Winter is here ….

Tags

bear, bears, blanket, crochet, crochet blanket, crocheting, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, Johannesburg, johannesburg mornings, johannesburg weather, Mini Bears, miniature bear, misty, vintage look bear, winter, winter is here

Winter is here,

Friday morning started off very cold, and very misty.  The mist burned off when the sun came out, but it remained a typical winters day here in Johannesburg.

Misty mornings

That of course, meant a cold and wintery weekend.  And lots of time for crafting.  🙂  Yay.

I finished the crochet blanket I was working on.  Miekie loved the idea and could not snuggle under it soon enough.  I used a very plain stitch and pattern and it went amazingly quick.  I love this yarn and colour, “woodpecker” colour says the label.  It works well and fast.

Woodpecker Blanket

Woodpecker Blanket

And Old Ned, the little green and red bear, also got done.  He turned out so cute, and the perfect little friend for Old Blu that I did a while back.  I really like the fur with the two colours.

Old Ned

Old Ned

It is a chilly Monday here and this morning was a mere 3 degrees C but it warmed up again to a nice winters day.

Happy crafting all.

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Happy Winter Crafting

Tags

bear, bears, crochet, crochet blanket, crocheting, hand knitted, handcrochet, handknitted, handmade, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, handsewing, handsewn, knit, knits, knitted, knitted shawl, Knitting, Mini Bears, miniature bear, sewing, Shawl, vintage look bear, Work in progress

So winter is here now, and the days are lovely, chilly and sunny.  I do enjoy a good winter’s day around here.  Although lately we have had some pretty cloudy overcast days, specially in the afternoons, and with drizzle during the night too.  Winter rainfall is unusual in Johannesburg.  The trees have started losing their leaves, and the lawn has a leafy blanket now.

This then means more crafting time for me now.

I have had enough daylight to stitch me little bear, Old Ned.  All the parts are sewn, and ready for stuffing.  Then his face and ears, which is my best loved part, as it gives character to them.  Then I am ready to assemble the last bits.

Little bear progress

And of course, winter brings shawls.  And even though I have many already, and love to wear them, I guess I can never have to many.  The latest one is a pretty blue-ish one.  The yarn is a yarn cake, and fades into shades of blue.  I found the perfect pattern, Chasing Blizzard Shawl.  The pattern makes use of various colours, but since my yarn is already coloured, I just follow the pattern without changing yarns.  It is an amazing easy pattern and knits very nicely.

New shawl

And when the cold is a bit to nippy, I can now change to the Woodpecker blanket, which is growing steadily at a lovely pace, and now big enough to keep my legs warm.  It will definitely be finished this winter still.

Woodpecker blanket progress

Happy crafting to you all.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Amazing Labels

Tags

carelabels, clothinglabels, customlabels, hangtags, label, labels, stocklabels, swingtags, wovenlabels

Things are getting very crafty around here.  I am so very proud to show off my brand new perfect labels.

I finally have personalized labels to show off my crafts and goodies.  How stunning are these.

Amazing Labels

I ordered a whole variety of different labels from The Dutch Label Shop.  They have offices in The Netherlands, and in the USA.  I took my time and browsed their site for at least two days.  There is just such a big variety and options to work with.  Deciding what to get was very difficult.

I finally decided on two labels.  A soft creamy one to stitch on as is.  And a pretty grey one, that would be used folded around the edge of the project to display both sides.  Then I also ordered care labels with wash instructions.  So perfect, as you get to choose the care instructions you want to have on your label, and you get space to put your Name etc, and space to have some written instructions or comments too. ( 🙂  I may need more with different instructions for different types of yarns, etc.)

Also included in my order was some standard labels, i.e. 100% cotton, which is perfect for the popular 100% cotton that is so lovely to work with and wear here in South Africa.  And who can resist a “one size fits all” label.  Definitely a must have.

Finally I even included some swing tags.  🙂  They are punched and have a wax cord already attached as well.

What I really love about the labels, is that they are of such good quality.  There is no loose ends, or fraying bits.  The colours are exactly as I had hoped them to be, even though one is ordering from a website and colours can look differently on screen.  Even though one can use your own designed logo for any of the works, I simply opted for one of the hundreds of logos / pictures / drawings that they already have available.  The little doggy was just perfect for me.  The edges of the labels is soft and does not scratch.  And you can order from small quantities too.

If you love my labels, just follow the link to their site and browse around for yourself.  There is so much to see and enjoy.

Thank you Dutch Label Shop for making me so very happy with my very own labels.

 

Off to a good start in 2018

Tags

bear, bears, cowl, hooded scarf, Mini Bears, miniature bear, new zealand yarn, possumyarn, scarf, scarves, Shawl, shawlette, triangular shawl, tunisian crochet

2018 is off to a good start, or so it seems at least when it comes to crafting and completing projects.

I am so happy with the way Old Blu turned out.  He is so cute, and reminds me a lot of a Russian bear.  He has a cousin Old Ned, that is red and green, that I will attempt next.

Old Blu Mini Bear

Since I had a relative amount of the grey lambswool left after completing my grey sweater, I decided to use it up and knitted a hooded scarf with it.  A quick and easy knit, and ready for blocking.

Hooded Scarf

January was a very peaceful month at the office, and I could sit and knit quietly in the gardens and enjoy the shade of the big trees and warm summer days. It was just perfect to finish this mini Shawl already.  It needs to be blocked, in order to open the leaves around the bottom edges.  I have knitted this before, and loved it.  Always a good pattern to knit again.

Shawlette

When I received yarn from my Stitching Santa buddy that she got while visiting New Zealand, I immediately loved it.  It was gorgeous grey and a dusty dark pink colour.  Not the usual blues I always seem to buy and love, and I loved that she opted for something different to send.  Of course, I could not put it away and kept it around.  Now that I finished these two projects, it was just the right time to cast on this pretty yarn.  I am starting a cowl for myself for the winter, which is still a few months away, and it will be ready well in time.

Green Leaves Cowl

Green Leaves Cowl

Something that I have been interested in learning and teaching myself is Tunisian Crochet.  Yes, after all these years, I have never learned this craft.  But it has been on my mind, and I had a book on my “list” of books I want to get.  I was very happy when my daughter gifted me the book, so I can get started.  This will be new to me, and I really look forward to giving it a go.

Tunisian Crochet Book

And so that is January already.  🙂  A good month indeed.

And Miekie says a happy hello to all as well, she is still enjoying being the spoiled little furry baby she is.

Miekie

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is stitching time

Tags

bat bear, candle wicking, candlewicking, christmas elf, handmade, handsewing, handsewn, hope angel, Mini Bears, miniature bear, old ned, orchid, orchid flowers, orchids, summer, summer flowers

Summer here has gone into the low 30 degrees C already, and it is only November.  It is going to be a very hot summer.

This is my daughter’s orchid, happily growing at my house.  It is blooming beautifully.

Summer Orchid Blooms

Summer also means less knitting, and more time doing something else.  I have started working on my mini bears, and have begun to work on Old Blu.  When I saw the little Bat Bear, I was lost and loved the little critter.  I decided to get him, as I know once the kits have been sold, many are not redone for sale again.  So better to get the kit, even if I only get around to sewing him later.

When I visited the lovely Michelle at Honeydew Bears, she also had these pretty darlings.  Old Ned, which is beautiful, in green and red.  He is a cousin on Old Blu, and came to visit for the Holidays.  And no festive season is complete without a Christmas Elf.  🙂  The little Hope Angel, with the cutest little wings, is a limited edition for Breast cancer awareness.

Transferring the pattern onto the fabric for the little bit of old school Candlewicking did not take long at all. Now for a bit of french knots and colonial knots, with a bit of stitching here and there.

Candlewicking

Candlewicking

I am still working on my grey lambswool sweater.  All the knitting has been done, and it is off my needles.  Now to sew it together and add the neck details, which I think will be uncomplicated.  Keeping my fingers crossed to have something to show soon.

 

Heading for Summer

Tags

bear, bears, candle wicking, candlewicking, crochet, dog, festival, grey sweater, hand crocheted, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, handsewing, international, international festival, Knitting, Little black Dog, love summer, Miekie, miniature bear, needle booklet, sewing, Stitching, summer, sweater, vintage look bear

October is coming to a close already.  How very quickly this Spring season has passed.  It is warm and sunny here in Johannesburg, and we had good rain on the weekend.

We were really fortunately to have stunning weather during the annual International Festival at work.  Each year we host a festival for all the students from outside South Africa that study here.  They then cook a meal from their country and share with us.  The food is amazing.  Each flag represents the students from that country.

International Festival

International Festival

With the warmer weather, I have been knitting a bit less on my grey sweater.  I did still get the sleeves long enough and am now ready to get to joining them all together.  Still not being able to just not be busy, I have knitted a few dishcloths, decided to  try my hand at making a small needle book, (it needed to have the corners starched to stay flat), and sorted my mini skeins into large jars.  Each jar got a crocheted doily for its lid.

Sweater progress

Needle booklet making

Needle booklet making

Needle Book

Bottle covers

Bottle covers

And since I am still in the mood to stitch, I cut out the next mini bear.  Old Blu is already cut and ready for stitching.

Old Blu Bear

Old Blu Bear

Something I have not done for a very long time, is “candlewicking”  It is a type of embroidery.  I have opted to use a bit of colour, in shades if blue, and not stick to the traditional unbleached creamy colours.

Some stitching ideas being planned

And of course, despite all the busy crafty hustle and bustle Miekie is just relaxing and enjoying the sunny mornings in my bed.  That look simply says it all.

Miekie

Greetings :)

Tags

bear, bear fur, bears, cables, celtic cable, hand knitted, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, knit, knits, Knitting, miniature bear, sweater

Becky Bear is saying Hello to everyone.

She is finally all stitched and put together, and is even wearing a white glittery tutu and a pretty butterfly brooch.

The fur was a gift from my sister, and I absolutely love the way it worked for this bear. I used a bit of leather for the paw pads, and kept her as simple as possible.

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Currently on my needles is a rather big and brave project. 🙂  I decided to cast on a sweater for myself.  I have had this lovely and soft grey lambs wool in my stash for a bit, and have been wanting to knit a sweater for myself for some time now.  So finally it happened and I got started.  It is a plain sweater with not to much detail, but I am putting in a panel of Celtic cables, as I love the way they look.

Grey Sweater

Grey Sweater

Grey Sweater

So much time to craft!

Tags

100% merino, bear, bears, blanket, cowl, crochet blanket, crocheting, granny squares, granny squares blanket, greenteatipple, hand crochet, hand knitted, handmade, Handmade Bears, Knitting, mock cable cowl, scheepjes, Scheepjes Whirl, scheepjes yarn, Shawl, stormy day shawl, stormydayshawl, triangular shawl, turkish yarn

With winter recess and taking a break from work and the office, it is just amazing how much time you have to relax in the winter sun and enjoy the weather and craft.

I took my usual winter break, and was making the most of the weather, sunny days, and time to finish some projects.

After months of patiently waiting, Becky Bear finally got stitched.  All the parts are now sewn together, and I can put some stuffing into the parts and put her together.  The fur I was gifted by my sister, is lovely.  I am loving the look of Becky and am very happy with her.  She should be a happy little girl soon.  🙂

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

My quick knit of a mock cabled cowl in 100% Turkish Wool and Scheepjes Secret Garden Yarn was really quick and easy to knit.  This stitch was one of my Mom’s favourites, and she used it often in her projects.  I knitted the cowl open, and added some pearly buttons.  This makes it more versatile and I can wear it in different ways. I even had enough yarn to include a pair of fingerless mittens.

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Cowl

My pride of course is this Stormy Day Shawl.  I can not get enough of this colour, and the finished edge is rich and dark.  The Scheepjes Whirl yarn is stunning, and this is only one to the amazing colour combinations for this Shawl.  I used GreenTeaTipple.

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

And I have a small crochet project going, a smaller blanket for a small family member.  I have started on the granny squares, and are just keeping it plain and simple so she can have it for the winter to keep warm when out and about.

Another Blanket

Another Blanket

Another Blanket

And in preparation for the all to soon summer, I decided that these two little cloths needs a pretty edge to brighten my kitchen.

Crochet edges

Crochet edges

Crochet edges

A busy crafty weekend

Tags

bear, bear fur, bears, birgit freyer, blanket, ceramic, ceramics, crochet blanket, granny squares, granny squares blanket, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, Handmade Bears, hartlam, hartlam yarns, Knitting, magazines, mongoose, Shawl, shetlace yarn, travel, undercoverotter, visits, weekend, yarn, yarncakes, yarns

It has been a lovely and busy crafty long weekend, and I am extremely happy with the time I could enjoy at home and out and about, still enjoying the last warm weather, as Fall has not arrived just yet and the days are still warm and so comfortable to be outside.  While visiting a friend in the countryside, these two came to visit and loved the fruits we shared with them.

Mother and Baby

 

Of course, I made the most of the time and cakes some yarns, cut the fabulous fur that I got from my sister for my next bear project and knitted on my Tanis Triangular Shawl.  The bear is slightly bigger than those I usually make, and I am so loving this fur.  My shawl is growing so fast, I am already at the lacy edge.

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

Becky Bear

Blue Shawl Progress

 

Sitting still and knitting and crafting was not all I did.  Having bought pretty little ceramic pieces and tiles over the last few months, it was time to get these into good use. A colleague (who knows me way to well) gave me two precious little wooden boxes, and I decorated them for use in my guest room / craft corner.  And as I love drinking tea, I made a stand for my teapot and another for my mugs.  (the last one still needs to dry a little longer before I dust off the grout)

Storage Boxes

Storage Boxes

Ceramics

 

And all my magazines got sorted and stored properly.  This little shelf is a self assembly project, and took a little work, but the holes were all pre-drilled and it was not to difficult in the end, with a little help of course.

Storage of Magazines

 

The granny square blanket is my daughter’s blanket, made for her more than twenty plus years ago, by my Grandmother, my daughters’ great-grandmother.  It is still in use and now have a precious place in my reading corner, along with my little porcelain doll that is more than 30 years old already.

Crafty weekend indeed!

Tags

African Expressions, alpaca, Alpaca Yarn, bear fur, birds, ceramics, embroidery, handmade, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, hearts, inserts, magazines, mollie makes, project bag, project bags, scissors, sewing, shopping, south africa, turkey yarn, washi, washi tape

As I took Friday off from work, I had a lovely long weekend ahead of me, with lots of crafting time and crafty shopping planned as well.

Of course, it is still rainy season here, and it rained especially hard on Thursday when I left for my “long weekend”.  Flooded roads, again, and this time on the freeway, just around the corner from my neighborhood.  All 4 lanes under water, and the emergency lane too.  I felt like I was about to cross a river, in my car, which is not very high off the road surface.  But I managed to get through and not stall either.

Johannesburg Rain

It rained a bit on Friday, just as I arrived at the annual Hobby X expo.  I enjoy the Hobby X, so much to see and do and get and enjoy.

Firstly I had a coffee with my sister, and we both dried out, as our shoes and pants were pretty damp.  Then we got around to the shopping. My sister spoiled me by getting me a new piece of fur for a bear.  This is my favourite type of fur, the sparse and scruffy looking type.  Now I can re-cut the pieces for a bear I cut a while ago, but did not really like the fur to much.  I decided I could do with a few new scissors while I am there, and these two went home with me.  Super light and comfy to use, and nice and sharp.

Hobby X Shopping

I was looking for some pretty ceramic inserts, and even though these were a bit expensive, the quality is so good, and the glaze so smooth and clear, I got a few pretty pieces that I have some small projects in mind for already.  And of course, some extra rolls of Washi Tape.

I did not plan on buying any yarns, as I have enough for a bit of knitting, but the African Expressions skein was just to pretty to not take home.  I also came across this stunning ball of yarn from Turkey and the colours in it attracted me immediately.  It is soft and warm, and I am looking forward to knitting it up.

Hobby X Shopping

Hobby X Shopping

Mostly the attraction for me, is the international magazines I can get at a mere fraction of the normal price.  I love Mollie Makes, and splash out each time to get as many copies as they have.  This year I came home with a whole stack, and I am so looking forward to long cool Fall days to enjoy these.

Hobby X Shopping

And then I even got around to getting out the sewing machine and overlocker and some of my fabrics.  I made some projects bags and a carry bag for my I Pad.  I had embroidered a small cloth, that I intended for a cushion, but now it is a little I Pad bag.  Some of the baggies still need zippers or closing cord, and I will do those as soon as I visit my LYS for a few supplies.

Sewing Project Bags

Sewing Project Bags

Sewing Project Bags

A great crafty weekend all round.