BITS OF OXFORD

Oxford is a great city to live in. You can find inspiration and charm in some of the smallest backstreets. These are a few of the snapshots that I taken when I'm running around with my camera. I hope you can see why I have made Oxford my home for the last eight years. :)

KARINS SYJUNTA

I'm very excited to show you one of the first copies of Karins Syjunta (Karin's Stitch'n'Bitch). The book is beautifully put together and has loads of crafty projects for all levels. It is written by Karin Holmberg who has written two books on embroidery. Do check out her blog because her work is amazing!

I was asked very nicely if I would contribute to the book, and my small contribution was a pattern for some quick xmas decorations. 

A bird has whispered in my ear that it is on offer from Adlibris at the moment.

A BIT OF SELF-PROMOTION

I've done some self-promotion lately which has reaped the following reward: a magazine article in Crafty Magazine and also a quick interview by the blog Those Who Make. I know it is quite egotistical to be harping on about myself and I do that in the article so I will stop here! But if you want to find out more about me or these cool print and online publications, then have a look. 

RETRO MAT NR 2

For this retro mat I drew inspiration from one of my grandmother's potholders. Love that it has a 60s-vibe going about it. I'm all geared up to make more in lots of different colours.

I got a comment recently asking what yarn I use for apparel versus houseware items. And I guess I stick to "posher" yarns when it comes to items of clothing than I do for things for around the house. I'm a sucker for soft yarns like alpaca but the yarn I used for this mat is a cheaper craft cotton that I found in this newly opened wool shop in Oxford - Fibreworks.

It's funny how crochet is a seasonal thing as well. Most of the summer I crochet with cotton and during the winter it is all about the alpaca. :)

TEA-TOWEL BOMBAY

I have loads of craft cotton left! And what shall I do with it all? This seemed to be the best way of using it. Bombay is a heavy tea towel that can withstand the heat from a hot pan, straight from the oven, as well as being soft enough to dry one's hands on. This is the towel for every kitchen fanatic. I personally love the fact that I don't have to get the old oven-glove out every time I need to check what is going on in the oven. 

It is made using a simple double/single crochet (UK/US) pattern and it is funny what a bit of colour can do.  

IT'S A JOLLY HOLIDAY

I have just spent a week in Sweden were I visited a small town called Norberg. It's an old mining town from the 15th century with lots of pretty Scandinavian red wooden houses. I'm lucky to have parents who own a summer house out in the middle of Sweden as it makes for a great break from life in Oxford. 

While there I started on one of my most stereotypical crochet projects - a granny square blanket for a friend's baby. It's nice to get into the swing of crocheting again as I have been too busy writing my second book to make things with wool. 

RETRO MAT

A couple of weeks' back I was given a bag full of craft cotton. My friend who bought it thought that it was the same as normal cotton yarn and didn't realise that it is much tougher to knit or crochet with. So I ended up with it instead. I don't mind it being tough, but the natural cotton colour has discouraged me from doing anything with it. Drawing some inspiration from African patterns and the retro-looking doily that I made for my friend's wedding, I came up with this mat. It's funny how a little bit of colour makes such a difference to something that otherwise would just have blended into the background.  

ELDERFLOWER

Elderflower trees are absolutely everywhere in Oxford and I mean everywhere - in the parks, in people's gardens, along the roads. I went to one of the nature reserves to pick the elderflowers I've used to make this summer cordial. 

Elderflower Cordial is one of those things that are so simple to make and taste so awesome. I have become a bit inspired. I think I will try my hand at some Elderflower Champagne next - if you have ever done it let me know what your result was. Did your bottle explode? Was it fizzy enough? Did it taste nice/awful? Any feedback appreciated. :) 

APRICOTS AND PLANTS

Gosh I seemed to have been very busy lately - I don't really notice it until I stop. Lucky for me I did STOP this weekend which was great!  A bit of cooking-therapy was all I needed to re-charge my batteries. Mmmh apricot compote - can't get more summery then that!   

DING DONG THE BELLS

Two weekends ago I went to Laura and Richards wedding in summery Hertfordshire. The day couldn't have turned out better - the sun was out and the service was perfect. These are just a few of the snapshots that I was able to take. 

Thanks to Laura and Richard for such a lovely day.   

ALL ACTION POP UP BOOK

I don't know why but I have always loved pop-up books. They are the coolest books out there. This is one of my finds and it doesn't disappoint, after all it is an "All Action Pop Up Book".

SPRING CLEANING

Last weekend I had a visit from Crafty Magazine, which wanted to take some pictures of where I live. The house has never been this tidy. I'm not going to lie - it was an effort to make everything look nice and neat. Two minutes after they had left, everything was back to normal, with things everywhere. Oh well at least it looked nice for a brief moment. 

This is the start of one of the doilies, for my friend's wedding, based on this design. I don't know if I'm happy with the result yet. This weekend I'm going to Sweden so maybe I can find some cool inspiration from there.

SPRING TOILET MAT

I have worked on this project in stages. Rather than having a plan from the start I have just let it develop. If I'm honest I had no idea what it was going to become when I started but I'm pleased with the result. Goes to show that plans are not always important.  

LOOKING FOR SOME INSPIRATION

One of my friends is getting married in May and she has ordered 5 vintage-style doilies for the day from me. I must confess that I don't have much experience of crocheting doilies, so I thought I would get some inspiration from my countless vintage patterns. Looking at the different patterns I have realised that I have been quite gender-biased in my selection. Lots of cool patterns for guys but not that many doilies. I will have to browse some online resources for some inspiration instead.

I have been obsessed with hats lately. The photo above made me laugh. Either the man to the left is about to floor the man with the crazy-looking balaclava or he is about to kiss him. It could go either way. Life seemed more dramatic in the days before google maps.

TECHNO TRIVET

Coffee is wonderful! So I had to crochet a cool trivet to go with my hipster Coffee Drip Decanter from Hario. 

I'm not a fan of multicolored wool but I think this skein was awesome. My experience of working with multicolored wool have thought me that simplicity is the key. Don't make any fancy patterns as the details will be lost and outshone by all the colors. In this case less is definitely more and that is the reason why I have only used trebles for this trivet. 

To make an easy crochet trivet for yourself just crochet two circles, roughly the same size, and crochet them together with Double Crochet (UK) / Single Crochet (US). This way it will be thick enough for there to be no condensation under the coffee/tea-pot.