Finished! Daisy Doll Blanket

As I already told you, yesterday I was able to finish my doll blanket. I am so happy with how it turned out! It is girly, but not too frilly girly!

Update: Pattern can be found here!

I loved it as project. Most granny square projects are large, and require more than 100 squares. This was only 25 squares, 5 by 5.  I lose interest after a certain time with a project, and that is the reason why I am ashamed to admit that my beautiful African Flower Hexagon blanket went into hibernation in the attic room. I really have to finsh it though, but it gives me a "meh" feeling as I still have to join about 80 hexagons.....

I just love the colours! They are lovely together this red, pink, white and yellow. They really do resemble daisies. That was my goal, and I am very happy something clicked in my mind and I could make them like this!

For some obvious reason that moms do not understand, a lego car had to be placed on the blanket and Little Man insisted that I should take a picture. Silly boy.

I used Markoma Yasmina, an acrylic yarn, cheap, and available in an abundance of colours. Normally worsted weight yarn is used for afghans or blankets, but I wanted it to be smaller so I chose this yarn. It is meant for needle size 2.5-3 mm so it can be classified as a sportweight yarn. I used needle size 3.5 to keep it a bit smaller. You could use worsted weight and hook 4 mm and use this block for a normal sized afghan. It would be lovely I think.

Little Lady was also very pleased with the blanket I think. She is still too young to be asked! She played with it this morning.

Isn't she adorable?

And now, the full picture of the blanket:

 

Twenty-five blooming granny squares or afghan blocks! Twenty-five little daisies lying together happily and ready to brighten up Little Lady's doll bassinet.

The pattern will be available soon, really soon. I promise!

Day off part II

Officially yesterday was my day off, but I really did not have time to write a new post.
Yesterday was a day full of excitement, a bit emotional, as I gave my mother-in-law her shawl, and in the evening I released the pattern. I was flabbergasted at the amount of pageviews and the nice comments I got almost instantly over here and on Ravelry. Thank you so much!

Today we had a busy day, decluttering and cleaning around the house. The weather was not cooperating as it was raining lots. So dull, rain. Our kitty decided it was the perfect day just to chill out and sleep.
Little Man went to school, Little Lady and I chilled out a bit. I graded some tests. Played with Little Lady. Did some decluttering on the first floor, and soon it was time to pick up Little Man again.

After lunch, I cleaned the kitchen, put Little Lady to bed, and put away a lot of laundry. It was a big pile, so it felt like a relieve that it was gone!

Little Man played with his Lego, and it is so cute to hear him act out conversations with his cars.

We also made pie! Double chocolate pie. Mmmmmmmm. I think it is the perfect recipe for chocoholics and I made it lactose-free. Will post the recipe soon!

And I finished weaving in the ends of my doll blanket. So happy to have it finished! Pattern will be released soon, hopefully tomorrow if I can find the time. I am very pleased with the result.

But right now, I am going to eat this:

Happy evening, and see you next time!

School's out. Almost.

It is nearing the end of the year. Time has flown! During those last few weeks everyone gets a bit emotional and thinks about the year at school that is almost at an end. You look at your kids and think "O my, they have grown!" Grown physically and mentally. I have made new friendships, renewsed contact with students from previous years and ofcourse some do not care if they see me at all anytime again during their school career. Boys that started being shorter than me, end the year with being longer than me.
You hear all the stories about their romances, their gossiping, the importance of their make-up (and hair ofcourse), how stupid other boys/girls are, and you hear their insecurities, obsessions, and what makes their heart beat faster. Sometimes they even tell you their secrets. I am glad I can be there for them if they need to pour out their heart.

For now, I just have piles of papers and tests to grade. I have one normal week left, and after that there is finals week and grade meetings (rapportvergaderingen, hoe vertaal je dat?). A very stressfull time, but I will manage.
I noticed my other "teacher" blog post was very well read, so I ask you, those of you who read my posts: any teachers out there experiencing those sentimental last few weeks as I do?

Pattern: Setting Sun

* Click here for the English version (US crochet terms)!*  * Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie!*

Today I would like to present to you: my first official pattern. I am really excited about it!
The reason behind the pattern is not a very happy one though.
A month ago, my mother-in-law had to say farewell to her partner, who lost his battle against Kahler's disease. Kahler's diseas is a bone marrow cancer, and unfortunately it went in remission very fast after bone marrow transplantation, several sessions of chemotherapy and about a year without symptoms. Between his last blood sample, which showed that the protein elevated in Kahler's disease had risen very high and his death were only two week. Two weeks. It felt very surreal.

Vandaag deel ik met jullie mijn eerste volledige patroon. Ik ben er heel blij mee ook al is de reden er achter niet zo vrolijk.
Een maand geleden nam mijn schoonmoeder afscheid van haar partner. Hij had de strijd tegen de ziekte van Kahler helaas verloren. Kahler is een beenmergkanker en wat bij hem begon met pijn in de rug eindigde opeens heel snel. Nadat hij een hele tijd in remissie was en toen er opeens weer het Kahler eiwit werd gevonden en zijn overlijden zat maar twee weken. Heel bizar .

The Friday for his death, my sister-in-law called to tell that he got weak very fast (not eating and drinking) and needed morphine every hour (administrated by a pump). Something clicked in my mind and I told Big Man that I really needed to do something. And I started thinking about a prayer shawl. A prayer shawl is more common in the US than in the Netherlands. If you search on Ravelry it is made so much for people who are sick (or terminal), for new mothers, for mothers who lost their baby or child or a loved one. It is supposed to symbolize hugs, warmth and support.

De vrijdag voor zijn dood belde mijn schoonzusje dat hij heel zwak werd opeens en morfine nodig had ieder uur. Dat waren voor mij de tekenen dat ik iets moest doen en snel. En toen dacht ik meteen aan een "prayer shawl" In Nederland is er eigenlijk geen gebruik van een prayer shawl zoals in de US. Wij Nederlanders zijn er misschien te nuchter voor? Ik vind het een mooi idee (zonder de religieuze achtergrond). Een shawl geeft warmte, al is het niet direct de fysieke knuffel die je van iemand kan krijgen, het kan het wel symboliseren.

Over here, I have never heard of a prayer shawl before I got on Ravelry.
It is such a nice gift I think.
The idea about a prayer shawl is actually religious. While you are stitching you pray for the one you are making it and what you want to wish for this person. Also, most prayer shawls are made very fast and mostly consist of a certain stitch or a small repeat. Mostly they are made with thicker yarn to provide warmth.
I wanted something else. I love lace shawls. I love simple shawls. And I love sock yarn. Combine these three and I started making a shawl!
As I said, Friday we were called, so on Saturday I hurried myself in a free half an hour (with two kids) to my LYS (Local Yarn Shop) and searched for some sock yarn in the color I hoped my mother-in-law would like. Lucky for me they had the perfect yarn. That evening Big Man and me went to a concert, so while Big Man drove I started on my shawl. It took me three weeks from scratch to create something I think is a lovely lace twist to the standard prayer shawl.

Het originele idee van een prayer shawl is dat bij iedere steek je een gebed zegt voor degene voor wie de shawl is bedoeld. Meestal zijn ze van dikker garen gemaakt zodat ze lekker warm zijn.
Ik heb een zwak voor kant shawls, dus ik koos een lekker sokkengaren en begon te denken.
Toen we die vrijdag waren gebeld ben ik de volgende dag meteen  naar onze wolshop gegaan en kocht sokkengaren, we hesen ons in de auto voor een concert die avond en ik begon meteen met mijn eerste design. Drie weken later kon ik de shawl overhandigen aan mijn schoonmoeder (die hem nu nog steeds draagt in 2014)

Shall we have a look?

The pattern is free for all, have fun crocheting it! If you have made this shawl I would love to see your version, please share it in the database entry @ Ravelry!
Het patroon is gratis, ik wens iedereen er heel veel plezier mee! Als je hem ooit gemaakt hebt zou ik het leuk vinden als je je shawl plaatst in de database entry op Ravelry


As this is my first extensive pattern, I had no pattern testers, so if there is anything unclear, or if there has slipped a mistake in the pattern, or if I should have written something differently, please do not hesitate to leave me a message!

Update 30th of April
I looked through the pattern and found a few errors and spelling errors. Everything should be fixed now!
Ik heb het patroon in het Nederlands vertaald, yay! In de Engelse versie stonden wat foutjes, maar die zijn er nu ook uitgehaald. Mocht je iets tegenkomen waarvan je denkt "dat klopt niet!" laat het me alsjeblieft weten!

The "Weekly" Biology Session: Backyard Birds II

They came out! We have little chicks in our birdhouse. They are probably just a few days old because their peeping sounds are very faint. I noticed it yesterday, and my heart stopped. So much fun. Hopefully we will see them fly out.

Mr. and Mrs. Tit are also showing different behaviour. No more evening "pa-tee pa-tee pa-tee" on the fence anymore by Mr. Tit. They are both flying on and off with snacks for the little ones. They are still very shy though and very fast when it comes to flying off. It is hard to take pictures of them. I only got some nice pics with Mr. Tit, who seems to do the majority of getting food for the chicks. How do you know the difference? Mrs. Tit has a faint yellow spot in the black stripe on her chest and Mr. Tit has a continuous fat black stripe on his. The top picture shows Mrs. and the middle and bottom pictures show Mr. Tit.

 

Hopefully I will have some nice pictures very soon. Their chicks will grow and grow and will needs lots and lots of more food. More flying in and out of the birdhouse, so more chance of getting a nice picture!

Day off part 1

I have been busy as a bee today! Due to the vacation of our babysitter, and not finding anyone who could take care of our lovely children today (and tuesday next week) I am sitting at home. Sitting would be not the right word, because Little Lady and I have been travelling through the city today, shopping! A bit of shopping for me and a bit of shopping stuff we really needed. I also worked on my pattern (almost time to release it) and took care of the laundry today.

Today's skies are grey and gloomy. We had some rain and it is really not feeling as June should be. Luckily it is not as hot as last week!

I got some shoes, and a new camera to play with. I have a DSLR, but I really wanted a compact camera to put in a small bag when I am out with the kids. The DSLR is just to big to put in a backpack with extra clothing, diapers, snacks and drinks for the kids and me. So hopefully this camera will fullfill my needs.

I've been crocheting like mad the last couple of days. I am working on a granny square doll blanket for Little Lady's doll. Or actually, for the doll crib that I bought on Queen's Day. I also bought fabric to hang over the crib, so I really hope it'll be done soon. The granny square is my own design. I am very pleased with it! The pattern will be up next week I think. Will put it together tonight and see if I can get all those annoying ends woven in.....

Little Man saw the repetitive  pattern in an instant when I sorted the first row, so he did the rest. Smart guy!

Twenty little blocks for a very (in my opinion) girly doll blanket. Five more were finished today, so I am done!

Update as I wrote this post this afternoon: well, won't happen! Little Lady wouldn't go to sleep, and hell broke loose at school because of some miscommunication about a test I wanted to give.... Bummer. Not a great start of the Friday evening. Will see how much I can get done tonight!