NEW KNIT KIT: Octopussss aka the other neck/wrist piece

A while back I was asked to design a Knit Kit especially for a soon to be opened online yarn shop focussing on environmentally friendly and fair trade materials; HolyWoly!. How could I resist?
This is what I came up with:

Octopussss aka the other neck/wrist piece
Design: SAS Knits It Again
Level: Starter plus

The patterns in this Knit Kit are unique, versatile and eyecatching. They are not just a neck- and wristwarmer, they're woolly warm jewelry. Make them for yourself or to give away as a present.

It's all about the materials with this kit;

• Beautifull pure 100% handspun fair trade wool from non-profit organisation Manos del Uruguay which assembles over 400 artisans in cooperatives scattered throughout the countryside of Uruguay. The aim of the organization is to bring economic and social opportunities to rural women.

• Each piece unique, hand made Venetian glass beads and buttons from the crafty hands of Mei Tan, who lives and works in Italy and the Netherlands. Beads and buttons go directly from the designer into this kit.

• Brittany hardwood needles made by a small very envorinmentally aware company. All wood used by Brittany comes from strictly regulated forests or small woodland owners in the United States ensuring proper environmental logging practices and selective cutting for maximum reforestation.

When all these things come together, they make for a very positive and relaxing knit project.

Octopussss (€ 27,50) is available only through HolyWoly! a very friendly new online yarn shop. Go here if you want to order.

Enjoy!

Jackll & hide go wonkers

It's been more than a year ago since Knitty was so kind to publish my Jackll & hide pattern. I've had loads and loads of compliments and to this day 311 people on Ravelry alone have knitted it. It made me feel a little famous and I crave for more....

But...

I've also had a lot of questions about the pattern. Mostly to do with the eye holes. The Knitty people edited that part a little, and they were right, their version is so much cleaner looking and easier to do. Thing is, there was a little counting error, they've updated that and forgot to change the following numbers, so questions keep coming.

Since I didn't design that part it was kind of hard for me to answer those questions between the dishes and working on new designs. So I finally decided to knit it for myself and see what went wrong.

Now you can read the correct instructions.
I'll cover the eye hole part completely. The pink text is edited from the original.

Shape Eyeholes:
Next Round: BO 2 sts, k11 (12 sts on right needle together with bound-off sts) and place these sts on st holder; BO 2 sts, k to end. 60 sts.

This part you knit just the stitches on the needle(s), back and forth.

Row 1 [WS]: P2tog, p to last 2 sts, ssp.
Row 2 [RS]: Ssk, k to last 2 sts, k2tog.
Row 3 [WS]: P all sts.
Row 4 [RS]: Work as for Row 2. 54 sts.
Rows 5-6: Work in stockinette st.
Row 7 [WS]: P1, m1, p to last st, m1, p1.
Row 8 [RS]: K all sts.
Row 9 [WS]: Work as for Row 7.
Row 10 [RS]: K1, m1, k to last st, m1, k1. 60 sts. Break yarn. If you are using double-point needles, divide these sts between 3 needles so that you have 2 free needles. If using circular needle, leave sts on needle.

This part, you work only the 12 st. from te stitch holder.

Place held sts on a double-point needle and rejoin yarn with WS facing.

Work Rows 1-9 as above. At the end of Row 4, there will be 6 sts.

Row 10 [RS]: K1, m1, k to last st, m1, k1, CO 2 sts, k the 61 sts on the circular needle or other double-point needles, CO 2 sts; join to resume working in the round, k6. 76 sts.

This point will now be beginning of round. If using double-point needles, place 19 sts on each needle.

Work 3 inches in stockinette st.

-------------------------------------

Good luck, I hope this helps!

Merry Knitting

Hi there! It's been a while and I've been busy. The new Knit Kit is coming soon (promise) and there's a new Knit Night at the Naaicafé for everyone that doesn't need lessons, could use a little help and is looking for a friendly and inspiring knitting group. Read about the Knit Night and times and dates of lessons here.
Voor de Nederlandse lezers: op dinsdagavond is er een Brei-Inn voor iedereen die geen lessen nodig heeft, maar af en toe wat hulp kan gebruiken en zin heeft in inspiratie en gezelligheid! Verder vind je hier ook informatie over de lestijden en openingstijden van het Naaicafé.

Reading to Iep I found all these pictures and stories...


So cool!
Life's hectic at the moment. Beeing 7 mnts pregnant, (all is very well! In the picture I have a huge cold, hence the red nose and teary eyes) buying a house, selling the old one, redecorating, refurbishing and moving... all before the 1st of februari and in time to welcome the baby around the 2nd week of march is a bit daunting to say the least. But we'll manage.

Oh and I'm knitting this, Landscape Chevron scarf from Regia's Kaffe Fasset sock yarn. It's a pattern from Regia Magazine 112. It's a really fun knit, in obviously great colors, but it's taking me ages (3,5 mm ndls...) eventhough I knit when I can. It's just that I have so many projects in my head, I'm in a hurry to make E.Z.'s Baby Surprise Jacket in a great green blend of 'Manos del Uruguay - Silky', I'm working on two of my own designs and finally got around to ordering yarn for a cardigan for myself from Knitting Nature (yes, it wil finally happen...) so little time, so much to knit. Can't wait for a whole new year of knitting!!

Happy Christmas everyone and a Merry New Year! ;-) Knit On in 2009!! SAS

Tales of wat is, wat was and what's coming...

To start off I want to show you this picture of some very beautifull beads and buttons and tell you absolutely nothing about it!
Ok, maybe a little... ; It's a quick glance into the future of my next Knit Kit. It's special, it's different and I'm working with two other talented ladies to make it happen. You'll have to wait a little longer to see what's coming. Ha!

On the knitting front there's actually been a conquest! Cobblestone is, finally, after a whole 10 months (shame on me).... READY! And, more importantly, loved by it's new owner; Boyfriend Dear. Eventhough I'm not so worried about 'the curse of the boyfriend's sweater' since we have a son and one on the way, I didn't want to take any risks, so I let him pick the pattern, the material ánd the color. Personally I would've gone for a green or a brown, but there's no educating BD when it comes to colors. Black is the only option. Or in this case a tweedy dark grey.

It may have taken me forever to knit it (in between other projects) but I've done it cleaverly if I do say so myself. I even let him fit it a couple of times while in progress. So now he has a fitting, long enough for his taste, long enough sleaves for his comfort, very special sweater.

Ofcourse you won't be surprised to hear that there was a little downfall in this conquest.
All glowing with pride and joy I presented him with the finished project the night before he went to ..... Taiwan. Where it's about 20 degrees Celcius (short-pants-weather)...

On newer news...
In a week or two I'll be hosting Knit Nights at the Naaicafé. For all those students (and other knitters) that have finished their lessons but want to continue knitting in a friendly, warm and cozy environment where you can share thoughts, get inspired and ask me questions about your latest project.
I'm working on the details. But it will be held every tuesdaynight from 20:00 to 22:00, it will include drinks and a 10% discount on knitting materials and coaching plus tips & tricks. All this will come at a very reasonable price. Pay for a Knit Card, decide when you want to come and get your card stamped when you do.
Keep reading the blog or send me your mailadres to keep posted!

Voor de Nederlandse lezers:
Over een week of twee zal ik Brei-avonden organiseren in het Naaicafé van Caroline Vogel. Voor de breisters die klaar zijn met de lessen, maar wel gezellig verder willen breien en geinspireerd willen raken en voor breisters die al kunnen breien maar dit graag met een groepje gelijkgestemden willen doen in een gezellige omgeving.
De avonden zullen op dinsdagavond van 20:00 tot 22:00 plaatsvinden. Drankjes, coaching waar nodig en 10% korting op materiaal zitten in de prijs die fors lager zal zijn dan prijzen van de lessen. Je betaald voor een strippenkaart dus kan komen wanneer het jou uitkomt. Hou deze blog in de gaten of stuur me je mailadres als je interesse hebt in deze avonden.

ps I seem to have troubles with the 'mail me' button on the right. sasknitsitagain@hotmail.com is the adress you want to use!

Glorious Fall Days

What a way to wake up today... Obama is the new president of the U.S.A.!!!! I'm serious, I got all teary eyed and when my wee one couldn't stop kissing his daddy it got worse and worse. Loads of tears this morning. Tears of joy! (I'm sure a lot of it had to do with hormones, but still... it was a special beginning of a special and historic day) On the knitting front....
I couldn't resist to knit up the two skeins of Noro Kureyon I got for my birthday in between all the other projects I have lying around the house (I swear Cobblestone is coming soon!!) I decided to make the scarf that everybody that has ever touched Noro has made. It's a really simple pattern, but the yarn doesn't need much more so why elaborate? It has beautifull green/brown colors to match the leaves on and off the trees around my house.
This is what I did (I won't call it a free pattern as such because it's all over the web in different varieties, shapes and forms and I wouldn't want to claim anything!)

Materials: 2 balls of Noro Kureyon (100 gr/420m each) # 5mm needles tapestry needle
Finished Size:
Your scarf will be about 1110cm / 44" long
(add more yarn to make a longer scarf... duh!) CO 39 st *[row 1: Work 1x1 rib row 2: sl 1 p wise, *work 1x1 rib, repeat *to last st, sl 1 p wise] Add the second ball of yarn making sure that the shade at the starting point is different than the first one.
Twist the working thread behind the just worked thread to start working a new set of two rows for a nicer edge. repeat * untill you run out of yarn.
BO in pattern.
Weave in ends.
That's all!

ps my spellingcheck hasn't been working for a while, so forgive me any (stupid) mistakes...

Double Knitting (with free pattern)

I became aunt today for the first time, but to two wee ones!
Twins Steen (boy) and Venstre (girl) were born last night. I'm very proud of the tough mama-cookie who did all the hard work. This afternoon I'm going to visit them for the first time, I can't wait!!

I knit these two hats in one night. It's a very, very, very basic pattern (suitable for a first knit in the round project!) and fits newborns.

Finished size:
30cm / 12" (a bit smaller than the usual 13" newborn size since they're twins and usually twins come into the world a little smaller)

Materials:
Needles:
5mm/ #8 dpns
Yarn:
Pildar Partner Potiron (orange) and Ecorce (chocolate brown)
Tapestry needle

Gauge:
15x21 = 10cm/ 4"

Hat
CO48 sts on dpns.
Place marker and join for working in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts.
[Knit 1 round, Purl 1 round]*
Repeat * 2 more times

Change to St st (Knit all st every rnd) and work even untill piece measures 8 cm/ 3" from CO.

Shape crown: Dec as foll:
rnd 1: *K4, K2tog *repeat from* to end of round
round 2: Knit
round 3: *K3, K2tog *repeat from* to end of round
round 4: Knit
Cont to dec every other rnd in this manner, working 1 less st between decs each dec rnd until you've worked a rnd of K1, K2tog.
Knit 1 round
Next rnd: *K2tog; repeat from *
8 st remain. Break yarn, thread tail on a tapestry needle, draw through rem sts, pull tight and secure to WS of hat. Weave in loose ends.

Fairly Fantastic Fabulous Fair

So, that's it... SAS Knits It Again's first fair is in the past. It came and it went like a first boyfriend... and it was fairly fantastic and fabulous, in the sence that I won't be buying myself the complete Knit Picks line from the earned dough, but it was a huge promotional succes and I did manage to sell a lot more than I expected!
I couldn't have imagined the amount of positive comments I've gotten. (my at-the-last-moment-accuired-stand-without lights-or anything, even got me some 'best stand' nominations... haha! ) It was a very inspirational and educational weekend.
One of the great things about the two days at the fair was that it was an opportunity to meet some of my online friends and talk to them in person. It was a shame that I didn't get more time to talk to them and knit with them...


A special THANK YOU goes out to my friends at Storm op Zolder and Ballee who've helped me with all kinds of stuff! And a very, very special thank you to midi-person of Storm op Zolder , she was a fun and cute companion troughout the weekend! Groetjes !!

Times and days knitting lessons/ Tijden en dagen breilessen

There's some updated info on the times and dates of the knitting lessons here. Er is wat informatie geupdate over de tijden en dagen waarop ik breiles geef, hier.

And this is what I'm doing this weekend...
En dit doe ik dit weekend...

Attempting to get a new targetgroup knitting at the needlecrafts fair at the Van Nelle Fabriek in Rotterdam.
Een nieuwe doelgroep aan het breien helpen op de breibeurs in de Van Nelle Fabriek in Rotterdam.

Some serious networking...
Flink netwerken...

SAS Knits It Again goes to the fair

So it turns out that a little last-minute-gutsy-action can get you places. Instead of sharing a booth with my knitting entrepreneur friends Storm op Zolder and Ballee, I'll be 'owning' my own booth at the Rotterdam Needlecrafts Fair this weekend. It's a tiny booth but perfect for my knit kits.
So if you're looking for a daytrip, or even a weekendtrip, why not skip and hop to Rotterdam and come visit me at the fair? I'll be in booth 182. While you're there don't forget to check out the Storm op Zolder and Ballee stuff at booth 175!!

And ...
I've got a nice Fair Deal for you; 20% off the 'Breien met Voorkennis' kit, so grab it while you can!
This kit contains yarn, two patterns, bamboo knitting needles, cable needles, a huge and beautifull button, a darning needle, a special SAS Knits It Again label and a 'basics' tutorial. All this comes in a snazzy chinese take-away box.

(picture above is the 'Enfant Terrible Knit Kit')

See you there!

NEW COLORS

Yup, they're here.... the new colors for the City Set Knit Kits. There's some fashion colors and some good 'ol basics. Something for everyone. (Look for other colors and more info here)

SAS Knits It Again will be selling Knit Kits at the Crafts Fair @ Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam. (fri 24 + sat 25 okt.) Hope to see you there. Look for us at the Storm op Zolder booth.

Jaja, daar zijn ze dan... de nieuwe kleuren voor de City Set Knit Kits. Er zijn hippe mode kleurtjes en wat mooie basics. Voor elke smaak wat. (kijk hier naar de overige kleuren en meer info)

SAS Knits It Again verkoopt haar breipakketten tijdens de Handwerkbeurs @ Van Nelle Fabriek in Rotterdam. Je vind ons bij de Storm op Zolder kraam.

CONTACT

SAS Knits It Again
Saskia de Feijter
sasknitsitagain@hotmail.com (call or mail me if you need a post adress)
T +31(0)6 41759707

SAS Knits It Again geeft les en verkoopt Phildar garen en bamboo naalden @ Naaicafé Caroline Vogel
Hoogstraat 57a
Rotterdam
T 010 282 75 70

AANWEZIG:
Woensdagmiddag
13:30- 15:30
Dinsdagavond
20:00- 22:00

Time flies...

I can't believe it's been a year! My wee one isn't so wee any more... The year has flown by like you won't believe. I'm so proud of my little boy, he makes me laugh every day and because of him there's always an extra twinkle in my days.

We celebrated big time with a felt birthday crown made by mum (he actually kept it on his head for quite some time...)

There were little pals;

A bright red and loud present,And home made banana cake!! (Banana is his favorite, he calls it 'naan naan') Turns out he only ate the whipped cream (sweatened with fruit sugar instead of regular) and the slices of banana on top. To be honest, I completely understand, the cake wasn't that great, I went wrong where I go wrong in patterns all the time. I read... act out what I've read and then read the following part that says; 'AT THE SAME TIME.....'. OW!! So it was more of a banana biscuit than it was a cake. Hey it's the thought that counts right?A year ago my friend Yvon gave me a couple of her home dyed skeins, named after Iep. A great birth present! I've been casting on an off about five times, but could never decide what to make. The yarn was a bit too bulky for a small baby, but now it's great for a big boy sweater and so I made him a very basic but bold sweater.

The colors are fantastic, it's brown and fluorescent yellow (pictures tone it down way too much)!

I used one and a half skein of chocolate Phildar Partner I had lying around for the edgings and arms.
The buttons (closed in the back) I found in a supermarket in France this summer. I used them on a coat for Iep first, but they were too big. I'm on the lookout for smaller wooden buttons for that one now...

Gotta go, my big boy wants naan naan!