Christmas time is like this

A little bit of cozyness and holiday cheer which have been going on around here lately. =)

Paper houses

When I saw these houses/tea light holders a couple of weeks ago, I was instantly inspired to make my own, despite the fire danger. =) (Although they are not as flammable as these, as they do not have actual roofs)
Here's how my houses turned out. Imperfect, but lovely.

I enjoyed this photoshoot so much, it brought me a lot of positive emotions and set the right Christmas mood. =))
Hope you liked it too.

Crochet mug cozy

I am the laziest crocheter ever - haven't made a single mug cozy in my life till now.
I had great plans for this winter... I really wanted to start crocheting a blanket. But made a mug cozy instead. That's about all I'm capable of right now, crochet-wise. Definitely laziest ever.
Nevertheless, here it is - red-colored, perfect accessory for Christmas pictures. =)

 

The pattern.

What a quick and satisfying project. Blanket, you'll just have to wait. 

Third attempt...

...To make a decent scarf/cowl out of retro yarn.
This was the first one. It was quite attractive, but because of dense pattern didn't drape well. So I never wore it in real life, just for the photoshoot. :)

Second attempt was, apparently, so pitiful that it was never finished and I didn't get to photograph it.

Third version is more successful, as I actually WEAR it. Although I wouldn't mind the cowl to be wider, for the sake of draping, again. But you can't buy more of the yarn which is decades old. :)

The pattern is very easy and consists of simple 'V-stitch'. Cowl is worked in the round.
Start with chain in multiples of 3.
Row 1: work ch4, dc in 4th chain from hook. *Skip  2 st, in next st dc, ch 1, dc (it's your V-stitch)* Repeat around. Join last V-stitch to 3rd chain of starting ch 4.
Row 2: ch 4, dc in the same st. *Skip 2 st, V-stitch in next st (between the V-stitches of Row 1)* Repeat around and join like in Row 1.
Then repeat Row 2 until cowl reaches desired width... or you run out of yarn, like me =))

For some reason these pics  look like they were shot with a mobile phone, which is actually not the case. =))

You can see how yarn varies in thickness. In my opinion, it is not necessarily a bad thing, as it adds to overall vintage feel. =)

Crochet jewelry

I've seen so many variations of  "crochet over chains" on Pinterest that I finally decided to make my own interpretation. Not that I am a big fan of this concept, but having plain chains, cotton yarn in nice colors and spare evening, why not? :)

  In fact, I also have plain hoop earrings. Maybe they could be the next victim of my crochet addiction :)

Interior and me

Few weeks have passed since the end of renovation, so everything is pretty much settled in and I am ready to show you my New Room. Ta-daah!

The high-angle view was shot using the stepladder you can see in the next picture (it also serves as a clothes hanger and a shelf).
Also, a fitball makes an appearance - healthy lifestyle and all :)

Lucky owner of the room relaxing on the sofa...

...And at her workplace:

 This blank wall on the left is my Photo Background wall:

All cozy and comfortable:

Details:

 

Crochet Summer Sweater

Summer is here!
After I've finished my poncho, I immediately felt a need to make an Actually Wearable Summer Garment. Maybe not just plain wearable, but a little bit stylish, too - yes, sometimes my crochet fantasies are quite daring!

Mesh pattern is great - not only appropriate for summer, but also saves your yarn and works up pretty fast.

The sweater weighs 450g :)

I used 3 mm hook and cotton yarn which is 320m in 75g (2 strands put together).

I didn't have any pattern to use as a guide, so it's 100% my own creation. 
The pattern is pretty much obvious (dc, ch1, dc, ch1... repeat until you're satisfied with the size).

However, there are two things that I want to talk about in particular:

Decreasing in a mesh pattern
When I want to decrease at the end of the row, instead of last *dc, ch1, dc* I make dc2tog (with a skipped st between the bases of dc's).
In the beginning of the row, instead of ch 4 (equals  dc, ch1) I make ch 2.
This way, I have a 'triangle' instead of a 'square' in my mesh. With these triangles it's easy to form round-ish neck hole or decrease width of a sleeve.

Neck ribbing
Bottom and sleeve ribbing is easy (2 front post dc, 2 back post dc...), but with the neck it is trickier, because you have to decrease as you go. I did ribbing after front and back details where slip stitched together, so I worked in the round.
Round 1: dc in every stitch around the neckline, trying to make it nice and even.
Round 2: 2 fpdc, 2 bpdc - repeat around.
Round 3: The same as round 2, but near the shoulder seams instead of 2 bpdc work 2 bpdc together.

I hope my explanations made any sense, but if you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask :)

The story of renovation

It's done!
It took 3 months and some noticeable amount of money, but it's finally almost done!
(It could have been much faster.)
(But not much cheaper! At least my conscience can be clear about that part!)
(There's still no furniture in the room. Argh!)
Anyway, here's the history of renovation in mobile pictures - sorry for the abominable quality, but there's not much sense in using DSLR to capture details of hectic mess :) However, there are a couple of pics taken with DSLR in this post, can you spot them? Of course you can!

First day of action, first scraps of wallpaper torn off. It almost counts as a BEFORE picture.
Old curtains are still in place. Desk is still brown and boooring!


Heap of wallpaper scraps gets bigger:
 

I try to wash off old whitewash (tautology?..)
Do you see the difference? Look in the corner...
 

Last day of the old wooden window...


...and first days of new plastic one:


Walls are getting makeover:


Ceiling is now even and painted white.


And here comes new wallpaper...


Time for painting! (And sanding...)



Light fixture has arrived.

 

Radiator changes its color from sad greenish to white. The door also gets a fresh coat of paint.



My favorite process:


Desk is finally covered with 2 layers of paint and 2 layers of lacquer and temporarily relocated to another room.



New curtain rod  takes its place:


Speculating: how it's gonna look?..


Desperate attempts to move sofa out of the room:
 

And finally - the floor!



Yes. The door misses a handle. The curtain is too short. And the glass in the balcony door serves not to let the sunshine in, but to show off untidiness of the balcony.

Who cares? Let's bring the furniture in, invite some friends and have a party! =))