Monat: Oktober 2013

Crochet Along

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Hooray – I finished both blankets last night! The acrylic one measures 42″ x 42″. The sock yarn blanket is almost twice as big at 44″ x 70″. I’m really happy with both. The smaller one will go to a baby in Washington, just as planned. The bigger one gets to stay with us – for now :).

I’ve been crocheting these since June 1, and believe it or not, I’m still excited. Still hooked. And already ready to start the next one.

This time, though, it’s going to be different. I designed a new blanket together with Jessica over at schoenstricken.de. It’s made of cotton yarn in rainbow colors and will end up baby-sized – about 27″ x 35″. With Christmas coming up faster than expected, we decided to turn it into a German crochet Along, that is: a CAL.

The idea actually started over the summer. I introduced the concept of a Crochet Along to Jessica’s readers as a guest blogger. CALs aren’t that common in Germany (yet), but the response was amazing. So we kept going. We started meeting once a week. I would crochet. Jessica would take photos. Slowly but surely, a colorful beginner blanket came together.

We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. The stitches and patterns have all been used before. Some I learned with Hannah. Others come from books or online sources. But the combination – that’s ours. And we love it.

Tonight we posted the first 10 rows. I have not been that excited since waiting for a test to be returned in school. Fortunately, all comments are positive throughout!! And I am very much looking forward to next Friday and the next 10 rows … 🙂

Fall vacation in Poland

Veröffentlicht am von Carina1 Kommentar

We spent a week in Poland and just got back tonight. I’m way too tired to write much, but luckily, the photos pretty much tell the story. Just look at those seagulls—can you tell they’re slightly annoyed? No surprise, with the boy putting on a full performance right in front of them 🙂

Over the years, some of the photos that used to be here got lost – thanks to a total blog crash, a stolen hard drive, and whatever else can possibly happen to images along the way. The same goes for the link to the pattern – it seems the instructions have disappeared from the web as well. If I happen to come across either of them again, I’ll be sure to add them back in. Thanks so much for your understanding.

Most days were windy and grey. Sometimes rainy. But honestly, no one cared. We still spent hours at the seaside. That’s why we go to Poland in the first place. We always stay in the same house. It feels familiar. Almost like coming home.

As every year, I added to my collection of stones. Smooth, beautiful palm stones. I love how they feel in my hand. The man walked the beach for hours. Back and forth. Thinking about everything and nothing. And the boy? He ran. And jumped. Then ran some more. Until his rubber boots were filled with sand and water. Good thing we had a wood stove in the cottage.

And of course, we bought honey from the roadside stands in Poland. Acacia, erica, buckwheat, and canola. One jar of each. That’s tradition.

Whenever the weather allowed it, the boy and his friend (we brought him and his mom along) flew their kite. And every night, the man patiently untangled the strings. No one is as patient as he is. No one.

In between, I knitted wrist warmers. One ball of Opal sock yarn. The colors reminded me of the sea—pale blue, olive green, with bits of dark blue and off-white. It took four pairs to finally use it up. Whoever brought that yarn to the YarnCamp swap—thank you. I love it.

And I love fall. At least at the seaside. Coming home felt a little sad. Most of the leaves are gone now. Just last week, everything was bright and glowing, full of color and light. Now it’s bare, and it’s been raining for days.

I really need to go to bed. Hoping for a little sun tomorrow.