Friends

the hand warmers I made a few days ago

I knitted for a very special friend

a blog friend to be precise

Molly from beautiful birdie blue

we were lucky to meet her and her wonderful husband and daughters

they were all so sweet and we were very happy to meet all together

we unexpectedly exchanged beautiful gifts

I made the hand warmers and little crochet flowers for the daughters

and she surprised me with a beautiful package

full of craft material with endless possibilities

so generous

so beautiful

and the glass blue bird paper press will get a special spot in my craft room

thank you Molly and family

we are lucky to have you as our friends!

~

the bright wings and bird in a cage are pretty wall art in Chicago, close to the beach

Chicago

after spending a few days in Chicago

I am already falling in love with this beautiful city

we are very lucky with the weather

walking The Magnificent Mile along Michigan Avenue

lots of sunshine and a little wind ~ watch out for blowing skirts

my friend is very happy with her new hand warmers I made for her

and we enjoy sightseeing together a lot

the view from the John Hancock Tower ~ the large black one on the left ~ is amazing

and so is the beach at Lake Michigan

I have never seen snow and ice on a beach before

a beautiful experience

the windows of Hermes, always a beautiful experience too

and in the downtown apartment from our Dutch friends

we enjoy a good chat and tea from Dutch mugs 

she is showing the newest hand warmers I made ~ and gave away today to another lovely friend...

more about that soon!

~

wishing you a wonderful new week

Nina Chicago

hello this sunny Saturday from Chicago!

straight from this beautiful city

I am excited to share with you

Nina Chicago

one of those yarn shops where you can stay for hours

full of pure inspiration

welcomed by these cute yarn snowmen, you enter a shop full of quality yarns

in the most amazing color ranges

together with lots of temtping examples

for yourself

and the little ones

how cute can they get?!

Nina and Sam make this place such a warm and inviting store

it feels like home when you sit on the couch and knit a few more rows

like Robin did, while her son Soren was still sleeping

well, this sweet boy did wake up in the end

if you are in the neighborhood, go and visit this inspiring store

a beautiful yarn collection, and friendly professional ladies ~ you will be hooked

~

more shop features coming up soon...

Craft Room Inspiration

today I am sharing some snaps of my craft room

to give you ideas and inspiration I hope

~

a pile of fabrics looks so much better and attractive when you organize it by color

it also helps me a lot for getting ideas when I am working on a sewing project

it may sound weird to you, but it helps in your clothing closet too

I love 

organizing stashes

making layers and piles

collecting matching items

I also love 

finding storage purposes

in unpredictable but pretty ways

~ candles in a cup ~

~ paper collection in a wine rack ~

I painted this brown pin board white 

to make my pins stand out more

inside a large cupboard

I stored stamps, cotton yarns, notebooks, ribbons and lace

mostly in boring, but very effective transparent boxes

magazines organized by time of the year, together in one box

right now I am going through my Spring box, a perfect way to get into a new mood

forever loving white shades

the ring basket I made for our wedding and the Anthropologie owl I got in Vancouver

on my wall Carl Larsson prints and the Mollie Makes calendar by Jeanette from Fryd og Design

a little tour

some snaps and details...

wishing you a beautiful and organized day

Hand Knit Warmth

after a snowy weekend

the rain came yesterday and our grass is green again

I kind of get confused with this weather, but after all it is still cold

so I started a quick, warm, in between project

~ when am I ever going to stop with starting new projects?! ~

hand warmers for a dear friend

I came across this free pattern on Pinterest and adjusted it to my ideas

I don't have small needles to knit around in once, so I made the pattern flat and sewed it together afterwards

the pattern is from Blue Sky Alpacas 

to my idea they have a terrific yarn collection ~ natural and in perfect yummy color ranges

I guess I am in too short of a time span to learn how to add a thumb part

so I left that out

or, it could be that I am too lazy for that...

any way

the left hand is finished!

pretty fast and easy on needles size 6

I treat myself with a cup of tea 

and get back to knitting the right hand version of this hand warmer

~

my interpretation of the pattern seems pretty straight forward

but let me know if there is enough interest, I might write out and share my version of this pattern with you

Flower Progress

a few images to share with you

what is going on here this Sunday

I made quite some progress with the crochet flower

lots of tiny granny squares arranged on my table

already in the fifth version of it's design

and still in progress, haha

I am slowly coming to the point where I will be out of white and pink yarn

well, that's the risk of buying yarn without having a plan in mind of what to make with it

at the same time I am planning my trip to Chicago

we fly off in a few days ~ the mister for business

and I, well, for yarn and fabric business, and some exploring around the Windy City

~ so excited ! ~

in our kitchen this beauty came to full bloom

and I love every single bit of it

the same accounts for the dark red wall in this rental home

this is the first time I actually enjoy it not being white

pure white snow outside and dark wall inside

the perfect ingredients for some highly contrasting images

~

wishing you a beautiful new week

Cameo Beauty

I felt the urge to share a quick but fun project with you that I did today

~

yesterday I bought these two cameo plaster ornaments at a thrift store

they both were once black with some golden details, I can tell because they are chipped here and there

but when I bought them, they were painted white and decorated with some decoupage flowers

~ something fun to do for you: type 'chipped paint' in google pictures... so pretty! ~

I took the flower paper off ~ I did not really hate it, but was just in the mood for painting

so I got the acrylic paint out and gave both ladies a blue background

the heads became shiny with some pearl gloss ~ although it looks a bit silvery in the pictures

and I took the ladies outside to take some pictures of them

because I thought they would feel comfortable there underneath the pine tree

and to proof that it is still Winter in Canada, although a mild one this year

the ladies and I went back in quickly because is was actually -8C outside

and there I found out the yarn I am using for this crochet project actually matches these new pretties...

do you see any project ideas for this new combination? I would love to know!

~

I really enjoyed painting these ornaments and am quite satisfied with the result

~ wishing you a wonderful weekend with a pearl gloss ~

The Beach - Toronto

yesterday I was lucky to get a tour around the area The Beach in Toronto from Tracey

it is an area East of the city and I had a wonderful visit

with all the delicious treats and wonderful time together, I felt like celebrating my birthday!

I hope you are ready for a sweet and colorful report...

Tracey first showed me a fantastic cupcake house Life is Sweet

absolutely delicious homemade cupcakes

and beautiful warm accessories from the HoneyBea DesignHive

we went to her beautiful and light house, where I felt right at home

the light colors remembered me of our apartment in Amsterdam

if you know Tracey's blog Helana and Ali, you will know about the beautiful felt creations she makes

they were everywhere and so pretty in real life

after that, as if this all was not enough yet, we went to Bobette & Belle

it is one of those places where everything is pretty and delicious

we enjoyed the macaroons to the max

and decided we both have to get married again, to have an excuse to order one of these pretty cakes

~ to the same guys, that is ~

how is that for a quote

~ enjoy and let them eat cake ~ 

such a wonderful place to sit and drink tea with a sweet treat

the weather was beautiful

we walked along Queen Street East and took a look at vintage shops in the neighbourhood Leslieville

beautiful city parks along Queen Street

and a wonderful fabric shop macFAB where fabric was 50% off

so here I am at home

with a box full of super delicious cupcakes

beautiful fabrics on my table and my mind full of wonderful memories to a fantastic day

and I am happy and thankful to be able to share this beauty with you!

how is your week going so far?