Good things.

1. Fresh flowers. I try to buy them as often as I can when I know I'll be home to enjoy them. My rule of thumb, under $10. Mostly thanks to Trader Joe's :)



2. Reading. Actual books. It has been awhile, but with summer upon us, I've been making more time to sit and read. My current faves.



3. The love of a doggy. Our sweet Puddles went to heaven two weeks ago. It happened suddenly. Her heart was literally too big. Oh, I miss her so. And so does Pa and Bailey. But we were blessed with that sweet girl for 12 years. I never, ever, ever thought I was a dog person until these sweet doggies entered my life. I'm misty-eyed now just thinking about how she was always the first to greet me at the door (Bailey is a bit too, um...lazy, dare I say?! ha.). You guys were awesome with your love and prayers on IG and FB. Thank you. But, dear Puddy filled this blog with her sweet little eyelashes and tongue, so I had to share a few more pics. My heart.



 And for a trip down memory lane, here's all the posts with Puddles in them...oh my sweet girl.

4. Designing. And seeing you guys knit the things I design. I've released another hat pattern, Chugach. Remember, the glaciers and that crazy 2 mile tunnel in Alaska?!  Finally that hat pattern is done. Next up. The matching mitts.

When my fabulous friend, knitter, model, and graphic designer, Knitterella shared her picture of her finished Chugach this week, I thought, heck let's have a sale! So grab the pattern now for $3 til tomorrow night! Jill is such a talented designer, I have to say I'm honored and flattered that she still enjoys knitting my patterns once in awhile :)





And Sarah of the Plucky Knitter shared the sneak peek of her June Classics in my Steward Hat pattern so I couldn't help but put that on sale for the month of June too! I'm so blessed to be part of this awesome, support knitting community!! Sarah is celebrating her 10-year anniversary sale this weekend so grab a skein and cast on!





5. Quiet. I'm craving it so much lately. The peace and quiet and solitude. Whether it is the quiet of my morning swims, the silence of my mind while I'm journaling, or meditating or praying, I find myself anxious if I don't get enough of it during the day. I've been listening to Shauna Niequist's Present over Perfect (LOVE!) and here are a few quotes that I just loved from the book. So many.





6. Cooking. New recipes too.



Blueberry Crisp



Summer Salad

Any new easy recipes you've guys recommend for all the lovely summer fruits and veggies at the farmer's market?

7. A lovely weekend with Pa and Bailey Boo, in my town :)



8. Casting on new things. Simple garter stitch of Cobh.



Hope your weekend is filled with good things too.

With love and gratitude xoxo
Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh Ed, how I love thee, let me count the ways.



Seriously.  If you haven't listened to Ed Sheeran's new album, you're missing out on some happy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day by the way!!!

And let's not forget it's also time for our annual Irish Girlie Knits BOGO free pattern sale!

Here are the details everyone...
March 17-18

BOGO Free! with the coupon code: LUCKY

Buy one pattern, get one free (lesser priced pattern will be free; Merrily and Sleepy Hollow Collections included, but other ebook collections excluded)!

Only includes patterns published by Irish Girlie Knits Designs in my Ravelry shop here.

Discount can be used more than once, but patterns must be bought in multiples of 2 (e.g., 2, 4, 6…). Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Feel free to share this info with your friends or any appropriate groups on Ravelry. The more the merrier!





There's been just a bit of knitting around here.....




I  hope to finish this hat...someday.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I'll definitely be celebrating.
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Happenings.

And just like that, February, or birthday month as we like to call it around here, is almost half way over.  Here's a bit of what is happening...

{finishing}



Another version of Magpie's 1st birthday sweater, this time a smaller version. A new design coming sometime this year. Funny, going back to read that old post, I knit Magpie's larger version in less than a week. This one was started when Blue-eyed princess was born, and she's already 16 months old?!?!

{knitting}







Those fingerless gloves flew off the needles. I just started those last week. Knitting mojo is definitely back. I could have finished them last weekend, but I forced myself to put them down and do some much needed work that needed to be done.

{watching}

A bit of fluff but it pairs well with knitting. And I'm just so glad Reyna, Scarlette, and Juliette are back. And I can't wait for Juliette to sing some gospel. Go girl.

{listening to}



Duh. It happens. I can't help it. Not this song in particular, just the Nashville songs that I may or may not have downloaded over the years. Or the Pandora Nashville cast radio station. Yep. That's a thing too. My music tastes are just about as eclectic as me.

{discovering}







For some reason, yesterday morning I decided to change my routine and go for a walk instead of to the gym. Maybe it was because it had finally stopped raining. Or perhaps I just wanted to do something different for my birthday. I do know that that was the best decision I made yesterday and it set my day off just right. I wandered down a street of houses and decided to walk a certain time one way and then turn back, going somewhere I hadn't driven or gone before. I ended up discovering this beautiful walking trail, practically right around the corner. The light was beautiful. The clouds were breathtaking. When my grandma  and great-aunts moved to Reno, they used to always comment on the clouds and say how different they looked up there. As if you were closer to them. I loved how they were guaranteed to comment on their beauty, but I didn't necessarily think they looked different than in San Francisco. I find myself commenting on the clouds and sky here too, though. Yesterday I felt their presence, my grandma and great-aunts. A birthday blessing. I realized that perhaps it isn't the clouds that are different...it's our eyes. My eyes. When you have a certain sense of peace, you do see things differently. I realized that yesterday for the first time on my walk.

{anticipating}



Another new design. Grace Now. Coming soon.

{celebrating}



As is our tradition, the birthday sale is in full swing for the rest of the month! Enjoy 20% off all IGK patterns through the end of the month, including any new ones I release...I'm hoping at least one!



Goodness. Love. Dream. My gifts to myself this year.



43 feels amazing. Keep going, girlie. I'm so grateful.

I can't wait to hear what's been happening with you guys this month. Share away in the comments.

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's a toe-tapping, soda bread eating kinda day!



Check out those sweaters. And listen to that brogue. Oh, it makes my heart smile. We will definitely be listening to the Clancy Brothers today.



And watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People.



Of course, I've made sure my knitting is appropriate...cables...and a lovely handmade Irish stitch marker from ReneeAnneKnits! Thanks dear! Love it.



And Irish soda bread. OMG. Best part about this bread is I discovered it at a LOCAL San Mateo bakery (Cake Creations) and they make it year round, and dad loves it! Not as good as my sister's, but pretty darn close!

Friday we'll celebrate with the munchkins....they are growing fast!


Emmypie


Magpie

And let's not forget it's also time for our annual Irish Girlie Knits BOGO free pattern sale!

Here are the details everyone...
March 17-18

BOGO Free! with the coupon code: LUCKY

Buy one pattern, get one free (lesser priced pattern will be free; Merrily and Sleepy Hollow Collections included, but other ebook collections excluded)!

Only includes patterns published by Irish Girlie Knits Designs in my Ravelry shop here.

Discount can be used more than once, but patterns must be bought in multiples of 2 (e.g., 2, 4, 6…). Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Feel free to share this info with your friends or any appropriate groups on Ravelry. The more the merrier!



I'll be wearing my Ring of Kerry today!



Be sure to check back tomorrow! We'll have a special guest post from Erica!

What are you all enjoying today and this weekend? Aren't we all a little Irish today?
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Grateful.

After spending a lovely holiday weekend with family and friends, I can't help but feel grateful. I hope you all had a nice weekend and are ready for the holiday season. I know I am! I'm sitting at my favorite cafe, with their lovely holiday decorations up, enjoying a cafe au lait on this chilly afternoon, listening to Adele (do you love her new album as much as I do?!).

A few favorites from this weekend....







We had awesome seats for the Notre Dame-Stanford game! And I finished my hat just in time Friday night. The yarn, Plucky Knitter Cachet, is absolutely divine! The pattern is going to be a new one....the Chugach hat, slouchy version.



The game was a heartbreaker....not quite enough luck for the Irish!









I think Lil' Guy liked his Grown-Up Keegan! Yes, yes....it has been forever since I knit him anything. We called this a cool skater hat and that seemed to help! What other 8 year old gets a Bello Worsted hat (that should read 45% cashmere!)?!?!

If you haven't had a chance to take advantage of my Thanksgiving sale, today is the last day.



And if you missed it, don't worry, December is blogiversary month! And you know we like to have some awesome specials for that!

I've also started a healthy for the holidays thread over in the IGK ravelry group! I'm starting the 21day fix program again tomorrow- serious commitment for the next 21 days! Feel free to pop over and join us as we share healthy tips and cheer each other on!



Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

A Post from the Anchorage Airport

I so needed this weekend. A quick weekend trip to Anchorage, Alaska to visit my guy was just what my heart and soul needed.



When I made this big leap of faith back in July, he was a big influence in my decision, and no matter where things end up, I'm forever grateful for that. But being back in Alaska, everything just seemed so perfect. I loved the rainy weather. Oh how this California girl misses it. The dark morning and early evenings. Of course, he jokes that I wouldn't love it in December, and he's probably right. But right now, when my head is killing me and the light doesn't help it, you know, I kinda love the vampire lifestyle :)



Look at that magical misty fog!



He cooked dinner Friday night, while I took care of snacks during the Notre Dame-USC game. Go Irish!!





Our drive today out on the Seward Highway to Chugach National Forest to see the glaciers was just beautiful!


Portage Glacier


Spencer Glacier





The Glacier from the Whittier side of the ONE-LANE TUNNEL....for 2 1/2 miles... under the glacier...with 5 safe houses....yeah...that freaked me out and I wanted to say, "But what if..." and he just said, "Save your scenarios. I don't want to hear them, even when we are out of the tunnel." You know...like what if there was an earthquake? A car accident? A nuclear war...are these the bunkers the president goes to??? What are in those safe houses?? Bezzie....tell me about this tunnel thing??? Ok, I just did a little research, but I'm sure Bezzie has more info for us :)

And a new hat I designed Friday morning....





I don't regret not moving to Alaska, although long-distance hasn't been ideal....he's moving back to the bay area soon though. But we both know we'll always have a plan B because we both love it here. And I can wear ALL. THE. HAND. KNITS.



Sorin and Aleyska.



Glaciers, hand knits, and a happy heart.

xoxo Irishgirlieknits