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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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

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

Back Again!

Hello, my friends!

It was about time to be back blogging again! Oh, I was quite busy with my Christmas crafting but I also had some health issues, nothing serious, I’m on my way solving my troubles, but all that kept me away from my blog. Well,to be honest, I hope that I can be online more often but I’m not sure… Life has become busy lately and I kindly ask you to not judge me too hard for my absence… Oh,I almost forgot to tell that I have started to attend German language lessons too, I need to know German if I want to work here around and learning it is taking a great part of my free time…

But I don’t want to bother you with my troubles, I want to share my last FO projects! Crafting is great and creating is still the best antidepressant for me 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 And sweet lovely things are worth sharing!!

The scarf I knitted for my FIL suits better my Big man so I decided to keep it at ours! (My FIL will have a new pair of socks instead!)

You can find the pattern here 🙂 It is so simple to knit and it turns out so beautifully!! Yeah, I’m so pleased with this scarf 🙂

I made myself a slouchy hat following this pattern…

I have taken some photos from the back but they had turned out very badly…. Well,have a look to the pattern, my hat is so very alike the original photos. Oh and I have used the yarn I had bought at Abilmente. 🙂

My MIL has her Christmas gift ready too…

Three fabric baskets for her stash…. I followed the tutorial found here and I do hope that she will like them…

The first of three blankets for the family children is FO too…

I have followed several tutorials foun on Pinterest to sew this blanket and I like to see my handwriting embroidered…. 😛 😛 😛

And last but not least, a detail….

I can’t tell you what it is but I had to show you this dragonfly…. A nice gift from Uncinetto e mille fili colorati ❤ ❤ ❤

I made more little sweet things but I still can’t show them to you! I promise to make a lot of photos before giving my pressies away!!

I wish you a great day and hope that I’ll be back as soon as possible!!

Love

xxx

Tajana

Abilmente Vicenza

Hello, my dear friends!

Here I am! Abilmente Vicenza is behind me and I can happily tell you that it was great.

I don’t even know where to start to write about this beautiful fair! As I arrived I was captured by a warm creative stream which led me around and which I can still strongly feel even if two days has already passed. It was beautiful being a part ot that colourful and so inspiring event.

The members of the Magliuomini group are simply amazing.

I was welcomed with kindness and was put at my ease from the very first moment and even if I was so very thrilled I was never disoriented. Pretending to have winning an Academy Award (….. be patient with me and excuse my emotionalisam…  because I feel like that for real….), a special thanks goes to Kate Alinari, known as the Magliuomini’s Godmother, and to Paolo Dalle Piane,  known as Magliuomini’s Boss!

Great experts and yarn lovers, their support was of a great help for me. Thank you, guys!!

This overall sense of well-being helped me during my class which went well and I was so pleased by my pupils’ desire to organize a knit café and work on socks again 🙂 . I was so concentrated on explaining (…and on trying to avoid leaving a bad impression…) that I didn’t take photos of my class but there are two of them published on my FB page taken by one of my pupil’s husband so you can see us ‘in action’ 🙂 . But despite my fear and excitement, I had fun indeed!

I saw amazing crochet and knit installation art!

Do you remember or have you heard about the World’s biggest blanket crocheted in Trieste and displayed in Piazza Unità on June 20th 2015? I have published some photos on my FB page… well, pieces of it were displayed at Abilmente…

I was overwhelmed by this crochet beauty…. The power of the hook rules!!

There was a yarny tribute to Mondrian…

Amazing, don’t you think?! And of course, this is only a little part of the whole …. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and I spent more time looking around in awe than taking photos. But I hope that I gave you the idea of what I have seen…

There’s more…

…. and more and more and more…. I’m sorry that I didn’t have more time to visit the fair. You need at least two days to see everything.

The list of events organized by the Magliuomini Group was rich indeed! I was so lucky because I was able to attend to a meeting with two extraordinary artists, the DAMSS, on Friday afternoon. Trying to summarise the presentation of their art two words come up to my mind, precisely contamination and experimentation! And an invitation to try to do the same by ourselves!!

(…. I fell in love with her… a deep, visceral love… )

As you can see, the two artists work mostly with fiber exploring the effects if treated with artistic techniques from other fields like those used in furniture restoration… Their work is an union of art and handicraft and highlights the importance of the beauty in everyday’s life. Their enthusiasm was contagious and I came home with a new awareness of which role art should have in my life. Oh, now I know what I want as Christmas gift! Their book!!

I’m so so so so very glad to tell that I had the chance to try some crafts I have never tried before….

…. like doing some spool knitting 🙂

This is an interesting technique suitable for knitted jewellry and much more and I was thinking about buying a spool… I have to thank Sara Lo Sasso for have shown me how it works 🙂 .

And … I SPUN!!!

I was invited by Fiberfabry to try to spun, he explained me the basics of spinning and have to admit that I’m tempted to buy a spindle….

All this was crazy!!! What a great experience!!!

I think you can easily imagine that I came home with new goodies…. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

First of all I have to show you the gift I received from Magliuomini 🙂

Is there anything that I have to say about this photo?? The yarn is amazing as it is the knitting needle gauge!! And it’s ROWAN!!! As the yarn I bought for my hat….

(Do you like this shade of red, Claire? It is not exactly cherry red but I think that, by adding the Rowan’s kidsilk haze from the previous photo, I will obtain a nice result… 🙂 )

You can also see the result of my very first spinning on the above photo 😀 .

And as last but not least, I bought a self healing mat and a rotary cutter.

It’s an A2 cutting mat, 24″x18″, for 18 euros. Well, I liked the price so much that I decided to buy it!! What do you say, was it a bargain? I couldn’t find anything under 30 euros in the stores I was looking for it before so I purchased it at the fair…

At the very end of this long post I’d like to show you my pass ….

…. and tell once again how great Abilmente was for me!!

I wish you a good beginning of the week!!

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

Mission Accomplished :: I Sewed my First Skirt Ever

That thanks to my friend Monica who made the paper pattern for me 🙂

And it fits!!! 😀 😀 😀

Sheila, I owed you the photo 🙂

Have a nice weekend, lovely people!!!