I’m in desperate need of some time alone with my needles 😦
It’s probably no surprise that my life over the last week has looked mostly like this
and this
and this.
With very little of this.
Luckily, that’s all about to change, as tomorrow I’m off to Bangor in Wales for a few days and it will be fibre fun all the way. I’m actually going over to spend a few days learning about Saori weaving at Rosie Green’s studio SAORImor, so be prepared to be bored to death on my return. In addition to the weaving I’m planning on filling some of my free time with some much needed knitting time and listening to some audio books 🙂
In the meantime, I wanted to say a very big thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts, best wishes, cards, flowers, wine, chocolates and other assorted goodies. I now need to go on a diet and begin a strenuous exercise regime to shed the pounds.
Hopefully you’ve all had a little time to come to terms with the news in the last post 😦 Thank you for all your kind thoughts and words. So lets get down to it – I want to let you all know how and when we’re going to be closing. In order to try and clear as much of the stock as possible, I’m going to open up on Monday and will be open for most of the coming 3 weeks, although I will be closed next Saturday the 11th. As you might expect, there are lots and lots of bargains to be had, so I’d advise taking some time to plan what you’re after, make a list and be sure to bring a bag or two.
♥ Discount time ♥
That’s the yarn and the patterns. Needles, hooks and notions. Books need to go too. Please remember to dig out any gift vouchers you’ve been given, so you can use them before we close. All of the fixtures and fittings will need to be sold on too, so if you know someone who needs slat wall hooks, a till, vintage cinema seats or fancies my yarn units be sure to let me know.
I’ve been trying to write this post for many hours, days in fact and I’m still struggling with finding the right words , so maybe I should just come straight out and say it, then explain?
We’re closing down.
I know there are a good few of you that will read what I’ve written, then re-read it, possibly even more than once. I also know some of you might think I’m having a laugh, or playing some kind of practical joke, but I’m afraid it’s true L
I think I’ve known it’s been coming for a long time now, but like most of us do when faced with a tough decision, have been avoiding making it. Now it seems that the universe has stepped in and taken over, the elements have all lined up and the conclusion has pretty much, been made for me.
It’s been almost 10 years since my husband and I moved to Ireland and I opened my little shop in Dungarvan (I know some of you will probably be surprised to hear that I’ve been at this for that long).
Since then I’ve moved premises more times then I, or my ever suffering husband care to remember, but I’ve always felt the shop was ‘home’ when we eventually came to Midleton.
I can’t say ‘I always wanted to own a yarn shop’ because I’m not that kind of person, I’m not really aspirational, my life hasn’t worked out that way. I’m what most people like to refer to as a bit of a ‘hippie’ I guess and I just amble through life trying to do what feels right at the time. My love of all things crafty combined with the terror of moving to a new country and knowing I’d need to find ways of meeting people, resulted in the shop. Which several years later became the Knit you know and I hope, have loved?
Throughout the 9 odd years I’ve been extremely lucky to have met some truly wonderful people and am blessed to be able to call many of them friends, lifelong friends too (I hope). It’s easy to take for granted how the people you meet can brighten your day and adjusting to life without the smiles and chat with my regulars is something that I know will take time.
How we’re closing and when we’re closing are some of the more practical things I shall need to tell you about. I shall pop a separate post up about this over the next little while; I just have to finish typing it up.
In the meantime I hope you will all understand that I don’t really want to talk about the why’s and where for’s because in all honesty closing the shop is not as a result of just one thing.
You name it and it’s probably a factor – family, health, wealth and happiness there are changes happening in every aspect of mine and my family’s lives and this is just something that needs to happen.
The Facebook page as you know it will eventually be going, but I shall still be on Instagram and blogging about my fibery exploits among other things. Hopefully a few more of you will come and join me here by following the blog and then we can keep in touch?
Most importantly I want to say a very big ♥ heartfelt ♥ thanks for all your support over the years.
You might have noticed by now, that my knitting needles haven’t been getting much use of late?
Don’t worry, I’m not ready to put them away just yet, it’s purely an enforced pause due to the dreaded hayfever season. Sadly, along with thousands of other people I suffer horrendously at this time of year. To add insult to injury, I become sensitive to everything including dust, wool, my dogs and even the Vaseline you can dab on the outside of your nostrils to catch the offending pollen particles 😦
My poor puppy, ♥Errol♥ is having to make do with sitting on the sofa with me rather than on or next to me and the knitting, which is mostly pure wool, as it tends to be my favourite, is staying in my project bags most of the time.
However, a life without fibre, is in my opinion just not right and happily, I still seem to be able to play in other ways, with just the odd sneeze here and there 🙂
I’m rather ashamed to admit to owning quite a lot of fibery equipment that, in most cases, has never really been used. Some of them were ‘complete bargains’, gifts, specially made (sorry husband), or bought with the best intentions, but a lack of time to learn how to use them.
Weaving, is something I love and have been fortunate to attend a couple of tapestry weaving classes now and I always get far too carried away when I do basic weaving with the children I teach. Since Christmas we’ve made wall hangings and Gods Eyes and I’ve bought Hula Hoops to try and use them for a group project at some stage.
So it probably will be of no great surprise for you to hear that I own a few looms? One of them is a little bit intimidating (a floor loom, disassembled and stored) and falls into the ‘absolute bargain’ category. I also own a peg loom (thank you husband), several tapestry frames (husband again) and a Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom that I’ve been dying to play with if only I could find the time.
Cue hayfever and cut to the loom →
Along with the ‘complete bargain’ loom, there were several boxes of weaving yarn, warp thread, tools and equipment, which all just added to the ‘deal to good to pass up on’ feel of the transaction many years ago. The yarn is mostly the heavy weight, rough rug weaving type of thing that makes your neck itch just looking at it. I love the colours though and find the more than slightly rustic look of the yarn, quite appealing, I just don’t see myself wearing it.
At this point, I could lie and say “I’d checked the thickness of my yarn by wrapping it round a ruler to see how many strands it took to make a inch (WPI’s) and then selected the appropriate reed – that’s the plastic bit that determines the set (lay man term – spaces) at which your warp (up and down) threads run through your finished fabric. I didn’t though, I took the picture after. Instead I winged it and used the 7.5dpi (I think I barely understand what this means myself, certainly not enough to explain it yet) reed that came with the loom, which is basically the one for medium thickness yarns
Having warped my loom, which took much longer than it should have, I was able at last to get on with some weaving. I completely forgot to take photos of the process which was more experimental than anything, but happily it ended up being usable.
I didn’t make my warp long enough for my table runner to stretch the full length of my kitchen table, because it’s purposefully over long and rustic. If you’re wondering, my ever suffering hubby made it for me, it’s based on my dads work bench which I loved and reminds me of him every day ♥
The weaving was an experiment after all, even the pattern ended up being a happy accident, one which just evolved and then I repeated.
I think it’s rather lovely, even if I do say so myself.
Look at those tassels too (don’t look too closely at my edges please).
I found I’d enjoyed myself so much I couldn’t resist warping up the loom again. This time I’m using sock yarn and I’m hoping to make a scarf.
Tempestuous, tumultuous, impassioned and at the same time harmonious, equable and calm, all the things you want from a great romance. Don’t be mistaken though, I shan’t be running away any time soon and shifting my allegiance, it’s just a 💕 dalliance💕 I’m sure
My husband? No we’re fine, never better actually.
Thanks for asking.
So what am I referring to?
Why, knitting of course 😊
I’ve been neglecting it a little you see, becoming slightly enamoured with my sewing again, as myself and my sewing machine become reacquainted.
I’d spotted this top/dress on Instagram from someone who was posting daily photos for #MadeinMay. (The idea being that for every day of May, you’d try to wear something you’ve made yourself.)
So…. I went off in search of the pattern – as you do 😉
The top is called the Wiksten Tank designed by Jenny Gordy and is available as a downloadable pdf via the Wiksten website here It costs $10 so it was a bit of a gamble, but as I had the material already, it wasn’t going to be too bad. Mind you, I did use to make clothes for Dina and Durahn when they were smaller and I was forever ‘upcycling’ jumble sale and charity shop finds. It wasn’t really upcycling, just what you do when your disposable income doesn’t stretch as far as you’d like it too, or your short with big boobs.
The sewing machine and I aren’t firm friends yet, it wouldn’t behave as well as I would have liked, but I did manage to make my Wiksten Tank and I’m so very ♥happy♥ with it, that I’ve already bought some material to make another one. I’ve gone for somewhere between top and dress length, so I can wear it more like a tunic over a tee-shirt and jeans. The fit is good and whilst I could tweak it with the odd dart here and there and maybe nip it in a bit under the arms, but why bother when it’s fully serviceable as it is 🙂
In the meantime I guess I should get on with some of my many ongoing projects.
Whilst unpacking all my project bags from my lager knitting bag, I discovered that I’ve left the crochet blanket I’ve been working on too, at home in the living room. I realised we have loads of duvets at home, but very few blankets. Something I can at least, start to work on rectifying. This is proving to be a little addictive though, my mantra has become ‘just one more round’, fine when it was smaller, but now i could loose an hour or so.
Whilst typing this post, it occurs to me that it presents an ideal opportunity to also tell you about Zebrino, the latest offering from Adriafil.
Zebrino is a self patterning yarn with 125 metres/136.70 yards approximately to each 50 gram ball. It’s made from a blend of 53% wool 47% acrylic and is a worsted/aran weight.
For now I’ve only gone with 4 of the above shades just to see what the yarn is like. The colours in stock are shades 61, 62, 64 and 67 and I’m itching to have a go at knitting with it, but as the pile of projects in the photo above shows, I should probably control the urge for a while longer. I’m thinking a big, oversized jumper though and maybe a scarf or two as Christmas presents.
After spotting a write up on Centenary Stitches in issue 83 of The Knitter, I knew I’d have to add a copy to my library.
Centenary Stitches is a beautiful book of vintage knitting and crochet patterns, re-worked from traditional garments and patterns for the feature film Tell Them Of Us, a film based on World War One solider Robert Crowder who died whilst serving in the army in 1917. The film tells the story from the point of those he left behind in the small village of Thimbleby in Lincolnshire.
Despite many of the records from WW1 being lost or damaged, Robert’s family had held his memory dear and kept a remarkable archive of unpublished material, enough to make a film with. The film goes some way towards exploring the shocking reality of living ‘normal’ every day life then being thrown into the terror and torment of war.
Elizabeth Lovick, volunteered her services when Pauline Loven, the costumer for the film put out a request on Ravelry to find help re-creating a knitted jacket as worn by the original Grace Crowder(Robert’s sister) and which was typical of the period.
Elizabeth in case you don’t know, is a knitwear designer specialising in traditional Shetland Lace designs. Her book The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting provides a beautiful reference for anyone interested in lace stitches and the beautiful pieces that can be made using them.
From this single design, sprang over 70 garments for the film and subsequent book of patterns, which was a collaboration of over a hundred knitters from across the UK and USA. The patterns are for children and adults, garments and accessories. There’s even a dog coat and a set of baby reins (I know some people frown on the use of these, we’ll save that for another day).
In addition to the fabulous patterns, there is a lovely description of the village of Thimbeleby written by Pauline Loven, who also talks about the WAG film making group and what’s involved in being their costumier. Elizabeth Lovick has included a brief history of knitting in WW1 and the challenges faced in translating vintage knitting patterns.
Most importantly, there is a little history of Robert Crowder written by his Great Nephew – Robert Holland, including excerpts from letters written by Robert’s brother William Crowder, to the historian Peter Liddle about his war experiences and some much cherished family photos.
Of the 70 or so patterns it’s difficult to chose ‘favourites’ as I’m actually quite smitten with lots of them. If pressed, I’d have to go with Cosy Cat by Alison Casserly which is a short crochet waistcoat, worked in aran weight yarn.
The Rough & Ready Cardigan by Judith Brodnicki is an extremely versatile aran weight cardigan for both children and adults.
Judith is also the designer of William’s Waistcoat, which is a great aran weight knit, that I know my hubby would love (Christmas maybe?).
The Mersey Wrap translated from a Fleicher’s Knitting & Crochet Manual by Tina Kinnar and knitted in double knit yarn is simplicity at it’s best.
The garment that started all of this – Grace’s Jacket by Elizabeth Lovick,is truly beautiful. Elegant, whilst utilitarian and Knitted in double knit yarn, I can’t wait to find some time to get working on it.
Definitely a book worth having, you can purchase it in traditional ‘paper’ format or as a digital download. To have a look at all of the designs included in the book, follow the link here for the Ravelry patterns page.
Knitting and crochet were for many years seen as seasonal hobbies, often traded in for gardening during the warmer months. Fortunately, for us yarn shop owners, this isn’t so much the case any more and there are lots of us out there who see the summer months as a great excuse to sit down with friends on the beech, or by ourselves taking in those Vitamin D producing sun rays with our latest projects.
Copious photographs in previous posts and on Instagram will go to prove that I will knit just about anywhere, having been known to pull my needles out at music festivals, steam rallies, Ardmore Beach and on tour buses to name but a few. Regardless of the time of year I’ll knit.
On the back of the trike on our way to Blarney. I can successfully knit if I hold my knitting low down behind my hubby – even at 120kmph 😉
As my ever suffering hubby and children will confirm, Love me, love my knitting.
I would have to confess though, that when selecting a yarn to knit with, cotton wouldn’t usually be my first choice as I tend to find it tough going on my hands, particularly if it’s mercerised.
Mercerisation (if you’re interested?) is where the yarn is given a Sodium Hydroxide bath that is neutralized in acid. The process increase the strength of the yarn and is what gives mercerised cotton it’s familiar lustre too. It’s also said to make the yarn adsorb dye better, which is how such bright colours come to be achieved by the spinning mills and as a ‘by the way’, it results in a yarn that is mildew resistant too.
If I was to opt for cotton and i occasionally do, I’m much more likely to reach for a ‘raw’ cotton (un-mercerized), something very like Classique Cotton from Stylecraft Yarns, which is super soft and comes in a range of beautiful colours and costs €5.95 per ball. Each 100g contains 184 metres/201 yards of 100% cotton and knits as a true double knit on 4mm needles, with a tension of 22 stitches to 28 rows over a 10cm/4″ square.
I’ve chosen 15 colours from the range to begin with including (from left to right)
Plum, Poppy, Hot Pink, Shell Pink and Shrimp.
Seville, Sunflower, Leaf, Soft Lime and Azure.
Greek Blue, Lavender, Wisteria, White and Ivory.
Classique Cotton has been a Stylecraft Yarn staple for some time now, so as you might expect there are a good range of patterns available in knitting and crochet, for adults, children, accessories and home wares.
Some of my favourites include.
Pattern 8745 is a classic round neck, knitted jumper with a deep rib and the added detail of a cable running up the length of the arm.
Pattern 9133 is a t-shirt style knit with decorative eyelet stripes in sizes 32/34″ to 40/42″.
Pattern 9134 is a girls round neck cardigan with a pretty lace detail for sizes 2 – 11 years.
Pattern 8849 is for crochet mats and storage pot covers. personally I’d love to decorate a wall in my house with some of the mats fixed to it as they’d add a good splash of colour.
Lastly, what’s not to love about the spotted crochet tea cozy, complete with a pretty posy of flowers on top from pattern 8853? The pattern also has instructions for the mug cozy too 🙂
If you enter Classique Cotton into the yarn search bar on Ravelry, you’ll notice the yarn has been used for over 470 projects including everything from dishcloths and bunting to jumpers and blankets.
I imagine by now, there’s every chance you’re wondering what the photograph at the top of the post is all about? It’s actually the widely anticipated three new shades released by Stylecraft in the Special DK range. The new shades are (from left to right).
I did sit down to write a very different blog post this morning, but whilst checking my emails, Facebook messages, Instagram, Pinterest, etc, etc. I spotted something on Ravelry that I’m surprised I haven’t noticed before and as it appeals to me, I don’t doubt some of you will also find it handy.
I’m a massive fan of Ravelry and as mentioned, I’d check it at least once a day, if not more. For me, it probably goes without saying, that it’s an invaluable tool for the shop, I also love the way it helps me organise my library, projects and possible future projects. It’s a great way to learn techniques, hear about up and coming community projects and most importantly meet and interact with other fibre crazed individuals, even if it’s just to 👏 gawk 👏 at their amazing creations.
As noted in previous posts, I haven’t gone so far as to catalogue my stash on Ravelry as it would be a whole heap of 💀 scary 💀 and there’s no real benefit to me to list my hooks/needles for obvious reasons (anyone that knows me, knows I own enough needles to open a shop with). 😜😜😜
Anyway, enough about me. getting back to this clever feature.
Hopefully, most of you when checking through the patterns on Ravelry use the option ‘add to favourites’ on the top right hand corner of the page, if you find something you’d like to be able to find again later? Better still, you’ve added tags to help you narrow your search down next time too?
Now Ravelry is letting you make ‘Bundles’, I guess they’re really the same kind of thing as ‘tagging’ except they’re laid out like Pinterest Boards making them much more user friendly (why fix something if it ain’t broken?).
So how do you catalogue all of your ‘favourites’ into bundles? I’ve got some 400 odd in mine 🙈
To begin – Click on the my notebook tab on the top left hand side of the Ravelry home page to open up the different tabs.
Select ‘favourites’ from the drop down menu.
Select one of your saved designs and if you hover over the picture three icons will appear, click edit.
A window will pop up giving you the option to select a bundle or enter a name. Click on this box, adding the term most relevant to you. In this case I’ve chose to call my bundle – shawls 4ply, as I have rather a lot of favourite shawl designs and will need one for dk, aran , chunky and lace too.
When you enter a new category, a tab will come up underneath saying create – be sure to click this. You’ll notice you have the options to add comments, if you like. For me, I’d find this an incredibly useful way of remembering which yarn I’d like to use to complete the project. You’re original tags (if you used them) are also displayed and you have the option to add more or delete them. At the bottom of this pop up there’s a tab that says Save Changes (sorry it’s not on my photo), remember to click this if you’ve added anything else to the comments or tag boxes.
After creating your ‘bundle’ when you next click on your favourites, click the bundle tab, you can see you’ll have all your patterns organised and easier to access. If you like, just as with Pinterest you can change each boards cover photo.
You can create bundles for anything and everything from socks and jumpers to dishcloths if they’re your thing.
One tip – I have favourite designers that I like to refer back to, it’s a handy way of comparing the designers patterns. If you’re fond of a garment, chances are you’ll like others created by the same person too.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
To add a new pattern to your bundles, click on the add to favourites tab on the top left hand side of the design page as you would normally do.
Once you’ve clicked a pop up will open on the left hand side of the page and you can choose to add the pattern to one of your existing bundles or create a new one.
Don’t forget you can also look at your friends bundles too (I’m not sure I ever thought I’d say that).
In my last post I alluded to the fact that I haven’t been getting that much knitting done of late and that despite having completed my summer cotton Kimera Granny Shawl I was feeling like I had achieved very little, 🎨 creatively wise 🎨
Since posting, the last few days have been almost the polar opposite, as I feel reluctant to do anything other than sit and knit or crochet. I’ve managed to complete my first Clue 2 block from the Stylecraft Yarns and Jane Crowfoot Lilly Pond Crochet Along, but I’ve mislaid it 😳 Hopefully, I’ve just left it at the shop. Either way, I should probably give clue 3 a go and I’ll pop up both blocks over the next couple of days, so we can all have a laugh at my poor attempts.
I’m also really happy to report that I have finished the Flax jumper from Tin Can Knits, I’d been knitting on the off chance that my son Durahn, would like it. Not only does he like it, he seems to be really rather fond of it 👍 Although I may have inadvertently set myself up for a bit of a fall as the yarn I used was Rico Fashion Aran and he loves how warm it is whilst being so light weight. Most woolly aran weight yarn isn’t so light, but we’ll deal with that issue as and when it arises.
Lots of people overlooked this yarn when we had it on sale in the shop and yet I get loads of compliments when I wear the jumper I have made in it on. I’m not sure why it didn’t attract the attention it deserves. Maybe people thought it might be a little on the itchy side because of the alpaca fibres. Maybe it looked a little thin for an aran weight? I do have a hard time explaining to some people that yarn is designed to be knit at a certain tension in order to achieve the over all desired fabric. Maybe it was the colour palette, most of which were earthy, Autumnal hues?
Regardless of the reasons why, the Rico Fashion Aran yarn just wasn’t a great seller for us and so I cleared it for as little as €1 a ball in the end 🙈
I made Du the M/L size which measures 39″ around the chest, because as you can see in the photos, he’s quite a slim chap. I didn’t block the jumper as he seemed eager to wear it, even going so far as to say that Carlsberg don’t knit jumpers, but if they did…. High praise indeed.
If you haven’t knitted it, I’d wholeheartedly recommend Flax as one of those great patterns, that you’ll end up knitting time and time again. Unisex and with sizes from newborn to 4XL it will do for everyone of the family and if that wasn’t enough – IT’S FREE!!!
The photograph at the top of this post is a dead give away I know, but my newly finished socks are just so pretty, don’t you think?
They look even better with my green shoes too 💕
That’s my 4th pair so far this year and I’ve wasted no time in casting on another pair in the new Cotton Premium yarn from Opal that I mentioned in one of my previous posts.
The new pair of socks are flying up and I’m loving how the more muted colours are coming together. The socks are my more portable project, so I’ve also had to cast on another ‘larger’ knit too.
My lovely stitch marker is one of a set handmade for me by Catherina and her daughter Molly 💖
You might have noticed that the latest Green Bin clearance items are Adriafil Saetta and Stella Jacq? I’ve been lusting after one of the shades in the Stella Jacq for some time now, but in truth, they’re probably not my colours. Deciding to clear the yarn meant I had to decide whether to knit with it or not. Fortunately, I’ve also been looking for an excuse to knit the Oslo-Anorak pattern from Pickles for a good while too. Of all the Oslo-Anorak projects on Ravelry, I prefer the ones where a multicoloured yarn has been used together with a solid, so I’ve opted to use a dusty pink for the bands and hood of the design.
As with all patterns from Pickles, one size is available for free and with this design it’s the 6-12 months version, but the price of the complete pattern with sizes from 6/12 months to 7/8 years will set you back $6.40, which to be fair with the current exchange rate is a little pricey.
Inexplicably organised for once, this little jumper is actually going to be a Christmas present too 🎅
Have to go now, having just been for a walk on the farm in the beautiful sunshine, I need to try and get a few rows of knitting done 🙂
It’s all things socks here in the shop at the moment and why not? The sock I’d been knitting in one of the previous posts is now finished and I’m itching to cast on it’s companion so I can move on to my next ♥pair♥
I’m going to have a go at knitting a pair using the Cotton Premium from Opal. Unlike most standard sock yarns, the fibre in Cotton Premium is a blend of 38% wool, 32% polyamide & 30% cotton making it more ideal for the warmer months. A standard 4ply yarn, still with 410m on the ball but the addition of cotton also makes the colours more muted, almost pastel in tone.
My only dilemma now, is which colour to go for?
Along with the Cotton Premium I also bought another new range of sock yarn for the shop. Gallery is another Opal yarn and the colour combinations this time, could be described as anything but muted.
So it stands to reason that a delivery of new sock yarn must mean I might possibly have to have a bit of a clear out I guess?
Any of the discontinued balls of 4ply sock yarn in the basket are €5 each to clear. Most of them are fairly Autumnal shades, but I’m thinking Christmas presents (yes I did say it, sorry).
Don’t forget that although it says ‘sock’ on the label the yarns are all standard 4plys and will work to most 4ply patterns. Who doesn’t need a Hitchhiker or two?
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 