June Projects and May Projects 2024: the Crazypatterns Crafting Group

Here is the new thread for the July projects 2024
July Projects 2024: the Crazypatterns Crafting Group



Dear users, dear authors,
there is plenty of space here in this thread for the May projects. 
You can read the earlier posts at the link:
April Projects and March Projects 2024: the Crazypatterns Crafting Group 

Thanks, Josefa.

I don’t have anything to show; I’m still in a crafting slump because of depression. 

Things will get better in May. :-)

That’s already tomorrow! 😀

And yes, there are plenty of holidays in May. 

We already had a holiday today. We celebrated a birthday—🎈 🎉 🎈 my son’s 30th...
Now I’m soooo tired—it’s a good thing tomorrow is a “holiday”; I need it to recover... 

🎉

Steffi, it’s a milestone birthday. My warmest congratulations to your son

🎂

Belated best wishes to Steffi’s son from me, too.

I sewed a Japanese rice bag today.

Maybe as gift wrapping? Or I’ll keep it for myself 🤔





My crochet supplies fit inside 

Thanks for the congratulations and a warm greeting from Ramon—we fired up the grill today and spent the whole afternoon outside in the garden.

The bag is lovely 😊—I’d keep it, especially since my crochet supplies fit so nicely inside...

I’m currently working on a light summer shawl. But it’s still really hard to knit. And it’s been three weeks now since I injured my hand. Somehow it just won’t heal properly. I must have injured something in my wrist 🥴 but going to the doctor about it now would be a bit late.... It’s really annoying—I can’t even do a little gardening... 

Steffi, you might have to go see a doctor after all. In any case, I hope you feel better soon.

My crochet supplies are already in the little bag, and I’m keeping them 😂—of course. With the drawstring, I can easily hang it on the garden chair 

Get well soon, Steffi.

@Petra,
why is it called a “rice bag”? Is this type of bag actually used for rice?

Yes. I looked it up online. It was traditionally used in Japan to carry rice as an offering to the temple. Translated, it means “Komebukuro.” 

OK :-) Your bag turned out great. 

Thanks, Josefa.

There’s still so much new stuff to try out.

Today I made a pot holder. I would’ve been faster if I’d crocheted it 🤣



Very simple from the back



Now just add the second one...... 

Maybe faster, but not quite as pretty 😍

Yesterday we had a “talk with the doctor” about my mom. She gets to come home on Monday 💖 She’s been in the hospital or rehab since mid-February. If we can now nurse her back to strength with some delicious food, we’ll all be really happy. She’s already asked for “real spaghetti” for Monday 😁 .... 
I’m totally happy... 

Steffi, I’m so glad to hear that. It’s wonderful that your mom is doing so well again. Spaghetti as a special meal is a great idea.
Wishing your mom a continued speedy recovery.


I’ve finished the second one. After just one practice run, it went so fast!





Oh, those are so pretty, Petra!
Just look at the amazing effects you can create with seams!
Once my daughters have moved out, I’ll set up my sewing machine on the remaining desk, and then I’ll get into upcycling too.
My top goal: to sew a jumpsuit out of old, thin scarves.

What do you call it when you can’t decide on color combinations? I have sooooooo much trouble choosing colors. Current project (yeaaaaa, I’m crocheting again, yay!)—thanks to Petra Perle and Mi-Li, by the way.
I want to work with what I have on hand, and I’m sure I could put something nice together, but whenever I pick something out, it always looks like a clown threw up. 
It just never seems to come together harmoniously, so I lose interest—or I just don’t end up wearing the finished piece. I could always buy specific colors to go with it (at least in small amounts), but even then I can’t make up my mind. It really gets to me because I’m so stuck that I end up not even starting things or just not finishing them. Sigh.  

Poor you. Yes, the agony of choosing colors. I have my better half to help with this. I can’t even tell you how many times we’ve swapped out the colors because he (the artist) says it just won’t work that way. Especially with my garlands, for example, or with crocheted blankets.

He really is an artist. He creates images like this using spray paint cans 



And he paints things like this freehand.

[Image removed]

And I almost always rely on his advice. Maybe a friend can help you make up your mind 

Anja, try searching for “color combinations” on Pinterest. You’ll find lots of suggestions for harmonious color schemes there.

It’s so quiet here. Is there no interest in the Handicraft Group anymore?

Hey Josefa....
You’re right, it’s very, very quiet here right now. 
I’m currently working on socks—knitting them sideways, so without a set of double-pointed needles or the magic loop method. I’m not sure yet if I’ll knit the second one 😁 at least St. Nicholas Day would be saved 😄 
Right now, I can only manage a few rows at a time; even knitting requires the use of my left hand. Well, first thing Monday I’m off to the orthopedist to see what else he can “fix”.... 
For now, I’ll have a second cup of coffee and then fire up the plotter. My sister would like a “Celtic” horse design for her car. The only thing is, her car is black, and I’m cutting the design out of white vinyl—so I’m creating a negative image... That’s the plan, anyway—no idea if it’ll work or how it’ll turn out.... 

Ruth, thanks for the tip, it really helped! 😍

Yes Josefa, it’s really quiet here.
Where is everyone? 😔

Steffi, I only know about Celtic knots. What are Celtic horses???
Wow, car wrap! Awesome!
I was thinking about you the other day: I wanted to buy tweezers for plucking my eyebrows, and it said they’re also good for picking bits out of the plotter. 

Whoa, awesome!!! ♡♡♡

I’m always so lucky with these patterns, orrrrr. Found another mistake. (I hope I’m not just too dumb to read/understand...)

What pattern are you currently working on?

I finished it... A little flower box for my mom. It took a little while since I built it entirely by myself. 

And last week I dyed some yarn 😊 in the washing machine. Cotton-flamee yarn. Just threw all the skeins into a laundry bag and tossed them in with the dye.... I like the result, even though I still don’t know what to knit or crochet with it. I’ve cast on a gauge swatch, but I don’t like it at all. It’s just flamee yarn—it always looks so messy 😁

Hi, just a quick update from me.

Our last few weeks have been quite work-intensive and at times frustrating, but we were successful in the end.

We bought two sideboards from the ’60s and wanted to restore them ourselves…
Well, what can I say: we had the will, but the road was rocky.

I learned that you shouldn’t apply modern wood stains to old, sanded-down furniture, because it ends up looking patchy and unattractive.

Then I learned that the veneer isn’t thick enough to sand down again without hitting the plywood underneath.

After giving it some thought, we decided to cover the doors and drawers with fabric and seal it…
So far, so good—the fabric looked great, and on our test piece, sealing it with clear varnish worked well…

Well, on the actual furniture, the solvent in the varnish must have dissolved the residual paint under the fabric, and everything ended up blotchy… yet again.

So we removed the fabric again, lightly sanded everything once more, and painted it with white primer; then we reapplied the fabric and sealed it with clear varnish.
This time it actually worked—hurray!!!

Then we renovated our living room and finally furnished it.

All that’s missing now are matching shelves—we’ll see what else comes our way as we search for them.

A good sense of humor is helpful on a project like this.

During my “breaks from thinking and working,” I’ve been sewing hats and heart-shaped pillows from fabric scraps—they’re meant for cancer patients. I still have some material left; once I’ve used it all up, my package will be on its way to the Onkmütze association.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

You’re amazing at so many things, Steffi! 
How is the box attached? Nailed or glued? It turned out great. 

Uhhh Claudia,  that sounds really frustrating with the furniture. I can’t even imagine what you covered with fabric where. Would you mind sharing a photo? Also of the hats and hearts? 

Anja, things are still pretty chaotic over here right now—all the stuff we cleared out of our old cabinet is still looking for a new home. I’m still moving things from one place to another, trying to figure out a system that works.

I’ll add the pictures once the chaos has settled down a bit.

Here, the cabinets are untreated, with imperfections, water marks, and stains that aren’t clearly visible in the photos.

We worked on the doors and drawers first and messed them up in the process, but since they’re so straight, we were able to cover them quite well with fabric.
We were smarter with the dark cabinet bodies and were able to preserve the veneer.

Oh man, I’m so frustrated!
I’ve almost finished my crochet sweater, and even though all 4 pieces are identical, after crocheting them together, the necklines are different—how is that possible? 

On one piece, the neckline has 15 sts on one side and 19 sts on the other.
Another piece: 9 and 14

😭

Any updates on your current projects?

Not for me right now.... 
Knitting or crocheting isn’t going so well at the moment; I can’t move my left hand/fingers the way I’d like to. But I’ve warped my tablet weaving loom and am trying out a new technique. The plan was actually to weave a belt. I received it as a gift once, and everything was prepared so I could start weaving “right away.” However, the weaving tablets are made of acrylic and are much too heavy and too thick 😕 I couldn’t possibly hold them all in my hand to turn them. 
My son is now printing some for me, 3D printing, in the right thickness; I “only” need 28 of them. 
Once I’ve started weaving, I’ll take a photo 

I had to rip out that uneven piece again—I’d made a mistake right at the beginning *hmpf*.
Then I lost interest a bit and fiddled around with how I could make the same sweater with short sleeves, but I needed a break from that, too.
Today I received a knitting magazine and am knitting again for a change—it’s going to be a kimono jacket.
Let’s see how long I stick with it… I rarely finish anything. 

I think this one is pretty... 👍
I’m looking forward to seeing your kimono jacket 

This is already driving me crazy. 😂
I’ve cast on again 7 times. 3 times the cast-on tail was too short, 1 time I miscounted, 1 time I used the knitted cast-on, which made the foundation row look uneven, and 1 time I knitted the pattern wrong. Just realized—because my digital stitch counter is glitchy (when I press it, it either stops counting rows or counts them twice; I’ve thrown it away now)—that the first 5 rows are off. I don’t care anymore; I’m not going to rip it out again.
Crafting is sooooo much fun! (Not today!) 

Something seems to be off today.... I’ve started weaving four times now, and each time I’ve had to laboriously start all over again. I just can’t really concentrate today. Maybe I should have used thicker yarn—you can see the pattern better that way.... On the other hand, it doesn’t really help if I don’t read the weaving instructions properly 🥴—even though they’re not that difficult; it’s just a braided pattern. Maybe it’ll work out tomorrow when I’m relaxing in the garden 

Anja, it would definitely be worth it for that sweater. It’s really great.

Steffi, get well soon.

Here’s an update on the refurbished cabinets—we’re still missing the right shelves. Let’s see what happens next.

The furniture looks great—compliments!

Wow! It turned out great! ♡♡♡

Anja, I just remembered that I still owe you pictures of the heart-shaped pillows and hats for the chemo patients… here are a few examples:



The pillows are filled with very soft material and are placed under the armpit after breast surgery to protect the wound. There are also pads that attach to seat belts to protect the port access sites, and pouches for the drainage bags.






Here are a few examples of my hats—you only need pretty small fabric scraps to make them. They’re lined with soft fabric on the inside to protect the sensitive scalp.

Everything is then sent to an organization that distributes it to hospitals.
So I’m gradually using up my scraps this way.

Although the black-and-yellow one will probably stay here… I sewed myself a sweater from those fabrics, which I really like. I definitely want to keep that one.

Crocheted a granny square all over again. Following a video tutorial from the internet

Wow Claudia, everything looks great and is very well thought out. I just didn’t understand how to use the small cushions to protect the port?

I’m also trying my hand at the sewing machine right now—oh dear...
First, I’m using scraps to sew on towel loops. It’s not working out the way I want it to.
Actually, I’d like to sew myself a loose jumpsuit, but I don’t understand how the seat pieces work. I’ve watched so many videos already, but I just can’t figure it out.

Andrea, I really like that. What is it going to be?

Anja, the port cushions have these little tabs with Velcro so you can attach them to a seatbelt or a bra strap. The port is a tube that lies directly under the skin, and that’s where the chemo is connected. A cushion like this helps prevent constant friction there.

That really reminds me of my early days with the sewing machine—we had quite a few run-ins before we finally got used to each other.


Last week had a few surprises in store for us: with a “3–2–1—mine!” bid, we won an ’60s shelving unit at an auction that fits perfectly with our little cabinets—though, of course, it wasn’t right around the corner. So my sweetheart took some time off, and a few days later we were in Lüneburg.

It’s a great city for a short trip—I highly recommend it. 







Then we headed back home with a well-filled trunk and first had to figure out how to arrange the pieces in our space. They’ve been cleaned in the meantime, and some pieces have already been repainted with wood preservative. 





The ladders are already hanging on the wall, and little by little I’ll be working on the wooden pieces.



Next, we just need some matching handles…
So far, we really like how it’s turning out.

Claudia, that looks great. I really like it.

Andrea, your mosaic is pretty—I’m curious to see what you’ll make with it.

Anja, I haven’t decided on any clothes for myself yet. Forty years ago, I sewed a lot for myself, then for the kids.

Now, after such a long break, I’m taking it slow, but I’ve already picked out a simple pants pattern for myself. 

Andrea, the granny square is awesome! Great work!

Claudia, the wall unit looks great!

Petra, the pattern for the jumpsuit is simple. Four years ago, I tried sewing a pair of pants from a YouTube tutorial and somehow mixed up the pieces—don’t ask.... The back piece ended up sticking out in front; it looked like I was wearing a diaper. 🫠

Hello everyone,

Soooo, have you guys melted yet too?


This crazy, muggy heat—I hate it.

My crocheted shirt is finally finished. I lengthened it, and now I feel comfortable in it! 

Anja, the color is great. I really like the lace pattern repeated throughout and the jagged edge.

What’s on your needles right now?

I spruced up a backpack for myself this week.

Before—a gift from my son-in-law—handed to me with a grin and the words, “I’m sure you can use this.”





The fabric had a linen-like look, and of course I can use it

Here is the new thread for the July 2024 projects
July 2024 Projects: the Crazypatterns Crafting Group