Wednesday 1 November 2017

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?

Hi everyone

What have you been up too?  Here's what I have been getting up to since the last time I blogged.

So as I promised I am going to tell you about the knitting event I attend in August 2017.  It was held in Whitehead, which is a wee town about 45 minutes from where I live in Northern Ireland.


The whole thing started at the local yarn shop in Whitehead called Ligtht house yarns Whitehead.
Then there were stalls situated in the church halls and community centre. The whole thing was really well organised. I had such a good time looking around all the independent yarn dyers and spinners. My mum came with me. As well as this some of my family live in Whitehead so we were able to pop in and say hello to them.

 I didn't want to take pictures of the stalls because I wasn't sure I would have permission to use there images.
There was just so much beautiful yarn at this  event that it took me so long to pick something to buy.  I had given myself a budget other wise I would of gone mad.  Thank goodness for Santa lol, I fell in love with a yarn (sorry but can't remember what base it is), but I didn't want to buy it there and then because it was at one of the first stalls we looked at,  You all know how much I love my colour, so strangely enough I picked a yarn which didn't have any dye in it and was left just the colour of the sheep fleece.  I'm meant to forget that Santa aka mum has bought this for me for christmas, but I just can't as it was so lovely.

In the end yes at the very end just before we had seen everything I decided to buy some sock yarn from a local dyer who lives only about 10 minutes down the road from me in a very small town called Randalstown,  The fact that she was so local to me oh and the colour just made me have to have it.


I didn't cast it on the moment I got home but left it for a month or so because it was just so pretty to look at, and oh so soft.  In the end I decided to cast on a very simple sock because I didn't want any overly completed stitches to take away from the beauty of the yarn.

The yarn was dyed by dye candy.  



This colour is to die for or dye for lol.  Wearing these socks is like paradise, they are so soft.  I managed to remember to knit a stretchy cast on.  The pattern is from Tin can knits Rye simple collection socks

So what else has happened since I last blogged.

Other yarn that I have got sice the last time you have heard from is 



They are both sock yarn.  The first picture is of Arne and Carlos Regia sock yarn,  The second picture is of stylecraft yarn in silver.  

I have seen other people on blogs and YouTube get yarn in vacuumed packed bags but this is my first one.  When I opened it, it just bounced back to life.

I haven't knitted up the Regia yarn yet, but I have used the stylecraft silver yarn - not to make socks but to knit a shawl.  I had some plane baby blue sock yarn I had bought in a wool shop in Carrickfergus.  When at the Whitehead yarn fest you were given a booklet which at the back had an exclusive pattern written especially for the event.


This shawl was designed by Carol Feller - Sorry I can't remember the name of it, I just call it the Whitehead shawl.  Mum got it in her Birthday box in October.

I still have some of the blue and silver sock yarn left over I may knit some stripy socks.

I did knit some socks before I used the yarn from Whitehead yarn fest.  If you remember from a previous blog, I had bought yarn from Arklow, Co. Wicklow.  I had knitted it up as a mini shawl, but to be honest I never wore it.  So I decided to rip it out and use it for another project which turned out to be vanilla stripy socks.



The green yarn is just some stuff I had in my stash that I had at one time bought from a second hand shop.  The Arklow yarn is really soft, so makes these socks nice to wear.

I have also been knitting up mittens.  Since the weather is starting to get colder we all need mittens right.

I knitted these verigated colour mittens first.  Of course my mum got these too.



I have got rid of the pattern.  I found it on raverly I do know this.  Just search mittens colourwork DK weight yarn.

The other pair of mittens I knitted were also Tin Can knits.  Like the socks they are from the simple collection.  The worlds simplest mittens.  The thing that makes mine different is that I used three colours.  


Both pairs of mittens were knit with yarn that has been in my stash for a while or was left over from different projects I've finished. 

The last thing I've finished is an infinity scarf.  I found the stitch on raverly again.  Don't you just love ravelry.  Once again it is knitted from bulky yarn that has been sitting in my stash (feel like I've been saying this a lot  but if you saw my stash you'd understand.  I could knit for a life time and still have loads left.  But then there is just so much beautiful yarn in this world, you just can't help but purchase more) for ages.  




Keep knitting your stash but don't be afraid to purchase new wool too.  You got to treat yourself sometimes.

Cheerio till next time.


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