Newborn Blanket Turned Mom Blanket

Remember that baby blanket I was working on? Well..cross out "baby" and insert "mom" because this piece of knittery has recently changed its receiver. First of all, the finished product is big enough to almost cover a queen-sized bed. Secondly, my mom really, really liked this blanket. She recently underwent surgery and she also had a birthday, so I decided that this would be the perfect gift for her. Thirdly, Maya's mom is sick of all the pastely, rosy-pinky-whitey garments she has been receiving. In conclusion: I made a new, two-toned, hooded blanket for Maya. You can find the pattern here.
I'm quite happy with the result (and hopefully, you'll get to see it soon enough). I used an icy-blue yarn as the main material and a petrol-blue yarn for the margins. My only twists to the original design were that: 1. I used garter stitch for the margins because I was a bit scared that a ribbed pattern might not hold the piece together properly, resulting in the edges being permanently curled up. 2. I did not seam the hood to the rest of the blanket as I'm not very confident in my hand-sewing technique. I decided that I'd rather bind off the two pieces together and it came out beautifully.
Also, I made her a pair of these Saartje Baby Booties in purple and icy-blue.

O's Purple Lacy Scarf

My friend O's been asking for a purple scarf for quite a while now. And, since my knit-o-sophy is: "ask for it in the summer, get it by winter (and vice versa)" O's about to get scarfed.

The first thing I decided was that I wanted a more intricate pattern and a more delicate overall appearance. I chose this lacy pattern because it goes well with her personality and her wardrobe. Unfortunately, my choice of color and material were severely limited by my lovely town's lack of profile shops. (My reluctance to leave town did not help, either.) So, it is what it is: a pretty bright shade of purple + a lovely pattern + an artificial, yet pleasantly soft yarn. Now that it's all done (and because I'm dealing with lace) I'm having a hard time deciding whether to block it or not. It might prove useless (since acrylic does not have a memory, like wool and cotton). On the other hand, if I block it, the scarf will look quite amazing when O receives it and that should be enough (...kind of). For now, enjoy the pictures of this unblocked piece of knittery.

Edit:
I had to give O the scarf sooner than expected, so I had no time to block it. However, I figured that for this particular scarf, a light ironing after every wash should do the trick. If not, machine-washing the garment and allowing it to dry on a flat surface is the only alternative I could find. Hopefully, O will try at least one of these and let me know how things worked out for her.

Here's a taste of O's fashion personality:

Another Sunny Day (For Oli) by Andreea7 featuring a silk shawl

Maya's Baby Blanket

Here's what Maya's blanket looks like so far.

Pastel Blankie

A few days ago, one of my best friends became an auntie and I decided to create a special gift for her little niece, Maya. I really wanted to make something using the entrelac pattern (previously used for the Danica scarf) because I really enjoyed it and I could use the practice. Then again, I also really wanted to make a quilt. So, I decide to combine the two and make a two-sided pastel blankie. I realized that this was going to take me a while, but I thought my idea was too pretty not to try out. Right now, I am halfway through the entrelac part which is good news. However, things will be more difficult when I attempt to make a quilt and assemble the two distinct parts together. Fortunately, I found quite a collection of flowery, pastel fabrics in my granny's closet and that will make my job a whole lot easier.
Basically, the blanket will have two sides-- the fuzzy and snugly mohair entrelac-patterned one on the outside and the natural, neuter and calming cotton quilt on the inside. This is what the entrelac side will look like. And ideally this is what the quilt side will look like. I will post pictures as soon as I can get my hands on a camera.

Christmas Scarf Picture: Taken in May and Posted in August

...cose that's how I roll. Time is way too much of a concept and too little of a reality to me. So, without further ado-- here's Mic's scarf. As mentioned before, the pattern is quite simplistic, on the one hand because I didn't want to complicate things and make it tacky, on the other hand because it was one of my first projects and I didn't dare aim too high. However, it is totally comfy and quite warm so I hope Mic&Half will be sharing it peacefully this winter.

Christmas Scarf for Mic

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Christmas fanatic in possession of a good pair of antlers must be in want of a..matching scarf.
It may sound like a trifle, but finding a good Christmas-themed scarf pattern proved to be quite a challenge. Despite my geeky googles, I didn't find a jolly-enough one that could be worn in public without mortifying Mic, so I decided to create one.
Firstly, I had to set some boundaries:
1. thou shall create no Mark Darcies
2. thou shall not hint at any landmark Super Bowl events
3. thou shall not bedazzle or pom-pom

This being said, I realized that my only option was to make a truly simple, totally wearable, yet somewhat quirky scarf. I am acutely aware of Mic's love of colors, yet, I'd rather have her adorn this basic, bi-dye scarf with the use of badges, brooches, magnetic pins, etc according to her mood (yep, just pull a Madeleine Albright , dear one) than to impose my own Christmasy fantasies upon her.
(pictures coming soon)

here's my take on Mic's Christmas style:

Merry Christmas by Andreea7 featuring a crochet shawl

Danica Scarf (work completed)

The Danica scarf was completed after a two-month break, so I decided to go ahead and give it to its intended receiver. The minute I saw this scarf on yarnboy's blog I thought it would make a nice gift for a very dear friend of mine. I knitted with him in mind, so giving it to anyone else (as I previously considered) wouldn't have been as rewarding or fair.
Not to mention the obvious similarities between the human and the tormented yarn. The colors are muted, yet distinctively pleasing to the eye. They have a pearly touch and can bear no conventional, clear-cut definition. The scarf is patterned; it has a logic; it clearly respects a set of instructions, yet every now and then it'll "surprise you, arms filled with lavender" (yeah, I mean the occassional purple patches). It can be a tricky and even hard-to-figure-out piece of knittery, but once you understand its logic and agree to its conventions it can become a second nature. One can go on knitting this scarf for a very long period of time without getting bored as it is both challenging and easy at the same time.
(pictures coming soon)

for now, here's how I perceive the scarf's new habitat and its new owner:

Why does it always rain on me? by Andreea7 featuring a cashmere v neck cardigan

Danica Scarf (work in progress)

The Danica scarf is the invention of Jesse Loesberg aka Yarn Boy
I am merely reproducing his work. I just loooove this pattern and the colors.
Hopefully I will find the right person for this scarf. It had an intended receiver, but I am not quite sure this person will like the colors.

to be continued......

Peony Legwarmers

Yesterday evening:

This morning:

Conclusion:

I am a sleepknitter ^_^

Epilogue:

I shall call them peony legwarmers and they shall be mine and I shall take good care of them. tam-tam

Almost Rosey

Pink&White Bag

Materials: Mohair, Cotton, Wool & Satin blend for lining and strap

Dimensions: 35 x 30 cm (14 x 12 in)

This is the first knitting project that I actually managed to finish (yippie!). The bag was created for a friend who likes to wear white linen dresses in the summer; a friend who masterfully combines colorful thrift shop clothing/accessories with everyday classics such as jeans and hoodies.
I can imagine Lexi on the Alte Mainbrücke (thanks Wikipedia) next to her bike, wearing a white dress and a purpule hoodie and of course, her new bag, eating an apple and reading The History of Love (thanks Shelfari) and acting blissfully innocent while being photographed by her adorable boyfriend, Christian (please send picture.)
These are Lexi and Christian as I see them:

fur lexi und christian (and all their romantic seasons) by Andreea7 featuring leaf earrings

This is how it works...

It all begins with a ball of yarn. And the ball keeps on rolling and rolling. And sometimes it just rolls downhill without purpose, like dry tumbleweed propelled by gusts of firey wind across dusty plains. And sometimes, if the ball happens to fall in the hands of a meticulous crafts(wo)man it begins to shape up and lose its capacity to roll. It then tends to stic-k/h, to have roots and to stir feelings inside the hearts of its receivers. And that's what it's all about.

Germinating

Hello and welcome to Seed of Life Design!

This blog is mainly dedicated to knitting, but every now and then I might post other things that I like/create, such as sketches, drawings, quilts, flowers, foods.