Obsessed #2 (and a give-away winner)

Hello dears,

I hope you've had a lovely weekend!

A while back I posted here some of the large pieces I'm currently making. An obsession in the making indeed. ;-) Here's a follow-up with my most recent work in this serie. I've used the eco-friendly cotton from DMC Natura and a 3.5 mm hook.

Also, thank you all SO much for partipating in the give-away. I really, really wish I could send a Tulip Etimo Gold set to all of you... I WILL however soon organise another give-away of a wonderful Tulip crochet set (different colour and - partly - different size hooks, but equally beautiful), so keep posted! This gold set however will travel across the North Sea to @poppy_creates in the UK. Congratulations & happy crocheting!

For now, that's all... I hope to pop back here soon.
Thanks for your kind visit and I wish you a most lovely week.

Give-away Tulip Etimo Gold Set – Joining is easy!

I had been eyeing the Tulip Etimo Premium Gold Set set for quite a while before I finally got them. I had read positive reviews about these hooks and I loved (and love) their aesthetics. Plus I really enjoyed working with my other Tulip hooks. (The Japan-based company has been making high quality hooks since 1953.) 

I was a bit hesitant though because I already have sooo many crochet hooks... - But, I'm glad that in the end I decided to get them. The cushion grip is perfect (not too bulky and with a pleasant feel to it), the hooks themselves are very smooth and handle all types of yarn easily. And I adore the stylish, neutral colour which will never clash with the colours of a project. 

The complete set includes eight crochet hooks (sizes 2.00, 2.20, 2.50, 3.00, 3.50, 4.00, 5.00 and 6.00 mm), a cute - and sharp! - pair of scissors, two darning needles, a ruler, all packed in a beautiful light-grey & silver case.

And now... You can win your own Tulip Etimo Premium Gold Set... In cooperation with the lovely people at Tulip I happily present you this give-away. Participating is easy!

1. Leave your comment under this post and follow this blog. That's it!

2. You'd like an extra chance to win? Be my guest! For an extra chance to win:

Leave a comment on my instagram account under this post (click here). 

3. For yet another chance to win:

Repost my give-away IG-post (this one!) on your (public) instagram account using the hashtag #tuliphooksbyhaafner

Deadline

The give-away is open to everyone everywhere! Bear in mind though that if you live outside the EU customs in your country might charge you some import tax. I will randomly pick a winner (from the entries on my blog and Instagram combined) on Sunday December 4th. So if you win you could have YOUR set before christmas - if post services cooperate!

If you don't want to wait for that: at the end of this blog post I'll include links to Amazon and Bol to buy you own Tulip Etimo hooks directly. Just scroll down. ;-)

Hook talk & Good luck to you!

Talking about hooks, I'm curious, what are your favourite crochet hooks? Do you like a grip on your hooks or not? (I personally prefer either a smooth, modest one like these or no grip at all. Definitely no bulky grips for me!) Are you into wooden, bamboo, plastic or metal hooks? (Metal works best for me.) Or does it depend on your yarn? Have you worked with Tulip hooks before?

If you are participating in this give-away: Good luck to you and thanks so much for dropping by.

xxHaafner

PS. Shopping

Please take note that there are several variants of the Tulip Etimo sets: the contents, hook sizes and colours vary, so check before buying!

But at Bol.com
But at Amazon

Obsessed #1 (and a give-away)

Over the last months I've been obsessing - juuuust a bit - over classic, lacy patterns. I love to give them a - hopefully ;-) - contemporary twist. If you are on Instagram you might have seen some of them already. 

Oh! Before I forget... Personally I'm really in love with my Jord Wood Watch. If you like this timepiece too, I've got some good news: I've teamed up with the people from Jord to bring you a give-away, yay! Just leave your first name and email address here (click!) for a chance to win a $100 coupon, and ALL other entries will receive a $20 coupon. That what I call a win-win!

(If you scroll all the way down this page you'll also find a button that brings you to the Jord website to see all their models.)



And here's the same crochet pattern, worked in different colours.




















I love it by the way when the Airbnb apartment where I'm staying is photogenic. :-)


















































The original pattern is from a Spanish crochet magazine titled Creaciones de Ganchillo (#12), however, as per usual, I made some modifications along the way. I just like to personalise a pattern. ;-)

For both pieces I've just the eco-friendly cotton DMC Natura. It's an ideal match with this type of work, I think.

That's all I have for now... Thanks so much for your kind visit and I hope to back here soon. Wishing you a lovely and colourful day!

 

Shiny Happy Cotton Bag

This bag. Oh dear...

I'm not sure if you can say this about your own designs, but I  l o v e  it. And the combination of mint and hot pink doesn't hurt either. ;-)

Let me first elaborate a bit about this yarn... A while back I was gifted  g o r g e o u s  Shiny Happy Cotton by Wool and the Gang. I've been wanting to try this yarn for ages and oh man, I did NOT disappoint.

Firstly: I simply adore these colours. And the other colours for this range look every bit as yummy. Secondly, the yarn worked up like a dream, it really did, very soft yet very strong (ideal for this bag!). Really loved it. I will definitely be using it more often as there are not many 100% cotton yarns out there suitable for 5 mm hook or up, don't you think? Have you worked with this particular yarn before?

Back to the bag! In case you like it: I'm working on a pattern for it (and pondering about a name for it). So stay tuned. :-)

I'd looove to hear what's currently on your hook! 

Thanks for your lovely visit - much appreciated. Have a good day.

xHaafner

You can find the UK edition of my book below:

My book! Mandalas to Crochet

Hello dear reader,

I'm back with some happy news.
Or, news...? If you are on Instagram, chances are you've seen it popping up here and there already over the past months...

Anyway! My first crochet book is out! The title is Mandalas to Crochet and there's a UK and a US edition. (Plus a South African edition titled Hooked on Mandalas!).
So, the result of many hours of crocheting, designing, drawing and writing is now available - or rather, already since a couple of months... I really SHOULD update my blog more often...

I'm happy to say that the book is absolutely packed with patterns for mandalas, borders and projects you can make with mandalas. Like the rug pictured above. All patterns come both in a written version an as a chart. Browse through the book with me if you like...

Later this year Mandalas to Crochet will also appear in translated editions in quite a few other countries, among which The Netherlands, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, France and - early 2017 - in Finland and Italy. I'm working on a dedicated page on this blog for a full overview.

'YES! I NEED YOUR BOOK IN MY LIFE.'
Hooray for that! Please note: The US and UK edition are both called Mandalas to Crochet and have practically identical covers. They have exactly the same contents BUT of course the US version (published by St. Martin's Griffin) uses American crochet terminology where as the UK version (published by Search Press) uses British terminology. The UK edition sold out very quickly, but is back in stock now after a reprint. :-)
Please bear this difference in mind if you're considering to buy.

Buy the US edition on Amazon.com! (American crochet terminology)




Buy the UK edition on Bol.com! (Bestel the Engelse editie op Bol.com)

Buy the US edition on Bol.com! (Bestel de Amerikaanse versie op Bol.com.)

Here's another sneak peek: the Leaves & Lace Blanket... I LOVED making this blanket. I used the gorgeous South African Vinnis Nikkim cotton yarn for it, kindly sponsored by Scaapi.

Well, dear reader, I really hope you've enjoyed this little peek in my book...

Thanks for your lovely visit. I wish you all the best for the weekend & don't forget to crochet. :-)

My most favourite WiP!

Hi everyone,

I know, I know, it's been a long time... But I'm back and full of plans and inspiration for new blog posts! Later this week I have a lovely announcement to make (not a career move, not getting married, not getting divorced either, not relocating to a tropical island), but if you follow me on instagram, you probably know already what I'm talking about. ;-)

Meanwhile I really would like to share my favourite work in progress of this moment. And quite possibly my favourite work in progress EVER.

In short the story behind it. I love sourcing new yarn, yes I do! And a while back I had the luck of revisiting my favourite yarn store: The Craft Company in Cascais, Portugal. (Here's their facebook and here the website.) If you're ever near, it's well worth a detour. Actually, I have a picture of (a small part of) the shop! Isn't this just pure eye candy...

So I came back with  lovely new yarns, among which BioBamboo of the Portuguese brand Rosários4. Incredibly soft, and the colours... Oh my word, they seemed to be made just for me. ;-)

But as I had no idea what to make yet, I just purchased one ball of each desired colour. I thought this would be a brilliant yarn for a pattern of one my Japanese crochet books. (We all LOVE those, don't we?) After some pondering the subject and browsing through the books I choose a lovely pattern from a book of which the English subtitle reads Crochet motif of 27 items. I thought it would make a wonderful scarf.

So I started crocheting. Soon however I fell head over heels in love EVEN MORE with both yarn and pattern, and most of all the wonderful combination of the two. Really, they work magic together.

It seemed pity to stick to the scarf idea. I mean, a scarf is okay and nice enough, but a BLANKET, well a blanket, that's just all comfort and snuggliness caught in yarn.

Luckily enough  for me I could order more of this lovely yarn at the Craft Company (thank you!) and soon I can continue crocheting the blanket. I can't wait to finish this one.

Anyway! I guess that's it for now. Hopefully we'll catch up later this week. :-)

Have a good day & thank you so much for your lovely visit.

A Darling Doily...

... Or a Mega Mandala... Not sure which name is more apt.

I used a pattern from a Portuguese crochet magazine called Croché de Filé, nr. 32. I'm sorry, that's all the information I can find in it. I can't remember when I bought it exactly, but the year of publication is either 2013 or 2014.

I made this piece recently as my contribution to Kathryn Vercillo's project Mandalas for Marinke: Kathryn's important and touching depression awareness project in memory of crochet blogger Wink from A Creative Being. It's great to see how many crocheters from around the world contributed to it.

Thanks for your visit! So lovely to meet you here!
I wish you a happy day.