settling in...

Hi Folks...

I am settling quite nicely over at Wordpress.com

My new blog home is: http://chicwithstix.wordpress.com/

a new home

This afternoon (after much nailbiting and squirming during the importing process), the chic with stix blog made the move over to wordpress.com...

you can now find me at
http://chicwithstix.wordpress.com/

SnB the LK way...

As busy as my days were, I made it out to Kensington Market in Toronto for one of Lettuce Knit weekly SnB...

As hot and humid as it was on August 21st, these witty knitters were sprawled out on the steps of Lettuce Knit



The LK witty knitters are alive and well…Megan has added a dyeing studio to her ever popular and growing knitting business.


Of course, visiting LK means…yarn, yarn and more yarn!!!

tired and jet lagged

I am back from the other side of the pond...tired and recovering from jet lagged. As I get older, I am finding it more difficult to adjust to these transatlantic flights. I am taking this weekend to catch up on knitty blogging...

However, I did manage to get some knitting done....

Comfort foods of home...

Poutine the French Canadian version of chips and gravy, however, these chips are smothered in gravy and fresh cheese curds….yummy!

Devoured in no time with a large Root Beer.


Why not add more calories, and head over to Tim Horton's for a "medium double double" and a maple dip doughnut...

****note: I ate these "treats" on different days!

auto reply: I’m on vacation…

I was able to get my bamboo dpns through the security checks and x-ray detection at the airport.

The flight was quite turbulent. Drinks were swishing around, almost spilling and I had to stop knitting for fear I was going to poke myself in the eye. My actions proved to the Spouse that I am not an obsessive knitter since I was not willing to risk an injury to myself and those around me.

**note: I forgot my USB cable to upload my photos. to be uploaded at a later date**

***P.S. I also extended the "early bird" registration for the Dublin Knit Collective: Autumn Show 'n Tell Event by a couple of days due to my limited internet access while I am away.

stashbusters...

Committing oneself to a yarn diet is enough to put an obsessed witty knitter into withdrawal. I keep saying to myself, "I have will power", over and over again, as I stand next to the new shipment of Noro at TIK.

I call upon my good and practical self, and spend an hour or two searching through my yarn stash. Ahh haaa....I come across an unidentifiable yarn...I picked it up at a garage sale several years ago, no ball band, looks and feels like fancy acrylic.

I picked up a set of 5mm Addi's, and started knitting a hat...
hmmmm not bad...knits up as a chunky, dense, and fuzzy hat. I actually like the colours, it reminds me of a watercolour pallette.

Oh yeah...I'm a stashbuster!

sew...what?

After months of neglect, I am finally lining my knitted shoulder bag. I scrimmaged through my fabric stash and found some gray broadcloth, however, it looked too plain. So I took a fine black permanent marker and scribbled on it…and since I do not have the luxury of a sewing machine, I handstitched the seams…not very straight, eh?

Then oversewn the lining into the bag…too puckered!
I know of a woman who sews in the lining of her daughter’s felted bags…hey, Ger and Mary, do you think your mom will adopt me?

Dublin Knit Collective: Show 'n Tell

Whether you are a novice or an expert knitter…join the Dublin Knit Collective’s First Autumn Show n Tell, it is a spin-off of a knit-a-long...click here

Is that an autumn breeze in the air?

Thursdays is late night shopping in the City Centre... so I spent a couple hours in town walking along Grafton Street. The summer sale items of July have all been picked over, the Back to School and Fall fashions are front and centre in all the shop windows.

while I was walking home, I noticed the chill in the air this evening...it feels like a September evening.

It won't be too long before I start wearing my latest FO...my mohair/boucle shawl

and the winner of the sock is....

Using the old fashioned method of writing names on slips of paper and placing them in a paper bag, shaking it around, picked one...the winner is:
Kristen! Congratulations!

Kristen, please send your mailing address to me at chicwithstix@gmail.com.

WIP update: the beaded cami

Completion of the beaded cami was a very slow WIP due to the poor showing of sunshine and summer heat on this side of the pond. This weekend is the last Bank Holiday weekend of the summer...and guess what? It is raining again....so this is my weekend to complete the beaded cami...

It is very close to completion....it's been blocked

The cami's designer, Nora is a very creative and talented fibre enthusiast. When I started this WIP, I had some initial problems with understanding the pattern, so I emailed her and she helped me tremendously. She was so kind to send me some beads to embellish my cami...

I'm having slight difficulties handling and fiddling around with the beads...maybe it's the arthritis starting to set in my joints or just the excitement of finishing this WIP...

It is almost done...

one year later...

Oh what a year...

It's a wonder that I have any free time at all...Blogging, knitting, spinning, felting, dyeing, Stitch n Bitching...anything related to the fibre crafts...

Today, I am celebrating one year of blogging...in honour of this special occasion, I am giving away a Mobile Phone Sock to one lucky winner...all you have to do is leave me a comment on today's post. I will randomly pick one winner on the Bank Holiday Monday (that will be on August 6th...)

Also watch this space for more knitting news...

a new kid on the blog...

The world of the knitting blogsphere is an infinite and vast place to explore...and make it so, a blog about knitting in Dublin…Dublin Knit Collective

Liverpool: finding a LYS is not easy...

The visit to Liverpool: 1.5 out of 4 days of sunshine, not bad considering of the floods in the south of England.

Local yarn shop: 1

Other store to buy yarn: 1

SnB: 3

People knitting in public: 1 (that is me, myself & I)

Finding the local yarn shop was the knitting highlight of my trip. I found Knitwise. The shop is located approximately 10 minutes (by bus) outside the Centre City. I found the atmosphere quite cozy and warm.

I met the shop’s proprietor, Angie, who is very friendly and welcoming. Her handknitted and felted creations are proudly displayed throughout the shop. I was quite intrigued by a scarf and found out she is the designer of Twister featured in the March 2006 issue of Magknits.

I am always in awe of the enthusiasm and commitment of the knitter who venture outside of the knitting box who contribute to the knitting economy.

While shopping in the City Centre, I made my way to the Haberdashery Department of John Lewis in the City Centre. Where I came across this…and a wall full of Rowan.

trying to find some sunshine...

The Spouse, Stepson and I left Dublin for a mini-vacation. We arrived to a "sunny destination" on Monday.

So far, so good...no rain in Liverpool. Pictured here are the "three Graces of Liverpool", taken from the Albert Dock along the waterfront. The architectural aspects of these buildings are simply grande. We're off for some sight-seeing and of course, the search for a yarn shop...

a quick fix

I wanted to knit something quick and easy with instant gratification...

Mobile Phone Sock Pattern (adapted from Fetching)

Yarn: Left over sock yarn
Needle size: 2.0mm

Cast on 55 stitches.

Rounds 1-4: K4, P1
Round 5: C4B, P1
Repeat rounds 1- 5 three (3 ) more times.

Continue in 4 x 1 rib (K4, P1) to desired length.

Graft ends to finish.



This pattern can easily be adapted to fit any size of mobile phone. This sock also fits over my digital camera.

weKnit on Fridays...

In order to get myself out of this depression over the weather, I invited a couple of knitting friends over this past Friday. Mary, Olive and I enjoyed the delights of the Spouse's culinary talents...and spent the evening enjoying each other's company...food, drink and knitting.

We were oblivious to the fact that it was indeed raining again because Olive and I were cooing over the softness of Mary's latest WIP, a lace cashmere scarf. Mary's cashmere swatch and the Lace Addi's:. Mary and I were trying to encourage Olive to start a blog...hmmm the "Olive Tree" or "the Olive Branch"??

fibre content

This was the weekend to spin...

and ply my singles...


note: a big thank you to Holly for giving me this beautiful handdyed fleece to spin : )

how kool is that???

Lately, the topic of conversation is the weather...in fact we've been talking about the rain, rain and more rain. It is rather depressing...

Instead of moping around the house this weekend, I decided to turn this negativism into something more creative and maybe brighten up my day.

I searched through my fibre stash and found some bland yarn...
Perused the internet and found an article on Kool Aid dyeing.
I looked over my collection of Kool Aid packs and chose my favourite flavour, Cherry Red.
After it was "cooked" in the microwave...The colour was a little on the light side, so I over dyed it with another packet.



I have it drying out on the clothes line this Sunday afternoon...crossing my fingers for NO rain.

ahhhh...just relaxing

I've noticed the blogs are quiet...summer is a time to relax, take time to enjoy your time with the kiddies and start the count down when it is time for back to school...

Happy Canada Day...

the next felting project???

The Lizard Ridge blanket is probably going, going…almost gone. I do not have the energy or the concentration that goes along knitting short rows. It will be a felted something…my guess is as good as anyone’s.

a bit of sunshine

I saw the sun peaking through the clouds today...

The sunshine hand towel will someday grace a towel holder a gentle reminder of the warm sunny days to come...

back on track...knit on

I don’t know if summer will ever arrive on this side of the pond, since the month of June has been mainly cool, damp and rainy…I am hoping for some warm weather by the time I finish this cami.The progress has been slow since I had to "frog" 10 cm of the bodice when I noticed a mistake I could not live with. So now I'm on the right track...

curled up on the sofa with a good book...

Has it really been raining here for two and a half weeks straight?

I decided to put my knitting aside and read a good book. I got myself a library card and spent an hour or so perusing the bookshelves.

I came across a familiar author, Margaret Atwood. It has been a while since I sunk my teeth in some Canadian Lit, so I signed out, The Blind Assassin.

With my beaded cami set aside, my free time has been spent wrapped in a blanket and curled up on the sofa, a mug of hot tea on the side and Ms. Atwood’s Booker Prize Winner (2000).

The novel’s title, The Blind Assassin, is actually the title of the story within, written by the narrator’s sister, Laura Chase, who on the very first page of the book, drives herself off a bridge ten days after the end of World War II.

The unusual structure of the novel is one of the great strengths in Ms. Atwood’s writing…a story within a story within a story…many layers to discover and unfold.

This novel is a literary piece of fabulous writing. The reader is drawn into the narrator, Iris Chasse Griffen’s reflection of her life and the perspectives of the people around her. The backdrop for this novel is set in a fictional small town Ontario with many references to Toronto, a place very familiar to me.

Of course the knitting perspective had a minor role in this novel…Atwood (she also knows how to knit) made references to the women who handknitted socks for the soldiers in World War I and II.

A very good read…now back to some knitting.

click on over to...

The weather here has been cool, damp, and rainy...so I've been catching up on my blog reading.

In addition, I've decided to rename my "Blog of the week" post to "click on over to...." since I never posted a "must see" blog every week.

So, click on over to ...Vintage Purls

I don't have any future plans to knit from a vintage pattern, however, I do enjoy admiring and connecting with these knitters from days gone by...

something old is vintage

I love to collect things that have a significant meaning to me. My latest acquisition has an interesting Canadian/Royal connection...
This is my first vintage knitting pattern...
To commemorate Princess Elizabeth’s first official visit to Canada in 1951, the T. Eaton Co. Limited (one of Canada’s greatest retail and social institution) produced and promoted a special knitting pattern in honour of the Royal Visit.
Now there is an Irish connection…
Timothy Eaton who founded Eaton’s in 1869 was an Irish immigrant.

World Wide Knit in Public Day...Dublin

Yesterday, 09 June 2007 was World Wide Knit in Public Day...

Lien and Jackie did a fantastic job organizing Dublin’s first WWKiP Day.

Non-Knitter Friend from Canada and I made our way into Bray yesterday morning to meet up with Jackie (who I never met before) from Wicklow. Non-knitter Friend asked, "if you've never met Jackie before how will we recognize her?" I replied, "Just look for a female carrying a big enough bag that could carry knitting paraphernalia." That being said, Non-Knitter Friend excitedly spots a female walking along the platform, "Look over there, she's got a big bag!" Female with the big quilted bag sits next to us and I turn to her and say, "Hello, are you Jackie?" She looks at my felted knitting bag, she smiles and that instant recognition of fellow knitters happens...we reach over to shake hands, "I'm Diane, pleased to meet you..."

While on the DART, Jackie shows off her felted samples...

Marta, admiring the felted bowl...it only takes one skein of Rowan's Big Wool...

A great knitting day enjoyed by all....