Saturday Bargains

I went on my usual trip round the local charity shops this morning and picked up some great bargains.  For all of you near Rathmines the Irish Cancer Society shop has loads of fabric remnants, all 1 euro each. There are two baskets in the shop and more out the back. The very nice lady on the desk suggested I might like to look through these. I had a rummage through two further boxes and was told there were more again which was yet to be sorted!

Bearing in mind the size of my stash, and that the boyfriend was watching, I was very good and only bought four pieces ... but I might go back again ... just to look of course!

Still

It has taken my a long time, I started last October, but I have finished Still at last.

I don't know why it has taken me so long, it is not a difficult project and I've really enjoyed knitting it. I think it just disappeared into the bottom of my knitting basket for a couple of months and was forgotten about.

The pattern is from Kim Hargreaves Thrown Together, which is, I think, one of my favourite pattern books. I've already made Olivia (see below) and have plans to make Rosa, Hannah and Evie. Which I think is pretty good value from one book.

Back to Still, the original is knitted in cotton which I don't like knitting with, so I opted for King Cole's Bamboo Cotton. This is beautifully soft and easy to knit with, and is extremely good value! Although it does split a little. The only mod I made was to lengthen the torso. I would normally make the sleeves longer too but they are deliberately long in the pattern so I didn't need to.

Pattern:    Still from Thrown Together
Needles:    3.5mm and 4mm (I had to go down a needle size)
Yarn:        King Cole's Bamboo Cotton, just over 4 balls
TV:           Lewis, The Killing, Silk, Midsomer Murders ... its been a bit of a TV detective fest recently, and there is more to come with The Suspicions of Mr Whicher tonight. I'm looking forward to this, I just need to find myself a little project now this one is done!

Urban Pirates

I'm so excited to be finally posting about this FO. I finished it last month, but I had to wait for the arrival of the recipient's new little sister, who was rather bashful about putting in an appearance. But she is here at last, and the jumper has been sent from one urban jungle to another.

I've wanted to knit this pattern - Pirate Sweater from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots - ever since I was given the book a few years ago. I think the pattern is just so much fun and very cute. So I made this for young Nye, to celebrate the arrival of his new little sister. She received this jumper which has been in the FO project bag for a little while.

I knitted this in a machine washable acrylic, to preserve the sanity of the busy parents, and the yarn is nice and soft and not plasticie at all. The pattern was easy to follow, and pretty quick to knit, except for the skull and cross bones. Given the series of knitting disaster I've been having recently, it was good to have a quick and very satisfying project.

Edward Lee & Co, Drapers and Outfitters

The weekend before last while out enjoying the sunshine in our roof top garden, the boyfriend noticed that on the end wall of our building, half hidden by a later extension, was a tiled advertisement for the original occupiers of the building.

I'm so please to think that I live in a former drapers and outfitters shop, I only wish they were still in the building. It would be like having an enormous extension to my stash, and I'd never run out of thread or needles on a Sunday afternoon!

Anyway, back in from the sunny weather some quick googling provided some fascinating tit bits on Edward Lee. The shop was already in Rathmines before 1910, when it was a one level building only;

On the right of the photograph, next to the fantastic Bovril tram.

Then in 1911, obviously with trade booming, Edward Lee & Co. expanded their Rathmines store with an additional two levels. The building was designed by Kaye-Parry & Ross, a Dublin based firm of architects who had already carried out several projects for Edward Lee & Co on their other shops in Dublin. All the pictures I could find were taken from the other side of the building, so you can't see the tiles we found but you can see the ones on the other side of the building;

Edward Lee & Co, Rathmines, c.1911-1920

So there we are, a quick snapshot of Rathmines in the early part of the twentieth century, and a Happy Centenary to my building. And to finish off a few more shots of Rathmines in the early years of last century...

Springing into action

We've been taking advantage of the lovely sunny spring weather over the last few weekends to get our roof top garden ready for the new seasons. After last years success, we've extended our enterprises this year, but kept to last years ideal of using the pile of rubbish on the roof and in the back yard to make the plant pots.

 
I'll admit its not looking spectacular at the moment, but there are lots of seeds planted and, hopefully, ready to spring into action. Some of the hardier plants have survived last winters snow, including the boyfriend's hop plant and the random tree which I rescued from the gutter it was growing in -

Mother's Day

Prompted by Sheknitupthatball I've decided to talk about my mother for Mother's day. Although we don't really 'do' mother's day in my family. I used to make her paper flowers - which I've not done for years, and now feel bad about.

This is the least winsome image I could find.

As with many knitters, my mum taught me to knit. I remember my first project which was a red and yellow scarf for my teddy, I still have both the teddy and the scarf. Despite having taught me to knit, Mum still knitted away for me, and my teddy. She made him an evening suit, complete with bow tie and evening gloves. He was  an extremely well dressed bear! As well as teaching me to knit, mum also taught me to sew. Another skill for which I am extremely grateful. Her whole family were keen crafters (knitting, sewing, embroidery and tapestry) and I'm glad to be carrying on the tradition.

So thank you mum, and Happy Mother's Day :)

If only mum and I had looked this stylish!