26.8.09 The Divine Hat

I encountered this gorgeous hat on the Kidney Bean blog and was really happy to learn this amazing design by Rheatheylia is also for free.

I made half the hat to discover that I was doing wrong and took about 40mn to unpick. Thanks to Varda, I understood I wasn't interpreting the pattern correctly, while trying to show her examples of other projects of the same hat on Ravelry. Thanks again Varda for giving me the second skein of the same wool so I could keep up this project continuously!

It took one day to complete and I used:

Hooks: 8mm and 5mm
Yarn: 50gr/70m Himalaya Teddy's Wool, 50% Wool, 50% Acrylic, Shade 3520 Dye 8A, 2 skeins.

I gave up the last row (Row 21).

Thanks Rheatheylia!

15.9.09

18.8.09 Knitting a Field Poppy Brooch for Ginette

This Free Pattern is from 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet by Lesley Stanfield, St. Martin's Griffin, 2009.

At the age of 9 to 12, I don't recall exactly when, my grandma taught me the very basics of knitting. I think it was how to cast on, Knit and bind off. I remember to have a big thirst to learn knitting from my grandma which was knitting for us beautiful sweaters. However, I haven't got many attention for this, maybe because my grandma thought I was too young and preferred explaining my firstborn sister. I remember myself knitting during the Summer vacations in France: Sceaux; Bayonne and from time to time in my secret place, in my hot attic room in Jerusalem. I gathered here a picture of all my mostly unfinished knitting projects from that time:
(n.b. the most colorful one at the bottom was a skirt I made for a Barby doll)

A big lesson I took from this, is that I think kids should learn those crafts as knitting, crochet, beading etc... from a very early age. There is no reason why not. But of course, that should be done with pure love and good approach and if the child is not interested - then maybe he will on another day. I just mean not to make these craft lessons mandatory as my grandma had in school (to the point of hating it), but make it a great fun for them enabling them to express themselves in a new medium and acquiring new skills.
For some reason, I couldn't get back to knit for years, now about 20 :-)
In beginning of July 09, I wanted to make for grandma this poppy field and try to relearn to knit and expend my knowledge in this field. That would have been for me another circle that encloses itself.
During the weekend of 3-4.7.09 I made big efforts to learn knitting while making this flower. With these 2mm long needles it was really aching at the fingers' tops. Thanks to Youtube fantastic movies with those amazing women and grandmas sharing their knowledge - I managed to learn while making this poppy. Blessed is the Internet :-)
I finally made the finishes today, sewing the petals, making the central parts, sewing everything together and making it a brooch. I want to give it to grandma face to face and I have no idea when will it happen in the near future.
I am glad to have finished it, it feels strange. However, I am not satisfied with the unneat look of the flower. I must admit that in order to recall all I have learned from these movies I need much more practice - so maybe I'll make a sweater? Now it's too hot to even think about it ;-) and Lion Brand are not shipping internationally, so it will have to wait...

Enjoy the links that were very helpful for me, in case you want to start learning knitting:

How to knit

K - knit

Bind off

yo - Yarn over or yarn forward, bringing the yarn forward between last st worked and first st on left hand needle. (Creates a false stitch).

K2tog - Knit next 2 stitches together.

Sk2po - Slip next stitch, then knit following two stitches together, then pass slipped stitch over.

S1 - Slip one.

k1f&b - Knit One Front & Back

ssk - Slip, Slip, Knit.

14.8.09 Crocheted Amigurumi Momma Bird and Baby Birds in a Nest

I started this free Lion Brand project on the 30.7.09 and it became my "Road project".

I used a hook size of 2mm and some cotton threads (50 gr/125m).
I finally completed it today, after taking my time to make the eyes and beaks, practicing for the first time the embroidered french knot.

I find this project really cute and am very grateful to the anonymus designer of it. To watch for the full instructions, click the links below:
Amigurumi Baby Birds in a Nest - project 80223AD
Amigurumi Momma Bird - project 80220AD

13.8.09 What a nice surprise :-)

Thanks to Cyndy who left me a comment about it, I discovered My Aztec Collar was featured in FMG 2009-2010 Catalog on p.53 !!!
:-)

12.8.09 The International Arts and Crafts Festival Khutzot Hayotzer (Jerusalem) 2009 חוצות היוצר

The International Arts and Crafts Festival Khutzot Hayotzer is held every single year in Jerusalem, at the sultan "swimmingpool". It gathers Israeli as well as International artists. Some are very interesting and talented and some are more craftsmen/women. Each country has a booth and in this picture you can see me trying on a Peruvian sweater, in front of the "PERU" booth.

then in the Mongolian Booth:In the nice picture below, Omer pictured for me a beautiful beadwork necklace made by the artist Rachel Dabach. What amazing colors!

I collected below all the Booths and artists I found interesting there:

1. Shvutia Levy (Binyamin district) - Ceramics
2. Amiela Runcan - Pottery
3. Ethy Farchi-Shvo (אטל פרחי -שבו) - Hoshen Design, Wire crochet
4. Aharon Betzalel-Rozner - engraved Wood Mezuzah
5. Beyah Yativ - mezuzah Parchment art
6. Hang-over - Hammock
7. Arsalim - Hammock
8. Tzuki Art , Orna Cohen Hazam and Shai Peled - Judaica (Painted Metal Family Menorah, Mezuzah etc...)
9. Nuni - Basket weaving
10. Rachel Dabach - beadwork and jewelry

The funny thing is that I talked with Varda few days before and she told me she is planning to be there on Tuesday, while we went there on Wednesday.
Coming back home, a day after the fair, I learnt from Varda that in fact they were there on the same day.
When Omer and I went through the pictures he took, we saw this photo and I said to him "imagine that we could see Varda in this picture" and at the same time, my eyes lead me to Varda's back ( encircled in red) :-) That was such a funny coincidence... we were so close, but met only in the picture

9-10.8.09 Milla Winter Hat for Sarah - designed by Catherine Fauvel-Roujansky

I am aware that this picture doesn't reflect at all how looks this crocheted hat, but that what I have for the moment. I made it for Sarah's 5th birthday on the 27th of September 2009. It's so hot now - that patience will be needed till I can post her wearing it.
Meanwhile , you can see how it looks on Catherine daughter's: Milla, a REAL model.
After a comprehensive search that started from the anonymous picture I had of Milla and her hat, I managed to find CoteManoir Etsy store, Catherine's "knit is fun" blog, art gallery and also be able to purchase the pattern for this amazing design on the Ravelry store.
Unfortunately, I encountered many problems with the pattern and had to rewrite it again to myself.
In case you encounter difficulties with this pattern you may ask permission from Catherine to see my comments for better understanding.

27.8.09
I embellished the hat with a Five-petal Traditional Rose designed by Suzann Thompson.

4-8.8.09 Blue Maggie's Earrings for Dvorah

The design of these earrings was kindly shared by their designers Sam Derrivan and Victoria Filarski.
When Dvorah saw a while ago the green Maggie's earrings I was wearing, she really loved them and asked me for a pair. I told her I could make her in whatever color she would choose. She likes the blue and I insisted I wouldn't start working on it till she doesn't come to choose exactly the tone of blue that she likes. Finally, she chose the same blue as I took for the bracelet I made her last year.

So here they are. Ready. Only that this time I made several annoying errors:
1. I used a blue C-lon thread instead of a Toho thread as I used last time. The C-lon is problematic and a bit stretchy. It also crumbles which make the whole thing shrinks and less neat.
2. I forgot to make a mirror earring and both turns to the same side.
3. I used Japanese Matsuno seed beads instead of Toho and the accumulating irregularity of the beads has a drastic impact on the final texture. The green ones came out much more flowing and dancing comparing to these ones. I also had to blow up some beads in order to ameliorate the texture.
So try using the best material for these earrings if you try to make them and a rather silky thread!

3.8.09 Sssandy the Snake

Find out the free pattern of Sssandy the Snake on Lion Brand website.
This is such a nice spiral - but it took me ages with the stuffing, the color changing and the twists.
I still have to add some eyes and tongue, but till I will get to it, ssssssssssssandy wants to say Hi to everyone :-)