Too many WIPS?? Japanese Crochet Flower, Crochet Basket pendant, Linen Stitch and Shell pattern

Hello my dear blogfriends!

I'm back with some more updates, finally!!! How have you all been? Hope you had a chance to enjoy the first warm rays of sunshine. We had some lovely spring days, but now it seems we are back to colder weather again.

For me it has been a busy time, but it seems there have been too many WIPs. I have ideas aplenty, but never enough time! Isn't that the problem for any crafter? Let's see what I have made recently?!

A new Japanese crochet flower pattern

I came across a wonderful crochet pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-japanese-flower. The pattern is free and easy to follow! If you like the look of it, why not try it out?

Here are some photos of my flowers:

Japanese crochet flower

I will probably need to make evern more, not sure whether to make them into a long shawl or a triangle one.

A tiny Crochet Basket Pendant

On further crochet news, I was inspired by some small crochet baskets which were made as pendants I saw on Pinterest. I thought to myself that I wanted to try this! So I used some strong thread and a tiny crochet hook and made my own crochet basket pendant! It's smaller than one cent!

My Crochet Basket Pendant

Colourful Knitting

On the knitting front, I made this piece from the Rowan Colourscape yarn I bought recently.

Rowan Colourscape Chunky

Knitted up in a 4 row rib

Here next to an old WIP (right) from the same yarn, in a different colourway

What am I making? Well, I knitted the first part maybe 3-4 years ago and it was left as a WIP because I moved to Belgium and forgot about it. As I decided that this year I would try and complete some of my WIPs, I dug it out again. Initially I wanted to make a cowl. After knitting up the second piece I thought this is too nice just to make a cowl from, so I will make a sleeveless cardigan from it instead. Unfortunately it has to be put on hold for now, until I can get more of this yarn! I just love the colours!!!


A new Baby Alpaca Beanie Hat

Remember the yarn I bought last winter in the LN Knits shop in Antwerp? I knitted it up in a cosy soft Beanie with a sort of basket weave pattern!

Trying on my new Beanie

100% Pure Baby Alpaca Love

A Neon Linen Stitch Cowl

A while ago, I got greatly inspired by another blogger, the lovely Roobeedoo because she made a most amazing cowl, read about it on her blogpost here! I vowed to myself that I also wanted to try this linen stitch and use some very bright yarn! I struck lucky with two different sock yarns.

They are quite different from each other, so I thought the result should be very interesting!

I love knitting it because it is so vibrant, the only thing is that it grows incredibly slowly, because 421 stitches per row and 3mm needles and the stitch itself makes knitting slower than usual. However, the result is more like a woven fabric and fascinating.

If you check out ravelry, there are a number of ideas when you search 'linen stitch'.
Oh, and do follow Roobeedoo if you enjoy knitting and/or clothesmaking!

This yarn was just calling out to me!!!

421 colourful stitches on the needles

A little bit of balcony knitting with Cleo

And back to more crochet...

I'm in the middle of making and designing my own baby cardigan for a friend. It's all a bit of trial and error at the moment!!

Another WIP : Working on a baby cardigan

Heart Key Rings

I made these 10 little Heart Key rings yesterday, it was a fun project. They are made with Scheepjeswol Stone Washed yarn.

Crochet Heart Key Rings

And finally I started on a new crochet project last night: Making a Crochet Jumper, something I have not done before. I chose Scheepjeswol Stone Washed XL yarn and I am using a 5.5mm hook.

This is how far I got by now:

New Crochet Shellstitch Jumper

New WIP: Crochet Shell Stitch Jumper

Well, it has been a good thing to list all my WIPs! Here I thought I hadn't achieved very much during the last 2 weeks, but looking back, it was more than I assumed!

Oh, and I nearly forgot: I got hooked on watching 'The Great British Sewing Bee' which was very inspiring and fun, also gripping! Did you watch it? If you haven't seen it yet and get the opportunity I highly recommend it to you all! It doesn't matter if you sew much or not, it is thrilling to watch!

I wish you all a lovely and happy weekend ahead, enjoy the sunshine if you can!

What will you be making?

Let me know! Leave me a comment, I love reading them all! Thanks for your time! :)

A colourful Granny Square Crochet Bag, some nice New Yarn, a Sunday walk and Ombre knitting

Hello all,

Thanks for your kind responses to my latest projects. I know you are curious to see what I made out of all those granny squares I was busy with!

I can show you now - I made a new bag and it is finished!

A colourful Granny Square Crochet Bag

Side A of the Granny Square Crochet Bag

Side B of the Granny Square Crochet Bag

How to make this bag:

Here you can see a few of the steps that shows how I made the bag. First I worked out that I needed a total of 28 squares. I had seen instructions for making a small bag out of 17 squares, but I wanted mine to be a bit bigger.

Crocheting some squares while enjoying my cup of tea!

Squares of various sizes

I used Scheepjeswol Stone Washed and a 3mm hook. I crocheted 5 rounds with different colours for each squares. (In theory you could make the squares any size!)

Before I started attaching the squares to each other, I laid out all the squares on the table how I liked them best.

Squares laid out in the shape of the bag

I tried to balance colours on both sides of the bag similarly.

Using purple for crocheting the squares together.

Crocheting the squares together

The bottom of the bag

The bag from above, opened up

The handles were sewn to the sides

Initially my plan was to crochet some straps, but then I found a suitable strap at Wolle Roedel, a wool shop in Germany on our visit this past weekend.

I have already used my new bag, but I'm considering lining it with fabric still.


Some nice New Yarn

I also found  some pretty Linnen yarn in Germany, here is a photo of my purchases. You can see the bag handles underneath the Knit-Pro tips.

In a bookshop I got a new hobby book on making Stampers and Printing!

Here in Belgium  I bought some more Rowan colourscape Chunky wool which I will use to sort out an old WIP.

Rowan Colourscape Chunky and Scheepjeswol Stone Washed

And yesterday I discovered some new shaeds of Fenna yarn!!!! I'm currently trying out a new crochet stitch.

Hello new FENNA!

Ombre knitting

Meanwhile I started on another knitting project. I'm trying to mix yarns to create an ombre effect. The yarn is Drops Alpaca Silk Brushed. It feels incredibly soft. Here are the first two colours.

A Sunday walk


On Sunday we went for a nice little walk around a public park domein called Vrijbroek near Mechelen. It was still quite cold outside, so we wrapped up warm!

The Road less travelled (it was closed due to safety concerns!)

Fishing lake

Impressive clouds

Walking along water

Rhododendron with flower buds

The Rose Garden

My Harlequion Blanket

Recently I took my blanket to school to talk about it and my hobby! It made me realize that I haven't worked on it for over 2 months, I really should get back to it and get it finished!!!

My big Harlequin Blanket in my first crochet Granny Square Bag

My Harlequin Blanket draped on the stairs

The problem, as always, is time! I have so many plans and ideas and I come across interesting patterns and stitches every day! I keep making lists and notes to try and hold on to it all so I won't forget! Do you feel the same?

Nevertheless, every so often, something new comes along unexpectedly and I tend to drop everything and start on yet another WIP. The above Crochet Bag took me a week and is an ideal project to do whenever you get time to make a few squares. Unlike a blanket, it is finished so much quicker!!!

Thank you all for your patience and loyalty! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and I hope to see you back soon again!

I would love hearing from you, so please leave me some comments, I love reading them!