FREE PATTERN: Nico Neck Piece

This piece was designed for my friend Nicole. She has a very distinctive style and flare. One leg in the 80’s, the other one is firmly planted in this era and even beyond. Her taste in colour is something particular and with this design I tried to make her something that reflects that. Problem with 'the style people' is that it’s often a fine line between the cool en the cold eye. But when I gave it to her on her birthday party she loved it… pheeew!

The neck piece is basically a long triangle with loop stitch on one end, a big button and a playful use of colour, nothing more.

SIZE
One size fits all

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 29 inches/ 75 cm

MATERIALS
[MC] bright pink acrylic yarn from stash
[CC1] bright green acrylic yarn from stash
[CC2] bright citrus yellow acrylic yarn from stash
1 pair # 15 US/ #10 mm straight needles
a tapestry needle
a big button

GAUGE
8 sts/13 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch using 3 threads

PATTERN NOTES
The neck piece is worked from the bottom up starting with a loop stitch, going into stockinette stitch that is decreased to the top ending in an i-cord.

ML (make loop)
Row 1: (WS) K
Row 2: (RS) k1, *k1 without slipping st off left needle. Bring yarn around left thumb to form a loop, Bring yarn to back, between the needles, and k the same st again, this time slipping to right needle ( 2 st now on right needle). YO, cast off 2 st on right needle over YO, k1 * repeat
Row 3: (WS) K
Row 4: k1, *k1 without slipping st off left needle. Bring yarn around left thumb to form a loop, Bring yarn to back, between the needles, and k the same st again, this time slipping to right needle ( 2 st now on right needle). YO, cast off 2 st on right needle over YO; repeat from * to last st

Repeat these 4 rows

Used Techniques
casting on (single cast on + Double Cast-On aka Long-Tail Cast-On)
binding off
stockinette stitch
decreasing (k2tog)
loop stitch

PATTERN
Cast on 22 st using single cast on + Double Cast-On aka Long-Tail Cast-On.
Start working Fur stitch

ML using [MC]
Then add [CC1] and ML
Add [CC2] and ML

K one row
Now work st st for 23” / 60cm, at the same time;
K2tog on both sides of a row every two rows (5 times),
K2tog on both sides of a row every 4 rows (5 times)
K2tog on both sides of a row every 2 rows (once) until piece measures 16”/ 40 cm,
K2tog, K1, K2tog
Work 5 “/ 13 cm
K1, K2tog, K1
Work until piece measures 23”/ 60 cm
BO 3 stitches

FINISHING
Weave in all ends and sew on a big button just above the loops in the middle of the project.
Tie the i-cord site around the button.

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please let me know if you have any questions or if you think that there's a error in the pattern.

Little Columbus

While practising sit ups with daddy...

I discovered my feet...

'Well, I'll be darned...'

'Hmm, what do you suppose they're for?'

Oh and did I tell you...

I moved from my crib (I'm not even stretching my legs on the picture) to the big bed (can you see me in there?)

PS

Mommy wants me to let you know she's working on one of her 6 UFO's and hoping she can show you something soon.

Gotta go, my toys are calling!

x,

Iep

edit: There's been a lot of interest in Iep's sheep blanket, to be expected of course. The blanket and the fabric for the crib are imported from Sweden from this factory. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Swedish design...

A Day in the Life of...

... a new mom who knits ands lives in the Netherlands, likes Dutch food and keeps her ears open for noises of her own little sprout, who reads Swedish blogs, reads up on childcare, has baked cupcakes with another lovely sprout and is not very tidy.

(if you are interested, the WIP is Quant from the last Knitty issue, great knit!)

FREE PATTERN: Space Invader

I got really inspired by Anna Hrachovec who designed the Woodins in the last Knitty issue. I fell in love with those cute creatures and wanted to design a stuffed toy myself. Other than that, I'm on ravelry now and just having one design there (and one really old one) is so, well, meagre.


I've always been a fan of the street artist 'Invader'. I like the way he uses an existing form and gives it another meaning. He takes the main characters from the 1978 arcade video game 'Space Invader', turnes them into mozaiques and then sticks them onto walls all over the world. So cool, so fun, such a friendly form of street art! Love it, love it, love it!


And so I thought it might be cool if the invaders took over the world one step further, this time 'knitty style'. So I designed knitted Space Invaders.

There's a big one and a small one, the small one is a little different. It was the first one that I knit and didn't turn out as boxy as I planned but I still like the little fellar so he can stay. Just so you know when you see the measurements beeing anything but logical. ;-)

Have fun invading!
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FREE PATTERN: Space Invader

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
This project is great for those leftovers that can’t seem to find a suitable pattern, it really doesn’t matter how big it will turn out so use all kinds of yarn just make sure you use the needle size that’s recommended or a bit smaller so that the stitches won’t bee too loose for filling. (So you still want to make a swatch... sorry...)

MATERIALS
Any yarn you like and 1 set needles to match the yarn, these ones are made with a 60% acrylic/ 40% wool mix, worsted weight knit on 4mm needles.
a tapestry needle
stich holders
stitch markers

GAUGE
17sts x 25rows = 4"

PATTERN NOTES
The space invader is knit in one shape, folded in half, then sewn up.

Used Techniques
casting on (single cast on + Double Cast-On aka Long-Tail Cast-On)
binding off
stockinette stitch
placing stitches on a holder
simple embroidery

PATTERN
Front Body
Cast on 10 (10) st
K 10(5) rows st st
(RS) Cast on 10(5) stitches using single cast on and K to end
(WS) Cast on 10(5) stitches using single cast on and P to end
(30 st on the needle)
K 12(5) rows st st
(RS) Cast on 10(5) stitches using single cast on and K to end
(WS) Cast on 10(5) stitches using single cast on and P to end
(50 st on the needle)
K 14(15) rows st st

Legs
(RS) K 10(5) st, BO 3(4), K10(5), BO 4(5), K 10(5), BO 3(5), K10(5)
(WS) P 10(5) st, place all other st on st holder
*Continue with the 10(5) st on the needle, K 24(15) rows
Place these 10 st on second st holder
Get next 10(5) st from first holder, K 24 rows(15) *repeat 3 times
Now all 40(24) st are on the second holder
(RS) K first 10(5) st
Cast on 3(4) st using single cast on
Add next 10(5) st from second holder and k10(5)
Cast on 4(5) st using single cast on
Add next 10(5) st from second holder and k10(5)
Cast on 3(5) st using single cast on
Add next 10(5) st from second holder and k10(5)

Back Body
K 14(15) rows st st
BO 10(5) st K till end of row
Bo 10(5) st P till end of row
K 12(5) rows st st
BO 10(5) st K till end of row
BO 10(5) st P till end of row
K 10(5) rows
BO all st.

FINISHING
Using simple straight stitches embroider eyes onto front side, making sure you ALWAYS stick in the middle of the yarn to make sure that when the knitting is stretched, the embroidery stays in shape.

* don't be gentle with me, I'm learning, if you have a suggestion or a remark, let me have 'em!

Start early

Iep's first S'nB night. I'm sure sleeping is that more relaxed to the sound of loads of ticking needles, he didn't lift an eyelid through the entire evening.

Jackyll & hide

Remember this one....?The first week of October was Christmas and a half for me. Well, more than that, much more; I became a mom for the first time, it was my birthday ánd it one of my patterns got published for the first time. Published on Knitty, the mother of all knitting sites.


Obviously I was occupied with my son and so I did the happy dance, mailed some of my friends and was speechless for a couple of minutes, but then the baby cried and nappies needed changing and so I lost track of the ripple that caused the big wave.


Last week I googled Jackll & hide and was amazed at what I found. 8 pages of hits, people from all over the world that had knit or are in the process of knitting Jackll & hide.

This time I was speechless for a couple of hours....

These are just a few of the J&h's that I stumbled upon. It's really weird thinking about people all over the world, seeing my desing, liking it, buying the yarn or getting it from stash, starting to knit it, finish it and wear it or give it away. It's like what I imagined when I was 12 how Madonna would feel knowing that there always at all times must be someone in the world listening to her music. I feel famous. Wow!

Thanks everybody for liking my design! Please send me pictures if you're knitting Jackll & hide too! :-)

I feel extra inspired now to design more, so gotta go....

Project Catwalk

First of all, thank you so much for all the lovely wishes, blessings and comments! Iep is now two weeks old and he's cuter than ever. Of course it's hard work and there's absolutely no knitting getting done, but my heart's pouring over with aah's and ooh's and love and fluffiness's. I'm a very proud mother.

I thought it was time to show you some of the knitting I've done for Iep with him modeling it.

Cardi from Marie Claire Idee's 'knitting for babies' in my own creative color match.
Hat from 'One Skein', very fun and quick to knit!

Blanket by SAS Knits It Again (just knit as you finish up your leftovers)

I'll post some more later on, not all has been photographed. Also I got loads of home-made pressies that I want to show you. It's so great being friends with knitters!! (Thanks Storm op Zolder (Storm in the Attic), Haakpoes and Ajour!) Storm op Zolder even baptised one of her colorways 'Iep' and it's for sale! I'm so proud!
The proud mother in this photo is not me, but my friend Karen. She had the same due date as me but gave birth to daughter Puck a week before I became Iep's mummy. I knit her the bee suit and here Puck's modeling it for us. Sooooo cute!

IT'S A BOY!

On sunday 07-10-07 at 11:55 am, Iep [pronounced Eep] was born, a healthy boy. 54cm long and weighing 4320 grams (!!).

We're very proud and over the moon (and back) (and back again) and are now very much enjoying our beautifull sprout and our little family.

Much more about this beautifull boy later on.

(much less important, but like a cherry on the cake... another one of my 'designs' came into this world this weekend. See Knitty and check out the extra pattern!! I'm a proud mother as well as a proud designer and guess what... tomorrow's my birthday too!! Could it get any better?)

Freakin' HUGE and/but very productive...

I'm very, VERY pregnant (4 days past my due date) and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the little sprout. So meanwhile I'll show you some FO's before I lack the time to do so.

But first... this...

Emma, who's blog I love to read, is from Stockholm. I love Stockholm, in fact, I love Sweden. And when I told her I wouldn't be going to Sweden on holiday this year because of my pregnancy, she suggested a swap to help me get 'a bit of Sweden' this summer anyway. How sweet is that?

This week her package came and she couldn't be more accurate with the stuff she chose, it's all very, very much to my taste and liking.

There's two skeins of Drops Alpaca (always a hit!) One light and one dark grey. Perfect for a hat or a baby sweater!

A very cool rattler, handmade by these people.

A T shirt that's so cool, sprout will have to wear a sweater to go with it.

Lovely natural soap, a scrub cloth and a brush, Swedish sauna style.

and some yummy candy.

Thank you so much Emma, I'm loving it! And meanwhile I'm working my behind off to get your Dutch-style package done in time. ;-)

And now for some FO's.

Starting with the baby's room that's completely finished now. The weather was a bit gloomy when I took the pictures, so you'll have to imagine some sun rays coming trough the window.

the clock closet and the white one used to be my grandmother's. She actually grew up with those pieces of furniture in her house so they're more than 80 yrs old!! I transformed them into a zebra and a yellow cab when I went away to college. That was about 15 years ago. Later I put them in my basement and redid the small one when I got this house with Boyfriend Dear. And now they're up for their third life and look in the baby's room. I love stuff that has a history to it. (and it's really cheap... ;-)
The crib is Boyfriend Dear's family crib that was first used when his mother was born. It has 'held' a lot of baby's since and is now ready for our little one. I ordered the fabric from this Swedish wool spinning plant. And ordered a blanket and a bear to go with it. I just love Swedish design! My MIL did the whole fabric thing, the sheets too, and Boyfriend Dear's grandfather and grandmother helped in putting it all together. A true family project, again with lots of history.
The idea of the branch on the wall hit me years and years ago. I found this branch about 3 yrs ago on a hiking trip, scrubbed it down and saved it. This tree themed baby room was the perfect moment for it to re-appear.

The idea of the wallpaper tree and birds was blatantly stolen from a Dutch designer. I spent about € 12,- instead of € 200,- because I cut and 'designed' it myself. (Hey, I had the time and didn't want to spent the money...) I used scraps I had lying around and free samples from the local DIY store. (Is that stealing? or using more samples than you need??)

Don't worry, besides all this decorating, there's been some knitting too. First this baby hat for a wee girl. It's my own design. I first made it just in case we'll have a baby girl. But then my good preggy friend Karen -we had the same due date- gave birth to Puck, a beautiful daughter, yesterday and I was more than happy to give it to her.

this suit I made a few months in advance. It's made of Lana Grossa's Bingo (100% merino) and it's the most expensive piece of clothing that I have for little sprout. Which is funny, come to think of it, because usually you'd think anything you make yourself is cheaper. Wrong! But I've really thought this one trough, it'll last for about 3 months because of the -rolled up sleeve design- and so it's worth it's money. Right? And hey, mommy made it, so that must be worth something too. Oh... ánd... all other baby knitwear I've done so far has been knit from stash... So I'm doing OK here. I think...

Since I took the picture I've added a huge coconut button. It looks really 'eco-cool'. I'll take a picture with button later.

Then there's this one. A blanket I've knit in one afternoon. No pattern, just knitting. OK, so I've used 15mm needles, but still...it's not all that small. I used bits of Drops Eskimo I had lying around, the green and blue are the hand dyed, hand spun Texel sheep wool I started using for this project and then frogged. And the green I bought from Ajour for a sweet price at the last Knit In Public BBQ.
Some more handy work...

This toy bag and stroller blanket made out of a piece of cheap fleece blanket and the fabric that's also used for the crib. And this mobile, in the forest theme of the room, designed by moi. I'm not really happy with the way it works and hangs and moves yet, I'm letting this one simmer in my brain for a while.

Right now I'm working on two gifts for two kids and I might start on a hat for myself. But let's hope I'll give birth first... I'm freakin' HUGE!!