Saturday Etsy Share: Halloween Jewelry

The weeks are going back so fast! It's time again for Saturday sharing of some items I love on Etsy, and this week I've decide to show off some original Etsy Halloween Jewelry.

Starting in Ireland:

Halloween Bloody Odd Earrings from Bloody Odd Jewellery:

Scary Spider Pendant, from Feanor Crafts:

Skull Charm Bracelet from Jayne's Jewels Online:

Jack'O Lantern Earrings from Rosie Recycled Crafts:

Other Halloween Jewellery from around the World:

Halloween Pumpkin Necklace from Out Of Space Jewelry:

Spider Bracelet from Studio DCT:

Halloween Earrings from Stone Horse Designs:

Is Halloween a good opportunity to wear original jewellery? Which one of these pieces is your favourite?

On My Needles: I'm Ready for Winter Cowl

When I say I'm ready, I mean nearly there.

I've got my hand knit fingerless gloves and hat already finished - I wanted to try and make a slouchy hat and I'm pretty happy with the result:

 
 My 11 year-old daughter doesn't want me to wear my slouchy hat, she likes to try it on herself and tells me she likes looking like someone from the 60s.

I'm not sure what she calls sixties style, but I'm still going to wear it, even though I'll probably leave the small round glasses a la John Lennon and the minidress for someone braver than me.

Anyway, I still haven't finished this cowl that I keep trying on to see if it's as big as I want it - I'd want to be able to put it over my head when I don't have my hat on (are we there yet?:-)

The knitting yarn I'm using is King Cole Riot Chunky in Monsoon shade, I just love how soft it feels and the self striping colours mean that I'm never bored with the colour. Also, the advantages of handknitting my own winter accessories means that I get everything to match, even though I won't go as far as knitting my own winter coat.

 I have a new matching;-) phone case planned so time to keep knitting this snood and free up my needles!

Saturday Etsy Share: Knit Halloween Goodies

I've decided to share some of the great stuff that's available on Etsy, so since Halloween is fast approaching, I am starting with Halloween items.

This week I have been looking at knit and crochet items. Of course there's a lot more than handknit and crochet on Etsy, but I had to start somewhere so why not with my favourite craft?

The first items are from members of the Etsy Ireland Team.

Here's Crow Cottage Crafts' Harry the Halloween Hamster

Next, check out these Victorian Vampire Mittens from Koticzka

Halloween Handknitted Art Scarf with cats, bats and witches from Purls of Colour

Olga Soleil has some Crazy Crochet Halloween Coasters

And a few more from non-Irish Etsy sellers:

There are a lot more cute and spooky Halloween items on Etsy, and I could spend hours looking at these, unfortunately I can't share them all here, so if you want to see more, head on to Etsy.

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My First Free Cowl Pattern is Available on Ravelry

I did it! For the last few months I've wanted to publish knitting patterns on Ravelry and I've finally managed to finally upload a free knitting pattern for my Infinity Super Chunky Cowl on Ravelry.

For my first pattern, I decided to give it away for free, mainly because how easy it is to make: you can't really ask for payment for a pattern that most people could work out themselves, and now I've worked out how to do it, it will be easier to publish some more free and paid knitting patterns.

What I would really like to do also is have a go at publishing a pattern booklet of between 5 and 10 knitting patterns, but first things first: here is the download link for my Free Infinity Super Chunky Cowl.

And here's the picture of the finished cowl:

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Knit Flower Tutorial: My Attempt.

Last week I came across a knitting tutorial for a flower on Craftsy.

I wanted to share it here so I've added the video to my Knitting Tutorials page. I think this flower would make a beautiful embellishment for a knit or crochet hat, bag, it could also be made as a brooch or attached to a hair band or hair clip for a cute girl accessory.

It seems difficult when you see the finished flower, but like most knitted accessories, it is easier than it looks and even a beginner knitter can make this. The instructions are easy to follow and to prove that it's not that difficult, here is what my own version of the knitted flower looks like:

This would look great also with beads or shiny sequins knitted into it, to add a bit of sparkle.

The Best Postman In The World

Sometimes you can really relate to the saying: "it's the little things that count".

I walk or drive my children to school every morning of the week (depending on the weather, and sometimes the mood). The timing seems to coincide with the time the postman delivers my mail, which is OK for bills, but if I get a parcel that doesn't fit through the letterbox, I have to wait until 4.00pm before I can get my package from my local post office.

While this is not a huge inconvenience, you must be aware of how much knitters love their wool; I can't even start describing the trauma we go through when we have to part with our yarn (can you believe that some flights don't allow knitting needles or crochet hooks on planes? What's a knitter supposed to do when traveling, it's bad enough leaving lots of wool at home - On the other hand, think about what treasuries can be discovered in the yarn shops of faraway countries). But I am straying: let's go back to my postman:

I had been waiting for a yarn delivery and expected it to be delivered on Monday but I had to walk my children to school. I spotted the post van on my way home and when I got home I took off my shoes and jacket and I had just started doing my morning housework when I heard the doorbell: I was my postman who said he had turned around when he saw me walking towards home and guess what he had for me?

 6 balls of Wendy Serenity Super Chunky in Celery shade: of course there are only 5 on this photo as the last one has already been turned into this (you'll have to excuse the picture quality, as I haven't had a proper photo session since last weekend:

 I love my Postman!

Little Hats for Charity: The Big Knit 2013

Every year, Innocent Drinks has a fundraising event for Age Action, that they call The Big Knit.

This year I've decided to try and knit some mini hats and send them off: these will be put on Innocent Smoothie bottles and for every bottle with a hat, Innocent Drinks will give 30c to Age Action.

So far I've made 4 hats and my daughter made one (the yellow one, she also made my Pom pom, for some reason mine just keep falling apart):

It's been fun to make these, and also an opportunity to experiment with different hat shapes. I might get around to make another 2 or 3 before I send them off on Monday (the deadline is October 4th). I got the pattern for the bird on Deramore's website (they have really funky ones you can download for free here). Unfortunately my bird hat doesn't look as good as the one from the pattern; my excuse is that I didn't have the same size yarn in the right colours.

I hope I can make more next year, if only I thought of starting in early summer!

Yarn Bargain Alert: Aldi Special Buys on Sunday 29th September

For my fellow Irish knitters, Aldi Ireland has 4 types of yarn for sale this Sunday 29th September.

It's not going to be the luxurious Alpaca or Merino wool variety, nonetheless, in a time where most of us are strapped for cash and for people who are allergic to wool, Aldi yarn is not to be sniffed at.

Acrylic yarn (as I assume it will be) is also very useful for making accessories like toys, phone cases, bags and what not. Here are quick links if you want to check the offers:
 - Chunky knit yarn: 300g for €7.99
 - Gorgeous Baby yarn: 200g for €3.99
 - Luxury Scarf Yarn (Poodle or Spectra): 150g for €4.49
 - Rustic Aran yarn: 400g for €7.99

Now if I had bothered checking the Aldi app on my phone, I would have found out about these myself, thankfully I have great friends on Facebook and I want to thank Maire from the Nattering Knitters group for sharing the offer.

Now you know where I'll be on Sunday!

Glittery Fingerless Gloves For My Girls

I made these fingerless gloves using cheap acrylic and glittery yarn my daughters bought from Aldi or Lidl (not sure which one as it's been a few months). These mittens are quick enough to make (about 2 hours each for me but I am still trying to improve my knitting speed), and of course, made using a circular needle as I am not a fan of unnecessary sewing. I only had one hand model available for the pictures as my eldest daughter was gone to a friend's house yesterday, so you can see the red gloves being worn by a 9 year-old girl and as they are knitted, they are stretchy and can easily fit a child from 7 to 12 years old.

By the way, these pictures were taken using my new DIY Light Box, who knew it was so easy to take professional-looking photographs?

Etsy Shameless Self-Promotion: New Autumn - Winter Items in Store

It's starting to get cold around here so before going back to my needles, I want to let everybody know that I have at last added my first autumn and winter accessories in my Etsy shop.

There are 3 warm and cosy hats, 3 pairs of matching fingerless gloves and 3 matching headbands; here's a picture of one of each item and there is one of each color:

I have added an Etsy Shop page to this blog also so you can see what's in store so far in Sophie's Knit Stuff.

If you haven't already, don't forget to like Sophie's Knit Stuff on Facebook and share it with your friends for more knitting and shop news!

Knitwits is the New Yarn Shop in Galway: Christmas Came Early!

My closest yarn supply stores are in Galway, but unfortunately they love stocking mostly overpriced luxury yarns or cheaper yarns that remind me of the scratchy and brightly coloured jumpers my granny used to knit and that I only wore on the days I went to visit her.

 Luckily when I went to my local craft and chat group last Wednesday, someone mentioned Knitwits & Crafty Stitchers, a new yarn store in Galway, so I thought I'd pay a visit during the week.

When I saw the wool in there, I thought I was in heaven: beautiful colors and excellent quality yarns! Of course they have their share of luxury yarns (Bergere de France) and also the authentic Donegal Studio (not for me, as this kind of wool feels scratchy and I can nearly feel my childhood skin allergies coming back when I touch it), but I was pleased to see that that they stock a wide variety of premium quality and affordable King Cole yarn, which I had been buying online as I couldn't find it locally: I spotted my latest favourite King Cole Riot chunky at €5.20 for a 100g ball (I had previously bought it online for €5.69!).

 To add to this, the shop owner is a very nice lady who says in her website's blog that she set up her store after being made redundant so I want to support her business, and although I think I have enough yarn to last me until Christmas, I think I will return there soon.

While I was in the shop looking at all the lovey yarns, I decided it was time for me to start knitting Christmas items for my family members, so I got 2 balls of 400g of King Cole Aran Fashion for €13 each, one in brown and one in black: I am thinking hats, trying to create a pattern for a man cowl, and maybe also fingerless gloves for my Dad and my little brother (who's not so little!):

Preview of my New Knitted Winter Hats and Fingerless Gloves

I have been very busy lately, with my kids going back to school and the start of Etsy Ireland Mentor Month. So far this is going well as I am getting a lot of great advice, and by looking at my mentor's shop, it looks like she knows what she is talking about.

Since my last blog post I managed to knit a few items with the lovely King Cole Riot chunky yarn: 3 hats, 1 fingerless glove (I am finishing the second one this evening), and I am planning to use the leftover yarn for maybe another hat or each colour and some headbands.

I just love the feel and warmth of this yarn, pity I can't keep all of these for myself, hopefully they will find a good home!

Here is the picture I took this morning; I am waiting to have more finished before I can add them to my Etsy shop:

My New Snood (Just for me!)

Just a quick post to share the snood I just finished.

This one is just for me and made in King Cole Riot Chunky yarn. It is very soft and contains 30% wool AND is machine washable (will still go on the wool cycle if I put it in my machine, though).

I am waiting for a delivery so I can make a matching hat and mittens (all for me too). My excuse for being selfish is: if I don't show off my work, who will (other than my 2 daughters who are waiting for the first chance of stealing it;)?

Back to School Knitted Lunch Bags

I spent the last few days designing and knitting two lunch bags for my daughters. I think these are great for carrying a school or work lunch, especially when made with a yarn that can be machine washed.

I included cables, as I think it's giving the bags a bit more hold than if there were simply knitted.

I knitted the first one flat (green), but as the finishing required quite a bit of sewing, I decided to try the second one (maroon) on circular needles, so this one is knitted as a tube and I have added a rectangular piece for the bottom (still some sewing to do, but much less than for the first one).

I also added zippers to the top and as this was my first time working with those, I am relieved to say that it didn't go as bad as I expected.

I will try and publish a pattern for these, including instructions for flat knitting and for circular knitting, as soon as I figure out how to make a downloadable PDF (Bear with me as I'm still on a learning curve!)

Here they are now:

Knit a Birthday Badge

I love the idea of knitting with more than one colour at a time, it just multiplies the possibilities!

Here is a birthday badge I made a few weeks ago for my youngest daughter's 9th birthday:

For this, I knitted 2 pieces, the second piece a plain pink circle, sewed them together adding some cotton wool to give it the required thickness, and attached a safety pins at the back to be able to pin the badge to my daughter's clothes.

I think I'll make a few more for my Etsy shop, with different colours and ages, as it's the ideal project for someone like me who wants to be able to produce a bigger quantity in less time.

I'd like to hear your ideas in the comments section, do you like/hate it, do you like the idea of a handmade item rather than a cheap plastic birthday badge?

My Etsy Shop

I opened my Etsy shop a few weeks ago; guess the name: Sophie's Knit Stuff!

I only have a few items on there for now, but planning on adding many more in a few weeks' time, since I'm giving up my customer care job at last (as can be witnessed by my colleagues/neighbours, I'm not a people person, I would much rather write than interact with people on the phone).

What I am planning to do is looking after my children, knit, knit and knit some more; and if I can earn some income from this, there won't be a happier person in the world than me!

What I have in my Etsy store right now is not much, but it's a start; ideas of new things I could knit are flying around in my head, and I need to write them all down before I forget.

I have also created a Facebook page for all my knitting related business, and I would be really grateful for any Likes and Shares that you can spare for Sophie's Knit Stuff.

To visit my store on Etsy, go to Sophie's Knit Stuff.

I will now leave you with a few pictures of a goodbye gift I've made this week-end for one of my colleagues at the call centre, to apologize for all my violent mood swings - never at her expense - as I have to admit there's been an awful lot of swearing/ranting/wanting to hit my head off my computer mouse.... on my part after finishing some calls (anyone working in a call centre will understand):

Learning How to Knit or Crochet

I am proud to say that I taught my daughters how to knit, and the best thing is that they have and are still showing a keen interest in this craft, which was passed on to me by my mother, and her mother-in-law to her - for some reason, she didn't pick it up when her own own mother tried to teach her, so I'm glad my paternal grandmother was an excellent knitter.

The method I've always used is English knitting, where you hold the yarn with the right hand (I am left handed, but this comes from being taught by a rightie).

A few weeks ago I discovered that my eldest daughter seems to be using the Continental style, in which you use the left hand to hold the yarn, so when I asked her how she learned this, she told me her school teacher showed her. I felt slightly betrayed, but I'm over it now (I think;)

For the last part of the school year, the teacher has been inviting the local knitting group once a week to teach the class how to knit, which was a good thing, since this may result in some of the pupils teaching their parents how to knit!

I have never been into crochet and my own attempts resulted in miserable failures (I can barely manage a chain), but my daughter's best friend taught her a bit of crochet, which my daughter passed on to her younger sister, and from what I'm hearing (they are both staying at my parents' house for a few weeks), my youngest daughter has been teaching my mother the little bit of crochet she knows.

I just find it great that it's not always the auld ones that can teach young people new skills, and that it can work both ways.


What about you? I am interested in knowing how you learned, and if you haven't, what is stopping you? Please your comments below!

P.S. If you want to learn skills like knitting, I have included a tutorials page in this blog, which I am planning on adding to, and there are lots of free video tutorials on YouTube if you want some more.

Girlie Hand Knitted Bag

I knitted this bag out of some lilac and white cotton "Colorado" knitting yarn.

I used the I-cord technique to make the string used to tighten and close the bag, and also for the over-the shoulder strap.

Knitted Mouse Pad

The mouse pad I had bought from my computer store is not the best, and as I didn't want to buy a new one (these things are expensive, especially if you are looking from something else than the traditional blue mouse pad that everybody is using or had used at some stage), I decided to make myself one.

As it needed to be thick enough to be stable on a desk, I decided to experiment with double-knitting, and even though it was a slow start and took double the time to knit, I really enjoyed making this reversible hand-knit mouse pad, using some of my leftover "Art of Knitting" yarn.

Cute Baby Headband and Booties

I really wanted to learn an easy way to knit pretty flowers, but what to put them on?

A baby headband, of course! I made this using circular knitting needles and added the flower for extra cuteness.

One of my neighbours recently had a baby girl, so it was the perfect occasion for me to learn baby booties. The pattern for the booties is taken from The Art of Knitting series, while the headband is my own.

All that's left to do now is to get her a nice card and give her this set.

Speed Knitting

 I have been lazy with my knitting this week: blame the good weather, as we are currently having our week-long summer in Ireland at the moment.

I have been watching lots of YouTube knitting videos, though, and the one i want to share is this one: I wish I could knit that fast, but I think I will need a little more practice before I can do this:

Once I can knit that fast, I'll start yarn-bombing my house (well maybe just a chair or two)!

Hand-Knitted Headbands for Sale

Not this one, as, once agin, it was pinched by one of my daughters, but I am knitting a few similar headbands so that I can eventually sell some on Etsy or a similar website; I am also considering Folksy, as it seems to be a bit less competitive, but this is still a work-in-progress, as I waiting to have at least 20-30 items before I can upload these to one of these websites so that my page can look a bit more professional.

For now, here's a sample of my best, knitted using circular needles and baby yarn (because it's so soft and I was actually planning to make baby booties with it, which never materialised (not yet anyway):

I Think My Top Is Finally Finished

This has taken me about 4 weeks to do, which is why I'm not too keen on knitting any more adult size clothes; I'd rather knit some accessories or baby clothes (I'll have to borrow a nipper from one of my neighbours to make sure I have the correct sizes, which is not very practical).

The yarn I have used is Ice Yarn lycra/cotton which feels a bit strange to knit, slightly elastic, which must be coming from the lycra content, and I find it easier to use bamboo knitting needles for this, as it tends to get stuck on metal needles. This yarn slides more easily on bamboo needles.

I am not sure what to do about the neck; should I add something to make it look a bit less like an unfinished item? I was thinking of crocheting a border because I don't have the energy to knit and sew a collar.

The sewing bit is what is stopping me and another issue is that I have no crochet experience, but as always when I want to learn something new, there's always YouTube!

So, what do you think? Should I add some kind of border to the neck or not?

I am aware that the way I'm standing in this picture is making me look like a granny (no offense to grannies); I really need to start doing something about my posture!

My daughters headband

I taught my 2 daughters how to knit, and they both really love it.

Recently my eldest daughter's class has been knitting once a week, and when she's not stealing from my stash, she spends all her pocket money on yarn!

Here is a picture of the first headband she made all by herself:

One of her school friends showed her how to make the ribbon and my daughter    made it all by herself, including all the sewing.

She since made another one for her younger sister and as we are sponsoring a child with the Worldvision charity, I told her it would be a good idea to also make one for the girl we are sponsoring, as we are due to write back soon.

My Current Project - Sleeveless Cotton Top

Because I am very fussy with clothes in shops, I am very lucky to be able to knit.

The only thing is that knitting for an adult takes time. I started this top 2 weeks ago and it took me a week and a half to finish the first side. I am trying to knit for about 2 hours every night, and sometimes I can manage a bit more on week-ends and on days when I am not working.

I am not following any pattern, as, being very fussy, I thought I might as well make my own. Hopefully I will be able to wear this soon, more than likely over a long-sleeved T-shirt if we get an other Irish summer!

Loom Knitting

I always wanted to knit a hat, but I never had great results with single pointed needles so I tried using circular needles, which was an even greater disaster.

Then I discovered loom knitting: I never knew you could knit without needles, and I am glad I discovered this, as it makes everything so much simpler. I bought a pack of 4 circular looms and a beginners' book and I have been experimenting a little in my spare time, between work, kids, house chores and other knitting projects.

Here's a picture of my first loom knitted hat, which was originally made for myself but my youngest daughter was quick in stealing it from me (will I have to wait for them to move out before I can wear something I've knitted?):

The flower was made with the smallest loom (26 pegs); I found a very easy to follow video tutorial online for it and the hat was made using the second biggest loom (I used the first hat pattern from the book, which didn't feature the flower).

One thing I'm finding so far with loom knitting is that it works better with chunkier yarn; As I didn't have any, I used 2 strands of medium yarn (thanks, once again to The Art of Knitting).

At least someone in my house is going to be warm this spring!

Second Cushion Cover

Here is the front....






... and the back:

I used one of the "Art of Knitting" magazine series patterns, once again and this one took me about 3 weeks (I'm only knitting evenings as I can't find the time during the day, being a Mum and working outside the home).

As I had given up on the throw from the magazine, I used some of the balls I got with the magazine instead of buying the yarn for the pattern, which worked just as well.

I added 4 stitches on the left and the right sides of the pattern, and knitted 2 extra rows at the top, as from my tension squares and the cushion I had, I needed to make the cushion cover a little bigger.

My youngest daughter now uses this cushion to sit on in school and I yet have to knit something for myself!

My First Knitted Cushion Cover

I knit this for my daughter and she is using it in school to make her chair more comfy (Children's bottoms must be more delicate nowadays than when I used to go to school; there was no getaway from hard wooden chairs then!).

I used to subscribe to "The Art of Knitting" magazine series. Each issue expained how to knit one square and the squares were supposed to be attached together to make a throw but I just didn't have the patience to knit the 80 squares needed to make a full throw.

there was a lso the fact that my tension probably wasn't up to scratch as I came up with various size squares so I decided to make these all in knit stitch and the back is made out of 1 large white square and 1 white rectangle (also all in knit stitch).

I finished off embroiding these decorating star, hearts and diamonds as per the magazine's instructions and putting the front pieces together using the mattress stitch.

for the back, I sewed the square and the rectangle in the same style as you would a pillow case, this way it's easy to take the cushion out an wash the cushion cover.

Poor Old Abandoned Blog

Dear Blog,

I am really sorry for abandoning you like this.

The truth is that I got a full-time job shortly after starting to blog and couldn't find the time or energy to keep updating you.

The photos I promised you will not be happening as my duster has disappeared, I unravelled my giant black cardigan and the ponchos have been outgrown by my children (these have been donated to the Cash for Clobber scheme ran in the primary school).

Do not despair, though, as I have re-discovered knitting and working only 4 days a week now in a job that I am not planning to keep for too long, as customer service is really not my calling!

Keep tuned for more updates soon!