I don't believe it! It happened again! Something that I couldn't do on purpose if I tried a thousand times! (I seem to be using a lot of exclamation marks...!)

Every morning when I get up, the first thing I do is make myself a pot of tea. Then I start work (computer – translating, website, etc.) and drink my tea while I work. I have the teapot sitting on a tea warmer – a glass base which holds a small candle (a tealight, as a matter of fact) – to keep my tea warm during the time it takes me to drink all the tea.

This morning, the little candle went out, and I wanted to re-light it. I lifted the teapot off the tea warmer, got out a match, and struck it.... maybe a little over-enthusiastically, because the head of the match broke off....and (get ready...) flew right into the spout of the teapot! And into my tea, of course.

The spout of the teapot has a diameter of roughly 1/2 inch (or 1.5 cm). Just think how many things had to be just right for the match head to fly into the spout!

Is there a lesson to be learned here? Not really. It's just that these synchronicities fascinate me! 

I must admit that crochet is not my favorite technique. I do like some crocheted things. For example, I have two bedspreads that my grandmother crocheted with very fine white cotton yarn that I think are just beautiful – and I am completely in awe when I think of the amount of time and engergy that she invested in them.

Here's one corner of the bedspread....

And here is a close-up. As you might be able to see, the entire thing is made of hexagonal crocheted motifs, with “popcorn” bobbles. My grandmother made at least 200 motifs for each bedspread! The mind boggles...

I know how to crochet, and well enough that I occasionally translate crochet magazines or instructions from German into English. If I run into a problem when I am translating, I take a crochet hook and some yarn and work the piece in question so that I can see what is meant, so that I can explain it better in the instructions.

But somehow, it‘s just not my favorite technique.

One of the companies that I occasionally do translating work for is “Coats”, here in Germany. Last year they gave me some lovely cotton yarn for Christmas.

It is one of the modern space-dyed yarns – turquoise as the main color, with “spots” of yellow, pink, light green, and a darker blue. They gave me 10 skeins (500 g) which I thought was a very generous gift and I wanted to do something really special with it, but what?

First I tried knitting with it, but I didn‘t really like the way that the color repeat of the yarn turned into a pattern repeat on the knitted swatch. Even when I used yarn from two balls alternately, it still ended up making a pattern which I didn‘t really like. Plus which, I wasn‘t sure how far the 500 g would go – enough for a garment for me to wear? or for my granddaughter? (The colors made it clear that none of the grandsons would be interested.)

So I put the yarn aside for a while, hoping that inspiration would strike some day... and it did. On an afternoon‘s trip to the local pool one sunny day, I realized that I didn‘t really have a good beach (or swimming pool) bag. The wheels started turning (so to speak).

I could use my yarn to make a beach bag. Cotton is great for carrying damp towels and suits and 500 g of yarn should make a fairly good-sized bag.

But what technique? Well, I already knew that I didn‘t really like the way the yarn knit up, so that left crochet. Hmmmm.... At first I considered just working the entire bag in single crochet (double crochet in the UK). A swatch made with single crochet looked good and the spots of color were distributed evenly over the surface – no unwanted pattern repeat.

The disadvantage to single crochet, was that I wasn‘t exactly sure how far my 500 g were going to get me. How many ch should I crochet for the foundation? If I crocheted too many, I would have a wide, but not very deep, bag. Too few ch would result in the opposite. It was during this ruminating that I remembered the good old granny square.

When I was a teen-ager/young adult (during the time of “flower power” ), granny squares were everywhere! Afghans, vests, hats, jackets, bags, etc. etc. – all were made from granny squares. Granny squares are easy to crochet. I hadn‘t crocheted one in years, but I only had to work one square following the instructions, and I had the pattern memorized. Granny squares are good take-along projects – things don‘t get big and bulky until you have to start sewing/crocheting them together. And best of all, for my current considerations, I could just keep making granny squares until my yarn ran out – and then decide how to sew them all together for my bag.

I crocheted a couple of test squares using various sizes of crochet hooks and decided that I liked the looks of the square crocheted with a 3.5 mm hook the best. So I was off and crocheting....

Here‘s one of the squares. It doesn‘t really look like a classic “granny”, where each round is worked with a different color, but I like the way that the yarn colors are “splashed” over the square. I found that I could crochet 5 to 6 squares with one ball of yarn, which meant that I could crochet somewhere between 50 and 60 squares if I used all my yarn, but I also needed shoulder straps, so I crocheted them first – to keep from forgetting them later.

I finally made 44 squares, which meant that I could sew two sections, each 4 x 4 squares, for the front and back of the bag and still have 12 squares to make the sides and the base (4-4-4). 

Here‘s my finished bag. I have already used it for the most recent outing to the pool and it easily carries my suit, flip-flops, sunscreen, and several towels. I had debated with myself about whether or not it should be lined, but decided that I would use it for a while before making a decision. The bag itself doesn‘t seem to be stretching with use. The straps have indeed stretched, but that‘s not really a problem, so I will be leaving it unlined. When I showed the bag to my daughter, she said, “How retro! You‘re right in style!” What do you know! That had never occured to me.

I‘m still not what you would call a crochet enthusiast, but I did enjoy crocheting the granny squares and they are a great way to use up scraps of yarn (of which I have plenty) when each round is worked with a different color. It‘s not like I really need a new project to work on, but a granny square afghan would be fun to make...no rush...just one square at a time...as I said, a great take-along project....

In case you‘re interested, here are the instructions for my granny square:

Abbreviations: ch = chain stitch; slst = single crochet (UK)/ slip stitch (US);

tr = treble (UK)/ double crochet (US)

Base ring: 4 ch, join with slst.

Rnd 1: 5 ch (count as 1 tr and 2 ch), [3 tr into ring, 2 ch] 3 times, 2 tr into ring, slst to 3rd of the 5 ch at beginning of rnd.

Rnd 2: Slst into next ch, 5 ch (count as 1 tr and 2 ch), 3 tr into same space, * 1 ch, skip over 3 tr, [3 tr, 2 ch, 3 tr] into next space; repeat from * twice, 1 ch, skip over 3 sts, 2 tr into same space as 5 ch at beginning of rnd, slst to 3rd of the 5 ch at beginning of rnd.

Rnd 3: Slst into next ch, 5 ch (count as 1 tr and 2 ch), 3 tr into same space, * 1 ch, skip over 3 tr, 3 tr into next space, 1 ch, skip over 3 tr**, [3 tr, 2 ch, 3 tr] into next space; repeat from * twice, and from * to ** again, 2 tr into same space as 5 ch at beginning of rnd, slst to 3rd of the 5 ch at beginning of rnd.

Rnd 4: Slst into next ch, 5 ch (count as 1 tr and 2 ch), 3 tr into same space, * [1 ch, skip over 3 tr, 3 tr into next space] twice, 1 ch, skip over 3 tr**, [3 tr, 2 ch, 3 tr] into next space; repeat from * twice, and from * to ** again, 2 tr into same space as 5 ch at beginning of rnd, slst to 3rd of the 5 ch at beginning of rnd.

Fasten off.

Once you understand what‘s happening, the pattern is easy to remember. 

No doubt, each of us has certain criteria which define what makes something perfect – a perfect day, a perfect weekend, etc. – and these criteria vary from person to person. But I would be willing to bet that the two criteria a) spending time in attractive surroundings and b) spending time with congenial people rate high on almost everyone‘s list. My last weekend included both a) and b) and therefore came very close to fulfilling my definition of perfect.

The attractive surroundings were a quilt shop, “The Patchwork & Textilwerkstatt” in Merzig, a nice little town on the Saar River in south-west Germany. The shop is owned and run by Sibylle Wasow, a good friend of mine. I must admit that I‘m a little proud of Sibylle. She was one of my very first students when I began teaching patchwork and quilting here in Germany (years ago) and she caught the quilting bug so thoroughly that she opened a shop in her home (in Merzig) in 1998. That shop was such a success that it wasn‘t long before she needed more room, so she moved into a lovely shop in town in 2003. 

Sibylle has a good eye for color and design so she has an outstanding selection of fabrics. Right from the beginning, she began specializing in Japanese fabrics and she also has a good selection of fabrics from Kaffe Fassett and Oakshott, as well as many (I have never counted) of what she calls “standard” fabrics from many different companies. She has completed her selection of fabrics with some linens, wools, and a few other fabrics for garments and/or home decorating. Of course, she has sewing and quilting notions and supplies and books – including many Japanese books to round-out her special area.

Photo

In addition to doing everything that is needed to run a shop, Sibylle and her co-worker seem to spend a large part of their time sewing. What seems like a constant flow of new quilts, bags, and other textile projects, both large and small, show customers what wonderful things can be made with the fabrics in the shop. As part of her offerings, Sibylle also organizes patchwork and quilting classes...

...and that‘s where I come in. The congenial people who spent my weekend with me had signed up for a hand appliqué class in Sibylle‘s shop and I was the teacher. I have taught several appliquè classes at the shop in the past years, but this one had a special emphasis. Sibylle has announced a competition with the title, “Houses, houses, and more” based on quilts and other projects on the theme of houses, as presented in Japanese books by Yoko Saito or other Japanese quilt designers – once again putting the emphasis on her Japanese fabrics and books. This class was conceived to help anyone interested in participating in the competition learn the basics of hand appliqué. 

Here‘s the little appliquè that I made for the class – inspired by the Japanese book, “House” (I would like to say who the author and publisher are, but I don‘t read Japanese).

I appliquéd it and Sibylle quilted it for me.

It was a small group, but they were all extemely motivated and worked very hard all weekend. I have seldom had such a quiet class – they were all concentrating on their appliqué! That all of them enjoyed good conversation became obvious during our lunch breaks, which we spent together at two good restaurants near the shop. They were wonderful to work with and I had a great time! Judging by the results of their sewing and by their thanks, I can only assume that the participants had a good weekend also.

Here are a few photos of the shop and the class:

As I think I mentioned in my first blog entry, I am interested in almost everything connected with textiles and (time permitting) like to work in many different techniques. One problem with having many textile interests (besides never having enough time) is what to do with the various stashes and UFO's.

I not only have fabric (plenty), I also have yarns for knitting, weaving and crocheting, unspun fibers, threads for sewing, embroidery, bobbin lace and tatting, and the notions, tools, and equipment for all my various textile activities. In addition, my propensity to create UFO's is not just limited to one particular technique, so I have sewing, knitting, weaving, etc. etc. projects in various states of completion - I do finish things also, but the UFO's seem to pile up.

I actually like things to be organized - I like to be able to find what I am looking for - and have spent considerable time and money trying to find the best way to keep everything neat and orderly. I always read the articles about how other quilters, weavers, etc. organize their studios and try to incorporate their good ideas.

This week-end was devoted to my latest storage project. My living room is very long and narrow and also very high - it used to be a storage area for building materials before we renovated the house. Up until about a month ago, I had a shelf system mounted on the end wall - metal standards which carried adjustable metal brackets which supported shelves. It wasn‘t really beautiful, but it was practical, economical, and easy to install and it served me well for over 10 years. But I always had in mind to replace it with something more attractive. About a month ago, the living room got painted, so we had to take down the metal standards anyway and I decided that now was the time to finally replace the old wall shelves. I talked the problem over with my SO and a friend who is a cabinetmaker and together we came up with an idea to combine a lovely wooden book shelf with (hidden) storage space.

Since the room is so long and narrow and high, the living space wouldn‘t suffer much from being shortened slightly. In other words, we decided that we could pull the book case away from the wall, thereby creating storage space behind it. The storage area was to be shelves of the same wood (beech) as the book shelves, but narrow enough that they would be really hidden behind the book case. The cabinetmaker friend suggested also adding two drawers to the book case to hold small tools and accessories (good idea!).

Theoretically, it all seemed perfect....but it is always exciting to see if things really work out the way intended. Well, my new book case/storage space was installed Friday and then we (SO and I) spent all week-end putting things in order (why is it always necessary to create a huge mess in order to make things neat?).

Here it is right after it was installed. The photo was taken from the 1st floor gallery to show the storage shelves behind the book case.

And here it is, with books and

boxes of yarn and fabric (hidden)

in place.

This photo gives an idea of how high and narrow the room is.

And here is a shot of the storage space (difficult to photograph).

It is everything I had hoped for! Attractive and practical. The storage area is narrow but high enough (I think 2.30 meters/ about 90 inches) that it holds all the boxes of yarn that I had on the old wall shelf, plus many boxes of fabric (which were some place else up until now).

I fear that the storage problem is a never-ending story, but my new book case/ storage space is definitely great step forward! Now what can I do with the space that was left where the boxes of fabric used to be....?

I‘m visiting my dad at the moment. Since we live so far apart I only get to see him once a year (I do phone him regularly) and then I usually stay for 2 or 3 weeks. I don‘t do much when I‘m here. The main object is to see my dad, talk with him, etc. Of course, I always help him a little with housework and repairs while I‘m here. One repair that is almost always needed is to sew up holes which have appeared in one of the braided rugs that he has on the floor.

The braided rugs were made by his grandmother (my great-grandmother). My dad says he can remember her working on them when he was a boy, so he figures that they must have been made sometime during the 30‘s. When I was sitting on the floor yesterday, repairing one of the rugs (and trying to remember to hold my back straight in the process), I started thinking.... 

I wonder what my great-grandmother would have thought to hear that her rugs are still being used (and still in fairly good shape – they wear like iron!) in 2008. And I‘ll bet that she would have been pleased to know that her 60-year-old great-granddaughter was willing and able to repair them to help them survive a little longer.

In case you‘re not familiar with braided rugs, here‘s a photo of the one I was working on yesterday.

To make such a rug, you first cut fabrics (all wools in the case of our family rugs) into strips of a particular width. The strips are then each run through a metal device (a little like the bias strip folders/pressers that you can purchase today) which folds the strips. Three folded strips are then braided together to form the basic unit of the rug. When one strip ends, it is tapered (to reduce bulk) and overlapped with the tapered end of the next strip (some people sew the ends together) and the braiding continues. 

In the next step, the braid is sewn (actually laced) together, from the center out, in flat, spiralling concentric circles or ovals (our rug). The first straight section of braid in the center of the rug that I was working on measures 58 cm (23 inches). Around this center line are 52 concentric ovals. The first oval around the center line measures approx. 1.20 meters (48 inches) around and the outer oval measures a total of 8.30 meters (9 1/8 yards)! The rug is 2.90 meters (3 1/4 yards) long and 2.35 meters (2 5/8 yards) wide. So how many total meters/yards of braid were needed to make the rug? The mind boggles! If each round were only 1 meter around, that would be 52 meters, but they keep increasing up to 8.30 meters so she must have braided several hundred yards! And that was just for this one rug. My dad says she made many more than the two that he still has.

Then she laced the braids next to one another, around and around, until the rug was the size she wanted. Depending on the colors of the fabric strips used, patterns appear when the strips are sewn together. 

I mentioned that these rugs wear like iron. Despite the age and constant usage, no braid loop has worn through. The upper one or two fabric layers of some of the folded strips have been worn away, but that‘s all. The reason they need repair is that the cord used to sew the braids together has become weak with age so in some sections, the braids are no longer sewn together. Even so, not much repair is needed. This year I only had to re-sew 6 or 7 sections for a total of maybe 1 meter (a little more than a yard). 

These are the things I know about these rugs. Some of the things I don‘t know are: Where did my great-grandmother get the fabrics for her rugs? Did she use new fabric or was it all “re-cycled”? How did she sew them up? (Hopefully not sitting on the floor....my back aches at the thought!) How long did it take her to make the rug I‘ve been describing? (Probably impossible to answer because she most likely worked on the rugs in her “spare time”.) 

Despite the threat to my back, I don‘t mind helping my dad with this job. Ours is not a family that has accumulated family jewels in the sense of gold, diamonds, etc. Our “treasures” are more in the nature of the rugs that my great-grandmother braided. By taking care of them I feel that I am honoring my heritage and preserving it for my children and grandchildren. I just have to remember to teach some of them how to fix the holes! 

I finished my latest pair of socks. Here they are. 

They were fun to knit. And they even seemed like they knit up faster than my normal stocking-stitch socks – which can‘t be really true because the little pattern slowed me down. After all, instead of working k2, p2 for the ribbing or just straight k for the foot area, I was slowing down to work yo‘s, working k3, p2 or working a slip stitch and then passing the slip stitch over – and that all 15 times per round around the ankle and 7 times per round across the arch. So they must have taken longer. But the fun of working the little pattern made them seem to go faster. And somehow, the knitting of units make things go faster. Knitting rounds and rounds of stocking stitch are sort of like walking long distances in flat, empty countryside. You know that you‘re getting somewhere, but there isn‘t much to measure your progress by. But working small, countable units is like walking to the top of the hill, then to the top of the next hill, etc. You can physically see that you‘re actually moving forward. It might alse be that it‘s like giving yourself a small reward every time a small unit is completed. I have noticed the same effect when using the self-striping sock yarn that we have available today (like they yarn these new socks were made from). 

I have a pattern for socks with a considerably more complicated lace pattern. They look lovely, but the pattern requires much more thought and concentration than these last socks did. I should probably give them a try and see if my theory of sock knitting also applies for them. If I do....I‘ll let you know.

The other day, my SO came over with the exciting information that a friend had just become a father. It had been a while since he‘d seen the friend, so he was quite surprised (my SO, not the new father). And the very next sentence was, “So let‘s sew a ball for him.”

Vor ein paar Tagen kam mein Freund mit der aufregenden Neuigkeit zu mir, ein Bekannter von ihm sei gerade Vater geworden, was für Ihn recht überraschend war, (für meinen Freund, nicht für den frischgebackenen Vater)  da er ihn schon eine Weile nicht gesehen hatte. Das Erste was er dazu sagte war : Wir sollten für das Baby einen Ball nähen und meine Reaktion war dann daraus eine Anleitung für meinen Blog zu machen. 

The ball in question is a patchwork ball – something that the two of us have made together  several times in the past. SO helps pick out and cut fabrics and he‘s also in charge of stuffing the ball and concocting a bell for the center of the ball, so that it will make a nice noise when the baby shakes it and I‘m in charge of the sewing.

Es handelt sich um einen Patchworkball, wie wir ihn schon einige Male für die Babys von unseren Freunden und Bekannten gemeinsam fabriziert haben. Mein Freund hilft die Stoffe auszusuchen und zuzuschneiden. Ausserdem erfindet er einen Behälter für das Glöckchen im Inneren des Balls, damit der auch noch interessant klingt, wenn das Baby ihn bewegt. Ich bin für das Nähen zuständig. 

I have been considering including tutorials on my blog and this patchwork ball seems like a good place to start.

Let‘s jump ahead to the finished ball, so you can see what we will be making. 

Um eine Idee zu bekommen wie das Ergebnis aussehen wird gucken wir uns den fertigen Ball schon mal an. 

As you can see, the ball is made by sewing fabric pentagons together. A total of 12 pentagons are used. I like to use 6 different fabrics for the ball. That means that each pentagon is surrounded by pentagons of the other five (different) fabrics. You could also use 12 different fabrics, or even fewer than 6 fabrics, but then neighboring pentagons will sometimes be of the same fabric. When I say fabric, I am referring to 100% cotton fabrics of the type commonly used to make patchwork quilts. Since the ball will be for a baby, I want it to be washable. If you are making the ball for yourself or another adult who probably won‘t chew on it, drool on it, or spit milk on it, then you might use other fabrics. Think how elegant a ball made of silk and velvet would be!

Wie man sieht ist der Ball aus Stoff-Fünfecken zusammengenäht. Insgesamt braucht man 12 Fünfecke. Ich nehme am liebsten 6 verschiedene Stoffe für einen Ball. Daraus ergibt sich, dass jedes Fünfeck von den anderen 5 Stoffen umgeben ist. Man kann auch 12 verschiedene Stoffe nehmen, oder sogar weniger als 6, wenn es einen nicht stört, dass dann gleiche Stoffe nebeneinander zu liegen kommen.

"Stoffe" bedeutet in diesem Fall für mich 100% Baumwollstoffe, wie man sie üblicherweise für Patchworkdecken nimmt. Da der Ball ja für ein Baby sein soll, ist es am Besten wenn er waschbar ist. Sollten Sie einen Ball für sich selbst, oder einen anderen Erwachsenen (der wahrscheinlich nicht darauf sabbernd herumkaut, oder Milch draufspuckt) machen wollen, wäre es durchaus denkbar andere Stoffe auszuprobieren. Wie wärs mit einem schicken Ball aus Samt und Seide? 

In addition to the fabrics, you will need straight pins, needle and thread for hand sewing, stuffing material, a bell for the center (more about this later), and various scissors (for paper, for fabric, for snipping threads). Since the ball is sewn with the English paper piecing method, you will also need 12 pentagons cut from a paper which is a little heavier than normal writing paper – construction paper works nicely.

Ausser den Stoffen brauchen Sie noch: Stecknadeln, Nadel und Faden für Hand-Nähen, Füllwatte, ein Glöckchen mit Behälter, sowie diverse Scheren für Stoffe, Papier-Schablonen und Fäden.

Da der Ball nach der englischen "paper piecing method" gemacht wird, brauchen Sie 12 Fünfecke aus Papier als Schablonen. Mit etwas schwererem Zeichenpapier/Tonpapier bin ich immer gut zurecht gekommen. 

Here is a photo of the 6 fabrics and the 12 pentagons, printed on construction paper.

Auf diesem Foto sieht man die 6 Stoffe und 12 Fünfecke auf Papier ausgedruckt. 

Of course, there are several possible options for drawing or printing the pentagons. I printed the pentagons using a word processing program. For a finished ball which is roughly 5 inches in diameter, the side of the pentagons should measure 2 inches. My word processing program showed the pentagon with sides of this length inscribed in a square measuring approx. 8.5 x 8.5 cm. Of course, you can make a larger ball by using larger pentagons – or a small ball with smaller pentagons. The smallest ball that I have ever seen made by this method was made by my son-in-law. He made it for an earring for my daughter. The ball was approx. an inch in diameter!

 Natürlich kann man auf verschiedene Weise Fünfecke konstruieren oder ausdrucken. Ich habe die Fünfecke mit einem Textverarbeitungsprogramm hergestellt. Für einen Ball mit etwa 12 cm Durchmesser, sollten die Seitenlängen der Fünfecke etwa 5 cm sein. In meinem Textverarbeitungsprogramm waren solche Fünfecke in ein Quadrat von etwa 8,5 x 8,5 cm eingezeichnet. Man kann natürlich die Grösse des Balls verändern, wenn man von vorneherein grössere oder kleinere Seitenlängen wählt. Das kleinste, was ich je in dieser Machart gesehen habe, war ein Ball für einen Ohrring, den mein Schwiegersohn für meine Tochter gemacht hat. Er war cirka 2,5 cm im Durchmesser!

Cut out all of the pentagons – SO helped with this.

Schneiden Sie mit der Papierschere alle Fünfecke aus. In meinem Fall hat das mein Freund gemacht. 

Now pin each paper pentagon to the wrong side of one of the fabrics. Cut out a fabric pentagon, approx. 1/4 inch (seam allowance) larger than the paper pentagon on all sides.

I do this cutting free-hand, but you can first mark the seam allowance around the paper pentagon and then cut, if this makes you more comfortable.

Als nächstes wird jedes Papier-Fünfeck auf die linke Seite der ausgesuchten Stoffe mit einer Stecknadel festgesteckt. Ich schneide dann freihändig um die Papier-Fünfecke herum den Stoff mit einer Nahtzugabe von 7 mm aus. Sollte Ihnen das zu schwer sein, hilft es bestimmt die Nahtzugabe mit einem weichen Bleistift vorzuzeichnen, dann können Sie sicher sein nichts zu verschneiden. 

Leave the paper pentagons pinned to the cut out fabric pentagons.

Die Papierschablonen bleiben am Stoff. 

Here are all 12 fabric pentagons (2 each of 6 different fabrics), all ready to begin.

Das sind alle 12 fertig vorbereitete Stoff-Fünfecke mit den Papier-Schablonen. Ein Paar von je 6 verschiedenen Stoffen. 

Pick up the first fabric pentagon and fold the fabric edges to the wrong side, one after the other, exactly along the edges of the paper pentagon (don‘t fold the paper over). Baste the fabric edges in place. Start the thread with a knot but don‘t tie a knot at the end – instead just take an extra small stitch to make it easier to remove these basting stitches later. In the photo you can see that I have already basted one fabric edge in place and am now basting the next edge. I baste through the fabric and the paper. Some people prefer to hold the fabric edges in place with larger herringbone stitches (from corner to corner) so that the paper doesn‘t get holes poked in it. I‘ll talk a little more about this later. Whichever method you use, it‘s important that the corners are held in place exactly. The paper pentagons keep the fabric in the right shape so that you can sew accurately.

Nehmen Sie ein Stoff-Fünfeck auf und falten Sie die Nahtzugaben eine nach der anderen auf die Rückseite der Schablone um. abei dürfen die Kanten vom Papier nicht mit umgefaltet werden) Reihen Sie die Stoffkanten rundum mit einem Faden pro Fünfeck. Sichern Sie den Faden am Anfang mit einem Knoten, am Ende aber mit einem kleinen Doppelstich um später die Reihfäden wieder leichter entfernenen zu können. Auf dem Foto sieht man, wie ich dabei bin bereits die 2. Kante zu reihen. Ich steche immer durch Stoff und Papier, es gibt aber auch Leute, die mit grossen Hexenstichen die Kanten reihen, damit das Papier nicht gelöchert wird. Das erkläre ich weiter unten. Egal welche Methode Sie benutzen, wichtig ist, dass die Ecken nicht verrutschen. Die Papierschablonen halten den Stoff in der richtigen Form und Grösse, sodass Sie ganz genau nähen können. 

Continue in this manner until the fabric has been basted around all the paper pentagons. Here are 6 basted pentagons – laid out as they will be sewn together to make one half of the ball.

Machen Sie nun weiter mit dem Reihen bis alle Stoff-Fünfecke um die Papierschablonen geriehen sind. Auf dem Bild sind 6 Fünfecke so ausgelegt, wie sie zu einer Ball-Hälfte zusammen genäht werden.  

Time to start sewing! Lay two basted pentagons together, with their fabric sides facing. Sew them together along one edge, using overcasting stitches. Make sure that you catch only the fabric folds with your stitching – and not the papers inside! The closer together your stitches are, the more sturdy the finished ball will be. I usually take approx. 20-25 stitches per inch.

Jetzt geht das Nähen los! 

Legen Sie 2 geriehene Fünfecke mit der Stoffseite aufeinander. Nähen Sie sie an einer Kante entlang mit Überwendlich-Stichen zusammen. Passen Sie dabei auf nur den Stoff und nicht das Schablonenpapier mit den Stichen zu erwischen! Je enger die Stiche sind umso robuster wird der Ball sein. Ich nähe um die 8-10 Stiche auf einen cm. 

Keep sewing pentagons around one of the pentagons. As soon as pentagons have been sewn to all 5 sides of the center pentagon, you can remove the paper pentagon from the center pentagon to make the work a little easier to manipulate. Just unpick the basting stitches (now you‘ll understand why we didn‘t tie a knot at the end when basting) and remove the paper. Save the paper. It has a few small holes, but it can still be used again for another ball some day – or if you decided to baste with herringbone stitches, the paper pentagon is still in almost pristine condition.

In unserem Beispiel haben wir den blauen Stoff als Zentrum für den Anfang genommen, um das die ersten 5 Fünfecke herum angenäht werden. Fahren Sie nun damit fort, die Fünfecke um das zentrale Fünfeck herum anzunähen. Sobald das zentrale Fünfeck an allen Seiten mit den anderen Fünfecken zusammengenäht ist, können Sie bei diesem das Papier heraus nehmen.Das macht die folgende Arbeit etwas einfacher zu handhaben. Da wir ja den Reihfaden nur mit einem Doppelstich am Ende gesichert hatten, können wir nun die Reihstiche lösen und das Papier herausziehen.

Heben Sie das Papier auf. Auch wenn es ein paar kleine Löchelchen hat kann es immer noch eines Tages für einen Ball benutzt werden. Wenn Sie sich für die Große-Hexenstich-Methode entschieden hatten sind die Fünfecke eh fast wie neu. 

Now sew the seams between the pentagons which surround the center pentagon – and you will understand why it was a good idea to take the paper out – the center pentagon needs to be folded to do this. It was a little difficult to photograph.

Nähen Sie als nächstes die Seitenkanten der Fünfecke zusammen, die um das zentrale Fünfeck angenäht sind. Damit man das kann ist es nötig das zentrale Fünfeck zu falten, was besser geht weil wir da das Papier entfernt haben. (Es war nicht so einfach davon ein Foto zu machen)  

This makes the side pentagons fold up in a cup shape. (Sorry, this photo is a little out of focus and I didn't notice this until it was too late – but I wanted to show the state of the ball at this step of the construction.)

Sind jetzt diese 6 Fünfecke zusammengenäht entsteht daraus eine Halbkugel. (Leider habe ich zu spät gemerkt, dass das Foto unscharf ist. Ich habe es trotzdem dringelassen um den Zustand des Balls nach diesem Schritt zu zeigen.) 

As a little aside, the pentagons are what makes the ball a ball. You can sew hexagons together with the same method (to make the „Grandma‘s Flower Garden“ pattern, for example), but they stay flat. Balls for the game of football (not American football!) are made of hexagons and pentagons.

Nebenbei bemerkt sind es die Fünfecke die einen Ball erst kugelig werden lassen. Würden Sie mit der selben Methode anstatt Fünfecke Sechsecke zusammennähen, würden die flach bleiben, wie zum Beispiel beim “Grandma‘s Flower Garden” Muster. Bälle zum Fußballspielen in der Regel aus Fünfecken und Sechsecken genäht. 

But back to our ball. Now take the partner of one of the pentagons on the upper edge of the “cup”. Sew it in place on the upper edge of the “cup”, exactly opposite it‘s partner piece. For example, in the photo, you would sew the second red pentagon to the edges of the “V” formed where the green and yellow pentagons meet. Continue this way around the upper edge of the “cup”, sewing (in the photo example) the red, orange, yellow, green, and white pentagons in place, each opposite their partner. Remember, as soon as a pentagon is surrounded, you can remove the paper support. The ball is almost closed. You have one pentagon (blue in our example) left – and you can see that it will be placed exactly opposite the first blue pentagon. This blue pentagon will be like the lid. Sew it in place, but only on 2 sides – the ball must be left open for turning and stuffing!

Zurück zu unserem Ball. Jetzt werden die restlichen Fünfecke an die Halbkugel genäht – zuerst wieder eine Runde mit den 5 Stoffe die zu der letzten Runde gehörten. Jeder Stoff wird so plaziert, dass er seinem “Partner” direkt gegenüber liegt. Auf unserem Foto würden Sie zum Beispiel das 2. rote Fünfeck in das "V" zwischen dem grünen und dem gelben Fünfeck einnähen. 

Sobald eins der Fünfecke an allen fünf Seiten angenäht ist, können Sie jeweils die Reihfäden und das Papier herausnehmen. Der Ball ist nun bis auf ein Fünfeck fast geschlossen – in unserem Beispiel das Blaue. Es ist genau am andern Pol der Kugel, dem blauen Anfangs-Fünfeck gegenüber. Nähen Sie es an 2 Seiten an, denn es muss uns als “Ladeluke” dienen, durch die wir die Füllung und das Glöckchen einführen. 

Here‘s the way the ball looks now. It hasn‘t been turned right side out yet. All paper pentagons have been removed. The final sewing will be easier if you baste the seam allowances on the remaining edges in place. In the photo, you can also see the stuffing. But what‘s the black thing? It‘s SO‘s solution to how to put a bell in the ball. 

So sieht der Ball jetzt aus. Er ist noch nicht auf rechts gewendet. Alle Papierschablonen sind entfernt. Um das letzte Fünfeck leichter annähen zu können empfehle ich die Nahtzugaben an den verbleibenden Kanten zu reihen. Aber was ist das für ein schwarzes Ding? Es ist die Lösung, die mein Freund gefunden hat für das Problem wie man in einen mit Watte gestopften Ball ein klingendes Glöckchen einbaut. 

You can‘t just put a bell in the center of the ball and stuff the ball around it. The stuffing muffles the bell too much. So what we do is take a plastic film can (if you can still find one – if not, maybe a small plastic container like pills come in, or something similar) and drill a few holes in it. This proctects the bell from being muffled but allows the sound to come out (a plastic container with no holes also muffles the bell). If anyone has other good ideas for putting bells in balls, let me know.

Damit der Klang des Glöckchens durch die Watte nicht zu sehr gedämpft wird, braucht es einen eigenen Raum und der sollte einige Öffnungen haben. Wir haben dafür ein Filmdöschen genommen, das mit einem entsprechendem Bohrer präpariert wird. Sollte es keine Filmdöschen geben könnten es auch Tablettenröhrchen tun. Wir sind für Ihre Ideen zu diesem Punkt offen. 

Turn the ball right side out and stuff it. First make a little “nest” of stuffing and lay the bell in place. Try to keep the bell in the center and surround it evenly with the stuffing so that it can't be felt in the center of the finished ball.

Wenden Sie den Ball auf rechts und beginnen Sie mit dem Stopfen. Machen Sie zuerst ein Nest in das Sie das Filmdöschen mit dem Glöckchen legen. Es sollte so eingepackt werden, dass es später von aussen nicht zu ertasten ist, also möglichst im Kern zu liegen kommt. 

Then continue stuffing the ball until it is quite firm. Pin the remaining corners of the “lid” in place and sew the remaining 3 edges closed. Here is our finished ball with it‘s new owner.

Stopfen Sie weiter gleichmäßig und prüfen Sie dabei ob es irgendwo noch hohle Stellen gibt. Zum Schluss wird die " Ladeluke " angenäht. Dazu stecken Sie die verbleibenden 3 Seiten fest und nähen sie zusammen. Hier ist unser Ball in den Händen seines neuen Besitzers zu sehen. 

He smiled when he first saw the ball! You‘re sure to get a similar reaction. Give it a try! And have fun sewing!

Als er den Ball sah lächelte er! Sie können sich einer ähnlichen Reaktion sicher sein. Ein Versuch lohnt sich! Und viel Spaß beim Nähen! 

My dad (87 years old) calls them synchronicities and says that they will be the end of him. What he is referring to is something that all of us experience at some time or another. One of his favorite examples is: He is driving along a lonely county road. No other cars in sight. The road narrows to a small bridge...and here is where he and the only car to be driving in the opposite direction end up meeting – where it causes the most trouble for both of them! My dad claims that it happens more often than can be just explained by the law of averages. I suggest that it‘s these incidents that he remembers the most – but so far I haven‘t been able to convince him.

Here‘s another of my dad‘s examples: He likes to have a pencil always at hand, so he has one or more in the breast pocket of his shirt. He often goes to a hardware store and when he‘s there, he‘ll check what new equipment they have in stock. On one such hardware store visit, he was looking more closely at a wood chipper or some such gardening machine. He bent over to look at something on the inside of the chipper, the pencil fell out of his shirt pocket and into the chipper. But not just into the chipper – into the narrow space between the inner and outer walls of the chipper so that it was impossible to just reach in and retrieve his pencil. I can hear him now. “If I had tried to drop a pencil into that narrow space, it would have been impossible!“ I don‘t remember how he got the pencil out...possibly the chipper had to be partially disassembled.

And now I have a good story to add to my dad‘s collection. I have a porcelain nail file. The file itself has a plastic handle and since the file is porcelain, it‘s breakable, so it has a tightly fitting plastic cap to protect the file. When I say “tightly fitting”, I mean, you can hold the plastic cap and the nail file will not slip out. When you put the cap on the nail file, it clicks in place. The nail file “lives” in an open basket on a shallow shelf in my bathroom – the shelf is directly across from the toilet and about 2 feet from the toilet (it‘s a small bathroom). The other day, I wanted to file my nails. I reached for the nail file, but inadvertently knocked it out of the basket. It landed on the (tile) floor, handle-end down. When the file landed, the force of the impact made the protective cap fly off. The cap flew up and in an arc, over the toilet, and hit the wall behind the toilet. It bounced off the wall and slid from behind into the small crack at the back of the toilet lid (the lid was closed), and – into the toilet! And then that fraction of a second before I really grasped what had just happened. Give me a break! How many things had to be just right (or just wrong) for that to happen? I could hardly wait to tell my father!

Like everyone else who sews or does needlework, I have quite a collection of ufo's (un-finished objects) – and for all sorts of reasons. Some I got stuck on, some got boring, some I wasn't pleased with, etc. On some I ran out of time so they got put aside and then it is always very difficult to pick up an already started, old job and get back in the swing of things...it‘s easier to start something new.

One thing that almost never ends up becoming an ufo is socks. I love to knit socks. They are relatively quick to make and when they are finished, they are ready to use – no blocking, no seams, just hide a few thread ends. They are my favorite take-along project because they are never too big and because they can easily be started and stopped without having to worry about “what do I do next?” (Having said this I must admit that I recently forgot to turn the heel on a sock I was making. I just knit the heel flap, picked up stitches along the side of the flap and proceeded to shape the ankle. The sock still fits ok, which makes me wonder why we bother to turn heels. I knit the partner sock the correct way and now I can compare how they both are to wear and how well each of them wears. Maybe I can comment on the results of this “study” in a couple of years....hand knit socks last a long time.) But I digress.... 

I (of course) have plenty of ufo‘s that I should be working on, but this weekend I finished one pair of socks and decided that I would try something new, sock-wise. A couple of months ago I found a nice knit pattern for socks in a Dutch needlecraft magazine that I subscribe to. It‘s a traditional Dutch pattern called “coffee beans” (“koffieboontje” in Dutch). A small pattern over 4 stitches and 4 rows. Perfect for socks, and a nice change from my standard 2k, 2p ribbing. I started the first sock and I really enjoy the pattern. Since it‘s so small, it‘s easy to memorize, easy to start up again after you have laid it down for a while, and easy to find and repair mistakes (guess how I know this!).

Here‘s a picture of the start of my sock. Serendipitously the color change of the yarn more or less corresponds to the pattern unit (dumb luck).

For anyone who is interested, here is the pattern:

Row 1: *k2, p2, rep from * continuously 

Row 2: *k1, yo, k1, p2, rep from * continuously

Row 3: *k3, p2, rep from * continuously

Row 4: *slip 1 k-wise, k2, pass slipped stitch over, p2, rep from * continuously

Repeat these four rows as often as needed/desired.

Here I am, getting ready to write my first real blog entry. Since I've never done this before, I feel a little like I did the day I brought my first child (a daughter) home from the hospital or the day we got a new puppy. What am I supposed to do now?!? What should I feed her/it? How often? How do I know if it's enough? What if she gets sick? Of course, caring for a blog isn't quite as serious as caring for a child or a dog, but the uncertainties are still there. On the other hand, I'm sure that the uncertainties will disappear. My daughter is still alive and well. The dog is dead, but not due to poor care – she was 14 years old. There will be things to learn, but that will be good for me. I agreed to have this blog...so here we go.

 The best place to start is probably with an introduction. I am 60 years old. I‘m a US citizen and English is my native language but I have been living in Germany for almost forty years, so I also speak German. Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in all things textile. I sew (mostly patchwork and quilting, but also some clothing), knit, crochet, embroider, weave, spin, tat, make bobbin lace – not necessarily in the order of frequency or enthusiasm. I earn my living by combining these textile skills with my 2 main languages. I am a translator, mainly from German to English and mainly in the textile field. I have been translating for Burda for the last 15 years and since last summer I have been “taking care” of Burda‘s English website. I also translate for a sewing machine company and for a couple of yarn companies, among others. In addition to doing textile things myself, I also teach other people how to do them. At present all of my classes deal with patchwork and appliqué. 

I am calling my blog “Grandma‘s Flower Garden” because I am a grandma, but also because I inherited my “textile genes” primarily from my paternal grandmother and because the “Grandma‘s flower garden” quilt pattern is one of my favorites. I own 2 quilts of this pattern which my great-grandmother made and I always enjoy sewing this pattern myself. 

Up until now I haven't had much to do with any blogs except for reading the one that my son-in-law occasionally writes to keep friends and family informed. In order to get the feel of what a sewing blog might be like, I decided to check into existing sewing blogs and other textile blogs. I started out with the blogs on Burda's German website and they led me to their favorite sewing blogs and I am amazed! I had no idea how many blogs there are. People (the ones I found concerning textiles seem to all be women) who are enthusiastic about sewing or knitting or crocheting – or all three – and more! People who generously share their knowledge, proudly show their finished projects, or share their disasters. Many write blog entries (and post photos, etc.) daily and also say that they read many other blogs daily. They sew, knit, etc. and, of course, they also have jobs, families, homes, etc. I can only assume that they have discovered the secret of squeezing more than 24 hours out of a day or of surviving without sleep...but I haven‘t found any blog entries about this yet.  

I still need a good night‘s sleep, so my blog will probably not be daily. I‘ll do my best to write regularly, but time will tell how often than can be. Now I‘ve made a start. I hope that this blog thrives as well as my daughter and the puppy did!