knitting a poncho

I have discovered knitting with a loom.  it was very easy and a quick way to make rectangles.
Now what can you do with a rectangle ? 
When you have 2, you can make a poncho. 
So I knitted another one, put them together, added fringes and ladida :

It's very easy to make a poncho. 
Here is the explication :

first you knit 2 rectangles of aprox. 50 cm to 70 cm.
If you knit it on needles, use big needles and fine wool to create a light effect.
Sew together like on the drawing I made.

the part that isn't sewn remains open for your head.

2 rectangles

join together here

fold and sew 2nd seam

Now you can add fringes.
cut (a lot of) strings of aprox. 26 cm.  I used an old wooden board that had the right size.

wrap it around several times, then cut one side open

4 threads form 1 fringe

 

 

 

 

 

Fold the string of 4 double, and pull that through a stich on the edge of the poncho

put the hook through a stich and pull the 4 threads through

make a loop

pass the threads through hte loop

pull tightly

Continue until you have fringes all around the hem.  Don't underestimate this work, it takes quite some time to finish this properly.  It also consumes a lot of yarn.

Finally, add some buttons or a brooch to the front of the poncho.

Have fun making your own poncho !

me showing off my poncho at chic et pas cher...

het recept van mijn grootmoeder

Nu de zomer weer in 't land is, vragen mijn kinderen om hun lievelings - koude schotel klaar te maken. Het is een recept dat iedereen in onze familie kent.  Grootmoeder zette het op tafel als ze de kinderen op bezoek kreeg, iedereen lustte het. Het is een 1-schotel gerecht, lekker, snel en makkelijk.

tomaten met spek

Ik ben het recept nog nergens tegen gekomen, en in geen enkel kookboek staat het vermeld.  Het is nochtans simpel, gezond en heerlijk.

Dus, bij deze : een primeur !  hier krijgen jullie het recept.  Succes verzekerd !

Tomaten met spek

Dit zijn je hoofdingrediënten : 

Een bosje peterselie (gewassen), 2 witte uien, 4 grote rijpe tomaten en een pakje spek in dobbelsteentjes gesneden.  Wat olie en azijn en peper en zout natuurlijk.

Het is een laagjes schotel, neem dus een diepe glazen kom, en leg de eerste laag erin : de spekjes.

snij nu de 4 grote tomaten in schijfjes, en leg ze er dakpansgewijs op.  Een flinke laag, je mag het spek niet meer zien liggen.

Snij nu de uien in kleine stukjes.  Een goede gelegenheid om eens in je keukenspullen te rammelen, en je uiensnijder te gebruiken !  (ik heb een handig ding van tupperware dat ik dus bijna nooit gebruik...)

Mik de uitjes op de laag tomaten.  Grootmoeder sneed nog meer ui erop, je mag eigenlijk geen rood meer zien.  Maar 2 uien vind ik wel voldoende.

nu de laatste laag : een groene.  Je snippert de peterselie (het hele bosje) en legt die bovenop de ui, zodat er geen wit meer te zien is.

Afwerken met een goede scheut olie en azijn (gewone witte azijn, ik hou m'n vinger over de opening van de fles en sprenkel ruim over de schotel.  Het zal wel ongeveer 2 eetlepels zijn. Zelfde met de olie.
Nu nog wat peper en zout erover, en dan dek je de schotel af.  (met een omgekeerd soepbord gaat ook, of een folie.

Zet de schotel enkele uren in de ijskast. (ik maak 'm  's morgens, om 's avonds op te eten.)

Heel lekker met boerenbrood, als je serveert goed doorscheppen dat je door de 4 lagen heen schept.
Zorg dat er van alles wat op je bord ligt.  De olie en azijn zijn goed doorgedrongen in de lagen, en het sap van de tomaten zorgt ervoor dat je heerlijk kunt soppen met je brood.

Ik vermoed dat het recept van Italie komt (die kleuren !) het heeft iets Toscaans.  Maar grootmoeder is nooit op reis geweest....   Dus, mocht iemand van jullie het recept ook kennen, vertel me alles !

smakelijk !

granny squares bag

My first attempt at the famous granny squares ! 

  
 

well, first isn't quite right, I remember having made plenty when I was in my teens.  They were very fashionable then.  I made a poncho and a cushion, for my mum (she still has it !)

Now I'm into bags.  The old felted one is getting a bit worn out, so it's time for a new one. 
I started it with the summer in mind, hoping for some sunshine, and choose beach colours.

 A very bright combination, it makes me happy to walk around with it, even if the sun isn't shining as it should. 

I chose a nice dotted lining, from Rebecca's collection.  But the result wasn't quite what i expected.  too fluffy, it had not enough strenght.
So i undid the lining, and added a plastic sort of lining, I secured it to the grannies on the inside, and then finished with the dotted fabric.  That's much better !

it's light and invisible,  but gives body to the bag

the bag can stand up straight

I added 3 side - grannies for more volume

It can easily hold a book.

I'm happy with my new bag !

gebreid kraagje - knitting a collar

When it's summer, I don't want to knit big things.  Heavy wool, big needles, a huge amount of knitwork on your lap, I associate it more with cold days, and winter stuff.
So, when the warm days are upon us, I much rather take on some crochet.  Or maybe a very small knitwork like a hat, or a Barbie dress, or maybe.... I find something in a patternbook that is so irresistable that I just hàve to knit it.

I bought a beautiful Debbie Bliss book last week because I was soo in love with the little lace collar pattern on the last page.

It seems a helluva job at first sight, but in fact it was quite easy to knit. There is hardly any purling involved, that's a big benefit.  There are decreases and yarn overs in every row, so you must be careful, no automatic pilot behaviour for this one.

here's the finished collar presented on my mannequin

the back is also very nice

I carefully followed the well written intructions, and the result is spectacular !

I hesitated about the colour.  Usually I prefer some brighter shades for summer. (i'm blond and have a light complexion) But when I wear this charcoal grey it's very becoming.  This colour matches with a lot of my clothes, so I can wear it on most everything.

I prefer it to the other collar I knitted, in pale silk.  This one is a bit looser around your neck and can be worn with a round-neck tshirt, and even a v-neck if you strech it a bit.

The rialto lace is just lovely to knit with.  It is so light, soft and fine, but the result is  stable and quite solid.  I blocked it under a humid towel one night and the lace pattern was perfect.  I think the weight of my cat on the towel helped a bit.  (he firmly denied having slept on my knitting -which is strongly prohibited - but the hairs on the towel gave him away....)

There still remains a lot of lace on the skein.  I think I will knit another one, it is such a perfect present for a birthday.  
Maybe I will just change one thing : add a really nice vintage button in stead of the fine little knot.

joining yarn the Russian way

 Do you also hate weaving in ends ?  Look what I found on the Lion Brand blog : a very easy way to solve that problem.

The Russian join is an excellent technique for attaching a new skein of yarn or for changing colors. Best of all, it creates a secure join, so you can keep crocheting or knitting without worrying about yarn ends! Here are instructions on how to complete the Russian join in 7 easy steps. I’ve used 2 different colors of yarn, but this is a great technique for attaching a new skein of the same color yarn, too!

 1. Thread a blunt needle with one end of yarn.
2. Work the needle through the plies of your yarn for a few inches. Don’t worry if this looks bunched up now.
3. Pull your working yarn through, leaving a small loop at the end. This is where the second piece of yarn will be attached.
4. Thread your needle with the second piece of yarn, then insert the needle into the small loop you created before.
5. Pull a few inches of yarn through the small loop.
6. Like you did before, work the needle through the plies of your second piece of yarn.
7. Give each strand a little tug to smooth out the bunching. You now have a secure join! Trim off any excess ends.

That’s all there is to it! Depending on your yarn, you may notice that this joined area is slightly thicker than the rest of your yarn. I find this isn’t very noticeable when I’ve worked my projects, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

for the 1st time : wwkip in Oostende !

We had the most wonderful day. 

I met al lot of kitting ladies, we had lovely chats about wool and patterns.  Jan, the famous Belgian knitter came all the way from Hasselt (that's 2 hours on the train !) to sit and knit with us.
I feared it would rain, but  there was even a bit of sunshine. 
The kiosk is a very nice spot to sit, surrounded by greens.

Helen was there, and Barbara, 2 skilled knitters.  And Ronald was there too, a creative spirit who wants to learn how to knit.  He started with 10 stiches, and suddenly there were 15 stiches on his needle. 
My sister came all the way from Roeselare by train, she brought her friend Trees along.  Trees is the lady who organises the coach trip to Paris for the 'L'Aiguille en fête' fair. 

My friend Amandine from Bruges was there too, she knits on the train to and from her work everyday.

Karin was there too, and Monique, and Chris, and Caroline, and Ann who can crochet amazing flowers. Tiny and her daughters were knitting and smiling and playing.


And sweet Rebecca - my co-organiser for the day - was there too, she brought along some extra chairs, and we needed them.

Her 2  daughters were proud to be part of the group. Emily is a very good knitter for her age !

We were proud to have Jan there too.

 

at 2 o'clock there were already a lot of knitters busy

look, I can crochet !

Joëlle knitting and Emily showing her headband

I knitted my headband myself !

helping the little ones

Dad is proud !

Ronald's second lesson in knitting : count your stiches !

Will it rain ?  Or not ?

My colleagues from school stopped by.

Admiring Barbara's Baktus 'spéciale'

she made 2 scarfs in these gorgeous colours

This generation women have knitted all their life !

a lot of passers-by stopped to talk to us

even the little ones had fun

teaching crochet to eachother

a proud mum and 2 lovely girls

and here comes the sun

Carine is a knitting - teacher in Oostende

 Next to her you can see my sister, who's knitting a scarf from 'elle tricote', quite an artful accessoire with al the felted little flocks in different bright colours.  (Lone, if you are reading this, I'm sure you'd like this one !)  The wool she uses is ultra fine, there is 1 km of wool on the skein...    Next to my sister is Trees, her friend, crocheting granny squares.  Then there's Amandine, who came especially from Bruges to join us.  And the last one on the picture is Emily, our youngest knitter.  She knits better than her mum, Rebecca.    But keep that a secret....

Aren't we lovely ?

At the end of the day we had a visit from 2 journalists. They asked us a lot of questions and  took pictures and we were mentionned in 2 national newspapers today.  I am soooo proud !