As always, for those of you who want to see how I did this project, all the details are found on the Patterns section. I am happy with the result :) Do you like it?
My last project: a wall organizer. Dutch houses are small, and our apartment is no exception. One needs to find ways to keep everything organized. This little project is meant to help me do that :) Plus, it is a fun project to make. I had some granny squares that I made long time ago but did not use them - perfect for this project! And as a method to hang it to the wall I improvised and used a clothes hanger :P As always, for those of you who want to see how I did this project, all the details are found on the Patterns section. I am happy with the result :) Do you like it?
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Uriel enjoying the first cushion :) In a previous post I wrote about recycling old sheets. Now is the time to show you what I made from some of them: two cushions for my one and only wooden bench on the balcony!
I used the moss stitch to make them: fast and easy stitch that does not require much attention. Obviously the cats were the first ones to test the cushions. The general reaction was positive, now all I have to do is to buy another bench for myself and make some more cushions, because those 2 are taken :P (bad cats thinking that they own the place ....) Curious how I made the cushions? Find the document with instructions here. Spring is by definition the time to clean your closets and throw away old stuff. Or, you can only clean the closet and recycle the old stuff :) And that was exactly my plan regarding some old sheets and bed linen. How about coloring them (white and light blue are not exactly my favorite colors to be honest) and making some yarn for crochet projects. For instance some outdoor cushions for the wooden bench. Cats would love that. So would I!
And so I remembered that my grandmother in Romania used plants and flowers to color wool. Well, if she could do that why would I not do the same? I mean, what better way to recycle than in an ecological friendly way? :) And that is exactly what I did: experimenting with ecological dye extracted from walnuts shells, red onion and beetroot (that's what I had in house). The results: unpredictable :)) Apparently old cotton sheets behave differently than natural wool. But that's ok, the surprise colors are also nice. All in all a nice DIY activity. Want to experiment also with eco-dyeing, take a look at the document where i summarize my experience. Happy crafting! Was silent around here last week. With good reason though: I am working on a new project: a couch cover. The story behind this projects goes like this: leather couch + cold + cats jumping all over the place => the urgent need of a cover :)
So I checked my yarn stash and decided for a mix of colors and geometrical shapes. The common factor: the stitch I use. It is called "the even moss stitch" and I learned how to do it from this great video tutorial from the "A Stitch a day" website. Is really easy to use, some attention required but watching TV while crocheting is not a problem. The only problem: it is a big project and it takes some time to complete... patience is not my strongest point :S I am so happy! The spring wreath is sold and I was able to make the first donation from my hobby to Sos Dogs and The Friends of Cats Association :) If you enjoy my work, know that I am sharing it with all of you with the hope that I can also raise awareness for the situation of street dogs and cats in Romania, and more specifically, those from my native town Oradea. Any donation or help for the two associations I support (or for that matter, for any association trying to solve the problem of street animals in Romania) is very much appreciated. Yesterday I posted some examples of crocheted flowers I was working on. Today I will show you what I did with the flowers that I made: I used them to decorate a spring wreath! I am very pleased with the result. It is such an easy thing to do and so easy to adapt to your own color taste :) Then, the internet is full with nice free patterns for flowers, butterflies, bunnies, eggs, little lambs or whatever you want to use on your spring wreath! So, how did I do this spring wreath? If you are interested in finding out check the photos bellow that document the process :) I already wrote about the flowers that I used in a previous post. Only one flower has no patter at this moment, but as soon as possible I will fix that. Spring is here! Well, almost (at least in The Netherlands). And what better way to welcome it than by crocheting some simple but cute spring flowers. Here are some flowers that I made, all based on free patters that I found on the internet or that I have improvised myself. I hope you find something you like! Lets start with daffodils. Beautiful flowers, love them. There are a lot of pattern variations available, also free versions. The one you see in the image is made by me using this free pattern. Collection of simple spring flowers that allow for endless variations. The ones with 4 petals I made using this pattern for crocheted flowers, which is really easy to do. The flowers with 5 petals I improvised like this: to start I chained 4 and with a slip stitch in the first chain I made a circle. For the first round I chained 1 and then single crocheted in the circle till I ended up with 10 stitches. With a slip stitch I joined the circle. Making the petals: repeat the sequence between * *x5 *in 1 stitch do: dcx1, tcx3, dcx1; slc into next stitch* Note: dc = double crochet ; tc = treble crochet; slc: slip stitch Simple crocheted roses, very easy to make. Again, many patterns available, for making the two roses you see in the picture I used this pattern for making simple roses. Depending on what type of yarn you use and how many chains you use as start you will get a bigger or smaller rose. The secret is to chain multiple of 3 stitches. I love this little flower :) The one in the picture is my own combination of colors using this picot flower tutorial. For a touch of randomness the Mollie flowers are perfect. Combinations of colors are endless. The original pattern has 6 petals but I made only 5. Like the title says: I am a beginner in the art or crocheting and I made my first clutch purse. With a little help from internet it was a easy one day process. It was actually more difficult to decide on the stitch to use. In the end I used just a basic Tunisian stitch. It is a simple stitch, not really the main point of attraction of this project. The beautiful blue colors and the little spring-like flowers are. Or at least, that was my idea when I designed this little clutch. So, how did I do it. I used the following tutorials: - tutorial for the basic Tunisian stitch (see useful links) - tutorial for inserting zipper and lining (see useful links) - tutorial for crocheting the sweet little flowers What materials I used: for the clutch I used three types of blue acryl yarn Scheepjes Roma and a hook size 3.5. For the flowers some left overs white yarn. I sew then to the clutch using some left overs yellow yarn to create a nice accent. A zipper and some left overs fabric for interior. Finally, it is done :) My new laptop cover featuring the multicolor moss stitch is finished. I am very happy with it. Just by looking at all the colors and it makes me happy :)) For those of you that want to also make one, know that it is very easy to make one. All you need is of course, yarn, patience and some fabric for the interior. Bellow you can see some photo during the process of making mine. I was inspired and used the following tutorials:
Phew... after a week working hard to finish a paper for a conference I took a break to do a bit of crocheting and relax. And since I need to go to the conference with my little laptop I decided to try a new pattern and make a cover for it. The pattern for this multicolor moss stitch can be adapted to a lot of fun projects, it creates a dense fabric that is slightly smaller than expected. Ah well, I will fix that later :) |