Obsessed #2 (and a give-away winner)

Hello dears,

I hope you've had a lovely weekend!

A while back I posted here some of the large pieces I'm currently making. An obsession in the making indeed. ;-) Here's a follow-up with my most recent work in this serie. I've used the eco-friendly cotton from DMC Natura and a 3.5 mm hook.

Also, thank you all SO much for partipating in the give-away. I really, really wish I could send a Tulip Etimo Gold set to all of you... I WILL however soon organise another give-away of a wonderful Tulip crochet set (different colour and - partly - different size hooks, but equally beautiful), so keep posted! This gold set however will travel across the North Sea to @poppy_creates in the UK. Congratulations & happy crocheting!

For now, that's all... I hope to pop back here soon.
Thanks for your kind visit and I wish you a most lovely week.

My most favourite WiP!

Hi everyone,

I know, I know, it's been a long time... But I'm back and full of plans and inspiration for new blog posts! Later this week I have a lovely announcement to make (not a career move, not getting married, not getting divorced either, not relocating to a tropical island), but if you follow me on instagram, you probably know already what I'm talking about. ;-)

Meanwhile I really would like to share my favourite work in progress of this moment. And quite possibly my favourite work in progress EVER.

In short the story behind it. I love sourcing new yarn, yes I do! And a while back I had the luck of revisiting my favourite yarn store: The Craft Company in Cascais, Portugal. (Here's their facebook and here the website.) If you're ever near, it's well worth a detour. Actually, I have a picture of (a small part of) the shop! Isn't this just pure eye candy...

So I came back with  lovely new yarns, among which BioBamboo of the Portuguese brand Rosários4. Incredibly soft, and the colours... Oh my word, they seemed to be made just for me. ;-)

But as I had no idea what to make yet, I just purchased one ball of each desired colour. I thought this would be a brilliant yarn for a pattern of one my Japanese crochet books. (We all LOVE those, don't we?) After some pondering the subject and browsing through the books I choose a lovely pattern from a book of which the English subtitle reads Crochet motif of 27 items. I thought it would make a wonderful scarf.

So I started crocheting. Soon however I fell head over heels in love EVEN MORE with both yarn and pattern, and most of all the wonderful combination of the two. Really, they work magic together.

It seemed pity to stick to the scarf idea. I mean, a scarf is okay and nice enough, but a BLANKET, well a blanket, that's just all comfort and snuggliness caught in yarn.

Luckily enough  for me I could order more of this lovely yarn at the Craft Company (thank you!) and soon I can continue crocheting the blanket. I can't wait to finish this one.

Anyway! I guess that's it for now. Hopefully we'll catch up later this week. :-)

Have a good day & thank you so much for your lovely visit.

Sweden

Yes! I did score some lovely yarns in Göteborg.
('Cause that was were I was.)

^ The naturel, powder pink, greyish, very dark brown and yellow/gold linen are from Strikk. This shop carries its own beautiful line of linen yarn.

The silvergrey linen on the left is Kalinka's yarn (it's thinner than Strikk's) and the two smaller, blue skeins are organic, hand dyed cotton.

^ Adding stash to stash...

They had buttons too. :-)

And really, which catlady who loves her veggies and fruits,

could resist these tiny(!) cuties? 

Also I spotted quite some crochet in the wild.
Like on top op this pram - very stylish.

And in the period rooms of the City Museum...

And a gorgeous sewing box. (Sorry, bad photos.)

In short, a lovely weekend indeed...
♦♦♦ Take care! ♦♦♦

Pink meets Hemp

Last weekend I made this potholder.
(Yes, another one...)
The front is made of organic hemp yarn,
the back & edging of cotton.
I quite like the combination of the rough & soft textures.

If you're interested in the pattern, it's as simple as it looks. :-)
The front is a granny square of nine rows.
The back is a solid square, also of nine rounds.
I used a 3 mm hook.
The pattern for the back is as follows (American terminology):

♦ Chain 6 and slipstitch to form a ring.
♦ Round 1:
20 double crochet (dc) in the ring. Join with a slipstitch.
♦ Round 2:
[in 1 dc of the previous round: 2 dc, chain 2, 2 dc. Then 1 dc in each of the next 4 stitches.] 4x.
Join with a slipstitch.
♦ Round 3
[in the corner space: 2dc, chain 2, 2 dc. Then dc in each of the next stitches till the next corner space.] 4x
Join with a slipstitch. 
♦ Rounds 4-9: repeat round 3. (The number of stitches between the corners will increase.)

For the loop you can use a key chain as a base, then single crochet on it.
You can sew or crochet it to your potholder (I did a bit of both.)
I then single crocheted the back and front together, using the cotton (one round).
To make an edging I used the crab stitch, which is fun doing.
It's a backward single crochet; on YouTube you'll find lots of great tutorials.

Okay, that's quite enough about one potholder.
I hope you haven't falling asleep. :-)
Thanks for visiting! Wishing you all a very fine day.

♦♦♦

Yarn Talk & Other Tittle-Tattle

Oh dear - it has been too long.
Very busy, but - alas - not blog related.

So no progress to show you unfortunately.
However! I did buy new yarns.

Love the powder pink colour...
The yarn on the left looks more like twine, doesn't it?
It's organic hemp yarn. I used it before, it comes out nice.
I'm planning to make a set of placemats with it.

I like the old fashioned crochet cotton
from the brand Modinetje.
I got the last one (for only one euro).
The brand design is like a flashback to the fifties.
Wonder if it's still being produced?























Mmm, I'm afraid this is going to be a quite messy blog post.
(I apologize.)
I'll show you some old pictures, which I didn't use before here.

This is where I store stuff like leftover yarn.
Old shoeboxes...

Craftroom snapshot...
With lots of crocheted doilies, thrifted finds & a garland.

And why not end this chaos with potholders?

What are you up to this weekend?
I personally hope to have some time to crochet.
Have a happy weekend!

♦♦♦

Gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Happy New Year!
May 2013 be a happy, crafty, creative, sustainable
& an animal friendly one...

This time we didn't make any traditional oliebollen for New Year's Eve,
but a coconut & lime cream pie instead -
from Vegan Pie in the Sky.
I wrote about that wonderful book before: here.

And to be honest...
When I state something like 'we made a pie':
My task was confined to picking a recipe. ;-)

Anyway. It was the first time we had this pie,
and it didn't disappoint! At all.
Creamy it was indeed... Mmm.

So, before we ate the rest of it today,
I managed to take some pictures. (Only just!)

To end this first post of the new year:
I'm absolutely thrilled by the fact that there are a growing number of people interested in this blog. :-)
I find it terribly exciting to have visitors from all over the world.
Thank you for visiting and commenting.
It's appreciated, a lot!

I hope you had a good start of the year too.
♥

Vegan Treat of the Month ***Chocolate Hazelnut Flapjacks***

Oops, incidentally I skipped the vegan treat of the month in October.
Time to make up for that with this very easy, but very rewarding treat.
Flapjacks!

They don't look much on these pictures, I know...
However, they truly have a great texture and are delicious.
This week I made them for a friend who loves them.

Another plus: it doesn't take much time to make them,
and you can make a bunch of them in one go.
They keep good for at least a week in airtight tin,
but honestly: they probably won't last that long.
Oh, and they're not expensive!

So, what do you need? 
(makes about 30-35 flapjacks)

450 grams (16 oz) rolled (porridge) oats
300 gram (10oz) margarine
150 gram (6 oz) black molasses (or treacle)
150 gram (6 oz) brown sugar
100 gram (or to taste) fairtrade pure chocolate chunks 
100 gram (or to taste) roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, crushed/cut into half
pinch of salt

You can replace the hazelnuts and chocolate with dried dates, abricots, cashew nuts, almonds, raisins... Anything you like really!

How to make the flapjacks?
Preheat the oven at 190 degrees Celsius.
Melt the margarine, sugar and treacle in a pan, stir & be careful not to burn it.
Mix in the oats, the hazelnuts and the salt. Stir thoroughly.
Press half of the mixture into a square or rectangular tin (mine is about 30x15 cm).
Put the chocolate chunks on top, press gently into the mixture.
Then press the other half of the mixture into the tin and completely cover the chocolate. (This way the chocolate won't burn.)
Smooth over the surface with a spoon.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
With a sharp knife: mark into portions while still warm, then leave to cool.






















♥ Best enjoyed in the company of a dear friend,
with a good fairtrade tea served in mismatched vintage cups...

It's such a perfect day... For a sneak peek

While autumn winds are blowing,
it's nice to snuggle up inside
bake & enjoy a cupcake
or two...

Vegan of course.
The crocheted doily is a thrifted treasure.























So, I figured this might be the right setting for a little sneak peak,
of a crochet project...
Since the colours coordinate quite nicely with the cupcake
- if I may say so.






















Still searching for a nice lacy crochet border pattern for this throw.
But first: finish making all the granny squares.
Still a lot to go...

The hardships of Cruelty-Free Living (Haha)

So, it has been quiet on my blog.
I just got back from a short trip to vegan heaven, better known as NYC.
(They don't call it The Big Apple for nothing, right?)
Of course I stocked up heavily on vegan goodness.

In this case: the marshmallows of Sweet & Sara.
This afternoon I indulged in hot chocolate made with almond milk,
topped with toasted coconut & vanilla marshmallows.
Great recipe to get rid of any jetlag.

Oh yes, I forget, if you're not veg*n, you might be wondering:
vegan marshmallows?
Yeah... because other marshmallows always contain gelatin,
made from the bones of animals.
Yes. Ugh. Indeed.


PS.
Can I just add this pastel doily 'thing' is getting out of control?
;-)

The Droste Effect & Why The Nurse Is Frowning

In Dutch thriftstores you'll often find these tins,
from Droste cocoa.
Originally this chocolate was produced in Haarlem,
in a beautiful factory by the river.
(Now converted into fairly ugly appartments - with stunning views though.)

The brand is also known for the expression Droste effect:
when a picture contains a smaller image of itself;
which in turn contains a smaller image of itself;
which contains a smaller image of itself; et cetera...
- because of this image of the nurse:

How much I like the old tins, I never buy Droste products!
Why?
They just have very few fairtrade products.
(Only the chocolates for Sinterklaas - a national feast in The Netherlands in December - are UTZ Certified.
And that's because a public campaign a couple of years ago.)
None of their regular products are fairtrade.
And none of their products are organic - not even the cow's milk in it.
Which is a pity and a bloody shame really.
If you ask me: the nurse is frowning about this.

I'll just stick to the old tins.

Vegan Haven in The Ardennes

Recently I went on a weekend trip to Belgium with friends.
We stayed in The Ardennes:
beautiful landscape with rolling hills -
old farms -
weather-beaten houses -
lovely old towns...

But the icing on the cake
was our destination:
This ecological and vegan guesthouse,
Located in a stunning old farmhouse:
La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte.

The guesthouse is mainly run by volunteers.

The rooms are basic - but light and airy.
There is a spacious communal area,
where the food is being served.
We had our own private dinner table.
I'd heard before from people who'd been there,
the most amazing things about dinner.

And although dinner was tasty and abundant,
it wasn't that special.
But the packed lunches we ordered to take away were really good,
just like the breakfast buffet.

(Silly enough I didn't make photos of the food.)

There's a huge kitchen garden
where they grow their own organic vegetables.
Straight from the garden to your plate, yummie!

















Final judgment: recommended for a relaxing weekend.
(Also if you not a vegan!)

Vegan pie to die for

After a small hint from my side
(Pleaeaease bake me a pie - please?)
Mr. H. decided it was a good day to try a recipe from
Vegan Pie in the Sky
Another fabulous cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero.

He decided to try his hand on the Lagusta's Chocolate Raspberry Tart.
Kudos to him for that choice.

I tell you it's really hard to catch this pie's gooeyness on a photo,
but I gave it a try.
Although it meant having to deal with small hints of Mr. H.
(Can we pleaeaease eat it now - please?)

If you're vegan or not: the pies in this book really are to die for.
To make it (just a little bit) more complicated:
The recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Pie was borrowed from Lagusta's Luscious,
definitely a site (and vegan chocolate shop) to add to your favourites!

Vegan Pie in the Sky is well written and funny.
If you click here you'll find some sample recipes:
Like Pear Frangipane Tart and Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Pie.

Highly addictive stuff...

Happy Sheep / Yarn Galore

What is it exactly, this girlish silliness,

That makes my heart skip a beat

(or two)

When seeing stacks of yarn...?

The colours

The texture

The softness

The overall yumminess.

My evergrowing collection of yarn
is vegan. 

And - if it's bamboo or cotton - organic where possible.
But the yarn on these pictures is actually acrylic.
Which is less of a burden to our environment than wool.
(Contrary to what one might expect.)

I know a lot of people detest acrylic yarn...

But it does come in nice bright colours
- And it keeps the sheep happy.
:-)