Japanese Flower Scarf: Ta-dah!

  Looking at the above picture I suddendly feel happy! I took this picture last summer, just a few days after our holiday in the Netherlands. I felt quite relaxed and I was looking forward finishing my Japanese Flower Scarf. There were just a few flowers missing because I had run out of yarn. I ordered it immediately but somehow, when the cough started again, I lost my interest in this wonderful scarf and it took me several weeks to finish it. But one days somwhere in the middle of autumn - I can't really remember anymore when - I added the last flower, weaved in the last ends and could block it.

Since then I have worn this scarf a lot, the texture is soft and delicate and it drapes wolderfully around the shoulders. The yarn is DROPS Belle, a mix of cotton, viscose and linen, it is perfect to wear directly on the skin.

 

 I used the folloowing colours: Moss green, light blue, jeans blue, dark jeans blue, cherry, old pink, dandelion, silver and off white. I can absolutely recommend this yarn. 

  I have LOVED working on this project, making these flowers is addictive once you have started. I already think of making a wooly scarf in bright bold colours and one in pastels or even natural colours - I just can't decide. It is such a lovely pattern and very suitable for carrying around!

I was working the colours totally at random and using the join-as-you-go method, so I had to pay very careful attention to the placement of them. But I managed quite well, what do you think?

The only thing that tempers my delight a little bit is that the flowers tend to look a little scrunched, with curl-up petals after some time. I have already blocked this scarf 3 times. But it is not that bad considering how beautiful this scarf is and how much delight I feel wearing it.

Enough talk now. 

HERE IT IS!

 

 

 This is me wearing the scarf. 

GEEZ! I really look tired! The last year truly drained me of strength. Next week we'll spend a week in my parents cottage in the Netherlands. Long walks at the beach, enough sleep and good food will hopefully do me some good. 

These cute Easter rabbits seem to like my scarf, as well.

Happy Easter! 

Viola

Back again....

...and almost feeling well again.

I am back here after an unintentional break of more than half a year. I am really sorry for this and I am stupendously happy to be back again. I missed you! But I really had a rough trot the last months. I was ill almost all the time.

COUGH - my mostly hated word at the moment. I coughed many, many months, days and nights, almost non-stop. And when it was getting worse I got high fever and a real bad cold. Nobody could find out what was wrong with me. One doctor thought that it was allergic asthma but he couldn't find out what the allergenic substance was. My GP finally asked me if my problem could be a psychosomatic one and if I would be willing to recieve a therapy. I almost agreed because I was truly worried that I would never get better again and there was a tinge of despondency and forlornness seeping into almost everything I did. It was so hard to keep going, my illness affected our daily life enormously.

But then J and I finally found out what the problem was. It was the new laser printer my husband used in his home office. I couldn't tolerate the toner powder of this printer. His office is on the first floor right next to our sleeping room and the toner powder just spread everywhere.

The first thing we did was to banish the printer from our house. Then we started to clean up. I washed all our clothes (oh my, have you ever washed everything you have at once???) but it was a good opportunity to weed out all that was old or no longer fitting. We cleaned everything, the shelves, the cupboards, the books, Cd's, we even moved the all furniture to clean behind them. I also washed all blankets, cushions and the plush toys of the children. Woohoo, long live the washing machine!

My bronchial tubes are still a little inflamed and sore and I easily feel tired and worn out but life is getting better from day to day! I keep on telling me that I just have to be a little more patient and then one day I will feel strong and cheerful and I will be my happy self again!

Enough about that. I have to show you lots of things. Working on my crochet projects has been one of the few things that really distracted me from my worn-out state during the last months. Crocheting is kind of a therapy when everything is going wrong, isn't it? At least for me it is.

First of all, I finished my 'Tiny-Granny-Blanket'. Do you remember it?

I had taken these fotos last summer and it was such a joy to work on this blanket. My daughter loved to play with the colours, she often adviced me which colour combination had to be the next one. When she sat next to me playing with the yarn and the squares we nattered about school and friends and the yarn colours and in the end she knew all the names of the Stylecraft colours I used. 

Here is my blanket in its full glory!

It is a large blanket consisting of 532 mini-grannies, the size  is 2,00 x 1,45 m. 

I used 35 different colours of Stylecraft Special DK.

 Pepples, our dog, is always watching what I'm doing.

 I really love the colourful jollity of this blanket and it is much thicker and warmer than my rainbow ripple blanket.

The border is simple, just 7 rows of granny stripes in plum and pale rose. The last row is a stitch I just learned, the crap stitch - and it is gorgeous! It gives such a neat and solid finish to a blanket. I am so happy that I found out about this stitch.

Here are my two crochet blankets.

They are real beauties and already well-used on the sofa. My son loves the ripple, my daughter the granny, it makes my heart sing in joy when I see my kiddies snuggling down in these blankets.

There is so much more that I want to show you but this is it for today. I have to decorate the house for spring and Easter, we just managed to put away the snowmen and snowflakes - no more snow for me, please. I hope that spring is coming soon, I long for the sun and some warmth. 

I'll be back soon (really soon) to show you more of my makes. Have a beautiful weekend!

Viola

My holiday project - a Japanese flower scarf

Today I wanted to write a proper tadah-post, presenting my holiday project I planned to finish yesterday. I wanted to block it over night and take some beautiful pictures in the garden. 

'Aber hier, wie überhaupt, kommt es anders, als man glaubt'

(Things always end up differently than you think).

This is a quote by Wilhelm Busch, a German poet and humorist and it just describes what happened to me yesterday. 

While I was happily hooking the last flowers for my scarf I recognised that my amount of yarn was decreasing faster than I thought. When I reached the second last flower I had to face the fact that I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish this scarf. What a disappointment! So here are just a few photos of my scarf missing two flowers, without all ends sewn in and all wobbly-bobbly because it is not blocked yet.

But I want to write this post nevertheless because it will take a little time until I have finally finished this scarf. I have to order the yarn via internet, there is no yarn shop nearby that sells Drops yarn.

  

This scarf is really beautiful, I love the yarn and the pattern equally. I really cannot wait to finish it. But I have to wait patiently until the parcel will arrive. I have already ordered the yarn this morning and I have chosen some other yarn as well, of course. It really makes no sense to order just three balls of yarn and pay the postage for a full parcel, doesn't it? That's why I had to buy some other yarn, as well. 

When I have finished my wonderful Japanese flower scarf, I will write about it a second time. Hopefully soon! 

See you then.

Viola 

I love Ouddorp - wonderful summer holidays in the Netherlands

We are back home - home after three wonderful weeks of holidays at the Sea. It's been a peaceful and relaxing family time. We all enjoyed it very, very much.

 My parents have a holiday house in the Netherlands, so it is quite comfortable and inexpensive for us to spend time there. The house is in Ouddorp, a small village next to the North Sea, approximately 50 km south of Rotterdam. It is quiet a trip from us to get there (about 600 km) but I just love being there.

My earliest childhood holiday memories are connected with the Netherlands. We often drove there just for the weekend. Bathing, walking at the coastline, building sandcastles, eating Kibbelinge (small pieces of fried fish), Poffertjes (tiny pancakes) or Stroopwafels (syrup waffles), all this was and still is heaven for me. Almost 17 years ago when my parents decided to buy a holiday home in Ouddorp I had been more than happy, hoping that this could become a second home of mine. And that's what it is today - my safe haven. A place where I am able to breathe again when life is trying to overrun me.

When you are spending your holiday in a place you know so well there is just no obligation to do any sightseeing because you have already seen everything. But there are things we all want to do or see every time we go there. A bicycle ride to Goedereede, the neighbour village with the best bakery by far,  But our most favourite place is the beach, of course. 

This wide and sandy beach with endless skies where you can leave all your cares behind... 

 

We always love to find a sheltered place to stay near the dunes.

The blue of the sky is just gorgeous.

There is no good walk at the beach without finding wonderful shells or crabs.

 And I love the seagulls so much! Their cries just make a day at the beach perfect.

 

  

And our quite old dog Pepples turns young again when we reach the beach. She even loves to swim with us.

 

Flying kites is very popular there and that's what we did as well, of course.

 Sometimes the weather was not that fine but nevertheless we went to the beach. There was almost nobody.

 

   My family heading towards a nice coup of drink...

... at 'Paal 10', one of the wonderful beach restaurants with a grand sun terrace where you can sit and have a nice cup of tea or coffee when it's cold or a delicious glass of wine while watching the sunset (the left house in the picture is the 'Reddingsbrigade', the lifeguard station).

 One of our favourite towns nearby is Zierikzee. A going there is a must-do for us. We love to stroll around the old narrow streets, visiting our favourite shops.

 

 

And this house was new to us, what a great painting!

 And in the evenings we were lucky to enjoy gorgeous shining skies and sunsets.

 Three beautiful weeks are over now, next week the new school term will start again, J is already back to work, I will start on Friday. There is a lot to do in the house and in the garden but I told myself to stay relaxed at least for a little while longer. Life can be so abundantly beautiful, I am so grateful for all the good things in life. 

I will soon come back to show you my summer crochet makes, nothing big, just something light but beautiful. 

I hope you had a wonderful summer time, as well.

Viola