…you take three large columns of Brown Sheep Yarn, a dash of creativity and a heavy dose of mischief?
Impromptu signage!!
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I’m loving this pattern. And this yarn!!
/ahem
So, Rusted Root continues on. I’m on row 41, which is 2 short of moving the sleeves to waste yarn and starting to do proper in-the-round knitting, joining under the armholes. There’s about 200 stitches on the needles right now, which takes me about 25 minutes to do one round. That’s a bit painful sometimes (“No, dear, I can’t stop in the middle of a round!”) but it’s really starting to come together now. See?
I’m beyond thrilled with it. The lace pattern is easy for a lace beginner like me (15 stitches every other row, come on, that’s easy!) and the pattern is pretty well written. I did have an issue back in row 2, which I didn’t realize til row 30 and had to rip out…well, Aileen ripped out for me, I couldn’t watch. I started over, and this is where I am now. The Cotanani is lovely to knit with. I’m looking forward to trying some Cotton Fleece from Brown Sheep, which is also 80% cotton, 20% wool, on the next project. Whatever that is. No, must focus!! I have nothing else on the needles right now but this, and will not cast on for anything til it’s done!
I always tell people to swatch. It’s a bit of a mantra, really… And funnily enough I sometimes even take my own advice 
This time, though, This Time… I have been taking that nugget of knitterly wisdom under serious (and possibly even slightly obsessive) consideration. I spent alot of January and February swatching for my wedding shawl.
The pattern that I have chosen, following a previous six months(ish) of investigation and research, is Eunny Jang’s Print O’The Wave Stole. It’s a beautiful pattern and, if you are a lace fan(atic), you would say it is not the most intricate or difficult of undertakings. I’ve done my share of lace knitting, and I’ve settled in nicely to the pattern, so why (I hear you ask) the two months of intense preparation and planning?
It’s the beads. It’s my fascination with and lust for Swarovski crystals. It’s that I needed to place them just so… It’s that I wanted them peppered throughout the kidsilk, without weighing it down. It’s the search through Dublin bead shops for small ones. It’s the ordering of 2mm crystal AB rondelles from the USA. It’s the fighting to get these tiny beauties onto the cobweb-light kidsilk. It’s the dropping, losing and cursing of their miniscule sparkly forms. It’s the persevering and the 60 full minutes to do one 12 row repeat…
It’s the knowing that it’s all going to be worth it in the end.
Five months and counting folks… Wish me luck
It’s Jacqui here and I am just dropping in to report that I’ve just finished my summer cardigan project! I decided to use Debbie’s new Eco Cotton, the shade of orange was yelling at me from the shelves – “Knit me!” I can’t live in purple and green forever, ha!
Helen, aka Hmabells (Ravelry Link), had tweaked my interest in a pattern a couple of weeks ago. She had a printed copy of Mr. Greenjeans in her bag and donated same to me when we were discussing our summer knits and other stuff, as we do! Thanks Helen. Of course its top down and that was an easy sell too!
So I cast on and straight away loved this yarn. Ok it behaves as cotton does but its soft, and I like. Time between cast on and off equalled ten days, yes indeed I do like this yarn! It is slightly splitty, but you watch out for that and its fine.
The pattern is easy to follow, always a plus in my book.The one thing I would say and if I’d taken the time to read other ravelers comments, I would have realised sooner, is that the arms are a bit baggy at the top. I did have a niggly feeling when the gusset required casting on 8 stitches, but I ignored myself and carried on regardless!
I’m not unhappy with the result, I love my cardi and will probably wear it to death… can one kill cotton, hmmmm………
Here it is, the moment of truth. I am about to cast on for my first “real” jumper, Rusted Root (Ravelry link). This is a big deal because I’m an intermediate knitter, and most of you who know me know that I do small fast things, mainly things for around the home, or bags.
But now, I’ve decided. I’ve bought the pattern, and I have the wool: Cotanani by Mirasol, in a lovely salmon orangey-pink. Lisa gave me some a while ago, and I had no idea what to do with it. Then I was cruising Ravelry, as you do, and looked at projects that people were doing with Cotanani. I saw Rusted Root, and I think the clouds parted and the angels were singing. A shaft of sunlight came down and illuminated my laptop screen. This was it.
I’ve now finished my son’s handwarmers (yes, I know it’s April, and that he probably won’t need them.) I do have other things on the needles right now, but I want to cast on already!!
So I’m going to.
Spotted on the railings of Trinity College this morning…
On a Monday when the shop is closed and she has a bit of time on her hands…
Dunk her hand knit socks in the sink for a good soak and…
Get FIVE PAGES worth of new products up on the website! Phew! Seriously today has been a marathon of photo editing, stock checking, typing and clicking but it’s all for a good cause. We had gotten somewhat behind on the website side of things in the past few months so I feel brilliant now that we’re mostly caught up. Of course there will be plenty more soon with Mirasol happening so watch this space 
Oh, and here’s a handy tip if you ever want to search “What’s New” on the website. There is always a little preview panel on the left hand side of the screen when you are browsing away in the shop but did you know you can click on the (admittedly tiny) arrow next to it to see all the new products? Here’s a little picture of the arrow I mean…
I hope that adds to your viewing pleasure!
I’ll be calling it at night now (11.10pm, whoops – how did that happen?). Just time for a few rows on my Rialto Aran Boatneck Bluebell then
During the “things knitters can do for others at Christmas” get-together we took the opportunity to canvass the gathered knitters and figure out what the others can do for us knitters… The assembled yarnaholics helped us to create a universal wishlist for Christmas Gifts … soooo … if you have found your way here through a hint, nudge or wink then take note of our “top ten gifts for knitters”:
1. The yarn for a Clapotis – Lion and Lamb, Shepherd Worsted, Silk Garden or the new Araucania Aysen (available in the shop!)
2. Needle Wraps – either with needles or without. Check out our new Clover “Getaway” Needle wraps: €13.50 without needles and €40.00 with 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and 6mm needles.
3. Addi Turbo Circular Needles to make a full set / start a set / complete a full set!
4. Peace Fleece Needles to make a full set / start a set / complete a full set!
5. One of our excellent “coffee-table” style knitting books – Modern Classics, Greetings from Knit Cafe or Knit Two Together.
6. Fitted Knits – the new bible for modern knitters!
7. Gift Vouchers – give the gift of yarn shopping!
8. Kidsilk Haze for soft and luxurious scarves, stoles or wraps…
9. One of *new* Sock Knitting Kits
10. Or a Brioche Scarf Kit, the very handy stocking filler which uses just one hank of Aysen yarn.
So there you are… the knitters in your life are now sorted… it’s all part of the service!
I’m not hung up on symmetry. I can handle mismatched stripes in my Noro cardigan. I deliberately shy away from trying to tame hand dyed yarns to get matching socks. Perhaps I have a very slightly rebellious side
I wouldn’t be particularly superstitious either but, with this being the inaugural TIK blog post, I felt a bit of symmetry might be a nice touch. So here it goes.
These are Helen McC’s very gorgeous socks, made from Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in the “Lakeview” colourway. Please forgive the terrible picture – it really does not do these beauties justice – but we were testing out Jacqui’s new mobile camera (ok – we forgot the real one).
The symmetry lies in the fact that Helen was the first TIK customer and we couldn’t have wished for a better one. On the first day in our small stall at the Blackrock Market she was power walking past when she stopped short and pulled up abruptly. Her mouth nearly dropped to the floor as she exclaimed “Wool!” at the top of her voice and immediately whipped out her mobile to call her best friend (also a Helen, now affectionately called “Helen 2″) to break the good news!
And the superstition? We actually consider her something of a good luck charm and since that day we have expanded our range, opened the online shop, moved into our self-contained shop unit within the market, attended the Knitting and Stitching Show, began running classes (Helen’s socks were started during out “Introduction to Sock Knitting” class) and, best of all, we have met many wonderful, witty and friendly knitters and generally had an absolute ball.
So thanks to Helen (1&2!) and to everyone that has supported us so far. Through this blog we hope to better be able to keep you all up to date with TIK news and updates. We are also considering moving the customer knits gallery over as I should be able to update it more often that way. Keep sending us in your photos – we love to see what you are working on
Happy Knitting Everyone!