gehäkelt Archive - Seite 12 von 19

July 15, 2013

Veröffentlicht am 14. Juli 201310. Juli 2020 von Carina2 Kommentare

My little boy will be 9 tomorrow. 9! And he is so very excited. In the past we would celebrate his birthday at my parents‘ in the countryside. This year will be different. For the first time ever J really wanted to have a birthday party with all his friends. So we sent out invitations …

„There were ten in the bed and the little one said, roll over“ Are you familiar with the lyrics? In case you’re not: at the end it says „There was one in the bed and the little one said, ‚I’m lonely…[sigh]'“ – that is pretty much were we are right now. French kids spend summer vacation at their grandparents‘. And as we are in the middle of summer vacation most of his (French) friends are gone. If it wasn’t for two there would be no guests at all tomorrow.

Fortunately, J makes the best of it. He suggested we’d go to the movies (something I would have never done with 10 kids) followed by a barbeque in our garden. And that’s what we’ll do.

I started making a garland for him the other night. A heart garland … But after I made two hearts my son would catch me (unprepared), take those hearts and use them as bookmarks. There was no need for him to say anything. Even I understood: No more garlands for the beautiful boy he is – inside and out. He has outgrown heart garlands.

But if you feel like making one – here’s the easy and very lovely pattern.

Flower Power II

Veröffentlicht am 4. Juli 201310. Juli 2020 von Carina8 Kommentare

When I was 14 my (then) best friend would move to Hamburg with her parents. I was devastated and begged my parents to do something, to keep them from leaving. Of course, there was nothing they could do about it, but wonderful as they are, they suggested we’d host a farewell party for my friend, which is what we did. And it was good – a day to remember.

Not much later – when I was 18 – I was the one to leave, as I went to Paris as an au pair. My friends would take me to the main station (yes, back then one would take the train to go to Paris) to see me off. I remember it as awkward when the train finally took off and they all stayed behind.

The feelings I had back then stayed with me. Whenever I would relocate it would be bittersweet, anywhere between excitement and tears, anticipation and drama. So when reading Dilly’s post about her „lovely friend and partner in crime“ (I love that!) returning to her native land, how sad she was to see Georgia go and her intentions of doing a yarn bomb for her I couldn’t but sympathize. Even more so, when I read she was in need of crochet flowers. I love crochet flowers.

There were two nights left, enough stash at hand and even some „flower experiment“ remains laying around that I could use. Hence, I would crochet, pack 99 flowers (and a pom-pom that J had made) in a box and send it to the UK.

„Thanks for getting involved!“ Dilly wrote (to a total stranger and clearly not knowing what to expect), „No idea of posting times but if they don’t get here by Weds I promise to add them to the yarn bomb anyway :)“. Well, the mailman obviously ran all the way and the box made it by Tuesday: „I received your package today. (…) We are still planning to hit our target tomorrow. I will try and post pictures as soon as I can.“

Pictures were online this morning (here are some more) and seriously made my day. Thank you Dilly! And to all others: we should do stuff like that more often. It doesn’only look good but feel good. So if anyone is planning on doing a crochet flower yarn bomb …

Hookers unite 🙂

Hannah’s Blanket

Veröffentlicht am 3. Juli 201310. Juli 2020 von Carina12 Kommentare

It’s been a while since Hannah over at NYAC suggested that we all do a blanket CAL together and I cannot believe we’re already accomplishing „week 6“ in a few days. Hannah’s instructions and pictures are very nice and easy to follow and on Saturdays I seriously feel like doing homework when crocheting row after row according to her guidelines. So far, there has been no stitch or sequence that I did not like and of course I check Facebook the minute I am done to peek at all the others blankets that are just like mine and still so very different.

However, I am having (and have had) a hard time with some of the stitches due to the sock yarn I chose (and the fact that I am a perfectionist maybe … :)). Stitches like the Catherine Wheel or the Mirrored Chevron just don’t look right (to me) with a flimsy fiber. Consequently, I had to modify patterns to meet the yarn’s characteristics or – worse! – change them altogether. I endlessly grappled with the bobbles for example, as the second color would always shine through the stitches. At the end (exasperated …), I would crochet the row of bobbles in only one color as a compromise.

Yes, I have to admit: spending the weekend on 6 rows would occasionally take some of the fun. So finally, the day before last, I left work early to make it to the store in time (with regard to opening hours Germany is clearly not the U.S.) to buy acrylic yarn (probably similar to the brand Hannah is working with) and to start over. And it is with pride that I announce today that both blankets are „up-to-date“ since last night!

But which one is nicer? I wish I knew! Here are the basics:

Crocheting the acrylic yarn is not only faster in speed but also faster in seeing a result. So far the acrylic blanket-to-be measures 16″ (41 cm) whereas the other one has only 10,5″ (27 cm). That is clearly an advantage.
Still, it is a lot lighter. Acrylic does not seem to have any weight at all. Now that I am able to compare, I totally prefer the weight of the sock yarn blanket-to-be. It seems to rather embrace the body – does that make sense?
Plus, the feel is different. Acrylic may be softer but sock yarn is thicker to the touch. I really like that too.
However, with acrylic yarn the stitches have more defined contours, they stand out and I love that. Looking at the Star Stitch (my favorite stitch so far) makes me smile.
Moreover, it’s easier to work over a second yarn (as for the bobbles) and even the Mirrored Chevron worked out straightaway with all stitches being even and nice.

In short: I have no favorite, I like them both, but I would probably prefer to snuggle with the sock yarn blanket. So I asked the expert at home and – guess what – J too decided in favor of the sock yarn blanket.

Of course, I will finish both of them. The first one because it is so much fun to make it (acrylic yarn) and the second because it will be rewarding to finish my „master piece“ (sock yarn) 🙂

What was your choice of yarn and why? Are you happy with the result (color, texture, feel …)? I am seriously impressed by all the different variations of Hannah’s blanket that I have seen so far! What would you do differently if you would start anew? Or wouldn’t you change anything at all? I am very curious to get to know the story behind your blanket!

Happy Crochet on Saturday 🙂

Flower Power

Veröffentlicht am 30. Juni 201310. Juli 2020 von Carina

Warmth or cold, sun or storm – this year, summer is on and off in Berlin. However, the garden appears to like it. Everything seems to be growing overnight and whenever I have time, I am outside to weed and water. The minute I turn though, those mean little greens seem to be breaking through the soil anew.

J caught the garden bug from me and keeps „planting“ little pips and grains between damp cotton pads waiting for them to sprout. This one – placed in the lid of some spray can – immediately did what was expected. It will become a tree, says J. In the meantime, the „tree to be“ has been repotted into a flowerpot and we’re counting days until we can sit in its shade.

With gardening and such, there was never enough time to knit or crochet lately (not to mention blogging …). Anyway, little crochet flowers are easy and fast to make 🙂 and I managed to make quite a few last week. They’re on their way to the UK now and I sure hope Dilly Tante will get them in time!

Very lazy Sunday

Veröffentlicht am 2. Juni 201316. Oktober 2020 von Carina2 Kommentare

(Again) I ran out of yarn. Though three skeins are on their way they didn’t get here yet. And I would so much love to work on the sock yarn blanket I started crocheting the other day. It’s inspired by Tamara’s „Blackberry Salad Striped Baby Blanket“ (I changed the pattern slightly though by crocheting sc rather than dc) but less colorful.

bobbly blanket haekelmonster.com — This is how far it got last week; even the back is nice

However, how do you spend a Sunday when running out of yarn?! Here’s what I did:

I read and admired every single article Natasja over at crochetime posted and tagged with Ta-daah! to realize I am still a crochet debutante …

After learning that there have been tornados again in the US, I surfed the net, trying to find out about Hannah’s hometown and whether they were hit again. (Looks like they were not).

I ironed 22 shirts. 20 for the man, one for me, and one for the boy (feel like wonder woman now 🙂 )

We had tea and cake to celebrate Boo Boo’s 3^rd birthday. (Boo Boo is the first crochet monster I have ever made).

Later today, we’ll be watching the German Basketball Playoffs on TV.

All through the day it has been pouring rain. (No complaints here – I much rather have rain than a tornado). The boy is bored, still in his PJs, grumbling that time goes too slow. The man should know today’s newspaper by heart after hiding behind it for hours. In short: a very lazy Sunday.

What have you been up to?