HOLIDAY CROCHETING

the first week of my holiday is already over. time flies! i hope you also had a nice christmas. i did! we went to my parents for dinner, and my little nephew was also there. he is funny (and a dragon as he kept telling us) but also a bit, well, he's 2y/o, he is really a bít busy ;-)
the day after we went to my sister and i made Bierkip (beer-chicken) It-is-so-yummy! basically you marinade (pieces of) chicken in 0,5 westmalle dubbel (dark belgian beer) onions and thyme. at least for 12 hours. then you take the chicken out, make it until nice and brown and then stew it in the mariande (without the onion and thyme bits) for a nice long time. then add some cream and eat this yummy stuff!

oh and as you can see i have also made a lots of things! ive crocheted a nice edge to a blanket i had. i found the tutorial via Pinterest, ive pinned it so you can check it out. cat seemed to like it too :-)
the crochet triangle thing is a pillowcase i am making, but it is taking looooonger than i thought!
what are you guys doing now?
enjoy the last days of this year !

HOLIDAY

the past weeks have been busy and a bit stressfull, but that's over now, because i can enjoy doing nothing for 2 weeks. that is the plus for working at a school!
friday was the last day before the holiday. with my colleagues there is a tradition that we make christmas floral arrangements in the afternoon. i'm not much of a christmas girl so i usually make a normal arrangement. but i wouldnt be me if i didnt hurt myself doing so. so this year i decided to not only cut the flowers, but also my hand.... ouch! stupid mistake, talking and cutting something hard with very sharp flower scissors...
but hey, the flowers look good!
i also wanted to share this iphone cover i made with the tapestry crochet technique. it really gets easier once you practise!
and this lovely cute cup, made by the girls of het Paradijs. <3 

CROCHET TILL YOU DROP

my working week was crazy. i was organising a theme-week for the school i work at. it was tough! organising lots of different elements and schedules for 250 students, with the flu going round, sick colleagues and children. but i've managed, with my good little team! today we celebrated with some cake, and now i am half sleeping, half sitting on my couch, and not getting of it very soon.
this week i've crocheted this nice pillow. i thought it would be easy and mind clearing. well it wasn't! it did make for a good take-your-anger-and-stress-out-on-a-crochet project.
and it does look nice now that it's finished! 

WRISTWARMER GIVE AWAY

Ingrid from the super nice blog ing-things is hosting a give away week. yes that's right, a give away WEEK! how awesome!
head on over to Ingrid's blog this week for a chance to win a pair of my warm and soft wristwarmers (or order a pair here)

this weekend was a snowy weekend, we celebrated Sinterklaas (do you know what that is?) which was extra nice because of the winter weather.

i wont have much time to blog this week, but check out ing-thing if you are looking for some nice little crochet tutorials!

bye!

C-C-C-COLD

oh it's so cold!
everything is covered in a coat of snow. it looks real nice, and soft, and makes all the outside sounds quiet.
yesterday there was a weather alarm, code orange. sounds so James Bond-y i think! we usually dont have extreme weather here in Holland. So when there's snow predicted ánd wind, advice is to stay indoors. i like it.
i dont like to ride my bicycle in the snow or even ride in the car in the snow. so a weather alarm is good news for me :-)
but just imagine if i lived in Norway or Sweden, i would never go outside any more! just kidding, i was in Sweden a few years back in february, snow was pilled up 1 metre, but i loved it. because there they understand that using salt against snow doesnt cut it, sand and stones do!

so i leave you with a sunny little movie, by Mike Matas:


p.s: i'm hosting a give away next week, more soon!

GEOMETRIC INSPIRATION

 //via//

these are some photo's i found on pinterest, i think i will try to crochet them, tapestry style.
the color combinations inspire me most. that how it works for me usually: i see something with an awesome color combination, or a nice soft chunky texture, i want to make it immediately!

hope they inspire you too!

 //via//

//via//

WANT TO TAPESTRY CROCHET?

some of you lovely readers asked if i could share the pattern for this tablet cover, so here goes!

a few things to keep in mind with tapestry crochet:

* when you want to change color, you change color the stitch previous. take a look at the photos for a how to

* tapestry crochet makes for a really sturdy cover, because you are crocheting over the yarn that you’re not using at the moment

* do not join rounds, this pattern is worked in the round, so use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of every round.

* if you want to make the cover another size, make sure that you end up with a number of chains in step 2  that you can divide by 6

step 1: chain 21, skip one and sc in the next stitches. sc 3 in the last st and turn. sc in the bottom of the chain you just made. you should have 42 stitches now.

step 2: sc in every st of the round.

now we are starting on the tapestry part.

make sure your tablet, phone, thingy fits in the cover you are making! now is the time to start over if it doesn’t. trust me, you do not want to find out half way in to this pattern …

//how to change color in a sc//

triangle pattern:

sc 5 in grey, change color in the 5 ^th sc, sc 1 yellow and change to grey in this sc. repeat. 

sc 4 in grey, change color in the 4^th sc, sc 2 yellow, change to grey in the 2^nd sc, repeat. 

sc 3 in grey, change color in the 3^rd sc, sc 3 yellow, change to grey in the 3^rd sc, repeat. 

sc 2 in grey, change color in the 2^nd sc, sc 4 yellow, change to grey in the 4^th sc, repeat. 

sc 1 in grey, change color in this sc, sc 5 yellow, change to grey in the 5^th sc, repeat. 

now you can change colors for the next round of triangles like i did, or continue with these 2 colors.

that’s it!

have fun making this, and id love to see your results!

BLOGGING LATELY (well, not blogging...)

i havent blogged in a while. thats ok, because ive been doing a lot of cool things with my friends (oh ok,  working a lot... and some cool things)
i did however crochet some, which you can see in picture 1 & 3. I'm very proud of my first ever tapestry crochet item that actually worked, maybe Yarnfreak's pattern will make sense to me now.
i also made a stash of wristwarmers in the colors that i love: a lot of neutrals, with a pop of burgungy or mustard yellow. i'll list them soon in my etsy shop!

autumn is very pretty (pic 2) , i have to remind myself that it's also pretty, not just cold, wet and dark!
but these new house shoes from Collegien (pic 4) make even the cold part not so bad anymore!

ive started to learn more about blogging, design etc. i didnt think of it myself, but i have the lovely JustB blogschool from Pip, the book of Oh Joy! and an ecourse from A Beautiful Mess to thanks for that!

now, if i can just find the time to actually read and do everything i want to... :-)

BOOKGIVING

 today is thanksgiving. we do not celebrate thanksgiving in the netherlands, but for those reading this who áre celebrating: happy thanksgiving and bring out the stretchy pants!

as i am being swallowed by all the stuff in my house, because i'm a bit of a hoarder, i decided to host a bookgiving. here, on my blog.

if you see a book that you like, just email me which one you like and i'll send it to you. it would be nice if you would pay for the shipping fees (because i have got LOTS of books...)

because most of my books are in dutch i'll also post a summary in dutch.

//

een kleine boek weggeef actie voor jullie! ik heb zo veel boeken, en te veel zooi, dus bedacht ik om jullie de kans te geven om wat boeken uit te zoeken. het enige wat ik terug vraag is of jullie zelf de verzendkosten willen betalen, anders wordt het wel een duur grapje met AL de boeken :-)

dus stuur je een berichtje welke boeken je leuk lijken, dan stuur ik ze op!

NEW THINGS

well i'm crocheting away!
a lot of custom orders, and hopefully also for these wristwarmers
i love these, so usefull for this weather!

workmen are doing something to my house, i suppose its for the good, but why do they have to pack all my windows in plastic? now it really stays dark inside, even if the sun is shining...

Have a nice, autumny, day, hopefully without plastic covered windows!

AUTUMN THINGS (and give away winner!)

autumn has really begun, foggy mornings, afternoons and evenings. but i'm getting used to it! quite a difference from the 36 degrees in Surinam!
look at that sweet donkey at my work, he's the best. and a bit spoiled...
i put pumpkin in everything i eat i think. this is a very good salad with feta cheese, pumpkin, cherry tomatoes, parsley, walnut, and red pepper. yum!
ive been crocheting a lot, trying the tapestry crochet from Yarnfreak, but as you can see i'm struggeling a bit...
this weekend ive been to the Efteling amusementpark, and it was beautiful with all the lights and winter decorations. the new rollercoaster was also veryyyyyy good. i think my stomach still has some ajusting to do, it's still somewhere between the ground and the sky ;-)

and as for the give away, here is the winner ........

congratulations to Elke!
the number 1 comment almost never wins, so i'm really happy for you!
you can email me your adress on handgehaakt@gmail.com

DANISH CROCHET

//Yarnfreak//

today i got a really nice surprise. this is how it went:

- i saw something really beautiful on pinterest 

- it was crocheted, danish, beautiful colors, everything i love (but it looked so complicated...)

- i followed the pin to the source, a lovely danish shop: yarn freak

- i emailed the shop asking of they had they pattern in english

- she emailed back: no, i'm sorry, maybe with google translate?

- i thought: allright, but couldn't buy it because i don't have a danish card

- AND THEN SHE SENT IT TO ME AS A PRESENT!

wow!

some people are SO nice!

i'll have to study hard to understand, but i think ill manage, because this sweet lady gave me lots of positive energy :-)

so thank you very VERY very much Camilla!

and i think that you should go ahead with your plan in selling english patterns on etsy, i would buy them all!

don't you guys love this webshop?

<3

BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY!

//via//

yesterday was my birthday, i dont think ill share my new age with you ;-)
yesterday was also a monday so i had to work all day, not very festive. but thats ok, because ive celebrated with my friends on sunday. and my friends, they are so sweet! they picked out lots of things that i love.
but hey, since it was my birthday, i would like to give away something crochet-related to you!
you can leave a comment below.
i wont tell what it is, like a real birthday, it will be a surprise!
since it is a crochet give away, i'd like you to tell me what you love about crochet, or if you cannot crochet yet, what you'd like to learn.

ill draw a random winner on november 19th

xx

p.s. the link will take you to an awesome DIY of these paper lanterns, by Martha Stewart

WHITE AND LIGHT

here is some inspiration for you! i love these light colors, i hope you do too. take a look around my pinterest page for more crochet pins. autumn is making all the leafs fall, and it never ever seems to become completely light, everlasting twilight... but this makes crocheting or knitting warm and cosy things even better!

//the sources for these photos can be found on my Pinterest account!//

NEW ITEMS

i've added some hats to my etsy shop. i love sweet little babies, but i love them more when they have bear ears :-)
there was a spot on my lens, as you can see in the photos...

these hats are not that hard to make, if you'd like 'll share a tutorial on how to crochet on, just let me know in the comments below!

do you use etsy? i've been scared opening a shop for a long long time, and i didnt have a creditcard. i have to say that working with etsy is so easy, they have thought about everything! you can watch all kinds of tutorials on how to make better photo's, how to list items and how to grow your shop, if that is what you want.
me, i like a small shop, where the thinks that are sold are made with love, because i wanted to make them, not because i felt i had to.

I'VE OPENED AN ETSY SHOP!

a few weeks ago i opened an Etsy shop and i've made my first sell! Thank you to Julia from Germany :-)
do you have an etsy shop? link your shop below, so we can take a look.

later this week i'll write some more, just wanted to share my joy of my first ever Etsy customer!

SURINAM part 1

hi guys, i'm back! Surinam was great, beautiful nature, friendly people, and it was hot! (real hot)
i have a ton of photos to sort through, but i wanted to share these with you for now.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

//parcels ready for shipping//

it's friday, so here's a little something for you to start the weekend with! my weekend starts with getting up real early on saturday because im flying to Surinam! i have to work real hard when im there, but ill be back in  8 days and tell you all about it (if i'm not jetlagged to the max)
but for now: enjoy your weekend!

MAKE this:
as you can see, this is not my photo. you can find the tutorial here. when im back i am so going to make one!

EAT this:
this is the perfect autumn meal for me!

WATCH this:
whats this movie about? i dont know exactly, but this trailer leaves me with a feeling that  want to find out!

LISTEN to this:

my sister sent this song to me when i was in Poland. it made me happy, hope it will make you happy too!

CROCHET - CACTUS

yay! they are finished!
the sister in law of a friend of mine (i know...) ordered these cactusses, uhm cacti? she saw them at a shop and really liked them, but didnt like the price tag so much. so i crocheted away. it took some getting used to, because i'd just done some items where i didnt have to count every row, stitch, decrease, increase etc. but i think they turned out alright. ánd much more cuddly than the real thing! ánd they dont shrivel up and die :-) i think thats a win-win situation going on here!
and thank you blog-schoolers and non-blog-schoolers for the reactions on my blog. every comment is like a present! thank you!

HOW I JOIN GRANNY SQUARES

this i how i join granny squares.
(normally i would crochet the last round with the same color as the joining yarn)
1// place the squares right sides together
2// start in the corner gap by putting your hook through the gaps on both squares and slip stitch 3//
4// slip stitch in the OUTER LOOPS only to the next gap
5// see, outer loops only
6// when your at the next gap, repeat step 2//
7// this is what it looks like from the wrong side, the backside of your blanket
8// ans this is how it looks on the front! when you've crocheted the last rounds of the square in grey, it will be invisible :-)

have a nice day! crochet a-way!

BLOG SCHOOL - LESSON ONE

hi you guys, or should i say girls? i doubt there is a guy reading my blog... (and maybe 'hi' to the other blog school students!)
i've joined the blog school via JustB Australia and i love it! i have to check out all these blogs that i see in the facebook page.
one of the first assignments is to write down a few of the blogs you love, and if you already have a blog, post it on your blog! so here i go!
(oh and check out these pinterest accounts i love)

These are the blogs i check out every day:
- meetmeatmikes.com which i at first read as: meet meat mikes :-) filled with al sorts of posts i like
- abeautifulmess.com elsie's blog, full of tutorials and inspiration (and tips on blogging!)
- weekdaycarnival.blogspot.com beautiful house inspiration
- sproutedkitchen.com food goodness
- designlovefest.com graphic design, diy's and inspiration!
- ing-things.blogspot.com a Dutch blog about crocheting and little things in life

and there are soo much more blogs, but these are the ones i check every day. what are your favorites? 

WOOL FROM BERLIN

this is the wool i bought at this very very cool wool shop in Kreuzberg, Berlin. the grey is a sort of sea green grey, and the other colors are pretty accurate in the photo.
i havent got a clue what i'll be making from this, do you have a suggestion maybe?

i hope this day will be as sunny as yesterday! or else, tea will do ;-)

TODAY - LOVE IN AN ARTGALLERY

i love these beautiful illustrations from Lizzy Stewart. i found this image via Oh Comely Magazine, which i bought in berlin. a berlin post is coming up soon! i havent read much in the magazine, because i want to save it for when i have to be on an airplane for 10 hours, i think ill need some good magazines to fill that day. im not a big fan of flying, not at all, im always scared that we're going to crash. silly isnt it?
but then again, im also not a fan of needles, and today i did get my vaccinations without any hysterical aarrggghhh moment, so maybe flying will be ok this time :-)
but, what i wanted to tell you: check out Lizzy's amazing art and Oh Comely!

have a great, sunny, autumny day!

DID YOU GUYS READ THIS?

i saw this one a while back on the Meet me at mikes blog. i havent read it last year, but it looks so nice. the 18th of november the new issue will come out, yes!

BERLIN BABY!

i'm in berlin! and loving it! haha well i guess i'll be loving it, because i'm writing this in advance :-)
i'm sooo looking forward in sleeping in this cute caravan, with my man, and sleeping in, eating all day long and walking around.
i've been to berlin before, and i just HAVE to visit my alltime favorite wool-shop: faden insel, i think it means color island, but my german is terrible, so i'll just stick to english.
when i'm back i'll share some photo's with you. and also of my custom order for a friend of a friend: crocheted cacti!
:-)

AWAY - CARAVAN HOTEL

i'm away! sleeping here, how beautiful! ( few nights in the caravan and a few in the cabin)
ill make plenty photos and will enjoy myself a lot :-)
hope to go to this cute wool store ive been before, ive made this shawl from their wool

<3

GIVE AWAY WINNER!

there werent a lot of people who entered, but i did the official random nummer generator anyway. and the winner is.... Pernille!
and because Effie has had her birthday  will send something to her also!
you can send your adress to handgehaakt@gmal.com

(and hey! i'm back! leaving again in 2 days, but enjoying being at home right now)

SHOPLOVE - WEEKDAY CARNIVAL

do you know the blog and shop Weekday Carnival?
i looooove it! ive repinned a lot of things from that blog and shop, not knowing that it was all from the same lovely place.
have a look around the blog, there you can see the most beautiful home... total home envy!
here are my favorite items from the shop:

//1,2,3,4,5//

TODAY I AM - TRAVELING

today i'm leaving to go to Poland. ive planned some blogposts for you in the meantime, i hope you'll enjoy it!