My Sophie's Universe

May I introduce Sophie's Universe CAL 2015! 

This, my friends, is the first crochet afghan I ever made. I saw it on Instagram, and it was love at first sight. I got started the same day! And I enjoyed it so much. I crocheted in an insane speed. It took me a month and a half to finish it.

I made it a year ago, but I never blogged during that period. I have more things to show you that might be new to you but not to me, so to say.

It is remarkably varied, there are new stitches and techniques the entire time. It's so hard to take a fair picture of it since you loose all the details.

I made mine in cotton, with a 3,5 mm hook if I remember it right. It's soft and cosy, and I use it almost every day.

 I didn't have a colour plan, just used what I had in my basket, and decided each round when I was there.

Take a look at some of the details! The squares to make it rectangular, the center flower, a flower shaping a corner and a row of tulips.

Another row of tulips, an amazing flower, another flower forming another corner, and a row of roses. Possibly my favourite part.

I keep it on our bed, and I spread it out so you can get a clue about the size. The bed is 1,8 m wide.

I always thought that I lacked the patience to crochet a afghan. Turns out you don't need all that patience, you just need to find the right pattern!

Towel crochet edging

In our downstairs bathroom, we can't use standard towels next to the basin. We need the smaller size, like a guest towel. However, when I went shopping for towels, I couldn't find anything in that size that I liked. So I bought the standard size and cut off the bottom part.

I used blanket stitch on the cut raw end, and I made crochet edgings using those stitches.

Short enough!

The patterns I used were simple ones, not building too much since I needed the towels to be short.

The left: ch 2, *skip one stitch, (2 hdc, ch 2, 2hdc) in the same stitch, skip one stitch* repeat from * to *

The middle: *sc, skip one stitch, 5 dc in the same stitch, skip one stitch* repeat

The right: front side facing you, make sc the entire row. Without turning the towel, use crab stitch the entire way back.

I am very happy with the outcome. Oh, and the rugs are brand new, that's why they look so clean.

Decoupage on fabric

I love decoupage. I wish I was a good painter, but I'm not. Decoupage lets me make beautiful decoration without being able to make pretty flowers by hand. Love it!

If you're not familiar with decoupage, it's a technique where you use a glue/varnish to stick the top layer of a paper napkin on a surface. Like on this canvas. The text is my making, but the flowers are decoupage.

I have used decoupage on multiple objects, but now also on fabric. It opens a world full of possibilities! I have made pillow cases for the couch (I made a green painting and the pillows didn't match) and decided to try decoupage when I ran out of green fabric.

I used one motif with stars and one with flowers, the one I used on the canvas. It turned out great! The glue feels a little plastic when it dries, but that's fine.

I tested to use the napkin as it was on one pillow.

Then I cut out the flowers and formed a bouquet on the front of the next pillow...

 ... and on the back I just spread them out.

I also made a new lamp shade for the window. It is a piece of fabric glued with hot glue to the wire frame. I love that I now have a matching canvas, lamp and pillows in this room!

Old lamp, new look

I have told you about not having enough inspiration or energy to create. Well, I guess the tide has turned! Suddenly I wanted to be creative again, and found that I had both time and energy. 

When my daughter was ill, we also tried out this tip I found on Pinterest. To mix glue and foid colouring, and paint jars with it. I intend to show you the result, but today I want to share a special creation. I had this old lamp in glass that I wanted to alter. I really wish I had taken a picture of it before... Anyway... The original idea was to crochet a cover for it, but I never got to it. So when we played with colour and glass, I remembered this lamp, and was really excited to get started. I mixed blue colour in the glue, and started painting. The result was much better than with the jars we had painted.

It looks almost turqoise. And suddenly I knew exactly what to try for the lamp shade that was stripped to bare wire. I dug out some turqoise, white and grey effect yarns waiting for the perfect project.

I cut off a piece of yarn, tied it to the wire and started wrapping. Round and round... The edges was tricky to start with, but I found a strategy that looked good and kept the yarn in place. The finished shades gives a soft light. I used a bulb that uses very few watts, to keep it cool. So cool actually, that I can hold the lamp in my hand even when it has been lit for some time. Since some of the yarns were a little fluffy, I was afraid that it might melt or catch fire if the bulb got to hot.

At first, I didn't know where to put this strongly coloured creation, but my daughter really liked it and was thrilled when adked if she wanted it in her window. So that is where it stands, in all its glory. Keeping here company during dark nights.

Happy Easter!

How are you all doing? I'm having a quiet moment right now, so I thought I would say hi. This Easter is not a very quiet one, since my parents and my two youngest are here with us. But right now they are on a trip, so my family is chilling.

I spoiled myself with some fresh flowers this weekend. I don't do that very often, so I am really enjoying them. And do you notice the sparkling tea light holder next to them? My mum made it for me. I think it's so cute. A good thing domebody is crafting when I'm not. I know I don't have to, it simply feels strange that I don't. And I think I have figured out why. Crafting or needleworking was never a way to relax for me. It was work. Something that kept me busy, made me feel that I achieved something, and also a very intense moment when inspiration hit me. Now when days are full(er) with work and housetending, I'm too tired to be inspired. 

Life takes it turns, and I'm sure I will find new ways for my creativity to work. Actually, today I felt rested enough to maybe pick something up. Maybe. :)

Have a seat

I'm asking myself if it is the smartest thing to be crocheting like a maniac again. I really should slow down and have longer periods of rest, but I simply cannot stop! I'm having so much fun, making seat covers for my chairs. I showed you the first one, which is now all done, and I like it very much.

 

I found the pattern for this lovely square, Mary Ellen's Easy Daisy Granny Square, on Ravelry but the link goes directly to her blog. (If it looks a bit wonky, it's because I've been sitting on it...) I decided I wanted something for the back of the chair too, so I made simple granny stripes that I folded around and sewed on to the back of the chair. Please visit Attic 24 if you want to know how to make granny stripes, that's what I did.

 

Since most of the yarn is bulky (itchy) wool, it's both warming and a bit more comfy to sit on this chair now. And it looks so much prettier, if you ask me! :) Do I have to say I'm already working on a second one? But a different one it is. No flower this time. Surprised? I am! ;)

Yarn from the same box, the one with old, itchy left overs. Found this pattern on Ravelry too, and just had to try it at once! It's called Fireworks Surprise, and my biggest surprise is how wonky mine is becoming... I blame all the different yarn qualities I'm using, and I don't mind since I'm going to sit on it. It would get wonky anyway! Try this pattern if you haven't already, it's really fun!

Oh my!

It's been almost a week already? Since I wrote my last post I mean... Well, obviously time flies! Not that I've been having too much fun really, quite the opposite. I was down with that cold for almost a week, and right after that the weather change messed my entire body up. It does that to me sometimes. Going from sunny and warm with clear blue skies to gray and cold and snowy makes my poor body ache. Normally just for an hour or so, but not this time. Too big change I guess. But I try to keep my spirits high, knowing there will be better days. :) Sometimes I manage to keep my chin up, sometimes not.

But anyway, the sun is showing it's yellow face today, reminding me that it is really spring, snow or no snow. (We had some during the night, but it's already gone. Almost April, so it's no surprise the weather changes quickly.) The grass is getting greener, and so are some of the bulbs on the trees and bushes. And my window sills. I've told you about my project, replanting all my plants. And taking cuttings, separating some plants to make more, well I can tell you my window sills are packed full now! And I love walking from window to window, watching the tiny new leaves on the cuttings...

... and on the older plants that was cut down rather drastically! :) I don't usually tend to my plants too much, some people are amazed they even survive under my so called care... But I had to give them new soil this year, to keep some from dying. And they seem to appreciate it. I had so big plans about making colorful creations for my plastic pots, as the one with the hearts below, but my body obviously needed a break so there is not much crafting going on here. I'm really too tired, and my arms are too tired. But there are other things to do. Like laundry... ;) I'm not complaining, simply explaining why there is nothing crafty to see here right now. Some other day hopefully...

Oh, but this is kind of crafty, right? That's all I'm up to at the moment. Cross stitching. Bought this years ago, and have been working on it every now and then, when the mood kicks in. I'm almost done with it now, only a few more daisies to make. 

I really have enjoyed this embroidery, as you can see there are more stitches than only cross stitch in it, but I'll show you more when it's done.

I truly hope to get some energy back soon, and I truly hope my arms will heal so I can make something pretty (or ugly, or whatever really, as long as I get to make something :) ) to show you. Take care, and stay positive and appreciative about the good things in life. It's a great gift you know, even when we have bad days!

Crochet pots

It turned out to be a good thing, that I forgot to take this picture yesterday. Or I wouldn't have had anything to show you today... The planting business was a bit too intense, I guess, 'cause my poor body didn't want to hear about it today. So no planting, just a hot, foamy bath and looking through the seed catalog, trying to decide what to buy. Not so bad after all, hey? :) It took some effort to really appreciate it (since I truly was in mood for some planting), but then I honestly felt grateful for simple things as bath foam and garden dreams. It's been a good day this far!

This is what I forgot to show you yesterday. Recognize the tins covered in crochet? They really brighten up the window sill with all their colorful stripes. They even look better than I thought they would. I love when that happens!

Maybe I'll still get a few plants in new soil and pots today, as the kids wanted to join in when they realized what I had been up to. So I'll help them out when they get home from school, trying not to overdo it. I tend to get carried away, but my body needs a break every now and then. And sometimes it's so hard to listen when it tells me to stop what I'm doing! When I'm in the mood for something, I want to do it now! :) Well, my son is just like me, so I better put some plants on the kitchen table before he arrives... See ya!

A cup of...

Yes, I am still replanting, still taking cuttings. And for some reason, I find ordinary pots boring. And I haven't been able to craft as many as I wanted, so I started to look around and went with an idea I got the other day. Super cute, if you ask me!

I didn't want to ruin the cup in any way, so I took some precautions. I used some plastic film to cover the inside of the cup, don't want any stains from the soil. And some drainage, also to lift the inner pot a little and create some space between the cup and the pot.

And, of course, a little plant in a little plastic pot with holes in the bottom.

Put the pot in the cup, and there you have it! I made two of these, and on this one I cut the plastic around the edge, on the second one I just folded it down and I think that looked better. You probably could hide the plastic more, but I am terribly messy when I water my plants, so I really need the protective film to go all the way up!

I just remembered that I meant to take a few more pictures to show you (of something else), but I'll just save that for another day. Now I have three little girls here, and I have a feeling they will want a snack soon... See you later!

Birthday and flowers

It feels like I haven't been in here for ages... It's been a busy week! I usually sit at home every day, but last week I got to see the world for five days in a row! :) No big things though, a few visits at my husbands childhood home, church and stuff like that. But I liked getting out and meet people!

We also had people here yesterday, my family to be specific. They came over to celebrate my husband, who got a little older the other day... I had some plans to knit him a few things for his birthday, but since my hands were hurting last week (but a lot better now), he received a gift still on the needles and a little gift bag that I made. 

I often get compliments for my hand writing when I make cards, but there's really nothing to it. I usually write just as ordinary as anybody else, but for those special occasions I have a book to look in. It contains all kinds of different alphabets, and I simply copy them. Easier than it looks like, I can assure you! But I love the way it turns out most of the time. Best of all, these alphabets look great even if you don't write in even lines!

I've been trying to craft in other ways with my hurting hands, so I made this pimped pot the other day. Just sewed some felt together and glued some felt hearts that I cut out from scraps on it. I hurt a little though, my left hand didn't really want to hold on to anything. Guess I've been holding on to the knitting needles to tightly lately! So I've tried to stay positive, appreciating what I can do.

Today I felt that I had energy enough to start replanting my indoor plants. I started with the geraniums. They moved to clay pots, and I used some old saucers my mum gave me. I love them! Only wish I had more... I am planning to take cuttings from a lot of my plants, and I so wish I could put them all on pretty saucers! Either way, I hope to be able to continue tomorrow. Better not overdo it, as I usually do, and use up all energy in one day. I would regret that! So tomorrow I´ll be replanting... hmmm, perhaps suckulents. But now I better get dinner started!

Such a rainy day

 It looks like this

today, so I think I'll grab this

and go hide under a warm blanket somewhere. Maybe light a few candles and listen to the wind. Knit slowly and try to ignore that my body is complaining about the weather. Make the best of a cold and tired day! :)

Oops!

Hello there, long neglected blog and blog-readers! Sorry I was gone for so long... I knew that I hadn't been in here for a while, but I didn't realize I had been away that long! (I'm trying to gather my thoughts here, but it's rather hard since three kids are rumbling about making all kinds of noises, haha.) There's no particular reason for this long blog break, it just happened. We are all well. Of course December was a busy month as always, but we managed to get a lot of family time too. Lots of board games have been played together, lots of meals eaten with lit candles, lots of Christmas preparations made together...

And a lot of family gatherings. We were invited to a baby christening just before Christmas for my cousins daughter, we spent Christmas Eve at my sister's with a visit from Santa Claus of course.

We spent Christmas Day here celebrating our girl who turned seven that very day.

She also had a party for her friends, which was ever so exciting. We usually have some kind of theme on the kids' parties, and this time we pretended that we were out of power, so we had to use candles and flashlights, and cook something on the alcohol burner.

Some of the kids had actually been out of power recently, because of all the storms. But we haven't been affected at all, staying nice and warm. So that's what we've been up to over here. A very nice Christmas, I would say. And a nice New Year's Eve too, spent at home in peace and quiet, watching a movie together, eating wonderful food made by my talented husband, drove up the mountain nearby (actually more like a hill...) to watch the fire works from above at midnight. And the new year came with a relaxed feeling of happiness, and actually some inspiration. Which leads us to the crafty side of life...

I haven't been crafting much lately. I had to speed knit some things before Christmas, which made me a bit tired of it all. My sister's friend wished me to make a hat for her husband for Christmas, and it took a while to finish...

It's supposed to look like a brain... And it does, when someone's wearing it. It's just an ordinary hat, with a total of 6 m i-cord attached to it. It didn't only take time to knit, it was quite tricky to attach it too, especially since I wanted it to be the same on both sides. Haven't heard what the husband thought about his Christmas present, I think I'll have to ask some day.

I also knitted and crocheted presents for my nephews. The little ones got cakes that I'd made, and the older ones got fingerless mittens. One pair was used the next day and constantly kidnapped by the little ones, so I think it's safe to say that they were appreciated. I have actually promised to make the little ones a pair each too, so they'll stop stealing their brother's. Even the dad in the family wanted a pair.

To speed things up, I tried to knit both mitts at the same time, using the magic loop. Don't know how much time you actually save the first time you try something that's a bit tricky to get right, but... At least it felt like they were done faster. I used a patterned yarn, or what to call it. It's hopeless to try and find the place where they start the same sequence, it's just to get going and hope it doesn't turn out to weird looking. But I can tell you that I will certainly knit two things at once on the magic loop again, so much easier to get the same size that way.

Well, that's that. I was a bit fed up with needle-work there for a while, might have been since I was up until 2.30 the night before Christmas Eve crocheting the last cakes... But now I'm knitting again. I'm making a hat for the son, I'll show you when it's finished.

I hope you all had a wonderful end of December and a great start on the new year. I wish you all the best things you can imagine for this year and more, and I have a feeling I'll be around a bit more often from now on... It feels like fun again!

Happy pan holders

I am still working on some custom orders, but I sneak in some crocheting for me between them. Just to lift my spirit and go with the inspiration a little.

We have some old pans, molded in one piece. They are great, and we use them a lot. But since they are in one piece, their handles tend to get very hot. Especially when we make a lot of pancakes and the pan stands in the heat for a longer period of time.

Ordinary potholders tend to slip around some on the handles, and since these pan are really heavy I prefer to get a good, firm grip on them. We once found an old pan holder, just like these, and I have used it a lot. I even made a new one, but it wasn't soft enough to give a good grip.

I have made these in double yarn, one "ordinary" soft cotton and one chunkier soft cotton. I crochet quite loosely to make them soft and flexible. It also gives an extra dimension to them that the colors are not exactly the same, just almost.

Maybe not the colors you expect to see in November, but I like happy colors when I cook. Anything to make it more fun!

Anyone can make these, just chain three, make enough sc's in the first chain to make a circle, increase until it's wide enough for your handle and then work in the round until you are happy with the length. You can add a contrasting color in the ends if you like, make a hanger if you want one, or just make it as simple as possible. Or really complicated too, I guess. But I like simple and fast...

Hope to be back soon with some embroidery on that little bag (made a new one and felted it today) or the tutorial about the African Flower bag I've been talking about. Wrote half of it the other day, but somehow Blogger didn't save it although I pushed the button. Didn't like that at all! Hope you get some happy colors in gray November too!

Evening in the family office

When I first started blogging, I thought to myself that I would post at least once a day. To share my days and my thoughts. That's how I chose the name of my blogg, "All the days that passed...". Well, either I don't do or think much, or I'm just lousy at sharing it with you. At least once a day! This time I was kept away from blogging because of germs and a big rearrangement in the house. My working space has moved downstairs, from the TV-room to the office.

 Maybe a little less space for me here, but more shelves. And closer to the computer, which I think is great. I kept running up and down the stairs before. Downstairs to print patterns, upstairs to knit or crochet. Downstairs to blogg, upstairs to take the pictures I had forgotten, downstairs again to post them, upstairs again since I forgot to bring the camera... I think you get the picture!

 

It took some time though, to move it all around. All our books had to be moved, tables and shelves and so on. And my son got sick and had to stay home from school almost the entire week. Now it's my turn to cough and sneeze. So I haven't really been up to much creative stuff either. But now, look at my table! I got to the yarn shop today, and have already started on some orders I have since the harvest feast. And I like it! 

I only just started, so there's not much to see yet. But it will keep me company in our lovely TV-room tonight! So much more relaxing up there now, without my creative mess piling up in every corner!

Of course the kids needed their own creative space. When I sit in here, so do they. Unusually tidy so far though... If you are wondering about the dark pictures, but sometimes it's nice to catch the moment rather than posting perfect contrasts. This is what our room looks like this autumn evening.

Of course my husband had to have his own corner to. Maybe not creative in the same way as the rest of the room, but there are many ways to be creative, right?! Anyway, he sometimes works from home and needs his own desk. By the way, this corner is probably the only place in the house where our old (read ancient) wallpapers seem to fit in. I find myself always trying to avoid catching our walls on picture, hope we can redecorate them to some day!

Now, I think it is about time I grab that basket and move on upstairs. The youngest one needs to be tucked in soon, and I need to do some knitting! I hope you don't have to wait too long for my next post...