Never say Never

I succumbed.

Happy Spinning???

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Fun Stuff

I've had a list of fun stuff running through my head that I've wanted to share in the past few weeks. Finally, a few free moments to share them. Time to blog. Another reason why I love long four-day weekends!

So, here's some fun stuff.

1. Have you checked out the new Twist Collective? My very good friend Thayer, aka ilikecake, has a new sweater design in it! Blair is just gorgeous!



Why, yes, that is my gorgeous model friend too! Seriously talented girl she is! Check out more pictures of Blair on her blog.

2. I finally finished something.



Pont Neuf cowl using my leftovers from the sample knit in Kollage Yarns Solace. I've actually finished one other project (wee baby Uncle Frank socks!!), but haven't had a chance to take pictures yet. My knitting mojo was a bit on hold the past week or two as a major reorganization/cleaning has taken place at my home.

3. The major home cleaning led to closet cleaning, which led to discovering way too many WIPS, but they are now all tucked in here.



Well, except for the Blanket that Rocks project. But everything else is in here! Can you guess how many WIPS are in there? Let's have a little contest. Guess how many are in there and first one correct (or random winner if no one guesses correctly) will win a pattern from my Ravelry store.

4. I've loved seeing my designs knit up and recently I've seen a few that I wanted to share. Check out Nartian's Pont Neufs! And Dawn finished a beautiful Le Petit Pont! Both are perfect holiday knits (and look, Kollage Yarns thinks so too!).

5. Knitpicks featured one of my designs, Burst, in their November catalog!





I love this pattern and LOVE how they reknit the socks and did the photoshoot!! So fun!! And I want that cute couch/chair.

6. Cute picture of Puddles. Always fun to share.



7. I bought The Shetland Trader's new book. Lots of gorgeous lovely projects! Inspiration!!

8. Fiber? What is that doing here on my blog? Ummmmm.....I think I have some explaining to do. A little something happened over on twitter. Must run to holiday brunch, but I promise to tell you soon.



9. For teasing you with fiber pictures, I better make it up to you by telling you all of my individually sold patterns through Ravelry are on sale (you can also purchase by clicking on the pattern links over on my sidebar, just not all the patterns have the discount but Cotty, Sweet Baby Kate, Uncle Frank and more are on sale)!! 25% off until Monday, Nov. 29 (discount automatic at checkout).

Hope all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful one! I did! Lots of celebrating still going on this weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!!






Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be grateful for this year!

As a thank you for all of your support this past year, I'm having a little holiday pattern sale. Most of my individual patterns are 25% off through Sunday, Nov.28 (discount applied at checkout).

Gobble Gobble!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

I'm ready for winter

Are you?

Amazing how many socks were hiding under my bed and in my closets! 25 clean socks.

12 pairs from Socks that Rock (not surprised!)

7 pairs from yarns purchased from Woolgirl (another not surprised!)

6 pairs from The Plucky Knitter (again, not surprised)

1 lonely Mama Blue pair

Bring on the cold!!

Happy Monday!!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Planes, Trains, and Lil' Guy

First, the Hiller Aviation Museum with Grandma and Auntie.

Then trains at Pa's.

"Can I touch the trains?"

No. But you can sit and watch them.

"Can I watch them there (pointing to the middle)?"

Sure.

"Hmmm....where can I put this tree?"

"Right here?"

"Yes, here."

When the trees ran out, we resorted to Cabbage Patch Miniatures, all lined up, waiting for the train.

One seriously easy to please Lil' Guy!

Happy Sunday!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

a noun for perfection

Last Thursday, Cupcakefaerie and I ventured to A Verb for Keeping Warm's new store. The store is perfection, exactly what one would envision your local yarn store to be.



I fell in love immediately.

It may have been the gorgeous, vibrant sock yarns.

It may have been that I was inspired by so many of the yarns. I loved the range of yarns that they are offering, from their own line to the Fibre Co., Sanguine Gryphon, Pigeonroof Studios, Madeline Tosh. The list goes on. I feared for my wallet.

It may have been the light and the openness that I fell in love with as well.


And Kristine! So welcoming. She really has created an awesome space (congratulations Kristine!). I just wish it was a bit closer. But then again, maybe it is for the best.

See those drop spindles? And see that smiling person behind them? She is grinning because I think she realizes she may have finally sucked me in. No, I didn't walk away with a drop spindle or fiber, but I'm pretty sure that will be in my future soon. If time wasn't an issue, I probably would have signed up for the intro to drop spindle class that was offered at Verb last weekend, just so that I could have taken more classes with Cupcakefaerie (or should I say Spinningenablingfaerie) this coming weekend.

I didn't even take pictures of the gorgeous fabric. I was trying so hard to resist all the pretty.

Can you believe only these two lovelies came home with me?

Malabrigo Rios in Azul Profundo

I think I resisted buying more because I wanted a reason to go back. Again. And again.

Plus, I didn't even meet up with my east bay girls....Tapmouse, Nartian, Purlsjustwannahavefun. Oh, I see more visits in my future!

Happy Shopping!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Finally

I have some finished projects to show you! Projects finished from my stash, believe it or not. Gift knitting too. It feels like forever since I've finished a pair of socks.

Here they are....



Uncle Frank socks. The girl version, knit in Socks that Rock mediumweight, colorway Bella Coola.



I loved knitting these. Which makes me wonder why they took me over a year??! to finish.





They'll be on their way to Colorado soon to live with my best friend who just had a baby boy! I just need to cast on and finish up the wee baby Frank socks and hat to go with them. I promise, promise to get the pattern ready to go soon!


Speaking of babies, I also finished another Sweet Baby Kate set for a co-worker who is having a baby girl.


Socks that Rock lightweight, colorway Goody Goody


I think I love the wee picots the most.

And now that my secret design project that I've been working on the past few weeks is done, I can get back to more knitting from my stash!


At Stitches East I cast on a Pont Neuf cowl for me! I also was able to try out Kollage's new circular needles with a "firm" cable! Love love love! They just debuted at Stitches East and they were selling like crazy at the Fine Needle booth (and you can also order them online from them too!).



In between meet and greets and pattern signings, I worked in the Fine Needle booth with Stacy and Lara. They were awesome and if you are ever in Maryland, you should check out the shop!



And, since you made it through this long post, why not share some (note, I say some) of the stash enhancement from Stitches.


Bugga! in colorway Pink Dragonfly (so so pretty!)



The Sanguine Gryphon Q.E.D. I had not seen this yarn in person and thought it would be perfect for another infinity scarf!

Happy Knitting!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

An Extra Hour

I spent my extra hour this morning from Daylight Savings braving the rain to go to the farmers' market.




It has been a busy few weeks and I haven't been able to get to the market. It felt so good to get back into my weekend routine and know that I have healthy, fresh food in the refrigerator for the week ahead.



I did indulge in a small, organic quiche from the farmers market though :) And I'll spend the rest of my hour finishing the toe of my Uncle Frank sock that is for my best friend who just gave birth to a sweet baby boy. She said that the socks that I knit her many years ago were one of the few that fit during those last few weeks of pregnancy and she'd been loving them! Matching wee baby Uncle Franks will be cast on later this week after I finish a design commitment.

How did you spend your extra hour this morning?

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Stitches East 2010

Wow! I can't believe this last week has flown by so quickly. Stitches East was a bit, just a bit, like sock camp in that I had way too much fun in a very short amount of time and sacrificed sleep for more fun!

I guess that is what happens when you get four sock campers together!


Erica, Me, Debbi, and Marcy

I'll take it as a sign that they have all had a hard time reentering real-life after last weekend's fun by the fact that none of them have had time to blog either :)




Check out Marcy's gorgeous vest that she finished knitting right before Stitches East!

The best part about an event like Stitches East was seeing and meeting other knitters! I have to thank Kollage Yarns for sponsoring me in their booth everyday to meet and greet other knitters, sign my patterns, and do a lace demo.

Here are just a few of the knitters I was able to meet....




Dawn, from NE Knits and Beads, and I have been reading each other's blogs so it was so nice to finally meet her in person. She's wearing a her gorgeous Icing Scarf by KnitQuest (another sock camper!!) and has already cast on Le Petit Pont!

More knitters.....


Maureen


Joanna


Kathy, who loved that I was an "Irishgirlie" :)


Heather, aka YarnYenta, and creator of Intwined Pattern Studio, the designing software that I use for most of my patterns (and love!!), had a booth right across from us so I got to see lots of her.


And fellow Socks that Rock lover, Robin aka histoknitter! I was so excited to finally meet her! She is just as fabulous in person as she seems on Ravelry.

Anyone notice my pretty blue Pont Neuf Infinity Scarf that I'm wearing?! Yes, I stayed up late (again!) finishing this before my trip back east so that I'd have one to wear for myself :) I absolutely love the infinity scarves, so you may be seeing more around here!

Speaking of staying up too late, I must to bed. But first, I promised a winner. Thank you all for entering the contest for Bellingrath last week. There were some awesome blog suggestions, app suggestions, and what you want to knit now. If you haven't checked out the comments, take a minute to do so. Lots of good stuff! I heart you guys!

And the lucky winner of a skein of Sock-a-licious and Bellingrath is...

Sarah from Sarah with an 'H'

Congratulations Sarah! Send me an email with your address at irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com and I'll get your prize out to you soon!

Stay tuned for more Stitches East fun in my next post!

Happy Friday!!

xoox Irishgirlieknits