Alice Jean

Or how to destash about 1100 grams of yarn. Four pairs made of the veggie merino, one pair made out of a mishap of handdyed BFL. Not bad at all. One pair for Mick, one pair for Reese, one pair (with the fluffy cuff) for Dory and two pair of slippers for me. Jerrold says he is still happy with the Matalan slippers. Let him think, we know better. :-)

I have been tagged by Myrthestiek ! Okay, here are six random facts about me. I was born ages ago in Zwolle (the Netherlands) There is no yarn in my kitchen cupboards… yet I’m fascinated by everything Amber related. The novels, the roleplay… I’m browsing the web for diaries and logs. Do write them myself too I would love to find more time to practice spinning, to do more knitting, to take up a book and to read it in one day For my sandwiches I love cheese and peanut butter I don’t drive I don’t tag anyone. If you feel to it, post six random facts about yourself on your blog and leave me a comment.

First of all the Jayne Hat for Dorrit. Just beautiful! Dory loves the pompom. My friend Darcy spoiled us again! Her parcel arrived days ago, my sincere apologies for posting about these wonderful gifts this late. Needless to say how happy Dory was with all the sweets. :-) The sheepy dish cloths are so cute! There was another Jayne Hat in the parcel, knitted by Tom for me. I think he did a brilliant job! And there was more. Knitting magazines, buttons and pins and a book of the Yarn Harlot. Kool Aid, a crocheted dish cloth, delicious coffee and Malabrigo Stonechat, so soft and beautiful! Darcy, thanks so much for these thoughtful gifts!

For Jerrold this Fiery Dragon Scarf . I made some adjustments, like knitting the whole thing in the round and leaving out the scales and the ribbed part. The boy is pleased with it, his brothers and sister are jealous. This Handmaiden Silk Cashmere is a beautiful and soft yarn I received in the Coffee and Yarn swap. I decided to knit it into a Drop Stitch Scarf. The yarn is lovely to work with, the scarf is extremely soft, the pattern very doable. I will knit this scarf again!

This is the handspun I got from Sarah some time ago. This is how it looked after the dyebath Finally I picked up this lovely yarn to knit it into a jumper and a pair of legwarmers. Dory worked out the designs and so it became pretty sheepish. :-) Needless to say this is her favourite jumper!

Your name came out of the hat! Congratulations! I'll make you a nice parcel and send it out by the end of the week.

Today is a special day for me. I am not going to point out why, it is not significant. Though on account of that special day I want to give something away It's two skeins of Blue Faced Leicester in the 'Blue Jeans' colourway and a skein of Tencel/ Merino sock yarn in violet. If anyone out there would like to have this yarn (and a bit more), please leave a comment on this post, saying something nice. No matter on what person or subject, just be kind. Let's make this a short 'contest'. It will close by Sunday night (23-11-2008), my daughter will pick the winner on Monday.

Along with my spinning wheel I got that beautiful sliver from her . The aqua-blue-spruce looks now more like this I love how it turned out! I tried my very best to spin thicker than usual. This is about 100m/ 100g, so mission accomplished. I know, I know, it is not perfect yet. I do have to practice and to learn a lot, but it is getting somewhere. And this is the reddish BFL I posted about earlier. Yes, you are looking at a lot of small skeins. That is what one gets when having a 4 year old with a new pair of Ladybird scissors near a drying hank.

First of all: my sincere apologies to Darcy , Tessa and Olga for the delay in posting about your thoughtful gifts. Because of moving home, Darcy sent me this beautiful cable needle, including necklace (well thinking Darcy!) and a cute yellow pouch to hold it And also because of the move, Tessa sent a complete parcel. Hand dyed cotton in the back, shower gel and shampoo, chocolate biscuits, a yarn guage and tea. This photo shows the cotton more clear: knitting it up to dish cloths. The colouring is just amazing! All the gifts were packed in this colourful bag Very much to my surprise I also found a gift from Olga in the post. Meant as a 'thank you' to my hubby for buying loads of Kool Aid when he was in Orlando and to me for distributing it. A set of very Dutch recipe note cards. The harmonica is obviously for Dory Thank you ladies for these special gifts!

Today at the playground we saw one of those... things. As it was at the playground we supposed it was meant to play with. But we could not discover how to use. Maybe you know: one of those very futuristic designs, primary colours and definitely not a common slide, climbing frame or whatsoever. "What is this?" Dory asked. "I don't have a clue," I had to admit. She walked around it, scrutinising. "I know what this is! It's a spinning wheel for careless children!"

Not much news here on the woolly front. Still spinning 200 grams of reddish BFL and spun some silk Also embellished a pair of pants (size small) with a Flower Fairy theme

Indonesia Espresso of Simon Levelt . But that is not I want to blog about. It has been kind of busy here, meanwhile I managed to do some little projects of my own. First of all the Felt Clogs . Because I really have to destash, I used some of the organic veggie O'Wool and knit with double yarn. A nice and really fast project, resulting in a pair of comfortable and warm slippers. With the leftover of the yarn I also made a pair for Dory, using a thread of that fluffy novelty yarn in the cuff, because she loves fluffy so very much. Mine, before felting And after felting Dory's before felting And after And yes, I am still spinning. Currently 200 grams of hand dyed BFL, still doubting whether I should navajo ply or use the regular ply. Well, I can think it over when spinning the second half. And here are the results of spinning and plying 100 grams of merino, 66 metre. The merino came from Wolliesje , meant for felting. Though it spins great!

Here I am, a brand new spinner. And now I know for sure, working with wool has truly become a passion. I only lack a few sheep in the back garden. It all begun with a spinning wheel. A few days ago she brought me an Ashford Kiwi (Where is Igglepiggle hiding?) And not only the wheel, she made me this gorgeous threading hook and dyed some sliver in the most beautiful colours. I love them both! This afternoon I had my first spinning lesson. Learned how to spin, how to ply and even Navajo plying. The first photo shows some BFL, the photo at the bottom is a merino. I think this will become an addiction...

Grandma to Dory: "Look, that is the 'Binnen-Dieze'(a small river that runs underneath and through the city). Next summer we might do a tour on it." Dory: "Don't bother. I cannot swim." Grandma: "Oh no, we don't have to swim, we will take a boat." Dory: "It will be crowded with sharks in the water." Grandma, puzzled: "Well, if you don't want to..." Dory: "Allright then. I'll go with you and keep my eyes closed..." More impressions of this city St. Johns Cathedral