doing the dishes

The kitchen table full of dishes, a beautiful sight!

The vintage serving cart in our kitchen is the perfect place to store the dishes.
Some of them we use daily, most of them we use very often, but some we hardly ever use.
Because the kitchen cart is open, every now and than the cart including stacks need to be cleaned.
Doing the dishes is not as much work as it might seem, thank goodness we have a dishwasher.

Everything is cleaned up and tidy and all the stacks are back on the cart again.

baby blanket pattern

Finally!

I've written the pattern of the wood & wool baby blanket. The first one I already made in 2010 and during the last 6 years received lots of questions about the pattern.

This black & white version of the blanket I started in August last year, so it's about time to finally finish the project!

The pattern is NOW available in my E T S Y - S H O P and you can find a lot of different versions on my blog, when you search for baby blanket inspiration!


[blanket shoot at the green barn - september 2010]

on the inside

A pin board on the inside of the kitchen cabinet.

With pushpins I've pinned some precious postcards and stuff hanging around.
Out of sight until you open the cabinet door.

It annoys me when someone does not close the cabinet door, so that 'problem' is solved too.

handmade harlequin baby blanket

A handmade harlequin blanket is the perfect item for a babyroom.

You can make this multicolored blanket with wool leftovers. You can also make a very natural colored version if you prefer.

Making a babyblanket is so much fun! All harlequins are simple small projects and when you make one or just a few a day, you finally have enough harlequins to make a unique blanket.

At the moment I'm working on a white & colors version and I'm making it in a bigger size for our daybed.

You can make the blanket with all types of yarn and in any size you want.

The harlequin p a t t e r n is available HERE.

catch of the day

Catch of the day; fresh peonies from my dearest flowergirl Pippa!

At the moment she's busy preparing her final school exam Flower & Design.

rural bike ride

Yesterday morning we took full advantage of the one hour it was not raining, to make a test drive on my new bike.

We live on the outskirts of the city and within 5 minutes you are cycling in a completely different landscape along the river between the sheep.

Riding my new blue [holymoly] bike is so much easier and lighter, than my old vintage 'french' bike.
We made a polder tour and even climbing the river embankment was a piece of cake.
We even had time for a cup of coffee on a terrace, facing a dark sky. We raced home and arrived just in time for the rainshower. (it has not been dry since...)

eclectic pixels

Popping pixels! Love at first sight, when I spotted our 'new' handmade pixel daybed spread.

It's an oldie from eastern europe with a colorful flower border, craftsmanship with an eclectic embroidery technique and lacy crochet.

Last week it was actually laying on our bed end, but I prefer to enjoy it all day, so the bright pixel blanket moved to the daybed in our livingroom.

bon weekend

Have a nice weekend everyone!

publication vt wonen lifestyle

VT Wonen gathered more than 300 hotspots to shop, eat, stay and relax.
A lifestyle tour guide book along all the provinces in the Netherlands.
You can buy this smart 'keep issue' with the newest VT Wonen issue for next to nothing.
Highly recommended; a magazine packed with fun addresses.
(and it was a nice surprise to find myself at work on the Villa Augustus page)

stripes, socks & bookcover

Socks in heels. Stipes on stripes. I like it a lot, those unusual combinations.

The red shoes are already ten years old and I hardly wear them, since the sneakers made their entry in my shoe collection.
Every now and then I bring them out of the shoe rack.

This weekend I started to read The Year of the Runaways.
The English translation of a novel by Sunjeev Sahota.
I received the book from India in the mail last week.
Just a few months ago I got a request from Bhavi Mehta to use my [red suitcase] photo from London for the cover of the book.
She said the picture is just right for the story.
I like those unexpected surprising twists.

amsterdam blue

Friday the 13th in Amsterdam. Our lucky day ;-)
Lunchdate with my dear friend Ank, we're both very excited about the new Marrakech projects for 2017.
After lunch a boattrip to the city center with my man.
We tried to escape the crowded places and walked along the canals and decided to finish the day on the beach at Pllek until sunset.

a harlequin a day

To me crochet in the backyard during these summer may nights are so relaxing.
I love love love to sit outside and working on tiny crochet projects.
During the last cool crochet workshop in Marrakech, we were joking about a new motto 'a harlequin a day, keeps the stress away...'
For me it really works.

At the moment I'm working on a new harlequin blanket.
Lots of 'white' harlequins with and also many different colors to make it 'work'.
Tonight I even made 3 harlequin in a row (i'm totally zen haha)
If you feel you need a harlequin a day prescription, you can find the recipe in my Etsy shop.

*only side effect: it is addictive