Archives for 2016

Patterns in the Sand

17 August 2016 By Nicolette 2 Comments

The Seaside Knitters aim to clear the name of Willow, a young artist, who is prime suspect in the murder of a local art gallery owner, in Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum.

When Willow Adams visits Izzy Chambers and the Seaside Knitters from Boston, to demonstrate fibre art, she is welcomed wholeheartedly by Izzy, Nell, Birdie and Cass. Close to Izzy and Nell’s yarn shop in Sea Harbour, Maine is Canary Cove, a busy artist’s colony where a summer art festival is soon to get underway. The knitters see this as the perfect backdrop for showcasing Willow’s talents.[Read More]

Basic Sock Pattern to Fit Shoe Sizes – UK 7 to 12, EU 40 to 46 and US 9 to 13

12 August 2016 By Nicolette 38 Comments

I regularly receive questions regarding the size of my sock patterns and how you will know if they will fit you or not. This is an important question because you don’t want to put hours into knitting a pair of socks to find they don’t fit either you or the person you are knitting them for. This is particularly true when you are knitting the larger sized socks. To help with this, I have written two posts giving a basic top down sock pattern in 6 sizes. This is the second part of the basic top down sock pattern to fit Shoe Sizes UK 7 to 12, EU 40 to 46 and US 9 to 13. The first post giving the basic top down sock pattern to fit Shoe Sizes UK 2 to 6, EU 35 to 39 and US 4 to 8 can be found here.

One of the main problems when you’re reading a pattern is whether the pattern is written for UK, European or US shoe sizes. I’ve shown a comparison of all of the shoe sizes for knitting your socks in the chart below which includes Foot Circumference, UK Shoe Size, EU Shoe Size, US Shoe Size, Mens (Ladies) Foot Size (S (L), M, L) and Finished Sock Length from Heel to Toe.[Read More]

Wandering Socks – Lettergesh Beach

10 August 2016 By Nicolette Leave a Comment

I finished the Wandering Socks and we photographed them while relaxing with a picnic on Lettergesh Beach in Connemara. It was a lovely sunny day and the golden sand shimmered with a heat haze.

Lettergesh Beach is a beautiful beach. We went for a few walks on it while we were staying at Dawros. It is so restful wandering along the beach listening to the waves rippling on the beach.[Read More]

Wandering Socks – Dawros Beg

8 August 2016 By Nicolette 4 Comments

After our long drive from the Gap of Dunloe in County Kerry to Connemara in County Galway via The Burren in County Clare we were really tired. The cottage at Dawros Beg was amazing. It was more of a family home than a holiday rental.

The setting was just so tranquil. So the following day we decided it was time for some rest, relaxation and sock knitting. (Also, as it was such a lovely hot day I thought I’d catch up with the laundry.)[Read More]

Wandering Socks – The Burren

5 August 2016 By Nicolette 2 Comments

I was reasonably pleased with my progress on the second Wandering Sock by the time we reached the Burren in County Clare. I’d almost finished knitting the leg, even though, I’d snoozed for a couple of hours.

End of May to early June is the perfect time to visit the Burren. So many of the wild flowers are flowering or in bud![Read More]

Wandering Socks – Ladies View

2 August 2016 By Nicolette Leave a Comment

I cast on and started knitting the cuff of my second Wandering Sock while sitting on a rock overlooking the panoramic views from Ladies View. This viewpoint is about 10 miles from Killarney. It is on the road from Killarney to Kenmare which is part of the Ring of Kerry.

[Read More]

Wandering Socks – Tetrapod Trackway

30 July 2016 By Nicolette 4 Comments

The Tetrapod Trackway on Valentia Island dates from the Devonian period over 365 million years ago.

Neil really wanted to see the Tetrapod Trackway although I’ve got to admit that I teased him that the Tetrapod just looked like an enormous prehistoric newt![Read More]

Wandering Socks – Ballaghsheen Pass

27 July 2016 By Nicolette 2 Comments

I’d just finished the Knit Circus Socks and had a ball of Opal Beachcombing in Message in a Bottle colour 8734 nestled in my bag just in case I needed to cast on a new project while we were out. I cast on the new sock while parked in a car park in Waterville beside the road to Glencar that we were going to drive along. It was late in the day, and I wanted to have the cuff cast on so that I could knit on our way back to the cottage on the Gap of Dunloe.

We’d decided to take a narrow road through the mountains. After looking at the map, we noticed that it went pretty much through the mountains (as the crow flies) towards where we were staying. As we drove, we passed an old graveyard with a ruined church in it. Deciding to stop, we wandered through the graveyard looking at the hundreds of marker stones. There were a few almost beehive shaped rock burial mounds.[Read More]

Drachenfels Shawl No. 1

20 July 2016 By Nicolette 4 Comments

Knitting the Drachenfels Shawl designed by Melanie Berg of Mairlynd has been on my must cast on list for many months. I enjoyed every moment of knitting this beautiful shawl pattern.

I knew that I wanted to use my own hand dyed 4ply Blue faced Leicester sock yarn for the shawl. It is such a gorgeous lustrous yarn and takes the dye amazingly well.[Read More]