it's picture-time!
here's the finished boyfriend scarf i've been wanting to show:


and this is the cowl for my sister. it's very easy to crochet but it uses so much wool! it's only 15cms wide and it already used 4 skeins.. phew!

some time ago i also started this cross stitch work. i'm following a christmas-style heartshaped pattern from the cross stitch book i bought in Aix-en-Provence.

i always like it when i have a lot of creative projects going on. i still have to finish my second pair of socks too!

wow, it's already december! the "boyfriend scarf" is finished, i haven't found the time to take decent pictures yet, but i'll show it soon, it's quite pretty if i say so myself. i'm trying to "unfluff" it, it's a bit itchy and fluffy... i heard about putting it in the freezer but i tried that and it didn't work... maybe it has to go in wet? tips anyone?
i'm now crocheting a cute cowl for my sister using blue merino wool (so soft!), i hope it will be finished before christmas. and i'm definitely making one for myself too, i can never have too many scarves/shawls/cowls. :)

i'm also still conceptualizing the items for my label and i'm designing a logo, ordering labels and all... i'm currently working 6 days out of 7 so there's not much time left to create. i hope i will have some things ready to show in the christmas holidays though. :) still getting used to "the working life"... how i miss the free time of a student!

hey guys! i'm giving away a free ticket for cocoon, a fair about interior design! we went last year, but we can't go this year. it's a really big and good fair, i'd recommend it to people who are redecorating or planning to, or to anyone who's interested in interior design in general. or for people looking for a nice day out, we usually combine our trip to cocoon with some serious shopping in brussels. :)


cocoon is in brussels expo from 20-28november, and i have one ticket (for 2 persons). only thing is, you can't go on a sunday with this ticket.

if you want it, you can leave a comment until wednesday the 17th, let's say until 17u00. you'll have to promise you're really going though, otherwise we're losing our yearly free ticket! ;) i'll pick someone at random wednesday evening.
good luck!

combining work and hobbies is much harder than i imagined; all i feel like doing when i come home is eating and knitting in front of tv... (i'm currently finishing "the boyfriend scarf", it's already 160cms long!)

all i've been able to do for my label is go shopping for supplies. i got some fabric and i ordered some other stuff to experiment with at Vanmarieke. meanwhile i'm also thinking about a logo and maybe woven labels or something to "mark" my stuff. :)
some sneak peeks:

this week i (finally) finished my presents for the P.I.F. i took part in.
everyone received their package, so i can put it on my blog!

i made 4 pouches, from some curtain swatches i found on the fleamarket. (i followed Miss Stik's tutorial) and i finally found a use for the felt balls i made... zipper hangers!

look, i sewed my "made by severien" label in!


i also made crocheted bird hangers... i found the pattern here. i use one as a keychain, but they could be used as decoration too, maybe for the christmas tree.

and last but not least, square pincushions... my first real try at something patchwork-ish. :)

these are the packages they received. i also added some buttons and colored ribbon, and a self-designed card. (not on the picture)

i had a lot of fun making all this, but i found it rather hard to decide what to make, and if it would be "enough"! but they were all happy and surprised (so they said) so that's a mission accomplished!

today i'm celebrating my blog's first birthday!
(i spent most of the day behind my sewing machine... so there was no time for a decent 'blog birthday' picture.;) )

1 year, that is:
74 blogposts
111 followers
19 464 views (wow!!)
436 comments
1 give-away

in this year i blogged about:
7 finished knitting projects
1 big crochet project with 120 granny squares
15 finished sewing projects
10 books i have on my bookshelf
a lot of thrifting and treasure hunting

one year ago, i could have never guessed that i would have so many page views, comments and followers today! i'm always smiling when i read your encouraging and kind words... i met really nice people, received nice things by mail, went to markets i wouldn't have gone otherwise, and the most important of all: i was always inspired and motivated to keep creating! so what i'm really trying to say is... thank you!!
guys!!

i have a confession to make: i caught the sock bug!

after knitting my first pair, i was so excited i bought sock yarn enough for 3 pairs. last week i started knitting my second pair of socks. again the basic pattern, self-striping yarn doesn't need complicated patterns. this one is going a lot faster, it's also a lot prettier (my knitting is more even and the heel looks better too)!

another confession: i LOVE buying sock yarn. i wanted to order just one skein of basic grey sock yarn and ended up buying all of these... oops!

that's right: no cold feet for me this winter!

i've been experimenting with embroidery and cross stitch... some sneak peeks:

very relaxing.

so what exactly is this then? i'm trying to create stuff i would want to buy and have myself. little things, bigger things. being my own client is harder than i imagined, so is the creating process. it's taking me ages because i want it to be what i imagine it to be. it's not easy... but i'm getting there. at last! :)

my head is bursting with ideas... unfortunately that's also where they usually look better. a lot better. it's a lot of trial and error. so i spelled the keyword out on my working space:
(i think the originel set of these bowls said "party". which means i'm missing two letters.. but i do like my set better!)

ta-daaaaah! i finished my wabi-sabi scarf!
i love how my mittens match! :)
(the colors look better on the pictures in my previous blogpost)

ps: it's been a bit quiet here, i know. that's because i'm trying to find a job as a graphic designer. anyone? ;)

i'm already halfway trough my wabi-sabi scarf... and i think it's looking great!
it's looking a bit odd on the needles, that's because i couldn't find the correct length. :)

the fringe is created "as you go" (by wrapping the yarn around a piece of cardboard when turning the work), which is a great tip for people who love knitting but hate weaving in ends and finishing a fringe!

after visiting Handmade in Belgium some weeks ago, my boyfriend showed me the kringwinkel of hasselt! i found two quite large packs full of "smyrnalaine", which is the wool i recycle into little felt balls.
(i love the graphic-ness of this image!)
these are some felt balls i made with some leftover "smyrnalaine" my grandma gave me.
i really like those colors! (especially the yellow)
i'm not sure what to do with them yet, i just enjoy making them! :)
i also bought some fabric, letter-shaped bowls and three pocket books! all of it for only 5 euros! seriously... how great are thriftstores?!

my mittens are finished!!!
a perfect fit and a lot of fun to knit!
(hands up! - i surrender!)
they are very different... yet they make a cute pair. (my grandma was very worried about this; "isn't that weird, two different mittens? i mean, people might think you are mental.", she said, very seriously. i had to laugh so hard i almost choked on my coffee!)


and today i started the wabi-sabi-scarf that will go with it.

there's also a lot of sewing, crocheting, even some cross stitching going on... i'm still working on my PIF's and a give-away to celebrate my 101 followers, but my sewing machine decided to break (so did my laptop - all in one week, guess i have bad karma) so it will take even more time... sorry guys! i promise: it'll be good! :)

i've been knitting a lot lately... right now i'm working on mittens for my own teenie tiny hands and a scarf for my boyfriend. (gotta prepare for winter!)

my mittens in their current state:
i'm using Noro Kochoran yarn... and it's so gorgeous! i'm constantly producing "ooh's" and "aah's" when the colors change while i'm knitting. the yarn is also quite chunky which means it's a really fast knit too!

and this is the boyfriend scarf:


for this one i'm using 100% Alpaka wool, so it's really, really soft... i'm liking it so far, it's a beautiful stitch! i'm secretly hoping he won't like it. (and give it to me!)

what a fun weekend i had! saturday, my boyfriend and me went all the way to Hasselt to visit Handmade in Belgium. it was a lot of fun, i talked to Melissa, took pictures of Caroline singing, saw some bloggers but was too shy to go and talk to them, tried to take a closer look at Tiene's jewelry but there were just too many girls fighting over them... ;)

i really enjoyed the market... i saw very nice things! i didn't buy anything though, either i thought "i could make that too" or "nice, but a little bit too colorful for me" or "great, but i don't have babies yet" but most of all "i want to do this too!!". so i figured... maybe i should! my boyfriend and i talked and brainstormed about it all weekend long and at dinnertime the decision was made ("do you really think i should do it?" - "yes!" - "really?" - "yep!!" - "okay!").
i'm going to start making and selling stuff, creating my own label or whatever you should call it. i'm not giving away what i want to do just yet... i want things to get a little more concrete first. :) (oooooh, so exciting!!!)

after the market we did some shopping and i finally got my hands on some textile paint to make my own labels, using my beautiful custom-made stamps by Mamasha.

it needed a little practice, i wasn't sure exactly how thick the paint should be... but practice (eventually) makes perfect!

my boyfriend was helping me and he thought we should also use the vintage stamps he gave me for my birthday... aren't they nice?

i also did a little sewing...
and that's all (for now)!

i promised you to show the progress on my granny square blanket... here it is! i've been working on it for six months now, and i have about 110 squares. i was a bit dissapointed when i put them together, it's still quite small. at least it's pretty!



meanwhile i'm also working on the lucy bag, it's my project for when i'm at my boyfriends place. what you see is the bottom of the bag. it isn't supposed to be this "wavy", but i think it'll turn out just fine when i start working "up". i'm loving the colors and the yarn!

my socks are finished! they are far from perfect, but i love them so much! no more cold feet in winter... i'm already planning my next pair! :)

thursday, i received the P.I.F from Poes P, a gorgeous grass-green crocheted bag, beautifully made! it's perfect for carrying my knitting around the house!
i haven't been this excited (those buttons!!) about something since receiving Mamasha's custom made stamps! (of which i never showed a picture, shame on me; here it is... so beautiful)


saturday i went to the fleamarket in Geel and i found alot of sewing supplies:
again a lot of fabric...curtains, table sheets, pillow cases... (must.stop.buying.fabric.)

and a lot of buttons!

my pots are getting quite full now... look how empty they were 8 months ago... i even had to get some new pots for white, yellow and orange!

next up: the progress on my socks (one and a half finished!!), the progress on my granny square blanket and when i hit 100 followers... a give-away!!