Knitting for Miniatures

Knitting in miniature

I was in a shop near Kenmare, in County Kerry this week, and saw this beautiful hand crafted piece of knitting in a frame, complete with little needles and tiny balls of wool – the frame is only about ten or twelve inches high, so this little piece must have been made by teeny tiny hands, maybe even by the fairies!   Wouldn’t it be the perfect present for a keen knitter?

Linked to Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge.

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Travel Theme : Off Centre

My photos today are mostly taken in Blarney Castle when my daughter was visiting last August, as you can see there was a little ‘yarn bombing‘ going on in the young trees.   If you haven’t heard of yarn bombing, or guerilla knitting (and we overheard a few confused American visitors saying ‘but whats the point?’)   this is what Wiki says about it

Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

Linked to Where’s My Backpack challenge

Silent Sunday : Hope your Day was relaxing

One Word Photo Challenge : Fuschia

Fuschia is a flower that grows wild along the hedges in late summer, and it can also be a colour, ranging from pink to a more mauve shade.   I think this lovely wool, with which I made cardigans for my grandchildren, has the perfect shades of fuschia

And here is the plant called fuschia, growing wild in West Cork

Fuschia in full bloom

Check out some more lovely fuschia shots over here

Yarn Bombing in Beautiful Blarney

When walking along the entrance to Blarney Castle, we came across some very interesting knitted pullovers on the trees, keeping them warm for the coming winter, and showing off the skills of some creative knitters.

A few American tourists that we passed seemed to be a bit perplexed about why the trees were decorated like this,  and for anyone else that is wondering what yarn bombing is, here is an excerpt from the always knowledgeable Wikipedia:

Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or yarnstorms – may last for years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike other forms of graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. Nonetheless, the practice is still technically illegal, though it is not often prosecuted vigorously.

While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing was initially almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places. It has since developed with groups graffiti knitting and crocheting worldwide, each with their own agendas and public graffiti knitting projects being run.

Have you come across some yarn bombing in your area?    Let’s have some pictures!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

Crafty work

 

 

Knitting on the Go!

Right now I have two projects on the go….well with the bad weather outside, and a nice cosy fire inside, what’s a girl to do….

I bought some beautiful Sirdar Escape DK at Vibes & Scribes – what an amazing shop this is, go down into the basement, and I dare you to come out without being tempted to buy something!  They have wool, wool and more wool, knitting needles, patterns, ideas and help, and an arts and crafts shop on the ground floor.    Sorry, I got distracted there.     The wool is self striping, and mine is in shades of pink, purple, peach, tangerine, and I am making cardigans for my grandchildren.  The pattern is one from Ravelry (another favourite place) and is called Sweet and Simple Cardigan -it is knit in one piece to the armholes, and then divided, and the fronts and back worked separately.   There is a wide band in garter stitch and then stocking stitch for the rest,  and it looks lovely when you see the effect, though when I showed my granddaughter on Skype what I was doing, she wasn’t impressed and said ‘that doesn’t look like a cardigan’…just wait Caitlin, it’s growing every day!

Pretty in Pink

Growing slowly

My second project is a shrug for me.   I bought a lovely vintage dress on my last trip to Dublin, and as it is sleeveless, I thought it needed something for when I am out on a posh night out!    It’s another Ravelry pattern- Irish Moss Shrug, it has a 4 row pattern, and is a bit slower than the plain knitting.   I am almost finished the first ball now and am about half way through.   The wool is Aria Double Knitting, and has little black sequins on it so it will be nice for night time.  I tried to take a few photos but the black doesn’t photograph too well, I may have to wait till it’s finished and I am wearing it over my new dress.

Progress on My Knitting

My shawlette is moving!  I think ..and hope..I am about half way through.  It is not a very simple pattern, with the result I have to follow the pattern for every row, but I learned a few new things since starting, like w+t…wrap and turn, something I never came across before, but it seems to be working, after a fashion anyway. Even if there are a few mistakes,no one is going to stop me in the street and examine my work for exactness!

This seems to be the widest part of the work, so, as they say, its all downhill from here.

My shawlette, making progress.