Rye Socks

As January nears its end, I still think of and attempt to accomplish my New Year's Resolutions.  I wish to remember Socrates' quote "The secret of change is to focus all your energy on not fighting the old, but on building the new."

I would like to try and concentrate more on finishing and focusing on projects/w.i.p.s.  I would like to be just as excited and motivated on finishing a project as I am thrilled to start a project.  I would like to not be overwhelmed by the amount of projects on the go.  With focus and some dedication, I would like to greatly reduce the amount of projects on the go at the same time.

I am working on these Rye socks by Tincanknits.  It is a lovely free sock pattern that the Dublin Knit Collective have chosen for a KAL (knit along).  I am knitting two pairs, one in sock weight and one in worsted weight.  I am hoping to finish the sock weight first.  The sock weight yarns are my own hand dyed yarns - Ellie and Ada Sock Yarn in the Prismatic Colourway.

Happy New Year!  Happy Saturday!  Happy Weekend!  Happy Knitting!

Handspun Hats

I love wearing and making hats.  I made this too big first so I had to rip it out.  I made it to fit a 20 inch head.  The thing is that my head is really 21 inches.  Hats are often too big or too small.  I really like the fit of this hat. I followed the same instructions/notes that I made to make another hat and I am unsure of it.  I think it might even be the colours.  I don't mind a slightly snug hat because when it is windy, your hat then doesn't act as a parachute.

The brim and the very top is handspun Shetland, that I spun myself.  It is naturally coloured.  I also purchased these Hedgehogfibres batts in 2012 and spun it.  I wasn't too happy with my spinning job.  I spun the batts quite bulky, which I don't always do but I am happy with this hat.  This hat goes well enough with my new garter stitch shawl.  Funny enough, my new shawl is also spun Hedgehogfibres merino and silk handspun with a tan sock yarn.

Both are keeping me warm as it seems to be getting cooler here in Ireland.

I am now on Instagram as Ellie and Ada.  

Remake No. 2

When I first started knitting garments, I decided I wanted to learn how to make sweaters out of my hand spun yarn.  Maybe the reason behind this was due to being slightly intimidated by normal knitting patterns.  Also I just wanted to knit the simplest of designs. I tried to learn how to make pieces that fit me.  I love to learn how to do things.  It all began with learning how to knit t toppers because I also wanted to knit in the round.  As great as the process was, I found I didn't really want to wear t toppers.  I made three.  I have ripped out two and reknitted them.  I will be tackling the 3rd soon.  This is the second t topper that got frogged and reknitted.  I spun all the yarn used.  I didn't dye it.  Purchased the dyed top off Felt Studio Uk years ago.  The natural coloured wool is Blue Faced Leicester which is always dreamy.

Lexi met a pal today and they had a great time.

Look at them ears xxx Love Love Love xxx

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.

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.

Feet and Flowers

This is a Notecard from the Roman Holiday Series.  You can find it at the Ellie And Ada Etsy Shop.  I love my cat figurine.  It was a lucky find at a second hand shop a couple years back.  I actually got myself this print on a tote bag from my Society Six page.  I love it so much and use it everyday.

Was going to do a granny square with a lot of sock scraps.  I stopped here a long, long time ago.  Laziness and uncertainty got the best of me.  I don't know if I want to knit/crochet another wool blanket.  I do love the look of an auld granny square, not going to lie.  What do folks do with sock yarn scraps?  I've knitted log cabin blankets with mine.  I might make a Lifesavers Cardigan with some of the sock yarn leftovers.  It is another Tanis Fiber Arts cardigan.  I mostly knit worsted/Aran or 4 ply yarns.  In Ireland, you pretty much need some sort of sweater or cardigan all year round.

The flowers are my pansies from last year.  Hardy Soldiers, I think they're going to be just fine this Spring.

Going to work on some soup and finish off a present of socks.  If you are a sock knitter and want a really handy chart of all the shoe sizes.  This way, at least this is what I think, if you know their shoe size, you can figure out their foot in inches or centimetres.  In my experience, it is hard to get people to measure their feet.  Funny but true!

Winter Hibernation

It's very fair to say that I have been hibernating all winter.  This year, it is nice to see spring again and all the new things it brings.  I am excited about the longer hours and new projects to come.

Today is my day off.  I usually spend my days off walking Lexi, knitting, reading and watching Netflix.  I decided that I might start sharing what I have on my needles, my W.I.P.s.  W.I.P.s is knitter-speak for work in progress.

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I am trying to concentrate on finishing this cardigan.  I am great at starting new knitting projects.  I am finished with the body and have started the first sleeve.  The pattern is Ombre by Tanis Lavallee.  This is her website/blog.  I dyed the yarn.  It is lace weight yarn held double.  It is a result of a dyeing experiment.  It has resulted in the knitted fabric to be a bit marled.  I am not following the gradient directions this time around.  ( I would love to do this pattern again)

The box of tricks are some stitch markers that I made and the scissors are a prize from a Christmas cracker from a zillion years ago at my Aunt's house.  It was so long ago but I vaguely remember one of my male cousins winning them and giving them to me.  I use them all the time so they were a great inheritance.

Goodnight Winter Hibernation.  Good Morning Spring.

Hello November!

It's hard to believe it is November!  It was a warm October but today is chilly and I have a fire on and decided to spin some wool before dinner.  I haven't been spinning as much but I would like to go through my spinning stash before getting any more.  It's a cozy evening here.

I finally started that scarf for a friend that I have been meaning to knit.  I hope to make a huge dent into it tonight.  I am also knitting hats.  I want to knit hats with knitted linings.  I even saw hats in Lidl's that have fleece lining.  I knitted my sister a hat a couple of years ago and my mother sewed a fleece lining in it.  I might look into making some of those. Also mittens with lining....  Operation Warm!

Lexi loves wooly blankets.


New socks that I knitted.  Love the colours.

Apple Crumble

I was home during the week and my mother and I made some apple crumbles.  It was fun.  Delicious fun!

I am wrecked today!  Wish that I could snap my fingers and the ingredients for tonight's dinner would be delivered to the front door.  I think I'm going to spend this wild Friday night with a dose of Netflix and knitting.  And maybe some Lexi snuggling.