MissNeriss

More New Yarn!!!

Posted on November 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

Just when my yarn room couldn’t get any more full, Scheepjes goes and releases a brand new yarn. TWO new yarns, in fact!

Alpaca Rhythm and Mohair Rhythm, all named for our favourite dances

I’m totally in love with these laceweight yarns, all my favourite colours are there. I think my absolute favourite is Lindy, but the Foxtrot is a close second!

Because the yarns are the same colours and weight, they can be combined perfectly. But do remember, know what you’re going to make before you start – mohair is not easy to frog, so you don’t want to waste any of this precious, precious yarn!

I was playing around with my favourite colour combinations and suddenly the Dutch flag popped out at me!

And I really love the Disco, Robotic and the Charleston together, who’d have thought those three dances would work…

I was very lucky to receive these yarns from Scheepjes directly, and the yarns will all be available very soon at Scheepjes retailers all over the Benelux, or internationally from Deramores, Wool Warehouse, and Paradise Fibers in North America.

Adventures in Brioche – A New Project Series

Posted on November 10, 2015 | 12 comments

A few months ago I visited a yarn store in Amsterdam, and while I was there I discovered the knitted brioche stitch and fell head over heels! But because I’m not a knitter I knew it would be beyond me, so set about coming up with a crochet version.

I spent some time experimenting and I managed to come up with a stitch that I like. I decided for the initial project I would make a hat for my daughter and I knew which yarn would be perfect.

A couple of months ago, Scheepjes released a brand new “squeak-free” acrylic yarn called Colour Crafter. There are an amazing 63, that’s right – sixty three – colours, all named for cities in the Netherlands.

To make my daughter’s hat, I’m using colours from two cool cities – Breda (orange) and Apeldoorn (hot pink). I also have two more colours, to make a more wintry manly version for my husband; Emmen (green) and Kampen (brown).

I just love the labels too, but I’m a total sucker for anything rainbow.

I was busy trying to take pics of these yarn to share with you, but I kept being interrupted by my fluffy little picture pooper!

So because I was laughing so hard I only managed to take a couple of pics (that weren’t blurry) before I got started. Here’s where I’m at: Aren’t Apeldoorn and Breda great together? Seriously bright!

ETA: you can find the pattern for this project HERE.

You can pick up the yarn at Scheepjes retailers all over the Benelux, or internationally from Deramores, Wool Warehouse, and very soon (if not already) at Paradise Fibers in North America!

12 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes

Tagged brioche, brioche crochet, colour crafter, scheepjes

Come Say Hi at Brei en Haakdag!

Posted on October 20, 2015 | 4 comments

At the weekend I am going to have the enormous pleasure of joining Scheepjes and half of my Blogger Tribe at Brei en Haakdag in Zwolle!

This time round Scheepjes will be hosting a Bloggerplein (Blogger Square) where myself, Annelies, Atty, Carmen, Jellina and Kirsten will be hanging out chatting with visitors and showing off some of our favourite projects.

We’ll all be there on both days, so you can come along and say hi. Please come say hi – this event is terrifying!

Here are some of the projects that I’ll be taking with me:

The Egyptian Star Flower Stool

The Peek-a-Boo Button Wrap

The Rainbow Hearts Tutu

I can’t wait to go, I hope I’ll see you there. It’s not too late to get tickets, grab them here: Breidag Tix

4 Comments

Posted in events, Scheepjes

Tagged breidag, scheepjes

Furls Odyssey Crochet Hook – A Review

Posted on October 12, 2015 | 7 comments

So, I was sitting here, happily getting started on this week’s GREG Mystery CAL and thought that perhaps I could try using my new Furls Odyssey crochet hook which has been waiting patiently in my hook case.

I ordered the hook ages ago, and it had to be made and shipped. So it took quite a while in the end, and is it worth the wait? Let’s see, shall we?

When I first unpacked the hook I thought: wow! It’s beautiful and shiny and heavy.

I ordered the 4mm, or G hook, but in the time I was waiting I had forgotten which size I had ordered. Strangely, there’s no stamp on my hook to tell me which size I have, so luckily it was in the packing list.

The hook is still taking me a bit of getting used to. It feels a-mazing in my hand, but the round tip is a bit different to my trusty Clover Amour’s tapered top. It makes getting into back loop stitches a bit more of a challenge, but that’s only because it’s what I’m used to.

I worked up two squares today for instalment three of GREG, the first with my Clover and the second with the Odyssey. The tension was pretty much exactly the same.

You can see, the square I crocheted with the Odyssey just peeking out from behind.

I would say that my Clover square is a bit tidier though, but I’m putting that down to practice and getting used to the rounded tip.

Here’s the Odyssey next to my Clover. Quite a size difference!

Over all, I’m very happy with the Furls Odyssey. I’ve wanted a Furls hook for a long time, but the price tag has put them firmly out of reach, especially with shipping, and then customs charges on top. (Dutch customs love to charge VAT then “administration costs” which are usually double the VAT value.) The Odyssey is the perfect compromise. A great hook, affordable, and beautiful!

If you want one, they’re available from Furls directly for $24.95 USD (plus shipping of course).

Do you have an Odyssey? What do you think?

7 Comments

Posted in Monday, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Tagged crochet hook, furls, furls odyssey review, gregmysterycal

Egyptian Star Flower Stool – Free Pattern

Posted on October 8, 2015 | 12 comments

I’ve had the patterns for this ready for a week now, but I haven’t shared it because I still couldn’t decide on a name! I made the mistake of asking for recommendations on Facebook, and I think honestly there were around 200 different suggestions! They were all amazing, and it was wonderful what different people could see when they look at the stool. Some saw Aztecs, others carnival, the circus, Arabian style, Moroccan even. I loved all the suggestions!

There were a couple that really stood out – Star Flower, Moroccan Candy, and the Circle of Life. The Moroccan Candy was probably my favourite, but then it doesn’t really give room to use other colours. And I had the inspiration from Lucky the Camel on Holidays in Egypt earlier this year, and I can’t decide if the top of the stool is a star or a flower, so star flower it is! So I’m enormously excited to bring you the pattern for the Egyptian Star Flower Stool!

En dames, voor jullie heb ik het ook in het Nederlands vertaald, met dank aan mijn vriendin Kirsten van Haak Maar Raak! Do be kind, it is the first time I’ve written a design in Dutch.

You’ll need 5 ball of Scheepjes Catona Denim, which you can pick up from Wool Warehouse* or Caro’s Atelier in the Benelux and Germany.

You can find the patterns below/beneden vindt jij het patroon.

Click here for English

Klik hier voor Nederlands

Enjoy, do let me know if you have any questions or issues, and please don’t forget to add this to your Ravelry favourites so more people can find it!

*Affiliate link

12 Comments

Posted in free pattern, haak patroon

Tagged action krukje, catona denim, crochet pattern, free pattern, krukje, leen bakker krukje, pattern, scheepjes, xenos krukje

Ta-Da! It’s the Still Nameless Tapestry Stool!

Posted on September 30, 2015 | 23 comments

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this one!

I just wish I had a name for it? Can you help?

I bought this little stool at Action a few weeks ago with the sole purpose of crocheting a cover for it. Here’s what it looked like before:

Not to my taste at all. I love the look of the legs, but the brown faux-leather, not so much.

I ordered the Catona Denim yarn from Scheepjes as it was a yarn that I hadn’t used before, but I love the colour selection and so had been waiting for an excuse to try it out.

I really enjoyed the challenge of working on a tapestry crochet project, and I think this one worked out beautifully. My daughter also loves it, here she is “modelling it” for me:

The really great news is that I’ve finished writing the pattern, and I’m busy proofing it, and then I’m going to translate it into Dutch! OMG wish me luck, this one is going to be the challenge to end all challenges! It won’t take too long, I hope…

Oh, and please help me come up with a name for this little stool, I’m scratching my head over it still!

What do you think? Will you make one of these? I’d love it if you did!

23 Comments

Posted in Scheepjes

Tagged catona denim, free pattern, inhaken, scheepjes, tapestry crochet, tapestry haken

It’s Yarn Day!

Posted on September 23, 2015 | 3 comments

Look what arrived a few days ago:

It’s a lovely pile of Scheepjes Catona Denim.

Scheepjes Catona, the start of a new project

I chose a selection of some of my favourite colours with the intention of working on a tapestry crochet project.

Doesn’t it look gorgeous, just as a decoration?

The yarn itself is a 100% cotton yarn, in a very similar style to the famous cotton 8, but with a lovely denim effect and ever so slight colour variation. It’s suited to a 3mm hook and is soft and easy on the hands.

I’m making a stool cover for a little “krukje” that I picked up in Action last week, and I’m hoping that I can even write the pattern for it in Dutch!

Check back next week, I’ll have the finished project for you. I’ve been powering through it and there’ll be more photos on Instagram through the week, so please nip over there to keep up to date! It feels great to be overflowing with Crochet Mojo.

Never miss a post!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged catona denim, cotton, crochet, DIY, project, scheepjes, yarn

WiP Wednesday: #rusticlacesquare

Posted on September 16, 2015 | 5 comments

It has been slow progress on the Rustic Lace Square blanket this week. I have a few other projects on the go, and I haven’t really been feeling that excited about crochet this week either, to be honest. You know those weeks, when you just have a bit of a slump. I’ve also been doing a bit of rearranging in my living room because we have so.much.stuff. Drives me nuts. I’m slowly finding a space that I like better though.

Here’s a closer look at the colours I’ve chosen for this project. I went ahead and made all the inside rounds of the squares for the blanket. My plan is to make a 5×7 square blanket; then border it in a way yet to be decided. Still no clue to be honest!

I’m storing all the inners on this cool steel ring so they stay together and don’t get lost.

I posted this one on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

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

and here’s a closeup:

Looking beautiful. More to come next week, providing the weather brightens a bit and I can take some photos!

I’m using Scheepjes Linen Soft for this project, together with a 4mm hook. Perfect match.

How’s your Rustic Lace Square coming along?

5 Comments

Posted in blanket, Projects, Scheepjes

Tagged linen soft, rustic lace club, rustic lace square, scheepjes

GREG Mystery CAL

Posted on September 11, 2015 | 1 comment

I’ve been thinking for a while now about joining a CAL*. I never have, mostly because the level of commitment required to finish is much higher than I feel I can ever achieve. For instance, my Mood Blanket from 2014 is still stalled in February!

However. I decided it was time to find the commitment and join in. And serendipitously, Shelley from Spincushions announced a brand new one, called GREG.

Why GREG, you ask? Well, it was a bit of a joke that turned into a cool acrostic title: Grand and Resplendent Endeavour in Gaiety. Cool, hey?

So then there was the task of choosing the yarn. I have a lot of yarn in my stash, but not enough of one colour to make an entire blanket, and I really wanted to follow Shelley’s lead and make a solid colour blanket. I hit the ordering machine and after about 45 minutes going back and forth between yarns and their costs, I chose Drops Belle.

The yarn is a Cotton, Viscose and Linen blend and uses a 4mm hook. It’s soft and has a slight sheen, but isn’t shiny like mercerised yarn. It can also be machine washed which is a real bonus when making a blanket.

I immediately had to make a test square to see how it felt, and thankfully it was a good choice. The square looked great!

Then all I had to do was wait for the CAL to start. I’m not alone in thinking that the waiting is the hardest part, am I?

Finally (well, a week and a half later), the first square was released. TOM (Talismatic and Officially Marvellous) is beautiful and wonderfully mindful. I have a feeling that all the squares will be great exercises in mindfulness actually.

View this post on Instagram

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

Now I have to wait for the second instalment, in a few days…

Do you participate in CALs? Which is/was your favourite?

*If you haven’t hear the term CAL before, it means Crochet Along, and is essentially a joint project between a designer (or designers) and anybody who would like to join. It’s essentially like a giant group crochet session, with everyone sharing pictures and experiences, and it really builds a community.

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged CAL, crochet, GREG mystery CAL, haken, mystery CAL, spincushions

#rusticlacesquare

Posted on September 7, 2015 | 2 comments

It’s a hashtag that has been taking over the crochet corner of Instagram like mad over the last few months. The Rustic Lace Square is a design that nobody seems to be able to find the original designer. Cornel Strydom has been on a Who Do You Think You Are style search to find where it came from. Last I heard the design had been traced to a vintage Scandinavian magazine, but the designer still remains a mystery. It all adds to the appeal if you ask me.

After my friend Carmen showed me her rustic lace shawl a few months ago I knew I had to make something myself. I started experimenting with the yarns in my stash, beginning with the Scheepjes Stone Washed:

The Scheepjes Catona,

Before finally deciding that the perfect yarn would be the Scheepjes Linen Soft.

Then I had to decide what to make. Usually I’m not great with motifs; I lose interest very quickly. But this isn’t your usual motif and my three year old Director of Design wanted a blanket, so a blanket it shall be!

The Design Director was also responsible for the palette (“Pink Mama!”), so I ordered all the pastels in Linen Soft range: