Stitches and Thrills

When the Breien! (Knitting!) exhibit at the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden opened I immediately wanted to jump on a train to the far north. But..hold it... They announced there would be a competition for knitted animal hats! Entries before February 29th 2016, and a selection will be on display for 2 months from April. So I will go later this year, when the hats are in the museum, hoping mine will be among them. :-) (Dutch readers: so you can still enter the Beestenboel competition!) In 2003, when I got back into knitting after decades of non-knitting it all started by making kitty hats as Miss Minoes on Etsy to raise money for the Stevenshage animal shelter in Leiden. Some other animals have popped up in that parade: a bunny , a donkey, a mouse and even a cow. So, having made so many hats with ears already, I really wanted to approach this from another angle. I made a secret Pinterest board (now public) to find the elements I wanted in my design. Follow Ama's...

The Nordic Island Hat: Inspired by the wind, the dune, the colours and the atmosphere at the Wad&Design festival on Schiermonnikoog, at which I was a part of an Etsy Pop Up shop last September. I designed The Nordic Island Hat on Schiermonnikoog and i knitted the first hats there from Drops Eskimo wool. Cute and cosy on the couch in the Etsy cottage where we stayed with fellow Etsians Babette, Margriet, Nynke en Barbara. De Nordic Island Hat shall be available in my Etsy-shop next week. I'm also working on writing out the pattern.      

Most of you will be familiar with the internet meme Grumpy Cat . I couldn't resist making my signature look-a-like "Boink The Cat" door draft stoppers to look like her. I bet she would be right grumpy if you used her as a sausage cat draught dodger . The first original door draft stopper was designed to resemble the cat Bonke (hence the name Boink The Cat): Bonke found new owners after being in Stevenshage animal shelter. 5 euro of every sold door draft stopper goes to this animal shelter in Leiden.

Now that winter is approaching , it is time again for ( fingerless ) gloves . At the moment I 'm working with Silk Blend Yarn by Manos del Uruguay . Not only is the material very soft to work with (30 % Silk / 70 % Merino Extra f ine Wool ). The story behind the Silk Blend makes it extra worthwhile . Manos del Uruguay ( Hands of Uruguay ) is a cooperative of 400 women throughout the countryside of Uruguay . They are spinning and dyeing wool from Uruguay . The wool is hand dyed in large kettles ( Kettle Dyed ). Manos del Uruguay is a Fair Trade organization : they focus on the eradication of poverty through sustainable development . The project also consists of hand knitted and woven products , as ponchos . The Silk Blend lends itself well for fingerless gloves because the material is warm , soft and breathes well . Perfect for t his kind of gloves that you wear during  activities like typing on the computer , texting , kni...

Today was a beautiful day ( after a rainy morning ) for the Open Day of the animal shelter in Leiden : Stevens h age . Many animals have found a new home today ! = ^ x ^ = Other highlights : the always delicious pancakes , beautiful face paint and I saw many balloon animals pass by . I raised a nice amount for the animal shelter (107 euros ) and got a chance to promote Miss Minoes ​​. Photo of the Day:

Last Sunday, on Swanmarket XXL in Rotterdam. Before the rain: see through all the lanes.  My cat toy eyes: selling like madness again. Cuties! (Note the matching polka dots detail: even on the doggies.)