Yarn testing (2)

Yarn testing?? Mmmhh.. that's a bit of a lie. This is just the second type of yarn (100% recycled cotton) I tested. I only have time, late in the evening. But I don't complain!
When testing I try to work different stitches because then some yarn does great work with just single crochet but doesn't work that great with treble stitches or bobbins. This cotton comes in great, great colors, it's 100% recycled cotton and works on needle 4,5/5 mm. With this testing I made a bookcover but that's no good with this cotton. Too thick. But no worry, it could be the perfect cotton for other items. And there's more yarn testing to do!
Meanwhile there's much much much work to do for the website and webshop. I need to finish up a lot of products, prepare all the photography and all text should be written. These are the priorities at the moment!

Yarn testing

Yarn is lying around here everywhere. Probably you'll think, yeahhh yarn!! Yummie! But that's not the case here, at the moment... For the company I need different kinds of wool and cotton yarn. I will work with lots of waste yarns but I need to have a 'standard' cotton yarn line too, I need cottons for a DIY package I'm developing and I need wool yarn for the winter products. So, that's a lot of choices to make!! And with every choice I make these are some of the questions I have to ask myself: Is the cotton good to work with, is it sustainable and still affordable, does it come in natural and colourful colors, does it fit in a mailbox, is it not too thick, not too thin? Really, I have to keep everything in mind!! But at the end, it will be good. So good.

Wrap

Finished the cotton, colourful triangle wrap and decided to make a light blue edging. It's a summer wrap and it will end up in the shop, this summer. An how about the dummy, the wrap is on? I bought two dummies, a black and white one, for the shop and picked them up yesterday. Completly happy with them!

In the meantime I can't say my house is my home anymore. For over a year now, I'm preparing the start of my business. I collected a lot of materials, fabrics, vintage products and tableware, wool blankets and lots and lots more. My home became more and more a house. That was fine, I had no other choice. Now I'm really starting, my house isn't a house anymore but a working space. I have boxes all over the place!! Like last week.. I received a box with cotton yarns for the shop. I guess that box was 1,5 meter by a meter high!! A box with packaging materials, a box with finished, blanket products.. And within a week or six I will receive over 400 kilo's fabrics! Pff.. need to find a solution here. Maybe you have a bigger house for me, somewhere in your pocket? haha.. Or affordable working space?? Would be nice!

But you know, within this chaotic 'mess' I'm really enjoying every step I make. Even all the things that go wrong, won't work or take much more time then planned. I'm getting more and more patience, more able to let go of the controll I always want and realize that all things have their own place and time. So for the working space.. that will come. I'm sure. Soon I will have a bigger house, or working space.

Pure and Simple paper recycling

Searching for something, in need for some information, I sometimes (okay, quite often..) lose my goal, while searching, on the Internet. As here.. Really, I need a new mobile phone!! So where did I loose it when I came on this inspirational post, on the lovely blog of Alisa Burke!? Please check the 'Holiday crafting with book pages' post for some fantastic inspiration in recycling, old book pages into beautiful, pure decorations and gift wraps.

image: alisa burke

Crochet Colour Decisions

Some colourful crochet. Above is a big triangle wrap which needs a good edging. Still thinking about the right colour for it. Maybe light blue or not and add an edge with a smashing colour? Can't make a decision.. What's your preference?
Below is a try out for the right colourcombination. Like it but I miss something.. Maybe today is not decision day! Haha.. We all have that once and a while, don't you?!

Weekend catches

Made a good catch at the thriftstore. Found this vintage (complete!!) puzzle which I love. These colorful images are very recognizable and I can remember I had these kind of puzzles as a kid. My other (super) catch are four little skeins of 100% silk yarn. Lucky me! It's a bit of a white gold color. Very classy. I guess I'm going to use it for, or in a crocheted necklace.

Have a great Sunday!

Happy 'Awards'

I received the Stylish Blogger award from CreationWest and from Apples and Pears. Thank you very much, you lovely ladies!!! I have to tell 7 things about myself and I thought, I'll do that but then again I got tagged a lot, and I told so much already in earlier posts. So here's a link to all my tags, where you can read all about me!
I have to give the award away to a lot of people!! I'll give it to: Sean the Prawn, who makes the most lovely things with lots of vintage fabrics. To Michaja, who makes so much happy colourful things (and I'd like to read about why she moved to France.. hint.. ;-) and to Vivienne because she makes such a broad range of beautiful things! (see Creation West and Apples and Pears for more instructions and the award)

Besides this blog award I got another 'award' this week. Finally this week all the lights got green to start my label/company!!! I'm so so so so so so happy! It took me quit some time to figure out what I wanted for my future, it took time to make the decision to start a business, then it took a lot of time to make and write a good business plan and then it took time to convince a Bank. And that last one was the most nerve-racking. Then it's out of your hands, no control anymore but just wait. On a Bank.. in these bad economic times...pfff.. I should have had answers in December but it took longer and men, how hard was that. I don't have much patience so that one was tested, big time! But this week, I got the news, I can start! Happy! Happy! I'll keep you posted!!

Grrrrr...

I had a lovely evening with friends this weekend. For my girlfriend, who made a great meal (try this, it's lovely: old dutch stew with smashed potatoes, rabie cabbage, carrots and celery root ofwel stamppot aardappel, koolraap, wortels en knoldelderij), I made a little present. It turned out better then I expected. It's big, a bit scary and this bagchain/keychain really has the Grrrrrr factor! I like that.

I have draw (I'm translating this with google but it seems wrong written, isn't it? this is drawing like making a sketch, but I mean pulling a ticket out of a hat.. what is a good sentence here?) the winnar from the give away and that is Michaja from Ma vie a Salon. Congrats! I'll send you a bag with goodies including the 101 woonideeen, this week.

Enjoy your Sunday!! p.s.: niece Olivia is getting better every day a bit more.. pfff, gladly.. thanks for your sweet support!

About mittens, fever and being nervous

My intention to be a better blogger went wrong last week.. I thought Christmas time would be busy but here, it got worse, after Christmas. Although, worse.. it's very hectic here. It's a exciting week because big decisions on the start of my company are made this week. So I'm a bit nervous. Meanwhile I'm making mittens, mittens and more mittens because you all cover me with orders for these mittens. Thanks!!! At the moment, I only have one pair left. A lovely pair with a great blue flower on one top! (a detail I really love on this one) This pair is a size small, with a pink and blue flowered top, a dark purple back and a creme, sheep lining. Contact me if you are interested in this pair (34,50).

Meanwhile we are all hoping here that little Olivia (you know, my niece from 13 months) is getting better soon. She was admitted to the hospital on 1 January with a heavy, heavy fever (almost 41 degrees.. I never heard someone had such a high fever) and lots of febrile convulsions (in Dutch: koortsstuipen, multiple convulsions in an hour which is no good). Turns out she has the RS virus that goes through Holland, at the moment, but for little children the virus can be dangerous. My girlfriends son had the same with Christmas. He had to be admitted in the hospital for more then a week because he had a double pneumonia (dubbele longontsteking) with the fever. (he's okay now) So let's hope little Olivia (and my sister too, she's getting sick too now) is getting better soon!

So after a bad blogging start, I'm back! This weekend I'll pick a give away winnar, I'll write about the award I got (thanks!!) and I hope, hope to bring you news about the comapany.. But anyhow I'll be back!!

Big and small adventures

Who knows what great, big but also small adventures 2011 will bring? Who knows what comes, and what you will choice for? But if you follow your heart, you're always heading in the right direction!

Enjoy this first 2011 Sunday! Don't forget that you can still enter on the give away, today!

papercutting template from cindy