Tadaa: Moonkoosa Boots

Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a super quick post as I forgot about it during the day and by now should shave been sleeping already. It’s been a pretty rough day. I can’t remember if I mentioned this but I started a treatment on monday for a sever vitamin and mineral deficiency (it was so bad that it was causing a lot of issues–> bad migraines, no energy, my heart was acting up, etc). Thankfully we figured out what was going on and causing all my troubles and could start treating. If not, it would have lead to permanent damage. So now i get a shot in my butt every monday. And more bloodwork as we still haven’t figured it all out yet. But the shots are known to make your symptoms a lot worse before making you feel better. I shrugged this off, but today was definitely a horrible day. I was so tired and had no energy at all. I got up, had breakfast and then went back to bed only to get up for dinner and i then did a tiny spot of knitting (the deficiency also causes you to have trouble sleeping at night). I ended up completely forgetting to post about my finally finished wip!

I thought I had started this wip ages ago, but it was only september of last year. I had ordered the yarn and needles as son as the pattern came out and then finished half and put it away. It was a fast knit so I really should just have finished it.

I’m talking about the Moonkoosa pattern by Tiny Owl Knits. I saw it and knew it would be perfect for me. I wear house shoes in the house at all times. It keeps my feet warm and clean. I go through about a pair a year and usually get a new pair for Christmas. these would be my gift to myself. Well it never came that far. I ended up buying other stuff and they lay dormant in my stash. Last week I needed a fast project, but wanted to finish some more things before casting on new things. I grabbed my one knit boot and the rest of the supplies and set to work. It took me one evening to knit the other boot and the next morning to attach the fringe. The fringe was by far the most amount of work. I put on a movie to keep it from getting boring, but it wasn’t that fun. The boots looked like I had skinned a muppet to make them.

Then it was time to get felting. I had never felted anything before and didn’t trust our washing machine to do it. I filled the sink with hot water and a very generous amount of dish soap. I abused the hell out of these things. I think I took about 45 minutes per boot, but i was being very hesitant in the beginning. And it tired my hands. I got the kitchen quite wet, but eventually I succeeded. I recommend doing one boot at a time as the fringe tangles together quite badly. I had to go trough all of it and tear (yes, tear!) it apart. I ended up abusing my hands pretty badly. My fingers hurt over the next few days and I broke most of my nails.

But the result was worth it. They came out so much better than expected!

They are so comfy! I let them dry on my feet and they formed perfectly to my foot shape. They’re super warm and comfy! When they are dry they are very slippery on our wooden floor though, so I applied some bright teal latex to the bottom. I’m not sure if I did it right, because it seems to be already wearing off. Thankfully I’m planning on adding a leather sole eventually, this was just a quick fix-it to keep me from falling.

The stats:

Pattern: Moonkoosa Boots by Tiny Owl Knits/ Stephanie Dosen. I went for the mid length boot and the round toe. There are several sizes of boots you can pick from and there’s also a pointed toe.

Yarn: Drops Eskimo in 47m. I used 6 skeins. I had some trouble calculating how much I would need  and ordered 13 balls, so I’m probably going to make another pair.

I’m off to bed now, I hope I didn’t forget anything! I have a very busy day tomorrow and plan on taking a lot of pictures. I’m going to my very first blog event and it’s in a theme that totally fits for this blog, it’s about something very beautiful! And in the evening I have my aunts birthday and we’re going out to dinner. I spent quite some time yesterday practicing product photo’s with my dslr and used my stash as practice material. I now have everything listed on Ravelry (My nickname is Alazybeauty over there).

Love, Renée

Review: Purol Hand cream

Hello Everyone!

Everyone who uses their hands a lot most likely also uses a hand cream. I’m a little more serious about my hand cream than most people. I really can’t stand the feeling of dry hands (or dry skin at all really. I always use lotion and my feet get extra attention too). so I use a cream every time they feel dry or if I’ve washed my hands. When I was a kid and didn’t understand the concept of hand cream just yet I had a very strange habit. I would ilk my hands to keep them from feeling dry. Unfortunately that dried them out even more. Dry hands are something you constantly notice and it can literally send shivers down my back, it feels that horrible to me. So, I’m serious about my hand cream. (Gosh please don’t think I’m too weird now!) But ‘m a person who’s constantly busy and I don’t like waiting around for my hands to absorb the cream. Besides, I don’t like my hands feeling greasy either.

I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect hand cream for years. And I think i might have finally found it. I’m on my third tube of this miracle stuff and that one is almost finished too (note to self: get new tube!). I’m talking about the Purol Handcreme (Dutch, because I’m dutch, but it is available online for those of you who live abroad. Unfortunately that comes with it being about double the price. Google Purol hand cream for links!).

Packaging

I don’t go anywhere without this stuff anymore, I’m constantly carrying it around.  It comes in a really basic white tube. It’s boring, but effective. The white makes it stand out in my purse, making it easy to find. There’s no unnecessary stuff on there, it just states what it is, what it does and what is in it. I didn’t have this problem with my previous tubes, but they were in the old packaging (the old tube was longer and thinner). The workers at the top of the tube are really really sharp. I suggest either filing them a bit of sticking something on them to stop them from hurting you or damaging your bag.

What does it promise?

– Protects and nourishes

– Softens and hydrates dry and chapped hands

– Absorbs quickly into the skin

Does it really do that?

In short yes. It absorbs super quickly and leaves your hands feeling very smooth. My hands do still feel nice after a quick wash, but i usually end up reapplying anyway. My hands feel hydrated. But because I keep applying the stuff I’m not sure what good it does in the long run. I never go without some sort of cream on my hands. My hands look good and the winter didn’t leave the slightest mark on them, but then again we didn’t really have a cold winter. It’s almost like we went from fall straight to spring. It’s hard to say if it really hydrates my hands. My hands weren’t very dehydrated to begin with.

The main reason i prefer this cream is because it absorbs so quickly. Most hand creams that claim to do this still sit on the skin for a bit and sometimes still feel greasy. This one doesn’t. Your hands feel soft and smooth and nothing else. No other cream I have tried (and I’ve tried many!) made them feel this soft. And because I keep reapplying I’m not that interested in the long term effects as much. There’s no harm in applying hand cream so why would I want to stop doing so?

It’s also great for crafters like me, as it doesn’t leave any kind of residue on your work.

The cream is  white  and although creamy appears a  bit gel like. A small bit goes a long way. A dollop the size of a small pea is more than enough to do both hands and wrists.

Price:

This is a budget product, which makes it even better. It’s around 2-3 € (definitely no more than 3). The old tube was €2,19 , but the new packaging came with a slight increase in price and I’ve forgotten how much it was exactly (sorry!).  But for a 100 ml this is an amazing price. One tube lasts me about 1-2 months, depends a little on the weather. I use it less if it’s warm out or if I craft less.

Rating:

5/5 This is holy grail stuff right here. I’m always going to have one of these tubes from now on.

Love, Renée

Yarn Along: An old wip

Hello Everyone,

After finishing a wip (more on friday) that has been languishing in the box of (temporarily) forgotten and out of favor wips, I needed a new project. I could have cast on the second sock of my Thorin socks, but with the next round of Sockmadness starting any day now it didn’t seem wise. It would lay half-done whilst i got sucked into the insanity and would keep me from using those needles. And using deferent needles for the second sock also didn’t feel very smart, as these needles hurt my hands more and would change my tension. So I went bag to the box of ignored things and pulled out another old project. I started it on august 30th of 2013, less long ago than I thought! I worked on it for about 2 weeks without distrations and then got bored of the grey yarn and the endless stockinette. But I want to cut down on the number of wips. I’ve noticed that I feel a lot better if i start something and then work (almost) solely on that project until it’s finished. I would like to keep my number of wips to 3 max.

I’m working on my effortless cardigan. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered, some mindless knitting with the occasional increase/decrease row. I’m almost done with the body. I’ve another  13 rows to go in the increase section and then need to figure out what length I would prefer (I’m thinking of making it a little longer than the pattern says). Then on to sleeves and the border. I started this with a cheap but very soft yarn. I think it will be very nice to cuddle up in during the summer nights.

This is an old picture, but there’s honestly not much different to be seen yet (not even in reality, that feels so frustrating! Like i’m knitting with invisible yarn…). The body is a little longer, but squashed on a circular that looks rather unimpressive.

Love, Renée

ps. Linking up with Tami’s Amis and Yarn Along.

Tadaa: Brucie

Hello Everyone!

I’m writing this whilst watching “I survived Jaws” on Discovery. It’s 1 in the morning, but i really felt like sharing. You see, this show is very appropriate for this blogpost as it’s decidedly shark-themed. The FO I’m sharing today were inspired by a very famous shark, Bruce.

Bruce is one of the mascots for Sockmadness and this year the first pattern was created in his honor.  I don’t think I’ve properly explained the idea of “sock madness” yet and I admit some of it is still unclear to me too as this is my first time participating. Sockmadness is a challenge of multiple rounds in which contestants have to knit the same pair of socks as fast as possible. Per round a certain number that are the fastest move on to the next round and it all eventually leads to one winner. There are prizes, but it’s for fun and to challenge yourself. The first round works a little different. Everyone competes in teams of a similar skill and speed to keep things fair. In the first round everyone who finishes continues on to the next round, it’s just to get an idea of speed (and therefore decide on the teams). I think i did okay, the deadline is tuesday (so today) and I finished on Friday. But: I started 3 days later and the socks were in time out for 2 days as they were pissing me off. I had to frog the almost completed foot back to the heel and it had taken me forever to knit. It was way way way too wide so I needed to go down a needle size. Bluh. Fat sharks.

The pattern isn’t available to the public yet (great advantage of moving on in sock madness: even if you don’t make it past all the rounds, you get all the patterns. And for free! Plus you get them way before most people!).

I used Tiger sock yarn form the shop Flying Tiger. In winter they have a small assortment of yarn and their sock yarn is pretty good. It’s also very good for your wallet, it’s about 2€ per 50 gram ball. you will need 2 balls for a pair of socks. They have quite a few different colours too. I used the same yarn on another pair of socks, but i didn’t keep those so I didn’t get a very good impression of the wear. I can now say that it is very good quality (although I haven’t washed it yet so can’t speak about how it holds up), it’s very soft.

Love, Renée

ps. All these photo’s are a little blurry. My camera’s battery was dead so I used my phone. The crazy yarn kept throwing off the focus.

NOTD: Flash Powder

Hello Everyone,

Every spring (and fall for that matter) essence cosmetics renews their collection. They get rid of products that might not be working out too well and introduce some new, on-trend, products. They’ve just released this years new products and they’ve introduced some very exciting stuff! I love how these renewals assure that essence can follow the current trends (by replacing the old ones). it assures that they are never out of style and that you don’t have to shell out the big bucks to be fashionable. One of this (and last) years main nail trends is textured nail polish. This is one of the trends I am completely obsessed with. I’m not the type of person that doesn’t wear bright polish in winter or puts away all her dark polishes in the summer, I wear what i want, whenever I want. This also means that i can go completely against the current styles. For example, another newish trend is sheer/jelly polishes. I don’t get them, I don’t want to see my nail whites shine through, it just looks really weird!

I do like textures, I really can’t seem to get enough of them. They dry a lot faster than regular polishes (great for people like me who have no patience) and they usually have a lot of sparkle, without being obnoxious or trashy. I’ve always been very aware of my sense of touch, I’m always feeling the textures of things and it’s usually the first thing i recall when asked to remember something. I have a slight obsession for interesting textures. With the texture polishes i love running my fingers over my nails, it’s sort of soothing. (don’t go condemning me to the nuthouse just yet. Try it, you’ll see.)

When I saw that essence had released some texture polishes I had to grab a few. Today, i’m showing you my favorite. Essence – 14 flash powder. An amazing silver grey glitter textured polish with a darker base. It’s hard to describe and tricky to photograph. But i think I can show you what i want.

The photo’s don’t truly do this gorgeous polish justice. It’s a lot more shiny and bling in reality.

Better, but still not even nearly shiny enough. Imagine tiny little diamonds all over your nails and you’re nearer to the real deal.

I adore it. It wears pretty well too. I had it one for a week (sans topcoat) and it only needed minor repairs on day 4 and 5 (i had some small chips). It’s opaque in 3 thin coats. Don’t be shocked when you apply the first coat, it will look really really sheer, but it gets better quickly. At a price of around 2 euro’s, you really can’t go wrong with this polish! Get it get it get it!

Love, Renée

Tadaaa: Socks and some sewing!

Hello Everyone!

Pfff, i haven’t been a very good blogger the last week. I thought that, being free from school for the week, i would shave blogged more, but i fell ill and ended up doing a lot even if nothing really got done. No homework, not much housework (i put away some cleam clothes on a chair). I did manage to squeeze in some knitting and some other crafts. I have officially started my quilt top, I finished some socks, started some new socks and sewed a project bag for my new socks.

I finished my (Yippee) Kai-Mei socks! This pattern was so much easier than expected! The yarn is amazingly soft. I’ve used this yarn before but the other pair i made for me is a bit itchy.

The stats:

Pattern: Kai-Mei by Cookie A. The 16,5 cm leg is a bit dull very zen. getting the lace to move across your foot was very mysterious to me, but it turned out to be rather easy! I loved knitting the pattern. I thought i didn’t like lace socks, but i’m rather fond of these. And these socks got my mom to admit that they looked rather cozy and that she fancies herself wearing them. So she’ll probably be receiving some socks soon!

Yarn: Superba Poems (by Rico Design) in the color 001 Candy. I was attracted to this yarn by the fun bright colors. That hot pink is so amazing! This colourway (or my ball) was a little weird. it was impossible to find a repeat in the colors to match my socks. There was no section that was the same! And at one point i encountered a repaired break in the yarn that lead to a rather sudden color change.

Needles: I used my trusty 2.5 mm karbonz double point needles. I’m coming to realize that these are my favorites. they’re very comfortable to hold and use, can take a bit of a beating, and have a nice point to them.

Time: These took me about 2 weeks, but i didn’t always work on them.

Experience: These socks were great fun. The pattern was very clear and therefore good for a beginner sock knitter. I made the socks as written and they fit me perfectly. I made a tiny mistake on the second sock (I misremembered what i had done on the first sock, even though i had written it down…), but it’s barely noticeable and i’m probably the only one who will ever notice.

 

And now for my second Tadaa this week. For those of you that also knit, you may have heard about a regular event every march called “Sockmadness”. It’s a challenge with several rounds in which you knit a pair of socks. The first round decides in which team you are placed and is the “easiest” sock. After that you knit at the same time as you team members and move on to increasingly harder socks. Eventually someone is crowned winner.  I have no chance of winning (although a girl can dream), but when i heard of this and saw sign-ups were still open I had to enter. The first round has just started a few days ago. I bought a second set of the 2.5 mm dpns as i wanted to try and knit my socks at the same time. But i quickly encountered a problem. How do i carry my Sockmadness supplies around easily without tangling all the yarn..? A new project bag was needed! I went in search of a good pattern and came across the sock sack pattern by Ramona Rose. I had recently ordered some fun fabrics and so could get to work straight away. This was only my second sewing project so i had some troubles and it took me a little longer than an experienced seamstress, but I learned a lot and made it work!

I’m so proud of it! Inside you can see my brucie socks, the socks for the first round of sock madness. There’s only one in here, but there are two of them now!

I used a bit of the leftovers/scraps to make my first hexi for my quilt! I need to baste about 3000 of these…. And then i’m going to sew them together and then quilt the entire thing. It’s a huge undertaking and will probably take a while.

What did you finish this week?

Love, Renée