Bill, The Travelling Man

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It’s about time I introduce you to Bill, I guess. He was named after Bill Clinton, as he would (accidentally!) look like him when I made him – at least that’s what we thought.

Bill

Just for grins, I talked to J about Clinton the other day and our little conversation still makes me laugh:

Me: „so who is Bill Clinton?“

J (quick as a shot): „Isn’t that Hillary Clinton’s husband?“

Looks like we’re raising a feminist here 🙂

But back to the original topic: Bill gets to travel if we can’t (no money, no time, no vacation). He definitely prefers traveling with people, but envelopes work almost as good. So far, he always reached his destination as planned and – more important – he always came back. Where ever he goes he has his picture taken for J to see. J says looking at those pictures is almost as good as travelling himself.

After short trips to Hong Kong and Uruguay, New York and Poland, Bill went to Chicago lately. Of course, he had his picture taken next to „the bean“:

Bill and Bean

And he must have liked it, as, after coming back to Germany, he decided to go right back to the US. This time he would go west: out of all places, he chose Meeteetse, Wyoming (325 inhabitants) as his destination. Be that as it may, doing ranch work he stayed a lot longer than originally scheduled. (In case you wonder what they are doing in the picture: they were testing the cows to see which ones were pregnant).

Bill working cows

Upon coming home last week, bringing along his new cowboy hat and his own passport, he asked my boss to take him to Beijing. And much to my surprise, the boss – without batting an eye – put Bill in his pocket and off they went the next morning.

Now, here’s one of the pictures I got yesterday by email. Trust me – I was dumbstruck, when I saw it and sharing it with you is a must!

Bill and Chinese Police Officer

How on earth do you make a Chinese police officer hold a little crocheted doll (there is a string attached to his head, can you see it) and smile for the camera, especially if you don’t speak his language?! Bill will be back this weekend and I am very much looking forward to hear the story on Monday!

A lovely weekend to all of you out there 🙂

African Flowers

Veröffentlicht am von Carina9 Kommentare

When starting this project in January, I would crochet 5 flowers the day and the boy would arrange them on our living room table. The idea was to make a blanket from stash (of the same brand) but within a short time I ran out of white. As a matter of fact – the store is not around the corner, life keeps me busy, other projects were tempting – I still haven’t bought adequate supply … However, we needed the living room table and fortunately the boy agreed to remove the flowers if I would take a picture of his composition. (Supposedly, there is a system to it. I don’t see it though). Here is the picture:

Now, all the flowers are nicely piled in a shoebox (probably forever) and my only excuse is that even if I bought a skein of white I still don’t know which color to use to join them. Green? Brown?

Wool

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The other day, the kid went on a school outing. When I asked where they were going, he gave me a very detailed explanation: “some garden, or nature, or… stuff.” He also announced—very seriously—that he would bring me back a present.

Fast forward to the afternoon. He comes home, slightly mysterious, slightly proud, and very dirty. Then, with great ceremony, he slowly unzips his anorak, makes a funny little face, and carefully reveals… a tiny strand of wool. (And no, you really don’t want to know what his hands looked like at that point.)

Turns out they had been to a farm, where the kids got to try things like spinning wool. He later admitted that he wasn’t all that interested in the whole “sheep-clipping, fleece, spinning” process. But the idea of bringing home real wool—wool that he had made himself, no less—clearly won him over. And somehow, that little fuzzy string made it all the way home in his pocket.

spinning wool häkelmonster This morning, he checked back in with me. Very serious again.
“So… what are you going to make out of it?”
Pause. Thoughtful look.
“Do you think it might become a cardigan?”

Sewing machine

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Years ago, a colleague gave me his mother’s old sewing machine. Dusty, a little battered, and long hidden in his attic, it finally came my way the day I casually mentioned that having one would be nice. I can’t say I ever used it for anything “big” – I’ve always been more about fixing than creating.

Over the years, though, it became my go-to for patching the kid’s jeans. Zillions of patches. The machine was reliable, eager, humming along as it stitched whatever I needed – straight stitches, zig-zags, you name it. Sure, I occasionally broke a needle, but that was the extent of the drama. No serious breakdowns.

Still, we never really bonded. Maybe it was the weight – it’s a beast. Dragging it out of the basement, carrying it into the kitchen, setting it up on the table… I hated every step. So naturally, I procrastinated, letting the pile of jeans grow until, inevitably, the kid had nothing left to wear. By that time, of course, he’d grown, and all those freshly patched jeans were suddenly too short.

So why am I telling you this? Because today I finally decided it was time to find a new home for my 1950s Ideal Zick-Zack Deluxe. I listed it on eBay for free, hoping someone out there would convince me they’d be the perfect new owner. Within an hour or two, about 20 people responded.

My gut led me to Ritva – a young mother of two, devoted to needlework (at least that’s what she said). I loved her emails, the way she wrote, and I have to admit, I was curious about someone named Ritva. Isn’t that a beautiful name? I’d never heard it before.

To make a long story short: an hour ago, Ritva came by. She seemed to really adore the machine, its accessories, and even the suitcase it came with. It was love at first sight. And when she started praising all the advantages of an old machine over the newer “plastic” ones, I couldn’t help feeling a tiny pang of regret for letting it go.

Have a wonderful new life, Ideal Zick-Zack Deluxe, and thank you for being part of our family for the last 25 years. I promise I’ll think of you every time the kid rips his pants.

Small Horse, „Waldorf style“

Veröffentlicht am von Carina19 Kommentare

And then – bam! – a horse appeared. Just like that, out of nowhere! Even better – it came from a Waldorf kindergarten. But let’s start from the beginning:

At the moment, I’m juggling a couple of projects—a colorful African Flower blanket and a new cover for a footstool/ottoman (posts to come!)—but it seems that coming across an unusual or inspiring pattern almost always makes me put everything on hold and start something new. That’s exactly what happened when I stumbled across the homepage of a German Waldorf kindergarten suggesting knit farm animals. I immediately fell for the horse. The pattern is simple, quick, and the finished result is absolutely delightful. Now our little herd has grown to a band of wild horses… and one zebra.

 

horse Waldorf-Kindergarten häkelmonster

The way it works is straightforward: first, you knit the body according to the pattern. It’s all done in one piece with a few increases and decreases, and honestly, it’s quick—done in about an hour. Then you fold it in half and finally join it together, making sure to work in the tail along the way. So far, none of the horses I’ve made have ears or a mane—I’m not a fan of the ears the pattern suggests, and I haven’t figured out a good way to do the mane. But honestly, isn’t it just as loveable even without them?