Crochet Along

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Hooray – I finished both blankets last night! The acrylic one measures 42″ x 42″. The sock yarn blanket is almost twice as big at 44″ x 70″. I’m really happy with both. The smaller one will go to a baby in Washington, just as planned. The bigger one gets to stay with us – for now :).

I’ve been crocheting these since June 1, and believe it or not, I’m still excited. Still hooked. And already ready to start the next one.

This time, though, it’s going to be different. I designed a new blanket together with Jessica over at schoenstricken.de. It’s made of cotton yarn in rainbow colors and will end up baby-sized – about 27″ x 35″. With Christmas coming up faster than expected, we decided to turn it into a German crochet Along, that is: a CAL.

The idea actually started over the summer. I introduced the concept of a Crochet Along to Jessica’s readers as a guest blogger. CALs aren’t that common in Germany (yet), but the response was amazing. So we kept going. We started meeting once a week. I would crochet. Jessica would take photos. Slowly but surely, a colorful beginner blanket came together.

We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. The stitches and patterns have all been used before. Some I learned with Hannah. Others come from books or online sources. But the combination – that’s ours. And we love it.

Tonight we posted the first 10 rows. I have not been that excited since waiting for a test to be returned in school. Fortunately, all comments are positive throughout!! And I am very much looking forward to next Friday and the next 10 rows … 🙂

Fall vacation in Poland

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We spent a week in Poland and just got back tonight. I’m way too tired to write much, but luckily, the photos pretty much tell the story. Just look at those seagulls—can you tell they’re slightly annoyed? No surprise, with the boy putting on a full performance right in front of them 🙂

Over the years, some of the photos that used to be here got lost – thanks to a total blog crash, a stolen hard drive, and whatever else can possibly happen to images along the way. The same goes for the link to the pattern – it seems the instructions have disappeared from the web as well. If I happen to come across either of them again, I’ll be sure to add them back in. Thanks so much for your understanding.

Most days were windy and grey. Sometimes rainy. But honestly, no one cared. We still spent hours at the seaside. That’s why we go to Poland in the first place. We always stay in the same house. It feels familiar. Almost like coming home.

As every year, I added to my collection of stones. Smooth, beautiful palm stones. I love how they feel in my hand. The man walked the beach for hours. Back and forth. Thinking about everything and nothing. And the boy? He ran. And jumped. Then ran some more. Until his rubber boots were filled with sand and water. Good thing we had a wood stove in the cottage.

And of course, we bought honey from the roadside stands in Poland. Acacia, erica, buckwheat, and canola. One jar of each. That’s tradition.

Whenever the weather allowed it, the boy and his friend (we brought him and his mom along) flew their kite. And every night, the man patiently untangled the strings. No one is as patient as he is. No one.

In between, I knitted wrist warmers. One ball of Opal sock yarn. The colors reminded me of the sea—pale blue, olive green, with bits of dark blue and off-white. It took four pairs to finally use it up. Whoever brought that yarn to the YarnCamp swap—thank you. I love it.

And I love fall. At least at the seaside. Coming home felt a little sad. Most of the leaves are gone now. Just last week, everything was bright and glowing, full of color and light. Now it’s bare, and it’s been raining for days.

I really need to go to bed. Hoping for a little sun tomorrow.

The YarnCamp 2013

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Last weekend I almost didn’t make it to YarnCamp 2013. Work had been insane. I was tired, stressed, and honestly, not in the mood to travel at all. But isn’t it true that the things you dread the most often turn out the best? Case in point: the 5-hour train ride to Frankfurt was already amazing. I sat by the window, alternately daydreaming, knitting, or doing both – and by the time I arrived, I was relaxed and ready for whatever the weekend would throw at me.

And wow… YarnCamp totally delivered!

Do you ever knit or crochet in public? I don’t. Somehow it embarrasses me. Now imagine being in a room with about 80 people – mostly women, a few brave men – with almost everyone click-clacking away at needles (I LOVE that sound) or crocheting while chatting, discussing, or just admiring each other’s work. Some people even carried entire suitcases full of their projects from room to room. It took me a while to dive in, but eventually I managed to work on a pair of wrist warmers while soaking in the buzz.

And get this – I’m basically a yarn dinosaur. No smartphone for me, which apparently made me the only one at YarnCamp. Everyone else was glued to Twitter, Instagram, Ravelry, Facebook… or just taking pictures of their latest creations. If they weren’t knitting, they were online. If they weren’t online… well, they were definitely knitting.

From the get-go, we were encouraged to contribute, run a session, or just share ideas. In no time, 18 sessions were up on the board, led by participants who had never done a BarCamp before. I was seriously impressed – people were turning their passion into mini-lectures, and the discussions were lively and inspiring.

During the day, I got to geek out over Kaffe Fassett’s knitting (blog post coming soon!), learned how to start thinking like an author, finally wrapped my head around Twitter, and even joined a spirited debate about writing the perfect pattern.

Between sessions, we admired each other’s work, swapped patterns, and shared tips. I loved meeting Mienchen, Claudia, and Pia (keep an eye on her site Akizu – it’s coming soon!), finally meeting Frau Elise in person after following her blog forever, and participating in David’s session, which made me want to write a post about him and his work. The folks at Dye for Yarn are absolute wizards – not only do they dye yarn beautifully, but their lace shawls and that ocean-colored patchwork blanket? Total stash-inspiration.

And let’s not forget the spoiling: generous sponsors handed out yarn, needles, magazines, and books like candy. The buffet was fabulous, the coffee top-notch, and the smoothies… well, delicious doesn’t even begin to cover it. YarnCamp completely blew my expectations out of the water.

Huge shoutout to the organizers – Rebekka, Sara, Romy, and Lutz – who nailed everything from concept to execution. You guys are incredible. I can’t wait to do it all again in 2014!

Knit the Bridge: yarnbombed

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No time to actually sit down and write a proper blog post, but while I was looking for something completely different (the web really is weird like that), I stumbled across these photos—and had to share them with you.

The Andy Warhol Bridge in Pittsburgh was completely yarnbombed—yes, yarnbombed—into what is supposedly the largest piece of knitted graffiti in the US. We’re talking 1,847 artists, more than 600 blankets, all coming together in one massive, colorful, yarnbombed installation.

A true “jaw-dropping endeavor,” as the Huffington Post put it—and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. I mean, just imagine the planning, the stitching, the coordination behind something that big… and that beautifully yarnbombed.

Knit the Bridge: yarnbombed

Knit the Bridge even has its own blog and a Facebook page both filled with tons of photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and all kinds of information about the project and the people involved. Definitely worth a look—enjoy!

cristina saucedo: Knit the Bridge: yarnbombed

There’s even going to be a party on the bridge this Sunday. If only Berlin were a little closer to Pittsburgh… 🙂

One Eyed Monster

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Every now and then the häkelmonster blog has to live up to its promise. So here’s another monster (the face inspired by Muno at Yo Gabba Gabba) for you to see.

Made of (left over) cotton I crocheted it quite some time ago but wasn’t too happy with the pictures. And I am still not. No matter what I do – the monster doesn’t seem to like to have its picture taken. It’s a monster after all. In reality it (he?) has a lot more character than in those pictures.

Originally, the eye was a golden-colored button with a sparkling red stone in the middle but J (my best critic as you know) did not approve. Maybe he was right as the eye would really stick out. So I changed it into a flat black button, adding a little red bead as the middle point. And since then the one eyed monster lives happily ever after in J’s bed. Eventually, I should take a picture of that „monster packed bed“ 🙂

If ever the monster gets a sibling it will be a lot thinner with gawky arms and legs. And maybe two eyes: one underneath the other. And maybe thumbs and a belly button. We’ll see.

Enjoy the rest of the week!