Organizing stuff!

With babysteps I am trying to better organize our shop. This is our new Knitting magazines layout.
Ons nieuwe breiboekenrek, ik ben er erg blij mee, een stuk overzichtelijker en mooier.

Our brand new knitwear hangings.
Een heel nieuw kledingrek, staat zoveel mooier nu.

In one year this whole wall has been transformed!
Deze wand is helemaal anders sinds een jaar, steeds met kleine stapjes...

New Colinette yarns arrive in Hoorn!

This video shows the arrival of a new shipment of exciting Colinette yarns and how we prepare them for presentation in our shop.

Deze video laat zien hoe wij een zending met spannende Colinette garens op streng uitpakken en klaarmaken voor presentatie in onze winkel.

Leftover pillowcase / Restjeskussen

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This leftover yarn pillow case was made by Marianna from Midwoud, Holland. Amongst others she used some Noro and that always is a good idea!
Dit restjeskussen met onder andere wat Noro garen erin is gemaakt door Marianna uit Midwoud. De gestreepte kant is de achterkant, lekker retro en goed gelukt!

Araucania has arrived! Araucania is aangekomen!

You just wanna grab these fabulous colours and start right away...I like it a lot because the colours have such a different feel to them...

Deze schitterende handgeverfde wol uit Chili wil je gewoon beetpakken en op de pennen zetten, waanzinnig van kleur!
Komt u niet uit Hoorn? Wij versturen ook al onze artikelen! E-mail: info@schoutenhandwerken.nl

Am I right ?
Heb ik gelijk?

Nu ook in het Nederlands! Now also in Dutch!

Dear readers,
English and dutch now!

Hallo lieve lezeressen/lezers,
Het leek me beter vanaf nu tweetalig dit blog bij te houden.

Simone vroeg me dit lijstje "De 4 van mij" in te vullen , heel leuk idee vond ik:
"De 4 van mij" zijn:

4 Banen die ik heb gehad: (4 jobs I have had)
Bollenpeller (Peeling tulip bulbs)
Assistent dansleraar(assistent balllroom dancing instructor)
Sergeant administratie (army job!)
Verkoper "Hij" (nu WE) Menswear salesperson

4 films die ik leuk vind: (4 movies I like)
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Priscilla, Queen of the desert
Alle James Bond films

4 plekken waar ik geweest ben: (4 places I have been)
Cairo
Sapporo
New York City
Ibiza

4 plekken waar ik heb gewoond: (4 places I have lived)
Hoorn
Zwaag
Wognum
Purmerend

4 tv programma's waarnaar ik kijk: (4 tv shows I watch)
Project Runway
House
Sex and the city (op herh,de film komt eraan!)(watching it for the coming movie)
Fashion TV

4 radio programma's waar ik naar luister: 4 radio shows I listen too
3FM
538
Radio 10 Gold
Mellow Gold

4 van mijn lievelings maaltijden: (4 favourite dishes)
Sushi
Boerenkool (Very dutch, yummy)
Indiase keuken (Indian)
Thaise keuken (Thai)

4 plekken waar ik soms liever zou zijn: (4 places I'd rather be sometimes)
Ibiza
Californie
New York
Amsterdam

Supermodel Pebbles!

This is Pebbles. A girl with such a great name should have a great poncho. Her mother, Mirabel, is my brother's girlfriend. She re-discovered crochet and knitting. She came into my shop, we taught her the basics and voila! A great poncho. (we worked together on the flowers a bit and had a lovely afternoon crocheting flowers together, thanks Mirabel!) Pebbles is a fabulous flower child!

Djef in Noro Kureyon.

Hello, my name is Djef and I am almost 1 year old! My grandmother Marja made this sweater out of 2 balls of Noro Kureyon on a circular needle. You can't get any more exclusive than this. Warm, colourful and beautifully knitted! Thank you grandma!

Miss Valentine Divine is knitting again!

With African roots in Kenya, Valentine knows all about great colours. That's why she instantly recognized the colour expertise of Colinette Point 5 yarn. Years ago, back in Africa , she used to knit but when she saw this gorgeous yarn in the Mardi Gras colour setting she fell in love with knitting all over again. She told me she almost had to cry from joy when she knitted with these great colours. Wear it African style like this or around your neck, this scarf will always look divine, Miss Valentine! Love it! Asante! (swahili for thank you!)

Rodarte Spring 2008 knits.

Sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy came from California to NYC in 2005 and started their fashion brand Rodarte, named after their mother's maiden name. They have been very successful in the fashion business. I wanted to show you that they are doing really cool knits for spring 2008. For more info and fashion show video: www.rodarte.net (btw I love the shoes too lol)

Hello, my name is Jelle!

Hello everyone, I am Jelle and I live next-door to Wilbert and Christopher. My grandmother bought some really comfy soft yarn (Scheepjes Softfun) at Wilbert's Yarnshop and knitted this modern sweater-vest for me! So this Christmas I looked totally cool and dressed up for the occasion!

My New York City visit. (Dutch spoken video)

Before spending Christmas in Boston, we spent some time in NYC. I visited some fabric, trimmings and yarnshops. Have a look! The quality of the video is not super good because I shot it with my Nokia N93. I especially liked the yarn shop Purl in Soho that is featured in this video and was recommended by my american cousin and fellow knitter Key, thanks Key!

Hello! We are Silke and Tessa!

Hello from Hoogkarspel, Holland! Our proud grandmother, Mrs. Joke Verus, got some colourful yarns from schoutenhandwerken.nl and knitted these scarves and hats for us twin girls! Don't we look great in them?

Linda's Point 5 scarf.

This is Linda. She came in our shop some weeks ago with her grandmother to buy some yarn. Her grandmother was going to knit her a scarf! What a very special thing that is. She chose 4 skeins of Colinette Point 5 in the sahara colour setting and it looks really cool! (and warm) It is made in moss stitch on 15 mm needles. On the picture Linda is standing next to the yarn used. Thank you for showing it to us Linda!

Marieke's Colinette Point 5 Scarf

Marieke loves Colinette Point 5. She has made several scarves from this fabulous yarn and she came in to show this one in the turqoise colour setting. Isn't it COOL!!! She used 5 skeins on 12 mm needles, and made a hole in the middle that is really practical for wearing it. She teaches English so I hope my grammar and spelling are ok...Thank you for showing, Marieke!

Crochet Art from Helma van Kleinwee.

These are two creations from artist Helma van Kleinwee. She comes into my shop regularly and I asked her for some pictures of her art to present here. They are crocheted from various yarns, but her primary yarn is a basic cotton that after crocheting is painted and hardened into figures. The top creation is called "Damesorkest", which translates as "A ladies orchestra".The bottom creation is called "Meidengeheim", which is all about secrets that girls have among themselves.

Helma van Kleinwee has been creative all her life. Painter, color advisor, interior decorator and stylist. Her motto is "Do what you feel". She thinks it is important to feel warmth and energy during painting. She shapes her emotions into figures and colors. Nothing calculated. She would paint a Tuscany landscape in Holland. Painting on the wings of intuition. She strives for harmony and balance.

"Working towards matter, seeing and feeling structures.
Intense colors and emotions. Observing the world and myself.The sub conscious plays an important role.
Asking questions. Making choices. A quest for ones own truth.
Doing what you feel, to obtain the freedom that is needed to get to the place you want to be".
Helma.

For more information: http://www.galeriezwijsen.nl/

Festive bobbin lace Christmas ornament

Made by one of our valued customers, Mrs. Willy van Rietschoten, this is a Christmas ornament decorated with a bobbin lace border made with DMC gold yarn. It's a unique and chic creation for the Christmas tree!

Micro Knitting.

Mrs Alkemade also knits small things...The smallest dress is just 2 cm high. Small. Smaller, smallest!

Annie in Noro SiIk Garden Light

Annie took up knitting again, she started with not just any kind of yarn.... She bought 9 balls of Noro Silk Garden Light and made this fabulous piece. (in just 1 week!) She volunteered for a picture and I think it looks great!

Knitting in a small way...

Mrs. Marijke van Vuuren knits. On 0,8 mm needles that is... The tape measure shows centimeters to show you how small they actually are! These dolls are made from rubber, she told me it takes half an hour to get them dressed. When you actually see them for real the size just awes you. You can see and buy this lady's fine work at most doll fairs in The Netherlands.

Brei-gedicht.

Het leek me leuk om het engelstalige gedicht dat wordt voorgelezen in mijn video-entry van 4 november 2007 te vertalen. Ik het het vertaald en met zeer deskundige en bevlogen hulp van Dhr. Feenstra uit Hoorn luidt het gedicht nu als volgt:

Brei-gedicht

Terwijl mijn vingers iedere steek tellen en koesteren, worden ze een hartslag, een veiligheid en een ritmisch welzijn.

Toer na toer, ontkom ik steeds minder aan meditatie. Mijn reis geleid door het ritme van de naalden, het weefraam, het spinnewiel.

Iedere centimeter weefsel is mijn getuigenis.
Steek voor steek verweef ik mijn ziel met het breisel.

Ik sluit mij aan bij een eeuwenlange rij van mensen, wier verhaal wordt verteld door de weefsels van de tijd:

De mensen uit de oudheid, die kostbare vezels door hun haar vlochten;

De vroege egyptische wevers, wier fijnlinnen windsels de farao’s op hun laatste reis beveiligden;

De vroegste zeevaarders, wier doelmatige knopen nu mijn truien verfraaien.

Doorgegeven aan toekomstige generaties, zullen onze levens-steken stand houden!

Knitting poem.

People have asked me to write down the beautiful poem that is read in my video blog entry from youtube, november 4th 2007. Please let me know if you know of the direct source of this poem.

Knitting poem.

As my fingers count and caress each stitch, they become a heartbeat, a safeguard and a rhythm of comfort.

Row after row, I am walled into meditation. My journey guided by the rhythm of the needles, the rhythm of the loom, the rhythm of the spinning wheel.

Each inch of fabric is my testimony. Stitch by stitch I incorporate my soul into the fabric.

I join a long strand of humanity, whose story is told through the textiles of time:

The ancients who braided precious fibres into their hair.

Early Egyptian weavers, whose delicate linen wrappings secured the final journey of the pharaohs.

The earliest mariners, whose purposeful knots now add beauty to my sweaters.

Past to future generations, our stitches of life will endure.

Yarn art in steel.

This steel frame is normally used in Holland to strengthen concrete with but one of our very creative customers, mrs. Miedema, turned it into this piece of art! I think it looks really nice and kind of japanese. What an eclectic mix of techniques and yarns...Fantastic!

The manly art of knitting video

This video sums up such beautiful things about knitting, told by men who knit!

BREAKING NEWS: ROWAN COMES TO HOORN!

We are going to start with a new brand (for us). ROWAN! We are starting with 21 colours of Pure Wool DK and 15 colours of Kid Silk Haze, I hope to get them in soon! Have you ever seen our shop website? www.schoutenhandwerken.nl

New Colinette Jitterbug Colours have arrived.

Today we unpacked these gorgeous Jitterbug colours, the Colinette sockyarn. ( or any project yarn) The colours are so inspiring amd this yarn feels sooo good!