Porch Decorating for Halloween!

 

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I am always amazed with people's creativity and imagination when it comes to decorating for Halloween! Gosh! There are so many fantastic ideas around the net! For today's inspiration Monday I chose some  gorgeously spooky and "bone rattling" Halloween porches.

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Happy Halloween!



A snippet of my latest collection

 

 

Cannot wait to show you everything I have made!
Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead!

12 Beginners' Crochet Accessories

 

 

 

 

People often write to me inquiring what patters I would recommend for beginners from my shop, and there are quite a lot I personally love putting under the spotlight. However today, I chose to feature some free crochet patterns for accessories that are quite beginner friendly from my fellow crocheters. I hope you enjoy the round-up!

 



Here's a lovely and textured ribbed cowl.

My breezy double crochet scarf.

This lovely Sailor knot crochet headband.

 



A simple and attractive knotted headband

 

 

 

Or this chained ear warmer .

 

 

 



The adorable Forget me not headband.

 

Flower Hair combs.

 

 

 

 

This gorgeous Avery hat .

 

 

 A pair of gorgeous warmers

These fingerless gloves.

 

Beautiful boot cuffs

 And these colorful leg warmers!

Learn a technique - Naalbinding (or knotless knitting)

 

 

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What I have never shared here before is that I am a co-founder of Haemus which is a Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture whose president is my first cousin Ms. Dimitrovska. The Center is in the middle of preparations of a unique event which is called Scupini Romani and will focus on what life was when the Romans were present in these parts. I will write more about the event soon.

 

 

 

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Doing research for the event and not wanting to show crochet or knitting, I found out an amazing technique called Naalbinding (or its other variants like  nalebinding, nalbinding, nålbinding) which is an ancient fabric construction technique that predates knitting and crochet by some 2000 years.

 

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Naalbinding is literally needle-binding, or in English known as knotless  knitting. The technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end. It also differs from knitting in that lengths must be pieced together during the process of nålebinding, rather than a continuous strand of yarn that can easily be pulled out.

 

The oldest known samples of single-needle knitting include the color-patterned sandal socks of the Coptic Christians of Egypt, and this technique was widely popular among the Vikings and it has kept its importance as a technique with the Scandinavian people until today.  

 

 

The needle used for naalbinding is flat and blunt and varies in size, having a very large eye.  There are several stitches I had to master and the videos helped me a lot. I learnt how to make rows and rounds using several stitches. More of my baby steps in naalbinding soon.

 

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Amazing Crochet from Adinda's Word

 

I spotted Adinda Zoutman's work when I came upon a shawl of hers. And her shawls are such magnificent creations you cannot be left indifferent. Vibrant, full of colors and different textures, uncoiling flowery enchanting masterpieces.

Researching about her I couldn't find much information except that she is Dutch and organizes workshops where she teaches how to make things her style. Her website is still under construction and I believe once it is done, it is going to be a gem itself.

 

 

However you can always follow her magic on Instragram and Facebook.

 

 

Autumn Brooch - a crochet pattern

 

 

 

I've returned again to my most beloved Irish roses, using them to create this eye-catching autumnal brooch. For this one I  also designed a more elaborate and textured leaves.

The pattern is here: here.

When Quilting Meets Crochet

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A while ago, going through my "pile of probably not going to ever finish them" projects, I came upon a project I started eons ago. A cheat quilt as I used to refer to it - which today has a more sophisticated name- or so pinterest told me - and it's called quilted and crochet fusion blanket.

Well, at the time, I as a very eager mother to make my firstborn a cheat quilt she was supposed to treasure forever, cut and sew laboriously pieces of her clothing she admired, of which there is a glimpse you can actually see here, and that was it. I put the pieces back into the "forgotten drawer". I didn't want to return to it  - yet I might try this in the future using my vintage fabric scraps I've been jealously holding onto.

So when the very first quilted / crochet blanket above appeared in my pinterest feed, it flushed back all the memories. And the desire which I hope will resist other whims my mind gets tackled with on daily basis. Until then, enjoy these beauties.



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Barley,Pumpkin & Avocado Salad

 

 

From  time to time I want to escape the crochet and craft oriented content of my blog and write about something that would freshen me up and give more value to the blog and in line with this,  I want to share a mouth watering and body reviving recipe written by a compatriot of mine who runs the food blog called Sitno Seckano which would mean Finely Chopped in English. Boyana, who is the master of all those senses tickling recipes, writes her posts bilingually so you can enjoy them too without needing a translator.

 

 

 

This is what Boyana says:

 

" I must admit that we rarely eat salads like this, with whole grains, although I know they are tasty and healthy. This colorful salad has a few interesting ingredients that make it really unforgetable, but it is also easily adapted to your taste and the things you have in your pantry. You can substitute millet or bulgur or cous-cous for the barley, use beets or carrots instead of squash. Put almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if you don’t have pistachios… or add broccoli and lettuce.

The recipe:
1 cup barley
½ medium pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut in bite-sized cubes
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
a handfull of raw pistachios
seeds from ½ pomegranate

lemon dressing:
1 – 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
olive oil
¼ moroccan preserved lemon, roughly chopped (or juice from ½ lemon + salt)
a lot of fresh parsley

Place the pumpkin in a pan in one layer, drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C about 20 minutes, or until soft.
Put the barley in a pot with water and cook about 20 minutes, or until the barley is tender. Drain and transfer to a salad bowl.
Put all the dressing ingredients in a food processor to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the barley and mix well. Add the pumpkin, avocado, pistachios and pomegranate seeds and serve.

 

 

This recipe on her blog is here and there is a print option so you can print it directly from her blog.

Thank you Boyana for joining us today and sharing this heavenly salad with us!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Coats and Jackets - Bohemian Fall Inspiration

Inspiration Monday is drawn from beautifully embellished coats and jackets by flowery appliques, embroidery or hand sewn patches. These beauties are another confirmation that winter clothes can escape the bleakness of the season and add a bit of a color to it, sometimes with a wonderful twist!

As always, all relevant links are here.