Hop hop!

This is the third easter for my little cousin. He's still a little bit in doubt about what the easter bunny does - all he knows is that he loves chocolate and if a bunny is bringing some, it must be a happy occasion!

With the country going through a recession, we adults are doing our best to insure the ones who really matter in all of this (the children) have a magical day - even if there won't be as many eggs as the years before.

Being honest, all I knew is that I wanted to make little bunny heads to adorn his little nest, as we call it here. We get a pretty basket and stuff it with easter themed chocolate, and hide it. Little ones have to hunt their eggs and nests, which makes for a very fun day :)

So last week I went to the internet to find a cute pattern. Instead, I found this one and was in love with it. I mean, what baby would not love a colorful bunny??

And so I started! It only took me two days, but that's only because I decided to block the body of the bunny before sewing up.

All in all - very easy pattern! Time consuming, but the end result is lovely. I hope little cousin likes his new bunny friend!

And as a bonus, a bunny butt for y'all :)

Have a lovely easter!

Love, Tina

Blanket Journey

As I said many times before, blankets are my weak spot. I love making them. The planning is one of the best moments of the journey... But this time, I was quite stuck.

So many ideas, but nothing I really loved. And who wants to spend weeks, sometimes months, doing a design they don't really like? That's just crazy.

I tried mandalas, simple squares, complicated motifs... So far, I THINK I'm on the one. I *think*. I really hope it is, because it's stunning. Big and pretty!

Not going to show this whole motif just yet.... But it has popcorns. LOTS of it. :)

I have a bunch of colorful yarn I'm itching to use, and this will be the first blanket of 2016! I made 4 last year - Maybe I can make 5 this year? Who knows :D

Stay tuned for more - I will be documenting everything here... Not sure why, but I think this blanket will be special.

With love,

Tina!

New Year, New Stuff

What a lovely title! No, really, so many things going on at this point, I have no brain power left!

One thing I'm sure of: I wish you all had a wonderful time with your loved ones, no matter what you celebrate. I hope lovely memories were made!

On to the new stuff, then. I haven't knitted much - aside from a pair of baby booties. More items for the charity box, all right! Also, I had a blast making baby mittens.

I am starting a new baby cardi soon, I hope - Very hot lately to be with yarn around, but it's not like I have a choice. My hands are itching for my needles. We don't really realize how much those can become a part of you until you spent a while without using it! I'll be using this lively green - it's going to be my beach project!

But, the really big news are.... I'm cross stitching. Oh yes! And I'm loving every minute. I made a few little things so far, nothing major. A small heart which I turned into a keychain; A Mario Piranha which will be turned into a keychain for little sis, and this wip. It's a teapot - with hearts! All those were free charts, and really easy ones to follow. Found them all on pinterest :)

As a new cross stitcher, I get to start a whole new stash, buy different supplies, tools, magazines, books... It's all so exciting and interesting. Learning is one of the things I love doing the most, really. The challenge is always there in one way or another - I'm working on getting the back part even, and later on, I want to get better and faster at the stitching.

2016 started great for me, and I hope it was the same to everyone!

Love,

Tina

Hotpads and Summer

Ah, brazilian summers. It's beautiful, for sure. The green, the beaches, the sun shining pretty much everyday... And the heat. Oh, it's so hot! For survival purposes it's highly advised that all people have fans. And an ac, because temperatures can go over 40 degrees celsius! 

In those days, I can't knit or crochet much. At least, not with yarn. Cotton helps a lot - it's not as hot as holding wool or acrylic. So, for this project, I used my favorite cotton thread, Anne. 

It's a hotpad I've been in love with for a long time, but never really had the chance of making it. I always have so many WIP's going on! But I'm so happy I found the time. 

It's from By Haafner blog - Haafner has beautiful things in her blog, you need to check it out! I used the popcorn square patter for the front, made 9 rounds. On the back, I used the same pattern, but without the popcorn stitches, also 9 rounds. Joines them together with single crochet stitches and made a simple popcorn border. She has no pattern for it, so I made just by looking at photos of her hotpads. Pretty simple! 

I loved it. Looks vintage, and I LOVE vintage. Also it's a different kind of vintage - most vintage crochet has lace, but this one is not exactly lacy. It does a great job being beautiful anyway. 

Also, I'm pretty happy with the colors I chose! 

Then I got all my hotpads together and made a nice photo! Hope to make even more of those in 2016, so next time I show it here, the whole wall is filled with them. 

Much love,

Tina 

Almost Over

I can't believe this year is pretty much done. As we say here, I honestly did not see it pass! I've been forced to hurry on a few projects, since christmas is just around the corner! There's still something I want to make as a surprise for little sister, but I'm not sure I would have the time!

So far, I got this little baby hat done. It's such a cute pattern, and the first time I made a hat that was not knit in the round. You can find the pattern here!

And obviously, there's this. Mom has asked for christmas decor for as long as I can crochet; I never did any. Not my thing I guess; but this year she asked again, and how could I say no?

So a bunting is on it's way. Snowflakes and christmas trees. Can't wait to see it finished! There's no pattern for this, since I'm using a crochet book. But here is the pattern for the tree, which is super easy to make!

I hope everyone has a great time on christmas and new year's eve!!!!

Love,

Tina

Candy Colors Baby Blanket - Finished!

Back in october, grandma gave me lots of yarn. I had asked for a few baby pastels because I had none of those in my stash. Little did I know, around the same time, my cousin's wife found out she was pregnant!

As we had no idea what the baby was (boy or girl), I started making the blanket using lots of random colors. I used pink and purple too, because only mint, blue and white seemed quite plain to me. And honestly, boys can like pink too, right? :)

After I got word it was a little girl, I used a lot more of the pink and purple. I also decided I was going to use a lacy border - perfect for every little girl!

For the squares, I used the Rosie Posie Granny Square pattern by Sandra Paul of the Cherry Heart blog - thanks so much for sharing this lovely square with all of us!

The border was a different thing, though. I used the sc join for the squares, and thought making three rows of sc for the border was a nice touch. Indeed it was, but I wanted something more. It was already cute - now I wanted a bit of a classic crochet touch. Best of both worlds, right?

Well, I got the Around the Corner - Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman book for my birthday. There are just SO MANY borders, it's very hard to choose one! I think at some point, I had three on my mind. Later I realized I needed something a bit different, and then border 38 appeared in my face as if magic! I highly recommend this book for any crocheter.

And the rest is history! Even better, it will be. I cannot wait to get a picture of baby Laura in a few months from now, wrapped around in her blankie.

Love,

Tina

A Lace Story - Ajur Cowl Pattern

So, if you have read this blog before, you will know that looong ago, I started a lace scarf. A simple project using a stunning yarn.

I was my first time with lace. I have made eyelets and simple lace before, but this was an all lace project.  I had no idea how this would turn out like, but I was excited to use the Drops Delight yarn I got as a present from a friend who lives down under!!!

The search for the right pattern took me quite a while. I was not sure if I wanted to make a cowl or a scarf, but I soon said to myself - something simple, with no shaping. After all I would be having to pay attention to the lace!

So I settled for a scarf. I looked at Ravelry but nothing really caught me eye (Call me crazy!) so I went looking for patterns and stitches on some books both of my grannies have given me.

I finally found the right stitch at a book from the 80's! (I do think it's actually older than that, since it was definitely NOT the first edition!) It was a simple stitch, that is around online for ages (after I knew what to look for, there were thousands of different ways to do this.)

After making a few changes, I started. Not only I used a lifeline, I also used stitch markers. For a 44 stitch scarf!!! I give you the permission to laugh at my extreme caution :D If this is your first time with lace, I urge you to do the same! It will save you from lots of headaches later, trust me.

Lifeline and markers. Silly for such a small project, but highly effective!

I ended up finishing a 50gm skein, and I soon realized I had no more patience. At all. Scarves are great and fun.... Mostly when you are a begginer. Although  I'm pretty sure knitters who have far more experience than me love knitting scarves too. I just found out I need something that shows progress in a different way, and has at least a little bit of shaping. We live and we learn!

So I turned this into a cowl - I knitted a few more rows, and there it was. I actually have no idea why this didn't occurred me earlier - I love using cowls, scarves, not so much!

I'm quite happy with the result! So, here is the link for the pattern. You can use whatever needles and yarn you wish - there's not a gauge for this. In this cowl, I used 3.50mm needles and 1 skein of Drops Delight, 50gm. You can seam the sides and turn into a cowl, or you can just keep knitting and make a scarf! It's really up to what you prefer.

Keep in mind the stitch is not originally my idea! I'm actually trying to find information on the designer, so I can credit her/him properly. Keep your fingers crossed, I really want to find that person and say thank you :)

Have fun knitting this cowl/scarf! I can assure, it's great for begginers and experienced knitters alike!

Thanks for little sister, who took this photo!

Love,

Tina