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bits and pieces

Do You Recognise That?

A head full of ideas. New things popping up in your head. Too many things already going on. Days that seem too short. Do you recognise those things?

For certain, they all apply to me at the moment! I don’t even want to count the yarny projects that are lying around halfway done, it would be too confronting. And at the same time, new ideas remain to pop up in my head, not at all fuelled by the inspiration I get from you through social media! Every now and then I sit down with a notebook and write them all down and try to categorise or prioritise them.

Some of them are requests: my mum would like me to make her a shawl and a hat. Some of them are gifts: my sister-in-law is pregnant with twins and I want to make them something. Others are just for fun. You’ll understand that there rank lowest when prioritising but for some reason, these kind of projects make it to the top of the list and get a certain ‘advanced treatment’!

I didn’t have major plans for the weekend so I decided to work on some of those unfinished items… The weekend started with a delicious breakfast though!

Cushion Cover ‘Olle’

This one is a familiar one when you follow me on Instagram or Facebook. At the end of Summer, I started to make this cushion cover called ‘Olle’. The crochet pattern for it is by the lovely Stéphanie of Handwerkjuffie. You can buy the pattern in her Etsy shop (currently Dutch only).

I chose to use a selection of the colours that I have been using for all crochet cushion covers in our home. That way they all match. The yarn I am using is Drops Karisma which is a 100% woollen yarn. My version of Olle will be a little larger than the original pattern to make sure that it fits a standard Ikea cushion pad.

I’m almost there… just a few more rows! I’m loving the colours (and secretly getting a bit Christmassy already as well!)

Birds of a Feather

Another unfinished item is my Birds of a Feather shawl (designed by DreaReneeKnits). It was one of the projects that I took with me on holiday, do you remember? It was kind of a drama though. I am working on my second attempt. Let me tell you a bit more…

The pattern uses a combination of fingering yarn and kid silk mohair. That gives the finished shawl a lovely light and fluffy texture. So I decided to use that combination of yarns as well (details on the Ravelry project page). I was doing well with the third section when I dropped a stitch… in the centre decrease… There was no way to fix that and I couldn’t put in a lifeline because I forgot to take a tapestry needle with me! Frogging it was… only to figure out that mohair cannot really be frogged. Forgot about that. I put the whole thing aside and a few days later I gathered the courage to start over again.

I finally got to the point where I had to make the first lace section of the pattern and that is where the troubles started for the second time. I suspect that there is a slight error in the pattern, but I haven’t figured out that completely yet. Anyway, I had to frog again! But this time I did put in a lifeline, just above the mohair section. I wasn’t sure whether it was going to work or not, but fortunately, it did! I am still so relieved since I am not sure if I would have the nerves to start all the way over again!

I am loving how it is turning out! Lesson learned: put in a backup lifeline every now and then just to make sure! It makes knitting a lot less stressful!

Greens and Baking

Did you notice the greens peeping in the photo above? I’ve bought them recently to brighten up the kitchen table.

Aren’t the mini-succulents cute? I really like the textures that they have. The plate underneath is actually a piece of Christmas decoration from last year that just didn’t make it to the attic. Oh, there’s the C-word again! Twice in one blog post and it’s only October!

We’ve found the chestnuts on one of our dog walks. This particular tree had very few. These were the only ones we found underneath.

Something else that really fits the season is an apple-cinnamon cake. I made one on Saturday but my timing was a bit off so had it on Sunday. It’s a recipe that I regularly use. I will post it here on the blog soon because it is a very quick and easy bake.

Svenska Vantar

You probably have seen bits of these Swedish-style gloves on Instagram or Facebook as well. It is another pattern by Handwerkjuffie and currently only available as part of a workshop. This is actually one of those makes that just sneak in, not deliberately planned but fun, ‘in-between’ things.

The first one is almost finished, I only have to make the thumb. The second one is coming along nicely. I am using Drops Merino Extra fine for them. Initially, I planned to use a combination of colours containing red but I am really happy with how this combination is turning out.

Look at all the little details in the border! It’s so pretty! Can’t wait for them to be ready so that I can wear them!

A Finished Item and Something New

There actually is something else that I can already wear! The Pine Tree fingerless gloves that I made using the pattern by Annette of MyRoseValley. The pattern is available in her Etsy shop (in multiple languages). I made a matching hat as well, will show both more detailed soon! It was a kind of spontaneous thing to make both the gloves and the hat. Good that I did though… it is getting chillier outside and I have been wearing the gloves to keep my hands warm!

I really hope that I can finish the cushion cover and gloves soon because I don’t want to start something new before they are done. And the yarn for the next project is already calling: shades of blue and red with some grey. My mum and I picked them together so that I can make her a new shawl and hat that she requested. To be continued!

Bewaren

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