Flowers and Lemons

Today in the Netherlands...

2012-02-03T14:08:00.000+01:00

... everyone is excited and talking or twittering or blogging about the one thing that occupies our mind today... IT IS SNOWING!! Floating white pieces.. This is today's world news. In the Netherlands.
Have a good day everyone! I hope you enjoy it.

Nineteen

2012-02-02T11:07:00.000+01:00

So, it's february now and if I count my landscapes I get to nineteen. Hmm.. It must have been a very short january. Somewhere on the way I lost interest in my felt and fabrics and kind of forgot about them. I did some very labour-intensive ones though.
I haven't figured out what I want to do with february.. Any suggestions for a 'do-something-everyday-project'?I am thinking about doing a very large landscape out of felt and fabrics.. But right now, I am painting bakfietsen.. What is the english word for bakfiets?? A carriercycle..The dutch word sounds more fun. Carriercycles.

And here a small felt forest for you. Some of the landscapes together.

Book

2012-01-30T10:02:00.000+01:00

Just a little teaser for this monday... I made this 'book' in september last year. I'll show what is inside later this week.

Making lists

2012-01-26T13:19:00.000+01:00

New year's resolutions checklist:
* Write something on my weblog at least once a week -> Ouch, didn't keep up with it already. I promise I'll be better!
* One fabric landscape every day -> Almost.. But I really like the project and I think it's going quite well, so I don't think I'd say I failed on this one.
* Go to the dentist this year -> Check! Did this one! I did have an awkward moment trying to explain why I didn't use fluoride, but.. ah well.. My teeth are OK.

New new year's resolutions:
(It doesn't have to be the first of january to have resolutions, does it?)
* Change my bank account to a 'greener' bank.
* Go to my garden twice a week.. (Not now, but when it gets a little warmer. There isn't much to do now. And I really don't like going out in the cold!) I'm planning what vegetables and flowers and herbs I want to put in. It's so exciting to be planning and visualizing what it will look like.. I'm looking forward to eating my own lettuce and carrots and spinach.. Hmm.. Call me crazy, but it tastes so good, especially when it's your own. Fresher and it somehow has much more flavour to it.

I'll post more fabric landscapes soon (because I did make more of them, really!) For now, I give you some illustrations I made in december for a graduation assignment. (Blog posts without pictures are no fun!)

Snap!

2012-01-12T23:09:00.000+01:00

Another new year’s resolution; take my camera with me more. I often see things I want to remember more clearly. I bought a camera for this purpose, but it is such a valuable thing that I rarely decide to throw it in my bag with all other things (I carry around a lot of stuff). So, my solution: a soft and safe camera-cosy.
I had made the lining already, but never finished the outside. So here it is.. In bright colours and with a BIG button to open and close it easily. Now I just hope no-one crashes into me when I suddenly brake and step off my bike to snap a picture.

Sticking to the plan

2012-01-09T00:01:00.000+01:00

Today is day 9 in my 'one thing a day'-project. To be honest, I am quite surprised I managed to stick to it, even if it's only been a week. My enthousiasm is a very variating thing. One day I'll be very inspired and excited to start a new project and a day or two later (or sometimes even after just a few minutes) the energy goes off again. 'Ahh well.. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea. I'll do something else.' And the project dies a silent death.
But with these textile collages I am very happy to get to do another one each day. I am very tempted to do two a day, but I resist. There is more (less fun) things to do.
I feel like I would overflow with images here if I would show everything, so I'll post a selection here and keep inviting you over to my Flickr page for them here.

They're all so different.. I'm very curious to see what the collection will look like at the end of the month. I want to take better pictures of them as well.. These are all quick shots with whatever light was available. Please let me know what you think!

A daily project for 2012

2012-01-05T17:31:00.000+01:00

Inspired by artist and blogger Cathy Cullis I decided to challenge myself. Next to all other new year's resolutions (go to the dentist this year, write a blog post at least once a week) I will do something creative everyday. Last year Cathy did a project she called her 'tiny heads project'. She made one tiny head out of sculpting clay every day (and painted it).
Because I don't think I can manage to stick to one project for an entire year, I decided to do something different every month. This month I will make one textile landscape everyday. I love working with fabric, but I never seem to figure out how to use this in my study - Illustration Design. This will be a good practise. This month I'll be very busy finishing my thesis, so I think it is good to have something else to do next to that.

You can find Cathy's Tiny Heads here. And her weblog here.
I will put all of my textile landscapes on here.

I hope you'll all have a wonderful 2012.

Click here to see all blog posts about this project.
Click here to see all new blog posts.

Best wishes for 2012

2011-12-22T16:16:00.001+01:00

2012 is going to be beautiful! Love, Dorien

Honesty

2011-12-18T17:10:00.001+01:00

I would like to start this blog post with an apology. I’m not really sure how many readers I have, but to those who have been reading (I know there are some regular readers, thank you so much, I’m so glad you like my writings enough to keep coming back): sorry. I haven’t been completely honest with you. And to everyone else reading this as well.
When I started writing this blog I felt inspired by some great craft- and life-bloggers. I wanted to do what they did, so I tried to make pretty pictures and somewhat entertaining stories to go along with them to fill my blog. I wrote mainly about things I made or about working on those things. Now don’t get me wrong, the things I wrote were honest. It’s the things I did not write about that are not honest.
I only wrote about things that went well. Finished products I was happy about and processes I thought looked good. Those are the things that inspire others (I hope), but in the back of my head I mostly wanted to make a good impression to the outside world. In my blog I wanted to look like a crafter and illustrator that makes great things (I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I think I do). It is just.. I make crappy things as well. And sometimes I make nothing. Sometimes I don’t even feel like creating anything at all. The finished projects are not my only fascination.
I never write about what I am fascinated by in real life. I only write the things that ‘fit’ into my blog (or look good). I want to be honest to you. I want to write about the things that really matter to me (of course they’ll include illustrations and crafting projects). I think those things might inspire you even more, because they really come from the heart.

Maybe you’ll remember the blog post ‘The earth and us’ I did in june. This was my first attempt at including other subjects to the blog that matter to me. I held back a lot. I was so afraid to sound like a ‘rescue-the-earth-fundamentalist’. Well, maybe I am.. :)In real life, people are used to me openly speaking about subjects that are a bit taboo. I would like to be the same person on here.
Love,
Dorien

Winter

2011-12-10T15:21:00.001+01:00

I once read an essay about how the seasons give you exactly the things you need in that time of year. This doesn't only apply to food, but to the entire way of living. The days get shorter and I notice I live slower too. I sleep more and (of course) prefer to stay inside. My need to create things is still there, but has shifted from mostly making illustrations, drawing and painting, to crafts.So, I decided to finish a blanket I have been working on since 2008 (!) It has been lying around as separate squares, but now they are joined together into a nice, cozy blanket.I think that is what I love most about winter. Being inside, cocooning, being together.Go with the flow, accept what winter has to give...

Good news!

2011-11-22T11:38:00.001+01:00

Good news! My comic 'When I was wearing my pretty coat' (or: 'Toen ik mijn mooie jas aan had') is going to be in the next issue of OOGST, a comic magazine. Mission accomplished. It will be printed in december.

Squirrel

2011-11-17T22:46:00.001+01:00

Writing my thesis I discover that a lot of information I want I have already gathered. I guess this is a sign that what I am writing about really fits with my interests in life. I am a collector, a gatherer. I collect pictures, paint, plants, books and I guess I also collect information and inspiration. I came across a quote I 'collected' a few years back and decided I want to share it with you.

“ Those who have lived and grown at least to some degree in the spirit of freedom are our creative artists. They have a wonderful time. They keep the world going. They must leave their trace in some way, paint, stone, machinery, whatever. The importance of what they do is greater than anyone estimates at the time. In fact in a commercial world there are thousands of lives wasted doing things not worth doing. Human spirit is sacrificed.More and more things are produced without a will in the creation, and are consumed or ‘used’ without a will in the consumption or using. These things are dead. They pass, masquerading as important while they are before us, but they pass utterly.There is nothing so important as art in the world, nothing so constructive, so life sustaining.I would like you to go to your work with a consciousness that it is more important than any other thing that you might do. It may have no great commercial value, but it has an inestimable and lasting life value."
- Robert Henri (1865-1929)

Boy in a tree

2011-11-14T23:17:00.001+01:00

There is a boy in a tree. He is staring at something that is happening below. Does the thing that is down look up? Is the boy aware he is being watched by us?

I have had too many ideas lately. So many projects I could work on. If only I didn't have to write this thesis... I guess it is important too. It should be a base of my work. It is an investigation of what I am doing and want to do and how to do it better. But my most important base is that I really want to make things. I'll try to sneak in some time for that.

When I was wearing my pretty coat

2011-11-09T23:54:00.000+01:00

The last years I have been working on so many projects, many of them remain unfinished. I always started with great ideas. I posted a lot of pictures of beginnings here on this blog. Now in my last year of art school this seems to have magically changed. I finished my own kind of book about the future and I made a picture story (or comic, whatever you would like to call it). My ability to update my blog more regularly still has to change with it, but hey, I am getting somewhere.The comic is about innocence and a surreal meeting. It is called "When I was wearing my pretty coat".I am trying to get it printed, or will print it myself. It just needs some perfecting...More pictures are on my flickr; here.

Landscape

2011-10-18T11:19:00.000+02:00

The earth and us

2011-06-08T21:39:00.000+02:00

For quite a while now I have been interested in our issues with the environment and the way we live on this earth. I try to change the way I live bit by bit so that it makes me feel happier and I spill as few resources as I can. It puzzles me that we live in a way that is in fact unhealthy; the speed is too high, we have to achieve so much it seems. It makes a lot of people tired and depressed. Our food is mostly processed and we don't really know what it contains. We want to buy new things and when we have them we desire other new things.
Here I go again. I try to explain what I think the problem really is and why I am so intrigued by it. I never succeed. This is because I don't know how this environment stuff really works.
Why are you against nuclear power?
Well I don't really know.. Because it doesn't feel right? Because there is a really good reason why it was wrong, I read it somewhere but I can't remember what it was exactly?
Now I am reading a book that explains a lot of the systems of the earth and what effect we have on these systems. It has all the scientific information, but explained in a very simple manner. It asks the question; how far can we stretch the earth? What information is true and what is false? It is in Dutch, so for everyone who can read Dutch, I really recommend you to read this. It is called "Hoe rekbaar is onze planeet?" by Johan van Rhijn. The first chapters might be a bit tough, you could skip those, but if you want to understand everything, do try to read them.
For the English reading people in here, there are a lot more books on this topic. I read 'No-Impact-Man' by Colin Beavan and can recommend this book as well! It is very down to earth, funny and easy to read.

Spain

2011-05-27T22:05:00.000+02:00

With my illustration class we went to Spain for ten days. There is loads to tell and show about this, but I don't think it is very interesting to explain everything we did and everything we ate (although we had great tapas in Barcelona). I guess I am a horrible blogger.
Anyway, after Barcelona, we went to El Callis, a gorgeous house near Olot. We stayed there for a few days and did nothing but draw, paint, make films and music. The surroundings were amazingly beautiful. I was so happy that I got to be there and walk around in that world. They had a gorgeous vegetable garden too.

Inspiration board

2011-04-21T10:04:00.000+02:00

I have rearranged my inspiration board. It feels like I've cleaned my entire room. (Which is not the case, sadly..)

Roe

2011-04-11T12:02:00.001+02:00

Last week the weather was sunny so we decided to go draw and paint outside. Of course it was cold and rainy the day we went outside. Then we found this.

It made us feel sad, but thankful at the same time that we could see something this beautiful up close.

Chicks

2011-04-03T13:51:00.000+02:00

These little chicks were just too cute to leave in the store.. I am thinking what I can use them for now..

Doodle

2011-04-02T13:17:00.000+02:00

More radishes! And I made a radish-banner for this blog too. I just have to scan it properly and figure out how to put it up here..

Drawing more radishes

2011-03-29T20:33:00.000+02:00

I have been drawing loads of radishes lately. I rediscovered how much I love drawing. Also how much I love my (slightly expensive) pencils. I get so much more colour out of them than I would with regular pencils..

Garden pictures

2011-03-26T12:20:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since the last post. I felt like I didn't have interesting things to show. I have been ill too, but I'm fine now. The weather is getting sunnier and I have been working in my garden as often as I can. I love being there.

I've put up a little greenhouse to keep my lettuce warm.
More pictures on my flickr.

Stitching

2011-03-04T14:15:00.000+01:00

Practising some stitches..
Oh and a swatch for a hat I want to knit :)
Find the pattern here, it is free :)

Radishes

2011-03-02T23:26:00.000+01:00

Maybe I shouldn't try to take pictures at this time of day, with no good light at all. I still really wanted to share what I am working on..

Bulky cowl sweater

2011-02-26T11:52:00.000+01:00

Finally a finished knitting project to show on here!
I have been working on this for a long time, but it has been lying untouched in my closet for a long time too. So here it is.. Just in time for the last bits of cold weather..
I just need to block it and I hope the lace in front will look a bit more straight.

The pattern can be found here.

Sketching anemones

2011-02-08T12:31:00.000+01:00

I love these flowers..
I plan to have them in my new garden as well.

Vegetable Garden

2011-02-06T21:28:00.000+01:00

Again it has been a long time since I have posted, but my messages don't seem to be relating very much to each other anyway. In new news (news is always new, of course):
I have my own vegetable garden.
I have been daydreaming about this for a long time, so I decided to just do it.
The weather hasn't been very useful yet, but today I worked a bit in the garden with my mother, who was visiting.
I love thinking about how this is going to look, where everything should go. I want a lot of flowers and different vegetables.
Today was the first day in a long time that I did some weeding. All of a sudden I remember how stupidly happy it makes me to do this..

Doll

2010-12-14T20:33:00.000+01:00

I was drawing some things when I decided I could make a doll just like that.
Why not?
I might have been a bit inspired by Mimi Kirchner. I love her dolls.

Winter landscapes

2010-12-13T14:40:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I travelled by train. It had snowed a few days and it was very foggy, it looked beautiful outside. I decided to take pictures. I took so many pictures, when my camera finished processing the first picture, I would take another, and so on. The results look really special.
The pictures are blurry and you can see the dirty window, but it doesn't matter. Maybe it even helps the picture.

I decided I wanted to do something with these and printed some of them. Then my printer ran out of ink and added some extra specialness.
Maybe I'll photograph those again someday.

Check the pictures on my Flickr. What do you think?
Maybe I'll try to paint them in acrylics..

My very first book!

2010-10-12T16:03:00.000+02:00

And here it is all finished.. my first handbound book! I am so thrilled with it. Now I want to make more! I already bound and glued the inner part of a smaller square book. It just needs a cover. I also folded the pages for a bigger book that is meant for my school scribbles. I am binding that one today.
And because I am so proud of this book, more and bigger pictures on my Flickr.

Cutting and sewing..

2010-08-29T12:27:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I have been very busy with my new project. I am still very unsure how it is going to turn out or what it will be, but it is growing. I spent all morning cutting squares and then the rest of the day to sew the things together and dream about what it might turn into. Today I will continue sewing (and cleaning my apartment). I might make some things for this project, it might turn out to be for something different.. We'll see..

White

2010-08-28T11:13:00.001+02:00

These are the ingredients for a new project I am working on.. I collected fabrics in shades of white. I washed everything and this morning I started cutting. I am very curious how this will work out. Whatever this will turn into (if it will ever be finished), it will be interesting.

I went to the thrift shop to find more white fabric, when I found this box filled with yarn. It's interesting how something like this can make me happy, but I see all the things that could possibly be made with it. Maybe I should stop collecting things, my room is full, but more stash makes more possibilities and more ideas.

Presentation and finished products

2010-06-26T13:05:00.000+02:00

This school year is finished and I have some pictures of the final presentation to show you. I posted some in progress things without having taken the time to show the finished product yet, so here they are.

Here are some photo's I wrecked by sewing words and beads onto them, scratching the photo ink off and paint parts of them. Above are two pictures of me wearing the finished version of my mask! Still in progress in this post.

Here the finished painting with the painting by Pyke Koch in it. And here the blog post with the painting in progress.

And this was an assignment with 'erotic' as theme. I wanted to do something with touch and finally made this. The sleeve is a gigantic piece of silver coloured cloth that hangs down from it.

Girl without hands

2010-06-21T14:00:00.000+02:00

Here another 'illustration' in progress for the story about the girl without hands.. I hope I'll manage to finishe these tonight.
There are two more photo's of her on my Flickr.

Stitched illustration

2010-06-16T21:45:00.000+02:00

I am illustrating a tale about a girl without hands. In short: her father cuts her hands of, because he was threatened by the devil. After that the girl leaves home and eats a pear that happened to be in the garden of the king. The next day the king counts his pears and notices one is missing. He finds her and they marry (of course). He gifts her hands made of silver.
I really hope this works out. I am experimenting with fabric and free-motion machine stitching (and some hand stitching too).
Here is a picture of one of the illustrations in progress..

Landschaftspark-Nord

2010-06-14T18:28:00.000+02:00

Last week we spent 3 days drawing and painting in the Lanschaftspark in Duisburg. The Landschaftspark is a site with an abandoned coal and steel production plant. It is very rusty and nature is slowly taking over. I really liked to be there, in no rush (because we had three full days). I would have liked to make more and better work, but I guess I always have higher expectations of myself.
I still haven't posted the finished version of my mask but I'll do that in the near future, if my internet connection allows it.

I have more drawings on my Flickr page, if you are interested. The link can be found on the right.

Mask-making

2010-05-15T16:22:00.000+02:00

This week I have been trying to work on my schoolassignments as much as possible. Along with cleaning my room. I can't work properly in a messy room. Mess makes me feel messy too. I have been working on a mask. Still unfinished but I think it will work out...

Work(s) in progress

2010-03-07T16:55:00.000+01:00

I really wanted to keep up with my blogging this year. I'm not doing well so far. The problem is that I have so many subjects and projects going on at the same time. There is not really one to the point thing to blog about. I don't think this will get any better, it is actually really stressful.
These are some works in progress:
Below is a painting I am working on. The piece in the middle is a copy of a painting by Pyke Koch.
The embroidery is a project about creating that I am working on.

Squirrel

2010-01-07T17:57:00.001+01:00

Happy New Year everyone! Let me introduce you to my tea drinking squirrel. And there's a hedgehog on my flickr too. More animals to come... :)
I'm currently reading silly animal stories by Toon Tellegen.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010!

Apocalyps

2009-09-30T21:14:00.000+02:00

Another Illustration I made for school. The article it is for is called 'Apocalyps' and is written by Jan Terlouw. I am not terribly satisfied with what the background looks like, but I am happy to have found a way of drawing that I feel comfortable with.

Finished scarf

2009-09-20T13:17:00.001+02:00

I finally finished and blocked the scarf I started more than a year ago. I used it to knit on the train. I'm really happy with it. This will be a gift for my aunt. I'm quite sure she doesn't know I have a blog, so she won't see it.
The other picture is a study for school I finished. I am not satisfied with it, but comments are welcome. I am trying to combine painting, drawing, embroidering and fabric in a way that actually works. This one doesn't. Check my flickr site to see the whole piece, this is just a detail. (link to my flickr is on the left)

Achieve

2009-09-12T12:17:00.000+02:00

Illustration I made for a school assignment. It is supposed to accompany an article about how younger people nowadays feel the need
(or pressure actually) to achieve something.
The picture is about a discussion in my country about a 13 year old girl who wants to sail around the world alone to set a world record. In the sail is written 'I must achieve something'.

Chanson en Crochet

2009-09-08T13:31:00.001+02:00

And this is the finished product...
(The pattern is called Chanson en Crochet.)
It is a kind of cape with a button in the front.
I enjoyed making this. I might even make another one in the future.
The pattern can be found here.
Be sure to check on the errata though! The original pattern has loads of mistakes.

Crochet

2009-09-03T11:03:00.000+02:00

So I have decided not to open my shop yet. I have been thinking. I don't want to use my shop just to make money.
I want it to be a place where I can sell items that I make because I like making them. I don't want to create things just to be able to put them in a shop. I think that will be appreciated more as well. So I'll go on create stuff I like and if I like it enough it will end up in my shop. And of course everything will be posted here as well.
So what have I been doing. School has started again and suddenly I have lots to do. In the last week(s) of my vacation I have done a lot of knitting and crocheting. A quick peek of a project I have been doing...

Etsy

2009-08-19T21:19:00.000+02:00

I know I haven't been posting regularly, but I still hope I have some readers out there. I am using the last bit of my summer holiday to finally open my Etsy shop. No things to buy yet, but that will be there soon.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
FlowersAndLemons

The blue link leads you to my favorite items by other sellers. Click on 'Shop Home' to find my own shop.

Stackable Bugs

2009-06-04T16:47:00.000+02:00

Finally I made something worthy of showing off on my blog; my Stackable Bugs!
These are made of felt and can be stuck together into a tiny bug-tower. This is still a first version, but I'm planning on improving them and making more and in different versions.. Maybe a version with no beads and embroidered eyes so that smaller children can play with this too. I'm not really sure. Once I've figured that out they'll be for sale on my etsy. (I opened my etsy store, but haven't worked on it yet. So there is no description and no items for sale. I am very excited to begin working on that once I have the time (a few more weeks of school..)

Illustrations

2009-04-01T11:14:00.001+02:00

I'm exhausted just by looking at the amount of things I still have to do. And they all take a lot of time to finish. It is very motivating to look at what I do have finished now. For school I had to illustrate 'sour' and 'shorten'. This is what I made;

I also have some etchings I want to show you. I made them this january.

The one below is a kangaroo in a bed. I read a poem with a kangaroo in a bed in it and just had to make this :)

That's all for now..

Quilted bag

2009-03-23T09:46:00.000+01:00

I finished the bag I promised to post. Here a picture;
I'm quite happy with how this turned out. I also made a skirt out of the fabric with the flowers. (and I'm now working on a skirt with the grey-brownish tweed in this bag)
I'm even happier with the next project I am working on. This is going to be a quilt and I hope to sell it on Etsy. (I don't have an etsy shop yet but I am working on it..)

And the last thing I wanted to share :)
A collage I made for school. I wonder what you think about this. I might make more of these, maybe I can make prints to use as greeting cards.. The theme was 'Hell'. I didn't get that quite right but it still looks nice I think :)
I am very happy to be sewing more and more.. And to be able to post things again.

Cherry Tea

2008-11-20T13:29:00.000+01:00

I've been away from my blog for awhile. Meantime I moved to Zwolle, where I started the study Stories&Design. Getting an internet connection took an awful long time.. But now I'm back and want to show something I'm working on :)
These pictures are from a project I am working on for school. It's going to be a book full of things that can make you feel happy. The first one says "DRINKING CHERRY TEA" and the second one is about a dandelion. I'm still thinking about the title for the book.. I'm not sure.

Short and sweet

2008-08-10T13:24:00.000+02:00

So my computer was broken, again.. And again not completely fixed, which is very annoying. I have been busy with my exams as well. Oh and not to forget; I spent a week in Belgium with my boyfriend :) And still busy, busy, busy..
Next two weeks are my exams, the week after that I have my introduction week in art school and the week after that I am going to move to Zwolle and I will have my first classes on my new school. Excited, but busy. I managed to do a quick in between project.. I crocheted Short and Sweet by Angela Best. I like the pattern a lot and it went very fast for me.
Here the pictures:

The yarn is mainly acrylic, but looks good enough for me. I got it very cheap (1,50 euros for the three skeins I used).
Oh and I got tagged by 'Buggins'. Thank you! Its some kind of an award. Thats so sweet :) I know I should tag some other people, but I think I'm letting other bloggers know I appreciate them allready. If you want to know what I like to read the most, check my list on the left :)

Painting :)

2008-07-06T16:16:00.000+02:00

Finally I have some more artwork to show. Knitting has absorbed my attention way too much the last couple of weeks. I must spend more time painting, it makes me feel good :)
This is a small panel (20*20 cm). I am planning to make more small mixed media panels like these. This one contains collage, acrylic paint, drawing ink and china ink.
I am still hoping to start an Etsy shop, but I want to have a nice collection to start with, so this is going to be part of it, along with the other 20*20 panels to come.

Please let me know what you think! I am very curious how other people feel about it. (You can view a larger version of this picture on my Flickr page..)

Spinning update..

2008-06-28T10:58:00.000+02:00

It has been a week since I had this wheel (sadly, I am only borrowing it). So I have a few pictures to show you :) These pictures are the first thing I made: a single yarn, spun from roving bought from Lapoli on Etsy. I think I posted a picture of the roving on my blog some time ago.

The other picture is a spinning project still in the works. I was trying to spin a yarn that represents the theme "Lust". (a group on Ravelry picks a new theme every week)
This was my first time trying to spin things into the yarn or actually do something more with it than just spin a straight yarn. I spun some black 'blobs' in it and some lace ribbon. I want to ply it with a white or black thread with beads in it. We'll see how it works out. I didn't finish it before another theme was started, but anyhow I spun something :)
Let me know what you think :)

Lots of time..

2008-06-25T21:35:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone :) I am back.

I have been very very busy to finish everything for school on time, but now it is finished. I do have to study a lot for my final exams in august, but for now I have plenty of free time.
So I am filling my days with knitting. I am close to finishing my very first pair of socks. I am also working on a scarf as a present for my aunt Anne. And a Lamb-toy for my boyfriend's mother. Maybe a bit too much but I like taking up different things. Whatever I like at that moment :)

I am also borrowing a spinning wheel and everything is suddenly going so fast! I am enjoying it :) Probably I'll have some new handspun to show off next time :)
I am getting a bit nervous about my next school. Will I do it right? Did I make the right decision to go there and not somewhere else? Of course I did, but I'm still nervous.

The Ravelry links for the patterns:
Socks
The Scarf

School :(

2008-05-29T13:50:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to post a short message to let you know I'm very busy with finishing my school. Two more weeks and then it should be finished.. Don't think I have forgotten to blog entirely, I just don't have the time..
And if I would I wouldn't have anything to show you, because I don't have time for crafty things.. Oh wait I could show you my new yarns :)
The ones on top is the stuff I'm knitting my first sweater with; Snow White from Ysolda Teague. I'm busy on the first sleeve, finished the body.

This is Evilla art yarn. It's a bit rougher than I hoped. I plan to make a nice lace scarf for my aunt Anne. She isn't really an aunt, she is my grandmothers best friend, we just call her that way :) She is the kind of person that truly deserves a hand knitted gift. I never knit lace before so I'll keep it simple.
This yarn was on sale and I love it! It's so squishy! I'm going to make myself a cowl out of these :)

So I don't think I'll be posting anything in the next two weeks, but...
"I'll be back.." ;)
Take care everyone :)

Ravelry

2008-05-16T17:09:00.000+02:00

Firstly.. The poll to vote for the macro photo competition is open. Please, please vote for me? :)
The poll can be found here.
If you do.. thanks a lot! :)

Have you ever heard of Ravelry? Well I know a lot of knitters do. Because it is still in a Beta-version, they are letting people in in small amounts. You can sign up to 'stand in line' and get permission to enter. I entered my name to be accepted last year. Last week I looked up how long it was going to take for me.. Seems I should have received a mail to enter december 2007! I must have accidentily deleted it. What a shame! But now I'm in and really happy about it :) It is so easy to find good patterns and it also has a great program in which you can keep track of your projects and patterns you still want to do. I love it.. Is there anyone here on Ravelry too? Maybe I could add you as a friend? :)

Oh and I should have taken pictures of the Lace up opera gloves from Ysolda I finished, and the sweater (in progress), but I am so busy for school! Sorry! I have 4 more weeks to complete tons of work. I hope I make it..

Back from Italy

2008-05-13T15:12:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone! I'm back from Italy now. I will post some pictures I made soon. Tuscany is gorgeous and we had really nice weather. Sadly I haven't found any craft shops there, just souvenir shops. I didn't find anything I really liked, so I didn't buy any souvenirs. (I did buy a bra!)
More about Italy later, along with the pictures.

On craftster.org they launched a contest for macro photo's so I entered one of my pictures. I really hope I win something (probably not, a lot of people enter the contest) because the prizes are gorgeous. The picture was made in my back garden, I also made an altered version which would be very cool on a poster, but this one is the original. I hope you like it :) Perhaps are there some craftsters out there who would like to vote for me when voting begins? (Only if you really like it, of course) You can view the bigger version on my flickr page.

Toscane!

2008-04-28T19:32:00.000+02:00

I've sent out my swap package to Natalie for the Scrapbook Cookbook swap on Craftster. I hope she likes what I made. It includes a bought cookbook, a handcrafted cookbook and a kitchen related item. I'm not telling what it is yet, because it should be a surprise! I added a picture of the cookbook I made. I used one that is a bit blurry so you can't see everything.

And in more good news.. I'm going on a vacation wednesday. I'll be with my parents and two brothers to Toscane. I'm so excited to go! We'll stay there for 13 days, so no blog updates meanwhile.. Sorry! I hope you'll keep visiting my blog afterwards!
Maybe I'll even get some knitting done in Toscane to show you. I'm trying to knit 'Snow white' from Ysolda Teague.

Freeform

2008-04-10T16:53:00.000+02:00

Thanks for all the kind comments about my new haircut! It's great to see that people actually come back to my blog.

Recently I read an article or website (don't remember) about freeform knitting and crocheting. They had a little introduction on it, but of course, you had to buy the (quite expensive) book. I thought.. "I can do that!" So I started crocheting and knitting. It's meant to grow piece by piece. How do you like it? I'll probably use it to decorate a bag or something like that. Maybe it'll turn into something totally different. I also used some yarn I spun on my spindle. I'm going to show the process on my blog, maybe there will be a next picture in two weeks or so.

New supplies :)

2008-04-05T11:13:00.000+02:00

Last weekend I went to Utrecht to go supply shopping. I bought some scrapbook paper.. That's it. This week I figured I really needed more supplies for my crafty projects :) so I went to the market and bought some really cheap fabric. I also ordered from two shops on etsy for the first time. I'm so happy the packages came in. It's like receiving a gift from yourself :)

I really wanted to show off all the pretty things to you.. I find that crafting materials really inspire me to create something.A lot of buttons!! I just want to sew them onto anything I get into my hands :)Not a pretty picture, but I wanted to show all the beatyfull rovings together as well.
And the roving I truly adore!
Thanks for reading ;)

Straciatella Mousse

2008-03-31T19:35:00.000+02:00

Here's a little teaser for Natalie.. ;)
This picture might look a bit odd, but it was delicious.

Exposition

2008-03-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

Well... it's actually not a real exposition where people get to pay and walk around. I get a few windows and walls where I can display my work. But that's fine with me :)
The mess that was my room yesterday (and today as well);A painting I was working on, still in progress. It's actually finished now. I'll show the final result next time (maybe) ;)
And a little zine I received all the way from Australia. It's really cute. Made and illustrated by Marianne Horton. I allready have a link to her blog on the left, but here it is again; go here if you'd like to visit her blog.