You saw my jacket here a few weeks ago. At the end of the post I was playing with the left over yarn.
using the left overs
Not alone did I finish the project and make a beret, I completed two more.
With thanks to Jennifer at Parlour Yarns for the encouragement each week, the coffee, laughter & humour and especially for playing photographer yesterday morning.
It has been a long time and I have almost forgotten how to go about this. Was it one step at a time? Well perhaps yes, but in this case it was one stitch at a time… from an idea racing round in my head. No pattern!
So what elements did I need… a chunky cardigan with a high collar and a pocket for my phone. Could I do that all in one piece?
Today at Parlour Yarns
That much yes, but the sleeves would have to be separate,
The top piece , all worked as one includes the pockets the shawl collar the two fronts and the back. the sleeves were worked separately. Next was the fun part – fitting all the jigsaw pieces together. Testing it on my dress form, lining the pockets and sewing the pieces together.
I wanted buttons down the front with tab closures. Did you notice the difference in the last two photos in the gallery? Four tabs were in place when I left home, but two of them went AWOL!
I found them when I came home from Parlour Yarns, they were lying on the pavement enjoying the sunshine, I nearly drove over them! Note to self:- tighten the buttonholes.
sunbathing tabs.
Next I wondered how to use up the last two skeins of the yarn…
using the left overs
I have enough for a beret and it is almost finished!
I love my Tuesday mornings, kindred spirits working away, sharing knowledge, fun and laughter!
The past few months have been busy, but not that you would notice. I have been staying off line for many and varied reasons.
When the weather was favourable I spent time outdoors. Sharing coffee outings and walks with a lady senior in age to me but with a bright mind to compensate for her physical frailty. The challenge was to find somewhere new for our coffee each week and now our list is growing. Only a few disappointments. One place was no longer trading, another had changed hands and was closed for refurbishment. There are a few earmarked for return visits.
On my travels I discovered a wool/yarn shop that hosts a morning of crafting where we bring the piece of knitting or crochet that we are working on and work away while nattering and sipping coffee. I had not realised how much I missed the camaraderie of kindred spirits and the inspiration we seem to feed each other. **
Last week was a difficult one. I travelled to Dublin at short notice for the funeral of a life long friend. She had lived a few houses away from my parental home for all of her life. The two families have kept close contact since them. This meant I met the grieving family, most of my siblings and several of the ‘old guard’ neighbours, a few of whom I have not met for about forty years! They needed no introduction the greeting was always the same: You look so like your mother! Thankfully they remembered mammy in her younger days, so I took it as a compliment! 😉 That part of the few days was good for my soul!
I stayed with my sister for a few extra days. She had been very involved in the care of our friend for the past four years of illness and would miss her daily visits. The end came suddenly and was a shock to everyone. May my friend Rest in Peace.
I almost had a passenger stowed away in my car. She somehow dicovered how to self pack, I found her in a bag one morning!
Allanah in a bag
Allanah whimpered all the time I was packing my car. Playing with a ball will have to wait until my next visit.
I moved to Elly’s for a couple of days and Buffy had great fun smelling the messages on my trousers and shoes. We played ball and tug the rope at every chance she got and the head went down when I was leaving.
** On my visits to Parlour Yarns I learned about Marinke Slump from A creative being, known to all as Wink. A young creative and inspirational force who used blogging in her attempts to fight depression through crochet. She was so talented sharing patterns and publishing a book of her ideas and patterns. Alas the final post on her blog was not from Wink but from her sister… the depression had won.
Design Wars has asked that people pay their respects by sharing a mandala with the hashtag #mandalasforwink. Parlour Yarns in Carrickfergus are taking up the challenge with a display of mandalas in the Courtyard on15th of August. Below are my contributions.
We all know people suffering the agonies of depression, it would be difficult to find a family untouched by this dreadful affliction.
Unfortunately, many people fail to understand the deeply imbedded negative thought patterns that depression has for the individual struggling with it. Fighting the demons of depression when their voices are louder than any of those around, is not easy. Medications don’t help with that aspect of depression; the negative thoughts have to be fought with positive thoughts which have to be internalized to be effective because when one is in the darkness, other peoples voices are not heard over the din inside the head.
It’s hard for those who don’t go through the struggle to understand. It’s like having your wires crossed and certain signals not allowed through. The dark place is real and no one likes being in the dark. The mental pain and anguish is as real as the physical and all they want is to find a way out. Something’s wrong and the patient can’t understand why.
If you are a sufferer please try to talk about it; don’t keep your feelings bottled up. If people don’t want to listen…find someone who will.
May we together hold hands and circle those who suffer, with our love!
“You are just the kind of person that used to warm our cockles when I was in the business.”
So commented Ramana, on my recent Post: Playing with yarn.
It set me thinking about how ‘Craft’ shops have changed since I was a girl, over half a century ago.
When I started working in Dublin, back in the middle nineteen sixties. there was a small wool shop in Camden street. The name and the shop may have faded with the mists of time, but just thinking about it I am right back there, in the narrow passageways between the body high higgledy-piggledy stacks of yarn … fine baby yarn, double knit for winter jumpers and the true unwashed Aran wool with the oily smell. It was an amazing maze of inspiration and colour!
At times it was difficult to see the shop owner as he delved deep into a mountain of yarn to find the exact ball-band match for the one you had just given him. Sure enough he found it. Customers came, purchased and left. There was little space to stand let alone browse or have a conversation. Everyone was friendly but on a mission … to find an appropriate yarn for the next project or another skein to finish off the job in hand. It was possible to select the yarn you wanted, pay for one skein leave a small deposit on the remainder of the packet and collect and pay for it a week later. If you changed your mind, the unused yarn was returned to stock and all you lost was the deposit. Window display was not a priority back then, stacked packages of yarn with an occasional pattern propped against them was enough for this man. He customers were more interested in purchasing the yarn, than standing looking at the window.
Rowes of Earl Street was one of Dublin’s most famed haberdasheries, stocking a large selection of sewing supplies. Anything from essentials like needles thimbles and thread, to elastic, cord, piping, tape, braids or bias binding all sold by the yard. Buttons, buckles, zips, leather elbow patches, shoulder pads & shields, or frog fasteners they had them all. Net to trim hats and don’t forget the hatpins, we all wore hats for Sundays and special occasions!
Hickeys Fabrics on O’Connell Street, where we plundered the remnant bins for fabric to make skirts, tops, trousers or evening dresses fully lined for a couple of quid (£s). Dress dances were all the go back then, Guys in a tux and bow tie, was easy and we had a dress suit at home for the lads, but we ladies preferred to make a new dress for each event. I was very slim (skeleton skinny) back then so two yards of sngle width (30 inch wide) in a fancy remnant made a great cover for my bumpy bones! I still like to have a nostalgic visit to Hickeys when I am in Dublin.
In preparing this post, I discovered there seemed to be a connection between Rowes & Hickeys
Arnotts Department Store in Henry Street, Dublin, sold fabrics & haberdashery needs in the basement area, but now since the store has been updated and the three floors changed to five, the fabrics are gone and the craft work needs disappointing.
How I missed all of the above when I moved North to a small market town, almost thirty eight years ago. There was one shop that sold thread: Black, white or an ugly shade of red! That was it! I swapped all that wonderland for the stink of cow muck! Ah, but the other four letter word made up for my loss:- Love!
You can imagine my frustration until I found:
Craftwoman Fabrics, Carrickfergus. I was totally zapped by it and that feeling has never left me. Plenty of knowledgeable experienced and professional staff, never pushy but always interested and helpful. As somebody described it: “A sweet shop for designers and makers!” I totally agree. It was there I purchased the makings of Elly’s Prom outfit and later the fabrics for her wedding: bridal & bridesmaids.
on-our-way
here-we-come
If you want more details of the wedding outfit you can read about it here
Fiddlesticks Fabrics in Broughshane, I was introduced to last year. They regularly hold classes and workshops. I came home with a Toyboy after my first visit!
Gino Gingerbread
And the wool shops today are so much more social with beautifully displayed yarns, some finished items to give inspiration and a space to sit knitting and nattering awhile before washing it down with a cuppa and sweet treat!
Parlour Yarns In Carrickfergus, is now a favourite spot for a visit after my walk along the Promenade. I am hoping to visit on Tuesday morning and join in with the girls, this time I will bring along my multi yarn project!
New knitting project
Selections Wool Shop This little old style treasure is also in Carrickfergus, at, 33 North Street. I was looking for one skein of orange yarn to make a pumpkin before Halloween last year. Since it was for decoration and not clothing, I looked in one of our local budget shops. They had none but a very helpful young lad suggested I try Selections in Carrick. He gave me precise directions, telling me he often brought his granny there, she was always knitting. “I guarantee you will get the colour you want.” He said. I did and I have enough yarn left to make a few more!
Meet Peter Pumpkin
One of Ballyclare’s oldest buildings on the Main street. Lovingly restored, is now home to Brown’s Coffee Co with Hansel & Gretel’s Wool shop tucked away in the back section. It has a limited selection of specialist yarns but a varied collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks, even the double ended ones! They do hold classes at certain times of the year, and I hear the places fill up quickly. I have yet to purchase yarn there (still waiting for my stash to shrink.), but I did add to my collection of needles and regularly enjoy their coffee.
I did ask permission but it was busy and difficult to take photos without intruding on customers spaces.
At 06:30 I was making a cake, well actually two cakes.
While they baked, I showered and made myself beautiful prepared for the day. As I finished breakfast, the phone calls began… at one stage there were toyboys on the landline, the mobile and on Skype all vying for my attention. Don’t tell them. I didn’t. You know they all think they hold the number one spot!
My date for morning coffee had to be posponed until today (Wednesday), so one of the cakes will be grand to bring with me and extend the party.
The skies cleared and the sun danced in my honour. The Postie serenaded me on the doorstep and the window cleaner brightened my world even more. A day not to be wasted, so I headed out in search of fun,
Carrickfergus Harbour
Look how smooth the water was.
I found a Toyboy
I found a Toyboy
Brendan was on holiday from the US with his mum and aunt. I met them at the Castle taking photos… you know the routine
“I’ll take one of you two, then you can take one of us and….!”
I approached and asked “Would you like one of…..
A chorus of “Oh yes please!”, came back before I finished the sentence, and I was handed an iPad.
I took several at different angles to make sure they had a worthwhile selection.
Job done, I asked for payment…
Well it was my birthday and a photo with a Toyboy was not much to ask, was it? I handed over my smart phone and Brendan’s mum took the photos, then followed hugs and another rendition of Happy Birthday. They were next headed for Ballycastle and invited me to join them. I had to decline the invitation, so we said farewell and I headed off for my walk along the promenade.
I had not gone too far when there was loud tooting of a car horn. Turning round I saw my new found friends driving along Marine Highway with arms outstreched from every window of their car, singing Happy Birthday to me!
The remainder of the day can be found in the slide show.
Barbara, I was just about to light the candle on my cake when the phone rang, it was your dad. Growing up we always shared our birthdays, his being two days before mine, so he sang Happy Birthday as I blew out the candle!
For all my knitting friends, I found the extreme knitting at Parlour Yarns, Carrickfergus,they do have a Facebook Page. The piece was sitting in a basket with an invitation to knit a few stitches, a row or half the rug! It was very heavy, the yarn was carpet wool in four colours with two strands of each colour. You would need a tub of good hand cream to sooth the fingers after working on it for any length of time. I once used carpet thrums to make a 10 ft X 6 ft Mister Men rug for my kitchen floor. It was back in the day when I had a little doll to play with – then she grew up and ran away for her own adventure!!!!! I do love you Elly, REALLY!
In all I had a very good day. Thank you to all who played any part in my celebration, with calls, texts, postings, cards and song singing.
You all rock.
UPDATE: What a difference a day makes:
The Sky has a hangover today
We are back to whistling winds and driving rain. Did yesterday really happen? Was I dreaming?