Flower Power

See Floral for links to the origins of the non crochet floral images

Hello!  Over the years, I have seen this pretty pattern appear in my Pinterest feed many times and always thought it would make a gorgeous blanket.  I absolutely love making this square, it is fun to be working with so many different colours and to be mixing cotton and bamboo yarns to reach the desired effect. You definitely want to stroll over to Instagram and take a look at the gorgeous projects featuring this square by Cornel and Elsbeth and also read Cornel's posting on the HelloHart blog. 

Hook size: 4mm. These stunning squares are about 25cm x 25cm unblocked in size each! 

Yarn: A mixture of Vinnis Nikkim, Vinnis Serina, Vinnis Bambi, I Love Yarn Imagine and King Cole Bamboo Cotton.

Patten: The pattern was published in the magazine Para Ti - guia de puntos but I have no idea which edition. Please feel free to enlighten me!

It is a very busy time here in the Pigtails Palace and I am slightly overwhelmed by the volume of activities I am faced with on a daily basis (including working full time!) I will also be blogging about the progress in hunting down beautiful pieces for the Girl Teen's room soon, show some pictures of what the interesting Doha Downtown area looks like, finally blog about the African Inspired Blanket (hijacked by the Dude Teen) and so forth!

Have a great week, we are celebrating Qatar National day this week and from what I can see, it certainly is a massive event here every year. Until next time, cheers!

Crocheting at the Cafe

Pattern: Inspiration from Sophie Digard, I just winged it as I went along

Pom Pom Edge Pattern from Once Upon A Pink Moon

Yarn: Pierrot Pont du Gard 100% French Linen manufactured in Japan and bought in South Africa from I Love Yarn and previously blogged about here

Pattern: An adaptation of Connect the Dots, one of 25 crochet patterns designed by the talented Cornel Strydom for Ideas Crochet magazine. Available for downloading from Zinio

Yarn:  Pierrot Pont Du Gard as per Crochet Pearls above

The Venue: The famous Istanbul Cafe Mado, now open in Ezdan Mall, Al Gharafa, Doha

The menu: Menemen and Cappuccino for breakfast followed by Turkish Tea, Kunafeh and Turkish Ice cream after an hour of furious crocheting!

To give you an idea of the ice cream that sang and danced on my palate  " . . .  Mado’s Maraş-style ice cream, which originates from Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş region, is made, entirely from natural ingredients. The milk used to create this delicious treat is obtained from goats that are on a strict diet of thyme, wild liquorice and wild orchids. Salep (a creamy drink made from wild salep orchids) is also used to lend a unique taste to the ice cream" - Time out Istanbul 

Photos edited in the car en route back home after The Driver picked me up from the mall. I used Snapseed and then created these collages via the magazine part of the Moldiv app.

Cheers!

Imagine

Imagine a yarn shop that is a haven for savvy shoppers with discerning taste.

Imagine such a shop belonging to two yarn whisperers who are not only able to match the right yarn to the right project, but who inspire local knitters and crocheters to instinctively know what  yarn wants to become through holding, looking, smelling, touching and listening to it.

Imagine being able to purchase top South African produced plant and animal fibers along global brands such as Rowan and Pierrot. 

Imagine attending various crochet workshops or joining in for a craft share, a cup of great coffee and a piece of cake that is almost too nice to slice.

This is "I Love Yarn" and imagine my luck as I live less than 2 km away from this shop located in the leafy suburb of Baileys Muckleneuk in Pretoria, South Africa.

Imagine, just imagine Stephni and Elaine decide to hand dye and hand ball their own label.

They did!  They imagined a wide range of colours to inspire knitters and crocheters in a fiber that can be used for a plethora of projects.  This is IMAGINE, a 70% bamboo-30% cotton yarn that is hand dyed and hand balled with the assistance of previously disadvantaged South African women. 

IMAGINE just what will be hanging from my hooks at some point!

I bought 21 skeins in colours Guava, French Affair, Butterscotch, Mustard, Windswept, Abyss and Granite.

But first I am making their heirloom blanket (available as a kit from their shop) in my own preferred shades of coal, cement, mud and milk. I bought the kit a month ago and imagine my patience as I will only start working on it next month. 

Lovely crocheted items on display in the shop

 

Where can I find I Love Yarn?

Facebook Page

Website

Pinterest

A French Affair

Pierrot Yarns produced in Ichinomiya City Japan

Pont du Gard 100% French linen, fingering weight

Non itchy, but stiff and crisp

To be turned into Sophie Digard inspired jewelry once I am settled in Doha, Qatar

Bought from I Love Yarn, a new yarn store located in a beautiful house in Pretoria, filling a huge gap in the market by catering for those of discerning taste

Photos of interiors by Petra Bindel with Lo Bjurulf

Photos of yarn my own, edited on Snapseed, collages created with the Moldiv App, 

uploaded on Google Drive rather than the less reliable iCloud

The Cat had some fun with my precious yarn (below) one night, it looks worse for wear but is thankfully undamaged

Flashback: 1999 Nogent-le-Rotrou where we attended 

the wedding of my French friend and her South African sweetheart

Left: Myself nearly 6 months pregnant with The Teen; 

Middle: Hair tied up, enjoying Paris sightseeing

Right: the (very young looking) husband and I taking a romantic stroll just outside Nogent-le-Rotrou

Enjoy your weekend!  I am still working on the Moroccan inspired throw and have to say that I am really very pleased with how it is turning out.

xxxxx