Category Archives: Yarn

Wink’s Summer Hearts Mandala

Posted on April 18, 2014 | 6 comments

If you only follow one new blog this year, you must make sure it is A Creative Being. Everything about Wink’s blog is beautiful. The projects, the colours, the photography, everything. It’s just one amazing package of crochet goodness. I have a few of her patterns, including the Design Wars shortlisted entry Dancing Hearts Wrap and most recently, the Summer Hearts Mandala which is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I wanted to create the mandala in line with the Crochet Collective’s Mandala Crochet Along, but I’m just useless at sticking with timelines, my life is just too busy, plus I really wanted to make this mandala as my first, and it wasn’t on their schedule (but there are some extraordinary ones, so check it out). So, I decided to sit down one night and smash it out. And smash it out I did. It’s a seriously fast pattern to work up, and it looks amazing. I had the yarn and colours that Wink used (or close enough to) on hand and I couldn’t imagine using anything else. But I had a problem. It’s difficult to see above, but instead of lying flat, the mandala has curled edges. See what I mean? So I decided to leave it for the night as it was late and I was tired, and I wanted to fix it in the morning when I was feeling fresh again. The problem I have is that although I was using the exact same yarn, and the exact same hook as the pattern, my tension is far tighter than Winks, so the edges curled up on me. This is a result of all the amigurumi projects I’ve been focusing on – you have to crochet tight so as to keep the stitches close together (I usually use at least one hook size down than what the yarn calls for). Here’s how I hold my yarn, how do you hold yours? See how tightly wrapped around my little finger it is? But instead of frogging the entire project, I decided to just rip out the last couple of rows, to where it started to curl. This is the row that was causing the problem, before that I was progressing beautifully. I decided that because it’s difficult for me to loosen my tension (old habits die hard, right?), I would go up half a hook size and try my best. I love my Clover hooks, they are the single best crochet related purchase I’ve made so far. And here we go! The finished mandala! See how beautifully flat it lies now? It has a slight curve, a bit like a saucer, but I think that’s the intention, and I love it. The Summer Hearts Mandala was a beautiful project to make, I’m definitely going to be making more, and will experiment with different colours. Would you like me to make you one? By all means feel free to get in contact, I’d be honoured. Have you made any mandalas? Which pattern is your favourite? There are so many to choose from and they’re all beautiful.

6 Comments

Posted in Drops, Projects, Tutorials, Yarn

Tagged a creative being, Art, craft, crochet, crochet pattern, haken, hand crafted, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, heart mandala, mandala, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, ravelry, summer, summer hearts mandala

Owl Zpagetti Yarn Basket

Posted on March 26, 2014 | 5 comments

This is one of those projects that I am very happy to have finished. I absolutely love the finished object, but man, it was a mission to get there!

When I was contacted to make this basket as a custom order I thought, no problem! I can do that with two fingers in my nose (Dutch expression). Ha. What a fool I was. It was one thing after another trying to get it done.

Firstly, the yarn was out of stock (and production), so we had to hunt for an alternative, and then halfway through making the basket I realised that I shouldn’t be using the 12mm hook that the yarn calls for, because the basket was just going to sit in a pile and not become anything at all.

So I frogged it and started over. Then I was halfway again, and realised that there just was not going to be enough yarn to complete it, and to buy more was just not feasible. At 9 euros a skein plus 6 euros shipping, it would make the basket either unaffordable, or I would lose money on it.

So, I frogged most of it to make it slightly smaller. Then towards the end I noticed it was going to be very tight to finish the basket AND make the eyes and nose, so started making them from the other end of the yarn to make sure. It was then a matter of crocheting up until I ran out of yarn.

In the end, I am very happy with the results. The eyes look great, and it will be a wonderful addition to its new home.

I bought the pattern on Craftsy, it’s by Deja Jetmir.

5 Comments

Posted in Projects, Yarn

Tagged craftsy, hoooked, MissNeriss, tshirt yarn, yarn, zpagetti

Spring Scarf – Pattern

Posted on March 20, 2014 | 19 comments

I’ve been working on this scarf for months. I found the yarn in my local store ‘t Spoeltje, here in Almere Haven (it’s Parrot, by Hjertegarn) and I love it because I’m such a magpie in that I LOVE bright colours and love variegated yarns. But it sat there for ages, not becoming anything. I do that. I buy yarn because it’s pretty, but have no project in mind. Eventually I decided to try making a triangle shawl. I stumbled across a pattern somewhere on the internet, but couldn’t follow it properly, so kind of just tried my best and made it up a bit as I went along. Then the pattern disappeared, and I have no idea where to find it again. Luckily it was very simple to figure out from what I’d already done.

It went on for a while. I’d work on a few rows, then put it back in the cupboard. For about six months. But this week I decided to finish it off. I was coming to the end of the ball of yarn, so decided to create a trim for it. Man. What a task. Because I had no pattern, I had no idea how it should be finished off. I had no stitch count, and I honestly couldn’t be bothered trying to figure out some fancy trim. And googling “crochet trim” is a disaster. There are way too many options, my head just exploded.

So in the end, I decided to just leave it. I quite liked the plain effect as the shawl is so colourful anyway I didn’t think it would be missed.

But then, I decided I didn’t like it that much. My husband didn’t like it either. So what was I going to do with it? Well, first I had to block it. I had never blocked anything before, because I tend to make amigurumis and normal scarves, nothing that needs the extra effort to block. But, I had some Eucalan Wrapture wool wash as a sample from a previous yarn order, so I washed it and pinned it out to dry.

Then I had to wait. And wait. For a day! I decided when I looked down at the blocked piece that I really liked it after all. The colours worked out beautifully, and it is perfect for Spring. Plus the yarn was going to be deliciously soft with the Angora blend.

This morning it was dry, so I unpinned it and promptly started wearing it. I may never take it off, actually.

Now I’m being asked for the pattern. It’s far too complicated to write out, so I’ve smashed out a chart.

Just keep crocheting until you either 1. get to the size you want, or 2. run out of yarn like I did!

For other projects I’ve also used Malabrigo yarn, which can be picked up at Wool Warehouse* (with global shipping).

Enjoy.

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19 Comments

Posted in Pattern, Patterns, Tutorials, Yarn

Tagged chunky yarn, crochet, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, hand crafted, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, hjertegarn, MissNeriss, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, pinterest, projects, spring, yarn

Oooh the pretties – Breidag 2014

Posted on March 17, 2014 | 9 comments

Late last year I visited the KreaDoe exhibition in Utrecht, and it was one of the worst days of my life. It’s the biggest handcraft exhibition in the Netherlands, and all those horrible personality traits that people living in cramped quarters are famous for were out in force. Elbows, shoving, crowding, breathing down your neck in the hopes you’ll move out of the way, the list goes on. Needless to say, I really struggled and even came close to tears at one point. Not the best way to spend a Saturday.

So, when I heard about Breidag in Amersfoort I was apprehensive. But I was desperate to get my hands on some of the glorious yarns that I can only usually ever find online. I started thinking about projects that I needed supplies for, and counted the days…

When my girlfriends and I arrived, we were all like four year old kids, almost bouncing off the walls with excitement. We were really early, just after opening time, as experience had told us all to get there before the crowds go nuts.

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And oh wow! The colours were amazing, and I hadn’t even touched anything yet. The first place we stopped was a small fibre stall, where the ladies were demonstrating different techniques for spinning, either using a spindle or a wheel. They also showed us the carding process to create wool bats by hand so that the fibres are all aligned, ready to be spun and become yarn.

I started to feel homesick by then. My Grandma taught me to spin when I was very small, and my family all have (or had) home spun, home knitted sweaters. My Grandma is still a wonderful knitter at 81 years of age, and has made some beautiful clothes for my daughter.

What I hadn’t expected to come across was the amount of local producers and dyers. I was honestly expecting it to be a hall filled with imported big name yarns, but was so happy to talk to the lovely woman from Textielwek Wol en Zo about her dying process and her passion for the art was obvious. Then there was the husband and wife team from Zeven Katten who import some of the most luxurious (and expensive) yarns I’ve ever seen and also produce their own beautiful yarns.

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It was also wonderful to meet a fellow Australian, Fiona from Harlequin Yarns, who specialises in hard-to-find-in-Holland yarns and her selection was incredible. My friend Tammy found almost everything she needs for her list of projects; it was like a one stop shop!

Then around the corner was the one spectacular skein of yarn that was 73 euros and another kit to make a shawl that cost even more. I was very quick to realise that this was a day for real yarn aficionados. I had hoped to be able to pick up yarn for projects around the 30 euro mark, but there was no way I could come home to my husband with the news that I’d spent 90 euros on one scarf. He’d freak. Then file for divorce.

However, I do absolutely see the worth in the yarn, especially when you watch the the artisans at work creating it. You can see how much time and effort and skill is involved and you happily reach into your pocket to support independent designers and craftswomen (and men).

The big highlight for me was watching WoolWench Suzy spinning her beautiful art yarn. She presented me with a couple of different bats, so I was able to choose the colour she should work with. I also loved meeting her as she’s a Kiwi, and has worked with wool and in shearing sheds just like I have, and living here I don’t come across many others who have.