And life moves on…..

As the wider family bade farewell to our lovely mother/granny/aunt/greatgrandmother/sister/thoroughly lovely human being, my smaller family celebrated the Teen turning 14.

With the genetic heritage that has been shared with her, she has many decades in which to make her mark.

Maybe she’ll take up the piano like gran dreamed…..

Sunday brought cupcakes from the lovely Hazel

Vanilla, breakfast and Red Velvet cupcakes

Along with Flake cake, dancing, keepsie upsie with a balloon and much attention given to our pets.

I’m wishing that I had given a tad more attention to my latest work-in-progress.

You may recall that I had an urge to cast on a baby knit or two……

Well, I did. It went swimmingly and giving the desired dose of satisfying payback……..when I noticed that the second page of the pattern was missing. Noticed only after completing the entirety of the back and a sizeable portion of the left front side.

*sigh*

Oh well, back to the knitterly drawing board.

Sirdar Pattern 3956

 

Supporting my local LYS

I just had to….

 

Sirdar Escape Wool Rich Chunky Shade 0197 Lot 111 275 - 50g/65m

Beautiful reds and pinks

Buy local is the way to go……

Sirdar Escape Wool Rich Chunky Shade 0198 Lot 41962 - 50g/65m

Some of these comforting creams are destined to become socks

Especially at €2 – €2.25 per ball!

All of these were puchased in The Singer Sewing Centre, Foxes Bow, Limerick.

I love the place. Despite the fact that it stock such a narrow variety of yarns, it keeps getting my custom for several reasons.

• Delightful & knowledgable staff
• No pressure to buy
• No scoffing at how long I linger versus how much (or how little) I buy
• They do wonderful sales on lines that I would buy anyway at full price

I honestly did go in with the intention of buying just two balls of chunky……..but then I was faced with all the lovely sale offerings.

So, I figure I did my bit for Limerick city centre today

The colour is warmer than it appears here.

Sirdar Click Chunky with Wool Shade 0129 Lot 8842 - 50g/75m

 

Project the 8th(?)

This is part of a twinset pattern from Sirdar designed to be knit [knat] with Wasn’n'Wear Crepe Double Knitting from the Sirdar range.

Almost needless to say, this incarnation of the raglan sleeved top has been knit in something completely different.

The design has also undergone some, minimal, alteration.

I’m pleased with it & have just finished seaming & sewing in ends.

Sirdar Raglan Top from Pattern 5052

The main (only) difference to the pattern as written is that I’ve eliminated the 2×2 neck ribbing and substituted garter stitch there.

I’ve similarly done away with the cabling and ribbing at the hem.

Sirdar Wash'n'Wear Crepe Double Knitting Pattern 5052

I am currently clueless as to what yarn I’ve actually used to this the top with.

I’ll know this tidbit of knitterly information once I’ve:

a) Found where my yarn notebook is

b) Unwound one of the balls to see what the label says.

Right this instant I’m doing neither as it’s a Saturday night & I’m off out to meet a friend!

Happy crafting folks!

 

Spring & Cranberry Mixtures

The weather is absolutely beautiful today.

I loved the quality of the light streaming in through the windows.

Walking the dog was a lovely chore this morning.

Spring

I spent most of the day admiring the wonderful day from inside as I decided that since Spring is most definitely in the air, that carrying out the cleaning named for this season would be appropriate.

I know that many would be horrified by the prospect of staying indoors on such a lovely day if they had the opportunity to spend hours out enjoying it. If I had to stay inside I’d probably feel the same. Today, however, I was glad to stay inside and put my free time to use by reclaiming my living space. Exams are time sucks and my poor home was definitely showing the effects of my diverted time and attention. Heck, I was feeling the effects of my exam focused attention.

Pretty Peppers

Now that my living space has been reclaimed and my yarn is cosily stored in its own corner I can set my sights on my next project. I emphasise the ‘my’ in that sentence. Like many knitters, most of my projects are intended for recipients other than me. I’m definitely feeling in need of more ‘me’ focused time right now so…..

V-Neck Sweater by Sirdar

Such an original name for a pattern :insert dripping sarcasm here:

It’s from June 2010′s Knitting magazine, Issue 77.

Knitting June 2010 Issue 77

Not unusually, I’ll not be using the suggested yarn. Although, instead of being a natural offshoot of my innately rebellious nature, this substitution is the result of the suggested yarn not being available locally. This is a rather irksomely common occurance (that’s a vent for another post).

So, this is the substitute.

Life Chunky by Stylecraft Shade 2319 "Cranberry Mixtures" Dye Lot 40416

 

Bed Sock in Blue

Thanks to my classmate’s birthday present to me of a gift voucher for the Singer Sewing Centre on Foxes Bow, Limerick, I was able to treat myself to two balls of Sirdar Escape Chunky in a lovely blue colourway. It’s a semi solid colour with long colour changes.

I used the tried and trusty free Sirdar sock pattern from Knitting’s February 2010 Issue.

Et Voila

In Profle

Sirdar Escape Chunky Colour 102447 Dyelot 0193

This is a lovely yarn to work with and gets my thumbs up. It’s not inclined to be splity and as with all chunky yarns knits up with satisfying progress.

This is where the Merino Mitts are progress wise.

Progress thus far on Merino Mitts

One done and one still on the needles. I got a bit brassed off with them and needed something fresh to work on.

They shall be finished however.