There's a smallish baby boom in these parts almost ready to kick off. And babies mean baby gifts. And gifts mean handiwork to be done. Here's a small peek at what I've been up to so far.
Making baby gifts is just about the nicest thing to do I find. And now the hard part will be deciding which mum and baby can add this to their belongings. I'll figure it out in time though...
Ever since the weekend I've been feeling pretty lucky. And I thought it would be nice to pass some luck on to someone else. So what better way to do so than by hosting a small givaway. Just for luck's sake.
A matching pair of crocheted hangers, one for an adult and one for a child, will find their way to a lucky winner.
The hanger in child size is made up of a pale lemon yellow and has an edging of dusky rose. The yarn used is 'Cashmerino' by Debbie Bliss. The combination of cashmere and merino makes them so soft to the touch.
The hanger that will suit adult clothes is made up of the same colors, only used the other way around.
This is how it works. The givaway consists of one pair of hangers that will be send to one lucky winner by drawing a name out of a hat by an innocent hand. The givaway is open to everyone, anywhere. If you would like to take a chance then leave a comment below this post. On March 1st a winner will be picked!
If you yourself pass on this chance of luck by mentioning the givaway on your blog (or if you don't have a blog by sending the word out to friends by other means, Facebook for example) then you can add a second comment, hence doubling your chances to become the lucky owner.
Don't worry about being located internationally, these hangers will travel half the globe if they need to.
Good luck!
And just to show them off once more... can you tell I like how they turned out?....
Quite literally that is.
Remember my ripple blanket so far? Well, at the beginning of last week it was looking more like this...
That's right, I pulled it out and started over again.
When I first started it I had some doubts about the weight of the blanket at the size I was aiming for. Ambitious size but perhaps overly ambitious weight.Cotton weighs in heavier than wool and above all a blanket must remain comfortable. But I decided to take the risk. Now, risks and I are never a good combination. And behold, this one didn't work out either. I found it getting too heavy and could already hear the complaints of my little ones 'this blanket is pushing me'. But it was no easy decision. One tends to be reluctant to start over. Especially given the time already invested in it. But in the end my common sense won the battle. Perhaps now the blanket will be a bit small to be put on a bed but who am I kidding? The girls will claim this blanket as building material for all their blanket tents and houses anyhow. It won't keep them awake at night. So why should it keep me awake, right?
And I am happy to report that some odd crocheting in the evenings last week has so far resulted in something looking like a ripple blanket again.
I'm well pleased. It goes along quite fast now that it's shrunk in size.
And picking the next color in line is as exciting as the world of crochet can possibly get!
He thought 'let's start the weekend with a visit to the pub'. He headed off to the local pub three streets down the road to have a drink with friends. To have many a drink with friends. He was having fun but started to feel a bit tired in the wee hours of the morning. So he decided to call the night a night and staggered off to his car to drive the three streets back home. By 5:50 AM he was two streets along the way when his weekend collided with ours.
We thought 'let's start the weekend by a good nights sleep as the gardener will be in tomorrow early to trim some overgrown hedges'. We remembered to park the car in front of the house so that he could get his material safely into place.
By 5:50 AM I was awakened by a sound of such proportions that I thought my neighbors house was collapsing. I ran over to the skylight only the see a car somewhat upside down in the street in front of our house.
His night of fun just ended in being trapped inside a car...
So there we were, in the dark and freezing cold calling for an ambulance and the police, rescuing the guy out of the wreck - an act of heroism that's been featuring on the husband's secret I'd-like-to-that-some-day-list -. By the time it was 6 AM everything felt rather surreal. As far miracles go, the guy was virtually unharmed. Drunken and shaken and crying and worrying all over the place but physically well. His car was doing less fine. And then it dawned on us that ours wasn't in spectacular condition either. No, we did not park it so tightly between that tree and the stone garden wall of the neighbors. And no, that front wheel shouldn't be bent underneath the hood.
Turns out that the guy most likely fell asleep and was most likely speeding when he went of the road hitting our car -parked in the opposite direction - on the passenger side. The impact forced our car, and a car on a hand brake is a rather solid mass, an entire car length backwards so it ended up in front of the neighbors' house. The impact was so great that it sent the other car flying over to their drive way.
We were lucky that on general we are nowhere to be found around our car at 5:50 AM. He was lucky to have had the reflex of putting his seatbelt on.
We were just stuck with a whole morning sorting out police statements, tow trucks, replacements cars and the joys of administrations galore.
Hope you weekend so far has been much more boring!
Some cute fabric, quilted and ready for assembly.
This is what the front will look like... though I'll be using different fabrics for binding.
And here is what the back will be like...
How many will I make? What do you think? A set of 4? A set of 6? Uhmmm, better start one by one though.
Ever heard of a mugrug? Well here is an example...
So what is it? Think oversized little rug to put a mug on. Small enough not to be a placemat. But big enough for a cookie to sit happily next to your mug without leaving a crumb trail on the table.
Most of all it's a fun way to use up fabric scraps. So I did. And I think this little mugrug will be a cute addition to our tableware.
You make a small patchwork of little pieces of fabric, layer it as a quilt and then quilt it through. Bind it all and tadah, a mugrug is yours. I'd better make up a second one before a children's riot over ownership begins though. I'll be back soon!
Time for spring, or at least that's what it feels like.
Time for a spring clean, now there is something we try to ignore.
Time to put the wardrobes back in order.
Time to hang up all those dresses.
And for that reason I set some time aside this week to make some crocheted hangers. These are just the bees knees when it comes to hanging up clothes. Soft to the touch so that fragile material doesn't get damaged. Soft in it's shape so that the hanger doesn't leave too much of an imprint in the clothes hanging on them. And let's face it, they are just such fine eye candy!
I've used left overs of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, a mix of merino and cashmere, in all sorts of muted yet contrasting colors and crocheted them with a 3.5mm hook.
I'm happy. So is the wardrobe. I may hope.
Edit: For those who'd like to give making these a go, here's how I do it:
Start a chain by making 70 chain stitches. This will result in 12 shells and will cover a child sized narrow wooden hanger. If you want to make a larger size, then add 6 chain stitches for every extra shell. Remember I use wool suited for a 3.5mm hook so if you use a larger hook and chunkier yarn, you might need to resize it. I like using a small hook as it will leave some of the wood exposed and therefore create a lace like effect. But whatever you choose, don't crochet the chain too tightly. Come to think of it, don't crochet anything too tightly as the stitches will be pulled quite a bit when the hanger is being crocheted in place.
Now make 4 double crochets in the 4th chain from your hook.
Skip 2 chain stitches and make a single crochet in the 3rd chain.
*Skip another 2 chain stitches and make 5 double crochets in the 3rd chain. Skip 2 chain stitches and make a single crochet in the 3rd chain.*
Now repeat from * to* until you reach the end of your long chain. If you counted well you should end by putting 5 double crochets in the last available chain stitch.
Now it's time to turn your work upside down and repeat it all. So you put another 5 double crochets in the chain stitch already containing 5 double crochets, you skip 2 chain stitches and put a single crochet in the 3rd chain which already has a single crochet in it. Repeat this until the end. And cast off by using a slip stitch.
This will leave you with a single band of shells. Now it's time to make a second one. These will be the front and back of the hanger.
Weave in the threads and pick a contrasting color to crochet them together.
For this I put the shell bands with the right sides together leaving the wrong side visible on the hanger (but if you like the right side better, than please do it the other way around).
Now simply crochet the two together by making a single crochet in every stitch through both layers.Before putting in the actual hanger, I like to crochet them together on at least one and a half bottom shell (left and right) and the entire 12 shells of the upper side. This way I avoid having to make the side curves while the hanger is in it. It will also help keep the hanger in place while you finish crocheting. Then I pull this over the hanger and continue to close the remaining 10 shells with the hanger in place. This is fiddly work but it pays off!
Secure the cast off well and weave in the ends and voilà, a coat hanger to make you happy!
You'll find many patterns like this online. Some may use 6 double crochets at a time, others even 7. Some space the shells out a bit more or use a thicker yarn and bigger hook. It all creates similar effects. But this particular adaption works best for me and my yarn. Have fun!
have yourselves a happy Valentine's Day!
What to do with a leftover piece of wallpaper and some old Ikea cd racks?
Well, you can go the Ikea Hack way and turn them into a fresh new display shelf for a child or two.
The handy husband turned two open racks into a display shelf with a top and bottom. The birdie wallpaper from Pip Studio which was left over after having papered the hallway upstairs actually blends in really well with the rest of the room. A shallow picture rail functions as a second display unit and sports among other treasures two little paintings our oldest offspring produced when she was a year and a half old. Oh those good old days!
But before I turn all sentimental and soft, here's a look at the entire wall or to put it correctly, the entire chimney. No, there are no problems with a sliding floor, the lopsided picture is all down to the state of my poor biceps while taking the picture. I'll work on that. Promised!
This is quite possibly the most cheerful sight in my crochet basket these days and for quite some days to come.
You're looking at the beginnings of a seriously big job. A ripple blanket large enough to cover the antique beds of the girls -they are 120cm wide- generously.
I've chosen to go with a cotton thread as it makes the blanket suited for both spring and summer. The fact that it comes in such an array of amazing colors is a nice benefit. Trying to keep it cheerful and bright yet avoiding a clash of rainbow colors is challenging and fun. So far the balance is still there.
It's a long term job however. Depending on the color -some colors have a thread which is slightly more condensed and easier to work with- it takes about 45 minutes to create one ripple. Each ripple consists of two rows in a double crochet and I opted to change color every ripple.
Anyhow, this is a job for in between all the other things I'm keeping busy with. So I plan to finish it only in the long term future. Cause as much fun as it is to see the blanket grow ripple by ripple, too many of these ripples at once make your eyes go wonky. See...?
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