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Nicolette's Notebook

Summer Holiday Knitting – What to Knit?

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We are going on holiday this year to County Kerry and Connemara National Park in County Galway. So, of course, a multitude of ideas for summer holiday knitting projects are swirling through my mind.  What should I knit? Size of project? And the big question – how many projects?

Rainforest Socks 12

For me the ideal holiday project is easily picked up and put down – easily left in mid-round. Can be worked on while travelling in a car, sitting on a rock or stopping for lunch and doesn’t require me trying to hold a pattern down with nearby rocks to stop it blowing away in the wind.[Read More]

Join the Knitting Squirrel Ravelry Group

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For a long while now, as I pack an order, I often wonder what the yarn will become. Will it turn into cosy socks, a warm slouchy hat, fingerless mitts, a shawl or join other beautiful yarns in someone’s stash until the perfect project comes along.

Knitting Squirrel Ravelry Group

Starting the Knitting Squirrel Ravelry group seems like the perfect way for you to share what you are knitting and what you are looking forward to starting next. Let’s get to know each other, chat about ideas, where we find inspiration and everything from WIPs to FOs and not forgetting the frogged ones!

Please, come and join the Knitting Squirrel Ravelry Group and share all those gorgeous knitting projects that you are working on!

Happy Valentine’s Day

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Wishing you a wonderful romantic Valentine’s Day!

Valentine Fingerless Mitts

My Valentine Fingerless Mitts have become my go to sock yarn fingerless mitts pattern. They just fit so comfortably and look great on. These were knit using Sweet & Spicy 2 in Chilli 8616 a delectable pink and biscuit colour combination that is very romantic and feminine. Perfect for wearing on Valentine’s Day!

Much as I adore the Sweet & Spicy and Sweet & Spicy 2 ranges I can hardly contain my excitement that Sweet & Spicy 3 will be with us soon!

Who Owns These Hand Knit Socks?

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I’d draped the newly finished Slip Stitch Socks on the picnic table while on holiday in the Cairngorms in September, as I wanted to take a few photos of them. We soon had a couple of interested visitors.

A few red squirrels were regular visitors, so we gave them nicknames. The two squirrels in this series of photos are Baby Girl and Tufty.

Red Squirrel and Hang Knit Socks

Baby Girl arrived for a snack. “Mmm… what’s this?”[Read More]

Learning to Crochet

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Just before Christmas when I was at my local Knit and Natter Group in the Library, we were talking about which needle crafts we enjoyed. I said that I love knitting and I used to make a lot of patchwork but had never really come to grips with crochet. The skill just never quite clicked even though I had been shown enough to be able to crochet the ears on  a pair of mouse slippers for the Sasha Dolls. That was as far as my attempts with crochet had ever gone even though I really wanted a Granny Square Crocheted Blanket. Someone in the group said crochet is really easy, I’ll show you… several of us gathered around to watch and try.

Learning to Crochet Mr Murasaki

The following day when I was shopping I came across “the Cool Girl’s Guide to Crochet” by Nicki Trench. Her instructions are clearly written and accompanied by instructional photographs and crochet has finally clicked for me. I stopped worrying about whether I was holding the hook and tensioning the yarn correctly. I just made a slip knot and started a chain, then I followed the instructions to practice single crochet, double crochet, treble, half treble, double treble, making chain spaces and clusters.[Read More]

Giro d’Italia in Belfast

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Wow, it has been an exciting couple of days, with the Giro d’Italia’s opening stages taking place in Northern Ireland.

Over the past few weeks and days, the city has gradually turned pink… We watched the time trials on TV from the start at the Titanic Building to the end outside the City Hall. This route went through East and South Belfast.

Giro-DItalia-8web

On Holywood Road at the library, a change occurred in the CS Lewis sculpture. The Knit and Natter group were having some fun with pink yarn.[Read More]

Taking Part in a Yarn Swap

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I’ve taken part in several swaps over the years. I particularly enjoyed this yarn swap a few years ago on Ravelry.

It was a secret surprise swap with no communication between the swap partners. Also, we were sending our package to a different person than the person we were receiving our swap package from. This helped ensure there would be no contact between the swap partners.

The minimum amount to spend on the package was £25 plus package and posting. The package would contain 7 individually wrapped parcels. One parcel would be opened every day for one week and the blogger would then write a daily blog post for the week.

Yarn-Swap-Day-1web

There were a few specific items that had to be included: 100g of new yarn or fibre; Some type of knitting notion; Embellishments; A pattern. This covered 4 of the parcel contents. There were a few suggestions for the remaining parcels: Something handmade; a magazine; a book; stationery; a treat; something small that would add a fun element to the photographs our swap partner would take.

So how were we to discover what our swap partner would like? What type of patterns did they enjoyed knitting?[Read More]