Twilley's

This is a top down raglan sweater knitted with some handspun yarn from some crazy batts that I put together and some commercial yarn- Twilley's of Stamford of Freedom Purity and the colourway is 781 Clay.  I purchased this yarn from This is Knit, Dublin.  It is a chunky yarn and I used 6.5mm needles.  The actual sweater has been finished for a while and it was great to get such a lovely day to photograph it.

It's not easy to have little legs in tall grass but she does manage.

Donegal Black Hat

This was knitted a couple of years back but it is one of my favourite hats with one of my most favourite yarns.  It is knitted with Kilcarra Donegal Yarn/Studio Donegal yarn.  It is a yarn that gets softer as you wear and wash it.  It doesn't pill as much as other yarns and it wears well.  I like my sock yarn to be superwash but not much else.

I would like to make a few more of these hats.  I like a smurfy slouchy hat from time to time.

You can buy Studio Donegal yarns in most good Irish yarn shops, especially This is Knit.

Lights Out

Sunday was a comically trying day.  My handbag strap broke in a shop when I thought was over the worse of it.  The night ended with the shock of the town's lights going out.  Note to oneself, buy more candles.  The top photo was from Sunday and when the lights went out.  I knitted for a bit by candlelight then headed to bed, laughing at the events of the day.

The Autumnal coloured socks are another pair of Vestigials by Hedgehog Fibres.  It is a colourway from one of the LHogan Sock Clubs that I dyed.  It is a 2 ply high twist merino and nylon yarn.  The other sock yarn I dyed as well and is going to be another pair of Vestigials.  I dyed this yarn when I first started dyeing yarn.  There is a time, a place and a pattern for every yarn.  You might be waiting years or minutes but it's great when it all clicks and comes together.

The sweater or sea of stockinette stitch is a top down raglan that I started years ago.  I needed another needle that I finally got.  It is two lace weight yarns that are knitted together.  I dyed both lace yarns.  Not that into lace shawls, so I might be knitting up my lace yarns as sweaters and cardigans.  I love the marled look at the moment. Marled definition

Green Sulley

This is the second pair of socks that I knitted with this stitch pattern.  Called this sock pattern Sulley because the first pair were knitted for a friend.  Named it Sulley after the character in Monsters Inc.  Every time that I see Sulley, it makes me think of my friend, Fluffy, which is nice.

I dyed this yarn with avocado pits and skins then overdyed it with a bit of acid dye.

Also have decided that my gauge is so loose with 2.5mm that I am going to knit socks with 2mm or 2.25 mm for the foreseeable future.

Voting In Ireland

Today, we are voting for whether or not to permit same sex marriage.  I hope everyone gets a chance to vote.  I don't like to push my politics on anyone but I do believe in marriage and I do believe everyone deserves all the benefits of it.

Let those who wish to marry, do so.  Respect everyone and honour the relevance of marriage and equality of everyone.

Frozen Grape

I am reknitting a sweater and this time adding a bit of Studio Donegal into the mix so it will be long sleeved.  I have plenty of the Studio Donegal but I don't know if I have enough of the Shetland handspun yarn to finish the body.  I'll figure something out.  Necessity is the mother of all invention and I am sure some sweater designs and changes are due to the running out of a certain colour.

This is another sweater that I am working on.  This is my knitting landscape, project bags and projects on the go.  I made the stitch marker.  They are so much fun to make.

And in keeping with the purple theme, this is one of my note card designs called Louise Dark Purple and it can be purchased in my Ellie and Ada Etsy Shop.

Or it can come on a range of products like this lovely throw cushion on Society6.

Warm Spices Falkland Handspun Sweater

This is a top down seamless raglan sweater.  I dyed and spun the yarn then knitted it.  I 

love knitting handspun yarn.  The wool is Falkland and the colourway I named Warm Spices.  I have it finished a while now and was happy to get it photographed.  Been knitting the sleeves bigger at the cuff lately.  I don't know if I will continue doing so but it is a result of me decreasing at the 8th row instead of at the 6th row.

I spun some yarn last week that I would like to use as part of a cardigan but I am aiming to finish a few projects before I cast on/start any more projects.  This is a lot harder than it sounds.  It's always exciting to start a project, finishing one sometimes demands great discipline.  The infamous and irksome question "Are we there yet?" is often asked.  Also the thought of using many of the the new stitch markers that I made, makes starting new sweaters very tempting.

The hat, I knitted as well.  I used some scraps from a This is Knit Yarn Tasting event and also some leftovers of projects that I had.  I dyed the purple-y blue yarn which is a Merino, Cashmere and Nylon yarn (MCN).  I like putting colours together.  It's probably my favourite thing to do especially in my print work that you can see here and here.

And as mentioned before, wooly hats are essential here.  I've never been a big fan of umbrellas.  May hasn't been warm.  It's been chilly and raining.  It's not as cold as winter but it's the furthest cry from bikini weather.  Grateful for my wooly jumpers and hats to keep me cozy. Wool is an indispensable ally against an Irish Summer.

Beads and Brownies

I've been making stitch markers.  So far, I haven't outgrown my love for beads, wool, dogs and cake.  As you can see it's been a day of all the loves.  The knitting is a hat that I am working on.  I made all the stitch markers pictured.  Lexi is patiently modelling my cowl that I dyed, spun and knitted.  I made the brownies today because my brother is coming over to watch a movie and for dinner.  My mother and I tucked into the brownies and drank a load of tea.  Really full now.

Vestigial Finished

This is my second pair of Vestigials.  Nice and easy pattern.  I love the stitch pattern Mistake Rib, it's my go to scarf pattern, delighted to see it knitted in the round.  I dyed the sock yarn.  It is a LHogan 4 ply wool with nylon and the colourway is Shady Shaman.  I was watching a lot of The Mighty Boosh at the time that I dyed the yarn.  Naboo was the inspiration for the colourway and name Shady Shaman.

The pattern is by Beata Jezek of Hedgehogfibres.  You can find the free pattern on Ravelry or on her website here.  And since, I am a fan of starting projects, I already cast on and started two more pairs.

Happy Knitting!

Hats

I made a couple of hats during winter.  They are fun to make and it was a great way to use up some of my stash and mini skeins.  I love hats as I am sure I have said before.  They are perfect for Ireland's climate and rain.  I grab one from my basket of hats, scarves, cowls and mittens, go for a walk, get soaked, let it dry and then grab another one for the next walk.  I don't really like umbrellas.