Ready? Check. Pastels? Check.

In September last year I already blogged about this cushion,
and yesterday I finally finished it.
*sigh*
It's vaguely inspired by the pastel cups (a gift from a friend)
and the thrifted Sphinx plates.

As you can see I'm still looking for a place
in my house where this newest addition can live.

It's the simplest of patterns: a straightforward granny stripe.
Front and back are identical and crocheted together with a single crochet.
I added an extra round of single crochet for a more finished look.























Have a wonderful (crafty?) day!
♦♦♦♦♦

Thank You and A Warm Welcome ♥

Welcome dear followers,






















Thanks to this amazingly sweet blogpost
from the talented Maaike of CreJJtion
many of you found your way to this little blog,
others came here via Pinterest.
A warm welcome to you all!
(And thanks again Maaike for your nice words...)






















I do find it a bit intimidating to have followers now.
For the first time I'm a bit lost what to blog about. ;-)
Even more so because these weeks are very busy for me,
and I have hardly time to blog (or to crochet, or to try new recipes).
- But hey, I came up with something...






















And BTW, as I wrote in my last post,
I'm planning give away (my first!),
not sure though when it will be online,
but it will be as soon as possible.

Have a very good day!

♦♦♦

About a throw that's finally finished...

About a year ago,
I decided I wanted to make a plaid with a certain seventies vibe.
And now, 285 squares further, it's ready. Ready!
I think it does have a vintage feel about it....

So here it is!

Ready for a cosy afternoon with hot almond milk chocolate & a book...






















And this is what it looks like as a bed cover...

[Edit September 5th 2015] 
Please click here for the pattern and chart for the Granny Flower Squares.

I used the join-as-you-go method for joining the squares. Normally I only use this method if motifs have the same outer colour (same colour in the last round). Otherwise the colours of the different motifs seem to bleed into eachother where you make the join, which makes the result sometimes a bit messy. However, with the muted colours I used for this throw it doesn't bother me.

I  decided to go for a somewhat lacy edging. Which meant spending quite some time flipping through my crochet books and looking on the internet. 

However, I was worried the border might ruffle. So I crocheted the border with a smaller hook than the squares. The squares were crocheted with a 4 mm hook, the middle border rows with a 3,5 mm hook. It turned out fine. No ruffles!

Hope you like it!
(And I'd love to hear what your favourite joining method is...)

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!

Super Easy DIY Garland

Okay, since this is my first DIY,
I thought I'd start with an easy one.
And trust me: this one is really easy.
And - being a blogger now - it involves washitape. *Oh, irony*

So, what you need to make this garland (or bunting? What word would you use for this?):

♦ Acrylic felt (Yes - I don't use wool felt, why? Click here, here or here. In short: It doesn't seem right to harm animals, certainly not for such a frivolous thing like a garland.)

♦ Thread

♦ Washitape

♦ Scissors, needle and pencil.

Mark the triangles on the acrylic felt and cut them,
pull the thread through the triangles, apply the tape
et voilà!

I like it because there's no sewing involved.
(Which is a craft I have to master yet -
I did buy a sewing machine, so the intention is there allright.)

Enjoy your day!

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!

Vintage buttons

Loving my vintage buttons...

Fascinating to think that thousands of years ago people already used buttons.

Talking about vintage! ;-)

Weekend snapshots

Both the teacup and the plaid with the green flowers
(of which just a snippet is visible) are thrifted.
The first in The Netherlands, the second in India.

 Oh yes... Pompons...

 A thrifted footstool with crocheted cover...

Crochet project in the making...

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!

Powder Pastels

New, small crochet project in the making:
a granny stripes cushion (probably).
Vaguely inspired by the pastel crockery.

It's a serious case of procrastination (again).
Should be finishing two crochet throws
- or rather: do some serious work-work instead.

Outside - Inside

Just two weeks ago we were swimming in the sea under a perfect blue sky.
(Quite unexpectedly, because we didn't have much of a summer here.)
And now, suddenly, it's autumn. Very much so.
Rain is pooring down day after day, it's cold, it's windy and, I must say:
It does have it own charm!






















So, instead of sulking about a summer that never really started,
(except for that one day)
let's embrace autumn, with it's own happiness.
Blend in some seventies styling for the ultimate autumn feeling.






















Snuggle under your handmade crochet throw, with a good book.
The cat purring next to you.






















You might even start purring yourself.
;-)























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Pastels on a Happy Monday Morning

Yesterday's rainy Sunday afternoon got me playing with pastels and haberdashery.
Some vintage buttons thrown in there...

I want to turn this old button below (yes, it is a button!) 

into a brooche, but it was missing one small stone.
Lucky me, I found exact the same stones. :-)

I really like those handmade buttons made from pastel coloured fabric,
and the cute little paper cards they're attached to.

And I made this potholder...

With this lovely hook from Mollie Makes!

I hope you had a nice Sunday too.

More Snapshots

While new posts are in the making, here are some more snapshots...

Summery Snapshots