Süßstoff

Ugh!

2009-01-31T20:35:00.003+01:00

This is as creative as it gets around here these days. First no time and now I'm not feeling too good. My nose is trying to kill me and my throat might try to help. Sigh! I think my sewing machine will have to wait until Easter.

Cute stuff!

2009-01-23T13:39:00.004+01:00

Sometimes you need some cheering up and then you receive the greatest stuff in the mail from a super sweet person!This totally makes me smile!

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-03T12:46:00.005+01:00

Our New Year's Eve was pretty good. Not that exciting but quite relaxing. With some Schmalzkuchen I made. (I used the same recipe as here for the dough but added a little bit of extra sugar, cut them into little rectangles, let them rise again and fried them in sunflower oil for a few minutes).They turned out so yummy that even my Dad (who is my worst critic) asked for a second (and third) serving.We watched some TV, had a nice dinner and played Coloretto for hours.We met our neighbors on the street at midnight to wish them a Happy New Year and headed back inside quickly because it was really really cold.

School is going to start again on Wednesday and I'll spend my last couple of days off with reading books about teaching German to 1st graders. Such an interesting subject but also a sort of scary idea to be responsible for this very first and super important year... I want to do it right!

Shhhh!

2008-12-31T16:27:00.010+01:00

I'm totally with Susanne on this one! No fireworks around here except for a few sparklers. Our first dog spent New Year's Eve in the shower each year. It was the only place she felt save. And Mücke and Juri, our two cats, will probably spend tonight behind the couch or under the bed. I don't even want to know about all the animals outside! Hopefully they'll all find a good place to hide.A happy New Year's Eve to all of you! And remember: Shhh!

Love!

2008-12-29T14:24:00.002+01:00

Is laying on the table on my arms while I type on the keyboard, is getting a bit annoyed, wants me to stop and pet him... Okay, cutie pie!

Loud!

2008-12-28T17:39:00.004+01:00

Turn up your volume really loud and party on!A great suggestion from the very sweet Sofia who's music taste is the best! The Fratellis are really awesome and so are The Ting Tings (who I also listen to because of Sofia). You really should check them out as well. I'd post another video here but I think it messes with my blog...

It's already over?!

2008-12-27T16:15:00.005+01:00

We had a good time! We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's, had some yummy dinner and ice cream. The non vegan kind looked pretty good......but I'm sure the vegan kind tasted way better (especially with the green jello)! We played some games and exchanged gifts (I got a new lens for my camera and a flash!)
We drove to C's parents on the 25th. Had some yummy lunch, played with the remote controlled dragonfly my sister in law had given to her boyfriend, ate some cake, drank coffee and left for our little trip to Zingst at the coast. Went for a walk, had to watch the (traditional) Christmas diving......couldn't wait for the divers to recover the hidden treasure because it was so freezing cold.
Met part of C's family who came to visit us and went window shopping through the town.Ended the day with some good pizza and seabuckthorn glogg (Sanddorn-Glühwein).

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-24T12:51:00.003+01:00

I received the toadstool ornament from Johanna as a gift a couple of weeks ago for babysitting her panda bear. Then my friend J. gave me a wonderful book for my birthday with super great crafting ideas inside.
When I saw the gold plated cones I got myself all the supplies the very next day. What a messy thing to do but I just love my golden cones and I think the look lovely with the toadstool ornament and the red ribbon.

My secret pal!

2008-12-23T15:00:00.005+01:00

My secret pal sent me a Christmas gift and I couldn't stop myself from opening the package a little early! Look at all the pink goodness!!! She sent pink socks, two sets of pink gloves, pink panda cotton, pink stitch markers, a pink bandana and pink fabric and like that wasn't enough already she also included a book... this one: Oh my goodness! All the little softy friends in there are just so adorable! I love the dog, the zebra, the pig and not to forget the little panda:And all the others are awfully cute too. I feel like going through all my socks and gloves right now to check which ones I could make.
Unfortunately there are quite a few gifts laying around here which I need to wrap first. And then our house needs a bit of cleaning. Plus I'll have to bake a cake tomorrow which we can take to my parents in law on the 25th. We'll visit them first and then drive on to the little hotel at the coast where we'll stay for two days. I'm so looking forward to some peace and quiet with C. that the softy friends will have to wait a couple of days...

I just now realized that I never posted about the other fabulous gift I received from my secret pal! She sent me a iTunes gift card for my birthday. And I got myself the Peter Fox album. Here's one of my favourite songs:

School's out for...

2008-12-23T08:33:00.003+01:00

the holidays! Yay! I didn't think I would be so exausted after just 7 weeks but I am. And I really hope the reason for that is that it was all really new for me because I know the following weeks will probably be way more work intensive.
Oh well, I'll just wait and see. Until then I'll enjoy my days off and our little trip to the Baltic Sea!I finally managed to take some more pictures (first I had forgotten my camera and then the next week I had left the memory card at home).
I think this little town is just so sweet and I love my water mill! Coming home to it on sunny days really makes me happy. I can't wait to use my balcony!
See the 2 windows at the top? In front of the right one is my huge balcony and the pond is right across the street.Spring! I'm so looking forward to spring! And that's three more months? Oh no!
(Note to self: Stop thinking about spring and finally get in the mood for Christmas and winter!!!)

Cutting and coloring!

2008-12-05T16:34:00.005+01:00

That's as creative as it gets around here these days! No knitting, no stitching and still no sewing! I'm really looking forward to the holidays now. School is still a lot of fun but also also a little exhausting. When I come home on Friday afternoon after my two hour drive I could just hop into bed and sleep until Saturday! I think (or hope?!) I just have to get used to everything.I snapped two little pictures when the weather wasn't that bad. Some timber framing on the wall of "my house". I love it so much! I wish we could build a house with walls like that!

Week #2!

2008-11-16T10:11:00.005+01:00

My second week at school was really nice too. I also feel a little bit more at home at my apartment. It's still not absolutely finished but it's getting there.I have so many plans for things I'd like to sew but I'm not sure yet when I'll find the time for it. The weekends at home are way too short and it looks like it will get a lot busier during the week as well now that the seminars have started and all the instructors have told us what they expect from us.

On Wednesday all the new trainee teachers went on a little trip through the county. We were so lucky with the weather and I enjoyed some of the places we visited immensely. Like for example an old mill that is turned into some kind of a museum and that is still functioning. I'll most definitely visit it again!Since I live in a water mill now too I felt directly addressed by the good luck sign for millers:In the evening we drove to the moor land where about fifty thousand cranes are taking a rest on their way to Soutern Europe. I so wished we could have spend more time there. It really is an amazing view to see them all come in from the fields. Of course I didn't think of taking my big lense and could only take crappy pictures. I guess I need to go there again too.All in all I really had a good week but I was still a little down. I still don't have a phone or internet access and I do feel quite lonely there once school is out, even though everybody in my little town is super nice. I was hoping to find some other trainee teachers that live close by but I had no luck at all! I'm actually starting to think about joining some sort of club or group. Even Tupperware parties become a lot more appealing to me than I ever expected...

Secret Pal 13!

2008-11-14T16:27:00.005+01:00

About a year ago I promised C. I'd do just one more swap. Oh well, that didn't work out at all. I don't even want to count the ones I joined since then.
And when I saw that I could finally sign up for a Secret Pal swap (which I always thought were just super special) I had to do it. Just one more swap, right?!

Here's the questionnaire for the SP13:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I really like bamboo, cotton, linen, corn and soy yarn as well as any non-animal/vegan fiber (let it be natural or synthetic!). Everything that comes from an animal is not for me!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My dpn's are stored away nicely in the case I made for them while all the circular ones are in a simple plastic bag.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I learned how to knit from my great grandmother when I was in elementary school and have since been more or less into it. Fall and winter are usually my only knitting seasons though and I think I'd consider myself still just an advanced beginner.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope, I don't. ETA: I totally forgot that I do of course have my list of Etsy favorites!

5. What's your favorite scent?
I like fresh scents just as much as sweet ones like caramel or vanilla. I'm not too fond of heavy flowery ones.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes, unfortunately I love ANY kind of vegan candy!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
No spinning but lots of sewing, some counted cross stitch, a little crocheting and a big interest in any new craft I find out about!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
Rock, pop and alternative are probably the ones I like best but I'd love to listen to my pal's favorite music... whatever it is!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I think I like almost every color except for dark blue and neon colors.
Sometime when I look at my blog or my fabric stash I can't help noticing that pink seems to be overly popular around here.10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married (haha, still think that's funny!) and we are owned by two cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes to scarves, hats and mittens and no to ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
All of the above or any other small project!

13. What are you knitting right now?
Fingerless gloves.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course! Who doesn't?!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like circular needles much better than straight ones (except for dpn's of course).
I own a lot of aluminium needles but think I prefer bamboo or rose wood.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No, I don't.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I don't have any. Anything that doesn't get finished in an acceptable amount of time will get tossed or ripped. Sometimes it just has to be that way.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
We don't really have that many holidays here in Germany that we'll celebrate (or did I forget some?!). No big Thanksgiving or Halloween parties here and of course no 4th of July either. I guess I really like the two we do celebrate: Easter and X-Mas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Nothing worth mentioning here.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? 21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm sure there are tons of things out there which I absolutely NEED but right now I can't think of anything. I just really love to try new yarns and books are always super appreciated!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes... sort of but I'm so darn slow! 5 1/2

23. When is your birthday?
November 19th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes, I'm and I'm suessstoff there as well.

Yay!

2008-11-08T14:56:00.005+01:00

It's a big fat YAY! My first week at school was really really great. The kids are just awesome and all of the other teachers were really sweet and helpful. A very good start I'd say. I'm looking forward to the next weeks and the start of the seminar so I can meet all my fellow trainee teachers again and find out who's living close by.
That is the only thing I'm not so happy about right now. I feel pretty lonely after school! I miss the cats, C., my friends and parents a lot! Hopefully it won't be so bad anymore once I have my phone and internet access. Possibly Monday it will all be fixed.My little appartment starts to look really nice now. My parents came over for a quick visit and my dad installed all the lamps. A few more pictures on the wall and a few more accessories from home and I'll be all done. I'll show you then! For now I'll show you the view from my bathroom window:Aren't the geese the cutest?! There are also a couple of ducks and I love their cackling and quacking especially when they wake up.I can't wait for spring. The first of the two buildings is the registry office and I think I'll be able to watch some beautiful weddings... from my balcony which offers an even better view to the little pond.

(The cupcakes are Banana Split Cupcakes from VCTOTW. Yum! I made three different kinds in total figuring it couldn't hurt to take them to school for my new colleagues.)

Colors!

2008-10-26T12:21:00.006+01:00

About two weeks ago C and me were looking for a little flat for me near my new school. At first it looked as if I wouldn't find anything really close by but then I got super lucky and found the most perfect one. Just like that!
I didn't take any pictures yet because the first time we looked at it I didn't bring my camera and the second time we were busy moving all my furniture. Nothing can stop me next time though (PLEASE let it be a sunshiney day!)!Anyway, since I'll only be living there for 18 months I want to keep it simple. Most of the rooms have just been painted and I'll keep them as they are but I don't think I can live with the hallway and the living room colors. While I have made up my mind on what to do with the living room I am not at all sure on what to do with the hallway. It's now reddish and beige and has a bordure on it. So turning it to white will probably take multiple layers of paint. Not an option for me right now!
Instead I'm torn between red + aqua or red, orange + pink like this cute little suitcase I received from Kaatje in our swap:Boy, this is tough! I keep looking at other blogs and pictures on flickr and there are sooo many combinations I'd like. What shall I do?

Ch... ch... change!!!

2008-10-23T16:27:00.005+02:00

Are you still there?! (Insert deep sigh here) I don't know where to start! It's been quite a while since my last post and a lot has happened during that time. Plans were made, were revised, new plans were made.
Summing it up it would probably go something like that: C and me finally (after months and months of (re-)consideration) signed the contract and will begin to build a house this winter.Then I also got notice that I can start my internship at a school on Monday, November the 3rd. The school is (a bit) further away than what I had wished for so I'll be moving to a (super awesome!) flat the weekend before that and will only come home on weekends and during my vacations.These two big undertakings kept us busy during the last weeks. Looking at show houses, talking to people at the bank, deciding on the layout of our new house, looking at kitchens, looking for a flat near my new school, buying furniture, ... there was a lot to do and think about!

Unfortunately me starting to work at a school also meant that I had to say bye to my beloved "job": taking care of little Pandabär.And since I don't know how much spare time and energy I'll have for sewing it also means shutting down my Etsy store (at least for now). I suppose even if I get to sew a lot, I'll be working on stuff for my little flat and the new house most of the time.

So, a lot has changed in my life and I think this blog might change a bit too during the next months. I predict lots of school talk and of course I'll also be talking a lot about wall colors and kitchen tiles and furniture and so on in the near future even though all these decisions have to be made when all the big stuff is already done. Let's hope it goes well!

A winner and a big thank you!

2008-08-05T16:06:00.004+02:00

C enjoyed being the important person to draw the lucky winner when he came home from work last night. He turned it into a big show and I wish you could have seen it too (very entertaining!). In the end he finally managed to draw one piece of paper from the bowl and it's emma (emsan)!!! I'll make sure to get your little package on its way as soon as possible, Em! Now I need to thank each and every one of you! Your suggestions are deeply appreciated!
I am in the middle of trying to put your ideas to practice. The suggestion to add some less expensive items, which came from quite a few of you, is probably a very good one!!! I already have something in mind. Let's see how that will turn out.
I don't think I'll be able to lower the prices in general. Of course I do love to sew and it does bring a lot of joy but unfortunately fabrics, thread, buttons, zippers, a.s.o. are fairly expensive in Germany and I'd really like to make some profit too... just to make up for all the time I spend on every single item and just so I can buy more fabris and sewing supplies actually.
Once I'll add some more items I'll most definitely start to use different categories and if I should actually have a creative moment I might even come up with better names for the things I make.
To list items as often as possible is probably another very good advice... at least that's what I read now in some forums too! I never thought of listing one item at a time but that way of course one will be easier to be found during searches.

I hope to get it all fixed within this month and will probably post about it once its done. Thanks bunches! You all rock!

Overwhelmed!

2008-08-01T18:31:00.002+02:00

I really am overwhelmed by all your responses to my last post!!! First of all it sets a new record (regarding the numer of comments and I really could get used to that!) and then I really like all your thoughtful ideas and suggestions! I'm definitely going to consider each and every one of them. I'm already working on some things I'm going to change/add.
All of your comments are very helpful to me! Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your thoughts!I now do remember why I didn't have more giveaways on here. The thought that just one of you will be rewarded for her efforts is not a very nice one! Unlike last time I unfortunetly won't be able to change my guidelines and can't sent something to everybody who participated (6 people where much easier to handle back then).Time to show you what exactly you could win, I guess. I decided to keep one item a surprise though. I hope you'll like these as much as I liked your comments... keep them coming! You still have until Sunday night!

A Giveaway!

2008-07-27T21:36:00.005+02:00

I just realized that I missed my blog anniversary, my 100th post and even my 15oth post! Since my last (and only) giveaway was ages ago I figured another one was more than due. I really want to thank everybody who ever commented here and also every silent reader I might have. (I'm not a frequent commentor myself but there are a lot of blogs I enjoy on an almost daily basis and I'm glad there are so many creative people out there which inspire me and keep me going!)Now here's the idea:
All you need to do to be entered into the drawing is check my Etsy store and then come back and leave me some constructive feedback or give me some advice on what to change or tell me the selling-strategy that works best for you. Anything goes! I swear I won't take it personally. You may keep it short if you prefer to do that.
What do you get for all your effort?!
The chance to win some strawberry goodies! This little bag and some other cute things I'll put inside. I already have three items I'll include but I'm also waiting for something else I ordered. For now you'll have to believe me that it's awesomley cute stuff but I may upload a picture once I got it all together! You can only enter into the contest once (even though I'll appreciate each and every feedback you might want to leave me at any time!) and it is important that you comment here and NOT on flickr to be entered into the drawing!
I'll close this contest next Sunday, August 3rd at midnight (CET). Then I'll let C. do the drawing on Monday and announce the winner here.

Thank you for participating and GOOD LUCK!

Done!

2008-07-24T17:18:00.003+02:00

I finished 11 of these cuties. I wanted to take a picture of all of them together but that seems to be harder than I expected. Maybe it's just to windy or maybe I need to chop down some trees first or mabe I simply need a studio?! I'll have to try again later. Right now I need to clean up the mess in the kitchen and the living room. Why can't I seem to sew without leaving nothing but chaos behind?

What to do...

2008-07-23T18:18:00.004+02:00

...with all those pretty scraps?

ETA: Thanks to marzipan I know what to do with them now: fabric pom poms. You all need to look at Molly Chicken's tutorial. Isn't that fabulous?!

On the roof top!

2008-07-23T17:44:00.006+02:00

Our cats like to hang-out on our roof or the surrounding ones. They can just jump from one to another or balance over the connecting balks. Of course the cats of our neighbors think that these are cool places too, so today I was met by this girl who greeted me very friendly.I'm not sure what she thinks of Mücke and Juri or what they think of her. I'm sure we'll see find out soon because my boys certainly won't give up this spot. See this grumpy and feisty little guy?On another note... Mass production is not my kind of thing but I think I should do it more often. It saves a lot of time that's for sure!I hope to finish these WIPs tomorrow.

A Whimsy Jar!

2008-07-19T10:41:00.005+02:00

My first actually. I've seen quite a few on flickr before and really liked how the looked. I think that is a super special way to pack your gifts. I like the fact that there is no trash involved and that you can use the packing again and again for lots of different things.And you know what I like about it too? You get to store all the little gifts together until it is time to give them away. Unless you forget where you store the jar you won't be searching for all the tiny gifts you bought along the way. Oh, I think it's just neat!I made this one for a swap on swap-bot but it certainly will not have been my last! Decorating alone is so much fun. I might need to keep a few just for me... you can never have enough jars in your house to store all the bits and bobs, can you?

Is it a pig?!

2008-07-17T16:22:00.004+02:00

I gave rubber stamp carving another try and I'm a lot more pleased this time! It still isn't perfect but way better than last time. Oh the possibilities! I do see another addiction coming. I'm not sure what this little guy up there is supposed to be. I was thinking "Pig!" but C. insisted that it's a dog. Other opinions?

Nice weekend!

2008-07-14T17:44:00.007+02:00

Sunday turned out to be especially nice! The humming of lots of bumble-bees in our yard was just as sweet as watching them fly from blossom to blossom.We were invited by Hanni and Sofia in the afternoon and had some delicious cake: I only snatched a picture of the chocolate strawberry muffins (and the chocolate cake in the back) but there was also pastry filled with marzipan and currents. Yum!Since we also got to meet Hanni's friend for the first time since she had given birth to a little boy I brought along a little diaper bag to match her granny bag.
And I also sewed a little drawstring pouch for Sofia filled with a few little gifts.Can you tell how much I love the Lecien rose fabric?! It's kind of embarrassing. You could think this is the only kind of fabric I have and that is so not true! Oh well, I can't help it right now...

Fabric covered buttons and a swap!

2008-07-08T15:22:00.011+02:00

I love fabric covered buttons and I love swapping, so when I saw the announcement for the fabric button swap I knew I had to join. It really felt good to get creative and do a little sewing (and a tiny bit of embroidery) again. I guess I need a little pressure once in a while.I'm not even sure what the little something I made for my partner Katie would be called. Basically you can keep a little notebook inside or maybe a couple of postcards. It also came in handy to store the buttons some place safe before their journey...Okay, making something is nice but receiving something really cute in the mail is even nicer! Katie's part of the swap reached me on Saturday and I couldn't believe my luck when I saw she had chosen little red riding hood fabric for her projects and the buttons (insert squeal here). Cute!So I got super cute buttons, a wrist warmer AND a pouch in a super nicely wrapped little package which I unfortunately couldn't take a picture of because I was way too nosey.Thank you sooo much, Katie!!!

Nobody told me!

2008-07-07T18:42:00.003+02:00

For some reason I thought carving stamps would be easy. Well, it's not! Or at least not for me. I was so exited to try it and now I'm a little disappointed. Oh well, I need some more practice I guess! Does anyboy know a site with some helpful tips? Like for example how to do a perfect circle?

Quick, easy and GOOD!

2008-07-06T17:27:00.005+02:00

That's what these quesadillas are! I found the recipe here at Lindyloo's. Since I didn't have any salsa or hot sauce I used some vegan Sour Supreme from Tofutti instead and spiced up my bean mix a bit.Definitely another favorite from Lindloo. I think it comes right after the Delectable Plunkett Burritos which are the best burritos ever (and the recipe can be found right underneath the quesadilla one). Unfortunately they take quite a bit of time in the making... or I'd have them every day!

Summer is back!

2008-07-01T15:47:00.006+02:00

I'm so glad it is and I hope it stays here for a while! I love blue skies! It doesn't even have to be hot... just a little sunshine is all I need.I almost forgot that I meant to show you the wedding announcements: I bought all the supplies for the cards at Paper Source in San Francisco. It's amazing how many color coordinated stuff they have! I had a hard time choosing the perfect one.

I had a lot of help from Johanna with making them and am really pleased how they turned out. The monogram was done by Lucky Designs. I like it a lot and am thinking about getting it turned into a rubber stamp (just our names and the dots).C and me decided to add a cd with some of our road trip music after we saw something similar in Martha Stewart's wedding issue. C had the idea of using LightScribe to do the cover. On their homepage I found a printable mailer which I used as a template for the cd cases. Then it was back to Martha for the ribbon and label idea.
My favorite song from the cd right now would be Ingrid Michaelson with The Way I Am:

And while you are at it, please listen to another song of hers... Far away... It's awesome as well!

A little red!

2008-06-30T17:40:00.004+02:00

Look at all the goodies I scored at Charlotta's! Actually the picture does not show all I bought and there was also a lot more I would have wanted! I could say I restricted myself because I'm a good girl but the truth is, it was so crowded that day that I FORGOT some of the things I wanted since I wanted to rush it. Umh, good thing is Johanna wants to go to Charlotta's soon and I'll definitely accompany here. Oh wait! That could be the bad thing as well...No, it's not! I do NEED some robot fabric and some Michael Miller fabric too. Not to mention some more ribbon! Everybody NEEDS ribbon, right?

And guess what! I'm not only buying fabric... No, I'm also making stuff with it! Yes, it's true. I've been crafting. Unfortunately I can't show it to you yet because it's for the fabric button swap on little red caboose. I mailed my little package off today and will show you the contents as soon as my partner received them.

Las Vegas, NV - Victorville, CA - L.A., CA

2008-06-26T09:26:00.005+02:00

Day 23:
Woke up to lots of sunshine, couldn't wait to get to back on the road. Drove along some pretty roads all the way to Death Valley N.P., enjoyed the heat until we took a short walk through the sand dunes and I thought my feet were on fire, were really thankful for our air condition inside the car. Drove to the visitor centor, watched the movie and looked at the exibiton, explored the park a bit more (definitely a favorite now!).Left in the late afternoon to get to Las Vegas, saw some casino road signs just minutes later and thought it was like at the beginning of our trip (got kind of sad 'cause that wasn't the case).Reached Vegas, checked into The Signature at MGM (the best hotel on our trip - the most expensive too), said good bye to our road trip.Went gambling and wished we didn't afterwards.

Day 24:
Stayed in our hotel room until check-out time, went shopping for the last time, had lunch at a wonderful Indian restaurant, bought tons of vegan donuts, left Vegas, drove to Victorville, checked into a hotel for the last time.

Day 25:
Packed our suitcases (which took forever), cleaned out the car, drove to L.A., returned our rental car, went to the airport, had to wait quite a while, flew back home!

San Francisco, CA - Oakdale, CA - Mammoth Lake, CA

2008-06-26T08:20:00.006+02:00

Day 20:
Took a little walk at the beach of Mendocino.Looked at all the gorgeous gardens.Would have liked to spend another day but started to get scared we wouldn't make it back to L.A. on time, drove along the winding coast (I got car sick!) until we reached San Francisco.Had been there 9 years ago, remembered it all very differently, didn't like our hotel at all (even though it was sooooo much better than the first time - why is it so hard for us to find a nice hotel there when that wasn't a problem ANYWHERE else?!), went to Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown.

Day 21:
Went to the Japan Center (awesome!), did some shopping (at Sweet Papery!!! Where I bought all the materials to make our own wedding anouncements, which I'll tell you more about soon), had some pizza, left the city and drove all the way to Oakdale so our next stop could be Yosemite N.P.

Day 22:
Had been warned by our book that it might be crowded at Yosemite but the receptionist of our hotel told us that this wasn't true especially not in May, had high expectations concerning wildlife viewing, reached the park and realized that our book was right once again: way too many people for my taste and probably because of that NO animals (not for us that is), instead some beautiful landscapes.Lots of wonderful viewpoints.Didn't feel like freezing temperatures, snow and ice anymore at all, left the park at the east entrance, took a short trip to Mono Lake where it was really stormy, were met by a seagull which agreed to be my model so I could try out the new lense we had bought.Drove to Mammoth Lake, found a hotel and hoped for sunshine for the rest of the trip.

Kerby,OR - Mendocino,CA

2008-06-24T14:59:00.004+02:00

Day 18:
Drove to Crater Lake National Park (which meant kind of a long detour), didn't expect that much snow at all, watched the movie at the visitor centor.Took the road up to the lake, enjoyed the stunning view but were a little disappointed to find that many people up there with us who where all standing at the only accessible viewpoint (so it was really crowded!), were freezing, left again.Drove for a long time through the mountains to get back on our route. Were really tired when we stopped at a hotel in Kerby.

Day 19:
Reached the west coast, went for a little walk in Crescent City.Drove through Redwood National Park, took a couple of small hikes to look at all the amazing trees, thought of bringing one back home to my dad who would probably turn it into something amazing, decided that this was probably against the law and wouldn't leave enough room in our suitcase for all the other cool stuff we bought.Had to drive through the Chandelier Tree (twice of course!).Took #1, enjoyed a beautiful sunset.Were still searching for a hotel when it was already really dark, tried to distract myself with taking pictures (I hate driving at night because I'm always scared of running over an animal).Finally reached Mendocino, found a lovely hotel which also offered fine vegetarian dining in Mendocino but it had no rooms left, were sent to the Mendocino hotel were we got a cozy little room w/o bathroom, were too tired to go back to the restaurant at the other hotel, fell asleep.

Portland, OR - Cottage Grove, OR

2008-06-24T14:12:00.008+02:00

Day 15:
Reached Oregon, stopped at the visitor centor, got advised to take the Historic I 84 as soon as possible to get to Portland, didn't regret it:a winding road, beautiful views, much less traffic than on the new interstate, wildflowers as far as you could see, old and lonely places,a rainforest with beautiful waterfalls.Reached Portland when it was getting dark, checked into our hotel, went to an all vegetarian Chinese restaurant with super delicious food.

Day 16:
Went to Herbivore and Food Fight!, had lunch at a nice little restaurant at the next corner, drove downtown, fell in love with Portland instantly, did a little sight seeing and a little shopping (I bought my very first blind box toy and a super cute side dish bento box at "Hello Portland - Where all the cool kids shop!" And you know that's so me, don't you?).Had dinner at a brewery, did a little more sight seeing, went to Powell's, could have spend the whole night there but weren't allowed to, headed back to the hotel.

Day 17:
Thanks to the lovely owner of Hello Portland we visited Hawthorne Blvd., had lunch there and did a little more shopping, had to leave Portland even though I didn't want to, got back on the road, realized we didn't take any pictures in this wonderful city (arrgh!), drove to Cottage Grove.

Yellowstone N.P., WY - Coeur D'Alene, ID

2008-06-15T19:02:00.006+02:00

Day 13:
Drove to the east entrance of Yellowstone, got really exited when we saw our first bisons just a few miles into the park (they were walking right in the middle of the street and seemed to be in no hurry at all!).Got even more exited when we saw a black bear with her two cubs just a couple minutes later (this really made my day and Yellowstone became my very favorite park right then), took a short hike at Mud Volcano.Explored the park a bit more, were stunned by the scenery and the wildlife, decided we wanted to spend the night inside the park, were lucky enough to get a little cabin at Lake Village, saw more bisons.Went to check when Old Faithful Geyser would have its next eruption, came to find out it would be just a couple more minutes, headed towards the viewpoint and off it went:Decided it was time to go and look at our cabin, drove down the road, saw lots of cars parking on the sideway, went to check what that was all about, saw a grizzly with her two cubs:Watched them for a long time while they were playing and eating gras, finally had to leave, couldn't believe we had actually been this lucky, drove to the cabin and got settled and ready for bed (while I reminded C. every other minute that we had seen bisons, black bears and grizzlies all in one day until we finally fell asleep).

Day 14:
Enjoyed the park some more. Wanted to stay forever but couldn't, drove all the way to Coeur D'Alene, wanted to check into a nice hotel but decided against it when we heard the rate, found another not so fancy place and enjoyed it just the same.

Lusk, WY - Spearfish, SD - Cody, WY

2008-06-15T18:02:00.004+02:00

Day 10:
Had to make up for the lost time, drove along a very scenic road at first, saw a badger, a marmot and lots of deer, then took I25 up north until we left it to go to Lusk where we found a cute little motel with the friendliest receptionist in the world, did some laundry.

Day 11:
Started the day rather early.C. went for a jog while I got to read MS Living, drove to Wind Cave National Park, took a guided tour, but were more amazed by the bisons, prairie dogs and pronghorns.Drove to Mt. Rushmore N.M., were not as impressed as we imagined (at least I wasn't, maybe because I was still so hyped that I had seen a bison up close...).Drove to Crazy Horse, watched the movie at the visitor center, explored the park, wondered if we will still be alive when it gets finished.Ended the day in Spearfish.

Day 12:
Started the day with a trip to Devils Tower N.M., walked all around it, watched the rock climbers, decided that we would never dare to try something like that, took lots of pictures (Can you spot C. in this one?)Saw hundreds of super cute prairie dogs, finally could take a picture of one of them (I think a pregnant one).Drove all the way to Cody, didn't think of all the mountains we'd have to pass, were quite exhausted when we finally got there.

Torrey, UT - Moab, UT - Rangely, CO - Grand Lake, CO

2008-06-15T16:26:00.004+02:00

Day 6:
Headed back to Bryce Canyon, found it simply stunning, had to get back on the road, drove through Grand Staircase Escalante with lots of amazing views, could finally take a pic of a lizard when the weather got a little colder. Found a nice little motel in Torrey.

Day 7:
Woke up to a sunshiney day.Drove through Capitol Reef National Park, pretended to be part of a Winnetou movie, took a nice hike, rested in the sun:Drove all the way to Moab, saw a cowboy at work, took a crappy picture while passing him.Were amazed by all the space we had just to ourselves, enjoyed being all alone.Arrived in Moab, took a stroll along Main St., had dinner at a nice restaurant.

Day 8:
Visited Arches National Park, took a hike in the Devils Garden Area, got all sweatty cause it was so hot.Saw some more of the most amazing arches ever on our way back, were too exhausted to take another hike to see the Delicate Arch up close (all my fault... I admit it!!!).
Drove to Grand Jct. to look for a hotel, didn't find one because of graduation week, had to drive for a long time, finally found a hotel in Rangely when I was already really scared to run over a deer or some other animal in the dark.

Day 9:
Drove to Rocky Mountain National Park, talked to a park ranger and found out that the road through the park was closed due to snow, would have to go all around the park and therefore loose a day, decided to spend the night in Grand Junction, could only take a really small hike because of the snow (which you can't even see in this picture but it was there - I swear!).Found a nice hotel, got comfy, noticed that it started snowing (not included in our plans!).

St. George, UT - Tropic, UT

2008-06-10T16:29:00.005+02:00

Day 4:
Left the hotel, drove to a big outlet mall, bought a hat for me and some sunglasses for C., drove to Valley of Fire State Park, were amazed by the beautiful colors, enjoyed the perfect weather, were a bit annoyed by an air-condition someone kept running in their sedan while attending a wedding inside the park (which made this otherwise peaceful place to a noisy one).Took a little hike, could still hear the air-conditon, tried to ignore it, took lots of pictures, saw a few more lizards, drove to St. George, UT, called it a day.

Day 5:
Drove to Zion National Park, parked the car, took the shuttle bus all the way to the last stop, walked the Riverside Walk along with lots of other people, saw quite few of these little guys:Water level was too high to walk to the Narrows, rested a bit, walked back to the bus stop, took another short hike, enjoyed the scenery, returned to the car.Drove to Bryce Canyon National Park, arrived there just before sunset, drove to Sunset Point and watched the sun go down in the most amazing setting ever.Drove to Tropic and decided to go back to Bryce Canyon the next day.

L.A.,CA - Aqua Caliente,CA - Las Vegas,NV

2008-06-09T07:36:00.010+02:00

Keeping it short...

Day 1:
Flew to L.A. (rather long and boring), picked up the rental car, drove to Aqua Caliente, CA (brand new hotel and casino, special offer, super low rates: perfect!), gambeled a bit (lost $2), fell into our bed, woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't go back to sleep for over two hours, finally did. No pictures taken! Stupid me!

Day 2:
Drove through Joshua Tree National Park, took a little hike, saw our first lizard (took a picture but the lizard was way too fast), visited the Cholla Cactus Garden. Took more pictures (lots more!).
Hardly saw any joshua trees, left the park, drove along some lonely roads, saw tons of joshua trees, wildflowers and beautiful butterflies.
Reached Vegas later than planned, checked in our hotel (West Wing at MGM Grand), were exhausted, fell asleep.

Day 3:
Had breakfast at our hotel, stood in line for a marriage license with quite a few other couples, didn't get married in a chapel but in the office of the Comissioner of Civil Mariages (not very romantic but still very exiting), went to have lunch in a vegetarian Chinese restaurant, had it all to ourself (not because C. rented it just for us - like we like to pretend now that we heard someone say that in a talk show), stopped at Ronald's Donuts where we bought vegan donuts like there was no tomorrow, headed back to the hotel, rested for a bit, went to the casino, gambled a bit, went to Paris (because that's where we got engaged last year... Paris, France that is!), gambled a bit more (lost $150 and won them back with the very last dollar we were willing to put into the machine).Spent quite a bit of money to get our picture to show up up there... kinda outrageous! (Oh, who am I kidding?!)

Back!

2008-06-08T12:06:00.004+02:00

I can't believe it has been a week already since we returned. Our roadtrip was awesome! We really had a blast. I don't know where to start.The short version would be: We flew to L.A., picked up our rental car, drove to Vegas where we got married, then drove all over the country (5600 miles (it's important to C. that I mention that)), returned to L.A. and flew back home.Of course there is much more to it! We saw so many wonderful things along the way! I took more than 1000 pictures and I think I could have and should have taken even more. Now I don't think you want to see them all but I think I can't keep myself from showing any. So yeah, I guess that's what's going to happen here during the next couple of days. I'm going to relive the trip... day by day.(Yes, it's true. See?! I can't believe it either.)

Time flies!

2008-05-01T13:52:00.003+02:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. Something rather sad happened over here and I didn't feel like sewing or blogging much. We decided rather quickly that we'll go on a vacation now soon. C and me.I finished as many projects, chores and tasks as I could and still there is quite a bit of stuff for me to do. I don't mind it though. I'm really looking forward to our road trip.

I believe I'll be back with tons of pictures and hopefully with a lot more crafting energy too.

I'll leave you with a pic of a bag. Finished just in time so Johanna can take it along as a birthday present. I waited until that last minute to make this one... just because.

See ya all!

Sugar!

2008-04-06T15:09:00.004+02:00

I needed some badly! So I made the Hazelnut Cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World". No time for complicated fillings or homemade ganache toppings. Instead a ready made nougat like topping (which tastes way better than you expect especially when topped with some toasted hazelnuts). Quick and good. Yum!How many times did I tell you now to buy Isa's and Terry's book? Did anybody actually follow my advice? You better, because you don't know what you are missing otherwise.

Huh?

2008-04-04T17:13:00.003+02:00

Nothing. Nothing has been going on over here. I was super lazy and I feel bad about it.
Fortunately Sandrine showed me something super cute that involves some crocheting. So today I finally got out my yarn and now I'll give it a try. Let's see how this will work out.Hopefully crocheting will bring my crafting mojo back. I'd love that!

Happy Easter?

2008-03-24T16:08:00.004+01:00

A bright blue sky with lots of sunshine on Sunday. Someone enjoyed this immensely. Me too. A few gifts for some very special friends.
Good food. Like maple cupcakes with frosting and sugared walnuts from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". Yum.We had a good time.

As usual!

2008-03-19T11:40:00.010+01:00

Finally I'm getting ready for Easter (or spring in general). I think I'm a little late... as usual.The first thing I always get out of the drawers is this table runner. It's a Gerda Bengtsson design. The first and only kit I ever bought. It was so expensive but I had to have it. And I love it... still... even though by now I know I could have done a better job on the backside. Oh well, it's a treasury for me... and who looks at the back anyway?!

Pillow Talk!

2008-03-17T18:21:00.010+01:00

I love the Doris Day movie (but I love all Doris Day movies). Just so you know.I have been sewing some pillow during the last couple of days. The first one for Johanna who bought the fabric for it ages ago and actually had already forgotten about it, so that was a nice surprise (or maybe a bit embarrassing... depending on how you look at it).I also made some for the shop. I won't be too sad though should these not get sold, cause I really really like them a lot. I think these two would look good in our bedroom or our living room.I don't have a place for the one with the cherries yet, but hopefully that will change someday.Can you imagine my Happy Mushroom was on the front page of Etsy? Me neither. When I saw how many people had looked at it I thought there was a mistake at first, but then I found out about the treasury list. Whoa, exiting! If you want to have a look at it you can see it here on curiosity killed the cat. (Thank you so much for adding me!)Edited: I wasn't too happy with the first pics I took of the pillows so Hanna and I had a little photo shoot in her kitchen. Thank you so much, Hanna. I think it was worth it. Your kitchen is perfect!

Mass Production!

2008-03-16T12:53:00.006+01:00

A friend asked me to sew a couple of lavender sachets for her. She provided the fabric (which I coincidentally own too). I don't think I have ever made so many identical things before... and it wasn't as bad as I expected. I actually like how the end result looks. That's why I decided to make some for my shop as well.

Giving it a shot!

2008-03-13T15:11:00.003+01:00

Almost a year ago I set up my Etsy shop. I had the intention of selling some items online, but instead I just started to shop there (which is a lot of fun too!).
Today I decided to finally give selling a try. I don't know how it will go, but I'm really looking forward to this new experience.

Let me announce:

The shop is open! Yaaaay!

Coaster Love!

2008-03-12T17:47:00.003+01:00

Since Sandrine received her part of our swap today, it's safe to show the coasters I made for her. I love sewing these, but it always takes me ages to figure out which fabrics I should use. When Sandrine mentioned that she had just discovered and fallen in love with Tilda fabrics, but didn't have any yet, my task got a little easier all of a sudden.

Kind of lazy!

2008-03-11T15:58:00.003+01:00

I had the shirt lying around for a while and I knew from the start what I wanted to do with it, but I couldn't bring myself to get started. Now that it's done I don't know why I waited so long, because it was so much fun to make another freezer paper stencil. Luckily I purchased the shirt in a rather large size so the little recipient will still be able to wear it for a while... and hopefully turn into a Pippi fan just like her mom!

Thank you, Sandrine!

2008-03-11T09:07:00.009+01:00

Wow, I don't know why I'm always so lucky with my swaps or at least with the ones I actually receive, because I've been flaked on too. Twice. Swaps like these make up for that though!

Sandrine and I met on flickr. That sounds strange, doesn't it? I think she commented on one of my pics and then it developed from there. We found out that we have a very similar taste. So similar it was kind of scary. We thought a swap would be perfect and it is! At least for me, because here are all the goodies I got:Sandrine made me a beautiful tissue case and a tape measure. She also made me a matching card. And then she sent me tons of buttons!
Quite a few more sewing goodies came in a pouch made of Little Red Ridinghood fabric! I think the apple trim was handstamped. So cute!Last but not least there were fabrics! Lots of yummy fabric scraps!
I couldn't say what I like best. Everything is amazing and I'm so happy, Sandrine! THANK YOU!!! Your package is in the mail. Want a sneak peak? This is all I can show you right now.

Hop, hop, hop!

2008-03-08T16:16:00.003+01:00

I love quick projects like these. A cute and unique result within minutes... Well, if you can decide on the motif that fast that is!

First Strawberry!

2008-03-02T17:55:00.005+01:00

For someone's first day at kindergarten. Again inspired by the Japanese magazine "Café Special, Vol. 2, Linen & Cotton". I made it a little wider than the pattern suggested so you'll be able to stuff a bento box inside.
And to make it a bit more colorful I added a strawberry, using the same fabric as for the lining: the wonderful checkered one I received from Mette.
I never used rick rack this way before and I love it. I thought it would be difficult to do this but no, not at all... or maybe I was just lucky trying it the first time.

The addiction continues!

2008-02-28T15:49:00.004+01:00

... or gets even stronger. The food with faces kind is my absolute favorite among all of the kawaii characters! I enjoy sewing these by hand as it's so relaxing in front of the tv.

DIY: Farfalle!

2008-02-26T15:00:00.006+01:00

I think HABA makes very nice things for a children's grocery store, but when I saw the price of a small bag of farfalle made of felt I thought it was kind of ridiciulous! Then I figured I could make something similar quite easily. And it really was a piece of cake! Hilde and I eat them daily now. Simply cut little rectangular pieces out of felt. Use a zig zag scissor for the shorter edges. Fold them lengthwise. Stitch them together in the middle. Done!
You could make them three-colored as well (just like the HABA ones!), but Hilde and I prefer the whole wheat variety. If you use the fabulous Rainbow Classicfelt from the Kunin Group you'll have vegan farfalle and real Italian noodles should be vegan of course. (Oh yes, I didn't eat the cat and am still vegan - I figured it would be the right thing to do.)
And just because it's cute. Hilde featuring the cupcake shirt I made her a while ago. Desserts are a must!

Look, what's for dinner!

2008-02-22T13:00:00.003+01:00

I came inside to find this on our kitchen table and decided right away that this vegan crap ain't for me anymore. Anyone want a piece?

Crafty?

2008-02-21T18:55:00.004+01:00

I'm trying to turn Hanni's daughter into a little crafting addict. So far I didn't have to do much. She was hooked right away. Can you tell she was really concentrated and focussed?She already has a lot of precision going on too!

Party time!

2008-02-17T15:37:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I finally got to meet with my friends and celebrated the end of my time at the university. We had dinner at my place first and then went bowling.
I decided that we needed prizes and I knew very early what they should be, but as usual waited to the last minute to sew the little pouches. I made different ones because I wanted to try and meet everybody's preferences. I think it worked out pretty well. At least I hope everybody was happy with what they ended up with.I always spend a lot of time with making up my mind and when I found somebody to help me with that, I figured my friends would appreciate a little decision maker as well: Unazukins were put into the bags along with a few treats.I had so much fun yesterday! Thank you, J., J., K. and P. for being such awesome friends!

Thank you, Mette!

2008-02-17T11:07:00.006+01:00

I received a wonderful swap package from Mette aka Erleperle yesterday. When I opened it, I found an amazingly pretty box and inside were lots and lots of lovely things. A little chocolate bar was gone before I could take a picture. I don't understand how that could happen, but yeah, it seams to become a habbit.
Mette says she was in spring mood when she finished my package. I think it shows and it makes me so happy 'cause I'm really looking forward to spring. Lots of happy colors for happy projects.

Thank you oh so much, Mette!

Is this shabby chic?

2008-02-15T09:14:00.005+01:00

I don't really have a clue. But still this was inspired by one of my favorite Japanese crafting magazines "Café Special Vol. 2, Linen & Cotton" and Hannah's description "Think French shabby chic - cabbage roses, polka dots, stripes, duck-egg blues, light pinks etc.". When I saw the rose fabric at Charlotta's I had to have it. Not just for the coasters but because I found it irresistible - and I'm not usually a big fan of rose fabrics. This is different. Obviously a few other people thought so too, because it's already gone. Too bad I didn't buy more of this gorgeous Lecien fabric! Now I will be really stingy with the rest of it.
I just hope Hannah will get close to being as happy with this as I am with the lovely goodies she sent.

Spring?

2008-02-10T15:55:00.000+01:00

Four days of beautiful sunshiney weather. Is spring really here already? I'd love to think so !

My gift wrapping says spring as well!
And so do my fabric choices these days...

Stressed?!

2008-02-08T15:48:00.001+01:00

I kind of were when I came back from a very unpleasant visit to the dentist yesterday (two teeth missing). I could have really needed some dessert but of course that was out of the question right then. Instead I got cheered up by a wonderful RAK from the amazing Charlie aka Purl City. A knitting magazine, lots of chocolote (by the time I took the pic today one was already mysteriously missing), more of those great love hearts and two chocolatey books. So nice!And there was also this: Beautiful stitch markers! All you knitters need to head over to her shop. She really has the most gorgeous colors for her yarn and I'm sure she'd be happy to make some vegan yarn as well (I already have some, remember?). Just a while back I also received another RAK from YowlYY. Which also arrived at just the right time and really made my day! Two knitting magazines with great extras!
Today when I really needed even more sugar, I received my "Vegan Goodies" swap package from Sweden. Helena sent me very cool stuff (the little piece of sandalwood soap I got as well is already in the bathroom making it smell very nice!) and a recipe for a mushroom risotto that sounds very yummy... I think my teeth (or the places were my teeth were) would like something creamy as risotto right now! They also were very much okay with the Nöt-Crème, which as you can see was already opened by me. I had no trouble eating that and I love it! I think Johanna will have to bring me tons of it when she goes to Sweden the next time.

Yeah, I'm lucky! Thank you so much, Carlie, YowlYY and Helena. You really know how to cheer someone up!!!

Looking for some action!

2008-02-08T11:31:00.000+01:00

He always is! Or almost always. He also loves his quiet time on my lap and can get quite upset if he doesn't get it. He always tells us what he wants... most of the time in a very demanding way. He is just so cute!When he was very little he was given to a woman as a gift. She didn't want him because he was black and he ended up at the animal rights group I was volunteering for at the time. C and I took him in as a foster kitten. I always want to keep all the animals we take in but C usually won't let me. With Mücke it was different. C fell in love with this outgoing and very demanding little guy straight away and he for a change was the one who wanted to keep him. Of course I was nice enough to allow it...

Just one quick shot!

2008-02-04T12:15:00.000+01:00

That's all I could take, because as usual I waited to the last minute to take pictures and then it was so much more difficult than I expected it to be.
I tried to sew a little red riding hood costume for Hilde's doll and I will have to show you the whole outfit some other day. This is just the little dress. I also made her a pair of pajamas but again no picture. Hmpf.
And before you all ask: No, I did not make the gorgeous doll! I'd love to try again though - once I find some vegan yarn that will make good doll's hair (any ideas?!). Until then I'll just stick with my little version of it... or sew some more clothes for Hilde's.

Catching up!

2008-02-02T19:33:00.000+01:00

Johanna had asked me to sew some oven mitts for her aunt way before Christmas but I was so busy with my exams that we agreed she'd give her a gift certificate first. Now the mitts are done.Not without the usual problems though:
Since last week I'm the proud owner of a wonderful serger but the two of us still have some difficulties with each other and probably will need some more time to bond. That didn't stop me from using it when sewing the mitts. To keep it short: I cut a thumb off... or almost off. Very smart indeed. I had to start all over because I didn't have enough fabric left for a third mitt. Not one of my favorite activities... The good thing was that I could make some adjustments to the pattern, because I found them a bit to tight at the arms first.
I used the pattern from "simple sewing" by Lotta Jansdotter. A great book! Lots of very inspiring pictures and nice projects.So the mitts are done and I actually finished a couple of other things too. Doll clothes for Hilde's doll, but I can't show them yet...

Oh my!

2008-02-01T21:47:00.000+01:00

Today I received the most amazing package from the wonderful Hannah! We had tagged each other on the swap-bot forum before and I received something so extremely cute that I started to stalk her and after just a short while I asked her if she would do a private swap with me in such a very clever way (haha) that she couldn't decline and then actually said she would get the better deal. Now this is so funny because she hasn't received my swap yet and now that I hold hers in my hands I can say that this won't happen. I'm not able to top it, but look for yourself:I received all of the above even though we had only agreed to swap ONE mushroom pendant!Everything was wrapped beautifully with little extra notes.She made this pendant first but wasn't sure I'd like it... (I know! She's crazy!)She then made this blue one but still wasn't sure I'd like it. (So funny!)
So she made me a THIRD! Hannah, you silly! I love them all and can't even say which one would be my favorite!

But like that wasn't enough Hannah also gave me these gorgeous buttons (which I had admired on flickr before - were she said she'd send these out for a swap and I got all jealous):Then I also got a cupcake tea towel... ... and a cute little cupcake candle.Now I don't know how to thank you, Hannah! I really wish you'll just get close to being as happy about what I'll send you as I'm now with all my new lovely things. Thank you soooo much!

My new love!

2008-01-25T13:23:00.001+01:00

I don't know how long it will last. Maybe it will be just a short affair. Right now though I'm madly in love with almost anything kawaii but especially these little guys:
Happy little mushrooms. In this case filled with lavender to make someone's closet smell nice and to keep moths away.

A while back Torrance had a post on her blog with some of her favorite things. I really like posts of that sort and I think I'll do something like that soon too. The little mushroom definitely puts a smile on my face and there are so many more "things" that will do so as well!

ETA: The felt I used is Rainbow Classicfelt from the Kunin Group. I love this stuff. I think it's a very good quality, you can machine wash and dry it, it's fade resistant and it's made with ecospun (100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles). Pretty cool, huh? In Germany you can get lots of colors here.

Pin Cushion No. 1

2008-01-22T18:46:00.000+01:00

I saw a lot of pin cushions like this one on various blogs during the last months. I think they are just so cute and puffy! I really wanted to know how to make them and found a link to a tutorial by accident on flickr when I was looking at all the great coloriffic pictures (but that's a whole other story). Then when I saw Erleperle's beautiful pin cushions I knew I really had to give it a try. I think it came out very nicely but it still has some flaws (for example I should have used even more polyfill). I will definitely make a couple more improved ones. First of all for the birthday of C's grandmother.My pin cushion could use a couple more pins, don't you think? I just have to find them. They are here somewhere...

What's up?!

2008-01-19T15:29:00.000+01:00

Last Monday I had my very last exam. I'm done now! Wow, I can't believe that myself.
I had so many plans for the time after the exams. So far I only accomplished to sort my ribbons by color. Here is pink:I think I'll show you the rest once I bought more of those jars at Ikea. I actually need them in a bigger size. I didn't realize before that I have quite a lot of ribbon in pink and red! And there are still so many more ribbons out there that I NEED to have.
Blue and green will fit nicely into this size. Cream/beige and unbleached linen are not represented the way they should be! More... I need more... And you know what's the worst? I have a hard time parting with my ribbons. Am I weird?

I love red!

2008-01-10T13:48:00.000+01:00

Putting together color themed swaps is probably going to be one of my favorite things!

The year is off to a good start!

2008-01-03T15:39:00.000+01:00

My Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap package arrived today! My upstream partner is no longer a secret. It's Karin from KnitRMusic. I think it is usually kind of hard to communicate with a swap partner as long as one of them is unknown, but I didn't have that feeling with Karin at all. She sent really nice e-mails the whole time and even thought of my birthday and sent a very cute e-card for that.

Both of us were kind of shocked when we found out how much we'd have to spent on shipping. I figured that it's all the coffee's fault, so I suggested to Karin to leave it out and send something lighter, but she said she "had to include coffe since it is a coffee swap". I think she is right there and I love her choices (Kahlúa Vanilla Creme + Cinnamon Hazelnut) as well as the way she compromised by sending those cute small packages.
Now here is all I got:

A falafel mix, soy nuts, two 100% ethically traded chocolate bars, a cute note card, an issue of adorn and two skeins of Maizy!
For real! I'm now the proud owner of Maizy yarn. The colorway is called Night Shades and I think it's perfect for some winter socks. Karin was kind enough to include a pattern for some ruffled socks and I might give those a try (they look very cute, but a bit complicated too. I'm not sure if I can knit them...)
The Adorn magazine is so cool! My favorite project is this stocking. I'd love to try to make one in time for next Christmas. I hope I don't forget about it. Cute, isn't it?
Now this is actually just an advertisment, but I still like it so much. Great fabrics! I'm glad we don't have them here or I'd want them all. But wait a minute... I actually saw the one in the middle at Charlotta's a while ago. Maybe she could get me the others as well?! Oh, I'm just kidding... no, I think I'm not, but I could MAYBE restrict myself to the matryoshka fabric...
Thank you very very much, Karin! What a very nice package!!! It really made my day!

Oh and by now I can also tell you who my downstream partner was, because she got my package and the little teaser already as well: Anne of The Bag Lady and The Pro.
Swapping is just so much fun for me these days and I really have been so lucky with all my upstream and downstream partners. Any other swap I could join? I need to check!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T13:49:00.000+01:00

We are going to have a quiet night at home with potatoe salad, doughnuts and molyb-domancy. No fireworks or fire-crackers for us. We had enough of that already going on in our street. Lale and the cats can't wait for it to stop (and I bet so can't millions of animals inside and outside neither).

Now I need to get busy and start baking. I made some Jelly Donut Cupcakes from Veganomicon yesterday to check if they could be a quick substitute for real doughnuts. It's a great recipe and the cupcakes came out delicious, but I think I still need the original kind... oh, and they are already gone anyway!Leaving you with a kitschy pic of one of the Jelly Donut Cupcakes and wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's going to be a great one. I just know!

It's been nice!

2007-12-29T11:48:00.000+01:00

Christmas has been very nice. We spent some time with my parents and my grandmother on the 24th, sitting by their fire place, eating and chatting.We drove to C's parents in Stralsund the next day and spent the 26th at home. My parents came over for dinner.(The butterfly hibernation house from Johanna found a place on the window sill until my dad will set it up in the yard. I think it makes a very cute Christmas decoration.)For dessert we had Chocolate Stout Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. They were really yummy, but we were already stuffed with Isas's Pizza (the best pizza on earth!), so we had some leftofers. (Did I ever mention here before that you should go and buy all of Isa's and Terry's books? Well, you should!)

Oh, guess what I got for Christmas! A new camera and it's soooo great! I love it.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T15:26:00.000+01:00

Change of plans!

2007-12-23T15:18:00.000+01:00

I couldn't bake the cookies I had planned, because I forgot to buy some more margarine. So instead I decided to make some Rumnog Pecan Cookies from VEGANOMICON (except I used walnuts and I also made some changes to the frosting). They are incredibly yummy and also very photogenic! Here one of them is modeling my last minute sewing: coasters for my grandmother.
Of course C's grandmother has to get some coasters too. Red with rose hips tags.I think I'm all set now. I just need to wrap some gifts and maybe I'll make some sugar cookies tomorrow...

Halfway there!

2007-12-21T17:46:00.000+01:00

I didn't count them, but I think there are more than 200 of these Gingerbread cookies. (I followed Johanna's Swedish recipe.)In the front: Coconut Chococlate-Chip Cookies. These are accidently vegan. I love when I find recipes like that. In this case though I'm not overly happy with the result. My mum finds them yummy, but I don't know. I had way better cookies before, so I proclaim this recipe as not blog worthy.
Now these I find great: Lemon Cookies and the recipe is also accidently vegan - if you use vegan margarine that is!
Here you go:

THE COOKIE
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup sugar
12 tablespoons margarine, cold, cut into 12 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

THE GLAZE
10 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Mix the dry ingredients. Scatter the butter over the mixture and process until the dough just comes together. While the machine is running, add vanilla and lemon juice.
Shape the dough into a pretty log about 18 inches long, roll it up in waxed paper. Refrigerate for about 4-5 hours.
Preheat oven to 325° F (160° C). Cut the log into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place the slices on a lined baking sheet (or two) and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.
Let them cool completely before glazing.

Makes about 40 cookies.All wrapped up and ready to go. Yeah okay, not all of them are wrapped up. There are plenty left for me, er I mean us...

Plan for tomorrow: snowballs, chocolate snowballs and Hanseaten (my dad requested those). We'll see!

And so it begins!

2007-12-21T11:57:00.000+01:00

Cookies have been on my mind for a long time now. Today is the day.The first batch is in the oven. I'm planning on 3 different types of cookies today.
Pictures and recipes as soon as they'll be done. If all goes well that is...

Eeek!

2007-12-20T15:19:00.000+01:00

I started these gloves during our vacation in Denmark more than a month ago. The first one was finished within a day, then I started the second one and when I was almost done with it, I realized that I had knitted two left ones. Yes, I'm smart like that. So I frogged it and started all over... for a couple of minutes I kept knitting happily away - then I put it to the side and that was that. No more knitting at all until now.I finally finished them today and my mom will actually get hers on Christmas, but my poor friend will have to wait just a little longer! (Tut mir leid, Jana!)

Now instead of staring at my chubby little fingers you need to focus on the impressive cables!

I'm ready for X-Mas!

2007-12-17T13:14:00.000+01:00

Finally! Finally all my exams for this year are over and there is just a single one left, which will be on January 14th, but I don't even want to think about that now.
No more studying this year! I'm serious.Just baking and sewing and knitting and crafting and wrapping gifts and listening to music and being lazy. Oh, I don't ever have been so much into the Holidays like this year!

Awww!

2007-12-13T22:20:00.000+01:00

Doesn't this make you wanna kiss him? Well, he won't let you or be at least very grossed out if you do so anyway!

Thank you, Charlie!

2007-12-10T16:46:00.000+01:00

What is this pretty yarn and where did you get it from you wonder? (Well, actually you can see that on the cute tag, if you look at it closely, but still...)

This is some amazing Purl City Yarn and I got it from the Secret Knitting Swap - Europe which I joined a couple of weeks ago. My upstream partner is Charlie Chuckles from Purl City in England and therefore the maker of Purl City Yarns herself! Guess what! I didn't get "just" one skein... no, I got 8 and lots and lots of other things too! Can you believe it?
It was so much it didn't fit all inside the box, so Charlie had to come up with some wild packaging construction. Look at all my treasures!
Maybe you need to hop over to flickr to see a larger version with some notes, so you can a have a better look.
Here's a close up of the other colorway of Purl City Yarn I got. This one is called Cool Water. (The one at the top is Stormy Sea.) Both are cotton blends and both are absolutely gorgeous.
I got six chocolate bars! All Green & Black's which I'd tried before when I visited Sofia in London and which tastes super yummy! All different varieties. Which one should I try first?
Look at these lovely beads! I love red these days...

Thank you so much for everything, Charlie! You went above and beyond everything I was expecting. Really, you shouldn't have send so much!

I love the "domiknitrix" book. The Jughead Hat is probably the first thing I'm going to knit once I'm done with my fingerless gloves. On the other hand I also saw some very cute patterns in the magazines and the calendar as well... it's going to be hard to decide what will come first. I've been admiring the knit.1 for quite a while now and I'm very happy I finally have one of my own (in my opinion so much better than Rebecca!).
The stitch markers and the row counter will be put to good use, just like the cat fabric (which I forgot to take a picture of btw).

Now I need to get back to my books and I think your roibos and some Love Hearts will accompany me...Edited to add this picture with a little message to Charlie!

Keeping it short!*

2007-12-08T10:33:00.000+01:00

Sewing hearts until you run out of cedar wood chips...Waiting impatiently for the mailman so you can continue stuffing hearts, while you know exactly that you should be doing something else anyway!

* "God Jul" fits so much better onto these hearts like for example "Fröhliche Weihnachten"!

Let it snow!

2007-12-05T09:45:00.000+01:00

(Well, maybe not today, but after the 17th when I will be done with my exams for this year.)
I sent out two swap packages on Monday, one to the US and one to Italy. I hope the one to Italy will reach my pal within this week and I hope my US package will make the deadline which is 12/31. The woman at the post office couldn't tell me how long it will take. I will check on the internet, but just to make sure something will reach my pal in the US on time I'm also sending out a letter with these two coasters and a little knitting related surprise.
I bought the mistletoe trim just a week ago when I saw it in a store and just had to have it, even though it was kind of very expensive. I bought only one metre of it, not knowing what I wanted to do with it until I came across some coasters in one of my Japanese magazines. Could it be put to any better use? I don't think so. Using the trim this way means I only need a tiny piece of it for each coaster. Now I think there's enough of it left for quite a few more...
Btw: See my little piggy? So I put up some decoration here too now.

Show-off!

2007-12-04T11:58:00.000+01:00

We were in Denmark on my birthday. After breakfast in bed, we drove downtown and I treated myself to a skein of beautiful Swedish yarn: Karen Noe - Linea When we returned from our vacation and after I had my third (horrible) exam I got this from two of my friends and it cheered me right back up: (Can you guess what it is?)
It's a Swedish butterfly hibernation house! Even much cuter in reality. (Excuse the crappy picture! I'll take a better one once this little house has found its final destination in our yard.)

I was also spoilt with a huge amount of fabric from another friend. (She also got me the cutest Advent calendar, but I'm not able to take a good looking picture of it... not even close.)
And then I got a gift certificate to my very favorite fabric store in the world from yet another wonderful friend. I can't wait to go there and I most definately will before Christmas...

I'm really lucky that I have so many friends who know exactly my taste. Thank you so much you all - you couldn't have made me any happier!

In the mood!

2007-12-03T15:44:00.000+01:00

I didn't really find any time to decorate our house for Christmas yet. Our house is in fact a mess. All I managed to do so far was sew some little cedar chips filled hearts and only because I had to. I still owe someone one of these and my guilt finally got so strong that I couldn't ignore it any longer. I figured if I had to get my sewing machine out anyway I could make a couple more...
I took some of them to Johanna when I visited her and got in the mood for Christmas right away. Her place looks wonderful and I used the chance to take a pic of the hearts with her decoration.

Johanna also had baked some yummy cookies which we enjoyed while crafting a bit. These are so delicious!

Always look on the bright side!

2007-12-01T21:02:00.000+01:00

We returned from our trip on Monday, because I had another exam on Wednesday. That one did not go so well. I was really angry at first (with myself and with one of the profs), but now I try to look at it like this:
On to the next one!

I got some seriously awesome stuff for my birthday which I'll have to show off tomorrow...

What else?

2007-11-30T22:17:00.000+01:00

I also enjoyed...
the view from our living room,...

visiting curious tiny ponies and thinking about putting two of them into our trunk to take them home with us,...

returning to our house after a walk on the beach,...

watching Lale behaving like a puppy,...

being served breakfast in bed while looking at my birthday flowers!

We are back!

2007-11-29T12:54:00.000+01:00

We enjoyed our vacation a lot!
I particularly liked...

rose-hips, blue skies and fluffy clouds,...

looking at Lale and C when they'd return from their daily run,...

walks on the beach,...

strolling through the city of Ebeltoft, looking at cute stores like this or...

pretty name-plates like this,...

To be continued!

We are off!

2007-11-15T19:07:00.000+01:00

Pretty soon we will be off to Denmark for a couple of days.

Going on vacation with us is Lale's most favorite thing.
Eventhough I will have to study a lot I will also enjoy watching her go crazy on the beach.

See ya when we return!

Seriously!

2007-11-13T17:53:00.000+01:00

You need to try these cinnamon rolls - they are the best ever! The recipe can be found here. It's one of Meg's Vegan Recipes. Totally awesome... every single time.

This is actually a picture I took last year when I made them for the first time. I was looking for another picture when I came across it and now I can't stop thinking about cinnamon rolls. I need to go and make some...

I made a sweater!

2007-11-12T12:47:00.000+01:00

But only a tiny one. A Baby Yoda Sweater.
My Stitch 'n Bitch book was put to good use. Mattress stitch, fake grafting, i-cord,... I got to try it all.
I made some modifacations to the pattern since I wanted the sweater to match the striped hat I had made for the little baby girl a while ago. I think it came out pretty well and I'm eager to try some more challenging things.

Right now I'm working on my pair of fingerless gloves though and they are not exactly what you would call challenging, but they seem to fit nicely and look alright too. I used pretty much the same pattern as last time, but casted on only 33 stitches. No cables, instead some stripes. (Can you tell that I bought way too much Debbie Bliss? When will it come to an end?!)

Hip, hip, hoo'ray!

2007-11-09T15:43:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had my second oral exam and it went nice, even better than the first one. Minutes before it started I thought that I hardly knew anything I learned, but then the exam started off with my favorite subject and both of my profs were so nice that it all went smoothly from there. I'm so happy, I can't stop smiling! I really wish all my exams would go like this one...
Another thing I'm really happy about is the fact that my first pair of fingerless gloves is all done. This pair will be a gift for my boyfriend's sister. I started on a second pair for myself, but had to frog it (didn't like the pattern). My mom and a friend would also like a pair so I better get busy - it's getting cold around here! WIP pictures coming as soon as I found nice patterns!

And then there is yet another totally awesome thing I found out about on Moonstitches! She put up a tutorial for the cutest Zakka Style Owl Pennant ever which is part of this very cool thing:
Go check out this great idea from Karen aka Cotton Spice!

Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap: Weekly Posting

2007-11-05T21:24:00.000+01:00

Registration for the Winter Wonterland Swap has closed. Matches are going out (I already know who'll be my downstream partner!) and the whole thing is going to be lots of fun.
Part of this swap are weekly postings to a given topic. Since I think my answers might be at least interesting for my secret upstream pal, I'm going to give it a try...
(And to keep all the answers together I'm going to edit this post each week and add a link to the sidebar so it's easy to find.)

Well, here we go...
1. When did you first start drinking coffee? What age were you? Was it about the caffeine, or do you love the taste and smell? Tell us how your passion began!

Coffe and me: there is no passion! I like coffee... sometimes. For example when we are at a coffee-house where they can make something fancy and flavored AND only if they have soy milk. I would never drink black coffee.
At home I hardly ever drink coffee and if I do then it will probably just be because I figure caffeine could help me at that moment. And actually I'm not sure if it really does. Right now though, with my next oral exam getting closer and closer, I want to believe so and I drink a mug or two during the day... if I don't forget to.

2. As the cold of winter approaches, do you change the projects you work on? Do you work on gifts for others or do you continue working on projects for yourself?

Except for when I'm making tiny baby stuff, my knitting is very much related to the colder season anyway. So the kinds of projects I make stay pretty much the same all the time. I usually knit for myself and everybody else who I think might appreciate the things I make. I am a fairly slow knitter so I don't get that much done during one season and I get bored quite easily, therefore small projects are my first choice.

3. So let's all just share a post with what it is we're thankful for.

Of course I'm very thankful for the wonderful people that surround me (C, my family and friends). I don't know what I would do without them. I'm also thankful for being able to share my life with the two most wonderful cats in the world and the most sensitive and gentle dog there is.
...Wow, this is harder than i thought, so I can say I'm very thankful that I will never receive an Oskar or anything of that sort, because that way I don't have to make this a public speech...
There are so many things in the world I'm thankful for. I could start with sunshine and end with moonlight and will be thankful for everything in between as long as it has nothing to do with cruelty against any living creature.
Oh and I must not forget: I certainly am thankful for Isa's recipes! (Buy her books!!!)

4. What is the ideal setting for enjoying the perfect cup of coffee? Who would be there - or would you be alone? Inside or out? Morning or night? With food or just the steaming cup of joe?

First of all my perfect cup of coffee would probably be cold chocolate soy milk. I can imagine a perfect setting with no other person around as well as with a friend.
In the first case it would be me, my chocolate, Juri, Mücke and Lale sitting in front of a fireplace - which we don't have by the way -, I'd be knitting or maybe stitching, while everyone else would be sleeping. (The cats would for once not ask me every other second to go outside just to come right back in letting me play the window-woman (get it?)).
In the second scenario it would be some stitch 'n bitch without the stitch, because I don't have friends that knit. I think there'd be some toffee popcorn involved or even better: some homemade cakes or cookies.

Halfway there!

2007-11-04T12:39:00.000+01:00

I finished my first fingerless glove! Knitting this one was really fun. I got to use my brand new pink stitch markers which I got from YowlYY - so very cool! For a second I was thinking that maybe I should knit them into the glove, because they looked so nice. And then I also thought that I need more stitch markers. I really do! Of course I also will have to knit more projects that ask for stitch markers, so it would be reasonable...

Pattern: SWTC Fingerless Gloves
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton, 1 1/2 balls
Needles: bamboo, size 4,5 (US 7)
Modifications: None, at least I didn't change anything on purpose. Maybe I added some extra rounds? Mine looks a bit longer than the originals.
If I'd knit these again, I would make some changes to the pattern. I don't like the "cabled pyramid" too much. You can't see this in the picture, but the cables have different lengths. Only the two in the middle go up all the way.
Also I'd probably cast on only 36 instead of 40 stitches, when using the same yarn.

Let's see when I'll be done with the second one. I don't have enough yarn left and therefore had to order some.
Meanwhile I'll start a second pair - I just have to decide on a pattern.

I have no words!

2007-10-30T18:27:00.000+01:00

(Actually I do have some at first, but later on I'll start to stammer and repeat myself.)

Two days ago I got a secret e-mail, telling me that I would get my Vegan Pal 2 swap package the next day (so that's yesterday!). Usually UPS stuff arrives at around 2-3 p.m. I was here, I was waiting, nothing happend. At around 4 I didn't really believe that it would still arrive. At 5.15 I called Johanna, who had asked me to inform her the minute I got my package, that we could give it up for the day. At 6.30 my package arrived. I swear never ever has UPS delivered something this late to our place. It's like they did this on purpose...

Anyway, I settled down with my package in the living room and dicovered that my package came from the UK, from YowlYY aka Bunnies, needles and books to be excact! I carefully opened it up. I was oohing and aahing the whole time. I got out all of the things you can see here. (No, not the cat!)

See the package in the middle? That's not wrapping paper, that's a beautiful piece of fabric! Of course I had to take a picture of everything right then, even though the lighting was bad.
Mücke came to inspect right away...

Inside that package were the magic yarn balls (yes, you heard that right, there were more than one!) and inside the magic yarn balls were two (!) sets of stitch markes, some luxury chocolate and another (!) crochet hook. See it all?

YowlYY really put together the most amazing package ever. I'm so so happy! I can't tell you how much I like EVERYTHING!

Here are the yarns and the crochet hooks for better viewing:
I got two balls of the amazing 100% organic Pakucho cotton in "Brown Cafe" and "Brown Dark" and two stunningly beautiful wooden crochet hooks.

Like that wasn't already enough I also got a ball of NORO Ganpi abaka surabu:
I didn't know at first that it was Ganpi abaka, but this yarn felt so special when I was winding it into a ball. Isn't this the most gorgeous yarn ever? I think I'll make a very nice summer scarf out of this...

Here is a close-up of the two stitch marker sets:

And let's end this post with some very yummy stuff:

The Falafel Mix has already been turned into this:
So very delicious.
Now I'm off to give the Cream of Lentil Soup (YowlYY's included recipe) a try!

Thank you so much, YowlYY! The package you put together was more than perfect. I still can't believe how you managed to meet my taste with every single thing you picked out. Fabulous!
I was so so lucky with this swap. I couldn't be happier to have gotten you and Chan as my pals. You guys are awesome!

Another swap!

2007-10-30T17:32:00.000+01:00

I'm going to participate at the

Registration is still open, so hurry over there and get the details. I know this is going to be a fun swap!

Here's the questionnaire (Most of you won't be very interested in those details so you can skip right to the bottom of this post, where I'll show you something pretty!):

Coffee

What are your favorite kinds of coffee? (Brands, Roasts, anything at all you'd like to share!)
I’ve got to admit that I’m not a very big coffee fan. I don’t drink it regularly. And even though I’d say that my taste buds are quite good when it comes to food, I must admit that I can’t really taste much of a difference when it comes to coffee brands or roasts... shocking, right? I’m very willing to learn though and my mom will probably very happy to help me here!

Do you prefer whole bean or ground coffee?
It gets worse. I’d say instant would be good, since we only have a Nespresso machine and no regular coffee maker. Whole beans would be fantastic too though. My parents, who are our next door neighbors, have a super fancy coffee maker (something like this) and I’d love to go over there to have a cup of “my” coffee with them.

This time of year, there are often Holiday Blends available, and many flavored coffees - do you drink flavored coffee? Do you enjoy special blends?
Flavored coffee is the best thing ever! Vanilla, cinnamon, Lebkuchen, ... I’ll try everything!

How do you take your coffee? Cream and Sugar? Straight up? Decaf?
No coffee for me without soy milk and sugar/flavored syrup!

Do you prefer drinking from a nice thick mug, or a matched cup and saucer?
A big mug is wonderful, but a travel mug is in most cases even better!

Winter and Holidays - PLEASE be descriptive! Your pal will need this information to be sure to put together a package you will enjoy!

What is your favorite part of Winter?
Let it snow and I’m happy! Well, I might have to say it has to be “good” snow, the kind that sticks around for a while and will let you build snowmen.

Do you celebrate a holiday in December, and if so, which holiday?
Christmas

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree?
Unfortunately our house is so small that there is actually no room for a tree, but I always get some twigs and decorate those... as well as the rest of the house.

Would you enjoy items related to the holiday, or would you prefer a Winter themed package?
Tough question. I think I’d go with Winter themed, but if my swap partner finds something holiday related that she or he (yeah right!) likes better it’s fine with me, too.

Do you collect anything? Are there any holiday or winter-themed items (Snowmen, Angels, Snowflakes, Santas, etc) that you collect?
No, I don’t. I do like snowflakes a lot though.

Do you wear scarves? Mittens? Hats?
Yes, I do. Love them! (And can’t seem to stop knitting hats these days...)

What is your favorite holiday or winter treat?
Anything that’s vegan. (Did I mention I’m vegan before? Well, I am and I really hope this is not causing too much trouble for my swap partner! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I don't want to be complicated and I don't really think I am...) I’m quite easy to please when it comes to food. Cookies and chocolate will always work for me.

Please share a favorite Winter or Holiday memory.
I’m not good at this... Let’s just say this would be my perfect winter:

(Please note: It needs to have a decent amount of snow and at least partly blue skies!)

Yarn and Crafting

Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long?
I knit and crochet. For a really long time! My great-grandmother taught me at a very early age. Both crafts are very much related to the Fall and Winter season though and I always make just fairly small projects.

Do you like wooden, metal, or plastic needles\hooks? Circular or straight?
Almost anything will work for me. There might be a tiny preference for bamboo or wood though. dpn’s are great, but I don’t like straight needles too much... I keep poking myself with those. I don’t know why.

What sort of projects do you enjoy making?
As I said I sort of only make small projects. I love hats, mittens, scarves and socks. But wait socks almost don’t count as a small project for me. Doing the same thing twice is just too boring for me. Therefore I’ll sometimes try to get my mom to knit the second one.

What are your favorite types of yarn to work with?
Everything vegan is perfect. Cotton and bamboo (blends) are types I love, but I’d also love to try out yarns made of soy or corn (those are types that are impossible to get around here!).

Do you spin or dye?
Nope.

Do you do other crafts such as scrapbooking or needlepoint or anything else?
Sewing, counted cross stitch: I love it!
Scrapbooking: I love it too, but not for making a photo album. Instead I love making tags or cards and small stuff like that.

General

When is your birthday?
November 19th

Do you have any children? (Furry kind count!)
I don’t have any children. We share our house with two cats and a dogs though.

What are your favorite colors?
It really depends on the project I’d say. For socks almost anything will go – variegated yarn is something I love for socks! For scarves and mittens it would probably be more earthy or softer tones, nothing extremely bright.

Edited (because I didn't notice this was more like a general question): If you look at my blog you might think my favorite color is pink, but in fact that is not true. If I had to choose one color only it would be a soft green, but in general I like almost any color, as long as they are not neon or sort of close to neon. I always thought I didn't like blue that much, but found out that is not true, if it's a softer tone.
Our living room is mostly green with spots of pink and red here and there, while our kitchen is mostly yellow with some red and orange. Any color will be fine for bedroom or bathroom.

It's easy! You can't go wrong here!

Do you have any allergies?
None that would matter here, but as mentioned once or twice before: I’m a vegan. So please no animal products or fibres for me. Wait, a skein of cotton yarn covered in cat hair would be fine! I have some of that already.

THE END

Now, here's a sneak peek of something amazingly pretty I got yesterday. My Vegan Pal 2 package arrived. I'm still so exited...

I'll give you the details in an instant!

Stripes hate me...

2007-10-27T14:14:00.000+02:00

...but I love them anyway!
Ravelry is really great. So many wonderful projects, so many great patterns and so many of them available for free. I saw a very cute hat and the pattern for it can be found here on the great Dutch blog of KNITTING AJOUR. I knew I had to make one the minute I saw it.

Stripes always seem to mean trouble for me. While knitting the hat I noticed that mine looked slightly different from knittinajours', but that didn't make me stop and check the pattern. No, I carried on regardless. When I was sort of done with my hat, the mistake was very obvious. Instead of decreasing every third row I had done it every fourth. I had no other option than to rip my third (!) striped hat and start over. Once it was finished for the second time I wanted to check if it would look good when worn. With no cute little baby around, I had to improvise.

Now it's getting a bit ridiculous...

?!? - But I must admit he was a very patient model...

My friend already received the hat and it fits her baby girl very well. I got the cutest mms ever and would love to post it here, but my mobile won't let me.

Sewing and knitting united!

2007-10-24T12:18:00.000+02:00

A while ago I asked Chan if she could recommend a good knitting book that would provide the basics. I do have a German one, but now that I'm on Ravelry I wanted to be able to understand English patterns as well. I'm really glad I asked Chan, because her recommendation was "Stitch 'n Bitch" and this is a great book! I don't think I will use many of the patterns provided, but I really like the explanations and all the helpful tips, plus it's such a fun read.The first thing I wanted to do, after I had flipped through the book, was getting my needles organized. So I got them all out and sorted them by size and filled out the needle tracker copy I had made from the book (Great idea!). After I was done with that it didn't feel right to cram all the dpn's back into my ugly storage box, where they would easily be messed up again. Instead I decided to sew a needle case. There is a pattern for one like this inside "Stitch 'n Bitch", but that one is for single-pointed straight needles (and I don't have many of those - I actually don't like them that much). Therefore I had to make some adjustments to the size. I cut the outside fabric and the inside surface fabric for the roll 26" wide and 11" long. For the inside needle holder I used a 26" x 13" piece and folded it in half, so it would measure 26" x 6,5". I also didn't attach a flap, because I was too lazy and I don't think I'll carry my case around much, so falling out needles hopefully won't be a problem. (And should it become one, I can still add that.)If you don't have the book and want to make a needle case anyway, you can follow Pink Chalk's great tutorial for the super cute pencil roll instead!See my lonely bamboo needles? I inherited all the other needles from my great-grandmother and grandmother. They obviously prefered metal.

Enjoying fall!

2007-10-22T13:51:00.000+02:00

The weather is fantastic these days. I'm truly enjoying the outdoors! We went for a long walk in the woods with our dogs. I took lots of pictures while trying to keep up with my parent's pace.

When I'm not outside and not studying, I try to get as much off my to-do-list as possible. Today I did some applique on these two shirts:

I really hope the two girls have not outgrown them already since the shirts were purchased/given to me months (!) ago.

Roar!

2007-10-20T12:28:00.000+02:00

This is actually my second try on completing a pillow case for a friend's son. I was almost finished with the first, when I suddenly didn't like it anymore.
What I really did like though is the fabric combination of my last bag and while sewing it I suddenly knew that I wanted to use the same for the pillow case.

I finally got to make a freezer paper stencil. I wanted to try that for ages. I've seen those on various blogs months ago and ordered some Freezer Paper right away (in Germany you can order it here. It's quite expensive, but I think it will last a long time. If you do have other sources or if there is actually something similar available in stores around here please share!).

I wanted to add a dinosaur, so I googled for a silhouette, printed it out and (using my window as a light box) traced it onto the freezer paper. I then followed the tutorial of angry chicken.
It's really fairly simple and the hardest part for me was to let the fabric paint dry.
Now I don't think you can see it too well in the picture, but the outlines of the dinosaur came out very clear and exact. So yay for freezer paper stencils!

edited to add:
Now it's all ready to go. See the little tag up there?

I made it using my new rubber stamp from Sweet Papery! I first saw them here on creative little daisy's blog (she always makes great discoveries!). Now go, get some for yourself... they make great gifts, too!