Diving in the deep...

I had just completed my second knitting project when I saw Charlotte's post on this lovely scarf. She had just learned to knit and by knitting this scarf she would learn all the knitting stitches in one go..

I was so inspired by this that I decided to make one myself.. because it really did make sense.. why wait years before knitting such a lovely scarf ? Why limit myself to the purl/knit stitches...
It felt like taking a deep dive.. but I was not alone in this... or so it felt...

There were only two things I forgot to mention (a) I only knew how to do knit/purl (b) I've never read a knitting chart before and have no idea how to read one.. but that was not going to put me off.. So I googled all the terms used in the pattern and watch many films on YouTube..  I also learnt that it is wise to use life-lines.. incase you make a mistake.. and I made plenty :-)

This is how far I got..... I've finished 20 reps...

The color I used is light pink (although it seems much darker with the colour filter i used... )

I have to say, it requires so much concentration.... counting and trying not to lose track of what row I'm knitting.. I find myself constantly confused as to where I am or should be..  so I count the stiches and then count some more... pfffff.. is there an easy way to do this ?

It is supposed to be a scarf that I would wear in the spring.. but if i keep up this pace I definitly won't be wearing it anytime this year... but who know ;)

will keep you posted on this WIP...

xoxo

Lady-bird, lady-bird fly away home

I found this lovely pattern on this blog, just the seeing it made me happy.. so sweet and simple, it looked like something from a fairy tale book..

It also reminded me of a nursery rhyme "lady-bird, lady-bird fly away home... "

After seeing the pattern, I couldn't seem to get it out of my head.. and when that happens, I find that the only way to to stop thinking about it was to actually do it.. so that it is out of my head and into the real world :)

I haven't done anything with embroidery before so I had to do some prep work, such as buying supplies and searching the internet on embriodery stiches and how to do them..

Then FINALY, I was ready to start working on it..... I decided to use the pattern on a pillow case as a present for my youngest sister

It only took me a couple of evenings to complete which was great! I love how it turned out, just like the original one :)

This is how the final result looked like:

This is a more up close photo (but with slightly different colour settings)

The thing I enjoyed the most about embroidery was how it made me feel... I really felt like a child colouring away in a colouring book.. only instead of crayons I was using thread and my colouring book was a piece of fabric :)

I think I'll start another embroidery project soon

xoxo

Baby Blanket

In 2011 an exciting event happened in the family.. My sister was pregnant of her first child.. I was to be an aunt for the very first time :)

As a gift I decided to make a baby blanket. When I started crocheting the blanket we didn't know if it was a going to be a baby boy or girl. So I choose the colours to fit both genders: pink and purple together with blue and white..

It was the largest project I had ever made.. Before crocheting this blanket, I never seemed to be patient enough to work on a big project.. I loved working on small projects that I could finish in a couple of days...  But exceptions can be made for exceptional events :-)

I started working on this blanket as soon as I heard my sister was pregnant.. so I had enough time to finish it before the baby was born..

Here is the final result: 

I loved how it looked in his bed and luckily so did my sister...
My nephew was born in novemeber... I remember how happy I was seeing him for the first time wrapped around in this blanket... keeping him warm and cozy...

Now I'm working on a second baby blanket.. this time for her second baby that is due in September!! So excited to be an auntie for the second time :-)

xoxo

My first knitted scarf

I have been crocheting for some years now but I’ve never been able to knit.. I have tried to teach myself to knit but for some reason I never felt comfortable using two knitting needles.. It always felt awkward as I was trying to hold them up properly and trying not to lose any stitches along the way..

But then I joined a group of lovely ladies who started a knitting club.. even people like me who only crocheted were welcome :) Seeing them knit all kinds of beautiful things made me want to knit as well.. so I asked one of the ladies there to teach me how to knit.. nothing fancy, only the knit/purl stitch to make a simple scarf for my little nephew..
I struggled a bit in the beginning but luckily she was there to help me out when I had no clue what I was doing...

It felt like it took me ages to complete because unlike crochet I really had to keep my eyes on the needles..   mistakes are not easily corrected compared to crocheting.. that is why for my very first knitting project I used yarn that would not really show any mistakes I may have made :-)

When I finished knitting the scarf, I crochet my nephew's name on it, to give it a personal touch.. I also added a few fringes at the ends of the scarf.

And here is the final result......

Not bad for a first time,  right ? ;-)

xoxo

Hello Kitty Scarf

A while back I saw this lovely Hello Kitty Scarf.. I was so excited to try it out that I decided to make one for my best friends daughter..

The instructions were very clear and I was surprised at how fast and easy it was to complete the whole scarf. Especially since you can join the granny squares together as you go... I love that the granny's were not actually squares but rectangles.. I don't know if you can see the difference in the photos  :)

The colours I used were bright pink, dark grey, light pink, white, black and yellow for the flower. I crochet in total 7 granny squares and 2 hello kitty ones. This is how it turned out...

My friend really liked the scarf and so did her daughter :) 

I really enjoyed making it.. who knows, perhaps I'll make another one soon...

xoxo

Pouf Make over

I have been following Joke's blog for a couple of years now (but i only just recently subscribed - shame on me).. last year I came across the following crochet pattern scheme on her blog:

 

I was so fond of this pattern.. (love at first sight ?).. I really wondered how it will look like in real life. So I wanted to try it out.. but crocheting a pattern just of the sake of it didn't make any sense at the time..  I wanted to use the pattern to make something out of it.. that can be used one way or the other..

Luckily my mum had a pouf somewhere in the house with a dull cover.. So I decided to give it a little make over :).. and of course try out the pattern above.. I was very excited to crochet a pouf cover because I have never made one before. Not only that, but I was going to use a scheme with no clear instructions. A true challenge! and I love me some challenge :) 

I chose white cotton, a beautiful colour mainly to give it a lacy effect. Also, the pouf was moved quite a lot in the house. I wanted it to fit in every room it went.. so with lots of focus and determination I started crocheting the pattern. I was so happy with how the flower part came out :)

Now I only had to crochet the edge around it .. and my first piece was done..

I made a couple of pieces and crochet them together.. This is how it looked like...

I was planning on making 4 pieces on each side.. a total of 20 pieces. But when i saw the four pieces together i started to wonder if that was such a good idea.. I didn't like how the centre part turned out (where the four pieces came together)..

So change of plan.. I decided to create one piece on every side with a wider border piece and this was the result...

I love how it turned out.. don't you ? My mum was also happy too when it was finally finished :)

xoxo