Work in progress

This will be the last post on this blog. As I want to explore new ventures, I'm taking a break from blogging. Of course I keep knitting and designing and my shops on Etsy and Ravelry stay open.

This scarf to be for example will soon be in my Etsy shop, just like the pattern will be on Ravelry. I hope you keep enjoying my free patterns and posts and if you like to comment, you still can. Enjoy and keep crafting!

Relax

When I was making a little gift bag as a thank you for a friend I had just read a blogpost about eye pillows. I decided to make one for her and while I was at it I made another one for myself.

I used this pattern of Leigh Laurel Studios cutting five bits of fabric of 6.3 x 11.4 cm and one piece of 26.7 x 11.4 cm. With seams of 0.6 cm it turned out just wide enough. I filled the pillow with 20 grams of lavender and 160 grams of flax seeds.

When finished I lay down and covered my eyes. How wonderful: the cool dark weight and the lovely smell are very relaxing. Next time I'll add another centimeter length or, even better, I change the 2.5 cm into 2 cm at both ends. But this pillow is definitely something to make again.

Winter time decorations

Christmas is coming and in a few weeks time I'll be participating in a Christmas Fair. I'm looking forward to it and I'm working hard to prepare for this event.

Of course I'll sell knitwear, but I decided to offer a wider range of items matching the winter theme. I've been sewing bags and cushion covers mixing felted blankets and other fabrics.

With the many bits and pieces that were left I made these cosy little hangers. They look nice on a doorknob or you can hang a number of them in a branch. Inside the house of course.

Would you like to make some too? Here's the PDF with the templates of the figures I made. Enjoy! And send me a link to your work if you like :)

If only I had gone to art school

The title immediately appealed to me: If only I had gone to art school... I wouldn't have needed to buy this book. Written by art teacher Marjolein van der Stoep and published this year.

I have always had this fascination with people who went to 'the academy' as they call it themselves. What have they learned to make them real artists, I wondered.

Reading this book feels like getting the answers. It tells about art and creativity, about perseverance and taste, about visual means and the creative proces.

And what's more: it's beautifully designed and well illustrated, it gives theory and exercises to practice and, small detail but I like it, it is ring bound which makes it easy to open and fold.

People are creative by nature, but they tend to forget when they grow up, according to the author. Often this little guy pops out of the page addressing the reader directly with tips and encouragement.

Here's one last picture, because I like the book so much. I hope you do too.

Another leather project

With another piece of leather I made a sleeve for the papers that I have to carry when driving my car. Again it's from an upholstery sample - this time with different stitchings as a showpiece.

At JLLeatherSupplies on Etsy I found a strap of leather in the color of one of the yarns to tie around and close the sleeve.

With what was left of the strap I had enough to make a double leather bracelet for myself.

Quite nice. If I may say so :)

For a birthday bulldog kind of guy

With hardly any obligations and a few birthdays coming up I have spent a great crafty weekend. I won't show everything I made now, but I do want to share this little coin purse.

I recently bought the softies pattern book Knuffels om te naaien (originally Doudous a coudre by the French magazine Marie Claire Idéees) and we already had fun making softies from it.

My cousin who's having his birthday soon is a real bulldog kind of guy. He already made the softie, but I couldn't think of any other animal that suits him better. To give him some money as a present I turned the head into this wallet.

I love the book and making this coin purse was really good fun.

Sewing with leather

Ever since I have my sewing machine I've been wanting to try to sew with leather. When I got hold of a leather sample for furniture upholstery, I finally did. After 31 years :)

It was a little piece just enough for this pencil pouch. In stead of using pins I glued, let it dry and then sewed it together. It worked out well and I'm really proud and fond of it.

With the remains I cut and glued a little bracelet with a popper button. Too small for me unfortunately - I love the color.

My daughter loves it. It's sturdy and soft at the same time and looking good.