I’m Thoroughly Enjoying Myself

January 13, 2015 LeftFootDaisy1 Comment

There have barely been two weeks pass in January and I feel like I’m flying with the knitting and crochet 😎

I’m currently working on the sleeves of the jumper Cobblestone for my son Du. The pattern is worked bottom up in the round and I’ve reached the part where the sleeves are joined. I had promised to concentrate solely on the jumper, but I just can’t do it. I need the satisfaction little projects bring 😉 So I’ve set my deadline to the end of January instead.

So… I’ve also managed to get a quick hat for Kye, my youngest knitted up in the specified burgundy colour as requested.

Using my latest hat pattern Toasty & Textured, I whipped up another hat, this time in Twilley’s Freedom Wool.

Feeling inspired by the yarn I put in the sale I quickly (and it was, even for me) crocheted a half granny square shawl in Rico Creative Galaxy Chunky yarn using a 7mm hook and 3 balls and I l♥ve it!

Drum roll please…

I’m also happy to announce that I’ve completed my first pair of socks for 2015. To be fair, I’d all but knitted one of them before the end of 2014 but it still counts towards my goal of 6 pairs for the year 😉

I’ve also started working on my next pair too, that’s what the pretty piece of knitting is at the beginning of this post ♥

Happy Knitting!

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Toasty & Textured

January 8, 2015 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

I feel like I’ve wasted so much time this week trying to post here, Ravelry and Facebook without any success because our internet has been so poor 😡 So the first thing I did when I arrived at the shop this morning was upload lots of photos to store in my various media libraries, ready for the next few posts. I also managed to get the pattern for my latest hat Toasty & Textured up on Ravelry at last too ⭐

The hat is knitted in 1×1 moss stitch with Rico Essentials Big on 7mm needles. I’ve also knitted up a couple with Rico Flame and will try and persuade Dina, to let me take a photo or two 😉 at the weekend to post here.

January can be a difficult month for some after the extravagances and the build up of the festive season, even the most positive among us can feel like the wind has been knocked out of us a little. I’m fortunate in that Dina’s birthday is on the 16th, which gives us something to enjoy and this year she’ll be 25!!! So to ♥celebrate♥ I’ve made the pattern for Toasty & Textured free to download until the end of the month with the coupon code 25.

Be sure to enter 25 before you checkout and remember to share you’re projects so we can see. The hat is super speedy to knit and will work for both men and women. I’m hoping to find a couple of sneaky hours to have a play with combining some of my stash yarns and will post photos of the results here if they work.

Happy Knitting!

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The Madness Has Been & Gone

December 29, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

By the madness I mean the build up to Christmas Day, which I convince myself every year that I’m not going to buy into, only to find on Christmas Day that I have 😞 Maybe though, that’s part of the fun?

Unlike previous years I really didn’t manage to get as many presents knitted or even generally handmade as I would have liked to. The year seemed to rush by faster than a speeding car and before I realised it it was the end of November and I’d only knitted the one gift, a Hitchhiker for a friend of mine. Of course I’d forgotten to take a proper picture of it before I’d mailed it, so this is one I’d posted on Instagram whilst I was knitting it.

I used a ball of Rico Poem Superba in green and a ball of King Cole Merino 4ply. The Poems Superba is variegated, so the greens change as the scarf grows. I found it a really lovely pattern to follow, with only 8 rows and by using 2 colours, the stripe effect meant I really didn’t have to concentrate on which of the rows I was on. A lovely happy accident.

Nearly everyone that would wear one received a knitted hat of some kind, mostly these ones though. The pattern is very basic and I should be able to get it up on here over the next couple of days.

2014-12-29 16.31.23 — Nostrils shouldn’t be that big should they? It’s obscene 😬

I liked them so much that I’ve even made one for me.

Tate looks rather fetching in Leann’s one too, bless him.

Some friends including my Secret Santa recipient received my crochet baubles, which I loved making once I’d figured out what to do. I used several resources to help me, but the circles kept getting bigger because of the trebles. After trying a few different things I decided double crochet was the way to go. A couple of you have asked for a pattern already, but I’m not sure if I can write it up as a ‘proper’ crochet pattern, so it might end up being more of an instruction sheet?

Last but not least was the jumper I’d been making for my hubby Con in secret. Many of you will have seen me trying to get a few rows done in the shop; especially if you popped in the few days before Christmas when I was frantically trying to get the sleeves finished. I’ll write up a separate post to tell you all about it and I might even be able to get a photo of the man himself wearing it 👨

Since finishing the jumper I’ve cast on and started knitting Cobblestone by Jared Flood for Durahn my son. I’ve also been sticking to my morning walk everyday, regardless of how cold it is and both Kye and myself have been going a bit photography mad with our phones. This morning’s walk produced some beautiful snaps, all with no filter too 📷

2014-12-29 10.45.14 — He pinched my hat.

2014-12-29 10.32.30 — 2 of my dogs trying to drink from one of the frozen troughs. The black one usually dunks her head in, but even she’s not daft enough to do it when it’s this cold, right?

2014-12-29 10.32.49 — No wait…. She really is that daft.

I’ve also been watching far too many cheesy movies including the must see Guardians of the Galaxy which inspired me to make my own mix tape on Spotify. If you fancy having a look at what tracks I’ve included my profile is lmillar72. More mix tapes to come me thinks 🖭

Happy Knitting!

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December Chill

December 16, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Following on from my Ophelia post, a good few of you asked about the pattern for the hat Dina was wearing. Ever organised 😕 I obviously had the pattern written up. To be fair I did, but it was on Post-it Notes rather than on the computer and it was no where near ready for anyone else to have a look at.

Since then it’s been typed up, test knitted and corrected and is now up on Ravelry Here for €2 but it’s free to download on Ravelry until Midnight on Christmas Day with the checkout code Ophelia. (Enter it before you checkout.)

It only took the one ball and a couple of hours to knit up and should work with most chunky yarns or even 2 strands of double knit yarn held together like this one.

I used 2 strands of King Cole Galaxy Double Knit.

Happy Knitting!

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Rico Glo Worm

October 1, 2014 LeftFootDaisy2 Comments

It’s definitely knitting season here in the shop, with everyone eagerly awaiting the new stock. One of the more unusual yarns to have come in so far is Glo Worm from Rico.

Glo Worm is a slightly off standard yarn, somewhere between a chunky and a super chunky weight with a twist. The twist being a separate reflective thread that is wrapped around the main coloured strand. The yarn has been developed just in time for the darker mornings and evenings and it’s super soft so even the fussiest of children can be persuaded to wear it.

The recommended needle size is a 7/8mm with a tension of 11 stitches to 14 rows. The fibre content is 54%acrylic/30% wool/16% glass fibre and each 100g ball contains 110 metres for €8 each.

We are still awaiting delivery of a couple of the colours but so far there have been 5 arrive in and I couldn’t resist knitting up a quick hat for the shop.

Not the best photograph but I was trying to show the reflectivity of the yarn (think it’s worked a bit).

The pattern is called the Teo Hat and it’s available free on Ravelry and includes sizes newborn, small and large. It’s a lovely quick knit and I have loads of yarn left to knit a quick neck warmer up too.

Happy knitting!

More Baby Knits

July 31, 2014 LeftFootDaisy2 Comments

I’ve been so busy trying to plan for our refurbishment that it’s ended up being a couple of weeks since I wrote my last post, despite having tonnes to tell you all about.

My needles and hooks have come close to combusting with all the use they’ve been getting. I’m currently mid way into at least two projects for the shop and I’ve just started another. I’ve been baby knitting for my friends first grandchild and another friend has just had a baby too :-0 and then I was trying to crochet up a few bits for The Craft Club Yarnbomb, oh and I’ve been crocheting for the shop too. (I’m so excited about the refurb, sad I know)

I thought you might like to see the little cardi I knitted up for baby Sean as it’s one of my all time favourite patterns.

Beyond Puerperium by Kelly Brooker is going to set you back about €4.20 via Ravelry here and it’s worth every cent. The pattern includes sizes newborn to 2 years with options for using 4ply, double knit or aran weight yarn. If you have time I recommend looking at what other knitters have made on the project pages as there are some great colour combinations and pattern modifications.

There is a free double knit version of the pattern available too in newborn size, if you want to try before you buy, but I guarantee you’ll be hooked.

I’ve used a lovely vintage green Sirdar Snuggly DK with multicoloured buttons from Rico this time but I’ve made several of them now and am happy to report Dina has too, she’s actually making a lovely candy pink one at the moment (we’re sharing the buttons, I used the boyish ones she’s using the girlie ones). I’ll see if I can persuade her to let me post a photo or two here when she’s finished.

I’ve just sent all the yarn bomb goodies off so my next post will be a photo explosion of crochet creativity.

Happy Knitting!

Following Blogs – A New Obsession

July 14, 2014 LeftFootDaisy7 Comments

I’ve always been fond of looking at pretty pictures of things that people have made, what’s not to like? Recently though it’s fair to say I’ve become more than a little obsessed with looking at people’s creations.

First there was Pinterest, well actually there’s still Pinterest and then there’s Instagram. I’m a massive fan, never really one to grasp the concept of Twitter, I completely get Instagram. It’s so easy to swipe my way through other people’s photos on my phone and I love commenting on the beautiful things people have made or are trying out. I’m happy to share my pics too and whilst it’s mostly of my knitting or crochet, I also post photos of my baking, travels, odds & sods and of course my family (they’re the odds and sods ;-0) I find it a great way of communicating with people whether I know them personally or not.

Now though, I’ve gone and installed the Bloglovin app on my phone and I can’t stop trying to find new blogs to read. Between Bloglovin, Instagram and Pinterest I’ve become hooked and could merrily spend a large portion of my day sussing out new ideas and then use the rest of the day playing. Who needs to work, feed the family, dust (I only ever dust what I can see anyway and I’m a little, shall we say, vertically challenged).

The blogs I’m loving at the moment are

Annie’s Place Sharron’s blog is full of pretty photos with crochet and baking thrown in.

Attic 24 Lucy is the crochet queen. Her blog is a riot of colour and family fun.

Brooklyn Tweed So I can drool over the knitted heaven that is Brooklyn Tweed, they’re new BT Kids patterns are soo yummy.

Cherry Heart Sandra’s blog is full to bursting with crochet, knitting, sewing, weaving and baking.

Dada’s Place Dragna’s blog is crochet heaven

Everything Etsy is areally cool blog, packed with ideas and tutorials for you to have a go at anything & everything.

Fiber Flux Jennifer’s blog contains lots of lovely, free crochet & knitting patterns

Handmade Charlotte A great place to find things to do with your kids and as a family

Heart Handmade UK All things crafty, shabby chic and inspiring.

Hopscotch Lane Becky’s blog is full of pretty photos of crochet & lots more. She has an Etsy shop too.

Little Woollie Jules blogs about her crafty adventures & family life.

Mollie Makes – An extension of their magazine

My Hobby is Crochet Lots of crochet goodies

Oh She Glows Meat free recipes, many of which are vegan too

P.S. I Made This This blog has a litle of everything from fashion to craft

Sarah London Crochet beauty

Sew Scrumptious Sewing, sewing tutorials and home of the pillowcase dress charity initiative.

Simple Fare, Fairly Simple Valerie’s blog is full of yummy recipes.

Simply Notable A little bit of everything here and it’s where the pattern for the washcloths comes from too.

Simply Recipes Elsie’s blog does exactly what it says on the tin.

Smitten Kitchen More recipes

Sweet Beet and Green Beans Recipe time again

Tatertots and Jello Jen’s creative blog has some really cool ideas

Thrums Susan’s blog is a wealth of information on weaving

Tin Can Knits Because I just love all things Tin Can Knits

Weave Away Amanda’s weaving blog, lots of lovely weaving ideas.

I’m never short of ideas now, just time.

This is a blog recipe from Oh She Glows. It’s the Green Goddess Dressing which I discovered and thought I’d try. I like my dressings a bit thicker so I didn’t use a s much water as specified.

Dolloped it over my salad and gave it a good toss around.

Happy to report it went rather well with my dinner of Quorn, spicy rice and peas and I’m not usually a fan of advocado.

If you’re stuck for inspiration go and have a look at some of the blogs I’ve mentioned and if you think there’s one I’d be interested in reading let me know so I can check it out.

Happy Knitting!

I Did It!

July 7, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

2014-06-26 16.44.15 — He’s a little bashful

Despite being in the middle of our Knit Happens charity campaign for the East Cork Rapid Response I thought it was fair to try and get involved with The Craft Club’s Guinness World Record attempt in aid of Little Haven’s Hospice. See my previous post with all the info here.

The items needed have to be made in crochet to count towards the record and which I must stress, wouldn’t be my strongest skill. Undeterred I’ve launched right in and am trying my best to rope as many people in as possible.

Last week I posted a link on our Facebook page for the lovely little owl pattern by Rebecca Homick. This great little pattern is available free on Rebecca’s blog Hopscotch Lane here and despite being billed as a ‘Christmas Tree Ornament’ I think it’s ideal for the hospice garden yarnbomb.

The pattern is clearly written and easy to understand. One thing I should draw your attention to is that it is in American terminology. Once you know this though it’s easy to substitute our dc (double crochet) for Rebecca’s sc (single crochet) and our tc (treble crochet) for the patterns dc (double crochet).

I took my time and followed the instructions and used double knit scraps from my stash and a 4mm hook.

The great thing about the owl is that you stuff it before you finish crocheting so there’s a minimum amount of sewing up needed.

I was a little worried that his back is a bit untidy, but he’s made in a spiral so it stands to reason that there will be a little ‘jog’ in his stripes.

Eyes, he needs proper eyes and we have the small black safety eyes in the shop. They’re a little difficult to put in, but once in they’re not going anywhere.

So he can see, but he also has to be able to eat, right?

Absolutely love him and if I can manage then anyone can.

What are you waiting for?

There’s loads of patterns available on Ravelry, many of them are free too.

It’s such a worthwhile cause, come on have a go and crochet something, anything flowery or whimsical. If you get your finished items into us by Saturday July 12th we’ll even post them too.

Happy Crochet!

Quick Knitted Gift For Kye’s Teachers

June 23, 2014 LeftFootDaisy8 Comments

On Thursday I posted up a photo of the present Kye made for his favourite resource hours teacher Mrs McCarthy, today I thought I’d share with you the little gift I knitted up for all of the teachers, secretary, special needs assistant and resource hours teachers including the very special Mrs McCarthy. Don’t panic it sounds like I’ve been knitting for a bus full when in fact there’s only 6 ladies in total as it’s a very small school.

I’m a regular reader of the blog Simply Notable, which is written by Carli and her mum. I spotted her post on The Almost Lost Washcloth Pattern and was delighted because it was just what I was looking for. Have a look at the blog here Simply Notable or you can find the pattern through the link on Ravelry here.

The Spiral shape is created by using short rows, much easier than it sounds, you knit 14 points in total and sew the cast on edge to the cast off edge and gather in the centre with a running stitch.

I made 8 of the washcloths in total, the first was more of a trial one to see if I liked them, the 8th was to use up the yarn and I can gift it to someone else later. The yarn I used was Rico Essentials Cotton Aran and I knitted two washcloths out of the one ball.

I bought some lovely handmade raspberry soap from our local health food shop Well & Good and wrapped the bars up with the washcloths and a bit of organza ribbon. Simples!

Nice, pretty and personal.

Happy Knitting!

Exploits in Crochet

June 12, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

Following on from the crochet madness of Dina’s scarf I thought I’d have a go at making something else and as you might have seen on the Facebook Page or Instagram I decided to have a go at The Chunky Crochet Basket by Elizabeth Trantham.

Heading outside to crochet in the sun, I was grateful I’d managed to get the bottom of the basket made before the rain clouds appeared and chased me inside. Thankfully Elizabeth has put photo tutorials to accompany the pattern up on her blog, great if you’re like me and assume because you can ‘do a little crochet’ you must be able to conquer the most complicated of patterns.

In her original basket, Elizabeth uses 2 strands of a super chunky yarn held together and an 8mm hook. This means the resulting basket is sturdy and stands up independently like you might expect a basket to do.

Cue my attempt

It’s general state of floppy isn’t really that bad.

I followed Elizabeth’s pattern but used 3 strands of Rico’s Country Aran held together and a 7mm hook. This meant the base of the basket when I’d reached the suggested 48 stitches was a little on the small side so I continued increasing my stitches until I had 72. My basket is approximately 10″/26cm’s across it’s diameter.

The basket is a very usable height at /19cm7.5″and as you can see I decided not to add the handles. I did work them up, but didn’t like the way mine turned out and my yarn was running a little short, so I completed 14 rounds of the half trebles.

Perfect for my current crochet project, one of them anyway.

I’m thinking ideal gifts for friends? Ones that don’t crochet though because I’m pretty sure I had more than my original 72 stitches when it came to finishing off the basket with double crochet (ahem).

Happy Knitting or crochet.

Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet

Tag: needles

I’m Thoroughly Enjoying Myself

♥ Follow me on Bloglovin Here ♥

Toasty & Textured

♥ Follow me on Bloglovin Here ♥

The Madness Has Been & Gone

♥ Follow Me On Bloglovin Here ♥

December Chill

♥ Follow Me On Bloglovin Here ♥

Rico Glo Worm

More Baby Knits

Following Blogs – A New Obsession

I Did It!

Quick Knitted Gift For Kye’s Teachers

Exploits in Crochet

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