After Explorer Beastie’s trip to the northwest coast last week, it seems like a good idea to carry on with this maritime theme for a little longer! How do you all feel about meeting a real, live Mermaid Beastie?Look, there she is… elegantly running her paws through her tresses, as mermaids are wont to do. […]
Author: Tajana
A Beastie at mine
Hello, my friends!
I think that you have noticed that I didn’t talk about my BM’s Christmas gift in my last post… That is because I didn’t craft him anything… I asked a friend to do it for me… that because I have seen this post a long time ago and I said to myself that this could have been a perfect for him!
So I wrote to Helen from Crowcrafts Beasties and asked her if she was avaiable for this project… AND SHE WAS!!!
So, after an hideous and long journey, our new family member was dropped on the the doorstep on December 30th, on my BM’s birthday… What a perfect timing!!!
Our Dr. Who made himself at home immediately…
…. and found his favourite place ….
He has a passport…
… and he carries the Sonic Screwdriver…
And what to say about the Tardis… ????
AWESOME!!! Simply AWESOME!!
I do not know how to describe Helen’s work… it is neat, well finished, you have that clear feeling that she put her heart in it… every single detail is at its place! My MB and I, we felt so well while opening Helen’s parcel… So, my dear friend, thank you a lot! My BM appreciated your creature and its space time vessel so much indeed and thank you for the Beastie calendar and the lovely postcard too, they were a really beautiful and unexpected surprise.
Have a happy and crafty week everybody!!
Love
xxx
Tajana
A bit late but… Happy New Year
Hello, my dear friends!
A very happy new year to all of you!!! I wish you a lot of love, happiness, fun, WIPs, FOs and yarn!
How are you?
Did you have some good and cozy time spend in a good company of the loved ones? I truly hope you did and that the beginning of the year is exciting and satisfying!
It seems that 2017 is going to be a surprising year as 2016 was… Well, I can speak for the part of the world I’m living in since Italy is still stroken by strong earthquakes, fortunately far away from Peschiera del Garda, but which are causing so many tragedies. I do hope that Mother Nature will give a break to the population suffering this disater.
2017 is the year of my 40th birthday too. Whaaaaaaaaat??? Already?? But but…. I was a little girl only yesterday! I swear! IT WAS YESTERDAY!
Oh, I will tell a lie if I say that I’m not affraid of the time flowing by but on the other hand I feel so well! Life is treating me very well indeed and I’m so thankful for the chance I had to enjoy some very happy and rich moments despite all the adversities. I do hope that this will continue for a long time ahead…
I owe you some Christmas photos. As I tell you I knitted socks as Christmas gifts for the family men and here are some photos. It had taken me a month to finish all the pairs and I took photos only of some of them…
The project I’m most proud of is a two color stranded hat! I have to thank to a friend of mine for the help and the directions given! It had had a big success and, apart the two knitted for my nephews, I knitted two more of them commissioned by friends of mine.
This is a project I do love to knit so much! It is fun, lovely and so nice. The pattern I use is this one. 🙂
I crocheted a Sleepy Bear for my BM’s nephew 🙂
… and despite my perplexity about the color, the little chap likes to play with this crocheted guy :).
And here are all my gifts gathered together..
I can’t deny that there was a lot of stress about deadlines and the satisfaction of everyone’s desire, but everybody liked their pressie so I felt so very well after Christmas.
We had a handmade Christmas tree this year …
… and we have a new leafy friend to take care about…
A bonsai. A ficus tree…. purchased before Christmas and it is still alive! Yeah!!
To not be forgotten: would you like to make the lovely snowman from the upper picture? Click here 🙂 . And if you need the translation, I can ask the permission to the designer to translate her pattern.
What had happened more… let’s see… Oh,well, anything special… I’m back on my craft 🙂 🙂 🙂
My BM made me a nice gift…
Oh I almost forgot about a pre Christmas quick commission, a pair of mitts and a hat for a little nine months old girl…
… and I made myself Amabie…
I think that that’s it for now and that I didn’t forget anything. After holidays life has continued to flow in its usual way, I’m so happy about that, and I can tell that I have a lot to do. A commission, a gift exchange (Roma, I didn’t forget about, after the stole it is your turn 🙂 ), a hat and a scarf for my BM and a lot of accounting study…
So let us put on the go mode!
Love
xxx
Tajana
Woooow….
Things I love or things I would like to make, anyway fabulous inspiration I’ve found out in the net last weekend.Cosas que me gustan o cosas que me gustaría hacer, de cualquier modo fabulosa inspiración encontrada este fin de semana en la red.1. Hearts Tapestry Crochet baby blanket by The Faded PineappleSource2. Linen crochet coasters by IvestownSource3. Daisy wheel…
via 11 things I love and beauty found out weekend # 1 — Anabelia craft design
I’m still here
Hello, my dear friends!
Yes, I am, I’m still here! I have been neglected the blog for a while and that because I’m on a big delay with my Christmas gifts cratfing… Oh, well, I will be able to make everything on my “to do” list but I’m not sure if I will have the scarf I want to knit for me before Christmas…. I hope a miracle will happen but I’m affraid it will have to wait until next year…
Oh, never mind, here are my latest FO…
An off the scedule hat for my BM…
The pattern is the same I used for my hat, the Cabled Hat by Debbie Bliss.
My Mother in law Stone Tulip Shawl
I have to admit that I like it a lot!
The Lace Scarf for my Mum
I followed this pattern and even if it is in Finnish it is easy to understand.
All the gifts for the ladies are done and now it is gentlemen’s turn…
Socks, socks, socks!!!
I have started with my Father in law…
…. and I’m going on with my brother’s pair…
Oh, I feel I’m working so slowly….
Some more Christmas tree ornaments are ready too….
Making all those things by hands… Insanity! That’s the most suitable term to describe how I’m feeling in these days!
So…. since the last few months were so discouraging because a lot of bad things had happened (Brexit, Trump president of the USA, Italy stroken by two terrible earthquakes…. I stop here!) I’d like to share with you some random photos of this still beautiful autumn…
Places we have been….
My dears, enjoy and relax! Of course, if you have time for 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Bye!!

Love
xxx
Tajana
Holiday fever! Already????!!!!
Hello, my dear friends!
Those of you who knows me best know very well my obsession with handmade Christmas gifts…. There’s no need to talk about that much… but did I tell you that I want to have a nice Christmas tree this year… ? Since I’m so insane, I’m not only crafting gifts, I’m making tree ornaments too….
I have a precise idea about how my tree should look like and I’m playing a lot with the hook and different kind of yarn. I’d like to have sparkling garlands, nice white snowflakes, macarons and some felted embroidered hearts…. Let’s see if I’ll be able to finish off all the ornaments in time…
In the meantime I have finished off, blocked and stored the stole I was making for one of my sisters in law…
This is Luule pattern by Susanne Visch and I love it a lot! The yarn I used wasn’t the best one I have ever knitted with but it was worth the effort. The colors of this stole are too bright, in my opinion, but are perfect for the lady it is meant to. And I’m happy I was able to store it at last!!
As you can imagine, a new project is on my needles which should be finished off in three or four days… The Stone Tulip Shawl for my Mother in law ….
What can I say… I can’t wait to have it finished off and blocked!!!!!
My Mother in law is going to have a small pressie before Christmas, though… three pot holders…
I’m not satisfied with the finishing of those, however. Sewing is still my weak spot which has to be improved a lot… Sometimes it happens that my projects turn out nice but sometimes they do not…. I have to work a lot on appliqués….
At last, I knitted myself a hat! It was a while that I wanted to make this for me, a pattern I saw for the first time on Sewchet’s blog…
This hat is perfect! I love this pattern very much and I love to wear it during our waks… By the way, we spent a few hours outdoors this weekend and here are some photos of the Lake seen from above!
I hope that you will enjoy this views!
I have to go now and have lunch ready!!
(Breathe, Tajana, breathe….)
Love
xxx
Tajana
October
Hello my dear friends!
Autumn is here! Already?! I don’t know how and why time flies so fast, maybe aging do not bring only wrinkles but it also changes our percepction of time flow… Well, I don’t care! At all! I love this time of year (this came with age for sure… 😛 ) for its colours, the need to gather in house and the pleasure to spend my evenings on the sofa watching television and knitting.
The walks in the mountains also become shorter and less frequent but they are still good and liberating. Here are some shuts from the Apennines.
I particulary love the second photo of the first row…. It is quite poetic…
Spending time indoor and crafting are a perfect autumnal coefficient and I’m glad that I can show you some results of that sum…
A cozy hooded capelet
A friend of mine asked me to knit a hooded capelet for her daughter and I finished it off some days ago… I followed this pattern but I changed the lenght and the gauge. I used 8 mm needles and have to say that I love more those big cables instead the smaller ones…
The WIP
After have FO the red stole I have started a new one… This new one is also meant for one of my SILs… 🙂
I found a lovely pattern with which I fell in love so, despite the itchy and irritating yarn, I’m stubbornly working on it.
The first of three beanies
From time to time I have to put aside this project though and make something quick with a yarn which caresses my hands. Merino for this purpose is great…
The beanie for my BM’s nephew is finished off 🙂 🙂 🙂 and I like the pompom quite a lot 🙂
A simple and easy pattern by Purl Soho but so lovely!! I adore Purl Soho’s projects. They are all so easy and fresh and modern and so IN and… and…. Just go and have a look!
Happy October and happy crafting!!
Love
xxx
Tajana
Last jam making of the year
Hello, my friends!
As I told you yesterday I discovered the joy of fruit this summer and made a lot of jam. Cherry jam, strawberry jam, apricot jam… I thought that it would be nice to give jam jars as Christmas gifts to my friends and mused a lot about how to embellish them for this special occasion… well, I found that kitchen string could be quite decorative… as much as buttons and tags…
Cherry jam
Strawberry jam
Apricot jam
I made the last pot of jam of the season last week with some really juicy plums…
… and I crafted the tags for the jars…
… with crocheted flowers which pattern is from this beautiful book…
I simply adore Emma Lamb‘s style!!
So here we are!
Well, I can feel satisfied! There’s enoug jam for everybody! Would you like to come and try some? You are all welcome!
Have a great weekend!!!
Love
xxx
Tajana
Popping out again
Hello, my dear friends!
It has been a while since my last post here on the blog. What had happened….? Well… It is hard to say but let it put that way… I have a compulsive need to create and hold in my hands the result of this compulsive activity. Around Christmas last year I found so hard to spend time both online and crafting and I discovered Instagram, a quick and easy way to share photos, exactly what I needed in that very moment. So you can easily imagine what had occured. I was able to show you my WIPs and FO projects and follow and be followed by all my blog friends. Well, to be frank it is much easier to find me on my personal Facebook profile and on Instagram than here or on Pinterest…. So I totally neglected my blog and all that beautiful people who are my ultimate inspiration. As I always say that there wouldn’t be any crafted goodie at mine if there weren’t you, my friends, who inspired me.
I have to thank Roma for bringing me down from the moon. With few lovely words she made me think about the goal I gave to this blog and I understood that writing always calmed down that crafty urge I have and always made me collect my thoughts. For a new beginning. Maybe I’ll not be present so often as I used to be but i promise I’ll start sharing again my projects here in blogland. All the photos you’ll find on Instagram first…. Sorry for that!! But my musing will be written here.
I’d like to start with sharing one of the Christmas gifts I finished off lately. I knitted a stole for one of my SILs ….
It has taken me a while to knit this stole but it is totally worth the effort. The pattern is a simple one, I just replicated a lace chart from Elisabeth Lovic’s book. 🙂
I have knitted two shawls too… the Stone Tulip Shawl! What a beautiful pattern!
The first one is for a friend of mine while the second one is meant for another SIL (there are three of them… the gift for the third one is in progress… ).
A friend of mine asked me to crochet her a Mermaid tail blanket.
If you like to make one of these you can find a pattern here.
My Big man and I were away for a holiday in the mountains this summer and having a break under a glacier eating a sandwich with home made bread and wearing hand made socks was great!
Alost the same feeling as in the moment i found this book in my mailbox!
I had fun with little sewing projects…
…. and I crocheted a Sleepy Bear following a pattern by Jennifer Olivarez.
This was a very busy summer because I discovered the joy of fruit…
….and made a lot of jam!
I hope that I was able to illustrate a bit of what had happened here down in Italy during my absence. Now I have to say bye and hurry to knead my flat bread with the yeast starter (…who is yelling for some attention down in the kitchen… ).
Stay tuned and have a nice day, lovely people out there!
Love
xxx
Tajana
The Big Acorn Race
Hello my dear friends!
It has been quite a long time since I wrote a post on this blog of mine. Life is rolling in its usual way here. I always craft a lot but I’m spending my time on a job hunting which takes me a lot of time. Oh,no result up till now but I’m enduring this situation. Well, if you like you can follow me on Instagram. I love it because I can share the photos of my projects much faster than here on my blog.
I popped up here today because I’d like to share with you somethng really sweet. An amazing blogger and a good friend has published her first crochet book ever. Jennifer from Squirrel Picnic wrote The Big Acorn Race, a real crochet Wonderland!! What to say more?? Oh, my word treasure is really poor to describe it but if you click HERE you’ll find a really nice review by Kathryn Vercillo who has perfectly understood the essence of The Big Acorn Race.
I had the luck to have been asked by Jennifer to be her pattern tester something like a year ago. You can’t imagine how happy I was when she asked me that! I will never thank her enouhg to have had me taking part of her project!Her patterns are magical, they have the power to make you feel happy and thrilled and calm all in the same moment. I warmly suggest you to purchase her book, you will make yourself a really nice and magical gift!
Two days ago I have received my copy and I simply couldn’t resist, I had to put myself on work!
I crocheted some oak leaves by using the pattern from the book and applied them on a shopping bag I sewed for my Mother in law as her birthday present.
See??? This is only an idea and my personal interpretation of a pattern written by Jennifer. There are much more wonders to be discovered and a lot of lovely projects to be made thanks to Jennifer’s creativity!
Go and check out her pages, you will not regret!
Love
xxx
Tajana