February 19, 2012
by wink
12 lovely comments

fat bottom bags, you make the world go round!

Bonsoir lovely ladies! Thanks for all your kind comments on my granny stripe blanket :)

I love Pinterest. Just the other day, when I was browsing for inspiration (cause you know, my ‘always-there’ big project is now finished, so I have empty project baskets! eek!) I came across this beauty from Eclectic Gypsyland:

… and I am still swooning over it!!! It’s so awesome and gorgeous and bohemian looking; I think it’s the perfect fat bottom bag EVUR.

I can’t believe I never saw it before; from what I read on Eclectic Gypsyland it was quite the rage a while back, and looking at Ravelry I’m definitely not the first one to swoon over this bag! (I present to you Exhibit A)

So naturally, I wanted to make one ASAP. Luck be it that I just happened to have some random granny squares in my basket, and I just picked one and expanded it.

The pattern is the easiest of easy. You just make one big granny square, about 30 rounds, and then you add a couple of rows of sc’s and you’re done! :) For anyone interested, the pattern PDF is here.



I really like the colors in this one :) So I’m on row 30 now, and unfortunately I’ve run out of grey. So I’m going to make the last round in pink, and then the edge in sc’s also in pink, but a darker kind of pink.
I went to an arts & crafts fair Saturday, and picked up some awesome leather bag handles to go with it! :) All I need now is to find a perfect lining… Also, I want to make a couple of flowers for embellishment, and maybe add a row of lace. We’ll see how it turns out :) I expect this bag to be finished in the near future!

Oh, and a picture of what I also picked up at the fair yesterday…

My very first skeins of Noro Silk Garden! <3 Don’t know what I’ll use them for, but I saw a couple of extra skeins on eBay for half the price of what I paid for these two… I’m thinking about making a Noro-licious fat bottom bag… Don’t tell my bankaccount ;)

xo,
wink

ps I’ll be back later this week with an awesome feature on someone very special, who just happens to be a crochet rockstar! Stay tuned…

February 11, 2012
by wink
25 lovely comments

granny stripe blanket

Yaaaaay, it’s finished! I’m so happy :)

I started this blanket way back, exactly one year ago. I had just gotten my order of Stylecraft Special DK from the UK and I couldn’t wait to get started. However, I wasn’t the avid hooker I am today, so after 6 rows I quickly got bored and also overwhelmed! I just couldn’t believe there were actually women out there that crochet entire blankets!?!?!
So I hibernated the project for a long time, until last month, when I decided that it should be time to finish it! And this time, it was a breeze :) Row after row after row of delicious hooky, the stitches just flew off my hook and before I knew it I had the entire thing finished! Then it only took me another two hours to get the border on and it was officially DONE.

So ladies, without further ado, I present to you: the granny stripe blanket!




The Details
Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK, I got the Lucy pack from Masons
Hook size: 5mm/H hook
Rows: 120 (or 60 color changes)
Pattern used: the well-known Granny Stripe from Lucy’s Attic24
Border: one row of grannies, two rows of dc’s, one row of sc’s and one picot-row
Happiness: 100%! I loved making this blanket despite some start-up hickups
Side-effects: the uncanny urge to start making more blankets & afghans!

Yes, I used the exact color scheme Lucy did when she first made her blanket. When I started this I just wanted the exact same thing, and I had the yarn so I just went for it. The only thing I changed was the border; I used different colors for it.
Today, I would never do that again, just copy someone else’s work. Having said that it was kind of blissful, working with a set color pattern :)

The blanket is getting a lot of use already; me and D can snuggle up under it together and it’s so nice and warm! Very welcome during these cold, cold days.

So I got two, nope, three! Versatile Blogger Awards the other day, courtesy of Hazel, Stocki and Helen!

The rules for the award are:
1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, 7 random facts about me… Let’s see.

  1. I have a slight headphones addiction. I currently have about 20 pairs and counting!
  2. I still sleep with stuffed animals.
  3. I’m addicted to reading. Currently I am rereading the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. (maybe it’s re-rereading; it has to be the fifth time already!)
  4. I also have a slight obsession with anything Woodstock related. Whenever I feel down, I just pop in the ’69 extended version DVD and voila; instant happy/hippieness! :)
  5. I don’t subscribe to the magazines I read. (Flow and Mollie Makes are my regulars) I like the experience of going down to the bookstore and finding them on the shelf.
  6. I’m an extremely slow starter in the morning. I need at least a couple of hours to get my thoughts in order before I can meet people ;)
  7. I am a night owl.

Alright, on to some awesome bloggers who I think don’t get enough attention and deserve this award! :)

Now I realize some of you have gotten this award before and/or recently; please don’t feel obliged to anything! :)

Alright, I’m off to put something warm on my shoulder and neck. I felt the pain in my muscles luring all week, and after last night it finally happened; I have a stiff neck :(

xo,
wink

February 6, 2012
by wink
9 lovely comments

and the valentine giveaway winners are…

Hello ladies!

Okay enough with the pleasantries, we all know why we’re here. The giveaway has officially ended, and it is now time to draw the winners!

Assistant, please hand me the box with the names…

Thank you. And now, let’s shuffle those names one last time…

Everybody ready? Here we go!

Winner number one, who’ll be getting a heart headband of her choosing, is… *drumrolls*


Karrinne! Come on down, and congratulations! :) *yay* *clapclapclap* (and I am SO sorry for misspelling your name!)

Alright people, settle down please. Winner number two, who’ll be getting cherry blossom bobby pins, is… *more drumrolls*


Ilda! Congratulations! :) *hurray* *huzzah*

And last, but certainly not least, winner number three, who will receive a whopping 14% off the entire acreativebeing shop, is… *final drumrolls*


Heidi Hengel, come on down! Congratulations! :) *massive applause*

Ladies, please email me your addresses. And Karrinne, please let me know which headband you would like to receive! :)
You can reach me at winkieflash [at] gmail [dot] com.

I was supposed to do a little project-update today, and post the January mosaic, but I haven’t had the time to properly take care of those things. So that’s all scheduled for later this week!

In the meantime, can you believe that I, over the weekend, got not one, but TWO blogawards? :D I received the Versatile Blogger Award from both Stocki and Hazel’s Crochet! Thank you so much ladies! :) I will do a proper thank-you blogpost later this week to tell you a little something about myself and to give the award to 15 blogs I admire!

xo,
wink