new needles

Earlier this month, I made a major investment, in the form of new knitting needles. My old bent dpns have come mostly from charity shops. These new ones are made from carbon fibre, they are very light and are supposed to be very strong. I am very tight knitter and with these, the stitches glide easily from needle to the other needle. They look and feel lovely....

The brand is "Knitpro Karbonz" and I bought them online from the Wool Stack. 

 
The only downside with the needles is they put pressure on the index finger of the left hand when knitting, but I'm sure I'll get used to that.

This is definitely sitting in knitting weather, pockets of Northern Ireland got a lot of snow last night and of course it was us, on the edge of the Castlereagh Hills.  So have to post some snowy pictures.....

and a glimmer of hope.....some daffodils bravely poking out from under the snow.

Take care and keep warm, Ali

nuno felt

I have eventually finished my first piece for this year, for the City and Guilds class. I made a set of felt accessories, including a pair of wristwarmers and a flower corsage. The inspiration for these items came from an annual flower from my garden last summer. It is a beautifully veined petunia......

 

A pretty flower but I looked up the "meaning" of it and it means anger and resentment!

My two pieces are made from nuno felt using dyed silk gauze as a ground.

I tried to make the flower corsage as similar to the petunia flower as possible.

 
I embellished both items with seed beads in various sizes.

Now just the paperwork to do and the accompanying book, better hop to it

Bye for now, ali.

raphoe

Due to a hockey match we all went to Raphoe today. Needless to say I wasn't the one playing, just spectating.
I took the chance to have a look around the town when I was up there, as my nanny was born there. Raphoe is a plantation town in County Donegal, just over the border. My nanny lived in the gate lodge to the "big house" or the castle, where her father was a land steward. Eleven of them lived in this house!
I took some photos .....

gate lodge

castle

Church of Ireland, St Eunan

doorway in the Diamond

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I'll be working on my City and Guild felt piece, photos to follow, Ali.

yum yum

Can't believe these yummy choccies have survived sixteen days after Christmas.

Don't think they will last much longer though!


Bought some yummy yarn as a wee Christmas present for myself....Lang, Mille Colori (Socks and Lace). I bought this in the market where the light isn't too good, I thought it was shades of purple but it is in fact, berry pinks, still beautiful and good enough to eat!

I searched for ages to find a nice pattern, thought I might do socks but in the end decided on a very pretty pair of fingerless mitts (see right) - Spatterdash mitts by Dagma Mora, available as a free pattern on the Knitty site click here







Here's a close up of the wave pattern of the flap.
 

s.w.a.l.k.

I see the sweets and chocolates for Valentines Day are now on the shelves in the shops. So I guess its time for me to post my idea for a quick and easy, woolly Valentines gift. I have also written instructions on how to i cord.

KISS KEYRING 

THIS PATTERN IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. DO NOT REPRODUCE PATTERN. DO NOT SELL ITEMS KNITTED FROM THIS PATTERN FOR PROFIT ONLY FOR PERSONAL OR CHARITABLE USE

MATERIALS

two dpns size 2.50mm (US  1½)scraps of dk (8ply) yarn

darning needle

sewing needle & matching sewing thread

keyring or phone lanyard

INSTRUCTIONS

Kisses (make 4)

1. Cast on 3 sts.

2. Continue with i cord until work measures 4.5cms (2.75ins)

3. Break yarn, thread onto needle, bring yarn round the back of work and thread through the three stitches on the needle.

4. Pull tight and make a few stitches to secure.

5. Loose yarn in i cord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I CORD TECHNIQUE

1. With the dpns cast on 3 sts.

2. Knit 3 sts.

3. Do not turn work, but slide the 3 sts to the other end of the dpn.

4. Keep yarn round the back of work , keep yarn tight and knit the 3 sts once again.

5. Continue until cord measures the desired length.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TO ASSEMBLE

1. Darn away loose yarn ends.

With small items I always sew together with sewing thread in a matching colour, for a neater finish

2. Place one cord on top of the other to form an "x".



3. Stitch back and forward in the centre where the two cords intersect, also sew where the edge of one cord crosses the other.

4. Turn "x" over and sew edges where cords cross.

5. Make another "x" with the other two cords.

6. Sew end tips of the two "x's" together.

7. Attach keyring or phone lanyard. Sew securely.

8. Pull x's into shape, cover with a cloth and press flat.

copyright Alison Hogg 2013