Years before we built our earthen house, we bought a carved stone alcove in anticipation. We eventually embedded it in the northeast corner of the living room, where it waited even more years for the next thing to happen.
The next thing was to furnish the alcove for a Heinzelmann. Heinzelmännchen (that’s more than one Heinzelmann) are German elves or spirits that come in at night to finish the chores that don’t get done during the day. They are mostly associated with the city of Cologne (Köln), where the townspeople messed up and lost their Heinzelmännchen forever.
In hopes of welcoming a Heinzelmann family to our home, I furnished the alcove with a crocheted rug, two pillows, and a basket with a light blanket.
The light blanket seemed too thin for winter, so I knitted a garter stitch blanket with the thinnest needles and finest wool in my collection. It was handspun, but not by me.
Spring rolled around. The woolen blanket was stored away, and we added a potted plant constructed with a wooden hot sauce lid and a rolled up green leafy decoration from a sushi meal. For winter, we brought the blanket out again and exchanged the plant for a china vase.
No evidence suggests that our cozy alcove has attracted a Heinzelmann family to our house. Yet.
Read a story about Heinzelmännchen, with sweet pictures, at German Girl in America.
The rug, pillows, and basket were crocheted with No. 10 crochet cotton.
