Winning…

The winner of this year’s birthday prize giveaway is….

OLIVE !  And congratulations. … Please email me with your postal address.

Thank you for all your comments.

Keep knitting everyone!

A year for fiberistas

It’s a brand Chinese New Year….We are now entering the Year of the Sheep! Definitely our year ; )

It’s all about the FO

This week I will be entering a new decade and to celebrate the coming of age, I am releasing Amethystos, a knitting with wire pattern/tutorial. Create a stunning gemstone using knit stitches and beads.

The pattern/tutorial is available as a Ravelry download

I’m celebrating the big five oh with a birthday giveaway for one of my lovely readers. If you would like to win an Amethystos knitting kit all you have to do is leave a comment and answer the question, What is your birthstone?

The giveaway ends Midnight GMT, Sunday 22nd February . I’ll choose the winner using a random number generator and announce the winner on Monday 23d February. I’ll contact the winner via email to arrange to post them their prize. Feel free to share this post.

Luv Hearts

Valentine’s Day is only days away…. there’s still time to make something special, Handknit Luv hearts 3>

You can find the Luv pattern here

Handknit Socks are Bespoke

I have made it my mission to knit at least one pair of socks a month and to finish the Stepaside.

While I knit socks, I have receive some interesting comments and questions from family, friends, colleagues and strangers…“I guess you save alot of money by knitting your own socks.”“Why knit a pair of socks when you can buy them at Dunnes Stores?”“I can’t knit socks, I’m too traumatised since my childhood school day when the nuns forced us to knit socks.” “I use to knit socks, but it is too much work. I’d rather shop.”“Wow, these are amazing, will you make me a pair; if I pay you?”

My response… My handknit socks are bespoke and are priceless!

My enthusiasm has spilled over to one of my knitting students, Julie, an experienced knitter who still struggles to turn the heel of a sock. We spent an evening reviewing the anatomy of handknit socks and she’s one put one foot forward….

On another note, I unpacked yet another box at Knitting HQ, and found more patterns this past week…

The KNIT ReView: meet Green Elephant Crochet

Last week week we introduced Dublin Knitters to Green Elephant Crochet’s kettle dyed yarn.

Today’s post we interviewed indie dyer, Fiona Waters.

How and when did you learn to dye yarn?

At first I followed an online tutorial and dyed yarn using food colouring. I was so happy with the results that I wanted to learn more. I attended a workshop run by Clodagh MacDonagh of Feltmakers Ireland back in October and since then I’ve been dyeing all the time. It’s quite addictive.

Where did you get the inspiration for Winter Sky?

It was just that, a winter sky. The greys, and blues of a cloudy sky on a sunny Winters day.

What’s it like seeing people knitting or crocheting with your yarn?

It’s a little bit strange at first but very satisfying. I love seeing other peoples beautiful creations. I love how each person has their own inspiration and ideas that they can apply to my yarn.

How long did it take to set up Green Elephant, the indie dyer?

I started my blog Green Elephant Crochet and Things in June 2014, a little while later I fell in love with hand dyed yarn and started dyeing yarn myself. It has all blossomed from there.

What is your favourite colourway and yarnweight?

The yarn weights I use most are DK and Aran but I’m not sure which I prefer. It depends on what I’m making.

Of my own colourways Green Elephant is my favourite. I love green and the splashes of grey running through it are lovely.

Of others I love Prism from Three Violet Buttons. You can find it on Facebook.

What’s next for Green Elephant Crochet?

Lots more yarn dyeing, crochet and a little knitting too. I will be working out some new colourways on new bases over the next few months which I am very excited about.

Anything you want to share with The DKC?

You can find more information about my yarn and my blog on www.greenelephantcrochet.com. You can also find me on Facebook.

Thank you to Fiona for taking time to be interviewed.

Urban Spinning in Dublin with WeaveSpinDye

There is an old but new and re-branded group in town,  Eastern Region group of the IGWSD meet monthly on the third Sunday of each month.

Spinners and weavers are invited to bring their wheels, drop spindles and looms on  Sunday 22nd February , to The Constant Knitter’s studio space on Francis Street.

Here’s some general info:

*  The studio is located on the second level of The Constant Knitter, 88 Francis Street. Take the Dublin bus to St. Patrick Cathedral, it is  just a short walk to the shop.

*  on street parking is free on Sundays

* there are one set of stairs to the second level

*  The area has great lighting

*   It is not a café,  so you may want to bring in your own from home baked goods (but not necessary for those of us who do not bake). The Constant Knitter kindly offers tea.

*  There are chairs,tables and a sofa

*  The studio is above the shop in case you have a roving or spindle emergency.

Knitting in Town

Ever wondered where to meet other knitters in Dublin?

If you happen to be in the city centre on a Saturday, why not pop in at Accents Tea and Coffee Lounge, currently the home of the first City Centre SnB group.
This group was born to a small group of Dublin knitters in 2006, who met once a month in the city centre.

Nine years on, this group has moved from Exchequer Street to Westmoreland to Curve Street to Lower St Stephen Street.

Since then, it has spawned one city centre group in Temple Bar, an annual TwitKnit gathering post- Christmas, hosted several meet and greets for knitters visiting Dublin from abroad and has happily sat back knitting, crocheting, drop spindling.

Today, the group still meet every Saturday from 12pm to 2pm. When you first enter the cafe and order any one of Accents yummy beverages, just ask the friendly staff where the knitters are…and they’ll direct you to their little knitting corner.

The Dublin KNiT ReView

After reviewing a couple of books (here and here) last year, I decided to make this add a new series on The DKC….

The Dublin KNiT ReView

My January blues brightened up when I recently received a sample skein of DK weight yarn from new indie dyer, Fiona of Green Elephant Crochet.

The name of this colourway is appropriately name, Winter Sky. Vibrant blues to smokey grey, which captures the morning skies over Dublin in the middle of January.

The base yarn is a wool/nylon mix of 80/20.

Opening up the skein, the dye has taken evenly throughout the yarn strands with no signs of blotchiness. I’ve scored this a 4 out of 5 on first impressions.

One of my favourite shawl patterns is Multnomah, and I knit up a swatch in feather and fan using 4.5mm needles. This is before blocking:

A soft drape and feel to the swatch. However, I was not too crazy about the colour distribution of the blues and greys. One of my non-knitter friends, Lucia, even noted how the turquoise blue leaned on to one side of the swatch. I was quite impressed on how she spotted this slight type of pooling. She also made note of the softness of the fabric.

The swatch on the blocking wires:

Blocking out a shawl is highly recommended and I found it was holding a nice drape and shape, which I rate as a 3.75 out of 5.

The second swatch, a toddler sized sock, knit on 3mm circular needles, and I loved the self striping effect of the blues and greys. The same non-knitter friend also noted how the yarn created the stripes evenly. She was amazed at how the stripes just appeared just like magic…. on 3mm needles, it created a sturdy and slightly dense fabric. 4 out of 5 for a pair of winter socks.

I decided that Green Elephant Crochet’s DK weight would be perfect for a cowl. So I logged on to Ravelry and found that the Honey Cowl was the most popular cowl a few evenings ago.

So using 5mm needles, I swatched this:

I was mesmerised by the brilliant blues toned down by the grey hues. It has a nice drape after a soak bath in Eucalan.

The hues of Winter Sky makes for a bright Honey Cowl that will beat those winter blues….

Yarn Specs:
Hand dyed in Dublin by Green Elephant Crochet
Base : wool/nylon 80/20
Care : hand wash

In the Loop….

I’m going back to my blog roots…. That is blogging about Dublin’s knitting scene.

In the Loop, is the new feature in The DKC. It’s all about the little tidbit of news that crosses our online highway of information.

Knit nd Make closed its doors to knitters and crafters late last year. However, I spotted some sock yarn wool/acrylic mix of 75/25 in Tiger, in the Swan Centre. You can also pick up a set of dpns to knit yourself a pair of socks. I would love to see sock knitters finish off a pair or two using this yarn or just maybe I’ll break my yarn diet and pick up the yarn myself ; )

Great news to knitters in Rathmines, Sew has announced that they will be stocking yarn and knitting supplies in the near future: )

It was lovely to see local spinner and dyer, the S Twist’s knitting kit, Shepherd Cap at The Donegal Shop in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre. A contemporary cabled hat designed by Nicola Faull.

Thursday Knit Night colour work knit along at The Brooks Hotel. The gang have selected their patterns, yarn, and cast on. Join them Thursday nights or on Ravelry