ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

I have been asked about a better photo of the sweater – sadly it was created way back in 1978 or 1979 and the photograph on the post was scanned into my computer a few years ago. The original photo is in New Zealand “somewhere” and I am living in the Netherlands so a better scan is not possible right now.

It is possible that there are other photos and maybe I will recreate the sweater as it was quite lovely and a fairly simple intarsia design. It would be reasonably easy to chart for someone else to recreate as well. It will not be high on my “To Do” list though as we are working hard on planning our relocation to New Zealand.

This week I have managed to have new passport photos taken, and I do have to go to The Hague to submit my application to the Danish consulate there in person – so I will do that soon. My passport will expire in July and we leave the Netherlands in the first week of August.

I have made arrangements with several relocation companies and to come and cost the removal of our belongings to New Zealand and I have a a couple of days in Maastricht as Best Beloved will be working there – it will be lovely to be there in the Spring.

In this next week I shall be sorting out stuff that we will not take home, and be placing them to one side so they are not included in the costings to get our stuff home. These will go to de Schalm later for them to onsell. De Schalm is a local “not for profit” business. Their function is to offer opportunity for unemployed people to learn skills that may assist them into work. The mainly youngsters learn to handle cash, take care of the shop, create pieces to sell either sewing, woodwork, bike repair, all sorts of practical skills. We have purchased odd chairs, dining room table etc from there to set ourselves with bits we didn’t bring from New Zealand.

I will have a very busy week.

Will I also knit in this next week? Yes, I will be working on my two knitted houses for the Stephanie Rhode installation and delivering those to her in the next couple of weeks.

Anything else – well maybe, we’ll see.

This weekend, WELL we had planned to go to Nieuwegein to the Breidag and Haakdag: the hottest event of the Netherlands! . There seems to be no train from Haarlem to Amsterdam where we can head to Utrecht and then to Nieuwegein and it has become a rather convoluted journey with several buses, trains, and even a tram. It would take us about 2 hours from here in Haarlem. And that Best Beloved has a heavy cold and has now pulled out of this days planned travel. We had wanted to take our bikes, but because there is no train from here to make connections from Amsterdam and we cannot take bikes on the bus and it is too far for us to ride yet, especially in the time we have today – we have decided not to go.

Such a pity as I had hoped to meet with Miriam Tegels, and maybe @PickledTreats would also have been there.

So I will wander in Haarlem instead – it is a great place to wander.

Best Beloved will rest.

I needed to knit a hat or a slouchy hat or a beret and I did create that there hat and I also played with the stripes a bit. It can be difficult for me to hold onto stripes in the formal sense – you know – 2 rows col 1, 3 rows col 2, and so on.

I had 4 colours, three different shades of Purple and a lovely soft grey. I don’t know if it is a slouchy hat, or a beret – perhaps it is both.

Now back to another beret or slouchy hat, or neck piece, or ??

Living through two cold winters in the Netherlands has made me knit more hats than I could ever ever need back in New Zealand, along with an excess of scarves. I have given away most of the scarves, to colleagues and friends, as well as to De Schalm. The hats have been fun to play with, and to help me to write up my simple Intarsia information for my 3 different berets pattern Which is available on Etsy now.

I had so many hand knitted scarves here, comes from being a really crazy knitter – that early in December when the weather really turned cold and the wind was bitter – I hung 5 scarves outside our little steeg on the railing along side the road, and 2 on the bridge railing close by.

I hoped someone would take them as they were clearly there to be freely taken.

And noone did for several weeks. I thought it was because they were not very nice, or poorly knitted, or not good colours or something. Only a knitter could be this neurotic.

Then they all suddenly went – all bar one. I am delighted they have gone.

My son came from Switzerland for Christmas arriving on Christmas Eve. He came in with the remaining scarf aloft – saying I think this is one of yours, you must have dropped it and someone hung it over the railing. That scarf has now gone to Switzerland.

I hope they all went to good homes and keep someone warm.

On the day before Christmas Eve we also took lots of scarves to de Schalm – about 25 in all. Thank goodness all the scarves have gone and I now have space for my new knitting here.