Home Sweet Home

Our veggie garden that we planted late in July is now blooming! 

Beautiful arugula, lettuce, cucumbers, peas, radishes and beans.

Look at the amazing sunflower my son planted from a seed at school!

Our little corner of the world.

Upon my request, my lovely husband built a couple of "bee hotels" to help provide missing nesting habitat to solitary bees. Isn't it awesome? 

As the end of Summer approaches, I feel more and more appreciation for the sunny days, warm weather, plentiful variety of fresh veggies and the colorful flowers that are lovely cared for by my husband.
Summer is my favorite season, but Fall is my second, so I am looking forward to the crisp air in the mornings, the soup dinners and the beautiful color changing trees. Life is good.

Cheers!

Fireside Blanket

I have been wanting to make a white-ish blanket for awhile to put it on the foot of my bed and then the other day when we went Whidbey Island for my husband to run a marathon, we stayed at a vacation rental home and they had a cream colored chevron crocheted blanket and I thought "that is it, I've got to make mine!". 

Once we returned home, I started working and the Fireside Blanket came to life.

The texture of this blanket is my favorite thing about it, nothing is more satisfying than transforming plain solid yarn into something beautiful with your own hands, it is truly a special thing.

These amazing photos were captured by Amanda Tipton Photography - I just adore her work!

What do you think? Are you ready to make one?

The pattern will soon be available in my ravelry store, etsy shop and website. 

Happy Crocheting!

Easy Peasy Hat Pattern

Hello there!

I am back with a new design, the Easy Peasy Hat. I am so in love, this hat is so fun to make, the texture is scrumptious and it works up quickly, which is always a bonus in my opinion.

What do you think?

You can find the pattern on ravelry, etsy and my website, too.

Summer

Oh Summer, my favorite season!

The season the kids are off from school and we can take it easy and not have a set time to get up or go to bed, enjoy life, watch the kids play, eat salads and ice cream, soak up every minute. 

We love to travel, we love exploring new places, even if it's a new playground in our own town.
Summer to me means fresh luscious fruit, chalk coloring, new books, picnics and colorful flowers, it's exciting and calming at the same time.
What does your Summer looks like? What's your favorite season?

Jute Bag - Free Crochet Pattern

I have been thinking about making a market bag for awhile, but I wanted to do make it with a different material other than cotton, so I thought jute would be a good alternative. 

Supplies: 

- Leather bottom 31,5 x 9,6 cm (I bought this one)

- Jute (I used almost two balls of this Jute)

- Crochet hook 4.0mm

- Scissors 

Skill level: Easy

Finished size: 12" tall excluding handles

Abbreviations:
- Chain = Ch
- Sc = Single Crochet
- Hdc = Half Double Crochet
- Sl St = Slip Stitch

Instructions:
Make 2 sc in each hole of the leather bottom, join with a sl st. Ch 1, turn.
Round 1: 1 sc in each stitch around, join with a sl st. Ch 2 (counts as a hdc now and throughout), turn.
Round 2: *1 hdc in the next 3 sts, ch 3, skip 3 stitches* repeat around, join with a sl st. Ch 2, turn.
Round 3-18: Repeat round 2.
Round 19: 1 sc in each stitch around. Fasten off.

Handles:
Finder your center and mark the position where you want to put your handles. Join the jute, ch 30 for each handle, sl st in place, then single crochet around the whole top, including the handles to make it nice and sturdy. Fasten off.
Weave in any loose ends.

Enjoy!

Goodbye

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. Our beloved 15 and a half year old Jack Russel Terrier, Habooda is no longer with us. She was the best dog we could have ever wished for. My kids didn't know life without her, so this has been a heart breaking experience for our family.

She loved laying down on my crochet blankets and often modeled for me, always with grace.

We miss her dearly.

Vintage Style Bag

Since I bought these enamel pins (bought them at Michael's), I have been itching to make a bag to put them on. I made a market bag out of jute the other day (free pattern coming soon, by the way) but once I added the pins to the bag, it just didn't look right. So yesterday I rented a movie for ME (only me, not for the kids, not for my husband) to watch and I decided to crochet this using my Vintage Style Bag pattern and voilà!

The tricky part was to take pictures after I was done because there wasn't anyone to model the bag for me, so I had to improvise and hang the bag outside and on the chair, thankfully my husband has a green thumb and keeps our backyard really neat, which is why I like sitting out there with my coffee everyday.

Well, anyhow if you would like to make a bag as well, the pattern is available here.