Squares Everywhere

June 25, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Our blanket collection for The House of Hope in Vanadzor, Armenia is well underway and there are squares everywhere.

I’ve got piles of them sorted by size, strips already sewn to be made up into blankets and several finished blankets complete with crochet border, a very basic crochet border believe me.

We’ve calculated it takes approximately 7.5 hours to sew the squares together, sew in all the ends and crochet the border. So we’ve been trying to sew the squares up as they come in to try and keep on top of things. A big thank you to those that have been sewing as well as knitting.

As you might expect, the squares initially came in, in various sizes and dare I say shapes. Undeterred all squares are being used and as you can see the blankets are beautiful when sewn up.

Please keep your squares coming in as we would love to be able to give as many residents as possible a blanket each. It might be a little ambitious though as there will hopefully be 80 people, nothing like a challenge.

Happy Knitting!

Yesterday’s Goodies

April 20, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Here’s a quick snap of the lovely new sock yarn that arrived in yesterday. It’s the Sweet & Spicy range from Opal and there are 8 gorgeous shades all 4ply of course so they can be used as a substitute yarn for other 4ply garments.

Tempted?

These are the adapted Alice Mitts I made yesterday to show the girls at the Children’s Knitting Group this morning as there are a few of them that have asked to make them next.

Happy Knitting!

I used the Colourbrushed Chunky from Tivoli, which is very reasonably priced (€3.95 for 100g), soft and comes in very child friendly colourways. Even better than that I probably have about half the ball left, so it’s 2 pairs for the price of one.

Truly Scrumptious

March 27, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

After my blogging procrastination of late it should come as no surprise that I have had loads of ideas for posts but very little time.

I must however, tell you all about the lovely lace weight and 4ply yarn that came in from Fyberspates. It’s been on display in the shop for a fortnight now but I kept forgetting to take photos or the light wasn’t great. Sweeping all of this to one side here it is.

Jens Green, Treacle Toffee, Rose Pink & Slate Lace

Made from 45% silk & 55% Merino the lace has 1000m per 100g hank and the 4ply/sport has 365m per 100g hank and both completely live up to their name and who doesn’t like a little luxury?

Deep Chestnut, Teal, Jens Green, Natural, Cherry, Purple & Baby Pink 4ply

There are books and patterns from Fyberspates too and both yarns work as fantastic substitutes,. I’m actually planning on knitting my Winter is coming Shawl in the gorgeous Deep Chestnut 4ply for the Knitguard KAL on Ravelry.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/winter-is-coming-shawl

I’ve also knitted Childry by Elly Doyle but will have to take a photo and post it up here for you to see. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/childry

Happy Knitting!

Stash Dash Ready

March 4, 2013March 5, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

As you can see from the pictures the shop is now Stash Dash ready for Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March. There is sooooo much lovely yarn included that I will have to try to control the urge to buy it all myself.

Of course if we’re going to be honest then I shall have to admit to having selected several balls (slight understatement possibly?) for some of the projects I’ve cued…….. Who could blame me?

So will I give you an idea of what to expect when you come in for your 20 minutes?

Spring/Summer is supposed to be coming so it stands to reason that there will be chunky yarns, including –

Shades of Wendy Merino Chunky, Rico Galaxy, Bergere de France Duvetine, Twilley’s Purity & Sirdar Folksong to name but a few. We are also clearing Wendy Celtic Chunky & Wendy Norse.

In super chunky were clearing Sirdar Denim Ultra & Big Bamboo, shades of Sirdar Big Softie and there’s a few packs of Rico Super Chunky Tweed there too.

In aran weight there’s Wendy Traditional Aran, Rico Country Aran, shades of Sirdar Supersoft Aran and several lovely cottons from Araucania.

As you might expect there’s loads to tempt you in double knit yarns – shades of Sirdar Baby Crofter & Snuggly dk, we’re clearing King Cole Riot, Shades, Moods, Moods Duet, Baby Alpaca & Haze. Sorrento from Wendy is also included to clear as is Tiny Tots from Sirdar. There are also shades of Wendy Merino Dk, King Cole’s Splash, Rico’s Cotton dk and Sublime’s Egyptian Cotton.

In 4ply and lace there is Sirdar Countrystyle to clear and Rico’s Romance, there’s also sock yarn, shades of Comfort 4ply and loads of odd balls and hanks.

There’s also scarf yarns from Sirdar, Rico & Tivoli, shades of Reflection from Rico, Snowdrops from Sirdar and loads more yarn in lots of lovely colours, too many to mention.

I’m looking forward to having another look myself and hope everyone that’s coming finds something they like.

Don’t forget your list.

Happy Knitting!

Countdown Beginning……………..

February 19, 2013February 19, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

For those of you that have been before you’ll know what it’s all about, the rest of you would probably best to read this previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/07/23/everybody-keeps-asking-me/

Basically, we cover up all the shelves and lay out as many tables as we can fit into the shop; on top of these we put all the yarn we’re discontinuing. There could be whole ranges of yarn, shades of yarn and some you might not have seen before. There will be odd balls, several balls and packs of balls, no matter what, all balls are €3 each.

There are things to consider: you have to book your slot, you only have 20 minutes (you’re timed), you have to prepare, dig out the patterns, check your favourites on Ravelry, make sure you know how much double knit/aran/chunky you need. Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place quickly before they all go.

This is what you should be expecting.

Let the mayhem begin!

Look at the Lovely Donations

February 16, 2013February 18, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

As most of you are already aware we are constantly encouraging everyone to knit or crochet for charity. At least once a week I hear the words ‘I use to knit all the time, but my kids/grandchildren won’t wear knitted jumpers anymore’. Hopefully, this is becoming less the case as all things woolly have become quite fashionable of late and some of the coolest people are donning Aran jumpers or oversize sloppy hats, and there’s no denying the current trend for super chunky cowls.

So knitting is the rage once again but if you remain unconvinced perhaps you could be persuaded to pick up the needles or your hook again and get to work on creating some much needed winter woolies for our current charity – The Kyl Assylum in Belarus. If you want to know more have a read through my previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/11/15/our-latest-charity-collection-is/

The lovely scarf above is a beautiful 4ply, yes I did say 4ply, number knitted by Edwina.

This lovely trio of hats were knitted up by Sinead’s mum, they also dropped off a bar of soap to add to the toiletries collection to send out to Belarus too.

In addition to the knitted items, Mary also grabbed a bargain batch of gloves and hats to include and whilst some of them are for children they will still be passed on to needy smallies via the charity.

Teresa O’Flynn has sent in some more baby raglan jumpers and cardis.

Lastly there’s these lovely hats that a lady dropped in to us to forward on. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave her name so if anyone know who she is let me know and we can credit her beautiful work.

So if you’ve the time…….. all donations will be sent to worthy, reputable causes and will be very much appreciated by those in receipt of them.

Happy Knitting!

Open the Box

January 24, 2013January 25, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Look What's Arrived? — Look What’s Arrived?

So, this box arrived at the shop on Friday and there are no prizes for guessing where it came from. As anticipated the yarn inside is lovely.

For our initial delivery of Knitcol from Adrafil we have gone with 6 of the most popular shades – 46, 55, 56, 58, 59 and 62. (If the light is good tomorrow in the shop I will take a photo)

For now the shade card will have to suffice.

Knitcol is 100% superwash merino wool. Each 50g ball contains 125m, knits as our standard dk and retails in the shop for €5.25. There are free patterns available on the Adrafil website here.

We hope to add to the range of shades we stock if the yarn proves popular.

Happy Knitting!

Moody For A Little Over A Week Now

January 16, 2013January 16, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

I thought it might be a good time to show you how my Moody Blanket is coming along, 11 days after starting my knitting on Saturday 5th January, which was a good day.

I’m really happy with how the colours are blending together using garter stitch. You can probably see that there is a fourth shade, because guess what? Apparently I do have bad days, of sorts anyway. The navy is shade 906 in Sirdar Supersoft Aran – a 100g ball not 400g, as I’m still convinced I have very few ‘bad days’. I’m not even sure it was a bad day; I was extremely tired and my hands were really, really sore, which means completing every task was troublesome, but the rest of the day was OK. Based on my irksome day I thought it appropriate to include an additional shade.

Of the 11 days so far – 3 have been good
1 has been really good (I got to spend time with lots of my friends at knitting)
1 has been tough
6 have been OK

I love the way the i-cord edge is finishing the blanket off nicely.

The blanket also looks great on the reverse

I see no reason for today’s rows not to be ‘very good’ as it’s my daughters 23rd birthday. The 16th of January has been one of the best since 1990. (how old am I???????)

Happy Knitting?

Pretty New Colours

January 14, 2013January 15, 2013 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Six lovely new shades of Rico Creative Galaxy Chunky yarn arrived in last Friday and I thought I’d quickly share them with you.

I’m rather fond of the Saturn myself and am considering knitting the Shalom sleeveless cardigan by Meghan McFarlane in it at some stage – if I can find the time.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan

Happy Knitting!

A Few Secret Santa Ideas

November 29, 2012November 29, 2012 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

At this time of year you can’t fail to notice the impending visit of the jolly white-haired geezer in the bright red suit. The infection spreads like wildfire and before you know it you’re walking around singing carols and driving everyone mad (just me then?).

Anyway, across our three knitting groups we try to encourage everyone to join us for our annual Christmas get together and take part in our Secret Santa present swap.

Every year we stick to the same theme – A Christmas Decoration. The only rule is that the decoration must be handmade, preferably knitted or crocheted. I have been posting up links to various patterns which could be used for these gifts but thought it might be an idea to put them all in one place for everyone to see.

3118717359_06ceed22ed_z — Christmas Tree Decoration – Jill Koerner

This little tree decoration by Jill Koerner is free and is available via Ravelry on Jill’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-tree-decoration

CF1_medium2 — O Christmas Tree – Jenna Krupar

Jenna Krupar has an ebook of 4 knitted patterns available on Ravelry for $6 which include this very lovely little tree decoration – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/o-christmas-tree

Santa_Hat_medium2 — Knitted Sanat Christmas Hat Decoration – Linda Dawkins

This lovely little Santa hat by Linda Dawkins is free via Ravelry on Linda’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-santa-hat-christmas-ornament

These lovely little mittens are free on the Red Heart website http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitten-ornaments-wr2082

SN0160_project_medium2 — Yarn Basket Ornament – Scarlet Taylor

I was given one of these little bags of yarn last year by Caroline and I love it. I know she won’t mind me saying it’s a lovely, easy, little knit. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/yarn-basket-ornament

Linda_items_Sept_2011_015a_medium2 — Christmas Knitties – Linda Regel

I’m rather fond of these 4 decorations from Linda Regel for £2.50 and downloaded them much earlier in the year. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-knitties

If you’re still stuck for ideas there are literally 1000s of them out there – there’s even my decoration that I posted last week. Another idea if you’re not too confident is to make a felted heart or knit a little scarf and wrap it around a shop-bought snowman/reindeer or Santa ornament. Or you can wind yarn around a polystyrene ball to make it look just like a ball of wool.

It is after all the thought that counts.

Happy Knitting!

Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet

Category: The Shop

Squares Everywhere

Yesterday’s Goodies

Truly Scrumptious

Stash Dash Ready

Countdown Beginning……………..

Look at the Lovely Donations

Open the Box

Moody For A Little Over A Week Now

Pretty New Colours

A Few Secret Santa Ideas

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