Tag: blankets

Here is the News……..

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It’s been so busy here of late that I’ve had no time to post, sorry.

It was, as most of you know Stash Dash, which is so full on that I tend to feel a little wiped out for a few days after.  We’ve also been trying to launch our Knit Happens campaign all across the county and beyond (newspaper interviews included, terrible photo though).

So I wanted to give you a quick run down on a few new bits and pieces that have come in over the last couple of weeks, apologies though as some of you may have already seen them.

Wendy modeFirst up are the three beautiful new colours in the Mode Chunky from Wendy.  A good basic 50% wool, 50% Acrylic yarn.

Wendy candyfloss

Also in were 2 more shades in Wendy Candyfloss, which is proving really popular with our chunky knitters too.

Harlequin new

Chunky again, it’s three new shades of Stylecraft Harlequin to add to our existing range of colours.

Alpaca new

Double knit this time in the form of Stylecraft Alpaca Double Knit which is one of my current favourites.  I defy anyone to be able to tell that there is only 20% Alpaca in the fibre and it has some serious meterage – 240 metres/262 yards per 100g ball.

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Lots of bright, cheerful buttons came in too, they’d be ideal for jazzing up kiddies clothes.  There’s multicoloured hearts, playful animals and flowers in primary and pastel shades too.

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Just in case any of you managed to miss the Facebook post or my Instagram pic

The lovely scarf yarn is back in from Cushendale in a rainbow of colours.

We’ve also taken delivery of 3 new yarns and new colours for Spring/Summer in many of our favourites too.  There are lots of new patterns and design books and we’re trying to expand our haberdashery ranges with more bias bindings, felt, trims, etc.  I shall pop up more information on all that is new next week, including our delightful range of Sheep greetings cards that I’ve managed to find.

I’m looking forward to having my children’s group back this morning and then it will be time  to unpack the box of buttons that arrived yesterday (squeal)

Happy Knitting!

Sirdar Peekaboo

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peekaboo

Snuggly Peekaboo DK is a gorgeously soft baby yarn that comes in softly printed, dappled colours that look extra cosy for girls and boys from Sirdar.  It is in the same designs wonderfully soft blend as Snuggly DK – 55% nylon and 45% acrylic.

Each 50g ball contains 179yds/165m and knits to a tension of 22 stitches to 28 rows on 4mm for a 4″/10cm square and costs €4.45.

peekaboo colours

There are 6 beautiful shades that are reminiscent of the original, paler colours that Sirdar Baby Crofter came in when it was first released.

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peekaboo3

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As is the norm with Sirdar they have created several beautiful designs to compliment the yarn although any standard double knitting pattern should work equally well.
Happy Knitting!
 

Guess What? It’s Stash Dash Time

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stash dash pic

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.  (All sales are final, no returns)

There are things to consider: you have to book your slot if you’re coming in before 1pm.  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.  There is nothing else available to purchase on the day and there isn’t usually the time to help you calculate yarn amounts, suitability, etc.  You get the most out of the day if you’ve already worked out what you’re looking for.

Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place for the morning if you want one, quickly before they all go.

This is what you should be expecting.

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Happy Knitting!

Notes From Week Ending 25th January 2014

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Wow!  January will be over in a few days, how did that happen?  I need to catch up quickly, does anyone have a magic ‘get everything done’ potion I could buy?

Rushing quickly on.

There were several deliveries last week most of which was restock although there were a few new goodies.  Unfortunately, in my haste to unpack them I forgot to take photos of most of them although I did manage a quick snap of the new Candyfloss yarn from Robin.

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Sadly, there’s one shade missing, if memory serves me correctly it’s a bright pink mix.  Candyfloss is being sold as a super chunky with a recommended needle size of 10mm’s but it’s most definitely not.  You could probably use up to an 8mm for scarves and neck warmers but for garments and hats I’d treat it as a standard chunky yarn and use 6.5mm needles.   I hope to get a sample of the yarn knitted up for the shop so you can see what it’s like as there are no designs to go with the yarn.

The bright colours make it an obvious choice for children and it’s 100% acrylic so it’s easily washable.  The 200g ball has approximately 280 metres/306 yards and costs €6.95.

Included in this delivery there was also 4 shades of  the mohair yarn ‘Air’ from Wendy which is made up of 70% Kid Mohair, 30% Nylon  and knits to a tension of 18-24sts x 23-34 rows depending on your chosen pattern.  The 25g ball has approxamitley 200m in it and it’s €7.25 a ball.
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It would be an ideal yarn to use for my Easy Lace Scarf 

air shades

I’ve already started to knit a little communion bolero sample for the shop, it only takes 2 balls so I am aiming to have it finished by the end of the week.

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One last thing before I go, with all of the controversy surrounding all things charity at the moment I thought I’d share the receipts and card we received for money collected from the bags of buttons on sale in the shop for St. Vincent de Paul.  As promised the full price of the sale goes to the charity.  (sorry for the bad photo)

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Happy Knitting!

 

 

New Year – Time For Change?

LeftFootDaisy4 Comments

Two days in to 2014 already and my brain has been working overtime on things to do in the coming year.  I’m not a New Year Resolutions kinda girl, so whilst I’ve made a mental note to quit the indulgences of the past couple of weeks, get back on my anti-inflammation diet and try to do more exercise in the coming year I’m not going to be too upset if I fall off the wagon, so to speak.

There are however, things I am going to try to alter in the hope that some little changes will allow me a little more time to do some of the more important things like, dare I say it – Exercise more 😦

Top of my list is to get more organised, already I can hear my family groaning.  I do try really hard to set myself deadlines, but it’s sticking to them that’s the problem.  My head gets so full of ideas for the shop, designs, kids crafts, etc that I easily get distracted.  So I’m going to get better at writing things down, that way hopefully, I won’t be constantly running through my ‘list of possibilities’ in my head.

I’m also extending this writing it down thingy to my ongoing projects too, as I’ve been slack with posting them onto Ravelry and have wasted at least a couple of hours mentally running through what I made in 2013.

From what I can remember I made the following, but I know I’ve missed some things.

1 cardigan for me

1 jumper for Dina

2 waistcoats (1 for the shop, 1 for me)

2 pairs of socks and 2 single socks (need to make a 2nd lace one and I’m now half way through the other 2nd sock, see below)

12 hats

8 scarves/cowls

Moody Blanket (must do icord border)

Poncho

Wrap

3 – tea cosies

6 Crochet bunting triangles

5 knitted/crochet brooches

Christmas Angel

4 Baby Cardigans

sample squares for the shop

Blanket squares for charity

Innocent Smoothie hats

If I’m honest, it doesn’t seem like a lot of knitting, must try harder.  As a little extra note to self “should also knit from my stash a little more”.

Starting as I mean to go on here’s my last/first project of 2013/2014.  I’m just about to start the heel flap so it should be finished by the weekend.

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I’m also going to start another Il Grande Favorito with some beautiful Sirdar Connemara from my stash.

All sounds very good so far, but I have a small confession ……..

Whilst waiting for the photos for this post to upload I decided to clear up my email inbox a little and now I’ve become distracted by this lovely DIY Fair Isle Hat deigned by Meg Myers for Classic Elite Yarns.

Which yarn would work best now?

cover

Happy Knitting in 2014

xxx

Top Woolly Gifts This Year

LeftFootDaisy2 Comments

As there are only 3 more shopping days for your loved ones to get down to the shop, I thought I’d show you our most popular gift items this year.

In no particular order ……

All things Knitpro Symphonie

knitproThe new Knitpro Karbonz Sets have also been popular.

karbonz-spitzen-setThe extra special Knitpro Box of Joy

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Clover Pompom Maker are a great stocking Filler.

Clover-2-Pom-Pom-makersThe heart shaped ones are a little bit different too.

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The very gorgeous Hedgehog Fibres.

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Scarf Yarns

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Gift Vouchers

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Cushendale Boucle

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Let us interrogate you for a bit about the person, give us a budget and we’ll make up a kit.

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Happy Knitting!

December is Here – Lots to Tell

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2013-12-05 14.33.39Tis’ the season to be jolly …….

There’s no time to hang about so, rushing straight into what’s going on here for December.

There’s Harlequin, a new chunky yarn from Stylecraft, great for those quick knits, There’s some lovely pattern support for it including my favourite, this fab cape come poncho thingy.

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There were also 3 new shades to add to our range of Stylecraft’s Kwik Knit which seems to be really popular for cowls and scarves at the moment.

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There’s also another new scarf yarn from Tivoli.  Lace is €12.95 a hank and like most of the scarves it’s a one ball = 1 scarf knit.  It makes quite a full scarf and is selling like hot cakes.

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Lastly (for now anyway) our Special offer this month is on Sirdar Freya which some of you might recall I knitted the hat in last month.

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freya

There are 8 lovely shades and being a chunky it will knit up fast.  A little goes a long way, I made the hat with one ball.  There’s some lovely pattern support for it too including the accessories below.

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9884_col

I could be off to unpack some yummy hand dyed yarn now, more about that next time.

Happy Knitting!

Drool

LeftFootDaisy6 Comments

It’s no secret that I love Danish Designer Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard’s knitting designs.  I would go so far as to say that she’s in my top 10 of knitting designers. Elizabeth Zimmerman is without a doubt, number one – her Baby Surprise Jacket is iconic and worthy of the highest praise, and don’t get me started on the rest, there’s the Totem Jacket, the February Sweater……

Anyway, back to Vibe.  ‘Lullaby Knits’ is the latest book of designs to be released by Vibe, published by Collins & Brown. The book has the same vintage feel as Vibe’s previous book ‘Labour of Love’ that I cooed over for some time. This time, however, the designs are all for babies, with the largest size for 18 – 24 months.  The exception is a beautiful lace wrap for mum.

If I’ve counted correctly there are 22 patterns in the book: seven sweaters, six cardigans/jackets, three vests and six patterns that fall under the accessories heading.  It’s difficult to pick my preferred designs as all of the patterns are photographed beautifully, with the most gorgeous of little models dressed in the knitted items. However, if my arm were twisted I’d have to go with the following

The Stay on Ribbed Boots are so sweet. Sadly, the pattern is for one size only (0-3 months).

2013-11-08 10.23.58The Cable and Daisy Stitch Sweater is beautiful and very like my favourite pattern ‘Matilda’ from the previous book ‘Labour of Love’.

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The Garter Stitch Jacket is knitted in aran weight yarn, making it a super quick baby knit and one on my list to make in a hurry.

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I’m usually able to decide on an absolute favourite pattern with most of the knitting and crochet books I see, however, this time I’m torn between two. Both are jumpers, both are unisex, you decide.

This is the Small Cable Sweater

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Whilst this is the Little Tree Sweater

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I might have to find some time to knit both and see if one of the designs wins through.  The only trouble with that is that I no longer have little people small enough to wear the finished garment, so they’ll be ones for the Grandparent Box  (no pressure there!).

In the meantime back to the Christmas gift knitting I go.

Happy Knitting!

So Excited

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It’s silly, I know but I was so excited when three big boxes arrived from Katia just before closing on Thursday.

Inside there was more of the popular Merino Flash and a pack of a new aran we’re looking at possibly stocking, but there was also ……….

2013-11-23 07.33.16The very Christmasey scarf yarn Boulevard (Christmasey is a new word for any of you that haven’t heard of it yet) and……….

2013-11-22 17.06.41A lovely new warm red/rust shade in the Merino 100%, and wait for it……….

2013-11-22 17.07.54This riot of colour.  I’m so daft – you’d think I’d have gotten over it by now having had a yarn shop for so many years.  All I’ve been thinking about is what sample to make for the shop. Azteca is 100g of beautiful, multicoloured aran weight yarn. The picture just doesn’t do it justice, it really has to be seen in the flesh.  Maybe squidged and stroked a little too.

Happy Knitting!

Last Week’s News (some of it anyway)

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I spent a large portion of last week convinced I’d achieved very little, however, after reviewing the amount of things I’d managed to do I realised I actually got through quite a few items on my never ending list.

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Firstly, there was the hat I ran up for myself in the new Sirdar Freya. Some of you might have seen the photo above on the shop Instagram account.  It’s a dream to wear as it’s so lovely and soft.

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Then there was the waistcoat I completed whilst at Wednesday night’s knitting group.  It’s made in King Cole’s Ultimate Super Chunky.  The pattern doesn’t actually have a full arm band but I felt it needed a little more than the cast on, then cast off that was instructed on the pattern.  The yarn knits up beautifully, but to avoid any colour pooling I did knit with two balls, following a two row stripe sequence.

Ultimate
Jeans, Melange, Marine, Moorland, Heather, Rainbow, Dusk, Ember

There are 8 shades of Ultimate Super Chunky, great for those quick knit projects.  There’s a really good range of patterns to support the yarn including several accessory designs.

Talking of King Cole, the new Glitz Chunky arrived in too.

White, Black, Rouge, Plum, Atlantic and Burnt Orange
White, Black, Rouge, Plum, Atlantic and Burnt Orange

Six shades this time, great for a little Christmas sparkle, and if you prefer double knit yarn then King Cole also added three new shades to their range of Glitz DK.

Petrol, Silver and Royal
Petrol, Silver and Royal

I also managed to complete the little baby cardigan I’d been working on for the shop in Peter Pan Merino Baby.

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There are six pretty pastel colours and some beautiful pattern support.  For the month of November while stocks last we’re offering 10% off the usual selling price of €5 per 50g/116metres. I think the yarn would work as a great substitute for most double knit patterns, particularly if you favour lighter shades.

White, Baby Pink, Silver, Lilac, Cream and Baby Blue
White, Baby Pink, Silver, Lilac, Cream and Baby Blue

This week I’m trying to power into another scarf and to get a little work done on my Christmas knitting, all being well.

Happy Knitting!