I thought I’d published this ……

July 18, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

More crochet I’m afraid, but I love how this has turned out so much I’m actually going to make at least one more for myself and another for a friend for Ch…. (nearly said it) ‘you know when’ .

I used Knitcol from Adriafil in one of the beautiful new colourways and I rather cheekily sat in on one of our workshops to learn how to make it but (I’m told), it’s a basic half granny shawl and there are several similar patterns available on Ravelry. Of course you can always put your name down for one of the workshops here too.

Can you see me now, sitting, knitting on one of these lovely summer evenings with it wrapped around my shoulders sipping, rather elegantly I might add …… MY MUG OF BLACK TEA.

😉

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!

World Wide Knit In Public

June 27, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

2014-06-21 15.32.54 — Lets begin with Sadie and Martina ….

We had a fab day at the shop last Saturday for World Wide Knit In Public. Lots of lovely people came out to support us, as did the sun (yes!).

2014-06-21 15.32.57 — Camera, what camera? Clare, Edwina and Sue all looking very productive.

If you couldn’t make it I hope you were with us in spirit at least?

2014-06-21 15.33.12 — Sue and Michelle deep in concentration, with Lucy trying her best to hide behind her beautiful blanket.

I managed to capture the odd photo or two of some of our woolly friends despite their protestations and as you can see there was tea, cake and laughter. What more do you need?

Michelle and Deidre doing a great job of ignoring me.

Maybe that should be what don’t you need?

Breeda and Orela proving it's never too hot to knit — Breeda and Orela proving it’s never too hot to knit

Possibly a friend wielding a camera?

Orela and Fiona are having fun. — Orela and Fiona are having fun – no really they are.

Worse still someone you’ve only recently met.

It was Agnieszka's first time so lets hope she'll return. — It was Agnieszka’s first time so lets hope she’ll return.

But, if it’s going to happen you might as well accept it ….

2014-06-21 15.33.30 — Shirley looking the happiest to be photographed.

If not you can get them back later 😉

We should have started with Dina and Sadie, but I needed to lull my daughter into a sense of false security before attempting any form of photography ;-) — We should have started with Dina and Sadie, but I needed to lull my daughter into a sense of false security before attempting any form of photography. Caught her on the way back round instead.

We never need an excuse to break out the hooks and needles in public if the sun is shining, maybe we’ll see a few more of you next time?

Happy Knitting!

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.

World Wide Knit In Public Day

June 9, 2014 LeftFootDaisy1 Comment

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!

Quick, Pretty Knit

June 6, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

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.

The blanket dimensions are approximately 30″ x 20″

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

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 LeftFootDaisyLeave a comment

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.

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.

2014-06-01 12.25.47 — 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 😉

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.

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!)

Happy Knitting!

Granny Square Scarf For Dina

May 20, 2014 LeftFootDaisy7 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Happy Knitting!

Crochet’s fine too though 😉

Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet

Tag: shop

I thought I’d published this ……

Following Blogs – A New Obsession

I Did It!

World Wide Knit In Public

Quick Knitted Gift For Kye’s Teachers

Exploits in Crochet

World Wide Knit In Public Day

Quick, Pretty Knit

Yippee! I Can Knit Baby Things

Granny Square Scarf For Dina

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