WWKIP

Morning everyone. It's just after 7am here and I'm up. On a Sunday morning. Not happy. Insomnia sucks.

But, I do have an FO!
My February Lady Sweater. In all it's still-slightly-damp-but-I'm-wearing-it-to-WWKIP-anyway-glory

I love the buttons. These were some of the ones I bought at Ravelry Day last week.

The back:

A close up of the gull stitch pattern. So easy to remember which makes for a very easy knit.

Yesterday was WWKIP day and I had a great time.
Here are some pics:
In the morning we knit on the balcony of the Powerscourt Shopping Centre, location of that fine yarn establishment, This is Knit:





It was lovely sitting there and knitting, although it got a bit hot later on when the sun was shining through the glass roof. I cooked for a little while in it.
This Is Knit had a prize draw for people who spent over €20 in the shop, so of course I had to go in "just for a look". I bought a gorgeous book, Victorian Lace Today, which hopefully will get me knitting lace properly. I also got a skein of this:

Wendy Happy in Aries. They released a different colour for every star sign except mine (Cancer). Boo. So I bought Alice's colour instead to make her a nice pair of socks.

So I was entered into the prize draw. Later in the day the girls from the shop came in to us at the balcony for the draw. They passed round the cup with the names in it and each person picked out a winner. I picked out my own name much to my shock. I couldn't believe it!


My prize? A copy of the Yarn Harlots book, Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off. I'm looking forward to reading it!

Afterwards we headed off to our second location, St. Stephens Green right in the middle of the city. I love this green and often come here at lunch time for a breath of air and some peace away from my crappy job.

We set up picnic blankets and foldaway chairs and got straight down to the knitting.



The weather was perfect. Nice sun, light cool breeze. Perfect.

And we had a brass band to entertain us! They were terrific, and made the day even better.


I had such fun meeting up with people I had only known on Ravelry and we chatted away for ages.

Bioniclaura was spinning with a drop spindle. She's seriously good at this, btw. She showed me how to do it and let me have a go. It was great fun, but I don't think I'll be giving up my day job anytime soon, my spun yarn was very lumpy!

I also learned how to make stitch markers! Teaandcakes very kindly brought along all the bits required and showed me how. I made three and I am hooked. I can't wait to get the gear and get going!

A busy knitty day yesterday but a very enjoyable one. I knit my second Sunshine sock all day. I'm at the heel now, so I hope to have it finished soon.

And I just realised that next Sunday is Fathers Day. So, there goes my plan of making my Dad a pair of socks. Aww.

It's blocking!

I can't believe it, it's finally blocking:

I really hope it fits once blocked. I got gauge, measured really seriously, but once finished it was a tad small. I put that down to the lace pattern. So, I've stretched it a bit for blocking hoping desperately that it will fit for WWKIP day on Sat. If it doesn't, this will be the 3rd thing I've made for myself that doesn't fit my immense frame. So, fingers crossed!

Other than that, I've finished the 1st Sunshine sock:

Crappy pic I know, but the light sucked when I took it.

I've loads more stuff going on; but no time to blog it tonight. Will update you all later!

Blissful Bank Holiday

Wow. I can't believe I'm in Ireland. The weather this bank holiday weekend has been absolutely stunning. Scorching hot all day, not a cloud in the sky. I've been up since the crack of dawn every day. It's too hot to sleep in the bed and I don't want to miss any of this gorgeous weather.

I sent hubby out on Saturday to "buy me a gazebo" for the garden so we could sit out more comfortably. (I keep thinking of Monty Pythons Holy Grail here - "Build me a shrubbery!")

Anyway, this is what he came back with:

Not a great photo I know, but it's early in the morning and I didn't want to wake anyone up opening the back door. It's a great gazebo, lovely and cool inside and the nets keep out the flies. I have sat out here all weekend.

Maybe this is what has spurred me on to complete some knitty stuff. I proudly present, finished Jaywalkers!

Pattern: Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina

Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta

Needles: 2.5mm dpns.

Can you believe I've finished them? I cast these on last Dec 30th! Longest WIP ever for me. But, I had enough yarn to finish them. I was so sure I was going to run out. Look how close it was:

I tell you I'll never knit with this yarn again. Horrible horrible. It was so sticky! It stuck to itself in big knots, stuck to the needles, stuck to the cast on tail all the time. It was such a pain to use. I'm not mad about the pattern either, I had to make the first sock twice as it came out so big, and the finished ones are quite tight round my cankles. Still, they're done!

Work on the February Lady Sweater continues merrily. I'm almost finished the first sleeve. It's hard going now as the garment is quite big and really warm on my lap in this weather. It's going to be gorgeous though. I just know it.

Anyway, today I am casting on for my first pair of socks from Sock Innovation. So excited! I've joined the Sock Innovation group on Ravelry and the pattern for this month is Sunshine. Very appropriate too!

Pic is taken from the Interweave Website. Hope that's ok!

So, I've decided to use this yarn for it:

It's Pagewood Farm Chugiak in Rainbow Sherbet. Really sunny colours, don't you think?

So that's your lot. I'm off to sit out in the sun!

I've been tagged

So I've been tagged by Jagienka. I'll post that in a mo.

I've finished the February Lady Sweater body, I'm on the first sleeve now. Loving it immensely. Can't wait till it's finished!

I'm looking forward to starting a sock from Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation. I'll have a browse on Ravelry to see what ones others have knit before I pick my fave.
I'm also itching to do another bit of sewing. I'd love to make my Mam a new apron.

Speaking of my Mam, things have deteriorated quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. My poor Dad got all upset last Saturday and told me he can't cope anymore. I felt so bad. I try my best to help, but I'm sure I could be doing more. Maybe if I work a 4 day week or something? I've rung the health board to see about getting a home help. The public health nurse is coming next Thursday to assess them, but she has already told me there's no money for one. Great. So I rang my "brother" to ask if he would be willing to help out with the cost and he flat out said no. The prick. I can't believe he refused. I was in floods of tears to be honest, he's never around, I do everything for them and he won't even give me a few quid to help. That's the end of our relationship to be honest. He was never that great before, but how can anyone refuse to help look after their parents? It's beyond me.

Anyway, onto the tag. here we go!

4 placed I lived in:
1. Blanchardstown, Dublin
2. Celbridge, Co Kildare.
There's no 3 and 4, I've never lived anywhere else.

4 places I like to come back to:
1. Florida
2. Connemara
3. Wexford
4. Waterford

4 favourite dishes:
1. Anything Indian. Anything, but especially Onion Bhajis.
2. Homemade Chicken Curry
3. My Dad's Irish stew.
4. Spaghetti Bolognese

4 dishes I can not stand:
1. Roast beef
2. Roast lamb
3. Goose or duck
4. Fresh tomatoes

4 hobbies:
1. Knitting
2. Blogging
3. Sewing
4. Reading

4 places I would go if I had a chance:
1. Florida
2. San Francisco
3. New York
4. Australia

4 TV series, programs I like:
1. The West Wing. Best tv series ever.
2. Bones
3. Holby City
4. Deadliest Catch

4 places of work:
1. Superquinn (Irish supermarket)
2. Pharmacy
3. Civil Service
4. There's no 4, that's all the jobs I've had!

4 things I'd like to do:
1. Lose weight
2. Stop smoking
3. Go on a cruise
4. Be locked in a room for 15 minutes with Rob Lowe!

4 favourite movies:
1. The Color Purple
2. Airplane
3. O Brother Where Art Thou
4. A Fish Called Wanda

4 favourite acts:
1. A-ha
2. Depeche Mode
3. Paul Simon
4. George Michael

4 things I do first when logging on online:
1. Check mail
2. Ravelry
3. Twitter
4. Bloglines

4 people I invite to play
1. Tara
2. Alrischa
3. Worsted Knitt
4. She Knit Up That Ball

Back on the knitting track

Apologies guys for the last post. I try to keep this blog as knitting related as I can, but sometimes I just need to vent. Thanks to all who commented, it's nice to know I'm not alone in my quandary!

I do have other stuff going on with my Mam - it's reached a crisis point recently, but I'll save that for another day. No point going overboard with the pity party for one!

Anyway. What you come here for: knitting.

Progress continues on my February Lady Sweater.

I knew I hadn't a hope of finishing this for yesterday, although I reckon it won't be too long before I'm at the bottom. I do like my cardigans to cover my butt, but I'm not sure if this would be a bit too big? Maybe stop at the hips? I think that may be better as it swings open pretty much from the bust. Any longer and I may take off if it's a breezy day!

I'm really enjoying this knit. A dead easy pattern repeat means welcome mindless distraction. Plus the added bonus of a meaty project. Although I have to start a pair of socks soon before I pass out from the longing.

I decided to treat myself and donate to Ravelry at the same time. I had some Paypal funds, so I splashed out and bought this:

Isn't it great? I only ordered it last Thursday and it has winged it's way to me by today! That's good service I think. I plan on wearing it to UK Ravelry Day in two weeks time. I probably could have got a size smaller, but I like roomy t-shirts. Especially when I'll be travelling on planes, trains and buses!

A close up of the front:

And the back:

I love it!
I'll also be able to wear it to WWKIP day on June 13th. I've organised the Dublin meetup for St. Stephens Green south near the bandstand for 2pm. There will be a band playing too so it will be nice to sit, knit/spin/crochet, chat and listen to the music!

There are also plans to have a morning event at This is Knit in the Powerscourt centre, more deets if it goes ahead.

I've created a PDF flier for it but don't know how to upload it anywhere, so I'll post it on the Dublin Knit Collevtive group on Ravelry.

Rainy Sunday

Yep, it's raining. Again. I know Ireland is lovely and green, but for God's sake it's halfway through May and my flesh hasn't seen a bit of sun! Summer my arse.

I've been plugging away at the February Lady Sweater and finally have enough done to show:

Not bad, huh? It's slow going because of the vast stitch count required to cover my over ample bosom, but I like it. I've always loved the baby sweater so was thrilled when I discovered this pattern. The yarn is a nice colour too; nice and summery (hint hint weather!). I've no chance of getting this done in time for the anniversary party I wanted to wear it to, but you never know. I may get a shot of knitting speed back and get it done. Maybe.

Nothing much else to report. I've done no sewing since, but I did buy Sewing for Dummies, since I need all the help I can get :) I hope to attempt something new soon. Once of the girls at my knitting group has a pattern for a handbag I thought might be fun.

And that's your lot!

To the commenter Rainbow, who asked where I got the peg bag pattern from:

I have no email address for you to reply individually so here goes.

It's in a special edition of Womans Weekly magazine, Craft Special 2009 which was published in February. You can actually still buy copies of it here

Sock mojo returneth!

My sock mojo has been missing for the last while. I think it's because of the sock we shall not mention that sits in my knitting basket waiting for me to confirm I don't have enough yarn left to finish it.

I keep hoping the sock fairy will whisk it away some night.

So, I have decided to bring my sock mojo back with a present:

Sock Innovation(Ravlink) by Cookie A. I heart Cookie A socks.

I'm so excited to get going with this book, that I'm rushing this post so I can read it!

I cast on for a February Lady Sweater the other day. Pics next post. I hope to have it done in about 2 weeks... Here's hoping the sock book doesn't lure me in with it's beautiful pictures and patterns in the meantime!