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.
Sinead’s Mum made these
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.
Yes my crochet is basic, very basic actually. Still, that hasn’t deterred me from picking up the first edition of the new Simply Crochet Magazine to have a nosey at.
The first thing you’ll notice about the magazine is the paper. It’s not your usual glossy paper, nor is it the heavier, recycled kind of paper that you get in Mollie Makes. It has a vintage feel about it, with more of a matt look and it’s absolutely packed with editorials, information, yarn reviews and most importantly patterns.
There are 30 items to make including motifs, home furnishings, a baby girl’s cardigan, a woman’s cardigan and a beautiful blanket too.
This is a little snippet of the home furnishing patterns –
The instructions for this super chunky cowl are also included, it’s made in Rowan Big Wool but you could substitute any other super chunky yarn instead.
Some of my particular favourite patterns in the magazine are these little hearts. I can think of several friends that would adore a few of the little decorations dotted around their homes.
All of the patterns have a little pictorial information panel at the beginning indicating the stitches used in the project, the weight of yarn it’s made in and the size of hook required, which is extremely helpful when selecting what to crochet. As a ‘novice’ I can spot the projects I’m capable of straight away by which stitches are used. For example the Cosy Baby Blanket uses shell stitch, which I’m yet to learn.
The magazine will be published on a monthly basis around the 10th of each month and costs £4.99/€7ish, although there are the usual subscription offers enticing you with cheaper issue prices if you take out one. There is also a digital version of the magazine available too on Apple Newstand, it’s www.simplycrochetmag.com/digital and for Android/PC customers go to www.zinio.com
A 13 month digital subscription costs £44.99 about €57 which is quite a bit cheaper than if you bought 13 printed issues.
It’s difficult to tell if an experienced crocheter would enjoy the magazine as much as I have as the projects all seem to be aimed at people with beginner and intermediate levels of skill. I can guarantee you’ll enjoy the magazine if you like funky granny squares, quirky hearts and looking at what other people have created (Pinterest anyone?).
The Simply Crochet Magazine blog http://www.simplycrochetmag.co.uk/ complements the magazine beautifully, there are even links to the odd free patterns, plus readers news and competitions.
I hope future issues of the magazine are as interesting and appealing and that it continues to be chockablock with patterns of all kinds. If you’d like to have a little look at it, I shall have my copy at the shop for a while.
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 Shade Card
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.
After months of knitting and crochet it’s now time to send off our teeny, tiny creations to the Irish Premature Babies Charity.
Didn’t we do well?
Our Preemie Collection
In addition to all of the items pictured there are still some to collect and add at the shop but for now our totals are as follows –
Hats & Bonnets = 228
Cardigans = 180
Blankets & Sleep Sacks = 140
Booties & Socks = 13 pairs
There is also a little Paxton sitting on the side here knitted by Dina, awaiting sleeves which will be completed by the end of the day (yes I’ll be doing it).
I’m so very proud of how many items we’ve managed to collect and want to extend a huge message of thanks to all of you that gave your time, your creativity and your yarn to make the delicate, little creations. It’s great to see how much the collection has inspired so many of you and I know there have been a good few ‘retired’ knitters that have been persuaded to pick up their needles once again and knit for this charity.
I’d also like to say a big Thank You to the East Cork Journal for promoting our collection in their newspaper, the article really helped to highlight the charity.
I understand the charity are sending all of the donations to one warehouse, where they plan to sort through them and divide them up into hampers. These will then be sent to the hospitals around the country. The charity intend on having the parcels to the hospitals for World Premature Baby Day on November 17th.
A big thanks once again to all of you that helped with this collection and if you couldn’t do something this time, maybe we could persuade you to pick up you hook or needles for our next collection? (more info to come very soon)
I’m really lucky I have 3 beautiful children, that make every day special and I don’t mean that in the hearts and flowers sense, more in the ‘count my lucky stars’ way. It’s been a good number of years since I had super small babies of my own and to be honest my womb very rarely nudges pangs of broodiness my way anymore. However, there are exceptions and the new book ‘What to Knit When You’re Expecting’ by Nikki Van De Car is one of those times.
The cover photo hints at what’s to come and expect a rush of ‘ahhhs and oooooooo’s’ to overcome you, whilst your brain tricks you into forgetting all about the sleepless nights, stinky nappies and desperation to talk to any adult as long as they speak ‘grown up’.
There are 28 patterns for simple mittens, baby blankets, hats and sweaters inside according to the cover which in no way explains the delights inside. The designs do include the afore mentioned articles in addition there is a skirt, dress, legwarmers, sleepsack (above) and bloomers. The book is set out under the three trimesters with the patterns (where appropriate), in 3 sizes 0-3months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months.
My favourite patterns in the first trimester section of the book are:-
Summer Sky Blanket
The Summer Sky Blanket is knitted in Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton which is absolutely gorgeous but an American yarn and therefore difficult to find. The blanket is made using 5mm’s so any standard weight aran yarn should work as a replacement. I quite like the cotton look and would probably use Rico’s Creative Cotton Aran as my substitute.
It goes without saying that the Baby Cosy pictured on the front of the book is particularly divine and is knitted in a chunky weight yarn
In the second trimester section of the book it would be more a case of what I want to knit first.
Autumn Leaves Cardigan
The Autumn Leaves Cardigan is so beautiful and something I’d love in my size. It’s made in a double knit yarn and is super sweet.
Striped Boatneck Sweater
The Striped Boatneck sweater demonstrates how a simple little pattern can have stunning results. The use of double moss stitch on the bands adds great detail and the design lends itself to both girls and boys. Again it’s knitted in a double knit yarn.
Cuffed Trousers
The Cuffed Trousers in double knit are a fabulous addition to every babies wardrobe and the addition of the little tabs makes them super practical for chubby little legs.
(oh god I so need grandchildren – be just my luck they’re allergic to wool?)
Time Flies Booties
The delicate little Time Flies Booties in the third trimester of the book, are so pretty that I’d quite like to display several pairs of them in vintage, candy colours on a shelf. The shelf would be in my imaginary house that is always clean, tidy and organised too.
Maddox Hat
I’m also fond of the little Maddox Hat which is a great design for keeping the chill off babas ears.
Hannah Jacket
My absolute favourite garment in the whole book though has to be the Hannah Jacket. Maybe it’s because I love duffle coats, or it could be the use of an applied I-cord edge or the clean, simple lines of the design. Whatever the reason I think it’s a fabulous little design and would work well for either sex. It would be a great pattern to have in larger sizes as all kids look great in a duffle coat (some adults too).
What To Knit When You’re Expecting is a great buy for those of you that like to knit for babies, or in my case long to.
In an effort to try and publish posts a little more regularly I have written myself a list of the knitting things that interest me. I subscribe to quite a number of different knitting newsletters but find a few in particular are my favourites.
Knitty is an online knitting magazine that publishes four times a year in March, June, September and December. If you sign up to their email list they’ll notify you when the latest edition is out. Occasionally an odd pattern or two are released as a ‘bonus’ and you’ll be emailed again.
Knitty is very much a magazine: there are features pages, product tests, letters from the editors, competitions and of course there’s patterns. FREE PATTERNS
Yep, you read it correctly, the patterns are all free for individual use only. That doesn’t mean the patterns aren’t great, on the contrary. Some of the most well-known patterns have originally been published in knitty.
One of my favourite patterns, as I think I’ve mentioned before, is In Leaf by Avril Lang.
In Leaf Cardigan from Knitty.com
Currently, the 41st issue is out and the magazine is celebrating their 10th year. This issue contains 4 lovely sock patterns, 2 for gloves, 3 hats, 4 shawls, 9 jumpers/cardigans, 3 of which are for men.
I think one of the sock patterns is absolutely fab. I have to admit that I just don’t have the time to knit socks, particularly ones like these, however I can appreciate their uniqueness.
One jumper that has already been added to my ever increasing ‘to do’ list is the Party Mix Pullover by Julia Farewell-Clay. It’s an aran weight, raglan, A-line jumper that will be great for using up some of my stash. Even better, being an A-line design it will help to hide a multitude of sins (mostly of the cake kind).
I find the Cool Stuff section where books, classes, etc are reviewed particularly interesting being a keen collector of all things knitting. For me this issue the most interesting items have been the reviews of several books I am keen to own including November Knits and the Knitters Handy Book of Top Down Sweater Designs.
I also like the Knitty Yarn Roundtable feature as it helps me to keep an eye on possible new yarns for the shop or what new trends are coming.
In addition to all of the above, not to mention the competition, crossword, adverts and shopping, there is also Knitty Spin, which is a section of the magazine aimed at spinners. I do intend on learning to spin, I even have a lovely Ashford Spinning Wheel, which at present adorns the window sill at the top of my stairs (sadly). This doesn’t stop me coveting fibre and lusting over the endless possibilities……
Knitty Spin has reviews of fibre that the testers spin and then knit, reviews of cool spinning stuff, a spinners glossary and yet more patterns. My favourite this issue without a doubt are the beautiful mitts Calertne by Sandy Sitzman & Lynne Vogel – they are truly beautiful.
As some of you are already aware, we were contacted back in May by Mandy Daly the Family Liaison Manager with Irish Premature Babies, Ireland’s only charity supporting families in Ireland with premature babies.
Each year, over 4,500 babies are born pre-term, and many require very long hospital stays and suffer lifelong complications as a result of their early arrivals.
The charity works hard to raise public awareness of premature birth and arranges several public events every November 17th to celebrate World Prematurity Awareness Day. This year the charity is participating in a global initiative and is hoping to turn many Irish landmark buildings purple (the worldwide colour of premature birth). It also wants to engage in a photography project where it plans to photograph a washing line of baby socks in front of these landmarks.
The charity also wants to donate preemie baby clothes (knitted and crochet hats, socks, cardigans, etc) to the various neo-natal units countrywide. This is where we come in.
Our collection for The Chernobyl Children’s Trust has come to an end; items are being collected later this week. This means we can put all of our efforts into this campaign now. Items can be worked in knitting or crochet and the charity has said all colours are acceptable. Of course they have to be soft yarns, that goes without saying, but the items really can be every colour under the rainbow. Fantastic, if like me you get tired using the same colour, if however, you do have any purple or white yarn lurking around in your stash the charity would love the odd item in these shades to follow their theme.
There are obviously quite a lot of sites online with patterns for preemies in addition you might already have some paper patterns that include preemie sizes. 16″ is newborn and 12″ and 14″ are classed as preemie.
Pattern Sites
While looking for free patterns on the web, I discovered lots of broken links and many sites suggested a ‘donation’ for their patterns.
Ravelry contains well over 2,000 knitting/crochet preemie patterns, with approximately 1,500 of them available free. I assume some of them can also be found on the other sites listed.
I think this site is one of the best for free patterns, it has links to some of the more popular patterns on the net. There are hats, booties, cardigans and blankets. I had a good look through the patterns and the yarns used range from 4ply through to aran weight. They are all knitting patterns though
Hopefully, there are a good few patterns there for you to get busy creating for the latest charity collection. Ideally all items need to be in for around the second week in October to enable them to be sorted out and dispatched to the hospitals for November 17th. You can forward them on directly to the charity or hand them to me at the shop to go off with ours.
If you need to know any more information please email me.
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 