The little bag project

This year in the month of May, we are having a family outing. For the children that will also be there, I am making little bags that they can wear around their neck. I'm planning to put a pencil and a little blocknote in them.

The pattern is quite easy and the little bags are very versatile. They can be used for a variety of things, such as a cell phone, i-pod, photo camera, keys, marbles or a deck of cards.

I used 3 mm double pointed needles, because that geve me a nice fabric with my cotton yarn. I used the long-tail cast on, but on two dpn's. One stitch ont the back needle, one stitch on the front needle, and so on until I had 18 stitches on each needle, 36 stitches in total.

Using dpn's I knitted 30 rows of stockinette stitch in the round. After about 7 rows, I let the cast on end come to the outside in between the stitches, so I know where my rows start. Then 7 rows of K1, P1 ribbing. Then a bind off row, but I left the first stitch and the last two stitches of my row on the needle.

With these 3 stitches I continued, making about 55 cm (or the lenth you desire) of I-cord. Cut the yarn, use the end to attach the I-cord to the bag.

The I-cord will make a loop with which you can wear the bag around your neck. Weave in ends, and a little bag is finished.

Started the second skein

I made a 2x2 rib along the neckline, with a sewn bind-off, which is a bit loose. I am thinking about undoing this bind-off and replacing it with my usual bind-off method. That will be a bit tighter.

I also started on the second ball of yarn. I am quite pleased with the length of yarn that is on each skein. I can knit a lot of shirt with it! Hopefully the three skeins will have enough yarn to make short sleeves. Otherwise it will have no sleeves.

Handwerkbeurs Zwolle

Last Friday I was at the "Handwerkbeurs" in Zwolle. It was the first knitting and craft show that I attended. A lot of stands, and many were beautifully adorned.


I met many fellow ravelers and have my own Ravelry button now.


It was really fun to see so many knitters in real life, knit some, talk some and buy some.


I got some yarn, some needles, some books and knitted a little sock. When I got home I was tired, but it was a lovely day.


How strange it is that when you are knitting, a lot of (usually) elderly women come to fondle your work, without even asking. I know they want to admire it and only mean well, but it can be a little intimidating.

Last ends woven in

I completed this top somewhere in the summer of 2008, but have only woven in the last ends today.


This picture shows the lace design better, but the top picture comes closer to the actual colour.

Bedside knitting

I usually have a knitting project by the side of my bed, so I can knit a little before going to sleep or getting up. I finished one project: the Prosperous Plum Tank (ravelry link). I changed the pattern section into something simpler, so I did not need to consult the pattern for that. And I changed the crab stitch crochet edging into two rows of single crochet, because I could not get the crab stitch nice and even.


This is my new bedside knitting project. A top-down raglan sweater with a fold-down collar and a polo neck closure with two buttonholes. The top part will be knitted in stockinette stitch and the bottom part will have a mistake rib pattern. At least, that is what I have in mind at the moment.

Baby booties

A collegue of mine asked me if I could make baby booties for her twin baby girls. I thought up the pattern as I went along, taking care that each two booties would be identical. The two pairs are a little bit different.

I used a little hair band as an elastic band which I knit into the booties. I also added two I-cords to replace the hair bands if they would be too tight. It took me a week to finish the booties and the I-cords.

A lot of hats

Since it is getting colder, I seem to have the urge to knit hats. And so I did.


This is a hat I made with Kauni yarn from a pattern that is featured in Charmed Knits. After knitting it, I washed and dried it, to felt it a bit. It now fits a 5-year-old.

Thit one I made with Scheepjes Softfun in a colour that is similar to the colour of my coat (I like being visible when riding my bike). I was inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's Porom(ravelry link). But since I only had one ball of yarn, it could only become a hat. I finished the hat with about two yards of yarn left in 4 tries. First I had to get the number of stitches and the needle size right and the 4th time I ripped back the crown, so I would get the most out of my yarn. I like the result, and the hat has already been used a lot.

This is the Marsan Watchcap. I made it with 88 stitches on a 3,5 mm needle and it fits a 2 to 3-year-old. I has 25 rows before the turn, 48 rows between the turn and the decreases. I decreased until I had 8 stitches left and then pulled the stitches together with the end of the yarn. The yarn is Scheepjes Softfun, a 60% cotton and 40% acrylic blend, and very soft. I really like the way the reversed knit stitches make a crisp standing out rib.


This is my version of the Selbu Modern which seems to be popping up all over the internet. It is a very nice pattern. I first made one with scraps of yarn to see if I could manage the Fair Isle knitting. I had the main colour in my right hand and the contrasing colour in my left. That worked fine for me. After the first test model was finished, I very soon cast on for the full size version on a 4 mm size needle. I used Scheepjes Donna, which is 50% Merina wool and 50% acrylic microfibre.A view from the top.
The pattern is kind of addictive, and I also made a hat in black and blue. It has seven panels instead of the normal eight, so it is a tighter fit than the beret model.