Katia Ondas romantic scarf

here is my new scarf :

I have made it from the great Katia Ondas quality.  I usually knit it in a fluffy scarf, lots of frills.   But this time I did it differently.  I cut 6 long pieces of aprox. 2 meters.  I crocheted them together in a sort of zigzag way with a fine coton perlé. 

When all 6 pieces were crocheted together, I cut the 2 edges straight and finished it with 5 rows of crochet.  (1 row of single crochet, 2 rows of double crochet with a chain stich inbetween, and 2 rows of 7 chain stiches and a crochet)

The result is a very light scarf, for when I'm in a somewhat romantic mood...

wereld brei dag activiteiten - WWKIP day activities

Wereldbreidag is op komst ! WWKIP = World Wide Knitting In Public day.

Zin in een leuke groepsactiviteit ?  Er is keuze zat !

Zaterdag 11/6/2011
Mijn breiclub gaat samen met de breiclub van Helen Simpson een dagje naar Gent. We vertrekken met de trein om 9.42 (stipt !) vanuit Oostende station, richting Gent.  Op de trein wordt uiteraard volop gebreid, gehaakt, patronen en ideetjes uitgewisseld en ook veel gebabbeld natuurlijk.  Als je wil kan je ook opstappen in Brugge.
In Gent gaan we dan naar de winkel 't stoffenidee.  (in de buurt van het Gravensteen) Daar mogen we op het terras (of binnen naargelang het weer) verder breien.  In de winkel hebben ze Noro wol, boeken van Rowan, Drops, en ook veel keuze in stoffen. Of je kan natuurlijk ook gaan shoppen in Gent.  's Avonds nemen we de trein terug naar Oostende.

Maandag 13/6/2011 - pinkstermaandag

De fantastische winkel 'Ajour' uit Brugge St. Michiels plant een bijzondere uitstap naar Eupen.  Dat is een heel eind treinen, en veeeeel tijd om te breien !  In Eupen is er een gegidste stadswandeling voorzien.  's Avonds terug naar huis met de trein - toch tot in Brugge. Meer info op de website van  AJOUR

leuk idee om je oude knopen een nieuwe bestemming te geven

Zaterdag 18/6/2011 de afsluiter

Ook hier weer een initiatief van Ajour : op het grote zonnige terras voor haar winkel worden tafeltjes, stoeltjes en  parasols geplaatst en iedereen is welkom om daar te komen breien tussen 14uur en 17 uur.  Een drankje wordt je graag aangeboden, en hulp bij opzetten, afkanten, meerderen en minderen is er ook.  Geniet terzelfdertijd ook maar eens van de grote keuze in wol, borduurmateriaal, patroonboeken enz...

Gerda van Ajour wordt geïnterviewd !

Hopelijk komen jullie massaal af, en kunnen we eens kennismaken in de reële wereld ipv deze virtuele blog.

Groetjes,
Rozemie

new fimo necklace

I've been reading a great book about fimo beads by Sophie Arzalier.  It set me off for an afternoon of fimo crafting and this is the result.

I was also inspired by a necklace Winnie had.  It's sooo easy to make.   You could do this for a children's project.
You begin with 3 sausages of fimo, each in a different colour.  I choose green, purple and white, to match a skirt.
Then you roll the 3 sausages together in 1 sausage untill the colours blend. This way you create a marbled effect.

Next you cut several pieces of it.  Make a few small ones, and then make each next one one just a little bit bigger.  Approx. 46 in total.  Put a little hole in the top with a toothpick.  Bake for 30 minutes at 150°C (or as mentionned on your pack)

Then put them in a row, start with a small one, the one bigger etc.  and end with a small one.  Make sure you have a good rank of order.
Take a string (I used elastic invisible string) and put a few cm of beads, then start with the fimo.  Put a little bead in between each fimo and end again with a few cm of little beads.


Close with a nice clasp.  This is a silver one I bought at Zahia.

The necklace is very nice when you put it on, it's a real eyecatcher.

Goe gebakken : making cupcakes

Today the weather is a bit frisky, really an afternoon to spend quietly at home, in the kitchen.
I have bought a new book about baking cakes and so I installed myself to bake .... cupcakes !

The cakes were easy to make.  Decorating them would be a bit of a challenge : I've never done that before.  I had got some sugary paste in 4 different colours to make flowers and stuff.

Then my 17-year old son Jonas came to 'help'.  To be honest, he did make some nice ones.  The smiley is his creation.   Not bad.

I spend a couple of hours messing about making the decorations.  This is the result. 
A pity you have to eat it !

The book is called 'Goe Gebakken' by Sofie Dumont, Lady Chef of the year.  She has a tv show about baking that I really enjoy. The book is as delicious as het program !   Find out more on the website here .

a new apron

I had some fabric left overs, a few ribbons and a meter of lace.  (not handmade)
What could I do with it ? 
Well, it has become a cute apron in happy colours....   I like this model, it has crossed over ribbons on the back, and I added a pocket for my handkerchief.  I made no pattern.  Just cut out and modelled over my mannequin.  It is big enough to protect me from spats because I am quite a messy cook....

a very very simple model

the little flowers make me happy

I like an apron with a pocket

kushu kushu pattern

So many of you have asked me for the pattern, so here it is.  I'm glad to share it with you, but keep in mind that you can make it in any shape you design !

Use 4mm or 4.5 mm needles

Use 2 cones of Habu : one in silk with steel and one in fine merino wool
(you can buy the habu cones at Lena & Zasa  in Berchem, and several other webshops. There are many beautiful colours to choose from)  I choose black steel and red merino.

Cast on 68 stiches with the steel thread.
Continue in stockinette stich for +/- 23 cm.  (stockinette or tricotsteek = knit one row, purl next row)
then add the merino thread.  Continue for 90 cm with both threads knitted together, and in stockinette.
After this, continue for another 45 cm with the steel thread.
Cast off loosely, and tuck in the loose ends carefully

You can felt the scarf if you want to.  Submerge it gently in a dish with soapy water.  Knead very gently.  Only the middle part of the scarf will felt and become softer.  Now wash with clear water untill all soap is gone and dry the scarf.  Pull it straight to dry. 

After that, you can pull the scarf in any shape you want.  Thanks to the steel thread it stays in that shape, which is a very artistic effect !
Good luck with it, and please send me a picture of the one you have made ! 

kushu kushu finished !

Well,  at last, it's finished. 
It took me a lot more time to make than I first contemplated.  At first sight it looked easy peasy, but the threads are sooo fine and delicate that you make each stich with careful attention. 

before felting

Would I felt it or not ? 

it is a bit hard when you put it around a bare neck

After it was finished, I was hesitant to wash and felt it. When I put it around my neck, it wasn't very comfortable.  The steel thread was irritating my skin just a little.  Perhaps I'm over-sensitive...
So I decided that it would probably be softer when felted.   I very gently washed it, careful not to use a lot of force on the merino, with very soft flakes of natural marseille-soap. 

felted and drying in the wind

And this is the result : I am very pleased with it. A great diffence with before, my neck doens't hurt anymore.   It does feel a lot softer, and still has that funny capacity of staying in any shape you pull it. It's like the steel thread has dissapeared into the merino, and in stead of the 2 threads, it's now just one fullness.  (does that word even exist in English ?   But you  know what I mean) 
Anyway : I like it !

here you see that the red part is softer

I can pull it in any form I want