Donnerstag, 24. Dezember 2015

Dada totally celebrates: Petra Perle!

Munich is always worth a visit
but for us crocheters & knitters out there
there's another reason to travel to Bavaria's capital:

Petra Perle has her own yarn store in the city center now!
"Die Wolle" ("The Yarn")!
Actually I was on my way to visit my parents
but when my bus arrived in Munich
I thought I have to take the chance
& make a surprise visit to see a dear online friend!

 
Actually Petra Perle isn't just a crocheter
- she is pretty famous in Bavaria:
She is also a singer, writing articles for newspapers,
 writing books, is a natural born comedian
& is also having art exhibitions!
Just an incredible allround artist!

 When I arrived in Müllerstraße 50
I got a heartwarming welcome -
Petra Perle's yarn store 
is just an amazing place!
It's kind of a museum for crochet art  
& filled with all the creations
she has made in the past 3 years!


Lovely friends of Petra Perle
were coming around as well:

his lovely husband Manfred
& Sabine!
(They are all wearing handmade creations
of Petra Perle for this photo!)


Beautiful yarn & amazing crochet fashion!


...and in between:
Petra Perle's Freeform Crochet Art!


...more yarn & fashion...


...and have a look at the ceiling!
EVERYTHING is crocheted -
even the lampshades
& some umbrellas!


But the best thing about this
yarn store is Petra Perle!
She is a wonderful crochet teacher
& always up for giving tips!
(While having a glass of wine!)


I just love this bag!


...and it's overwhelming to see her
freeform crochet face in real life!
It's much bigger than I thought:
It fits perfectly in a big hula hoop!


...and of course the chairs
are all covered in yarn as well!


What a wonderful coat!
Totaqlly my style!


Love the yarn presentation
outside of "Die Wolle"!


...Petra Perle's 3 wheel bike! :-)


And if I ever need a rollator
I will definitely
need such a walker in neon!
(Proudly wearing my new
Petra Perle hat on this pic!)


I got so many of these 
business postcards
from Petra!
Haha, I will just give every crocheter
I will meet one of them!


I'm unpatiently waiting for
Petra Perle's first crochet book -
it will get published in April!

And no worries:
It's written in german
but there are crochet charts included
for all hilarious creations!
So no need to learn german, haha!
(My plan for 2016:
Crocheting all the patterns!)


It was so lovely meeting Petra Perle
& having a beer with her while crocheting!
If you ever come to Munich
don't forget to visit her!
(Opening times to find here!)

Hugs to Helmi of Strickspass mit Helmi,
Manfred & Sabine!
It's been a real pleasure
meeting you!

And of course:
Much love to all my princesses
& princes!

Merry christmas:
Your friend Dada

Mittwoch, 16. Dezember 2015

My Mini Rings Of Change Jacket!

Today I've completed this jacket!


More details how I made it
in this blogpost
but first some other words...

This year is coming to an end
& I guess I won't have the time
to write another blogpost in 2015...

Tomorrow I'm travelling
to Bavaria to visit my parents
& a couple of days later
I'm already sitting on a plane to London!

I will spend Christmas & New Year's Eve
with my prince Alex
& his lovely family!
And I will meet a real special friend again:
Exciting!

It's been another productive year
and I had great fun with a lot of
Finished Objects -
& also with my works in progress
I've been playing around!


On the other hand there were
loads of less bright happenings
in world politics.

Times are changing
& this planet has become more insecure.
Europe can't close it's eyes anymore
because of the wars going on.
Millions of people had to leave their countries
to look for shelter
& to save their lives.

Terrorism has caused
lots of tears & sadness
in Europe & the USA.

I'm living in Germany at the moment
& it's becoming more radical.
The refugee crisis
has split this nation into
2 different positions
& it's causing more & more violence.

Refugee shelters were
set on fire hundreds of times this year,
protests are ending in riots.

I've spent the weekend in Berlin
visiting friends
& someone said to me:
"You are from Leipzig, aren't you?
Do you know what's going on
there at the moment?"

I watched what has happened in my city
straight next to the place I'm working:


It was the worst idea ever
to organize an anti-refugee-protest
walking through a left-wing district of Leipzig...
69 police officers & probably
a much higher number of people got hurt,
destruction all over.

There's nothing I'd wish more for 2016
that there could be a change to a more peaceful world.

Noa, a friend from Berlin, showed me this 
beautiful video last weekend,
so much truth & so much hope.
It's in french with english subtitles
& is presented
by the wonderful strong Lady Keny Arkana.
In the end we are all
brothers & sisters
on a weird planet,
let's stand together
& let's keep our humanity & our hearts
in all this chaos.


If everyone on this planet would
be a crocheter this world could be so much better!
People would have problems like:
"No!!! I'm running out of the yarn 
I need to finish this blanket!"
or
"Damn! I made a mistake 3 rows ago!"

Just a dream...

***

Sooo... But now something about my new jacket!
I always wanted to crochet
Frank O'Randle's
"Rings Of Change" blanket
but actually I have enough blankets!

is a free pattern
& you can make a glorious baby blanket 
- or a circle jacket!


I followed the pattern until round 27.
Round 27 was perfect for making the armholes:

Instead of just scs around
I started this way:

ch 25, skipped 25 stitches,
30 stitches
ch 25, skipped 25 stitches
scs all around
ended with a slipstitch in first chain

(This worked perfectly for my size
if your arms need more space
try it with 30 chains
& skipping 30 stitches...
Try it on!
Not enough?
Increase the chains & skipped stitches
& also the number of stitches
between the arms!)

Then I just worked the pattern till the end!

Sleeves:

a round of 50 stitches all around

*2 dc, 1 ch, skip 2 scs* around
complete first round with slipstitch
in top of first dc

slipstitch in next dc & the following chain
3 chain (= first dc)
dc & ch

work in all 1ch bridges:
2 dc, 1ch

after dcs/chs round number 9
I increased the stitches in round 10 -
in ONE of the 1ch bridges
I worked: 2 dc, 1ch, 2 dc, 1 ch

round 11-15 as usual

round 16: increase like in round 10


round 17-25 as usual 

I ended with a row of shell stitches,
*7dc in a stitch
skip 2 stitches
stitch
skip 2 stitches*

You don't need button holes -
they are already there!


I've put on 5 buttons
but do as you please!


Yay, that's it!

(If it's not big enough for you at this point
get yourself the actual Rings Of Change pattern
for some more rows
OR
just improvise & play around with stitches
for some more rounds!)

Some more pics
(Thank you to my flatmate Fabi
for taking the photos!)





Dada Neon Crochet Rings of change jacket

Sooo...
I will pack my stuff for the next weeks now
(& all the christmas presents!)
& I wish you wonderful
christmas days
with your family!
:-)

So much love:
Your friend Dada