I know, I know, (but I have a new Nephew!!!)

I said I would quit this blog. But I felt a little anxious about leaving the blogosphere to become a Lurker. Maybe I will start posting again... (Ah, the luxury of being a doubtful girl).
For now, I have a great great great new little love!! And his name is Dylan...

I love him! And my SuperSister who had to have a c-section to bring this little 8 pound handsome boy into the world, she did sooooo great!!

I'm quitting this blog...

just because I am lacking the eagerness to post my feelings here. My life and interests have shifted and changed in the last couple of months/years. I want to thank the handfull of followers who have been checking up on me regularly, and all the 'anonymous' readers as well.
Maybe I'll start a new blog in the future, but for now, a little-big-blogstop is what I need.
-XO-
Kimmie

Slow... and stressfull!

Life is swinging by in full speed. August is going to be an extremely busy month, all work stuff and the wedding of my best friend. This results in a very, very slow pace on this little blog of mine. I have a lot to tell, a lot to show, but I just can't seem to find the time to do so. The beads are still waiting in the attic, I have been knitting and crochetting and sewing lately. Love it! But no pics to show. I can't even remember when I took my last picture with my big camera. But I don't regret it, life is fun at the moment, and I don't want to loose a second by sitting at the computer...
However, I do have some ideas to blow some new life into these pages. Hmmm, we'll see.
See you in September, I guess

Back in Everyday Life...

We came home on Wednesday last week and boy were we JetLagged! We didn't get any sleep on our flight, so when we got home (around lunch) we were awake for 24 hours... We meant to stay awake till evening, so we could get in the right rhythm straight away, but we didn't manage it. Around 4 we took a 3 hour nap on the couch and it really helped. At 8 my Mom, Dad and Sister came by to watch the photos we took (all 1700 of them).
It has been an amazing trip, exhausting but fabulous! And now everyday, real life is in full swing.
I'll post some pictures when I get home tonight!

Traveling the States

I forgot to tell you guys we're on vacation (or is it called holiday? Or is that only meant for festive days?)... We are making a 3 week roadtrip around the Westcoast of the States and loving all the fabulous parks and cities. So far we've visited San Francisco and Las Vegas for the city-part and Yosemite, Sequoia, Kolob, Zion and Bryce Canyon for the parks-part. Our days are packed with activities and after traveling for 10 days, we already tend to forget the things we did the first days of our trip. And the things we do are so different from day to day! We go from biking the Golden Gate Bridge to hiking a dusty trail in Zion and from photographing the neons on the Strip to stargazing through a telescope at Bryce. We're amazed at the friendliness of the Americans, something the Europeans can take a lesson from.

But what I love the most about the families we meet, is the fact that there are a lot of people out there, teaching and educating their kids. Instead of putting their kids in front of the television with a large bag of chips, people really are out there, to learn about stars, waterworks, sealife and everything else our beautiful world has to offer. And that's a sight we don't see everyday. Nowadays, when you watch the commercials, everything seems to revolve around videogames, movies, sugarpacked snacks and never-get-off-your-ass-recliners (sorry for the bad language). Just yet I saw a commercial for a minivan; it showed a wanna-be-hot-momma that showed her new car - ok, so far I can relate - but when the camera shows the backseat, you see 2 toddlers gazing at the optional dvd-screens with headphones on their heads.... Isn't that something....? Now, we don't have kids, but I can guess that driving a long drive with kids can be a pain sometimes. But what happened to the cargames we used to do 20 years ago? What happened to watching (and appreciating) your environment and surroundings? It's like we're getting sooooooooo afraid of 'getting bored' that we need to be stimulated every single minute of the day...
Well, I'm rambling. Sorry 'bout that. I wanted to say that I love that there are still a lot of people who care, and I am happy to notice.

Wishing you all a lovely week,
-xo-

Kimmie

New phone

Hi all! I am playing around with my new phone. It's a HTC Legend and I am really happy with it. It's been my new baby for the past 4 weeks and we're really getting to know each other. But I have to confess that this is my second one. The first got smashed on the floor during a nice family weekend in the ardennes. I only had the thing for 3days... But luckily, insurance covered it and I could buy a new one. After I got home from the store I got my crochethook out and started on a nice sleeve, to prevent any damage to the new one. I winged it, but I think it turned out pretty nice!

One month

I have been quiet for a month now.. There wasn't anything I felt the need sharing here. Not that there haven't been happening good things, it's just that I didn't felt the need to get behind the computer and typ them all down. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging! There are so many wonderful blogs out there which I read every single day. But with 8 hour office-work-days, keeping the house clean & pristine (ahum), longer sunlight and everything else I felt more like creating than computering/blogging.
I still haven't touched my beads... But I have been knitting and crocheting my pants off! So I have lots of finished stuff to show. Maybe I'll just have to get back blogging.
Yeah, I'll do that.

The Flowing of the Seasons

Life is flowing by… I am so so so delighted that Winter has ended. The pale sunlight makes my skin feel revived and I just want to take a deep breath every time I step outside. We are working in our garden, we sowed some seeds and fertilized our soils, hoping to harvest some homegrown vegetables in the Summer and Fall. But for now, I am soaking in Spring, hoping it will release me from the Wintery-Blues and to make my days brighter then before.


I have dropped all things crafty for now, I haven’t found any energy anywhere and am hoping that it’ll get back to me one way or another. And when all goes well again, I will get my act together and make something. But for now, staring at my beads makes me feel miserable, and that’s not something I want….

BlogBreak

I am having a Big Blog Break, and it's not on purpose.. Things are extremely busy these days, and I am so very excited it's finally going in the right direction again. I am not going to think about the first 2 months of 2010, but I'm going to look forward to all the fabulous things that will take place in the rest of 2010. For the next 2 months I won't be having any free weekends and I am glad about it. Just love that my time is filled with good stuff.
The beads haven't spoken to me in a while, but my time is filled with yarn now. I am crocheting my behind off, and I even picked up some knitting. I took pictures, but they're still on my camera... 

Squared

I am still working on the squares. And I am having soooo much fun making them.

Down and Out

I guess you guys noticed I have been absent for quite some time now. The last couple of weeks have been, well uuhm, not quite happy. In January Dull's grandma passed away - after a decade of Alzheimer's, followed by a friends mom one week later. And after that, we tried to exhale, take a deep breath and go on. Everything went fine, until a week ago. Dull's other Grandmother went into the hospital, and after a dreadfull week of examinations and such, she passed on this Friday, at the age of 94.  Alltough she was Dull's Nana, and not mine, I find myself missing her dearly. My own grandparents have been gone for almost a decade now, and I was so happy that Dull still had his grandmothers. There is something so comforting in visiting these old ladies, hearing there stories about the yesterdays (over and over again...). I am so, so glad she attended our wedding in 2008 and I really regret she didn't get to see any of our children. She already had quite a couple of great-grand-children, but not ours. She often asked my mother in law 'if there was already going on something over there'... I am glad we went to see her on Wednesday, we had a chance to talk, kiss, and hug a little. This Wednesday will be her funeral.
I am really done with all of this. 2010 is starting to be a very terrible year, and I am having a hard time keeping my head up and go on. I have to tell myself this can not get any worse, that both the nana's got to a very respectfull age, and that their lives have been beautifull. They wouldn't want me to be sad.
But I am.

Sorry.

Earrings, earrings, earrings....

There are quite some swaps going on at Beading Daily. One of my favorites is the SSE Swap. SSE stands for Secret Santas Ear, and it's all about swapping earrings... Inca, hosts the swap, and she does a great job, every time again. Round 8 & 9, meant for December and January where put together, so we all had two partners. I had two totally different marks, Cat liked her earring small, and not too dangly, and Andrea loves it when her earrings "aren't subtle." I had an absolute blast in creating something for both of these girls. I really think crafting is more fun when you have someone in mind.
So these are Cat's earrings:

And these are Andrea's earrings:

Oh, and have I showed the pair from the previous round?

All of these where my own design.

weeeeeee flowers...

I am doing so many things at the same time, it sometimes is hard to decide which project gets my attention first. This usually results in:
1. lots of WIPs, with a high risk of them evolving to UFOs..
2. late nights up and awake trying to finish something I want to wear the next day..
3. evenings spend at my laptop, ending in feeling guilty, because it makes point 1. more likely to happen..

Now, I tend to shift between these 3 points of risks. I have 3 boxes full of stuff (we'll call them exhibit A) to proove point 1. And every time I sit down to tear them up I get distracted by something else. I guess I will let them be, and only take them apart when I need something from it. It doesn't hurt the beads, and it gives me a little peace of mind, because it's something I can erase from my to-do-list!

About point 2... I went to bed last night at 1 am, because I had. to. finish. this choker:

I crocheted the flowers with a 1.2mm hook, they are under an inch in diameter... I had to start over several times, and didn't allow myself to give up. The flowers are stitched to some lovely pink lace, to make a choker. And I did wear it to work today!

And here we are at point 3. Again another night at the laptop...
Oh well, I am having fun, that's what counts, right?

Progress on the grannies.

Okay, I have made progress on the square grannies! And I promised pictures, so here they are...

:: So far I've got 9 patches done!

:: I used different patterns

:: Lots of colours

:: Some really need some blocking

:: I even made a "advanced pattern" granny square!

And that will be all for the colourful happiness for today! I used the "standard" granny square pattern. (at least, I think it's pretty standard, since this is the pattern that pops up first and many times when you google "granny square pattern."  The large flower is a pattern I found cruising on the www, and can't seem to find anymore... so I guess it will be a single in my large throw.

And I used Lucy's Summer Garden Granny Square Pattern. I love a little diversity while crocheting, and these different patterns really fit the bill. I am really enjoying all this crocheting!

But I have been eading as well! Pictures of those will follow when everyone received their stuff ('cause it's all swap-stuff)

Jippy!

Hmm, I guess the creative juices are starting to flow again.. I have picked up some beads, and the crocheting also continues. All WIP’s though.. And lighting is so poor now that I can’t seem to manage to take a sharp picture of the things I am creating. And the shaking hands of excitement are not helping much either. – I know, it sounds like I am making lame-ass apologies, but they are all true  - But okay, I will try again tonight… Or tomorrow, cause I have to go to school tonight.


I am glad Januari will be over soon. It hasn’t been a very easy month. I hope Short Februari will bring in some fresh excitement, creativity and joy! Yes, we need some Joy! And a wee bit warmer weather would be nice too. If it wasn’t for Sabon’s handcream and body lotion, I would look like the Desert Woman! I adore this cream, bit pricey, but a little goes a long way! And the smell. Ah the smell.. You don’t need any perfume anymore I’ll tell you. But pricey indeed. I am already down to the 4th tube. And although it makes a nice birthday/Christmas/Valentine present, there has got to be a cheaper way to get my hydrationkick.

And then I read Heather’s post on Shivayanaturals. I have got to try this!!! I am going to put it on the TTD list, and hoping to make some time to do this, ‘cause it sounds like an excellent idea!

Shift in Craftiness!

Lately, I’ve been noticing a little shift in my craft-time-devotion. I have been crocheting more and more, and the beads just lay around on the attic. I have some obligations for swaps on Beading Daily and I am having a real hard time in cranking the jewelry out. The beads don’t flow with me, but they go everywhere I don’t want them to go. Temporarily strung beads decide they don’t want to be strung anymore, and bounce on the floor, beadboxes that really like gravity, needles breaking with the slightest bend, threads gets knotted in places I don’t want it to knot, beadholes shrink on me, not making it able to pass ‘just one more time,’ and everytime I want to start a new colourcombo, the colours I need just ran out. (or ran on the floor as you wish). Being in my attic-beadstudio is starting to feel like a visit to the dentist, and lets be fair; that’s not something you like for a hobby.


So, I decided to let it go. Just for now. However, I do need to make a couple of pairs of earrings, before I take a leave of absence from my beads… I hope I can manage to do this.

Maybe a little time off will revive my creativity-bubble. The beads won’t turn bad (at least not worse then they are behaving now), and the studio will remain bead related, I’ll do my crochet on the couch in the livingroom.



This box came in 2 weeks ago. It’s filled with Bamboulene, which is a blend of 50% wool and 50% Bamboo. It’s soft, and the colours are bright! And I am crocheting it into Granny squares, hoping to make a large throw for the bed. But I am telling myself a pillowcase can be nice as well, because a throw might be a little bit too large for a first time crochetproject!



I am starting off with a basic square, maybe I’ll blend in some squares with a more intricate design, but first I’ll have to get some routine!



A little block each day… don’t think I can manage to finish this project before Dull’s birthday (which is March 1st). That would have been awesome!

Tea cosy

Tea cosy
Originally uploaded by Chrystallinya

I found this tea cosy at a thriftstore, last weekend. I fell in love with it, the moment I laid my eyes on it.
When I was little, we always spent our summers at my grandfather's. He lived near the sea, so our vacations there were always a big blast! One of the things I cherish most about these vacations were the family breakfasts we had. We would walk into town early in the morning, to get croissants and rolls. Back at the house we would squeeze some fresh orangejuice, deck the table, and put the kettle on. The 2 things that never failed to be on the table were the newspaper (with the puzzle in progress) and the tea cosy.
I have been searching for a teacosy that would give me the same homy feel as the one at my grandfather's house.
And I believe I did....

2010!!!

Another year went POOFFFF!!!! Isn't it amazing, how time flies by?

December was a cosy month, but I am very happy the New Year has arrived. Out With The Three, the Clutter and al the ChitChat and let's talk spring! But first we'll have to wish everybody Happy New Year's at work, and the fact that there has been snow falling down last night doesn't help much for the arrival of spring as well....
I hope you all had a lovely old-to-new-night, and I am wishing you the very best for the coming 365 days (or better said, 363, since it's allready the 2nd....)
-xo-