Blogiversary!!!

Yay!!! I'm sooo glad you could all make it!!!

So, I guess your all wandering what the big cake/party/celebration is all about? Some of you have guessed correct and some of you were WAY of the mark :-)

Today is the 1st Birthday of our blog!!! So come grab a drink! A glass of Champagne maybe?

 Or perhaps you'd prefer a cup of tea? And let's all celebrate together!!!

I know it probably seems a little "over the top" to be celebrating the blogs Birthday. I just couldn't let it pass without acknowledging the FAB first year Dennis and I have had working on it!

I prepared enough nibbles to munch whilst we chit chat over all things crafty!

 Jammy Dodger, anyone?

Enough party food for all!!!

When I started the blog this time last year, I really had no idea where I was heading. I didn't plan on this purely being a craft blog. In the beginning I tried to keep it much more general....it turns out you can't keep me away from the crochet and crafts!!!

It was really fun to have Dennis join the blog in December. Not only has it been a great hobby that we can enjoy together, It's also been lots of fun working creatively with each other.
Using each others ideas and finding a balance between what I like and what he likes. It's been interesting to say the least. Sometimes we had arguments ( I can get stressy at times), but most of the time we worked just fine and would encourage each others ideas.

So who's for Birthday cake?

I've been working on this cake for the last week or so. I tried to keep it within the style of the blog......I think I succeeded! :-)

Each of the layers has a different theme. A theme based on some of the projects we have made throughout the past year.   

We've had a lot of projects on the go, here are some of my favourite projects and post from our first year. (you can click on the pictures to go to the original posts)

Blankets Galore!!!

Peg Perfection

Crochet O'Clock

Felt Hearts

Jammy Dodger Tutorial

So there you have it! Our first year of blogging, project making and creative craftyness! It's been a great first year! Thanks for all of the support and inspiration. For reading, commenting and giving us lots of LOVE!!!
So glad you could come along and celebrate with us today!!!

Matt and Dennis xxx

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Granny Square Button Cushion!

Guess who spent a lovely Friday afternoon with Dennis?.......MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Dennis' cruise ship was in Hamburg for the day, so we had a chance to catch up. We spent a lovely afternoon sharing stories and enjoying each others company, it was sooooo  great to see him!
He is doing fine and is rather enjoying his current contract. He promises that once rehearsals are finished he will pop by 'the blog' and say hello to you all!

Friday really was a lovely day! Not only did I see Dennis in the afternoon, I also took the evening off form work and had a little time to myself. I spent some time working on my current WIP and made some scrummy home cooked food.

I also took a venture up the road to explore the local yarn cafe, they were having a 'Knit Night'.
Knit night happens twice a month at this store and I was extremely curious to see what it was all about.
I have to be honest, not only was I curious..... I was also a little nervous. Nervous about the fact I would probably be the only guy and nervous about the thought of having to speak German! 
I didn't have to worry about a thing! The ladies were extremely accommodating, they spoke to me slowly and were patient as I sometimes struggled to find the correct German words.  We spoke about our projects and worked on them whilst having a laugh and drinking good coffee. I didn't always understand everything that was said but I laughed along all the same! :-)

On the way home, I stopped off at a bar and listened to some live music whilst sipping a beer. It was a perfect way to end an evening free from work.

Would you like to see what I was working on at the knit cafe?
I started this project last week, It's made using the leftover yarn from my blanket.

This project had two purposes. The first was to be quick and easy and the second was to use up the last of this yarn. It fulfilled both!
I planned on making a cushion that would match my blanket. I decided to keep to a similar theme and made the pillow out of Granny Squares.
49 squares in total.

I made 24 colourful squares

 Then I added 25 white squares to the equation.

I stitched the squares together using single crochet. I wanted to create the same raised ridges that my blanket also has.

I rummaged the 'bits and bobs' box for all of the left over buttons we had. Some buttons I had bought, some I had found and some were salvaged from old clothing. 

I'm totally fascinated with buttons at the moment. I love the endless amount of colours and sizes. I love that  randomly you may see one whilst walking to work or find one down the back of the sofa. I think they're rather enchanting!

I sewed the buttons to the white Granny squares. 

Once the front of the cushion was complete I got to work on the back.
I simply made a large granny square out of my left over yarn. Changing colour for each round.

Isn't that just so stunningly sunny! I'm loving the back of the pillow almost as much as the front!
Once the back was finished I stitched the front to the back (cushion in the middle) also using single crochet. I finished it off with a simple picot border.
Wanna have a look?

 I'm very pleased with it! The buttons add a rather playful touch!
 Here's the back:

I'm not sure which side a love most?

It compliments the blanket nicely and sits fittingly with its sibling cushions!

With this cheery cushion it really doesn't matter that its so gloomy outside!
Apparently these days, sunshine comes in the form of granny squares and buttons!

Matt xxx

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New Projects (and fake Tulips)

It may have been very rainy in Hamburg, but that hasn't kept us from having a very productive day!
We've received a lot of positive messages about the new design of our blog, which has not only made us crazy happy, but it's also fueling our creativity and encouraging our work here on the blog.
A big THANKS for all the lovely comments and support! We really appreciate it.

We've both been off from work today, and ventured into the city for a hardcore gym session. With the depressing weather it seems that much harder to push ourselves to get to the gym! However, once we were there with our headphones on and our favorite music playing, it didn't seem all that bad.

After the gym we've had a lovely afternoon at home, finishing old projects and starting new ones.

Dennis finished a blanket. It's actually the 'neat ripple' pattern from Lucy at Attic24 but with a little alteration. It's worked through the back loops only, making the waves pop! Another thing you might notice is that's it's in one color. Not very common for a ripple, but I believe it works just lovely and makes it a very calm and 'neat ripple' ;-) The measurements are about 1,80 by 1,20 meters which doesn't really show on this picture. This ripple actually worked up very fast, using quite a thick pure merino yarn, and an 8mm hook!

 And here is a new addition to our apartment, some lovely Dutch tulips...

 ...which are as fake as they could be, but we still love them.

Don't they fit perfectly in our new milk jug?
Notice the little brown boxes full of Matt's current work in progress?
Wanna see what's inside?

A million trillion gazillion granny squares! Made with the fabulous wool received at Christmas.
More on this project as it continues to grow...

Here's a little something Dennis has been trying out. It's not very often he pulls out the knitting needles, but once he gets an idea in his head!

Another thing we're both VERY excited about, and that's an understatement, is the announcement of Sophie Kinsella's new novel! We've both been obsessed with her books from day 1 and we're always the first in line to buy her newest additions. If you haven't read any of her books, we really recommend them. They are one hilarious read and can't wait until next month when this one is released!

Hope you all had a lovely Monday?

and Dennis xxx

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Scraps...

Over the last two years, Matt and I have been working on many many projects. The problem with having two people crocheting a lot, is that you end up with a big collection of left-over yarn! A couple of days ago we had a big sort out of all our yarn and found out how much this actually was. After emptying out all the places where we store our yarn we found out that it's enough to fill up a big garbage bag! But is a garbage bag really the right place for all this forgotten yarn? It's a bit sad to just throw it all away, but then again, what can you make from these tiny little amounts of yarn?

I started to see a little project in this bunch of happy colors! A blanket! I started to experiment a little with some different squares and even tried to knit one! My knitting is terribly slow however and I was sure I would give up on the blanket after 1 day, so I just went back to the very basics: A simple and plain granny square consisting of 3 rounds.

I showed my project to Matt after I'd made about 4 squares, and he came up with the idea that we could both work on this blanket at the same time! I was thrilled by this, since we never work on something together. Every crocheter has their own tension, and the stitches might come out a little different, but with a blanket like this, it doesn't matter! That's the fun of it! Granny squares can adjust quite a lot because of the spaces in between the stitches. You can use a lot of different types of yarn, thick or thin, acrylic or natural fibers. Of course you have to watch out a tiny little bit, no crazy bulky yarn, and no lace weight yarn, but other than that, pretty much any yarn will do!

We chose to join all the squares as we go, which makes it a very easy project to work on! And did I mention how fast it goes when you work on it together? We join one square after the other, and sometimes even have to wait for each other to finish the joining. In 2 days we managed to make 63 squares! I'm really excited about how colourful it's turning out and I really enjoy going through all the scraps and bits of yarn, because a lot of them bring back memories of other projects we've worked on!

It's also a great project to work on besides your other projects. It doesn't take long to add a couple of squares every day or every week. And as long as you use one colour per square, you don't have so much ends to sew in!

Having a crazy bunch of left-over yarn suddenly doesn't seem like such a bad thing anymore. I think we've found a good solution for it!

What do you do with your left over yarn?

Dennis xxx

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Blankets Galore

Hello lovely readers!!
It's me! Back again! I've had a lovely weekend away visiting my family back in England.
It was a trip I should have made months ago and really was long overdue! I had such a lovely time, I got to see my family and top up on all of the home comforts I miss whilst living Germany. I took lots of pictures to share with all of you and will talking about my visit home very very soon!

Now I'm back in Hamburg feeling a little recharged (mum fed me up with all of her gorgeous baking!) and ready to go once again!

I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday and have mainly been sat at home nursing my swollen face!! Its still pretty swollen but definitely on the mend. I was really scared of getting this tooth pulled out, I have never had one done before. I do have to say though, it really was not as bad as I had thought. The worst part was probably the anticipation of getting it done and the horror stories people had been feeding me.
I was supposed to have it pulled out the day before I went to visit my Mum and Dad. I changed my appointment at the last minute. This was a very good move on my part, as with the amount of swelling and bleeding it would have really ruined my lovely weekend with the family!
I have very little pain and the swelling is going down slowly but surely!
I still have a couple of days free before I go back to work so I have a little time for some serious blogging and hooking time!!!

On my return from the dentist I got straight on with working on a little project I started last month. My blanket!!!

As you know last month I made a trip to the wool factory and bought a big skein of gorgeous thick white wool. I have been working on this project for a little while and am so happy with how it is going. A couple of progress pics are needed, I think:

As you can see, I have kept it really very simple. Just very large granny squares joined together and then I am probably going to add a boarder and some tassles.

I have also had a play around with adding a flower to the centre of each square and maybe some buttons? I'm still deciding on that at the moment.

I'm really loving how this project is coming along. However, I do have to be honest with you all. Keeping this project very simple has also made it the most BORING project I have ever made! This is why I have needed a little side line project to keep the crochet bug satisfied!

Here it is! My side line, secret project! My "Neat Ripple Blanket"!!!!!
This is another one of the patterns from Lucy at Attic24. A pattern I have been meaning to try for a very long time.  Want to see some pictures?

I used Style craft DK and once again was not disappointed with how the colours worked along side each other.

The ripple pattern was very easy to follow. I did however find that the moment I switched off I would forget which part of the ripple I was on, so I had to pay attention!
There is something very comforting about these soft waves of yummy colour. I am so in love with this blanket!

Once the main blanket was done I then added a border and a simple shell edging to finish it off. 

And here it is all finished on my bed with some of the bright pillows Dennis and I have made between us! I'm so so happy with this and will definitely make another one some time soon!


With another gorgeous blanket finished, I could not resist putting all of them together for a group shot!
Here they all are, the blankets Dennis and I have made over the past year!

It makes me want to dive into them and snuggle up with my swollen face and a couple of pain killers!! Bliss :-)!

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