Frisian Frillies

I have a thing for gizmo's. Especially when it comes to crafting, everything seems to have a 'YOU NEED THIS' label. And as soon as someone shows me, I'm done for. Hook line and sinker. Sold. Give. Me. That. NOW! As a result, various gizmo's have entered the Frisian Frillies household over the last few months. First, there was the WooLee Winder, which I bought myself for Xmas, from my library money. The joy it has brought me is immense. I can spin for hours on end, without even blinking or looking at my bobbin. This is baby camel and silk. Flying onto the bobbin. The WooLee Winder I got comes from De Spinners in Den Haag, and it arrived in a box with 3 bobbins. Enough to do spinning and plying. Me happy. The flyer and bobbin are connected with sprogs, which run a level-wind mechanism, moving the loop up and down the bobbin. Genius. And then a few weeks ago, I fell for this beauty. A blending board. I had read about using one of these in Spin-Off, remem...

Besides being extremely busy setting up a knitting café and spinning group, organizing and writing material for a crochet workshop in 2 months time, there was lots of crafting as well. Because, what is a better way to unwind after a busy day? We've had lots of snow and ice - even though it only lasted for a week or 2 - which meant that Batmans growing head needed a new hat. I was lucky enough that Mermaids mittens from last year fit him, and that the scarf was still nice and comfy, so just a hat! And I had just the right stuff for it: lovely Dutch Wool Diva Donegal Nep. Sooo soft and great to knit with. Yes, I will stand still just long enough for you to take one crappy picture... ;) Okay, two then... Hubby also needed a hat. So, here's homespun Texelaar knit up into a VERY WARM HAT! ;) Great for outdoor garden work. That was not the only yarn I knit up. I also knit up the variegated pink sock yarn I got from her at Midwinterwol. Made my own pattern, sort ...

Only in Dutch this time! Belangrijk bericht voor breisters, haaksters, borduursters en andere 'nifelders' in Leeuwarden! Op dinsdag 29 januari gaat het brei- en haakcafé open in Wijkcentrum Froskenburch, in Aldlân. Vanaf 8.45 uur ben je van harte welkom met je handwerken om onder het genot van een kopje thee of koffie bij te kletsen met andere breisters, haaksters en handwerksters en te kijken waar iedereen mee bezig is. Neem je mooiste werkstukken mee, zodat we die kunnen bewonderen. Ben je aangestoken door het mutsjes breien voor Azië, kom dan zeker gezellig langs! Zelf nog niet zo goed in breien of haken, of helemaal twee linker handwerkhanden, maar wil je het wel leren? Dan ben je natuurlijk ook welkom! Er is wat extra materiaal beschikbaar om te oefenen, en er zijn altijd wel mensen met ervaring en kennis van zaken die je alles uit kunnen leggen! Er zijn workshops in voorbereiding: zet je naam op de e-maillijst als je op de hoogte wilt worden gehouden. Heb je kle...

Happy New Year everyone! I hope yous survived the festive season without too much trouble and are looking forward to filling the pages of this New Year! We had a great last few weeks, fun and busy, which explains the silence on the blogside of things... Add a few deadlines, a bit of Noro, kids at home... and you have a busy mommy who still does lots of crafting, but doesn't really have the time and energy to blog about it! I started with a day at Midwinterwol, where I manned the stand for the National Spinning Group with Hetty and Titia. We gained a few more members and I had great fun spinning and carding all day. Good thing we wrapped up warm, because it was quite chilly in the riding school where the event was held. Hetty with her spindle Titia behind her lovely Country wheel We all brought lots of homespun yarn and roving to show what you can do with wool The batts I carded at Midwinterwol. All little packages of soft goodness Of course, I didn't just...

To get some sewing done! First, there was the idea to make an advent calendar, with 24 little felt mittens. I started a week before advent, giving myself plenty of time until Xmas eve for the last one. It started out according to plan, but, like all the best-laid plans, this went horribly wrong. It was just way, way, way too addictive!!! Honestly, as soon as I had a pair done, I was cutting a new pair, and just ate, drank and slept colour-coordinated mittens. Sad really. But FUN! So, numbers 1 and 2 were quickly followed by numbers 3 and 4. And before I knew it... I was a third done. Wait. Hang on. Three more nights before December 1st? I can do this!!! All done!!! And now it's December 7 and the first 7 are up. Enjoying this immensely!!! Actually, I enjoyed that small-scale stuff so much, I got out the scraps from Jamieson's of Shetland and the sewing machine... and then this happened... Step 1... Try and fit your shell pieces onto scra...