Knit Red Stole, etc.

Some more pics of the stole from Laura Zander’s Knit Red Book – these photos were taken by Sandy of Jimmy Beans by the Truckee River – Sandy knit the sample, thank you very much Sandy! – the lovely model is her friend Victoria:




Other news:
This image of Echo Beach is going to be in a book about Irish crafts due to be published soon:

Mini trouble (no sock is safe!):

Apple Blossom and Tree Peonies at Farmleigh:





Knitlab clutter:

Recent project for new pattern – it turned out to be a funny shape at the neck so I need to redo it – the yarns are Hedgehog Lace and mohair with gold beads:

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Echo Beach Variation

This is the variation of Echo Beach (with one dropped stitch instead of two), beautifully test knit by Teilzeitheldin with one skein of Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash in the Uluru colourway.

When I was in Munich I was tempted to jump on a train to Pfaffenhofen to visit the Wollmeise shop, but it seems to have restricted opening hours.

Next is the first swatch for the pattern – the ktbl stitches looked funny when slanting to the right, so they needed to be twisted differently – and the single stitch between dropped stitches was too weak.

I bought a book.

It’s a small volume, full of fascinating old photos of knitters and fishermen, and charts for guernsey sweater stitch patterns – nothing too complex – inventiveness with knit and purl stitches and cables.

Finally, a trip to the Rhododendron Gardens above Howth Castle .

The yellow gorse looked spectacular against the sky and had a scent of coconut.

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Echo Beach

We’ve been having fabulous weather in Dublin recently, it feels like Summer already.
Here are some photos of Echo Beach, the new version of Seascape I mentioned a while ago – it’s a very simple Summery pattern with curving lines of dropped stitches.
The name comes from a song.
I still have some details to work out, and hope to publish it late next week.

This morning I went to Farmleigh House , a Phoenix Park mansion that used to belong to the Guinness family and is now open to the public (dogs on leads welcome). In addition to the Gallery, the Boudoir, The Library, and the Corridor, it has pastures with cattle and horses, a courtyard food market, a lakeside cafe, and amazing gardens. The weather has been kind to the Magnolias – some of them have beautiful names, like Milky Way, Atlas, and Athene.

The trees were full of birdsong and buzzing. Tree Peonies, Tulips and Wisterias will be highlights in the coming weeks.

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