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

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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

FOs and WIPs

Hello my dear friends!

Another post about Christmas gifts! Oh,please,try to stand me if you can… but this is that part of the year… the final crafty rush !!!

I start with the gift for the most important person of my life, my Big man…

Following this tutorial I made to my Big man an apron to add to the previously sewed messenger bag… Since he didn’t want me to knit him a sweater I had to find a solution for his Christmas gift and decided to make something he won’t never imagine to receive. I added a personal note to the apron….

Oh,he don’t like garments with writings so I had to camouflage my message 😀 😀 😀 and,no, we are not married but ‘I have the best companion on earth’ didn’t sound me good so I opted for ‘wife’ …. well, there’s a clear desire expressed in my words too and I hope that he will understand…. ( 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I’m laughting because I know he wont…. ).

He has already received two pairs of socks and the cable scarf…. and under the three there will be the below goodies…. not bad… What do you think? Would your husbands like to have those goodies for Christmas?

🙂 🙂 🙂

I’m so happy that I can show you one of the embroideries I’m making for my friends since the receiver doesn’t have neither a FB nor an IG account… 🙂 And since I like poppies….

My friends can do with their embroideries whatever they want…. a bag, a frame, a pillow…. The others will be shown after the holidays 🙂

My FIL has his first sock ready ….

…. Rowan’s Fine Art is so soft…. thank you, Magliuomini!!!!

I’m so happy because I will finish Christmas my list soon, in a two weeks all the items should be ready…. well, at least the biggest ones… there’s a scarf for my brother to be finished off, now on my needles, the blanket for my younger nephew and the second sock for my FIL… I feel quite ok about, the buntings for the blanket are cut out, the scarf is made on 8 mm gauge needles and the second sock is going to be started tomorrow during a knit café organized by me here in Peschiera (I hope someone will come tomorrow….) .

My BM asked me to make something for his colleagues’ children so I made yesterday two small bags to fill with candies…

As you can imagine, the bird is for the girls and the dog for the boys! Well,I have to change the fabric for girls since the black colour isn’t the best choice I could eventually make but all in all the idea is nice. Quite quick too 🙂

That’s it for now, my friends! I have to run to the supermarket and pick up some groceries so…

I wish you a happy weekend and a lot of happy craft!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Love

xxx

Tajana

Almost there…

Hello my dear friends!

I’m almost ready for Abilmente….. Oh, I couldn’t be more excited! I have finished off the last pair of socks….

….that one I’m going to wear and have put aside everything I have to carry with me….

I wrote a little report about sock knitting (in 10 copies) and made some very rough cards with my blog and email address written on. Just in case…. Tomorrow I will prepare the lesson itself and that is it! Oh, I’m thrilled!!!

I will be honest and tell that I’m a bit tired and I don’t spend much time online but I follow all your gorgeous craft on my WordPress reader!! I feel always so inspired by you and your work! Thank you for being always 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

Exciting Events

Hello, my friends!!

How are you? Wow, it is the first day of Autum today!!! How do you feel about that?? The beginning of a colourful season and it is my brother’s birthday!! This is nice! I’ll call him later to wish him a happy birthday 🙂

Since we are entering a cooler part of the year and since this morning I saw this sky…

… I thought it is time to slow down a bit and write a post about what has happened and what is happening lately…

I was at home in Croatia last week and came back with a nice goodie….

A thermic mug!!! Oh, what a big deal indeed! But as I saw it at the supermarket I fell in love with this simple thing and had to buy it! So now I will have hot tea for a longer time than usual! I love those small life pleasures….

I’m thrilled!! Indeed! Like a child! Because I’m going to attend Abilmente! Abilmente is a craft fair held thrice a year here in Italy, twice in Vicenza and once in Rome. There will be a lot of yarn, needles, hooks, fabrics, threads…. and a lot of great creative people! I was invited by a nice group of male knitters called #magliuomini ( find here their FB page and here their blog ) to attend the fair as a sock knitting teacher. I will hold a four hour workshop and anybody interested in socks will get the basic directions to try themself in sock knitting. This is simply exciting!!! This is the first time ever that I’m going to attend an event like that and I’m out of my mind for that! Since there is a lot of excitement to deal with I started to work on my workshop to calm myself down and have finished off my first pair of socks  🙂

(… to notice the thermic mug in its natural surrounding….)

Today I take a day off from knitting but I’m going to start a new pair of socks with the grey yarn from the below photo..

…. yarn bought in Trieste during my last trip in Croatia in a nice yarn store, Lalanalà, run by two lovely ladies indeed! It was fun to buy some yarn in a store I read about and liked on Facebook! This store had opened a long time after I left Trieste and I am so glad to have found a pearl like that in a town I love so much!

Will the excitement end…? No, it will not for a quite long time! Because I received Sheila’s parcel!!! We had a gift exchange and look what this lovely lady and expert tailor sent me…. ❤ ❤ ❤

A bag to bring along my projects…

…. and the matching card keeper, coin purse and phone case with my name embroidered on! How, for God’s sake, can I avoid to have my heart melted?? And did you see the beautiful card she sent me?

My friends, I’m so overwhelmed by all this excitement! Nice things are happening lately and I have to admit that I’m enjoying it with a lot of joy!!

Now it is time to lend on Earth again (…. Huston is calling, Tajana, answer, please!!!) and get on work! New ideas are in the air and I hope I’ll be able to materialize them!

Have a great day!!

Love

xxx

Tajana

A “late” pressie

Hello, my friends!!

These last few days were quite crafty and colourful… 🙂 🙂 🙂

Dear Bmary, these are the goodies which are meant to be shipped to you! It was so hard for me not to publish their photos, I like the colours so much that I couldn’t wait…. please, just write me on tajanarabar(at)yahoo.it or tajanarabar(at)outlook.it and tell me where I have to send the parcel…  🙂 🙂 🙂

So…..

….. here are the socks I’ve promised to you….. I knitted them with some acrlylic yarn  I had at mine and which you can easily hand wash…. do neither iron them, please, nor steam…. I hope that they will fit you well (finger crossed) …. they are thought to be worn while taking a nap on the sofa during long and cold winter days and are so very grannylike on purpose….

……aehm….. the only elastic thread I had at mine was a golden one….. sorry….

….here you have a little garland…..

….. and a felted heart,too….

….. sorry, you’re a victim of my sewing attemps…. 🙂 🙂 🙂 ……

Enjoy! ❤ ❤ ❤

Love

xxx

Tajana