Did you ever wonder what a German yarn addict (like me) might buy in the land of unlimited opportunities?
Well, so far I got: little rings to use as stitch markers, DPNs in different colors, and a size 50 hook to crochet chair pads (for the kitchen chairs at home).
However, still looking out for Self Striping Sock Yarn. Any suggestions anyone?
At the end, I did not bring the knitting needles on board. I was too worried someone might take them away from me – with or without the yarn. Instead, I grabbed a few balls of cotton, a crochet hook, and Jan Eaton’s book of 200 crochet blocks.
Four blocks are done so far and I need to come up with an idea what to do with them …
It is done. Finally! With too many WIPs on my needles this took waaaaay too long to finish. But it does look nice: all these colored bobbles, the simple green edging, very „spring“ – even the back side is pretty. I will mail it to Washington tomorrow. Supposedly, it is still winter over there …
The publisher (Edition Fischer) was nice enough to send me a (German) copy of Kat Goldin’s Crochet at Play. A book packed with ingenious and lovely – still practical – garments as well as cheerful accessories for babies and kindergartners. A book you’ll instantly want to flip through – if only to admire the beautiful color photos.
There are four sections of different patterns: (1) Head and Shoulders, (2) Fingers, Knees, and Toes, (3) the Whole Self, and (4) the Play Room. They feature a total of 30 cute cool projects. Even J was tempted to ask for the Dandy Veste (Dandy-Weste, p. 93) and that’s saying something!
My favorite in the 1st section is clearly the Acorn Hat (Eichelhut, p. 19); the Beastie Feet Slippers (Tatzen-Schuhe, p. 59) in the 2nd section are adorable dangerous, and the Rainbow Dress (Regenbogen-Oberteil, p. 97) in section 3 is as simple as it is ravishing.
Plus, there is a lot of valuable general information on how to get started, including techniques and basic stitches. At the same time, skill levels are given for each pattern, as well as measurements and – of course – written instructions. I assume that even crochet novices should have no problem crocheting any pattern flagged as „beginner.“
To me, there is no reviewing a crochet (or knitting) book without having a go at (at least) one of its patterns. Hence, I tried the cutest sleeping bag ever: the Mermaid Tail Sleep Sack. Actually, I am no huge fan of mermaids so I rather refer to it as a fish tail. Be it as it may: the pattern is easy to follow, clear and complete, it took me less than a weekend to make it, and the outcome is fabulous. 
The only thing I did not according to the pattern: I chose a different yarn. Bingo by Filace, a cashmere (50%) / wool blend (colorway Bahamas) that was pure joy to work with. It has a linen feel to it that I thought would work better for a summer baby’s sleep sack than the yarn recommended in the book.
To conclude there is a small video on youtube promoting the book:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgPi11tZKtI]
The book was not sent to me for review. I didn’t receive any financial compensation for what I wrote. Opinions stated are my own.
The granny square blanket is finished and it turned out to be so very beautiful!
Thanks to the wonderful green dragonfly ! Her comment underneath my last post to use turquoise AND orange, in short: to use COLORS was the perfect suggestion.
Hence, I would border half of the (12) squares with an extra row of red, pink, orange or yellow before joining all of them in turquoise. The edging is a tiny little row of single crochet in orange.
I love the outcome! Thanks a million Janette! Doesn’t it look like it has been sitting on my sofa forever?!
