Category: Knitting

Toasty & Textured

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2014-12-16 15.23.01

 

 

I feel like I’ve wasted so much time this week trying to post here, Ravelry and Facebook without any success because our internet has been so poor 😡  So the first thing I did when I arrived at the shop this morning was upload lots of photos to store in my various media libraries, ready for the next few posts.  I also managed to get the pattern for my latest hat Toasty & Textured up on Ravelry at last too ⭐

The hat is knitted in 1×1 moss stitch with Rico Essentials Big on 7mm needles.  I’ve also knitted up a couple with Rico Flame and will try and persuade Dina, to let me take a photo or two 😉 at the weekend to post here.

January can be a difficult month for some after the extravagances and the build up of the festive season, even the most positive among us can feel like the wind has been knocked out of us a little.  I’m fortunate in that Dina’s birthday is on the 16th, which gives us something to enjoy and this year she’ll be 25!!!  So to ♥celebrate♥ I’ve made the pattern for Toasty & Textured free to download until the end of the month with the coupon code 25. 

Be sure to enter 25 before you checkout and remember to share you’re projects so we can see.   The hat is super speedy to knit and will work for both men and women.  I’m hoping to find a couple of sneaky hours to have a play with combining some of my stash yarns and will post photos of the results here if they work.

Happy Knitting!

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The Bear With No Name

LeftFootDaisy2 Comments

2014-11-20 13.52.05

This is Knit’s latest addition to the Knit Family Menagerie, there’s only one problem though – he doesn’t have a name yet 😯

 

Bears

I knitted him up using pattern 9019 from King Cole Yarns, however the wool Luxe Fur,  is impossible to purchase because it’s completely sold out EVERYWHERE 😦  Undeterred, I decided to try knitting the design up using Tivoli Husk as a substitute instead and I think you’ll agree he’s turned out great?

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He’s the baby bear and there’s also a mummy and a daddy bear (medium and large) on the pattern.  He was fairly simple to knit up and the trick is not to stuff him to firmly with toy filling, otherwise he won’t be so cuddly.

The pretty knitted garment hanging behind our friend the bear is called The Pheasant Shawl by Julie Ferguson which I’d spotted in issue 73 of The Knitter in June and instantly fell in love with.  A naughty purchase of yarn for said garment happened on a trip to York during the summer and I managed to find some time in amongst knitting all the other projects to get it made up.  The yarn used is a double knit from West Yorkshire Spinners from the New Country Birds Collection and  is 100% Blue Faced Leicester.

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Unfortunately, I ran out of the multicoloured yarn several rows before I’d completed the main part of the shawl, which means the shawl is slightly smaller than the size specified on the pattern.

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The colours are beautifully autumnal, unlike most of the clothes I own O_o

2014-11-20 14.03.55Nigel maybe?

Happy Knitting!

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Red the Hedgehog

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2014-10-04 13.14.50

As you’ve probably come to expect from us now, Dina and I have named this little fellow Red.

He’s joined the ranks of sparkly hedgehogs that seem to be taking over the world of knitting due to the popularity of Tinsel Chunky from King Cole.

tinsel ball

 

Tinsel Chunky is 100% novelty and as the name suggests it’s been developed with Christmas in mind, think Christmas decorations, hats, boot toppers and of course hedgehogs.

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This little guy took a very small amount of the ball and I used white double knit yarn from my stash, with a touch of grey for his eyes and nose.

tinsel

At the moment we’ve only had 5 of the shades available arrive in because it’s completely sold out at the mill as hedgehog mania takes hold.  Each 50g ball contains 70 metres of yarn and the recommended needle size is a 6mm, however, the hedgehogs body is knit on 5mm’s to make it more dense to keep the toy stuffing securely within.

hedghog kc

 

Cute and fun, what’s not to like and in case you’re wondering Red is the smallest hedgehog.  Hand on heart he took around 3 hours in total (if not less) to knit, stuff and sew making him great for a last minute gift.

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Happy Knitting!

Wendy Ramsdale

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Ramsdale ball

Yes it is as lovely as it looks.

Ramsdale is one of the new yarns released by Wendy for Autumn/Winter 2014.  It’s a pure wool, double knit yarn so as you would expect the recommended needle size is 4mm with a knitted tension of 22 stitches to 28 rows.

Each 50g ball costs €4.99 and contains 112 metres of woolly goodness, which should of course be hand washed.

ramsdale shades

There are 10 Autumnal shades in the range, sadly the first hasn’t arrived in after stock issues with the manufacturer.  This little glitch is made even more annoying as it’s the shade I’ve knitted up as a sample garment (Grrr).

However, the garment is lovely.  Some of you might have caught my sneaky photos on Instagram of it being knitted and then blocking in the sun?

The pattern is called Poolside by Isabell Kraemer and costs €4.90 on Ravelry.  Knitted top down the design is detailed and easy to follow and contains instructions for seven sizes from XS to XXL, I’ve made the small (35″ chest) as the top part of the jumper is meant to be fitted.  In total I used 9 balls of Ramsdale having knitted it slightly shorter, to fit my 5ft 3″ frame and I blocked it quite vigorously to open out the lace.

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Before
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After

I loved the look of the lace pattern before blocking, but wanted the garment to have a more A-line shape to it, which I achieved by stretching and pinning it out whilst damp.

2014-09-11 11.15.17The good news is it’s on display in the shop for all to see, which is bad news for me, because I won’t get to wear it for a good while yet.

Happy Knitting!

More Baby Knits

LeftFootDaisy2 Comments

2014-07-26 14.07.55-2

I’ve been so busy trying to plan for our refurbishment that it’s ended up being a couple of weeks since I wrote my last post, despite having tonnes to tell you all about.

My needles and hooks have come close to combusting with all the use they’ve been getting.  I’m currently mid way into at least two projects for the shop and I’ve just started another.  I’ve been baby knitting for my friends first grandchild and another friend has just had a baby too :-0 and then I was trying to crochet up a few bits for The Craft Club Yarnbomb, oh and I’ve been crocheting for the shop too.   (I’m so excited about the refurb, sad I know)

I thought you might like to see the little cardi I knitted up for baby Sean as it’s one of my all time favourite patterns.

Beyond Puerperium by Kelly Brooker is going to set you back about €4.20 via Ravelry here  and it’s worth every cent.  The pattern includes sizes newborn to 2 years with options for using 4ply, double knit or aran weight yarn.  If you have time I recommend looking at what other knitters have made on the project pages as there are some great colour combinations and pattern modifications.

There is a free double knit version of the pattern available too in newborn size, if you want to try before you buy, but I guarantee you’ll be hooked.

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I’ve used a lovely vintage green Sirdar Snuggly DK with multicoloured buttons from Rico this time but I’ve made several of them now and am happy to report Dina has too, she’s actually making a lovely candy pink one at the moment (we’re sharing the buttons, I used the boyish ones she’s using the girlie ones).  I’ll see if I can persuade her to let me post a photo or two here when she’s finished.

I’ve just sent all the yarn bomb goodies off so my next post will be a photo explosion of crochet creativity.

Happy Knitting!

Quick Knitted Gift For Kye’s Teachers

LeftFootDaisy8 Comments

 

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On Thursday I posted up a photo of the present Kye made for his favourite resource hours teacher Mrs McCarthy, today I thought I’d share with you the little gift I knitted up for all of the teachers, secretary, special needs assistant and resource hours teachers including the very special Mrs McCarthy.  Don’t panic it sounds like I’ve been knitting for a bus full when in fact there’s only 6 ladies in total as it’s a very small school.

I’m a regular reader of the blog Simply Notable, which is written by Carli and her mum.  I spotted her post on The Almost Lost Washcloth Pattern and was delighted because it was just what I was looking for.  Have a look at the blog here Simply Notable or you can find the pattern through the link on Ravelry here.

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The Spiral shape is created by using short rows, much easier than it sounds, you knit 14 points in total and sew the cast on edge to the cast off edge and gather in the centre with a running stitch.

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I made 8 of the washcloths in total, the first was more of a trial one to see if I liked them, the 8th was to use up the yarn and I can gift it to someone else later.  The yarn I used was Rico Essentials Cotton Aran and I knitted two washcloths out of the one ball.

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I bought some lovely handmade raspberry soap from our local health food shop Well & Good and wrapped the bars up with the washcloths and a bit of organza ribbon. Simples!

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Nice, pretty and personal.

Happy Knitting!

 

 

Quick, Pretty Knit

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2014-06-06 10.09.22

I thought I’d quickly share this knit with you before I wrap it and send it off to it’s new owner.

You might have seen the photo of the blanket I started for our friends new baby in my last post.  The pattern is from  James C. Brett, number 173 and uses their Flutterby yarn which looks really pretty but (confession time) I’m not so fond of knitting with.

I’ve used Hayfield Baby Chunky and the blanket which is pram size only used 2 x 100g balls.  The garter stitch border adds definition and there are only 4 rows to the lace pattern which becomes very memorable after a few repeats.  This really was a quick knit and I can see it being a pattern I’ll use again and again, great for last minute knitting.

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The blanket dimensions are approximately 30″ x 20″

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Best of all the colour (406) is almost identical to the rosy pink I used in the Gidday  Baby Cardigan and the hat.  Lets hope the baby’s parents aren’t allergic to pink.

Happy Knitting!

 

 

 

Yippee! I Can Knit Baby Things

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2014-05-23 17.08.22

One of our friends has recently had a little baby girl so my needles have been smoking a little with shades of pink and oatmeal.

True, I could have been sensible and just knitted up a few different garments in gender neutral shades and themes and been ahead of the game, but where’s the fun in that?

I’d spotted the Gidday baby cardigan by Tikkiknits on Ravelry a little while ago and have been looking for an excuse to knit it up.  You might remember I popped the link up on the shops Facebook page?  If you missed it you can find it here.

It’s a fantastic little double knit pattern and this free version has instructions for 2 sizes, newborn and 3 months.  If you’d like to make larger sizes the full pattern contains 15 sizes from newborn to 12 years and costs $6AUD or a little over €4, which is a bit of a bargain.  Find the full pattern here.

I love the way the yarn overs that make the increased stitches on the yoke add a little extra interest.  You can always increase your stitches with a M1 if you’d prefer not to have the little lacy holes in your garment.

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I’m rather pleased with the finished cardi, although when knitting it again I think I’ll knit an extra 2 rows of the garter stitch yoke in the main body colour in order to try and overcome the ‘jog’ that happens when knitting stripes.

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Look closely and you can see the jog at the bottom of the stripes on the border.

The little wooden flower buttons add that little bit of extra charm, buttons are so important, at least that’s what I keep telling myself to explain away the tins of them I’ve amassed 😉

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I used Sirdar Snuggly DK because I love the feel of the finished fabric, it’s machine washable and the range of colours is vast.  The cardigan used a little over one ball of the oatmeal (344)  and barely any of the rose pink (Lolly 420) so I thought I’d be proactive and try and use up a little more of the yarn rather than just pop it straight into my ever growing stash.

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The pattern I used for the hat is from Stylecraft Yarns number 8794 , but I still have yarn left.  Maybe some booties too?

Trouble is I’ve already started this for the baby (oops!)

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Happy Knitting!

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All Good Fun

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So for those of you that missed it Saturday 3rd of May was Yarn Shop Day.  It was great to see so many of you out to support us and good fun was had by all (I hope) despite the rain 😦

After all the fun and games I have some competition and raffle winners to announce.

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The raffle winners are as follows –

Sock Yarn – Mary Healy

Scrumptious Lace Weight Yarn – Fiona Ryan

Snuggly Dk & Pattern – Deidre McArdle

Bambeanies by Woolly Wormhead – Edwina Cole

Erika Knight – Molly McSweeny

Lucy Neatby, The Brand New Knitter DVD – Sadie Foley

Knitpro Symphonie Interchangeable Starter Set – Susan Macfarlane

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We also had a ‘Guess the Number of Buttons in the Jar’ for our younger visitors on the day.  The winner receives a €5 gift voucher for Auntie Nellies Sweet Shop and a woolly goody bag donated by the good folks over at Stylecraft Yarns, for the knitter in their life.

Can you guess?????

252

None of the children guessed correctly, but the nearest was Jasmine Jennings with 258.  Well done Jasmine the Auntie Nellies Gift Voucher is yours and I’m guessing your mum or your sister might like to receive the goody bag.

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Last but not least.

There was the competition to find our fastest Knit Happens stocking knitter.

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The stocking had to be knitted in two colours and this mind blowing time was achieved by Mary Murphy, who wins 4 balls of Sirdar Bonus Dk for her effort, which she whipped up with smoke rising from her needles in a little over 10 minutes..

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The second fastest stocking knitter was Mary O’Donovan with a little over 12 minutes.  Mary wins a ball of King Cole Splash for her speedy needles.

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Those of you that didn’t make it won’t have had a chance to see our yarnbombed rocking chair, which definitely helped entice passers by in.  We’ll be taking it with us, along with lots of our Knit happens stockings to the Midleton Mid May Festival on Sunday 18th at The Square (near The Granary).  Why not come and see it and lend your support to this new festival

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You can find out more about what’s happening over the weekend here 

Happy knitting!

Oh Dear

LeftFootDaisy6 Comments

Oh dear indeed…….

The number of projects I’m currently working on has gotten a little out of hand lately and I only realised how bad things were getting when I opened a project bag and discovered about a third of a blanket knitted in beautiful, Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino that I’d completely forgotten about.  Hoping to regain control I frogged it!  All 600 metres of it!!!! Ouch!

So in an effort to overcome my problem and in the hope that I’ll manage to complete some of the ongoing wip’s I’d like to confess.

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Wip mania

Sorry for the awful pic, the sun wasn’t shining my way.

So…. They consist of

A piece of green knitting that needs to be felted and made into brooches.

One lace sock that needs it’s equally lacy partner.

3 balls of yarn for a gift that needs to be knitted ASAP as the birthday is looming.

There’s a beautiful piece of red knitting belonging to 8 year old Aoife from my children’s knitting group that needs sewing up into a cowl.

There’s a shop sample jumper in Stylecraft Stars.

Another shop sample is the woolly sheep I’ve made in Sirdar’s Snowflake Chunky and Snuggly Dk that needs sewing up and stuffing but I’d like to make some more legs so it’s a little more multi-coloured.

There’s the blue, grey and red Alice Cardigan that I’m knitting for myself.

More socks for me too.

Ongoing are the Knit Happens Stockings for the East Cork Rapid Response.

Also the Attic 24 inspired crochet flowers.

Catrina aka Purl Petal is to blame for the crochet squares.  If she hadn’t brought her beautiful blanket into the shop to show me, I wouldn’t have needed to start one.  Go and check it out  http://www.ravelry.com/projects/PurlPetal/granny-squares-crochet-blanket

 

10 in total

EXCEPT THERE’S NOT

Whist I was pulling out my patterns and books I realised that I’ve also been working on a jumper for my son Durahn, but have stopped because I need to check his measurements.

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Also, if this really is a confession, then I should probably include the bag of crochet bunting that I add to occasionally.  The two easy, cinema knitting scarves that I have hanging on the back of the door and my beautiful Moody Blanket.  The main part of which is finished but I need good light to photograph knitting the applied i-cord edge for a ‘how to’ post.

This is the missing, offending jumper for my son.  It’s beautiful and the yarn is lovely to work with but he’s 6 feet tall so it’s gonna be the right size even if I have to tie him up to measure him.

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How many wip’s do you have on the go?  I hope it’s not as bad as me.

I can’t even claim that they’re mostly for the shop this time.

Happy Knitting!

(we’re going to sweep gracefully over the three other projects I frogged and the crate full of items that just need sewing up too 😉 aren’t we?)