Tangelled Angel

Was I scared??

No…..there were only cows in the field….

This was beside the Cliffs of Mohair and I think more a deterrent to people trespassing in the field in order to walk further up over the cliffs.

Well where will I start?

I have been away for the last few blissful days, in Clare, in the cottage, chilling out.

The idea was that we spent a few days doing a bit of work on the cottage, painting and such-like. It was also Micheáls birthday so we wanted to be away for that.

We arrived at the cottage very late on Tuesday night (there were train strikes going on and the traffic was horrendous even going from work to Micheáls place so we decided to wait and let the worst of it die off) so we were pretty wrecked and pretty much fell into bed. We did of course have a chance to check out the place before we did so, and came across these in the conservatory:

The conservatory gets the full whack of sunshine whenever it cares to grace us with its presence and we never thought that leaving candles there would be a problem.

Pretty funny eh?

We made sure that the fresh ones we put there were removed when we left this time!

So the weather was windy and wet for the majority of time we were there, apart from the odd few hours, and Saturday.

We did some cutting back of hedges, putting up the post-box and painting of the hallway and bathroom (although I did some preparation for the painting, I wasn’t actually involved in it, preferring to watch the Munster match in the pub with friends!).

We took a trip here

Cliffs of Mohair
And took photos here
Lahinch beach
The Burren

We stopped for a spot of retail therapy

Saturday, Micheáls Dad came down to help, and we met him in Corofin where I was meeting my friend and went to her Mums place for cups of tea (and drooling over her gorgeous Siamese and Burmese cats) before we went to Ballyvaughan (through the Burren) for lunch. The lads then headed off to paint while I stayed on to watch the match.

Fantastic game, and of course Munster swept the board with Biarritz (sorry Isabelle in France (or should I say Switzerland at the moment!!) but they were the better team!)

You can check it out here

I took my time coming back through part of the Burren, nothing to do with prolonging the inevitable painting, honest! It was a lovely bright day and I was enjoying the drive.

Part of the drive brought me up a windy road, and at the top of the road there was a point to stop and get out to admire the view. It was impossible to capture the view, to tell you the truth, it was fantastic.

Windy road below, Burren to the left and the right, and the sea right at the bottom.

Sheep in the fields to the left, making their presence known by all the baa-ing they were doing.

Plenty of places to explore at our leisure the next few times we are down in Clare. Spread it out!

There were plenty of crafty shops along this route, mainly aimed at tourists, but I came across a couple of interesting things, which have given me more food for thought

Despite the fact we were away for 5 days, I actually don’t have many knitted items to show. I bought some yarn at the shop in Ennis that I found, in order to make a bag from it, then looked at the yarn and decided to play around with it a bit first. I started making a mitred square (along the lines of what Sharon and Isobel are doing), and although I have no photos to show you at the moment, this is the yarn I’m using:

The one on the left is Sirdar, the same yarn I used to make Sherri’s Bag, (must put up pattern for it sometime this year!) and the one on the right is the yarn I bought in Ennis (details of the shop will be found in the olannban site shortly)

I think if this works out well, it may be a secret project for someone that I know reads this blog (but never comments!!) so it may be a while before there are pictures. I successfully finished 2 mitred squares anyway during the time.

I also worked on this:

For a friend of M’s, whose birthday is this week.

And this took a long time to get where it is now. I cast on 180 stitches, worked one row, increased into every stitch, worked one row, increased into every stitch…. can you work out how many stitches that makes? 720, that’s how many! And then if that wasn’t enough stitches to be working on, I decided that as the yarn I was using was so thin (3 ply), I would do a yarn over after every stitch in order to lengthen the work slightly (in fact I started off with doing a 2 yarn over, but after about 10 stitches it was already becoming obvious that something had to go- my hands or the double yarn over…). So, about 3 hours later, and not all in the one go either, I had a row with yarn overs after every stitch, and ready to knit the next row, dropping the yarn overs as I went. It became easier after that row was finished, I can tell you!!

So, I’m now ready to work one last row and then cast off. I am wondering however, should I cast off using this:

It’s a mohair yarn, nice pink colours with bits of yellow and green in it. What do you think? Would it compliment it?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Well, I was brought along to the Meath v Louth game in Croke Park, and I shamed all who were with me by taking out my knitting.
Well, I don’t think I really shamed them, but it got a few laughs!
The fact they moved 5 seats away was being unable to see the field, honest!!
They didn’t actually move away, but my BF’s sister did say that I would be on the news that evening as the person knitting in the crowd.
There were lots of people at the game, all apart from the Hill, which was pretty empty.
Needless to say, we were supporting Meath, as my BF is from there. They played pretty poor in the first half, but then came back and hammered Louth!
I got some knitting done, its slow progress, but I am just about ready to do the heel part.
I haven’t had much to post about with knitting lately, because I’m trying not to start new things, but haven’t got much time to be doing what I currently have on the needles, if you know what I mean! I have been doing a bit of recycling of wool from charity shop buys, and some winding into cakes of yarn I currently have, and some that I have recycled and washed.
I am also going to be away from a PC (and TV!!) from this evening as we are going to Clare for a few days!! I really need a break, and its my BF’s birthday tomorrow so we thought we would take some time out.
I have however, packed quite a few new cakes of yarn that I want to start items with.So, have plans and hopefully will follow up on them!!
So I may have pictures next time I post.
I have finished the Noro Blossom bag, but just waiting to sew it together and put a lining into it that I bought. This may be a long time coming as Im not great at sewing!

(Meath are the ones in green….)
(Meath are also in the lead……)

I posted about this ad before.
I was catching up on some blog reading at lunchtime, and came across the same reaction on Purlpower’s blog.
So I decided to do something about it, as it brought back the feelings of disgust that I got when I first realised what the ad campaign was getting at.

So I wrote them an email:
(*I have *’d out my age- pure vanity!)

My name is Sara Cullen, I am 3* years of age, I have been knitting since I was about 7, am part of a Stitch and Bitch knitting group who meet up regularly to knit together and chat.

You obviously decided not to research your subject when you put this ad campaign together. Are you not aware of the huge knitting phenomenon that’s going on across the world at the moment? As you are obviously oblivious to this, please have a look at this website: http://www.stitchnbitch.org/snb_groups.htm

I noticed this ad in a Sunday paper a few weeks ago, and was disgusted when I realised what the ad meant. I have since posted about this ad on my blog a couple of weeks ago, and have posted on the UK StitchnBitch forum also about it, and have since seen it on other people’s blogs.

As the majority of people who meet in our Irish SnB group are in fact, in their 30’s, I think that you are actually hitting out against the very people who may be looking at buying your products in the future. Yes, we are the age group that are having babies, and buying the products you sell. We are also the age-group that are taking up our knitting needles in order to knit for ourselves, and our friends, and let me tell you–> these items are very gratefully received as unique items, in this day and age when its hard to buy something unique for babies.

Your “Paediatric research” doesn’t appear to work well with this ad campaign, as you have obviously overlooked this consumer group.

You have also overlooked the fact that knitting is a great tool for both hand-eye coordination for kids when taught in schools, and has also been used as an aid to learning mathematics: Many teachers are beginning to incorporate knitting into their curricula because it encourages analytical thinking. While strengthening hand-eye coordination, knitting teaches patience and reading skills and helps students stay focused on a task. (http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_knitting/article/0,2025,DIY_14141_3148167,00.html)

In fact, let me help you with your research, so that you can have a little think about the next ad campaign you want to run. Maybe you can turn around and say, oh we were wrong, knitting is the new yoga, and base your next ad campaign on that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/26/nyregion/26KNIT.html?ex=1147838400&en=d313c29efe719a10&ei=5070

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010310/fob1.asp

http://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/publications/directions/Jan2002/knitting.html

http://anacleta.homestead.com/knittingwithchildren.html

http://www.waldorfatlanta.org/curriculum_specialty_handwork.htm

Yours, in disgust

Sara

http://tangelled_angel.blogspot.com

Hey folks, Budd here again. Just thought I’d show you my first ever trip on a Luas. (For those who don’t know about this amazing mode of transport, you can read about it here ) Anyway, I was coming back from town with Sara and she decided that now was an ideal time to show me a bit of Dublin. Sara got a great seat facing backwards on the Luas and there were no other people standing in front, so she thought it was an ideal opportunity to take me out, do a bit of work on me, and take a photo for posterity.
She even managed to take a photo of Heuston Station as we were going by. It looks surprisingly quiet at this time (around 9pm) which is strange as its usually so busy. I suppose Sara is used to seeing it thronged with people at peak travelling times!
Other than the Luas, I have been brought out to play on the train a couple of times in the evening (we leave from Heuston Station), and in the morning on the bus. But sadly, Sara is not progressing with me as much as I’d hoped, but she is getting there slowly!
I don’t think she will get very far with me over the weekend either as she is having too much fun socialising away from me. She brings me along with her everywhere in her bag but she seems to forget about me! Boo hoo. Still, I suppose its hard to be a lone sock in a place full of people……pubs…restarants….visiting people….
Maybe someday I’ll have a companion to keep me company!!

Remember the hand-dyed and hand spun yarn I got from Holly from StitchNBitchIE ?
(Holly, you just have to get a blog for yourself-pressure, pressure!!)
Well I thought and thought about what I would do with it and couldn’t come up with anything that was immediately required.
Then I thought of One Skein and decided to do up one of their fulled bowls, just to try out the yarn, see how it knit and see how it felted.
Do you like the way I have positioned the cakes over the census form? It was collected last night. For those of you outside of Ireland, we had a census of the population here recently.

So anyway, the shetland wool seemed to be the one that was asking to be used (mainly because I had 2 skeins of it compared to one skein of the merino) so I threw myself into the pattern and came up with a nice hat.
No, just trying it on for fun, but it could actually be used as a basic hat pattern .

So here is the finished item before felting.
I left the small amount of shetland wool beside the FO to show you that there was actually some left over.
I used 6 1/2 mm circular needles/dpn’s and on 4 inches, the gadge was approximately 14 stitches across and 22 inches down.

I put it through 4 washes in the washing machine, the first 3 were on 30degrees, and the final one was at 50degrees.
The first 3 felted it very slightly, but the stitches were still very defined, so in a fit of desperation, I threw it into a 50degree wash and voila!
Felted nicely.
The jeans got a great washing also!
The pyrex jug is to keep the shape while it dries.
This is the bottom of the bowl. Don’t the colours look nice? It almost looks like a flower shape, the way that it has been dyed.

And the fait accompli.
One fulled bowl ala One Skein and Holly.
Merci beaucoup!!

I’m not sure what I’ll do with it now I’ve made it, maybe I can bring it into work and use it for my fruit, although its probably too small for too many pieces! Suggestions would be welcome…
Meanwhile, I will leave it to dry in the sunshine, on my dresser, in peace.

Hello, my name is Budd, I’m a sock in progress and I thought I would show you some of my travelling photos.

Here I am, just starting off my life and deciding to take the train as my first way of getting from a to b. I brought along my friends Bob and Ben, they protect Sara from getting stabbed from the dpn’s when I’m in her bag. Sara was hungry on her way home from work so I let her try this very tasty Bubbles chocolate bar from Lidl.
My life came about when Sara saw this design in Interweave on-line and thought the pair of Manly Ribbed Socks was ideal for her boyfriend. She also decided to use this ball of Rowan Calmer in black as its nice and soft and not too warm for the summer months and her boyfriend may just wear them, as he doesn’t wear any other colour than black in his socks. Lucky for me eh? Oh and I don’t take too good a photo with camera phones, doesn’t quite get my good side you see.

So here I am now in Clare, I did a bit of driving in the car to get here, and saw a bit of the countryside on the way. I’m just taking a rest here, as Sara has to go and help Micheál in cleaning the cottage. I’m out in the conservatory at the moment, but sure you don’t want to see that, just me.

Obviously Bob and Ben are here also, they come everywhere with me, my faithful friends.

I’m out in the car again, and Sara has decided that she has worked out the magic loop method. So I have been shifted from dpn’s to a size 3 circular needle and have these odd bits sticking out each side. I’m not sure that this works as well as dpn’s as I don’t seem to be growing as fast, and I want to grow up!!
So I have been brought back to the haven of the cottage’s conservatory and Sara is sitting on the swinging couch (although God knows why she is sitting on a swinging couch indoors, strange girl!) and doing a bit of work on me.

I think she has decided to take pictures of my progress as she goes or something. Yes, here she is knitting away, and has just finished a side before she transfers it onto the loop of the circular needle.

Between you and me and the swinging couch, I think that Sara should switch back to the dpn’s as the magic loop method is taking a lot longer, oh….Sara must have heard me, there she is getting them out again. She has switched me back to the dpn’s and put away the circular needle. She is looking frustrated, and what’s that, the wine is being poured and I’m being put away….. nooooooooo

I’ll have to sit in her bag and peek out at the scenery instead…
I like Bluebells….

More updates of where I’ve been and where I’m going next time..check back in now!

This ad was in my Sunday paper’s magazine.
A baby knitting.
I couldn’t understand what the ad was about so I have just looked up the web address and as far as I can make out, it is for baby car seats!!
I think it’s a bit of a slight against us young and trendy knitters!!
What do you think??