Yarny day

Hi lovelies!

It's been a while! I have had a very busy time. I went to Lowlands (many Dutch will know it), a music festival. I didn't sleep much and now I am a bit sick :-(. At least I don't miss much sun, cause it is of course raining here in holland.

Since it feels like autumn, I had the urge to make "kruidnootjes". A Dutch treat eaten at the "Sinterklaas" fest. This fest isn't until the 5th of December, but I couldn't resist. So I baked a handful and eat almost all of it *wooops*. Aaaah, the smell of fresh baked delicious cookies. A big pot of tea and a little bit of yarn to go with it, aaaaaah what a bliss.

Oh, if you are wondering how to make these cookies, here is the recipe:

100 grams of selfraizing flower
50 grams of dark caster sugar
40 grams of butter, chopped in small pieces.
1 teaspoon of mixed spices (koek- of speculaaskruiden voor de hollanders)
a pinch of salt
2 table spoons of milk

Mix all the ingredients and heat the oven at 175 degrees. Make small balls of about 1 cm of the dough and put them on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes.

The spices that are used can be bought mixed in holland. I don't know if you can get these spices in different countries. It consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, white pepper, gingerpowder and cardamom.

Well, I have a long way to go before I can show you another ta-da moment (to speak in Lucy terms ;-)) so I better get going!

Lots of love,

Suzanne....and sleepyhead Puck, haha:

Yarn nightmare...

Once upon a time in a country far far away, there was a girl sitting with her crochet hook in one hand and a cupcake in the other. A homemade lowfat chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting that is. Putting the last square in place, ready for the final step of this project, the edge. Life couldn't be sweeter. 

Going around the corner, the last bit of the yarn of the grey wonderful wool slipped through her fingers. Time the get another bundle from her stash. Going through all the bundles of yarn, she searched and searched. There must be another grey ball.....right? Well, not a problem. She just went to the store to get some more.

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Noooooooooooooo, the grey yarn is not in stores anymore! The horror, what a nightmare! So there we are, ending up with an almost finished tablecloth. So, now I have to improvise. I might just go on in the white color and maybe add a little of the pink. Or maybe a totally different color. Do you lovelies have any suggestions? 

Did it happen to you before, running out of yarn? I feel so stupid for not buying more in the beginning of the project! It is rather cheap yarn, so why oh why didn't I?!

Oh well, at least the sun is finally shining here in the rainy Holland and I already found another stunning pattern for a vintage project I will soon share with you. 

Lots of love,

Suzanne

Hairy sewing project

Hello lovelies,

After a period of silence here in the city I return to you with a sewing project. My sewing machine was starting to collect dust and thus it was time to start using it again! And what better than a project with a purpose, namely keeping the doggy of the couch by making a dog pillow he could not resist!

 Every time he snuggles on the couch dreaming of other dogs and treats, leaving a huge amount of spiky hairs on the creamy sofa. Mostly when Mr. L. and I are not around and when we return, he looks at us with the biggest puppy eyes trying to say: “It wasn’t me” . Puck gave those exact same eyes when I put the pillow on the ground and he instantly claimed it. “Ooooh please master, can I please have it?”

 Well, I guess he likes it pretty bad haha. And the best thing is that I made it from left over fabric with little stars and some felt and wool for embroidery. It didn’t cost a dime. If you also have a dog claiming the couch here some directions of how to make it:

1. Get two pieces of fabric
2. Cut two pieces of 80 x 60 cm's, these will be the top and the bottom of the pillow.
3. Cut two pieces of 60 x 20 cm's and two pieces of 80 x 20 cm's in the other colour fabric.
4. Put the embroidery on the top. In my case I did my dog's name in cross stitches and a felt bone filled with a little stuffing. 
5. First pin and sew all the sides to the top of the pillow.
6. Now pin and sew all the sides together to form some kind of container. 
7. Pin the bottom of the pillow and sew all the sides except for one. 
8. Turn the pillow inside out.
9. Fill the pillow with what ever stuffing you like. Mine is filled with polyester stuffing. 
10. Close the pillow, you can also add a zipper but I choose not to.

As you can see, I used a embroidery hoop. I found it very helpful. I also ironed the fabric before using it. I think it turned out a bit messy in the corners (they don't precisely line up), but fortunately Puck couldn't care less. 

Have a nice weekend, lots of love from Puck and me.

xxx

handy handle

I knew they excisted, I had seen them many times in the local woolstore; hooks with handles. I never paid much attention to them, until recently. Now that I have more time on my hands to crochet, I wanted to prevent any form of RSI or other pains in my hand and wrist. So I did a little research and found a lot of info on a discussion in my favorite Ravelry group. I saw so many pretty ones like this one, this one and of course this one!!! So pretty and I could buy them...but crea as I am, something was itching. I could of course try and make one of my own.

So I checked out this clip on youtube *very helpful!* and bought some fimo polymar clay in different colours. The clip showed me how to get the clay on the hook, but I wanted more than just a plain coloured handle. I was obsessed with the little flowers and I just had to give it a try.

So, more research had to be done since I am a newbie with clay. I found out the flowers can be made through little slices of a "cane".

Look at all there colours and shapes! I love, love, love it.

So, this is how my cane came out. I din't really follow a particular tutorial, just checked different movies on youtube and experimented a bit.

Then I made thin slices with a very sharp blade (important, otherwise they will smudge) and but them randomly on the handle. A bit of rolling and pinching and of we go!

And? Do you like it? This one is for my 3.0 mm hook and I think I will make some more for my other hooks.

 

Pretty fun to work with, polymar clay. You should try it if you have some time left :-). 

Wishing you a wonderful day!

xxx Suzanne