gebreid kraagje - knitting a collar

When it's summer, I don't want to knit big things.  Heavy wool, big needles, a huge amount of knitwork on your lap, I associate it more with cold days, and winter stuff.
So, when the warm days are upon us, I much rather take on some crochet.  Or maybe a very small knitwork like a hat, or a Barbie dress, or maybe.... I find something in a patternbook that is so irresistable that I just hàve to knit it.

I bought a beautiful Debbie Bliss book last week because I was soo in love with the little lace collar pattern on the last page.

It seems a helluva job at first sight, but in fact it was quite easy to knit. There is hardly any purling involved, that's a big benefit.  There are decreases and yarn overs in every row, so you must be careful, no automatic pilot behaviour for this one.

here's the finished collar presented on my mannequin

the back is also very nice

I carefully followed the well written intructions, and the result is spectacular !

I hesitated about the colour.  Usually I prefer some brighter shades for summer. (i'm blond and have a light complexion) But when I wear this charcoal grey it's very becoming.  This colour matches with a lot of my clothes, so I can wear it on most everything.

I prefer it to the other collar I knitted, in pale silk.  This one is a bit looser around your neck and can be worn with a round-neck tshirt, and even a v-neck if you strech it a bit.

The rialto lace is just lovely to knit with.  It is so light, soft and fine, but the result is  stable and quite solid.  I blocked it under a humid towel one night and the lace pattern was perfect.  I think the weight of my cat on the towel helped a bit.  (he firmly denied having slept on my knitting -which is strongly prohibited - but the hairs on the towel gave him away....)

There still remains a lot of lace on the skein.  I think I will knit another one, it is such a perfect present for a birthday.  
Maybe I will just change one thing : add a really nice vintage button in stead of the fine little knot.

joining yarn the Russian way

 Do you also hate weaving in ends ?  Look what I found on the Lion Brand blog : a very easy way to solve that problem.

The Russian join is an excellent technique for attaching a new skein of yarn or for changing colors. Best of all, it creates a secure join, so you can keep crocheting or knitting without worrying about yarn ends! Here are instructions on how to complete the Russian join in 7 easy steps. I’ve used 2 different colors of yarn, but this is a great technique for attaching a new skein of the same color yarn, too!

 1. Thread a blunt needle with one end of yarn.
2. Work the needle through the plies of your yarn for a few inches. Don’t worry if this looks bunched up now.
3. Pull your working yarn through, leaving a small loop at the end. This is where the second piece of yarn will be attached.
4. Thread your needle with the second piece of yarn, then insert the needle into the small loop you created before.
5. Pull a few inches of yarn through the small loop.
6. Like you did before, work the needle through the plies of your second piece of yarn.
7. Give each strand a little tug to smooth out the bunching. You now have a secure join! Trim off any excess ends.

That’s all there is to it! Depending on your yarn, you may notice that this joined area is slightly thicker than the rest of your yarn. I find this isn’t very noticeable when I’ve worked my projects, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

for the 1st time : wwkip in Oostende !

We had the most wonderful day. 

I met al lot of kitting ladies, we had lovely chats about wool and patterns.  Jan, the famous Belgian knitter came all the way from Hasselt (that's 2 hours on the train !) to sit and knit with us.
I feared it would rain, but  there was even a bit of sunshine. 
The kiosk is a very nice spot to sit, surrounded by greens.

Helen was there, and Barbara, 2 skilled knitters.  And Ronald was there too, a creative spirit who wants to learn how to knit.  He started with 10 stiches, and suddenly there were 15 stiches on his needle. 
My sister came all the way from Roeselare by train, she brought her friend Trees along.  Trees is the lady who organises the coach trip to Paris for the 'L'Aiguille en fête' fair. 

My friend Amandine from Bruges was there too, she knits on the train to and from her work everyday.

Karin was there too, and Monique, and Chris, and Caroline, and Ann who can crochet amazing flowers. Tiny and her daughters were knitting and smiling and playing.


And sweet Rebecca - my co-organiser for the day - was there too, she brought along some extra chairs, and we needed them.

Her 2  daughters were proud to be part of the group. Emily is a very good knitter for her age !

We were proud to have Jan there too.

 

at 2 o'clock there were already a lot of knitters busy

look, I can crochet !

Joëlle knitting and Emily showing her headband

I knitted my headband myself !

helping the little ones

Dad is proud !

Ronald's second lesson in knitting : count your stiches !

Will it rain ?  Or not ?

My colleagues from school stopped by.

Admiring Barbara's Baktus 'spéciale'

she made 2 scarfs in these gorgeous colours

This generation women have knitted all their life !

a lot of passers-by stopped to talk to us

even the little ones had fun

teaching crochet to eachother

a proud mum and 2 lovely girls

and here comes the sun

Carine is a knitting - teacher in Oostende

 Next to her you can see my sister, who's knitting a scarf from 'elle tricote', quite an artful accessoire with al the felted little flocks in different bright colours.  (Lone, if you are reading this, I'm sure you'd like this one !)  The wool she uses is ultra fine, there is 1 km of wool on the skein...    Next to my sister is Trees, her friend, crocheting granny squares.  Then there's Amandine, who came especially from Bruges to join us.  And the last one on the picture is Emily, our youngest knitter.  She knits better than her mum, Rebecca.    But keep that a secret....

Aren't we lovely ?

At the end of the day we had a visit from 2 journalists. They asked us a lot of questions and  took pictures and we were mentionned in 2 national newspapers today.  I am soooo proud !  

Reminder ! Niet vergeten ! Zondag 17 juni in Oostende !

Morgen is het wereldbreidag in Oostende.  Alle breisters zijn welkom op dit gratis evenement. Neem je handwerk en kom erbij zitten aan de kiosk in het Leopoldpark, van 14u - 17u.
Kan je niet breien of haken ?  Geen probleem, we leren het je graag aan !

it's owl or nothing

I was home early today, and sat down in front of the pc with a cup of tea and some time to surf around blogland.
I just read the latest post on tangled happy.  There is a reference to  Sarah's blog  where you can find a super (and free) pattern for a little baby hat.  It's owl-shaped, and very easy to make. 
And it just happened that I had some left-over wool in just the right colours, so I started to make one.  (Sometimes I just can't help it, I start a new project, and forget the more pressing matters like preparing food for the men....)
In just over an hour it was all finished.  and this is the result :

the look in his eyes...

it is for a little head

but not a little teddybear's head....

he does look smarter now...

In my country the owl is a symbol for wisdom.  But if someone calls you 'an owl' it is not a compliment.  It means you are stupid.  Funny...

vivianne's metal bag

My friend Vivianne, who comes to the knitting club every wednesday, is not only a quick and crafty knitter, she's also extremely creative.

Look at what she made.  Can you guess what she used ?

a bag for a rock chick

heavy metal indeed !

with a black lining, and a zipper

 You need over a 1000 little pull-tabs from softdrink cans!

felted oki - doki

Do you know the concept of karma ?  In buddhist or hinduist views, karma is an expression of consequence to your natural acts.  In other words : when you do something, it has consequences that come back to you.  You can interpret that as a divine intervention, or 'the universe talking to you'.
Oddly, I feel that this happens a lot to me.
For example : on a cold and windy sunday, there was an invitation to go and knit at a fair. I had another appointment that day, and thought about not going to that one. But then felt like I should at least spend an hour knitting there.  So I went there early, had a strong hot coffee and knitted and chatted for a short while.  And that's where I met Mieke.

Mieke showed the most gorgeous jewels, made by her in a very artistic way.  I admired her work, and she told me about her workshops.  I was very happy to enrole.

That first workshop was about silk, how to dye it, how to manipulate it and create some super things with it. Who was there at the same table ?  Sandra from Zsazsazu.  How great to meet eachother in live version - in stead of exchanging remarks on the blog !

I loved the style of the workshops, so I enrolled in another one : felting.
Mieke has made some cute porcelain bowls, and we added our felted strings and balls to make an 'OKI'.

Hello, nice to meet you.

I am a funny guy.

my name is Oki - doki.

Quite a colourful personality

I stand out in a crowd

I am now hooked on felting - here we go again ! - and will definately experiment with the methods I have learned from Mieke. And tell you all about it.

They say the individual is considered to be the sole doer and enjoyer of his/her karma and their fruits - wether these fruits are good or bad. 

To me karma is being so very lucky to keep meeting people along the way, learning from them, passing on knowledge and teaching others.  It makes me happy.