What´s on the needles #1

Every week I want to make a blogpost,
with some nice pictures and sometimes a pattern
of what's on my needles that week.
This is replacing my Monday Inspiration,
because I'm out of inspiration at the moment.  
Not that there is no inspiration at all,
I'm just not sure what to share and not ;)

Last week I started a baby blanket,
made from dark pink and mixed pink colours.
The yarn is 100% acrylic because my little sister
can not touch real wool, it's too itchy for her.
It's actually for my niece, the 4th child of my little sister.
I'm for the 7th time auntie again :)

I'm almost done and then I need to make a nice edge around it,
I'm not sure how to do that,
but I think with double crochet stitch. 
I'm gonna post more pictures when it's all finished.

The pattern I use is from Charami NL
It's a Dutch translation from Attic 24.

 Hope you have a lovely creative day!
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Monday Inspiration #17

This week I want to show you an interview with a lovely and awesome blogger.

She is creative, has her own webshop and is a very lovely person.

I asked Essie from Essies handcraft cuteness

to answer some questions for the Monday Inspiration, 

and I got a whole interview back, which is awesome!

Thank you so much Essie!

Please tell us a bit about yourself:
I’m 28 years old, living with my boyfriend and 2 cats in Gouda, The Netherlands. And there's a little girl on her way :) I love to design, sew and be creative. 

What is your motivation to write on your blog. 

To inform Readers and customers about new products, creative things that I occupy, entertain people with nice shops and things I come across. 

What is your favorite subject.

My own products ;) 

How did you discover that you have creative tendencies?
When I was very young my mum taught me how to use the sewing machine and I started making tiny clothes for my dolls.
When I became older I started drawing and painting.. 

What do you love the most about crafting. 
For me it's a kind of relaxation, I'm doing something I really like, 

my own time and (usually) without time pressure.
Coming up with new designs and creating new products gives me satisfaction.

What’s one of your favorite things you’ve made?

 I must say the cupcake tea cosies, I get a lot of positive feedback,

and they are so happy to look at. 

Where do you find your inspiration?

I find my inspiration in everything, like nature, magazines, 

the internet, cute characters and cheerful things.

Do you have any role models/inspirations in the area of Design? If so, who and why?
No actually not. I do not specifically like one designer more than others. I see so many cute, beautiful, cool and amazing things that most of the time I can’t even remember who the artist/creator is. 

How did you come up with the ideas for the products in your shop?
Sometimes I see a specific product I like, I imagine it in my own style and give it the Essie’s twist.
Or friends give me ideas about new products that they would like or can’t find in normal stores. It always has to be cute, sweet, cheerful and colorful. 

Which materials do you use to create your products?

Most of the time I use cotton and felt. 

Please give us a brief summary of your creative process:

 When an idea pops in my head usually I immediately start cutting the fabric or felt and I start sewing.
Most of the time the sample turns out not the way I wanted. So I make a new one and customize it a bit.
I never start with a sketch or something, I know it would be better but I’m too lazy for that. 

What characterises your products/your style?

Cuteness, sweetness, bright colors, flowers, kawaii and cupcakes

Who are your customers? 

I think girls and women ages 18-50. 

And sometimes a man who’s buying a present for his girlfriend or sister. 

What do you want to achieve in the future as a Designer/Creative?
Well, actually I’m thinking a lot about that lately and I’m not sure what I want.
I know I would still be making products and selling them in my webshop. A combination of graphical designing and making my own products would be great.
But within 2 months I would be a mommy so I have to see and figure out if it works with a baby around me all the time.

Hope you find it just as inspiring as I do! 

Have a good day.

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Monday Inspiration #16

Sometimes it's a bit difficult to find information
to make a nice post about the people behind
the awesome blogs to write about.
That's why I made a little questionnaire to make it more personal.

This Monday Inspiration is about Angelique from Lique's Handmade.
She has a lovely blog and awesome online shop.
She is always creative with the crochet needles, sewing machine, pencils .. When she is not doing that there are her pets her other passion, Berners, Burmese and rats.
And I fell in love with her gorgeous crochet and amigurumi goodies. 

Can you tell something about yourself?

I'm Lique, a thinker and sometimes a doubter, I have the will to proceed to make the things I like 

and to make others happy with it.

I love photography, wool and my pets, what is a lovely combination. 

I'm working with wool from the time that I was a little girl. 

I love to make pictures from my pets and I love my pets all together. 

(I got 2 berner sennen dogs, 2 holy birman cats, 7 rats en 1 white belly hedgehog) 

That are 3 important things in my lifs.

  

 How did you get into making crafts?

When I was young I made little Bert and Ernie hand puppets,

and that is my first memory from myself of being creative. 

On a Sunday afternoon under my loft bed with fabric, 

needle and thread ... It grew into so much more.

What is your favorite craft?

Crochet and sewing. Though I no longer sew as much as I did.  

I had for almost eight years the shop called Lique's Hangmatjes & Co 

and I made hammocks for rats and ferrets and the lot. 

I made the goods for the shop with dedication and pleasure

but the challenge was gone and I wanted to grow in my products and shop. 

With the wool, I can now grow in my own crochet products.
So crochet is really my biggest favorite. 

What do you love the most about crafting?

To create something, even if it is something small.  

Something that you or someone else makes is special and there is love and dedication in it.

  
What’s one of your favorite things you’ve made?

I have a wonderfully beautiful blanket made of purple, blue and pink shades 

laying around and that is surely my most favorite and my pride, 

but there is so much more than that.

I made ​​amigurumi's which create themselves, but also a pattern. 

  

Where do you get your inspiration from, designs / goods you make?

Often it is already in my head, and something by just thinking about it, I adapted 10 times already.

I like to look back at pictures and use my own imagination to make something from it.

 

What are your favorite craft websites?

Etsy and Dawanda! Those are my favorite website to see and experience creativity.

 And then the blogs of many people. There is much to see!
As Google is your best friend to look for pictures of the beautiful creations by people!
And of course my own forum on crochet and amigurumi's!

What is your motivation to write on your blog?

I like it that you can show what you make and what you love, to share that with others.

I love to keep track of other blogs. Giving and getting reactions on posts,

and to get inspiration from other blogs and your blog also (*note from me* That made me blush)

I also have a amigurumi and crochet forum and it's really so nice to

let people get in contact with other people on that forum true your blog.

 This is the stand from Lique's at the hip and handmade market. 

See the lovely things she makes, it's a real pleasure to just look at it!

***

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Monday Inspiration #15

 Melanie has a blog known as The Crafty Cupboard.

Melanie is a stay-at-home-mom with two lovely little girls, 

living in the heat of Arizona.

She loves to sew and craft but doesn't like cooking. 

She loves all things music and interior design.
As she says herself: I am so inspired by the creative talents of others, I decided to have a place to document ideas to try in the future as well as things I attempt myself.

And it's an awesome place, with a full page of free tutorials.

Her posts and pictures are so inspiring,

if you haven't try sowing yet, 

once see this site, you want to try it all yourself.

I just love her style of writing and the effort she puts in her blog.

She makes a variety of lovely things but the most I love are the beautiful dresses and skirts for her girls, and gorgeous quilts in the most fantastic colours.  

Go take a look yourself and be amazed.
 

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Monday Inspiration #14

Little Z, handmade with love.

She is a member of the Eline's Design Team

and Lisette has her own shop on Dawanda.

Lisette designs and create stamps, stationery

and accessories of felt, paper and fabric.  

Her style is hip and fresh, with plenty sweet characters 

and surprising color combinations.
Anyone who is creative can get to work with 

her patterns with hip designs in felt.

Lisette calls herself a dreamer;

fond of everything involving fairy tales, myths 

and everything else mysterious and different.

On her blog she writes about almost

everything handmade, cute and vintage.

Her life, love, handcraft and shop.
She makes awesome photographs of everything,
cute, handmade and adorable goodies. 

She inspires me with her lovely pictures

and handmade accessories and 

the energy she puts in her designs.

On her blog are free patterns and you find enough 

to keep you crafting throughout the year!

Go check it out, and let me know what you think of it.

 I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.
Have a good day!
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Monday Inspiration #13

 This week I want to share another blog.
A blog from a very nice and kind person,

who inspires me with her adorable, colorful crochet works.

 Karin has an amazing blog, with lots of tutorials, 

 lovely photo's and lots of interesting crochet works.

In the 70's she started crocheting 

and after a while she quit with that.

Since early August 2009 she has started crocheting again. 

She made / started with white crocheted curtains and rugs. 

Now she is in love with color, lots of color.  

And with all these beautiful, brightly colored wool and cotton she tries all sorts of stitches and patterns, and shares that with us.

She has made some awesome blankets and accessories.

And on top of that she has a page with free patters on her blog.

Karin gave new life into a great joyful hobby, 

bursting with possibilities, and to see that makes me

want to crochet even more myself.  

 I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.
Have a good day!
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Monday Inspiration #12

This week I want to share a blog.
A blog from a very generous, lovely
and kind blogfriend Nikki.
This blog actually got an award from me,
  because it is so nice, lovely and inspiring.

Her blog is Liefgeval.

She has an amazing blog, with mixed styles,
Vintage, retro, romantic and sweet, which is a super lovely combination of styles.
And loads of adorable pictures from her home 

and the lovely deer she collects.
The rest of her collections she shares 

can be marked as super cute and vintage.
She makes awesome Lomography photo's 

she posts on her blog under Lomo Saturday,
with some other participants, 

you really need to check it out.
Also she has a beautiful dress style, 

you can read everything about her lovely dresses
on her blog under the dress up tags. 

The pictures are amazing!
I love her enthusiasm to make life prettier 

with her blog and goodies.
She also has the most wonderful online shop.
Where Nikki sells pretty vintage finds and homemade cuteness:
http://www.liefgeval.nl

I hope you find it as lovely as I do.
Have a good day!
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Monday Inspiration #11

Monday Inspiration number 11 already :)
If you want to participate please let me know
and I will make a special button to put on your site.

This week I want to show you the site
of a very special person.
Her name is Elly Blijenbergh.
As she said herself,
in 1964 she is born with 2 right hands...
and can make a lot of nice handcraft goodies
she sell on her website Ik maak blij
what means I make happy, and is inspirited
on her last name wish has the word blij (happy) in it. 
The idea for this website is to make people
happy with what she can makes,
her products have no price,
they cost as much as you want to give for.
And a 10% of that money goes to a charity
calls Help2Help.
Her philosophy is that she makes
good quality products from used or recycled
materials, like our grandmothers used to do,
pull out a sweater and make something new from it.
In the time she grown up,
it was not normal to buy everything that you wanted.
You needed to save money for it, or make yourself.
She comes from a farm in a province in
the Netherlands, where they lived.
Her family sold fruit en vegetables,
from there land and they put in a roadside shed,
people could take some and put money in an old tin,
what they thought was worth the products.
It was always a surprise how much money they had earned.
That money was a big part of there regular income.
All that and more you can read on her website,
it's only in Dutch.

 

I hope you find it just as inspired as me :)

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Monday Inpiration #10

Good afternoon,
This week I want to show you a very awesome site,
where you can get almost all the inspiration
your looking for. And with free tutorials!
 


Freubelweb is the site for and by crafty persons,
  with patterns, instructions and methods for the best, 
most beautiful, original creations you can make yourself.
Here you can find all kind of things for
knitting, crochet, sowing and more.
The person who makes this site and
makes it all possible for us for free
is Loes,
and I want to thank her so much for all the effort
and time she puts in this site!
She is just so wonderful.
Go check it out,
you will not regret it.

Note: I'm not responsible for any addictions
 you may get from looking at Freubelweb!

There is also a very lovely Give-Away at Freubelweb,
you can win a book in dutch called Babycadeautje haken
(Crochet baby gifts from Annemarie Arts)

Today I tried to make the (business) card holder.
My sowing machine had some problems with the heavy sides,
and I did not even put some extra layers in.
So the hemming is a bit wobbly.
The fabric is from the Ikea.

 

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Monday Inspiration Etsy 2

This Monday no inspiration as you know it,
I have no clue at this moment
what sort of things or pictures inspire me and you.
I'm clueless...

I do have an update from my Etsy shop.
First product is listed and ready to be sold,
And I'm working now on more products to come.
I ordered a bunch of high quality cotton,
to make nice crochet goodies,
and some warm nice wool for knitting,
to make some nice knitted winter hats
and other accessories.

Shop here.

I hope in a few weeks time a bunch of new goodies
will be launched.

I hope you all have a good day.
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Monday Inspiration Etsy

Good Morning all.

First things first! 

Welcome new followers, very nice to have you here.

  Thank you for following my blog,

and you who read it without following ofcourse.

Thank you for all the lovely comments, 

and the interest that you show in my little space on the big web.

Please take a look at the Give-Away page,

and see how much I appreciate your visits.

A special flower to say thanks!

Today I don't have a book for the Monday Inspiration,

But I want to share a website with you,

probably you all know it already,

and for the people who don't know,

It's a very lovely website.

I want to show you some of my favorite items on Etsy.

This is where I also got my inspiration...

Crochet Baby Boutique on Etsy

Vendulka M on Etsy

Angel Chest on Etsy

 The colors they use are so lovely,

it just makes me so happy to see,

and work with this kind of colors.

I just love owls, birds and to be honest,

I do love all the forest animals.

You can check out Etsy and find so many different shop there.

For everyone there is something very special to find.
You can also take the Etsy taste test,
I like it so much test you taste on Etsy
and find the shops you love.

Have a crafty and inspired day!

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Monday Inspiration Passion for knitting

 This book from Leigh Radford I bought a few months ago, 

and I was not able to make anything from it.

But now I want to try somethings in the book.

And that means I become more confident

to make knitwear and accessory's from a pattern.

Or modify a pattern to suit your creativity.

And I just wanted to show you what a nice things 

you can do with a pair of knitting needles,

it's all in your imagination.

Click on the picture to get a better view (Bedspread)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Child vest)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Bride crown)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Phone cosy)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Silk hat)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Cushion / pillows covers)

Click on the picture to get a better view (Sweaters)

 

Have a nice inspired day!
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