Wouldn't you like to stop time sometimes?

I need a pause button! These last few weeks have been so hectic, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. School has started again for my children, my evening classes have started (I am now in training to become a chef), husband has been very busy at work with lunch meetings, evening meetings etc. So sometimes when I feel like I'm being lived instead of actually live, I long for a pause button.

Fortunately I have my own special pause button! Crochet! Nothing relaxes me more than a crochet hook and some lovely silk thread.

This is what I have been working on these last few weeks.

A necklace with matching bracelets and earrings (not yet finished) in pure silk off course and combined with pink jade beads and blue agate.

Another crochet collar. Someone suggested me to make one in creamy white with a twist of gold. I loved the idea, so here is the result.

And something funny. On one of the many Pinterest boards I follow, I saw this funny crochet ring and decided to make one myself. Also in pure silk obviously. Not your every day ring, is it?

Is it a scarf or is it a necklace?

Tried something different yesterday. I bought this lovely yarn at one of my favourite local shops. It is a mixture that includes silk, one of my prefered products. I really like silk because it is a natural product, soft and shinny, and very nice to crochet with. 

Gisteren kocht ik deze draad met onder meer zijde in bij Suzywol in Eernegem, een van mijn favoriete lokale winkels. De draad is heel zacht en haakt heerlijk.

Normally my crochet necklaces are made with pure silk and a crochet hook 1.5 mm. This crochet tube is made with a 5.5 mm hook. It is something in between a necklace and a scarf and I really love the result! It is very soft to wear. Wear it long or short wrapped around your neck. 

Normaal haak ik mijn kettingen en juwelen met naald nr 1.5, deze is gehaakt met naald 5.5. Dat gaat uiteraard veel sneller maar ik ben ook echt tevreden met het resultaat. Het gehaakte buisje houdt een beetje het midden tussen een ketting en een dunne sjaal. Je kunt hem kort dragen rond je nek of heel lang.

On to the next!

En nu aan de slag met de andere kleuren die ik kocht!

De Bonte Fabriek

Zondag 14 april neem ik deel aan De Bonte Fabriek. En dus heb ik nog wat nieuw werk voorzien.

Sunday April 14th you can find me at De Bonte Fabriek, a craft show. I have prepared a selection of crochet earrings to match the bracelets and necklaces made earlier.

Gehaakte oorringen vooral, die passen bij de gehaakte armbandjes en gehaakte kettingen.

En een hele lading simpele gehaakte armbandjes, in tal van kleurtjes. Ze zijn leuk als je ze apart draagt, maar ook als je verschillende combineert voor een speels effect.

 

And I'm also working on a whole bunch of crochet tubes, to wear as a bracelet. You can wear just one or combine several for extra colour. 

Crochet workshop and more

Almost a week has gone by since my last post. I haven't forgotten you but I'v been quite busy.

First an update on the workshop: it was a big success! I loved every minute of it and my 13 pupils were excited and had a great time.

I started by explaining something about different types of yarn, how to read a label on yarn, etc.

Then I learned them the basic stitches. I started with the smallest (chain) and ended with the biggest one (double crochet). I order to show them how each stitch is made, I had prepared a small example, a simple crochet square with several rows of each stitch, each time in a different colour.

I also brought some hooked zpagetti to the workshop and used this huge yarn to show them how to make each stitch. It worked well. And of course I went over to each pupil to help with the stitches.

Time really went by fast and we all had a great time. The ladies loved the crochet so much that they have asked me for a workshop on amigurimi, an infinity scarf and handbag. To be continued!

Because of the preparation for the workshop I got a bit distracted from my 31 days challenge preparing for my first craft show. I got stuck on Day 4: business cards.

Mollyeleen gave a tip on Friday, her Day 5. My tip is how to make a magic circle.

Day 6 for me is about marketing. Marketing is important when preparing a craft show. So I'm having a give away, not on my own blog this time, but on Erika's blog. So if you're interested in winning a pair of my earrings, just head over there and participate in the giveaway!

I have also changed the header picture on my facebook page. I've replaced a picture of my jewelry with a picture of the craft show. Anyone who visits my page can now see that I am one of the participants. I hope all this helps in making the craft show a success.

And now back to work! Still plenty of crochet jewelry to be made. I'm still working on my collection, but also looking for the perfect packaging.

Inez

Preparing for my first craft show and more

I'm still busy preparing my very first craft show. But I also have some more exciting news. This Friday I am hosting a workshop 'learning to crochet'. 13 people have registered and now I'm not only preparing my first craft show but also this workshop. 

Ik ben nog steeds volop bezig met het voorbereiden van mijn collectie voor Handgemarkt in C-Mine Genk volgende maand, maar deze vrijdag geef ik ook een workshop 'Leren Haken'. En die moet ook worden voorbereid! Dus ben ik druk bezig een bundel met informatie samen te stellen, foto's van hoe je die haaknaald moet vasthouden, hoe je welke steek haakt enz. 

Het materiaal is besteld en geleverd. Dankjewel Kristel van Wolenzo.be Ik ben nog enkele eenvoudige modelletjes aan het haken, maar ook voorbeelden van iets meer uitdagend werk, zoals dit kussen met granny's waaraan ik nu werk. Dat wil ik nog klaar hebben zodat ik het vrijdag kan meenemen. Ik denk dat ik vooral patronen meeneem voor een gsm-hoesje, brillenetui of zo. Wat denken jullie? 

For the workshop I am putting together plenty of basic information: pictures on how to crochet each stitch, tips and tricks, a couple of easy patterns. I'm also crocheting some easy pieces to take with me to the workshop. But also some more challenging pieces, like these granny's. I want to make a cushion with these. I love the colours. One side of the cushion is ready. 

Next on Mollyeleen.wordpress.com is :

Day 4: business card design

This is actually easy for me, because my business card is ready. Last December I participated in a pop up shop. There was not a lot of time to prepare and I had to create a crochet jewelry collection, think about packaging, jewelry displays and off course business cards. 

The logical thing to do for me was to put a picture of one of my jewelry pieces on the business card. Being a sentimental person, I decided it had to be a picture that meant someting to me. 

Last year we had a big party for the 12th birthday of my youngest daughter (a bit like a communion but without the religious aspect). Big parties always mean new clothers, right? I created a crochet necklace to match my dress. It was a lovely day with family and friends, good weather (not a given in Belgium!) and good food. The picture I choose was one of the necklace I wore that day. 

This is the picture and also the front of my business card. 

I have added my business name Ineseda and contact details. 
The back of the card is blank.
I'm happy with the result, it is modest, not too flashy, a bit like me :)

Designing a collection

Day 3 in the 31 day challenge 'preparing for my first craft show': how much stuff do I make? 

Big and important question. Difficult one also. So I started researching. 

I read that a jewelry collection - my 'stuff' - consists of 4 to 7 different designs and some orphan pieces. 
Those 4 - 7 designs have to be different in length, cost, target audience (younger or older woman, girls), necklaces for daytime, jewelry you would wear to go to a party etc. 

After having read this, I bought 5 different colours of silk thread and a bunch of glass beads to go with the silk thread. 

I took out my sketch book and started drawing: longer necklaces, chokers, with crochet tubes, with crochet beads and tubes, only with crochet beads and so on.

After this I picked my favourites, took my crochet hook (finally!) and started working. 

The idea is to have different pieces, but that still make a collection. The same five colours of silk thread will be used for each part of the collection.

This is what I got so far: 

A longer necklace. As you can see the necklaces have the same design, but because of the difference in silk thread and the glass beads, appeal to an entirely different type of woman. 

And these three: the same silk thread, crochet tubes combined with crochet beads and glass beads. Some of the glass beads are the same as used in the longer necklaces, others are different. Again, three different necklaces, but still clearly forming part of the same collection. 

In total I have drawn 5 different designs and bought 5 different colours of silk. So my collection will consist of 25 different necklaces. I will also be making matching earrings and bracelets.... plenty of work on my plate! I'd better get going! 

Love,

Inez

Preparing for my first craft show

Through Sara, momwithahook, I have taken on the challenge described on mollyeleen.wordpress.com '31 days: preparing for my first craft show'.

Day 1 has already passed a while ago when I decided to participate in Hangema(r)kt next month. My first 'adventure' with selling my items, was not a success. I participated in a pop-up shop, but hardly sold anything. Auch, that certainly hurts and I was ready to pack it all in and keep it a hobby. But then reason kicked in and I decided not to give up after one try. The location of the shop was not great, there was too many jewelry on sale besides my crochet jewelry etc.

That brought me to Day 2 of this preparation: deciding to be in a craft show.

I always thought it would be too expensive to participate in a craft show, that I would have to sell a lot of items to breakeven with the costs. But I was wrong. The Handgema(r)kt is a one day craft show at about 2 hours drive from where I live. Through an artist who participated last year I learned that this is a very nice fair, with plenty of visitors, well organised and all. So I took the plunge and registered. My application was accepted, and furthermore I was asked to organise a workshop on how to crochet jewelry! Well, how often does one get presented a platform to show off ones skills? Obviously I accepted immediately.

And now I am looking forward to this event. Preparing new jewelry, thinking about how am I going to organise the workshop etc.

And although I am very excited, I'm also a bit scared. Yes scared. What if this turns out to be another flop? I have an etsyshop, but that is no real success either. What if no one likes my work?

Progress

Remember my first pattern? I have now finished my first necklace based on this pattern. I have opted for a crochet necklace in one colour, very soft, creamy white silk. 

Herinner je je nog mijn eerste zelfbedachte haakpatroon? Ik heb nu een eerste gehaakte ketting klaar. Ik koos voor een ketting in een enkele kleur, crèmekleurige zijdedraad.

En een close-up

But I also love bright colours, and off course I do not create this collection only for myself, my crochet jewelry is for sale in my shop, so I started with a very bright silk thread, in rainbow colours. 

Felle kleuren vind ik echter ook top en, omdat ik deze collectie niet voor mijzelf maak, mijn gehaakte juwelen zijn te koop in mijn winkel, heb ik ook een eerste versie van dit patroontje gehaakt in felle kleuren, alle kleuren van de regenboog zelfs. 

Work in progress

It is so much fun to be working on new items, don't you agree? I'm sure all of you creative beings feel the same.

Spring is already in the air today. The snow has melted and is completely gone here, and after three days of rain, the sun is finally shining again. I a always so happy to see the sun. Really brightens up my day.

So I got my schetchbook out, made some notes, read several blogs on how to create a jewelry collection and got going. After having made the sketches, I went shopping for some new silk thread and glass beads and started to crochet.

This is what I got so far.

Vibrant orange glass beads and multicolour silk. So far I have crocheted two tubes to combine with the beads. 

A lovely soft pink and green silk that I want to combine with glass beads in the same delicate colours. 

Two crochet tubes in yellow, blue and green silk. This goes nicely together with the white glass beads. 

And two crochet tubes in flashy purple silk. I want to combine these with orange or read beads.