Handmade just for you

Hello!  Yesterday I prepared myself to search furiously for a special birthday gift for a friend, when I stumbled upon this lovely box from India mere minutes into my shopping expedition. I bought the box and knew straight away that it was to hold a surprise from my hooks as well. I legged it to the nearest yarn store to find the perfect yarn that would portray the essence of my friend. On numerous occasions she seemed bowled over by the soft and luxurious bamboo yarn I sometimes work with and when my eye spotted the gorgeous Indigo, I was sold. Mission completed. 

INDIGO

Common Connotations

loyalty, religion, spirituality, intuition

Please curb the curiosity be patient  whilst I work my way through 6 skeins of yarn, using the gorgeous bobble stitch for the gift. Meantime, enjoy my new blog template, a New Years gift to myself. DO you like it?  Suzana from This Girl Design not only designed the template, but also took care of the installation.  Thank you Suzana, you gave me the best service I have enjoyed in years. 

Happy New Year!

Misty Clouds Scarf and 2013 Hooky Pleasures

Hello!  This is another scarf (yeah, I am fixated) hanging from my hooks. I wanted to share a few photos with you before the clock strikes 12 in three more days, even though the item is only half finished! I am still finding my way around this gorgeous yarn but think I will be able to push the boundaries and hook really interesting items once the creative juices are in full swing again. 

Misty Clouds Scarf

Pattern: hooked in hdc, 28 stitches per row

Hook size: 8mm

Yarn: African Expressions Love, brushed mohair, 100 gram  

 

Psst - Long post alert!

I decided to take a quick look at what I created during 2013 and am quite pleased with the results. Below is a collection of my projects with hyperlinks to all the postings. The postings include links to patterns, my own patterns or tutorials.
I have also thoroughly enjoyed all the blog hopping, commenting, link parties and blog week (See my posting Bamboo is Best for a chuckle). Thank you for stopping by here at the Pigtails Blog so often, have a fantastic New Year. Cheers!

  

1&3 African Flower Handbags 2. Roly Poly Pillow Seat & Roly Poly Pentagon pattern 4. African Flower Tutorial

1. Elize Shawl  2. Placemat 3. Shell Crochet Scarf  4. Mandala 

1. Necklace 2. Spotty Dotty Scarf & Spotty Dotty Planning 3. Circles Scarf 4. Dentelle Scarf 

1. New Yarn 2. Raw Rustic Throw & Raw Rustic Progress & Blocking Raw Rustic Squares & Rustic Squares Pattern 3. Blocking Cotton 4. Tutorial: Joining squares with DC2Tog 

1. Crochet Frames 2. Drops Design Top 3. Doilies 4. Ziggy Lace Scarf 

1. Delphine Cowl  2. Throw Main Bedroom 3. Crochet Frame 4. Bamboo is Best

1. Ivory Handbag 2. Crochet Pot 3. Mohair Scarf & Planning Mohair Scarf 4. Crochet Vessel 

1. Pattern: Squaring the Treble Circle 2. Vintage Fan Ripple 3. Doilies 4. Skinny Scarf & Skinny Scarf Inspiration 

1. Circles Scarf  2. Triangles & Kaleidoscopic triangles & Planning Triangles 3. Babette Style Throw finished & Babette Progress & Babette Inspiration 4. Erica Cowl  

1. Checkerboard Blanket  2. Spotty Dotty Cushion 3. Baby Ryder Blanket 

Mohair Scarf

 

Hello!  We are enjoying a great holiday at the moment and I decided to post a picture story for you today in order to showcase The Mohair Scarf.  For more details about the pattern and yarn, see my posting Something a little different.  Below are typically the items I would choose from my own wardrobe in order to create an interesting outfit.Cheers!

Travelling. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller - Ibn Battuta

Holiday Bliss

Vintage Fan Ripple

Vinnis Nikkim Cotton Yarn hand dyed in Peach

Two more Christmas tree decorations in 

Strawberries and Cream, Kismet Yarns colours 08 and 0050

I am crawling back into my corner now to enjoy the Bill Bryson book A Short History of Nearly Everything as well as Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan.

Cheers!

xxxxx

Christmas Tree Decorations

Crochet Frames / hanging ornaments

Hello! Aren't we lucky?! We've spent the past 5 Christmases in 5 different places namely Dubai, Kathmandu, Penang, Bangkok and South Africa. Perhaps this year we should drive over to Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique or Botswana to keep up with this trend! (We've actually spend a further 5 Christmases also in the Middle East when we were living in the UAE). We have learned so much from other expats and societies about the way they celebrate this time of the year, but the biggest surprise to me remains the interest, involvement and respect we experienced from people belonging to other major religions - here I do not refer to the commercial sense, but the blessings and celebrations.

Teen showcasing a minimalist paper garland for the tree. Just cut cardboard in strips and fold - glue or staple together.

These are drawings the Teen made with a silver pen on wooden discs she spray painted in black. This is the family of course! Wooden discs available from Ruby's haberdashery in Brooklyn, Pretoria. 

Christmas in South Africa is vastly different to Christmas in the Northern parts of the world due to the differing seasons, school years and the fact that this time of the year is spent on the beach and behind the barbecue. Few of those who can afford it, stay at home. 

It is sun, sea and surf time!

Meantime, I grabbed the blackboard and jotted down a few patterns for you. I used oval cardboard frames and wooden curtain rings available from Ruby's Haberdashery in Brooklyn. 

To hook the first round take a look at the tutorial by LolaNova. I used wooden curtain rings as well as oval cardboard discs to create my frames. The patterns below do not include that first round as demonstrated by LolaNova:

This is the bobble border by Vicki

Uhm, pardon the wet blackboard in the above photo.

In fact, pardon the bad photo editing, it is dinner time and the jerk chicken is calling. These are just some basic pics and ideas.