mint & mustard

MINT & MUSTARD... not some crazy food mixture I'm craving right now 

(in fact, anything with a minty flavour rather puts me off these days)

but a colour combination that has been one of my favourites for a long time now...

It's just always so pretty & fresh... just perfect for spring!

And since spring has now really arrived  

(with lots of bird song, warm lunch hours, and pretty pink blossoms),

I thought it would be fun to show you a little selection of my Etsy favourites in mint & mustard! 

mustard satchel - golden ponies

light showers print - eloise renouf

hand printed cushion covers - buttongrass

mustard flowers apron - oktak

*

And how about you?

What's your favourite colour combination?

it's a wrap!

It has been a while since I was last able to show you something I made,

but having to lie down at least a couple of hours a day, 

I find that my projects are progressing really slowly...

But today I'm really pleased, because I finally managed to finish 

another set of knitted wrap-around baby vests!

As you can see, I have made them using the pattern I drew up for these ones,

but instead of just making an exact copy in a different colour,

I decided to play around with them a little bit 

by making one little vest that wraps around the right, 

while the other wraps around the left side...

And just in case you're wondering:

Indeed I dìd already start working on a new twin set 

(in a gorgeous shade of blue) 

 But more about that later...

*

For now I send you all a lot of Love,

and I hope you're having a wonderful thursday!

It's that time again.

Spring has arrived.

Or at least so it seems, from the twittering of the birds in the early morning,

the now noticeable lengthening of the days, and the changing light.

And like every other time I have noticed this subtle change, it makes me smile 

and think that this is definitely one of my favourite moments of the year.

Only this year, the change is not just out there; in the gardens and parks,

it's taking place in our home as well,

which makes this spring a very special one indeed.

And how about you?

What's YOUR favourite time of the year?

*

photo credits: 

1. summer holiday 2011 #33, 2. Untitled, 3. 伸びろ伸びろハートの木, 4. sweets, 

5. it's about that time, 6.Untitled, 7. はらっぱ #04, 8. school shoes*, 9. ■

take a tumbl...

I can't believe it's friday already... and yet it looks like it is. 

It's been a busy week, filled with with office runs 

(I'm trying to organize my maternity leave...),

short shopping trips (as nothing seemed to fit over my belly any more...)

and hospital visits, that luckily brought us some good news. 

The boys are doing well, but they did tell me to lie down a couple of hours a day now,

which I'm not finding quite as easy as might seem,
especially since I'm actually feeling really fit.

And as I'm settling into this new routine, I'm discovering new ways to pass my days. 

Because, there's no way you can knit while lying on your side,

but you càn spend hours browsing the net for eye candy!

As a result, I have finally started using the Tumblr Account I set up ages ago,

transforming it into an ever growing moodboard for my daily inspirations.

And here's a small selection of pictures I posted there these last few days...

Aren't they amazing?! And there's so much more of them!

So why don't you hop over for a little peep and an inspiring weekend browse?

I promise you will LOVE it!!!

*

[click on the pictures to be redirected to the source]

at home...

We got a bit of a scare at our last ultrasound appointment,

where it became evident that one of the twins 

isn't growing as much as the doctors would have liked him to,

which could be a bit of a problem since my boys are sharing a single placenta...

And so now I'm grounded. 

That means, I'm supposed to take it easy and I'm NOT supposed to work anymore.

Mmmm. Not easy when you're partly freelancing, and partly self-employed.

But of course I'm more than willing to do whatever is best for my babies:

And if I have to be completely honest...  I should probably admit

that now, seven days into my forced maternity leave,

I realize that I'm actually starting to enjoy this slow and quiet time of waiting,

filled with dreams and anticipation... and a lot of knitting.

(Not to mention reading, watching documentaries and napping...)

And so here's my moodboard for this week:

inspired by that golden glow of home...

photo credits
 1. g.o., 2. Untitled, 3. kozue, 4. .3855, 5. 64, 6. Dotted Cup, 

7. Yarn, 8. hoi_bo_pop_up (1 of 16), 9. treats in paper & string

Here's a few things I love today...

herb garden labels  - paulova

striped teapot - dahlias

patterned notebook - mintafternoon

salt and pepper bowls - paulova

*

For me these pretty finds mirror 

the first hints of spring that we are experiencing these days;

The warming of the mountain air, the lengthening of the evenings,

and the perfume of hyacinths on my living room table...

Soon spring will really be here. 

24 weeks

On sunday we officially hit the 24 weeks milestone!

And since so many of you have been asking,

I thought it was only fair to share a couple of pictures of me 

and my (now rapidly) expanding baby bump!

(I started out at 64 cm!!!)

weekend wishes

Oh my! It's friday again!

And to my surprise I realized this morning that this week 

I actually hadn't made a mood board mosaic yet.

Hence I thought it would be nice to turn the whole concept of a monday mosaic upside down,
and instead compose a collage that shows you my intentions for the weekend.

 And why not? Sometimes it's good to think outside the box, right?

* 

So... this is what I'm looking forward to find on my path this weekend:

lots of lights...

pampering softness...

some knitting... 

and a regular dose of catnaps!

And how about you?

What are your plan, hopes & dreams for the coming weekend?

photo credits: 

1. louis is a big cat, 2. mornings.., 3. nuageux, parfois la pluie, 4. branch ring, 5. libby + handmade blanket, 

6. knitting in progress, 7. black swan, 8. *tossing, 9. Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch

pompon pretty

Remember the little pompons I made last sunday?

Well here's what I needed them for: 

to finish a couple more hats for my boys!

 

So far I have made two matching sets in a standard newborn size, 

and now I'm planning on making some slightly bigger ones...

I crocheted all the hats out of a really soft cotton,

so my boys will even be able to wear them during the summer...

Being a first-time mother, I didn't actually think 

that babies needed to wear a hat during the hot Italian summer...

But I was told it's really important they keep their heads warm at all times,

so... I guess it can't hurt to get some ready, right?

What do you think?

 

Etsy favourites: the valentine's edition

Hello & happy Valentine's Day to you all!!!

Instead of rolling out the red carpets and bringing out the heart shaped banners,
I've decided to celebrate this year's Valentine's Day by featuring a few of my Etsy Favourites

 that somehow represent my very own bearded Valentine...

 

Aren't they gorgeous?!

 

bearded print - depeapa 

table napkins - skinnylaminx 

love 7 - artmind    

"I love you to the moon and back" print -  yellowbuttonstudio 

*

 So... and how about you?

 Have you got any special plans for today?

Sending any secret Valentine's messages?

Or are you waiting for a note from a (not so very) secret admirer?

Do tell! 

the pompon playground & more

I usually don't suffer from the monday morning blues, but for some foggy reason, 
today I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things.

Maybe it's because I had such a lazy-daisy weekend...

I'm almost 24 weeks pregnant now, and with two babies on board I'm starting to get quite big, 

(think: about 8 months along in a singleton pregnancy),

so the truth is I'm not in for much outdoor adventure at the moment.

On top of that, it's still very (and I mean ridiculously) cold outside,

with a mean wind blowing in from the north, 

which is why F. and I ended up spending most of our weekend indoors.

We dìd go out for an early Valentine's lunch on Saturday

(thinking I would probably be too tired to do dinner on tuesday evening...),

but other than that, we pretty much stayed in and kept ourselves busy reading, 

listening to music, watching documentaries and making pompons. 

(Well... to be honest... the pompon-part; that was just me.)

And how about you?

Did you have a lovely weekend?

And did you celebrate an early Valentine?

on my desk these days...

I know a while ago I wrote that I would be adding some new items to the shop soon,

but the truth is that I got a little distracted making baby outfits... 

So here's what's really on my desk these days:

tiny 'twin sets' of wrap-around vests and matching pompom hats...

 

Nearly -10° C this morning. 

I wish I could have stayed in bed, buried under an impressive pile of blankets.

It's the only strategy I can think of for keeping truly warm.

That, and rivers of tea perhaps...

 

 And how about you?

Are you feeling the BIG European cold in your neck of the woods?

And what's your secret strategy for staying warm?

photo credits: 1. Serenity Caged, 2. Untitled, 3. ~ minimalistic dreaming...,
4. *tossing, 5. Three in a row, 6. g.o., 7. moring in prague, 8. act II, 9. Untitled

I know it's early for tulips. Very early.

But notwithstanding (or maybe exactly because of) the bitter cold outside, 

I couldn't resist the urge to bring a spot of spring into the house...

Call it my mid-winter rebellion if you will.

 And maybe that's exactly what this is;

 A little bit of man-made spring,

when it looks like nothing but Winter for the next few weeks...

Love to you all

& 

Have a lovely (and above all warm) sunday!

beware the knitter-bug

As large parts of Europe (including Italy) are gearing up 
for some extraordinarily cold days,

this is how I plan to keep myself warm and busy:

I finished knitting the second bow-tie vest for my boys this weekend 

and it looks like I have been seriously bitten by the knitter-bug,

because I have already started working on a new project!

 

This time I'm trying my hand at a set of wrap-around vests.

 I always find that they look really adorable, 

plus I was told by a truly experienced mummy

that they're incredibly handy for dressing small babies, 

so there you go...

 I haven't got a pattern, but I'm using a little T-Shirt for guidance,

and I found a very easy to follow tutorial video 

on how to increase and decrease stitches on this amazing website,

which is really helpful now that I'm trying to knit a shape with a diagonal edge...

*

Oh my! 

I never thought knitting for babies would be this much fun, BUT IT IS!!!

Especially since you get really quick results...

And on top of that -and this is a really good one-

you can make things as bright and happy as you like,

because you just KNOW that they won't refuse to wear it once you're done!!

^_^