Sale Fever

I knew I wouldn't be able to resist. Who was I kidding, thinking I'd have the self-restraint to avoid a yarn sale?

I ventured over to Springwools yesterday, and came home €50 lighter. Here's what I bought:

Rowan Pure Wool DK, 6 skeins at just €1.95 each! Total bargain:



2 skeins of Studio Donegal Donegal Aran Tweed. I love this yarn, and the turquoise colour is fab. This wasn't on sale, but was still just €2.95 a skein:



This was on sale, though. Lang Jawoll Superwash sock yarn, just €2.95 a skein. I bought 2 greeen:



And 2 grey. Dad socks I think:



Alice got in on the act, too. She's becoming quite the yarn store browser! She painstakingly went through all the patterns for hats and decided on these.
First is a really cute bear/raccoon combo, for which I got her the yarn to make the raccoon hat:


I do think the pattern pictures are funny, showing a grown up wearing them, but still, she's really excited to try the raccoon. I have a bit of a sneaky feeling that I may well end up finishing it, but maybe I'm doing her an injustice. Her scarf was brilliant...

I also got her this pattern:


Great value, 2 hats, a scarf and wristwarmers, plus maximum usage of pom poms. She'll get plenty of use out of this I think.

So that was my sale purchases! Not too bad I think, and some great value. It was fun rooting through the store yesterday.

I have an FO too! I finished the Iceling Cardigan yesterday:


Pattern: Iceling by Carol Feller
Yarn: Sublime Baby Cashmere Silk DK, 2.5 skeins
Needles: 4mm Knit Picks Options & 4mm Knit Picks Harmony dpns

Like I said before, this is full of mods. I used DK weight instead of the recommended Aran, so I knit the 12 month stitch count and used the 6 month length measurements. I think it turned out nice, don't you? I'm not 100% sure what size baby it will fit, I'm hopeless at that sort of thing, but I think it would be maybe be newborn - 3 months?

I got some buttons yesterday for it too:



Not exactly what I wanted, but they were the best I could find. I really enjoyed this project, but I will admit that the garter stitch collar felt like it would never end! I think it's because it's the last part worked, and you think you're almost finished when you do it. Each row felt like forever, when it probably wasn't. It's lovely and snuggly though. The yarn is really lovely.

So that's yer lot! It's another bank holiday weekend here, and then back to work on Tuesday. Boo. It all went by so quickly.

Good knitting!

Lazy Days

I'm halfway through the second week of my holidays and feeling thoroughly chilled out. In fact, I'm blogging this in the garden on my iPad, so apologies if the photos come out a bit wonky!

I started on the Asphodel Lace runner for the piano, and am making good progress:




I'm actually enjoying this project. The yarn is so delicious, it would be hard not to! There's only a 6 row repeat, too, so it's easy enough to pick up and put down. We'll see how I feel about it after 50 something inches though! As with all lace, it doesn't look like much now, but once blocked I hope it will be much better.

I knew I couldn't bring this to knit night last night, so I decided to start a simpler project on Monday night to bring along.
I settled on an Iceling cardigan for one of the many pregnant people I know.


It's still in the early stages, but it's flying along. This is full of mods. The yarn called for in the pattern is Fyberspates Aran, which I don't have. In fact, I have very little Aran weight yarn in my stash at all. I had chosen the yarn I wanted to use before I settled on the pattern, actually. I'm using Sublime Baby Cashmere Silk DK, an absolutely scrumptious yarn. It's so soft, it's ridiculous. I used this before for Alice's communion cardigan and adored it. (This is actually the leftovers from that project.) So, I'm using DK weight yarn for an Aran project. I decided to knit the 12 month size stitch count, and use the 6 month size length guide. That should account for the gauge difference, I hope! We'll see how I get on.

A new knitter has sprung chez Knit, Inc! Alice finished her first ever project, a scarf:




Look at her, all clad in knitty wondrousness. Shes wearing the Good Stripe Dress I knit her forever ago which still fits great, a cardigan her Nana made and her new scarf. I'm very proud of her. It's a garter stitch scarf knit on huge broomstick like needles with super chunky yarn. According to her, using the big needles & chunky yarn made "all the difference". Whatever it took, I'm delighted she's taken to the craft. She knit this in no time, in fact I caught her knitting it in bed one night! That's my girl. :)

Not a lot else going on, I'm enjoying the sunshine that has decided to return today after an Easter weekend of greyness, and taking the opportunity to get lots of washing out on the line. Nothing like line dried clothes to make you feel fresh.

Oh, I found out last night that a sort of lys (about 30 mins drive) started a sale yesterday. I'm trying to remain strong. Trying.

Good knitting!

Easter Tidings

Happy Easter everyone! I hope the Easter Bunny paid you all a visit. I got a really lovely Easter present:



Easter Sheep! I think my sheep obsession might be going a bit far. But I didn't buy it, so I guess it doesn't count. Isn't it cute?

I have an FO to show you too:



Pattern: Nutkin Socks by Beth LaPensee
Yarn: Knits Picks Essential Tweed, 1.25 skeins
Needles: 2.5mm Knit Picks Harmony dpns

Sorry about the crappy picture. I really didn't enjoy this pattern. The socks are terribly twisted, the heels look *pants* and they don't fit me. I still can't believe they fit Alice, and her shoe size is 4 sizes smaller than me. Even though I made them the length to fit my foot. Never will I make these again. Plus I don't like the yarn at all. I think the multi coloured nubs are like clown vomit. Still, she likes them and I suppose it takes the pressure off me to make her another pair for a while.

With those out of the way, it's time for a new project! Remember we bought a piano recently? Well I was looking at the top of it and I reckon it'll rapidly become a dumping ground for crap. Not to mention glasses and cups if we ever have a party. So I decided it needs a runner to protect it.



Enter the book Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders and the Asphodel Lace Coasters and Centerpiece pattern. I'm going to make just the centerpiece, and I'm going to alter it and make it narrower and longer to go across the top of the piano. I have 2 skeins of the deliciousness that is Louet Gems Fingering Weight in Cream that I think will be perfect against the dark wood of the piano.
I'll give it a go anyway, and see how it turns out.

Alice & I were also busy making cards this week. Here are 3 Easter cards we made. We made some birthday and new baby cards too, but I couldn't find them to photo them, so these will have to do!



We also got busy in the garden. We planted pumpkins, sunflowers, courgettes (zucchini), broccoli, coriander, 4 types of chilli peppers and mesembryanthemums (at least I think that's how you spell it!). I really hope some of them grow. The weather really was amazing this week, I think it hit 22C some of the days. Mad for April!

One more week of holidays left. Joy!

Good knitting!

And breathe, and relax

It's my second day off on my holidays and the chilling is well and truly under way. It's been a sensationally good day today. The weather is fantastic and I've been busy!

I finished this at the weekend:



Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel (Ravlink)
Yarn: Random pink acrylic
Needles: 4mm Knit Picks Options

A great easy and relatively quick knit for a co-worker whose partner had a little girl. Shame I didn't get it finished before I went on my holidays, but it'll do once I go back.

Just over a week ago I scored a grab bag on the Wollmeise site and it arrived today! Woop!



I got two gorgeous shades of blue. I don't know what the original colours are, I can't peel off the sticker that's placed over them saying We're Different. I guess they must be mis-matched dye lots? I dunno. All I know is I gots me some more Wollmeise! They haven't quite decided what they want to grow up to be yet, but I'm thinking the darker one on the left could be quite nice as a Kieran Foley shawl. Maybe High Seas or Seascape? It kind of reminds me of dark angry seas.

I got another delivery yesterday too:



A new piano for Alice! It's a Thomann digital piano, but it's just like a real one in every way (except the price). I love it. It's perfect. My Dad the piano expert came round today and gave it his seal of approval so it's all good.

I've been working on the second Nutkin sock, I'm about to start the heel. Hopefully I can get it out of the way and leave myself enough time to maybe try some lace knitting while I'm off. I find it hard to do lace when I'm working, I can't really concentrate in the evenings.

I did some baking today. I made Millionaire's Shortbread. OMG. Home made caramel is DA BOMB! I reckon I ate more than I spread on the shortbread. I hardly needed to wash the pot out afterwards. :)

Good knitting!

Fickleness

Fickleness. If that's a real word, it's what I've got. I cast on for and finished a Nutkin sock, only to find the damn thing doesn't fit me. I have no idea why, I cast on 64 and made it to fit my foot like I always do, but it won't go over my heel. It does, however, fit Alice perfectly:



The best excuse I can come up with is that I've been so stressed out recently that I knit much more tightly than usual. I was understandably annoyed, and so I put the second sock on hold and cast on for some baby goodness:



I've made one of these before, and really like the pattern. It's the Baby Yoke Cardigan (seamless, of course). Everyone I know seems to be pregnant at the moment. There must be something hinky in the water round here. A colleague in work's partner had a little girl on Monday, so I figured I should make something. I had hoped to have it finished by yesterday, but it was not to be. I'm off on holidays now till May 3, so it'll have to wait until I go back to work to give it to him.

Today was Alices last day in school and they had an Easter Bonnet parade around St. Stephens Green, a beautiful city centre park beside her school. She was finished at 11.30, so there was no point in me driving her in, going home and then coming back. I ended up wandering round town for ages, as none of the stores opened till 9.30! I was like a hobo :)

I found myself in Hickeys (a fabric store) and walked out with this:



I love this pattern. I spied it on the Simplicity website a while ago, and didn't think I could get it here. Not only did I get it, but it was half price! €6 and change. A bargain. I also got some fabric too. I couldn't get exactly what I wanted, but I think this could be nice:



It's nice soft cotton. All I need to do now is learn how to sew! Oops. Maybe I've jumped ahead of myself a bit... Anyone know how to sew?? :D

Good knitting!