hi everyone, how was your christmas?

today i finished some of the new years presents i was making for my family... 

i hope everyone will like their present. :) here are some sneak peeks...

see you in 2013!! :)

some time ago i bought two great crochet books. not that i lack crochet books or patterns, my bookshelves and the internet are quite full of them... but i just had to have these! i love the design and the photography is pretty great too. not to mention the crochet patterns! let's take a peek...

so, ofcourse, i just had to start a new project. :) with bright yellow yarn, for a warm cowl that will match my winter coat perfectly. 

i also knit quite a few rows of my shawl... it's going slower and slower as i'm increasing stitches, but it's the perfect tv-knit!

what are your favorite knitting or crocheting books? or do you prefer online patterns?

last sunday, i cast on a new project... ever since i bought two skeins of madeline tosh merino light, i was looking for a shawl pattern and since i chose two colours of yarn, i was thinking about a striped shawl. but when i saw this pattern, called Simple Lines, i immediately thought of a colour blocked shawl. so that's what i'm doing right now! :)

the beauty of this colour blocking idea is that when i run out of yarn, i can simply go and buy some more yarn in either the same or a contrasting colour... so i don't have to stress about having enough yarn and just knit, knit away!

 what i also love about the pattern is that it is super easy and it really shows off the yarn. and i can see why madeline tosh is a favorite of many knitters... it is super soft and the colour is amazing...  you can't really tell by these pictures (it was already dark outside) but it's really, really pretty. :) totally worth its money!

what about you? do you prefer expensive or cheap yarn? i think i like both, depends on what the project is i guess. :)

one thing i love about being a knitter/crocheter/crafter is that you can make original, hand-made gifts for any occasion. it always amazes me how glad friends and relatives are when receiving a hand-made gift, even if it is something as small as a pair of knit baby booties. and, since i have no babies or children myself, i find a lot of joy in knitting baby things. ;)

for our friends (who had their first baby a week ago), i made a toy! you've seen it before, only not in the finished state. (not a sweater... sorry to dissapoint! ;)) it's a huuuuge green-blue, sleepy and cuddly toy with the longest legs ever. he (or she) is almost twice as long as the newborn itsself!

they loved it and i hope their sweet baby will love it as well! this is the second donna wilson pattern i used and it's perfect, i really like her designs because they are cute and different. i love the quirky details like the extra short arms (versus the extremely long legs) and the little plush on his bottom. :)

i also made a pair of booties for another baby that we went to visit last weekend. i matched the colors with the birthcard; neon pink and white. i adore this color combination, i wish i could pull this off. ;) 

now i'm off to my christmas gifts, enjoying the process of making and drinking a nice cup of tea... couldn't think of a better way to spend my sunday evening! :)

 i'm glad to announce the winners of my blogiversary give-away today! 

 here they are!

so, Sylvie, Ja-Ni-Na and Heidi, please email your address to me (siene_AThotmailDOTcom) and i will post your gifts this weekend! and a big thank you to everyone for entering the give-away! better luck next time! :)

this weekend i finished the gift i was making...

still not telling you what it is though! ;) i'll show it soon!

so most of you guessed right! i was indeed making a skirt, the famous A-line by mme zsa zsa!

and look! after quite some messing around with pattern paper and a fight with an invisible zipper...
a skirt!

  this is actually just a test-version of a skirt i want to make with a pretty bright blue flowery fabric my mother in law gave me.. :) but it turned out good enough for wearing!

i also made it with a lining because the fabric i used was rather thin, and the skirt i have in mind also requires a lining...

i already have two or three other skirts in mind with fabric i already have...

hmmm... this skirt thing might become addictive!

guess what, i've been sewing again! and i'm actually working with a real pattern this time! which is quite exceptional for me, i usually draw the pattern parts on the fabric (i'm lazy like that)... but i wanted to do it properly this time, and look! a pattern! cut out properly! pinned on the fabric!

can anyone guess what i'm making? ;) a small tip: half the country has been making and wearing these! i'm loving the result so far, i'm so in love with the minty green fabric... 

don't forget about the GIVE-AWAY, by the way! and enjoy halloween, if you're celebrating!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!! 

yesterday was my third blogiversary

 and i decided to celebrate this joyous occasion with a GIVE-AWAY!!! 

i thought it would be nice to give away three yarny gifts... so you can make a lovely pair of socks, handwarmers, maybe even a cowl or something... anything you fancy!

 the first gift contains 4 balls (50gr) of 100% alpaca yarn: Alpaka by Schachenmayr Nomotta. i used this yarn for the boyfriend scarf ! Also in this gift is a pair of the neon-beige handwarmers i made and a bunch of cute brown buttons.

gift number two contains one ball of Opal Grafitti sock yarn (100gr, 75% superwash wool and 25% polyamid), to make a nice pair of socks with, or, if you don't like socks, a colourful cowl/neckwarmer or a pair of gloves maybe... you decide! also in this gift: a lot of cute brown buttons.

and last, but not least, gift number three. this gift contains two balls of Alpaka Fashion (again by Schachenmayr Nomotta) in a pretty blue colour, kinda jeans-like. and again: buttons!

now what do you have to do to win this give-away? it's easy! 

become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already) and leave a comment.
if you prefer a particular gift, let me know!

if you want an extra chance to win, you can make a blogpost about my give-away or my blog in general! make sure to leave an extra comment for your blogpost. 

the give-away is open until 18 november! international readers can also enter, do note there is only one gift to win for international readers!

that's all! see you later!! :)

phew, these last weeks flew by without me even noticing it!

i managed to finish Himiko's socks - finally- and, i must admit, i had a hard time parting with them. :)  i only have a crappy late-night photo (before i packed them and sent them off). they were very well received, they fit her perfectly and she loves them, so i couldn't be happier.

and remember my post from last year?  they are collecting hats again for the innocent smoothies! i still have to sew the knitted hats together, but i made quite a few this week! 

besides that, i've also been unraveling one of my latest woolly finds. this is 100% pure wool, and i love the colour so much! it's a warm brown tint, with hints of orange and green in it... very pretty.

lots of things going on again, but that's the way i like it. what are you up to? :)

the leaves are falling, autumn's here... and i don't mind a single bit. :) it gives me an excuse to curl up in the sofa with a hot cup of tea, some apple cake and a knitting project. 

i'm currently working on two knitting projects:

-i'm finishing the socks i'm making for Himiko... don't you think the colours are the perfect autumn colours?

 -i'm also knitting a gift for a friend. i am loving the cables in this project!

it's been quiet on the blog, i know. but now i finally have some more time for being crafty, now that the weather is changing, we tend to stay at home more. i also had a lot of extra work-related projects going on in the last couple of weeks, but most of it is finished now... so more free time for me! hurray! :)

the last couple of weeks i've been preparing for the crochet workshop, writing down the pattern and crochet instructions, thinking about how i would teach it to newbies... i was quite nervous about it, i used to be really shy and introvert and, though it is improving a lot with getting older (and in my case, more confident), giving a workshop (talking to/teaching/working with strangers) is actually way out of my comfort zone. so it was a personal challenge for me as well!

 

last sunday was the big day, and it was great! i had 4 lovely ladies to teach, some more experienced than others...and they all mastered the basic crochet techniques at the end of the workshop, so that's one mission accomplished! i also wanted to inspire them to start some new crochet projects at home and i also think i did that. i'm not saying it was the perfect crochet workshop (lots and lots of room for improvement) but i think i did okay. :)

and, as i'm stepping out of my comfort zone anyway, i thought it might be nice to finally show the person behind the blog. i know i love seeing all of your faces. ;) so, here i am, looking a bit angry maybe, watching my "students" crochet technique closely... and thinking to myself "they are doing so good!!"

and here are also some other photos from the Maakdag. it was really an amazing, inspiring and fun event... literally buzzing with creativity and good spirits.

 

 

(all photos in this post ©Maakdag)

here are some more of the wristwarmers i made for the crochet workshop...

i already wore mine on my daily bike-ride to the trainstation, the mornings are getting cold!

a beige/neon pair and a dark blue pair with a flower. i'm having fun thinking of variations, stripes would also be possible, or a scalloped edge...

 

 

which pair do you like best? :)

i've got some great news to share with you today! some time ago, mamasha asked me if i would be interested in giving a workshop at the Maakdag Ristretto. Maakdag is a brand new event, with loads of workshops about crafts, food, beauty, even photography! i was verrrry flattered and of course i said yes! 

 

 i'm gonna give a crochet workshop for beginners. in 3 hours we're gonna make easy and quick wristwarmers! i made up a very simple pattern, that teaches the basic crochet stitches. i crocheted three pairs already (and a 4th on the way), with small variations that show the versatility of the design! 

here's the first pair!

so, if you're interested in following my workshop or another, go to www.maakdag.be and register! :)

this weekend i've been working on my granny square sampler. i haven't blogged about it for a while, but i'm currently crocheting some of the squares together and i think it's looking great so far. i love how all the squares look so different, but they work so well together. i did eliminate some of the squares i really didn't like, or that stood out too much between the other squares. all squares should be equal, right? ;) 

here are all the squares pinned down on my ironing board, ready for some blocking... 

 and here i am crocheting them together into bigger squares, wearing my comfy sunday pants. ;)

ooh, this blanket will turn out totally different from my granny square blanket, which had a color scheme and a pattern... this blanket is the complete opposite: going crazy with colors and compositions... i'm having so much fun!!