Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Embroidered Clothes Inspiraton



Embroidery
 
 

Embroidered kid's coat
 

 As a kid I spent a lot of time stitching rather than crocheting - my mother was always working on decorative tablecloths or her gobelins. She bought me printed images of baskets of flowers or animal -themed pillows to work on and I was hooked.

I still love when once in a while  I can detach myself from crochet and do an embroidery project - like this and this for example. I haven't attempted complicated and elaborate projects like these fabulous clothes presented here, but it is a challenge I am willing to take.

Enjoy the selection. At the end of the post I am sharing some of my older posts regarding embroidery.

Embroidered clothes
 
 


 

Monday, September 28, 2015

DIY Romantic Fabric Brooch

 
 


 Hi ladies (and gents?)! Happy start of the week!

I needed a white brooch for one of my shirts, so decided to play with my fabric and make something pleasing to the eye and effective as an accessory.

This is a project you are going to love because it is so easy you can literally make it in less than 15 minutes and it also qualifies for a fabulous last minute gift.

Gather your supplies.
1. You will need: different fabric - I had 4 pieces (cut out squares that could be fold at least once) including gauze, tulle, sateen and taffeta. Lace or sateen ribbon, pearls, cut out cardboard flower. Not shown but needed -  sewing thread and needle and a pin. And a marker to copy the flower onto the fabric.
2. Fold all the pieces and lay one on top of the other.
3. Place the flower in the middle and copy it.
4. Pin in several places before cutting.

 
 
5. Cut the flower.
6 - 7. Rearrange the fabric so there is a layer of each different fabric. 
8. Fold at the center as shown to make those petals raise a bit and give dimension to the flower.
 

 


9. Pin that fold to secure it.
10. Thread the needle and sew to center.
11. Add beads / pearls at the center.
12. Collect and arrange the ribbons.


13. Bead the pearls and sew together with the ribbons...
14. ... and onto the back of the brooch.
15. Lastly, sew the pin.


 
 
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
Thank you for being here!

Friday, September 25, 2015

10 Ideas for Styling Bookcases

 
 

 
 
 
 
Yesterday our bookcases arrived. We had them custom made after deciding to relocate the previous book cabinet - which now serves as my fabric stash cabinet.
 
 
We have a lot of books and they can be found in almost every room of the house, but I wanted the main "small" library to be in the living room, so I left most of the books to be placed there. I searched the internet for some ideas how to style bookcases and added tons of pictures in a folder on my lap top - I recommend you check the links - there are some fantastic ideas and advices how to best style them .
 

 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Via 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Around the World in 80 Dishes - Macedonian Baked Beans



You know that I have a fantastic collaboration with amazing Cat from Cut Out + Keep, and this time she invited me to write about a famous traditional and national dish.



I chose to write about Tavce Gravce which  is actually Baked Beans (or literally translated: Beans  in a pot).
Find the recipe here.

The recipe features a meatless dish but to make it a feast to your palate, you can add bacon or pork ribs.

I'd love to hear how you like it if you decided to try this out.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Getting ready for fall - a new pattern pack

Hi everyone!
We had a sudden drop of temperature - I mean really drastic and I hate when that happens. Can feel the cold creeping in though I am fighting it.


However, the sudden colder weather set me in a fall mood and come to think of it - astronomical fall starts tomorrow so I thought -  what's better  than to make a combination of patterns perfect for fall.

Although I am a summer child, this summer has been scorching hot and I noticed that I cannot stand the heat well any more. It gets worse as I am getting older, so I could really switch to a more moderate weather conditions.
Blogland is clogged with fall decorating posts already so I am looking forwards to it too, generating ideas.

How about you? Are you ready for fall?

Monday, September 21, 2015

Giveaway winners!


The giveaway was closed last night and the winners are:

 
These lucky ladies have already been notified.
Thank you so much everyone else for participating!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Crochet Bracelets and Rings: Little Miss Jewelry



Just as I mentioned a couple of days ago, here are some  rings and bracelets from the Little Miss Jewelry Collection. You can see more pictures of them by clicking the link.

The giveaway ends today in several hours, so if you didn't enter and you'd like to, click here.





Thursday, September 17, 2015

How to read crochet charts: A flower motif


If you remember the crochet tunics I posted about here, then you must have noticed this gorgeousness.



Well I decided to tackle the chart for the motif and see how it goes. And to tell you the truth, the pattern is fantastic - it works up fast and beautifully.

 
 
Here's the translation of the chart:
 
 
Chain 5 and join to make ring.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as the 1st dc) and make 11 dc in ring. Sl st to join. (12)
 


 
 
Round 2: Chain 5 (3 as the 1st dc and 2 as the chain) and dc over the dc from previous row. "Ch 2 and dc over the dc from previous row". Repeat from "to" to complete the round. You end it making 2 chains.  Sl st (with beginning chain) to join.
 
 



Round 3: Chain 4, "make 3 dc in chain (from previous row), ch 1 (over the dc from previous row)" and repeat from "to ". You end the round making 2dc and not 3 because the beginning chain is counted as a dc. Sl st to join.



Round 4: Chain 4 and "sc in the beginning chain from the row below, ch 1, sk 1 st, make 1 dc in the next, ch 2, sk st and make another dc in the next one ch 1" and repeat from "to".
End the round by making just 1 dc over the first finishing dc of the row below. Ch 2 and sl st to join.


 
Round 5: Chain 3 and make 3 dc in the space you just made by chaining 2 at the end of the previous row.
 
 
ch 1, sc 1 (over the sc of previous row), ch 1, and in the next space make 4dc, ch2 and 4dc (fan pattern).
 
 
ch 1, sc 1, ch 1 and repeat the fan pattern around.
 
When it's time to make the very last fan - remember that you made half a fan at the beginning, so now just make 4 dc in the same space as the beginning half, ch 2 and sl st to join it with the other half.
 
And that is it. Cut yarn, tie know and weave ends.
 

 
 
I hope you like the pattern and put it to good use.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Girls' Crochet Jewelry:Little Miss Collection




Here's some more necklaces from the Little Miss Collection. I have a giveaway going on about it and if you want to enter it, check this post here. It will be opened until September 20th.

Every day I add about 5 new pieces in the shop. Today I added these. Soon I am going to show you some rings and bracelets.