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

 

 

Salva

Salva

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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….

Garda

Garda

Garda

Lazise

Verona

Verona

My dears, enjoy and relax! Of course, if you have time for 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Bye!!

Ponti sul Mincio (… yes, I love to make selfies 🙂 )

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

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

Salva

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

Some rest at last

Hello, my dear friends!

Here we are, two more days till Christmas!

How are you, how is your crafting going on? Are you freaking out? Oh,I hope that, whatever is your business right now, you are having great time!

I managed to craft all the gifts I planned to and here are some random shots…

I embroidered two Russian nesting dolls, one for the lovely lady who owns my fav yarn store in Parma and the other for my MIL, to add to her gift since she copied some of my ideas and I wanted her to have something special though… Both were turned into lavender bags….

The pressie for my Big man is wrapped….

… and put under the tree…

…we still have the same tiny tree from Parma… maybe there a change should be made… oh and yeah, my BM will have a new pair of socks soon 🙂 …. Isn’t the above yarn just lovely…? 🙂 🙂 🙂

I made some fabric hearts for some friends…

…. and crocheted some of them too…

The candy bags are filled and some of them were already given to the children…

I knitted some cowls, the one from the below photo is for one of my SILs…

And I wrapped the gifts for my friends…

I took the photos of the embroideries and I will show them to you after the holidays.

My dear friends I wish you a very merry Christmas and I hope that the new year will bring you smiles, happiness and love! Thank you for being there!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Love

xxx

Tajana

Abilmente Vicenza :: The Second Pair of Socks Is Ready

Hello, lovely people out there!

As you all well know, a lot of things are happening here in my tiny home lately! There’s a lot of sewing and knitting going on! And lot of home issues too, like a broken washing machine (I’m waiting for the machine doctor…) and some tooth ache (seeing the dentist in a two hours…. ) … For God’s sake, my craft helps me to preserve my mental health (read that in an ironic key, please 🙂 ) and I’m able to show you the photos of the second pair of sock I knitted to bring with me at Abilmente. There’s no need to tell that the final recipient of those socks is my Big man. 😀 😀 😀 (….. love is in the air….)

I have taken photos from the cast on because I’d like to write a brief report with the basic directions for sock knitting and I’d like to attach some photos to help a better understanding. So here they are…

The tubular cast on

The removing of the yarn

The ring closure

The heel flap

The heel

The FO socks

How excited I am!!!! I don’t know how to thank properly that fantastic crew of MAGLIUOMINI!!! I know their blog is in Italian but it is worth to be Google translated! Have fun and enjoy!

Better to start writing now!! Wish you a great beginning of the week!!

Love

xxx

Tajana

Back From Holiday

Hello, my friends!

How are you? Is everything ok?? I hope it is and I hope that you are having a great end of this crazy summer! My Big man is back to work and I’m back to my crafting after having spent four days in Croatia. There is a lot of things to talk about and I was wondering which photos share with you first. There are many of them to be shown, in particular those from our holidays are quite interesting, but I decided to start with the craft done before leaving, to put some order in the last week happenings. Both because I’d like to do justice to a great crochet designer and a friend and because I’d like to show you my first Xmas scarf FO yesterday night 🙂

As first, let start with the second bag I sewed for the family girls. I have found a tutorial for a really nice bag. I have simply fell in love with it and decided to try myself with, even if it looked a bit tricky…. well, it wasn’t so difficult to sew but I have had some problems with the union of the top and the bottom since the main fabric and the lining have to be attached in the same time…. oh,my version of it isn’t so bad at all, since I use jute and it looks quite cozy, but if I want to sew an elegant version, like the one from the tutorial, I have to be more careful…. here are the photos of my bag…

I find it so suitable for my artistic SIL! Very simple, made out from some natural fabric as jute and with one beautiful flower to adorn it. I hope she will like it 🙂 What do you think about my versione of the Canvas Slim Bag? Do you like it and, in particular, do you like the crocheted flower? I’m so very happy to introduce this ornament to you because its pattern was written by my friend Jennifer whose blog, Squirrel Picnic, I simply adore. This lovely lady is writing a crochet book, The Big Acorn Race, and asked me to be a tester for her pattern for this lovely flower named Tall ‘n’ Fast!

Can you imagine how happy and honoured I was and am to have taken part to her beautiful project!!! I highly recommend you to have a look at her blog,you’ll find there a lot of inspiration, and follow her during the book writing! She’s a genious indeed!! Can’t wait to see the book! Hi, Jennifer, hugs are crossing the ocean!! ❤

The first Xmas scarf is done! YIPPEE!!! I have started it a while ago and since I worked only during evenings I’m happy that it is FO 🙂 Since today it is quite cloudy I was lucky to have caught some sunshine during the photo session 😀

A simple seed stitch and some nice soft yarn, a mixture of cotton and merino wool, in a nice dark brown shade. So manly,don’t you think? 😉

I’ll be back soon with my holiday photos.

Love

xxx

Tajana

WIPs and Wandering Around…

Hello,my friends!

I’m a bit away from blogland in these days but that is because my Big man has some days off and we are spending them wandering aroun a bit… Two days spent in the Apennines and tomorrow we are travelling to Croatia for a three days trip. I’m still crafting a lot and have some projects to share with you but they are not FO yet. More about when we are back home. For now just a photo of one of them, the gift excange with Sewchet.

I’m knitting a Crescent Shawl for Sheila but wanted to add something more to my parcel to be so I tried myself with some embroidery 🙂 Well,I’m satisfied….. 🙂 🙂 🙂

….and a close up to the yarn for the shawl, brought home last night 🙂 🙂 🙂

Sorry for being so short but have to go and wash my clothes for tomorrow!

Love

xxx

Tajana