On the way...and some finishing touches

 What happens when someone you love makes something for you that you don't really like? Well, I feel obliged to honor it but deep down, I know, I put pressure on me. Growing older has alot to do with respecting oneself, so pressure is out of the question. The above little number is too short for my figure and today I took action to make it look longer. I will share the results with you in a couple of days But for the moment I want you to get a glimpse of the original cause I have big plans.

 Meanwhile here comes another question for you. What happens if you have a lot of unfinished projects. Do they count? How can you use an unfinished bag? You obviously can't carry anything. It's like you have put so much work on something and then your leave it there unfinished and all is wasted. So today, there came out 3 bags and one bolero to be given the final touches, mainly put fabric inside. This way they will not be considered clutter but beautiful,useful things. I also have a feeling that if I get all my unfinished projects out of the way then the road for new creations will be freely open. Unfinished projects weigh on us and that's how it is.

 Today was crisp and sunny but very cold and the light of the sun was a perfection not to mention the warmth. I decided to take some photos on my way to school No1 and share them with you.I will begin with the olive trees just outside my house and  go on with this old school my final destination after about 10 min walk. Right after I will take you inside this class with a lot of character and a strong vintage feel. See for yourself...

 Isn't it adorable inside the classroom. Totally old times feeling...how about this cabinet! You don't see those very often anymore! And the big map against orange and those little pupils' chairs? I've seen similar settings in vintage decor magazines. And of course a bit of christmas spirit decoration!

On the way back I spotted a rundown building and as the sun shone on it,all its rundown beauty looked so worthy of a photo. I esp like the earthy tones on this wall. I promised to myself to always carry my instant camera with me to capture all the beauty that goes unnoticed. Have a nice evening, everyone!

Instant creativity

It's a rainy Sunday morning and I'm struggling to prepare for the week to come. Is it only me? Inside my house I bet I am. The teens can't wait to play Minecraft and my little Lady is talking on the phone.

However, a mum has to be resourceful and come up with ideas, no matter what. So, as soon as my cake was out of the oven I put some Christmas decoration on and into the livingroom I run to make some photos of it. There you have it...instant creativity!

I took inspiration from the wonderful blog of meetmeatmikes and I wrote down some of the things that stand true for me the coming week. You can try it ,too. It's so addicting!!!
So this week I'm...
Making : Fabric inside my 3 crochet bags
Cooking : With very little salt
Drinking : Water/Greek coffee/earl grey
Reading: Hard Times/Dickens
Wanting: A better blog
Looking: vintage 40s influence
Playing: 40s Radio stations
Deciding: to give up smoking
Wishing: my mother in law to recover nicely after the heart operation
Enjoying: My crochet projects
Have a great week, everyone!

A day well spent!

Refreshing excursion to the mountains today for me and my family and a close friend.Glad I had my pocket camera with me!

Look at those bullet holes on the sighns! We are entering dangerous territory!

Traditional Greek folk needle work and crochet I found inside a small chappel in the mountains.

 Amazing detail of the floor tiles inside the chappel. You don't see those very often.

 A tree of wishes ,an unexpected sight! What did I wish for? but it's a secret you know that.

Looks like Santa's house, isn't it? But it's a cosy little taverna.

 Magic sky late in the evening and all too silent. Something for the soul to hold on to during the busy week to come.

That's where we spent most of the day. Opposite this fire place waiting for granma to tell stories. Like the good old times.

I promised to myself today that I will carry my camera with me this year everyday and catch all little miracles that dance in front of my eyes  . It sometimes takes the camera lense for some magic to unfold.

Have a great day ,everyone and thanks for stepping by.

A ring a day...

The first drops of rain in my beautiful island of Crete caught me unprepared.

I sent my kids to school today without an umbrella for shelter and I walked in the rain listening to extraordinary music for 30 minutes.

I don't complain and they didn't either but in any case I bought us new umbrellas .

Today, I completed a small amount of the above crocheted rings for the Christmas school bazaar. I admire their simplicity. They look the same but each one is different really. I think to myself how easy it is to make one ring for each day of a month.

I feel this urge of creativity coming over me once again and I struggle to make time and complete each project I have in mind. But I promise you this....I will cut down internet time and I will concentrate on my projects.

Till later ........

My year in crochet projects Part 1

 Hallo lovelies! Here I am today like I promised for the first part of my completed projects for this year. Now that I see them on photographs and all I feel oh! so proud. Like you can see my first attempts were fillet crochet a very old traditional way of crochet that is very popular all over europe. The tricky thing with fillet crochet is that it takes so much time and patience to complete a project.

 A bit later the granny square entered my life. I made the first one out of a utube video and kept making one after the other like an addict. It's the best for instant gratification. The difficult part that I was soon to discover is to join them. It takes so long. Next time I will join them as I go.

 Then came Christmas and I felt so inspired to make little white crochet stars that I gave away to many many people I know for their christmas trees.

How about this little ring? So easy to make and so lovely to wear. It's also a great way to recycle old buttons and left over yarn!

I think denim fabric  and fillet crochet go so good together. The round one was made by me back in the 90s when I travelled through India. Crochet was in front of my eyes then but I didn't see it back then.

 Like you have noticed already this blog has started as a style blog so it's not a surprise that I soon started to experiment with accessories like bags and scarves.

That's all for today.Stay tuned for part 2 and have a nice rest of the week.

Happy crochet anniversary

Today , was the blessed day I had been waiting for a whole year to come.

Today was the day I finally finished my first crochet blanket ever, a present to my lovely niece.

It all started about a wear ago when my creativity was seriously channelled to crochet.

Oh! what a glorious moment. My  everyday life trully got so much less monotonous. I found a hobby and a whole new world opened in front of me for discovering.

Since then I have made several thing to keep me warm and accessorise me and my house and I have made some more to gift.

Marvellous crochet blogs and addictive pinterest have been my source of inspiration along with utube for fantastic video tutorials. I have to admit though the if I spent more time crochet and less time browsing I would have opened and Etsy shop by now!

Boredom, bad mood, aimlessly hanging around have flown out of the window.

Real creative urge has visited me for the first time in my life and stayed with me. I have day dreams for my next projects and I even plan my day so I can have free time to sit down and crochet. I keep my house clean and tidy so i can enjoy crochet without guilt.

Now that I'm preparing to give up smoking I know I will have a true companion to hold on to.

As I dutifully follow my glorious crochet path I realize that crochet goes hand in hand with decoration with a certain vintage feel. I have already declared my love of vintage but I hadn't realised how much vintage like stuff lurks in my house.

Today, I easily put together this composition just above my sink. The top with the pin up girl is from a tin full of sweets I bought in the early 90s in Holland and the needle work is made from my mother back in the 60s.

 I will keep my eyes open for more things that have gone unnoticed but right now my eyes close because it's way beyond bed time . Καληνύχτα! (Good night in greek)

P>S I'm putting together a post with all my crochet projects. Stay tuned!!!

Hand made bliss

 Hello everyone! This blog is giving me a hard time. I don't seem to make up my mind as to what direction I want it to move. I'm not clear as to what I want to document about my interests and in which form. But enough about my lack of direction! Today I posted because I make a focused attempt to wear something crochetted (by me) or knitted (by others) as much as possible, preferably everyday.

I still believe that people find ready made garments as a sign(among others)of wealth so in a black and white scale of things, people also believe hand made items are signs of not having enough money.

I can't say it's totally untrue because in crisis suffering Greece, crochet and knitting are a huge comeback! Anyway, here I'm sporting my new crochet bag. It took me 3days to finish and I used left over yarn from previous projects. I even put fabric inside to make it stronger and retain its shape.

I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Actually, I have already made another one but it needs a bit of finishing touches.

I've been also busy decorating my living room to give it a bit of a vintage feeling. i made the pillows and I added my fillet crochet doilly along with the stuffed animals I borrowed from my daughter.

 

I even photoshopped myself for a bit of creative touch. All in all I'm very pleased because I can channel my creativity through crochet and all things hand made and I count it as a blessing that hard times made me all the more conscious of how much money I used to throw in the wind for quick satisfaction.

Have a great week ahead!