Tag: quick knits

Crochet World Record Attempt in Aid of Essex Children’s Hospice

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I know we’re smack bang in the middle of trying to get all of our lovely stockings knitted for the Knit Happens campaign but we’ve been asked for help via Instagram by The Craft Club who are busy preparing for a ‘magical’ yarnbomb in the gardens of The Little Havens Hospice.  The Havens Hospice cares for children from across Essex in the UK with life-limiting illnesses by providing respite breaks, managing pain and caring for them at the ends of their lives.

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Helen Thomas, Gabby Atkins, Kelly Holcombe, Claire Whitehead, Becky Burton and Emma Curley are seasoned yarnbombers, they understand the joy of collaborating on projects which raise a smile or inspire others to have a go.

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The Little Havens yarnbomb is inspired by children’s book The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and the group hope to create their version of the land at the top of the magical tree in crochet.  In doing so the team hope to break a Guinness World Record for Largest Display of Crochet Sculptures which currently stands at 4061 crocheted items.

The finalised project will be displayed on the 25th August 2014 in the Little Havens  garden which is an event for the parents and families but it will be covered by the regional press  and there will be loads of photos up on Facebook, etc.

It is hoped that the attempt will consist of over 1,000 individually crocheted items including rabbits, hedgehogs, owls, pixies, trolls, fairies and characters from the book.  For an item to count towards the world record it has to be made in crochet, but if your strictly a knitter only, then The Craft Club would still love to receive something bright and cheerful to add to the garden.

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There are loads of suitable patterns available on Ravelry, many of which are free.  You can also find a few ideas on The Craft Club’s Pinterest board here and if you stumble upon any suitable patterns it would be lovely of you to share them on our Facebook page 

You can keep up to date with what’s going on with the record attempt on The Craft Club’s Facebook page too.  They regularly post  photos of the items they’ve received and they’re often linked to patterns and blogs.  As I’m not the best at crochet I’m going to whip up a few Teeny Tiny Flowers from Attic 24’s blog like these that I made before.

We will be collecting finished items in the shop to post to the UK up to Saturday 12th July or you can send them direct to:-

Miss E Curley

9 Kenley Close

Shotgate

Wickford

Essex

SS11 8XL

UK

It would be great to have a few items to send over for this very worthwhile cause, remember to let us know what you’re up to.

Happy Crochet!

 

World Wide Knit In Public Day

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It’s come around rather quickly again this year, technically it’s actually a  week but we’re celebrating on Saturday 21st.  The Saturday knitting group is scheduled to take place on the 21st anyway, so it would be lovely to think the sun might be shining.  Sunshine or not we can still knit can’t we?

As a little incentive to get a few more of you into the shop armed with your knitting and crochet we’ll have the market stall set outside as we did for Yarn Shop Day.  For those of you that missed it before, there will be packs of yarn, books and maybe some other bits and bobs all at discounted prices.

Come and join us for a for a bit of open air knitting fun (fingers crossed anyway).

Happy Knitting!

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Quick, Pretty Knit

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I thought I’d quickly share this knit with you before I wrap it and send it off to it’s new owner.

You might have seen the photo of the blanket I started for our friends new baby in my last post.  The pattern is from  James C. Brett, number 173 and uses their Flutterby yarn which looks really pretty but (confession time) I’m not so fond of knitting with.

I’ve used Hayfield Baby Chunky and the blanket which is pram size only used 2 x 100g balls.  The garter stitch border adds definition and there are only 4 rows to the lace pattern which becomes very memorable after a few repeats.  This really was a quick knit and I can see it being a pattern I’ll use again and again, great for last minute knitting.

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The blanket dimensions are approximately 30″ x 20″

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Best of all the colour (406) is almost identical to the rosy pink I used in the Gidday  Baby Cardigan and the hat.  Lets hope the baby’s parents aren’t allergic to pink.

Happy Knitting!

 

 

 

Yippee! I Can Knit Baby Things

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One of our friends has recently had a little baby girl so my needles have been smoking a little with shades of pink and oatmeal.

True, I could have been sensible and just knitted up a few different garments in gender neutral shades and themes and been ahead of the game, but where’s the fun in that?

I’d spotted the Gidday baby cardigan by Tikkiknits on Ravelry a little while ago and have been looking for an excuse to knit it up.  You might remember I popped the link up on the shops Facebook page?  If you missed it you can find it here.

It’s a fantastic little double knit pattern and this free version has instructions for 2 sizes, newborn and 3 months.  If you’d like to make larger sizes the full pattern contains 15 sizes from newborn to 12 years and costs $6AUD or a little over €4, which is a bit of a bargain.  Find the full pattern here.

I love the way the yarn overs that make the increased stitches on the yoke add a little extra interest.  You can always increase your stitches with a M1 if you’d prefer not to have the little lacy holes in your garment.

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I’m rather pleased with the finished cardi, although when knitting it again I think I’ll knit an extra 2 rows of the garter stitch yoke in the main body colour in order to try and overcome the ‘jog’ that happens when knitting stripes.

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Look closely and you can see the jog at the bottom of the stripes on the border.

The little wooden flower buttons add that little bit of extra charm, buttons are so important, at least that’s what I keep telling myself to explain away the tins of them I’ve amassed 😉

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I used Sirdar Snuggly DK because I love the feel of the finished fabric, it’s machine washable and the range of colours is vast.  The cardigan used a little over one ball of the oatmeal (344)  and barely any of the rose pink (Lolly 420) so I thought I’d be proactive and try and use up a little more of the yarn rather than just pop it straight into my ever growing stash.

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The pattern I used for the hat is from Stylecraft Yarns number 8794 , but I still have yarn left.  Maybe some booties too?

Trouble is I’ve already started this for the baby (oops!)

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Happy Knitting!

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Granny Square Scarf For Dina

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You might have noticed I’ve gone a little crochet mad of late, I’m not even sure why to tell the truth.  I am and always will be a knitter and it kind of feels like I’m having a bit of an affair really.

The crochet is quick, instant colour gratification and in my case, used mostly for items of frippery.

This scarf for Dina, my daughter (she shows up here quite regularly and is equally obsessed by woolly things – she’s been infected) came about when I was helping a customer to select colours for a crochet blanket project.

The aforementioned customer ended up choosing a more pastel combination I’d grouped together whilst I found myself fit to burst with the need to crochet these five up.

Casting the bookwork aside (any excuse)  I set to work on a granny square, still not sure what it would end up being.

I made a couple more squares and it dawned on me that a summer scarf was the way to go.

 

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First dilemma = How many squares?

It’s a summer scarf so it’s not really for warmth (hopefully).  Originally I thought 15, but after trying it on several times I opted for 13.  Each square is roughly 5″ x 5″ so the scarf is approximately 65″ long.

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Using all these colours unfortunately equals a lot of ends to sew in and I even found myself taking it to bed on one occasion, refusing to go to sleep until they were all done.

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Not too bad a job, even if I do say so myself.

Second dilemma = How to join the squares?

I could have sewn the squares together through the back loops only, mattress stitched them, over stitched them but instead I chose to crochet them together using double crochet.

This has created a beautiful ridge which defines each square and also ads a little weight to the front of the scarf.  Hopefully it will also mean it sits the right way out when worn.

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More ends to sew again, this time whilst waiting in the car for my youngest to come out after school.  This time I refused to drive off until I’d finished. (my poor family)

I’m really happy with the finished scarf and it took very little yarn.  Hopefully my beautiful daughter won’t mind me taking a pic or two of her wearing it for me to share here.  In the meantime I’ve had to use a chair to drape it over.

What do you think?

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Happy Knitting!

Crochet’s fine too though 😉

 

Granny Square Crochet

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2014-05-14 12.22.06

I’m not the best at crochet, in fact I can’t actually hold my hook and tension my yarn correctly, instead I choose to knit my crochet.  This means I hold the hook and the yarn in my right hand and work as if I’m knitting with one pin.  It achieves pretty much the same results, although apparently a crochet professional can tell the difference?

Anyway, undeterred it is my goal in life to cover everything in glorious multicolour granny  crochet, trebles to the initiated.  This book was made for just that and much to my delight Granny Square Crochet by Catherine Hirst has come in with May’s samples from The Book People.  Even better their selling copies of it for just €8 at the moment.

Ok, so there is a ‘Useful Information’ chapter at the back of the book, full of stitches, abbreviations and pictures of how to hold your hook (gulp!).  Can you hear this section being closed as I go straight back to the pretty pictures?

35 projects are in this book, yes I did say 35 – lets look at some of my favourites.

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I love the Granny Round Cushion Cover to pieces and can see a beautiful round table cloth in the making.  Actually, more of a centrepiece thingy to be precise.

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What’s not to like about the Stripes lampshade Cover?  Great way to transform those cheapy lamps from Dunnes and Heatons and make them more personalised.  I’m sure I picked up a job lot in the Dunnes Sale for €2 each and they’d make a great gift for friends.

 

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I could definitely be persuaded to use a teapot more often if it looked as pretty as this, what about you?

 

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The Colourful Granny Stripes Scarf is beautiful and if you made it a little wider and slightly longer it would make a great summer evening shawl to wrap round your shoulders.  Or perhaps you have a friend in hospital that would love the cheery colours and welcome the extra warmth?

 

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The riot of colour in the Granny Square Cushion Cover is created using 7 complimentary colours and would be a great way of using up your ends although I”m duty bound to mention that knitting a few Knit Happens stockings is another great way too (cheeky!)

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Lastly and only because I want to leave a little mystery, look at these beautiful little shoes.  The Mini Granny Square Booties are so adorable I’d happily use them as a decoration in my house just so I could look at them.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m rather in love with this book – power project finishing here I come because it wouldn’t do to start yet another project would it…..?

Happy Crochet!

 

All Good Fun

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So for those of you that missed it Saturday 3rd of May was Yarn Shop Day.  It was great to see so many of you out to support us and good fun was had by all (I hope) despite the rain 😦

After all the fun and games I have some competition and raffle winners to announce.

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The raffle winners are as follows –

Sock Yarn – Mary Healy

Scrumptious Lace Weight Yarn – Fiona Ryan

Snuggly Dk & Pattern – Deidre McArdle

Bambeanies by Woolly Wormhead – Edwina Cole

Erika Knight – Molly McSweeny

Lucy Neatby, The Brand New Knitter DVD – Sadie Foley

Knitpro Symphonie Interchangeable Starter Set – Susan Macfarlane

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We also had a ‘Guess the Number of Buttons in the Jar’ for our younger visitors on the day.  The winner receives a €5 gift voucher for Auntie Nellies Sweet Shop and a woolly goody bag donated by the good folks over at Stylecraft Yarns, for the knitter in their life.

Can you guess?????

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None of the children guessed correctly, but the nearest was Jasmine Jennings with 258.  Well done Jasmine the Auntie Nellies Gift Voucher is yours and I’m guessing your mum or your sister might like to receive the goody bag.

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Last but not least.

There was the competition to find our fastest Knit Happens stocking knitter.

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The stocking had to be knitted in two colours and this mind blowing time was achieved by Mary Murphy, who wins 4 balls of Sirdar Bonus Dk for her effort, which she whipped up with smoke rising from her needles in a little over 10 minutes..

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The second fastest stocking knitter was Mary O’Donovan with a little over 12 minutes.  Mary wins a ball of King Cole Splash for her speedy needles.

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Those of you that didn’t make it won’t have had a chance to see our yarnbombed rocking chair, which definitely helped entice passers by in.  We’ll be taking it with us, along with lots of our Knit happens stockings to the Midleton Mid May Festival on Sunday 18th at The Square (near The Granary).  Why not come and see it and lend your support to this new festival

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You can find out more about what’s happening over the weekend here 

Happy knitting!

1 More Sleep

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So Yarn Shop Day is very nearly upon us, 1 more sleep until the fun begins.

As promised here’s a little peek at some of the goodies on offer tomorrow on our market stall outside the shop.

They’ll be all of these books and more all down to €5 each with some going for as little as €3.

All of the packs of yarn on the stall will be €20 each, including the multi packs.

There will be other yarn in the special bins for €3 a ball and the day will be full of on the spot give-aways.  Not to mention the raffle and the competition to find the fastest Knit Happens stocking knitter.

I hope to see as many of you as possible.

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Shop Day – Saturday May 3rd

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It seems like I’ve been trying to write this post for weeks now what with computer and internet problems *sigh*

Anyway….

Yarn shop day (taking place on Saturday May 3rd) is all about you showing your love for local yarn shops.  It is also an important opportunity for bricks and mortar shops – such as ourselves – to remind our customers how valuable our personal experience and knowledge of all things wonderful and wooly really is.

Whilst the online yarn market is fantastic for those that cannot manage to get into a shop or can’t find something particular it is also unfortunately taking away from the tradition of local yarn shops.  There is nothing better than going into your local yarn shop and having a good squidge and play with the wool, as well as getting hands on help and advice.  Knitters and crocheters alike are an enthusiastic bunch and our shop has often played host to a number of excited discussions about new projects and ideas between strangers that have bonded over their love of the craft.

Yarn shops are fast becoming an endangered species and every week I will have someone come in and say how nice it is to have found a wool shop because they no longer have a local one.  A visit to the yarn shop was something I looked forward to as a child and even now I still get excited when I go to a new place and discover they have a yarn shop to explore.

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So in the spirit of all things woolly we are planning the following events, giveaways and special offers to celebrate Yarn Shop Day.

  • The first 15 customers to spend €25 or more receive a baby knits goody bag.
  • 11am – There will be a demonstration on how to use the amazing Clover Pom-Pom Makers.
  • 2-4pm – We are holding a competition to see who can knit a “Knit Happens” stocking the fastest.
  • There will be a woolly raffle with prizes including Knit Pro needles, Scrumptious Yarn and a variety of books.  (Details of the raffle will be posted here and on Facebook in the coming days.)
  • A free Sparklemouse pattern will be sent to your via e-mail when you spend €5 or more.
  • Clearance packs of yarn and books will be available to buy throughout the day on our market stall outside at less than even Stash Dash Prices.

Throughout the week we will try (I stress the word try) to pop up photos of some of the items that will be  putting on the market stall and using as raffle prizes.

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Woolly Clearance

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The time has come to accept that my addiction for all things woolly might be getting a little out of hand.  I know, I know, most of you had probably already spotted it some time ago now and for those of you that know me, you’ll know it’s not going to stop any time soon.

Facing the facts, I need to make space before I disappear into one of the stock rooms and never return -“suffocation from yarn, there are worse ways to go”.

After discussing it with friends, family and anyone who’ll listen, I’ve decided to give in and try an ecommerce site.  My lovely customers have been asking me to do this for years now and I’m concerned they’ll think it’s so much more than it is (apologies in advance).

It is a clearance shop, with clearance prices.  The yarn will only be sold in packs of 10 balls and you can buy as many packs as you want at the much reduced prices.

I intend to work my way steadily through the boxes of Stash Dash yarn one at a time and will therefore be popping up new products on a weekly basis (I’m aiming for Tuesdays).  The yarn will be from all the companies we stock and will include acrylics, wool, cotton, blends, etc, though once it’s gone it’s gone.

Postage here is still extremely expensive, with An Post the cheapest at this stage.

They’re prices are  – €6.50 for 500g/1kg or €7.50 for 1.5kg/2kg

You can of course purchase your packs of yarn on the website and collect them from the shop, but I’d ask you to contact me to ensure I have it waiting for you at the shop for collection.

We’ll see how it works, maybe it will go so smoothly that I can be persuaded to look at running with a proper online shop at some stage.

For now this is where you’ll find us Online Clearance Shop

Please be patient with us, hopefully there won’t be too many teething problems 🙂

Happy Knitting!