Baktus finished !

I am proud to present : my first Baktus is finished.

I really enjoyed knitting this scarf, it is sooo easy, all stiches are knitted, there is no purling involved.  You can find the free pattern on ravelry here !

I used 4 skeins of peruvian merino wool I had in my stash, 2 brown, 1 orange and 1 dark green.
And the result is :

I am wearing it in the morning, when I cycle to my work.  It keeps me warm and is light to wear.

felting

There is a lot more you can do with wool than knitting.  I was about to learn this at the 3-days workshop given by Mieke Recour.
We worked really hard at felting, it is quite intensive to make the wool change into felt.  You have to start very gently, but then just hit it, throw it around, slap it, get all your frustration out of your body, and the result is simply beautiful !
We could chose what to make, and as I'm not a scarf person, I made a few necklaces.
I love them, they are very light to wear, and I made them into the colours that fit my clothes.

earring made of silk cocons, handpainted

felted wool in spiral technique

plain felt ovals, but I love the colours

silk ribbons

handpainted, they were white when we started

needle felted rose

the only scarf I made : silk cut in fine strings

silk flowers on a felted base

silk is all handpainted

I'm quite proud of this one.

love those colours !

and here are some pics of the workshop itself :

Mieke explaining carefully what we can do

I love this necklace she made !

She has her own working place, an 'atelier'

silk ribbons painted in matching colours

lunch is served in the garden !

the spiral one and his secret : a plain plastic tube

Claire is making one too

Karin is making a book cover

ready to finish, or should I add more stuff ?

trial and error ?

look at that lovely stash of wool in the background....

Claire busy making her bookcover

it involved ironing, in this heat !

finishing the necklaces

I really enjoyed this 3 days.  Mieke is thinking of organising 'free ateliers' , that means you can come and join her in her atelier in De Haan, use all the material she has (and pay for it of course) - and she will help you when you have a problem or want to turn an idea into a scarf or necklace or handbag or anything.  She is a very good teacher, patient, friendly and empathic.  Check out her website for more info !

a beaded moebius

It is finished, the moebius scarf I started in Swalmen.

The wool I used is Zitron unisono, in different blues.   It was cast on in a very special way, (CO 100 stiches, but they turn out to be 200 stiches to knit... ) on circular needles, size 3.5 mm

I decorated it with beads, while knitting:  a quick technique involving a crochet hook. 
At a certain point you split the knitting and form a point.  I added some more beads there, for an extra accent.

After this project, I'm as good in knitting and purling on circular needles as on regular needles.  It took some stubborn persisting, but now i'm proud of myself.  I find it hard to try out a new way of knitting when I'm quite satisfied with the way I always do things.  But this was an eyeopener.

The result is really nice, but with 30 °C outside, I couldn't put it around my neck for a picture. 

a new wool shop in Oostende !

Yes, a new shop that sells wool.  And not just plain wool, but very good quality too.  

I have been there yesterday, and couldn't resist some linnen to make a summer scarf.  There are also pure cotton, lushy mohairs, and even Kid silk in many colours !   They have the collection of Drops design, and also the books.

The lady who owns the shop is a very well known knitter.  She used to own a Phildar shop, and she could read a pattern like it's nothing.  When I was a little girl, my mother would take me to her shop, and make me chose wool and knit me a sweater.  Later, I knitted them myself.  I can't count how many sweaters and tops my sister and I have made with the wool we bought there. 
Some time ago, I found an old phildar patternbook on a fleamarket. The fun we had leafing through that book !  My sister and me, together we had knitted nearly every pattern that was in that book, and we truly enjoyed strolling down that memory lane. 
Phildar sadly dissapeared from our village many years ago, to our great regret.

But !  Last week Mrs Phildar (that's not her name, it's rather what she is known as in my family) has opened up her new store.  It's called Marie-Fraise, and it is really worth your wile to stop and pay her a visit.
the address is : Christinastraat 50, 8400 Oostende
tel : +32 59 43 73 25

shop is closed on  Mondays
open on Tue - Fri 10 - 12 and 13.30 - 18 hrs
on Saturday : 10 - 18 hrs
on sunday : 14 - 18 hrs

by the way : she also sells woman's clothing, so don't panic and think it's the wrong address....  The wool is in the back of the shop. 

An abundance of wool - OMG !

Today, I am a happy knitter.
A friend of mine, has collected an enormous amount of wool for me.  She asked around, and many people seem to have left overs and even new skeins of wool that they happily parted with.  Yesterday I was given this huge bag full of wool.  I felt like a kid in a toy store at Sinterklaas.
All of this, for me ???  

This is only half of it.  My table isn't big enough !

And to top it all off, there was a collection of beautiful buttons too.  Big buttons, probably from coats, and lovely colours, even some wooden ones and mother-of-pearl, and collectables in bakelite.
If you look up, you'll see me floating around in seventh heaven !  

Now there is a question, that perhaps you more experienced knitters can help me with.  In the bag there were also 2 big white skeins of very soft creamy coloured wool.  I think it has some mohair in it.  But they are a bit dirty, and they are a bit smelly. 
My question is : how do I clean them without destroying them?  Could I try to wash it ?  Any tips or tricks how I can dry it ?  And also, how do I untangle this in a practical way and roll them into a ball ?  Many thanks in advance for your help ! 

here are the 2 skeins that need cleaning

op zoek naar wol in Moeskroen

Gisteren ben ik samen met mijn zus op zoek gegaan naar Fibrex.  Dat is een groothandel in stof en wol. Het is wel een eindje rijden van Oostende naar Moeskroen.  Maar het is niet zo moeilijk te vinden.  En wat een ongelooflijke ervaring : een kat vindt er zijn jongen niet terug.  Zoveel keuze, zoveel verschillende rollen stof en 'pelottes de laine' en de prijs.... je houdt het niet voor mogelijk. Ik heb 6 bolletjes zuivere scheerwol gekocht, om een tas mee te breien en daarna te vervilten.  Ik heb ook mooie wol mee van 3suisses, met een licht glanzend effect, om een muts en bijhorende armwarmers te maken.  Dan ook nog een 4-tal knotten zachte wol in een mooi grijs om leggings mee te maken die passen bij mijn nieuwe zwarte laarsjes.  het patroon voor de leggings is in ajour, met knoopjes in allemaal verschillende tinten.
Wel, ik had een volle tas met wolbolletjes, en de prijs was minder dan 20 euro.  Niet-te-geloven.
Om je een idee te geven : hierbij enkele foto's, en het adres. 


Fibrex
Rue du Crombion 2
7700 Luingne (Mouscron)
056 33 22 09