Crochet Bibs

 Happy Friday guys!

Today I am showing you two of my crochet bibs from my baby collection. Not a single bib in this collection repeats in pattern and these two were the first to be made. I started with a traditional shape for the pink one but after making it, I thought making a funkier one would be even better - hence the orange bib was born. 

I also sewed a couple but they will be left for some other time. 

I will talk to you soon!

Blog Friends: Mia from the Craftarista Blog

 

 

Before

 

After 



Being a blogger for so many years, among other wonderful things, has given me the unique possibility and privilege to meet many amazing, gifted and creative bloggers.

 

Mia from the Craftarista blog is one of them. I met her through one of her crafty adventures with a bag, if I am not mistaken. As they name of her blog suggests, she is a true craftarista - her blog is filled with wondrous projects whether they are sewn, crocheted, decoupaged or painted! She is a fantastic inspiration!

 

 

And she loves interacting with the blog community and even more - giving them gifts! On one such occasion I won a beautiful gift, the contents of which you can see here and when I first opened it, well if I say that my eyes popped out, it would be an understatement.

I was truly blown away with the gorgeousness she compiled for me. Starting from a fantastic skein of yarn through lovely ribbons, jewelry findings and wooden buttons, a handmade necklace, topping this all with mouth watering chocolates and a beautiful card, Mia has managed to surprise me greatly and show her kindness and thoughtfulness.

 

I would love if you could spare a minute and visit her magical blog!

 

Thank you Mia! I am eternally indebted and grateful! 

 

 

Insta Love: Hens Teeth Art

 

 

 

Viv Sliwka is an artist that inspires me greatly! I eagerly wait to see what she's been up to and she never ceases to impress me! I got acquainted with her work many, many years ago and I've been following her closely since then. And when you see her photos, you'll understand why.

 

 

 

What she says as an introduction to the public:

 

"I am a textile artist based in Staffordshire, UK. Working with worn fabrics, ephemera and stitch. My inspiration comes from my love of antique textiles, vintage haberdashery, Folk Art, gardens, flowers, beloved pets, the British countryside  and birds. Form, texture and humour too."

 

I am still fascinated by the unique way she transforms old letters and personally, I would love to try that myself. Isn't that an interesting project?

 

 

 

 

 

  

You can follow Viv on instagram or buy her unique art on etsy.



Anchor Crafts

 

 

This is a sponsored post

Recently, I was contacted by Anhor Crafts to see if I was interested to collaborate with them and upon seeing their amazing offer I couldn't pass such an amazing opportunity.

 

Anchor Crafts is a premium quality crafts brand with over 250 years of experience, developing high quality threads to suit all forms of creative crafts worldwide. They have a wide variety of threads with colors, thickness of fiber and compositions suitable for all craft techniques. Whether made from mercerized Egyptian cotton, pure new wool or rayon - all their threads offer stunning quality and endless possibilities.
 

 

 

 

For the project I had in mind I  chose their crochet yarn called Creativa and this was an excellent choice; the lightweight yarn made from natural fibers has a soft, silky touch that makes your crochet adventure an exhilarating experience. Working on my pillow was a real treat! Check their other brands for crochet yarn!

I also received embroidery floss and to my greatest pleasure - the Egyptian cotton floss which I have never worked with before, along with its thicker sister - proved to be such a unique material and tool at the same time to make my brooches exquisite.

 

 

Be sure to check them out! They also offer kits and patterns and you'll find many interesting projects right now before the holidays to stuff your stockings with!
 

Make a Woodland Brooch

 

 

Welcome to a crafty Wednesday friends!

 

This is a kind of a brooch I already have in my collection. I posted something similar a couple of years ago where I wanted to save a vintage laced napkin and used it to make a brooch.

 

So, working on a "woodland" collection (I know, I know.. I am always working on some sort of collection; it actually never stops round here....) I had to make many accessories and this came to mind promptly because it is:

 

a) immensely easy to make

b) conversation starter and makes head turns :)

c) adoooorable

 

Let's roll up sleeves and get to work!

What you need to make this brooch:

 

 

1) A lace piece

2) A piece of white tulle (you can almost miss it in the picture)

3) Crocheted leaves (pattern below)

4) A plastic  / (mine is) styrofoam mushroom

5) A small cone

 

Not shown but necessary

- a needle and thread

- hot glue / liquid silicon glue

- a brooch pin

- (optional) a round felt piece to cover the messy stitching of the pin at the back.

 

Step 1: Take the lace piece and fold it as shown.

Step 2: Have the threaded needle ready and sew the folds together.

Step 3: Crochet the leaves or make them out of felt.

 

Pattern for leaves: ch 13. Starting from 2nd ch from hook, hdc1, dc1, tr6, dc1, hdc1, sc1, sl st 1 (one side made) next repeat the pattern in reverse for the other side: sl st 1, sc1, hdc1, dc1, tr6, dc1,hdc1, sl st. Chain 13 more and repeat the leaf pattern for the second leaf.

 

Sew leaves onto the lace.

Step 4: Sew  (glue) the mushroom.

 

 

Step 5: Fold the tulle similarly to the lace and sew it at the back. Sew the pin too. Glue the felt piece to cover the brooch sewing.

Step 6: Glue the cone. Mind that the cones should not be heavy; if it is, it will pull on the whole piece. 

 

That's it! Say "Hi" to your new brooch!

 

 

 



My Instagram Crochet Finds

Imagine this in crochet - I know you can!

Via Boho Clothing Boutique

Both the color combo and the different stitches / patterns make this one exquisite piece.

Via Siempre Oveja

Granny squares for eternity!

Via Ibiza Boho Girl

Always original!

Via Carmen Zubillaga

Snow Princess Warmers- crochet pattern

My newest warmers pattern, you guys!

While in Turkey, I bought some incredible cotton yarn from the brand Yakut and immediately felt it would be just lovely to make warmers with it.

The pattern looks delicate and romantic, with the little flower design giving a fabulous texture and all these things mixed up together led me to the name.  They look princess-y, don't you think?

The pattern is easy in difficulty and these babies can be made in an evening.

The pattern is on etsy and ravelry. I also made them in dusty pink / blush and along with the blue ones they will be up for sale.

 

 

Crochet Button Necklace Tutorial

 

I had this idea of making a doily like button stuck in my head for a while and really itched to try it. Now, when I've done it - I am thinking of many variations to try and I truly feel this is not going to be the last time we see this button :)

 

Ideally is to use a DK (any chunky) yarn and adequate hook. The sample button was made with a DK yarn and 3 mm hook.

 

The pattern:

Chain 8 and join to make a ring.

Round 1: Sc 10 in ring

Rounds 2-3: repeat round 1

Round 4: sc in all st around.

Round 5: Ch 2, sc in next st. Repeat to the end of round. Sl st to end.

 

 

Tip: By changing the number of chains of the foundation, and by adding rounds, you can get a great variety of these crochet buttons.

 

 

 

These can be used to make a unique necklace, a wonderful applique or decorations.

 

I played with them here, arranging them to make a necklace.

 

 

 

 

I decided on this design. I attached the buttons with jump rings and added ties. So the necklace looks like this onto my plain tee and blouse:

 

 

 

Hope you give these a try!

 

The Istanbul Shawl

 

 

Hello, hello everyone! I wanted to alter my blogging schedule a little and skip the inspiration Monday today but I am here with an equally inspiring project (at least it was to me) and as you can see from the title - I call it the Istanbul Shawl, which I made during the 9-10 hour car ride to Istanbul.

 

The stitch is repetitive and very easy to follow, yet it has a beautiful effect, although I found it a bit boring at times, but I believe the long driving is to blame for that. Much of its attractiveness falls to the hanging flowers/vines which add up onto the overall effect.

 

It looks just lovely wrapped around the shoulders but even better when it is wrapped around the neck, but we simply rushed with the photo shoot and didn't take any "wrapped around the neck" photos. Let me explain. This was one of those  photo shoots where we take pictures of several projects at a time and the first one (involving a fairy tale scene with lots of tulle) attracted quite a crowd so Eva didn't feel comfortable any more so (sadly) we snapped just a few of this shawl. We couldn't even find the brooch pin so had to improvise with a twig, which came out quite charmingly, if you don't mind me saying!

 

Stay tuned for more crochet goodies' reveal.