Tag Archives: craftsy

Owl Zpagetti Yarn Basket

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!

Owl basket, seen on missneriss.com.  Pattern to buy on Craftsy.

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.

Owl basket, seen on missneriss.com.  Pattern to buy on Craftsy.

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.

Owl basket, seen on missneriss.com.  Pattern to buy on Craftsy.

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.

 

St Patrick’s Day Baby Leprechaun Hat Pattern now Available

It has taken months and months and MONTHS to get there, but I finally have my St Patrick’s Day Leprechaun hat pattern ready to go.

Well, I have it in the newborn size for now.  I’m still working on the toddler size and will post the adult size as soon as I can.

The pattern is available in all of my stores, Etsy, Craftsy, and of course, Ravelry!

Here’s how it looks:

Baby Leprechaun - St Patrick's Day, pattern now available!

To celebrate, I’m giving away two copies of the pattern for free!  All you have to do to win is comment on this original post (on missneriss.com), and I will draw a random winner on Wednesday 12 March!  I will announce the lucky winners here and they will also be contacted by email.

Good luck, and thanks so much for your ongoing support!

Updated 13 March 2014

And the winners are:

Suzy and Patricia!  Congratulations, the pattern is on its way to you!

Image

Happy New Year, Crochet a Mood Blanket!

Beste Wensen!

That’s me wishing you best wishes for the new year.  Usually I would be expected to do a lap of the office kissing my colleagues giving them my best wishes, but as I now work from home, consider this my virtual smooch.

2014 is already off to a great start.  I look out the window and it is glorious.  The sun is shining and the temperatures haven’t properly dropped yet, so I’ve never been in such a good mood for the middle of winter, ever!

I’m not usually one for resolutions, as I never keep them, but I decided to have a crack at a few this year.  But instead of starting them on the first of January, I kicked off early.  I started running before Christmas.  Actually, I’ve been going to the gym with a group twice a week and we were on holidays over the Christmas period, so I had to do something to keep active.  Not ever being a runner, I surprised myself by getting out there and doing it.  My husband has been coming with me and although he’s a natural athlete and is nearly walking beside me, he’s amazing.

I’ve also decided to look for more things to be grateful in my life.  I’m a pessimist by nature, so it’s easy for me to find negatives everywhere, especially during the colder months, but that’s not the person I want to be any more so I’m making a change!  Each day I’m going to share something with the world (via FB, Twitter or Instagram) that I’m grateful for.  Perhaps I’ll do a weekly round up here, but we’ll have to see how my motivation and time goes!

In the Crochet world, it’s as busy as ever!  I have orders in the queue for Owl hats, a lion doggie sweater, a pippi longstocking doll, plus slippers that I’ve designed:

I used Sheepjeswol Roma big, and they’re lovely and snuggly. Not only that, because they’re so chunky, the stitches act like a masseur. So massaged, warm feet. What more could a girl ask for?!

Aside from the orders, I’ve picked up a project for myself this year, it’s the #crochetmoodblanket2014 crochet along that I discovered on New Year’s Eve on Instagram. There are more than 1000 people taking part, it’s amazing. I’ve been looking for a community to join that is filled with like-minded souls, and I’ve found it!

This is my mood palette:

And here is my progress for the first couple of days:

And day two:

I’m making a hexagon blanket inspired by my grandmother who makes the most beautiful hexagon quilts. Here’s one she made for my daughter, it’s one of her favourite things:

I found the pattern via Baby Love Brand, it’s a paid pattern, but well worth the (very small) investment. I’m using Drops Cotton Light to make it, and the colours are a mix of my favourites.

What’s inspiring you on these first few days of 2014? If you’re looking for a wonderful project, the crochet a mood blanket group is open to all comers, experts and newbies alike!
 

 

A dog and a monkey walked into a bar…

Well, they didn’t.  But could you imagine where that might lead..?

These are two little guys that I finished last night and are ready to head off to their new homes today.

Johnny the Monkey from #Zoomigurumi on missneriss.com

 

This is Johhny the Monkey from the Zoomigurumi book, produced by amigurumipatterns.net.  It, and it’s sequel Zoomigurumi 2 are my absolute favourite pattern books.  I love the photographs and I LOVE the patterns inside.  All my favourite designers are in there!

And this one I found on Craftsy (or it could have been Ravelry or Etsy, it’s for sale there too) – Pudge the Pup.  Isn’t he just adorable?  My daughter is in love with him.  So much so that there will be arguments soon when it’s time for me to send him off to his new home.

Pudge the Pup - pattern on Craftsy.  Seen on missneriss.com #amigurumi #crochet

 

Both animals were made with wool this time.  Usually I use cotton yarn, but I wanted them to be extra snuggly and fuzzy and they look great.

Johnny the Monkey was made with Drops Merino Extra fine, and Pudge the Pup with Drops Big Merino.

Anyone say headless chicken?

That’s how busy I am.  I’m running around like a headless chicken and only seem to bumping into stuff and making a mess everywhere.

Work has had me run ragged; changing jobs has been a wonderful step forward for me although a couple of weeks ago some of my most trusted and beloved colleagues were made redundant as a by-product of the business’ strategy shake up.  It was devastating to have them sitting across from me one minute and gone the next.  I’m still quite shaken about it all, I can only imagine how they feel about it.

Christmas orders have also been keeping me out of trouble – I’ve been working on some lovely amigurumi projects which I’ll link upon finishing and a load of hats and even a doggie hoodie!  Here’s a peek:

Santa Bust on missneriss.com.  Links to a free pattern by Dendennis!

In time for Christmas, I found this super adorable Santa bust on the Dendennis Facebook page.  Dendennis is a local Amsterdam amigurumist (with his first book coming out next year) and he posted an entire set of winter themed patterns, all for free!

If you haven’t heard of Movember before, it’s an awesome cause I get behind in one form or another every year.  Last year I convinced my dad to shave off his moustache for the first time in years to raise money, and he managed to raise more than $1000 AUD.  Amazing, hey!  This year my husband jumped on the wagon and part of his campaign was to take photos of himself in any pose requested.  He topped it off with an incredible homage to Freddie Mercury: I want to break free #Movember

He’s managed to get himself into the top 100 nationally (Netherlands) and donations are still open for a few more days, so go on.  There’s perhaps no better cause than Men’s Health.

Here’s my mo.

My ode to Movember, free pattern!

Ages ago on the Winkieflash blog I saw a post about an amazing skein of yarn from Knit Collage.  I really wanted to buy it, but at 30 plus euros I couldn’t justify it.  Until I visited KreaDoe in Utrecht and nearly went bananas with all the pushing and shoving and the inability to do or see anything that I really wanted to do.  So I bought myself a skein of Gypsy Garden as a reward, and this hat is the result.  It’s deliciously warm, I’m wearing it every day.  The photo unfortunately doesn’t do it justice, it’s much nicer in person!

Knit Collage BeanieHere’s something I’m extraordinarily proud of; Lucie Bunny.  She began as a pattern from Sidrun that I posted earlier, but over time she has become less someone else’s pattern and much more my own design.  It’s such a shame that I’ll never be able to list her as a pattern for someone else, but that just wouldn’t be fair on the original, original designer.

Lucie BunnyLucie Bunny

I just love her, especially in the muted colours that I’ve made her in.  Such a contrast to many of the amigurumi animals and dolls I see every day.

And finally, an owl hat.  I love making these.  I’ve made quite a few now (but not photographed them before sending them out the door).  This is one that I managed to make too small and still have at home, hence the photograph!  It’s a free pattern that is probably one of the most widely used owl patterns, from Repeat Crafter Me.  She has loads and loads of seriously cute hat patterns, enough to keep anybody busy for months.  And just about everything is free!

Owl hat, made with a FREE pattern from Repeat Crafter Me

I could go on and on with the projects I’ve been busy with, but honestly, it’s just cutting into precious crochet time!  Must get back to it.

My first paid pattern listing!

Several months ago I took my first steps into listing patterns that I have designed on Craftsy and Ravelry, starting with my baby Yoda hat, and they’ve been really successful, into the hundreds of downloads, so I decided that the time has come to see how a paid pattern download will go.

And here it is. My first paid pattern, the Merry Mini Christmas Hat! Right now you can find it on Craftsy and Ravelry. Now, on to world domination!

On Craftsy:

On Ravelry:

Merry Mini Christmas Santa Hat pattern

And just for fun, I’ve linked this one up with Moogly and My Merry Messy Life and Hookin’ on Hump Day

Meet Luci Bunny

Meet Luci Bunny at missneriss.comHi there!  Meet Luci Bunny, the newest addition to the MissNeriss Collection.  I made Luci for very special order from a woman from my former life as a tour guide in Australia. She was looking for something similar to her own Mouse; the cuddly toy from her own childhood, who is too fragile for her toddler to play with.  We exchanged emails and ideas until eventually we settled on something similar to what you see here.  However, we were still undecided if we should make a mouse or a bunny.  So I left it to the hook to decide.

Luci Bunny at missneriss.com

As the mouse/bunny evolved, I just wasn’t feeling that she could be a mouse, so a bunny started to appear instead.  I spent ages trying to get the ears and eyes just right, but in the end I think she looks perfect.

Luci Bunny at missneriss.comAs is always the case, I’ll be very sad to wave goodbye as Luci Bunny packs her bags and leaves home today, but I’m still happy because she has fuelled some serious creative juices in me.  I want to make another one.

Luci Bunny at missneriss.com

 

The original pattern is by Sidrun on Craftsy, although I used heavier yarn and I altered the pattern quite a bit.

I’ve also started sharing my inspiration on Tumblr, so pop over and take a look at all the gorgeous images and patterns that I’m finding and sharing over there.  missnerisscrochet.tumbler.com

 

 

Yoda is now on Craftsy

I’m taking baby-steps into the pattern design world and along with adding my first pattern to Ravelry, I’ve added it to my favourite pattern site: Craftsy.

If you click on the photo, you’ll go straight to the pattern to be able to download it.

Enjoy!

Pinspiration #1

I am a massive fan of Pinterest.  The amount of time I spend there is ridiculous.  Pinterest is now to me what Facebook was a couple of years ago.  I will have a quick browse before I go to bed at night and am wondering what cool projects I can find first thing in the morning.

I especially love the global society we live in.  It means that first thing in the morning I’m being flooded with ideas Americans have been pinning while I’ve been sleeping, and when I get home from work I have the same guilty pleasure courtesy of the Australians.

Here I am going to share some of the coolest Pinterest crochet projects that I have found over the previous week or so.  Thanks to the new Pinterest look and feel, it’s easy to link to the source of the pins which is a wonderful addition to the site.  No more clicking through thirty pins to get to the origin!

My faves for this week:

 

Bitty Flower Hat

This is a hat that I’m biding my time to get stuck into. Aren’t the colours just gorgeous?

 

Granny Stripe Messenger Bag

Granny Stripe Messenger Bag, found on Craftsy. I’m wondering where I can pick up the extra bits and pieces for the handles and snap closure, so I can make something just like this.

 

Roses and Lace scarf

Roses and Lace scarf from Crochet World magazine. I just love the roses. Why aren’t there more hours in the day?

 

Crochet deer head

Crochet Deer Head from ManafkaMina on Etsy. These just make me laugh. I’d love one on my wall. I can just imagine my library with all my crochet trophy heads….

 

Ribbed newsboy hat

Ribbed Newsboy Hat by Posh Patterns on Craftsy. I’ve just bought this patern and am busy making a couple for a friend (I’ll link them when finished). It’s a wonderful pattern, highly recommended.

I’d love it if you took a moment to browse my pins and you’re more than welcome to follow me.  I’m always hunting for more inspiration, so I’ll definitely follow you.

MissNeriss on Pinterest

MissNeriss on Pinterest