A while ago I discovered Ravelry. A lovely lady in my local yarn store asked if I was on Ravelry. When I looked at her with questioning eyes she explained what is was all about, and the same afternoon I was hooked.

I found this pattern for a scarf/muffler (could anybody explain what’s the difference?) and then tried to find the book. Unfortunately I found out it’s out of print :-( Butttt an other lovely lady wrote an english translation and posted that on Ravelry (yeah ho for Ravelry :-) ) So now I’m happy hooking on this scarf. In total I will need 99 little squares, 9 of each colour, I now have 59 squares finished!

After I have finished all the little squares, I’m going to hook them together with this method Lucy (Attic24) has written down.

This is a little pouch that can be finished in no time. I just used single crochet and you don’t need a sewing machine, because it is small all sewing can be done by hand. You could use it to hold your money when you go out without your jacket or purse. It easily fits in any pocket.

What you will need to finish this project:

• Piece of crochet measures 11 x 16 cm. I used my 3mm hook with corresponding yarn and started with a chain of 32 and crocheted only in single crochet.
• 12 cm zipper
• Sewing thread
• Left over yarn from the crocheted piece
• Darning and sewing needle

First attach the piece of crochet to one side of the zipper. I used the sewing machine but you could easily do it by hand. Then attach the crocheted piece to the other side of the zipper.

Open the zipper by half and turn the pouch inside out, right sides facing inside. Take a piece of yarn and sew the sides together. When both sides are finished cut the sides of the zipper when needed and turn the pouch right sides out again.

You made yourself a little pouch that you can give away as a present or use yourself for a day at the beach :-)

What a busy week it was. I finally finished my book projects, I mailed them yesterday.

I posted the magazines for the give away, sorry Tuija for the delay.

On Wednesday I took care of my both nephews of 1 and 5 year old. It was really fun, I had to take the oldest one from school, we played with water, and had the nicest ice creams for dessert.

This weekend I worked hard for my shop update, I discovered Ravelry and started a new crocheted scarf project (I will show you the WIP this week), I had some busy days at the office, Thursday it was dinner time with a friend, after three weeks I just had to do the ironing, and my room could use some tiding but I saved that for later :-)

The coming week I can really use some relaxing and me time……

And oh yes, I took some pictures of the finished towel project. I made a grey one for our toilet, as the colours are black and white in there.

Talk to you later!

This weekend we spend some relaxing time on Texel. The weather is not summery, so enough time for crochet! Today I went window shopping and was inspired by a towel from Rice, see left picture above. I took a guest towel and altered Lucy’s Granny Wheel Square a bit. It’s not finished yet, I have to add one more square and then attach the crochet to the towel. But I will share the pattern already so you can make your own summer towels.

I used Schoeller & Stahl Limone yarn, 100% cotton, with crochet hook 2,5 mm (instead of the advised 3,0 or 3,5 mm hook).

Pattern:

• start with an adjustable ring
• 1st round, start with 4 ch, 1 dc, 1ch, 1dc, 1ch, etc. till you have 16 dc in the ring, end with 1ch and a slip stitch in the 3rd chain of the 4ch at the start.
• 2nd round, attach a new a colour in a 1ch space, 6ch, 1 tr in the next chain space, 2ch, 1tr in next chain space, etc. and with 2ch and a slipstitch in the 4th chain of the start chains.
• 3rd round, attach a new colour in a 2ch space, 3ch, 2 dc, 3 ch, 3dc, (this is the first corner), 1ch, 2dc in the next 2ch space, (in total 3 times, till the next corner) work till you filled the whole round. End with 1ch and a slipstitch in the third start chain.
• To attach the squares to each other I used Lucy’s join-as-you-go method.

Last Wednesday I finished this scarf. It’s my first crochet project that I can wear, and I love it :-) After I almost finished the first half, I found it looked a bit strange not quite like the picture in the book. I studied the diagram a bit better and then understood what I did wrong….. and took out almost all the work I did so far.

But now it’s finished and I love it. Today I wore it for the first time, and I felt so me wearing it. I used 4 skeins of Katia Capri 100% cotton, in ecru (82051). And crocheted with a Clover soft touch hook size 3,00 mm.

This fabric basket is a prototype I created last Sunday. If you want to make a fabric basket using these same fabrics, you can buy a fat quarter bundle in my shop. Of course you can use the fat quarters for any other project you fancy… ;-) (p.s. I ship worldwide, if you are interested you can send me an e-mail: info(at)bypetra.nl)

The crochet project in the picture is a scarf, from this book which contains a lot more projects I’d like to try. The scarf is now almost finished, only after I had to take out half of it because I didn’t read the diagram right…ahum..

I’m very honored that I have been asked to corporate with a craft book that will hit the stores coming fall. One of the things I have been asked for, is creating crocheted edgings for a quest and a larger towel. I have been trying out some versions that I found in my books and on internet, and alternated them so they will be easier to make and better fit the purpose and look and feel I like to achieve.

And my head is full with all sorts of projects I want to make, sewing, crochet, embroidery, update my shop website, etc.. But it seems I suffer from some kind of crafters block. I just can’t put myself simply starting to create something. I know the solution, just pull out the stuff and just start with something, anything and then the flow will come again. But…. I don’t know…. the fear of failure just crawled upon my back again… sigh…

I think I just going to bake a cake this afternoon, that might help.

I had a picture in my head of a cute egg cozy. I searched the internet for an example, but couldn’t find it. So I had to take the plunge and try myself from scratch. Here you can see the result, and I will share the pattern I made. Have fun and keep your eggs warm ^-^

Materials:

• Cotton yarn, for a 2,5 – 3 sized hook, in off-white and a few colours for the flowers.
• 3,0 mm crochet hook
• stitch marker
• Darning needle

US terms: sc = single crochet

Description:

• Start with an adjustable ring, chain 1 to fix
• Round 1: 5 sc in the adjustable ring, slipstitch in the first sc
• Round 2: 2 sc in each sc (10 sc) Don’t slipstitch at the end! (Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning)
• Round 3: *1 sc in first sc, 2 sc in the second sc* repeat from * (15 sc)
• Round 4: *1 sc in first sc, 2 sc in the second sc* repeat from * (22 sc)
• Round 5: *1 sc in first sc, 1 sc in second sc, 2 sc in third sc* repeat from * (28 sc)
• Round 6 – 14: 1 sc in each sc
• Round 15: chain 3, slipstitch in first sc, *chain 3, slipstitch in next sc* repeat from *
• Darn in the edges and create three flowers with a detached chain stitch and a french knot as flower heart.

A week ago the moment was there, I finally decided on the border and the edging and I have finished my first crocheted blanket. I’m so happy and proud I made it to the end.

When I started I decided that the blanket would get a size of 10 rows and 8 columns, I finished with 12 rows and 9 columns as I found that a better proportion for the blanket. It’s also thanks to Lucy from Attic24 that the blanket got finished. In my first try I attached all the squares sewing by hand, I hated that sewing and didn’t get further than 1 and a half row. A few months later Lucy described the join-as-you-go method, and I decided to start all over. This method really worked for me, as you can see your blanket steadily growing, and I like crocheting much much more then hand sewing. Thanks Lucy!

The last threshold I had to take, was to decide on the border and the edging. When I finally found the edging I wanted to use, I only had a picture and had to figure out the pattern myself. If you like the edging too, you can find the description at the end of this post, so you can try it for yourself, have fun :-)

Lace shell edging

1st round: Start with a full round of sc

2nd round: chain 1, 1 sc in first sc, chain 3 and make a slip stitch in the just made sc (you make the small bobble) *skip 2 sc, in the next sc make 2 dc, chain 3, 2 dc, skip 2 sc, 1 sc in the next sc, chain 3, slip stitch in the just made sc, repeat from *

I’m so proud that I actually finished a crochet cushion cover. The cushion cover top left, I made with the help of the instructions by Yvonne of Yvestown. The cushion cover is a present for my mom, but I have to make one for myself too, because I miss him already…

The cover for the floor cushion, an 75 x 75 cm IKEA cushion, I made for my best friends birthday. Two years ago I made an other version with pompoms on the side, but now I wanted to try an crocheted edging. And I love it :-)

Yesterday I finished row 11 of my crochet blanket, today I start with row 12, and then I might need to add an extra row to side… but then…. the edging!! I haven’t made a decision on the edging yet. Anyone seen nice edging on internet, or made some herself? Till now I only can come up with the simple shell edging I also used for the cushion cover.