For those who wonder...

Hello lovely readers,

I've been away for a while and my regular readers might wonder what I have been up to. Some very nice activities took place, I even went for a night out with the girls. I felt nostalgic right away, it has been a looooong time that we dressed up wearing high heels and lots of mascara. 

We also went to the petting zoo with our little nephew, he is such a bundle of joy.

There were sheep! This one wanted to cuddle, she was so cute. 

Unfortunately there were also some downsides. Some friends of us are struggling and it is hard to know that I can't fix it for them, it makes you feel powerless. We also had a funeral of the grandfather of mr. L., it was an emotional week. Normally I craft to clear my mind, but I just didn't feel like it.

But fear no more! There is a new project on the go.

I don't think you can see what it will turn into yet, right? To help you here is the picture that goes along with the pattern:

Source: Annita Wilschut

I'll keep you all posted on the progress of this little guy. In the meanwhile I'm stuck with a sore throat and a very low energy level. I might jump back into bed with a hot cup of tea. I hope I will be able to knit after sleeping some more (right now the letters on my screen are dancing before my eyes and knitting won't go far either). 

Talk to you soon!

xxx

FO Friday: My first socks...kind of

After a lot of rambling about yarn hair, tulips and running the past weeks it is time for some knitwear!

I made my first pair of socks EVER! Want to see?

Unfortunately it isn't a very big pair, they are a present for a one year old girl who whose mom looooves everything pink.

For the project details:

I used this pattern:  Jelly Bean Baby Socks by Susan B. Anderson 

The pattern was really well written, but since I never made socks before I also used a little youtube tutorial that you can find here. It gives you a general idea of what kind of techniques you will need to use and how to use them.

The yarn I used was something I still had in my stash. It was Royal from Zeeman (a local retailer), which is a very cheap acrylic yarn I bought when I started crochet. I know what you are thinking, why on earth would you use that?!  It was a last minute thing to make (stress knitting alert!) and I knew it HAD to be pink. This was the only yarn that was pink and gave me the right gauge.

In my opinion this yarn doesn't knit very smooth and the finished project is very stiff (I knitted some swatches with different needles sizes but they all ended pretty stiff).

Luckily the new owner didn't mind having some stiff socks, they fitted perfectly! I guess people that don't knit themselves won't mind getting acrylic socks ;-).

I do know that I will make another pair of baby booties or socks for a new born that will be welcomed in August (lots and lots of time to pick out some super soft yarn!).

But before I knit those, I still need to knit a pair of real socks for little old me. I have been wanting to do so but I am a bit nervous about it. I still need to buy a pair of nice little sock needles. Does anyone know a good beginner pattern?

Check out other finished objects at Tami's Amis

Running wild

April has been such a great month. It started off with Easter and not long after preparations were made for blogweek. It was my first time joining blogweek and I enjoyed every minute of it, even though I didn't participate in the last two topics. I just didn't have any interesting things to share anymore and one shouldn't blog with an empty mind.

I got so many wonderful compliments about my yarny hair day picture and I discovered that it has been nominated and you can now vote for it if you want that picture to win! I feel so honored and I want to thank you all for nominating me. You can vote on the pictures that are nominated here.

Last Monday I got these gorgeous flowers:

Last Monday was a national holiday here in Holland, Koninginnedag (= Queensday). We celebrate the queen's birthday with lots of activities, music and everybody dresses in orange. 

A tradition in the village were I grew up is the 'ronde van Katwijk' (= the lap of Katwijk), which means running 6 kilometers as quick as you can. 

This picture was taken just after the finish, boy I was tired. I trained for the event and for the first time in my life I took part in the event. It was amazing! I never really cared for sports or for events like this, but I will definitely participate again next year. The feeling you get once you cross the finish line is indescribable. Want to see me run? 

I know, I know, it isn't top speed haha. But it was a personal achievement. 

Do you sport once in a while? 

xxx

PS: I'll update you all soon on more crafty matters ;-)