Grande Project ~ 3

update on the Catania Grande yarn challenge from Indonesia: the yarn has arrived in good order, both Alessandra and myself are very pleased with this news. next week we will get a glimpse of the first stitches she made with these red, pink and green pretties. I can't wait to see the start of her oval table runner!

Marie-Thérèse has taken off with the little baby poncho she is making for her daughter. when she sent me the pictures earlier this week and I opened them on my computer, I instantly got a big smile on my face. don't you just love the way the colors work in these first rows? I love it, so so so tiny and cute. she works with a crochet hook size 5 mm and it works perfect with her tension I think. 

and last, the progress of my own blanket. I struggled and tried, started over and over again, but finally found a way to work the squares up in rows instead of separate ones. I must admit I am quite pleased to see how these first rows came out. the yarn is nice to work with, I don't find it very stiff which is good. I choose a hook size 4.5 mm and this works perfectly with my tension I think.

wow, now we are all three in the game for this weekly project I am really getting excited about it! it is so great to see pictures coming from Indonesia and the Netherlands and share them with you. I await the pictures like a little girl awaits her candy, haha. I love it when the internet facilitates projects like these.

have a lovely day

Finished Blanket

finished. the giant baby blanket, measuring about 70x90 cm, 28x35" is off the needles and on it's way to the newborn son from our dear friends in The Netherlands.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I loved knitting this blanket. the joy of starting a new color block and see how it comes along is great. it is bold in color, a classic and at the same time a very modern blanket. there is a very likely chance I will make more of this type of blankets!

and I am excited to tell you that the pattern for the Joppe blanket is now available for you here and there is the option to get a yarn~pattern kit here.

enjoy!

Spring Awaits

how is Spring coming along where you are? we are looking forward to a week without snow, and hopefully temperatures moving slightly above zero. indoors I enjoy Spring with flowers, new crochet designs and making two different custom Miami City afghan size designs, finishing the recent baby blanket, and a little Easter decoration. I might whip up some last minute crochet egg cozies this week, if I find some time...

have you made anything Easter themed you'd like to share with me? 

happy new week

Give Away Winners

thank you all for signing up for the give away of Koralee's pretty yummy book

Everything Goes With Ice Cream

this time I was lucky to be able to announce not one, but two winners!

the random number generator picked 21 and 58

which means Christine from the Beanniequilts blog and Duni from the blog Duni's Studio are the lucky ladies

please Christine and Duni send me an e-mail with your mail address and the book will be sent to you

see bottom of this page for my e-mail address

if you don't happen to be Christine or Duni, but would like to get this pretty and inspiring book

you can find it on Amazon if you're in Canada, the USA or Europe

happy first weekend of Spring to you

Grande Project ~ 2

pictures by Marie-Thérèse

hello, it's Marie-Thérèse from The Netherlands. it is an honor for me to post here and get the chance to test this Catania Grande yarn together with Alessandra and Maaike. much sooner than I expected, the yarn arrived on my doorstep when I came back from a lovely walk with my kids and dog last week. the envelope, the pretty wrapping and a very sweet card, all so lovely. I am very excited that this crochet test project can start now!

about the pattern I chose. my intentions were to start a poncho for my baby daughter, similar to the one I am making for myself. the collar is made of a few granny's, finished off with granny stripes. when I calculated the sizing for my daughter, it would be way too large. therefore I decided to work with a different pattern that is made of just granny stripes. 

I picked the pink, green and white. Maaike added the light blue for me and I love how the colors work together, I will include the blue for sure. now I have to decide in which order to use these colors. I will start with pink, then white, followed by green. the rest will come together as I go, Maaike's crochet work is a good source of inspiration for me. and I am very sure this is going to be one pretty poncho! 

thank you very much for your lovely contribution Marie-Thérèse, I am really curious to see the poncho you are making for yourself too. that must be such a pretty sight in a few weeks from now; mom and baby in the same style poncho.

let me apologize for posting the Wednesday post on Thursday, but I am not really feeling well this week. must be that delayed Spring that is not yet here to warm me up. oh well, it will pass. 

in the mean time I re-designed the blanket for this Grande test project because I wanted to include dark blue yarn since Alessandra and Marie-Thérèse are not using it. this first row looks pretty messy and it is pretty messy too, haha. it is my attempt to make squares without crocheting separate squares first. does that make sense? an update will follow next week, by then you will see if it worked out.

good news from Indonesia; the yarn arrived at Alessandra's place too! more about that and her table runner project next week

on a side note: today is the last day for you to enter the book give away here... I will pick a winner tomorrow

Double the Yarn, Double the Fun

an out take of my contribution to the latest Gatherings Magazine; a little cloth, potholder, doll blanket or what your imagination sees in it, made from yarn scraps. I knitted this piece with double strands and I must say I love how fast it comes together and the endless possibilities in color variety it gives us. 

if you are planning to make something similar yourself, keep in mind that you want to use about double the needle size too. I have been experimenting with crocheting double strands as well and am quite pleased with the results, will show them to you soon. have you tried working with double strands on your hook or needles lately? if not, my suggestion is you grab a cup of your favorite tea or coffee together with your yarn scraps, a decent sized hook or needles and give it a go. I would love to hear about your experience!

Brightness

a lot of brightness last week. bright white snow, bright Spring sunlight, lovely flowers and mail. new start of a project and a finish, the release of Gatherings Magazine ~ Spring 2013 and a give away that is on until Thursday.

and crochet is a piece of cake, did you know? have a look, I am very sure you'll love this cake

Black Forest Cake from Marion Ber on Vimeo.

happy new week to you

Give Away : Everything Goes With Ice Cream

Everything Goes With Ice Cream

the new book by Koralee, from the pretty blog Bluebird Notes, my dear friend who lives on the other side of Canada. we met through blogging about 2 years ago, and have met real life once in 2011 just after I moved to Canada. she is the sweetest lady, such a darling, with great taste and style. and now all of that has come together in her beautiful book. yes, an actual book. isn't that great? fabulous? fantastic? it is a lovely colorful book, packed with delicious ice cream recipes that make you want an extra deep freezer, and craft ideas that make you want to have a party everyday.

you can probably imagine my excitement back in the Summer of 2011, when she approached me to be part of this book. of course I said yes, and of course I wrote up our family recipe for the chocolate cherry cream parfait that my mom usually makes when we are in Sweden. together with it I wrote up a little idea for a cupcake pompom garland as a cute and easy party addition.

and now the good news for you.

you can order this beautiful book online here and... I am allowed to give away 2 copies of the book!

your chance to win a copy: leave a comment to this post

of course you are very welcome to follow me here and like me there

please make sure you comment before March 21st

on March 22nd the random number generator will pick two winners

thank you very much Koralee for brightening our days and kitchens with your beautiful book! it's pure joy