Crochet Popcorn Flower Update

a little update on the popcorn flower squares. there are 8 now, exactly halfway the front of a little cushion cover for our newly upholstered midcentury chair. we choose a tweed fabric with grey, green and blue tones. I must say the popcorn flowers match perfectly. in the image above, the flower squares are positioned on the smallest cushion I have. although I think even that one is still too large for the 4x4 flower squares pattern. 5x5 is too large for sure and I don't plan to make a large of cushion for this little chair. I'll probably end up making the inner cushion a little smaller.

the flowers are coming together slowly but surely and I think joining them with the grey yarn will be very nice. the back will probably be made of fabric, but let's not get too much ahead of things.

the flowers are made with alterations to this pattern. my version of it:
* make 2 US UK chain in between the popcorns instead of 3. NL haak 2 losse tussen de popcorns in plaats van 3
* the edging is made of 3x 2 US half double crochet UK half treble crochet in between the last round of popcorns. NL de rand bestaat uit 3x 2 halve stokjes tussen de popcorns van de laatste ronde.
* in the corners: US half double crochet, double crochet, chain 2, double crochet, half double crochet. UK half treble crochet, treble crochet, chain 2, treble crochet, half treble crochet. NL in de hoeken haak je een half stokje, stokje, 2 losse, stokje, half stokje

by making the edging of half double crochet instead of double crochet, the flowers will come closer together when you join the squares. let's see how that works out in the coming weeks.

xo

Yellow Mood

temperatures are rising in Toronto this week, and I try to get my share of sunlight through these pictures of my newest crochet project. it all started with the poster by Sycamore Street Press that I found at The Paper Place. there are gray skies printed behind the text 'you make me happy when skies are gray' but I realize it's hard to see them in the pictures. I plan to hang this poster in our bedroom and slightly decorate the room according to the white-yellow-gray color scheme. starting with a cushion cover, crocheted in bright yellow shades made by combining double threads of Catania yarn. the light gray polka-dot fabric will be the backing of the cushion. a few more ends to weave in and I am ready to hand sew the crochet front to the fabric cover. I don't know how it happened, but all of a sudden I am quite into yellow. must be the sunny Spring time!

Cushions and The Blanket

now for real: a peak into our new home. I actually finished these wood-cushions just before we moved. I had a feeling they would look good here, and it is always nice to see the images you have in mind become reality. it's very heavy cotton Ikea fabric, closed with large faux leather buttons. 

the polka dot cushion is a ready made one from Ikea as well.

also on the couch, the baby boy blanket in progress. I am nearly there. to be honest, I love this blanket so much that it will be hard for me to part with it. luckily I know it is going to a very good and loving home. the simpleness of this blanket, it's colors, the heavy and soft feel... I can highly recommend starting a similar project.

Getting Organized

hello there! now that we have picked up the final bits and pieces from our former home, it is time to get organized in the new home. the best part of moving if you ask me. 

I shipped some card sets from the shop last week, actually the Tea Time set is sold out at the moment. but the Birthday and Flower sets are available for you. perfect cards to share the Spring feeling with family and friends!

in the middle square a little more of a peek into our new home, I need some bright flowers on our dining table as you can see. also, we took Floyd for a first coffee date and although he was a little too excited in the beginning, he settled soon after that and we enjoyed a latte or two. I definitely see more of those fun dates for the 3 of us in the future. last but not least, I picked up the large knitted baby boy blanket. and it indeed is coming closer and closer to being finished...

a very happy new week to you

Chair Project

the scarf I posted yesterday

was lying on an old chair in a few of the pictures

a chair we already sanded at that time, ready to be painted

last weekend was very sunny and we were ready to work on our six wooden kitchen chairs

out came the sand paper, out came the paint

and on we went, the husband and me ~ so much fun !

six chairs we collected in the nine months we have been living in Canada

quite a catch if I may say so myself

they are all 'old' or vintage or may be even close to antique

and I like them in their own style, with their own stories : who has been using them ? in what kitchen ?

~

this is actually a teasing post, because none of the chairs is finished yet

they will all get a minimum of 3 layers of paint so we will be busy with them for a while

and you have to wait a little longer before I post a real 'tadaaa'

but... I am, and we are, very satisfied with the results so far

as you can see the sun was so bright, I was not even able to paint outside, it had to happen in the garage

in the shade and out of the wind

but what a lovely and perfect weekend to do so

~

more about the colors I choose and more pictures soon...

are you into re-doing furniture at all ?

Piano

well there it is

our new piece of furniture

a Piano

given to us by a dear Canadian friend

who has not played the instrument for years

and was looking for a good home for it

given the fact that I played since I was seven years old, you can imagine my excitement

so there it is in our home

filling an empty spot near the window

matching the style of the house and lamp

patiently waiting for it's first tuning session in years

and I am impatiently waiting to play it after that

in the meantime

we had a fabulous Spring weekend with lots of sun and warm temperatures

perfect weather for a birthday party of Ana's cute son who turned one year old

and perfect too for a new blanket project

after Miami Beach it is time for Miami City to join the collection

in full preperation for the creJJtion webshop

a lot of crochet and pattern writing, hopefully soon to be revealed !

~ wishing you a shiny new Spring week ~

Craft Room Inspiration

today I am sharing some snaps of my craft room

to give you ideas and inspiration I hope

~

a pile of fabrics looks so much better and attractive when you organize it by color

it also helps me a lot for getting ideas when I am working on a sewing project

it may sound weird to you, but it helps in your clothing closet too

I love 

organizing stashes

making layers and piles

collecting matching items

I also love 

finding storage purposes

in unpredictable but pretty ways

~ candles in a cup ~

~ paper collection in a wine rack ~

I painted this brown pin board white 

to make my pins stand out more

inside a large cupboard

I stored stamps, cotton yarns, notebooks, ribbons and lace

mostly in boring, but very effective transparent boxes

magazines organized by time of the year, together in one box

right now I am going through my Spring box, a perfect way to get into a new mood

forever loving white shades

the ring basket I made for our wedding and the Anthropologie owl I got in Vancouver

on my wall Carl Larsson prints and the Mollie Makes calendar by Jeanette from Fryd og Design

a little tour

some snaps and details...

wishing you a beautiful and organized day

Candle Light

on this rainy day

I finally did what I saw so many others do, and planned to myself do for so long

I made candles

vintage china cups I found at thriftstores, candle wicking

and left overs from candles

au-bain-marie I melted the left overs

quick, easy and fun!

so here I am, sitting by candle light

warm inside

a lot of rain outside

and hey, the cups go perfectly with the match box I decorated earlier this Winter!

I am looking through Flowers by Tricia Guild ~ indeed, founder of Designers Guild

one of my favorite look-books

doing a bit of crochet

and waiting impatiently for the amaryllis to open up

wishing you a lovely Winter day