December Projects and November Projects 2024, Part 2: the Crazypatterns Handicraft Group

Here is the new thread for the January projects 2025.
January Projects 2025: the Crazypatterns Handicraft Group
Have fun with it.

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Dear users, dear designers,
here is the new thread for the November projects 2024.
You can read the earlier posts at the link.
November Projects, October Projects and September Projects 2024: the Crazypatterns Handicraft Group 

👍Thanks and best regards

Anja, the recipe is from 1880—the preferment consists only of honey, water, rye flour, and wheat flour. Everything else is added just before baking.

I’m making it for the first time and am curious to see the result. I think it won’t bake well with rye flour without the long resting time. Rye doesn’t contain gluten, and that’s what normally holds the dough together.

Petra, I bake my own bread too (also with madre)—but because of the high honey content, there shouldn’t really be any fermentation. I assume the enzymes break down the rye flour.
It’s leavened with baking ammonia and potash, which is supposed to smell really awful during baking because ammonia is produced. I’ll find out for myself…

I leaven the stollen with the madre, though; I’m feeding it right now to get it in shape, otherwise it won’t be able to lighten the heavy dough enough.
It worked well last year, though I’m a bit worried about this year’s flour.
In any case, I’ve already got a few orders from acquaintances who tried it last year.

*Googles "Madre"*

Yes, I’m also feeding my Madre since it’s stollen-baking season. Last year I already used my wheat sourdough starter. It handles 500 grams of flour just fine, but it doesn’t have enough strength for more.

I’m looking forward to seeing your stollen and your gingerbread results, and I hope you’ll tell us all about them.

  Anja – We bake without yeast, using a wheat sourdough starter. We always keep some of it in the fridge for the next loaf.

Depending on what I want to bake, I add salt or sugar to the dough

[image removed]

[Image removed]

It’s sitting in the fridge, waiting to be used the next time I bake 

I just read through that whole thing about the dough. Phew. 

Anja, Petra beat you to it again. Yes, Lievito Madre is a sourdough starter that’s low in acidity and rises well. It’s also great for baking sweet treats.
The whole process is a bit more involved, but once you get into a routine, it goes pretty smoothly.
It’s a bit like a Tamagotchi—it always wants attention 😉.

Petra, I’m baking the recipe from “Hefe und mehr”—the “Christmas Stollen with Sweet Starter.” Except I’m replacing the raisins and candied orange peel with mixed dried fruit; we prefer that. Thanks to the different dough stages, I can make a larger batch, though I’ll definitely have to refresh my madre twice beforehand—I’ve really neglected it these past few weeks.






The last few loaves were a bit too sour, so I don’t want to start anything sweet with it.

There are some baking pros at work here.... But it sounds delicious. 
I’ve baked with baking ammonia before; neither the smell nor the taste was really my thing, so I asked Aunt Google about it. Baking ammonia used to be “natural,” but now it’s apparently produced chemically 🤷 In any case, mine ended up in the general waste... 
Maybe I just used it “wrong,” too much or something... 
I’ll stick with my quark stollen 😁🎄

Steffi, I’d just like to give this a try. We’ll see if I like it—but it’ll be a while before I get around to baking, right before Christmas. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Done 



Now all I need is summer so I can visit the pool with my new blanket

Wow Petra! That’s such a little gem—congratulations, great job! ♡

Your blanket turned out great, Petra! 🥰
All your hard work really paid off, and I hope you enjoy your beautiful creation.

Your baked goods look delicious.

WOW, Petra, that’s really beautiful.
You’ve used some fun fabrics, and the embroidered squares make it something truly special.

Your blanket is just adorable....

I’m going to try something new 😁—I spotted a set there 🙈 and, of course, I had to take it home right away. 

Everything’s there except for a pattern 😂 but hey, it can’t be that hard, right?
Other than that, I still have the sweater on my needles and the placemat—I thought the crochet pattern was so chic.... 

Good morning, Steffi—you’ve got me curious.
In any case, have fun trying it out, and I hope you’ll show us the result.

We’re going hiking to the Urach Waterfall today. The embroidery needle is taking a break today.

Have a wonderful Sunday

Wow, Steffi, that looks like a bag pattern (templates), doesn’t it? I’m curious to see what it will be and how it will turn out. You can do it.

I’ve finished my crocheted hearts, and I’m crocheting little bags from yarn scraps. Pictures are coming soon.

Hey there..... 
This was a kit for sewing a bag yourself. So, pre-cut faux leather, and the package included the needles, waxed thread, and all the metal parts it needs 😀 
I finished it last night 💖


Somehow I really like it.... Usually I’m always like, finished and then pack it away and that’s that, but I think I’ll actually take this one out sometime. It’s a nice size and has two separate compartments.
Let’s see which one jumps into my shopping cart with my next order. The next one can be a bit bigger 😂 I wanted to try it out on a smaller one first. 
But now I’ll get back to knitting on the sweater. In between, I still need to finish renovating the kitchen; the floor is up next over the next few days. So from this afternoon, I’ll have the fridge and the dishwasher in the living room. Then it won’t be so far from the sofa to the fridge 😂😂😂 

Wow, the bag looks amazing.

Learned something new again. I didn’t know there were kits for making bags yourself. 

I actually discovered this during a plotter livestream... There are actually foils—iron-on foils—that you can plot with your own design and then press onto leather. It seems to work pretty well on real leather, but I’m not sure if it’ll work on faux leather 🤷—I didn’t want to buy a kit for over 100€ just to see if I’d enjoy it. Maybe I could plot and apply permanent vinyl… But not on this bag 😉 

Are you working hard?

Yes, Josefa, we’re all hard at work. After all, Christmas is coming soon. We don’t have any time to chat here. The gifts have to be finished in time. I’m already wrapping them up. But even that isn’t something you can just do on the side. Every gift is wrapped individually and with love. And even while wrapping, you still have 1,000 ideas, at least one of which you have to quickly put into action. But January will be quieter again.

Best regards, Ina

Dear all,

I wish you all happiness, joy, and good health in the new year!

I rang in the new year with a New Year’s bear. 

Here is the new thread for the January 2025 projects.
January 2025 Projects: the Crazypatterns Crafting Group
Have fun with it.