Let the sun shine!

Hello my dearest!

How has summer been there where you live? Here in Italy it was pretty awful weather-wise… It’s been raining a lot and almost everyday since june, and it’s been cold as well. Surprisingly, September has been quite good so far! Last sunday the sun was shining and we had almost 30°C, and this week was very nice, though much chillier, especially in the mornings. Let’s hope that it will hold a bit longer, because I haven’t been able to sit in my garden for weeks now, since it has turned into a real swamp, to the point that I’ve spotted a dragonfly the other day! lol

I took a chance to finally enjoy the sun yesterday and I’ve been crocheting a bit in the garden. My Confetti blanket is growing slowly but constantly 🙂 I’ve reached 51 squares (out of planned 130) and I think it’s looking great, I love all those colours! I’m already thinking of what edging could go with it, probably something quite plain, since the granny squares are so “rich” already. What do you suggest?

I’ve also been cooking quite a lot lately. I love cooking, but since I live on my own I don’t get to cook much just for myself. I have a real passion for making jams and maramalades though, and last week I’ve made peaches jam for the first time 🙂 I’ve often made cherries, strawberries, plums, oranges… so I wanted to try something new. I must say that this is one of the best jams I’ve ever made, it tastes soooo good! I can share the recipe if anyone is curious 🙂 Here’s a picture of the vases while they were cooling down 🙂 I guess you can tell it’s good when the colour is nice, can’t you?

 

 

 

I’ve also been drying chili peppers… we’ll see how it goes. I have a huge plant in my garden, but due to the terrible weather we had all over summer, this is all we got out of it, unluckily.

Last but not least… It was Formula 1 Gran Prix last Sunday here in Monza, and I went seeing it for the first time in my life 🙂 I enjoyed it so much, it’s been like a giant party!

My brother and I were rooting for Ferrari, of course, but it didn’t win, too bad 🙂

 

So how was your week?

The “Carnivorous” blanket

Ok, Ok, the name I gave to this blanket is a bit odd, but it came to my mind while reading “Life of Pi” a couple of weeks ago. I’m not going to go further into details in case someone hasn’t read the book or watched the film, but yes, this blanket has a literary background, lol

Anyway, I have recently found myself almost sinking in stash yarn, or to better say, in yarn leftovers. I have been crocheting many blankets in the past years, and I rarely get to use up ALL the yarn I buy, so it started piling up at some point. Therefore I decided to make a blanket, or a lapghan, or a bed throw… I am not sure about the categorization cause I haven’t actually set on a finished size, I’ll just go on until I have yarn left. AND, most importantly, I have decided I am not going to buy any new yarn for it, so if I ever run out of it, I’m simply going to wait until get some more leftovers, with the only exception of black, since it’s the joining colour.
But why “carnivorous”? Well, do you know of all those half finished projects, those tests, those swatches which seem to lay aroudn forever and never get looked at agin? Well, I’ve been patiently frogging them all and using them up again 🙂 So basically I am crocheting a blanket and feeding it with other projects! lol

But now, on to more interesting details!

pattern is…

flower in a square

by Sucrette

it’s super easy and doesn’t require too much counting, so you can just go on with your crocheting while watching TV. (always a plus, if you ask me).

As I said I didn’t make up a scheme, but I counted that to get a decent size blanket I’ll need to make AT LEAST 300 squares… lol

here are some pics for you to enjoy. How to you like it? I have joined about 120 squares so far 🙂

Here my cat was testing it and I think it passed 🙂

Square #100!

I’m joining as I go… best invention ever, esp when you have 300+ squares ahead of you!
So this blanket is basically the reason why I am doing 52 squares for the crochetmoodblanket2014. I figured I would end up leaving one behind, and so far so good!

If you’re on Ravelry, you can see my project page HERE.

CrochetMoodBlanket2014 – Week 2

Hi everyone and happy sunday!
I’m trying to hold on to my resolution and post at least once a week. Luckily the CrochetMoodBlanket project will help me 🙂

I’ve had a super busy week. I started working again on jan 7th, and it’s been incredibly hectic ever since. The upcoming week will be even worse, so yay! Bless crochet 😀

I finally had the time to go buying yarn on Wednesday though. I really wanted to buy yarn in okra7curry colour, i had seen it earlier in September, but didn’t seem to be a suitable for a baby blanket I had to make, so I thought I’d leave it for something else, BUT! The yarn is apparently sold out! Sigh… i had already figured the blanket in my head, it was a bit hard to change direction.
I’ll show you my yarn colours next time, just to have a bit of suspance… lol

So here is my square for week 2. I have decided to use orange because it is a colour that often makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable. Since it is supposed to be a mood based blanket, I figured i might have felt somewhat like that during the year.

As you can see, I also decided to join squares as I go. I actually think I invented a new joining method. Has anyone seen anything like that and can point me to a tutorial? i can’t really imagine no one thought I doing something similar yet, so before I write down a tutorial I’d like to make sure that it doesn’t exist yet 😉

Well, i guess that’s enough for today 🙂 See you next week with square #3… and maybe a tutorial, lol
I have so many other projects and wip’s to show you, actually!

Chocolate macarons – baby blanket update

Hi everyone!

It’s been another busy week. I have actulally resigned from my job because I might be about to start my dream job soon. I have an interview on thursday and I’ve spent the last 10 days preparing for it. I’m so nervous!

Thanks God I have my personal kind of yoga… crocheting! It really relaxes me and helps thoughts getting reorganized in my head. Is it the same for you? Does crocheting/knitting help you with feeling better? It definitely works for me.

Anyway, I have almost completed my “Chocolate Macarons” baby blanket. I am so so in LOVE with this blanket! lol It will be a pain to see it go when it sells.

I have finished crocheting the 30 squares and started joining them. I actually wanted to mix and match them and join them in some kind of random (but not really) order. I tried a couple of combinations and realized that the rich pattern texture and the many colours would make it look messy and a bit confusing. So I decided to join the squares creating rows with the same colour combo and I think it was the right decision. It looks much better like that!

Here are some pics for you to enjoy 🙂

Btw the blanket is available for preorder (and you’ll get a 5€ discount). I just can’t give you the finished measurements yet cause I also want to add a nice border, but it’s pretty big – stroller/crib size. Anyway, If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Much love!

xxx

 

One third done… things are shaping up!

More and more squares, only 5 left to crochet

I started joining. The squares are actually sewn together. I prefer sewing than crocheting them together cause it just looks so much better.

Almost done… just couple of rows left

this blanket is going to look… FAB! 🙂

Chocolate Macarons – new baby blanket wip

Hi everyone!

Today i am going to show you my newest work in progress. I have suddenly been struck by inspiration la week and i HAD to go buying some more yarn… do you know the feeling?

i had seen a picture of blue macarons with chocolate filling and they looked so yummy that I had to turn them into a crochet project. The pattern i have chosen isn’t actually reminding of macarons in any way, but well… I still think that the outcome will be interesting.

I don’t have many pics to show so far, though I’m about 50% done. Most of the squares are finished, but I’ll be posting them little by little.

I have chosen 6 colours, in the shades of neutral/tans, cream and blues. I think they fit together well, what about you?

I have 2 squares out of 6 to show you. i think it’s very interesting to see how a different colour oder gives a totally different effect. I am sure that the blanket is going to look beautiful.

Once it is finished, this blanket is going to be for sale on my Etsy store. If you are interested in a pre-order or in a cutom order, please just contact me at sakura.crochet.designs[AT]gmail.com

a new baby blanket and Ishbel 2.1

Hi everyone!

Long time no see! Not much going on here actually, I am just mainly working an studying. It’s been extremely warm here lately, so I’ve also taken a chance to travel a bit around during the weekeneds and search for a more comfortable temperature.

Knit/crochet-wise, I have finally started working again on some projects. First, I have started a baby blanket which is a custom order due in october. It’s a solid colour blanket… I am not sure I am liking the outcome so far though. What do you think? It’s not that I don’t like it… i was just feeling like trying some new granny square patterns, but we already had selected a solid colour yarn, so i’ll have to go with it. Pattern is Greta’s Blankie 🙂

Moreover, I was feeling like knitting lately, so i decided to give a third try at the Ishbel pattern, by Ysolda Teague. I have frogged the one I had made a while back, cause it turned out to be too small (see this post) and my cat had destroyed part of it, and i have started it all over. i have now picked the bigger size and i have finished the first lace pattern repeat.

It’s a bit hard to photograph cause it is curling a bit, but here is a picture I took some days ago. In the meantime i already came to the orange/brown shade. i love love love self striping yarn!

 

 

I am planning to go buying some new colourful yarn soon. I actually can’t wait for the cold season to start crocheting regularly again! I hope to get new custom orders in soon, they are my fave ones, it’s a nice feeling when you can make a customer happy 🙂

Lazy crocheting, mailing list subscription and a discount

Hi everyone!

How are you all doing? I have finally found a job and started working last week. It’s not exactly my dream job, but I only have a 3 months contract, so I’ll have a chance to look for something different in September. The best thing about this job is that I only work mo-fri from 9 to 6, which for most of you probably sounds totally normal, but having always worked in retail it’s a nice change for me 🙂 I’m not used to all that free time! lol

It’s been pretty hot lately, so I have put my crocheting activities by side. I’ve actually done some lazy crocheting when I felt like it. I’ve picked up a blanket which has been a WIP for years now, plus I’ve tested some new granny squares. I have a custom baby blanket due in october, so I still have plenty of time. i have picked the yarn, but I’m not sure about the pattern. You’ll surely get more updates about it in the near future 😉

I have made 16 squares out of the planned 32 so far and it’s going to fit a single bed once it’s finished.
Pattern: “princess white roses knee rug” by Janet Hobbs

Moreover, I got halfway through the “harriett square” by Carolyn Christmas

 

I have also created a new mailing list for my online shop.

Subscribe now to SCD’s mailing list to get updates about new products, discounts, released patterns and custom orders! No spam, I promise: ) To sign up please click on the banner below.

 

And last but not leats, from today till Aug.15th with code “SUMMER2013” you’ll get a 125 discount on all orders above 2€ placed at my ETSY SHOP. Enjoy!

baby blanket “try again”

A friend of mine asked me to make him a baby blanket, since one of his best friends is having a baby soon.

I had a lot of grey wool, so i decided to go for an easy patter with a nice texture. I usually make very colourful blankets cause i am a colour freak and I secretly wish i could keep them all for myself (lol), so this time I though I’d go out of my comfort zone and try something classy 🙂

First of all, I decided it would be a knit blanket, to do something different from the usual 🙂 I started knitting on one of the fist warm and sunny days in may and I chose the seed stitch, which gave a nicely textured yet “squishy” effect.

I had to put the project by side for a couple of weeks though, cause I was busy studying for my PhD defensio. The nigh before the big day I started working on it again so I could relax a bit… I ended up knitting some 25 cm of it in total… It was looking so nice!

BUT the day after I woke up to a not-so-nice surprise… Sissi, my devilish kitty and actually the *real* craftykitty, had managed to open the sealed bag I had stored my project in and had been playing with it the whole night, creating a series of holes, loopy strands and overall making a mess out of it.

I know all pets’ parents believe that their animals are special, but believe me… mine is VERY special. She is a real wool lover, to the extent that I have to buy skeins specifically for her, so that she can play with them without ruining mines. Anyhow, she won’t accept them if I just give them to her… she doesn’t want HER skeins, she wants MINES! So i need to set up all kind of possible situations where she can steal the skein from me, though it’s actually meant for her. I would usually knit or crochet a couple of rows and leave the skein freely moving on the floor so that it catches her attention. Moreover, she only likes 100% wool yarn… blends or acryclic are no option for her, she wants the expensive stuff!

Say “Hi” to my small moster! 🙂 look at those eyes… clearly craving for mum’s wool! lol

Anyway, It took me a week to overcome the trauma and finally frog that poor thing which once was going to be a blanket, cut ruined yarn strands and try to save as much of it as possible…

I have now started crocheting a new blanket. I was looking for a pattern I hadn’t tried yet and I came across this one, which looks pretty neat and is definitely an easy one:

Baby Blanket

by Alison LoBianco

And here is my version… I’m loving the texture and using a hook size 6 (J)  it’s also working up pretty fast!

I wanted to crochet the edging in a different colour though, as in the original pattern, but I can’t decide which colour! What do you suggest? it’s going to be for a baby boy 🙂

New work in progress… and yes, it’s a baby blanket :)

Hi everyone!

I am taking a break from studying just to share with you my latest work in progress 🙂 Crocheting really helps me relaxing after a whole day spent on the books. Some people do sports, some yoga or other activities… I sit on the couch, watch some food related tv program (normally Man vs Food, it makes me go crazy! lol) and crochet till my hands hurt!

The idea for this blanket came to me while watching a Tv program on Channel Kitchen 24. We don’t have that channel in Italy, I just bumped into it while zapping during my recent trip to Austria and Slovenia. So yes, a lucky strike!

In this program there was this woman travelling around Provence, France and showing all the recipes that you can make using lavender flower. She had collected an amazing bunch of these flowers and was just making cookies with them… how nice!

So well, that’s where I got the idea of a baby blanket resembling a lavender field… I think I quite managed. I am already about 50% through it, and I can’t wait to see the finished product! 🙂

This blanket will be for sale. If you’re interested, just please drop me a line at sakura.crochet.designs[AT]gmail.com Since it is not finished yet, you can still pick your size 🙂

I am just able to offer you a sneak peak… so enjoy!

Crocheting all the “flowers”

Finally crocheting the borders and trying out colour combinations 🙂

 

ps: the pattern for this blanket is mine and you can find it here  🙂

Update on a WIP

I have recentrly started a new baby blanket.

I have been looking for inspiration for a while and finally found a pattern I liked 🙂

I am currently in Austria, dealing with the last bureaucratic things before I finally get my PhD title in June, and I ran out of cream coulored yarn, which is the main colour, so I am just focusing on making the circles. My original plan is to make 48 squares and I have completed 38 so far, so once I come back to Italy I will just have to add 2 rounds of white and then join them together. i am actually so happy with the end result that i might make more and end up with a bigger blanket… who knows! It’s always hard to understand what customers might prefer when it comes to baby blanket sizes. Do you have any advices? Bigger is better? Babies surely outgrow the small ones pretty fast, but who knows…

Anyway, here are some pictures. Please forgive the poor quality, I had to take them with my Iphone 🙂

So, how do you like it?