Waiting for West

My knitting friend Dominique took part in a Mystery Knit-Along last year, creating a lovely version of Stephen West's Rockefeller. So when I discovered that she'll knit-along in another of Mr West's mysteries, it didn't take me long to jump right in. The project name "Color Craving" matches my crafting into the rainbow motto too well.

Together with Rozemie I went yarn hunting, and this is what I chose:

Yarn Lopi Einband @ Suzywol
Pattern @ Westknits

However, the MKAL only starts on September 13th, so until then I'll keep my hands busy with more colourful stitches:

Yarn Lang Mille Colori Socks & Lace @ Suzywol
Pattern @ kNotArt

And last but not least [imagine drum roll here], K is back in blogland! Best news of the week so far, but it's only Monday ;)

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Latl

A year ago, I took Crazi Henri along when my crafty friends Rozemie and Karin took me to the international teddy bear and doll fair in Bruges. Karin fell madly in love for little Henri and asked if I ever had the time and felt like knitting another one, could she have one too?

As summer progressed and we started making plans for another visit to that show, I started knitting.

Meet "Latl" (short for Teocuitlatl, "gold" in the language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl), posing with Henri during a coffee break in Bruges yesterday:

Yarn: Rowan Silk Twist @ Stoffenidee
Pattern: Henri @ The Yarnigans

Lazy light

Half-way August, the light is starting to be lazy, but the critter knitting needs to continue.

Yarn: Rowan Silk Twist @ Stoffenidee

Crazy Critter Lady

Helen over at Breien in Oostende called me "our reigning queen of knitted and felted critters" in her post about Dagobert the dragon. This got me wondering how many knit and crochet toys I have made in the last 6 years (you've seen the felted ones here).

Luckily I tagged my projects on ravelry, so I could easily create the following screen shots:

This represents 56 different projects, with anything between 1 and 6 versions of the same pattern.

How many did I give away as presents? 50.

So I say thank you to:

- those who designed these awesome patterns

- those who sold me the materials

- those who inspired me to make presents for them

- those who intend to keep their inner child alive and / or decide to procreate so I can knit and crochet for them.

Ostend & Bruges SnB Blog Updates

Dagobert Superstar

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Quickie Bling

Sometimes a crafter needs an instant gratification project. Crochet jewellery can provide just that.

Over the years I made earrings, bracelets and necklaces

  

Today I had some fun with cotton yarn and a treasure of buttons / oversized sequins I had purchased many years ago

When it's done, it's finished

He's finished!

Oddly, the pattern didn't include a tail, so I had to add one.

Pattern: Joris by Annita Wilschut
Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Everest @ Stoffenhuys Paulette

I'm very happy to have finished Dagobert (there were moments when I didn't think I would). He'll be a great companion for knitting events. I love Annita's patterns for the fact that she works in a very organic way. Each feature grows naturally from the previous one, the knitter doesn't have to spend an afternoon attaching body parts. "When it's done, it's finished", as a famous Buddhist monk is sometimes quoted.

Sunday I'll help a knitting friend get started with another of Annita's patterns, Suusje the mouse, if I'm not mistaken.

And I'll cast on for yoga socks with the same yarn now. Not for yoga classes though, but for a four session introduction to meditation, taught in the lovely Begijnhof in Bruges:

Knit it again, S.

Finally I can talk about this project!

A dear friend of mine told us last year that she'll be expecting a baby this spring. This, of course sent me into a mad search for a cute pattern. Once I had whittled it down to two designs, we had the following text conversation:

me - bunny or sheep?
her - bunny

We didn't need to say more ;)

pattern: Flat Foot Floogie by Barbara Prime
yarn: Bergere Sport, purchased at Stoffenhuys Paulette

Yesterday Bunny went to live with baby S.

I'm still standing

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

Updates have been few and far between in June, as I was struggling with some motivation-, inspiration- and energy issues. But I'm still crocheting and knitting, and hope to return to beading and needle felting soon.

These are my current WiPs:

A stash-busting project, using the pattern Apache Tears by Sarah London

An irrisistible little dragon by Zij Maakt Het (Dutch blog)

What is it with me and dragons?
First and foremost, the dragon is my Chinese zodiac. Not quite water, not quite air, not quite real, not quite there. If I ever get a second tattoo (and I do want one), it'll be dragon-related. Often, they're green, and green is one of my happy colours. Scales are sexy.

Bruges SnB

We had a lovely meeting a few days ago:

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