Dramaqueen

I am -offcourse- a huge dramaqueen. Got you folks all worried for nothing... well... nothing... In knitting terms it's not even a huge drama, just a small setback. But I was just so frustrated with myself, dissapointed and, yes, even a little sad.

This is what happened...

While knitting row after row of the same on Boyfriend Dears Cobblestone, eventhough getting a little tedious, I'm very much looking forward to the fun part so I'm knitting on the automatic pilot and....

Instead of a K row in between the rows with the purling on both sides of the sweater, I just kept doing the same thing.

For about 10"

sigh...

I've never been a reptile fan, but the frog is about as appealing to me as a bowl of crispy grasshoppers (have you heard? Insects are the new 'organic').

I

*sob*

don't

*sigh*

want

*sob*

to
*splutter*
frog

...

On other news...

Dagmar has won the mini-contest. I'm working on a new pattern called 'Nessie' and 'draakje' (little dragon) is the closest to the good answer; a water monster.... ;-) Sorry Ajour... Dagmar if you send me your adress I'll send you a little present.

Naked As We Came - Iron and Wine

while I'm recovering from a knitting disaster, I'm listening to my favorite band. Will you listen with me and sigh and try not to cry and send some positive knitting vibes my way? Please? If I'm ready, I'll tell you what happened... *sigh*

Nieuwe Data/ New Dates

Nieuwe data voor de workshop 'Breien is voor Mutsen' hier.
Wil je meedoen, mail me dan of bel +31/6/41759707

New workshop dates here.

My USP

National newspaper, local insert, first page.... me!

Can't believe it, that picture is huge!

Slowly but steadily the students are coming.

Next challenge; flyers and posters.

It's al 'no budget' so I'm making them myself. That's the great thing about this project; I can do everything I love and use most of my talents and experience in this project. I guess that's my personal USP (unique selling point); I can do loads of things ok-ish (as opposed to a few things very good).

I've been looking for an opportunity to use this USP and this is it, who knew...

;-)

Picture Post (with hidden mini contest)

There's a new baby girl next door and I made this for her mommy. It's been years and years since I did some needlepoint(ing?). So it was a bit of an adventure. It's a handkerchief for the 3rd or 4th day after giving birth, notorious for lots of tears flowing. I haven't got a clue how to translate 'kraamtranen' so if any of my Dutch readers know, feel free to comment!

This I made for the wee girl herself. It's from 'One Skein' , a great and quick knit. I've used a vintage skein from a bag that was given to me by my MIL, no idea what brand it was... I made one for my little boy too (though it's a little girly I admit) I thought that one turned out quite big. I changed the needles by one whole size and made this pretty little thang. She'll only wear it the first few days, but that's when loads of pictures are taken ;-) and eventually she can use it for her dolls.

A while ago I made a little baby shrug for Iep to wear in his sleeping bag when it's colder. I used two random skeins from my stash. One Rowan type tweed in two threads (no label, sorry) and the other a Lana Grossa type tweed. The pattern is described in a Dutch book about how to go about getting a good daily routine for your baby. Although it's considered a bit old fashioned by some people, It's very popular and was an absolute eyeopener for me in the first few weeks of my little boy's life.
A late afternoon at the zoo. Bright and great light for pictures.

Yup, they're real. It looks like the set of a jeans brand's picture shoot or something, but it's the indoor space for these beautiful deer.
Spring is coming!
This is my view while nursing. Although I'd rather look at a bunch of trees (even one would be great) this is really kinda cool too. I'm enjoying how it looks different every time. Sometimes it's so foggy that the skyline just isn't there, very spooky.

Rotterdam's skyline from a bigger distance. A nice long walk around 'de Kralingse plas' (mini lake).
Back to knitting. I'm working on this pattern, it's a .... guess what it's going to be and I'll send you a small surprise! (first right answer wins, winner will be posted in a week's time)
Cobblestone is slowly but steadily growing.
Did I tell you I'm cheating...
I'm taking sewing classes at the Sewing Café where I teach my knit workshops. I've had two lessons and I can tell you now, it's a quick fix compared to knitting. Like a shot of tequila compared to a glass of wine. But I can never imagine setting aside, let alone leaving, my true love:
knitting!


Wow, I just blew about a dozen opportunities to post about in one blow. Talk about a quick fix...

If only I could do this to Ravelry... I'm still not updated and it's starting to haunt me.... argh!

Workshops en breilessen 'Breien is voor Mutsen' (data en prijzen)

(english below)

'Breien is voor Mutsen' zijn workshops en breilessen waarin iedereen kan leren breien of zijn of haar technieken uitbreiden. De lessen worden gegeven in Naaicafé Caroline Vogel op de Hoogstraat te Rotterdam.

MANIER VAN LESGEVEN
Op dinsdagavond (20:00 uur) en woensdagmiddag (13:30 uur) kunt u terecht voor breilessen van SAS Knits It Again, deze lessen worden op projectbasis gegeven en zijn voor beginners tot gevorderden van verschillende leeftijden te volgen. In deze lessen stippelt u samen met Saskia een projectplan uit en kiest u de materialen die daar het best bij passen. De beginselen van het breien, sokken breien, kantbreien, eindelijk een trui breien of zelf iets ontwerpen, alles is in principe mogelijk. U kunt ook aan de slag met een van de SAS Knits It Again Breipakketten, meer informatie hierover vind u hier. De groep bestaat uit maximaal 4 personen zodat er veel tijd is voor begeleiding en overleg. Neem dus even contact op om te kijken of er nog plaats is op je voorkeursdag/tijd. Lessen kunnen in blokken van 2x2 uur, 4x2 uur en 8x2 uur worden besproken.
U betaald hiervoor respectievelijk € 55,-, € 100,- en € 180,- , dit is inclusief 10% korting op het benodigde materiaal en drankjes.

DE BREI-INN (Knit Night)

Elke dinsdag avond van 20:00 tot 22:00 breien voor de brei(st)er die het al kan maar af en toe wat begeleiding kan gebruiken bij het ontwerpen of breien van patroon, zin heeft in gezelligheid en op zoek is naar inspiratie.

Inclusief:

• 2 consumpties en lekkers per keer

• tips en coaching

• 10% korting op Phildar materiaal

• 12 uur breiplezier

Strippenkaart voor 6x Brei-Inn: € 80,-

INSCHRIJVEN
Je kunt je voor beide cursussen inschrijven via mail of telefonisch (06-41759707). Vermeld bij de inschrijving je naam en telefoonnummer en welke cursus je wil gaan volgen en eventueel je ervaring en wensen.

BETALEN
Bij het volgen van de projectlessen maak je 50% van het totaalbedrag van te voren over. (mail me voor bankgegevens ed.) Vermeld hierbij; ‘breien’, je naam en de startdatum van de les. De overige 50% betaal je halverwege de lessen. Je kunt natuurlijk ook alles in een keer overmaken. Twee lessen zijn het minimum, vanaf twee lessen kan je zelf de hoeveelheid lessen naar wens opbouwen. Vanaf 4 lessen wordt bij verhindering geen geld teruggestort, wel kan je de lessen overdragen aan iemand anders. Ben je verhinderd, dan kan je 1 les inhalen de eerstvolgende lesmogelijkheid.

WORKSHOPS
Het is ook mogelijk een workshop te boeken bij SAS Knits It Again. Vrijgezellenfeestjes, baby-showers, zomaar lekker met een stel vriend(inn)en, een verrassingsfeestje. Er is van alles mogelijk. In principe leer je binnen 2 a 3 uur de basis van het breien (opzetten, rechtbreien, afkanten, nieuwe draad aanhechten, afhechten) afhankelijk van het niveau van de groep kunnen we ook andere technieken leren. In overleg bepalen we wat we gaan breien.
Je bepaalt zelf de locatie. De prijs is afhankelijk van de afspraken die we maken. Bel of mail gerust voor meer informatie. Ik denk graag mee.

Vragen? Info over betalingen? Gewoon even mailen of bellen (06-41759707)!

Tot ziens bij SAS Knits It Again in Naaicafé Caroline Vogel of op locatie!

(this info is for my Dutch students, I'm abusing blogger as long as I don't have a separate website...sorry 'bout that...)

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I teach in English too, using English/US knitting terms. Please do'nt hesitate to contact me if you're not a fluent Dutch speaker. I'll provide you with all the class and/or workshop details.

title explanation: I've named the workshop 'Breien is voor Mutsen' it's Dutch, it means as much as 'Knitting is for Spinsters', it has a double meaning. A 'muts' is a knitted hat but also a name for a not-so-snazzy girl. I thought it had a ring to it and a sence of humour. I know you should never try to explain titles like this, but hey I can't expect all of you to speak Dutch... so it's in small letters.

SAS on Air

Yup, we're promoting 'our' workshop everywhere. Here we're live on air at the local radio station. Iep was welcome to join us for the interview. A recording is on it's way here (Hope I can find a way to post it) I don't think you can really hear my own little marketeer, I recall him muttering a few times though.

It was really fun but also a bit stress full, crossing my fingers that wee-one wouldn't start howling. He was a natural though, enjoyed himself with his toys and let mommy do the work.
Ilse, the presenter shows 'Jackll & hide'.