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!

 

Little Miss Impulse

Hey everybody! Hope you're having a great weekend! I'm not really sure what happened this week, but somehow, since last week, I made:

Toys for Nala:

A Catnest for Nala:

 She was already liking it before it was done!

She's so happy with it, first she plays with it,

Then she sleeps in it!

And last but not least, I started making beanies for Christmas presents..

All of which were not on my YoP list! Which makes me an.. impulse crocheter? I'm not sure whether that's the right term, but it's safe to say that I've not been sticking to my plan.. And I'm also a bit worried.. How much kitty-stuff does one need to crochet before being labeled 'crazy catlady'?

Well anyhow, I've decided to "cancel" giving Hot Packs as Christmas presents since fiance very wisely asked: "are we truly going to spend a lot of money shipping a lot of rice to the other side of the world?" As annoyed as I was with him (being a wiseass) at that moment, he did have a point, since we have to pay more as the weight of the package increases. So I have to start thinking about other alternatives as Christmas presents, hence the beanies! Anybody else any fun suggestions for Christmas presents?

Wish you all a great week!

I am Maru.

If you haven't met Maru, it's time you did!

With lovely music by Hundred Little Reasons

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!

Completely in love

Hi everybody! I am so completely in love! I'm in love with my furry baby (kitten)! She's been with us a few days and her name is Nala. I'll be honest I'm very obsessed with her cuteness at the moment, but I promised myself I wouldn't go bananas with pictures of her today.. So here is one picture of her. And if you're also a furry-baby-lover then here are some more pictures of her..

 

Now for the YoP update! The star stitch blanket is now finished and ready to be donated! (I plan to make few more blankets before donating) I'm happy to have 'mastered' the star stitch! What stitch will be next?

And after I finished the rice pillow (which Nala totally stole to keep as her pillow and toy, and ofcourse I let her get away with it), I made some schnuggle packets (same pattern) to gift to my friends.

 

I know, I just squeezed another picture of Nala in, I just couldn't help it!

 

I experimented with different sizes and liners and fillings, on which I will elaborate in a more detailed post tomorrow!

And last but not least, I have bought some yarn - which was of course, absolutely necessary - to make the Microwaveble Bag Christmas presents for my family. I plan to make those bigger than the schnuggle packets.

 

My updated YoP list here! Hope you all have a great week!

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!