Entente Florale 2015

Trim Town has taken part in the Entente Florale Competition.  The town looks great and it was so wonderful to see such a level of participation.  The judging has taken place last week.  I decided to share this video. This video was done by a local business in Trim, Stockhouse Restaurant.  Thought you might like a little break from pictures of wool, knitting and dogs...  If you are ever in the town of Trim, be sure to visit Stockhouse Restaurant.

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.

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.

My 21st

I am now living 21 years in Ireland.  I am happy to report this.  Happy to be here and happy to stay.

I am cleaning my kitchen.  I can't wait till I am finished.  I am giving it a much needed tidy.  I got rid of many items I don't need and I also made a colossal amount of chutney.  It is the River Cottage Chutney.  It used up a lot of the courgette/zucchinis I got from home.  

I am going apple picking soon so I will be making more chutney using the recipes that I tried last year.  I will try a few more recipes this year as well.  I am cleaning jars.  Hate it.  It is so hard to remove the sticky stuff.

I much rather be knitting and watching Mad Men.

Summer Scenes

I love summer and the town I live in.  Here are a few summer shots.

I got very little sewing done at the weekend.  I did manage to get one thing done- a little project bag using samples from college.  Word of advice to future me- cheap thread will only break your heart.  Only buy the good stuff.  My thread kept breaking until I changed it for some good stuff.  My enthusiasm seriously waned and productivity fell.  Was tired to begin with and had very little interfacing, I knew I wasn't going to make much.

I can't find the photos of the items that I sewed for my mother for her birthday.  I have them photographed and the photos are somewhere saved on my computer.  I will share them as soon as I can find them.

New cards are going up in the Ellie and Ada shop.  Say Happy Birthday with a nice card.

Enjoy the summer!  Lexi looks happy!

New Strawberry Tote Bag At the Trim Vintage Car Show

I made another tote bag with an recessed zipper.  The pattern on the fabric is really cute, it's yellow with strawberries.  I am also wearing a strawberry t shirt.  I'm feeling summery and coordinated despite the grey skies.  I also knitted the bright, emerald green sweater.

I feel that this bag came out better than last weekend's attempts.  I didn't bother adding any pockets on the inside but am hoping that future bags will have all the bells and whistles.  I am happy with the length of the bag strap.  I am actually thinking of sewing maybe a back pack or a bag that can go across from me.  I'm not mad on backpacks but I'm thinking it might be good for my back.

It feels good to use up the fabric stash.  I would have sewn more this weekend but the lack of interfacing held me back.   Wish I had an endless supply!  I sewed a little zipper pouch using an old printed sample I did in NCAD.  It turned out alright.  I hope to photograph it this week to share.

The Trim Vintage Car Show was great.  I love the festivals in Trim.  The Haymaking Festival is my favourite.  I love the little goats the best.  I love the different colours of the vintage cars.  I love the teals and the mint colours especially.  It makes me think that each decade have their own set of colours.  So many things, that we don't think about are driven by trends.  We can even glance at a car and guess its age due to the paint colour.

I have a bit of good news.  I now have printed cards in the shop.  This notecard was the first of many to come.  Just getting the cards photographed and then they will be available.  I am delighted to now be able to supply my drawings on notecards.

Happy May Sale 20% off in Ellie And Ada Shop

Spring Sale! Enter COUPONCODE - HAPPYMAY and get 20% off all your purchases! This is a sale to say thanks and celebrate Spring/Summer 2014. The coupon expires June 1, 2014.  The sale is on from today till June 1, 2014.  The sale is here in my Ellie and Ada Etsy Shop.

I'm working on putting up new prints in the shop.  I am also working on new prints.  Today wasn't as nice, weather-wise in this neck of the woods so I worked inside all day.  Looking forward to relaxing and knitting this evening.  I'm watching Selfridges at the moment on Netflix.  I am going to finish the first sleeve of a cardigan, I have been working on.  V neck cardigan in 4 ply.  It might become part of my new summer uniform.

I treated myself to some Jane Richmond patterns so I can't wait to cast on a few new projects...  Must knit faster!  She has a sale on in Ravelry.  3 for 2 which is a great sale!  Her Linden mittens look great.  I don't have the best circulation so I almost wear mittens/fingerless gloves all the time and a pair of 4 ply weight mittens would be very welcomed addition to my collection of mittens.  Mittens, cowls and hats are great dog/Lexi walking gear.  The best part of having many hand knitted items in Ireland is, once your hat, scarf and mittens get wet in the rain, you can grab dry things for the next excursion.  The joys of being toasty and not wet and soggy.

 This Birds and Little Polka Dots.  It'll be in the Ellie And Ada Shop soon but it is already available on my Ellie And Ada Society6 Page.