Category Archives: Scheepjes

Progress Update – Aquarel Crochet Project

Posted on August 30, 2016 | 3 comments

I’ve been a busy little bee over the last couple of weeks since I last posted. I’ve made great progress on my latest Scheepjes project, made with Softfun Aquarel. It’s going to be a blanket, and so far it’s looking amazing!

That is a shot I took before I went on holiday two weeks ago, and the blanket has since travelled around Scandinavia and increased dramatically in size!

It’s actually grown even more since I took these pics!

The chevron is so fun to do, it’s lovely and soothing creating the zig zags and feeling the yarn come to life in all it’s squishy glory.

It won’t be finished in the next week, but I’ll be sure to post more progress shots as I go – make sure you check out my Instagram feed to keep updated. As soon as I’m finished I’ll let you know exactly how much of each colour you’ll need to make this (so far it’s looking like about 6 balls of each colour except the purple, which will likely be 8).

You can get hold of the Scheepjes Aquarel at Wool Warehouse (they ship everywhere)* and Scheepjes retailers throughout the Benelux. I can recommend my local yarn store Caro’s Atelier – look local first!

*This post contains affiliate links

3 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes

Tagged blanket, crochet, crochet blanket, haken, scheepjes, softfun, softfun aquarel, WIP

New Scheepjes Yarn, New Crochet Plan

Posted on August 9, 2016 | 3 comments

Today I’m kicking off a new Scheepjes crochet project, and I can’t wait to share it!

It’s another Scheepjes Softfun Aquarel* project, do you recognise the colours?

That’s right – they’re the same as the colours I used for my Textured Chevron Cushion earlier this year.

That can only mean one thing: companion project!

I’m still just as in love with the colours of this yarn as I was when it was first released. I also just love working with the yarn. It’s lovely and soft and has amazing stitch definition. Plus it’s squishy and bouncy; perfect for what I’m making.

So, what am I making? Well, I’ll leave you to speculate for a while….

Stay tuned for next week when I start posting teaser pics. I’m sure it won’t take you long to guess what it will be.

You can pick up the gorgeous Scheepjes Aquarel at Wool Warehouse (they ship everywhere)* and Scheepjes retailers throughout the Benelux. In fact, my local yarn store Caro’s Atelier stocks Aquarel, and I love to support a great local business!

*Note: affiliate links.

3 Comments

Posted in Scheepjes, Yarn

Tagged aquarel, caros atelier, crochet, haken, scheepjes, softfun, softfun aquarel, wool warehouse

Crochet Chevron Cushion – Reveal

Posted on May 13, 2016 | 1 comment

I was supposed to share this with you last week, but I had family visiting from Australia so I didn’t have the time (or inclination to be honest) to be writing blog posts. When you only see family every 18 months or so, you make the most of it, right?

Here’s my chevron cushion, finished!

For the design I used Scheepjes Aquarel. The design uses almost one ball of each colour (8 balls including the border) and the front is textured, while the back is flat.

In the next week or so I’ll release the pattern for you, and in the meantime if you’d like to get the yarn to be ready to go, head to Wool Warehouse* internationally or Caro’s Atelier in the Netherlands and grab yourself a ball each of your favourite colour combo.

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A post shared by Pera & Pasha (@perapasha)

*Affiliate Link

1 Comment

Posted in Scheepjes, Uncategorized

Tagged aquarel, chevron, crochet, cushion, haken, scheepjes

WIP -Textured Chevron Crochet

Posted on April 26, 2016 | 1 comment

Last week I showed you the yarn that I’m using for my next project series, and this week I’m showing you the progress.

I love the texture of this stitch. It’s a 3D crochet stitch that I’ve adapted and looks absolutely wonderful. The Scheepjes Aquarel is perfect for the stitch pattern, the colours really come to life.

This project will become a cushion, and I love how it’s coming together.

The front of the cushion will have the 3D textured stitch, and the back will be flat.

You can pick this gorgeous yarn up from Wool Warehouse in the UK and internationally. In the Benelux you can find the yarn at any Scheepjes retailer.

Next week: the reveal!

1 Comment

Posted in Scheepjes, WIP

Tagged 3d chevron, aquarel, blanket, chevron, crochet, cushion, haken, scheepjes, WIP

Project Planning – New Yarn

Posted on April 19, 2016 | 3 comments

I’m absolutely crazy about crochet lately. I have been working like crazy, there are ideas swirling around and around and I’m desperately trying to pin them all down so they don’t fly off into someone else’s conscience.

Right now I want to share with you the next project on the list, it’s using the lovely new Scheepjes Aquarel. Well, Scheepjes have launched so many new yarns in the last year, it’s hard to remember what’s new and what’s new!

You might have seen me post a pic on Instagram a while ago showing off the gorgeous colours? Here’s what they all look like together, aren’t they amazing?

The Scheepjes Softfun Aquarel is a cotton acrylic blend (40/60%) and is the same composition as the regular Softfun and the hugely popular Softfun Denim. Plus, the colours across all three ranges are designed to work together, so you can easily combine any of the colours to work together.

The yarn calls for a 4mm hook and for your 50g you get 140 metres.

It’s a lovely stretchy yarn to work with, I really enjoy it. The stitch definition is great, and the watercolour effect is beautiful when worked up.

Oh, and let’s not forget that now famous Easy Start tab. Isn’t it just the best?

Next week I’ll show you some examples of what I have in store for you! This theme is going to span a few months, as this won’t be the only project I share with you, so stay tuned!

You can buy this beautiful yarn at any Scheepjes retailer in the Benelux, or you can pick it up at Wool Warehouse or Deramores in the UK (and internationally).

3 Comments

Posted in Scheepjes, Uncategorized

Tagged scheepjes, softfun, softfun aquarel, yarn

Can I Really Knit Socks?

Posted on April 15, 2016 | Leave a comment

Socks have always scared me. I see everybody on Instagram knitting their beautiful woolly socks and love them, but think: nope. I can’t knit socks. I’m also very worried about Second Sock Syndrome, that common phenomenon whereby you knit one beautiful sock but can’t be bothered to knit the other.

But my friend Tammy has been telling me for years that I should knit socks; that it’s easy and beautiful, and my other friend Sarah insists the socks last forever and can be worn more than once (can you imagine wearing your socks for more than one day?).

I had never seen a sock being knit in real life either, so it was like a magic trick that everyone but me knew how to do. But at the weekend that changed! I watched Tammy knitting a pair of OMG beautiful socks and I knew I had to do it.

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A post shared by Tammy Canavan-Soldaat (@canadutch)

Because we were all together for Bloggers Day, Sarah was planning on giving Dedri a lesson on basic sock knitting. I wormed my way in and commandeered the yarn that Sarah had earmarked for another project – the lovely Invicta Everest from Scheepjes – plus her fancy new Knit Pro Zing needles and we lined up on the “Naughty Step” for our lesson.

While Kirsten and Esther are smiling for the camera, you can see Sarah Showing Dedri and myself what to do.

After a bit of confusion on how to do Judy’s magic cast on, we were away. Sarah is a great teacher, with endless patience. This is great as I’m a bit of a tantrum thrower when things don’t immediately work for me. But we got there in the end and after a couple of days, I’ve already gone past the heel and am working on the leg!

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A post shared by Nerissa 👩🏼🇦🇺🇳🇱 (@miss__neriss)

I’m loving the learning process, it’s really satisfying to see this sock growing slowly.

I’m planning on adding Sarah’s Afterthought Heel at the end, hoping it’ll work as I’m pretty clueless at this point as to how to do it, but that’s what tutorials are for, right?

I’m loving this self-striping yarn too, by the way. Often I think self striping yarn is a bit meh, but I love the solid stripes of this one. I’ll have to find a brown and yellow version so I can knit my aunt a pair of Hawthorn socks as she’s about their biggest fan!

You can find this wonderful Invicta yarn at Scheepjes retailers throughout the Benelux, plus Wool Warehouse in the UK and internationally.

Reuniting The Blogger Tribe

Posted on April 12, 2016 | 12 comments

I’m deep in the Come Down from the weekend. Properly miserable.

I have just experienced the most inspirational and energy-filled weekend with the most wonderful group of bloggers; my Blogger Tribe. And now it’s over, I’m devastated.

I exaggerate, obviously. But, there is a very definite come down effect. I went to dinner with friends last night, and while they were all chatting and laughing, I wasn’t really feeling myself. I just wanted to be transported back to the weekend and to hang out with my blogger girls.

Each year Scheepjes hosts a Blogger Weekend and I’m lucky enough for this to be my third year. We started with a small handful of ladies; and now look at us!

This year we descended upon the beautiful city of Groningen in the north east of the Netherlands. If you haven’t been, you must. It hosts one of the best Saturday markets in the country, along with some of the most lovely architecture and it has the coolest vibe. Plus the shopping is amazing!

We spent the first day being let loose in the warehouse to feel all the buttons, squish the yarn, and gasp over the gorgeous fabrics. The girls were all laughing at me because I needed two people to help me carry everything! So be warned, there are a LOT of projects coming from me in the coming months!

We had a great session in the afternoon with tech editor Cara Medus, learning some of the fundamentals of garment design. I’m pleased that although I’m not a fan of maths, I can understand formulas, so what I learned is going to be VERY useful and I can’t wait to put it into practice!

We were also extremely lucky to learn some of the inside gossip, and see some of what’s coming up in the next 6-12 months from Scheepjes, and let me tell you, it’s revolutionary! For a small family business, they’re visionaries and are only going to grow and become industry leaders – mark my words! I’m so excited to be along for the ride.

I wonder what this could be all about…..?

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you…

Suddenly we were all at dinner, and then all the young’uns retired while the Usual Suspects headed for the bar until stupid o’clock with a few bottles of wine and a lot of laughter and a few tears.

Feeling a little rough after a short nap overnight, it was time for round two! One of the biggest highlights was finally being able to see the finished Last Dance on the Beach CAL blankets that we all designed together in memory of our Beloved Wink. Seriously, these blankets are beautiful. Spectacular. Absolute heirloom pieces. I had no idea, and I mean, absolutely none, that the blankets would be as beautiful as they are. It’s difficult to tell the difference between the Merino Soft and Colour Crafter. The biggest tell is the weight – the Merino Soft is quite a bit heavier than the Colour Crafter, and a bit silkier to touch. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be impressed by an acrylic yarn blanket!

Here’s the Stars (lovely picture by Dedri)

I also spent a bit of time with Esther filming a quick left handed segment for her instructional video for my square. You’ll be able to see my shaking hands in person when it’s my week!

I even took the plunge and have started learning to knit socks! Tammy has been at me for ages to do it, but I just thought it would be too hard. Then I saw her busy with two at a time using the Magic Loop method and they look so easy! So, Sarah gave me a quick course on how to do Judy’s Magic Cast-on and how to increase using her finger and thumb method and I was away! Well, kind of. My knitting skills are not very advanced, so there was a random yarnover creating a hole, then somehow I managed to mess up my stitch count, so I had to rip it all out and start over. by second attempt is much, much better and I just wanna knit all the socks!

I didn’t take any decent photos as usual, but you can see some great shots taken by the other girls on their blogs and Instagram.

Here we are all together with the amazing Dance Under the Stars blanket

From left to right we have Kirsten from Haak maar Raak, Jellina from Jellina Creations, Esther from It’s all in a Nutshell, Dedri (at the back) from Look at What I Made, Carmen (front) from Crafty Queens, Esther (back) from Happy in Red, Christa (front) from the Curio Crafts Room, Mr Scheepjes (Job), Atty (in front of Mr Scheepjes) from Atty’s, Tatiana from Lilla Bjorn Crochet, Bernadette (back) from Berniolie, Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch, Me, Tammy from Canadutch, and Maria from 50 Shades of 4ply. Missing was Annelies from Vicarno, and Susan from Felted Button (we missed you girls!!!!!).

All too soon it was over. It was time to get in the car, leave these lovely women, and make the sad journey home. Now I have a with a head absolutely chock full of inspiration and a heart wishing I could go back in time and hit pause so I could stay there forever. There’s still more I have to tell you about the goodies we received, but that’s for another day!

Thank you so much to Job and our Tribe Builder and the rest of the team at Scheepjes. It’s such an honour to be part of this cool group of women, these girls have changed my world.

Now excuse me, I have socks to knit.

12 Comments

Posted in Scheepjes, ScheepjesCAL2016

Tagged last dance on the beach, ldotb, MissNeriss, scheepjes, ScheepjesCAL2016

Peek-a-Boo Button Wrap for Kids – Pattern

Posted on April 5, 2016 | 1 comment

Here we are, finally. The kid’s version of my seriously popular Peek-a-Boo Button Wrap is ready.

Making this wrap reminded me just how much I love the Stone Washed yarn. It is such a beautiful yarn to work with. No splitting, froggable, soft, warm – oh so warm, and beautiful colours. The soft Rose Quartz pink I used for this was the perfect choice for my daughter. She’s a pink girl, through and through.

Right, let’s get on with it.

What You’ll Need

Scheepjes Stone Washed XL in 860 (Rose Quartz) – 5 balls (more if your gauge is different)
4 cm bamboo button – you can pick these up at any good craft store, or online
Size 5mm hook (or hook to obtain gauge). My favourite is the Clover Amour.
Measuring Tape
Scissors
Tapestry Needle
Eucalan wool wash

Gauge

8 stitches x 5 rows = 5cm x 5cm

Stitches

Note: All stitches are in US terms
Chain (CH)
Half Double Crochet (HDC)
Half Double Crochet Back Loop Only (HDCBLO)
Half Double Crochet Front Loop Only (HDCFLO)

Notes

In this tutorial I’m going to give the instructions on how to make a Peek-a-Boo Button wrap in a size to fit a 4-6 year old. I will also give you a schematic so you can easily see what measurements you will need to make a wrap for older kids or younger kids.

My friend Esther from It’s all in a Nutshell has made a fantastic instructional video on how to create the stitch and her brilliant method of tracking her progress. You can see it here:

Instructions

Loosely, chain 74 for the base chain, plus 2 to start the 1st row.
HDC into the 3rd loop from the hook, and all the way across. The stitch count should be 74. CH2 and turn. Note, the CH2 does not count as a stitch.
HDC into the back loop (HDCBLO) of the first stitch, then into the front loop (HDCFLO) into the next. Repeat this alternating back loop/front loop pattern all the way across. CH2 and turn.
You should have ended the previous with your last stitch into the front loop of the stitch. On this row you need to make sure that if the stitch from the previous row was in the front loop, this row needs to be in the back loop. This creates the lovely texture and drape that makes this wrap so beautiful. If you ensure your stitch count is even, it is easy to manage – you will always start the row in the BLO and finish in the FLO. So, HDCBLO in the first stitch, HDCFLO in the next. Repeat across, CH2, turn.
Repeat for a total count of 16 rows (or 16 cm – 1 row should be about 1cm high). Now we will make the first arm hole. The first stitches of the row will form the collar height, so in the HDCBLO/FLO pattern, crochet 14 stitches. Then CH15 and skip 15 stitches, HDCBLO into the next. Then continue the FLO/BLO pattern all the way across. CH3, turn.
To close the sleeve, HDCBLO/FLO all the way across to the beginning of the chain from the previous row, then HDC 15 times around the chain, HDCBLO into the next stitch, and repeat the HDCFLO/BLO pattern to the top.
Now you’ve closed the sleeve, you’re working across the back of the wrap. Repeat the HDCBLO/FLO rows for another 25 rows, then repeat steps 5 and 6 for the second armhole.
Crochet another 18 rows and then we will make the button hole. This is a place where you can make a few personal adjustments – if the child is handy, you can do a fitting at this point, so see if it’s the right place to place the button hole. A smaller child may need the button hole a few rows earlier, and larger children perhaps a few rows later.
We’ll work from the bottom up to make the button hole for this size (if you add or subtract rows, you may need to work from the top, but the principle is the same). HDCBLO/FLO for 40 stitches, CH4, skip 4, HDCBLO in the next. HDCFLO/BLO to the end, CH2, turn.
HDCBLO/FLO to the chain, work 4 HDC around the CH4 from the previous row, then HDCFLO in the next. HDCBLO/FLO across.
Work another 4 rows (or until you run out of yarn), tie off and weave in the ends.

Wetblock using Eucalan, or another wool wash, pin out on blocking boards, stretching as needed, and wait impatiently for it to dry.

Peek-a-boo button wrap for kids. Using Scheepjes Stone Washed XL, designed by MissNeriss.

Below you can see the schematics of the measurements of the entire wrap in the size that I have described above. Using these measurement points, you can very easily customise the wrap to your own size.

To get the total height, take a tape measure and measure from the base of the skull to mid hip. The button should sit over the breast/chest and the closure should be slightly off centre.

This design has been created with the specific use of Scheepjes Stone Washed XL in mind.

You can pick the yarn up at any great Scheepjes retailer in the Benelux, Wool Warehouse or Deramores internationally, and Paradise Fibers in the US.

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Posted in free pattern, gratis haak patroon, gratis patroon, haken, Pattern, Scheepjes, Stone Washed

Tagged crochet, haken, MissNeriss, peekaboo button wrap, scheepjes, stone washed XL

Last Dance on the Beach

Posted on March 25, 2016 | 5 comments

I can’t believe I can talk about this, finally! Today is the day! Scheepjes has just revealed the final images of the Last Dance on the Beach CAL which starts on April 20.

Scheepjes, together with a group of wonderfully talented designers (myself included!) have created the most beautiful CAL, based on my friend Marinke Slump’s last, unfinished design.

Marinke’s death hit very hard last year, so when I was offered the opportunity to participate in this last, beautiful tribute I couldn’t not take part. The results are spectacular. It’s a design full of love, full of dreams, full of hope.

There are three gorgeous colourways, Dance on the Beach, Dance in the Sea, and Dance under the Stars. I keep swinging back and forth between all three, unable to pick a favourite.

There will be kits available to buy on April 1, and the CAL will start on April 20. There will be two kits in each colourway available, one will be the Luxury Kit, which is filled with the gorgeous Scheepjes Merino Soft, and the other will be using their Colour Crafter Premium Acrylic. So there will be a kit to fit everyone’s price point. The Basis Kit will retail for 43.40 euros, and the Luxury will retail for 159.90 euro. 2 euros from the sale of each kit will be donated to charities for mental health both in the Netherlands and the UK. Here’s what’s inside:

The CAL will run for 14 weeks and each new installment will be released as a PDF on Wednesday afternoons (CET).

In the Benelux you can get hold of the kits via the wonderful Scheepjes stockists Scheepjes stockists, or internationally via Wool Warehouse, Deramores, and Paradise Fibers in the US.

Are you going to join us? It’ll be the most wonderful shared experience.

5 Comments

Posted in CAL, Scheepjes, ScheepjesCAL2016, Yarn

Tagged CAL, colour crafter, crochet along, merino soft, scheepjes, ScheepjesCAL2016

Peek-a-Boo Button Wrap – For Kids!

Posted on March 3, 2016 | 9 comments

I’m really not a fan of Dutch winters. I’ve had this wrap ready to show you for ages, but haven’t had any decent light-filled days to photograph it. Finally at the weekend there was glorious sunshine, so Raina and I spent the morning outside taking pics.

Raina really loves her wrap. It looks cute on her, don’t you think?

The Scheepjes Stone Washed XL is also a seriously snuggly yarn. Even though it’s a cotton/acrylic blend, it’s warm enough that Raina had no complaints about the cold when it was only 5 degrees outside!

I’m in the process of writing the instructions for kids sizes. I need to get hold of a few different sized kids and a tape measure!

Stay tuned, the instructions and measurements are coming soon.

You can pick up the yarn at Scheepjes retailers all over the Benelux, or internationally from Wool Warehouse*.

*Affiliate Link