so much new stuff to read and look at.

Christina, your bird pot holders look great! I also think the color selection is especially nice for them. What yarn did you use for them?
Your cat dishcloths turned out very pretty, too. It’s actually a shame to use them, but this way you always have a special cloth for your Nala and can’t mix them up. I think the light-colored cat looks friendlier, even though it’s the same one as the dark one. Interesting play of colors.

Ines, we’re excited to see what beautiful things you’ll show us soon.

Anja, today is UFO Day for you. Is your shawl growing a bit more today?

The little dress for Juna is pretty much finished now. All that’s left is an appliqué and the tedious task of weaving in ends. This is what it looks like now. In person, the colors are even more vibrant. It’s knitted with Drops Safran.

The little dress for Juna turned out beautifully. 

It turned out really pretty , Monika!
I’m excited to see the appliqué.

No shawl today. I haven’t worked on the crochet letters for 3 weeks, and the baby is coming soon. I have to make 16 pieces, after all, and I only have 7 so far.

I just saw your question now, Christina.
I’m crocheting with a 0.6 hook.

Current status:


I also use Puma to scale things down.

I’d wear that dress for Juna—in my size, of course—too, Moni.

There’s plenty here to keep you reading all afternoon :-) First off: I hope you’re all having a wonderfully relaxing afternoon just like mine! Right now I’m sitting outside under the sun shades, enjoying the warmth, the beautiful flowers everywhere, and the birds chirping.

So no one gets left behind, I’ve now opened a second window and am happily working my way through all the lovely posts :-)

Gabi, welcome to the forum from me, too. So glad you found your way here! I can’t wait to see your sweater once it’s finished.

Andrea, you’ve been incredibly hard at work—wow! Thanks for your kind feedback on the placemat :-) I absolutely love your Entrelac coaster—it looks great on any table. I wouldn’t really have a use for the little booklets, but they’re absolutely adorable. Perfect for a dollhouse, of course! My daughter made similar mini-booklets in first grade—one for each letter of the alphabet. Yours look much neater, though :-) Is your eye all better now?

Ines, thanks to you, too, for your feedback. Yes, No. 2 is definitely coming. Probably No. 3 and No. 4 too, because no one in the family should go empty-handed ;-) And it’s really being used as a placemat—the colors match our dishes so perfectly (and that’s really not easy with this set). A little spill doesn’t bother me at all—Paris isn’t exactly a very clean city either ;-) Your window hanger is super decorative! It’s really amazing how you always seem to whip up things like this in a flash!

Marion, thank you so much for your compliment, too :-) You’ve crocheted a great second pot holder! I also really like that the second one has a different motif—it looks great and makes it even more fun to recreate. So you’re already incredibly fast at crocheting, too—wow!

Ruth, your gift bag turned out really pretty! It actually makes me a little proud that I was able to inspire you to make something so beautiful :-) A gift is just so much more special when it comes in such lovingly designed packaging! Thank you so much for the photo of the crocheted trim on the dress! That’s really a great idea for spicing up simple dresses or shirts. You could also do that in a contrasting color and repeat it at the sleeve openings. It’s just a mystery to me—how do you pierce through the fabric there? And doesn’t it fray?

Monika, what a riot of colors! Swoon! I bet you go over to your yarn all the time, stand in front of it, and just admire it, don’t you? Oh, what a rush of happiness that must have been when you opened the package! I’m so happy for you about these beautiful skeins, and of course I can’t wait to see what lovely things you’ll create with them! The little dress for Juna is already a real showstopper! Totally cute and just the thing for the summer that we hope is coming soon.

Ina, I’m so glad my placemat inspired you to dream :-) We actually use it as a placemat (at least once the rest of the family has one too). I don’t mind spilling on the Eiffel Tower, and my kids certainly don’t either ;-) But of course, the design can actually be used in so many different ways. That’s what I love about crafting—that you can develop ideas in such a personal way... And how lovely that we get to see a picture of you, surrounded by three grandchildren :-) Someone has captured a wonderful moment there—thank you for sharing it with us! I actually think your jacket is perfect, too, with the solid-color collar. I’m so glad you were able to get the yarn. I pictured the scene as being really funny—in the twilight of a shady corner in Berlin, you with your collar turned up and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over your face, arriving right on time at the secret meeting spot with the yarn dealer, exchanging money in an envelope for yarn in an unmarked paper bag, then making a quick but inconspicuous exit from the scene.... *grin* Yeah, shopping in person is different than usual during the pandemic.

Anja, thanks so much for the young blonde :-) I was in stitches. Um, young—well, sort of... I feel like I’ve been stuck in my mid-30s :-) And more of an indefinable brown than blonde. Your tunic is going to be great; luckily, the color changes seem to be motivating you to stick with it. What are the dimensions of the letters? They look pretty big in the pictures... Maybe you’ll at least make it past the halfway point today!

Christina, your little birds turned out great! I’m so glad you were able to scale down the pattern to match your yarn. The pot holders look really nice that way! And the dishcloth for Nala’s bowl is awesome—nicer than the original ;-) You really spiced it up with that crocheted border! We have two of them in use here, unfortunately without the pretty crocheted border. It’s really handy that you don’t confuse the bowl cloth with a regular dishcloth.

Now I wish you all a wonderful rest of your Sunday, and a great start to the new week tomorrow!

Warm regards, Sonja

Oh wow, Anja, you’ve still got your work cut out for you 😅

Exactly! 🤨
I had hoped the child would get a nice name with 3 or 4 letters, but nope.... 

Good evening, my dears,

I hope you had/have a lovely weekend. I certainly did - and before I disappear into my fragrant bath in a moment, I just wanted to quickly pop in here to see what new things there are to admire.

Ruth, that yellow summer dress looks absolutely gorgeous! Really modern: yellow is totally on trend right now, and the crocheted border fits perfectly. Without it, the dress would lack that chic touch.

Andrea, I also really like the Entrelac crochet doily. I love these colors, the color combination (there’s that lemon yellow again that I like so much), and how precisely you crocheted it. It’s truly perfect! I can see why you like this technique. With results like that, we all want to crochet ENTRELAC :-)

Monika, the little dress for Juna is simply enchanting. The colors are fresh and cheerful, and the skirt flares out so beautifully. I’m picturing a little girl in it right now, twirling around and thinking she looks beautiful. She’ll love the little dress. Maybe there will be a matching little jacket to go with it?

Christina, your pairs of pot holders really make you jealous. Ones like that in the kitchen ... everyone would probably love to use them. The little birds are so cute and instantly put you in a good mood. You’re a DB artist, too. I admire everyone who has mastered this technique because they can conjure up such beautiful “pictures.” The dishcloth for Nala is unique, too. The kitty could look a little friendlier, but you have to manage that pixel-wise too. Of course, your cat probably won’t care - but there’s no mistaking who this dishcloth is for.

As for your question: No, I didn’t have anything to do with languages.

Ines, I’m excited to see the cardigan for your mom. What I find most special is that you want to surprise her with it for Mother’s Day. She’ll be very happy - just with the gesture alone. You could give her anything at all, but a hand-knitted, cozy cardigan, she’s guaranteed to be delighted with that.

And I’m curious to see how the set of cardigan and top made from the thinner yarn will look. I think it’ll look very good. I can easily imagine wearing the cardigan open, since the top underneath wants to be seen too. And the shawl collar elongates the look. Will you tell us the color? I’m guessing yellow? ... I’m telling you: yellow is on trend right now.

You have a good eye for detail: The seed stitch on the shawl collar of my cardigan looks finer worked with 2 strands than if I had knitted it with 3 strands.

Anja, I think it’s good that you alternate your projects. You don’t want to get bored, after all. And babies generally don’t wait - they have a tight schedule, so you have to stick to it. What lettering do you want to crochet altogether? The big A already looks great.

Sonja, I always really enjoy reading your posts, too. You have a lot of imagination and always picture things well, and then the ball keeps rolling a little further. That happens to me a lot, too. May I ask what you used to do for a living? You wrote that you have to do a lot of mental work - and now you’re channeling that into crafts in a different form.

Here’s something else to make you smile that comes to mind on the topic of imagination: When I didn’t have glasses yet, I couldn’t see some things very well. Of course, I tried to make out what was there and bring the image into focus, but that didn’t always work. So my imagination replaced the missing visual sharpness with its own suggestions. You won’t believe it, but that was very productive. The ideas simply wanted to come out and found their own way.

I wish you all a lovely Sunday evening. I’m going to knit in a moment.

Best wishes - Ina

Sonja, for the border, you don’t stitch into the fabric—instead, you crochet it separately and then sew it on by hand or with a sewing machine.
Marlene, I’m impressed by how well you handle that thin needle. The doily is turning out beautifully.
Anja, your letters really do look quite large. You’ve still got a lot of work ahead of you!
Monika, the little dress for Juna turned out beautifully. I especially like the color combination. Her sister will surely want one soon, too.
Christina, the cloths with the little birds or the cat face turned out very pretty. Just make sure the cat doesn’t chase the little birds 🙂
Ina, the jacket looks really nice now. I’m glad you were able to get the yarn. I think it goes wonderfully with the jacket’s colors.
The photo of you and your grandchildren is truly heartwarming. As a dark-haired person yourself, did you also have to get used to the lighter hair color at first? I’m naturally dark-haired, too. However, my first gray hairs started appearing when I was in my mid-20s (I inherited that from my mom). Back then, of course, I didn’t want to be gray yet, so I dyed my hair for decades. But two years ago, I got tired of it and let the gray grow out. It was a big adjustment for me, though, because I’d always thought of myself as dark-haired.  Besides, some of the colors I used to love wearing no longer went with my lighter hair color. But I’ve gotten used to it by now. And I don’t say I have gray hair—I say I have silver hair! That sounds much better, don’t you think?

Thank you, everyone, for the feedback on the little dress. I’m also thrilled with how beautiful it turned out. The appliqué will be a flower—I’m in the middle of designing it right now.

Anja, I’d completely forgotten about your crocheted letters. They look great—so colorful. Perfect for a baby. You’ve picked out a lovely UFO project for this Sunday. And judging by the size, that’s going to be quite a present. Yes, with names like Juna and Linja, it would have been a lot less work. But you’ll manage it just fine, and you’ll definitely be rewarded with joy when you give it as a gift.

Marlene, I admire your crochet skills. It’s taking on a very pretty shape. Is it going to be a doily?
Can you actually picture the dress in our size? That would actually be an idea... maybe as a tunic. I’ll give it some thought.

Sonja, I actually had a relaxing day on the balcony, too. I just had to enjoy the sun outside today. Funny—I’ve started opening a new window now, too; it’s much easier than constantly scrolling up. That was a good tip, and thanks for it (I don’t remember who first wrote that here). My yarn is now neatly packed into compartments, and—except for one small box—it actually all fit. That made me realize just how much was missing before.

Ina, I hope you have lots of fun and relaxation in that wonderfully fragrant bathtub. That’s a real treat after an active day. And afterward, you can happily get back to your knitting needles and, I’m sure, some lovely soft yarn.
Yes, I also think Juna will love the little dress. It’ll look so cute on her. That’s exactly how I imagined her twirling around in it. I haven’t planned on making a little jacket just yet, but it’s a good idea.

Ruth, I was just about to send my message when I refreshed the page and saw yours. Things are happening one after another here—it’s really nice that there’s so much going on.
I’ll wait and see what Linja has to say about her little sister getting the dress now. Linja got two skirts made this way last year. That’s why I designed this dress to match. If she actually wants a dress like this too, she’ll get it, of course. Eventually, it’ll pass down to Juna, so it would be worth it. Unfortunately, neither of the girls wears dresses very often. They live next to a horse farm with several animals and spend a lot of time in the stable and out on the farm. Dresses aren’t really appropriate there. She’d wear it to preschool at most.
You put that very well… we have silver hair. Awesome! That’s funny—you also stopped dyeing your hair two years ago. I had to get used to it at first, but now it’s okay.

So, now I’m curious to see if any of you have posted anything since I refreshed the page.....
Nope—I’m all done now, too. :) So you won’t get bored tonight.

And now I wish you all a lovely evening and a wonderful start to the week. For now, my crochet hook is waiting for me—and my next project. I’ll let you know what it is in the next few days.

Yes, it’s going to be a doily, Moni.

I can totally picture Juna’s dress as a tunic for women.

Yeah, I’ve still got some work ahead of me, because the baby is going to be named MATHILDA. *grumble*
The “A” is from even further back, when I was still crocheting the letters with a size 4 hook. But you can see the stuffing showing through there, and I don’t like that. Now I’m using size 3.5 hooks—that’s better.

  So, since Christina wrote that she wanted to knit a tunic, I killed some time and checked out what the search engine had to offer. And then it got funny: I find something pretty, land on a page—uhhhh, it’s like Christmas—this woman makes all kinds of amazing things. Some of the patterns are free, and then I see something and think, “Yes, that one!!!” But then it turns out to be a paid pattern—and where did that lead me? :-) Right back here. But then I found another design by the same designer that was much more sophisticated, and I bought that one a little while ago. Oh man. Another UFO…
Well, she’ll be happy—I had to write to her right away because I didn’t understand how to continue, right in the very first row. *laughs*
Some people don’t write in enough detail. It’s clear to them how to proceed, but it’s no use to me if it just says: “Mark the first 12 sts this way and that way, and then the last 12 sts again.” The marked sts are the ones knitted in the pattern. Yeah, great—but what about the sts in between??? That should be in there too—darn it.
  I’m curious to see if I’ll soon become the designer’s worst nightmare here, with my persistent questions or for pointing out mistakes.
Maybe it’ll split into “thanks for the suggestions to improve my patterns” and “she doesn’t get a thing.”

Okay, that’s it for crafting today. The knots in my shoulders and neck are acting up again and need some ointment and a massage. And the night was short again, too. I’ve got insomnia.
Isn’t that just stupid of nature? When you’re young and can and want to sleep, the kids keep you from doing it. And now they’re grown up and I want to sleep—and could do so undisturbed—but now it’s no longer possible! Tsssss!

Anja, I’m so glad to have found a fellow colleague: I’ve actually been wondering myself if I’m turning into something of a designer’s nightmare… Spotting mistakes is just an occupational hazard…
No, seriously: So far, I’ve actually had nothing but great experiences with questions and feedback to the designers, and I think it’s great that you can ask anytime if something isn’t clear. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the designers very much for that.

Monika , I think that little dress is cute, too. When will Sternchen get one like that? I’d copy it right away for my colleague’s granddaughter—or rather, her doll, who could really use an addition to her wardrobe.

Ruth , the little birds are flying out the day after tomorrow and are being kept safe from Nala’s claws until then! (Today she brought a slow worm home and was probably offended that she didn’t get any praise for it!)

Good evening, my dears,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Here the weather was sunny, but very windy. When you sit inside and look out, you think goodness, how warm it must be, and then you go outside—feels like 2 degrees. Not fun. Luckily there is still yarn on hand.
You were all so busy again.

Monika, when I saw the picture, finally new yarn, and such gorgeous colors, I know exactly how you felt. It made me feel such a longing for new yarn too.
You have no idea what you set off in me. I clicked on your pictures right away to see which types of yarn you prefer, since you knit a lot too.
Then I first searched Google for all kinds of Garnbuttikken pa nett in Norway, and I did partly find some (theoretically for now; I haven't bought anything yet).
I went to the site where you ordered them and was amazed at how cheap it was. But here in the shops, no luck with that Drops You; it wasn't available. And I found the Safran, but they all cost around 3–4 euros per skein, everything is so expensive here, I can't really splurge, which makes me envy you all the more, so many pretty skeins. I'm sure you'll conjure up something beautiful from them.

So I have a yarn question for everyone (e.g., what is the yarn like, is it easy to work with, does the thread split when crocheting/knitting, is it scratchy, is it soft and fluffy, is the stitch definition even...)

1. Viking Garn 100g/500 m  , that's more of a delicate crochet thread for doilies, right?
2. Viking Garn Bambino 50g/176m
3. Viking Garn Baby ull 50g/170m (ull means wool)
4. Drops Safran 50g/160m
5. Drops Flora 50g/210m

Here are 5 yarns that would be my kind of weight. What do you think?
I would be very grateful for your help.

My friendly colors are slowly running out.

Sleep well then, see you tomorrow
Andrea

Good morning, my dears....sometimes you can hardly keep up with reading, so I open 2 windows and then check so no one gets forgotten.

So, where do I start

Monika,that little dress is almost exactly how I had imagined it when you showed us the beginning. I would have chosen this alternation of colors and stripe widths too; it makes the dress look very cheerful.
Inspired by your yarn frenzy, I naturally looked at Algawo's shop yesterday. I have to say, the selection is huge, but unfortunately I needed to buy some more yarn, and the fiber content and weight would have fit, but online the colors always end up looking different, so I’ll definitely keep shopping there in mind for later, and then I ended up in my own shop and ordered a few things. I’ll show them to you then......

Marlene,I also like your doily very much. Will it get very large in diameter? I always think these fine crochet pieces are very beautiful; I have a hard time with them myself -.

Sonja, well, with your description of Ina’s yarn purchase you put a melody in my head. I had to laugh so much when I read it, and since then the Pink Panther melody comes through now and then. Well, in that respect I’ve got a bit of a screw loose anyway.....I sing while wallpapering, and when I’m pretty much at the end of my rope, both room-wise and strength-wise, along comes Maya the Bee....my family already knows this and usually gets out of my way then...oh, I’m digressing....about your beautiful placemat: will the "other" family members get the same motif, or will we be able to admire more pretty things like that?

Anja that is certainly a big task too, crocheting lots of letters; that takes perseverance. May I ask what the child is going to be called, because I think you wrote something about 13 letters. Then I think of the first years of school, when the child eventually has to write their name. But everyone as they like, of course. Is it going to be made as a bunting chain or something, or will all those letters decorate the child’s room instead?
About the topic of designer customer-scarecrow ....I think every author is happy when they get questions or are made aware of mistakes; it can only help them get better. And now I actually spotted the name while scrolling; well, Mathilda is very beautiful in itself. Here where we are, you come across it very often already, and if the looks and character fit too, the movie comes to mind for me here as well, grin.....

Ruth, of course I also took a very close look at your top; it is worked so neatly, you could almost have bought it just like that. I like it very much too, and of course the little gift bag. Yes, yes, Sonja really does inspect you there; I also really like tapestry crochet at the moment.

Christina,oh dear, a slow worm; I wouldn't have praised my kitty then either.....I’m always wildly happy when our neighbor’s cat leaves mice for her mistress in the entryway, and at the same time I’m glad we don’t have a cat, but dogs leave other things behind instead—ours leaves a thousand sticks, but at least those aren’t alive anymore. I had already admired your shawls.....

Ina,Yes, the cardigan for my mum, I hope it fits. She is quite a bit smaller than I am, so I just took the measurements from her cardigan. Unfortunately I also couldn’t knit in assembly-line fashion the way I would have liked; it only worked late in the evening while watching TV, when I was sure nobody from the lower floor would disturb me anymore, and then during the day I had to put everything out of sight. Yesterday when I wanted to steam it, I noticed I still have to sew on the belt loops; I’ll do that this morning, while they’re out of the house, and then I’d like to show it.
Hm, actually my twinset is going to be sunshine yellow. The cardigan is supposed to be open, and the top is supposed to get a pattern. I do love a V-neck and have to see how it will turn out. The top came into it spontaneously, and so now I’m still waiting for the extra order, because I had only ordered enough for the cardigan; then I’ll get started. We must have had the idea of a Sunday bath at the same time. I was so chilled through; by late afternoon it was just 8 °C here and we had walked a long way with the dog, so I was grateful for the warm water.

And now something about hair colors, laugh: several people here are going through the change from dark-haired to blonde to silver; I guess no one can escape that....as a strawberry blonde, I never liked my natural color, though today on my daughter I think it’s absolutely great...well, anyway, until 5 years ago I dyed my hair black, and when I couldn’t keep up with coloring the roots anymore I went blonde, and now it’s more silver too, with a lavender accent. Of course your clothing colors change a little then too, but I still really like yellow, if it’s bright.

I wish you all a lovely start to the week

Oh, Andrea, I must have overlooked your comment… I’d love to be able to tell you something about the yarn you mentioned, but I’m not familiar with it at all.
It’s a shame you can’t get everything in Norway—you might think, “Just have your family send it to you from Germany,” haha, but the shipping costs are insane. As an eBay seller—at least from time to time—I’ve sold to Norway several times, and the shipping costs were almost embarrassing.
Best regards, I’ll get back to you in detail soon

Thanks, Andrea :)
I think it’ll stay on the smaller side.

A designer’s nightmare—no, Anja—just very observant.
It doesn’t create any extra work to mention all the stitches that need to be marked.

By the way, I’m also red-blonde, Ines.
Dyeing my hair has never been my thing. So I’ve been living with the chipmunk look for a few years now.

Wow,
this is just like a novel. Every chapter is interesting to read, and there are great pictures of your work.
In addition to my large coaster, I’ve also crocheted a small one.

I had this thick yarn left over from a commissioned project—it’s not really my style—so I’m trying to work with it using the Entrelac technique, with a size 5 needle. It’s hard to crochet with—it’s cotton.

What I wanted to ask you is: aren’t Entrelac and Tunisian crochet the same thing, technically speaking? Why are they called different things, or am I way off base?


 I crocheted this slipper from the blog’s pattern collection—it goes really fast.


Have a great day, everyone. I’ll check back later.
Bye!

“Striped chipmunk look”—that’s another name for it, haha, Marlene

But anyway, I’m back here because I finally want to show you the cardigan that’s been tucked away in my hiding place until Mother’s Day


I think it’s really pretty in this color, too—since my mom has such lovely silver hair, the color suits her very well. Now I’m really curious to see what she’ll say about it.

Yesterday I started working on another figure that’s meant to become part of a complete spring decoration set

I think it’s not hard to guess what it’s supposed to be—I’m curious to see how it turns out, since I only have this little creature in my head right now.

On Saturday, I finished the second pot holder from my Tunisian crochet experiments

Gee, Andrea, it seems we’re at the computer at the same time every now and then???
I really like your entrelac, and yes, I always thought that counted as Tunisian crochet too, but it also exists in knitting, so I don’t know whether I’m just as mistaken as you are. After all, it is crocheted in the Tunisian style, so maybe someone will clear it up for us... I also tried making a potholder, but I still need to practice so it looks as perfect as yours. It’s always difficult when you crochet/knit very loosely. Maybe I need to get some needles smaller than 2.0

Ooh, those “slippers” would be great as guest slippers at my place, just in a larger size, of course. Everyone here only wants to slip into something and not wear proper house shoes, but they look pretty.

I’m laughing my head off at your conversations here.
Striped chipmunk😂😂😂

With all your activities here and the pace, no one can keep up anymore.

So, once again, a huuuuge round of applause for everyone. Otherwise, it would take me half an hour to praise each of you individually.

Welcome to our group, Gabi. It’s great that you decided to join in on the conversation here. The sweater you showed will definitely turn out beautifully.

Ines, your second pot holder has a lovely pattern, too. And you can put your new model next to you when you’re wallpapering.

I also like the jacket for your mom.

Andrea, those slippers are so cute, and your Entrelac looks great, too.

Anja inspired me this weekend with her UFOs. I dug one out again. So my top has finally grown a few centimeters.

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

You guys are truly amazing! I’ve barely been away for a few hours, and there’s already so much to read and so many great things to look at. Yes, indeed, Andrea is right—we’re writing a novel together here.

Marlene, I’ll definitely keep your tunic idea in mind. ;-)
The striped chipmunk look—that made me smile, too. That might apply to me as well, since there’s still a lot of dark color showing through in the back and on the sides. But gray dominates the top and front.

Anja, well then, first of all I hope your neck relaxes. A hot bath with a lovely scent can work wonders. With the new pattern, I hope you have an understanding author. For example, I’m already grateful when someone points out that they don’t understand something. That’s the only way to improve things.
Mathilda… that immediately makes me think of that song by Udo Jürgens. ;-)

Christina, thanks for your appreciation of us authors. That really feels good.
Tell me, can you read minds? I’ve actually just started knitting a little dress like that for Sternchen. I’m using the leftover yarn from the Juna dress, and it’s sure to look just as cute.

Andrea, we’ve been spending time on the balcony for a few days now. I’m really enjoying it. And our apple tree is really going all out this time. It has countless blossoms. If we don’t get any more hard frosts now, we can look forward to loooads of apples.

I can totally imagine what I triggered in you. When I saw all those colors and the selection, I was completely overwhelmed. I felt like I was in the Land of Milk and Honey, and I still do. The fact that yarn is so expensive in Norway might also be due to the shipping terms. I’m very happy that I can get it so cheaply.

Now for the questions about the yarn. As for Drops, I can tell you how I feel about it.
I find Drops Safran easy to work with. It’s a multi-ply yarn, but I get along great with it. Crocheting with it works even better than knitting.
Drops Flora is simply fantastic for knitting, even for doubleface projects. It’s pleasantly soft because it contains alpaca. I knitted the first pair of leggings for Juna with it, and now I’ve also made the two doubleface hats for the girls. Sonja has already knitted with it, too.

Your crochet work looks so great—I really have to take a closer look online to see how you do it. I’m also curious if it’s the same as Tunisian crochet. The little slippers for your doll are super cute, too. Little things like that are quick to crochet.

Ines, I see—so I’ve gotten you hooked on the yarn craze. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you’ll show us next. I’ve always had good luck with Algawo when it comes to colors.
That’s funny… when I’m cleaning or pottering around the apartment, I like to sing, too. It’s usually some catchy tune that’s buzzing around in my head. Now you’ve whispered Maya the Bee into my ear, and she’s still buzzing away in there.

That cardigan for your mom is absolutely amazing. Wowww! You’re going to make her so happy with that. I really love the colors, too. A real work of art!
Is the figure you started going to be a bee? Your Tunisian potholders look great, too.

Marion, you’re bringing things to a close here today (unless someone else has posted in the meantime). I’m sure we’ll get to admire your UFO top soon, right?

Well, I wish you all a pleasant evening and woolly dreams!

Darn, Mother’s Day… totally didn’t have that on my radar.

That purple jacket is a dream!

“Entrelac” just means it’s a diamond pattern.

I don’t like Tunisian crochet. It’s way too fiddly with the stitches, and you don’t make any progress. Although I once made it in a narrow strip, it’s great for bag handles. They’re sturdier than crocheted ones. 

Here’s my UFO, which had been buried for quite a while. Thanks to Anja, I finally took it back out and am continuing to knit it at last.

A very pretty pattern. What do you think it will become? 🤔

Yesterday I went to the Zurich Zoo with my two girls and a friend—what a lovely day! There weren’t any silver squirrels or striped squirrels there, though ;-) They’re obviously all on the CP forum *laughs*

Ina, I can totally imagine that your imagination has sometimes painted prettier pictures than your prescription glasses :-) I’m nearsighted, too—these days I can’t get by without glasses or contact lenses. But back when my vision wasn’t as bad, I sometimes found it quite pleasant to go without correction. The world looks a bit “blurred” that way—it can be really nice. As for your question: in my previous life (before having kids), I was a key account manager for several years, where I looked after major clients (chain restaurants). To stay successful, these clients had to constantly reinvent themselves. Business partners had to demonstrate the same flexibility, so every workday was completely new, unpredictable, and exciting. Later, I worked as a training manager at the same company, where I was able to gain some completely different and wonderful experiences. Some of that knowledge helps me now when writing patterns :-)

Ruth, thank you so much for explaining how to attach the crocheted trim. Of course—sewing it on makes perfect sense.

Anja, I hope you’ve found a nice massage therapist to help with your muscle tension! As for feedback or questions—I’m always very happy when a customer reaches out with feedback or inquiries. That’s the only way we can actually help. There are still 1 1/2 weeks until Mother’s Day—I’m sure you’ll come up with something!

Christina, a slow worm is the last thing you’d expect. I probably wouldn’t praise our Lily for that either. We mostly get “gifts” of little field mice or fat voles, which we then trade for a treat. If we aren’t quick enough, though, our cat Lino snatches up the (usually dead) mouse, then defends it with a menacing growl, as if he’d chased it for hours himself and then heroically killed it—that lazy guy ;-)

Andrea, the prices in Norway are really steep. I’m not familiar with most of the types of yarn you asked about. I bought some Drops Flora once for a project, but I haven’t used it yet. I only knitted a swatch in double-faced stitch, and it knitted up beautifully. Your little slippers are so cute!! Oh, you’re the master of delicate crochet pieces :-)

Ines, wow, how wonderful that you’re giving your mom the jacket for Mother’s Day! A wonderful gift, and knitted with so much love. She’s sure to be overwhelmed! I’m already curious to see how your little bee project turns out—I’m sure you’ll be able to show it to us soon.

Marion, that’s great that Anja was able to motivate you to keep going. Your top is going to look great! And it’s bound to get really warm at some point.

I have to quickly get lunch ready now. Have a lovely afternoon!

Marion, your UFO already looks great with that pretty lace pattern. I think it’s going to be a top—right?

Sonja, I’m so happy for you that you had such a wonderful day. I’m sure your two girls were happy too and really enjoyed it.
Wow, you had such an exciting job. I’ve never heard of that before. What exactly did you have to do there? I can’t really picture it yet. I’m really interested in what your role was. My previous job as a secretary in consulting is coming in handy now, too. I was able to take a lot from that experience, including organizational skills. By the way, I’m always happy to hear that a mom can be there for her kids. My son really benefited from that back then—he still tells me that today. I still worked, though… delivering newspapers early in the morning and later as a babysitter for a girl the same age. After that, I’d type up papers for students at home. That way, I stayed true to my profession a little bit.

Now I’ve gone off on a tangent…

By the way, the little skirt for Sternchen is really starting to take shape. But I won’t show it to you until it’s finished.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. I’m heading out to the garden now.

Hi everyone, I was writing again and must have pressed the wrong button, and then everything was gone again. I just can’t seem to figure this out on my phone.
I also wanted to tell Marion how beautiful her UFO is and that she should definitely keep at it.
I’ve started a scarf for a friend whose upcoming birthday I forgot. I won’t finish the scarf in time, but the pattern is quite nice to look at.

Hello everyone,

That sounds really great for you all. Of course that makes you happy when you can go somewhere again, like to the zoo, for example, or like Monika, into the garden.
The weather here isn’t exactly inviting. Gray, cloudy, nothing green here, but... the shops are open again here in the small shopping center. I don’t know what it’s like in Oslo.

Today is a lazy day for me. Spring fatigue, slight stomach problems, but after chamomile tea and rusks I felt better again. My eye is okay again, too. However, I have to take another break from crocheting today; the thick yarn was probably too strenuous after all. Better to use thinner yarn. So I can’t show anything at the moment. But soon.

It’s nice to hear what interesting professions you all trained for. Maybe there’ll be a “careers thread” sometime.
When writing long texts like this, the secretary in me comes out too. The letters just flow from my fingers without looking. What is learned is learned, and shorthand was part of that too; I can still do it.

Have a lovely sunny afternoon, everyone.

Warm regards from the gray north

Well, I’ll join in then. I’m a secretary, too. :-)

I bought one of those wireless keyboards so I can type quickly here with you all, since typing on my phone drives me crazy. 

I practiced shorthand again a few years ago, but I’d forgotten a lot. The only abbreviation I still know is the one for “back”; I still use it on note slips today. 
I used to be able to write down the news in shorthand. 
I’ll have a quick rummage through the bookshelf; there’s still a shorthand book in there. 

Oh dear, I can’t do anything anymore. Absolutely nothing. 

Welcome to the club, Anja,

That’s amazing. I can still read quite a bit on your note. Everyone writes differently, after all.

In the 1st line, the last word says Goten
5th line says Otto
13th line says Bein

I learned dictation shorthand. There was also speech shorthand.
Here are my treasures still. Oh, and the writing in the notebook is my first name twice

The only abbreviation I still remember is “ich stehe auf dem Standpunkt.”

I’ll have to read on the computer tonight what everyone wrote. n. I really enjoyed that in school 🤣. Maybe I’ll be able to put something together

Exactly, Petra—“ich stehe auf dem Standpunkt” was that little “1” with the dot underneath it, right?

Yes, exactly. And the proofreader has changed it again. I’ll have to see what Anja wrote to see if I can still make sense of it. 

Anja, I think it’s great that you’ve now joined the “UFO motivators” too. If we all join in, no UFO here stands a chance.
I like your scarf—the color on the one hand, and the pattern too. I love patterns like that and try out something new every now and then.

Andrea, I sincerely hope that everything around you will soon be green and in bloom. You’ll blossom yourself too, you’ll see. That makes all the little ailments quickly forgotten. Here, the birds are busy building their nest right now. It’s so cute to watch. We sat in the garden today and admired the nature all around us. I’ll show my garden stroll in a separate thread with photos in a moment.
You’ll laugh, but I still know shorthand, too. And when I need to jot something down quickly, I use that knowledge too. It really is practical.

Say, there are already three of us secretaries now. Wow! That’s really nice. Anja, I can still read quite a bit on your shorthand pad. Andrea, I still know dictation script and speech script, too. Wow, you still have so many notebooks of it. I don’t have anything left at all—I’ve probably moved too often. Petra, and you know shorthand too? That makes four of us already! Too bad we can’t write in shorthand here; that would be fun. Almost like secret writing for everyone else... grin.

Now I can contribute a photo of myself here too. Our apple tree in the garden has sooo many blossoms. So I stood in among them. You can’t see the blossoms very much in this picture, but you can see me.

Thank goodness it doesn’t work here, because as I already mentioned, I couldn’t read any more! I only learned it during my training, though, and never used it again.

Monika, the photo of you by the apple tree definitely shows that we use the same phone model, hihihi. Panasonic?

Yes, Anja, exactly—Panasonic. That’s our phone, too. It’s funny...

Unfortunately, I don’t know shorthand or the ten-finger typing system—that might have come in handy sometimes during lectures.

Thanks, Monika, for the lovely picture of mowi in the apple tree! Right now, our cherry, pear, and apple trees are in bloom…
By the way, I also take photos with a Panasonic, but with a Lumix camera. I only use my phone’s camera in a pinch—I have a hard time using the photos for other purposes afterward… And I’m not really a fan of my phone anyway, so I usually don’t even have it turned on…

I'm actually really glad you aren't writing in shorthand abbreviations after all; I'd be lost there, chuckle. As a textile saleswoman and later branch manager, I did have to know a bit of business administration, but shorthand wasn't needed.
Well, well, Monika and Anja, so Panasonic then, have a look....

Anja your started scarf, I think the pattern is lovely; I'm curious to see how it looks in the end and how your friend likes it.

Monika now I also have a picture of you in my head, although your profile picture already shows you too, but you radiate such a lovable, friendly manner in the photo, thanks for showing it.....the little dress for Sternchen will surely be just as pretty as the one for your granddaughter.

Sonja oh, how nice it is when you can at least do something with the children, and a visit to the zoo is wonderful. Were they also closed for you in Switzerland? Here they opened briefly at one point and you could go in with limits, limited by the number of people, but now everything is closed again, at least here in Saxony. What a pity; you are out in the fresh air after all, and if everyone keeps their distance and wears a mask, so much should be possible.

I'm taking it a bit easy at the moment. I am doing crafts too, but with breaks, since I'm getting massages right now, and we'll see how it goes today after the second one. The first one really stirred up quite a bit, but I still wanted to show you the progress on my bee already

Yes, and then I'd also like to show you my new yarn. Monika's yarn frenzy inspired me to buy it; I did have to order more, but then I really went for it



the stronger yellow is now going to become another cardigan like Ina's, but thinner.

Have a lovely day, everyone

Continue here:
April Projects 2021, Part 4: The Crazypatterns Craft Group