aaargh - blogger header picture

i just noticed that i now can easily add a header picture but it's soooo frustrating, i don't seem to be able to get it in at the right size or ratio! i think i spent an hour half heartedly messing with it, and now i've given up... i'd be a lot happier if i could get it to be centred in the header border, but even that i can't seem to get to work... i managed to crop one picture so it's not aligned left any more, but it's still aligned to the bottom and doesn't look great. i'm not used to looking at code any more... help, anybody???

cream wool scarf

this is the cream wool scarf i'm working on at the moment, it's 100% merino (Schachenmayr 'extra merino big' , €3.50 per 50g). I got the wool in Germany before christmas. It's the 'clapotis' pattern from knitty but i'm not making it as wide. I'm hoping it'll keep me warm when i walk home from the train, if it's very cold i like to wrap my scarf around my head and neck so it needs to be wide enough and long enough , not the most stylish but by far the warmest solution. I like the way it curls when not stretched.

I learned the hard way that it's near impossible to go back past a dropped stitch row! i forgot a y.o. and didn't realise until after i had dropped... in the end i had to fudge it to make an extra stitch where i needed it. not great but hopefully the edge will curl and it won't be too visible. Has anybody else had that problem? Has anybody managed to fix a mistake further back?

I also made this hat from the last minute 'purled' beret pattern, using rialto aran, and 5.5mm needles. I had to photoshop my face as i'm a little camera shy, also my husband says the hat 'dwarfs' my head (I do realise it's hard to tell with my thorough photoshopping job! I still like it, kind of. If I was to make it again I'd use a fluffyer yarn and knit it with thicker wool or thinner needles to make it less floppy. It was really quick and easy to make!
Has anyone got suggestions for hat patterns or styles that don't 'dwarf' a long narrow face?


I knit on the train the other day, I felt a bit self conscious, but I just kept my head down. I haven't seen anybody knit on the train, in the two and a half years that i've been taking it, or on the bus for that matter, and i've been taking buses here for the last 6 years. Is it different in the US, or UK? I find in Ireland there isn't as much of a culture of younger people (i.e. below pension age) making things. At home it was part of the secondary school curriculum so by the time you left school you had a lot of basic skills. And most of the girls I knew were doing something with their hands after school/uni/work, home decorations, fixing up furniture, knitting or sewing, gardening... here it seems to be highly unusual in my age group! Even the older generation, like my husband's mum, don't do much knitting or sewing! What's it like where you're living?

moss stitch scarf

just came across this photo of a moss stitch scarf i made for my sister in law, it's the only one i have, at just a few rows, the finished scarf was over 2m long! top of the door frame is two meters, right?
the photo quality is bad, i took this with my not very advanced camera phone...

the first sock in years...

i haven't made socks since 1st year in college! i got some lovely multicoloured cotton in LIDL and had to give it a go straight away! i called my mum for instructions and browsed the web for a quick refresher and it's surprising how it all comes back to you...

i cast on 32 stitches (long tail), knit 14 rounds k1p1, then one round k. the i did the heel with 16 stitches, in stocking stitch, 13 rows. on row 14 i k12, k2tog tbl, k1. turn. k4, k2tog tbl, k1. turn, and so on until i had 10 stitches on the needle and a perfectly turned little heel.



i picked up 8 stitches (maybe 7 would have done, it's a bit 'crowded' at the bottom corners) from the sides, knit 2 rounds and then started k2tog (through front loop)on either side of the top of the sock every second row, until i was back to 32 stitches. then i knit some more (this is just a trial, i need a reference sock or baby foot to see what length it should be) and started decreasing (k2tog through back loop). in this case i k2tog every 5th&6th stitch until i had 25 stitches. then every 4th&5th 5 times, then every 3rd and 4th 5 times, then every 2nd and 3rd 5 times, then the remaining 2tog 5 times, then bound off. this made for a lovely "star" pattern but also for a very sudden end to the sock, i will unravel and when i know how long the socks should be come up with a better decreasing. i like when they decrease round rather than flat. any suggestions?

the finished cropped cardi! - and some more photos

i even did the leaves. Bring on the summer and the strappy dresses!


and another wraparound apron for p's granny, she was wearing the other one i made every day, so now she can have one for weekdays and one for the weekend...

our nativity scene! these figurines were in my dad's house when my mum moved in, so they were probably bought by my grandmother. We only have the family and one angel, poor baby jesus' head broke off when i was a child, we liked to take him out of his manger to play... the two chocolate reindeer are standing in for the ox and donkey that there usually would be. i think i will keep a lookout on ebay to try and find more kind of matching figures over the years! they are made from some kind of plaster or bakelite. Joseph is about 17.5 cm, the angel, which i thought was bought later as it is a little different, is 11.5 cm. Mary's face reminds me of my granny, it's the cheeks i think, and the look in prayer, my granny was quite holy, too, and named Maria!


this is the baby blanket my mum made for me when i was little, it's crochet, and yes, i was born in the seventies... does anybody have an idea how it's made? my mum can't remember, except for: it's two rows of purple and one row of orange. the stitches are worked into the row beneath creating a quite dense fabric. it'd love to find out the name of the pattern, i can see this working with a plain dark wool for the purple and a variegated brighter one for the orange. the other crochet stitch i want to try is the catherine wheel, i think that's the pattern moonstitches' scarf is made from.

baby gifts

some rather late presents for two friends who had baby girls!
i used some of these thrifted napkins(?) to appliquee babygrows and to make bibs (pattern from bend the rules sewing). I especially like the babygrows, the embroidery looks great, something elaborate looking that only took 10 minutes to make! i also like the way the white thin cotton weave looks on the cotton knit.

The bibs gave me some trouble with the snap buttons, they are from a set from LIDL and i destroyed twice as many as i finally attached to the bibs... i wonder if i can get matching better quality snap buttons for the pliers or if i should just go back to using the sew on ones... also, i only had cream flannel for the back so they look a bit darker

finally some photographs of projects

the superquick honeycoloured biggy print scarf, made from 3 balls of biggy print





the completed main part of the cropped leaf tie cardigan, i'm dreading all the seaming...


i also made a start on the leaf tie, i used 3.5mm for the leaf and 5.5 for the i cord.


here the extended ripple scarf, the seam isn't great but the way i wear it you don't see the seam at all, just a layer of pink peeping out underneath the gray.



and once more, a picture of the seat covers at the kitchen table! not entirely happy with them, they slip a bit. not sure yet how to fix that!

more knitting....

I started on the leaf ties for the blue cropped leaf tie cardigan, i finally did the leaf on 3.5mm needles it was just too large and floppy on the 5.5mm! now it's neat and keeps it's shape...

In the meantime i did a scarf with 2 skeins of this wool, moss stitch, (with fringes over 2m long!) for my sister in law, just in time for the cold weather at the beginning of the week.

And another one with Rowan Biggy Print in lovely honey shades, I used 3 balls, I only finished it last night, hopefully i'll get to take pictures tonight. I didn't have the 20mm needles, so i used 15mm. because a plain garter stitch pattern resulted in a dense and 'carpety' fabric, i came up with this 'pattern': cast on 11 stitches: *knit the 1st row, knit the 2nd with 2 y.o. for each stitch, knit the 3rd row, unravelling the y.o.s and thereby creating triple height rows. after this row i always stopped to 'comb' down the 2nd row to even out the triple height stitches* it looks quite cool, and is soooo cosy! it's a bit like a lot of the scarves you see in the shops, bulky and very loosely knit. This one will be for my red haired friend H, I think the colours will look really good on her!

the half finished cardigan

i paused the body for the moment to see how far one ball of wool will get me for the sleeves, then i can work out after how long i can make the cardigan, i'm not sure yet will i go for half length sleeves or full length

this is the quite tricky under arm. i picked up a few stitches as suggested here by knitting betty, i decreased to my initial amount of stitches though. not the neatest thing in the world but i'm happy enough!


this is a great project to get back into knitting, it moves so fast!

knitting... nearly started!

I got my Rialto Aran and made tension squares, one on 5mm one on 5.5mm, do your squares turn out square? Mine is more of a rectangle! Unless i counted half purls as knit stitches? I made a garter stitch border, i.e. a few garter stitch rows to begin and end, and 3 stitches either side, leaving a 4inch stockinette stitch square in the centre, in theory, only mine is more like 4 inches wide and 3.5 inches high... any tips?

I'm going to knit something!

After buying the 'last minute knitted gifts' book in spring and still not having started anything (I was so going to make the hourglass sweater as seen on moonstitches' blog!)

After debating for ages over whether i'd order online I finally went to a wool shop after work yesterday (it's 20 minutes on the dart, in the wrong direction, so i wasn't home till half 8! Why are there no woolshops in the city centre??) with the hourglass pattern and the leaf cardi pattern (off the knitty website). Seeing as it's the first project in ages, the shop assistant and I decided I'll go for the cardi, a little less daunting. I am going to use debbie bliss rialto aran yarn in a lovely warm blue, so seeing as it's not going to be green i might not actually do the leaves!

I was browsing some books, too, and got the Erica Knight Classic Knits book, I like the title jumper, and several of the other designs, plus it has a pattern for gloves that i want to try.

I also really like the brown ribbed V neck jumper from this book but maybe I am getting ahead of myself there, I stopped myself before buying that book as well, some designs are nice but many are a bit off my radar.

Still haven't finished the chair covers... Must do that before my sis arrives next week!
Then i have to finish making another piece for this wavey scarve , i finally decided that it really definitely is too short, and i am going to try and make a separate piece, in the opposite colours, i.e. fuchsia with grey edges, to attach to it. I was so close to unraveling when a fellow stitch and bitcher on tuesday pointed out that i could attach another piece. At first i poo-pooed that, saying that you'll always see where they are attached and it wouldn't do, but now with the attached piece being different colours that won't be so much of a problem any more (i hope).
Then finally I will be allowed to start on the knitting adventure and try and make an actual piece of clothing for myself.

i like to ride my bicycle

a new bicycle!




This week I finally got the bicycle I bought on ebay! I just prefer this dutch style to the sportier bikes, plus they have the coat guard thingies at the back so you can cycle with a long coat or skirt, and the chain is completely hidden so no nasty surprises on the jeans edges, and the back pedalling break without which i feel a bit vulnerable. This particular one is a cheapo version of the good ones, but if i spent 300 plus on a bike i'd only be worrying about it being stolen or vandalised.
P got himself a bike as well, a sportier and I have to say much better quality one, but it also was much more expensive (I'll be worrying about that one being stolen now i bet). We went for a spin today and i kind of think maybe I should have spent more money and gotten more gears? It has three and it's much hillier here in Ireland than where I'm from in Germany... but at least this one shouldn't be stolen, hopefully the thieves will think it's an actual old 'High Nelly' and walk away! We stopped at the pub halfway, where we sat outside and enjoyed a bit of September sun and a beer and a rest.
We used some of the wedding present money for these, a great present because we'll be able to use them in our leisure time, together, and explore the countryside around us.

Sewing's taken a back seat, we finally got some nice weather over here! I have the 5 remaining chair covers cut and assembled, now I just have to finish them, folding under the edges all around! Lots of ironing for that one.

I want to try and get into knitting now though, it's the right time of year, I'd love to make a jumper like this one (by moonstitches) from this book , it's called the hourglass sweater! But it's a big commitment in terms of time and money. i don't want to make it from acrylics because i hate them and don't want to spend hours upon hours working with it, at the same time i'm a bit worried about spending 100€ plus on wool, having no idea if I'd actually see it through or what it would look like being knitted by me! I like the idea of knitting in the round, and of a fitted garment, I rarely wear jumpers though, more cardigans, so maybe i should find a similar pattern for a cardigan? any suggestions? allthough a cardigan wouldn't strictly be 'in the round' - i mean i like the technicque where you don't have any sewing to do at the end of it!
Any recommendations for Dublin or Drogheda wool shops? Ideally Dublin 2 or 1...

some sewing...

preparations for another 'grab ball', one segment done, 11 to go... i made the template using a small plate to get the curve right, of course a compass would work too. this site has a good tutorial on how to make one of these: http://sewing.about.com/od/babyshowergiftsewing/ss/babyball.htm


the finished product... this one's for my next door neighbour's daughter. i used 6 different fabrics, mostly in shades of red, white and chocolate brown. i think the amount of colours and patterns is a bit too much, but i believe babies like contrasts and different patterns. i know my nephew was mad for patterns for a while! i handsewed this in the evenings. it's only lightly stuffed as it is for tiny hands. i made one before which i mostly machine sewed, it looks a bit more even but it was quite annoying work sewing all the tiny pieces by machine, very fiddly, especially at the corners!

and here the first of 6 chair seat coverings. the old ones are really manky, we only bought the chairs and table because they were on special offer, and slender enough to look right in our small dining area. i always meant to replace or cover the impractical, not removable beige check seats (i now, horrid, you can just about see one in the 2nd photo) but were in the house 2 years and i am only getting to it now... i am not going to take pictures of the stained original cushions!



i traced around the existing seat cushion to make a pattern, then cut 3" wide strips, one to go around the sides and front, the other to go at the back, leaving gaps for the back support 'beams'(whats the word for them??), around which the overhanging ends of the strips tie. i 'hemmed' all along the bottom edge and around the ties, then i folded the ties in half lengthwise (at an angle) to make the them a little thinner, and also so i wouldnt need to line them.
i seem to have a little bit too much material at the back. i might add little bits of elastic at the corners, depending on how well the covers stay on. or maybe some kind of draw string?
the fabric is heather bailey fresh cut. i love how the greens make the light wood seem so much more alive! i definitely want to get rid of the awful yellow walls, itll either be white, or magnolia or some kind of green (or a combination thereof for the kitchen/dining area!
and yes, i really should learn how to take proper photographs, but i'm just too impatient and wanted to show this as soon as i can!
I made the first on sunday night, and i got the other 5 cut and ready to sew tonight, i might do one every night, we'll see.
I've had the idea for these in my head for ages, i wanted something that would completely cover the original upholstery, something that wouldn't just lie on top but surround the cushion, and something that i could easily take off and throw in the wash. i have some fabric left over and might make a table runner or do plain curtains with an edge in the green fabric. hm or that great apron from lotta jansdotters book

home again...

Back home, back commuting, back in work and mountains of laundry done!
I made the mistake of heaping all luggage, laundry for drying and shoes into the guest room, out of sight I thought!
Unfortunately I forgot about my friend from Switzerland being in the country, and that before the wedding I'd invited them to stay over when they'd be around. So yesterday I got the phone call to say they'd be here this evening and we quickly had to do lots of tidying up, move all that laundry to the study, set up the 2nd guest bed, hoover and hide lots of bric-a-brac under the beds... and generally give the house a dusting...
The garden will just look the way it looks, after 4 weeks of not mowing the lawn and rain every day it's quite wild, and it's still too wet to mow!
So much for impressing friends from college...

While in Portugal I noticed there are still many women doing crochet and embroidery of every day items, like tea towels, towels, tablecloths and napkins, the shops sell fine cotton thread that is used to make lacey edges around these towels, they used the tiniest crochet hooks. Of course i couldn't resist and bought a few balls in great colours and the teensy crochet hooks, unfortunately they didn't sell any patterns. One shop had a folder of photocopies of actual lace edges, but no diagrams or instructions, my phrase book Portuguese was just about enough to figure out that these photocopies are all the average Portuguese crocheter needs as a pattern...
I also saw some cute crochet flowers, so on one of the occasions when i was soaking up the evening sun (can't do it before 4pm, am to fair!) i decided to give it a go and came up with this little flower! I was extremely pleased with myself, no pattern, and it's the 1st flower I've made, ever!



We were in Coimbra and there was a Folklore Festival on, with craft on sale and (the most delicious!) sardines on the BBQ, rice pudding for desert, and elderly ladies dancing in the street in broad daylight, while waiting for the main event to start on stage. We just came across it in a Square and decided to linger!




And this little gem was bought there for me by my husband, it's a love poem (or so we've been told) in Portuguese and had a crochet edge. We're going to frame it! What background shoud i use?


When we got home I felt like doing something crafty in the evening, and so repaired my favourite PJs with this little hear patch, (I also had to a split seam in the hip area! what's that telling me!?) while watching 'the illusionist'.


And finally, 2 photographs from the Bucaco Forest

greetings from portugal!

hello from our honeymoon, we're having a great time, we'll be back mid july, and after the initial rush to get everything back on track and settled back into work i hope there will posts again! i saw some lovely embroidery over here, really colourful and pretty. my husband bought me a small piece with a portuguese love poem on it, all hand embroidered. i'm so tempted to buy other stuff as well but... no idea how we will get back all the stuff we already have, wine and the likes... must dash, the cents are rattling through the timer thingy here in the internet cafe!