Three Reasons to Love Loops

One

The wonderful texture they create....

Two

They make you want to hug your work...

Three

Their promise of many more loops to come...

Because for sure... Loops are addictive. So expect more to see of them here in the future. ;-)

Thanks for your kind visit. Have a lovely day!

Granny Flower Square - The Pattern!

If you read this blog since the first year (thanks for putting up with me all that time!) you might remember this blanket, It's one of my first crocheted blankets. I finished it almost three years ago. As you can see my palette has changed a bit since then, nevertheless I still like the blanket. It has exactly that seventies vibe I was after.

Recently my eyes fell upon it and I thought it might be a good idea to write the pattern down. Mind you, only for the squares. The border is not my pattern so not mine to share and unfortunately I can't find the source anymore, I believe it was a Portuguese magazine.

The pattern

Remarks beforehand
- You can either start a new round by chaining 2 (as a substitute dc) or – and that’s definitely my recommendation! – by making a standing double crochet. With the latter you can't tell afterwards where you started the round.
- The pattern calls for a join at the end of each round. My preferred method is to make a seamless join using a blunt needle. Alternatively you can slipstitch in the first stitch of the round.
- I used a 4 mm hook and I made 285 squares in total. Each square measures 10x10 cm (appr. 4x4 inch).

To start
Magic circle or chain 5 and join with a slipstitch to create a ring

Round 1
*1 dc in ring, ch 1*, repeat between * * 11 x, join

Round 2
*2 dc in ch1-sp, ch 1*, repeat between * * 11 x, join

Round 3
*3 dc in ch1-sp, ch 1*, repeat between * * 11 x, join

Round 4
Please note: The corners are worked in trebles.
*3 dc in ch1-sp, ch 1, 3 dc in ch1-sp, 3 tr in ch1-sp, ch 2, 3 tr in same space, ch 1*, repeat between * * 11 x, join. Weave in ends.

Joining the motifs
I used the join-as-you-go method for joining the motifs.

Please don't copy or share the chart elsewhere, but link to this page instead - thank you for linking with love! 

That's it!

I hope you've had a lovely week so far. Wishing you a great weekend!

Happy with Blog MakeOver!

Welcome to my brandnew blog! I'm very excited about the new design and I hope you like it as much as I do.

After a few years of blogging (time flies!) I felt it was time for a makeover. I wanted something light and crispy and the talented Madeline Cline designed just that for me (and on top of that she is a delight to work with). Click here for her Blog Design Studio on Etsy (or find the link below on this blog). If you are considering a new blog design I highly recommend her services.

 

As you will probably notice some parts of this new blog are still work in progress as I added some new features. Eventually this will lead to a site where it is easier for you to navigate, to find patterns and - hopefully! - inspiration. But I just couldn't wait to share it with you. ;-)

To mark the festive occasion of my blog makeover I thought I'd share some happy yarn pics...

There is a practical reason for that choice too, as I'm still working on some bigger projects which I can't share here yet. ;-) So for now it's mainly wip's and yarn... Like the Vinnis Nikkim (above) and the byClaire (below).

Well, I hope you like the new blogdesign!

Many thanks for your visit. Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead.

Projects in the making

Recently I have been working on new designs - which I love doing. It also leaves me with tons of trial & error pieces. I never throw them out, as they sometimes spark an idea for something completely different.

Or, I just like a colour combo and want to use the same colours in another design. Some can come to good use as embellishment. Especially the small flowery ones!

Many thanks for your visit & a lovely day to you.
♦♦♦

It's a Pastel Day

Love these happy stacks of crochet... There are quite a few of these stacks, most of them neatly tucked away in boxes in my little studio... Sometimes I open a box at random and am surprised by what I find... Pieces I had forgotten about... I take a picture and stow them away again... Maybe I should open an Etsy shop after all. ;-)

I'm curious to know what you do with the work you make.

The weather is getting sunny here again and I'm hoping to do a spot of outside crocheting this weekend. Looking forward to that.

Thanks for your visit. Wishing you a lovely day!
♦♦♦

This & That

Thanks for your kind comments on my previous post! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. The sight of my crochet hooks is tempting me to start new projects, but I'm still working on a couple of big projects I need to finish first.
(Q: Is that your entire collection of crochet hooks? A: Nope, not by far...)

'Cause I can't you show you my works in progress yet, I'll make do with other, recent pictures that I didn't share here before.

I really like the fabric below. I'd l o v e to make a skirt out of it. Pity I don't know how to sew - yet. It's still on my to learn list. (Like proper knitting. The advantage of knitting over sewing being that knitting needle don't make as much sound as a sewing maching. Or are modern sewing machines less noisy than the old ones? (#dta!)

If you follow me on Instagram you've seen these beads already. I'm so very much in love with the colour. I think they'll make a gorgeous necklace. Come to think of it, I should really make one soon. It would be perfect for the summer. Do you use beads in your work?

I'm a bit restless at the moment and would love to travel somewhere soon but alas, obligations of daily life make me stay put for at least a while. Although I have to say I can miss my little studio when away. Because more often than not I suddenly crave to work with that hook, or that yarn, which obviously is still at home and I'm not. ;-) 

Do you have any travel plans in the near future? Or maybe you're currently exploring new horizons? Which ever it is: I thank you for your visit and wish you a lovely week ahead!
♦♦♦

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.
♦♦♦