Christmas inspiration & free patterns

Hello lovelies! December days are busy days, don't you think? There is so much going on:: markets, parties, handmade gift to finish, bags to pack to visit your parents and so on! In the meantime things are beginning to look a little festive round here::: Christmas trees and lights are everywere! I just popping in to share some lovely free Christmas decorations patterns I have found around! Hoping that could be useful if you need last minute inspirations to decorate your house before a big extended family party !

All the patterns are in English except the 'Christmas bell' and you can found those and other pictures on my Christmas boards on Pinterest!

Big hello to my new readers and commenters:::: enjoy! 

Christmas Tree Decoration Tutorial by Little woolie

Snowman amigurumi pattern by De Estraperlo

Christmas bell pattern by Draad en praat

Christmas ball pattern by El gallo bermejo

Christmas “Stocking” Star by hvadbiertaenker

Amigurumi Rudolph Christmas Pattern by Little things blogged

Christmas Wreath by Lucy of Attic24

Snowflakes patterns by Petals to picot 

Liebster! (part two)

 Hello Lovelies! How are you all? I'm so sorry for not coming to visit till now but time is running by making it difficult to find a moment to spend on my blog.  Few days ago I was awarded  (again!) a Liebster by the awsome and super talented Magda at Pigtails :::: Thank you so much! I have some questions to answer regarding my creative world and others to propose to my Liebster, so here we go::::

 1. Animal fiber, plant fiber or other fiber? I discover cotton yarn recently and I found that is very versatile but I can say that in general I prefer to work with raw natural materials from animals or plants. For my next purchases I'm planning to buy yarn to small local Italian producer or with fair trade certificate.

2. Variegated or solid? Solid ::: I've have crocheted only a baktus scarf with variegated yarn and it's fine but I prefer to work with one color and build up my own motif.

3. Colours or textures? Colours!

4. Pattern or plain? I like to follow a written pattern but often I try to modified them according to my personal touch.

5. How do you organise your stash? I had recently organize my yarn stash building some storage unit in my library! Smart and cheap solution take a look! 

6. Favourite projects to make? I'm in love with granny's squares blanket because are sooo relaxing::: but I need time to organize my first market and do Christmas gifts so I leave aside my mood blanket till 2015!

7. How many WIPs are you working on? Actually I'm obsessed by little amigurumi owl ::: I need a mascotte!

8. Where is your favourite hooky place? On the couch near the fire ::: I want a house with fireplace!

9. What three words best describe you? honest, passionate, creative 

10. Which travelling destination is on top of your bucket list? I would like to spend a winter week end in Trentino Alto Adige ::: I'm not able to ski but I like walk in the nature even covered by snow! 

                                                                   image via quotes

The Questions for my nominees:

1) Why did you start a blog and what do you mainly blog about?

2) Did you remember your first crochet/ knit project?

3) What three words best describe your projects?

4) How does your work differ from others of it's genre?

5) What are you working on?

6) How do you organise your stash?

7) Where is the most unexpected place you ever crochet/knitted? 

8) What three words best describe you?

9) Is there a famous person that you would love to meet, and why?

10) Which travelling destination is on top of your bucket list?

My nominees are:

Samantha at Betsy makes

Nicole Nicole and the bee

Ellen at Ellebel

Marianne at Ladybird diaries

De Estraperlo   

Hoping you have  a fabulous week end!

Cute news !

Hello lovelies, how is your week going? Just popping in to say hello! I'm a little bit excite to announce that for the first time I'll join this handmade market :::

So if you are in Bologna on the 14th of December you will find my stall in ARTERIA at Vicolo Broglio, 1/E. The market seems to be a cool event mixing reclying, vintage and handmade crafters::: all with a DJ set! 

These last few days it's been all about preparing for this event::: I'm doing a lot of mittens and other stuff hoping that someone like them! In addition I have no idea about how to prepare my stall::: light, decoration and so on ::::need an inspiration!

                                                                                    xxx

Another big news is that netx week end I'm going to vist "Mondo creativo" a big exibition of crafters, handmade artist and also craft stores here in Bologna! I'm sooo happy! But the super cute news is that on friday I'm gonna partecipate to Enrica Trevisan workshop about how to create your handmade stamp! Super excited! Check out her amazing creations !

 I'm ready for my crafter adventure::: and I will tell you for sure!

                              

New friends and mittens

Hello! How are you going today? Good I hope! Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post, I'm very happy to ear you like my new potholders!

The last week I was thrilled to go over to my new friends 'I fiori di Marica' blog to find that they had nominated me for the Liebster Blog award! Thanks! 

You may have seen this award mentioned on various blogs::: to nominate your "dearest" blogs you have to choose someone with fewer than 200 followers and recipients are asked to list some random facts about themselves. So here we go::::

1 :: Who has influenced you most in your life?

The most obvious choice would be my family, expecially my grandfather, but aside from them it's probably the very special people that I meet during high school and university years.

2 :: If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

I would like to travel a lot ::: but at the end certainly I prefer to live anywere in Italy

3 :: If you went back to school what would you choose to study?

Evolutionary Biology & Genetics. Again. But for for my phd I will choose another country

4 :: Are you impulsive when making decisions or do you ponder things first?

Ponder:::ponder:::ponder. Random impulsive decisions sometimes occurs as a result of tiny changes like in Punctated equilibrium theory

5 :: What is your food preference when you eat out?

Sushi (no matter about metal poisoning)

6 :: Looking at your average day, what do you enjoy best?

Going home from work, have a cup of tea, relax and crocheting

7 :: What gives you the least pleasure in your daily routine?

Going to work and do routine work

8 :: Is there a famous person that you would love to meet, and why?

I'd like to meet Eddie Vedder because he is not only the leader of one of my favourite band Pearl Jam but also a social and enviromental activist. 

9 :: Tell us about a favourite place in your locality that you like to visit

During spring and summer I'd like to visit the hills around the city 

10 :: If you were marooned on an island what would you choose to have with you?
Eddie!?!

11 :: What is your favourite type of film?

Japanese anime of Miyazaki

Now I’m supposed to present my own list of questions to some bloggers I choose for the Liebster Award. 

Firstly I will award to Julia elena :::: she is a young new blogger but not new to the world of arts & crafts and I suggest to pop into her blog. Another multitasking blogger I discover recently is Simona at 'by Mrs carrot'::: I immediately fall in love with all her project crocheted , knitted or embroidered. I also want to nominatye Aja  and Laura two sister 'Bajo un limonero' ::: a blog full of nice DIY and  amazing pictures. And finally two talented italian girls: Alice at 'Alycrash creations' a versatile blog and Lisa at 'Piccolecose' where you can find adorable softie toys. Last but not least Vale at 'Le idee della Vale', a super cute blog full of nice ideas :::: don't miss her 'craft review'!

Thank you for reading, and for your patience:: I have a big news I will shortly announce my new mittens pattern::::

Stay tuned and have a great monday!

Hexi potholder

Hey there, how are you all? I realize  haven't blogged much  about my ongoing project and I would like to show you something new:::

Can you imagine what kind of project it is?

Because of the new cotton yarn I bought for the first time, I had a lot of fun experimenting with colors. I would like to made a funny and colorful potholder project and I collect some geometrical pin for inspiration and ta dahh!

 I made some new combinations while working on the hexagon project::: which one do you prefer?

I thought these would be cute little presents::: Christmas fever is already in the air!

And you ? Do you work to an exciting WIP or Christmas gift?

Have a great week end!

My crafty space

Hello lovelies, how does the week going? In my previuos post I tell you my searching for smart projects and ideas to organise my wool storage and my creative space::: I'm so glad you are inspired by, so thanks for all your sweet comments!

I have some ideas pops into my heads but still nothing clear. So we took a trip to Ikea on Saturday and  looked up different storage units, but soon I realize that to get the perfect yarn storage box I  have to build my own dividers:::  Happily I have the answer::: I see a perfect storage solution in All About Ami lovely blog! 

She use a very adaptable and cheap material (corrugated plastic) to build up  some storage unit::: I have to try it! My boyfriend measured the height, length and depth of my shelf and did some calculations then cut each piece of corrugated plastic::: put togheder and Ta-da! 

My yarn is organized by colour, fibers type and size in each compartment!  Now I am able to see what yarn I have very clearly::: which prevent buying random yarn. (I'm not sure of the last statement).

 I am so happy with my new organised things! 

I'm sorry for the picture quality but it's getting harder by the day to photograph things in this autumn light and the clocks haven't even changed yet.

 

So thanks for popping over and I'll see you soon!

Sunny days

The days become shorter in October, but the sun still beautifully warming and energizing our last week end. Strangely, we are still wearing shorts and T-shirts around here... such a lovely way to start this season and to forget the summer madness! So we take the opportunity to enjoy the last warm days eating ice cream and hang around vintage street market:::

Ther are some cute stalls and I found some lovely vintage buttons ::: I have two purse just waiting for them!

Is not time to wear mittens but I realize that in my previous post I didn't show you any picture of  them:::So I decide to wear my fingerless gloves just for a moment to show you how they fit::: and ta-dah!

And you ? Are you planning a crafty or a rambler week end? 

DIY your weekend::: Yarn storage

 According to a recent published research messy desk people are more creative. I'm an extremely creative person so my desk is full of random stuff  as my closet::: but my excel file at work are very carefully organized (I know myself!). My ideal desk::::

As my random stuff my yarn stash continue to grow and grow! When new  ideas pops into my head there always seems to be a need to buy more yarn of different colours and size!  I  used to store my yarn in a featureless box, but soon it became full and I found yarn stash spreading through the whole house.  This made it difficult finding particular yarns and colours and also make the house a mess! 

So I decide to organise my wool storage::: I was looking for smart projects and  I collect few ideas found online that might inspire your own organizational endeavors:::

Some smart ideas:::

Some vintage addict solution:::

Some recycling ideas:::

Some shabby inspiration::::

  Images are from my Yarn storage inspiration Pinterest board::: 

And you? Do you have a smart/crazy yarn storage solution?

Happy crafty weekend!

Cozy mittens

Hello lovelies! This week I have been welcoming October realize the first crochet fingerless mitts pattern that I've done::: Today I show you the step-by-step picture as well as written instructions! The pattern is very simple and perfect for beginners ::: Mittens are very nice and cozy::: I hope you like them!

This pattern is written in US crochet terminology

Material

2 skein of wrosted yarn

5mm hook

LEFT MITT INSTRUCTIONS:

To start::: pink color::: Chain 23. Slip stich in first chain to form loop. Chain 1 (counts as first single crochet, here and throughout). 

Step 1. Single crochet in each chain around. Slip stich in top loop of first chain 1. Chain 1, turn

Step 2. Repeat Step 1 for 7 more rows. At the end of the last row change color.

Step 3. Grey colour::: Single crochet  in every single crochet to end. Slip stich in top top loop of first chain 1. Chain 2 (counts as first double crochet, here and throughout), turn

Step 4. Double crochet in each chain around. Slip stich in top loop of the first first chain 2. Chain 2, turn

Step 5. Repeat Step 4.

Step 6. Double crochet in every double crochet to end. In the last stich do two double crochet. Slip stich in top loop of the first chain 2. Chain 2, turn.

Step 7. Repeat Step 6  for 2 more rows.

Step 8. Double crochet in each stich until 6 stiches remain, chain 4, skip 4 stiches, double crochet in last 2 stiches; Slip stich in top loop of the first chain 2.

Step 9. Double crochet in every double crochet to end.  Slip stich in top loop of the first chain 2. Chain 2, turn.

Step 10. Repeat Step 9.

RIGHT MITT INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1-7. The same as for left mitt.

Step 8. Double crochet in the 1st and 2 sts. Chain 4, skip 4 stiches, double crochet in remaining stiches around; Slip stich in top loop of the first chain.

Step 9. Double crochet in every double crochet to end.  Slip stich in top loop of the first chain 2. Chain 2, turn.

Step 10. Repeat Step 9.

Hope you like this super-easy projects that will help keep you warm this winter:: If the pattern is unclear or you have any questions please contact me by email or leave comment below::: Thanks for following me and for your sweet comments:::

Happy crocheting!  

Doing homework

Hello crafty people! It's been a while since I had show you some squares regarding the mood blanket 2014 contest!  But school is already started and for sure I do my homework!

I'm enjoying every step of this journey but during the last month my little mountains of squares grew and grew, and I have to confess that I can't wait to assembly the blanket!

Thank you for your sweet comments in my previous post, they really motivate me::: I have a big news::: a fingerless gloves pattern with tutorial will be published here on the blog very soon! I took the last pictures for my upcoming step-by-step tutorial and I laid down the written pattern so it will be released soon. Stay tuned! 

And you ::: What have you been working on? Wishing you a happy week end!

Baktus mania

Hello lovelies, I want to thank you all for the comments on my last post::: So glad to see you here! I'm back from my nice trip to Sardinia and as my first project from my break, I'll show you my Baktus scarf!

Searching for a one-skein pattern for a scarf or small shawl, I stumbled across a super easy crocheted Baktus that I found on Ana's blog.. she'e quite addicted to Baktus! It has the shape of an elongated triangle, with narrow tips and a wider center. 

I heard Baktus comes from Norway, where it became very popular some time ago.  The original pattern is a knitted version and in Raverly there is a huge gallery of Baktus made with different yarns::: The method couldn’t be simpler. You weigh your yarn, cast on a few stitches, and then increase every so many rows, always on the same side. When you have half the yarn left, start decreases!

I follow the most popular pattern on Raverly by Helda Panagary, using a soft blue shade chunky yarn and a 8mm hook::: I confess it's the perfect project to work on in relax during the afternoon or evening! N.B. This pattern is written in UK crochet terminology::: I notice it too late, so I realize my Baktus scarf in US double crochet! 

Hope you're enjoying a nice weekend!

Pop up your september

Hello dear readers! September It's a new month, so it's time for a new crochet project!  I have a deep affection for bulky yarn, and this time I use it to make a colourful zippered pouch! 

I was searching for a pattern of a cozy purse and I found this lovely project of  Lindsay and immediatly fall in love with! I realize two bags with the same shape but with different colors::: aren't they super-pop?

Now I need two colourful zippers, a beautiful piece of fabric, a sewing machine and someone to teach me how to sew the zipper to the crochet clutch!

This is a short post because my luggage is ready for another break:::I'm gonna spend two weeks in the beautiful Sardinia island! 

Hope you have a great sunday and an inspiring september!

Good bye August

Hello lovelies! This month is ending and I realize I haven't blogged since the beginning!  I apologies for my absence::: after the 'Blog hop' I visit my parents for summer vacation and return to my small village in the countryside:::  I have needed a little break!

In the village there is no internet connection, no shops except a small bar ::: a super-relaxing way to live your vacation! I spent my time walking around in the nature, doing some botanical exploration and bump into some nice friends!

I left my hook at home but I take a picture of my mother's granny square blanket that is now in  my bed!

During these days I also collect some family times that are so precious to me, cooking with mum and growing vegetables with dad.  I really hope you enjoy my pictures and tales from my small village::: Have a nice week!

Around the World..... Blog Hop!

Happy monday to everyone! Today I am participating in Around the World Blog Hop.
Thank you Ruth from Rose hill collection for inviting me! Ruth is one of my first bloggy friends::: she is a lovely  dreamer from Bangalore who loves crafting and family activity. Her posts are always joyful and happy, I'd highly recommend hopping over to visit.

To take part in the Blog Hop I have four questions to answer regarding my creative thinking that will help you to get to know my crafty universe a little better. So here we go::::

1. What am I working on? 

Granny squares blanket is my ongoing project::: It's a really lovely blanket to pick up and put down as it doesn't need much concentration to work on it and it's a great way to get practice. I also like making small things that I can use regularly or become a perfect present for friends like fingerless gloves or a pochette that I'm going to start. These small projects that I can complete in a week end are giving me a lot of satisfaction!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

If I was asked to describe my style I would say that I like the things I make to be quite simple in pattern and colourful. I love to work with chunky yarn, to crochet scarf and other accessories::: they looks like cute and cozy! 

I also like anything with a retro style, from forniture to accessories, and I would like to give my creations a vintage but fresh look. I'm a novice crocheter, and haven't ever designed anything so I draw a lot of inspiration from other blogs::: but I try to bring a personal touch to my creation hoping they reflect me a little bit.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I crochet because it brings me enjoyment and I like making things with my own hands. I've always tried to play with buttons and threads::: think to work on my non existant knitting skills and to try to start sewing. I also play with old band t-shirts, jeans, platic boxes or glass jar as recycling targets because I belive in the philosophy of reuse! I love create things and I enjoy all parts of the process, the planning, the yarnstore, the making and to see my ideas come to life and someone else appreciate something I have made. Crochet it's also extremely relaxing:::when I'm back from work crochet is my number one choice for down time. 

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

My creative process could start with an idea or a picture pops in to my head, sometimes I'll been inspired by a color combination or a interesting stitch I have picked up from all the lovely blogs out there. My interests shift quite frequently::: I love do experiment with different color combinations, different yarns and materials,  trying new things out and learning new techniques. 

I've really enjoyed answering the questions for this blog hop and I hope this gives you a little insight my world of creativity::: it now gives me great pleasure to introduce one of my favourite blogger Magda of Pigtails to talk about her creative process:::

Have a great week!