Which I did, because nothing is more exciting than a new challenge. Of course I have millions of baby booties patterns. But where would be the fun ? ;-)

I very quickly whipped up the first bootie and wrote down the instructions, to make sure I’d be able to make a second one likewise. Both pairs took about 40 minutes to crochet, so quick !!
They were cute. And fitting enough for dolls.

But now I’m thinking of publishing a pattern for them, and need to rework some details so they are “perfect”, and actually fitting. So I’m working several more samples, tweaking and taking more notes. Fun. :-)
Still some work to do, but we’re getting there.

My noro cardigan is also slowly but surely showing progress. I basically ripped and reknit the back and fronts, because the color sequences were wrong. Sometimes I surprise myself seing how picky I can be when it comes to some details, when I am usually all but picky…

Finally… can somebody please help me and remind me to finalise the pattern for the elfin hooded cardi instead of getting started on new patterns ?!!!!! :-P

And speaking of vintage french spindles, I also finally took the time to go through all of them, pick the ones I’ll keep for my private collection, and list the other ones on Etsy. The prettiest already sold btw ! :-D
It’s fun to see I’m starting to know the big names in that small spindle-collectors world .. :-)

The spindles on the right are the ones you’ll find on Etsy. The other ones are my own collection. As another spindle afficionado said, such diversity in shapes ! :-) I feel there should be at least one more spindle (with a pretty metal hook at the end) but I can’t find it since we moved. Hopefully it will show up someday.

Still knitting away on my Noro cardi. I’m trying to manage to have 2 matching fronts, which means looking closely at each skein of yarn… Pics next post maybe ? :-)

Oh, and in case you wondererd. I’m still knitting on the other grey cardi started a couple weeks ago. Progress is slower as I need to concentrate on the lace pattern.
AND I’m getting closer to the scary part, aka putting all the stitches on holder to try it on before separating the body and sleeves. That’s the part where I messed my february lady sweater (probably soon to be frogged), so I know I need to get it right now or I’ll never finish it.. ;-)

I also did a little sewing. The girls needed nightgowns. A couple t-shirts and a little fabric later… the girls now have new nighties, and they love them ! :-)

First, thanks to Natalie at Craftzine for mentioning it :-) There’s been quite a few comments so I will giving away 6 copies of the pattern instead of the initial 2. Congratulations to:

#2 Nic “I tell you these are inspired. And perfect for a beginner like me who only ever learned to crochet granny squares. Lots of my friends are having babies now so I would love to have the pattern to spread the gifts around.”

#23 Anne-marie “How adorable this pattern is – am a granny square lover so this is really appealing to me. Thanks for the chance at the pattern.

#35 Diane “So cute! I need a copy for two reasons: 1. I have recently been acquainted with more babies than I can crochet blankets for 2. DK weight? All the pretty colors are in DK weight. This will give me a perfect excuse to use the collection I’ve amassed for no project in particular.”

#41 kc “because i have a bunch of close friends who have just had babies or are about to, and they all need that hat…. plus i adore the little “stem” on the top.”

#48 Cal “oh my! super-cuteness ;n) if i had this pattern, every new baby i know would have to be clad in this hat!”

#50 Heidi “The perfect combo, baby hats and granny squares! I’m impressed by your ingenuity and would love to have this pattern :).”

I will be emailing the winners a copy of the pattern for the Baby Altay right away. Happy crochet !

Thanks to all those who left a comment, I’m so glad you like the hat ! :-D

GIVEAWAY: For the release of this new pattern, I am giving away 2 copies of the pattern. Just leave me a comment telling me why you’d like a copy ! :-) I’ll annouce the winners in my next post ! ;-) Be quick !

And for those who can’t wait, you can get yours here or on Ravelry.
Price: $5

I still need to finish working on the hooded cardi. So little remaining, yet I’ve started on another project. Because my favourite ever cardi, a pretty rasperry-colored ribbed asymetrical cardigan, is showing bad signs of wear. I looked high and low for a ready-made pattern, couldn’t locate the one I know I have… and settled meanwhile on the crazy collar cardigan that’s been sitting high in my queue for ages. So yest, I’m knitting again. But for a good cause… I can’t wait to wear that one ! :-)
Oh, and the pretty yarn was sent to me by a kind lady as a swap for patterns. “Fairy hare”, with angora and Merino. Looks yummy, I’ll have to decide on a pretty project to use it. :-)

A new pattern coming this week, for the baby version of the Altay hat. :-)

IN ENGLISH:
A slightly different kind of post today. :-)
Those who have followed my blog for a while may remember that we started an online business with my husband a couple years ago: we started a website called MonEscapade which gathers adresses of Bed and breakfast in France and self-catered holiday accomodation in France. It’s working fine, but in this very busy business it’s getting hard to get noticed and appear decently in search engines.
So I thought I’d ask you for a favour. If you’re interested in France in general, or maybe just like our website and want to give a hand, I would love for you to mention MonEscapade on your blog/website (or maybe in some forums you may be using, why not ?).
Sorry, there is no english version yet. Of course it is planned, but we had to prioritize. :-)
Basically, you can find holiday accomodation in France, either in the very french “chambres d’hôtes” (= bed and breakfast) option, or in self-catered accomodation (which we call “gites” in France). You can either browse by area, or by theme (escapade in a Chalet, in a castle, romantic escapade, or maybe Escapade in a city -Paris!- ect..)
If you do blog about it, I’d love to hear from you. And I’ll send you a free pattern as a thank you (or several depending on the Page Rank of you blog/site). Or maybe a postcard from France ?
Thanks so much in advance !! :-)


EN FRANCAIS:
Ceux qui suivent mon blog depuis longtemps s’en souviennent peut-être. Depuis 2 ans nous avons monté avec mon mari un site web de gites et chambres d’hôtes en France, MonEscapade. Ce site fonctionne depuis plus d’un an maintenant, avec de nombreux gites et chambres d’hôtes inscrits. Mais sur ce marché ultra-concurrentiel, c’est difficile de se faire une place.
Du coup je me tourne vers vous aujourd’hui pour solliciter une petite faveur: Si vous aimez bien le site, j’adorerais que vous en parliez un peu sur votre site/blog (ou sur des forums auxquels vous participez..).
Ca peut-être en français, ça peut en anglais ou en allemand… n’importe. Même si pour le moment nous n’avons mis en ligne qu’une version française du site.
Je vous laisserais complètement libre du texte, le mieux c’est si c’est naturel. :-)
On y trouve des gites ou vers les chambres d’hôtes soit classés par région, ou par thématique (gite au chalet, chambre d’hôte insolite, etc..) ou activité (ski, golf, randonnée…).
Si vous placez un lien, envoyez-moi un mot. Et pour vous remercier, je vous enverrais le pattern de votre choix (ou plusieurs en fonction du Page Rank de la page en question :-D)
N’hésitez pas à faire passer l’info autour de vous (amis bloggeurs… même s’ils ne tricotent pas ;-P ) Et un grand Merci d’avance !