crocheted pot holder

its been a quiet weekend for me. i watched a few movies on laptop and crocheted a few granny squares for my big blanket project. finally, i had the time to arrange my yarn's box and get rid of the yarns remnants and threads.

the yarns remnants were quite plenty and i decided to crochet it to a 'crazy colours' pot holder (its in my kitchen, holding tea pot)

crocheted pot holder : 12/01/2014

will update on the progress of big blanket this friday.
Have a good week, people!

#1: the first 13 of 365 or so

I made a new resolution this year to at least finish one sewing project. My half-done projects are piling up. So, i hope ONE project will be done this year. 

I'm doing a 'more than 365' granny squares, colourful crochet blanket.

I'll post every 10 days (or so) on the progress.

so, here's #1: 13 sqs

10/1/2014: the first 13 of 365 or so squares

 cheers for another resolution to keep and Happy New Year

Eva's skirt

Hi! This is Eva. (taken during CNY 2013, her tummy was a bit full.. hehehe.. too much good food during the celebration)

made this skirt for the girl ^

the picture of the skirt was before i made the alteration. her 'waist' measured at 53cm. the pic showed 56cm. i altered it to 50cm, waistband is elastic.

what you need:

1. fabric ( i used Japanese Cotton from Kamdar) 24"X15"
2. elastic band (i used large 1" wide) + safety pin to help putting in casing
3. matching thread for the fabric

 how to make:
1. put the fabric right side together (the shorter side (15") together).
2. stitch on the wrong side, giving 1/2" seam allowance. done? press the seam open.
3. on the longer side, make a casing by pressing it with iron about 1 1/4".
4. stitch the casing. allow 2" undone to insert the elastic band.
5. put in the elastic band by safety pin attached to it.
6. secure the elastic band by stitching it together. stitch close the casing.
7. tidy up the hem by pressing and stitching it.
8. done!

easy peasy. i'll put up pictures to ease up the 'how to' soon.

i hope Eva will like the skirt. its cute!

Beanie

yarns

beanie!

For full video tutorial on how to make this beanie, look up this guy's youtube, mikeyssmail.

i did mine with small alteration at row 16 and 17, adding extra 4 crochets each line and i did 26 lines instead of 23 lines. i love how the beanie hugs my head. and i love the stiffness of it compared to other soft sloppy beanies. i dont own knit marker, but, its essential in doing this beanie, i used paper clip (took sometime to get off the yarns each completed revolution, but it served the purpose)

i bought the yarns in Melbourne, the minlon yarns at our local handicraft stores are midget compared to this huge bundle of yarn.

still here, progressing

i've been neglecting this blog. i know.

as for crafting, i've finished 3 projects so far.

crocheted colourful baby blanket
reversible shoulder bag
string pouch

i'll upload the pictures later. for now, i have to learn how to stitch straight and evenly on my borrowed sewing machine. and i need a lot of linen and interfacing. i'm in love with floral linen.

kapok

i asked my dad to plant a kapok tree. his answer? "kasi rusak tanah baitu'.?. really?

i like my pillow high and fluffy. a combination you rarely find from the ready made ones. so, i made my own pillow and made 4 small one for my kerani punya anak. i have yet to make the pillowcases, so i havent give its out.

when i was small, our neighbour have a kapok tree near their house. the fruits have numerous seeds, that when it's young can be eaten raw. and it taste quite good. manis kelat.

when mature, the kapok pod turn brown (from green) and fall from the branch by itself. i remember the neighbour's odu collected the pods and dried them up under the sun before breaking it to gather the white fluffy cottonny fiber. then, she took away the numerous seeds (a tedious job) before making a pillow out of the fiber. most of the time, she'd just tear up old pillow and add the fiber to up the volume. my odu made me a kapok pillow with seeds in it. not the most comfortable pillow in the world, but, it kept my fingers busy, trying to crush the grainy seeds everytime i laid my head on it.

so, ya. i'll plant a kapok tree this year. so, in a few more years, i can make more pillows to give away. sound promising to me...

handmade kapok pillows

happy new year. i'm aiming for more crafting this year.

Reversible Beach Bag

i found the tutorial somewhere. but i didnt save the link (i'll provide the link when i get across it). i struggled with the reversible factor.

sturdy cloth (polyester?)

floral linen

yay! sorry, the pictures were taken before i ironed out the bag. thus the bagginess.