Patchwork – Another baby blanket

January 21, 2018 by nadel&gabel

Another newborn – another baby blanket. This time the idea I had in my mind was a clear, yet colourful blanket out of geometric shapes, patched together. So I went through my stash of fabrics, layed out different options, rearranged them again … until I was satisfied. I worked in blocks that I – step by step – put together. I also added some topstiching in corresponding colours. The patchworked front then was complemented with a light, but cuddly cotton […]

Categories: accessories, At the sewing machine, children • Tags: baby, blanket, color, elefant, geometric, gift, handmade, molleton, mustard, newborn, patchwork, present, quilting cotton, scrap, sewing, topstiching

Preparations – Beanie mania

December 1, 2017 by nadel&gabel

During the last months the clacking of my knitting needles has become the background music of our autumn evenings. Some finished knitting project always lay out for blocking, and the pile of small handmade presents grew. Now, at the beginning of December the last piece has been bound off. A wooly handmade Christmas lays ahead when it comes to my gifts. Already all gifts prepared? For some, this may sound perhaps a bit overambitious. But this year is a special […]

Categories: craft & DIY, knitting • Tags: beanie, broken seed stitch, christmas, colorwork, fingering, gift, hat, knitting, present, ravelry, scallop pattern, sport, yarn

Sunny yellow – Pickled turmeric eggs

April 9, 2017 by nadel&gabel

Right for the Easter holidays the sun is coming out, bringing the nature to sprout and blossom. The warming sun goes straight into our heart after the long winter cold. The landscape is covered in green, white and yellow. And what would the Easter holidays be without coloured eggs that have to be searched for in the fresh grass? These pickled eggs aren’t hard to find, the bright yellow colour guides the way! But the turmeric doesn’t give them only […]

Categories: breakfast, dairy-free, gluten-free, In the kitchen, pantry, snacks & small dishes, spread, sauce & spice, vegetarian • Tags: brine, colour, easter, eggs, flavour, gift, kurkuma, marinate, pantry, pickled, present, preserving, sour, spice, turmeric, vinegarn

Flavour horizons – Homemade spice blends

December 15, 2016 by nadel&gabel

 This year, my Christmas presents – yes, almost done – are a bit more on the (online) store bought side than on team DIY. Not by concept, it just happened. Nevertheless you won’t find a gift guide on this blog. I don’t think anyone needs another one. What you’ll find here – like every year – is some inspiration for homemade Christmas presents. One of my homemade presents is this set of spice blends. I chose three of my favourite […]

Categories: around the world, craft & DIY, dairy-free, digital design, freebies, gluten-free, In the kitchen, paper, spread, sauce & spice, vegan, vegetarian • Tags: african, arab, Asian, blend, coriander, cumin, dukkah, exotic, flavour, furikake, gift, glass tube, hawaij, hazelnut, homemade, japanese, jewish, kitchen, label, mix, oriental, present, recipe, seasoning, sesame, spice, taste

Keep on turning – DIY rope bowl

January 18, 2016 by nadel&gabel

This project is in my blogging queque for a while now. It was one of my christmas gift projects, actually one of my favourite ones. Over years now I’ve bookmarked various tutorials for handmade baskets or bowls – but most of them are based on handsewing … aargh … I hate handsewing, I’m a impatient person. So, basically I remained bookmarking and thinking about how I would … someday … And then I saw Frau Gold`s admirable rope bowls, followed the link for […]

Categories: accessories, At the sewing machine, decoration, supplies • Tags: basket, black&white, bowl, coil, cord, cotton, decoration, design, easy, machine, minimal, present, rope, scandinavian, sew, storage, tutorial

The taming of the shrew – Quince juice

October 31, 2015 by nadel&gabel

Somehow the words seem to have left me at the moment. Words did break too many things during the last days, words weren`t anything more than words … some words sadly haven’t be said. Emptiness stands beside confusion, anger alternates with sadness, all coated by disillusionment. But although it’s hard these days for the sun to find her way through the fog, I’ve learned that much: She always will. Until then: Concentrate on the close things, the small pleasures that are easy to […]

Categories: autumn, dairy-free, drinks, gluten-free, In the kitchen, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian, winter • Tags: autumn, floral, fruit, fruit leather, gift, juice, labelling, present, quince, recipe, sticker

So practical – Carry-all pincushion from “Handmade Style”

July 31, 2015 by nadel&gabel

 When I first flipped through the pages of Anna Grahams sewing book “Handmade Style” I had a hard time to decide with which project I would like to start: A tunic for me, another bag or perhaps a quilting project after I’ve mastered my first steps? I’ve decided to start small … and practical! A pincushion that carries everything a sewer always needs at hand? – What a brilliant idea! I gathered a few scraps in black, grey and white […]

Categories: accessories, At the sewing machine, supplies • Tags: anna graham, black&white, easy, equipment, gift, graphic, Homemade Style, monochrome, noodlehead, pattern, pincushion, present, sewer, sewing, storage, stuffing

About traditions – Pickled pink radishes

June 23, 2015 by nadel&gabel

These radishes have soon become a staple in our household, since I made them for the first time a few months ago. I planned to make a Bánh Mì sandwich. And when I walked around the market and looked for daikon radishes, I saw instead the first cute little pink radishes. They were fresh, they were from the farmer in the next village, they were radishes – what did I want more? – I had to use them instead. It […]

Categories: dairy-free, German/Swabian, gluten-free, In the kitchen, pantry, snacks & small dishes, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian • Tags: Bánh Mì, bread, brine, Brotzeit, condiment, flavour, german, gift, jar, marinate, pickles, pickling, present, preserve, radish, recipe, sandwich, season, sour, spicy, tart, Vesper, vietnamese, vinegar

A little something – Homemade truffles and a DIY gift box

December 21, 2014 by nadel&gabel

Now it’s the time when you can count the days till the christmas holidays are finally here. And before I retreat solely to the analog world for a few days, enjoying time with my family and long not seen friends, here’s a last christmas gift idea, that you still can easily whip up in case of urgent gift shortage. I made this nice collection of truffles for some of my colleagues. But your neighbours, your postman, your aunts and uncles […]

Categories: cake, cookie & dessert, craft & DIY, digital design, freebies, gluten-free, In the kitchen, paper, storage, vegetarian • Tags: box, brigadeiro, caramel, chocolate, chocolates, christmas, coffee, condensed milk, Craft, dark, flavour, gift, hibiscus, orange, package, praline, present, rasberry, recipe, sweet, tag, template, treat, truffles, tutorial, white, wrap