Handgemacht in Deutschland (All The Things I've Made in Germany)

Wool yarn I bought from a little German store and took with me to the Black Forest. 

When I came to Germany I planned on being so busy doing who-knows-what, but probably taking care of children, that I figured I would have little time for actually making things. Even so, I took a huge project with me that I've been meaning to do since I was fourteen or fifteen: a rayon scarf with a dragon embroidered on it. I also brought along my fifth and last quilt strip. Two huge projects that I hoped to have time to finish. 

Turns out, I finished both of them easily along with many other things.

WARNING: I tried to not use too many pictures ... but that was impossible. 

Project number one was technically my embroidered scarf, but I made many things in between of working on that. Somehow, when I came to Germany I forgot to bring a stocking hat with me. So, naturally, I bought some yarn and knitted one on my way to the Black Forest with my first Au Pair family. 

Actually ... the family I was staying with sorta had a house rule where you wear house shoes inside. This rule, they said, didn't apply to me. But since I wanted the kids to feel like I was a part of the family, I decided it would be best to do so. I didn't end up buying yarn until there for over a month. And by the time I made the house shoes I 

1. Didn't like them

2. Found out shortly after that I would be leaving anyway. 

But I love the hat. So the yarn was not a waste of my money. 

When I came to my second Au Pair family I bought this bottle of gel. It's for house shoes and meant to add a grip to the soles. I really hate how it turned out and plan to later pick off the glue dots before gifting the house shoes to someone else.

(Sometimes it's a mental thing for creators to hate their work. So if enough of you all actually like these things, I'll do a giveaway. Let me know in the comments).

I mean, who can blame me for not liking house slippers when I don't even wear my shoes if I can help it? 

The little boy of the first family thought my house slippers were so neat and asked if I would make him some, too. I said yes if I had yarn. So this yarn was bought. It wasn't a good weight for house slippers, so I made socks ... which turned out a bit too large ;/ But they were fun to make and I remember the little boy being happy about the process, and reminding me that I needed to make two because he had two feet ;p 

I arrived at my new Au Pair family's house just before the Christmas season started. Even though I don't do Christmas, I thought it would be nice to make everyone a gift.

This yarn was given to me as a going-away present from one of the Au Pair girls I'd made friends with while in Stuttgart. I was able to get a cowl and a hat out of it for my Au Pair parents. 

This was the gorgeous yarn I saw in a Muller's when in Stuttgart, made of rayon. I bought it knowing I'd found something to make of it. I ended up making a scarf and a shawl for two of the girls. 

I had so much fun making the fringe!

I almost wanted to keep this thing! It was so easy to make, only took lots of time. But I brought it with me to Wing Chun or working on it in every spare moment. 

I bought this yarn when in the black forest. I made a headband out of it. This was made as an extra gift just in case anyone (there's lots of extended family around) else showed up at the party, as I wasn't sure who would all be there and I didn't want to exclude anyone. 

I also used up the rest of the yarn I first bought for my house shoes and my hat to make a hat for one of the little girls. 

And then I ran out of yarn. But my new Au Pair mother had shown me a super neat yarn shop only about a mile away. So there I went for more yarn ...

All the hats I made

My first ever pom-pom which turned out horribly, but I allowed it to pass after trying three or four times. 

Wearing our matching hats

Scarves I made for two of the children

I found this lace scarf alongside a sidewalk when walking in Stuttgart. I kept it, washed it, and saved it knowing it would come in handy. Indeed, it did. I embroidered a coupled flowers on it, then gave it to the Oma as a Christmas gift. 

So glad I brought my needles with me!

Everything I knitted for Christmas in the span of just a month

And now for the EXCITING project. Which sadly only has horrible pictures. But oh, well.
This thing took me only about four months to embroider. My sister drew the dragon and I drew the rest. The scarf is rayon (I made the fringe, too) and the floss is rayon silk. So soft!

I kinda promised my first Au Pair mother a pair of mittens called Owlings. So, in early January I used some leftover yarn from another of the hats and made these. For some reason, I had to make a collage of goofy photos. 

And then for my second big project, I brought along ... my fifth quilt strip! It took just a little over a month to sew. In the above picture, I'm wearing my blue took earphones on my head rather than around my neck as sometimes the children would pull on them. I was probably listening to "Pride and Prejudice", which I loved by the way.

Part of my review from Goodreads:
"I also found myself 100% relating to Elizabeth. I too have a crazy family that I try to keep respectable, and fear will chase away every other guy. I have a sporty mouth and wild personality. I can't be bullied into anything, but don't mind giving an honest opinion if I feel it's needed. And I wish to find a man superior to myself."

A lot of this quilt was sewn during church services while in the States, so it's only fair that some of it be sewn also in a German church, don't you think?

The finished project! 

The next project was crazy. 

I mentioned making my own clothes, so the little girl asked if I could help her make a dress with some fabric she had. Of course, I said yes. But it turns out she actually wanted me to make it ... and she had no pattern. 

I've only once before made a dress without a pattern, and I had a knowledgable friend guiding my every step. 

I decided to be brave, and make the dress. It's definitely not perfect and could have used some more ease in the button area, but overall I'm happy with it, especially with the sleeves. And the little girl loved it! 

(I started this dress in early January and hated thinking about it, so didn't finish it until late February.)

The last thing I made in Germany was a sock, from the yarn and the pattern book my Au Pair family gave me for Christmas.

A fun photoshoot I did with the little girl wearing the dress and shawl I made her ...

And as they say, "That's all folks."

I do hope my all hasn't overwhelmed you. I did think of breaking this up into more than one post ... but just didn't want to.