new year's preparations

I'm spending New Year's with a dear friend of mine in Frankfurt. Our plan is to eat, watch movies and knit. Perfect, right? Here's the yarn I'm using for my next knitting project: the Romy cardigan!
I'm excited to finally use this lovely, soft and very fluffy alpaca yarn I bought last summer. I created a project page on ravelry so you can stalk my progress. One of my 2014 resolutions is to keep track of my wips so a) I won't have a bunch of wips at the same time and b) I don't find wips scattered around the apartment that I completely forgot about (like the shawl I started in 2011... or the cardigan I casted on in Vancouver...) - wish me luck!

I'll be back next year with the rest of my 52 craft projects (sorry I didn't have time to post them this year but there were just too many Christmas presents that I didn't want the recipients to see before they actually got it) and my new project for 2014!

52 craft projects // daily planner cover

I've been using the Moleskine daily planner (pocket size) for four years now and I'm really happy with it. I use it to keep track of appointments and school deadlines, to jot down ideas for craft projects and recipes and my daily to-do lists. This year I got the magenta version which I love but the cover is plain so I thought why not add some linen goodness to it?

I went through my scrap bins and found a bunch of echino (and some other kokka) scraps of various sizes - perfect for a patchwork book cover!

Even the backs of the covers are pretty!

The deer with glasses that's on the back is probably my all time favorite echino fabric - so happy I got to include it right next to some sheep and a camera!

I've been using the cover for the past days on my 2013 calendar and it's awesome how easy it is to find it - I used to empty half my bag because small planners tend to be at the very bottom of bags but with a colorful cover it kind of flashes at you when you open the bag. I'm exited for a colorful and well-organised year 2014!
This is project #42 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 craft projects // patchwork mug rug

It's extremely difficult to find a present for my uncle because he has a very different taste than I do, he has 'everything he needs' and enough money to buy anything he wants. Naturally I decided to make something for him that he doesn't have already and can't buy in a shop: a handmade mug rug!

I chose a color combination to match his taste. For inspiration, I simply looked for patchwork mug rugs online and stumbled about this beautiful blog. Lots of inspiration for beautiful mug rugs there!

My beloved sewing machine has been having some major tension problems. The tension seems to change ten times during one sewing project. Not fun! But I have plans to purchase a mechanical straight-stitch machine next year so hopefully that will solve my tension problems ;)

This is project #41 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 craft projects // chicane cardigan

Yet another Christmas present: Chicane cardigan by CookieA for Brooklyn Tweed. I love all the BT patterns I've knitted so far and this cardigan is no exception. The pattern was very easy to understand and it was a fun knit (except the sewing everything in/together at the end... thankfully my mom did that part!).

This cardigan was a gift from my mom and me; my dad chose the pattern and the yarn and my mom and I knitted it. You'll find mods, yarn information, etc. on the ravelry project page.


This is project #40 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 // echino tote

Yet another project I've made as a Christmas present. My mom is the lucky new owner of this tote. I came up with the design and pattern myself. We both love echino fabrics and linen so naturally I used both in this project. I started with a bunch of echino fabrics and determined the width of the strip by the size of the green bike fabric.

I just love how bright and summer-y it looks. I'll definitely have to make a similar one for me - once I found a source of high-quality linen in Germany! [other than flea markets...]

I made the handles long enough that the tote can be carries on your shoulders or in one hand. The lining is a repurposed bed sheet and the cute pink polka dot pockets are ideal for cell phones, keys, etc.
I used a lightweight fusible interfacing to five the bag some stability without adding too much weight and bulk - it's suppose to be a tote that can be carried around to flea markets, the grocery store, etc.

I'm sorry about the picture quality - we're having a very rainy Christmas over here so we had to wait for the rain to stop for a few minutes to hurry outside and snap some pictures in my grandma's garden. This bag is definitely my favorite gift I made this year - do you know those gifts that you'd love to keep yourself and you're having a real hard time giving them to the recipient? This tote is definitely one of those and I'm glad I decided to make it and finally use some of my beloved echino fabrics. They're too pretty to stay hidden in my closet!
This is project #39 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 craft projects // hand dyed socks

These socks were made from yarn two friends of mine hand dyed. Originally we wanted to dye yarn together but I had to spent the day at the ER with my grandma so I couldn't make it. I was really bummed that I couldn't make it. My two lovely friends gave me some gorgeous fingering weight yarn they hand dyed that day for me. I LOVE the colors - not too many colors yet the splashes of green make the socks interesting and fun.

I made up the pattern in my head as I knitted the sock - nothing fancy just some cables at the beginning. I love the way these socks turned out!
This is project #38 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 craft projects // christmas cards 2013

I'm terrible when it comes to sending Christmas cards. It's the same every year. Yesterday evening I made a couple of simple cards to have them on hand for next year. No more excuses not to send Christmas cards next year!
I like minimalistic cards. For the first batch I cut out trees from a pattern paper, stuck them to a simple white card and stamped 'Merry Christmas' in German on the card. Super quick but I love the way they turned out.

For the second batch I experimented with wash tape. I got a bunch of Christmas themed washi tape on sale a couple of weeks ago and have used them for gift wrapping, home decor projects and packing orders.
The cut out trees are definitely more my style but I like the wash tape cards as well. Better to have simple homemade cards than no cards at all, right?
This is project #37 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

merry christmas

Merry Christmas to you and your families!
Julia, Lina and I took some Christmas portraits the other day and these two are my favorites from the shoot. Line didn't seem too happy about the prospect of Christmas (maybe because we'll be at my parents' home for a couple of days with two other cats around) but it'll all be over before she even realizes what's going on. Thank you so much for reading and following my craft adventures. I have some (many!) posts scheduled for the last days of 2013 to wrap up the 52 craft projects - I can't wait for 2014 and a new annual project. 2013 has been a year with many ups and downs. I'm excited for a (hopefully) less stressful new year with many ups and very few downs.

All the best,
Marie

52 craft projects // Molly hat

I finished this hat in November but couldn't post pictures earlier because it's a Christmas present for a friend of mine. The pattern is called Molly and it was a pretty fun knit - although I ended up using the entire skein except for a couple of inches. The last hour or so of knitting wasn't very relaxed anymore because I was afraid I had to frog the decrease section again to make it smaller.

It's a great in-class knitting project because it's easy yet interesting enough so you won't fall asleep in particular boring classes.

My lovely roomie Julia kindly offered to model the hat. She's very photogenic and it's always a pleasure to take pictures with her!
You can find all the dirty details on the ravelry project page.
This is project #36 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 craft projects // walk with me quilt

Remember the quilt top I shared in the summer? I'm happy to report that the quilt is finally done. I had originally planned to finish it in October so I could launch into making my Christmas quilt in November and have it ready by December. Things don't always work out the way we hoped they would and I only finished this quilt a couple of days ago. At least I got to finish it in 2013 so I can check it off my 2013 to-do list.

You can read all about the quilt top making here so I'm gonna skip that step here.
My mom quilted it on her long arm quilting machine. She posted about the quilting process on her blog. The picture below was taken by her when my quilt was on her long arm - it looks so tiny compared to her huge frame!

I love that my mom used three different quilting designs - each border got its own pattern and the plusses were quilted with geometric shapes.

After sewing the coordinating patchwork pillow I still had some scraps from the jelly roll leftover so I decided to use the scraps for the binding. I love the look and I saved some money because I didn't have to buy yet another fabric for this quilt. It's really amazing how much you can get out of one jelly roll - they aren't cheap but imho definitely worth the bucks.

The flannel on the back is super soft - unfortunately it's really hard to see the quilting on the fray background! I used this tutorial for the binding - I know I complained a lot about the machine binding last time I around but I figured it's better to have an imperfect binding than no binding at all and having yet another ufo laying around next year (confession: I'm terrible lazy when it comes to sewing on a binding by hand. It probably would've taken me another year to finish the quilt if I had to sew the binding by hand).

Here are all the important information at a glance:

the quilt:

• name: Walk With Me Quilt (because it took me so long to finish it...)
• size: 57 x 45.5 inches 
• quilt pattern: plus quilt (/cross quilt)
• making the quilt top
• quilting it on a long arm machine
• machine binding tutorial
• coordinating patchwork pillow 

the materials:

• sewing machines used: Juki HZL-F600 for piecing and binding, Handi Quilter Avanté for quilting
• threads: 'sew and quilt thread' by aerofil madeira for piecing and binding, 'so fine' by superior for quilting
• 'A walk in the Woods' jelly roll by Aneela Hoey for Moda: Hamels fabrics in Chilliwack, BC, Canada
• 'bleach white' by KONA cotton: Quilt und Textilkunst in Munich, Germany
• 'blue mushrooms' by Aneela Hoey: Volksfaden in Berlin, Germany
• quilt backing fabric (brand unknown): Alfatex in Göttingen, Germany

This is project #35 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 craft projects // socks for Julia

I knitted these socks a while ago in class. It took me about 1 1/2 weeks of classes to get these done. I'm currently in the process of using up all of my sock yarn leftovers (if you have any project suggestions I'd love to hear them!!). I used the same yarns for these striped socks.

They are also in my ravelry notebook but really there isn't much to say - just a pair of plain socks in a fun color combo!
This is project #34 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

plushy alpaca

My lovely blogger friend Sam sent me a surprise package last week. We met last summer and had an amazing time exploring Hamburg and Berlin together. Most of my local friends aren't particularly crafty so sadly I don't get to go to fabric markets, flea markets and cute fabric stores with friends often. Another bonus of meeting fellow bloggers?
They make the best gifts!
Sam knows I love knitting and fibre rich animals and pretty much just everything fluffy and cute. She designed and made an alpaca for me!! She shared how she got the idea and made him here. She also included many cute pictures of him so go over to her blog for even more cuteness. Not to mention all the crafty adventures she shares on her blog - it's definiteily worth a visit!!

I can't get over how cute he is! I love all the little details - the cute forehead, the ears, the eyebrows, the tail and of course his socks!!! He even stands up on his own. When he sits on his belly he looks like a cria :)


She  also included a really handmade cute camera necklace for me (she knows me so well!!) as well as a dressform necklace for my mom. And fabric turners that make my life so much easier. I feel so spoiled and blessed - crafty friends are the best, right?

52 craft projects // pencil case II

Remember the pencil case I made a while ago? I love it but after only a couple of months the zipper broke. It was a recycled zipper that I got at a flea market last year. It looked sturdy but it seems like it has lived the better part of its life in someone else's bag.
I used the same measurements for the new pouch because it was perfect and I didn't think it was necessary to change anything - except the fabrics.

The outer fabric is by Ellen Luckett Baker for kokka. It's a sturdy linen/cotton mix. For the bottom I used linen. The lining is a Tilda fabric I got during our vacation to Denmark. I wanted to add a pop of color so I chose a bright pink zipper. This time I used a new YKK one so I hope it lasts longer than my last pencil pouch zipper!

To add a fun little detail I quilted the bottom part of the pouch to match the top fabric. Quilting linen isn't very rewarding because it looks kind of messy because of the linen structure but I still think it's a fun detail.

ps: in case you were wondering how the heck I plan to complete 52 projects seen that I'm at project 33 and there are only about 4 weeks left... Well, there are several Christmas gifts that I can't share until after Christmas. Also, I have a couple of finished projects laying around that just wait to be photographed. I'm seldom home during daylight hours so taking pictures is pretty challenging. TGIF and I get to take proper pictures on weekends :)
This is project #33 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

advent calendar

There are some traditions that you'll never get tired of. The holiday season is my favorite time of the year and some of my best childhood memories are getting up in the morning and being excited about what awaits me in the advent calendar. Starting the day with unpacking a little present is a great mood lifter on those dark December mornings... I'm super excited about the advent calendar my mom made for me this year!

It's 24 (Christmas eve in Germany is celebrated on the 24th) individually packed little somethings to brighten up my mornings. I love how cheerful and bright it looks! I hung it above my bed and it's the first piece of Christmas decoration in my room - seen that it's December 1st I should really start decorating our apartment for Christmas!

I'm really excited about the gorgeous lace ribbons, strings etc. that I get to re-use for packing Christmas gifts :)