if you knit, they will come...

At last count, there were 25 knitters at the Rathmines' SnB last knit. I wish I brought my camera along... What a beautiful sight and sound. knitters having a great time. Spreading the good word about knitting is definitely working.

the end????

This weekend marks the end of the "drop a jean size challenge." In honour of my committment to Special K, the Spouse made breakfast for me this morning....Did the program work??? Ummmm....I can't say for sure, however, my jeans and skirts have a better fit now (meaning I no longer have to deeply inhale when I zip up).

Next on the agenda?? I am moving forward with Mireille Giliano's philosophy...


Leeks anyone???

frogging in public may be hazardous to your health

I was knitting a scarf using a linen/viscose blend, from my yarn stash, as part of my "spring wardrobe" using a linen/viscose blend. It was coming along nicely...

Two days ago, I was on the bus, minding my own business, knitting away in rush hour traffic.... I decided to count my stitches and take a closer look at my stitches. Urgggh...I noticed the stitch pattern did not look right and my stitch count was way, way off... so I pulled it off the needles and frogged it.

Then, I heard a gasping sound coming from the lady sitting next to me... I looked over at her as she clutched her chest...OMG, I thought, was she having a heart attack? The adrenaline coarsed through my veins, as the thought of performing CPR on a crowded bus set me into panic mode....I anxiously asked, "are you alright?" She responded, "I didn't mean to startle you, I've been watching you knit that lovely scarf since the we left town, and now it is just.... just string now."

Yep....another WIP in the frog pond.

drop a jean size

Every year in January, society is amassed with advertisements for fitness memberships, exercise classes in pilates, yoga, and weight loss programs. The message to the consumer: "You ate too much during the month of December, therefore you need to lose weight".
Unfortunately, I am a member of this society who is influenced by certain advertisments and gimmicks. This year, I decided to devote two weeks to the "drop a jean size in two weeks" challenge.

Today marks day seven. One more week to go....

In between the bowls of cereal this weekend, I have been organising my knitting stash and perusing through the witty knitter websites.

A vision becomes a scarf...

A scarf designed by moi. The inspiration and vision for this scarf came from Denny’s own wrap she made from her own handspun.

I decided to use up some mohair (don’t remember the brand, I’ve misplaced the label) from my stash. And my own handspun. I used the drop spindle, I purchased last October at the KW Knitter’s Fair.

In order to make this design my own, I wanted something a little more funky, spontaneous yet planned (is this an oxymoron phrase?) so I used the Fibonacci Sequence to plan the number of rows between mohair and homespun. I used a combination of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 13 and 21 to knit the number of homespun and mohair rows.

The first one...off the stix in 2007

Since January 1st, I have been frantically finishing my 2006 WIPs. I have marked January 10th as the date my first felted project was completed...the French Market Bag.

I started this bag last September with a little help from Megan. As this was my first attempt at felting, she recommended Lamb's Pride in the worsted weight. I decided on green, using kiwi as the main colour and oregano as the contrast.

I started with much enthusiasm...

until the frogging began.

It was laid to rest for several weeks, until the Spouse and I went on a weekend gettaway to Blue Mountain where it sat by the hot tub...


It managed to pass through the security checks at the airport and crossed the pond...


I continued to work on it, and brought it along to a SnB in City Centre.

a few days ago it was at the pre-felting stage...


Last evening, it went into the washing machine...

...after the agitation and drying process,

I have this....

blog of the week goes to....

My witty knitter best friend, t. who occasionally comments on my blog forwarded my pick for blog of the week, Knitting WENCH. Thank you, t...

The pics on this blog are so inspirational...great way to feel motivated for the new knitting year!

Until next Christmas

Today is January 6th, also known as the Epiphany or the 12th Day of Christmas. It is the official end to the Christmas season. Christmas decorations have been packed and put away until the next yultetide season.

Since I am still working on my 2006 WIP's, I've effectively blended them with the home decor.

The "We Five"

I am just catching up on my blogging...it should have been posted last year....

My introduction to the Irish knitting culture began last spring as I lurked on Yahoo’s, Stitch and Bitch IE discussion forum. As I linked from one Dublin knitting blog to another, I found the “we five of Dublin knitters”, Cheryl, Holly, Isobel, Sara and Sharon. I've had the pleasure of meeting all five in person.

These five witty knitters, in my view have the drive, energy and committment to spread their creativity, enthusiasm, and passion for the art of knitting by networking at SnB’s and the blogshere.

The secret of their success? Pssst....knitting is fun and you can knit too! Pass it on....

Welcome, 2007!

Happy New Year!



The first day of 2007 brings in an edge of excitement of what is to come for the brand new year. The next several days, witty knitters (including moi) in blogshere will be updating blogs and planning new projects.

I am re-energized and ready for a new year of knitting! I still have my WIP’s and here is an update what is on my stix as I begin 2007.

I am near completion to this Fetching's mate. I do not know what I was thinking when I chose the colour black. I am debating whether it is the poor lighting within my environment or just visual changes due to the aging process that makes this WIP drag on and on.



The French Market Bag is several steps away from felting. Just binding off and knitting in the contrast colour to create the handles.



This scarf's design was inspired by a similiar wrap made by Denny. Here, I used my own handspun with delicate and fine mohair.



Here is my Winter Olympics challenge. It is quite obvious this cabled shoulder bag was too much of a challenge for me to complete or the Winter games were too short. I plan to finish this WIP prior to the Summer 2008 games. The pattern is from
Patons.



Finally, the travelling sock is showing more progress. The toe just needs to be grafted and I'm onto its mate. I am using Stephanie's Sock Recipe in her book.



Looking forward to more knitting in 2007...