Tag Archives: yarn

Yarn Love – Wol Cafe

I’m on a self-imposed yarn buying freeze, but I’ve been lusting after this beautiful Limited By yarn from Wol Cafe ever since I saw it at Breidag in March.

I couldn’t make up mind on the day which colour combination I wanted, plus it’s quite pricey, but life’s too short for bad yarn, right?  Plus, ever since I saw Wink’s Shawl Wars posts about the colours she has, it has been niggling and niggling at me.  That little voice telling me to just get it.

I really need a project in mind so I can justify it.  Help me!

life's too short for bad yarn

 

Bucketful of Sunshine Hat – The Big Reveal!

I’ve been teasing you here, and on Instagram and Facebook with shots of yarn and half-completed projects and today, finally I can show you what I’ve been working on!

This morning I managed to convince my almost two and a half year old to pose for some photos of my new hat design, and she rocked it! So, without further ado, I present to you The Bucketful of Sunshine!

Bucketful of Sunshine hat on missneriss.com, made with Scheepjeswol Cotton 8.  #scheepjeswol #cotton8 #scheepjesThe Bucketful of Sunshine is made using three shades of yellow Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 (508, 551, and 655) working from light to dark, creating a really cool ombre effect.

Bucketful of Sunshine hat on missneriss.com, made with Scheepjeswol Cotton 8.  #scheepjeswol #cotton8 #scheepjesThe sunburst on the side is actually inspired by a free pattern by Petals to Picots and doctored a little to minimise the cutting and joining (because we all know how much I avoid weaving in multiple ends wherever possible).

Bucketful of Sunshine hat on missneriss.com, made with Scheepjeswol Cotton 8.  #scheepjeswol #cotton8 #scheepjesI used the V-Stitch, making it perfect for the summer months to come.  Light, airy and full of sunshine.  I’m working on a tutorial for the V-Stitch for lefties as it happens, so keep an eye out for that too!

Bucketful of Sunshine hat on missneriss.com, made with Scheepjeswol Cotton 8.  #scheepjeswol #cotton8 #scheepjesI’ve just loved working with Scheepjes Cotton 8.  It has become my favourite cotton yarn and will surely be my future go-to.  I love the feel of it, I love the look of it and to get this project just right I frogged and frogged and frogged, and yet it holds up brilliantly.  No splitting, catching, breaking or any other annoying yarn habits.  What also makes it an enormously appealing yarn is that Scheepjeswol a Dutch company, and I’m all about supporting local businesses.

And possibly, what I’m most proud about this project is that it has given me the opportunity to produce a pattern!  And a free one at that!  Stay tuned next week and I’ll have a pattern in a toddler size at the very least, with plans for babies and adults in the works too…

What do you think?  Don’t I have the cutest kid?  She’s sunshine personified, and The Bucketful of Sunshine was wholly inspired by her.

 

Project pile: Summer Dress

I always tend to have at least three projects on the go. Right now I’m finishing up a couple of Elephant Snuggles, plus an exciting design that is just about ready to share with you, along with the Convergence top, another Spring Shawl, and a vintage Dutch pattern that I’m translating and altering!

Not one to just let that be enough, now I’ve added this one to the list:

And the yarn I’m going to use is the absolutely gorgeous Softfun yarn from Scheepjeswol.

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As soon as the elephants are done, I’ll get started. Can’t wait!

Oh wait, I forgot. I’m also working on a Candace Scarf too!

Mother’s Day Giveaway!

There are only two more days to go to enter the special Mother’s Day Giveaway that I’m hosting together with Smart Tinker and a host of amazing businesses.

You can win a bunting necklace made by me, a copy of my favourite book, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, a cake pop voucher, a boudoir photo shoot, a dinner voucher, a beautiful illustration, plus a huge list of prizes.

To enter, head over to Smart Tinker by clicking on the image below, and GOOD LUCK!

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Working with Scheepjes – a Colour Riot

I love Scheepjeswol Cotton 8.  I knew I would, but I think it might be my new favourite cotton yarn.  I love that it’s soft, and I love that it doesn’t have the mercerized look and I LOVE the colours!

The beautiful colours of Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 on missneriss.com #crochet #stitch #scheepjes #scheepjeswol #cotton8

For my latest design I’m using the beautiful shades of yellow, working on an ombre look.  There’s quite a bit of experimentation going on with rows and colours to get the gradient just right.  It’s difficult because my brain wants me to make sure all the rows are even, but the look is much better if it’s not.

Because I’m making a spring project, I’m wanting lots of space between stitches, I decided on the V-Stitch, which is absolutely perfect.  I’m now working on the courage to come up with a video tutorial on how to do the stitch, especially for other lefties like me.  But I need my own Dorothy and perhaps a trip to Oz for that.  We shall see…

Looking closer at the V-Stitch on missneriss.com #crochet #stitch #scheepjes #scheepjeswol #cotton8

I love the way the V-Stitch looks, and for this project I’m using two strands together, which gives it a great textured look too.

Looking closer at the V-Stitch on missneriss.com #crochet #stitch #scheepjes #scheepjeswol #cotton8

But what will the project be?  Well, that remains to be seen! Here are a few hints:

Experimenting with colours on missneriss.com #crochet #spring

Work in progress in time for Spring using the V-Stitch and Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 on missneriss.com #crochet #stitch #scheepjes #scheepjeswol #cotton8

You’ll just have to wait until next week for the Big Reveal!

Have you tried Scheepjeswol Cotton 8?  What do you think?

 

Spring Shawl – It’s Huge!

Finished.  After a month of picking it up and putting it down, it’s finally done.  And much more beautiful, and bigger, than I could have anticipated.

Spring Shawl made with Malabrigo Silky Merino on missneriss.com #crochet #yarn

It took a good day to block and dry, and was too big for my blocking board, so I had to break out the yoga mat so it would fit!

I’m just in love with it.  The colour, the texture, how soft it is, it’s a complete package.

Spring Shawl in Malabrigo Silky Merino on missneriss.com #crochet #yarn

Spring Shawl in Malabrigo Silky Merino on missneriss.com #crochet #yarn

And here’s the cutest little photo bomber ever:

Photo bombing

I used Malabrigo Silky Merino in Madre Perla (four skeins) that I picked up from houseofyarn.nl.  This shade is sold out, but there are lots of other beautiful ones to choose from.

I used the Spring Shawl pattern that I posted here and added a row of double crochets and picots for the edging because I found the original pattern finally!!!!

Yarn Love

Look what arrived for me this week!  The postman is already one of my good friends, but this may well have elevated him to BFF status.

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 #cotton8 #scheepjes #ombre

It went straight into my project bag, and to the top of the project queue.

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 in my favourite project bag #cotton8 #scheepjes

This last Saturday was King’s Day here in the Netherlands.  The first King’s Day ever I think.  We haven’t had a king here since the end of the 1800s, but for the longest time we’ve always celebrated Queen’s Day with fabulous national holiday and one of the biggest parties on the entire planet.

King's Day in Amsterdam, photo by Caitlyn from olympicwanderings.com

King’s Day in Amsterdam, photo by Caitlyn from olympicwanderings.com

My favourite part of King’s Day is the free market.  Everybody pours out onto the streets and sets up their own little stall, selling all their old stuff.  It usually starts the night before, with the really serious sellers and buyers camping out over night to get the best bargains and make the biggest profits.  Most of it is junk though.  We come across the same woman selling the same Disney videos (that’s right, videos) every year, so she’s obviously not in it for the money!

Speaking of junk, one man’s trash is another woman’s treasure, as they say.  We bought loads of cool things, including a brand new rain coat for our daughter, lots of picture books and I even found a loom!  However, this was my number one score for the weekend:

Originally this case housed massage machine from an era long past, but was only interested in the packaging.  A quick spray with some paint and gingham lining and I have myself the cutest little project case in the world!

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 in my new pimped project case#cotton8 #scheepjes

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8 is a yarn that I haven’t had the chance to work with yet, but I know for sure that it will be a perfect fit for me.  Its vibrant colours are perfect for summer and it’s so, so soft.  It will be brilliant for amigurumi.

But that’s not the destiny of this batch.  Instead I have another project in mind.  Something beautiful for warm summer days.

Stay tuned and there’ll be a pattern in it for you….

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Yarn Porn

 

Remember when I visited Breidag a few weeks ago? My yarn order from Textielwerk Wol en zo arrived, and it is just extraordinarily beautiful. It’s a gorgeous hand dyed (at their workshop) merino yarn and I can’t wait to play with it.

superwash merino DK on missneriss.com #yarn

But what am I going to make? Well, initially I was going to make the Convergence top that I haven’t shut up about, but now I’m not so sure. I definitely want to make some sort of garment, but am wondering what.

Any suggestions? There’s about 1200 metres to play with…

Crochet Teething Bead Necklace

When asked to make a teething necklace by a friend, I couldn’t get to my my local craft quick enough. I was on my bike before the request was even in.

Here’s what I came out with:

Yarn and beads to make the teething necklace

The idea behind the teething necklace is to give a baby a safe and interesting distraction while breastfeeding.  The baby can play with the balls and feel the different textures instead of digging their sharp little fingernails into already sensitive and tender skin.  I wish I’d thought of it when I was breastfeeding.

I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do, and how I was going to do it, but I decided to wing it and see what evolved.  And here’s what did:

Crochet teething necklace on missneriss.com #baby #crochet #teething

Crochet teething necklace on missneriss.com #baby #crochet #teethingI made it as simple as I possibly could, and also so that the beads could be taken off and rearranged into what ever style or colour combo that takes your fancy.  I love it.  The next one will be a rainbow coloured one.  Just need more beads!

Candace Scarf Pattern

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared the Candace Scarf that I made for my mum?  Well, in that post I promised a pattern, but of course I completely forgot to follow up until I was reminded at the weekend.  Thanks for that Anke!

You can find the pattern in the description of this pin:

I also promised to tell you how I hacked the pattern as it just didn’t seem to be correct, and I also made it more fluid, so you don’t have to cut and join, which I hate doing!

Below is how the beginning rows of the scarf look:

The beginning rows of the Candace ScarfWhen it comes to joining, the pattern asks you to complete the trim, fasten off, and join at the other side.  I decided to leave the trim out entirely, but you can keep it in if you like.  I just found it unnecessary for my tastes. (I think initially I had run out of yarn, so that was the decider for me.)

So, in the pattern, row four instructs you to make the bows, but instead I completely skipped that row and went on to the next set, because I planned to make the bows using my joining row at the end.  Here’s the last row, waiting to be joined:

The last rows before joiningInstead of sewing the ends together as the pattern instructed me, holding both ends of the scarf together and working through four loops at once (both stitches), I single crocheted in the first three stitches (of both ends), chained 5, single crocheted around the three chains, from the beginning end of the scarf to make a bow, then chained 5 again, single crocheting in the next three stitches (all loops, joining both ends of the scarf).  I repeated this to the end, fastened off and was done.

Candace Scarf on missneriss.com #malabrigo

For me, it just made for a tidier join and also means less ends to weave in!  We all hate weaving in ends, right?

If you want to retain the trim, you can use this method still, by doing the trim down one side, joining across, then going down the other side. Still no need to fasten off and join to continue, so you should be able to make the scarf in one long piece (except when you run out of yarn and have to rejoin).

I made my latest Candace Scarf using Malabrigo Silky Merino, which I picked up from houseofyarn.nl here in the Netherlands.  It is such a gorgeous yarn, I promptly bought half a dozen more skeins.  I have an order to make a black version, and am now on a mission to find the “perfect black”.

Any tips for a simply gorgeous yarn that is hand dyed to show variation and is merino based? (I’m dedicated to merino, having grown up on a merino sheep farm.)