Change is coming…..

You may have noticed the lack of posts in recent weeks. Well, unfortunately life (the takeraway of knitting time) has gotten in the way.

After a conference last night, a plan was hatched. Instead of 2 posts a week we’re going to kick start your week with a round up of the weeks SnB activities, confessions of yarn hoarding (that’s just me) and a showcase of all the pretty things we’ve been working on.

We feel that this new schedule will give us a chance to properly plan our post instead of just spewing words and pictures onto the blog (again, that’s just me) and hopefully you, dear readers, will agree that its a change for the better.

Here’s a few wee sneak peaks of whats coming up…

Busy old year…

and the years not even over yet!  We’re gearing up for our first foray into the world of Culture Night. One of our group members, Jo, volunteers for the SOS Bus in Belfast and we thought it would be a nice idea to have the people of Belfast knit blanket strips for the bus which they, or someone they know, might need.

KNIT BAR

Belfast Stitch n Bitch

13:00 – 22:00

Knit a bit of a blanket for the SOS bus

Come help us help those who help us and add a row (or twelve) to a blanket for the great people of the SOS bus to use in their good works.

Remember an old skill or learn a new one. We have plenty of experienced knitters on hand to show you what to do and help you make the most of your contribution.

We’re number 65 on the map, thats Royal Avenue near Cafe Nero I believe….you won’t be able to miss us!

This is just one in a long list of things that the group has done this year…we’ve really worked our wee socks off trying to bring the group to the masses!

In March we did the Skill Fair which you can read about here, then we moved straight into making hexi’s for the Big Sock. After a moments rest, we started planning the Voluntary Arts Demo Day and the highlight of the year, World Wide Knitting in Public Day. 

I’d say that we deserve our trip to Dublin in October to recover for the craziness of the year –  its not every year you’re in the paper and on the radio, it is!  Maybe I’ll take the year off next year to try and work down some of this stash thats threatening to take over…

A Lesson Learned

Earlier this week I decided to plan ahead. I knew I was going to be taking a trip over the next weekend, and I wanted a project that was light, quick, and easy to transport. I also wanted it to be a one-skein project that required little mind power. So of course I figured it was time to knit that hat I’d promised my husband six months ago.

But where did I put that skein of fabulous charcoal grey Dublin Dye Company merino? I’m sure I put it in this box….

But no. Maybe this one? No. Ok. Downstairs, in that bag, surely….

Again, no. Don’t panic. It has to be around here somewhere. I just saw it, didn’t I? How can it just vanish?

I’ll go through the stash again. Hmm. There’s that skein of silk and alpaca I bought last year. Oh! And those two would be perfecto together! Maybe I should cast on a shawl?

NO! You have to find this skein of grey. That red Rowan won’t do at all. Too bright. And don’t even consider the Sirdar turquoise, or that green. The grey would go so well with his eyes. Back to the drawing board.

Hang on. What’s this box? Let’s ask the husband. Yeah, that one shoved in the corner, way up there. What is that? It’s what?! Let me get the ladder.

It’s MORE STASH!! Oh happy days!! There’s that bag of Rowan tweed, and the Donegal Aran I was saving! I’d forgotten completely about this ball of DK. And what’s this? Oh! It’s my Dublin Dye grey!!

I guess the husband is gonna get his hat. As long as he keeps his filthy mitts always from my stash. What was he thinking, boxing it up like that? Hrmph.

The great WIP-pression

Come on, admit it. You know that feeling. You just finished that one project you were really excited about. It knit up way too quick. And now, you don’t know what to knit.
You have tons of WIPs. But they don’t seem all that exciting at the moment.

Okay, I might have made up the term, but the feeling can’t be new to any knitter. Or crafter in general, really.

In any case, it’s where I am right now.

The exciting project that knit up too quick? Libran, although I call mine Katy Perry. The reasons for that may or may not become obvious when you look at the project page.

The WIPs? Oh, so many.
There’s the MKAL from last fall, 8 clues, and I’m still stuck in the middle of clue 3. Every time I look at it, I just think ‘Meh.’
There’s the shawl I started just a few days before Christmas last year, and worked on furiously at the time because I had nothing else with me, but now I can hardly bear to look at it, because there was a death in my family at the time.
There’s the gloves, gorgeous pattern, but so detailed, my brain hurts just thinking about it.
There’s the second Yggdrasil Afghan – seriously, what was I even thinking when I cast on A SECOND ONE???
The CAL with only one block and the edges to do? I kind of don’t want it to end just yet, but I also kind of do.

So, yeah… Here I am, nothing to knit. Nothing to crochet. Nthing to stop me from biting my nails while watching that one heartbreaking episode of ‘Supernatural’ for the I-stopped-counting-long-ago’th time.

Here I am, smack in the middle of a great WIP-pression.

Building A Boyfriend

This last weekend the Top Floor Art gallery was all abuzz as we hosted our Build A Boyfriend workshop. The day was filled with chatter, laughter, and squeals of glee as we brought our creations to life from our imaginations. Heather created a half dragon, half man from Dungeons and Dragons lore; Anja modeled hers off of actor Richard Speight, Jr. as Gabriel in the show Supernatural. Emma worked on the dashing David Tennant as Dr Who.

We began with cutouts of our boyfriends and stitched them together. We all had a giggle as we stuffed them, sewed them together and began to embroider their features. The fun part comes when deciding on hair style, eye colour, facial expressions, and other details!

The concentration was fierce in the gallery.

The day finished on a high as the boyfriends were completed and we could all stand back and admire our handiwork!

I couldn’t resist making an homage to Stephen McClean, artist and co-owner of Top Floor Art!

Frozen Fever

… has had a tight grip on me, too, for quite some time now. It appears, though, that this especially shows when prompted by others.

But let’s start at the beginning…

About a year ago, as talks and planning of our annual pilgrimage to the Dublin Knitting & Stitching Show slowly began to take shape, the lovely Terri of A Fine Fish Yarns was looking for willing sample knitters. It was, I believe, her first time at the show (she’ll be back this year, one hears…) and she wanted a variety of garments and accessories to display her beautiful colorways.

I jumped at the chance. Duh. I was Hermione Granger when Snape asks those random questions. My hand was so far up in the air it touched the ceiling.

To get rid of me (I am convinced that’s why), Terri gave me a lovely skein in her Frozen-inspired colorway “Anna’s Frozen Heart”, and asked me to knit a pair of finger-less mitts.

Off I went to Ravelry, but, alas, I could not find a pattern that suited. They were all either so plain they would have been absolutely boring, or way too intricate. I was looking for something simple, yet with an interesting touch, that still managed to show off the yarn.

What do we do when we can’t find what we’re looking for? That’s right, we make something up. Thus, “Twisted Heart” was born.

 

Now, this is the first pattern I designed myself. That I wrote down, anyway.

The name was Nikki’s idea.I just agreed.

I have since made a second pair, in order to retrace my steps and weed out mistakes. Tweaked the thumb gusset a bit. Put it into a readable set of instructions. It has been test knit and deemed appropriate for publication, but I have yet to find the heart to do so. I guess I should probably do so before the Dublin Show this year, right?

Right?

Rainbows to work

Well I am a very lucky duck.

Our very own, Belfast based, indie dyer heard my pleas for the perfect rainbow.

Two skeins of this lovely have been given to me, (in exchange for a sum of money of course), and now I have a question.

What do I make with this delicious treat?

Livorem

Nautilus

Talisman

Bohemian

Livorem is a simple triangular shawl done with two colours to make the variegations POP. I would invert the rainbow for the stripes.

Nautilus is a shawl that knit from the centre outwards using yarn overs to create the unique Fibonacci inspired shape.

Talisman is designed to show off colour changes in the yarn with just enough pattern accents to keep the knitter interested but does not detract from the beauty of the yarn.

Bohemian is a simple fun knit that plays with texture and shows its influence within its name.

Help me out will you?