homemade@myplace

Hi there!!!! Hope you are all well and I wish you a GREAT 2017!!! We all deserve a good one!!! My last  blog post  is from 7/12/2016 ...... it was time to be back!!!! Today I'm going to show you a little project that took few days to be completed, because of the use of a small number of granny squares and of the simple construction : a Japanese knot bag !!! It all started with a simple granny square ... ... and very soon there was a second one ... ... and joining with the "as-you-go method", there were soon more to crochet the first panel of the bag to be ... ... and in no time we had even the second panel ... Once the two panels were joined, I had to add a simple border along the top (2 rounds of single crochets, US crochet terminology) ... Then, it was time to add the handles (still granny squares, but smaller of one round) with the peculiarity to be asymmetrical ... You have to make the longer ...

During the last  #ldjcrochethookup  on Instagram, hosted by Ashley of  lazydaisyjones  (you can find her blog  HERE ), on DAY 23 we had to submit : MITTENS !!! I never crocheted a pair before !!! Luckily I found this Japanese crochet book with this picture on the cover ... .... and inside (on pages 6 and 7) I find the pictures of these lovely mittens ... So, I collected my 4mm hook and the following yarns : Patons FAB DK shade 02342 petrol Katia MERINO MIX  shade 4 red I had to modify the original pattern, adding a couple of rows both for the mittens and thumbs, and it came out nicely, with a floral design on the back of the glove .... They are very easy and quick to crochet and the crocheted cord (in a contrasting colour) gives a nice touch to this pair of mittens !!! A lot of you ask where I buy my Japanese crochet books .... Well, my collection is made of books I bought while living in Jakarta (Indonesia) and when t...

I picked this book from one of my bookcases... ... and on page 26 I fell in love with this design ... .... any personal "revolution" from the original pattern??? ;oD Well well well ... For sure, I did use different yarns and colours (from top to bottom) : Pure Gold DK 005 midnight Filati Sandilane ATOMO 26 silver Robin Double Knit 0027 grey Pure Gold DK 036 ivory Kartopu AK-Soft K657 Pure Gold DK 059 azzure Kartopu AK-Soft K634 Moda Vera LUMINO 80280225 neon yellow and around the neck :  Pure Gold DK 206 blossom  and some silver grey from ATOMO (see list). ... and the hook was not a 3,3mm as suggested, but a 4mm, so my poncho is bigger than the original one .... !!!!! ... I was excited when it reached the right size to try it on ... my lady manikin ... ... but still some rounds to add ... .... neck detail... ... some blocking ... .... and it's DONE !!!! The fringes are made both with the...

Scarves and Japanese crochet books are a kind of obsession of mine ... I know, but there is nothing wrong with it. I love these books for a lot of reasons, especially the styling and the graphs... I find hard sometimes to follow a written pattern, because each designer has her/his own way to put down directions and they can omit something that for me, instead, is necessary to understand the design/motif. Furthermore, not knowing any Japanese word (mostly because I cannot read it!!!), I feel better because I avoid the reading of superlative adjectives attributed to the crochet works displayed , which maybe are simply nice and not so extraordinary .... I just look at the picture and I value by myself if it's worth it or not the hard work : so simple!!! So, in one of my favourite books (you can see the cover and the picture of the chosen pattern ai the above picture), on pages 22/23, I found the "Zigzag Border Muffler", while the chart is on page 73. The design calls ...