hello hello! :)

just so you'd know: this blogpost you're about to read is longgggg overdue. i cannot understand why i haven't blogged about this finished project sooner, because it was one of my bigger WIP's and i was super thrilled to finally have it finished.

last year in march, Sandra from the Cherry Heart blog organised a crochet-a-long, a blanket-a-long to be precise. i joined in with my hexagon blanket, a project i started 5 years ago.

 

so here it finally is! i'm super proud of this blanket, i still love the colour combination so much. when i purchased the yarn i had no idea yet of what kind of blanket i wanted to make, i just randomly put some colours together that i liked and started crocheting some different hexagons when i got home. 

 

i ended up with a hexagon shape from a book, i modified the pattern just a little bit to get a more "solid" hexagon and i just started crocheting! it was my to-go project for four years, i took it everywhere: on the train, in the car, in the garden, in front of tv,...

 

when i was finishing the blanket, i realised i also needed half-hexagon shapes to fill up the edges, because i didn't like a zig-zag border. so i made up a pattern for a half hexagon. (by this time i had already run out of coloured yarn so all the half-hexagons are white). i found a pattern for a subtle border online and slightly modified it. i wanted a bigger border but unfortunately i ran out of white yarn...

now that this blanket has been in use for over a year, i can say that i'm still really happy with it!

my boyfriend loves it too and doesn't want any other blanket in our sofa. :) looking back, i only wish i would've made it a bit bigger!

  the yarn i used is Annell Rapido. i'm quite pleased with this yarn, it's softer than most acrylic yarns anyway and it comes in lots of lovely colours. but over the years i became more and more of a yarn snob and i think, if i were to make another blanket, i would choose wool or at least a wool blend.

so, that's all about my hexagon blanket! i wish i could share more details about the pattern, my modifications, the exact colourways and so on, but i was bad at keeping notes... better luck next time. :)

♥

as usual, i want to start the new year by looking back on the previous year. :) i was quite productive in 2015 if i may say so myself. i wasn't the most active blogger the last year, so there are some things you haven't seen yet..

in 2015 i made lots of baby things, because i became an aunt and good friends of ours had their first baby and i wanted to give handmade presents. because of those, i rediscovered how much i like sewing which resulted in 2 other projects: the beginning of a hexagon english paper piecing quilt with fabric scraps (pictured in the upper right corner) and my first handmade dress *ever* (pictured in the last corner). i also finally finished my crochet hexagon blanket, by participating the Cherry Heart blanket-a-long on instagram! that's one big WIP tackled!!  i also made mittens and a matching hat, and 2 pairs of socks. and some other small things like baby hats, scarves, a teenie tiny cardigan and a baby bib.

as for my creative goals for 2016, i'm not going to set big or hard goals. all i really want to do is finally finish my stashbusting picnic blanket. 2016 is looking like a promising, but busy year, so i just want to go with the flow and see what happens. although it would be good if i work up some of my fabric stash with some smaller projects (not to mention i already bought fabric for a new dress and 2 t-shirts, woops). :)

what are your crafty plans for 2016? i'd love to hear!
i also want to wish you all the best for 2016, and say thank you for your support.

may your year be happy & crafty!

♥

also check out

my creative year 2014

my creative year 2013

my creative year 2012

my creative year 2011

first of all thank you for all your reactions on my last blogpost about destashing. :) 

before i decided on letting go of my stash, i was destashing in another form: knitting (and crocheting) for charity!

somewhere in spring i discovered a knitting group on ravelry, "de breimadammen".

they knit for several charities (blankets for senegal, romania or homeless people,..), but one specific charity caught my attention: babynest. this small organisation collects all kinds of baby stuff (second hand but also handmade) for mothers and young families in need. a perfect charity to knit for, since i love making baby things!

 when i told my mom about this she was really excited as well, the picture above shows what the two of us made last year. most of it is her work to be honest: she made 4 sweaters, 2 scarves and 4 baby hats. i made a granny square blanket, a scarf and a baby bib.

the granny square blanket was so much fun to make, i made big blocks which i joined with white and finished with a light blue border.

i also really liked this baby scarf.

i remember my grandma made similar scarves for my grandpa. :)

and then i also made a baby bib with 100% cotton yarn. although this was fun to knit, to be honest i wouldn't make it again, sewing a baby bib is so much quicker and i think also more practical. 

a couple of weeks ago i met up with Annie (one of the nice ladies who is part of the organisation "de breimadammen") to hand over our bag with handmades (and also part of my yarn stash ;)). we didn't have much time to talk to her but we definitely talked long enough to convince me that these kind of charities are GOLD. i admire her enthousiasm and all the efforts she put into this... so so so inspiring. :)

wishing you happy holidays by the way!

♥

more info:
ravelry group "de breimadammen"
baby nest facebook page
my project page on ravelry (with more photos of everything we made)

hi everyone! 

happy 2015! 

i know i'm a bit late with my newyears-blogpost, but better late than never! :)

it's becoming a tradition to start the new year with a review about the past year, so here i am! i haven't blogged for a while so you will see some things that are new... i know it was silent here on the blog but i that doesn't mean i've been sitting still! 

in 2014 i made a lot of baby stuff, finished my very first cardigan (Paulie!), taught myself how to knit "the proper way" (you know, with the yarn over the index finger), got my sewing mojo back and tried to finish all those everlasting WIP's! 

in 2015 i want to finish at least two big WIP's and knit mittens, a hat and at least one pair socks for myself. and i'm still trying to keep my crafty new years resolutions of last year. :) oh and i'm gonna try to blog at least once a month. ;)

do you have crafty plans for 2015?

♥

ahh, today is the first day of my vacation and although the weather is sunny, i felt like sharing a blogpost first. :) featuring the first baby knits of the year! (maybe there are more to come, i don't know. depends on our baby-making friends and family i guess ;))

for the first couple that was expecting a baby boy, i made an aviatrix hat and some booties. i used the brightest blue i could find (i really LOVE this colour) and finished with a white button. i really enjoyed knitting the aviatrix hat, it was a bit challenging (first time knitting short rows) and it turns out SO cute. the booties were knit using this pattern, but i made them with a p1,k1 ribbing to match the hat.

 

 

 i also couldn't resist crocheting a tractor, perfect for boys, no? 

it's not as perfect as i want it to be, but i think it's cute nonetheless.

and for a sweet baby girl i made the same set, but in grey.

to make it a bit more baby-like, i combined the grey with a soft yellow button. 

(ooh boy, do i love that button!)

 hmmm, i think baby things are my favorite things to make (next to socks, maybe!).

small items (which means: quick finish!), colourful, and so, so tiny and cute!

ahh, i finally found some time to take some pictures of my wip's!

it's like my hook was on fire, the hexagon blanket is now more than double the size since this blogpost! i'm not sure about which size i want it to be, so i'm making a square first and then i'll see what size it should be. :)

 

 also: an update on the picnic blanket! 

i finished the first "scarf", and started the second one last week... i'm not loving this color combination so far, but it looked good on the sketch so i'll just continue like this! this is the most relaxing knit EVER, just garter stitch and not even thinking about colors... whoever said knitting is the new yoga is SO right!

i also completed adding my stash on ravelry. i discovered i have enough yarn for 20 pairs of socks... and i rrrrreaally want to cast on a new pair. :) and i matched some of my favorite patterns to yarn i already have! so when i finally finish these blankets, i'll know what to do! :) what is currently on your needles/hooks? big plans for new projects?

oh, i almost forgot: i'm on instagram now too!

 click here and follow me!!

after my last post i've been really motivated to really do something about my "bad" habits! i finished knitting all the baby stuff and started crocheting like crazy on my hexagon blanket!

i did this while enjoying the lovely weather the last weekends... :) life as it should be! ;)

our chickens were enjoying the sunshine too. aren't they the cutest? 

i also reorganised my stash and put it all on ravelry, which was a suggestion from Britney from bapsicrafts. this way i can match yardages/weights to my ravelry faves and knit/crochet away! it's also good to see what i have, which is obviously a lot more difficult when it's all stuffed in a box in the basement. :) turns out i have enough yarn for 9 pairs of socks, at least two or three baby sweaters and wristwarmers or gloves. and this is only the first box of three... oh-ooow!

 

oh and here's a sneak preview of one of the baby knits... so, so adorable. but more about that later!

some time ago, when i was buying new yarn for a new knitting project, i didn't even realize that i made 2 crafty new years resolutions in the beginning of the year. my boyfriend kindly reminded me of my resolutions when i was bragging about the new yarn i got and how well it suits my new projects... it got me thinking and i had to share:

resolution #1: 

finish all WIP's before starting ANYTHING new.

this one started out good, really good actually. after i finished Paulie, i finished my pair of monstersocks and started crocheting like crazy on my hexagon blankets. so far so good. but then some friends were expecting babies and how am i supposed to NOT knit baby stuff? on the bright side: i did manage to finish all baby knits without knitting or crocheting anything new in between. except for that tiny house keychain i made last week, but hey, i needed that!

on to resolution #2:

do NOT buy new yarn.

 i checked my stash some months ago and i have so many yarn... it's ridiculous. i can easily knit two years with yarn from my stash only... the problem with my stashed yarn is that i didn't buy it with a particular project in mind. so, when i want to start a new project (like baby stuff), i can't find *exactly* the yarn i'm looking for. and i HAVE to go and get some new yarn. i did decide for myself that IF i buy new yarn, i can only buy it with a specific project in mind and i have to finish the project as soon as possible.

now, to try and remind myself of resolution #1, i'm going to make a list in the side bar with my current WIPS. it might help if i visualize it...  and i'm also sharing some photos of the biggest WIP's i have to finish... i started these hexagon blankets in 2011 (!!) and 2013...

the biggest problem with the first is that i never get around to putting all the hexagons together...

 

i started this crazy hexagon blanket somewhere in 2013, i think. progress on this one is faster (join as you go!!) and it's also crocheted with a bigger hook so that helps too.

 

do you have knitting/crocheting resolutions or rules you stick by? please do share! :)

here i am again with an "old" project!

 

i made these wristwarmers last september or october, i think. i remember that it was getting chillier in the mornings, but not yet cold enough for wearing gloves. so i made these cute wristwarmers on my daily trainrides to work. you can find the pattern here!

  

i also wear these alot at home. my hands can get really cold when i'm working on the computer, so i always have these lying around somewhere close to the computer. ;) my boyfriend thinks i look like a beggar wearing these but i like them anyway. they keep my hands warm AND they have a bow, so what's not to like?

today the weather is is feeling like spring and so am i!

i am longing for a good, thorough spring clean-up but i lack the time. however, i DID clean up our computer and discovered some photos of projects i hadn't yet blogged about, so i will be sharing these in the following posts!

first up is a pair of socks i finished in march 2013. the reason i didn't blog this pair is simple: i don't like them. there's nothing wrong with them, i just don't like the look of the yarn. they were knitted with Opal Sock yarn and it turns out, i am just not an Opal fan. ;)

(also: notice how the yarn pools a little bit on the right sock leg - for those who don't know what pooling means, let me share my knitters geek wisdom with you: pooling is when colours knit up in "blotches", creating "pools" of colour. this was my first "pooling experience" and EUGH, i do not like it.)

 

let's also share a (small) project that i do like: yesterday i made a crocheted bookmark for my moms birthday (for the record: we had a bigger gift too, i just like giving something hand-made even if it's tiny like this)

 i'm definitely making one for myself too, because this is way more stylish than a supermarket receipt, right? (and i have to admit, i love the tassel)

 (more details and a pattern link on ravelry)

ohh dear, has it really been more than a month since my last blogpost? oops! ;) 

i wish i could give you a big update but unfortunately not much happened; i resisted the urge to start new projects and my mind is now set on finishing things... you know i've got a lot of W.I.P.'s, so this is actually a really good thing!

and ofcourse, i've been working on paulie! i finished the first sleeve yesterday and started on the second sleeve today. i had quite some trouble with the sleeves... i didn't measure my arm size and thought the S that i'm knitting would be fine. i already knit 1/3rd of the sleeve when i decided to try it on and it was so tight, i just couldn't believe it. turns out i have to knit the L size for my arms to fit... so i ripped back all of it and started over, picking up way more stitches than i was supposed to for the S size.

long story short, one sleeve is now finished and it fits perfectly. lesson learned: measuring is important! here is a photo of the sleeve a couple of days before i finished it.

i've also been knitting and crocheting little hats for the innocent smoothies campaign. they collect small hats to sell with the smoothies, and the profits go to charity. i made 25 hats, which is not so much but every little bit counts, right? i had a lot of fun making these and finishing them with different pom-poms and crochet flowers. :)

 

that's all for now! :)

my niece is expecting her second child, i think her due date is the end of august, so the baby should be here any moment... so i thought it would be about time i made her a gift!

 

i ran out of the baby booties i made a while ago and i decided to make something else this time. i have a lot of brightly coloured cotton yarn laying around, so i thought a toy would be a good idea. after some searching on ravelry i found some nice patterns for security blankets or "loveys".

we don't know if it will be a boy or a girl, so i made a boy and a girl-version. i personally prefer the boy-version because of the bold colours. :) i generally tend to like baby-boy-stuff more because i'm not a big fan of really girly things (especially not pink).

 

i mixed 2 patterns to make these: for the head and blanket i followed this tutorial and for the owl face and wings i used this blogpost as inspiration (because the pattern wasn't quite right, i just made everything up with the pictures as an example)

 what do you like giving a newborn? always something handmade or do you pick something from the birth list? or both?

sometimes, i'm convinced there is no better way to relax than having a nice cup of coffee and crocheting a bit... especially crocheting these hexagons; picking the colors and deciding where to put them in the blanket... :) it really takes my mind of things!

do you find crocheting and knitting just as relaxing? :)

i've got this friend Lissa, she is one of those people i wish i could steal a little piece of personality from. we've been penpals for years now and we usually send eachother birthday gifts by post... but we've both been incredibly busy and so this cowl has been lying in a drawer for at least 10 months. until last week, when we finally met again! we had some serious catching up to do... also on the birthday gifts. :)

the cowl is again the martha cowl, like the one i made for my sister some years ago. i don't feel like i made the same cowl again, this one is so different because i used different yarn.

i also finished this one with a crochet bow, because i wasn't sure Lissa would like flowers... and i made it into a brooche, so she can decide wether she wants to wear it on her scarf, or on her cardigan... or not wear it at all.

so, bottom line, i couldn't be happier to have this cowl out of my drawer and around her neck (i think, because it's still rrrreaally cold here)! and i think i will have to make a martha cowl for myself too.

but lets try and finish some other projects first. :)

ever wondered what happened to the granny square sampler i started last year? (probably not :)) 

i was so enthousiastic about it, and loving every square... but when i started crocheting all the different squares together, i didn't love the result. too much white and just... weird. and not at all what i had in mind. so i left it untouched... until i decided that would be a waste of the yarn. so i started ripping it out so i can use the yarn for my hexagon blanket. :) no yarn waste in this house!

 

and just look how pretty these these hexagons-to-be are?

 also... i'm near to finishing my pair of two-colored socks. yippeeee!!!

 

PS: the workshop at Maakdag yesterday was great! i had 13 sweet and enthousiastic ladies to teach and they all managed to crochet at least one hexagon by the end of the workshop! mission accomplished, although my teaching methods definitely need some polishing... ;) maybe i should follow a workshop about teaching workshops... does that make sense?