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Donnerstag, 28. April 2016

Summer crochet

I really need to reduce my yarn stash and I really need to crochet something else than amigurumis. Don't get me wrong, I love making my little cute lalylala dolls and I love the fact that people order them from me to gift them to their nieces/nephews/friends/kids/cousins etc. But I've been making almost nothing else for weeks now and I'm yearning to create something different!

I really like the website of Drops Design to get some inspiration and to get some new patterns! I own some Drops yarn and so far I always had positive experiences with it.
I also made three different garments based on Drops patterns (this, this and this) and I love to wear all of them!
For my wedding (we just had our first anniversary, how crazy is that??) I made myself this shawl and every single item was quick and easy to make and I never had trouble following the instructions.

Crochet clothes are very in right now. It's this whole boho-hippie-gipsy-chique that makes those clothes so trendy. So I put two and two together.
- Hip clothes
- need of reducing my yarn stash
- being able to crochet
- want to make something for myself

I found some new patterns online and decided on two of them. For those items I have all the necessary yarn already at home so no new shopping is needed (sadly!).

I chose:

this sweater






Free Pattern
Bildunterschrift hinzufügen


I have some deep red Safran Yarn at home, this should be perfect for this little summer sweater

and this sweater
Free Pattern


As you can see, I really have a thing for those kind of pullovers - with holes in it and the ones, where you have to put a shirt underneath. But those are perfect for those slightly chilly summer nights (which hopefully will be there soon!)

While browsing through the patterns I also found this cute beach bag and  this adorable skirt.

I'm thinking about alternating between making an amigurumi and making things purely for myself. I lost my crochet-mojo in the past few weeks and it's slowly coming back to me. So let's see how many projects will make the way from an idea to a real piece of clothing. I vaguely remember a similar post from last year. Let's just say that I made ONE thing from that long list.

Well.

Better than nothing!

What are your crochet projects for the summer? Do you crochet yourself clothes as well? Or do you rather stick to blankets and toys?


Mittwoch, 27. April 2016

Taking Stock: Spring

It's been a while since I wrote my last "taking stock" post. As I do love making lists, I really adore writing up these posts. Thanks to Pip for providing the list! 

Making : NOTHING! My crochet mojo has been absent these last few weeks, but I'm determined to wake it up again!
Cooking : stew and soups and warming food. It's still so cold here in Austria, today it's grey and wet and gloomy. My body craves some comfort food! 

Drinking : Hot tea. I need as much warmth as I can get!
Reading: Everything after 5 books of Game of Thrones! I haven't bought any new books, though, as I don't want to have tooo many new books before we're moving next year.
Wanting: Warmth and sunshine and spring. I hate this cold weather!
Looking: at kitchens. We're currently in the process of buying a kitchen and we're totally overwhelmed with the options and the prices. They are so expensive!
Playing: With yarn color combinations. I need a lot of colors with this bad weather outside!
Deciding: on a kitchen. and a bathroom. and bathroom tiles. and a new bed and new matresses. all house related stuff.
Wishing: for spring to come!
Enjoying: life right now. Everything runs really great at the moment. I hope this conditions will last for a while!
Waiting: for the weekend. It's supposed to be nice and warm and my husband doesn't has to work.
Liking: the fact that I can't wait to pick up my crochet hook again tonight!
Wondering: if it's the right time to have a baby...
Loving: life.
Buying: A new bikini. Though it will take some time to be finally able to wear it!
Watching: Suits. How sexy is Harvey Specter? I have a huge crush on that guy!
Hoping: that my mum will get better soon. She tripped yesterday and broke her arm! :(
Cringing: at the thought of burn out. So many people I know are currently suffering from it. I don't like the direction in which this society is going!
Needing: a fresh cup of tea. Finished the third one already today!
Smelling: rain.
Wearing: Many, many layers of clothes as it's way too cold outside!
Following: Some new cooking and baking blogs. I'm really into baking right now!
Noticing: babies, children and pregnant women everywhere! What does that say about me?
Knowing: that work will be a lot less stressful in the next few weeks
Thinking: about all the trips we're going to make once the weather gets better!
Admiring: people who manage to keep their motivation for running! I'm already behind my 2016 running goal. Need to get back on track!
Sorting: through my books. I don't want to take them all with me when we move next year.
Getting: new things from Lush! Do you know Lush? They have the nices cosmetics!
Bookmarking:crochet patterns. I really want to start selling my stuff 2016.Still.

Disliking: guess what? The weather!
Feeling: tired. we really need a new mattress, none of us is able to get a good nights sleep, which makes us grumpy and tired all the time
Snacking:  apples.

Hearing: 

 

Samstag, 16. April 2016

on crocheting and books

I love books. If you've followed my blog for a while, you know that I am an avid reader. When I was a kid, I didn't eat a single meal without reading a book at the same time. Drove my mother crazy. I love all kind of books. My biggest love are novels. I love diving into a story, vanishing into another world, submerging into other countries, other peoples, other lives. But I also love biographies. And guidebooks. And non-fiction.
//
Ich liebe Bücher! Wer meinen Blog schon länger verfolgt weiß, dass ich ein leidenschaftlicher Leser bin. Als Kind konnte ich nie essen, ohne dabei zu lesen, das hat meine Mutter wahnsinnig gemacht. Ich liebe alle möglichen Bücher, wobei mein Herz aber immer noch den Romanen gehört. Ich liebe es, in einer Geschichte zu verschwinden und in neue Welten einzutauchen, gedanklich in andere Länder zu reisen, andere Menschen kennenzulernen und andere Leben zu leben. Ich mag aber auch Biographien, Rageber und Sachbücher.

And I love to crochet.
//
Und ich liebe es zu häkeln.

So it's obvious that I love a book that deals with crochet.
//
Da ist es selbstverständlich, dass ich Bücher liebe, die mit Häkeln zu tun haben.

"sweet forest minis". The animals in this books are really tiny.

but extremely cute!
For my birthday last month, my lovely husband gifted me three amigurumi books. (One is for knitted animals though. He doesn't really know the different and the book is in English, so it was even harder for him to distinguish between knitting and crochet. But it's the thought that count and I always wanted to learn to knit anyway). Those books are wonderful and I can't wait to try all those lovely animals! - Especially the little chamaeleon that you can turn inside out so it can change its color! What an awesome idea!
//
Zu meinem Geburtstag hat mir mein toller Mann drei Amigurumi Bücher geschenkt (na gut, eins ist zum Stricken, aber er kennt den Unterschied schon auf Deutsch nicht und auf Englisch kann ich das erst recht nicht von ihm erwarten. Macht nix, wollt eh schon immer mal stricken lernen.)
Die Bücher sind ganz toll und ich kanns gar nicht mehr erwarten endlich mal was davon auszuprobieren. Besonders fasziniert mich das Chamäleon, das man von innen nach außen drehen kann, damit es seine Farbe ändert. Ganz großes Kino!


my newest addition. and my new favourite book!

i mean, just look at it!

those details and those amazing ideas!

my husband already claimed this little monkey for him. He wants to hang him onto his Harley! 
I have to make two other amigurumis for a friend before I can start diving into these books (and my yarn stash) and so I put it on my crochet book pile. And then I noticed that this pile is rather high. (Not counting the two books that I currently lend to my mother!).
And then I shamefully noticed, that all those books are untouched. I never made a single thing from them.
//
Ich muss noch zwei Auftragsarbeiten erledigen (die mich grad irgendwie so gar nicht freuen) und dann kann ich endlich loslegen. Zu meiner großen Schande muss ich gestehen dass ich - bis auf eine Tasche - noch GAR NICHTS aus diesen Büchern gehäkelt habe. Das muss sich doch ändern!


crochet bags

i love this one!
And that has to change.

that's a project I'm saving for later this year. My little niece will get that doll for christmas!

it has 45 (!) outfits and accessories, so you can change the doll into a farmer...

... or dress her up as a little red riding hood...

...or even as superwoman. and look at those little cute underpants!!!

So from now on (after I finished my two orders) I'll crochety myself across those lovely books.
//
Für den Rest des Jahres werd ich mich nun durch diese Bücher häkeln. Ich freu mich schon.


there are also some small projects

like this little - not so scary - monsters!

Just need to decide which project I will start first.
//
Jetzt muss ich nur noch entscheiden, mit welchem Projekt ich anfange...

chosing is hard!

Do you have favourite crochet books? Let me know in the comments below as I am always on the lookout for some new ones!
//
Habt ihr Lieblings-Häkel-Bücher? Lasst es mich doch wissen, ich bin immer auf der Suche nach Neuen!

Dienstag, 5. April 2016

coloring books

I know, I'm soooo late on that trend, but my sister in law gifted me a coloring book for grown ups for my birthday and I sat down last Sunday to try it out.



What can I say, it took me about 3 hours (interrupted by making tea and eating chocolate) to finish my first coloring. I used to LOVE coloring out Mandalas when I was a kid and I remember that I had several Mandala books and spent hours with them.



I wouldn't have bought such a book by myself, but I really like it and I think, that I will come back at it from time to time to relax and spend a little colorful time at home without having to think.




Love.

Sonntag, 3. April 2016

March: A Summary

It's getting ridiculous, but the first sentence that comes to mind, when I'm writing these summary posts is: How can another month have passed so fast??? How can time fly by? How can it be that it's APRIL already? But it IS April, and time HAS passed and so I'm sitting here to reflect and remember the past thirty days.

LIFE:
Things are moving on the house front. My husband and I started to visit several furniture stores and kitchen stores to get a plan for our new kitchen. It took us a while to come to an agreement regarding the looks of the kitchen, but we finally found one that we both like. We're still waiting for the offer. It definitely will be expensive, but we want to buy a good kitchen and we're ready to invest some money!
My sister in law visited us with our family for a few days. I haven't seen them since Christmas as they live in a different part of Austria. It was great to see them all again - especially my little niece. When I saw her last she was 6 months old and wasn't able to sit by herself. She always toppled over. Now she cralws and is able to pull herself up on the furniture. It's amazing how fast these little people learn and grow! And of course for days after my husband couldn't talk about anything else but babies. He would really be ready to have one but I think we will wait for a while with that! ;)

Schön langsam tut sich was beim Haus. Im März waren wir schon in Möbelhäusern und Küchenstudios um uns unsere Traumküche planen zu lassen. Es hat ein wenig gedauert bis wir uns auf das Aussehen einigen konnten, aber mittlerweile haben wir eine ziemlich klare Vorstellung darüber, wie unsere Traumküche aussehen soll. Wird zwar nicht ganz billig, aber wir sparen schon ganz fleißig und uns ist es auch wichtig, dass wir gleich von Anfang an eine hochwertige Küche haben. Das kostet dann halt auch.
Letzte Woche war meine Schwägerin + Familie zu Besuch. Zuletzt sah ich alle zu Weihnachten. Es war schön, sie wieder da zu haben. Vor allem war's nett, meine Nichte Lea wieder zu sehen. Seit Weihnachten ist sie ja schon ordentlich gewachsen. Damals kippte sie immer noch nach vorne über, wenn sie alleine sitzen wollte. Heute zieht sie sich schon an den Möbeln hoch und krabbelt in Windeseile durch die ZImmer. Unglaublich, wie schnell sich die Kids entwickeln! Der Babybesuch hat natürlich meinen Mann wieder dazu gebracht, über Nachwuchs zu reden. Er wäre schon so weit. Aber ich glaub, ich bin noch nicht so ganz bereit dafür.

CRAFT:
To be honest - I didn't do any crochet this past few weeks. I finished little Josefine to hand her over to my niece. She squealed with joy when she saw here and laughed a lot but I forgot to take some pictures. I will hand them in later ;)
The weather is finally nice and warm outside so I don't spend much time at home with my crochet hook. I really want to change that in April though. There is a little lamb that I have to finish for a friend and my husband gave me the most amazing amigurumi books for my birthday in March. I'm really looking forward to try those things out. A review of these books will follow as well, I'm already working on several posts.

by now my little lamb has all two hands and already a part of its head

my pile of birthday gifts including my new amigurumi books!


Im März war ich total häkelfaul. Ich hab lediglich Josefine fertig gemacht, weil ich sie Lea persönlich übergeben wollte. Die kleine Maus hat sich auch total darüber gefreut und gleich mal herzhaft losgequietscht, als sie den rosa Drachen gesehen hatte. Leider hab ich vergessen, die Übergabe zu fotografieren. Mir wurde aber versprochen, dass ich noch Fotos zum Nachreichen bekomme. Diese Woche werd ich auch noch ein Auftragsschaf fertighäkeln. Mein Mann hat mir zu meinem Geburtstag ein paar tolle Amigurumi Bücher geschenkt und ich kann es schon gar nicht mehr erwarten, endlich mal ein paar Tiere davon nachzuhäkeln. Rezensionen über diese Bücher hab ich auch schon in Arbeit, die folgen dann so nach und nach.

SPORT:
Motivation got me again. I use the runtastic app to track my running. I wasn't running very often in 2016. Now you can set yourself a running goal for the year and runtastic tells you, how many kilometres you have to run every week to fulfill this goal. I set myself the goal of 300 kilometers. I ran 25 so far and until now I'm ahead of my running goal. I have to say that this feature is highly motivating and I can't wait to go for my next run - although I've just been running today!
I started with regular homeworkouts as well. I'm nearly able to do a push-up. My arms are my weakest part of the body and I really want to work on them. Just for myself, because I want to prove myself that I'm able to keep being determined!

I'm ahead of my goal. And highly motivated!


Die Motivation hat mich wieder gefunden. Ich benutze beim Laufen die Runtastic App. Seit Anfang 2016 war ich nicht wirklich oft laufen. Jetzt gibt's bei der App eine neue Funktion, mit der man sich ein Jahreslaufziel setzen kann. Runtastic sagt einem dann, wie viele Kilometer pro Woche man laufen muss, um das Ziel zu erreich. Ich hab mir 300 km als Ziel gesetzt, dafür muss ich 7 km die Woche laufen. Bis jetzt hab ich schon 25 Kilometer geschafft und bin meinem Ziel sogar voraus. Das muss ich aber auch sein, weil ich ja nicht davon ausgehen kann, dass ich jede Woche zum Laufen komme. Darüber hinaus mache ich nun auch öfter wieder Home Workouts. Die Liegestütze schaffe ich auch schon fast, da fehlt nicht mehr viel.

BOOKS:
I'm STILL reading the Game of Thrones series. I'm on book 5 now and this is the last volume I own. After the fifth book I will switch to reading something else for a while - I have a few books (that I borrowed or got as a present - I still haven't bought any books this year!) on my to-be-read pile that I can't wait to dig into! So for March there will finally a non-fantasy-book in this section!

books and coffee. the perfect combination. 


Ich bin immer noch bei Game of Thrones. Gerade arbeite ich mich durch Teil 5. Das ist auch der letzte Teil, den ich besitze. Danach werd ich mal wieder etwas anderes lesen. Ich habe schon ein paar Bücher auf meinem "muss ich noch lesen" Stapel, die schon auf mich warten. Und die wurden alle NICHT gekauft. Seit Mitte Dezember hab ich nun wirklich keine neuen Bücher gekauft und bin deshalb auch ganz stolz auf mich!


How was your March? Did you have nice weather? I had my birthday as well on the 20th. 28 years old already...I can't believe that I'm already that "old"!

Wie war euer März? Ich finds ja toll, dass das Wetter endlich schöner wird. An meinem Geburtstag am 20 März (wie kann ich denn bitte schon 28 sein???) tranken wir den Kaffee schon draußen in der Sonne. Herrlich ist das!