chocolate muffins

Today I was babysitting.  My colleague Katrien was desperate for somebody to take care of her daughter for a couple of hours.  So I volunteered.  I was a bit anxious : what does a little girl of 2 years like to do ?  I completely forgot what my boys did when they were 2.  Probably playing with their little cars or fighting over the lego blocks.  But a girl ?   When she arrived I let her play with some wool.    Great idea : she was happy to play with a crochet hook and pluck the whole ball inside out.  Later, we tried to bake some nice chocolate muffins.  She did the stirring, and the tasting.  this is a picture of Falone, enjoying a chocolate muffin, with a chocolate mustache as a result.    When her mama came to pick her up, she kinda liked to stay a little longer.   Maybe another day.  I'm beginning to think about grandchildren soon.....

muffins with whocolate glazing

Yummy !

these cookies are great....

I love chocolate !

brei je speelgoeddieren met Libelle

Ocaasionally I like to read a good magazine.  And when I was at the newspaper shop today, I noticed that Libelle was available with a little book 'knitting your own toy animals'.  I couldn't resist, and bought it.  Now I am leafing through the pages, and they are really wonderful.  Easy too, I think.  There's a snake,  mouse, a frog, some cute rabbits and many more.  Just wanted to let you now.  Only available this week....


By the way, you know I'm longing for spring and a bit of sunshine.  Yesterday evening our weatherforecast for Belgium talked about.....   SNOW !!!!  for next week.   I'm going to cry........

teapot cover

Last week, when I was ill the doctor told me to drink a lot of tea with honey.  I love tea, so that was not a problem.  Tea should be hot and sweet, that 's how I like it best.  But I sip my tea slowly, and hate it when it gets cold...   so that was the problem : my old teapot was in need of a little jacket to help him keep my tea warm. 
 I looked through my stash and found 3 colours that matched and I started to crochet in the granny-style way.  I started up at the lid, and increased and then decreased, leaving an opening and finishing with a bow. 
This is the result :

no more cold tea for me !

Green tea with lemon is my favorite at the moment.

easy to remove : just undo the bow at the bottom

spring is in the air

Everywhere you look, there is a little green.  Daffodils are preparing to bloom, tulips are for sale in the shops, in many lovely colours.  Even in the supermarket you can buy bulbs already prepared to bloom indoors.  And yes, I have surrendered.  Here's what I bought.

I put the bulbs in glasses and arranged them together in a little basket.  The doily is handmade bobbin lace, that I bought in a jumble sale last summer for only a few cents. I'm a lacemaker too, and after 5 years of practice I can call myself a true beginner  ;-)   I'm sure the person who made this one spent many hours making it.  The technique is called 'Brugs bloemwerk' or 'flowerlace of Bruges'.

I love the colours and the smell of the hyacinths is divine...

knitting a teddy bear

This is the worst periode of the year to me.  Those long, last days of winter, still cold and wet, and I'm craving for a bit of sunshine.  And just like every year around this periode, I've been ill.  That little influenza virus has made me stay in bed with a bad fever.  I'm better now, but still feel as if my batteries need recharging badly.  Unfortunately the doctor didn't prescribe me a fortnight of sunshine on Tenerife.    I know it's wishful thinking, but don't you wish that he could ? 
Anyway, the world doesn't stop turning because I'm ill, and I've spent quite some time reading all your blogs and the lovely projects you all made have really cheered me up.
I haven't been doing much, just a couple of small knitting projects to use up some stash.  
Here they are :

Am I a snowman or a snow bird ? 

I'm not quite sure.  But I am cute !

I found a pattern for a knitted teddybear

Yes, I can stand up !

I'm a nice fellow, with a friendly face and easy to make !

love birds

I spent quite some time blogging around, all over the world.  It's great fun to read all the posts, and see the lovely projects somebody across the world has made.  That's how I ended up on freubelweb.  It's a dutch website with a lot of tutorials of little projects with felt, wool, fabrics, all fun to make.  I downloaded a lovely pattern of 'love birds' and had a go at stiching them together.  It was so easy and fun and well explained, I made a second one.  And a third.  and a fourth... 
I did change the filling : I put cherry pits in it, so that you can put it in the microwave and use it as a handwarmer.  I mixed the cherry stones with some left over lavender, so that they spread a lovely scent when warmed up. They can sort of sit up thanks to the weight of the pits.
You can put a little message in the front pocket, perhaps a love note for your beloved ?
I made 4, so I can send out many lovenotes....  
here they are...

Aren't we cute ?

I love you soooo much !

4 happy love birds

One day I'll fly away...

If you want to check out the patterns at freubelweb, there is a link on my blog.

more crochet potholders

As I was putting the new potholders in my cupboard, I found some other potholders I made in pre-blog times.  I do use many, baking cakes and other stuff ...
Many of them were give-aways.  I make them in the colours of the kitchen on demand.  They are always a nice present for a student going away 'op kot', or for young couples starting in their 1st appartment. 
So here are some quick and easy patterns...

you can find this 'crazy dishcloth' on ravelry

 www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crazy-cloth-dishcloth

these are my first ever, learned at school how to make them

great intarsia crochet

This one I bought, payed nearly 9 euros for it !