Finally...

You may have missed it, but I don't know how ;) Scheepjes recently released their 4th bookazine. (You can find them all here.*) If you aren't familiar with them, you should definitely check them out, they are gorgeous collections of knit and crochet patterns and craft related articles. Each one with their own theme, with the latest, The Dutch Masters, they have really outdone themselves. The overall style and feel of the bookazine is beautiful and the photography is stunning. I was a lucky duck and got to test a couple of the patterns in this edition. I have been plastering one all over my Instagram feed so I don't think you could have missed it. I was so impressed with it, and very proud of how mine turned out.

I tested the Almond Blossom Scarf, designed by the lovely Miss Neriss, and inspired by the Van Gogh painting Almond Blossom. The original scarf is just beautiful, and really plays tribute to the painting, obviously as I was only testing the pattern my colour palette wasn't set and I got to play with combos until i settled on one I liked. I had so much fun mixing and matching all those wee sweet treats. I choose Scheepjes Stardust Andromeda as my base colour. It reminds me of the sky in Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night, but instead of yellows and browns I decided on complimentary blues and silvers, a splash of pink and a hint of lilac. I used Scheepjes Maxi Sweet Treats; Snow White, Mercury and Lilac mist (106, 074, 399) for the branches, Old rosa, baby blue and silver (408, 509, 618) for the flowers and Bluebell (173) for the edging. Stardust* and the Maxi Sweet Treats* are available from Woolwarehouse* and other Scheepjes stockists. It was a great introduction to tunisian crochet, and I got to really challenge myself with some embroidery. Tunisian stitches make a great base for embroidery, and it doesn't even show through to the back of the scarf. If you have never done Tunisian crochet before check out this fab photo tutorial by Wink. It's the one I used.

The wee blossoms were fun to learn and I was so pleased with how they turned out. They actually looked like flowers haha. Aren't they gorgeous? The tree branches took me two attempts. I had to learn to relax and let them twist where it wanted to. I learnt the navajo ply technique for the edging. Miss Neris has a nice a simple video tutorial on her You-Tube channel. This is a great skill that I can see myself using again to get a nice bulky effect from not so bulky yarn. Maybe for one of those ridiculously huge blankets that are totally unpractical but everyone wants. One thing is for sure, it was fabulous to finally get to share this scarf with you all. It was hidden away for far too long and not to brag but I think it's beautiful :) Do you know what is even better about this pattern, there was lots of lovely cotton left, and I'm not one for such fine cotton normally but it just so happened that Simy's Challenge 'A Touch of Ombre' used these gorgeous Chroma Wristies by Haak Maar Raak as an example, and I was lucky enough to test these as well and I managed to make them from my leftovers. Win win. I now have a matching scarf and glove set. I'm such a proper grown up lady now hahaha.

What was even more exciting was it got to meet its proper mummy.

There was a massive craft fair last month and I decided to defy the maddening hoards that descend on such events and had a roadtrip. It was crazy busy, but I got to hang out at the Scheepjes booth and finally finally get to meet some of my crochet beauties, see some amazing designs and yarns and fondle the original almond blossom scarf.

Scheepjes were running a photo shoot competition too including a mini makeover with A cake of Whirl as a prize. It must have been my lucky day as I was one of the lucky winners, but hey, I will give my scarf (or maybe Scheepjes Daan; Thanks again for posing with me hehe) the full credit. Nerissa an Kirsten, it was fabulous to finally meet you xxx

So November was a fabulous month for me all told, and now its almost Christmas, can you believe it. December is another exciting month for me with another pattern I've tested being released. I'm really excited about that. It is a fabulous pattern, you should be excited too. If I don't speak to you all before it gets silly with festivities, Merry Christmas and a Fabulous 2018. Big things are happening. Watch this space...

*Affiliate Links, they cost you no more but help fund my yarn addiction xxx