Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2014


beautiful crochet work by Sandra

taking a moment to thank you all for another Wonderful year of blogging, instagramming, live meeting and joy we shared together. my life would not be the same without you in it. the encouragement, laughter, friendship and fun I get from you is priceless.

it's been a beautiful and moving year for us. it started with a tiny Floyd moving in, then came the move within Canada, soon after that the news we would be going back to The Netherlands later that year. in June the first Create 'n Date happened, a few months after we moved across the ocean and started building our new life in the South part of The Netherlands. all went well and we are thankful for that.

however, we are also pretty tired and looking forward to doing a whole lot of Nothing the coming week. therefore, this will be my last blogpost of 2013. thank you again for all your support and encouragement in the past year. I can't thank you enough, you've been amazing. 

I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas with lots of laughter, delicious food and joy. some good sleep too, warm snuggles, and kisses under the mistletoe. a fantastic start of 2014, which I wish for you to be a wonderful and healthy year, with lots of yarn fun.

we are off to Sweden to spend time with family, sitting by a similar but different tree. hopefully letting a slightly larger Floyd chew another stick in the snow, and making long walks in Winter Wonderland, after which we warm up by the fireplace and watch another feel good movie.


hope to see you again in 2014

xo Maaike


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Thankful for Blog Friends



this week Christmas began for me, when this totally utterly beautiful and sweet package from darling Sandra fell on the doormat. we've followed each others' blogs for quite a while now, at least two years I would say. I love her style, her perfect makes with yarn and fabric and beautiful patterns. 
when she was feeling under the weather this Fall I decided to send her a little something for the necessary distraction. totally not expecting anything in return, you can imagine how happily surprised I was when this little parcel showed up!

so thoughtful, so generous. handmade doily perfection, I saw this one on her blog and was all pooh and aaah, not knowing that by that time it was on it's way to me. lucky, lucky me. also, the cutest Christmas fabric that makes me want to start quilting right now. and munch those chocolates even before that. I might have done that already…


you are so sweet Sandra. except for the chocolate, everything will get a special place in our home. thank you so much for these treasures, you are too kind! on a side note, I can totally see us meet one day and feel like we've known each other for years. just like when I met Annemarie, Claire, Saskia and Annette this Spring. 



xo

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

New Project: Crochet Scarf



new yarn, from a brand I never worked with before. yarn wise being back in Europe definitely is quite exciting to me. all those brands I didn't notice before and didn't see while residing in North America. Bergère is definitely one of them and totally new to me. it's a French company, a family business since 1946 and they have an impressive collection with a wide variety of yarns. there's a little story to how I found this yarn.

a couple of weeks ago I attended a local knitting/crochet night in a lovely by-consignment shop called Ons Zus en de Zusjes (our Sister and the little sisters) packed with local handmade goods. that's perfect to begin with, right? 


as I have experienced before, knitting and crochet is something that mostly happens behind closed doors. but when the ladies gather to craft, it is always great. we chat, we drink tea and coffee, we have some cookies, we laugh, help each other… even though we just met 10 minutes ago. like magic. 
I was so happy to have found this local craft happening and the ladies who joined. one of them happened to own the yarn shop Homemade Factory in Hilvarenbeek, Noord-Brabant. so that weekend I jumped in the car and drove to meet her again and have a look at her darling little shop. if you are in the area, you should absolutely visit it. so cute, so personal and well designed with the white fresh walls and display. and a lovely yarn collection too, carefully chosen. and that is where I learned about Bergère and their Berlaine yarn.


and so it happened I couldn't resist and took 5 balls of Berlaine wool with me for a at that time undefined project. as I already have numerous WIP's, UFO's and yarn piles waiting for me, I was not planning to put this yarn away and let it sit there. I started looking for a fun and rather quick project for the holidays. I came across this clamshell pattern by darling Sandra and decided to give it a go. such a clever lady, the pattern is explained so well with the text and accompanying images. very well done my friend.


instead of the advised hook size 3-3,5 mm I am working this yarn on a 4.5 mm hook to create a not too stiff scarf. it is a rather complicated pattern when you start, but after a couple of scallops I started to 'see' the pattern and it's structure, and I am now crocheting happily without the pattern in sight. so much fun to see the colours come together and my scarf grow. with 23 cm it is quite wide, which means it might end up becoming a cowl instead of a scarf. although the scallops will be vertical then, I have to see if I like that. for now you know where to find me, crocheting my scarf with French wool, working a British pattern in my Dutch home. oh Europe, you are something. 



Monday, December 16, 2013

Week Before Christmas



it's  the week before Christmas. we are getting ready for time with family, no work and obligations. cozy times by the fire with some red wine. winter walks with Floyd in the snow ~ we hope. warming up inside and sleeping in. playing board games and singing Christmas songs. I am so ready for this.

in the mean time I enjoy walking Floyd in the fog or winter sun. there is something so magical about it.  the stillness, quietness… relating to the images, I enjoyed a change of scene last week for a coffee in a next village, all by myself. wonderful. over the weekend I started a new shawl in a lovely scallop pattern, which I will tell you more about tomorrow. 

last week I squealed with delight when the stamp with my name on it arrived in the mail. a very dear Canadian friend participated in a generous give away on Instagram by Sycamore Street Press, and she actually won! a custom made monogram stamp, not only for herself but also for 2 friends. lucky, super lucky me, I was one of them. I am stamping happily away now with my first ever monogram stamp. love love love it, Eva and Kirk did such a great job. their site is totally worth a good look, remember I got this print from them too? 

wishing you a happy week-before-Christmas, hopefully as stress-free as possible
30% OFF handmade items in the creJJtion shop is still on, if that could be of any help



Thursday, December 12, 2013

Crochet Pattern Potholder



are you ready for a little Holiday fun?
a pattern to crochet some last minute gifts, or treat yourself with some lovely crochet time right after Christmas?

let's make some potholders with a pattern that I made up after a vintage potholder my grandma made.



Crochet Potholder Pattern
yarn: Scheepjeswol SoftFun
crochet hook: size 3.75 mm or E

Haakpatroon voor Pannenlappen
garen: Scheepjeswol SoftFun
haaknaald: 3.75 mm


1. chain 6, close into circle with slip stitch in first chain
2. chain 1, 16 single crochet in circle. close with slip stitch in first single crochet
3. chain 4 (= 1 double crochet + 1 chain), *double crochet in the next 2 stitches, chain*. repeat between * six times, double crochet in next stitch, close with slip stitch in third chain of the first four. you now have 8 clusters of 2 double crochet, alternated with chain stitches. 
4. slip stitch into the next gap, chain 4, 3 treble crochet leaving last loop on hook, yarn over, pull thread through all 5 loops on hook. *chain 6, in the next chain gap make a cluster stitch of 4 treble crochet leaving last loop on hook, yarn over, pull thread through all 5 loops on hook*. repeat between * 7 times, chain 6, close with slip stitch in top of first cluster, fasten off.

1. 6 losse, sluit met halve vaste in de eerste losse tot een ring
2. 1 losse, 16 vaste in de ring. sluit met een halve vaste in de eerste vaste
3. 4 losse (= 1 stokje + 1 losse), *stokje in de volgende twee steken, losse*. herhaal tussen * zes keer, stokje in de volgende steek, sluit met een halve vaste in de derde losse van de eerste vier. je hebt nu 8 clusters van 2 stokjes, afgewisseld met losse.
4. halve vaste in de volgende opening van een losse, maak 4 losse, 3 dubbele stokjes waarvan je de laatste lus op de naald houdt, haal de draad om de naald en haal deze in 1 keer door alle 5 lussen op de naald. *6 losse, in de volgende opening van een losse haak je een cluster steek van 4 dubbele stokjes waarvan je steeds de laatste lus op de naald houdt, haal de draad om de naald en haal deze in 1 keer door alle 5 lussen op de naald*. herhaal tussen * 7 keer, haak 6 losse, sluit met een halve vaste bovenin het eerste cluster, hecht de draad af.

5. attach a contrasting coloured thread in the middle of any chain loop, 6 single crochet in that same loop. 12 single crochet in the next loop, repeat 6 times. 6 single crochet in de first loop, close with slip stitch in the first single crochet.
5. begin met een andere kleur garen in het midden van een willekeurige opening van losse. haak 6 vaste. haak 12 vaste in de volgende opening, herhaal 6 keer. maak 6 vaste in de eerste opening, sluit met halve vaste in de eerste vaste.

6. I found this round to be the hardest so I wrote down the diagram as well, I hope it is helpful to you. once you get the flow, it's an easy row, but again I found it a little tricky in the beginning. here we go. chain 3 (= 1 double crochet + 1 chain) skip one, double crochet + chain, skip one, treble crochet + chain, skip one, *double treble crochet (3 x yarn over before you insert hook in stitch), chain 2, double treble crochet in the same stitch, chain 1, skip one, treble crochet + chain, skip one, double crochet + chain, skip one, double crochet + chain, skip one, half double crochet + chain, skip one, half double crochet + chain, double crochet + chain, skip one, half double crochet + chain, skip one, half double crochet + chain**, skip one, double crochet + chain, skip one, double crochet + chain, skip one, treble crochet + chain, skip one*
repeat between * twice. repeat from first * till **, join with slip stitch in second chain of first 3 chains. fasten off.

6. deze ronde vond ik in het begin de lastigste, daarom heb ik het diagram voor je uitgeschreven, ik hoop dat het je helpt om het snel onder de knie te krijgen. als je het eenmaal doorhebt is het een leuke ronde om te haken. daar gaan we dan. 3 losse (=1 stokje + 1 losse) sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, dubbel stokje + losse, sla een steek over, *drie dubbel stokje (sla de draad 3 maal om de naald voordat je deze in de volgende steek haakt), 2 losse, drie dubbel stokje in dezelfde steek, 1 losse, sla een steek over, dubbel stokje, losse, sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, half stokje + losse, sla een steek over, half stokje + losse, sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, half stokje + losse, sla een steek over, half stokje + losse**, sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, stokje + losse, sla een steek over, dubbel stokje + losse, sla een steek over*
herhaal tussen * twee keer. herhaal van eerste * tot **, sluit met een halve vaste in de tweede losse van de eerste drie. hecht af.

7. with a new colour or the colour you started with, attach thread in any chain gap along any side. single crochet in the same gap. *chain, single crochet in the next gap* repeat between * all around. corners: single crochet, chain 2, single crochet in the corner gap. join with slip stitch in first single crochet. fasten off.
7. met een nieuwe kleur of dezelfde kleur als waar je mee begonnen bent, haak de draad aan in een willekeurige opening van een losse langs de zijkant. vaste in dezelfde opening. *losse, vaste in de volgende opening* herhaal tussen * rondom. hoeken: vaste, 2 losse, vaste in de hoek opening. sluit met een halve vaste in de eerste vaste. hecht af.

8. with the same thread as round 6, attach thread in any gap along any side. chain 3 (= half double crochet + 1 chain), *half double crochet in the next chain gap, chain*. repeat between * all around. corners: half double crochet, chain 2, half double crochet in the corner gap. join with slip stitch in second chain of first three.
8. met dezelfde kleur als rij 6, haak de draad aan in een willekeurige opening langs de zijkant. 3 losse (= half stokje + 1 losse), *half stokje in de volgende opening, losse*. herhaal tussen * rondom. hoeken: half stokje, 2 losse, half stokje in de hoek opening. sluit met een halve vaste in de tweede losse van de eerste drie.

9. chain 1, *single crochet in the next gap, single crochet in de next half double crochet of the previous round*. repeat between * all around. corners: single crochet, chain 2, single crochet in corner gap. close with slip stitch in first single crochet.
9. haak 1 losse, *vaste in de volgende opening, vaste in het volgende halve stokje van de vorige ronde*. herhaal tussen * rondom. hoeken: vaste, 2 losse, vaste in de hoek opening. sluit met een halve vaste in de eerste vaste.

10. chain 3 (= half double crotchet + 1 chain), *skip one, half double crochet in the next stitch, chain*. repeat between * all around. corners: 3 half double crochet in the corner gap, no chains in between. close with slip stitch in second chain of three. fasten off, the front of your potholder is done, hurray!
10. haak 3 posse (= half stokje + 1 losse), *sla een steek over, half stokje in de volgende steek, losse*. herhaal tussen * rondom. hoeken: 3 halve stokjes in de hoek opening, geen losse ertussen. sluit met een halve vaste in de tweede losse van de eerste drie. hecht af, de voorkant van je pannenlap is nu klaar, hoera!


for the back: in a contrasting colour to the inner flower on the front, crochet a chain of 32 stitches. you want the back of your potholder to match the size of the front. for me, 32 stitches was enough. however, depending on the yarn and hook you choose, as well as your personal crochet tension, you might have to add or loose a few stitches. I would say try 32, add a few rows of double crochet and see how far you get with that. lay this little piece on the front part and keep on going with 32 or adjust according to the width of the front part of your potholder.
I ended up adding 18 rows of double crochet to reach the desired square size to match the front. again, measure and see for yourself what works best for you regarding the number of rows of double crochet stitches. at the beginning of each row of double crochet, chain 3 (=  your first double crochet stitch).
de achterkant: in een contrasterende kleur met de bloem aan de binnenkant van de pannenlap aan de voorkant, haak een ketting van 32 losse. je wilt natuurlijk dat de achterkant van de pannenlap dezelfde maar heeft als de voorkant. voor mij waren 32 steken genoeg. houdt er echter rekening mee dat gegeven het garen en de haaknaald waar je mee werkt, zowel als hoe vast of los je haakt, van invloed zijn op de maat van je uiteindelijke werk. het kan zijn dat je een paar steken meer of minder op moet zetten om de juiste breedte te krijgen. ik zou zeggen zet 32 steken op, haak een paar rijen stokjes en kijk hoe ver je komt. leg het lapje op de voorkant van de pannenlap en ga door met haken, of haal je werk uit en voeg een paar steken toe of laat er een paar vallen.
ik heb 18 rijen stokjes gehaakt om tot het juiste vierkante formaat te komen. ook hier geldt weer, meet met de voorkant hoe ver je bent en kijk hoeveel rijen stokjes je nodig hebt om hetzelfde formaat achterkant als voorkant van de pannenlap te bereiken. aan het begin van iedere rij stokjes, haak 3 losse (= gelijk aan je eerste stokje).


when the front and the back are both finished, you should weave in all the ends before you crochet them together. once that's done, put the front and back together facing the front, get a contrasting colour thread and attach it in one of the corners in between 2 of the 3 half double crochet corner stitches at the front, and the corner stitch at the back. chain 12 and single crochet in the same corner, in between the next 2 half double crochet corner stitches. AT THE FRONT: alternate single crochet in the half double crochet of the previous round, and in between the half double crochets. corners: single crochet in between the double crochet stitches of the previous round. when you reach the chain loop of 12, make about 18 single crochet in that loop or as much as needed to cover the chain. fasten off and you have made yourself a potholder!
AT THE BACK: there's two different sides to the square. at the top and bottom of your rows of double crochet: make your single crochet stitches in between the double crochet stitches of this back row. this should be about the same amount of the stitches on the front. if not, add a few stitches or skip a few gaps and distribute them evenly along the edge. in the sides of your rows: crochet 2 single crochet stitches in every row-end.

als je zowel de voorkant als de achterkant af hebt, werk dan alle draadjes weg voordat je ze aan elkaar gaat zetten. als dat gedaan is, houd de voor en achterkant dan tegen elkaar terwijl je naar de voorkant kijkt. gebruik een contrasterende kleur voor de rand en haak deze aan in een hoek tussen 2 van de 3 halve stokjes die je aan de voorkant in de hoeken gemaakt hebt en aan de hoeksteek aan de achterkant. haak 12 losse en dan een vaste in de opening tussen de volgende twee halve stokjes in dezelfde hoek. AAN DE VOORKANT: haak om en om een vaste in de halve stokjes van de rand, en er tussen. hoeken: vaste tussen de halve stokjes van de rand. als je rond bent en weer terug bij de lus van 12 losse, haak dan een stuk of 18 vaste in die lus of zoveel als nodig is om de lus te bedekken en verstevigen. werk de draadjes weg en je hebt een pannenlap gemaakt!
AAN DE ACHTERKANT: er zijn twee verschillende zijkanten aan het vierkant. aan de boven en onderkant van je rijen stokjes: haak je vasten tussen de halve stokjes van de rand. dit zou ongeveer hetzelfde aantal steken moeten zijn als aan de voorkant. zo niet, sla een aantal steken over of voeg er een aantal toe en verdeel deze gelijkmatig over de rand. in de zijkanten van je rijen stokjes: haak 2 vaste in ieder rij-einde.

~ this pattern, from me to you with special thanks to my grandma for providing us with this crochet joy ~

if you have any questions, concerns or have suggestions for improvement of this pattern, please let me know through a comment to this post. thank you in advance.

on a side note: today is the last day to enter the yarn give away with Scheepjeswol Invicta wool, click here to read about the details!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Cozy



cozy times indoors is what these weeks seem to be all about. Sinterklaas has left The Netherlands and is now on his way to Spain again, until next year. 
this means our little country can now be Christmas-fied in all it's glory.

we got two little trees instead of one large one this year. they are in our living room now, not pictured, and waiting patiently for their lights. I am still working on the diamond and bird garland, that will hopefully be finished and go up this week.

on the shop front, I have shipped cards and Santa dolls, and the give away on Instagram shipped to Sanne, she choose a lovely set of the wrist warmers. the 30% OFF on handmade items is still on, so you might want to hop over to the shop.

this week I will post the pattern for the potholders I have been working on. I am also working on a new baby blanket pattern, but I won't make any promises on when it will be up. just to be safe. may be this week, may be next…

how is Christmas coming along in your home? any exciting gift projects in the making?

xo


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Gatherings Winter White Issue is here!



yay, the new Gatherings White Winter issue is here! 

it's packed with ideas, beautiful photography and wonderful how-to's to get you totally ready for the Holidays. this year's theme is Scandinavia. some of you may remember my brother lives in Sweden and we used to visit often before we left for Canada. of course I was totally excited when Heather announced Scandinavia was going to be the theme for this issue! Northern Europe is dear to my heart and I can't wait to visit again in a few weeks.

my contribution is all about decorating with foam balls. easy, quick and great effect. find your digital and printed issue here and indulge in 'the best issue yet'. the printed version is a perfect Christmas gift too, just saying…


and for my dear Dutch readers:
het heerlijke avondje is gekomen! een hele fijne Sinterklaasavond gewenst

xo


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Update on Grandma's Crochet Potholders



* there's no black yarn in this post, even though it may seem so. it is all blue, one of them beautiful dark blue * 

last week in this post I showed you my new project: crocheting after my grandma's potholders with SoftFun yarn by Scheepjeswol. what I didn't tell you is that my dad has five sisters, my aunts. so I can see a lot of crochet potholders in my future… 

I finished one ahead of the others, to see if I could work out this pattern in the first place. it has some tricky parts in the white edging, but it worked out pretty well I think. it's a little larger than the original one my grandma made and I like that. to be honest the original was a little too small, not so practical in my opinion. 

I started the fun with lots of colours and combinations. the first ones all blue, and one with the variegated yarn. I am not too keen on that one, but I may have to finish the whole potholder in that yarn to see the full effect? what do you think about the variegated one?

but, since it is December, I couldn't stop myself and added some red and green to the palette. 


yes, now that sparkles the festive holiday spirit, right? 

wait a second…. sparkle? all right, I ploughed through my stash and dug up some thin gold and silver thread. now the real fun begins. a little kitsch may be yes, but that could be nice if used only a few weeks every year, I figured.


dark blue and gold, now with a green edge to set it off. white and silver, probably ending up with a bright blue edge for that kitsch feeling. what do you think? I am having fun, that's for sure. and as a result, I have lots of chances to test my own pattern. a new potholder pattern that I would love to share with you soon. that will allow you to crochet some last minute Christmas gifts?

my bet is every host would smile instantly when she unwraps a beautiful set of handmade-by-you potholders with a little sparkle in the middle…

or, as I am looking at them now, I am thinking they could be cute decorations for your tree or garland too, just like this? ooooh the possibilities. crochet and yarn have not let me down for that matter yet!



xo


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Big Shawl and Sleeves Tadaaaaa


big tadaa of the new set I made for myself and already loooove so much, I wear it every day!

be aware of tons of pictures


my new cozy set, perfect for the cold days we are having now. the shawl is so large, it could also be called a throw. I wear it around my shoulders, or when it's really cold I'll wrap it around my neck. the gloves are more like sleeves since there is no thumb gap.

the sleeves are perfect for typing and holding your hot cup of tea or coffee. not that you needed that demonstrated, but I think it looks nice, haha.


a little technical information:

for this entire set I used 100% merino yarns from various brands that are crocheted on hook size 4 mm
the shawl is made of 9 balls: 3 pink, 1 moss green, 3 green, 2 grey and hook size 4 mm
the sleeves are made of 2 balls: 1 pink and 1 cream and hook size 3.5 mm to get the stitches nice and tight

pattern for the shawl comes from the book Haken en Kleur by sweet Claire and Saskia

the pattern for the sleeves is my own, you can find it here and just leave out the thumb part

the roses on the brooch are done according to the pattern in this book and this book (exact same pattern)   both available in Dutch too. they are hand stitched onto an xl safety pin I happened to have left over from a cardigan. the roses on the sleeves are a mini version I made of the same rose 
the leaves are just something I made up, I don't have a pattern. the green wave edge is crocheted on top


many thanks to my wonderful husband for taking these images

and this set appears to be very huggable as Floyd approves 
not the best, but probably my fav image of all


xo