Weaving Olden Patterns

Hello everyone! I'm always pretty absent from my blog, I know. The Turn of the Wheel between October and November has brought back my creative inspiration and made it stronger than ever, so I've been incredibly busy with hooks and wools! : )  To celebrate my blog's 100th post I decided to share with you my latest finished project, a stole/scarf I made for Mum as a Xmas gift. I found this wool at a local market and chose the color with my boyfriend, as the gift is meant to be from the both of us. For those of you who may be interested, yarn is "Tosca Light" by Lang Yarns, shade 0048 "Altrosa". Craft on the other hand is once again Tunisian crochet, with whom I'm totally in love, and pattern is called "Sillabub", by great designer MariaGrazia Berno (check out some of  her others here ). Since I still think of myself as a newbie regarding this technique I'm incredibly satisfied with its look - and the feel, oh, if I could tell you ho...

A cascade of fallen leaves that I can always bring with me! Una cascata di foglie da portare sempre con me! Do I have to write much about this shawl? I don't think so, I'll just say some basic things: I love these Autumny shades, and I absolutely love this leafy pattern, so guess what? I'm in love with the finished shawl! : ) It's big enough to wrap around the torso and be tied behind the back - consider I'm 1.75m tall and not exactly thin... Yarn is Maddison Colorado, colorway # 11. Lovely wool though 50% acrylic, quite soft and very nice to work with. C'è bisogno che scriva molto riguardo questo scialle? Non credo, mi limiterò a poche cose essenziali: amo le sfumature autunnali, e amo gli schemi che ricordano una cascata di foglie ( qui quello che ho usato), perciò indovinate? Adoro questo scialle! : ) E' abbastanza grande da avvolgere il busto ed essere annodato dietro la schiena - contate che sono alta 1.75m e non proprio secca... Il ...

A long awaited week off took me to my beloved Sea, which I had not visited since January... did I miss her? I hadn't realized how much untill I got there and saw her magnificence again...  Luckily I brought along this wool which I bought some weeks ago: I intended to use it for a friend, but you know what? I decided to keep it for me and make something which reminds me of the Sea. A shawl, of course, whose pattern somehow makes me think about the waves, and the colours, well, they speak for themselves, I believe... I managed to finish the shawl a couple of days before coming back home, so I was able to wear it on some beach walks and take pictures of it. Now I'm back on the mountains and I'm enjoying wearing some warm Autumny colours, but I think this one will look just as fine amid the falling snow this Winter...  Oh, and in case you're interested, here 's the pattern... Una settimana di vacanza tanto attesa mi ha permesso di rivedere il Mare, da cui ero l...

Hello everyone! Can't believe how time's flied since my last post! I've had so much things going on at the same time and the blog's been left behind... well, I'm here now though, with a few Autumny items to show you... : ) So, no more futile words, and let's see some pictures! Ciao a tutte! E' pazzesco vedere quanto tempo è passato dal mio ultimo post... sono sempre impegnata, e alla fine il blog resta da aggiornare... in ogni caso ora sono qui, con un po' di lavoretti autunnali da mostrarvi, quindi bando alle ciance, e passiamo alle foto! : ) First, let me show you some doilies I made in colours that make me think of Fall... Pattern for the first one can be found here . White is nice, but doesn't it look gorgeous in variegated thread?? I can't help but love it! Per cominciare, ecco un po' di centrini che con i loro colori mi fanno pensare all'Autunno... Lo schema per il primo lo trovate qui. In bianco è carino, ma non è bellis...

Remember the Dragon Tail scarf/shawl I began some time ago? Well, last week I managed to finish it, and I'm oh so proud of it. Not only it's my first Tunisian crochet project, but it also turned out great, big and cosy and oh so soft (this thanks to the lovely yarn Géraldine sent me, Phil Bambou Laine by Phildar). It is 2 m long from tip to tip and 45 cm wide by the last scale, and the last row counts 110 stitches, which are quite a lot... : ) As I already wrote I strongly recommend this if you want to try Tunisian crochet, it's easy, good fun and you get a nice original item to wear. You might find this tutorial by Julia Marquardt helpful, but if you want to get one that's exactly like mine you have to change the pattern a little bit: I followed the instructions by a great designer, MariaGrazia Berno , who modified it a bit in order to obtain a scarf/shawl that curls up more. Her pattern says to increase of two stitches at the end of every row, just before the se...

Can you believe it's August already? I find it quite unbelievable, how time flies... but August means that I can finally start dreaming again about cold days and new wool items to make, a thought that always delights me!  It might seem still too hot to try and learn something new, but hope for colder days makes me ambitious, so I finally decided to take courage and use the flexible Tunisian hooks I purchased this Spring for my very first Tunisian crochet project! So, let me introduce you to my beginning of the "Dragon tail" scarf (check out its very well explained tutorial here )! I started it just yesterday with a 10 mm hook to make sure it stays soft, as the yarn is a wonderfully soft one itself, a wool and bamboo mix given to me by the incredibly kind Géraldine B. , and see how it's grown already! Can't wait to show it to you once it's finished, and I do believe it won't take too long to complete: it's such a quick and easy project, just what I...

Well, as you know, it's hot. Incredibly hot. And I can't stand it, so I barely crochet anything these days. I've started a shawl so long ago I can't remember when and I'm adding a row a day - barely, as I said. But this doily, my very first one, took only a few hours to make, and it was fun: a present for my MIL's birthday, a few days ahead. She loves bright pink and bright colours in general, so when I found this thread I thought I'd use it to make something for her, and here it is! Pattern found on Pinterest: https://it.pinterest.com/pin/449797081511270905/ Beh, come sapete, fa caldo. Incredibilmente caldo. E io non lo sopporto, quindi lavoro pochissimo a uncinetto in questi giorni. Ho iniziato uno scialle talmente tanto tempo fa che non mi ricordo più di preciso quando, aggiungo un giro al giorno - a stento. Ma per questo centrino, il primo che realizzo, ci sono volute solo poche ore, ed è stato divertente: un regalo per il compleanno di mia suocer...

Away, ye gay landscapes, ye gardens o' roses, In you let the minions of luxury rove. Restore me the rocks where snowflake reposes, If still they are sacred to freedom and love. Brave Caledonia, dear are thy mountains, Round their white summits though elements war. Tho’ cataracts roar ‘stead of smooth flowing fountains I sigh for the valleys o’ dark Lochnagar Sparite, voi paesaggi gai, voi giardini di rose, vi lascio agli amanti dell’opulenza. Restituitemi le rocce ove riposano i fiocchi di neve, se ancora sono consacrate alla libertà ed all’amore. Impavida Caledonia, mi sono care le tue montagne, Intorno alle loro bianche vette gli elementi si danno battaglia. Anche se rombano le nebbie invece delle melodiose fontane Io sospiro per le valli dello scuro Lochnagar.* {George Gordon, Lord Byron, "Lachin y Gair" or "Dark Lochnagar"; *traduzione mia } I'm a hopeless Romantic, just so you know, and this is the kind of Summ...

Hello darlings! I know, I know: I promised I would have written more often, and I didn't - I'm an awful blogger. Truth is, I'm always too busy, and when I happen to have some free time, blogland is not really my priority. Neither are crochet and knitting, these days, to be honest: weekends out on the mountains and my cacti are, so I thought I'd share with you all some of my best loved ones, Rebutias. They're one of the species I love the most: they're small, cute, often clumping plants, with wonderful and colourful flowers. They come from the mountains of Bolivia and Argentina, and their marvelous flowers announce that Summer is coming. So let me wish you a very happy warm season with these cuties. Now, no more words: let the cacti talk! Rebutia albiflora Rebutia cv 'Sunrise' Rebutia eos  Rebutia canacruzensis Rebutia haagei R 689 Rebutia pygmaea var. pectinata LAU 431, El Aquilar, 4000 m Rebut...

Green is one of the colors I love the most, in all its shades, especially the darker ones - but why not try and wear something a bit lighter for once?  I made this Elise Shawl with a linen & cotton yarn, soft and natural, just what you need for late Spring and Summer. Let me tell you, I immediately fell in love with all the shades this yarn had, they reminded me of the woods, the new leaves, the white flowers, the clouds on the top of the mountains... all the things that I love! As I began to crochet this shawl, I couldn't help but notice how these shades just "worked" with the pattern, you know what I mean? I made a very big shawl as you can see (that's me in the picture, and I'm 1.75 m tall, just to give you an idea of just how big it is), and I just love it! If you're not familiar with the pattern, go and try it out - it's simple but extremely effective, plus, it's free! : ) Il verde è uno dei colori che amo di più, in tutte le sue sfu...

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I'd like to have something more to say, or better yet, I'd like to have more time to think about what to write and really write it down. But unfortunately, I don't. I'm sorry my blog isn't more inspirational, as many of yours are, I wish it was. It's just one of those moments, you know... I'm so busy with too many things. So, want to know what I'm up to these days? Well, there you go: I enjoy long walks in the woods together with my boyfriend every weekend (we're so lucky, I know, and I'm oh so thankful!). I crochet (and knit a bit) every time I can, though not as much as I wish. I try and take good care of my plants and especially my beloved cacti, which continue to grow in number and are preparing to bloom, some of them for the first time, and that's exciting. I also purchased some new hooks and knitting needles, and I'd like to tell you about them in the future, becaus...

April, come she will, When streams are ripe and swelled with rain... Don't you just love the coming of Springtime? The Nature comes back to life almost suddendly, and year after year I'm struck by the amazingness all around me. I wish you all to enjoy this wonderful season, with lots of new strength and creative inputs! Non amate l'arrivo della Primavera? La Natura torna alla vita quasi all'improvviso, e anno dopo anno resto senza parole di fronte allo spettacolo che offre. Vi auguro di godervi questa stagione meravigliosa, con nuova forza e stimoli creativi! Oh, and if you don't know the song from which the two verses above come from, please, enjoy ! Oh, e se non conoscete la canzone da cui provengono i due versi dell'inizio del post, ascoltatela ...