work in progress: crochet opaline blanket

welcome, so kind of you to visit my blog! 

last week i didn’t have to show you much, so i skipped the work in progress post. 

the opaline blanket is finished, regarding the crochet work and now it is time for sewing on small crochet motifs, beads and buttons and making embroidery stitches. on the picture you see small pieces of white paper that i’ve pinned onto the blanket so i can remember where i like to have the items. i think i need to work on my bed, because the blanket is too large for sitting at the table with it and the floor is hard to sit on for a longer time 😉 

opaline crochet blanket in the works

3 crochet flowers and opaline blanket

wip opaline crochet blanket decoration

photos below

if you like you can find more into about the stitch pattern that i use for the blanket here (pattern baby blanket) and here (info about the variation on the stitch pattern that i use for my current blanket).

the pattern for the square on the left you can find here and the squares on the right here.

used materials:

• the opaline yarn is phildar impact 6 and i worked with hook size 6.5 mm.
• the small squares are made with katia jaipur and hook size 1.75 mm.

crochet small square and opaline blanket

4 mini lacy with dot crochet squares

over the past weeks, i have also made a few bags, but i’ll tell you about that another time.

joining: 

ginny’s yarn along at small things

hope the rest of the week is pleasant for you and i hope to see you soon!

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christmas decoration 2014 – crochet and paper

december is a month when many of us love to see glittery things, do you too? 🙂

 

i made some decoration to hang onto my wall next to couch, but it would also be nice in front of a window. the lamp is close by so in the evening the light let the decoration sparkle a little extra. it looks cute!

in case you like to do something similar too, you will find the info how to make below and also the links to the pages with patterns or links to patterns and downloadable prints, all free!

 

crochet

what you need is some not to thick yarn from your stash. i used cotton 8 and catania mercerized cotton and for both crochet hook size 3.00 mm and of course you need scissors and a needle with a blunt tip.

 

crafting

for the crafting part i used 2 tiny bottles of glitter and green glitter tape which i bought for just a few euros. 

you need something for your decorations to hang, like a rotan/rattan stick, or pretty clothes hangers. i used an old thin metal rod. next to that you need transparent water-soluble glue, a bowl, water, scissors, a bowl, a brush and a cup or small vase and cling film, funny paperclips, sewing thread.

glitters and green glitter tape

prints, glue, tape and scissors

 

it will be messy 🙂

 

 

you can use any crochet motif you like, patterns can be found for example on pinterest, ravelry or mypicot (scroll down for the christmas theme).

i used motifs i made in the past and kept in a box and motifs i made for christmas two years ago. you can the info about these and links to patterns on my christmas blogpost here.

 

some other info which might be useful

• if you like to make a yarn bowl in a glittery way, use all the info you can find in this blogpost but sprinkle glitter over it while your bowl is still wet.
• if you like to harden your crochet (or knit) motifs, you can find the information here.
• last but not least, if you like you can print your own copy of the faux crochet stars here and the holiday balls here. 

 

 

oops that are many links, but how to make the christmas decoration of this year?

 

here we go

1. hang your rod, hangers or other onto a wall or in front of a window

2. print and cut – if wanted – the faux stars and the holiday ball. cut the faux crochet stars and glue – with undiluted glue – two similar ones with the wrong sides together with sewing thread between them, repeat this until your garland has the length you have, cut thread and attach the garland with a piece of glittery tape onto the rod. you can use the same method for the holiday balls.

3. crochet the motifs you like.

4. mix the glue in a bowl with about the same amount of water. 

5. brush the glue on the motifs and sprinkle some glitters over them, pin and let dry. when they are dry use some yarn to hang them onto the rod. 

white crochet motifs with glittter pinned and drying

paper faux crochet stars

6. if you like you can also crochet some garlands. i used my pattern for the spring garland, numbers 3, 5 and 10. after you crochet them, brush to the glue on them, sprinkle the glitters and let them dry. except garland number 5, you do as follows : put your finger into a. the glue, b. one of the cups, c. the glitters, d. in the same cup and repeat this procedure until you did all the cups. let dry.

7.attach the garlands with some glittery tape onto the rod.

close up of garland

glittery curl

glitter curl

christmas decoration at daylight 2014

8. to make the glittery curl, put some cling film around a cup or small vase, put glue on it, wrap yarn around and sprinkle glitters, let dry completely. use a knife to loosen the cling film. hang curl onto the rod.

9. if you have some nice paperclips, make a nice garland of them, i have birds and i love them (you can see them on the fourth picture in the gallery above).

 

this is the result, pictures taken in the evening with artificial light.

small glittery crochet square

glittery crochet star

glittery crochet lace square

christmas decorations 2014

christmas decoration on wall

 

 

by the way, not everything went well. it is better to use undiluted glue when working with paper. i didn’t at first and the result was bumpy paper and glitters that are not spread equally. thankfully wrapping a gift for my mother went well. i used bright pink paper, some glittery tape and a holiday ball. 

wobbly printed balls 😦

pink wrapping paper, green glitter tape and a holiday ball

 

 

enjoy making your own glittery thingies! 🙂 

 

until next time!

 

 

 

faux crochet again

welcome!

a new week ahead, hope it will be a great week!

some of you are (already) really busy for christmas and i thought maybe i can help you just a little. last year i made some printable faux crochet stars which you still can find here and my post about christmas decoration to crochet including patterns and links to patterns which you can find here.

this weekend i made something new for you to print:

holiday balls 1

holiday balls 2

some of them are faux crocheted and some are more natural like plants or flowers. you can print them, cut and glew them on gifts or on cardboard and make a garland. you can decorate them with glittery thing or anything you like to do. maybe something nice to do with children or for yourself to relax.

here is the link to the document (pdf, 4 pages).

hope you will enjoy it! 🙂

i will be back later this week with some crochet.

thanks for visiting!

holiday balls 3

holiday balls 4

crocheted orange flags

 

almost weekend!

 

do you follow the world cup? i do a little but many people in my neighborhood follow the dutch team more fanatical. their gardens and balconies are adorned with all sorts of orange decorations, including plastic garlands with orange flags. this pretty white cat lives two doors away and on the background you can see the orange decorations in ‘her’ garden. 

white cat

 

 

i won’t show you a picture of the garden on the left, because my neighbors can hardly stand upright there by all their decorations:)

 

crocheted flags

a few years ago i hooked a version of cotton yarn, 11 orange flags, one for each player of the team. see the original blog post here. but below there are some new pictures to see: 

crochet orange flag

crochet orange flags garland

crochet orange triangles garland

 

 

recently my friend alessandra has posted about this type of crocheted triangles and the variations she has made. in her post you will find the link to the original charted pattern, so if you like to make your own version of this garland here is the link to the explanations. 

 

orange

the next match of the dutch (orange) team will be a little thrilling and i will certainly sit in front of the television with my crochet work and support them. will you also watch matches of the world cup?

 

joining: creative friday at natural suburbia

 

 

wish you an enjoyable weekend !!

orange garland by elisabeth andrée

crochet for christmas

hello and welcome!

this is my last blog post of this year.

how are you, are you busy and stressed or isn’t it all so bad? for me it is time to take a break from my blog but i will be back sometime in january.

hopefully the last weeks/days of 2013 will be great for you and your loved ones! i know this year was quite hard for many people and animals.

so i hope 2014 will give you all you need including safety, love, lots of fun (isn’t it a good thing to have the giggles every now and then) and a good health.

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thanks for all the sweet messages that you have written me, i am very happy you did!

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and below some pictures of my christmas decoration, hope you like to take a look at them? 

this is the link for more info about my christmas decoration of last year.

until next year!

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this is the way it looks …

by day light

black and white crochet and baubles

christmas decoration 2013

crochet christmas decoration with baubles

christmas decoration 2013

christmas decoration 2013

crochet covers and doily

crochet baskets and plants

crochet cover for glass jar

crochet decoration with helleborus

in the evening

crochet covers for glass jars which now serve as tealights

crochet cover for glass jar

crochet cover for bottle

crochet baskets and baubles

these are some ornaments of last year

crochet ornament gray and white

crochet ornament gray and white

crochet ornament white and gold

crochet ornaments: white, beige and gold

and there are also some greens and spring flowers

greens

hyacinths

green with white baubles

thanks for visiting! hope to see you in 2014!