knittykitt

Nearly There

2007-05-22T18:44:00.000Z

Well, I'm afraid a tummy bug has kept me from the computer, and knitting , and quilting among other things.But, today I am feeling a bit better. Here I have pictures of my nearly completed quilt, all that is left is batting, backing and binding.

I also have a picture of the cutest thing, Cathi made me this fantastic little knitting needle holder, which she knitted in about ten minutes flat and then felted even quicker.Its so handy, I just love it.

Trust me...........its a train!!!

2007-05-14T21:29:00.000Z

Well, we had a lovely day at the firsy holy communion on Sunday last. Hit a minor snag in the morning. Daniel decided he didnt want to wear his new tank top or 'jumpa' as he likes to call it. It took around fifteen minutes and one very slight tantrum ( Daniel isnt as seasoned a tantrum thrower as his sister) and a story about how his new jumper is the same colour as thomas the tank engine, eventaully he conceded and put on the jumper. He looked very cute , even if I do say so myself. He loved it so much he wanted to wear it this morning. Alas, it now lies in the laundry basket, with a tiny tomato sauce stain which I will tackle tomorrow.

Great news about the quilt, I finally have the boarder and binding cut and ready to sew, thanks to Cathi, of course forgot to take my camera to her house , so I will post the photo tomorrow, I am really excited about it, its nearly there. I thinkIi am going to have to wear it for a couple of days. All right so thats nuts, I am a little tired. I promise I will make more sense tomorrow. Watch out for the photos!!!!.

Its finished....

2007-05-10T21:05:00.000Z

Here it is , Daniels tank top is finished. I am really happy with it. Hopefully on Sunday this will be teamed with his pinstripe slacks and white and blue linen shirt. He is a fussy little boy though, our Dan, so I may have to sew a Thomas the tank engine motif to it just in case he wont wear it, which could happen , as I have no say in what my kids want to wear on a daily basis, I suggest, I cajole, I make up stories and on occasion I have been known to offer a bribe in order to get a particular party dress on a small stubborn girl or a certain pair of shoes on an obstinate young man.As my husband says, they didnt get that from the wind. So , fingers crossed for Sunday morning.My next project....what to do.....what to do.

Daniels Tank Top

2007-05-10T09:00:00.000Z

Here is where I am at with Daniels tank top.I was unsure about the fit so I used less stitches as i thought it may come up too wide for him and so far it looks ok.I just love this pattern , it is so easy to follow and I think I may get some more debbie Bliss cotton aran and knit another one in a different colour.

I had a little trip to Lenas in Limerick yesterday and I couldnt resist some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino in red, just have to work out what I want to knit with it.

What a weekend

2007-05-09T22:10:00.000Z

The weekend was so hectic, I am only getting around to an update now. We arrived in Kerry at lunch time on Saturday, within an hour poor Hannah had an asthma attack and so we spent the night at the hospital, luckily it was nothing serious and she was discharged the next day.Nana accompanied us back to Killaloe on Monday and today, Hannah finally recieved a coveted pair of Lelli Kelly shoes. For anyone living on another planet Lelli Kelly's are the latest craze for little girls and so Hannah is a very happy little girl tonight. I wouldnt mind a pair myself and they do come in size 4!!!!....

Off to the Kingdom

2007-05-05T10:25:00.000Z

Well, here I am just home from Hannah's swimming lesson, lots of small kids with goggles and arm bands bigger than themselves. We have decided to head off to county Kerry to my parents house as its the bank holiday weekend and my mother aka Nana is excited about the arrival of Hannah and Daniel for the weekend.

I am still knitting the tank top and hope to make some progress over the weekend.Here are some pics of knitted toys and a baby jacket I did some weeks back.The weather is supposed to break so it is shaping up to be a knitty weekend.See you all on Monday.

What a day........

2007-05-03T16:53:00.000Z

Did you ever have one of those days.... the weather is really warm which is not a complaint as such, except when you are feeling a little under the weather and I wont go on, just trust me on it , it hasnt been the greatest day I have had.

The one really productive thing I did get on was to purchase the batting and the boarder fabric for my quilt....wahoooo..... Cathi accompanied me with kids in toe to the Limerick Quilt centre and as well as purchasing the beautiful red fabric for my quilt , I bought a cutting mat and a measuring square ( there is probably a quilting term for the implement and I will be corrected later) .

Watch this space for my very first completed quilt

Trickey Knitty

2007-05-02T20:13:00.000Z

Here is my latest knitting project. Its a tank top for my son Daniel, we have a family first holy communion coming up on May 19th and I thought this would be nice on Dan the Man. Its a lovely Debbie Bliss pattern. The yarn however is a hayfield cotton Aran which I found in my mothers stash. I am hoping I will have enough to finish it. The pattern says it takes 150g and I think thats around how much I have.

I have had to adjust a bit because its a bit heavier than the suggested yarn, after three starts I think I have the number of stitches and needle size ok.......( if any one has any suggestions for patterns adjustments i.e yarn differences and needle size, all advice gladly received as I am really flying by the seat of my pants on this one).

I have been running around after Daniel for most of the day trying to measure the length of the back and position of armholes and he has not been impressed.

Jeez I hope I will have enough yarn to finish it or I will ahve to rip it back, wouldnt that just be the icing on the cake. anyway I will keep going and hope for the best.

Happy Birthday Hannah

2007-05-02T10:26:00.000Z

This is just a quick little post to get the day started.Let me introduce you to my daughter Hannah. She is four years old today. We were lying in bed this morning, as she doesnt have Montessori on Wednesdays, I asked her if she felt any different now that she is four, she did a little stretch and replied 'Not really, but I may need to eat more food to feel different'. She has been a joy in our lives for the last four years. She was born on the Friday of the May bank holiday weekend at exactly 13.33pm in 2003. It rained softly for most of the morning, but sun started to stream through the windows just as she arrived. I remember that distinctly because I had identified the window as a possible escape route if the allready 20 hour labour was going to go on any longer, somehow I thought if i left the room, the pain would stop............and 14 months later I was back in that same home birthing suite of the maternity hospital in Limerick going through the same for Daniels arrival, he arrived at 13.35pm on a Wednesday!.Here is a photo of the birthday girl who will be getting lots of ice cream today. She keeps us on our toes as well as loving and laughing. Love you lots Hannah Banana

So far so good.....

2007-05-01T09:45:00.000Z

Here is the progress I made with the quilt yesterday. I laid all the squares out on the bed and then, I gathered the squares for one row at a time, ran down stairs and sewed them together on the machine which is stationed in the kitchen at the moment. I dont have enough space in my house for a seperate work area, so I have to plan my sewing very carefully around my two kids and all of their accessories. While I was sewing yesterday, there was a Thomas the tank engine train set in the sitting room which I had to stop and repair every now and again, the washing machine needed feeding with the laundry and then had to be burped about 45 minutes later when its buzzer sounded, however I ploughed on . I am amazed at how focused I became on the squares and the need to sew them together in order to see what they look like when they are sewn together.

All thats left is to make my way to the patchwork shop in Limerick to get the batting and the boarder fabric, this is sooo exciting.

Crazy about Quilting

2007-04-30T21:16:00.000Z

Who would have thought....I have started making my first quilt. I accompanied cathi to a quilting workshop in Killarney a couple of weeks ago. The workshop was being run by Pat Sloan, a celebrity quilter from the states who was with a fantastic group of women who were on a trip called Sew many places ( I will do this links for these soon, as they are well worth checking out).I am now really inspired and with Cathi's great teaching skills ( she doesnt give out to me when I go wrong) I am well on my way to completing my firsy quilt. I have some photos of the quilt so far and hopefully at a later stage I will be able to get some photos of the Killarney event.Even though I have been so inspired to do this quilt I would never have started it if Cathi hadnt sat me down at her work desk and put that rotary cutter into my hand.....so a hugh big thanks to Cathi....a great quilter and an even better friend........

Terrible Blogger

2007-04-30T20:55:00.000Z

I know this is terrible, I didnt leave the planet or anything I have been here and I have been knitting. I managed to finish the Debbie Bliss sweater which I love, the merino wool is so soft. I finished it on time for our trip to Barcelona ,but we missed the flight, to cut a sad story short we ended up going to Cobh in County Cork for a few days which wasnt so bad after all. and the weather was so miserable I got to wear my sweater!!.

Vintage Stuff

2007-03-03T20:59:00.000Z

Well, I think I have managed to shake this annoying cold I have had all week I rarely seem to be without a cold these days. Thankfully it didnt stop me from knitting though it did stop me blogging.

Anyway, I have nearly finished the Debbie Bliss sweater, luckily Cathi and I managed a couple of knitting afternoons during the week. My husband and I are heading off the Barcelona on Monday for five days and I really really want that pink sweater for the trip.

On a recent rumage in my parents loft I came across this set of folders , they appeared a little dated with soem very 80's knitting patternns , but there are soem really useful toy patterns , childrens patterns and a stitch library, they are great. My mother says she picked them up at a car boot sale years ago and they have been in the loft since, I also came across this Aran knitting book with some really cool hat and scarf patterns, as well as my sock knitting goals I would really like to do some Aran, but cant rally see myself in an Aran sweater, perhaps a scarf!!!!!!!

Its here...its here...its here....

2007-02-25T22:22:00.000Z

Well, I havent been around for a while I have had a really bad headcold and because I have to have my tonsils taken out in the next number of weeks I seem to be getting everything that is going.

I didnt feel much like knitting or sewing over the last week, but then my Debbie Bliss wool arrived at Lenas and I tore myself from my sickbed and I have been knitting since.

I had ordered the new Debbie Bliss Rialto it is 100% merino wool and I have to say is just beautiful to work with, its so soft,, I allready have plans for another project in this wool its just so lovely.

My mother has also settled upon a pettern that she loves and is ordering the Rialto as well.

I am knitting this really simple stocking stitch V neck sweater with a hood, I tried this on the day that Cathi and I met Debbie Bliss in Limerick and I just fell in love with it. I have finished the back and have started on the front.Now that the mid term break is over for the kids i might get some knitting done in the afternoons................

Magpie!!!!!!!!

2007-02-14T21:21:00.000Z

This is my up and coming sewing stash. I have started a patchwork cushion cover for my son Daniel, I love the needlework but alas need more practice, much like the wool collection, I find it hard to resist beads and shiny things that can be used to embelish.

This is my wool stash. I must admit , my mother has donated a lot of this to me, but more often than not when I am within a few feet of a wool shop I cant help myself. There is a good deal of cottons in the stash and some good scraps of tweeds, there is a good bit of acrylic though for the toy knitting.

Knitty Valentine

2007-02-14T20:56:00.000Z

After another lovely 'knitty' afternoon with my friend Cathi and our kids,I got stuck into making my husbands favourite dinner for valentines.I usually manage a decent handmade card, but this evening I only managed a poor effort with coloured paper, I did however manage to make some yummy chocolate rasberry buns.
I felt it was all a little bit inadequate when he arrived home with a card, chocs and this beautiful'kilkenny casual dining'candle holders, i just love them. My effort was greatly appreciated and of course there was the valentine art work form Hannah which she says she will give to him tomorrow.............still what a lovely surprise....Happy Valentines

Kiddie Knitties!!

2007-02-13T20:30:00.000Z

On returning from our Debbie Bliss excursion Cathi and I brought back some goodies for our kids - knitting needles and wool ( what!!, did you think it would be sweets - we're crazy knitters here!!!) anyway, here are some pics of how the kids got on with the knitting......

Toys

2007-02-13T20:10:00.000Z

I love to knit toys. I thought it was something I would never do, all the small pieces and the detail, but now I am hooked. there is a small idea that Cathi and myself may acquire a table at our local farmers market and sell some of our knitting and sewing items, the feedback that we are getting from people that we have mentioned it , is that there is a market for it....watch this space.

Here is a selection of some of the toys I have knitted so far, i have loooads of toy patterns.

Yes, those are salad and ham and cheese sandwiches at the front of the picture!

Bits n' Books

2007-02-13T19:40:00.000Z

Here is my current collection of knitting books.Its so much better value to buy pattern books instead of the single patterns unless it is something special.

Please notice my collection of Debbie Bliss books , all of which are signed by the woman herself. Anyone who has read Cathi's crazed quilter blog, will know that my good friend Cathi and I met Debbie Bliss at Lenas in Limerick last week , it was a great morning of knitting madness and Debbie Bliss is so down to earth and interesting. I have ordered some of her newest wool which I am eagerly awaiting arrival of this week - that will be a further blog.

The red folder contains free patterns which I got from the internet, there is a great selection of patterns out there, I usually look for toy patterns and funky hats and scarves.

My husband is working late tonight , so more posts to come.......

Stripe Shawl

2007-02-13T18:39:00.000Z

This little project took very little time and was great fun to complete.Though it is in fairly bright colours I would like to do one in more subtle tones. Its so easy to do, its all garter stitch decreasing on every row and there is no sewing in of edges in fact you have to add some at the end in order to get the effect.

In the Pink........

2007-02-13T17:59:00.000Z

Calm before the storm, the kids are off to bed in 30 minutes and are currently watching Simpsons, so here is the second project that I completed before Christmas.

A pink jumper in Rowan Big wool, the pattern is from the Rowan big wool pattern book. I was really anxious to get going on this as I felt it would knit up really quickly - it did!, however, the big wool wasnt as nice to knit with as I had hoped... The needles were size 15mm......huuuuge.....I still like the jumper though........

Cream Cardi........

2007-02-13T11:39:00.000Z

I seem to have 20 minutes to spare before collecting Hannah from montessori.I want to start adding my completed knitting projects.The first item I completed when I started knitting again last November. I started off with a lovely cardigan from the Rowan' Ultimate Book of Knits'. I didnt use a good yarn just a cheap acrylic one. It was a great challenge and great for getting back into the knitting.

I have worn this cardigan a couple of times and though it didnt turn out brilliantly, I get great satisfaction from wearing it.

New Beginnings..........

2007-02-12T19:53:00.000Z

Well, here it is MY BLOG. I have been procrastinating about this for weeks and now I have finally gotten the finger out and created this, so bear with me if you will so that I can upload some photos of some of my knitting projects and of my kids and other bits and pieces that may or may not be of interest
My name is Kathleen , I live in the beautiful Ballina/Killaloe in North Tipperary. The town has two names because Ballina is in Tipperary North and Killaloe is in Co Clare seperated by the mighty Shannon yet connected by a bridge.
I live here with my husband Joe and children Hannah(3) and Daniel (2). Since becoming a stay at home mommy last May I have really been getting involved with other mommys here and I have to say it has been great and I have made some brilliant friends and luckily one in particular who is as knitting and book mad as myself. We have a wonderful bookclub and knitting group.I would normally be emersed in the soaps by now, it took Daniel a little longer than usual to settle into bed tonight so I am winding down and hopefully later will be knitting...........more soon.