Finally - a finished throw

Or rather: finally pictures of a finished throw,
since I actually finished this one rather quickly.
But man, it took me ages to make the photos.






















Anyway, when I came across this pattern online.
I just couldn't resist and I had to make it. Pronto.
Let me elaborate a bit on how & where I came across it...
I saw this Obsession Afghan ;-) mady by Twyla from Two Crazy Crafters,
and loved the pattern at once.
The pattern is from another blog: The Adventures of the Gingerbread Lady.
Where the Gingerbread Lady is so kind to share it with us. (Thanks!)






















It is an addictive pattern. Once I started I couldn't stop.
I decided it would be the perfect stashbuster.
Except that it wasn't...
Because after a couple of rows a certain colour scheme appeared
that I quite liked. So I ended up buying lots more of aqua and ocher yarn, and added a hint of green.
(I just can't do it, letting go of the colour control freak inside me. Oh well.) In the end I used at least ten different shades of aqua, and quite a few ochers too.

Like I said, it's an addictive pattern,
I finished the actual blanket within two weeks.
Then it took me some time to add all the fringes.
(As you might remember: I bored you with it in at least two blog posts.)
I didn't want a 'proper' border because I wanted the stripes to fade out, as it were.
Hence the fringes.

By the way, I found it difficult to make a decent picture of this throw.
Something to do with the stripes?

Anyway, I hope to make much more blanket with this pattern.
I made a few changes to the original pattern:
- I changed colours after every row (instead of every two rows).
- The stripes are in the width of the blanket (instead of the lenght).
- As said, I didn't make a real border.
A hook of 4.5 mm did the job, I used lots of different brands of acrylic yarn. (Some really, really cheap ones as well, think 'Zeeman' if you live in The Netherlands...)
Some yarns are actually a bit thinner then others, but I actually like the structure that gives.






















^ BTW - why does my arm look huge in this picture? ^

I really really really enjoyed working on this one.
So off you go to the Gingerbread Lady to make one yourself!
And I'm off to finish another blanket. :-)

♦♦♦ Have a lovely weekend - or what's left of it...♦♦♦

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! ♦♦♦

Clocking out for a couple of days

I'll be abroad for the weekend,
and I'm having high hopes of returning with some lovely yarns.

Take care!

xxx

Wabi Sabi or The Art of the Missing Potholder

Well yes, obviously, while pinning them to the wall,
It did feel more logical if I had crocheted one more of these potholders.
But there you are. The art of imperfection.
Slightly enhanced by the fact that I didn't block them.

I immediately fell for the pattern when I came across it online.
You can find it on this lovely blog: What you sow.
Recommended!

In case you'd like to give it a go, I slightly adapted the pattern.
American terminology:
Instead of making 2 clusters of 3 dc each
(to make the corners of the flower square),
I made 2 clusters of 3 trebles (tr) each.
(For me this worked better because it gives a sharper corner.)
Also I single crocheted (sc) along the two ends of the rows
before I half doubled crocheted (hdc) the coloured edge.
I mainly used Rico Creative Cotton and a 4 mm hook.






















It's an easy and very satifying pattern.
Before you know it, you've got a stack of these cuties.
So off you go to What you sow!

♦♦♦Enjoy your weekend.♦♦♦
(During which I hope to finally make the pictures of my finished blanket...)

Summer

Finally summer has arrived in The Netherlands,
and what a difference it makes.
(We simply skipped spring this year. Why bother?)






















Some snapshots from the terrace...

The elderflower is blossoming and I simply love it.






















Mint tea and crochet to make a sunny day off complete.
(Another potholder in the making.)






















♦♦♦ Take care! ♦♦♦
PS. A big thank you to Madelief for the sweet mention on her amazing blog. She has a stunning garden I can only dream of... And I do!

Thrifted vintage and some crochet too

A couple of days ago I popped in our local thrift store

with the intention not to buy anything.
Ha!

The results are these two art deco bowls.
The first one is this 'cabbage leaves' Max Roesler from 1930.
Love the mint green...

And this Dutch design from Société Céramique, Maestricht.

Same bowl. Different doily.
Couldn't choose. ;-)

In case you're interested, the first bowl costed me 2,50 euro,
the second one a staggering 6 euro. ;-)

Anyway. This weekend I finished my blanket - fringes & all.
Still have to make the pictures though.
I hope you've enjoyed your weekend too!
♦♦♦

Still working on the fringes, so...

... in the meantime a picture of a small pineapple doily.
I made it a couple of weeks ago.
It's from a Japanese pattern I found online: here.






















Take care!
♦♦♦