Wooden Rose Baby Cardigan

The date of our final departure from Germany seems to be way too soon. With so much left to do -> anyone looking for used furniture in the Hamburg area? Drop me a line, we have pretty much everything...

I still hope to keep posting regularly, I'll just use less words and more pictures. This is the Cardigan I finished as a gift for a new baby.

Sorry for being so lazy, but please see my Ravelry project page for details.
In case you were wondering, my other project are creeping along slowly but I need to keep crocheting to stay sane these days!

And now, head on over to these ladies:

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!

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.