CFTC MAKEALONG - dyeing yarn

I'll be joining a knitalong, or actually a make-along organised by Sarah from the Crafts from the Cwtch blog (if you don't know here blog already, you should really check it out). The mak-ealong will be for both crochet and knitted shawls, so everyone can join.

The idea is to challenge yourself. For example if you (mainly) knit you should try some crochet and vice versa. Or try a pattern that kind of scares you, because it is full of new techniques.

When I started this blog, I mainly crocheted. After seeing so many nice knitted projects, I learned to knit. I have been knitting for quite some time now and made some knitted shawls. I think it is time to make my first crochet shawl.

I want to go for a simple pattern and challenge myself by adjusting it and dyeing the yarn myself. So I'll go with the half granny square shawl.

Maybe add some tassles or nice edging, I'll figure it out as I go.

I ordered some merino / cashmere undyed yarn and experimented with foodcoloring.

Pretty pleased with the results :-), so time to cake it and to start swatching! The make-along starts the 1st of may, so if you want you can still join!

Here comes the rain...

After posting some summer pictures full of sunshine the rain has come in Holland. 

It made me feel a bit sad, summer over already? No more chances to put on a lovely light summer dress and slippers, back to long sleeves and boots. 

But fortunately one of my dear friends stopped by yesterday and she was delighted to see the nights get longer and the temperatures dropping.


According to her, it's time to get cozy, visit friends, drink a hot cup of tea and eat lots of brownies. 

She is so right, it made me feel all ready for colder times. But my house isn't ready yet, so it is time to get this   crib autumn proof!

So I bought some scented candles, like this cinnamon one.

And I received the IKEA catalogue.

I'm a big fan of IKEA and around 80 % of the furniture we own is by IKEA. Not very unique, but it is perfect for a small apartment like ours. 

For me autumn is also the time to browse through all my pictures taken in summer to remember all those special moments. I take lots of pictures as do most bloggers, but they often stay digital. I thought it was time to make them tangible. 

So I made an album, which gets me to my Finished Object for this week. 

I crochet the cover...

...Lined with some fabric and a blanket stitch. 

I just made a piece of fabric big enough for the outside of the cover using the stitch from this pattern with some scrap cotton yarn. 

It felt so good to crochet again. I hope to do some more when I find the time to order some new yarn (new yarn...my heart just skipped a beat). 

I still have to embellish the cover a bit, don't you think? Do you have any suggestions? 

For some more FO's, quickly visit Tamis Amis!

WIP Wednesday - Peacock scarf

I'm finally participating again with the fun of WIP-Wednesday. My project for this week is one that I have been working on for a loooong long time now. I put it in a basket and the thing that got me to get it on the needle again was this beautiful peacock that I made at the petting zoo a while ago. We were very lucky that it stroke a pose for us so I could take this stunning picture. 

The project I'm talking about is this one:

Peacock scarf

Pattern: Favorite Scarf Ever

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock yarn

By far not as bold and colourful as the peacock, but still so gorgeous and soft. 

It's almost done, I only have to weave in some ends and block one part and then it's done!!!

Next to this project I made a little bow for my furry friend:

I made it to support the national soccer team that will be playing tonight in the European championship. If they don't win, they'll be eliminated! 

If you want to make one for your dog check out this pattern, it's not the same as mine but very similar. I just improvised mine and I was too lazy to write down notes. 

I put a little piece of elastic on the back to attach it to my dogs collar. 

Check out Tami's for some stunning projects! 

FO Friday, Bunting

Do you remember last weeks WIP Wednesday? I was working on some flower squares and this is what the end result is:

Some happy bunting! Not for this empty wall (I still have to figure out what to put here....), but for the balcony:

I wasn't able to make a proper picture, but I hope you get the idea. 

Details: 

Pattern: The pattern is from Rose Hip and can be found here. I made the square a little bit bigger by adding an extra double crochet row. After all the squares were made I made a long chain. While I made this chain I connected all the squares by single crochet stitches. 

Yarn: I did this with acrylic yarn from my stash (mainly Annell Rapido Fine), since I want to get rid of it haha, in a crafty way. It's fancy yarn like cotton and wool for this spoiled lady. 

Now all I have to do is to wait for some real flowers *tulips, my favorite* to come out so they can say hi to you all. 

Thank you for all your get well wishes for Mr. L., he is all better! I think it helped ;-). 

Check out some more crafty Finished Objects @ Tami's Amis. 

One a day 6/ Wip: slow progress and flower beds

Hexipuff count: 43

Pattern: the Beekeeper's quilt

Yarn: all kinds of scraps, but also new yarn! A lot of Lana Grossa. 

Well, last Tuesday's Tallies went by without a post on Crea in the City. Last week I did zero, this week a shameful 4 hexipuffs. 

It isn't very surprising that the counter got stuck last week. I haven't been feeling too well past week, some kind of flue I guess. 

I made one hexipuff with my new bought sockyarn, it is gorgeous! I have to resist making many more (I want to make the socks first!). 

There is another reason why the hexipuffs didn't grow that much, other projects have occupied my hands. I went back to the thing that comes most natural to me: crochet. So with this post I will also be joining the fun of WIP Wednesday.

Curious to see what the end result of this project will be? I will keep you posted! 

Next to all the knitting and crochet I have gotten awards this week! I was nominated by 4 people.

Thank you Niamh (The Craft Giraffe), Hazel (Hazel's Crochet), Melissa (Lazy Daisy Crochet) and Shelley (All4meggymoo)! 

I will nominate 15 blogs later this week and tell 7 random things about me. 

Check out Gingerbread girl for more One a day projects and check out Tami's Amis for other WIP Wednesday projects. 

I'll leave you with a view from our little apartment.

One a day: Hexipuffs!

Hello lovelies!

Well, the moment is here. I made my first hexipuffs. Still figuring out the best way to make them perfectly shaped, but I'll get there!

Pattern Beekeeper's Quilt from Tiny Owl Knits

I'm most happy with the bottom one. The yarn is so soft and is a bliss to work with. 

But, hexipuffs are not the only thing that is in progress:

Crochet Star garland! You can find the pattern here.

And more Christmas projects, one is already done; the star ornaments from Lucy. 

Star decoration from Attic24

I'll keep it short, since there is much decoration needed before the end of the week! Good luck on your One a day and Christmas projects. If you're not busy with that or you have need for more gorgeous projects go here for more inspiration. 

All I want for Christmas...

I know a lot of you are busy working on Christmas ornaments, presents or decorations. I had big plans, but unfortunately I am behind! So I decided to make a list of the things I want to make for Christmas and share it with you.

1. Little snowmen. These are knitted, I want to make a crochet version.

2. Winter hearts

3. Gingerbread men 

4. Christmas Balls

5. Stars

Well, better get to it. Do you have any Christmas ornaments on the hook/needle? 

I want to leave you with a little youtube clip I spotted on the Easy makes me happy blog. If you like scarfs, this is a must see! 

One a day: changes

My last One a day post was in October, shame on me! I have been making a few pebble, put I didn't make one a day at all! I don't enjoy this project as much as I thought I would. And the fact that I just started a knitting journey doesn't help either. I love to learn new things and knitting is one of those. I never thought I could manage two needles instead of one hook. It looked so confusing and difficult, but fortunately we are blessed by Youtube! 

So, I have 21 pebbles right now and I have decided to leave them for a while. They are grey and sophisticated, but what I need is a bit of craziness and color. 

So, I will start a new One a day project....

Picture taken from Tiny Owl Knits on Ravelry

I tried, I tried so hard NOT to get infected by the virus going around the knitty world for a while now; the beekeeper's virus. But I just cannot resist anymore. They are too soft and squishy. 

I joined the Tiny Owl Knits Group on Ravelry since I am currently knitting Mr. Fox! And once I joined the Ravelry group I just got sucked right in the madness. It's such a crazy (in a good way) bunch of people over there, all very enthusiastic and helpful (although most of the people on Ravelry are haha). I love that the group is very active and lots of exiting things are going on. 

Picture taken from Tiny Owl Knits on Ravelry

I can see what you're thinking right now: if you can't keep the pebble rug going, how on earth will you continue working on a beekeeper's quilt? Well, I must admit that is exactly my concern. So I decided not to make a quilt, but one (or two) pillows. That should be a fine goal right? 

For those of you that don't know the beekeepers quilt, I want to direct you to a little video that the designer made. See  if you can resist making them after you watched ;-). 

Polar tea cozy

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it is soooo cold right now in Holland. I have to hurry up and knit me some warm mittens and hat! Inspired by the freezy breezy outside world, a warm and cozy project was made with a hot cup of tea. 

My third tea cozy! One of them was a present for my mom and I never blogged about it and the other one was for my mother in law. This one however, is allll mine. It's not suffisticated, it's not classy or vintage, it's corny and cute and even a bit childish. But I don't care about that, I love it! Want to see it? 

here we go......

TADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:

Do you like it? On to the details:

I used the knitting pattern of Alice for the base of the cozy (THANK YOU Alice, for sharing this pattern! It has been a huuuuge help). I knitted with needles size 5.0 mm since my yarn was a bit more bulky. I used very cheap blue yarn from a dutch store called Zeeman and adjusted the amount of stitches to cast on (I only  casted on 60 stitches). I also think my tea pot is smaller.

I did a little simple single crochet edge so it didn't curl anymore and a small button for the closing it at the handle.

I randomly made some crochet circles for the floes (I am not sure what I did so I don't have a pattern, I am very sorry!). And then, I made these little super cute (excuse me for sounding arrogant :p) baby penguins and a little baby seal! I made the patterns myself and I wrote the penguin pattern down so you can all make some very cute baby penguins for your own cozy, in the Christmas tree or on a key chain. I am so pleased I can finally present you with something finished, it has been too long haha. I'll leave you with the pattern for the baby penguin.


Baby penguin

This pattern is using the "crochet in the continual round" technique, used for a lot of amigurumi projects. 

sc = Single crochet (this would be double crochet in the UK)

dec = decrease, single crochet two stitches together

Magic Ring: check here for a clip on how to use the magic ring. You can also chain 4 and join to form a ring, but this will leave a small hole. 

Head

With black cotton and a crochet hook size 3.0 mm (US size 2.5 I believe):

1.	Make a magic ring	Stitches:
2.	6 sc in the ring, pull ring tight	6
3.	2 sc in each stitch	12
4.	*1 sc, 2 sc in next stitch* repeat until end of the round	18
5. – 8.	Sc. around	18
9.	*sc 7, dec 1* repeat until end of the round	16
	Fasten off.

Body

With grey yarn with a bit of mohair and hook size 3.0 mm:

1.	Make a magic ring	Stitches:
2.	6 sc in the ring, pull ring tight	6
3.	2 sc in each stitch	12
4.	*1 sc, 2 sc in next stitch* repeat until end of the round	18
5.	*sc8, 2 sc in next stitch* repeat until end of the round	20
6.	*sc 8, dec 1* repeat until end of the round	18
7.	*sc 7, dec 1* repeat until end of the round	16
8. - 10.	Sc. Around	16
	Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing

Arm (make 2)

With same hook and yarn as used for body:

1.	Make a magic ring	Stitches:
2.	4 sc in the ring, pull ring tight	4
3. – 4.	Sc around	4
	Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing

Tail

With same hook and yarn as used for body:

Chain 5 and connect to the first chain to form a ring. Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew

Cut out a face from white or cream colored velt and a beak from grey colored velt. Glue the white and grey velt pieces to the head. Stick two small black eyes through the velt in the head.

Stuff the head and the body firmly and sew them together.

Sew the tail and the arms to the body.

Hugs and kisses from me and sleepy Puck! 

P.S: If you have any questions, please email me :-)

Tuesday's Tallies: New project reveal

Well hello there lovelies!

It is finally Tuesday and I can show you my new project! I will not talk too much about it and show you some pictures instead.

All grey and green colored woolly pebbles. 

They are soft...

They are squishe.....

And they will be growing in numbers. 

Because I will need a lot of these little pebbles! The purpose? Something like this:

This is a picture I found on Ravelry and later also on Pinterest. You can find it here, there is also a pattern that you can buy for these pebbles. I didn't use this pattern, since I know how to crochet a ball and I just made them not perfectly round by randomly increasing or decreasing a bit. I just make them up as I go. They are filled with fiber fill and they are so quick to make! 

The goal is a rug, I am not sure what size. It would be great if it could be bigger than the one shown above. We will see! For now I'll focus on making one a day and not being distracted by other projects. Although I have a few other small projects that I will show soon! 

Check here for more One a day projects! 

One a day Tuesday's Tallies: Tada moment!

Hi darlings!

What a week, autumn has really found Rotterdam. The wind won't give my little plants on the balcony any break and it makes my umbrella totally useless from protecting me from all the rain that has been pooring. Not really my favorite kind of weather, but autumn also has a sunny side. Sometimes the sun peeks through the clouds just long enough for me to take a stroll with the dog hunting for chestnuts. I love chestnuts so much! They really represent the change of the seasons for me and the color, my oh my the color! 

Next to getting these pretty little fellows, I harvested my carrots. They were on my balcony for months and this is the result:

A bit disappointing to be honest, they didn’t even tasted sweet. Bummer! A well, on to the part you all have been waiting for: my One a day Tada moment! I think it is pretty and I love it! Sometimes finished objects disappear from my home as a gift for friends and family (for example my scarf went to my mom and my bunny went to a cousin), but this time I am sure it will stay right here! It just took me too long and it has been an amazing journey with all of you supporting me. So here it is:

I have started this project on the 30^th of August 2011, so it took me one and a half month. I used Super Durable Breikatoen No. 10 for this project, which is a 100% cotton 3 ply yarn and a 2.0 mm crochet hook. You will need a whole skein and a tiny bit of a second one. 

The project is 1,5 meters long and I choose to make it slightly bigger than my table. 

The pattern I used is this one. I just used the flowers and made the project into a table runner. 

The pattern is Japanese so for the ones that don’t use a chart, I have written the pattern down of one flower:

1.       Chain 8 and slip stitch in the first stitch to form a circle

2.       Ch. 4, *dc in the next stitch followed by a ch. 1* repeat until you reach the end of the circle and join to the 3^rd stitch of the chain 4

3.       Ch. 8, *skip 3 stitches and dc in the next (so skip a ch. Stitch, a dc and a ch. Stitch of the last round)* and repeat. At the end of the circle join in the 3^rd stitch of the chain 8.

4.       Ch. 1, sc in the same stitch, *ch. 2, dc in the 3^rd stitch of the chain 5 of the last round, ch. 3, dc in the same stitch as the other dc (so the 3^rd stitch of the chain 5), ch. 2, sc in the top of the dc of last round* repeat and join into the sc at the end of the round.

5.       *Ch. 3, 3 dc’s into the first stitch of the ch. 3 of last round, ch. 3, 3 dc’s in the 3^rd stitch of the ch. 3, ch. 3 and join in the sc of the last round.

And that’s it. You can join the flowers as you go by joining the tops of the flower petals with a slip stitch.  I must say, it sounds a bit difficult when reading the pattern and I highly recommend using the chart. So much easier ;-).  


Well, that was my first One a day project. Of course my tallies will go on, since I have thought of a new project. I will tell you all about it next Tuesday. Check here for the other great One a day projects! 


Edit: The diner set is the "Jokkmokk" from IKEA. It is very tiny, which is very convenient since we have a small appartment. Of course it made my live also much easier when making this table runner haha. 


Edit2: Some of you might already want to know what kind of project the next One a day will be, why not take a guess? I'll give a hint, it is also for the home and it is NOT similar to the table runner.