time is on my side

Hello dear followers,

It is the second week of my Easter holiday, and the weather here is bad.  It's cold, raining, and I don't want to get out of my house.  So I've been spending a lot of time in front of my laptop, and I have surfed around a lot on all your blogs.  I have found some treasures all over the world, and you will probably notice that there are many new little icons on the right side.

I have updated my blog to the new interface, and it works fine. I  just have to get used to the new layout.
And I have updated my account on ravelry, added some new projects and found inspiration for a million other stuff I want to knit....

I have also spent some time finishing a beautiful pattern by Kate Davies, the paper dolls.  A picture of the finished project is about to follow.....

And last but not least, I've finished the 2 necklaces I have crocheted according to the Veerle Maes pattern.  One for me, one for my sister - she can choose.

1 red and 1 blue

with an easy way of closing, all crochet

I used 2 sewing threads together for the mêlé effect

This evening I'll be following a new workshop by Mieke Recour. She works with silk and makes lovely jewelry - so I'm quite excited.

isn't it gorgeous ?  I would like to learn how to make this !

And next week I will go to a workshop 'making a hat in flax' with charlepeau
So, a lot of exciting things in the near future.
Folow the blog and you will learn more about it !

my sister's new hat

My sister is the better knitter of us both.  She 's always a few steps ahead of me.  When I told her I was going to make a baret, she showed me the one she'd just finished.  
I loved the colours, it was really very fashionable. 

isn't she gorgeous ? 

When she had finished knitting it, she was a bit dissapointed with it.  Too soft, not firm enough to stay on her head as it should.  So, brave as she is, she threw it in the machine and washed it at 60 ° C.  Twice !

Now it is felted, and perfect.  It retains its shape better, and is more windproof than before. 

warm hats - gebreide muts

Oostende is met z'n -14°C officieel uitgeroepen tot koudste plek in Europa !  Lucky me...
 Maar dat wil zeggen dat iedereen die zijn neus buiten durft steken, een warme muts op heeft, een dikke sjaal en stevige schoenen.  Mijn warme mutsen hebben succes !    Mijn zus had een mooi (gratis-) patroon gevonden op ravelry : de 'Opus Spicatum' ontworpen door Kate Osborn. Een prachtig kleurenpatroon, ik was meteen verkocht.  Het is een 'tam', dat wil zeggen zo'n doorzakmodel dat een beetje op een baret lijkt die je achteraan op je kruin draagt. Ik heb er  2 gebreid, op naalden 5, dat gaat lekker snel vooruit. Heel goed gelukt, en super warm !

Well, my hometown Oostende is now officially the coldest place in Europe.  We are not used to this cold at all !   - 14 ° C was measured this weekend.  That means everybody is wearing protection : warm hats and scarfs everywhere.  So my hats are very much in demand right now.  I knitted 2 more.  My sister found this great free pattern on ravelry, and I was immediately fond of the nice pattern.  it's called opus spicatum and the designer is Kate Osborn. I found it very quick & easy :  2 skeins of wool and needles nr 5.   The model is a tam, very fashionable amongst the young.  So here are the pictures :

If you are keen to try one yourself : click here for the free pattern :
http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/opusspicatum.html

a (rainy) day in Ghent

Yesterday I took my sister to Ghent for a day of shopping.  I know my way around town, I used to live there (as a student, a long time ago).  I didn't want to take her to the usual shopping streets, Ghent has so much more to offer ! We visited the St Jacobs market (unfortunately not a lot of flea market going on due to the rain) but we enjoyed the little 2nd hand shops, took a look at the new collection glass beads in Zahia and had a cappucino next door in a cosy tearoom.  Next we went to the old medieval castle 'Gravensteen' area, where we found a shop 'stoffenidee'.

They sell wool and books from Rowan, Noro, Debbie Bliss... I had read about Noro on so many websites and blogs, I was really curious. And indeed, I was (literally) hooked from the moment I saw it.  What lovely colours, so soft and rich.  We spend a lot of time there....  Our stomach told us to stop and go find lunch.  Next to the Gravensteen is a place called 'Old Loui's Tavern' and the chef is a woman from the Carribean called Louise.  She serves a great Jambalaya, spicy and delicious. A real treat.

After that we walked through the Graslei and the Breydelstraat, enjoyed the beautiful juwelry, hats, beads, etnic fabrics, old toys, dressmakers at work, cute gifts and lots of ideas to get inspiration !  When we stopped for another coffee a Brazilian lady called Tina offered to buy my sister's yellow felted bag and matching hat...!  I keep telling her there is a market for her stuff, but will she listen to her elder sister ?  No way !

I went home with a new felted hat, some  funky old buttons, old tappisery fabric and of course  a couple of skeins Noro.  I will keep you all informed about the projects that are about to follow...

my Noro wool and the old fabric

old buttons and Indian bells

a new hat

PS  Ghent is a well kept jewel - the city is now recently discoverd by Lonely Planet and they have put it in the top 10 of cities you must see in 2011... 

mijn zus

Woensdag namiddag op bezoek geweest bij mijn zus.  Zij is een creatieve duizendpoot, die altijd met wat leuks bezig is.  Ze had net een jas gepimpt, en wat bijpassende accessoires gemaakt.  De knalgele jas vond ze in een tweedehandsboetiek.  Op de mouwen viltte ze kleine groene en gele bloemetjes.   De driekwartmouwen heeft ze dan wat langer gemaakt door er gebreide kakigroene mouwen aan te naaien.  lekker warm !  Ok een bijpassende groene sjaal hoort erbij.  Nog niet tevreden met het resultaat heeft ze de oorspronkelijke knopen vervangen door zelfgemaakte exemplaren, in bloemvorm.  Zelfde motief als de gevilte bloemetjes op de mouwen.

Toen heeft ze er ook nog een muts en een tas bijgemaakt : zelfgevilt met wol uit Nederland.  De kleuren zijn precies dezelfde als de jas, en het verloop van geel naar groen is heel goed gelukt.  Ook de bloem maakte ze zelf. 

Ze houdt er niet van om op de foto te staan, en ik heb wat truukjes moeten verzinnen om haar te verschalken.  Maar ik vond het geheel zo mooi dat het gewoon op de blog moet.  Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat er een geweldige designer in mijn zus zit.  Haar stijlgevoel is 'amazing'.  Oordeel vooral zelf...