Tag: Scarf

Rainbow Bright

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Woman found safe, but extremely warm, after becoming engulfed by her yarn stash early last week. The first thing she did was sit down with a cuppa and her knitting --)

I was looking for knitting needles the other day, only to realise that I broke my last set of 3.5mm interchangeable Knit Pro’s a while back and forgot to replace them, before closing the shop.  So I did something I haven’t had to do for years (holiday yarn shop excursions don’t count), I went to a wool  shop and bought a set.  The trip provided a great opportunity to peruse the shelves of yarny goodness as a customer, tempted by all the woolly goodness and to look for yarn for Dina’s next project too.  Unfortunately, the one she’d fallen in love with wasn’t in stock, so now she’s going to use something I have left after closing the shop.

A much better idea, before the above really does end up happening 😱

Happily, I have also found some time to play with woolly goodness over the past few days, in fact I’m on a bit of a role with my knitting and crochet – Long may it last.

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I’ve finally managed to finish the pair of sparkly socks I cast on back in August.  As you can see from the photo, I’ve taken to just casting on the second sock straight after finishing the first.  Previously, I’ve been trying to match them a little more, but this method is appealing to my way of thinking a little more at the moment and let’s be honest it’s quicker 😉  I’m not sure how many pairs I’m up to now in my New Year’s quest to make a pair every two months, must check.

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Being in need of a bit of instant knitting gratification, I’ve also knitted up a quick cowl for Dina.  The yarn is Elektra from Conway and Bliss that I bought whilst attending the Debbie Bliss event in Kinsale recently.

Elektra has a recommended tension of 12 stitches by 18 rows on 8mm needles and the blend of 70% wool and 30% alpaca makes for a very light yarn, but to ensure it’s super softness next to my daughter’s neck, I chose to use 9mm needles.

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The cowl, as you can see is very basic.  I cast on 21 stitches and then knitted in garter stitch, alternating the colours after working two rows.  I stopped knitting when the work reached approximately 130cm and after casting off, sewed the two ends together.

I was a little unsure if I liked the way the colours were knitting up together and even thought about ripping it back, but after a little more knitting, the colours won me over.  More importantly, Dina loves it and she seems to be able to wear almost any colour.  She tells me it’s extremely warm too, even better – as she’s always cold.

Of course she should have known what was coming next……

My kind of photography drives her crazy though.  I ‘persuaded’ her to strike a pose whilst we were out on our yarn shop trip and just kept pressing the button.

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Can you guess that she’s telling me she’s not ready as she moves her hair out of her eyes?

There are a good few more, but I think she might kill me if I post them 💀

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Tah-dah….

Beautiful ❤️

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My First Woven Scarf

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saorimor

I’m dying to tell you all about my trip last week to Saorimor in Wales (that’s Rosie looking resplendent in her woven top outside her studio), but I’ve had this post sitting half completed in my drafts folder for some time now and probably should just finish and publish it first.

It’s pretty obvious at the moment that I’m a little hooked by weaving, not sure why it’s taken me so long to find my weaving mojo, but now I have, there’s no stopping me.  Having said that, I’m still knitting and crocheting away in between and I’ve even got my eye on a sewing pattern that wasn’t available in Cork earlier today 😦

Some of you probably saw photos of pink/orange weaving on Instagram a couple of weeks ago?

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Having only really woven the table runner previously with itchy, scratchy, coarse wool, I was keen to find out what weaving with softer knitting yarn would be like.  Traditionally, knitting yarn is too soft and has too much ‘bounce’ to be used in tapestry weaving, but lots of the modern looms available have been designed with just this in mind.  It’s also what led me to purchase my loom in the first place.  I’d hoped my ever increasing yarn stash, would eventually begin to decrease, as it’s definitely quicker to weave a large piece of cloth than knit it, but it would be less bulky than crochet.

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Unfortunately though, as quick as it is to weave, there’s just no getting round having to warp your loom.  I’m sure I’ll get quicker at it, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a quick process.  There are youtube videos that make it look like it takes minutes, there’s even one called ‘warping your rigid heddle in 10 minutes’ – total utter 💩detritus💩 for me anyway.

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For this project, a scarf, I really wanted to use a yarn that I’ve knitted with to be able to compare the finished fabrics.  I opted for the Cotton Premium sock yarn from Opal, that I used to make a pair of socks earlier in the year.  The sock yarn is as we know, rather thin (4ply) and so I decided to use a finer reed than before.  My 40/10 gives me 40 ends to each 10cm or 4 ends per cm – oh yes, I’m begining to sound like I know what I’m talking about 🙌🏼 Having warped up my loom and wound some bobbins, I knuckled down to a spot of weaving.

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I love the texture of plain weave (under one warp, over the next and repeat) and to be fair, I’m not sure I’m ready for twills, waffles and dogtooth checks just yet.  The first thing you’ll notice, is that having used the same multicoloured yarn for both the warp and the weft, a sort of chequered pattern forms where the same colours in the yarn cross.

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This pattern, adds to the overall effect of the weaving and makes it look a lot more complicated than it really is 💃💃💃

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The finished scarf is over 1½ metres long by about 25cm wide and the material feels very different to that of the socks.  The socks are much softer and have a squidgyness that the scarf just doesn’t have.  The scarf took approximately 1¾ 100g balls of yarn and is light, incredibly warm and I love it, even the mistakes.

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Of which there are a few 🙈 🙈 🙈

Technically I could have fixed them and if it was a piece of knitting I’m sure I would have, but for some strange reason they just don’t seem to bother me as much.

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Rather oddly I’m also loving tassels as a way of finishing off my weaving too and they’re not something I would have been too fond of in the past.  Maybe it’s because I know they’re functional, who knows?

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On the loom next, is a cotton something or other, but it’s going to be a gift if it works out – possibly.  Blues might just end up being the completely wrong colour though, if you catch my drift 😉

Happy Fibre Fun!

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Sharing – But only if the internet connection lasts!!!

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There seems to be so much going on at the moment that I feel like I’ll fall behind if I don’t begin sharing some of it with you and there’s too much to put in a Facebook post, so please excuse the disjointed nature of this post.  It’s probably a truer indication of how my mind works – on a good day that is 😁

(The balloon flower was gifted to me by one of my young students, Miriam, yesterday morning and it set the tone for a lovely day.

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The sun was shining and I finally managed to get round to photographing these lovely blankets that Jackie Dunn whipped up for the Chernobyl Children’s Trust.  Aren’t they just fab?

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As are the scarf and 7 hats that she also made 💕

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Some of you might have already noticed that I’ve finished my 3rd pair of socks this week.  I had literally been dragging my heels over knitting them because they’re not really my colours and was planning on using them as boot socks.  However, I’m prepared to swallow my words and admit to rather liking them.

Just so you know, I’ve knitted them in Heart & Sole sock yarn from Sirdar in shade 107 (Hip Hop) with 2.5mm needles and they’re really comfy 🙂

I’m on a total sock knitting binge and am actually making two separate pairs at the moment, one is a 6ply pair just to see what they’ll be like (I’ll be sure to let you know).  The second pair are flying up, so much so that I’d reached the gusset part earlier today, but we were off to see Fast & Furious 7 and I needed knitting 😕  So I decided to risk it and try to work my decreases in the dark movie theatre, what’s the worse that could happen?

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I’m dead chuffed with my cinema knitting.  Not only did I manage to work my k2tog decreases neatly and without dropping a stitch.

2015-04-19 17.47.18I also completed my ssk’s too and 5 rows of the leg, despite being thoroughly engrossed in the antics of Dom, Brian, Letti, Hobbs and the rest of the team.

Happy Knitting!

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These Islands: Knits from Ireland, Scotland, and Britain Book Launch

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Book Launch (2)

It’s all been confirmed, we’ve sat down,  deliberated, cogitated and digested and I am now happily able to announce that the These Islands book launch will take place on Thursday 9th April from 7.30 to 9.30pm

These Islands includes eight never before published patterns for hats, a cowl, shawls, fingerless gloves, and boot cuffs using locally-processed wool made from the fleece of Irish, Scottish, or British sheep with names. The patterns are designed by Sara Breitenfeldt, Suzanne McEndoo, and Evin Bail O’Keeffe.

Suzanne currently lives in Edinburgh so won’t be able to make the launch however, both Evin and Sara will be available for book signing, laughter and fun.

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A Cork resident, Evin is the author of the 2014 Blog Awards Ireland award-winning craft blog EvinOK.com.  In addition to being a busy mum and her blog, Evin also managed to find the time to write and release her book Bake Knit Sew, which showcases a year of creativity in baking, knitting, and sewing. The book offers a complete year of projects! With over 50 full-color photographs shot on location here in scenic Cork.  To find out more about Bake Knit Sew or to order your copy head over to the Anchor & Bee website here.

smudgeMany of you will already have heard of Sara, now a Midleton resident too,  as is the creator and owner of the  hand dyed yarn company Smudge Yarns.   Sara’s beautiful yarns are available to purchase via her website or in a handful of shops around Ireland, including mine 🙂  There is also a Smudge Yarns Facebook Page here and a Ravelry Group too for you to join should you want to show you’re appreciation.

The gates open at 7.30pm for the book launch, with everything kicking off ♥ proper ♥ at 8pm.  This will be a ticketed event due to the size of the shop, so spaces are limited.  There will be refreshments, book signing and all ticket holders will be automatically entered into the craft hamper raffle (more details to follow later, watch this space).

Tickets are €5 each and can be purchased in the shop with me or via the Smudge Yarns website here 

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In addition to the book, Sara hopes to have some of her yummy yarn on sale to tempt you, she will also officially launch her Beaker Folk Shawl Knit A Long on the night.  Kits will be available to purchase at the launch and we hope to get as many of you casting on for the KAL as possible.

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As a special incentive to get involved, everyone who “Casts On” the project on Ravelry before midnight on Sunday 12th April will be entered in a draw for a special limited edition skein of yarn.

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The shawl can be knitted in one of two sizes,  either as a smaller shawlette, or as a larger wrap.  The photographs shown here have been taken from the book and have been knitted using Smudge Yarns Hand Dyed Lace Yarn and 5.5mm needles.  The featured colourway if you’re interested, is the beautiful denim hues of 💙 Beara 💙

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If you’d like to have a closer look at the Beaker Folk Shawl, we’ve a sample garment on display in the shop at the moment.

I’m really excited to be able to showcase this brilliant book and hope some of you will be able to join us on what promises to be a great, fibre related evening.

Happy Knitting!

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Stylecraft Yarns Winter Catch Up

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I’d started to write this post in mid December when I ordered the new shades in Stylecraft’s Swift Knit and Senses yarns.  Unfortunately, there were some issues with obtaining the digital images at the time and I’ve only just received them and I thought you might still like to have a quick look at them.

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There are 3 new shades in the Swift Knit and a few new patterns to tempt you too ♥

 

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Dina has already put in a request for the hat 😯

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In the Senses I chose two of the new shades for the shop to compliment the colours we already have.  Again there have been some lovely patterns released too.

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I wouldn’t mind at least one of the hats and the cowl/neck warmer myself if I could find the time to knit them.

Thinking about it the Swift and the Senses are two extremes when it comes to yarns.  The Swift is very much a super chunky yarn whilst the Senses has been designed to be used as a laceweight.  (I find it knits perfectly to a 4 ply too)

The Swift is €4.99 per 100g whilst the Senses is €4.20 per 50g.

Happy Knitting!

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And The Winner Is…..

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The run up to Christmas was a bit mental here (even more so than usual), but I was organised enough to ask Liz from the East Cork Rapid Response team to draw the winner of the Stocking of the Week.

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Excuse the terrible writing but Jackie Smyth is the winner 🙂

Yesterday Jackie popped into the shop to pick her prize of €100 worth of knitting goodies.

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Jackie picked a couple of projects to work up for herself in beautiful merino and tweed double knit and then lots of odd balls to knit hats and scarves to donate to The Chernobyl Children’s Trust 😀

Happy Knitting!

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The Madness Has Been & Gone

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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.

hitchhikerI 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.

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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.

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Nostrils shouldn’t be that big should they? It’s obscene 😬

 

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

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

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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?

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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 👨

Cobblestone

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 📷

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He pinched my hat.

 

 

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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?

 

 

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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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So Much Yarn

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There have been so many yummy yarnny deliveries of late that the stock rooms are fit to burst and there’s a danger that I’ll go in one day and never return o_O

There were 2 deliveries last week, 2 the week before and there have been 3 so far this week, with at least one more due.  Sadly, this does mean that I’m a little behind when it comes to telling you all what’s in and even more behind with knitting my samples for the shop 😳

Cracking on then –

Last week was a good week for those sock knitters among us with several different items arriving in to help keep your toes toasty.  The Knitpro Karbonz in 2.5mm are back and I’ve also stocked up on the 2.5mm Knitpro circulars too.

Now for some yarn porn

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The almost complete range of Opal Solids

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Something we haven’t had for a while now – 6ply sock yarn.  It’s the Daydreaming range from Opal.  Can’t wait to give 6ply (double knit to you and me) socks a go 💡

Another new addition and one completely at the other side of the woolly spectrum is Flame from Rico Yarns.

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Flame from Rico, is a lightweight super chunky yarn, note I said lightweight.  Each 50g ball contains a whopping 90 metres and knits to a tension of 10 stitches to 14 rows on 10mm needles.  it’s a wool blend, 40% wool/60% acrylic and I’ve opted for 6 of the available 7 variegated shades (2 of them were very similar).  Reasonably priced too at €4.99 per ball – Bargain!

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We have patterns too and I’ve promised Dina a cardi but I have to cast on a jumper I’ve been promising Durahn first.  In the meantime I think I might get a hat knitted up for the shop and possibly the odd Christmas gift too.

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Happy Knitting!

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Swift Knit Stripes

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Stripes

 

Swift Knit Stripes is the latest super chunky yarn to be released from Stylecraft Yarns.

As with all super chunky yarns think quick knits, great for last minute gifts there are 5 shades to tempt you with several lovely designs created especially by the Stylecraft design team to show off the stripey effect.

Swift Knit Stripes is a blend of 80% Premium Acrylic and 20% Wool, easy-care, machine washable and only €5.60 for a 100g ball so it represents value for money.  Recommended needle size is 10mm’s with a tension of 9 stitches to 12 rows.

To further tempt you Stylecraft have produced a free pattern leaflet which you will receive with each Swift Knit Stripes purchase (while stocks last).  The leaflet contains 4 patterns, each of which takes 1, 2 or 3 balls of the yarn and can be knitted in next to no time.

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If you’d like to have a look at the rest of the designs pop over to the Stylecraft Pinterest Board here 

I ran the hat up really quickly for the shop, but have realised it’s rather difficult to model hats now since I’ve had all my hair cut off :-0

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It only too the 1 ball and it’s lovely and cosy.

Happy Knitting!

 

 

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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