Ripple chevron granny planket

Planket? Planket!

Indeed, this isn't a typo. The blanket...

... turns into a pillow:

I finally finished the rainbow blanket from my previous post. Additionally, I made a big sunburst granny square, which has a side that is as wide as 1/3 of the width of the blanket and 1/4 of the length of the blanket. Then I slip stitched this granny square to the top center of my finished blanket, but left one side open. This way I can put the blanket inside the granny square so it turns into a pillow. This is the reason why I wanted my blanket to have dimensions in a 3:4 ratio.

The idea from this planket isn't my own. I got my inspiration from Kim from A girl and a glue gun who shares a tutorial on Positively Splendid for sewing a polar fleece planket. I figured it would be a nice idea to try this on my crocheted blanket. And I must say, I'm pleased with the result!

Rainbow ripple chevron granny blanket: almost done!

I've been working hard on this blanket, of which you can read more in my previous post. It's about 105 cm wide and I want it to measure about 140 cm long so it has a 3:4 ratio. This has a reason for some plans I have for this blanket in my head, but I'm not sure if it will be possible to do. So for now, I will keep it as a surprise!

Some macro pictures:

Owl bookends

A while ago, I think it was in September, I made this cute owl couple in some leftover Kaffe Fasset fabrics. They're not just plushies, no. I filled them with dried peas (in a closed bag) in addition to the polyester stuffing. This way, they're heavier and can be used as bookends, as you can see here:

I like the bright colors and the contrast it gives to these owls. Andy, a friend of mine, however, liked the idea of these owl bookends for his office, but preferred them in an other, more neutral color combination: blue, brown et cetera.

So, I digged into my fabric stash and sewed some up for him. Here is the result of the young couple:

And here they are "in action":

I hope they will enjoy their new home in Gent! :)
If you would like to make your own owl bookends, I found the pattern on Etsy in hemccoy's shop. So feel free to buy it too! They are really fun to make and the pattern is easy to understand.

Crochet projects I'm working on

Hi there!

I'm working on two crochet projects now. I like combining different projects so I can switch whenever I want. Both projects are pretty easy and thus you can just do it in front of the tv, without thinking, counting and whatsoever.

The first thing is another blooming flower pillow (for my first blooming flower pillow, look here):

This one is made in a rainbow color scheme. I just finished the front, so I just have to crochet the back and sew a circle pillow form to insert in this lovely cushion.
Here is the link to Lucy's tutorial for this cushion. For this one, however, I made some slight adjustments in the beginning. I omitted the first two rows Lucy writes, and replaced it by the following:
Start with an adjustable ring.
Row 1: ch 1, sc 5 in ring, join with sl st to first sc made. (5 sc)
Row 2: ch 1, 2sc in each of the 5 sc of previous round, join with sl st to first sc made. (10 sc)
Row 3: ch 2, hdc in same st as joining, 1hdc in next sc, *2 hdc in next sc, 1hdc in next sc* repeat ** around,  join with slip st to 2nd st of beginning chain. (15 hdc).
Then I just followed the pattern of Lucy, but keep in mind that my row 4 is row 3 in Lucy's pattern, since I replaced her first two rows bij three rows. I did this because this time I wanted a pillow that didn't have a hole in the middle.


The second thing I'm working on is a blanket, again it's a color bursting item. Here it is:

I got the pattern from The Royal Sisters. You can find it here: Chevron Granny Blanket pattern.
I'm only using stash yarn for this project. It's all 100% acrylic yarn, so it will be machine washable. I think it will be a time consuming project. I worked on this for four evenings now and I think it's about  1/5 of the desired length. Or maybe 1/4. Still.. A lot of work to do!
 This is how I did my color sequences:
- 3 rows of same color
- 3 rows of same color
- 3 rows of same color
- 2 rows of same color
- 1 row of same color
- 2 rows of same color
- 3 rows of same color
- 3 rows of same color
- 3 rows of same color
I repeated this pattern and used my colors in kind of a rainbow sequence.

Bib necklace

I took a workshop on how to make bib necklaces (and to teach it to other women for KAV). Here is the result of my first attempt.

I first made some flowers: a folded satin ribbon roses, a lace flower, an organza flower. Then I made a template for the bib necklace and cut it out of felt. Next, I glued/sewed the flowers, buttons and beads on. Finally I glued on an organza ribbon.

Here are some more pictures:

An upcycled footstool

This is a very old footstool, it used to be my grandma's. It's really old and the cover is starting to fall apart, as you can see on this "before" picture.

It's for sure that this footstool needs some upcycling! Since I love to crochet, I decided I would make a crochet cover for it. I thought granny squares would be nice for this project, because:

a) the footstool belonged to my granny :) ;

b) granny squares remind me of the old days and give a retro look, which is appropriate for a real vintage footstool!;

c) granny squares are addictive.

I used my 3.50mm crochet hook and worsted weight acrylic yarn for this project, in a colour scheme that reminds me of the seventies. Here is the result:

 

I love this granny goodness!

Scrappy crochet bag

I'm really excited about Lucy (from Attic24)'s crochet projects and I'm so glad she shares tutorials. So here is my version of her Crochet bag (pattern).

I used my 3.50mm crochet hook and my stash yarn for this project, it's all worsted weight acrylic yarn. The colour sequence is just random.

I made some flowers (pattern, here) to cover up the ugly stitches I made to attach the handles to the bag.

For the lining, I was quite lazy.. So I just took a pillow case and sewed a lining out of it. This way I didn't have to sew a seam :)

Granny tissue box cover

I love this crochet tissue box cover. It's so much nicer than the ugly cardstock one that lies underneath... I used four matching/contrasting colours: teal, purple, green and fuchsia. I used a 3.50mm crochet hook and worsted weight acrylic yarn (Wibra Saskia and Zeeman Royal).

If you want to make one of your own, you can find the tutorial right here: The Royal Sisters: Granny Tissue Box Cover. I really like her tutorials, very clear and easy to follow. I had to adjust the pattern a little bit so it would fit my box, since mine is a bit smaller than the one they use in the tutorial.

Blooming Flower Pillow

When I saw Lucy's blooming flower cushion on her website Attic24, I was so excited about it that I immediately started to make one of my own. Here is a a link to her blooming flower cushion post: Blooming Flower cushion :: Ta-dah! . I'm so glad she also posted a tutorial on how to make this yourself. You can find it here: Blooming Flower Cushion.

I used 12 different acrylic yarns from my stash to make this project. It's mainly Wibra Saskia and Zeeman Royaal, in different bright colors. Some other brands too, but I lost the wrapping paper so I don't recall the name. Oops... :)
Anyway, the pillow has a diameter of about 30cm and is about 15cm in thickness. I made a pillow insert of cotton muslin, which I filled with polyester stuffing.

And here are some more pictures:

Fall shawl #4: blue reef shawl

So, I finally made another scarf. This one is my very first complete freeform scarf. I didn't used a pattern or what so ever. I just started crocheting some scrumbles: circles, a spiral, a hyperbolic structure. Then i crocheted them together and added some fringes on one side, these are fringes with curls or curllicues on the ends.

I actually was inspired by structures you can find undersea: not only color, but also form and texture.

Here are some close up pictures:

And some pictures of me wearing it. It's very hard to take pictures of yourself though.. :-)



I opened my Etsy Shop!

Hi there
I'm proud to announce that today I opened my Etsy shop. You can find it here: http://tienshands.etsy.com. So go on ahead and take a look over there.

There is not much yet for sale, but keep an eye on it, because more items will come soon.

Byebye!

polymer clay crochet hook handle

Yesterday and today were Fimo (polymer clay) days. I made two flower canes to decorate my crochet hook. I first made the handle in white Fimo, then I decorated it with very thin slices of the flower canes. After baking (33 minutes at 100°C) and cooling, I sanded and varnished it. I'm quite pleased with the result, but next time I want to use a greater variety of flowers. So I'll have to make some more flower canes... And that takes quite some time.
Here is another picture:

I engraved the thickness in the back of the handle. It's an 3.5mm (E) hook. But, as you might notice below, it's quite hard to see. I think that's because of the flower motif on the back. Anyway, here is a picture:

I also made some rose bobby pins and ear studs:





Grandma Violet Cushion

Last week I was busy crocheting and on Saturday I. I got the pattern from The Royal Sisters on etsy.com. Here is a link: Grandma Violet Cushion

I used my stash yarn to make this pillow. It took three evenings to finish, so that's quite fast I guess. I didn't have a round pillow insert, so I decided to sew one in white cotton and stuff it with fiberfill. I love the button closure, it adds to the retro touch.

Front:

Back:

Noodleheads gathered clutch

On Sunday I made my second gathered clutch, using Noodleheads tutorial, which you can find here: Noodlehead: gathered clutch tutorial

I used a linen fabric with a nice print for the exterior, the card pocket and the divider pocket. For the lining I used a purple coton fabric. Here are some pictures.

Front:

Back:

Inside:

I'm quite satisfied with the result, but inserting zippers is still tricky for me. I always have the same problem when sewing the whole thing together. This is what happens:

I know I should sew right next to the zipper tabs, which I try, but I just don't succeed. I guess because the fabric sandwich is too thick or I don't have enough space next to it (and will be sewing nothing). So... Any suggestions are welcome.