Norwegian Woods

The Project

~ a breathtakingly beautiful lacy blanket titled Norwegian Woods. 

The Pattern

~ tutorial on YouTube by Jachelle Stephanie. I am hoping to receive feedback from her soon confirming whether she was also the designer of the pattern. A chart is available on Jachelle's Instagram, but beware that the corners differ slightly to the YouTube tutorial I followed.

Tutorial Part 1

Tutorial Part 2

The Inspiration
~ the mood captured by @camillalboe from Norway and the beautiful black exterior houses of Scandinavia. Photo credits: Camilla 

The edge

~ improvised!

Fiber Meditations

~ I have been searching for the perfect black fiber for close to two years and was about to order black hemp string online, when my eye spotted a few sample balls produced by my friend Hester, the force behind MoYa Yarn. It was instant love and without a doubt the most suitable yarn for the project. MoYa is a high twist hand dyed organic cotton with the added benefit that it does not split, the ends do not fray and once woven in, also do not unravel. Perfect!

Black Tweed has the potential to become my signature yarn if I ever decide to take the leap and do what I really should and want to do, i.e. hook in stark non-colours. I am the bearer of bad news though, this yarn is not (yet) available for sale.    

Vintage Throw Finished

Yarn: King Cole Bamboo Cotton in Glacier, 13 x 100gr

Hook Size: 4mm

Pattern from here and here

Images for mood boards below from my Raw Rustic Duck Egg Blue and For Me Pinterest boards

I hope you like my throw as much as I do!
It was such a great and rewarding pattern to hook that I am quite disappointed it came to an end.  I wanted to finish it though, so that I could still photograph it against the wallpapered wall here in the hotel where I also took the pictures for the previous posting.  We are at long last relocating to a villa tomorrow after 5 months of hotel apartment living. T's a busy time for me eeeeeek!
Have a nice week! 

The mud and dust, the soil and sands of Africa

Yarn Elle Cotton On DK print 051 Ash, Photo of Rhino by Christine & Michel Denis Huot

Hello!  The kids and I arrived in Doha with a suitcase and one piece of cabin luggage each. We are light travelers and since I am the boss did the packing, I distributed 4 kg yarn between the suitcases before I even considered how many pairs of shoes we have space for. 

I have just started working on a new blanket using my lovely yarn from South Africa. I initially planned a colour palette in rich reds and purples, but I reconsidered and settled on a palette of white, beige, taupe, grey and coal in 25 different shades, featuring no less than 9 different types of yarns! The palette is stunning, inspired by the mud and dust, the soil and sands of Mother Africa.

Images: Pinterest Raw Rustic

When I think of my childhood, vivid images of digging my hands through the cool earth, sinking my feet into the soft soil, boring with my big toe through the cracks of dried mud prevail. The picture of a White Rhino charging through dusty plains, cemented the idea for using a palette that represents the Mother Continent.

I am deviating from the initial idea and pattern, but decided to do a separate posting later in which I will be discussing crocheting techniques and personal likes/dislikes. 

Pattern: Hexagon from loopknits

Hook size: 5mm

YARN:

Vinnis Colours Bambi Bamboo/Cotton mix in White, Natural, Clouds and Midnight

Vinnis Nikkim Colours Cotton in Blue-Grey, Aluminium, Steel Grey and Midnight

Vinnis Serina Bamboo in Natural and Silver

Imagine Bamboo/Cotton mix by I Love Yarn  in Windswept, Abyss and Monet

Elle Premier Mercerised Cotton in Grey and Taupe

Elle Rustica Wool/Acrylic/Tweed mix in Charcoal, Aran and Natural

Elle Marco Cotton/Tweed/Wool/Acrylic/Nylon mix in Charcoal and Aran 

Elle Cotton On in Ash

Elle Pure Gold Acrylic in Pepper, Ivory, Silver and Titanium 

All the yarn is available from I Love Yarn in South Africa. They also ship internationally.

Thank you for visiting and enjoy the rest of your week!

Moroccan Inspired Throw for my Dad

Throw in progress inspired by Zellige terracotta tile work as seen in Moroccan Architecture, especially the cities of  Fès and Meknes. In this ancient art form, terracotta tiles are covered in enamel and chips are set  into plaster to create the most beautiful geometrical patterns. The art of Zellige dates back to the 14th century and was historically a statement of luxury (homes) and sophistication (inhabitants).

Yarn:   Vinnis Nikkim and Vinnis Bambi. I am using 16 different shades of blue and grey with old gold as an accent to lift the palette.  The squares and the throw will be edged in Stone.

Each square measures 17x17cm

Pattern:   Circle of Friends (Ravelry by Priscilla Hewett) or PDF Link

Tip: Remember to turn around the work for the bobble rows, the wrong side should face you so that the bobbles are pushed to the front (right side). All other rounds are hooked as usual. 

Thank you for the e-mails I have received regarding this project.  I have amended the posting to include a link to the PDF pattern in addition to the Ravelry link and also added a tip above.  Rachele of BabyLoveBrand demonstrates an interesting joining method for this square.  I will not be using this method, but it is beautiful nonetheless. Since I would like to stay as close as possible to a Zellige look and feel, I will simply single crochet around each square as per original pattern and join with a slip stitch at the back.

This is a very, very special throw. I am making it for my (still highly active) dad for his 70th birthday.  He loves fiddling with his fingers and I chose a pattern with texture as I know he will rub and roll the bobbles between his fingers all the time. He absolutely loves blue and furthermore has a great passion for measurements and figures. It is second nature for him upon entering any space to immediately calculate floor area and volumetric dimensions! 

As soon as he receives his blanket, he will analyse every square, calculate the number of stitches and ponder the yardage of the yarn used.  To keep him even more busy, I am going out of my way to ensure that every square is unique with regard to the color combination.  My dad enjoyed his travels to Arabia and looking towards Islamic design for inspiration came naturally to me. With this design process, I am able to create something that will always be a reminder of the special bond that exists between the two of us.

 See my previous posting about our travels to Morocco.

xxxxxx  

I will resume conversations about my love affair with Paris and Istanbul in a later posting where I will show you more of my yarn shopping (the Pierrot French Linen and newly launched bamboo/cotton Imagine yarns available from I love Yarn).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Checkerboard Baby Blanket

Checkerboard Baby Blanket

Hook Size: 4mm

Yarn: Vinnis Nikkim 100% cotton, hand dyed

Colours: Pacific blue to join and edge the blanket, Midnight and Natural with small squares in a variety of scraps

Hello!  Two days after I started this baby blanket last week, Jenn from Color 'n Cream blogged about the final version of her Pastel Color  Bomb Blanket and once again I realised that the granny square is simply one of the most beautiful and versatile of designs.  I love Jenn's version, oh my goodness the colours are scrumptious and her edge is to die for! I also discovered the blogs Dada's Place, Small City Gallery (galeryjka za miastem) and Yarning if you would like to explore more amazing work.

Here at the Pigtails Palace The Cat helped as much as he could to finish the throw . . .

 

. . . and together we decided to edge the blanket in a design by Lucy from Attic24

The Cat then said that the Teen should cover her moods in a collection of our throws (I think he is just jealous as she is a delight and he keeps on occupying her couch):

Little Karoo Throw blogged here

Babette Style throw blogged here

Raw Rustic Throw blogged here

Bollywood Throw blogged here

Checkerboard Baby Blanket

Until next time, cheers!

xxxxxx

Throw idea for our bedroom is taking shape!

The "Raw" squares prior to blocking

Hello!  I think I must be nuts but it seems that I hooked in cotton throughout the winter and now that Spring has Sprung (the weather is fantastic and the trees are starting to bloom), I picked up a wool/tweed/acrylic chunky yarn to hook a throw for our bed. Ah well, due to the intended size it is not a project that will be completed overnight, but it will surely be finished by the next winter. 

I finally decided on these two squares for the throw - a single crochet hooked in the round and a double crochet mesh pattern. It is looking fantastic in this yarn although I still prefer cotton and bamboo yarns in general.  The patterns are simple and I am keeping the stash next to the chaise - I have perfected hooking whilst lying on my back, watching some or the other interesting documentary on TV. Ah bliss! 

Hooksize: 6,5mm

Square Sizes: 180x180mm each

Yarn: Elle Rustica Chunky in Charcoal. These Elle Rustica "colours from the countryside" consists of 20% wool, 20% Tweed and 60% Acrylic

 

I chose the yarn, colour and patterns specifically to suit the silver grey walls, all white linen, white leather bed and French Industrial cabinets from the 1930's to post war years that is our bedroom.

A mobile phone collage of our bedroom that I posted in January

Have a great week and thank you for stopping by!

Joining Squares with Dc2Tog

What will a hooker be if she is not able to learn and display a variety of techniques? Without a career interesting crochet work that is for sure!

This hooker loves the creative process in joining squares as much as hooking the squares in the first place. There are so many different joining techniques to choose from - from flatter to decorative to textured joins - most which I still need to master. At first I thought that the flat braid would be a perfect choice for the raw rustic cotton bamboo throw, but I soon realised that this method is not suitable to the textured Bambi yarn I was using.  The Vinnis Bambi yarn called for a simple joining method in order to add structure to the project as well as showcase the yarn the best. I soon identified the Dc2Tog stitch as the perfect choice and what a pleasure hooking this method turned out to be!

Tanis Galik put a great video together demonstrating two different joining methods - the DC2Tog is explained from time 1,33 min - 3,12 min. The DC2Tog joining also added quite substantially to the size of the throw - hmmmm what's not to like about that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=osXCLrZqpFo

 Lastly for all my friends living in the Netherlands - Vinnis Bambi is available to you via Scaapi! 

Photo: Scaapi

I used this specific Silver Green colour for my Little Woollie scarf (photo below) - it is a gorgeous colour. Happy shopping, it is the perfect yarn to work with during the European summer!

Raw Rustic Cotton and Bamboo Throw!

Good Morning from a sunny Mother Africa!  The Throw that I have been working on for a while ('cause I ran out of yarn and so did my supplier) is finally finished - well that is apart from the weaving in of ends that is still happening . . .  It is such a soft, beautiful throw and I enjoyed every minute of the process from selecting the colours to deciding upon the appropriate hook sizes, joining methods and edging. I have made about 4 different postings about this project over the past weeks and attach the links below where appropriate. 

Pattern: 

The 70 squares are hooked in HDC

Ring: Ch5, close with ss. 

Row 1: Ch2 to form first stitch and then another 15hdc. Close round with ss. 

Rows 2-5: Ch2 to form first stitch and then 1hdc, 1ch, 2hdc (this is the first corner). Rest of the 3 corners 2hdc, 1ch, 2hdc. For the rest of the stitches between the corners: 1hdc in each. 

Repeat until there are 5 rounds in total.

See my posting On the Hook! where I blogged about the idea and stitches

Yarn:

 hand-dyed cotton, bamboo and cotton-bamboo mix

See my posting titled Wabi Sabi for more about inspiration for projects and yarn choices

Joining Method

I absolutely fell in love with the joining method I used for this throw.  I will be writing more about the method in another posting and will also refer you to a YouTube tutorial by someone else that thoroughly showcases this easy but visually appealing method. 

At first I was interested in joining the squares via the flat braid method, but I realised that the method was not suitable to a highly textured yarn.

Edging

I tried out a lattice edge in two different sizes - 3 chains as well as with 5 chain lattice but discarded the effort as I felt a simple edging would be more suitable to the yarn. The final edging consist of 3 rows hdc in the bamboo/cotton yarn and one row sc in the cotton.  The hooksizes suitable to these yarns are 3,75-4,5 mm.  I however hooked the throw in 5,5 and 6,5 mm - using the 6,5 mm for the lightest in weight in order to achieve the texture I was after.

Blocking

I steam blocked the squares in a rather rustic manner on a block made of nails and a rustic piece of wood 

See my posting titled Why I blocked all my squares for more information on the process

Stitch and Texture 

Squares in hdc, edging in sc

This throw is showcasing lovely texture by using a simple pattern, 3 different kinds of yarn and 2 different hook sizes.  It is lovely to say so myself and I am still playing with the idea of joining the squares with the flat braid pattern.

See my posting titled Progress where I blogged about the yarn and texture

I will post about the next wip on my hooks soon!  This time it is a modern looking Baktus stripey scarf in single crochet. I have a soft spot for the Baktus knitted scarfs that made the rounds among the Norwegian blogs a while back and designed a skinny version in single crochet to achieve the minimalist look I am after.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Hooker not into Swinging and Juggling

Aaack I ran out of yarn. A certain colour called "Stone" that I am using a lot of. So did two shops and an individual supplier. The result is that I am juggling two throws at the same time and am none too happy about it.  I am a one project at a time hooker, I am not into swinging. Tee heee. Yip I prefer to see one project through to the end and enjoy the process of fantasising about the next project (that lip smacking, saliva dribbling anticipation) more than actually starting it whilst still busy with another. 

This throw inspired by my bangle as blogged before is about two thirds finished, that means that I need to work my way through another 10-12 skeins of yarn before it can be declared done and dusted. At least I managed to pick up some of the black, orange and blue yarn whilst the stone colour is still on order.

Perhaps running out of yarn was not all that bad since I have drawn up all my postings for Blog Week already woop woop!  

I will be able to enjoy Blog Week by sipping coffee whilst blog hopping and savouring all the great posts without a worry in the world!  Last year I planned naught and ended up sucking a posting out of my thumb every day - eeek the pressure was insane.

I hope you will all be participating, it is such fun.

Cheers!