Hardworking little helpers: Are you staying busy in the new year, too?

Dear users, dear authors,
dear little helpers,
What are you working on right now? Do you have a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects / crafts)? Are there any new projects you’d like to start? Have fun with them .

Oh yes, Josefa—I’m actually in the middle of designing a wallet right now. The paper pattern is ready; now I just have to make sure it’s actually sewable. This wallet has been buzzing around in my head for weeks—I kept scrapping the ideas I came up with because they weren’t any good, but now I hope this one works out.

Hugs, Inge

Yes, dear Josefa, creative people are always hard at work. You can’t always tell from the outside, but their minds are racing on the inside. As Inge already wrote, the idea has been buzzing around in her head for weeks.

I’m just finishing up the last pattern from last year. It’s a craft pattern I created together with my grandchild and tested out at Christmas.

Best regards, Ina

Dear Ina, I couldn’t agree with you more. If only I had the time to bring all my ideas to life. Right now, there’s a backlog of finished items waiting for patterns.

Since I still have books with “Christmas” sewing patterns from the library at home, I’m still working on Christmas motifs at my sewing machine. 

Christmas came as such a complete surprise again this year—so now I’m getting a head start. 

As for the bigger projects I’ve planned, like a jacket and a sweater, I haven’t been able to get myself motivated yet—or rather, I haven’t been able to finally decide which pattern to go with—so I took a look through my existing patterns and found a few that have been waiting for my attention for a while. I’ve got all the yarn I need now, and the zippers are ordered and should arrive tomorrow, so I’ll be starting with a little pouch.

I’m working on my first KAL.

Due to my health issues, a lot of things have been put on hold. Now I’m torn between finishing up for Christmas or getting started on Easter.

I dug out one of my “old” booklets. A “reprint from 1925” in old German script. “New Crochet Projects and Their Uses” published by Otto Beyer, Leipzig....
It’s going to be a crochet doily. The whole thing is a bit crazy—the font is soooo tiny, and the abbreviations 🙈... how nice that the doilies have illustrations... Because there’s only a written pattern, and it takes some getting used to.... but hey, others have crocheted from it too 😉 

Hi everyone!

Yes, I’m feeling very creative and hard at work right now.
I’m working on several ideas at once—bird patterns, a baby blanket, an Easter table runner…
Now I’m just waiting for a “little helper” I ordered: a small, illuminated photo box (I have a large one too, but with that I have to set up the lights one by one, etc.—it’s just too inconvenient for small projects and detailed photos [oh dear…first-world problems 🫣])—and then, once the handiwork is mostly done, I can move on to the photography and finally the final writing touches.

I’ve made it my goal this year to finally bring several of my ideas—some of which have been “on the back burner” for as long as three years—to life and turn them into patterns.

Best wishes, Nina

Yes, I’m very busy—right now I’m knitting socks for my daughters again; glitter is what they want right now.

Glittery socks? Great—that would be right up my alley! :-) What kind of yarn are you using for those?

Unfortunately, there isn’t much… but there’s thin, glittery accent yarn in many colors—I add it to my favorite sock yarn, and it works great and makes each pair special.
The glitter yarn comes on spools in various lengths; so far, I’ve only found it on eBay.

I’m currently sewing new toiletry bags for my husband and me; the old ones have become pretty unsightly

Best regards, Inge

Hello everyone here—I rarely post here, but I enjoy reading your threads. I wish you all a happy new year and am excited to see what new things there are to discover. I’m currently crocheting the temperature blanket. Warm regards to everyone from Veronika 

hobbii has glittery sock yarn.

Hi there, everyone,

I’m currently crocheting on my mosaic blanket again.
A picture (of the progress so far) is coming soon.

Here’s my current progress. Still far from finished.

It already looks amazing, Andrea.

Best regards, Inge

Wow..... Andrea, that’s beautiful....
Are you crocheting with “regular” cotton? I’m actually in the middle of cleaning out and organizing right now, and I actually have two pretty full under-bed drawers full of cotton here 🙈

Thank you both. I’m glad you like it.

Yes, I crochet a lot with Katia Capri cotton yarn—it’s not too thick. What kind of cotton yarn do you have, Steffi? Maybe there’s something there for me.

Andrea, your blanket is amazing. So beautiful.

Does the glittery yarn in the socks scratch?

It’s Christmas time for me again today.

I’m planning to make a wall hanging. Right now, I’m piecing it together by hand with glittery yarn

Hi from the coast—no, the glittery yarn doesn’t itch at all; you can’t even feel it.
By the way, this is actually my first time here today. I have to say, I think it’s great how you all interact here, and I’m excited to see what’s coming next.
For now, I’d like to wish everyone here health, happiness, and lots of creative ideas for the coming year.

.... glad you found your way here....👍
and a “Moin” from “between the coasts”.... 

@ Andrea .... Everything you need for amigurumi—that is, thin 8/4 cotton yarn.... Otherwise, I’ll take a photo and send it to you via PM 

Yes, that would be great, Steffi. I don’t have much cotton yarn left. 8/4 is very nice to crochet with.

A warm welcome, monika-58. Have fun here in the forum!

A warm welcome to the forum, monika-58, and have lots of fun!

Best regards, Inge

Thank you!

Thank you

The new year is already off to a start for me with lots of plans 😆...maybe even too many....
Right now I’m knitting a pillow, patchwork triangles, using up leftover yarn, and then I’ll make a little turtle with a music box out of chinchilla wool for a future grandchild (in the summer), ...
I’ve already knitted baby booties with alpaca yarn for my youngest grandchild (in early January)—he had cold feet...
A big plan is to use up leftover yarn... knitting and crocheting little animals.
Sewing: a blouse for myself...
Embroidery: new patterns on bath towels...including digitizing

Right now I’m sewing curtains for a colleague of my daughter’s......

Making a duvet with an acquaintance—I have her sheep’s wool, or I’m still in the process of washing it, then I’ll card it and make the duvet. She wanted to make something with her wool, so she came up with the idea that I could help her.....

My stuffing arrived today, so now I’m sewing my little cuddly toy. The plush fabric is already here, after all😁

Love, Inge

@Bergli you certainly have quite a few plans for the coming weeks. Hands that never rest......

I'm sewing. I saw a great pattern for sewing bags quickly and fairly easily. Today I managed to finish 2 in a short time and I'm really excited. It was so much fun. 


Circular knitting needles no. 5 finally got a little bag too. I don't have much more to sew.... then the box will finally be organized.

@wollwunderPetr
The new year is still long...... 
The bags are a great idea; I have both fabric scraps and circular knitting needles... I sew bags like that as snack bags😊.
So there’ll be something else to add... to the annual list 😂

Man, you guys are hard at work again.
Because of my job, I can only do crafts “bit by bit.” But starting next week, I’m on vacation—I’ll be crocheting then so I can finish my UFOs.

The idea with the pouches for circular knitting needles is a great one. I keep mine in a bag, and everything ends up poking through.
What are “Znünisäckli”?

Best regards

Probably drawstring bags

With my bags, you pull the cord on the left and right, and it closes.

It’s definitely a word from Switzerland.

I asked Aunt Google... It must be something like a “bread bag”.... For snacks...
Maybe we’ll get a “translation” after all... I like that word 😍

“Znüni” is actually a Swiss dialect word. “Znüni” literally means “at nine (o’clock),” referring to a small morning snack. That’s why kindergarteners need a “Znünitäschli” (snack bag) where they can stash their apple or whatever else they might have. In the afternoon, we have a “Zvieri.”

Thanks, Christina, for the explanation. Words like that can be hard to understand 🤣 for outsiders. 

I would never have thought of a time of day. I still have some coated fabric left. Do you use these coated, washable fabrics for your snack bags? 

Thanks for the explanation. Interesting.

@Wollbärli, thanks—that’s explained really well.

I sew snack bags using regular cotton fabric, either single-layered or “lined,” meaning just two layers. But single-layered is perfectly fine... and just embroider a picture on the front 😂
You can also use a kitchen towel or dish towel 😊
In the picture, it’s just a regular cotton fabric, single-layered 😂

Your embroidery is soooo beautiful. And once again, I’d love to have an embroidery machine. 

Thanks, I like it too 😊

But it was a long journey until everything was up and running, working properly, and I was satisfied with the result—the embroidered picture.
From the initial desire to embroider to getting to where I am now—though I’m still far from perfect—the journey continues; you never stop learning.

Since the machine is really expensive, and I don’t want to take time away from my other handwork to learn how to use it and practice, I’ll stick with hand embroidery and admire your creations.

At the fall trade show, I took another closer look at the stitches—it looks so easy during the demonstrations. But machine embroidery is also a craft and hobby in its own right—especially with all the computer stuff in the background.

  This is as far as I’ve gotten so far; I still need to add the black border and then decide how to finish it as a picture to hang on the wall. 

 

Oh yes, machine embroidery is a whole different ballgame and takes a lot of time, especially when you’re digitizing.
I’d like to digitize some different animal eyes than the ones I already have lying around, so I’m going to take a break from sewing for now.

Best wishes, Inge

Since I still can’t decide which of the jackets I want, I’ve started with a summer sweater for now.