Giveaway time!

I’m very happy to announce my first ever giveaway!

Following the great feedback I got on my Maestrale pattern, I’m going to celebrate with this little gift to you all. If you want to try the pattern, you will now get also the yarn for it!

I’m giving away a cake of Scheepjes Whirl. But that’s not all: you can choose your color! Fantastic, isn’t it?

Here are the rules.

To enter the giveaway you must do ALL of the following:

• Follow my Instagram account (constant updates on patterns, tips, reviews and, of course, giveaways!)
• Repost my image tagging me @nimhriel
• Tag a friend
• Answer the little survey below commenting here or on Instagram
• Of course, don’t forget to tell me which shade you’d like to have!

Here’s the questions. Please choose only one answer:

What would you prefer to get from your favorite knitting and/or crochet designer:

1. Just nice, tested and well written paid patterns
2. A complete kit with pattern and yarn available on the market (like Malabrigo, Madelinetosh, Scheepjes and so on)
3. A complete kit with pattern and yarn specifically dyed for the pattern (choosing among pre-made color combinations or making your own)
4. A complete kit with pattern and yarn specifically dyed according to your own liking (choosing for example two or three different colors to dye a customized skein)

The contest will be open for 1 week and the winner will be selected at random on next Friday June 30th. I will make the announcement on Instagram. The winner will receive one Scheepjes Whirl in the color of his or her choice.

That’s it! Easy and quick!

Please be aware that this giveaway doesn’t work with entries. You can tag as many friend you like, for example, but you won’t get any extra point or chance to win. This is to encourage also those new to Instagram who want to try their luck! All competitor will have the same chance to win.

Sponsor: this giveaway is NOT sponsored by Scheepjes, Instagram, any yarn shop or anybody at all. The prize will come directly from my own stash. I just want to give you the chance to try Whirl and have fun!

Thanks everyone, I hope you’ll like it!

Yarn review: Scheepjes Whirl

One of the most popular yarn at the moment, Scheepjes Whirl never stops to amaze, coming up with brand new colors and beautiful patterns from Scheepjes bloggers.

Like many others out there, I couldn’t resist these gorgeous cakes, so I treated myself to a couple of them. And I don’t regret it at all! They are sitting gracefully on my shelf in my craft room like candies in a jar for my eyes. But why all this uproar? Let’s take a closer look at this yarn.

Description

Whirl is a fingering weight yarn (4 ply) made of 60% cotton and 40% acrylic.
It comes in a cake of 225 gr and it has a yardage of 1094 yds (about 1000 mt). Scheepjes recommend to use a 3,5 – 4 mm hook (size E – G). It’s machine washable on gentle cycle.
It’s a gradient yarn, made of different threads joined together for a smooth transition.
At the moment, Whirl is available in 17 colors with more to be launched in the near future. Each cake has a Easy Start center pull. The average price for each cake is about 25€ (20£).

Details

The first thing you’ll notice of this yarn is, of course, the colors. It goes from the subtle violet-white of Lavanderlicious to the bright rainbow of Jumpin Jelly. It’s easy to decide to buy one cake but picking up a shade could be one of the most difficult choice of your creative life. There’s really a shade for everyone, even the black-grey of Liquorice Yumyum for those who don’t fancy screaming colors. Be careful, though. This is a dangerous yarn. Several people even reported they have experienced a sweet voice in their heads whispering “I should buy them all”. Yes, it could be addicting. I know it well as I’m experiencing it at the moment, but I must confess I like it!

Once you are lucky enough to actually touch the cake, you’ll get a nice surprise: it’s soft, but of that softness you wouldn’t expect from a cotton blend yarn. Try not to squeeze the cake too much, if you can.

The thread is nicely twisted, promising a good stitch definition. Scheepjes says the ends between color changes are knotted together, but it’ll be hard to see these knots; you’ll probably notice a little fuzziness where the threads are joined together, but it’ll completely disappear in your stitches. These are not abrupt color changes: the different threads are twisted together, creating new shades, blending into each other and guiding the eyes through a smooth gradient transition.

And then Whirl will give you another nice surprise: it’s not splitty. Cotton and cotton blends yarns tend to be splitty as the organic or manufactured fiber don’t stick to each other well as natural fibers do. But here Scheepjes has done a great job by twisting them, so it’s truly a pleasure to knit or crochet with this yarn.

Another great feature of Whirl is the yardage: there’s 1 km of yarn, enough to complete a big shawl, a cardigan, a dress or a blanket. The only thing you need to do is find a pattern, take your hook or needles, and start your project, without worrying about color changes or yardage. Whirl will think about everything and let you enjoy your crafting times.

Tips

Think about the construction of your pattern before starting your cake. Remember that Whirl has a center pull but you can also start from the outside. You may want to choose which color in the cake will be predominant, the outer one or the inner one. For example, in a bottom up shawl, the starting color will be predominant.

Check out my free crochet pattern for Whirl ==> Maestrale

Please let me know if this review was useful for you and tell me about your experience with Whirl and your favorite colors. Are you following my Instagram account? If not, please hurry! I have a very very nice surprise coming up this week!
Have fun with your Whirl!

— This review is NOT sponsored by Scheepjes —

 

 

 

Windy days – Vento

Autumn has come in the Netherlands, and it’s such a cold one!
This year temperatures have dropped dramatically in October. We already went below 0 once! In the mornings all the cars on the street and my garden where covered in a thin shiny coat in a bed of fallen leaves.
Beautiful! But for me and my kids, riding a bike everyday, this means we have to protect ourselves from the Dutch chilly wind. I had to start somewhere and I decided to go for my daughter who rides directly facing the wind in the bakfiets. Something for her neck, then a hat and maybe gloves and legwarmers, we’ll see. My boy is still safe and protected from the wind thanks to the maxi cosi (but he’s outgrowing it!).

L’autunno è arrivato qui in Olanda e si fa sentire! 
Quest’anno la temperatura è già scesa sotto lo zero una volta. La mattina tutte le macchine e il mio giardino erano coperti da un sottile manto luccicante in un letto di foglie secche.
Bellissimo! Ma per me e i miei bimbi che andiamo in bici tutti i giorni, questo vuol dire che ci dobbiamo assolutamente coprire perchè il vento olandese non ha pietà! Tra noi tre, quella che è più esposta al vento sono io ma ovviamente la mia bimba viene prima, quindi ho iniziato da lei. Il piccoletto è ancora al riparo nell’ovetto, anche se per poco perchè sta crescendo a vista d’occhio.

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I wasn’t sure about the design, but I was about the yarn: Scheepjes Stonewashed XL. It’s absolutely amazing, one of my favorites ever! The colours are just perfect, they remind me of the flowers growing in my garden and they are a bright spot in this autumn colours all around us.

Non ero sicura del design, ma lo ero certamente del filato: Scheepjes Stonewashed XL. E’ assolutamente tra i miei preferiti! I colori sono perfetti, mi ricordano i fiori che crescono nel mio giardino e danno un pò di contrasto ai colori autunnali dai quali siamo circondati.

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There’s a whole set in my designer dreams. Let’s see if the reality will match the expectations! At the moment I’m busy writing the pattern for one of the pieces. Once completed, they’ll be available on Ravelry and Loveknitting for sure. I’m struggling to check the measurements as it seems my daughter doesn’t want to help at all: she’s too busy running around and playing these days! It’s so heartwarming to see the kids are so happy. As for me, as usual, crochet hooks and colours are my best travelling companions on this lively road.
Happy autumn!

Nei miei sogni di designer c’è un set. Non so se riuscirò a fare tutto, ma mi concentrerò su un singolo capo alla volta. Al momento sto scrivendo le istruzioni del primo pezzo; saranno disponibili di sicuro su Ravelry e Loveknitting, aggiungerò i links una volta pubblicati. Per ora sto perfezionando le misure, sempre che una bimba che ha voglia di correre si fermi un istante per collaborare e provare un pò il lavoro di mamma! E’ così bello vedere questi bimbi allegri. Quanto a me, come al solito, lavorare con l’uncinetto e i colori mi mette sempre di buon umore. 
Buon autunno!

Spring competition

Competition time! Yes, this time it was for Skeino, one of my favourite yarn brands. I love working with their yarn, is absolutely stunning and highest quality. I will write a full post about Skeino in the near future, and a couple of reviews, I promise. For now, I just wanted to congratulate with myself for being… the winner! I’m so excited about that! I’m super super super happy!

The theme was Skeino and Spring. This is the picture I sent them.

Finalmente un concorso fotografico! Questa volta si tratta di Skeino, uno dei miei brand preferiti in filati e modelli. Nei prossimi giorni scriverò un lungo post a riguardo, magari con un paio di recensioni su alcuni loro filati. Per ora voglio solo congratularmi con me stessa per aver… vinto!!! Sono veramente contentissima!!!

Il tema era Skeino e la primavera. Questa è la foto che ho mandato.

And this is the video with the announcement. The prize? A 100% discount on one of their wonderful products. Can you ask for more???

Questo è il video in cui annunciano il vincitore. Il premio? Uno dei loro magnifici prodotti gratis! Della serie, che vuoi di più dalla vita?