Bizzy Hands

Tiny update

2012-02-09T23:45:00.003+01:00

Tonight i knitted another swatch, this time of the 'real' material, to see if my calculations were correct. I'm over the moon! It's 30 cm, so i have some room to the sides to incorporate the logo, so it won't be disappearing in the outlining of the scarf.

The yarn i'll be using is ONline Linie 260 Corsofino. This yarn recommends needles 4 to 4,5 mm, but illusion works better when knitted tight, i'll be using needles 3 mm. Bought myself an Addi circular 3 mm with a 150cm cord. Tomorrow i'll cast on about 350 stitches:)

Perseverance

2012-02-09T16:35:00.003+01:00

Boy, did i have some trouble making the chart for the soccerscarf!

This is the logo.

First i changed it in Photoshop into a plain linefigure, removing the red. This was necessary, because the illusion uses only two colors, i choose red and black. (The Italian soccerteam plays in red/black striped shirts). I had knitted a gauge of the chosen yarn.

Then i used the illustration to create a chart in Illustrator. I printed half the pattern to see whether it was the right illusion when knitted. It came out far too long, distorting the image, because the chart only shows every second row, in which the changes between knit and purl happen.

I went back to the site of Wooly Thoughts, but nothing was mentioned about distortion of the picture. I send an email with the question about the gauge to Wooly Thoughts, and got a quick and extended response. Usually the gauge doesn't have that much influence on the effect. I think mostly because the used pictures are fairly square. Since i wanted to knit the scarf sideways and it's only 35 cm high, the logo already being elongated, that was going to present a problem.

(*To my shame i have to admit, there IS mentioning of gauges on the site of Wooly Thoughts, but i missed it completely, must have been blinded by all the wrong charts:)

I made several other attemps, but nothing came out right. Some research on Ravelry brought more insight. There was talk of squeezing the picture into half, depending on the looking angle, in order to get the best result.

I was NOT happy with that! Squeezing an already elongated picture even more spreads the workspace very thin. Especially with the characters and numbers that presented another challenge.

Did some more tryouts, still no gain. Finally squeezed into half, rearranging the space for the characters and numbers, fiddling the circles, until i was satisfied. Once again knitted half the chart and YEY it was alright!!!! After at least 15 attempts i finally succeeded....

Did little swatches for the characters and numbers to check if they needed work.

But:

All's wellllll, it's a hap, hap, happy day, toeraloeraloera lay....

Cat walking in spilled paint, an illusion

2012-01-27T08:01:00.004+01:00

I love trying out new techniques in knitting and crochet. I came across shadow/illusion knitting, had some cheap yarn laying around, so i decided to give it a try. Did some research about how to, and found tutorials on this website: http://www.illusionknitting.woollythoughts.com/information.html

I found a free pattern of a paw print on Ravelry, tried it to understand how it's working and done:) Then i discovered, that the paw was a dog's paw... Since i don't like dogs at all, i wanted to make a cat's paw print.

I took a drawing from google, converted it in Illustrator to a workable pattern and started knitting. When i had used all the white and red yarn, worked on with light blue and dark purple. Now the illusion is complete, it's a cat walking in spilled paint.

I will soon make the pattern available in my Ravelry designer's shop, if you're interested:)

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/hyke-groen

This is how it looks when viewed straight.

Here are the paws showing up magically when seen from the side.

The last one!

2012-01-20T12:09:00.001+01:00

My daughter asked me if i could knit another Mobius scarf. I had ordered too much yarn, so i knitted her a hat to go wit the scarf. The pattern of the hat is based on a Ravelry pattern: Wurm, but i had to modify it heavily because the gauge was totally different. Came out nicely though:)

Crocheted square cardigan

2012-01-12T10:38:00.003+01:00

Last year i crocheted a cardigan for a good friend of mine. The pattern was a build of squares, i found on the site of Jessica Tromp, a dutch lady, who has all kinds of patterns, instructions and more available. Here is the adress for those interested:

http://www.jessica-tromp.nl (Dutch)

http://www.jessica-tromp.nl/yarnscashmeremerinowoolluxurydiscountyarn.htm (English)

Last week my friend brought the cardigan with her for a photo, so i could upload it as a project on Ravelry. To be honest, not my best work, but she loves it:)

Snuggly mobius

2012-01-12T10:31:00.003+01:00

After my daughter Hyke modelled the white mobius for me, she asked, if i could knit her one in the same yarn, but different color. She picked the color purple, to go with her pink coat. I finished it this morning.

A couple of days ago i finished another mobius for my daughter Jerta, black was her chosen color. She didn't know i had already started, so when it was one, i send it as a surprise by mail, she was over the moon:)

Putting on my thinking cap

2012-01-12T10:25:00.005+01:00

After knitting the cable scarf, i had 3 skeins left. I decided to knit a slouchy hat and fingerless mittens to go with the scarf. When i tried it on for size, i looked like a fool:), but when the recipient daughter wears it, she looks fabulous! She is a real 'hat'person.

Wrap this around your neck

2012-01-01T18:36:00.003+01:00

Since i have been Mobius'sing for my daughters Jerta en Hyke, i wanted to knit something for my other daughter Anke. She doesn't like Mobius scarfs, so she picked a pattern from the Ravelry database, Cabled Scarf by Cathy Allen.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cabled-scarf-5

I bought Big Cotton from Lang, a beautiful and soft bulky yarn. I bought and started on december 30, and while staying at hers for New Years eve, i finished it on januari 1st! The finished measurements are 195 cm x 20cm. I used needles 6 mm (US 10) and 5 skeins. I was amazed myself, how quickly it was done:)

I slightly altered the pattern, because in the original pattern the sides are some stitches in Gartner stitch, that gives a fairly bumpy side, Anke didn't like that. Instead i slipped the first stitch of every needle purlwise, that gave beautiful smooth sides.

As you can see, she is very pleased with it:)

A more detailed photo to show the cable structure.

And another bites the dust

2011-12-29T22:28:00.003+01:00

Another Mobius is done, i made it for myself in two days. It's made of Phil Douce, an incredible soft and snuggly yarn, i had some left over from the babypod i designed and knitted. My daughter Hyke graciously modelled it for me:)

Two more Mobius'ses to knit for my oldest daughter, a black one and a grey mix. Some plans for a ruffled scarf for my other daugter Anke, but i have to run the idea by her first.

Yarnbombing Heerlen

2011-12-15T14:49:00.004+01:00

In Heerlen, the city where i live, has started a yarnbombing project. They intend to put a knitted carpet on a dull square. If you're interested, here's their website: http://heerlenbreit.nl/ (It is in Dutch) I am participating using all my unused stash and knitting like crazy:)

I might have gone a little overboard with the length of one of my pieces. But it's fun to do and satisfying to get rid of the yarn i have no use for without having to throw it away.

A scarf/shoulderwrap

2011-12-09T18:58:00.003+01:00

A friend of mine visited a store, and saw a scarf, that could be used as a shoulderwrap as well. She asked me to try to make one for her. This is what i made of it.

I used a rib of 2 knit, 2 purl, because this is an elastic stitch, it can be stretched to the shouldersize.

Infinite scarfs

2011-12-05T15:35:00.003+01:00

I made another mobius scarf for my oldest daughter in turquoise, her favorite color.

The pink Mobius had to be adjusted, it was too small, i added a few more rounds in pink to it.

Both my daughters are very pleased with them:) And placed an order for a black and grey speckled one... No can't do, because mid february next year carnival is coming, and i have to sew 8 costumes. This weekend we decided on the colors, black, cobalt blue and silver. The designing and drawing of patterns will take a lot of time, the cutting and sewing not so much, after that the fun part begins, the hats and decorations. We will form a family group in these colors, even the little ones. Can't wait to get started!

Laura in her cardigan

2011-11-11T17:39:00.003+01:00

Here's Laura with the cardigan, it fits like a glove! I'm very happy with that:)

It all starts with an idea

2011-11-11T11:04:00.006+01:00

Still into reducing my stash, i came up with the idea to make a baby cardigan in knitting and crochet. Basing it on a basic pattern, i already had, for the measurements. The material i used for the testing model is 100% acrylic yarn.

Then the hard part started.... I have lots of trouble with math and calculations, so making it work was a real challenge!

The basic pattern size 74.

As you can see, i made several mistakes dividing the triangles evenly, as usual there was some frogging:)

The gauge, there were some difficulties as well, i tend to knit my gauge with normal tension, but when knitting along, my stitches get wider, the gauge doesn't apply any more. I have struggled with that a lot in the past, but now i have found the solution, i just knit the gauge with far less tension. Another solution is to knit with needles, that are one size bigger.

The knitting stitches are stocking stitch, the crochet is Tunesian, in Dutch it's called Honeycomb stitch. The decorative stitches along the triangles and top are an elevated single crochet, the hem on the bottom and sleeves are crocheted with a crabstitch.

This is the result.

The front

The back

Detail of the combination of stitches

I wrote most of the pattern down, intending to make it available, but it's almost impossible to describe how i crochet the parts together, because there's some cheating involved. The parts don't always have the same amount of stitches to connect, and it's a very visual thing to do. Mostly i make it up as it goes. I wouldn't know how to write that down, so that someone else understands, what i mean.

Mobius wonders

2011-11-06T13:38:00.003+01:00

I love knitting Mobius scarfs! With the video of Cat Bordhi, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4, how to cast on, it's very easy! My daughter loves pink, i made her this Mobius scarf in overflowing colors.

The magic of change

2011-11-05T13:03:00.005+01:00

I have in my stash a huge amount of yarn with no purpose at all. It's eating at my conscience when i buy new yarn. I decided to use a box full of fluffy yarn in several colors for a blanket. The colors worked so well together, when it was finished, i was surprised by the outcome. Still i thought it was too plain, so i embellished it with little flowers and leaves. I plan to sell it on Etsy.com.

I love this picture, the bear gives it just that cuddly touch:)

The whole view, this photo is a bit obvious, but to see the blanket, there's no other way to show it.

A detail photo of the flower, it shows the contrast between the various yarns i used.

Speedy legwarmers

2011-10-27T11:44:00.003+02:00

Just some stashbust is in order at the moment, as i am awaiting a booklet with a pattern of a jacket, i'd like to knit. In my stash there are several skeins of yarns of cheap quality, which are not comfortable to the skin. Still i don't like to throw it away, i came up with this solution, i knitted legwarmers. They are knitted on circular needles size 7 mm., really "hurry up" knitting:)

Cute babysocks

2011-10-23T10:16:00.002+02:00

When i had finished Laura's hat, scarf and mittens, there was some yarn left. I decided to make the cutest little 'grown up' babysocks to complete the set. Knitted like crazy, hoping there was enough yarn:) Here is the result.

The hat filled:)

2011-10-22T09:46:00.004+02:00

Yesterday little Laura was at my place, so i could try on the freshly knitted hat and scarf and mittens. She looks adorable in it! The corkscrews on top came out just as cute as i imagined.

Long time no see

2011-10-19T11:51:00.005+02:00

Due to a shoulder tendinitis, i've been quite silent lately. No big projects were possible, fortunately it's getting better now. Besides i have a severe case of photograph-virus, making lovely pictures of my beautiful grandchildren. Here are some results.

Fenna, 4 years old

Morris, 1 years old

Laura, 6 months

However, i did some small projects, like socks...

and an earflap hat, scarf and mittens for the little one. On the top of the hat i crocheted a couple of corkscrews, instead of the usual pompon.

Hoping to begin a new bigger project soon!!!

Having a blast!

2011-07-20T08:42:00.002+02:00

Another Barbiedress for Fenna. I'm having a blast making these dresses. Speedy little projects:) In my heart i'm still a little girl, who likes to be a princess, though life caught on me... Making things like this satisfies the need for glitter&glamour.

The dress is made of cotton and some glitteryarn, i had laying around for years. I'm very happy with the result, and i think Fenna will be too:)

The great silence

2011-07-14T18:06:00.004+02:00

It's been three months, since i last picked up a needle or crochet hook. I've been commuting between my grandchildren lending a hand babysitting and/or taking care. Last weekend i was babysitting Fenna and Morris, the children of my oldest daughter. I bought Fenna a 'beginners' Barbie, since she is into dressing dolls at the moment.

Here history repeats itself:) I used to make dresses for my Barbie way back when, then an odd 25 years later for my daughters, and now the third time around for Fenna's Barbie. I still remembered how it was done:)

This is the dress i made for her doll. It's crocheted in white cotton and glitter yarn in red. There was just a little yarn left, so i made a bolero, hat and purse to go with the outfit.

The final picture

2011-04-28T19:37:00.004+02:00

The final picture of the freeform babyblanket. This is what it was ment for and how i imagened it making it. Look how little Laura is enjoying her blankie:)

Easter work

2011-04-25T16:06:00.005+02:00

I have spent most of Easter netting my Irish ornaments. I'm not really 'handy' with this technique, there's a lot of grumbling and frogging involved. It's trying to find a balance between the ornaments' structure and the netting. If the netting is to small, it creates a crowded view, and the ornaments seem to disappear in the mass. Yet i don't want to make the holes too big, because the tension in the netting needs to keep all in place.

The results so far captured in two pictures.

I am pleased with the result of the wild rose spray.

Baby Booties

2011-04-19T12:17:00.006+02:00

When my granddaughter Laura was born, one of my friends from our knittingcircle, Mieke gave me a giftpattern of a very cute pair of baby booties. The original pattern is by Luz Mendoza, in French colors.

Since Laura has an Italian dad, i made them in the colors of the Italian flag. I added a round of crabstitch around the sole.

Back on topic - a phototutorial

2011-04-19T12:11:00.003+02:00

I have made a phototutorial of the Irish Hairpin-Like Flower. One of the members on Ravelry.com, Melba Vincent, was kind enough to try it out, gave me helpful hints on my English, and some additional pattern improvements. She even added a photo of her flower. The phototutorial is a free download at my designpage on Ravelry:

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/hyke-groen

This is Melba's version of my flower.

I'm sooo proud!

2011-04-13T21:21:00.003+02:00

Totally off topic, but..... my granddaughter was born today! Her name is Laura and she is gorgious:) Mom and dad are fine, tired but very happy! Soon i will post a picture of her in her freeform blanket!

Breaking ground

2011-04-12T12:14:00.004+02:00

I have been dreading to start making ground for the ornaments. Ihen i decided just to go for it. I started with the original hookneedle, but the chains were too big. I changed to a hooksize smaller, that worked out fine, gave it a more 'lacy' look. Making chains, thinking of a nice way to connect them to the ornaments. What i have seen in some Irish lace pieces, the connection disrupt the form of the ornament, i wanted to avoid that. I picked up loops on the back of the work in the desired place, made a slipstitch and chained on. Sometimes i had no place to go with my chain, but slipstiching on the backloops on the outside of the ornaments was a good and practical solution to get from A to B, this i've learned from my other freeform pieces. This is the progress so far.

Something new?

2011-04-09T17:08:00.003+02:00

Yesterday i got the idea to combine Irish crochet with hairpin lace. I wanted to use paddingcord in the centre of the hairpin. Today i tried it, but it didn't work out. Because the stitches in the middle are alternate by twisting the pin, the paddingcord doesn't get covered by the stitches. In fact, it gets quite messy:) That was a big nono! Still i couldn't let go of the idea of making loops like in hairpin. Then i remembered i once used a loop stitch, making a crocheted rug. Maybe that was worth a try. Dug into my old books, and found the stitch. It's crocheted yarning over a strip of cardboard. Trying and searching for the right amount of stitches, i came up with this little flower. The loops are twisted like in hairpin lace. I have never seen anything like this in Irish crochet, maybe i'm inventing something brandnew? Who knows:)

Fighting the Wild Rose Spray

2011-04-06T11:29:00.004+02:00

All week i've been fighting with the pattern of the wild rose spray from the book. The original pattern was far too big, because i'm not working with thin yarn and hookneedle, but with 8 ply cotton and hookneedle 3 mm. That was the first adjustment. Secondly i didn't understand the written instructions, and the roses kept coming up very different from the pictures in the book. Having figured that out, i ran into another problem, i didn't like the way the stems were crocheted. There was a strange twist in the paddingcord i wanted to avoid. It is a good thing i have a lot of perseverance, because i succeeded:) Here's a photo of the result.

Paddingcord issues

2011-03-30T15:11:00.005+02:00

Four more ornaments are finished. Crocheting over a paddingcord is a walk in the park, but modelling is a different cup of tea! The wheel on the top right side is a good example of paddingcord crochet. I had to make it 8 times, before it began to look like the picture in the book. Even now i'm not completely satisfied with it, but didn't have the stamina to frog and start a ninth time:). The horse shoe at the bottom left is another 'good enough' ornament. To form the curve took me quite a while. The cross was a piece of cake compaired to the others.

Working slowly but steadily

2011-03-28T18:01:00.004+02:00

I finished yet anther couple of ornaments from the Irish Crochet Lace book. Some of them are easy. i'm getting the feel for the technique a bit now. The flower on the top left was more difficult to make, because the original pattern was not to my liking, all bumpy and crooked. I altered it to this version, that pleases me more. It took me 2 days(!) to get it right. The six looped edge on the bottom is just an example of edging for finished work.

I'm translating the patterns into Dutch, which makes it easier to make the ornaments, but takes a considerable amount of time. Storing them on my computer for future use, or helping others to get into this fascinating form of crocheted lace.

The pillowcovers at home

2011-03-27T15:22:00.003+02:00

The pillowcovers have arrived at their destination. My daughter took the final picture of them placed on her couch. They look beautiful and happy to be there:)

Learning process

2011-03-23T11:31:00.003+01:00

Learning is so much fun and frustrating at the same time... Some of the patterns have instructions i don't quite understand. I have to look hard at the photos to see, what i have to do. Though beginner at this, i'm already changing the patterns, if i don't like, what they look like:) Some needlepoint was involved, but no description how to... Digging into my mother's old books on needlepoint, i found the stitch, that would do the trick. In these cases i'm like a foxterrier, biting into the problem until solved!

These are the latest motives.

Irish crochet lace

2011-03-21T11:28:00.006+01:00

I received my books on Irish Crochet Lace, so it's time to learn about this technique. I have done one project with Irish crochet, a king size bedspread. The heart of the squares is an Irish rose, i altered the pattern into squares.

The pattern of the square is a free download at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bedspread-irish-style

Now i'm making the patterns from the books: Irish Crochet Lace by Eithne D'Arcy and Masterpieces Of Irish Crochet Lace by Thérèse de Dillmont. The first book is photo-illustrated, so that helps a lot! The use of a padding-cord is new to me. It's quite a challenge, because the english pattern sometimes puzzles me, to make it easier i translate the pattern in Dutch. Even then it's not always obvious, there's a lot of frogging too:) But i really love doing it. Learning new things is so exiting!

The results of hard labour:)

I separated the first hairpin-scrumble, because to my eyes it was to close together for open lace freeform. I will use the pieces seperately in a project later. For the moment the hairpin has been put aside in favor of the Irish work.

Hairpin uneven loops

2011-03-17T21:23:00.003+01:00

It worked well, the oneven loops. I made a strip of 60 loops, crocheted 20 rings of 3 loops each with 5 sc each, turned round the corners with 4 ch., the small loops were crocheted 2 loops at once with 1 sl.st., 1 ch. This makes a nice small border.

A new adventure

2011-03-17T09:53:00.004+01:00

I have embarked on a new adventure making so-called open freeform. It includes Irish lace crochet, hairpin lace and more lace techniques i haven't discovered yet. I'm really excited about this, it's been on my to-do-list for a while now. I have ordered some books on Irish crochet:

Masterpieces Of Irish Crochet - Theresa De Dillmont

Irish Crochet Lace - Eithne D"Arcy

The Complete Photo Guide To Crochet - Margaret Hubert

I already have a hairpin loop, bought it years ago, to try out the lace, mastered it and never used it again, didn't have use for it back then. Now i'm endeavouring with the different ways to use the strips.

The first one is crocheted in a circle, the second one is a try, how it works as curved border. At the same time i'm trying out how to attach them with crochetstitches.

When i was working on the hairpin, i wondered what would happen if you made uneven loops. This is the result sofar, i'm curieus about what it will look like when worked. The small loops have to made with more tension, because they have the tendency to shift to the middle.

The pillowcovers are finished!

2011-03-15T11:38:00.004+01:00

They are finished!!! I'm so pleased and proud:) They will look brilliant on Anke's green couch.

I love the way they are simular in colors and yet so different.

Backside follies

2011-03-14T17:45:00.003+01:00

I intended to make the backside in plain olivegreen, but soon found out, i hadn't enough yarn to make both. I had to come up with a plan, not wanting to buy more yarn, so this is what i did. I divided the skeins in equal parts, 4 green, 4 mixed green/blue, 4 mint and 2 multicolored. This way i knew i had the same amount for each backside. Dividing means unrolling the whole skein, holding the both ends together, roll a new skein, cut the loop you'll get at the end, cut the loop, unroll the skein again, separating the two threads, roll the new 2 skeins. Be patient with the rolling or else it will tangle up. Easy does it:) It turned out more interesting than plain green.

The opening in the topside is for the zipper, i will sew in.

Spirals front finished

2011-03-13T13:20:00.004+01:00

It's been a while, due to illness and carnaval celebrating days, but the front of the spiral pillowcover is finished! It was a nice project to make, testing the theory of making only crochet and spirals. I crocheted a round of hdc around the square, to make the atachment to back more smoothly. I'll make the back in plain green, using dc, then finish it off by making a round of crabstitches, that'll give a nice embellishment and firmness to the edges.

Newgrange spiral

2011-03-03T18:09:00.005+01:00

Talking about the spiral of Newgrange, i thought, why not try to make one just like that? This is what came out.

The original spiral.

My interpretation of it. The inward twist is mirrorwise, because i'm righthanded. Maybe a lefthanded crocheter could make a real replica:)

Nature's spirals and inspiration

2011-03-03T12:19:00.004+01:00

I love working with spirals! Man has been inspired by spirals since long ago, as you can find engraved in the Passage tomb of Newgrange in Ireland. I was inspired by them, when i was drawing mandalas, the mandala showing i made after a visit to Newgrange. Nature itself has spirals too, seen in the shells of snails.

The spirals in the top rightcorner are a reflection of that mandala. The spiral in the middle is based on the eternity sign.

Perpetuum mobile

2011-03-02T16:38:00.003+01:00

I tried some stitches to stabilize the spirals, looking for a way to preserve the connecting lines. At first i used different colors at the end of the spirals, but that ruined the harmony and the flow between them. The next thing i tried, was using the same color, but different texture. That worked pretty well, specially since i increased the opening, in order to get a more straight line to make a base for new attachments. Still that left some borders of the spirals open, which i could surround by yet another color. In my opinion that would break the continuity, so i choose to surround both scrumbles with two rounds of sc. in contrasting colors, preserving the unity of each scrumble.

Spirals progress

2011-03-01T21:43:00.003+01:00

Still wasn't completely happy with the colorschemes in the spirals, it looked kind of flat and uninteresting. Frogged the chainstitches in the spirals, and tried to add some more color to it. Letting the colored chainstitches pass over into the next spiral creates a much better visual effect. Now it looks like the three spirals spring from the triple spiral. I love the result!

Fenna & her cardigan

2011-02-27T13:41:00.006+01:00

Fenna was so pleased with her cardigan! And it fits like a glove! She looks so sweet and beautiful in it:)

She doesn't like to get her picture taken, so the IPhone was a good distraction:)

Frogging and retrying

2011-02-25T10:48:00.003+01:00

I detachted the spirals, because it became sooo boring! Besides, the orange connection pulled the spirals out of shape. Still pursuing the spirals idea, but i have to figure out a different way to connect them.

I love the way the triple spirals turned out!

Inspired by spirals

2011-02-24T10:43:00.003+01:00

The second pillowcover will be about spirals, i think. I'd like to try to make all kinds of spirals, connected to eachother. How i'm going to manage spirals with other stitches than dc, haven't got a clue yet, but it's worth a try. Here's the beginning.

The front is finished

2011-02-23T13:54:00.003+01:00

I have finished the front, totally love it:) I still can't get the right colors on the photo, i'll have to ask my favorite photoshop owner to help me with that. The back will be in plain olivegreen, with a zipper.

Swiftly working

2011-02-22T16:51:00.004+01:00

The loose scrumbles have been attached. It went much quicker than i expected! Galloping towards the finish:)

Theme nature

2011-02-22T09:22:00.005+01:00

The changes in theme is the wonder of freeform. What was beginning as random objects in the cover, is changing into a nature orientated piece. The additions are a flower, a snail and a fernleaf.

Inspired by Jenny Dowde i crocheted a round of crabstitches around the flower. I crocheted onto the front loop of the last round, it leaves the back loop free for attaching it to the piece.

I love the way the shell is accentuated by both the colors.

I crocheted a black round onto the fern, then filled the gaps and sides, using the back loop of the black round. It leaves a hint of a line around the fern.

This is the progress so far.

Steadily scrumbling on

2011-02-21T10:05:00.004+01:00

Added the dahlia onto the composition. Struggled to get it right, because the olivegreen kept coming out too big. This color is the color of the couch, the pillows are destigned for, therefore it is the binding element. Some structured crochetstitches were throw in as well. Not a lot of knitting yet, but that can change. The actual size will be 40 x 40 cm. From the top to the bottom i have reached this length.

Scrumble stumble

2011-02-20T11:24:00.003+01:00

I still wasn't satisfied with the way the peacockfeather stood out, because the connecting colors were too simular. I had to find a solution for that. I crocheted chainstitches in black around the most part. and there it was, just the way i wanted it. Then in comparison to the feather, the big butterfly still looked dull after embellishing. I added some black chainstitches, that was so much more to my liking! This is a crucial point in the process, because now i have decided to use this black 'notes' over the whole pillowcover. It gets a kind of drawn feeling, i used to add black touches to my drawing and painting to finish off.

The bulky yarn was in my stash for a long time, i never found a use for it. This yarn makes a great combination! Since i read on Ravelry, that knitting this kind of yarn always shows the bumpy bits to the purl side, i knitted purl on the front side. It turned out fabulous.

The little butterfly i crocheted as a model for Fenna's cardigan, is surrounded by this lovely multicolored fluffy yarn, this yarn connects it to the orange and black in the other scrumble.

Growing greens

2011-02-19T12:15:00.006+01:00

The peacock is closed in with different colors and stitches. It was not easy getting the little feathers incorporated in a nice way. Hence my remark to never make it again! I am still not satified whit the photo, the color still is off. I tried to play with various tecniques with the camera, whitebalance and stuff, but i can't get it right. Even the photos i took outside didn't bring out the real color. Grmbl!

I embellished the dahlia with chainstitches, because i thought it was dull. It got the artistic fire burning, and my butterflies were victim to my flow too.

The next project is lurking

2011-02-18T17:07:00.003+01:00

The pillowcovers for my daughter Anke are next in line. I already made a few scrumbles as test run for scrumbles of Fenna's cardigan. Some of them still need some embellishing.

I wanted to crochet a peacockfeather, and this is what came out. The blue color doesn't sit well with the computer, it's more like the letter O i pasted at the bottom (to the right). It was a difficult scrumble to make, a lot of frogging and fidgeting. I'm satified, but won't make this particular scrumble again, i think.

The cardigan is finished!

2011-02-17T10:28:00.004+01:00

It's done! I am so happy it turned out beautifully! Every time i have finished a freeform piece, i can't imagine i made it. The only thing missing is my granddaughter in it:)

The front side.

The back side

Folded the sleeves for the photo, the details are showing.

Second sleeve and all

2011-02-16T22:57:00.003+01:00

I finished the second sleeve today. I tried to keep the mushroom free, so it stands out. Still smitten with it:) I'm not happy with the flashlight photo, it throws the colors off. But in order to be able to work tonight, i was forced to.

Tonight i crocheted the sleeves onto the body with slipstitches. The fit of the top of the sleeves was really good, so i didn't have to cram it in fortunately. Tomorrow i will sew on the buttons, and the cardigan will be ready! I'm over the moon!

I will make photos of the cardigan out in daylight, that will do the colors justice.

One down, one to go

2011-02-15T15:56:00.002+01:00

Finished the first sleeve. It went smoothly, in comparison to the body. I'm particulairy pleased with the shape of the top of the sleeve. It will make a real good fit for the model.

In search for the right buttons i found these ones. Not too outstanding, because they shouldn't take attention away from the cardigan itself. A little shiny though for some sparkle:)

Of sleeves and stuff

2011-02-14T11:11:00.004+01:00

Started working on the sleeves. Made the cutest mushroom ever. The texture of the hood is the backside of slipstitches, it has a kind of purl-feel to it. The dots were sewn onto the fabric.

And adding a shamrock for luck. I really love to work with bullion stitches. They give a lot of texture to the shape.

It looks like a cardigan.

2011-02-13T11:36:00.004+01:00

It's beginning to look more and more like the cardigan i want to make. I had to make a few adjustments, because i did the crabstitch all wrong. It looked like a chain on the outside of the border, and not at all like the crabstitches i did before in other work. So back to the basics, finding a description how to... Found a good one, and now it's all good.

Backside view.

I always try to weave in the yarn ends in the same color, that way the inside looks almost as good as the outside. Especially with a cardigan the inside will show, and i hate it when that looks messy.

Getting into shape

2011-02-12T17:15:00.005+01:00

The body is into shape now. It took so much more time and work, than i realised! Just making a few stitches, laying the work onto the pattern, some more stitches, laying and so on. Keeping in mind how the yarn turns out when worked, choosing patternstitches... A lot of frogging too, because the fabric is different, layed out or hand held. I am glad it's done to my satisfaction now! Tonight i will attach the shoulders, and crochet a collar of slipstiches. I anticipate already, that the crabstitch to the border of the collar has to be on the reversed side, bcause the collar flips outwards. That renders the original plan, to crochet all at once useless, because it would be visible on the wrong side.

Hooked on borders

2011-02-11T15:18:00.004+01:00

Finally i have filled the gaps to be able to hook on the border. First i crocheted a round of slipstitches, crochet and double crochet around the body in order to get a straight line in the same color as the border. I attached the border with chainstitches through both the loops of border and body.

I wasn't satified with the outer edge of the border, it was all curling up. and wouldn't lie flat. The solution for this problem was to make a crabstitchround, picking up the backloops of two stitches at once. Done in a different yarn, this adds a little extra pleasing touch.

Framing in

2011-02-08T14:22:00.004+01:00

After a lot of thought and tries i have chosen the slipstitch border. Now it works as a frame to the cardigan. It needs a little filling here and there with structure stitches, knitted and/or crocheted, i don't know yet. Perhaps maybe adding some bullion cirkels.

The heart found its place, supported by a little simple cable.

Heart and soul

2011-02-07T12:19:00.004+01:00

I made a Tunesian heart for the left side of the cardigan, i'll place it on top of her heart:) It also signifies my heart and soul poured into this work.

The cablescrumble was intended to hold the heart, but it's too big, i have no more room for it in the body. I guess it'll find it's place in one of the sleeves.

Butterfly Inc.

2011-02-05T15:18:00.005+01:00

The butterfly now is almost incorporated in the frontside. I have to use small stitches and unicolor yarn, to keep it standing out on its own. Thinking already about solutions for the hems. I'd rather not make normal welt stitch, because the bottomstitches would be horizontal, and the sides vertical. I never succeeded to make this work the way i would like. It always looks ugly. I'm leaning towards making rows of slipstitches in different colors.

Butterflies

2011-02-04T15:10:00.006+01:00

I want to incorporate a butterfly into the cardigan, because i LOVE butterflies. I designed quite a few, searching for the right size and texture. The butterfly to the left side turned out good, but it's too big for the little cardigan. The one to the right side is nice, but i had to bend over backwards to get it 'in shape' Still i can use these scrumbles in the freeform pillowcovers for my daughter Anke, so all the work was no waste of time:)

This is the final design, simple but effective.

Here's the scrumble, that i will use.

Some thoughts

2011-02-04T15:06:00.003+01:00

I was looking at the cardigan, and a wonderful thought came to mind. The fingers make a symbol of my hand holding my granddaughter lovingly... This way i'm always nearby, when she 'll wear it in the future.

Some new little additions

2011-01-30T10:29:00.004+01:00

The latest additions... Incorperated the 'fingers' with some ribbonyarn single crochet, then attached them to eachother with single crochet and slipstitches. To the right i knitted a little scrumble in trinity stitch, using fairly bulky yarn for texture, and again sliptstiches to attach it. I seldomly use sewing to atttach the scrumble, my favorite way is zigzagging sliptstitches, it adds a wonderful decorative texture.

Fingertips

2011-01-29T20:38:00.003+01:00

It's growing very fast, must be because it's a small size. The journey towards the goal is equaly important as the result, and even I don't like taking pictures in artificial light, i'm forced to, because it's early in the evening, and i want to keep working on it. I crocheted fingerlike tails, which will come out in the frontside. It's some kind of symbol me holding and loving her.

The fingertails are beginning to be my signaturestitch, i designed them for my other freeform cardigan, which is still in progress and hibernating. I keep coming back to the stitch, because i like it very much.

And some more...

2011-01-29T10:12:00.004+01:00

Some scrumbles i made last night. I love spirals, especially when they are embellished with a slightly contrasting yarn.

The scrumbles spread out on the backpattern. I have to attach the loose scrumbles on top and to the left, to the right i knitted straight onto the scrumble with ribbon yarn, and crocheted rows of single crochet and crabstitch.

Peek-a-boo

2011-01-28T16:50:00.002+01:00

A quick look behind the scenes of freeform:) Messy, and always in contact with the world by IPhone.

3D Freeform dahlia

2011-01-28T13:01:00.004+01:00

I did it and am so happy it succeeded! After trying and frogging for 2 hours i made a 3D fower, it looks like a dahlia. The beginning is like an Irish crocheted flower, the rest i made up as i got along. This scrumble i will use in the freeform pillowcover, but now i can make one for Fenna's cardigan too. I also have to write down the pattern, cause i think i will use this a lot more in future freeform.

One day labour

2011-01-28T09:59:00.004+01:00

Here's the result of yesterdays work. It looks somewhat like a tree at the moment, but that'll change rapidly when i fill the sides. Thinking of some 3D crochet. I'm going to try it in cheap yarn first, so when it has to be frogged, that'll be no problem. After this cardigan i will make some freeform pillowcovers in greenish colors for my daughter Anke. The yarn i'll be using for that is already part of my stash, If and when the tryouts will turn out good, i can keep them for the covers.

Overcoming a fear

2011-01-27T11:07:00.003+01:00

Finally overcoming my fear of expensive yarn... the first beginning of Fenna's freeform cardigan! I'm curieus what it will look like in a couple of days.

Sockwave

2011-01-26T18:02:00.002+01:00

In a bit of a sockwave at the moment. I like knitting socks, it's a no-brainer and my stash is dimished, and a friend very happy:)

Sewing technique

2011-01-26T09:46:00.003+01:00

Somebody in a Dutch forum was asking about sewing techniques for granny squares. I once made this bedspread.

I made her a little phototutorial, how i attached my squares.

Finally finished!

2011-01-24T10:02:00.003+01:00

The pillows are finished! I sewed them on the machine for a better result, seeing as i had to sew the zippers in anyway. I hope my daughter and son in law will like them. I made myself a solemn promiss to NEVER buy brown yarn again. It's so not my kind of color!

Again with the socks

2011-01-22T11:58:00.003+01:00

The socks are ready. For leftover yarns they came out pretty well. My friend is already rejoicing the moment, she gets them:)

Keeping my hands bizzy

2011-01-18T13:08:00.003+01:00

While i'm waiting for the pillowcovers to dry, it's unthinkable, that my hands must be idle. So, i'm going to make a friend very happy with a pair of turquoise striped socks, knitted from leftover sockyarn.

Some Blocking

2011-01-18T13:05:00.003+01:00

All the crocheting is done, now it's time for blocking. It'll take a few days to dry, than i can sew in the zippers and close the sides.

Handmade gifts

2011-01-10T11:43:00.002+01:00

My daughter Anke and i love making handmade gifts. I was at her place at newyearseve, i made her this cute IPhone pouch. She was smitten with it:)

Back to the pillow

2011-01-10T11:37:00.002+01:00

The busy days of christmas and newyearseve are over. Now i have time again for the Tunesian pillows:) I frogged the leafpillowcovers, because my son-in-law didn't like them, and the last thing i want, is when i come visit, they have to hurry and put the pillows on the couch! The Tunesian ones were to his liking, so the 4 are ready. I don't have enough yarn to make the back all brown, this is my solution for the backside, a kind of bumblebee look.

Update Tuniesian pillowcover

2010-12-22T13:23:00.004+01:00

The first of the 2 Tunisian pillowcovers is ready. One more like this, and next 4 black&brown backsides. I have my work cut ot for me.

Intermission

2010-12-18T15:40:00.004+01:00

I made this pillowcover in the 80ties in white, was very fond of it, our children used to sleep on it in our car. Unfortunaltely is was stolen from our car after we were in a carcrash. I always regretted the loss, so i decided to make a new one. The project has been hibernating for quite a while though, being caught up in freeform.

The pattern comes from a stack of magazines my mother left me, it is knitted on 5 dpn's.

It is meant for my youngest daughter, who has decorated her house in brown colors. There are going to be two leafpillows, with striped black&brown backside.

The other two pillows will be in Tunesian crochet, since i got this fabulous Tunesian crochetneedle with cord from Sinterklaas (Dutch version of Santa Claus). It only seems right, to use the needle for the first time for the giftgiver:) The backside also will be black&brown.

Two new patterns in my store

2010-12-15T18:20:00.004+01:00

Today i made 2 phototutorials for my Ravelryshop. One pattern is the starfish i used in my freeform babyblanket, the other is a pattern of the leaf i used in the same blanket. They are available for free at http://www.ravelry.com/designers/hyke-groen

I'm really proud of making a phototutorial!

Socks for Annelies

2010-12-11T18:39:00.002+01:00

A real good stashbust in sockyarn... I knitted a pair of dark- and lightgrey socks for a friend, and now these are ready. The yarn is left over from unicolor socks i knitted for myself, and now i'm combining colors to diminish my stash. Knitting socks is a no-brainer for me, and a pleasant change from freeform.

Patternmaking in Illustrator

2010-12-09T11:08:00.005+01:00

This morning i made the pattern. I imported the pictures, i had copied from the magazine, in Illustrator, drew it to real size, then printed them in parts, which i could tape together. Now i have a working model. It took me quite some time, but this way it'll work just fine.

The pattern is found

2010-12-08T23:14:00.003+01:00

This the groundmodel for the cardigan. It's published in Phildar Pitchouin Spring/Summer 2010 nr. 013.

The collar will be a bit larger, and i'm just going to use the groundmodel, to make the scrumbles fit. I will loose the pockets, i don't think it adds to freeform.

These are the patterns, i'm going to draw on patternpaper, so i always have the right measurements at hand.

In the meanwhile

2010-12-08T22:44:00.003+01:00

In my head i'm preparing the cardigan for Fenna, but in the meanwhile i have to keep my hands busy. The Dutch Crafters Group on Ravelry have a lot of members, who are going 'cold sheep'. meaning they just knit/crochet from their stash, not buying new yarn. It infected me with the same virus, so i'm knitting a pair of socks for a friend, as a stashbust:)

New project: freeform cardigan for Fenna

2010-12-07T09:19:00.002+01:00

A new project is about to start. A freeform cardigan for my granddaughter Fenna. She's 3 years old, and a very girly girl, crazy about pink. The materials i'm going to use are Lang Cotone, Lang Street, Lang Tonga, Rowan Pima Cotton DK, Gedifra Possible, Online Corsofino and Online Linie 258 Tequila. All pink of course, and various materials. I'm very curieus about the ribbon yarn, because i have never used that before.

And some more

2010-12-07T09:06:00.005+01:00

I couldn't load up all the pictures at once, so here are a few more...

I love this photo, it's not really about the cowl, but the light is fantastic!

And of course i still love macro photos, so this one has to be in the story too!

Me, myself and my pink cowl

2010-12-07T08:58:00.005+01:00

The final pictures have been taken by my very artistic daughter, who takes time of her busy scedule of graphic designer to humor me. She makes the pictures, i have in my head, so i'm very pleased with the outcome. Thank you, Anke!

Almost there

2010-12-02T09:54:00.003+01:00

It's almost done... Just closing the circle, to make it a cowl, and some finishing touches around the edges, and i'm good to go:)

Frode Knot

2010-12-01T17:32:00.003+01:00

A new cable with a strong Celtic appearance. I found it on the net, it's called a Frode knot. A part of Viking braid cables. I found a book, Viking Patterns for Knitting, so i ordered it immediately:) It will be an inspiration in my future freeform. Since i had no pattern of the knot, i had to analyze it from the picture, it took me about 3 hours to figure it out. I'm very glad with the result!

Closing in

2010-11-24T10:39:00.003+01:00

Getting bigger and bigger, closing in on the finish. I have to climb on the table now to get a decent picture:) Pondering about the size, the lenght is approximately 77 cm. now, but i' afraid it's not wide enough. Probably needs some scrumbles at the side, to reach over 80 cm.

Spirals

2010-11-23T09:38:00.003+01:00

This time i wanted to make a spiral, making the diffferent colors come twirling out of the centre. Then i enhanced the scrumble with a spiral of beads. I love the effect it's giving.

One step backwards, two steps forward

2010-11-22T12:54:00.003+01:00

Yesterday i crocheted the ribbon unto the cowl, but it turned out too short. I had to frog and remake it. This morning i crocheted the new ribbon unto the cowl, and yessss, it was alright now. I also filled in some gaps with the leftover leaves, and embellished them with beads. All and all, i'm pleased with the progress.

Cords and corkscrews

2010-11-21T09:19:00.004+01:00

I abandoned the idea of knitting a tunnel, instead i crocheted a ribbon of slipstitches with holes, to pull the cord through. I tried to crochet an icord, but wasn't satified with the results. So i made a chain of 75 cm. with one round of slipstitches. That made an easy and nice cord. At the end i crocheted corkscrews. Took me some frogs, but the curliest result was 4 crochet in 1 chain.

I love making macro photos, this makes such a good object for close ups!

Growing and flourishing

2010-11-20T16:20:00.004+01:00

I have incorporated the third scrumble onto the cowl. Not too long before it's finished. Next step i'm planning to make a tunnel on the topside, so i can crochet an icord and pull it through. When i wear the cowl as a hood, i will be able to tighten the cord round my head. Also thinking of crocheting corkscrews at the end of the cord, that'll look nice.

Third Scrumble

2010-11-20T12:48:00.005+01:00

The third scrumble is finished. At first it had a flowershape of 5 leaves, but it turned out too big and too 'obvious', i wasn't satified at all. So i took out two leaves, which i will use on the cowl somewhere else. Now the result is much better.

Progress

2010-11-19T10:59:00.003+01:00

I have combined the scrumbles, it's looking good! I love the colors, even though they sometimes clash, it works really well together. It gets more lively. Still pondering about what to do next. Maybe some leaves will follow next to the fluffy bit.