Tag: double knit

Sirdar Bonus Buzz

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Buzz

Sirdar Bonus Buzz DK is a bright, cheerful, multi-coloured yarn, with each shade having up to 6 colours in it.  Machine washable, great value and incredibly colourful, making it the perfect yarn for children. It’s great for making fun accessories, such as hats, mitts and scarves.

As it’s part of Sirdar’s Bonus range there are no specific patterns for it (yet), but it is a true double knit, so will knit to any double knit pattern.

Each 100g ball of 100% acrylic contains 280metres/306yards so it will go a long way and costs €3.99.  Knit to a tension of 22 stitches by 28 rows to 4 inches / 10cm square on 4mm needles
Buzz shades
I think both of these garments would look great knitted in Buzz Dk, each of the patterns are free to download, just click on the links.
http://www.yarnspirations.com/pattern/knitting/babys-hoodie
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http://www.yarnspirations.com/pattern/knitting/top-down-super-stripes
kids
If by chance anyone’s interested?  It would also make great stockings for the Knit Happens Campaign (I’m just saying)
Happy Knitting!

Sirdar Cotton Dk

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F039-large

Sirdar have listened to our requests and developed a beautiful, mercerised cotton double knit yarn.  Available in 18 jewel shades it certainly draws you in with the eye.

cotton

Sirdar Cotton Dk is ideal for both knitting and crochet projects and if you’re stuck for inspiration you should have a look on the Sirdar website at the 18 new designs they’ve created specifically for this yarn.  Of course, it goes without saying that as Cotton Dk is a standard double knit yarn, it can easily be used as a substitute in most dk patterns.  However, as always be sure to consider the drape and design of the yarn the pattern was originally written for.

The yarn is made using mercerised cotton to create a subtle sheen and incredible stitch definition so it’s the perfect yarn for lace knitting, cables and crochet work.

Each 100g ball contains 232 yards/ 212 metres of 100% cotton and knits to a tension of 22 stitches by 28 rows on 4mm needles to 4″/10cm square and costs €6.65.

These are 4 of my favourite designs.

otton1

otton 2

I hope Sirdar’s Cotton Dk will end up becoming one of the companies standard yarns and who knows it might even push them to consider releasing it as a 4ply too.

Happy Knitting!

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!

Stylecraft Stars

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Stylecraft have come up trumps again with their latest yarn Stars.

Reflecting the latest fashion trend for sparkling and lustre effects, Stars is a lightweight blended yarn with a metallic filament and small Payette sequins throughout to bring a beautiful sheen together with a subtle sparkle to your knitting.  Made up of 75% Premium acrylic, 10%Polyester, 10% Metallic Polyester and 5% Sequin.

Stars

Stylecraft has taken care while developing this DK yarn to ensure Stars is soft and brings a delicious drape to the designs knitted in it. The colour palette focusses on icy pastels, from stellar white to quartz pink and aqua blue with the addition of amethyst and noir for those who like a bit of drama.

A couple of the large spinning mills have released similar versions of this yarn and on first look they might seem like a more economical purchase however, you have to look at the meterage.  Each 50g ball of Stylecraft Stars costs €4.80 and contains 150 metres of yarn in comparison to another I can think of that only has 110 metres.

Knitted as a standard double knit there is a great range of designs to support the yarn too including a beautiful bolero that would work beautifully as a Communion Cardi.

Stars patterns 2

 

Stars patterns 1

 

Stars patterns 3

 

Stars patterns 4

 

Happy Knitting!

 

 

 

 

New Magazine – Prima Makes

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I spied this little number smiling at me from the shelves of Eason in Dungarvan yesterday and was won over instantly.  Containing a hefty 162 pages of things to make, knit, sew, crochet and bake what’s not to like?

Like many of the other ‘lifestyle’ magazines that are available at the moment it is a very photography heavy publication, leading you to aspire to all things quirky, vintage and floral.  In addition to the numerous projects there are ‘Ideas & Inspirations’ and  ‘Spring into Shopping’ sections.  There’s also a great feature on craft courses and workshops and if that wasn’t enough the good people at Prima Makes have also thrown in a couple of sheets of fancy printed paper.

So I imagine you’d like to have a little look at some of my favourite little projects?

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These 3 beauties are called High Flyers, Heaven Scent and Time for Tea.  Soooooo pretty.

2014-02-17 12.20.04The very appropriately hat a Picture is so fantastic I’d actually like one please.  The funky, patchwork laptop case ould make a great gift and Kitchen Stichin’ is for those of us that like a bit of crochet.

2014-02-17 12.16.05The pretty Tunic Top knitted in cotton has sizes from 6-12 months to 5 years and it would be hard to resist the little pairs of Baby’s First Shoes.  Bobtail Bunny is a pocket sized pal worked in 4ply crochet.

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Still more …..

For the bakers amongst us my 3 favourites are the Coconut Doughnuts, Shortbread Flowers and the Peppermint Marshmallows, yummy.

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It shouldn’t come as any surprise to those of you that know me but Daisy Chain is my absolute favourite, isn’t it beautiful?  I hope my crochet is up to it.

If you’re still in need of a little convincing, then the icing on the cake has to be that the magazine comes complete a free kit to make this little mousey pincushion.

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Happy Knitting! (maybe that should be crafting?)

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.

peekaboo2

peekaboo3

peekaboo1
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!

 

 

Age Action ‘Made With Love’ Update

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As promised I wanted to let you all know that  I’ve heard back from Age Action and can fill in some of the gaps now.

The official launch of the campaign on is today at The Lepreachun Museum so Age Action hope to get more media and retail interest after it.

At present they are still working on retail outlets in Dublin, Cork and Galway as well as drumming up support so they can sell on the streets for St. Patrick’s Day.  Daragh the man that replied to my email didn’t give me a closing date so for us in the shop we’ll be sending off ours the in the first week in March.  The last day for leaving your shamrocks in the shop for us to send off is Saturday March 1st. 

 I made a boob in the previous post sorry, the target is 20000 shamrocks not 2000.  They’ll be sold  at €2 each and proceeds after print and postage costs go directly to their services, including Care and Repair, Getting Started and their Information and Advocacy service.

Above is my first shamrock which is in need of blocking.  It measures about 3.5″from the 1st to the 3rd leaf and it’ 2″ tall from the top of the leaf to where the stalk (which is 3″ long) begins.

Those of you that know me know I’m a straight talker, so therefore it seems only fair to tell you they’re a little fiddly to knit.  Having said that though it only took me about 30 minutes from start to finish and it takes the tinniest amount of double knit yarn.

Perhaps, you’ll only manage to get one shamrock knitted but every little helps after all.

Happy Knitting!

 

Whilst You’re Waiting

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age action

As I mentioned in my previous post we’re in the process of getting our next charity campaign together but last Friday I received a letter from Age Action asking for our support for their St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock ‘Made With Love’ Campaign.  I was hoping some of you lovely people would take part in this campaign whilst your waiting on ours?

Age Action are encouraging knitting groups, shops and clubs from around the country to knit a shamrock which will then be sold in selected retail outlets in the run up to Monday 17th March.

They’ve set a target of 20,000 shamrocks which will be sold for €2 each.  I have written an email to Age Action to try and clarify how much of this €2 the charity will actually receive and I shall be sure to let you all know.

In the meantime the little shamrocks consist of three little hearts sewn together then you knit a little stem.

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For some reason the pattern available here doesn’t have the instructions for the I-cord stem at the moment but I imagine it will be fixed soon.

Completed Shamrocks should be posted to Age Action at 30/31 Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2.  Alternatively, we’ll be collecting them in the shop to post off nearer the time.  At present there is no deadline mentioned on the literature from Age Action but I’ve asked in my email too.

I can’t imagine they’ll take that long to knit up and the amount of green yarn needed will be minimal and just 1 will make all the difference.

knitted shamrock_0

Happy Knitting!