Poes P wanted to know how it all began... i guess being crafty runs in the family... i remember my mom knitting a lot when i was young, she even got paid to knit sweaters for Phildar! my grandma also knitted, but i mostly remember her crocheting all kinds of doilies. i never picked up the needles myself untill i was 18, a friend of mine lost her handmade scarf at school and i decided to knit her a new one. i knitted some scarves for friends and family, nothing special really, just easy stitches, nothing advanced.

i also wanted to know how to sew, mostly for practical reasons; i wanted to know how to shorten pants and fix holes. my mother in law got me a gorgeous mint-colored Singer for my birthday two years ago. i never really used it untill i started sewing classes in ghent.

unfortunatly, while working on some more of these little bags, my Singer broke and it couldn't be fixed. so i bought this brand new Janome in december, as a birthday present for myself.
last february i also started crocheting, because i wanted to crochet a blanket... still working on that. :)

so i guess that's my story. as you might have noticed, i'm really in my knitting phase right now (blame the socks!) but i hate sticking to only one craft... it won't take long till i have a crocheting or sewing phase again. :)

feel free to catch the "how-it-began-stick" from me and share your story too!

(warning: this is not a very summery blogpost! not that the weather is... i wish at least the sun would shine!)

when cleaning my room today i rediscovered the striped neckwarmer i finished in october. i realised i never put it online, so here it is! it was really easy to knit, just two rectangles knitted in rib stitch, sewed together like a circle. it's great for fall, warm on your neck but not too hot, like a scarf would be. the size is a bit off though, i wish i made it a bit tighter... but i was too lazy to start over. :)

it can be worn draped like this...or folded, like this.


the yarn i used is actually self-striping sock yarn, it's called "Regia Design Line: Landscape". such pretty colors!

i'd also like to share my sock progress! my grandma helped me with the heel (which means: she knitted it and i watched carefully and took notes)! oooooooooooh, i can't wait to finish it and put it on!

i'm back from la douce france! let me share some of my souvenirs with you!

in Aix-en-Provence there was a cute fabric store just around the corner... they had such pretty fabrics! i decided to buy some, but only if they were "provence-ish" and affordable.


there was also a big bookshop in Aix. we went in to buy a map of Marseille, but ofcourse i ended up buying books. i never saw so many good hobby books in one shop, i had the hardest time picking just one. :) to my own surprise, this point de croix ( cross stitching) book caught my special attention...



i've also got some other souvenirs: a tan and a sunburned belly, new sandals, authentic marseille soap and 34 crocheted granny squares... and while i was in france, my order from Wolhalla arrived at home. they are selling Noro yarn for only half the price and i ordered three skeins, one for a pair of mittens and two for a scarf called "wabi-sabi". this yarn is sooooo pretty! the colours are stunning and it is incredibly soft...totally worth its money! i can't wait to start (after i finish my socks!), i do hope i get them ready before winter.


conclusion: the provence is great, holidays always end too soon and i should really start using all my yarn and fabrics. (a sewing project is in the making, though!)


(PS: still nobody who wants to P.I.F.???)

who wants to... P.I.F. ?!
i'm looking for 3 persons who want to "pay it forward".... for those of you not familiar with the principle: i get a small present from Poes P and i make a small present for 3 other crafty people, who have to make a small present for 3 other people, who have to... you get it, right? the first 3 people who answer to this post (and agree to pay it forward too) will receive something handmade from me! :)

other than that... (besides working) i've been crafting my ass off! my head is bursting with ideas, i'm constantly fighting against the urge to start yet another project... a bit annoying, really. i'm currently working on 2 knitting projects, 3 crocheting projects, 1 felting project and 1 sewing project... no wonder nothing ever gets finished. my solution (untill i can change myself and start finishing things before starting new projects) for it is to give each project its own time and place. i leave one crochet project at the time at my boyfriends place, so i can only work on it when i'm there. (not constantly, ofcourse). i'm also taking my granny's with me on the train to work, so that's done there. my knitting projects are mostly done in front of tv, and sewing and felting is for when i really, really feel like doing that.


am i the only one who has so many projects running that never seem to get finished?
if so, how do you deal with that? sometimes i wish i was interested in sewing, crocheting or knitting only!


PS: i'm off to france next saturday for some well deserved holidays... see you guys in two weeks! ;)

some time ago i asked my aunt (who runs a paint/curtain/wallpaper-shop together with my uncle) to save some curtain swatches for me.
well... this is what she got me:
that's a lot of fabric! lots of little pieces too (good for patchwork), and quite some fabric i won't use (too synthetic or plain ugly) but also some beautiful prints and colors! (the black tree/bird-print is my absolute favorite, so pretty!)... a "thank you" present is in the making!

also: my sock is growing! it's far from perfect, but i'm very happy with it so far!