Beautiful Sock Yarn & Wool for Your Next Project
The Striped Blanket combines the simplicity of a strippy quilt with the busyness of leftover colourful sock yarns wonderfully well particularly when edged with the delicious Blueberry Bonbon contrast colour.
The construction of the Striped Blanket is elegantly simple as I wanted a project that I could easily carry with me and knit anywhere. This soft squishy garter stitch blanket fit the bill. [Read More]
Today is Thursday, and tonight at 8 pm, we all thank the courageous and caring people who are at the coalface of this pandemic. Hearing the clapping of hands as people stand in their doorways and at their garden gates along with the Harland & Wolffe horns echoing across the city gives a glimmer of light in the dark and my thoughts turn to all those who have been touched in any way by these events.
How are you staying positive while you are staying safe at home?[Read More]
When Casey Feldstein finds herself in charge of a yarn retreat, she feels out of her depth, in Yarn to Go by Betty Hechtman. So, how will she manage after one of her knitting class is found murdered?
Casey has a habit of not sticking with a job for very long; she has been a substitute teacher, an office worker and a temp in a detective agency. And, when her aunt Joan died in a car accident, she was happy to move into her aunt’s guesthouse on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula in Northern California. She has found a niche there, as a dessert chef, baking treats for local businesses. [Read More]
There is nothing more adorable than a co-ordinating hat and cowl.They just look so amazing together. The colours all work wonderfully thanks to the colour magicians at Regia! There is no clashing of colours or not being able to find quite the right shade to go with the hat or the cowl that you’re wearing. There is a certain elegance about having a hat and cowl set, which is probably only just improved, by the addition of gloves or fingerless mitts.
Do you ever see a sock yarn and wonder how it would work as a hat or a cowl instead of the socks they have been designed for? [Read More]
It feels like we’ve had never-ending cold wet weather. First Storm Ciara rolled through with Storm Dennis hot on her heels the following weekend. So many people in the UK have been affected by the incessant rain and flooding and I hope that you are safe and warm. I’m hoping that the sun will come out and give us a little bit of warmth in March. But looking out of the window at the trees and shrubs whipping around in the wind, it seems like a bit of a pipe dream.
I know we should wear waterproofs when we take Bene and Mya for their walks but we tend not to and we just arrive back cold, soggy and windswept. It is on cold walks that I find myself thinking longingly about leg warmers. I really should knit myself a pair of leg warmers that I can pull on over my leggings and tuck into my ankle boots. I suppose I haven’t because, well, I was around for leg warmers the first time around in the 1980s when I was going to my dance class and watching Fame on TV. I can’t honestly say I’ve seen very many people wearing leg warmers around here. Maybe I could be a trendsetter?
These socks are a golden oldie really… I knit them a couple of years ago and gave them to my Mum as a present. They were knit using the Philippa colourway from the We Love Denim range by Regia. The pattern includes a Dutch or Square Heel and Classic Toes. They came to mind yesterday when I was putting the ends of lines onto the Knitting Squirrel Sale Page and the last few balls of this range joined the Sale Page. It was a lovely collection all in tones of denim blue.
So here is a trip down memory lane…[Read More]
A photo story of the Pairfect Striped socks. I loved how this yarn knitted up. I’m posting this as a photo story because this pairfect range is no longer available.
This post relates to the blog post Pairfect Hat and Cowl and The Box-o-Sox KAL 2016.
There is nothing nicer on a cold day than a comfortable warm hat that is long enough to keep your ears warm. I love knitting hats. They are such a enjoyable project to cast on, as they’re quick and easy and the perfect accessory to knit after finishing a larger garment. The Striped Beanie is a perfect hat to knit for yourself or as a gift for someone else.
The Striped Beanie is knit using Debbie Bliss Rialto DK 100% merino wool. Rialto DK is a smooth soft wool that gives clear definition to the stripes. It can be knit up quickly and is a great way of using up leftover yarn from other projects. Using DK weight yarn the hat will be finished and off the needles in no time![Read More]
Sometimes I see a pattern and I just cannot help myself… I have to cast on as soon as I can. I fell in love with Birkin designed by Caitlyn Hunter the moment I saw it in Laine Issue 2. I don’t know what it was that appealed to me most, but the floral yoke was divine and the photography in Laine magazine was, as ever, utterly breathtaking.
A New Year and a New Decade… Wishing you an amazing knitting filled 2020!
Goodness but time seems to have flown by. It is hard to believe that it is mid-January already!
What are your knitting plans for 2020? I wonder if you have been casting on any new projects for the start of 2020? Or, have you set yourself a challenge to cast off some older WIP’s that have been hanging around for a couple of years? Perhaps, like me, you are continuing with your projects in hand rather than starting something new.
No matter what you’ve decided to do, there is nothing quite as soothing to the spirit as relaxing with your knitting in hand. It doesn’t really matter where you are, just the mindful repetition of knitting each individual stitch is a form of meditation.
Of course, some projects are more suitable for working on while chatting in a cafe with friends, while others are better kept for knitting at home in front of the fire while watching an episode of Vera on TV (the new season has started and Brenda Blethyn is as perfect as ever in the role). For some projects, I need a small table to hold the knitting pattern and my tracker notes so I know where I am in the pattern.
These aren’t the only WIP’s but they’re the ones that I’m most actively pursuing and really enjoying knitting at the moment.
In September last year, I injured my right hand, while Neil and I were walking the dogs. My mum’s adorable pooch has a lot more strength (husky x collie) than I realised. She reacted differently to a savagely barking dog than I expected and I ended up with 2 fractured fingers and a central slip tendon injury. I had my final OT session in April. The fractures healed pretty quickly whereas, the central slip will be an ongoing problem for me.
I spent a couple of months unable to knit at all, eating ready meals, and feeling very irritable! Until then, I hadn’t realised just how important knitting is to me. I just love it.[Read More]
Hello, I'm Nicolette Kernohan. I love sharing unique knitting projects, exploring colour & inspiring your creativity. Knitting Squirrel sells knitting wool & sock yarn in glorious colours & fibres.
