Tunisian Crochet

Hey guys. Get yourselves over to The Yarn Room for a crochet class with the wonderful Irene! I'm so happy. On Saturday morning I had a yarnie afternoon (great) with yarnie people (also great) and Tunisian Crochet (really really great).

I don’t actually crochet at all (I've a feeling this is about to change), but I was able to pick up this fantastic technique in a few hours. Tunisian Crochet makes a firm textured fabric with endless potential for amazing colourwork.



This was my 1st class at The Yarn Room and it was a great experience, a lovely bright airy room, excellent tea and teaching. Oh yes and it was good fun too. What more could you ask?

As they would say in traditional Oirish folklore: Crochet agus craic*.

*translation: Crochet and fun


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Diaphanous Beauty

The dictionary defines the term 'diaphanous' as meaning 'delicately hazy'. I think that kinda sums it up really.



This is Wisp, and it has greatly progressed from the first post about it waaayyy back in May. It didn't help of course that it was mislaid for a few months, but even so, where has the time gone? (Seriously. Where?)



I know it looks tremendously long, but it's amazing what you can achieve by standing up close. It's almost 10 repeats done, with 5 to go, and it's 3.5 ft long. It'll be just perfect at 5 ft or so, and blocking will probably add more length.

I love wide long scarves, but let's face it, they're a big commitment, so it's a bonus that this has knitted up surprisingly quickly. It's not without it's mistakes of course, (a couple of mis-wrapped yarnovers and a clumpy bit of yarn that I should have cut out at the time, and as for the 1st lace panel, shsssh! Let's not go there!), but since I've decided to keep this for myself, I'm not too bothered by them.



There's something about the stacked yarnovers and the intervals of garter stitch strips that really makes this design sing. Even when it's all bunched up, it has a lovely honeycomb appearance.



I can't wait to block it.



And oh yes, the sun does shine in Ireland.

Occasionally.

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Knit email provider

Tee hee...

You know you've been thinking about knitting a lot when you enter your email address as ......@eircom.knit.

(Phwwwt! Snort!)

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Kid Socks

Image from Spud & Chloe

Hmmmm. As some of you know, I don't do socks. Really I don't. But they've always intrigued me. Kinda like other things that I don't do, like scuba diving and time travel.

This is an upcoming pattern from Spud & Chloe. It might just be enough to light the sock fire in me. And I just need another pattern obsession now, don't I?

It's small, simple and I'd like an excuse to try this yarn. Now...what are my chances of getting Little Monkey to wear handknit socks?

Hmmmmm....I'll get back to you.


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Never Not Knitting

Well, your desperate thirst to know more is quenched here. (You were a little bit curious, go'wan admit it.)

Over the weekend I was a guest on the Never Not Knitting podcast, my very first online broadcast. I told the story of the Joseph Knitting. It's been quite a thrill.







I'm ready for my closeup now.

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Teaser

So what's this for?

Stick around, you'll find out on Saturday.

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The Prodigal Wisp

Yay. The Missing Wisp has finally turned up. I'm so relieved.

It had been going along so well and then I had an unlikely fit of tidying up and it vanished out of all human sight. I really thought it was gone for good, but there it was, in a bag of building blocks and old jigsaws.

It's good timing, because we are about to embark on a nationwide tour of cousins involving at least 2 stopovers over 4 or 5 days.

Wisp is just the kind of knitting that you need for that sort of trip. Straightforward and familiar, so you can knit while chatting to people without recourse to the pattern.

See you!

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Artesano Nicole

As promised, some info on the pattern featured in the previous post.



It's Artesano Nicole, by Azize Stirling in Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend. It doesn't appear to be on Ravelry, but you'll find the pattern reference on this page.

I think it's also available at The Yarn Room, or they could get hold of it I guess, so if anyone wants it, (ahem, paging FibrePirateKniter!) just let me know and I'll gladly get you a copy.

No offence to Artesano, but I think L's Nicole is far superiour to the pattern photo. Maybe she should get a modelling contract!

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On another note, things will be a bit quiet around the blog for the next few weeks. Recently, I was shushing Little Monkey (for the 100th time) so I could do something on the computer and she sighed deeply and flounced* out of the room saying...

'Sometimes I think that computer is more important than ME!'

Yikes! So...until school is back, for the next few weeks the computer will be put away for daylight hours at least. Sigh! I'm sure I'll manage to sneak a peek!




* and boy is she the Mistress of the Flounce

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