studiomeyer

sneak preview

2012-02-21T20:23:00.001+01:00

can you guess what it is?

(not a zebra)

outfit #2

2012-02-16T09:53:00.003+01:00

Summer clothes...both patterns from Ottobre 3/2011. This issue holds a lot of wonderful basics both for girls and boys.

two more squares

2012-02-09T14:42:00.002+01:00

For my Afghan Sampler Project:

Swiss Check (blue)and Houndstooth Check (red)

Both from Barbara Walker, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Yarn: Samba, Needles: 4.5mm

blocking...

Swiss Check is lovely and easy, yet interesting to work.

Houndstooth Check. I like the impression, but it should totally be worked in rounds. This was the first time I changed colour in purled rows, and I am not willing to do it again.

What's next? Corn on the Cob Stitch. I love to knit his pattern already (though it'll be necessary to cast on more stitches).

tolle geschenke

2012-02-07T18:43:00.001+01:00

I just love Dick Bruna. And friends who send packages full of toys right from the seventies. And also new stuff. Thank you thank you P&A&P&B

(Our little man turned one this week. He is the sweetest funniest little man we know. And he is totally into cake)

winter light

2012-02-05T15:08:00.001+01:00

the glow in our hallway makes me think of ancient temples, where at certain dates of the year the builders had planned a special, holy spot to be enlightened. in our place it's only the towels, but still. a magic moment on a very cold, early saturday morning

paper garland

2012-02-03T18:16:00.009+01:00

We made a super simple paper garland the other day. Our local supermarket held a variety of coloured papers. I cut them with a knife and, adding brown packing paper strips, put them together with a stapler. We made a rainbow variation for birthdays and one random coloured garland as a present for friends. They'll come into use pretty soon as there is another birthday coming up...

photo courtesy of P.rrr Schneider

Lovely garland by newhouseproject

space clogs

2012-01-31T15:33:00.006+01:00

I made these for my older son back in december. I believe we are going through all the classic phases in boy's interests: trains, diggers, insects, planets and rockets....
The pattern by Bev Galeskas is easy to make, and the felting was fun this time. I didn't knit with double yarn as recommended in the pattern, but used a thick wool intended for felting. Then I used our washing machine and checked every ten minutes on the process. They came out just alright. The motivs are cut from felt and other fabric bits and embroidered. I didn't take pictures of the soles, where I added anti-slip dots with red latex from the local yarn store.
Edit: I made the anti-slip dots with liquid latex like this stuff (I used a different brand though)

finished rag rug

2012-01-29T13:31:00.003+01:00

I saved the ends to make something out of them later...
materials used :
1 fitted sheet
1 duvet cover
4 women's sleeveless tops
1 pair of jeans
1 pyjama pant
1 sweatshirt
4 men's t-shirts
1 long sleeve women's shirt
5 women's t-shirts
1 kids long sleeve shirt
and half a fitted sofa cover as a border.
It has been a few weeks of cutting up fabrics in front of TV at night, and loads of fuzz in the living room. But now it is finished!
Final measurement: 142 cm/ 56 inches in diameter.

Almost all the fabrics hold a memory. The turqouise bit is a top I bought in Hong Kong in 1997. The dark blue is a sweater my mum wore when I was a kid. There are a few t-shirts my husband gave me, a shirt he wore as a kid, and my pregnancy jeans, some tops a friend saved for me when she heard about my t-shirt metamorphosis projec t. So there is quite a bit of memory that has turned into something new, I guess....

this week...

2012-01-23T08:08:00.004+01:00

...I'm in a rag rug making frenzy. For this rug I cut up t-shirts again because the fabric is wonderful to work with. It resembles the stretchability of wool.
I want to go on and on and make this rug bigger and bigger. My husband says when I make rugs one has to be careful because I keep asking: Do you really need this t-shirt anymore?? (If I love the colour, bits of it may be missing afterwards) :)

We also went to see 'Kasperle' yesterday which was fun.

See the amazing rugs of Mrs Ginther

january

2012-01-13T15:18:00.006+01:00

A fun little project that I started with my son, who wants to learn how to "knit". Knitting is his expression for sewing, crocheting, embroidery and also for knitting of course.
I took a bit of cardboard and punched it with a pencil. I straightened the back of the holes with a sharp knife. He chose bright orange thread, and a pink plastic embroidery needle, and off he went. He did really well ! The most difficult part was to turn the cardboard in the process and see where the thread goes in and out. So I told him it`s like a caterpillar eating its way through a leaf. Afterwards we worked together, each of us sitting on one side and passing the needle back and forth.
The first piece had simply holes for practising. But he looked for a meaning in the picture and explained what he saw: some people and a snail.

Then we embroidered the house together.

We also had a birthday celebration...

And I made a cover for the matress that goes inside his tent.
I hope you had a good start into the new year too!

Frohe Weihnachten

2011-12-24T09:15:00.001+01:00

I confess that I bought a kit this year to make the "Lebkuchenhaus". It was still fun.
Happy Christmas!

a bright tent

2011-12-21T19:54:00.005+01:00

My son's new bed has high legs so there is a little space underneath. I made a tent from an ikea duvet cover that never quiet fitted anything we have and added a chain of lights and a light matress.
I finally got going with the red cars potato print. It turned out to be a pillowcase.
(Impossible to take better pictures of the whole thing. The light has been pretty dull all day)

more paper masks

2011-12-19T18:19:00.002+01:00

This time I also cut out the noses to make breathing easier :)

paper masks

2011-12-16T13:09:00.001+01:00

At least once a week my son's friend comes to our house to play. First, they play cars or legos. Then they ask for playdough which keeps them occupied for about an hour, followed by a break (cookies and fruit). Afterwards they go wild and play pirates or build a house in the living room out of pillows and blankets and the couch table,and finally I let them watch a little TV to calm down. Kids are a bit like old men, they like their routine:)

Yesterday our oldest son stayed a home with yet another cold, so we got into a paper cutting and drawing frenzy after breakfast. I prepared some fast masks for their afternoon meeting for them to decorate.

tigers...birds...

waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh

knitting...

2011-11-10T12:16:00.001+01:00

...and eating cookies, and talking, and meeting new people... in the end we were seventeen people chatting in sandra's atelier on saturday afternoon!

you'll find more about the strickklub rhein-sieg at kompottfabrik and on ravelry.

i am a bit late with my post because a bad bout of flu has hit us. blah

have a nice weekend and stay healthy...

my gallery of unfinished knitting objects

2011-10-31T21:27:00.001+01:00

Whilst preparing for the knitting club I went through my box of knitted things, well unfinished knitted things... there are quite a few...

Baby bib from Mason-Dixon-Knitting, done in egyptian cotton. Needs button and weaving in of loose ends.

Baby pants. I loved the knitted baby jeans from Mason-Dixon-Knitting, and then i tried to do the seamless variation of baby leggins by Elizabeth ZImmermann. They need some cool embroidered seams and an elastic waistband (not so cool, but baby doesn't care).

Yes. A highly ambitioned project. The knit-in-the round vest. Man, i did the steeks. But i didn't make a plan beforehand like this. So the armholes and the neck opening came out way to small. What to do? Stuff it in the knitting box. Or, ask the ladies from the knitting club next saturday.

Mittens! Elizabeth Zimmermanns design of course! I know they look a bore, but you wait. Embroidery. Thumbs. All that

Fluffy white dream, innit?

Bad thing is though, I hate to wear wool around my neck. If this one turns out nicely after blocking, I will put it in my shop. Or give it to a friend I don't like:)

Felted shoes. Don't do the felting in the washing machine and hope they'll come out alright. They won't.

And: last but not least: I am actually knitting christmas tree ornaments sometimes. I wonder if i will proceed with that.

Strickklub

2011-10-25T20:46:00.002+02:00

I'm so happy to know Sandra and Jutta - their Kompottfabrik idea enables a local knitters meeting club at Sandras studio in Siegburg.

Our first meeting takes place on Saturday, 05.11.2011 from 15-18 h.

See the full invitation here... please contact us if you're in the area or just stop by with your needles, wools and threads...

red cars potato print

2011-10-09T22:43:00.001+02:00

on saturday i tried potato printing for the first time since my first year in school, probably. my son enjoyed it and after the kids were in bed, i had a go at fabrics. the fabric paint we bought was not good, unlike the one I used here. but I was astonished to see that the potato itself does nice prints. I just cut out the shape with a cookie cutter.

now i have to go to jeromin's shop to get some good stuff.

2011-10-04T19:41:00.001+02:00

no matter how crazy your life is, you can always squeeze some knitting in

basket weave pattern from barbara walkers knitting treasury

yarn: samba, needles: 4.5mm

makes sqare no.3

the dishcloth

2011-09-21T19:37:00.002+02:00

"if someone targets you for making dishcloths, resist peacefully and start singing Bob Dylan songs" says Mason-Dixon-Knitting.

I thought it would look nice in a blanket, too. So I started one. With the help of my Knitting Treasuries.

The yarn is called Samba, it's pure cotton, and I might have started my first crochet project with it when I was 7 years old (long time ago,folks). I cannot find it on the internet. They sell it at our local drugstore, it's not expensive, and I was astonished how nicely it knits up. It's not super-soft but a bit sturdy. I like the thought that I can sneak in and get some yarn on my way to kindergarten. I think I'll stick with the colours.

The first dishcloth is a present for a dear friend whose birthday is today, so i better get going and pack the thing up.

herr fuchs im herbst

2011-09-09T11:45:00.001+02:00

it is almost autumn... foxes wear scarves... i am so busy that i had to put all my craft projects aside... but hopefully that'll change by the end of the month

we are also hoping for some sun

or at least yellow like this

small kids take pics too

2011-08-23T20:12:00.002+02:00

when we went shopping some weeks ago, my son has been given a cheap camera for free. one of these things you dispose of afterwards. he loved it. after taking a lot of shots of our old sofa i could persuade him to save some for next days trip to the playground. the colours make me want to shoot with real film again

our garden...

2011-08-13T15:08:00.001+02:00

...isn't really one but a lot of pots on our terrace. I wanted my son to learn how his favourite vegetables grow. so we made evrything from scratch. we have beans, peas (already eaten), corn, tomatoes and cucumbers.not more than an appetizer but still nice.

my little gardener in early summer. the beans are way higher now...

his workspace

2011-07-28T19:41:00.001+02:00

my son's room is currently full of waste paper, cardboard from old packages, tape, glue, coloured paper, scissors and pencils

how much stuff we throw away usually i realized when i started to save the paper waste

the blue workshelf has been made by my husband, and T and I have chosen the colour and painted it

we are building something new. can you guess what it is???

we love this movie

reading

2011-07-25T21:23:00.001+02:00

five o' clock in the afternoon. we sit and read at the kitchen table.teacups, nibbles, newspapers and some odd magazines spread around.

me: I really like this, sitting here with you reading the papers.

him: I don't read the papers.

me: so what is it you are reading?

him : a comic.

me: what are newspapers about then?

him: they're for humans and mamas.

outfit #1

2011-07-19T18:40:00.004+02:00

3 sec photography:

1--let's take a picture

2-- let me see your back

3-- i'm off, mama

shirt: modified pattern from Ottobre- the best shirts- i changed the neck opening (placket neck), the collar and the cuffs

made from cotton

pants: modified pattern from ottobre kids issue 6/2007- i changed almost everything:)

made from corduroy (thrifted)

a printing session

2011-07-17T20:29:00.003+02:00

seven ladies and a lady dog met on saturday for three hours of printing. so much better than working alone. sharing ideas and techniques... I did not take any pictures then but you can see what all the others made here, here and soon here.

have a good week, everyone

printing on saturday

2011-07-12T20:25:00.001+02:00

It's always good to meet other creative people in real life---that's what Sandra and Jutta thought who now have their studios next to each other. They launched the

as a possibility for local artists and designers to meet. They also have a website (in german). Next saturday, there'll be an experimental printing workshop. If you are in the area and want to join, go ahead and send them an email.

I'll be there too because my dear husband offered to take care of the kids- I am looking forward to it very much!!

ICE 3

2011-07-08T18:58:00.002+02:00

is that fast train that runs now over my son's new bed.

about the blanket i will post later

we're currently having a lot of fun with old paper and cardboard

a shirt

2011-06-26T23:12:00.002+02:00

testing my buttonholer

hot wheels

2011-06-24T09:05:00.001+02:00

yesterday we had a fun day with dear people, rusty motorcycles and long gone coins (at least i had thought so)

the buttonholer

2011-06-22T21:36:00.002+02:00

what looks like an ufo has landed on my sewing table

is a buttonholer from ca 1960

that hadn't been used for about 40 years

i love little books with black and white drawings and easy to understand explanations

templates for making different sizes

choosing a template..

attaching buttonholer

threading needle

making

buttonholes ...

happy!

trains

2011-06-19T18:38:00.002+02:00

…but does it love me back?

2011-06-13T19:20:00.002+02:00

the jersey. with these little pants, i made many mistakes. i cut the fabric in the wrong direction (they stretch lenghtwise). the seam allowance for the legs is too short. it took me forever to find out which way to fold the little pleats, or piping, or whatever it’s called. if you look closely you can see little holes where i had to rip my seams. i put in my first elastic waistband (that bit went well, with the help of this wonderful blog) and the sewing itself went, after a bit of bumping and pulling too much, rather smooth.

and of course, the learning effect was great (argh).

i made a pair of red and white pyjama pants but i cannot show them, cause they have been worn ever since i’ve finished them. so you see only a bit of a 4-thread serger seam. tonight i am a happy mama.

t-shirt metamorphosis

2011-06-07T23:22:00.002+02:00

ambitious drawing of a nice straight rug

cutting up old t-shirts (memories, memories)

knitting them up into a long wonky strip

deciding knitting is no good for rugs. cutting and ripping old sheets instead and crocheting them into ovals

learning later that ovals and circles could be closed perfectly

cutting up more material

swatching for new rug log cabin style. going back to knitting.

finding out that mason dixon knitting has written about the cutting of t-shirts long ago (only they call it calamari knitting). never mind, that book is funny and inspiring.

I have an old pillowcase full of old clothes under our living room table. I cut them at night while we watch tv or relax and talk cause i just can’t keep my hands idle

our daily walk

2011-06-06T20:26:00.003+02:00

As I have mentioned before, we walk to kindergarten every day and it takes us about half an hour to get there. I leave my son there and walk back with the baby in the pram. Sometimes I stop to buy some bread or even have coffee. When I pick him up at noon it’s the same thing. All in all it’s a very time-consuming procedure. But if we take the bus it takes us just as long and I like walking better, and so does T. Sometimes I hate it it when its hot or raining or I have two screaming children, but most of the time we’re fine. We stop at things.

Like, delicious strawberries.

or funny animals.

can you see how she’s looking at the camera?

my son is totally into insects these days. I think this beetle is called “Grünrüssler” but maybe somebody knows better.

Another beetle, we call them ‘Hirschkäfer’, waiting to be made into some kind of design for my son.

sunny day

2011-05-29T21:42:00.002+02:00

today was what felt like the first day of summer

we had ice cream

and spent some time in the shade

hope you had a good time, too

jersey love

2011-05-27T17:01:00.001+02:00

so, sewing. i finally made a major decision and got an overlock and a coverstitch machine. boy was i exited i could not sleep for two days. i have seen so many things i wanted to make but couldn’t because jersey just wouldn’t work with my old singer. that i love. but still no fine fabrics.

i find it difficult to dress boys in bright clothes that are not too girlish. most of the stuff you get is either dark blue, pale blue, grey or green. maybe brown. the girls department is much more fun. my son often asks for red t-shirts or shoes, but if we look in the girls area, there is usually something on the item that makes it unwearable for boys, like glitter or ruffles. i think maybe ruffles will be okay for boys one day, but somehow i am not comfortable with that right now. i feel that dressing a kid these days is much more related to boy or girl than it was in my childhood. but then, i was the one in the butcher’s shop who got asked if the little man would like a slice of sausage…

jersey apes and owls ordered via traumwerkstatt

sewing patterns from ottobre

on tuesday my sewing lessons start, i have cut out some patterns, let’s see how it turns out…

objets trouvés

2011-05-06T22:12:00.001+02:00

sometimes we walk to kindergarten, sometimes we take the bus. on my way back, passing through the park, I found this little thing hanging in mid-air, attached to an invisible spiders thread.

i wonder who made this little collection of stone towers on a dusty parking lot…

brothers

2011-05-02T11:21:00.002+02:00

due to technical problems we’ve been on and off telephone and internet for about two months. it’s been a quiet time…. :)

but i am happy that now the problem is finally solved and i can go online again. i have a few things to show that i made in the last year…. i’ve been making stuff mostly for the boys and our house.

What I’ve been up to

2011-03-09T15:10:00.001+01:00

So sorry that I disappeared without a word… but now you see why I’ve been busy :)

Proudly presenting:

Oskar

expected end of January, born beginning of February, an almost always hungry but otherwise calm and sweet little brother and son

we’re enjoying our new life as a family of four

more cats

2010-06-09T19:35:00.008+02:00

i made another cat .... the future owner responded to my letter... aww, very touching to get a pink handwritten letter from a nine year old girl, desperately waiting for her handmade toy...!

kater henri is fine. he likes train rides.

i got my son to pose with henriette the cat for me. the thing is, he usually rushes past me to see what's on the monitor of the camera.... i have quite a few"empty" shots (with boring backgrounds) where he ran out of sight:)

alles klar oder was?

cat letters

2010-05-18T12:41:00.006+02:00

the lady who runs our weekly playgroup has ordered a cat from me (named henri). but now henri is lonely and needs a wife :)

man, how i would love to sit and knit and sew for hours, but i can't for many reasons.

to make the waiting easier the new cat (henriette) has written a letter to the recipient. i hope it helps:)

one of the many things i do these days is organizing my studio. those clear boxes are great because you don't have to label them. i also like how they look on the shelves.

but there is still a lot to do....

cats who wear aprons

2010-05-11T12:41:00.004+02:00

and vests...
i made that cat quite a while ago. i've been working on some more cats and also other animals, but forgot to take pics before giving them away...grrrr....
a perfect thing to crochet whilst watchin tv...
i think she likes it!

zoo

2010-05-10T20:02:00.006+02:00

last weekend we went to the zoo. T loved the aquarium (fishy up, fishy down) and also some of the big animals. last time we went he loved the red wheel-loader in the elephant's house best, while everyone else was waiting for the elephants to come back in after the keepers had cleaned the place and put food out.
this time the best thing was also red...

on sunday, i found some nice legos for him on the fleamarket.

spring

2010-05-08T12:04:00.005+02:00

we've had a few very cold, very rainy days which required a lot of indoor activities (sigh). But spring is definitely on its way. i love this weather with grey clouds and moments of bright sunshine.
Diane from tiderdesign has featured my knitted houses on her blog where she displays a selection of her etsy favourites. Thanks Diane!

have a nice weekend.

eggshell garden

2010-04-30T21:43:00.003+02:00

suddenly spring is here. i miss having a garden so we've made a minuscule one. also an idea from this book.

2010-04-16T20:12:00.002+02:00

we are back, and off again tomorrow... i have been making a rug, knitted completely from old t-shirts...just a preview... i am not happy with the borders and have to redo them.
anyone out there suffering from perfectionism like me ;)?

little birds ...

2010-03-30T22:51:00.001+02:00

we're going on easter vacation, seeing friends and family. until next week, have a good time!

winners

2010-03-26T21:26:00.003+01:00

and the winners are:

MegRuth
Irit

please send me an email with your address or leave your email adress in the comments section so I can contact you. I will send the prints out on monday!
thank you all for participating!
and good night.

thank you

2010-03-24T22:11:00.003+01:00

for all the nice comments! A nice house warming this is. Some names are new to me, some are old friends...:)

Now that there are more than two answers, I will leave the giveaway open until friday, then put your names down on pieces of paper, throw them in a bowl and draw the winners from it. (I am looking forward to do this).

See you on friday!

welcome...

2010-03-21T13:35:00.005+01:00

... to studiomeyer!

The "studio" stands for finding a place to do the things that I love. Sometimes on my own behind the sewing machine, sometimes playing or making things with my son or simply sitting around knitting. "Meyer" used to be my surname that I changed a while ago and I'd like to keep it because of the long time I've been dreaming of making things.

The pictures above are part of a series about traditional houses in Holland. I am currently very interested in "translating"architecture into craft. You can see more pictures on flickr.

To celebrate, I would like to send two of my linocut house prints out into the world. Just leave a comment if you'd like to achieve one!

I have also opened a new etsy shop, please have a look around!

Looking forward to hear from you....

Anne from studiomeyer

a new place

2010-03-21T13:25:00.000+01:00

so here it is... I' m moving my blog to a new address in the world wide web.... please visit studiomeyer from now on...

to celebrate, there will be a giveaway of two of my linocut house prints. all you have to do is leave a comment on my new blog... looking forward to see you there!

some clothes for my son

2010-02-18T19:33:00.000+01:00

back in september I took some sewing lessons in this little shop.
I didn't really know what to make until I started. But I had this issue from ottobre... I remember a little story on how I bought it. Back in 2007, when I was pregnant, we lived in southern Germany, close to Switzerland. One night I went to collect a friend from the station. It was a dark and stormy night in late fall. But no friend arrived, the train was late then cancelled ....I had then already been waiting for over an hour....Everybody was really upset, but I didn't mind so much, because there was a little shop that sold newspapers and really nice magazines (which astonished me, as it was a grubby little town- when I drove through it had been still daylight). So I found this childrens issue and I loved the little jackets and things in it. After a while my friend called me from a different town that was even further away. Apparently a tree had fallen down and was blocking the tracks. So I went there through darkness, rain and what felt like wilderness to me. Sometimes I didn't know where I was, or was this Switzerland already? In the end I made it savely, picked her up and we went home and had a nice time together. I know it is not so easy to get lost inGermany, but there are times when you drive and drive and feel you could be elsewhere.... It was nice to have this little booklet lying next to me, full of clothes I wanted to make for the baby....

ok so thats the big story:)
Now I finally made something from it!a duffle coat...

...some pants I had been modifying with the help of the lovely seamstress... I will make more of these, but add some pockets... some colours... don't know yet.that's knitted of course. I unvented, to speak in Elizabeth Zimmermanns terms, the pattern but there will also be modifications... so far its warm and soft. but of course I couldn't get the boy to wear it all together...oh no... but then, he is not a model, is he?
note: the jacket'sfabric is not washable,what have I been thinking? But the mud brushes off nicely once it is dry:)

bye- have a good weekend!

2010-02-12T13:04:00.000+01:00

Hallihallo!
Another simple idea from this book. Basically it's cutting out some felt bits and let your kid stick them to a felt background.

I just added some cardboard in the middle. Spray glue works perfect for this.

Then I cut out triangles, squares and circles. Also semicircles.

I like to stick with simple shapes so that the kid (well me and the kid, as he is pretty much a beginner) can create different pictures. If my son would be a little older, I'd also let him cut out pieces. I didn't measure so the pieces are not all the same size, but I don't think that matters at this stage.

tuff-tuff-tuff-die-eisenbahn (A german song stuck to my mind, arggh)
grrr.....brrrr......

I had also been looking for some embroidery idea to put on this little vest. Does that happen to you that you do something different and accidently find the solution?
I will try to stitch it on, maybe even with a third colour. The vest is part of some clothes I made for my son and I hope I can get him to model them one of these days. (Get him out from under the table, that is).
Have a good weekend!

...playdough part 2

2010-02-10T12:16:00.000+01:00

So here's the dough story continued...
I guess everyone except me has been making playdough from flour and water and food colouring...

... there's a million playdough recipes on the Internet... I got one from my friend Alexandra, and writing it down in english is impossible because of the complicated translation of measurements. So please look here... I made a larger amount though.

I had more colours but kind of liked the idea of starting simple, with red, blue and yellow. I thought that other colours would mix themselves in the process.

..getting ready....table laid, awaiting kid to wake up from naptime...

yes!

see?! orange...green...

... in the mix!
good night.

Hier nochmal das Rezept auf Deutsch:
Material: 400g Mehl, 200g Salz, 2 EL (ca. 11g) Alaun aus der Apotheke, 500 ml Wasser, 3 EL Öl, ein verschließbarer Plastikbehälter. Statt Alaun kann man auch Weinsteinpulver verwenden.
Und so wird es gemacht: Mehl, Salz und Alaunpulver werden in eine Schüssel gegeben und gut miteinander vermischt. Dann bringt man das Wasser zum Kochen, gibt das Öl hinzu und vermengt die Flüssigkeit nach und nach mit der Mehlmasse. Das Ganze wird schließlich so lange geknetet, bis es zu einem geschmeidigen Teig geworden ist (ich empfehle Gummihandschuhe, auch später zum Einfärben des Teigs). Evtl. noch etwas Mehl hinzufügen. Die Knete kann nun je nach Belieben in mehrere Teile aufgeteilt werden und mit ca. 1/2 Tube Lebensmittelfarbe eingefärbt werden. Zusätzlich kann man 1 -2 Tropfen eines ätherischen Öles untermengen, z.B. Zitronen- od. Orangenöl, und erhält einen frischen Duft. Die Knetmasse ist nun luftdicht verschlossen für einige Zeit haltbar.

playdough part 1....

2010-02-09T21:41:00.000+01:00

My first try to give my son playdough was a bit of a failure. I tried a recipe for salt dough, and he tried to eat it... oh my, the poor boy.
So after a few days to recover( I had to toss the dough which is a thing I hate to do) I came up with the idea of making real dough to bake.
Baking is of course a nice traditional thing to do around Christmas. But somehow last Christmas I couldn't get myself to do it. One thing is that I am not so into sweet things. Also I am not so fond of butter. I like anything salty and crispy... Tom does, too. We have a little ritual in the morning a little while after breakfast when he "reads"his books and has some nibbles.
Owl nibbles, to be correct (on the right).
So why not make some dough out of flour, water, olive oil and salt and make some nibbles?
Our first try is shown above, looks strange but tasted really nice.
Next day, I went into a toy store and got some equipment...
...but he liked a tool from the kitchen drawer best.

elefant nibbles, car nibbles, bird and so on nibbles before going into the oven.

arrrrgh

2010-02-01T22:11:00.000+01:00

pirates in the house (a hat for paul).
pattern by hello yarn.

What To Do When There's Nothing To Do

2010-01-28T21:05:00.000+01:00

Winter with a toddler can be hard. When Tom was still small I used to bundle him up in a lot of blankets, put him in the stroller and take long walks. Now he wants to do everything on his own of course. Really bad weather even keeps me inside. Sleet and freezing snow and a lot of dogs not being walked far in this weather... if you know what I mean... We play with the clean snow on our terrace as he likes to taste it. And indoors...
I remembered my mum had a book when I was small and when I asked her she sent it to me. It's a big help. It is called "What To Do When There's Nothing To Do" from the Boston Children's Medical Center, 1967/1969 (I've got the german copy). It is all about keeping it simple. Taking things from the household to play with. I could not find it on the Internet anymore, but I will keep you posted as long as this winter goes on...
So our first try was foam: I made foam by beating up washing liquid and water and even gave him a little shaving foam. Tasting is not a big problem cause it tastes like soap. Then I threw in some brushes, plastic cups and what else I could find that would not brake nor hurt him.
foam day one
foam day two
Big success. He played for an hour, and when he started to go for the walls, I got out the old beaten up playhouse for him to paint.

In the end, I drilled some holes into the cardboard house with scissors and we tried his wooden screws and clothespins as 'nails'. Now I just want to get a little wooden hammer.
The end: One happy child, relaxed mum and very clean table:)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
update: I found the german copy on amazon .de
and the english version here and here

our place

2010-01-20T21:47:00.000+01:00

...on a monday night.

some snowy stuff

2010-01-14T12:04:00.000+01:00

what we do these days: building snowmen
our friends papa, baby and mama, (I'm the one on the right)
mama enjoying some time alone in the snow
a second birthday
more snow
and snowmonsters
and knitting wristwarmers

happy new year.

my houses on stage

2009-12-07T17:02:00.000+01:00

We had a good time at the Nachtbazar last friday. It was my first exhibition of knitwork and I was so exited and also tired from the nights beforehand that I completely forgot to take pictures! So I only have this view of my desk from the night before...
The people from the old factory had done everything so nicely. There was homemade food, a cozy exhibiton space, hot drinks, a fire outside in the yard... For pictures of the event please look here, here and here.
I was also very pleased to meet Kathrin from paperama there. She makes beautiful things from paper like books and postcards. You will find her shop on etsy and pictures of her work on flickr, and she also writes a blog. I had discovered her work only two days ago. It is always so nice to meet people from the bloggosphere in real life! Thanks again Sandra and you people from the "Alte Fabrik"!
P.S.: And thank you A. for spending almost four hours on the train just to see my little pile of houses:))
P.P.S. Some prints and houses will soon be available in my etsy shop.

2009-12-03T14:04:00.000+01:00

-----COMING SOON-----
Meanwhile, please visit this site. Thanks and see you soon!

-----BALD GEHT'S LOS------
Bitte schaut solange hier nach, was es Aktuelles gibt. Danke! und bis bald!

nachtbazar

2009-11-28T17:42:00.000+01:00

I am happy and exited to tell you that Sandra from herzensart has asked me to show my work at their little craft fair above. Thank you, Sandra:)
The old factory is a place where different artists have their studios. There will be music, performance, craft, art and- last but not least- food and drink. If you are in the area on friday 4th, you are invited to join us!

something's hiding...

2009-11-21T12:01:00.000+01:00

October has been a busy month and I have not been blogging but preparing things. A lot of things still need to be done.
I had a birthday.
We had friends staying over and we have been visiting friends.
I have been sewing and knitting and papercutting whenever there was time.
So... I will reopen my etsy store in december....There will also be some changes around my little blog... but it is still top secret, of course...:)
Please check back in a little while!

grown up knitting

2009-10-01T11:57:00.000+02:00

Husband sweater in progress. He owns many sweaters but that one he particulary likes and wears all the time. So for my first grown-up sweater I decided to pick up the style of this one (which is mainly knit three, purl two). Not terribly original, but the sleeve increases alone were a challenge for me ! You see above my third attempt. My sweater is worked in the round, of course (thank you Elizabeth Zimmermann). More pictures to come.
A note on the weather: The drizzling rain starts to annoy me. I can feel sore throats and running noses knocking on our door.

more sewing

2009-09-29T11:56:00.000+02:00

Making a padded lining because I couldn't find a nice one. Tonight the sewing lessons continue, and I am in the rare position of being all prepared. I could even do a little sewing yesterday with our little man around. I am so glad he is not diving at any machine, plug or the like he sees any more. He even sat on my lap for a little while while I showed him the magical machine:)
My mantra: Nur gucken, nicht anfassen!!! Only looking, no touching!!!
We have also bee renovating his room since last weekend. I noticed today that one more layer of paint is needed... :( I cannot wait to put up the tiny wardrobe with singing dwarfs on it that I bought for him. Right from the sixties. I hope Tom likes it!

dinnertime

2009-09-25T12:31:00.000+02:00

...is never a bore with our new wonderful plates from herzensart.

linocut houses

2009-09-20T13:24:00.000+02:00

I carved out a house almost every day while my son napped. Today I made some prints. First I was really anxious to get the prints right, then I told myself to relax. So I tried some different papers from the wastebasket and got out scissors and glue. More fun! I had to stop now and clear away all the knives and stuff, but T is leaving me time to write this!

I'm gonna tear...

2009-09-18T11:52:00.000+02:00

...your playhouse down (Ann Peebles)

Inadequate quote, but I kept humming it while painting this cardboard box for my son.

2009-09-17T11:48:00.000+02:00

summer has made way for autumn. the "pool" is empty. i am taking sewing lessons!

sewing inspiration by these ladies:
sew i do
smallville (found via newhouseproject)

Steffi, fellow singer and dancer from our playgroup :) , has now her own little blog!

etsy supplies me

2009-08-30T18:20:00.000+02:00

Today: things that look nice and help reduce the crafter's chaos. Two wonderful knitting needle organizers for dpn's and circulars by sarahkincheloe.
The thread train would be perfect on my wall to hold rolls and rolls of thread. You can also take it off easily. However I didn't order it because the shipping fee to Germany would be too high, but if you are in the US looking for a clever way to store your threads, check out this little shop on etsy.

On a different matter I made some linocut print tests.
Producing more chaos:)

gnaw gnaw

2009-08-26T11:46:00.000+02:00

Once a week, my son and I go to a little playgroup. Today he was wearing the open collared sweater I made for him. One of the mums recognised the shirt from the Internet, she said. She had actually found my blog but wasn't sure if it was me. Fun! She is a crafter, too, and does a lot of sewing for her daughter. Hope I can link your blog soon, Steffi :)
Happy crafting!
Above: Little caterpillar gnawing away on a little boy's shirt

My Son's Wardrobe...

2009-08-17T18:21:00.000+02:00

...is growing....
Open Collared Shirt by Elizabeth Zimmermann from "Knitters Almanac".

First time I tried a knitted- in Idiot Cord border. It rocks.

The good old Tomten Jacket from "Knitting without Tears" by the same author, worked with collar and extra cuffs.
Now my husband has requested a sweater. Lets see how that goes :).

Paintings and things

2009-05-27T19:19:00.000+02:00

Trying out colours for the kitchen walls...
and paint... this is lovely stuff made from adobe, brickearth, mud, loam, silt or clay (I had to look it up and I loved all the words). No smell, natural ingredients, to be painted on the bare wall, gives a smooth finish.
Tom painting the kitchen walls.One of his "first drawings" :)
I just like browns and greys. I hope it won't be too dark. Actually I purchased a book about interior design. I found it on a blog I love to read cause there are so many inspirations and simple things... I was very surprised when I looked into the book first cause this wasn't what I had expected... No pretty pictures... instead the author gives a full tour on how to make your home a healthy place. ( I come to think that the books I find most helpful are the ones with very little pictures). Oh, and I have bought two knitting books but they deserve their own post:)
Just to amuse you... it is not that he despises food, you see. Just Mama being an annoyance sometimes... especially in the morning.. hehe....Notice the two handed spooning action.
But most of the time we get along just fine.

Seamless Hoodie

2009-05-21T20:12:00.000+02:00

A bit tight at first, but alright after blocking. Seamless hoodie worked after the instructions for a seamless sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitting Without Tears.
I have already started another one to try and make some improvements on the placket neck opening.

2009-05-19T13:16:00.000+02:00

Last weekend....
Going to the Open Studio days in Siegburg...
Bogi, Sandra and many more artists, musicians and dancers opened their studios for guests. I thought this a wonderful idea and I enjoyed looking into the workspaces. Or chasing Tom through the workspaces:)

Naptime sewing. After a long break from sewing I started with something simple to warm up, some desperately needed cushion covers... A wonderful site to learn new techniques.

The fabric comes from my mother-in-law, Heidi, who died three years ago, much too early. I have never met her but inherited a lot of fabrics and wool. Apparently she loved to knit and sew! I feel grateful to use them now... I feel like building a little connection by making things out of them.
On the sofa.
The gang.

Saturday

2009-04-18T21:59:00.000+02:00

Underwater view on our worktop tonight
Leeks look like spring to me
Oh well...
We are totally into Lego these days... my husband and I, that is...:) Our son likes to pull things apart at the moment. It is a phase, isn't it?
I just hope that Petzi will make it through...

2009-04-14T20:43:00.000+02:00

Beige and easter egg colours from the stash. Light and shadow before thunderstorm. Coffee outside. (Life is good)

Bosnaquilt

2009-04-04T20:58:00.000+02:00

Suddenly spring is here with warmth and sun. Tom walks on our terrace-to-be. Some knitting goes on. More later. Wishing you a sunny happy weekend.

Getting there

2009-03-26T18:39:00.000+01:00

First walls painted...shelves set up. I love this place , it has so much space. Outside rain, but not so cold anymore.

Awesome quilt by Craftyblossom.

Oh, Petzi!

2009-03-25T12:32:00.000+01:00

You may ask now, how is the lace coming along? Well well. I told you I am not a lace person. It does distract your thoughts though, to knit lace. You count stitches all the time! I kind of like the look and someone has told me it looks even better after blocking. But somehow I think this yarn should be knit without a pattern (also because it is almost impossible to unwind once you've made a mistake, and I make mistakes all the time).

Well then. A few days ago my son has spotted Petzi, my old teddy bear, who had gone all limp. I decided he needed a late night operation....
Inside was the most awful old stuffing, a sticky powder. (That bear grew up with me in the seventies).

But now he is stuffed freshly and happy to have found a new companion!

Spring+Lace= Soothing

2009-03-19T12:12:00.000+01:00

"Knitting soothes the troubled spirit and doesn't hurt the untroubled either",
a thing Elizabeth Zimmermann has once said. I felt I needed some soothing yesterday.
Our little man has been sick, real sick for the first time. He is much better now. Between loads of washing and dashing about like a headless chicken (what to do first? what to do first?) I chose to start something totally unneccessary. Something to distract my mind from unpacked boxes, unpainted walls, a sick teething wailing child, blinds that get stuck all the time, mould appearing in the bathroom.
I am not a person who wears lace. I am a plain cotton girl. But this is tempting for sure. (Maybe there is a chance for me to become a romantic at last).

So I went to buy some wool. Kid mohair love.
And cute visitors. (this is Willy, the proud owner of Mr. Bär)

In New Places...

2009-03-11T19:19:00.000+01:00

...you can go and eat sand after you visited a studio opening party. I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures of the wonderful new studio where Sandra and Bogi work now. It was a lovely party and I was amazed to meet people I "knew" from the Internet in real life!

And...of course everything has to be examined.
Events like "Karneval "call for fancy dresses. I made the lady bird poncho from a pattern I found in an old sewing book. I will write more later about the book - it holds some strange patterns.

(I hope Tom forgives me for dressing him as a lady bird! :) But I had fun making it.)

...you have a lot of space! And doors need layers of white paint...walls need to be painted too...
..whole carrots can be found and chewed on in the kitchen..
...and if you look out of the window, there are airplanes in the skies.

Finishing things part 2

2009-01-23T11:42:00.000+01:00

My friend Eva is now a mother! She is a sweet and talented girl. I hope I can go and see them in spring. For now Mr. Bär should do. I hope her little boy called Willy likes him.

Mr. Bär comes with a built-in pocket on his jeans back. I made him a little shawl for the passage (cold drafty packages).

Finishing things part 1

2009-01-22T22:04:00.000+01:00

Argh, a crappy flashlight shot on already packed boxes. Those Tomtens are just so easy to make as gifts for little ones. But the next one will be definitely single, mono, uni coloured. It took me almost as long to weave in the ends as to knit. Tomten by Elizabeth Zimmermann as always. This time in a wool/ cashmere blend. Lovely to knit and touch.

before the move

2009-01-20T09:04:00.000+01:00

Two years ago I was sitting in my boyfriend' s place in Saxony. We were about to move here, together, and I was a little anxious. What to expect? In a small town like this? My -then- boyfriend told me not to have too many thoughts about it. Just give it a go, and you'll be surprised, he said. Don't feed your prejudices. So I tried to be open. And it worked. It was easy to meet people, and after two weeks or so people started greeting me in the street. It has continued in this fashion and I even found myself looking for houses around here, not that we could afford one, just dreaming about it. Particulary one very old house in our street. Every time I walked by I thought about what I would do with it. Still I was very happy in our little flat. I guess I just felt at home here, house or not. We had decided to spend our next holidays at Lake Constance. Many places we wanted to see.
Then one day in autumn my husband came home saying: how would you like to live in Cologne? Not that we had a choice:) I was really exited first. Big city! Lots of people! Places to go!
But after a while my mood changed. I thought of all the nice people I had met. Different people living different lives. And I guess this place really has my heart now because we got married here one August day and our son was born here, too, one year ago. So many things have happened, and I am really happy and grateful about that.
In the last few days I have also thought about how I discovered the blogosphere two years ago. I am not a big fan of anniversaries but I think I started my little blog at that time, too. With gaps and timeouts, I must say. Still I am enjoying it and want to say thanks for all those who read and/or leave comments or even emails. I do SO love reading them. It has also become a great source of inspiration to look into other peoples sites. I am looking forward to share pictures, projects and other things from our new place with you. It'll be a while because there'll be no Internet for at least three weeks. Maybe not too bad for me. Time to explore.
A belated happy New Year, and see you in march!

2008-12-22T21:42:00.000+01:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I'll be back with new stuff. See ya!

The Glow

2008-12-17T22:37:00.000+01:00

Bedtime is early when getting up is earlier... I have seen a little green man in our hallway one morning.
Good night.

More quilting

2008-12-16T14:23:00.000+01:00

Second pillow finished. This is so much fun, I want to make a bunch of them. A forest of cushions!
I tried to make a patchwork furoshiki style, like Mai does. But I didn't look at her tutorial again and just sew along. Still I am quite happy with how this one turned out. Sorry Paul but violet is not my favourite colour (I wore it too much when i was sixteen. Ha!)
The weather is cold and crisp here.
Did I mention that I love cold clear weather?

Mini quilt, prints and a little cushion

2008-12-14T18:26:00.000+01:00

Two presents finished. A mini quilt for Paul's small piano and a cushion for his room. The flower fabric is a kind gift from Laura, who also gave me the idea for the furry cushion back.

Ghost Walk

2008-12-09T11:18:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon a friend and I put the babys in warm clothes and blankets and walked along the Danube. The sun was shining and we went to the next village to drink coffee and have some delicious cake. On the way back it started to get really cold and misty.

This little pond looked like the water in it was boiling.
Water reflections. I believe that I read too many Astrid Lingren books when I was a kid. On a day like this I think of fairies and elves. Perfect weather for them, I guess.
The castle was dark, only one little window was lit. Can you see it? I was reminded of ghost stories our teacher told us in elementary school... brrr...
In town, the Christmas decorations gave a nice yellow glow in the mist.
Back to civilization!

2008-12-08T08:37:00.000+01:00

The days seem to be flying by...a lot of things are happening. We have all been sick for days and weeks, passing on the colds from one to another. But finally there seems to be an end to it!
And then we will soon be leaving our little town and move to a big city - Cologne. I am starting to get really exited about it. All the different people. And I long to go and see an exhibiton!

At least I managed to put up the "Adventskalender" I made last year for my husband. That is about all we have for Christmas decoration. I guess everything else would be chewed up:)

Some Christmas cards that I made two weeks ago. Actually these were ment as Thank you cards for a party we threw by the end of summer. But I am so slow at the moment that they are turning into multi-purpose cards now. And I still have to write and send them. Hope nobody minds the absence of Santas, reindeers or snowflakes.
Tada- My attempt to try a new technique: Felting. J and T were watching me making this little thing... we laughed so much because it looks like something sheep leave behind. I hope I can show you one day what I want i really want to do with the felt... I am working on some softies and I goes REAL slow. But I try to work a tiny little bit every day because it makes me happy.
Like this.
Have a good week!

Snow cold

2008-11-23T18:54:00.000+01:00

The two boys in my life both caught a cold this week, so we had a quiet weekend. I took Tom on a walk on Sunday in the sun and the snow.
Up the hill.
To the little chapel just up the road.

I like this little house.Knitting patterns?
Today we had more snow. In the afternoon it started to thaw, and I went to buy some wool. Radio says it'll freeze tonight. Hope you are all warm. I'll go and knit a little now.

One Large Mitten

2008-11-18T08:48:00.000+01:00

More inspiration from Sheila Mc Gregor's book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting.

After a lot of scribbling...

...this came out.
Hardly my size. Large! I think I will put them in my little shop. (My dear husband doesn't like to wear mittens so I guess it'll be GLOVES next).

Most amazing mittens from elliphantom.

2008-11-11T14:03:00.000+01:00

So many interesting finds in the trash that people leave on the side of the street. In this case old weeds and flowers, berries and leaves.

Inspiring colours. Two things I love to do at the moment: walking around with Tom sitting in his pram, stopping to take pictures, and knitting at night.

Red Berry Hat.
Violet and pink: Random combination.

I am not a big lover of pink, but in flowers it never annoys me.

More pink: Morning glory.

2008-11-04T22:05:00.000+01:00

When I got up this morning, the mist was all over the valley and I wanted to post this for lovers of little story book towns.

No mittens but a hat. Now trying to figure out the fancy crown. But first: bedtime.
Good night, everyone. Vote well, fellow americans!

2008-11-01T18:51:00.000+01:00

My Great-Grandmothers, Omi Li and Omi A, had a shop for arts and crafts in a little town in northern Germany, right on the baltic sea. This tablecloth comes from their shop.

The teatowel is a heritage from my other Grandmother " Oma Mutt", who died many years ago. A knitter and gardener and best Oma ever. Pure linen- love.

Remembering summer with this print my mum has send me for my birthday.

My godchild, Paul, actually felted a snake for me. He is six years old. His mum said that she helped him a little with the hot water, but I am sure he chose the colours alright and all. Such a wonderful snake. I was very happy.

On a totally different matter, we met this little fellow in the park.

And, last but not least: the finished mitts!

First Snow

2008-10-29T13:42:00.000+01:00

Today we are having the first snow!

Inside the house is a very happy little person.

I am making these as a christmas present. I hope I have enough of the turquoise wool left for the thumbs.
Do you think this will pass as "fleur de lis"???
@mames: I didn't quite make it on Halloween (a thing we actually haven't heard of until a few years ago). It's tomorrow:)

The Leek Story

2008-10-28T18:45:00.000+01:00

I usually avoid taking pictures with flashlight. Somehow they don't look nice when I do. But coming home from shopping I had to. An overload of things for dinner made me drop some stuff and guess who was there on the floor, too. So tonight a little story from our hallway (where I haven't hung any pictures yet which is point 557 on my to-do-list).

Hey mama, thanks for dropping that banana on the floor.
It is banana, isn't it.
That banana does not taste like my banana at all.
I know you now. You are no banana. You don't fool me no more.

I'm gone, banana.
Poor old abandoned banana! Only his friend Fuzz keeping him company!

P.S. I took a little boy to bed who smelled strongly of leek.
P.P.S. The parcel in the background has already arrived for my birthday, which is soon:)
P.P.P.S Dear Mames, do you remember the jacket? It has returned! Thanks for staying with me all the time.