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E. has been painting in the morning.
"Your hands are very dirty, E." -
"Yes, but it's a very nice colour combination."
There's no reply to that, is there?

:: new craft books! ::

Of course, it's Lyn's fault that I had to order more books from Yesasia!

Actually, to be honest, I've wanted to make those little booties shown in Lyn's post for some time now and actually meant to get another book but then Lyn posted many enticing pictures of this book, so of course I had to order it - and it's brilliant! I don't understand all of the instructions but most of them are quite clear, I'd say.

Of course, I can't just order one craft book, can I? So I also ordered a book with children's clothes and a zakka book. All of them are really great, I am very pleased!

:: knitted bag ::

I knitted this bag on commission for someone in Vienna. She had been looking for a long time for someone to make this bag for her.


It's a clutch. It was knitted using very thick wool and I made a matching lining. The last rows of stitches were transfered to wooden spars. I think it turned out very nicely. I hope she likes it.

fresh from the oven

If you could smell this! I made Swedish kanelbulle (cinnamon buns) and the whole flat smells of cinnamon, one of my favourite spices!

I already baked tons of cake this week because it was the twins' birthday on Saturday - we took cakes to their school and to their day care not to mention the cake we consumed at home!

Just now I also made some buns with crumbs on top because I still had some crumbs left over from another cake I made on Tuesday... It's the first time I made these, they are very fluffy and delicious. I think they would be even better with some custard filling!

for the shop

I made two things for the shop:



A pair of white linen pants for a toddler (size 86) with one back pocket - very simple - sometimes one really is fed up with all the cutesy and colourful clothes.



And a tote bag from a beautiful Japanese craft book available here . I used printed linen and checked bias binding.

SALE - Japanese craft books

I want to sell a couple of Japanese craft books that I don't need anymore. I actually didn't use them, so they are brandnew!! If you would like to get one, please drop me a line at ckebel at gmx.de! I am sorry for the crappy pix, I had to use the flash.

The first book is a marvellous book for those of you who are interested in needle felting. There are loads of very cute dogs (88 p, nearly 500 g, shipping in FRG would be 2,40 EUR, the book itself will be 18,00 EUR).


This next book has a lot of very nice booties in different sizes. 63 p. I am selling it for 18,00 EUR plus shipping cost.


I have got two copies of this little patchwork book, so I am selling one of them. 47 p full with lovely sewing projects with very clear Japanese instructions. This will go for 6 EUR plus postage. Drop me a line if you are interested!

The last book on sale. 88 p of cute knit and crochet goodness. Again, it's hardly used, only made a couple of xeroses. It will also be 18 Eur plus shipping.

Flohmarkt für Kinder- und Babykleidung

Ich habe einen weiteren blog veröffentlicht. Dort kann man gebrauchte Babykleidung und Kinderkleidung kaufen. Es handelt sich überwiegend um sehr gut erhaltene Markenware, oft kaum getragen, in allen erdenklichen Größen! Es gibt auch viele H&M-Artikel, insgesamt alles sehr günstige Teile!
Einige Rubriken sind noch ungefüllt, bei einigen habe ich mit dem Einstellen schon angefangen!
Über die Preise läßt sich natürlich reden, ist ja ein Flohmarkt!

Pouches!

I've crafted a little and made some pouches. They are available on dawanda !

because of a ball on the lawn

I had a horrible weekend. You cannot imagine how awful some of our neighbours are (we live in a row of flats)!

The children were playing football on Saturday.

Their football fell over the fence onto the lawn (yes, there is a fence, so that nobody can walk on it. I don't know what they want to protect because the state of the grass is really bad!).

Well, our interfering next door neighbour didn't want my son to climb over the fence to fetch the ball - can you believe it??

When I asked him what the problem was, she complained that everybody would climb the fence and foreigners could climb the fence...

I asked her to stop her racist remarks but she didn't, so I told her that her behaviour was despicable!

When her husband and another neighbour came home she went on the stairs and complained loudly about my bad manners and that I had insulted her. The other neighbour who by the way is a policeman and who wasn't present when I talked to her said that I should get a slap round the face - unbelievable, isn't it?

I really wish we could move, Berlin is so awful. So much dirt, so many aggressive people...

I did a little bit of crafting. I still had some leftover yarn, so I made a pin cushion. I filled it with some chick peas and polyfill.

craft books

Yesterday I received two craft books that I ordered some time ago.

I really looked forward to Lotta Jansdotter's "Simple Sewing" which got so many good reviews on other blogs. It's a nice book, very good design, excellent pix, practical spiral binding, patterns in a little envelope and one cannot not love the fabrics - but the projects are too simple for my taste. I don't need a pattern to sew a dish cloth, napkins or a tote. On the whole I was a bit disappointed. It's a very inspiring book and probably excellent for a beginner - but not for me, I am afraid.
The second book is "Simple Sewing with a French Twist" by Céline Dupuy. Again, a very nice book, it offers a lot of inspiration but it also has its downsides. Some projects really look simple but I think that more instructions and helpful tips are needed to see them through. A more experiended crafter can manage well but will probably find the projects too simple. This book is very thick and would profit immensely from a spiral binding! I also miss the patterns. There aren't so many to begin with, so they could have been included - there are patterns on only 4 pages at the back of the book that need to be enlarged.

:: crafting ::

I made a sweet little eyeglasses case from thick industrial felt. It asked for some embellishment, so I added a button and embroidered a little stem and leaves. It was a nice little project and I could actually do it away from home which is always very convenient.
It's available on DaWanda.

Underneath the case there is a WIP. I am quite sure that I won't be able to sew it with my ailing sewing machine but I will try! So far, everything has been sewn by hand.

Lucky coincidence!

I am very pleased! I was able to do a little swap with Simmy and I got the nuigurumi-book that I've wanted for some time now and that isn't available anywhere it seems!

So last weekend I made a little bear. It's quite small and therefore takes quite a long time to make. I think I should enlarge the pattern if I want to make another one...

The opening at the neck was a bit too large and instead of making it smaller (never even occured to me until this morning) I gathered it a bit. It didn't look too great, so he needed a little scarf or something. Well, that's what he looks like now. Any idea for a name?

paraskevidekatriaphobia?

I don't know if any of you is suffering from it?? It's fear of Friday the 13th. In German and English speaking countries it's considered a day of bad luck and apparently the risk of a traffic accidents seems to be higher on Friday the 13th! I think that's really incredible. So far, I never had bad luck on Friday the 13th (knocking on wood). I hope it stays that way and that it will be a very lucky day for all of you!

crafty week

I tried to use my broken sewing machine and it worked - a little. In the evening my right hand hurt because it only worked with considerable help - I need to turn the balance wheel by hand a lot. It seems as if there is something stuck.

Anyhow I made a piggy bank, inspired by a picture in a German magazine. Here it is:

I used some industrial felt, flowery cotton for the legs, pearls for the eyes and the little piggy tail was made from cotton yarn. It would have been much easier and faster had I also used felt for the legs... it took ages to turn the little legs inside out! I am quite pleased with the result!

Everybody's making tissue holders these days. As it's a small project and doesn't require a lot of sewing, I made a couple of them from my fabric stash:

Nothing spectacular but I am pleased to have made something. I definitely need a new sewing machine...

fundraiser bike ride for tsunami victims

Please, check out giantjeansparlor's recent post about a fundraiser bike ride from Honshu to Shikoku!

Each participant of the bike trip is collecting sponsorships for the ride, donations that will go directly to Building Communities.

From the Building Communities website:
"Your donations to Building Communities will literally lay the foundations for family homes in the village of Kothasatram / Indiranagar. The villagers live(d) in earthen huts with palm leaf roofs. When the tsunami struck, it literally washed their homes away. They rebuilt their homes as before, but many are still cramped with 4-6 people sleeping directly on dirt floors. Although the tsunami has passed, the villagers are in dire need of strong, sturdy homes to withstand the seasonal threats of cyclones, rain, flooding and the general ravages of nature."

You can make a donation on Anjali's blog and she even offers something for each donor of $5 or more! Check it out, it's easily done via paypal!

Japanische Handarbeitsbuecher zu verkaufen!!

Hier zeige ich die japanischen Handarbeitsbücher nochmal, die ich jetzt parallel auch über booklooker anbiete, weitere Fotos gibt es im vorherigen post!

Das erste Buch hat viele Projekte aus dem Bereich Nadelfilzen. Auf 88 Seiten wird (auf Japanisch!) mit vielen Fotos gezeigt, wie man verschiedene Hunderassen und Fantasiehunde filzen kann. Toll z.B. als Schlüsselanhänger oder zur Dekoration. Ich verkaufe es bei booklooker für 19,50 EUR, hier für 18,00 EUR plus Versandkosten.


Im zweiten Buch werden auf 63 Seiten viele verschiedene gestrickte Schuhe, Hausschuhe vorgestellt. Für geübte Stricker ist das trotz der ausschließlich auf Japanisch gehaltenen Anleitungen kein Problem, da es sehr ausführliche Strickschriften gibt. Ich verkaufe es bei booklooker für 19,50 EUR, hier für 18,00 EUR plus Versandkosten.

Dieses Buch beschreibt mehrere Patchwork-Projekte mit vielen aussagekräftigen Fotos - für geübte Näherinnen stellt es kein Problem dar, dass auch hier der komplette Text auf Japanisch ist! Ich verkaufe es bei booklooker für 7,80 EUR, hier für 7,00 EUR plus Versandkosten.

Das folgende Buch beschreibt mehrere Patchwork-, Näh- und Bastel-Projekte mit vielen aussagekräftigen Fotos - für geübte Handarbeiterinnen stellt es kein Problem dar, dass auch hier die Anleitungen auf Japanisch sind! Ich verkaufe es bei booklooker für 19,50 EUR, hier für 18,00 EUR plus Versandkosten.

Im letzten Buch werden auf 87 Seiten viele verschiedene gestrickte und gehäkelte Projekte vorgestellt. Für geübte Stricker und Häkler ist das trotz der ausschließlich auf Japanisch gehaltenen Anleitungen kein Problem, da es sehr ausführliche Häkel- und Strickschriften gibt. Ich verkaufe es bei booklooker für 19,50 EUR, hier für 18,00 EUR plus Versandkosten.

long time

it's been a long time since my last post but I've been a busy one. I've been crocheting and felting - and that's only craftwise...

Here's the first amigurumi that I finished (there are loads of piece flying around. If I wasn't so lazy I could probably finish 10 amigurumi today...)

Here is one of the felted rings that I made some days ago. I am selling this ring and a lot of other handcrafted items on dawanda.

dawanda

I just want to advertise a little today. Check out dawanda, it's the German equivalent of etsy. There are quite a number of nice things to have, e.g. some beautiful bags and other things for children.
In December there was an article on dawanda in the German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT.
It seems that a lot of people are interested in buying individually crafted items which is very good. So, go, check it out!

child labour

I just read an article on child labour in a German weekly magazine. One so easily forgets and every time there's a news item on TV or an article in the paper I am just flabbergasted.
The mentioned article tells us about child labour in India, where they are held in a cellar and embroidering blouses to be sold for less than 40 Euro in Germany.
There is a horrible "Geiz ist geil" (meanness is brilliant)-mentality in Germany that really makes me angry.
Most customers have never done any embroidery and probably don't know (but should be able to imagine) how much time it takes. Even if it was done by adult workers they would not get a fair pay, not out of 40 Euro.
But the companies who order theses blouses should know! I would love to know how much money they pay the Indian company per blouse. Can't be much.
And what really makes me sad is the fact that some of the children in that cellar were sold by their parents. And they think that they can return once they've worked enough, once they've literally earned their pay. One boy said he had to work to support his family and that was why they had sold him (but they wouldn't have, had they known what awaited him). He never gets any pay but only some food and a dirty blanket to sleep. He's told that he will be paid when he has learned how to do the embroidery but he has been embroidering for months already!
The plight of these children makes me very, very sad! And there are so many and all over the world!
There were also a couple of photographs .
Did you realize that hundreds of thousands of children are being exploited in the West African cocoa farms, so that we can buy cheap chocolate? It makes me gag.
Check out this site of "The Global March Against Child Labour" which is a movement to mobilise worldwide efforts to protect and promote the rights of children:
http://www.globalmarch.org/

swappy di swap

I finished my swap with Satomi who sent me a couple of travel brochures (well, I did ask for them!) and catalogues from felissimo. That must be marvellous shop. She also sent a calendar with funny stickers, fabric, beautiful origami paper and little photo albums for the kids. I had asked for the kids' names witten in Japanese characters and they both started practising right away - great fun indeed!

Here are pictures of the things Satomi sent: