Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge.This month we collaborated creative wise with someone on the Merry go round.
Ruth drew names for everyone and that person sent you something creative they've made.
Then it was up to us to try and combine it with what we do normally.
My collaboration partner was Mariana from Florcita. Way back in February when we were on a fair together, she gave me some beautiful green, handspun yarn. So when I knew she was my partner, I told her not to send anything as it was the perfect opportunity to use the yarn.
It had been sitting in my studio for quite some time so it was about time I got my hands on it!
I quickly knew I wanted to try and do something I had never done before: freeform crocheting.
I love it so much but I never tried it because I only know the basics and I do think you need to 'understand' what you do somehow. I know how to finish something by pattern but I'm still struggling with 'dc2togs' and other weird loops I have to make sometimes. So, I don't really have it in my fingers yet, as my mind does somehow needs guidance from a pattern to actually make something.
Freeform crocheting feels so liberating! I hooked away jippety jappety happy and didn't really care what stitches I used or how many single or double crochets I did. How fun!
I wanted to use the lightest and softest yarn for the middle and then decided I would use all the other different greens on the sides. Just doing whatever stitches I liked doing at that time.
It put my head on automatic pilot and I never questioned why I did a certain stitch.
The yarn is all different quality (bamboo, wool, silk,...) so the textures are amazing!
Thank you for the lovely yarn Mariana! I loved working with it!
I made a special porcelain brooch to go on the scarf. I made a mould from a bear's head and placed it in a little tray. Then I added lots of lime green glass beads around it. The beads melted in the kiln and it looks glazed now. I think it worked out really well although the edges are not quite the way I would finish 'em if I had any control over it. I think the design of the brooch is quite wild and goes really well with this wild scarf! :)
Want to know what the other merriers made with their goodies? Hop over to their blogs. Please bear in mind that the members will be posting at different times of the day, depending on which world time-zone they are in :)
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Saras Texture Crafts
Fabienne at Easterya Jewellery
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Lily at Lily Pang Art and Design
Ruth at Birdland Creations

Flickr Favorites

1. Gris, 2. a sneaky peek..., 3. grijs, 4. rainy morning

It's been more then 2 months since I made a Flickr mosaic. Since I'm slowly trying to get back to my blogging mojo, I thought is was about time I posted some of my favorites again.
As much as I missed my blog, I missed Flickr too and I enjoyed browsing all those amazing streams to compose a mosaic that fits my mood today.
It's been freezing cold down here and we've had lots of snow and icy roads lately. Now it is starting to melt here and there and it looks plain ugly: grey, wet snow. All the magic of fluffy flakes & white carpets is gone and it looks rather blah!
I'm secretly starting to look forward to the new year and spring already - silly, as season-wise, winter only just started! *sigh*

Next Tuesday is the first Tuesday of the month & even more special, it's also the first Tuesday of 2011. So if you care to play by theme, I'd love to see what you would like 2011 to be for you...

I also looked back at the last time I played Flickr Favorites and picked my favorite: it's very expresive :)

If you like to play this week, make your mosaic and add a link to your to your blogpost (NOT your blog please) or Flickr. Click on the button below and fill in your name with the link to your blogpost or Flickr picture. I'll try to pop over to have a look at yours.
I'm trying out a new linking system so I'm crossing my fingers it works OK.

An extra pair.

I need an extra pair of of these.
An extra pair always comes in handy, right?

Handmade treasures

I have been doing some handmade shopping recently and I quickly want to share my treasures.

Last sunday, Mariana from Florcita showed her work in her small hometown of Susteren, Netherlands. What does a sweet girl from Argentina do in Susteren of all places?
She felts and does ceramics. I wish we lived a tiny little closer so we could play together a bit more often.
I bought this infinity scarf with a twist like the ring of Moebius from Escher.
Fell in love right away so had to have it! It is soft and warm and everything I wanted. And don't you just love the sweet handmade touches? Great branding, Mariana! :)
Something else I'm REALLY excited about is the following: de 'koekpot' (cookie jar) from Elza D. and Annemie. It's a jar with all the ingredients to make cookies: just add butter and eggs and put 'em in the oven. I gave it to my neighbor so I haven't been able to try it myself but I ordered 2 more so as soon as they arrive, I'll make a delicious batch of cookies! Nomnom.
And again great branding: I love the label! Thanks for creating such fun product ladies!
Across my stand on Stiel and Stijl, there was a flower shop stand and this fresh lime green flowerpot from Pot en Papaver is now blooming in my studio.
I bought this little grain pillow for my niece's birthday, she loves soft, warm and colorful things so I thought I hit the jackpot with discovering this. She loved it! You can get 'em at Poembah.
And this pair of crocheted earrings from Nevousinstallezpas is for my other niece who has not yet recieved 'em but I know she will love 'em.
Both my nieces are teenagers with a BIG love for everything handmade so it's really easy shopping for them.
And I bought these for my sister as she loves tiny and black. I love 'em too and had a hard time giving 'em away... Get your own pair at LilaRubyKing's shop. My nieces do not only love handmade goodies but also love reading so I also got 'em these clever and pretty bookmarks from Blue Celeste. Hilde combines handmade Japanese paper with light and leather and all that she makes is made so well that you would want to have it all...
She opened her Etsy shop recently - go check it out!And I'm SO sad that my nieces and nephews are already too big to play with dolls as I love EVERYTHING from tante Hilde! I really do and couldn't resist buying these cute mice although I love her dolls too. Perhaps I should just get a big doll for myself...
If you ask her nicely, she makes you a doll to your liking...Too bad I had to rush my shopping trip on Stiel & Stijl as it was too busy to leave my stand for long enough to stroll around slowly and take it all in. So I'm glad I got to grab a few things at least! I love shopping handmade!

Feeling hope

It's been a long time since I popped in here.
I didn't want to neglect you for so long and I truly missed you and this space.
It's been an emontional time for me and I'm sure I have not seen the end of it but there is hope and that's what counts...

First of all some news on my mom and how she's coping with her cancer.
She has had 3 chemotherapy's now and had her first scan last Friday. The chemo treatments make her tired and most of the time she does not have energy to do much of anything.
But when she feels OK, she makes sure to get out of the house and pick up her social life. She is not able to do things 100% as she used to but she's does it and that's what counts. She enjoys every moment that is given and lives it with all that she has.
At times like these, I know I still have so much to learn from her.

I felt sick in my stomach knowing that we had to go see the doctor today. You never know what news she'll bring but knowing that the doctor is such a beautiful and warm person, I feel that my mom is in good hands and being cared for in the best way.
She had good news to tell us: the metastases in her lungs shrunk and the chemotherapy is doing it's work. What a relieve it was to hear the news.
It certainly is not the end of it and it gives us hope more then anything...

I recently joined Etsy's Project Embrace team also called team EPE.
Etsy Project Embrace (EPE) is a Universal Coalition of Artists whose main purpose is to create awareness and support for people who have been diagnosed with cancer. You can read a bit more in this beautiful Etsy article or check out their blog for more info

It's a team I have been wanting to join for a long time but I wanted to create something especially for the cause. And you know how things go with this: always postponing and procrastinating...
Since my mom has been diagnosed with cancer and I took some time off things, I suddenly had a clear vision of what I wanted to create: hope.
I wanted to make a feeling that shows there is hope in every direction. So I made a little feeling signpost. It can be a little hold on to for those who loose direction due to all different circumstances. Hope that points in every direction and there is really only one way to choose, the path to 'hope'...
I believe that people being diagnosed with a life threatening disease have to live on hope and 50% of the sales of this feeling will be donated for team EPE's causes.
You can check out my personal page on the American Cancer Society here!

Slowly I'll be back to blogging too. I decided that I don't need a schedule anymore and that I best blog whenever I feel like it. Less pressure on myself will make it more fun too.
I wanted to thank you once again for all the warm words and wishes that you send, for watching and reading my space and for being out there. I feel it and it makes my heart lighter!