Tag: needles

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 

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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.

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Happy Knitting!

The Final Count Is In – Didn’t We Do Well?

LeftFootDaisy3 Comments

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My shop looks rather bare now because as you can see from the photograph I gathered all of the blankets for Armenia from their hidey holes in order to pack them up ready for Global Missions Ireland to collect them.

I’m not sure the photograph shows everyone’s efforts off to full effect.  What you cant really tell is exactly how tall each pile is, or that they’re 4 deep.  (Tom Hardy looking on in the top left hand corner can though – Yum)

Global Missions Ireland will hopefully be taking them over to Armenia in the very near future and we’ve been promised photos which I’ll pop up for all to see.

In the mean time after gathering, folding and bagging and most importantly COUNTING, there are ……………. no you’ll have to wait just a little longer…….

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Yes you did read that right, 118 blankets.  Everybody that took part should feel very proud of themselves, we did great.

News about our next collection will be coming very soon, but for now.

Happy Knitting!

How to use Clover Pom-pom Makers

LeftFootDaisy6 Comments

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Being often asked to demonstrate how to use the pom-pom makers from Clover I thought it might be a good idea to pop up a post about them.  Warning though, the post is photo heavy and I’ve tried to cover everything I’ve been asked about them, so apologies beforehand for waffling on a bit.

These clever little gadgets are available in the following sizes with all but the extra large consisting of two makers.

X Small –  20mm & 25mm

Small – 35mm & 45mm

Large – 65mm & 85mm

X Large – 115mm

Clover have also developed heart-shaped pompom makers which I will demonstrate on another post later.

1st Step Open both sides of the maker.

You will notice that it is made up of two separate pieces that slot into each other, this is to allow you to take your completed pompom out.

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2nd Step Begin winding your yarn around one side of the maker

I tend to start from the centre of the semi-circle, holding my yarn against the curve and wrapping my first few turns over the end to secure it.  I’ve had the most success with my pompoms by keeping the yarn fairly taut when covering the arcs.

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Continue to wind the yarn around one side of the maker until it is almost full. Be careful to try and keep it to ensure a more rounded pompom.

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4th Step Break your yarn off, close your first side in and complete the second side of the pompom.

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5th Step Cut a piece of your yarn long enough to tie round your pompom.  Remember to make it long enough as you can use this to sew your pompom on. Then, using sharp scissors and following the groove between either side of the maker, cut around the pompom, making sure you snip each thread completely.

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6th Step Wrap your piece of yarn between either side of the maker and tie in a knot tightly being careful not to break your yarn.  (some wool may not be strong enough to do this, so you can always use a scrap from another kind of yarn)

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7th Step Open both sides of the pompom maker and separate it to reveal your squidgy pompom.  Roll it around in your hands a few times and give it a little trim – don’t cut your ties if you need to sew it on to anything.

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Voilá! Pompom magic.

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Happy Pompoming!

It’s A Little Nippy – Last Minute Knit

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OK.  So we’ve all seen the ‘super quick knit’ patterns that seem like a good idea until you realise that they’re actually referring to those amongst us that can break all kinds of speed knitting records.

I’m a steady knitter, neither fast nor slow and if we’re being extremely honest, I’m prone to distraction.  However, this little neck warmer did actually take a little over an hour to knit up – PROMISE!

So what are you going to need?

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I’ve used 10mm needles and 2 balls of Rico Fashion Elegance in shade 3.  They’re 5ometres each so you need approx 100metres of super chunky yarn.

Cast on 20sts and knit every row in plain/garter stitch until work measures 56cms/22″.  Cast off loosely

2013-12-23 12.03.08I slipped the first stitch of every row to keep my edges tidier but it’s not necessary.

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Join by sewing your cast on and cast off edges together.

Ta ddah……..

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Of course now my neck’s warm but I can’t see a blooming thing.

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Much better.

I’m going to make a couple for my youngest to wear as he always forgets to put a scarf on and I’m sure my hubby whose a plumber and constantly working outside on dairy farm installations at the moment, might even fancy a couple.

In case your wondering it’s 20cm/8″ deep.

Happy Knitting!

 

 

 

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!

The Knitting Group’s Christmas Outing

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Our Knitting Group Christmas Outing took place on Wednesday night.  The evening was spent indulging in a gorgeous 3 course meal at Rosies/The Pepperstack in Aghada.

The food was lovely, the portions were so big that I’m ashamed to admit I had to leave some.  Being a vegetarian I opted for the Tomato & Coconut soup, Thai Curry and Strawberry Pavlova – yummy!

However, that’s not what you want to hear about is it?

We exchanged our Secret Santa gifts which as always has to be a handmade Christmas Decoration.  You can see our attempts in the pics, the one I made was the Angel and Dina made the Russian Doll.

I’m thinking handmade Christmas Decorations are the way to go for the future, because by the time you get to my age you’re not really in need of anything (other than a Mark II Ford Escort).

Happy Knitting!

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Delicious Yarn

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I dropped a little hint about this lovely yarn from Hedgehog Fibres in my last post.  Having unpacked it, lined it all on the table, looked at each individual hank and generally just fawned over it for some time, I feel I can now share.

Twist Sock is 100g hand dyed yarn. Beata the lady from Hedgehog Fibres describes it as a blend of 80% Blue Faced Leicester wool and 20% nylon. High twist will ensure durability and marvelous stitch definition. Soft, yet durable and machine washable. Best of both worlds!

With colours that shift beautifully from one to another. Randomly dyed to prevent striping or pooling, as much as possible, my yarns create variegated effect that looks good in plain stockinette or advanced stitch motifs.

No dye lots, dye is applied randomly, therefore no two hanks are the same.
Machine wash. 4ply. Approx. 365m/100g

What’s not to like love?  Not just for socks either, there’s sooo many lovely 4ply projects out there.

Now I guess you’re gonna want to see the colours?

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The photos really don’t do the colours justice, you’ll have to come and pay us a visit to see the deliciousness (can yarn really be this gorgeous?).

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

Happy Knitting!