I’m really excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a book launch for the fantastic book These Islands: Knits from Ireland, Scotland and Britain by Sara Breitenfeldt, Suzanne McEndoo, and Evin Bail O’Keeffe soon.
As you can see from the photo above the date is still to be confirmed, but is likely to be sometime over the coming fortnight.
Watch this space
Happy Knitting!
Summer yarns aren’t as popular for us as you might think? After 10 years in this business I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s several reasons for this.
At last it would appear the big yarn companies have started to listen and this year we’re seeing a good few summer yarns in aran weight 🙂
I’ve had a play with some of the main releases and have decided to go with Malabar from Stylecraft so far.
As I’ve said, it’s an aran weight yarn, a blend of 22% silk/78% cotton, fantastic for €6.75 per ball. There’s approximately 180yds/165m in each 100g ball and the suggested tension is 18 stitches x 24 rows to a4″/10cm square on 5mm needles. Did I mention there’s 12 colours too?
The good folks at Stylecraft Yarns have released lots of accompanying patterns, including the crochet shawl at the top of this post, which is likely to be a favourite of everybody’s because it’s just so pretty. I’m quite smitten by the summer shrug/cardigan on the accessories pattern leaflet here in cream ♥
Truthfully though, I’m thinking of knitting Mimic by Veronika Jobe for myself in Malabar when I’ve finished a couple of my ongoing projects. In the mean time I’ve run up a little Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig aka Knitbot as a mini display garment for the shop in the fabulous summery, turquoise shade.
Interesting fact for you all, turquoise is meant to be the one colour that we all look good in regardless of our skin tone, eye colour or age, it’s universal.
Happy Knitting!
😷 It’s fair to say I’m still feeling blooming awful, my nose 👃 has turned into a leaky tap, which refuses to stop and I have all the energy of a sloth. I’ve barely managed to knit over the past few days, feeling even the little exertion necessary to move my hands just too much. I say this but it’s not really true, well not completely. I’m easily distracted at the best of times, but when a little run down this takes on a whole new level of insanity 👽 My brain races ten to the dozen (or so it feels), coming up with new ideas and plans for things to knit, make, cook, etc, but the body and concentration levels find it hard to keep up.
I’m going to suddenly be able to knit the shawl I’ve been lusting over since I saw my friend wearing it on Saturday – now, today, from start to finish. I’m also going to be able to walk my dogs around the farm without needing to take my boots off and change into my wellies (this will require effort and quite likely bending – both not good for my banging head). The walk will take place under the belting 🌞 sun 🌞 and I will be hither to unscathed, by the gale force winds that seem to be pounding the living daylights out of the trees outside my office window.
I’m also trying to avoid looking around the office, through fear that the mess will become too much to bare (oops nearly wrote bear) and I will once again feel the need to commence tidy up procedures. I’ve tried on at least two occasions since Sunday, to clear some space both on my desk and on the other surfaces around me (including the floor), but it’s still over cluttered, even by my standards.
The living room isn’t much better, except there’s only bits of one project sitting on the pouffe, well they’re samples. They’re actually a rework of the samples that are strewn across my desk. As if to prove a point as to the extremes of my ability to do the polar opposite of organise myself. I have managed to mislay, the pattern for a daisy edged shawl I’d been working on for some time a couple of weeks back. That’s fine, I know they’ll eventually show up, except my afore mentioned, cold infected brain must have them now so I can get the shawl knitted, blocked and be wearing it tomorrow at the latest 😉
Pigs might fly and in this wind there’s every chance they will 🐷 🐷 🐷
Happy Knitting!
Before I go you might wonder why I haven’t mentioned the cowl in the photo at the top of the page, well that’s because it’s finished and residing with it’s new owner and I’ve forgotten to take a photo. So when I have one I promise to share ♥
As the name of this posts suggests, it’s gonna be a quickie as I have woken up this morning with a bit of a cold virus, which currently seems to be manifesting itself as a miniature someone 👾 thumping on my eyeballs 👀
I have managed to get some baking done and have cleared away all evidence of the whirlwind that is Wednesday baking. I’ve met a rep, looked at new yarn and attempted to clear my desk and get on with some paperwork. It’s not working though the combination of dust from the desk and the constant need to sneeze 👃 are getting the better of me.
What a fantastic excuse, if ever one was needed to go and get comfy and do a little 💟 knitting 💟
So very quickly, I just wanted to show you the lovely new shades in Sirdar Snuggly DK that have arrived in.
They’re fun and bright and definitely invoke thoughts of summer sun, the book of new patterns is in too for you to peruse but don’t forget Snuggly Dk is a standard double knit yarn and will therefore work with any double knit pattern.
I said it’d be short and it is, on a last note if you search ‘virus’ on Ravelry you get some lovely little patterns for viruses including this little one by Krista Frank, which is her amigurumi interpretation of the cold virus. I think it looks too sweet to be creating the way I’m currently feeling, so it must be another kind of virus altogether.
Happy Knitting!
I have at least a couple of posts for you this week, this being the first it’s supposed to be about this months woolly and not so woolly, additions to the shop. However, I’ve been so moved by the movie I saw last night that it would seem slightly criminal not to mention it. Especially as I was dreaming about it last night and haven’t stopped thinking about it all day either.
My first visit to the Triskel in Cork City was yesterday to see Patrick’s Day – wow!
Patrick’s Day if you haven’t heard, is a film about a young man (Patrick) with Schizophrenia and the lengths his mother will go to to ‘protect’ him. It throws up loads of things to ponder, not least the right for every man or woman to experience an ‘adult’ relationship and by adult I’m not necessarily talking about a sexual relationship it could be friendship or love. Regardless of how the relationship between two adults manifests itself there is always an emotional side and it’s this aspect that the film centres on.
The cast were fantastic particularly Moe Dunford who plays Patrick, his performance was outstanding. There were several parts of the film that made for uncomfortable viewing, but compelling none the less. I urge you to pop over to the Patrick’s Day Facebook Page and watch the trailer to see what all the fuss is about for yourself. The relationship between Patrick and his mother is central to the film and trying to put yourself in her shoes, is painful to say the least. We’d all go to great lengths to protect our children from the moment they’re born, but are our decisions always the best for our children? I can’t wait for knitting on Wednesday night so we can debate the whole thing over tea, cake and stitching.
Moving on to matters less serious and more woolly.
The shop sale has drawn to a close and I now have my kitchen/classroom back which means the return of Saturday knitting group -hooray 🙂 As you might expect there are still sale balls of wool remaining, so I’ve filled up the €3 baskets at the top of the shop and we will continue to use the Green Bin concept to bring you a super bargain or two.
Last week we took delivery of Country Tweed DK from King Cole in six beautiful shades. Country Tweed has been around for a little while now but I thought it filled a variegated double knit shaped hole on our shelves nicely. Each 100g ball contains approximately 280 metres/306 yards of yarn made from a blend of acrylic, wool and viscose and costs €6.99. It’s a standard double knit yarn so will work with most dk patterns, but I’ve chosen a good few designs that specifically use the Country Tweed for you to peruse. Personally, I’d like to find some time to have a go at using Broomstick Crochet to make a scarf with the yarn. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about pop over to the photo tutorial by Ashley Little here on Craftsy.
Does anyone else fancy having a go too?
We’ve also taken delivery of a couple of shades in Stylecraft’s Merry Go Round yarn to see what the response is like. It’s a basic 100g ball of fun, colourful acrylic, specifically aimed at smallies. I could only find a photo of one of our shades but it’s a pretty one 💗
There’s also been a delivery of something really rather un-woolly, but they smell heavenly. Whilst at the City Hall Christmas Craft Fair I couldn’t resist making a few gift purchases from the Celtic Candles stand. I ended up burning one of the gifts 😄 in the shop over Christmas and a good few of you commented positively on the aroma, so I thought ‘why not?’.
Celtic Candles are an Irish owned, family run company that produce candles, reed diffusers, lip balms and other products, but it was their Organic Range of candles that caught my eye (should that be nose?). Anyway, think essential oils, think 100% plant based wax and then select your aroma. Maybe you want to Relax with Lavender, Geranium and Tea Tree or what about Recharging with Neroli, Clementine and Geranium? The 20CL Aromapots have a burn time of up to 50 hours for €16.99 and the 9CL Votives should burn for approximately 25 hours for €6.99. Interestingly, you can use the candle oil on your skin as a massage oil 🎂
I’m off to get a few rows of knitting done, hope you are too?
Happy Knitting!
I’d started to write this post in mid December when I ordered the new shades in Stylecraft’s Swift Knit and Senses yarns. Unfortunately, there were some issues with obtaining the digital images at the time and I’ve only just received them and I thought you might still like to have a quick look at them.
There are 3 new shades in the Swift Knit and a few new patterns to tempt you too ♥
Dina has already put in a request for the hat 😯
In the Senses I chose two of the new shades for the shop to compliment the colours we already have. Again there have been some lovely patterns released too.
I wouldn’t mind at least one of the hats and the cowl/neck warmer myself if I could find the time to knit them.
Thinking about it the Swift and the Senses are two extremes when it comes to yarns. The Swift is very much a super chunky yarn whilst the Senses has been designed to be used as a laceweight. (I find it knits perfectly to a 4 ply too)
The Swift is €4.99 per 100g whilst the Senses is €4.20 per 50g.
Happy Knitting!
Why 2014 & one day? Several reasons really.
1) It was a bloody awful start to 2015 here. It was blowing up a gale and raining and the sun was obviously nursing a post New Years Eve hangover and didn’t seem to show her face all day. Unlike today which is a much prettier and heart warming (so far). Don’t get me wrong, the sun’s not out there splitting the stones, this is winter in Ireland after all, but the day is full of expectation and anticipation for 2015 🌻
2) I’m sure I’m not the only person guilty of this…. I went into a bit of a cleaning frenzy. It’s come to my notice that I actually spend very little time in my house and thus far have been able to remain blissfully unaware of how much clutter we have accumulated. 🆗 Cards on the table time, it’s not going to change, but I do think I need to address the situation. So yesterday I tackled the fridges and the kitchen, there’s still the oven to do, but I forgot to slather it in bicarb again last night 😖 and next it’s the living room 🆘
3) I wanted to start as I mean to go on and cook more, so I did, at least for the men folk as I wasn’t hungry and ended up wolfing down something later.
4) My internet connection was horrendous, probably because of item 1 on this list or maybe there were other 👽 cosmic forces at work?
5) I went to see The Hobbit 🎥 which I thoroughly enjoyed, regardless of how true to the book it was. Pure entertainment, although I did shed a tear or two 😢
2014 was a pretty good one, yes there were a few moments of yuck there however, I woke up every morning so it can’t have been that bad and I laughed a lot, there is always room for improvement on that front though.
2014 was a busy year though as you can see from the photos. We had our year long charity campaign Knit Happens (more info soon), knitted Shamrocks for Age Action, the first Yarn Shop Day and made crochet critters for The Craft Club’s Guinness World Record Yarnbomb attempt in aid of The Little Haven’s Hospice add to this our refurbishment, it’s no wonder I’ve felt a little overwhelmed at times.
Happily 😄 I’ve managed to knit loads and have been trying to perfect my crochet skills too. I think my favourites this year have been my shawls of which there have been five, one of which was for a good friend.
I won’t bore you with the list, actually lets be honest, that would mean I’d have to have stuck to my original plan at the start of the year. Ever the positive, I did manage to upload more items on Ravelry and I kept a knitting journal until the end of April and I also posted here 60 times (pausing to bow).
Looking forward, all of the same things apply as before
🌻 More organised
🌻 More exercise
🌻 Eat better
🌻 Feed my brain more
🌻 Relax more
🌻 Enjoy life
🌻 Laugh as much as possible.
Could possibly be a mini New Years Resolution…. not a pair a month though, more like a pair every 2 months maybe?
By the madness I mean the build up to Christmas Day, which I convince myself every year that I’m not going to buy into, only to find on Christmas Day that I have 😞 Maybe though, that’s part of the fun?
Unlike previous years I really didn’t manage to get as many presents knitted or even generally handmade as I would have liked to. The year seemed to rush by faster than a speeding car and before I realised it it was the end of November and I’d only knitted the one gift, a Hitchhiker for a friend of mine. Of course I’d forgotten to take a proper picture of it before I’d mailed it, so this is one I’d posted on Instagram whilst I was knitting it.
I used a ball of Rico Poem Superba in green and a ball of King Cole Merino 4ply. The Poems Superba is variegated, so the greens change as the scarf grows. I found it a really lovely pattern to follow, with only 8 rows and by using 2 colours, the stripe effect meant I really didn’t have to concentrate on which of the rows I was on. A lovely happy accident.
Nearly everyone that would wear one received a knitted hat of some kind, mostly these ones though. The pattern is very basic and I should be able to get it up on here over the next couple of days.
I liked them so much that I’ve even made one for me.
Tate looks rather fetching in Leann’s one too, bless him.
Some friends including my Secret Santa recipient received my crochet baubles, which I loved making once I’d figured out what to do. I used several resources to help me, but the circles kept getting bigger because of the trebles. After trying a few different things I decided double crochet was the way to go. A couple of you have asked for a pattern already, but I’m not sure if I can write it up as a ‘proper’ crochet pattern, so it might end up being more of an instruction sheet?
Last but not least was the jumper I’d been making for my hubby Con in secret. Many of you will have seen me trying to get a few rows done in the shop; especially if you popped in the few days before Christmas when I was frantically trying to get the sleeves finished. I’ll write up a separate post to tell you all about it and I might even be able to get a photo of the man himself wearing it 👨
Since finishing the jumper I’ve cast on and started knitting Cobblestone by Jared Flood for Durahn my son. I’ve also been sticking to my morning walk everyday, regardless of how cold it is and both Kye and myself have been going a bit photography mad with our phones. This morning’s walk produced some beautiful snaps, all with no filter too 📷
I’ve also been watching far too many cheesy movies including the must see Guardians of the Galaxy which inspired me to make my own mix tape on Spotify. If you fancy having a look at what tracks I’ve included my profile is lmillar72. More mix tapes to come me thinks 🖭
Happy Knitting!
Last night the knitting group decended on the Pepperstack Bistro for our Christmas get together. I think it’s obvious that good fun was had by all in attendance and we all left full to the brim. The food as always, was tasty and filling and the staff were as lovely and attentive.
We all took part in the Secret Santa Christmas Tree Decoration Swap, as you can see from the photos the standard of knitting and crochet this year was quite high.
With only 14 more sleeps to go until the big day there’s not that many more hours left to get those gifts made up (if you’re like me anyway).
Happy Knitting!
Look at the lovely parcel that arrived yesterday. (Actually there were 4 more but lets look at this one now)
OK so from the outside it doesn’t look so great and you’d never know what was inside, unless of course you’ve spotted the sticker?
Can you make out what it is now?
The anticipation is actually killing me, all this photo taking lark is completely against my inner self screaming ‘just open the damn thing’.
Gorgeous, hand dyed here in Cork, Smudge Superwash Sock Yarn is €23 per 100g. There’s five shades to choose from at the moment and each beautiful 100g hank contains 300 metres of blended 4ply yarn, 70% wool/30% nylon. Not just for socks, I’m thinking a shawl maybe, but I do ♥love♥ my socks…..
Happy Knitting!
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 