checkered fritillaria flowers

Sunday morning, 3rd of February

Sunshine and fritillaria in da house, it seems like an announcement of spring.
I'm fond of the delicate spring bulbs!
The checkered patterns of the flowers are incredibly sophisticated, one by one small graphic artworks.

green & pink

With green & pink you can't go wrong. Those two colors compliment each other really nicely.

Actually this is the prototype of my latest chevron pillow design. I started to make this one before the two multicolored chevron pillows.
While I was working on this green & pink project, I imagined the chevron pattern would look cool with lots of colors too. And eventually I finished the multicolored ones first.

Last week I finally finished the green & pastel pink pillow... (well as a matter of fact I simply had to stitch the seams)

Using only two colors, this green & pink pillow is quite a bit easier to make, also for beginners.

You can download the CHEVRON PILLOW PATTERN in my Etsy shop.

a merry & bright christmas for everyone

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

A joyful Christmas to you all. Wishing you and your family happy holidays!

bling & yang

Once more no traditional Christmas items overhere, but instead unexpected and unusual December decorations. Our 'x-mas space' consists of opposing but complementary objects.

Christmas will be bling and also yang.
On one side bling; gold, glitter and over the top 'bad taste' with a wink.
On the other yang; exotic animals, natural materials, authenticity and obviously some green.

italian sunbed

Summervibes in the backyard...

During our adventurous weeks in Sicily, we sometimes went 'alla spiaggia' and spent a relaxing day on a typical Italian summer bed on the beach.

Those who have been in Italy, know that these beds are s u p e r comfortable and the small adjustable sunroof is really great when you want to read a book, look on your phone or just want to lie in the shade with your face.

We agreed, we need an Italian sunbed in our backyard. It's so easy when you can leave the sunbed outside all summer and the bed is light enough to carry it by yourself and move it around in the garden. Our vintage bamboo daybed is too heavy to take outside on a sunny afternoon, I can't move it by myself.

Moreover, we know from experience that it is good to invest in quality when it comes to garden furniture. We are enjoying our Fermob furniture for years now, and it's outside all year.

The summer of 2018 has been excellent so far, so we decided to go for an Italian lounger right away when we came home from Sicily.

We ordered a weatherproof aluminum sunbed at LIGBED EXPRESS, they have a huge choice of colors, designs and materials. We went for v e r d e, a beautiful fresh green!

The sunbed was delivered from Italy super fast to our home. So everyone is happy with it and we are using the bed in turns (haha, some even lay a towel on the bed, to reserve it...) Sicilian summervibes in the backyard!

I can recommend it to everyone, treat yourself to a real Italian lounger. Instant summer feeling guaranteed!

ciudad multicolor

Barcelona in color.

The blue of the sky and the sea.

The green of the trees, the parks and the innumerable urban jungle balconies.

The yellow and black of the taxis and the red of the buses.

The pink of of all trees in bloom and the blossom carpets on the pavement. (we even came across a 'pink' greyhound dog)

The bright colors of the waving laundry, balloon vendors and street art.

And obviously the myriad colors in Gaudí mosaics...

going green

Going green.

Soon I will be leaving for Marrakech, to start with the 9th colorful Cool Crochet 'crocholiday'.
Thereafter to interact with nature and the green side of the city with the 3rd Green Gardens workshop.
Also this new workshop season former 'cool crocheteers' are returning, but this time to discover the green treasures of the Red city.

All preparations are in full swing and I could not help myself, to blend a little green into a crochet project (by means of a palmtree pattern in typical Marrakshi colors) and vice versa I made a linen herbarium bag with crochet palm for all GG participants.

Naturally, hotel Chambres d’Amis is our 'base camp' during both workshops. The small hotel is located just a stone’s throw away from the beating heart of old Marrakesh, the Djemaa el-Fna square and the souks. Despite this, it’s as quiet as if you were in the countryside; greenery and birds all over the place. A marvelous green oasis to return to, after a day full of adventures. Right in the middle of the Medina and at the same time far away from it all...

Straw hat - from Place des Epices
Handmade linen palmtree herbarium bag - made by me
Green Tamegroute pottery - from the Medina in Marrakech
Butter knife - gift from Dietske (one of last years 'green gardenista')

in bloom

Magnolia in bloom!

The massive magnolia branch, my friend Rosa brought from the market last week, was big and beautiful! and top-heavy...
Even the largest jug in the house, couldn't handle the weight. So I decided to cut off the side branches and make a magnolia bouquet.

The flower-buds opened up one by one in the past days. Today the magnolia is in full bloom and is shining on my home-made plant stand.

cool crochet project in green & pink

Working on a new cool crochet project in green & pink.

This wool mixture with bright color spots, coming from an old local wool wholesale in the medina, where we always buy our wool supplies for the cool crochet workshop, is by far my favorite yarn to work with. It's soft and has a tweed effect and the colors are gorgeous.

Currently I'm working on a new project for the workshop in Marrakech in April. It's a herringbone pattern.

I made a pillow in the same pattern (white & golden yellow) a while ago and now I'm trying to crochet and write the pattern at the same time. The herringbone effect is super nice, seems more complicated than it is and I also love the wrong side of the work. Somehow it looks more appealing and interesting.

I often like the wrong side of crochet fabric... Is it a deviation or do you think so too?

crochet-climb a palm tree

Love my job!

I'm working on some brandnew crochet projects for the COOL CROCHET WORKSHOP in May.
Since some of the participants already joined us during the previous workshops and I love to work on new crochet projects anyway.
Inspired by the PINEAPPLE PATTERN I've designed some years ago, I would love to blend in the green theme into the Cool Crochet workshop.
I'm using my endless spools of cotton and wool from Marrakech.
It's not easy to work with 3 different colours in a row, but I like a challenge.

Because we work on a different project every workshop day, it had to be a small project.
So I've worked out a cute palmtree. I might sew on the back of my denim jacket or it will be a mini wall hanging?

Yesterday I started to draw the pattern on paper and made a start with the tree trunk and now I slowly 'crochet-climb' up to the palm leaves!