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)

for a while now, i wanted to write about having a yarn stash. i don't know about you guys but i had (until quite recently) a HUGE yarn stash. i collected so much yarn over the years. it came from everywhere, from sales, from the fleamarket, donated by other knitters and family, from webshops (because ordering just that one skein is so silly!),...

my big yarn stash has been bothering me for a while now, i already wrote about it in this post about my "crafty resolutions" in january 2014. i was actually doing really good at following my own rules, this year i bought almost no new yarn and what i bought is already processed and in use.

 some time ago, when i was home alone one evening, i started knitting a scarf with some stash yarn and it seemed like i couldn't make anything nice out of it. a case of wrong project, wrong yarn. i showed it to my boyfriend and he simply said "why don't you stop wasting your time and just make some pretty things instead?"

that one sentence got me thinking, because it's so true. i was spending so much time trying to make something nice out of yarn that i didn't really love, just to get it out of my stash and so that i would feel less guilty when i did buy some new yarn. i also learned that no matter how nice the pattern, if you don't like the colour or the yarn anymore, there is no feeling of accomplishment and pride when finishing your project.

so... one evening, we got all of my boxes out of the basement and laid everything on our coffee table. (and next to it and on the couch because it couldn't possibly all fit on the coffee table.) we made 3 piles: "keep", "donate" and "sell".

i kept the really nice or expensive yarns, and all the yarns that i really loved. i donated most of my acrylics to charity (my acrylic-days are over!), and sold the rest online. i was worried that i would never get rid of it all, but only one day later there was a nice lady who wanted it all. woo-hoo! and now my stash fits in one basket. i repeat, ONE basket.

 

left: box of sold yarn. right: my new stash!
 

i never thought destashing would feel as liberating as it did. going trough my stash now is about discovering real treasures of yarn and being excited about making something with it.

i'm now planning on doing the same with my fabric stash and also with my clothes.
and, ultimately, with all of our belongings. because why do we need so much stuff?

 now i'm really curious about your thoughts on having a stash.
does having a stash work for you? does it scare you to destash?



you can find some inspiring reads about destashing here:
Fringe Association: Q for you (read the comment section)
No stash girl

woohoo, i finished my gladys socks! i was so thrilled to finally have them off the needles and on my feet, because i think they might be my prettiest pair yet. :) 

 aahh! happy feet! and picture overload!

let me tell you, this pattern is pure genious! i love how the main stitch pattern goes all the way down the heelflap and i also liked how the sock decreases were divided to give a nice, rounded toe. something to remember!

  i couldn't be happier with my choice of yarn, using a neutral, light-coloured yarn really shows off the stitches. (i used Regia 4-ply Uni in light grey)

 the on-my-feet pictures actually don't show how lovely the stitch patterns are, so here are some of my instagram snaps! 

next thing i'm up to... cables! :) 

wishing you all a lovely sunday night!

♥

i already blogged about a good deal of handmade baby stuff this year and i'm afraid it's not over just yet. :) good friends of ours had a beautiful baby girl called toni, which was the perfect reason to get behind my sewing machine and make some handmade presents!

 

  this was so much fun from beginning to end! i had the best time picking out fabric with my boyfriend and thinking about what to make... i decided to make bunting and a blanket. it all started with the soft hot pink fleece blanket i found in the store (because those are usually a bit cheaper than buying fleece it in the fabric store - and this one was sooo soft!) and we just picked out fabrics that matched. which ended up in a girly but happy and bright colour palette, with polka dots and flamingo's. :)

 

 the letters on the bunting are a fun detail: toni's father is a graphic designer and was my closest colleague at my previous job, so i knew he'd appreciate it if i used the exact type as used on the birth card he designed. ;)

we also found a cute baby summer top, which was a perfect match with the blanket & bunting, et voila, baby gift done! :) it does look a bit excessively colour-coordinated now i see it together like this, woops! guess i'm obsessive like that. ;)

♥