The Tale of the Dainty Dots Blanket #1 - The Making Of

Number one? Yes, that’s right, this is going to be a mini-series about my recently finished blanket. Starting here and now with the making of…

At the basis for this blanket were these big blue and grey cotton yarn cakes I got in Thailand last year. I knew right away I wanted to use them for a blanket. (At first I also used the powder pink - pictured above, but I decided to throw it out.)

Funnily enough, in the end I’ve only used a small part of it (the white yarn is cotton I bought here at home), so I've still got a HUGE basket filled to the brim with this lovely yarn (in other colours as well).

Next up: the Dainty Dots Blanket Reveal (#2) and the Dainty Dots Pattern (#3), where I will also give suggestions for an alternative yarn. I’m rather pleased with something I’ve worked out for the pattern, my personal Eureka-moment crochet-wise, so stay tuned. :-)

For now I'd like to thank you for your lovely visit. Wishing you a happy day.

It's been a while... Let's talk yarn!

So much for my resolution to blog more often... What can I say... It's been busy! The next posts will be a roundup of what I've been up to crochet- & yarnwise. I realised that I've never given a proper account of the lovely yarn I sourced when I was in Thailand earlier this year. So let me make up for that hiatus in this post. And I'll squeeze in a cappuccinno with coconut milk here and there. Just because. ;-)

Maybe you remember my search for yarns when I was in Thailand last year, I wrote about it here and here. This year - through dedication and perseverance (read: my obsessive compulsive yarn-related behaviour) - I found some other lovely yarns.

Like this amaaaazing shiny fine cotton (suitable for a 2.5 - 3.5 mm hook) in the top picture and the three below. Apparently it's made in Japan, but I have no further information. Unfortunately... If you recognize this yarn and know where it's manufactured, I'd love to hear!

^ Working on a mystery project during a lunch break... ;-)

Just to clarify: I've bought more colours than you see in these pics, but I wouldn't mind getting my hands on even more... ;-) It's definitely one of my favourite yarns.









Then there were these pretty bobbins with handspun and plant dye fine cotton...

I love the irregularities in it and its slightly wool-ish (the pink one) and linen-ish (the grey one) appearance. Here's a closer look:

And this - huge - skein.... This too is handspun and plant dye cotton. I like the texture, it's quite different. Not sure what to make with it yet.















Oh, and before I forget, I got these lovely shades of embroidery floss... Which was actually a bit of a yarn fail, 'cause I didn't notice all the ends and thought I was buying adorable mini skeins of regular yarn. Ha! So much for being a connoisseur, right? ;-) However, the colours inspired the super talented Cornel Strydom to create these mittens that - for sure - are the prettiest mittens I ever laid my eyes on. Click here to admire them! (I just can't get over how lovely they are.)

More Crochet & Coconut (one of my favourite combinations!) to end this post. With another glimpse of my mystery project...

I hope you enjoyed my little yarn tour... Did you buy new yarns recently? Or are you on a  strict yarn diet?

Many thanks for your kind visit. Much appreciated! I wish you a most lovely weekend.
♦♦♦

Nature Bag and a Giveaway

Hello dear readers,

Ohoh, it's been too long... But it's good to be back, both at home and on my blog.
I had a lovely time in Thailand and today I would like to take you with me to an interesting project in a neighbouring country: Laos.

Maybe you remember the first photo, I posted it before on this blog last September...

It's a bag from Nature Bag - I bought it a couple of years ago when I was in Laos. I sometimes use it as yarn bag when I'm abroad, because it's flexible and lightweight. It's from made of the natural, strong kudzu fibre which is traditionally used in Laos (and other countries) for making bags and baskets. Kudzu (also known as Japanese arrowroot, as Wikipedia kindly informed me) is a climbing vine that is native to Laos and many other parts of Asia.

On the occasion of posting that photo last year I was contacted by the kind Terry from Nature Bag. Nature Bag is a fairtrade project based in Laos. They make these traditional tote bags with a modern twist from the JungleVine as they dubbed the amazing fibre that is destined to be turned in a Nature Bag. We agreed that I would style and photograph more Nature Bags. The results of which you see here! I loved doing this because fairtrade has my heart.

I tried to highlight the fact that they are very lightweight by pinning them to my wall. I only needed a two or three pins. (Good news for my wall.)

Despite their lightweight nature and delicate looks, the bags are very strong, capable of expanding to carry heavy cargo. (I loaded mine with books!) The bags are knotted, not woven or crocheted, so in the unlikely event that a hole develops, the bag should not unravel. I wish I could say the same about my crochet. ;-)

Nature Bag gifted a bag for a giveaway for my lovely readers! If you would like a chance to win the blue-striped bag below, follow this blog and leave a comment. You can enter until April 2th 2015. [Edit: now closed]

If you'd like to see all styles of bags and meet the people who craft these lovely bags click here to go the Nature Bag website. (They have a webshop.)

In my next post I'll show you a bag I crocheted with JungleVine. I'll also share my pattern!
Okay, that's it for now. I hope you'll enter the giveaway. [Edit: now closed] If you do: Good luck!

Many thanks for your visit and I wish you a most lovely week.
♦♦♦

All natural

Oops, it has been a while. A short post to catch up... Many thanks for your kind comments on previous posts - I really (really, really) appreciate them. I'm way behind visiting all your lovely blogs, and I can hardly wait to fill that gap. I miss my daily dose of inspiration from around the globe!

Today I would like to share some natural fibres and muted colours. Hope you like it! 

I have been abroad quite a lot recently and whenever I have to travel, I take yarn and hook with me - of course. (Even if I don't always have the opportunity to crochet, I feel rather amputated without my tools...)  I have been working on this circle blanket. The lovely cotton cakes (which I bought in Thailand) are too bulky and heavy to carry with me.

 Hence I hand wind smaller balls of this yarn and take them with me like this.

Will be back soon(er)! Thanks for your visit. It's an honour to have you here! Have a lovely week.
♦♦♦ 

Another Market Bag

Maybe you remember the market bag I made last year? Well, recently I started to make a second one. Same pattern, but this time I'm using a thicker yarn and a 6 mm hook. (I probably used a 3 or 3,5 mm hook for the first one.)

I'm using this Portuguese cotton yarn: Trama Rustica. I bought it a couple of weeks ago in Lisbon, where I was for a few days to attend a meeting. Lucky me. ;-) I think it's ideal for this project, it's quite bulky and the structure is a bit rough (but not too much). It's also available in a thinner version, I bought a couple of those skeins last year.) *Boring picture alert, I made this photo in my hotel room and didn't have a decent background.*

I guessed one skein would be more than enough for one bag, but alas, as per usual when it comes to calculating (or rather: guessing) the amount of yarn I need, I misguessed. Luckily I will be going back to Lisbon within a couple weeks so hopefully I can get my hands on a second skein.

In case you're curious: this is the bag I made last year. (Market bag turned into yarn bag...)



♦♦♦Thanks for your kind visit! Have a lovely day.♦♦♦

Sweden

Yes! I did score some lovely yarns in Göteborg.
('Cause that was were I was.)

^ The naturel, powder pink, greyish, very dark brown and yellow/gold linen are from Strikk. This shop carries its own beautiful line of linen yarn.

The silvergrey linen on the left is Kalinka's yarn (it's thinner than Strikk's) and the two smaller, blue skeins are organic, hand dyed cotton.

^ Adding stash to stash...

They had buttons too. :-)

And really, which catlady who loves her veggies and fruits,

could resist these tiny(!) cuties? 

Also I spotted quite some crochet in the wild.
Like on top op this pram - very stylish.

And in the period rooms of the City Museum...

And a gorgeous sewing box. (Sorry, bad photos.)

In short, a lovely weekend indeed...
♦♦♦ Take care! ♦♦♦

Let's Ease into this Monday with Some Soft Colours

It's a grey morning here.
The few sunny days last week made me longing for spring...

What do you think of these pastel fabrics?
I purchased them in Laos from a lovely lady who had woven them herself.
Such a sweet memory.

The bobbin with the paper yarn is patiently waiting
till I have a moment of inspiration.
Which can last quite a while. :-)

Have a wonderful week!

♦♦♦

Snapshots from a workspace

This little thrifted bird is always very nosey and wants to know what's going on on my desk.
He has a special interest in tape and crocheted work,
and is very picky about colours.

I look forward to using this paper yarn from Paperphine.
Not only the yarn itself is gorgeous,
the wooden bobbin is beautiful too.























I got this second hand sari - I love that embroidery! -
from a lovely lady in Jodhpur (the amazing blue town in Rajasthan, India).
And it's perfect for hiding a lot of, well, stuff.

Looking at it, it makes me want to pack my bag and go back, like,
right now!

Cheerful Vintage Embroidery

Aaah, all those lovely colours!
I thought that it would be appropriate to share them with you on this grey day.

These are just a few of the embroidered pieces we brought from South East Asia.
Made by the Hmong in Laos,

known for their colourful fabrics.

I hope you like them too!

Ribbons

Some of these ribbons
I bought here, The Netherlands.

But most of them
are souvenirs from travelling.

The hardships of Cruelty-Free Living (Haha)

So, it has been quiet on my blog.
I just got back from a short trip to vegan heaven, better known as NYC.
(They don't call it The Big Apple for nothing, right?)
Of course I stocked up heavily on vegan goodness.

In this case: the marshmallows of Sweet & Sara.
This afternoon I indulged in hot chocolate made with almond milk,
topped with toasted coconut & vanilla marshmallows.
Great recipe to get rid of any jetlag.

Oh yes, I forget, if you're not veg*n, you might be wondering:
vegan marshmallows?
Yeah... because other marshmallows always contain gelatin,
made from the bones of animals.
Yes. Ugh. Indeed.


PS.
Can I just add this pastel doily 'thing' is getting out of control?
;-)

Vintage Embroidery Love from Laos

As mentioned before on this blog, here at ByHaafner we love travelling
And love surrounding ourselves by memories of those travels.
Bringing travel home, as it were.

We brought this second hand collar back from Laos.
The colours are gorgeous,
as is the design, with its geometric motives, the birds and the flowers.

Soon on this blog: more beautiful textiles from South East Asia!