Hey there

I'm one of the gals who's most comfortable behind the camera. The rad thing about digital cameras is that you get to delete the pictures you don't like. I haven't taken many pictures of myself recently. Well let me rephrase that. I've taken a bunch but never considered any of them blogworthy. But whenever I see pictures of people who's blog I've been reading for a long time I think 'hey, it's so cool to see him/her from time to time'.
So yeah, here I am. Wearing my new color affection shawl. Which, btw, I blocked (it took over my whole kitchen. Thankfully my roomie wasn't there so I could make sure the kitty stays away from it.) and it's straight and really long now.
In celebration of Easter, I've painted my nails in a matching color to go with my outfit. But half a day later it's already starting to chip off. Apparently my nails aren't compatible with regular nail polish.

Happy Easter (if you celebrate) to you and a long and relaxing weekend!

52 craft projects // quatre couleurs affection

I know what you're thinking. Snow and a kind of Christmas red. It's Good Friday and we got a good chunk of snow. White Easter? I would've preferred a white Christmas. But oh well, the colors of my second color affection match the weather. The red looks very Christmas-y to me. But I love it!

I put all the mods and yarn info etc. on the ravelry project page. So check it out if you're interested. Also, feel free to add me as a friend on ravelry. I love seeing what amazing things other people knit and ravelry is a great way to keep track of other people's yarn projects :)

I took some fun mirror pictures of how to wear the shawl/scarf thingy. The second method is recommended if you wanna keep a low profile. Not.

Have you finished a knitting project lately?

This is project #11 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

52 crafts // sewing machine accessories pouch

Today I needed a creative break from studying. I'm at the last section of my color affection shawl where it's just knitting back and forth and it seems to take an hour just to knit one row because there are like a thousand stitches on the needles (or so it feels...). Anyway, the prospect of knitting endless rows of garter stitch in just one color isn't very exciting so I'm saving it for a movie's night or something.

I decided to make a little pouch for all of my juki sewing machine supplies because there are so many feet, bobbins and screwdrivers etc. My old sewing machine had like three feet that I stored in the little thingy on the front of my machine plus some bobbins that were in a vintage metal box. But the juki has way too many accessories to fit into the thingy on the front (is there a technical term?) and my sewing supplies drawer that holds my scissors, measuring tapes, etc. was getting messy and it took me forever to find what I was looking for.

So I used the echino peacock fabric (I love the combination of 45% cotton and 55% linen - the structure is amazing and it's perfect for pouches and bags because it's heavier than just a cotton fabric) for the outer and a matching ikea ditte fabric for the lining. I didn't add an interfacing because I was too lazy to get my ironing board out the pouch isn't supposed to protect the stuff, just keep it from being all over the place.

There's still plenty of room for more feet and bobbins etc.
Have you noticed that the pouch matches the juki logo? Of course that was intentional - duh.

It was the perfect quick study break project; it only took me 25 minutes to complete it - including cutting the fabrics and bobbin winding. Yay. Fun and quick, that's the kind of project I like :)

How do you organize/store your sewing machine accessories?



This is project #10 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

spring decorations

It's still freezing cold where I live and it's hard to believe that, according to the calendar, it's spring already. But Easter is already in a couple of days!
We found the cute knitted bunny at the h+h last week and couldn't resist adopting her (we decided it's girl). We gave her to my dad who's currently recovering from his hip replacement surgery in Hamburg.

The big, fluffy sheep is from a store in Cologne that closes. It was a real bargain and I have a hard time resisting cute sheep like this one. The rest of my 'decorations' is just stuff that has been sitting on my kitchen table since I packed away all the Christmas stuff. It might not be appropriate to have a hen and a bright pink and green flower sitting on the table in January, but that's all I have for now. I'll put 'make winter decorations' on my to do list for next winter.

The pink tulips didn't last long because my kitty thought it was fun to bite off the petals and spit them out in various parts of the apartment. (Not to mention the leaves she would eat and throw up five minutes later...)
Note to self: no more tulips within kitty reach.

h+h Cologne

The h+h Cologne is an international trade fair for crafts and hobby. I went there last Friday with my mom and we've had so much fun! I was in yarn heaven - sooo many gorgeous fibers to see and feel! We got to meet many designers and book authors and the amount of inspiration you get at such a trade fair cannot be beaten.

Unfortunately, most companies didn't sell their products there but I got some knitting needles to try and an entire bolt of Echino fabric at a bargain price! I'm so excited to make some bags and pouches... and maybe a skirt?

Seeing all those gorgeous knitwear designs makes me wanna cast on a sweater (or two or three...) right away. But I'm still working on my second color affection shawl so I guess I gotta be patient...

The highlights of the day were using my future sewing machine for the very first time (I've been reading reviews about the sewing machine for months but actually trying it was so great! It was love at first sight and I can't wait till it's mine - sewing bags will be so much easier! I love my Juki but I'm super careful with it and avoid sewing through thick layers since I had it repaired a couple weeks ago. Now I just gotta find a way to finance the sewing machine.), meeting a blog reader (hey, Lizzy!) and meeting my mom's co-workers after hearing so much about them.

back on track

So these past few weeks I've had king of a 'knitting depression'. All projects I had on my needles weren't really fun to knit and some didn't turn out the way I had hoped they would. Add several weeks of high-stress studying all day, no knitting club meetings and a tight budget that won't allow you to get yarn for a big new project (like this or this or this or this). So I've been avoiding my knitting projects for weeks until yesterday. I got out my whole stash and started project planning.

Having a big box full of soft, colorful, gorgeous yarn in front of me sparked my knitting fever again. On the left there's wool for projects I haven't decided on yet. The two light blue/greenish skeins of alpaca yarn are meant for fingerless mittens for my grandma. She already chose a pattern she likes so I just have to find my needle organizer and get started. To the right there's one skein of red alpaca (worsted weight) that I only used like 5 grams of. I'm not yet sure what to make out of 45 grams of worsted weight - maybe short fingerless mittens? or a striped hat?

The two cones stacked on top of each other were meant for a striped cardigan. I bought them like three years ago. I still love the colors and yarn but knitting from cones is super annoying because you can't just take your knitting with you(especially if you ride your bike everywhere like I do so there's limited capacity). Also the yarn isn't plied yet. I don't like the prospect of knitting a huge project with unplied yarn because I hate yarn that splits. Seen that I have a spinning wheel I might try plying the yarn...

Last but not least, I've had six skeins of drops alpaca yarn sitting in my stash since our trip to Denmark last fall. It's one of my favorite yarns because it's beautiful to work with, great quality and it's cheap. Not to mention the huge variety of colors... I have two skeins of each color (the other three skeins are already in my project bag). I wanted to make a second daybreak shawl at first but I couldn't decide on which color not to use (and what to do with the two leftover skeins?), so I casted on another color affection.

The beige on the left will be the main color, the blue is C1 and the brown is C2. I started the first striped section earlier today. It's so much fun to knit and working with soft, warm yarn is perfect. We got another four inches of snow today. Spring is really taking its time this year and although I'm really excited for spring and summer, I'm happy to be making one last warm project before getting my lace projects out again.

What have you been working on?

pre-easter breakfast

We don't have any specific plans for Easter yet, because my dad is having a hip replacement surgery the day after tomorrow. Which basically means we don't know yet whether he'll still be in hospital in Hamburg or in rehab somewhere in Northern Germany. So our Easter plans are basically nonexistent at this stage and wherever we end up being for the Easter weekend, there probably won't be an oven to make fresh buns.

So we decided to make a pre-Easter breakfast with cute bunnies, eggs and of course a braided yeast bun (it's one of the traditional German Easter foods). I made the yeast dough yesterday evening and put it in the fridge overnight. This morning I formed some bunnies and the bun and let it rise a second time while the oven preheated. I love yeast dough for obvious reasons - it smells and tastes delicious, it's super easy to make if you stick to the rules and you can prepare it the day before.

Braiding the bun is probably the most relaxing task baking has to offer. The fresh smell, the soft feel of the dough, ... I could do nothing but braid dough all day and be the happiest person on earth :)

I still have to work on my bunny faces. I only had huge raisins so the their eyes turned out way too big. Also the almond whiskers break super easily and several bunnies ended up one-eyes :( (not to mention that some look rather like bears or cats than bunnies...).

Well, I'll practice again next year :)

What do you usually bake/cook/eat for Easter? 

52 craft projects // heating pad cover

Guess what?! She's back!!
I got my Juki back yesterday and - of course - I had to test whether everything works fine. So I made a quick cover for my microwaveable heating pad (those pillows that are filled with wheat or corn or flax seeds or whatever). I bought the heating pad earlier this year and I've been using a cover my mom made a looong time ago that's very 90s.

I used  super soft flannel fabric that I bought last year at Hamels (it's the best fabric store I've ever been to. Sooo many beautiful fabrics combined with great store samples, really nice staff and the most beautiful view in the world!).

I used two kam snaps to close it yet be able to wash the cover from time to time.

Lina seems to like the soft flannel, too; the minute I put the cover on my ironing board to put the kam snaps in she jumped on it. She's very possessive and has this 'don't you dare go near my stuff or you'll regret it' expression.

But the second she realizes I'm taking pictures her expression changes into "HELP! Someone is pointing a CAMERA at me!!!" as if I'm attempting to kill her. Cats are funny creatures :)

This is project #9 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

raspberry smoothie

I love smoothies for breakfast. Here's one of my favorite combinations: banana and raspberry!

For two servings you'll need:
- one banana
- one cup of frozen raspberries (you can also use fresh raspberries and add some ice cubes)
- one cup of yoghurt or kefir, depending on what you have in your fridge
- two cups of milk (vanilla almond milk and soy milk also work great!)
- half a cup of oats (if you want a long-lasting breakfast)

Blend all your ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

around here

It feels like spring around here. We've had a couple of sunny and warm days that were real mood lifters. Remember my 'to do list' for March? I've made some real progress these past days; I filed my taxes (woohoo, feels so good! I've had this one on my mind since last fall and everyone in Germany makes such a huge deal out of it though it's no biggie at all if you just sit down and do it instead of just talking about it for months.), handed in an important paper, organized my craft shelf (I'll post a room tour soon, promised!) and started looking for a job.

Studying and painting my nails seem to go together so I've had many different colors these past days. Also I finally figured out the perfect raspberry banana smoothie. I treated myself to a new lipstick and it's officially my favorite - I've worn it every day since I bought it and got so many compliments. Also, I ran (at least) one mile a day since Saturday. It's only been five days but I feel so much better already. I love running because you don't have to feel bad for eating lots of cake afterwards ;)

Lina seems to have realized that spring is on its way, too; she's been super active lately. She used to just sleep on my bed/chair/windowsill all day long but lately she's been playful and active. Her favorite time to play of the day? The second I go to bed to read a couple of pages before I fall asleep. As soon as I lay cozily in my warm bed with a hot water bottle she starts running across the apartment and leaves a trail of destruction.

What have you been up to?

52 Craft Projects // Camera Cables Pouch

I made this adorable pouch for my mom for her birthday. She asked for a pouch to put all of her camera stuff in (charger, cables, memory cards, ...) so it was the perfect opportunity to finally use some of my echino camera fabric. I love love love it but I only have three rows of cameras. I've had a very hard time cutting into the fabric (I always have nightmares about cutting into expensive fabrics... I'm always afraid I might stain the fabric or cut the wrong measurements) but I managed to 'fuzzy cut' one camera without damaging all the others - phew!

The main fabric is also an echino fabric (scraps from this bag), the turquoise polka dot one is from the Dutch fabric market, the lining is a cheap IKEA fabric("Bomull") and the others are Kaffe Fasett.

I can't wait for my sewing machine to get back so I can finish the second (pretty similar) pouch I started right after I finished this one.

Have you sewn anything lately?

This is project #8 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013.
You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.