Coffee Mug Sleeves

Knitting all sorts of mug sleeves and mug hugs for one's favourite cups has been very trendy lately. I keep seeing lots of projects like these around in books, magazines and on the internet. I'd been thinking of having a go at it so not so long ago I knitted one for myself and recently I've knitted another one :)

Basically the story is: at work for the children's safety we have got to use the so called safety cups (they can be plastic or ceramic, anything as long as it comes with a lid) so I got myself a "hearty" ceramic mug and knitted my first mug sleeve using a knitting magazine. The turquoise colour was a random acrylic yarn I took to knit "a prototype". It looked acceptable so it stayed and I started using it. The mug despite the double walls which are supposed to act as insulation gets too hot to hold it in hands so a coffee mug sleeve proved to be very much needed. In the meantime my bf presented me with another lovely ceramic coffee mug with a knitted pattern on it (!!!) Collection: The Nordic Pantry from Sainsbury from around Christmas last year. (He knows so well what I love! Bless him! x x) 

My cat, Cookie, has been posing for you as a live background for the mugs :)

However with time and through the frequent use and under the hot temperature, the turquoise mug sleeve has stretched  and became too loose a bit so I had to make another one. This time a different pattern - lace. I've learnt a lot new knitting steps with this pattern: yarn over, pass the slip stitch over, knit into the front and back and slip the stitch purlwise :))) It's not 100% ideal and it probably won't impress someone who knits laces for years but I'm proud of myself as until now I've considered myself unable to read the knitting patterns from the books and mags ;) I'm definitely getting more confidence about it now. 

This is the source of my inspiration: Simply Knitting magazine of 2013 with lovely 3 patterns to knit.

The chequered pattern turned out to be very easy. The lacy one is more complex but with a bit of help of the books and YouTube tutorials I managed well :) Now the remaining pattern is a cabled variant. I can't do the cable knitting right at the moment so I'll have to practise a bit before I have a go at this one.

In the meantime I keep on knitting Easter eggs using my cotton yarns. I enjoy this activity a lot as it's a chill out for me after work. I knit for pleasure and with no rush :)

For the knitted eggs "shells" and small balls of yarn I found at home this wooden bowl. It's not a real yarn bowl but will act as one for the time being until I get a real one for myself one day. It turned out it is a bowl made by my bf years ago at DT lessons :) How unusual! Forgotten, unnoticed and under dust for such a long time! I think it looks good with these natural colours, don't you think so?

This week is going so fast! It's Friday tomorrow and then WEEEEEKENDDDD!!! :) Looking forward to some crafting and chilling out in the comfort of my home.

Have a good  evening x X x

Christmas Cards 2013 Leftovers: 3 tall ones

3 tall Christmas cards on a brown kraft paper base :) - one of my favourite card blank formats

I've also discovered that cream coloured laces look good on the natural brown paper :) I'm never bored with the Christmas theme. I could keep on making festive cards all year round!

Cross Stitched Vintage Rose

Hi all. Today's post is all about roses :) 

This is my recent make - a cross stitched vintage rose designed by a Dutch designer Eline Pellinkhof. Again, it was a freebie kit for Mollie makes magazine. Eline has got a very romantic feminine style of expressing herself and this shows in her books and projects. A bit similar to Tonne Finanger and her Tilda world. Check out Eline's blog for more info and inspiration.

I have recently taken to those lovely vintage rose designs one can see in magazines and I was very happy stitching it. They have sort of folky feel you often can see in Polish folk paintings and fabric patterns and embroidery. 

And now, what my source of inspiration was... Just have a look at those gorgeous florals in the photos (source: internet)

Coming back to Eline again, I envy her this fabulous cross stitch wall painting:

How do you like it? :)))

I loved this cross stitch from the beginning. For a change I stitched it with 3 strands of cotton for a denser and fuller cross effect. I think the ribbon + lace feature is a nice thing too.

Eline's project involves winding strips of fabric around the embroidery hoop. To make it simpler and faster, I painted mine with acrylics mixing red, raspberry and white :) I still have plenty of cotton left, I may stitch it again as a motif for a card sometime. 

Very pleased and enjoy looking at it. It will be a decoration in my bedroom.

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Welcome my new followers and visitiors. Thanks for your visits and kind comments you leave behind. Pleasure to read :)

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Would love to share this cross stitched rose with a lovely bunch of crafty people at Hand-made Monday. Do join in this interesting highly social blog hop :)

Royal splendor. 100th Anniversary Birthday Card.

My bf's nan, called by us Mom-mom, is 100 years old today! What an astounding age! What a fabulous anniversary to celebrate! I felt  truly honoured to be able to participate in this family event. For the 1st time in my life I was to make a card for a 100th birthday I knew it would have to be a special one. It was also an opportunity of a lifetime which might never repeat itself. I was very excited about this project. Bf's nan is English so I thought the Union Jack theme (I love it!) would fit in here well as well as some regal features. At the end of day, she has been the Queen today and deserved some extra special treatment.  :) 

Here's the card I made yesterday. It's all about being coordinated in theme and style. Notice the navy backing paper with the crown pattern on it to agree with the crown charm and royal theme in general. The white lacy hearts from Martha Stewart punch co-ordinate with the red-white stripes of Panduro paper. 

This card required a great deal of cutting, measuring and trimming. Never thought constructing a Union Jack flag could be so complicated ha ha! It was my first one! Now I feel inspired to create some more cards!

Inside, I placed a jokey picture with Mom-mom being a queen :) She giggled when she saw that. I used A Muse Studio stamps for the heat-embossed crown and wording. 

More on the royal frontline, as it is the custom in the UK, Mom-mom has received today a birthday telegram from the Queen herself. I participated in the letter delivery (special mail service) and opening all the letters from the gov people. Very exciting to be able to see the congratulating post from Buckingham Palace. 

It's not the first telegram from the Queen Mom-mom has received. A while back ago she and Pop-pop received their 1st telegram from Buckingham Palace congratulation on their 70th wedding anniversary. 

Anyway, it was a great day full of guests, visits, flowers and photos. I will treasure it in my memory and so will Mom-mom.

Tonight I'd love to share this post with other crafters from the blog hop at Hand-made Harbour. Do join in :)