Dublin Post 1: Yarn Shopping

part one of a two-phase travel report of Dublin. two phase because I was so pleasantly surprised by it's beauty, friendliness and beautiful selection of shops, coffee shops and restaurants. and also because I thought I was smarter than my laptop and accidentally deleted all pictures we took in Rome. all of them. at least it makes for a good reason to go and visit Rome again one day, right?

in this first part of the Dublin report I am showing a few images around city centre. for a more extended overview I'd like to refer you to the lovely Emily who blogs beautifully about her life in and around Dublin here. helpful lists of things to see and do are to be found on her blog too, as well as the option to book her as a guide to experience 'Dublin like a local'.

a request on Instagram for tips and yarn shops in Dublin lead me to This is Knit in the impressive Powerscourt Town Centre. I looked them up on the www and got super excited to visit the beautiful shop and it's owners Jacqui and her daughter Lisa. after a truly delicious lunch at The Pepperpot Cafe which is in fact located right in front of This is Knit, I got to meet Jacqui and her 'delicious' shop. they carry a wonderful range of yarns, from Malabrigo and Debbi Bliss, to Irish tweed and hand dyed yarns. we chatted away about yarns, books, Ravelry and inspiring designers. of course I couldn't leave without pretty tweed skeins and a couple more yarns for future projects. they will reveal themselves over the next couple of months as I start working with them. thank you very much Jacqui and colleagues for the warm welcome in your pretty shop! too bad we don't all live close to Dublin so we can shop This is Knit in a weekly basis, right? well, there's a solution to that problem: the webshop! go have a look yourself and indulge in the beautiful range of irresistible yarns.

a couple more things I'd like to share with you, just in case you're visiting Dublin:

just one street away of the Powerscout Town Centre is Drury Street with Kaph for delicious coffee in a beautifully styled coffee shop. across the street of Kaph are the Irish Design Shop and the home and lifestyle store Industry with a beautifully designed website too, their play with typography is fantastic. we had delicious dinner later that night at Drury Buildings in the same street. Definitely our favourite street in Dublin so far, haha. 

a little more outside of the shopping streets but worth the walk are 3FE for coffee and Hänsel and Gretel for -what else would you expect- delicious pastry, cookies and pies.

my Dublin report part two is about crochet in the wild, coming soon.

Last Week

top left and image below: De vier mennekes ~  top right and bottom left De Zinkenviool

last week was all about family time, good laughs, eating cake, celebrating a birthday, sunny days of Spring, going out for dinner and some shopping. getting totally distracted from your daily life is good for inspiration and clearing your mind. it gives you new perspectives and ideas, I love it.

back to normal now, ready for a new week of Spring and trying to work the inspiration from last week into projects and designs. and another latte, please!

images I took at the beautiful shops De Zinkenviool and De vier mennekes

have a lovely week yourself

De Zinkenviool

New Crochet Pattern

and there it is: a brand new crochet pattern. the Ontario Baby Blanket. totally made up in the new style I have been working on for months. it includes lots of pictures with clear how-to's, both left and right handed. a detailed row by row guide to make this baby blanket. it is a lot larger than the ones I made before. upon request from you, this new design measures about 90x75 cm, 35x30 inches. that means it is not only suitable for babies, but also for toddlers and small children. even as a lap blanket for grown ups it works well!

the colours make this blanket suitable for both girls and boys. the Catania cotton makes this a very washable and bright item to use and to keep for years. can you tell I am in love with this blanket?!

in the coming weeks I will work on updating all existing patterns in my shop to this new standard. I am very happy to share all the crochet knowledge I have with you through this pattern first, and the rest to follow. 

the crochet kit, pattern + yarn, will be available somewhere next week when the new shipment comes in. even the finished blanket is for sale, if you're interested please send me an email.

happy weekend and very happy crocheting!

link to the Ontario Baby Blanket

link to the creJJtion pattern shop

xo

Paris For a Day

last week was good, lots of pattern writing, fresh flowers, a little bit of crochet which I'll show you later this week. BUT. it seems last week basically consisted of one day, the day Maartje and I went to Paris!

I love it when a day seems to last so long, that yesterday feels like a week ago. you know what I mean? living that one day to the fullest, so much that your memory makes it into multiple days. perfection. the drive was easy, the weather was sunny, and without a plan we easily moved around Paris and happened to find the perfect-to-us places to shop, eat and drink. this trip just worked out really really well.

before I forget and linger on again in my Parisian daydreams, there was actually a real reason why we drove to Paris. I have told you here on the blog before how much I love the designs by Anna, the wonderful lady behind Rifle Paper Co. well, she launched a new stationery line with Garance Doré in Paris. the notebooks and fashion card you see in the picture are from the new collection, soon to hit stores worldwide. it is beautiful, and meeting Anna in person and actually talking to her about her lovely designs, work and company was just fabulous!

charged with loads of inspiration and macaron goodness I wish you a fabulous new week of Spring.

xo

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. 

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

30% OFF Holiday Sale

since we are entering the season of giving, Sinterklaas is around the corner, Christmas will soon be here, and I have been reunited with my shop items after our move, I have decided to host a 

big Holiday Sale with a generous 30% off all handmade items 

there is something for almost everyone on your list. there are kid-friendly Santa dolls, Christmas cards with your choice of red or white envelopes, pretty flower cushion covers that would look great on any couch, and comfy gloves with matching cowl that are also available as a set to keep you warm during Holiday season and beyond.

for a limited time only, so head over to the shop and get your shopping done! let me know if you have any questions regarding custom items.

if you are on Instagram: find the creJJtion feed and share the sale image to win a free item of your choice ~ entries welcome till Dec 5. good luck!

Have a warm winter weekend. we're going to see if we can find a tree… how exciting!

Paper Christmas

there's two things going on in this blogpost. first, there is no yarn included. it has been ages I think, since I posted a completely not-yarn related blog. second, this post is Christmas themed. now that I am living in The Netherlands again that feels a little like cheating. it is the country where we celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th and basically Christmas comes after. 

but, since I love both paper and Christmas and there are no little Sinterklaas believers in our house, I thought it was ok to write this post and actually start decorating for Christmas a little bit. I have to, because I must make myself aware of it being only four weeks minus one day ahead! it seems to catch me by surprise every year… I hope I am not the only one?

but, let me give you a few words to the pictures. ever since I got an envelope maker a couple of weeks ago, I have been making envelopes like a mad woman. trace the shape, cut, fold, glue. and repeat. I can't seem to get enough of these machine-like activities. so when I saw this diamond maker by de krantenkapper, you understand my hands got itchy. lately I found some gorgeous papers that are not too Christmassy but sure make their point, at Søstrene Grene. what a delightful Scandinavian shop. the little felt balls I found there too. for the Dutch ladies: to me they are the perfect mix between Ikea, Hema and Xenos. affordable decorative items, cookware, craft supplies and even yarn. lucky you if you're near Groningen!

this morning I gave the diamond tracing, cutting, folding and glueing a go. luckily a how-to in text and images comes with it. the folding is a little more complicated than the envelopes, but so much fun. it reminds me of the days when I was about 10 years old and was totally into origami. loved it then, love it still.

and last but not least, the cute and pretty doves. while making more diamonds, I am thinking the felt balls, doves and diamonds will probably end up in a garland together or next to each other. the perfect start for Christmas decor if you ask me!

if you're interested in these products, for yourself or to gift to someone crafty, follow the links below

diamond maker by de krantenkapper ~ also in English and with web shop

paper and felt balls from Søstrene Grene

doves by Meri Meri, beautiful US based paper goods with a dangerous web shop ~ I warned you

enjoy!

xx