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.