a little bag

To take my mind off the son I occupied myself with stupid chores around the house.
Like ironing. 
I mean ironing everything, also the big table napkin that has been deep down below in my ironing basket, beneath all other stuff.  It has been there a while....
And there I also found some old jeans of the above mentionned son.  I kept it just for the fabric - the legs were damaged badly and beyond repair.  (mountainbiking... !)

I used the jeans  to make a bag, the same pattern as the Cath Kidston bag.  I used some leftover fabric from the summerdress I made, the one with the small flowers.  I think it looks good.  It has all the pockets on the outside, so the lining was very straightforward to make  !

So, that's been a busy afternoon.  Tomorrow I'm off with my girlfriends for a couple of days. ( 3 mad women, who know eachother from schooldays,   way back in the good old seventies) 

a new scarf

I am very pleased with my new summer scarf. 

with this weather it is good to have one...

It was super easy to make !  I took some cotton fabric and cut a triangle out.  (top to base = 45 cm)
I crocheted a border and sewed it on the cotton.  The base of the triangle I finished very simple : fold over twice and stich.  An hey presto - there's my new summer scarf. 

with some left over cotton

in bright red - a strong colour

Think I'm going to make some more, it's really fun to do !
. 

another zahia workshop

Yesterday, I went to Zahia Brugge, to learn how to make silver clasps for bracelets, earrings or necklaces.

a nice cup of coffee to welcome me ! Great !

It was well organised, as usual at Zahia's.
We were invited to sit down at the table filled with all sorts of tools, even hammers !  (to be used when frustrated ?)

a complete toolset was waiting for us...

it was a small group, but very dedicated pupils

Sylvie is a very good teacher...

very patient...

and very funny !

see the tools ?  Verrry macho !

hammering on the silver

Sylvie showed us some pre-made examples in cupper.  A much cheaper metal, and also softer to bend.  So this was our practising material, before we could try our hands at the silver.

the cupper forms were easy to make

you need good eyes for this !

many ideas to choose from

We were so busy - time passed unnoticed.

We all did well, with the cupper.  And then we could choose any model we wanted...  I went for the design earrings, and had some silver left to from 2 nice clasps.

We could - of course - pick our choice in the many many drawers filled with beads, to use in our earrings.
The result can be seen here !

I made a red set and a blue set

I really enjoyed this workshop, it was not too difficult.  And at home I tried one of the clasps on my crocheted green necklace - it is just purr-fect !

the S-form is ideal for this necklace

these are watercolours - I love them

crochet a little owl and make it into a brooch

there is a brooch pin on the back

Some time ago, I made these little fellows out of a little left over cotton.  I chose the colours to match the skirt I made - the fabric was like all little owls.  So when I wear it with a turquoise tshirt, I can pin one of these owl on, and be a very stylish person....  

this one is a bit smaller

the colours are a perfect match to my skirt

They are really easy to make.  If you look closely at the pictures, you will see there's really nothing to it.   Feel free to copy them !

Oh, yes, I have added little black eyes.  It felt like they were lacking eyes.  I sewed 2 little black beads in the centre of the white eyes, and they look better, I think.  They sure see better too...

crochet cat - free tutorial

a little crochet cat

a cute little darling

In this tutorial, I want to show you how to crochet a very easy cat.  It is a quick project to use up some stash, as you will not need a whole skein to make this.  It is also an easy project for beginners.
I found my inspiration on the blog of marmalade rose, she makes a lot of pretty things !

the translation in Dutch is added in colour. 

These are the 3 pieces you need to crochet :

a tail, a body and a head

Here it goes :

first make the body.
CO 25 chain stiches and crochet 24 single crochet stiches.
crochet 34 rows in sc.

Maak eerst het lijfje.

Haak 25 kettingsteken, en haak er 24 vasten in. 

Haak 34 rijen in vasten. 

then make the head
 CO 16 chain stitches
1st row : crochet 15 sc
2nd - 9th row : repeat row 1
10th row : decrease a stich at the beginning and at the end of the row : 13 sc
11th row : repeat decrease : 11 sc
12th row : repeat decrease : 9 sc
13th row : repeat decrease : 7 sc
14th row : now increase a stich at each end : 9 sc
15th row : repeat increase : 11 sc
16th row : repeat increase : 13 sc
17th row : repeat increase : 15 sc
18 - 26th row : crochet 15 sc

Maak het hoofdje : 

haak 16 kettingsteken

rij 1 : 15 vasten

rij 2 - 9 : herhaal rij 1

rij 10 : minder een steek aan elk uiteinde : 13 vasten

rij 11 : herhaal minderingen : 11 vasten

rij 12 : herhaal minderingen : 9 vasten

rij 13 : herhaal minderingen, 7 vasten

rij 14 : maak nu een steek bij aan elk uiteinde : 9 vasten

rij15 : herhaal meerderingen : 11 vasten

rij16 : herhaal maarderingen : 13 vasten

rij17 : herhaal meerderingen : 15 vasten

rij 18 - 26 : haak telkens 15 vasten, haak af.

Now crochet the tail. 
chain 3, join into a round.

In 2nd row, make 2 stiches in each stich, you have 6 sc.

Continue to crochet these 6 stiches in a spiral until the tail measures about 5 cm.

Fasten off leaving a sewing length.

 

Haak nu het staartje. 

Zet 3 kettingsteken op, sluit tot een rondje.  Haak in elke steek 2 vasten.  Haak verder in deze 6 vasten in een spiraal tot het staartje ongeveer 5 cm is.  haak af en laat een beetje draad over om aan te naaien.

Sew the body together like this :

Naai het lijfje samen zoals volgt : 

put a pin in the centre

fold over from the corner, form a leg and sew

do the same on the other end, turn inside out

this is how it should look, leave the belly open

fill with some stuffing, close the belly.

Add the tail on one side. 

Naai het staartje aan 1 kant vast

Sew the head like this

Naai het kopje zo :

fold and close both rounded sides

fill with stuffing and close this part too

mark the place for the ears, and sew

add a face (2 black beads for the eyes, and a mustache !)

Now sew the head to the body.  It might be a bit tricky to hold in place.  I sewed first with some big stiches and then returned to fasten tightly with small stiches. 

I'm a pretty present

or just a cute object

have a lot of fun making me !

If you have any questions, or if anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact me on email : breien_en_haken@hotmail.com !

knitting loves crochet

Some time ago, I bought this book because I fell in love with the beautiful top on the front page.  It is partly knitted, and finished with crochet borders. 

I have made one for me, but I choose purple. 

the knitting stich of the book was quite heavy for the cotton I had, so I knitted it in plain stockinette stich (jersey)

Now all we need is a bit of sunshine so that I can wear it...

a cat nap

Last weekend there was a flea market in the neighborhood.  Look what I bought for my 2 darling cats : a new sleeping place. 

This is a 2-storey apartment.  One cat can sleep downstairs, and the other one holds residence on the first floor.
 
In cat psychology, the superior cat (the one who can sleep on the heighest place) is actualy superior (the alpha cat).  Little white princess Misty is clearly the superior cat here.... 

a room with a view for Spirou