Go to coasters

We have been able to move into our new home this April and one of the things that are a must have to me are lots of coasters, made to match every room they will be used in! So I came up with this little pattern: they work up quickly and are the perfect coaster size. Of course they make great inexpensive gifts, too!

My go to coasters

Materials:

- worsted weight cotton yarn in a main color (A) and a contrast color (B)
- I/5mm hook
- scissors and tapestry needle

1) with A, make a magic ring
2) 20 dc into magic ring, close with sl st into first dc
3) ch 2, *2 dc, ch 1, repeat after *, sl st into first dc
4) sl st into ch1-sp, [3dc, ch 1] into each ch1-sp, sl st into first dc, fasten off A
5) join B around a post of round 2
6) work surface sl st around each post of round 2, fasten off B
7) join B anywhere to round 4
8) ch 1, sc into each dc and each ch1-sp, sl st into first sc, fasten off B

A Classic Baby Cardigan... and some big news

You'll have to read to the end for the big news, I'm afraid...

I can't believe it: Again I'm forced to put my WIPs aside for a cute little personal handmade new baby gift! What a shame... ;-)

I was NOT going to make another hat, sooooo boring after a while. I love making baby blankets, but the little girl is already here, so I compromised for a cardigan!

(The pattern is Lisa van Klaren's Classic Baby Cardigan)
I just love the softness that ensues when using a 4mm hook on fingering weight yarn! It'll be perfect for a baby.

I'm also still working on the striped skirt. Can't wait to wear it!

AND: The knitted scarf is coming along, too. And I think I can see fewer and fewer mistakes in the more recently knitted rows...

And now for the big news: We are currently preparing for our biggest move yet. We'll be leaving the cold of Germany for Raleigh, North Carolina! So all these projects are actually just to keep me sane during the completely insane process of getting my visa...
But by now it's almost completed and my husband has finally been able to tell his boss, so it's not secret anymore as this topic used to be. What a relief!

And now, head on over to Kristine's and see what everyone else is doing!

WIP Wednesday

So I rethought the colors of my skirt again. I did end up switching from horizontal to vertical stripes and I it seems to harmonize with the pattern much better. I guess it was kind of against the pattern's nature to try and force horizontal stripes on it!

And while I was thinking about the whole matter and waiting for people to voice their opinion (in the end, I listened to my husband, who thought the vertical stripes would be more flattering...), I needed a small project to give my mind some rest. So I started making this cute little needle case. The crocheting was done quickly and I blocked the acrylic to help it lie flat. Now I "just" need to sew in some fabric and get felt for the part that holds the needles...

And I finally caved and dabbled a bit in knitting... The (Danish and very cool!) dollar store had bamboo knitting needles for 1€, it's all theirs fault. They also had a hook size I didn't have yet for 2€... and some bulky acrylic in an awesome color! Well, it's really low quality, you can pull it apart with your bare hands and it wasn't as cheap as the needles. After painstakingly casting on some stitches for the first time and twisting my fingers until midnight, this was the result:

But I have to admit, it wasn't half as hard as teaching myself the first steps of crochet. I guess that's because this time I know how to hold yarn, control the tension of it, know what all those number on the yarn and needles mean... it helped a lot to know a somewhat related craft when starting a new one!

And now, head on over to Kristine's and see what everyone else is up to! Also stop by Sara's!

WIP Wednesday - again!

Wow, looks like I finished a lot of projects and gifts! The first one was a cute shirt for my daughter with matching bracelet and scrunchy:

Next up was a little package for a cute new baby boy:

And I had cool new idea (everybody probably does this, but for me it was an epiphany): Instead of writing some washing instructions on a tag, as I used to, I just put part of the yarn label on it! Love this idea, looks so much more professional.

The next package was for my Papa, whose birthday we forgot...

and, of course, the whole ordeal with Zoe's slipper... read about that in the slipper post!

And yesterday I finally got started on a bigger project again: my winter skirt! It is crocheted from side to side, but I want a horizontal color blending effect... so I planned the color changes very carefully:

I'm using four different shades of blue and they kind of create an ombre effect, what I was going for. I recently found a better method for that, but now that I have the yarn...

So, this is how far I've gotten. Sooooo many strands of yarn everywhere... it's a hassle and I'm still undecided, if I'll just switch to vertical stripes.

Okay, and now head on over, see what everyone else is working on!

Finished my Cardigan!

Okay, so it's been finished for a while now, I  just never got around to share it...
Tada: The blue cardigan and me

How I like it? It's quite all right, considering this is my first real wearable crochet project. I am satisfied with the size, though the small is still a bit wide around my waist and makes look kinda fat. O well, it's almost see-through, so people will be able to tell I'm not THAT fat... ;-)

Here are some more close ups of my work:

I like the way my modifies sleeves turned out, good length for a tiny person like me...

Had to go down one more hook size for the button cover, not sure why, but it worked out. This also isn't the original edging. The treble crochets turned out to be way to big, it looked ridiculous. So I went to look for a simpler version and used this edge from Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann.


I was going to add a list of everything I learned while working on this project, but it's getting late, so I'm saving it for another day...

Sweater and I are back!

After that nasty sinus infection stole about two weeks my life, I'm finally crocheting (and posting) again! I have a new smallish project, a padded sleeve for my beloved Kindle:

This is the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/padded-kindle-sleeve
The colors are kinda dull in the picture, sorry...
I'm still thinking about embellishments, but I want it to keep a simple look, so... maybe nothing at all.


Also, I have made made some progress on my blue sweater! I crocheted one long sleeve, even though I new I didn't have enough yarn to make long sleeves. But the sleeves are crocheted from the bottom up because of the pattern. So I kinda had to make the whole thing to find out how to alter it. Finished it, put it together with safety pins and "put it on". And I was thrilled to see how well it fit! It would have been too long for me to wear that way anyway, but I decided to go with short short sleeves, I don't do 3/4 length on anything, I think it makes me look fat! So the yarn needle marks where I would have my new starting chain:

And then I spent an evening ripping the whole thing and turning it into neat new balls of yarn... Using those, I learned something: The yarn unwinds much better from a handmade ball than from the store bought skein! Makes my awesome yarn bowl much easier to use, too. Still, I think I'm just lazy enough not to wind my own balls... 

Oh, well, so I made the short sleeves and wet blocked (100% cotton) all the pieces on my super fancy blocking board, also known as our mattress for overnight guests...

This is my first blocking experience and I'm so excited to find out how it'll turn out! I was impressed with how much you can shape the wet fabric (and how tight my crocheting had become by the time I made the sleeves...) Can't wait to sew it together! I don't sew well, so I'm kind of nervous about that, too.


So far from my end of the world, visit Kristine's blog and check out what everyone else is up to:

WIP Wednesday

So, I'm a little late...
I have finished several small items this week like this awesome Hello Kitty hat for my daughter's upcoming third birthday:

I also made a hairband for myself

and a cute little cozy for my lip gloss

I have made little progress on the sweater, though. Almost finished the other front piece and I decided I'll make short sleeves. Unfortunately, that means I have to finish one after the instructions to find out how to modify the pattern...

And please visit all these cool craftsters:

WIP Wednesday

The sweater is growing slowly:

The back piece and one of the front pieces are done. I got bored by the repetition and started working on a sleeve:

I don't think I can really increase on the left hand side, can I? But the pattern says on both sides... O well, I guess it'll be alright once I sew everything.

Still not sure I have enough yarn...!

Starting a Cardigan Project!

Starting a Cardigan Project!


A couple of days ago I decided to get started on my first crochet sweater (not that I ever made one any other way...)!  I'm using a cheap sport weight cotton yarn from a grocery discounter, so it won't be too sad if this just doesn't work out. However, this is the pattern:

DROPS-Whispers

My yarn seems to be a little heavier than the one used by the pattern designer, so I'n using a slightly smaller hook and I still get the feeling it'll be slightly too big. I'd work the instructions for a smaller size, but I'm already doing the smallest one and don't feel comfortable making it smaller on my own. This is my first more complex wearable, after all.
I'm not even half way through the back piece, but have a look:

The color is pretty accurate in this picture, wow.