Having coffee while making a necklace :-) Handmade

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Handmade

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Ukraine is 24 tomorrow. Happy birthday! Handmade

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Red poppy rope beaded necklace and earrings jewelry set

Hi all, Have been through hard times lately and to take things easier decided to try crochet with seed beads. Found online gorgeous necklaces and bracelets but didn't have any idea how to make such beautiful pieces of jewellery. Floral patterns caught my eye especially ones with red poppies as red poppy symbolizes remembrance of those who died in war. In Ukraine red poppy is also widely used in traditional folk embroidery and paintings. I used the pattern created by Helgla to make a beautiful jewellery beaded set with red poppies. The pattern can be found here The bead rope has 22 seed beads in circumference, one rapport (a repetitive motif) consists of 61 rows and 1349 beads in two shades of green, three shades of red, yellow, white and black. Instead of white background I made a black one.

If you are a crocheter I suggest give it a go with seed beads to create such a beauty. Thanks Helgla!

Bright 3D crochet flowers lariat

Got new variegated crochet cotton in pretty yellow-pink-green colours and decided to make a bluebell lariat for the spring season. Added some bright green balls embellishments and sparkly green leaves and here is my new addition to the collection.

Crochet cotton lariat with pretty bluebells

Have recently finished a lariat in one of my favourite designs. It features bluebells in salmon pink with pretty green leaves and other embellishments. A colourful piece of neck jewellery for spring and summer.

Union Jack friendship bracelet

Recently started a new hobby - making friendship bracelets. It sounds like a great tradition to give bracelets to friends to make their dreams come true. One of the first friendship bracelets that I've made was one with the Union Jack flag. Perfect accessory for summer to show you are proud to be British.




If you are interested in making bracelets yourself I would recommend visiting this site which has a huge variety of patterns and tutorials suitable for everyone.

Crochet snowflakes

Christmas is just round the corner and it's time to get tree decorations ready for the festive season. I have finished my crochet snowflakes to decorate my own Christmas tree. Also they are available for purchase on etsy.

Snowflakes are stiffened with a fabric stiffener and will stay nice and firm even till the next Christmas.

The Remebrance/Veterans Day Red Poppy

The red remembrance/veterans poppy is an emblem of Remembrance/Veterans Day due to the red colour as a symbol for the blood spilled in the war. We wear it to remember the members of the Armed Forces who have died in the line of duty.

Crochet poppies

Poppies are quite popular perennial flowers in England. My garden is full of them and I really like variety of their shapes and colours. So they actually inspired me to making more crochet poppies in white and peach.

Butterfly Dangle Earrings

Thought you might be interested in making, wearing or just having as an idea for your next craft project this pair of pretty dangle earrings in butterfly shape. Gorgeous pretty things for a summer outfit available in my etsy shop

Graduate owl crocheted toy amigurumi

Let's celebrate the graduation!




This graduate owl will make a great gift to yourself or a friend. It is hand crocheted and filled with non toxic and non allergenic polyester filling suitable for children. Size: approx. 5 1/4 inches tall and 3 1/4 inches wide. Pattern by Tamara Nowack (Nowacrochet). All rights reserved.

New crochet jewelry video

Hi all.
A few days ago I uploaded a new video showing off my latest crochet jewelry projects. Watch it here or visit my channel on youtube where you'll find more ideas for your own projects.
You are welcome to subscribe to my channel as I will keep posting new videos!
You might find some more jewelry ideas and other cute stuff in my Flickr photostream

Kumihimo braiding. New hobby

Recently I have come across kumihimo braiding - art of making cords by interlacing threads, yarns, cords, ribbons etc. I have an enormous stock of threads and yarns which I normally use for knitting and crocheting but they also can be used for kumihimo braiding. I would say the more varieв the threads and yarns you use, the more unusual cord you will get.
A lot of kumihimo patterns are available in the internet. I found some of them very pretty and cute.

These bracelets feature spiral and floral patterns in bright summer colours and they are exactly what children want. Believe me, I have 11 children around me, all neighbours though!




The same spiral pattern in subtle colours and bracelets finished with delicate closures will be more suitable for adults.














Like the idea of a magnet closure - it's quick and easy!














My favourite pattern so far is so called swirl pattern. Tutorial is made and kindly shared by beamunz2009 on youtube My bracelets braided according to this pattern and finished with beads and buttons.









Gifts for friends and their children




If you are not a bracelet person you still can find other ways to use kumihimo braids. I have used it to make a handle for a mobile phone crochet bag and a cord for a floral pendant.









How about shoelaces? :-)

Crochet flower lariat

Crochet and knitting are everywhere in fashion, especially in jewellery and accessories. 
Flower/floral lariats are fun to wear. With the mixture of colourful 3d flowers, leaves and other tiny embellishments they will brighten your day and add personality to your wardrobe.


I had great fun making them, choosing different colour combinations. And I love what I've managed to get at the end.

I like combination of dusky/hot pink with purple and mint in this one.




This lariat is really bright with lilac/purple and fuchsia colours.



Reminds me bright autumn day in the park.




Early and tender spring is coming with these pastel colours.

Handmade Amazon Kindle covers

Recently I bought my first Amazon kindle e-reader and found myself really obsessed with reading. Some people prefer paper books as nothing can substitute the feeling when you are reading a real book with its special smell of paper. With the kindle I like the idea of being able to download books and keep them in one place without cluttering my bedroom.  Besides it is small, fits into a handbag and I can take it everywhere. I think it's a great gadget especially when you have to travel a lot.

My second purchase had to be a nice cover or a sleeve for my kindle. I did a search online and got some covers that looked quite nice but I wanted my cover to be different those on the market.

And I made it myself. Really like knitted bold cable patterns so my first cover was made in one of those patterns - so called bold French braid. This cover snugly fits the Amazon Kindle 3/3G and Amazon Kindle Fire e-readers.








For your project you need wool, hardcover and felt or fabric for lining, button and elastic to make a closure. Alternatively you can knit or crochet a closure. I have used the same pattern for different type of wool with lurex which adds some sparkle to the cover








My favourite cover though is in a mixture of autumn shades with a coconut button.




Floral design is always a hit!













There's also something for cat lovers.

Crafting on holidays

Hi, Just returned from long holidays. I caught myself thinking that I could not pass by the wool shops. I have my favourite places that I always try to check while on holidays. As the result, new thread - and new necklaces. Gold and silver are always in fashion, especially for special occasions.











I like the coral one. This shade is created by combining the two strands, so looks bright and at the same time gentle. I presume my sister enjoyed modelling it.

Have you tried Etsy new useful tools yet?

Just found new Etsy useful tools. Well, they might be not new as I'm not really the first one to get new widgets person. I think they are quite cute. I'll try one of them on my blog. It allows you to see 10 treasuries you've created or you are featured as a slide show, all treasuries are clickable so you can view them in details.



Widget was created by EtsyTreasuries.com Treasury Shop which let you browse hundreds of curated Treasuries at a glance through a 3D wall gallery. You can view it in 3 different ways - Top 300 Most Popular, Top 300 With Most Comments, Top 300 Newly Listed. You can quickly view treasuries with color scheme and find your style from hundreds being curated everyday.This will help buyers who especially looking for wedding items (Wedding category) where everything should match and fall under a specific color scheme and find everything they need in the treasury.

Treasury Shop also enables Search Tool where you can search by tags, title or curator and get relevant results.

Try your widget!

How to make a necklace cord

Recently I was asked to show how I make a cord for my crochet necklaces/chokers. Sorry for delay, my computer has been down for a while but now I'm ready to share with you some of my secrets :-)

I’m more used to American crochet terms, so the pattern is given in American terms.

Here is a crochet terms conversion chart to UK crochetters.
US                                     UK

chain(ch)                           chain(ch)

single crochet (sc)             double crochet (dc)

double crochet (dc)           treble (tr)

half double crochet (hdc)   half treble (htr)

triple crochet (trc)             double treble (dtr)

slip stitch (sl st)                slip stitch (sl st)


First of all you need to make a slip ring or a magic ring or magic circle, the same thing just having different names. I found this picture which was very helpful for myself.






But if you need more help here is a video from youtube uploaded by tjw1963

Round 1. For slip ring leaving 4” end of thread, make a loop, insert hook through loop from front to back, yarn over (see picture 1) pull through loop to form ring, yarn over, pull through loop on hook (picture 2), make chain 3 and 7 dc in a ring, pull end of the thread tightly to close ring having 8 dc including chain of 3 stitches at the beginning. Do not join rounds, continue in spiral.

Round 2. Working this round in back loops, sc in top of chain 3, sc in each dc around (8 sc). Turn stitches of rounds 1 and 2 wrong side out, bring 4” end through center of ring, Backside of stitches will be on outside of work. Stuff 4” end inside the cord.

Continue working round 2 in back loops, making sc in each stitch around, do not join rounds! Finish when you get desired length. I normally make a 20 - 21" long cord.

Last round. (Sc in next stitch and skip the next one) repeat 4 times (4 stitches left).

For the clasp make a chain of 13 stitches and slip stitch to the 3-rd stitch in previous round.  For clasp bead cut 4" long tread and wrap it tightly around the beginning of the cord (1/2" from the end). Secure all ends (I use some fabric glue to keep ends safe).

For my necklaces I use 100% mercerized crochet cotton size 20 and a hook size 1 - 1.25 mm. I do my stitches quite tight, if you are used to make it a bit loose, use size 1.25 mm. I would say try and make a test piece to check you tension, if the tension is too tight use larger hook, if the tension is too loose, get a smaller hook. Do experiment! Some charts that I’ve found in the internet refer metric size 1.25 mm to size 4 (UK) and 10 (US).

Any maker of thread will do – DMC Chebelia, Aunt Lydia, Whoosh, Lesur Empress, Crochetta, Twilleys Southern Comfort, Coats. If cotton is slightly thicker (size 10) it is still fine for a necklace. I prefer mercerized cotton as the cord comes stiff enough to keep its shape.

Then just add some motiffs - flowers and leaves, make them in solid colours or variegated ones,





and your necklace is done! You’ve made one of a kind piece of handmade jewellery! It’s a perfect gift for a girlfriend, a friend or maybe a treat for yourself.













You'll find more ideas for necklace designs here or watch my video on youtube

The same cord can be used as a bag handle, depending on the size of a bag, you can make a thicker cord. I suggest using thicker thread (DK cotton) for handles, it’ll make them stiffer. If you want really thick handles, follow the above instructions but make more dc in a slip ring in round 1 and use larger hook. And then just stuff handles with toy stuffing.