Knitting

I am still without camera. The insurance company did, amazingly, come through but unfortunately my particular camera is out of stock and I am waiting on the next delivery. After pestering perhaps a few too many times last week I've been told that I will be "first to know" when they arrive. I'm resisting the urge to call again. In the meantine my phone will have to suffice.

Cool winter days and an open fire and I've got my knitting mojo back. I've finally finished a hat for me and I've been trying to quickly knit up a few baby friendly gifts as there seems to be another little baby-boom going on amongst our friends.  All the knitting and crafting goodness has been duely noted by E. Lastnight she insisted on doing a bit herself. Curious to see what exactly she had in mind I loaned her a "to be frogged" jumper. With the exception of not having a piece of wool in her hands, her technique couldn't be faulted. Lots of click-clacking with her eyes firmly fixed on the documentary playing on the Mac.  After a few minutes she was off being busy doing something else although it did get me thinking about crafty, woolly things that she might be able to do herself.

Does anyone have any ideas?  Woolly, crafty things for toddlers. I'm all ears.

Activity Book

 I made E an Activity Book for Christmas. It took me hours and hours of work. As with many crafty endeavours it took much longer than I had ever anticipated; lots of sewing long into the night using up small scraps of fabric that had been squirrelled away.  My inspiration (as so often happens these days) came from Pinterest. There are six pages but this one is "just right" for now - animal finger puppets that can be taken in and out of the barn, placed on fingers and the animals noise made to squeals of delight. It's just how I hoped it would work!

Christmas Treats

I have been itching to make things for Christmas for weeks now. If my sewing machine and box of crafty treasures was with me and not in some container somewhere on the Pacific Ocean I'd have perhaps made something like this for our fireplace or a few of these for our Christmas tree. I might even have made a stocking for E and some little boxes for storing her toys. But such lofty goals will have to wait for next year. This year it's all about simple.

**A note to my family: If you think you might be getting a stocking present from me this year and still want it to be a surprise on Christmas Day, don't read any more!**

Some Christmas paper, bought on the mandatory "new home" trip to Ikea.

Cut and pasted onto old jam jars filled with a Christmas inspired granola, based on this recipe here

And because you're never too young to start enjoying the making and creating that comes with Christmas, some labels, made by E (with a lot of help from her Mama) inspired by this post here.

All culminating in some very delicious, but oh so simple, homemade Christmas-y goodness ready to be sprinkled onto yogurts, fruit and other breakfast-y kind of things on Christmas Day.

Pay It Forward

A long time ago now, far longer than I like to remember, Allana from High Maintenance Hippy did a 'Pay it Forward' thingy. I happily accepted her lovely offer and in doing so agreed to Pay it Forward myself within 365 days. Well, it's been more than 365 days and I never Paid it Forward. Life happened - a pregnancy, a baby and a few things in between. But even though the 365 days may have gone by I never forgot my commitment to this lovely community project.  I thought long and hard about what I could give; a photograph, a knitted hat, something else? And then during my crazy sewing and nesting frenzy in the weeks leading up to Emilia's birth an idea came to me. I would make something for baby, which was also quintessentially Berlin; a Berlin TV Tower rattle.

Would you like one? I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but even if you don't have a baby yourself, perhaps you have a babe somewhere in your life who might appreciate this toy.  The only catch is that you agree to Pay it Forward too, three times over. It can be anything you like - craft, op-shoppie finds, photos - really the choice is up to you.  The first three people to comment will be the happy winners and find one of these TV Tower Rattles winging its way to you. Just remember to leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you to get your address.

Little Sister Dress

Tora Froseth's Little Sister Dress. I started this back in June, put it down and then picked it up again last week. The mindless, but oh so meditative, stockingette stitch was perfect for the nights, and lets be honest, days spent with my feet up on the couch listening to Podcasts and watching my fill of True Blood.

I think it'll fit for Christmas... If, that is, the Bean is a girl, and we're in Europe, and, and, and... There's a lot of 'ands' and possibilities in the mix before this knit can be safely worn on Christmas Eve. But sometimes it's best not to think about these things and just to knit. 

More details can be found on my ravelry page.

I make things

I've been told that some women start cleaning towards the end of their pregnancy. Do strange things like get down on their hands and knees and scrub floors, clean the windows or reorganise the basement storage. Not me, although I have thought about how nice it'd be to have clean windows and a polished floor. It's just that I don't want to do it. I'm too preoccupied. I'm making things. It started with a few bibs and some burp clothes and quickly extended to blankets, change mats, hats, pants and of course, little knitting cardigans. 

My patience and reserve for the act of making seems limitless.  No time for all the other things I was going to do with my maternity leave like, ahem, taking photos of summer in Berlin, visit all the museums that have been on my "list" since we moved here two years ago or sorting out my archive of photos and creating a photo album of the last two years.  No, no, no, as soon as I think I might be "done" with my making for a little while, another idea pops into my head. Of course the Bean needs a hat to go with the cardigan or another little blanket or something red or...

I'm 37 weeks today. The Bean is officially ripe and it's anyone's guess when s/he might decided to join us. So if it's a little light-on around these parts it's either because I'm consumed with making things or the Bean has got impatient and decided to come a little early. 

Either way, wishing you all a lovely weekend. 

Fleamarket Finds

It's been a while since I visited a Flohmarkt in Berlin, but last weekend the weather was perfect and with a Sunday afternoon to myself I took the opportunity to do a little scavenging. Oh, I could have spent hours and hours sifting through all the boxes and rummaging to my hearts delight. The only problem was that I kept finding things that I needed. You know, really needed, as in "my life depends on it, why haven't I had this before?" kind of thing. After only half an hour of pottering I ended up removing my itchy fingers and greedy eyes from all the goodies and went and had an ice-cream. But not without having first bought a Birthday presents or two (got to take the opportunity when it presents!) and this wonderful sewing box.

I had to do some serious haggling with the stall owner to get this to a price that I was willing to pay. He kept telling me about all the lovely things inside, and even though I did take a quick glance inside at the stall, I wasn't really convinced until I got home and conducted a proper inspection. Not only were there buttons and threads and lovely old boxes filled with thimbles and pins, but hidden at the bottom was this Faber Castel tin full of beautiful, tiny (!) crochet and tapestry hooks.

Just to give you some idea about size - that "huge" piece of thread dwarfing the hook is embroidery floss. Even with my macro lens these hooks look teenie-tiny. I'm not likely to ever have the skill to use them but I love them all the same. Some of the hooks are a little old and rusty now, but they truly are beautiful little pieces of handiwork. The wooden handles are smooth with wear and the detailing is beautiful. They really do put the functional, modern variety to shame.

Leonardo's Elephant

This is possibly the cutest thing that I've made in a little while. It's Susan B. Anderson's Elefant. A link to the pattern is here, ravelry page here.  Yes, it was a little fiddlie at times, but so worth it once it's all sewn up and sitting on a little pile of books... or your bump, as the case may be.

As the name of the post says, this little one is destined for a Leonardo in Turino, Italy where it's a little too hot in the summer to be dressing babies in anything other than nappies and a singlet. Some other handmade goodie was in order and this little softie seemed to fit the bill perfectly. The only problem is that now that he's all sewn up and looking so dandy I'm a little reluctant to give him away.  It's quite possible they'll be another one of these made in the not so distant future - one which will be only too happy to stay at play with my bump in Berlin.

Oh, and I know these pictures are perhaps a little riskque. Lacy underwear! Bare bump! Dear me!?! But honestly, an elephant climbing a bump is also pretty cute and I couldn't resist. More info and pictures (of the elephant, not the bump) can be found on my ravelry page.

little stitches

Teeny, tiny stitches is where I am at the moment. The weather hasn't been that inspirational, photo-taking wise, and if I'm being perfectly honest, even when the sun is shining after a day at work I'm more than  happy to sit on the couch with my magical meditation sticks (knitting needles to some) and knit a few more rows of this or that. Clickity-clack go my needles and thumb, thumb goes the bump. Both make me smile and with legs the size of elephants and a head full of hayfever this is pretty much as good as it gets. 

The end result of all of this sitting, meditating and cosmic nourishing has been a lovely little 'take home' outfit. I've knit the jacket pattern a few times before - it's Twinkle, Vintage Cardigan if anyone is interested in that kind of thing. And the little hat is the Lotus Hat. It's a pain to start but the teeny tiny stitches blossom (no pun intended) beautifully after blocking, so much so that I'm thinking of knitting up another one in white.

Edit: And in a spot of internet organisation that has been missing around these parts of late, I'm linking up to Lisa's Creative Exchange today. Yippee!

Mobiles

It's been a little while since I posted any crafty things around here. It's not for lack of action. I've been prolific at beginnings. Knitting cardigans, continuing this blanket, sewing baby pants and the latest... an Origami mobile. The problem is that I haven't been very good at finishing anything. Anyway, because I'm still really at a wedding Leeds, I thought I'd post about my current obsession with Origami and Kusudama.

I started this last weekend with Matthias. He quickly declared that Oragami was not his thing and left me to make my Cheery Blossom Kusudama. I like it, but it's a little big for the tiny little space I've carved out in our apartment as the Baby's space. So before trying again I've stalked the pages of Etsy and come up with a delicious selection of Origami mobiles to base my "in the making" mobile on. I'm thinking about some kind of combination of #2 and #3, although I'm still in love with the idea of a Kusudama featuring somewhere.  Like I said, it's a work in progress. And if all else fails, I can always just buy one that's already been made by one of these crafty ladies.

1. Rachel Schell  2. Spare Bedroom Studio 3. MamaX2 4. Gin and Rummy

Felted Slippers

I've been holding onto this finished crafty project for a few weeks as it was winging it's way to Australia for my Mum's Birthday. She opened the package last weekend so I can now happily show it to you here.  These are the first pair of French Press Felted Slippers that I've made and my first attempt felting. They are warm and comfy and in my opinion almost the perfect slipper - so much so that they very nearly didn't make it out of the house. As soon as I have time I'm planning on making a pair for myself.  

One of the best parts is that they are really very easy to make.  Don't be daunted by the idea of felting either - also incredibly easy, as I found out.  I chose to felt by hand, a time-consuming process., but I was a little chicken to use our front-end loader for my first felting attempt.  Next time I might be a little braver.  This would actually make a wonderful first-knitting project, I think.  You would need a crafty friend (or youtube) to explain the basic knit, purl, increase and decrease stitches - but small mistakes and holes don't matter too much as they disappear after felting.  A perfect project for keeping your feet toasty and warm around the house. And pretty cute too.

Ripple Blanket

This is one of the things that has been distracting me lately.  I mentioned last week that I've been stalking baby-blogs and happily creating "lists" of things to make and create for my little July-Bean.  After seeing these beautiful ripple blankets here, here and here I decided that I would make one too.  Actually I think I imagined a beautiful scene with a finished blanket and a happy baby playing on it with the sun shining down on us, perhaps in a park somewhere with a picnic and a Mr Darcy-esque figure in the background riding on his Pony.  Umm, yes, I may have got ahead of myself... and it remains to be seen whether finishing this blanket will instantly transport me into the zen Pride and Prejudice life that I imagine for myself, but Pride and Prejudice or not I am determined to finish it.  

It's probably worth pointing out that while I may knit, I don't really crochet and I re-started this four times before finally working out the pattern.  Currently I'm finishing a row every few nights - yep, it's very slow going but it's keeping me amused and away from the internet's Pregnancy-forums.  I accidentally discovered the forums last week and they are a place you only want to go if you feel like committing pregnancy-suicide and dooming yourself to a week of stress, nausea and panic that your baby-bean will be delivered with two heads, five feet and a purple nose because you ate "x", "y" or "z" by mistake!  It took me 20 weeks to find these forums and now that I've been there I have no intention of going back.

The Sketchbook Project put to bed

Ages and ages ago now I signed up for the Sketchbook project - a project that I still love in concept  but in reality turned out to be an epic fail. My intentions were good, I recruited good people onto my team of merry Sketchbook-Helpers and had all the resources at my ready.  But unfortunately it wasn't to be.  Perhaps my first mistake was to choose a rather ambitious theme (reason here), or the fact that we were experimenting with the Polaroid for the first time.  It is even possible that had I remembered to bring pencils and pens instead of using things found at the bottom of handbags and  in a 4-year-olds emergency keep-me-quiet-while-at-a-restaurant-bag we might have had more success.  Whatever the reason "Things Left on Serviettes" is being put to bed.

But not without a proper account of the idea and my families artwork here, plus a few useful lessons on what went wrong.

After a few initial stumbling blocks I decided that the perfect project would be something akin to a family journal documenting our food and wine trip to South Australia.  I had a new-to-me vintage Polaroid, Polaroid film from the Impossible Project and eight mostly willing adults in which to help me out. 

The plan was simple, every day one adult would be in charge of taking a polaroid photo of our lunch or dinner.  The only caveat was that it had to have a serviette in the frame. The same person then had to create a page of the sketchbook which included the polaroid and whatever else they wanted to include.

It started off brilliantly and infact, my mum's page (first photo) is almost complete. 

The Polaroid picture taking also went reasonably well.  There were a few hits and misses when we totally fudged the exposure or someone bumped the photographer mid-photo.  But these things happen when you're on holidays and wine tasting is the name of the game.  It was to be expected and in my mind would have only enhanced the final Sketchbook.

The real un-doing came when I read on the Impossible Project that Polaroid Photos will continue to change colour and darken after the photos are taken.  I can now testify that this is true as the five remaining photos (left) have darkened significantly since they were taken in November.  Given that we wanted the Polaroids to last the first two photos that were taken were peeled apart and the photo's 'saved'. 

But then disaster struck... nowhere on the Impossible Project's internet site does it say that the now exposed Polaroid would be incredibly sticky and not dry. Ever. The two photos stuck to everything they touched.  Below is my Mum's photo stuck to a page of the journal.  Even looking at it today makes me sad.  The sign of a project gone horribly wrong.

And below is my sister's boy-friend's page.  It was awesome.  He spent a good 1/2 hour completely absorbed in creating this which I reckon was pretty good for a 22 year-old who "can't draw" and was more interested in kicking the soccer ball around with my 4-year-old Nephew and watching the cricket than participating in his girl-friend's sisters art project.    The drawing  (pencil courtesy of someone's handbag - remember?) was an extension of the Polaroid - a view over his plate with whoever was sitting opposite him as a hazy, blurred figure.  It looked great.  On the opposite side of the page you can just make out some of the original photo which has stuck to the opposite page, and a picture drawn by my Nephew.  

Needless to say after these two disasters noone was too keen to peel their Polaroids until a better solution had been found.  I'm still looking for said solution and the Sketchbook is now back in Berlin quietly gathering dust.  Submissions for the project needed to be back at the Brooklyn library by the end of January.

I'd still like to continue with this project.  I love the five photos that we still have, I still love the idea and maybe, someday, I might feel better about the whole thing and be ready to begin again.  But for now, as I said, it's being put to bed.

Finished!

Yes! I finally finished the Vest. This has been a labour of love and I'll admit, a bit of a battle (see here, here or here for proof).  Indeed, the idea for this project was conceived when I was in Botswana and now almost 18 months later and worlds away it is finally, finally finished.

Finishing this project, sewing in the ends, blocking and fitting has made me think a lot about this knitting love of mine. I first started knitting while I was workng night-shifts.  It was an activity that kept my hands busy and my eyes awake and yet was an easy enough 'thing' to put down and pick-up if and when I was needed. As I knitted through the night I was also surprised to discover that knitting was incredibly relaxing.  Now, several years on, I find that it is still my go-to activity when I need to de-stress.  The rhythmic clicking of the needles, the repetitive stitches amd the concentration required to follow a complex pattern, all of these things allow me to relax and almost meditate away from life's ills. It is very much a craft where the process is as much a part of the reason "I knit" as the end product.

But I do love an end result!  And I'm very happy that this project is off the needles and being happily worn by it's recipient.  The details, if you're interested, are on my Ravelry page... and before I go, a few pictures that I managed to take of my favourite model - as always, modelling under sufferance but I believe, happy to be wearing his new knitted gift. 

Christmas Cheer

After a bit of a longer recuperation time than I was planning on having, I'm back up and about and feeling much more in the mood for Christmas.  Remember how I said I was going to make a wreath months and months ago?  Well, this weekend I finally finished it. I attached a few of the glass baubles I bought for my "tree" using bobby pins, added a few red berries and attached it to our apartment door.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I've decided to not go all out on the decorating for Christmas this year.  Matthias doesn't get back to Berlin until we head to Vienna for Christmas and the thought of hauling a tree through the snow and up five flights of stairs just for my enjoyment wasn't that appealing. Instead I've opted for this.

The red berries I picked up from the florist and are sitting in a vase filled with silver baubles. The birds are part of an ever-expanding collection of Christmas Tree decorations that I've slowly been adding to along the way.  I did take a photo of the whole thing, but I totally fudged it so you'll just have to trust me that it looks good.  And that's it! Well, as long as you don't include our statue of Nataraja who, in a spot of cross-cultural celebration, currently has our presents sitting under him.

Four sleeps to go...

November Desktop

1024, 1440, 1680, 1920

A little treat for the beginning of the month - I really enjoyed making last month's ones, so I decided to try and make this a bit of a regular thing. Download your particular size by clicking on the button above.

Have a lovely last weekend of October and Happy Halloween for those celebrating.

Anthro Patchwork Blankets

I think I'm gong to go with Option B on the blanket - thanks for all the suggestions last week. I still haven't quite decided on a backing, but my heart is leaning towards some soft flanel in a soft, moss green.  I have this image of me stumbling across the "perfect" blanket at a fleamarket and it turning out beautifully.  We'll see.

Funnily enough just after I posted about my blanket I was doing a bit of Anthropologie stalking and found these amazing blankets made from upcycled cardigans and jumpers.  For a brief moment I contemplated making something like this as the backing until I realised that that would be 100 times more work than just sewing my 12 squares together in the first place. Plus I don't own a sewing machine so sewing anything is a challenge requiring many hours of hand-sewing or some investigation about where I can "hire" a sewing-machine from.

Sometimes I wish I had a Doppelganger who knew how to do everything that I thought of.  And then I would say "Doppelganger, find the perfect backing for my knitted squares and while you're out, you could pick up a few cardigans and make a second blanket just like this one".  And then I would go do something else and a couple of days later they'd be finished and I'd have all the happy feelings that you get from completing a project, without the stress and torment of it not working out.  Silly thoughts for a Thursday morning.

Blankets available at Anthropologie

The Cowl

Was is worth waiting for?  The infamous cowl, which looks nothing like what I thought I wanted (see post here). But I like it all the same.  It is soft and squishy and niffty buttons allow it to be wrapped up tight or to hang down loosely as the need fits.  It matches my coat and it was quick to make. Everything I could ask for in a cowl.