so... I've made a hat :)

I have made my first ever hat :) and I'm so proud of it!! It turned out a bit different from the original idea, but it looks good anyway. I used circular needles for the first time ever and faced challenges along the way, but Mr Internet is so wise ;) Thanks to him, I made it!! Yay!!

 I started off by making a 5 cm wide and 60 stitches long ribbed brim. Then 2 cm of purl and afterwards knit stitch for about 16 cm. Then I started decreasing. Afterwards I used my fabulous POM POM MAKERS that I only recently got from a friend of mine and there it is :)

Sweet pouch swap hosted by Sew Delicious

Sew Delicious hosted a wonderful swap this December. The idea was to make a Christmas themed pouch and add a few goodies. I found it so brilliant and inspiring that didn't hesitate at all to participate. Here are the details: http://www.sewdelicious.com.au/2014/11/sweet-pouch-swap-christmas-edition.html My adventure began with as a flop, though. My initial partner had to withdraw for personal reasons and I was devastated. Fortunately, Ros from Sew Delicious offered to swap with me and...here is the outcome :)

Ros sent me this:

a beautiful pouch and loads of Australian goodies not to mention my new buddy, Mr Kangaroo ;)


The pouch is so well-made and sooo beautiful. I'm absolutely in love with it!

Back and front of the pouch. Believe me! Photos don't do it justice!

I sent this:

 Christmasy pouch made of felt with hand-sewn decorations

filled with goodies - all of my favourite Milka and Kinder Bueno sweets

  and a few 'extras'- patchwork cloth, a bookmark and buttons

 This is how I made the pouch. I used felt as it has this nice feel to it and is quite versatile. I decided to decorate the pouch with some Christmasy motifs and went for a Xmas tree and a bag full of presents. I used my wonderful sewing machine, but since I'm a beginner to the sewing world, I used the machine for the pouch and the inner pouch only and hand - sewed the zipper and the deco. Sure there is a way to do it all on the machine, but I'm a the beginner's level now, so, even though it took me ages ;) it was worth it!

my 'to-do-list'

I have just seen this fabulous tutorial on how to make an 'ON THE GO READING PILLOW' :)

Here's the link to the webpage. A fabulous idea.. the only question is whether my abilities are advanced enough to face it ;)

http://www.polkadotchair.com/2012/09/on-the-go-reading-pillow-tutorial.html/

Also found the YARN POM POM LETTERS a fabulous idea. Since my friend gave me the pom pom making set, this is a great project :)

http://www.bespoke-bride.com/2014/10/07/yarn-pompom-letters/

busy bee

After starting yet another project this December, I recalled a conversation with my friend, a crafter, at the beginning of December. She asked me what was on my 'to do list' before Xmas and I said that I wanted to finish the Xmas trees and the shoulder warmer (you can see both under 'December'), but the list just got longer and longer ;)

SNOOT

I knitted a snoot to keep my neck warm and cosy on windy winter days in the North of Spain. Believe me, it can get really cold in this part of this apparently hot country!

 

BEANIE HAT

I started making a hat... I had never knitted using circular needles so it was a bit of a challenge to get started, but now I'm absolutely in love with them. Here's what I'm working on:

STOCKING

I also decided to make a Xmas stocking. Those you get in the shops are beautiful, but no unique, of course ;) so I decided to make my own. It took me a bit to make it as I'm a complete beginner in sewing and quite autonomous so following patterns and tutorials is not my cup of tea. I'm too impatient to read carefully through all the instructions and pieces of advice. Unfortunately, as I result of my 'indepenence' I have to do things twice as I make mistakes. And so it was today...

My first attempt at the stocking...

 

you can tell that the top part is way too wide.. also, the bottom has a weird shape. So... I had to undo and sew again. 

My second attempt:



 
Then, I made another one. This time I was a bit 'more experienced' and improved a bit. There's this old saysing that goes: learn from your own mistakes... Couldn't agree more ;)


 

shoulder warmer...finished ..at last!!

So here I am... with my shoulder warmer...finally finished! It took me ages because I either had no time or 'accidentally' ran out of yarn... but here it is... :)

beautiful things...

The other day a friend of mine, who is a crafter just like me, and I were talking about all the things we make and how very often there's hardly any response from those we give the stuff to. We sometimes feel as if the world didn't care... but we don't mind. We will keep making beatiful things...

Xmas trees

I have decided to make personalised Xmas gifts this year and opted for these sweet lil Xmas trees. They are quick to make, but the outcome is fabulous. I hope my friends are happy to have them. 

The Perfect Stranger swap

A friend of mine told me once about this fabulous swap project carried out by Oh Comely Magazine (http://www.ohcomely.co.uk/). I signed up as I love crafting and being creative and the idea of sharing with a complete stranger is just so inspiring. The idea was to collect bits and pieces that would fall in these categories:

1) a wintry treat
2) a modern-day message in the bottle
3) 'What's in my bag' photocopy edition

After searching for bits and pieces to put in my parcel, I finally managed to pack it and send it off to my Perfect Stranger in Moscow. Haven't had so much fun shopping and wrapping in a long time!!

My parcel contains:

1) wintry treat: a few items that will make any winter a nicer one- hands warmer, chocolate dice for milk or coffee, scented oil and burner, bookmark for cold winter days with a book on the sofa, delicious black tea with vanila and orange peels, handmade Christmas tree....
2) a pen drive with my favourite songs 'The Best hits of the 80s and 90s' (a student called me old-fashioned the other day...couldn't agree more...and ...don't mind)
3) since I couldn't photocopy the contents of my bag, I bought my favourite handcream as I always use it at this time of year

yet another crochet project ;)

So here I am working on yet another scarf. This time it's going to be a shoulder warmer.

Here's the original item:

I found it in a French magazine with projects and patterns. 

And I started my own project. Here's what it looks like so far. Still a long way to go, but a very nice project to work on. At first the pattern looked SO incredibly difficult, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, doing and re-doing, and, of course, with the invaluable help from Isa from Madam Fil (facebook: Madam Fil) I finally got started and I'm advancing quite fast. Hopefully I will be able to post the end project soon ;)

The other day while waiting for my next class I had a wee tea break (of course ;)) and did a bit of what I like the most...

Drawing and painting workshop

So... I signed up for a drawing/ painting workshop. Yes, you are not mistaken... yet another workshop!Do you think I have my fingers in too many pies??? Maybe... but I'm really enjoying myself :)

Last Thursday I started this drawing/painting workshop in the nearby town. I'm a self-taught VERY amateur 'artist'. I don't think I should even dare to call myself artist thus the inverted commas. Anyway.... I felt the need to join a group where I could be taught how to use diverse techniques properly and I found the right place.

In the last workshop we worked with charcoal. I had never used charcoal before as I didn't feel comfortable using it, but it turned out to be a very easy technique and a pleasant one too!

Here's the outcome:

STILL LIFE

Christmas is round the corner...

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
  zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!

One day I saw this lovely crochet Christmas tree on one of the blogs I follow (www.lazydaisyjones.com) and I thought that I would like to make one one day. And the day came ;)

Here's how it started:

I bought two different shades of green yarn (one glossy) and a styrofoam cone 

 And I started crocheting:   

And...Taaa Daaaa....my very own Christmas tree

 My Christmas tree needed balls....So I decorated it with little beads. It still needs a star... but since I have never made one... I need to learn first ;) Star: coming soon!

box swap

A friend of mine once told me about the box swap and I just fell in love with the idea :) What is it about?- many of you may ask. Well... the idea is to collect a set of object that you and the person you swap the box with agree on. My friend lives in Barcelona and we don't get to see each other, also we are not bosom friends or anything like that, we used to work together and met a couple of times, but to call her acquintance wouldn't be right either ;) (btw, you can check her blog here: www.penguinduchess.blogspot.com) 

So... we decided on the following categories for our swap: handmade, my favourite (to get to know each other better), recipe and unexpected. We agreed on a deadline and maximum amount to spend and got started with the idea. 

Here's what I sent:

handmade: decoupade decorated box (you can see it in the decoupage section on my blog) 
recipe: chicken with almonds (my mum's speciality) - I'm no good cook ;)
favourite: a little tea box with delicious tea - those of you who know me- know tea is my absolute favourte
unexpected: article by a very good friend of mine Josh who is a counselor; The title is: Stop and just Be; I found it such a grand piece and so thoughtful and simply worth sharing. Here's a link to Josh's website in case you are interested: http://mcadamstherapy.com/

Here's what my friend sent to me:

handmade: a lovely pouch
favourite: a postcard- reproduction of a painting by my friend's favourite artist: Elisabeth Blackadder
unexpected: pom-pom makers and loads of wee bits and pieces
recipe

What a lovely time I had preparing my box! I also loved the waiting time and the box opening as the last step!

triangular scarf :)

As you can see, for the time being it's all about scarves this autumn :)

So here's another project I've been working on.

Last week I devoted the best part of my morning off to crocheting on the beach. It was the first time I actually took my crochet project to the beach and it was a grand idea as there was hardly anybody and the peace and quite gave me a chance to spend some time with myself. I know it sounds a bit egotisctic, but I believe we all need to devote some time to ourselves.

My new scarf! :)

Isa at Madam Fil (a magnificent Café in the nearby town) showed me the pattern for a scarf which I have made. 2 metres long and warm and cosy. Ideal for cold winter days :)

Knit-a - square charity project

A friend of mine told me about this wonderful project of helping lil ones out there in Africa. http://www.knit-a-square.com/ I didn't even hesitate a moment to join in. It takes a short while to make a square and for those kids it surely means so much. So... here's what I made:  2 crochet squares. The idea is that people all over the world make the same size squares and send them in. These will then be joined toghether to make cosy and warm blankets.

Crochet workshop at Madame Fil

Last Saturday I started a crochet workshop in a lovely cafe in the nearby town. The cafe is both a proper cafe as well as a shop and workshops centre. You may as well ask yourself why I decided to join a workshop if I've already posted some crochet stuff here... Well, there's two reasons:

a) I don't remember many of the patters and I can't, or at least till last week couldn't read the crochet notes in magazines and books. I hadn't the slighests idea what the little lines and circles were about! When I was little my grandma showed me how to knit and crochet, but it was more like...'this is the way you do it' rather than 'this is what the symbols stand for'. When I became a teenager, it was no longer fashionable to do 'these things', you weren't cool if you knitted, it was regarded old-fashioned so I forgot a lot! Shame on me... Thank goodness it's never too late to start again :)

b) I wanted to socialise, I wanted to meet people who are into the same stuff as me.

So, here is what I learnt in the first workshop:

 One day it's gonna be a nice sweater. The idea is to make loads (!!) of these squares and join them to make a sweater. You will have to wait for the results, though ;)

Today I learnt a new pattern! WhoooHoo! So I started this triangular scarf for cool winter days:)

 This is where we work:  MADAME FIL Cafe in Sant Feliu de Guixols (you can find them on Facebook- just type: Madame Fil) 

A lovely place .... great people ...

the opening of our friend's art gallery LlabiArt

On Saturday 20th September we were invited to the opening of an art gallery in Llabià. Our friend is an amateur artist and he decided to officially open the little art gallery he has. Here are some shots of the works. Enjoy!

100 days of collage challenge- here I come!!

so... I was encouraged by a friend to join this project: http://www.stephanielevy.com/blog/2014/9/19/100-days-of-collage... and I have just started :)

collage - day 1 :)

The so much desired present :)

The other day I got this marvellous present :) Something I had been dreaming of for the last few months but never came any close to it (Why? as usual in my case: lack of time), but I was just so nicely surprised by my hubby's parents :) Thank you! Thank you!

I obviously immediately visited one of my favourite shops in Girona in order to get hold of some nice fabrics. A few projects in my head... will keep you updated ;)