YoP - Getting Started with my DPNs

Hello and a happy Sunday to you!

A big thanks to everyone who's been so friendly to welcome me on board of YoP and even giving me advice how and where to begin on my knitting adventure! Is it bad that I want to add all your suggested projects to my list? Uh-oh.. It's been one week, and the adding to the list has started already..

I haven't been able to do a lot of knitting at all. I don't know if you've seen my post that we were selling our couch and buying a new one, but I'm beginning to think we've kind of spun out of control a little bit.. In a few weeks time we have bought new chairs, a bench a new couch & loveseat, a daybed, two little tables and two new cupboards/cabinets. Both cabinets had to be put together, and we're sore from all the lifting!

Neutrals and Naturals

Hey you. How was your weekend?

Fiané and me decided we needed new dining room chairs, as our old ones are 10years old and definitely showing their age! We then decided we want a new couch too, so we're selling our current couch.

As you can see, we like our neutrals. No, we LOVE our neutrals! Scroll down for some more great neutrals finds!

Let's go outside..

 

I think these two are trying to tell me something.. Whatever could it be?

 

 

Spring Bucket List

I have to admit, I have spring fever! Do you have it too?

 

Click here for a free download of this Spring Bucket list!

 

 

Random Blog Post

Hey everyone! It's WIP Wednesday but I don't have a lot of projects on the go that I really want to show you.. Instead I though I'd blog about what's keeping me busy this week..

I've been really trying to learn how to sew in the last couple of weeks. When I was moving around some stuff in our attic, I found this box, that my mom had given to me when she moved to Canada.. It felt like I had struck gold! Look at all those colors!

 

Granny Square Lovin'

Hi lovelies! I'm late for my YoP update! This weekend's been a bit crazy so I didn't have time to blog. Oopsie! But I'm here now.. This week has been all about granny squares. It all started with this lantern pattern that I showed you last week. It's essentially the basic granny square stitches, but around a glass jar. Fun!

I loved the colors so much, I decided to make a matching pillow cover. What could be more perfect than a granny square?

The shear force of Nala

Our little baby Nala got spayed.. Poor little thing had to wear a romper for ten(!) whole days..
Here she is, looking at me all sad and confused..

 

Halfway YoP, how about that?

Hi lovelies! Hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did? Ours was filled with yummy food & drinks and a lot(!) of downtime. We've seen a lot of movies, from 'The Sound of Music' to 'The Purge' to 'The Lone Ranger'  to 'Terms of Endearment'. And we started watching the 'Once Upon a Time - series'. Needles to say, I was able to do some crocheting and knitting, though I have to mention my pace was very relaxed....

I finished the Snuggle Wrap and decided it needed a crocheted border, and then the border needed an edging.. You can see some mistakes in my knitting, which I can accept since this blanket will also be donated to the animal shelter. I'm just happy I have a bit more knitting experience.

 

And as always I have made a few 'fast gratificiation'-projects, which this week were amigurumi-style catnip squids. 

 

 

I also started knitting this braided necklace, which consists of two strips which need to be put together afterwards.

... which would have been easier if Nala didn't decide she likes the necklace-strips too... (As for the squidoos? Not interested!)

 

But eventually I did manage to put it together and I'm loving it!

 

Next week there'll be a picture of me wearing it, promise! So that's that for what I did this week.

 

As for my half-year 'evaluation' of my YoP list, I'm surprised to say that most of my FO's came from my original list! I think I'm finally getting my impulsive spirit under control when it comes to starting new projects! How about that?! I'm still not sure whether I'll be able to complete my list, but I'm determined to give it a try!

 

For those who are interested, here's my updated list with FO pictures!

 



Putting it away!

I've always wanted to be a bit more organized than... I am. For example with jewelry. I have never ever in my life been able to put all my jewelry in one place, looking orderly.. It's Always in a big pile looking very chaotic. Or - and I don't really like to admit this - I'd just put it 'anywhere' since there wasn't really a designated place to put my jewelry to begin with. Well no more I said! So (with a little inspiration of Pinterest) I created:

1) An Earring organizer (inside right closet door)
using a large picture (collage) frame from the eurostore, 2 hooks and a bit of lace

2) Necklace hooks (inside of left closet door)
using 5 hooks, faux pearls and a bit of glue

I'm very happy with how it turned out, and kinda proud! I finally have a place to put all my jewelry! It's not in plain sight and doesn't get dusty, and the best part is that I like returning my jewelry in the right place!

Ps. Today is the last day of my Give Away!! Enter while you still can!

Gifts Gifts Gifts

How's everybody?! Are you also 'enjoying' the fall weather? We (Amsterdam) have experienced a heavy storm with huge trees falling into parked cars and it even got a woman killed when a tree fell on her! Luckily, the weather's been behaving itself since then..

I got a bit delayed this week writing this post since fiance and I were so busy. We had a lot of family and friends coming over and I was especially busy with presents and gifts this week. First, I had arranged a 'high tea' for my friends at my house, and gifted them the Schnuggle packets I made for them. And, since one of my friends just had a newborn baby girl, I also made some cute headbands last minute:

 

And I had decided to give fiance a guitar for his upcoming birtday. But since he's a lefty, I had to order his gift from Spain via Belgium. It came this weekend and I originally had stored it in our attic, but I just couldn't wait 3weeks more! It was a total surprise since of course he wasn't expecting anything yet! I'm happy I also still have some small presents to give him on his birthday!

 

In the meantime I'm still working on the Christmas present beanies, and I've almost finished the fourth beanie, so I have one more beanie to go!

 

I also started making bookmarks for Christmas presents, my first project with a 1.25mm hook!

 

 

Once the beanies and the bookmarks are finished, they go into the box which I will be sending to Canada! I've already collected a lot of stuff to send, mostly candies and cookies that we have locally and is not available in Canada.. Somehow I think it already looks festive!

 

 

Then, the 8year old girl who lives near us came by yesterday to give me a present. She had crocheted (finger crochet) a keychain for me! It was so out of the blue and sweet and heartwarming! Look it!

 

 

And after cleaning out our closets, we donated a big bag of clothes to Romania through our other neighbours! It's more charity than gift, but still.. It gave me good feeling! So that was my week! Untill next time everybody!

 

Schnuggle packets and Cozy wraps experiments

The moment I made my first Rice Pillow, I immediately thought of making more of them as gifts for the holidays. I began experimenting with various sizes as well as researching for the best yarns and fillings. Here's what I found:

Outside:
Any natural fiber should work to make the packet. Synthetic yarn may melt when heated. We don't want that! I use cotton for both the schnuggle packets and the cozy wraps, but I've read that if you do your "best" heating the packet, cotton can char as well. Wool has the advantage that it's flame resistant.
Examples: wool, flax, bamboo, cotton etc.

Inside > Lining:
You can be quite creative with the lining actually! But again, stick with natural fibers. I used a nylon/stocking made of cotton (kind of confusing that last bit, but I hope it makes sense!)
Examples: cotton fabric, flannel fabric (cotton or wool), cotton bandana's, old socks, hemp.

Inside> Filling:
With the Rice Pillow I used uncooked, long grain rice, but as many others I did notice the 'uncooked rice-smell' when heated. I read that some people use jasmine rice and like the smell. Some add dry mint, lavender, or other herbs to the mixture to make it smell nice, but again, if you 'do your best' heating, dried herbs could catch fire in the microwave (at least that's what I read).

With the Schnuggle packets I used flaxseed. It's been said that flaxseeds hold heat/cold longer (also takes a bit longer to heat). They're finer than rice, so it gives a smoother texture. True.. But it's also been said to hold no odor.. Well, I smell it. It's kind of a nutty, funky smell. I read that with flaxseed, people add essential oils to 'lovely up' the smell. (also possible with rice!) I might try that for my next project! You can also opt to mix rice and flaxseed.
Other options for filling: cherry pits, (deer) corn, buckwheat, barley and beans.

How to fill:
(Optional: Pour your filling into a bowl and add a few drops of essential oil. Mix.) Using a funnel (if you don’t have one, make one from paper), gradually fill your bag with your filling.
Don't pack it in tightly; leave some room for the filling to move around so that it will more easily conform to the area to be treated.

Cooling:
To chill, put your pack in the freezer for approx. 45minutes.
Shake the rice/grain sock to evenly distribute the chilled rice.

Heating:
To heat, microwave at 30 seconds interval until you’ve reached the desired temperature.
Shake the rice/grain sock to evenly distribute the heated rice.

Note: Some blogs I read recommend putting a glass of water in the microwave with the heat pack to stop the rice burning. Also never leave the heat pack in the microwave unattended, and be careful removing it from the microwave as it could be quite hot.

Sizes:
For the Schnuggle Packets my favourite size turned out to be 10x20cm(filled).
Could be used for: Handwarmer, Neck Pad, Keyboard Wrist Rest, Boo Boo Bags (Hot Cold Packs for Kids) and Eye pack.

For the Cozy Wrap I'll stick with13x45cm.
Could be used for: Neck Wrap (neck and shoulders), Lower back pack, Sore Tummy Bag and Hot flash bag.

That's it! Hope there's some useful information in there for you!

Getting My Green On > Growing Lemon Seeds

Unfortunately, I wasn't born with green fingers/a green thumb. I'm grateful if plants in my house last over a year. I really try to care for them, but somehow I just can't keep them alive for much longer! As for my balcony, I usually buy the one-year bloomers because I know other plants won't last..
But I've decided I want to change that.. I only have a balcony at the moment, but hopefully one day I'll have my own garden. And by then, hopefully I'll be GREAT at gardening! And as they say: "practice makes perfect".

So when I found this photo tutorial on Pinterest, I decided to give it a try.

Instructions:

Soak lemons seeds overnight.

Gently remove outer layer of seeds.

Put back into water as you prepare soil.

Plant lemon seeds in a circle pattern.

Place small pebbles on top of seeds.

Water occasionally and watch it grow.

I had done this in spring (except for the pebbles as I didn't have any). I was so excited when I saw that something was happening! The little seedlings were sprouting and growing (even my fiance was impressed!) and now I want to proudly show you all this picture:

 

Tadaaaa! I'm so happy it's still alive! I almost stopped mid-project since the 'gently removing the outer layer of seeds' wasn't at all as easy as I expected - the seeds were slippery from soaking and kept slipping out of my fingers. But I persisted!It's been an outdoor plant this summer, but I'm planning repot it and put it inside for the winter! Hah! I think I'm getting my green on!

Wishes for our beloved

It's still November but I like to send my christmas cards before the "busy period", especially when I'm sending internationally. This year I've decided to send something a bit different.

I found this lovely quote via Pinterest, and I love it so much I've decided to share it with my family overseas.

Since it would be to heavy to send a block of wood/stone, I've re-made the quote on my computer and used one of my old picture frames so they can easily put it on their fireplace or another place in their home. Little will they know that they're a picture of me and my beloved inside! (hopefully they will one day open that picture frame!)

Here's a free printable of the template I used (just save and print!) (:

Fall's here!

Today it's officially fall! The trees are already changing colors and leaves are starting to fall down. And have you already made a to-do-list for this year's fall? I have!

I was inspired by this list and several other lists, but I adjusted my to-do list as we don't have hayrides or pumpkin fields in the Netherlands :(

Lovely Little Things

We've had very strange weather lately.

At first it was raining and cold (16° Celsius), then the tempature spiked up to 30° only in one day, and the day after we had a weather alarm! We had a thunderstorm last night and today it's windy and grey again with 16°!  Brrrr.

But when I opened my curtains today, I had to smile. My little trees are in bloom again!

Every winter I have to put them inside otherwise I'll freeze to death, but I'm never sure they make it. This is the 3rd year they survived! (that's a lot for me since they're also the first plants that survived - ever!)

Bless those lovely little things!