Sunshine and a bouquet of flowers (not to mention a new Kate Davies)

It was great to see everyone on Sunday with their super colourful knitting! An's dazzling blue bouquet was stunning and Rozemie's new Kate Davies sweater was a delight. I'm longing for a photo of Ines and Rozemie wearing the jumpers at the same time. Barbara's phone cover in orange and pink was eye-poppingly lovely, as was Ines' new shawl in vintage shades of rose and peachy pink. Thanks to Jan for his amazing surgery on my socks (the first pair I've made on double pointed needles) and to everyone for such great knitting and good cheer. More news about the summer plans soon! (And don't forget to click on the photos for a close-up view).

Little details....

... turn even the simplest garment into a treasure. Just have a look at Claire's vintage doll's cardigan. Perfect seams and a stich with a tiny details. Gorgeous! See you Sunday!

Teaching.....

Thanks to Caroline for two lovely photos of Chris teahcing crochet at Tapisplage last month. The lesson was so much fun the children didn't want to leave!

Make-over in Oostende

You're probably familiar with "make-over" stories in magazines. Here is our very own, made in Oostende:

Before - A basic stuffed toy pattern by Dawn Toussaint:

After - The finished Pinkie Pie for a very happy little girl:

Sun, sea and.... lovely projects

It's hard to believe that Tapis Plage was just last week - how the time flies! Here we are again, enjoying the most glorious weather at the coast. Blue skies and sunshine, wool, friendship, knitting, coffee, a delicious beer of the month and and gorgeous cake - what more could we possibly wish for? Chris was in fine baby bootee mode, and showed us the first of her egg yolk yellow, fluffy mohair slippers. Inspired by her Tapis pom-pom hat, Caroline's made several new creations (with ingenious button on accessories, like a flower) and Barbara's My Little Pony is almost finished (there's a very lucky four year old on the receiving end of this). Huge congratulations to Pascal who produced her first ball of hand-spun wool (amazing!) and knitted it up and welcome to Ann and Ilse. Come and see us next month too! Finally, can I give myself a pat on the back for finally mastering the art of sock knitting?! I LOVE my socks!!!! See you next month but I've got so many nice photos in hand, I'll be posting more frequently this month.

Tapis 2: how did I miss this?

I can't believe I didn't post this photo with the last update - it's so lovely! Chris and the two young girls who saw us knitting and asked if they could join in and could we teach them.... yes, of course, said Chris. And she taught them to crochet. They had so much fun that they couldn't hide their disamay when their mum came to take them home - and they loved Caroline's hat too. Bravo Chris!

Totally Tapis!

Top marks to Caroline for actually making a hat! Voila! The finished result was utterly lovely -especially the pom-pom! We also liked the visor (ingeniously cut from plastic and inserted into the brim). A truly 60s style, soft, squishy, fun creation. Meanwhile, the rest of us were busy with other things (think pink ponies and bed socks)..... Thanks to Chris, Barbara and Claire (ladies - you're great!) we had a stunning display of knitted goods, from elephants to baby bootees and knitted cup cakes. Needless to say, such colourful, gorgeous objects attracted a lot of attention and we met some really friendly, curious people and spread the word about our group. The best thing of all - apart from all the great stalls and all the tempting things to buy - was the fact that for the second year running we sat opposite our dear friend Anthony Lams: the one and only Master of Marzipan! As usual, he did a roaring trade. Check out his website: http://www.sweetnessinabox.be/ Tapis Plage wouldn't be the same without a peice of marzipan to round off the day. As Barbara said - thanks to all who came along and joined in the fun. See you on Sunday!