Tuesday 15 September 2015

My Rainbow Circles Wrap made with Scheepjes Linen Soft

Hello again,

Did you have a good weekend? Here the weather has turned to rain, we just had a big thunderstorm here! And the sky just looks a dark grey, where has all the colour gone, I ask you....

But I found the answer - you can always crochet a rainbow!!!!

And that is exactly what I did!

My Rainbow Circles Wrap


You might remember that I am also currently working on the Scheepjes CAL 2015 to make the Flights of Fancy Shawl, I mentioned about it here in my earlier post. I am very busy with this project right now and I hope to show it to you as soon as it is finished (there are 75 motifs that need to be joined!)

I knew that I would enjoy working with the new Scheepjeswol Linen Soft yarn and I instantly fell in love with the wonderful large palette of colours. So I ordered quite a lot of different colours, more than I needed for the CAL.

And then inspiration struck and I had an idea for a shawl....

...and this is the result! Ta-dah!!!



My Rainbow Circles Crochet Wrap - Ta-dah!!!


How I made my crochet Wrap

I started with a lime colour with a row of circles and then slowly added more colours, row after row.


Here I laid out my ideal colours.... (later I changed one of the colours)

 
Here you can see that it was possible to work in both directions!



 
I really loved these 7 colours, nice for Autumn!


But I continued to add more colours...


Here are some photos of the finished Wrap with all 12 rainbow colours! You can see that I decided to add some dangly tassels in the shape of more circles. In true funkycrochet manner, I varied the length of the dangles.








Wearing my Rainbow Circles Wrap with a wooden Shawl pin or alternatively, as a cosy scarf around my neck! It is very versatile!

I am very proud how this design has turned out, from the inspiration to the finished Wrap! And I love this yarn, it has a nice weight and drape to it, the stitches look well defined.

Also the pattern was fun, I enjoyed seeing it grow!

I can see lots of more possibilities, varying the colours, making a thinner or wider version, with more or less colours....


Well, I hope you enjoyed this post today and that it has brought a bit of (virtual) sunshine and a colourful rainbow into your life!





 
 
 
Have a great week! And if you want to leave me a comment, then please do! You know I love to hear from you all...

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Autumn days and a crochet collar

Hello blog friends,

How are you all? Now that we are in September, Autumn seems to have started. The weather has turned cooler, sometimes windy, but luckily we can still count on some sunshine here and there.

Thanks for all your kind comments and well wishes on my last post. I'm slowly recovering.

As far as my crafts go, it also feels like that a lot of the things I have been working on, I am starting to see the results! A bit like harvest time!!!

As you know, I always work on several projects simultaneously, switching them when I want to.

I have tried not to give in and start another shawl, but sometimes I see something that gets me interested and then I just have to drop whatever I'm doing and try it out immediately!!!

Do you know this feeling???

This was the case with an idea I saw a few days ago via pinterest - check here! 

You can find the find the complete tutorial on the blog lulu loves here. Thank you, Emma, for sharing your pattern with such clear instructions. It was a pleasure to make!

Here is how I made the crochet collar from Emma's blog


My finished crochet collar
 

I started out with this yarn from Rowan. It is called 'Revive' in their Purelife range.

This yarn is truly 'green' , because it is made from recycled clothing!  It contains 36% recycled silk, 36% recycled cotton  and 28% recycled viscose.

I love the 'tweedy' appearance with colour flecks. This pale shade is called Rock and the contrast shade I used is called Diamond.




There are 4 rows plus a fifth row in a contrast colour

Choosing a vintage button for the crochet collar
The pattern consists of only 5 rows, the first row being chains. The instructions are easy to follow.
 
The finished collar is truly versatile and complements different outfits!




I hope you enjoyed this little post, please let me know what you think? Oh, and do give this a go, it is such a quick project and great for giving a plain top a new style! Use yarn that brings out certain colours, go for matching or contrasting colours! Let the inspiration carry you along!

I look forward to reading your comments! Until next time!

Thursday 3 September 2015

Upcycling, sewing a dress and kringwinkels in Belgium

Hi, my lovely readers, how are you all?

 
Thanks for your positive reactions to my previous post. I'm trying to bring my blogging up to speed with what has been happening during August.

So here is another sewing and upcycling post for a change!

About kringwinkels in Belgium

We are very lucky to have a local kringwinkel in our little village. A kringwinkel is the equivalent of a charity shop in England, you can donate your goods and buy other donations there. They also provide employment and training for people.

Kringwinkels are in most towns, and living around Antwerp, I am lucky to have several to choose from.

I often check to see what is 'new', and I love to image what the story is behind an item. On a few occasions I have seen things that connect to me personally, such as china plates from the Potteries in England (where I used to live before moving to Belgium). Often I have fun taking photos of old things without buying them. Other times I found a nice jacket or other clothing.

However, these days I tend to 'hunt' for crafty stuff. I go through fabrics, crochet doilies and other handmade things, for me they are akin 'treasures'. Of course I need to be strict with myself and make good choices. Not everything is a bargain! I do not buy pairs of knitting needles because no matter how cheap, I prefer working with my nice Knit-Pro circular needles. However, finding someone else's old sewing supplies thrills me. I do not buy questionable acrylic yarn in ugly colours, but I might pick out the one ball of real wool, if I am lucky!

Often it is 'craft at first sight' - I find something and it inspires me to make something new with it!

This happened with the following fabric I located.

It disguised itself as an Ikea curtain, but I could see the dress it would transform itself into.


My Ikea hack - the upcycled curtain dress


How could I resist the lovely printed curtain panel? It was made of thick cotton and a nice length. I love the natural print design.


Here you can see me using my own paper pattern which I had used for my first dressmaking, you can read about it in a previous post of mine.




 This time I shortened the length.




You can see both dresses here next to each other.




My finished dress made from a curtain panel!!!





Later I worked on some extra pieces which I thought to add to make a sort of  'dotty angel frock dress' in my own style. I sewed some pockets and a collar bib by hand which I embellished with some crochet touches.

Upon checking I realized that less was more, and left them off. They might come in handy for another creation!

I really like how the dress looks now, letting the pattern and shape speak for itself.

Extra pockets
 
Matching bib collar


Attending a FEMMA Sewing workshop at the kringwinkel in Niel


You might recall that earlier this summer I mentioned I was taking part in a Sewing workshop at one of my local kringwinkels /charity shops, and yes, I was planning on blogging about it, so here it is, just a little bit later!

Really this played a part to encourage me on my new journey of dressmaking, sewing and upcycling.

This was hosted by an organisation called Femma which provides various courses, in this case it was sewing.

I went there with my youngest daughter, we had both registered for it. On the actual day it turned out we were the only ones (despite some other people having signed up for it!)

So we had the full attention and help of our teacher. We had some really good Bernina sewing machines there. I had brought one of my T-shirt tops that I hadn't really worn much and I bought a second patterned top there to use for this project. After some discussion and measuring, I decided that I wanted to add some panels to my top, which is what I did. My daughter had brought her own sewing project along.

Here you can see one of the finished side panels, with some added vintage crochet lace as a trim.


My upcycled Top with floral trim
My modelling shot (You can tell it was earlier this summer because my hair was really short then. It has grown quite a bit since then!!!)


And here is my instant 'new' sewing box collection with all sorts of goodies. I purchased it on the day of the workshop at the kringwinkel.





I also want to mention that things have been pretty busy this summer. I managed to injure my right knee end of April which caused me quite a fair amount of pain and discomfort. Anyway, long story short, I had an operation on my meniscus 7days ago and I'm hoping to finally get better now, though it might take more time. I also had various dental interventions which should soon be finished.

Crafting has helped me a lot to get through these difficult times. I want you to know I have more things to show you, but I decided to break them down into smaller parts!!!

I hope to see you back here soon...

Thanks for stopping by!!! 😊





Tuesday 1 September 2015

A Bright Summer Jumper Dress

Welcome back,

Shortly after my last post I finished my summer knitting project which I haven't showed you yet.

I know that it looks like summer is practically gone, but we still get some very hot days from time to time.

When I found this discontinued and colourful yarn I thought it would be nice to crochet a jumper, but after a few tries I decided that it might be great to do a knitted jumper instead.

Luckily I had enough yarn and so I ended up with more of a dress than jumper!!!

The yarn is Vero by Lana Grossa in their Linea Pura range. 60% cotton and 40% silk, a luxurious combination.


 Bright Summer Jumper Dress





This shows my working approach: I take some existing garments to decide on a design feature, in this case the cut of the arm holes. Underneath you can see both a T-shirt and a sleeveless top for comparison.




This shows the back panel being knitted. You can also see the stranded work of the fairisle which I deigned myself.


 My first attempt of the front panel was not very successful, it ended up too far cut out!

 
 
This is my recalculated version!



And here it is with the yellow colour accent rib.


 
 
 
 

Worn with a T-shirt underneath...
 





Some of my own observations and hints:


Knitting with a summer yarn is quite pleasant!
Knitting in the round makes this fun!!!
Stripes are easily done, but carry the other colours along inside, saving sewing up too many ends later!
Fairisle adds interest, make sure to calculate pattern repeats (I tend to draw coloured diagrams when I design) and vary the repeats.
Do not carry the second colour over more than three stitches.
I love geometric designs!!!


Have you made a summer jumper or did you do some knitting this summer?
Why not leave me a comment below?
Thanks for stopping by!!!