... christmas I mean. of course there are several gifts in the works, but I cannot show any of them... there's also material on the wheel for one - but I cannot show.... you get the drift:)
but there are also lots of smaller projects, some of them are cards:
one of them has to be a mouse - every year (for the woman, who loves everything with mice:). this year I liked the embroidery better than last year! a few back stitches, but no half crosses - I don't like half crosses, esp. not on aida fabric! now I just have to find (or make) a card with a circular aperture in the right size.....
stars are easier to fit - the red is more burgundy in reality (flash colours:(). and the blue and white is similar to the one from last year, an easy motif, not much to count:) both are freebies from the Stickeule....
as is this SAL, which I finished a few days ago. the frame (patchwork fabric) is still missing, which means that I have to sew on the first stripe by hand - maybe I should have thought about that before I attached the small green seed beads? but I am not taking them off again now! the original has no beads in it, but I made a mistake with the second house on the left, which has a different roof colour in the pattern. I didn't fancy taking all the white stitches out, so I decided to add some beads instead of stitching the yellow "lights". and while I had the beads out, I put in some golden and red ones in instead of the rest of the christmas tree lights etc. and added a bit of glitz.... it's a christkindl market after all:) now all that's missing is some music and the scent of mulled wine! I also used some multicoloured green and blue embroidery yarns. no problem for the greenery - but the sky was a bit fussy to do. to end up with a more realistic pattern for the sky I had to work mostly single rows, otherwise the hole thing ends up quite patchy!
another christmas project is this - looks like homemade cabbages from the top?
they're not - they are christmas trees:) crocheted ones. 
and they look better like this, I think. the first one was done with one thread of yarn, for the second one I doubled it up for the base, but the leaves looked to rough and chunky for my taste, so I took them out again and worked them with a single strand, too. all that's missing now is a nice golden chain, some "baubles" (beads?) and maybe a star for the tip? the pattern is available free on ravelry. thank you to the designer:)
I've also been trying out a few things in the kitchen. I found 3 silicone chocolate moulds during the summer and tried them out now. on the left the pralines are medium dark chocolate, filled with some peanut butter. the hearts on the left are dark chocolate on top and homemade coconut choc for the bottom - yummeeh! unfortunately - because they vanish all by themselves somehow:) I see a few more sessions of chocolate messing coming up!
just to show that there really is peanut butter filling in them:) I think if I kept the chocolate a bit hotter (i.e. runnier), filled the mould first, swished the chocolate around a bit - I might be able to add more filling?
of course I've done a few fibrey things, too. those are some wrist warmers out of wool/silk blend. ever since I took part in the demo about tunisian crochet in the round - I've become "hooked":) so much so, that I ordered myself a set of 8 double- hooked needles to work faster... and yes, I changed the colours on purpose, that wasn't accidental...
the garden on the other hand doesn't have all that much to offer anymore - no wonder, with the grey and wet weather we've had. but I picked all the tomatoes in the tunnel - and most seem to ripen quite well inside now. the funny brownish looking ones in the middle are actually ripe - they are green with dark green stripes when unripe and turn this odd colour with red tinges once they're ready to eat! I do like making tomato salad with all those colours, it looks very inviting to eat!
and now it's time for kitchen duty - see you in a while!
7 comments:
The Christmas trees are adorable-I can see a forest of them on the center of the table! The wrist warmers are delightful-nice work! The chocolate looks scrumptious! I wish you could email me some!
oh... I'm getting hungry seeing the pralines..... they look absolutely lecker!!!!
You've been busy. The cross stitch pieces are great. What a lot of work but well worth it. The chocolates are definitely yummy. I can't imagine why they disappear on their own, hehehe. They'd not last long here either. Love the wrist warmers.
Cindy - I think virtual chocolate is just increasing appetite - but they're totally easy to make yourself! I am sure if someone can make soap, they can make those, too:) still working on the christmas trees - I want to decorate them a bit, but have to go hunting for the right stuff!
KayB - they are absolutely lecker:) so much so, that the first batch has been wiped out in less than 24 hours....
Nina - thanks, though the stars are quite quick to make. because they are very regular, I don't have to look at the pattern all the time - and less colours are working up faster as well. and the chocolate - well, maybe you know the tale of the christmas mouse, which only comes, when there is something yummeeh around:) I have to hide everything sweet here, the only safe thing from "mice" is liquorice! and the wrist warmers are the result of my latest addiction - tunisian crochet in the round.... dangerous:)
Everything looks wonderful! I am so unprepared for Christmas. Somehow having the house is such disarray from remodeling takes its toll in other ways.
Leigh - I know, I've been distracted just by working on the outbuildings - I'd say if the used rooms in my house were worked on, it would be far worse. there's only so much you can do with a pair of hands and 24 hours a day. but one day all your rooms will be the way you want them to be - and you can focus on other stuff:)
Unglaublich, was man alles aus Garn zaubern kann. Weihnachtsbäume und Kohlköpfe, einfach klasse!
Hier ist es nur ein paar Grad über Null, aber es soll auch noch unweihnachtlich mild werden in den nächsten Tagen.
VG
Elke
Post a Comment