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A few months ago I sat looking at a lonely skein of Manos del Uruguay ‘Silk Blend’ on my shelf.  I loved the yarn and the color was one of my favorites but  for some reason it had been sitting there for quite a while.

I took it down and started swatching, I wanted to knit it at a nice tight gauge and experiment with cables.  I started out with a very elaborate cable sketch that morphed into a tulip at the top but it looked really silly when I went to knit it up!  Instead the combination of the single sideways cable that crossed over ribbing really captivated me.  I began working with just that and the zig zag cables began growing out from there. And so the Ambroso mittens were born, they’re available right now on the current Knitty Deep Fall 2o11 issue.

Working these mittens uses several different cable types, to make them very visually easy to pick out I would suggest color coding them so you can see at a glance where you are at, you can just use highlighter pens or markers of different colors for different cables:

I also got a  lovely surprise in this issue of Knitty, Contemporary Irish Knits made it to the top of ‘Cool Stuff’! I had no idea that Amy had such a soft spot for Ireland (she’s actually going to be teaching a class at This Is Knit in Dublin very shortly!)

My blog tour is now well underway, and you can find the latest review and interview with Shannon Okey (aka knitgrrl).  She had some fun interview questions so it should make for a good read!

We made it back home last night after the Contemporary Irish Knits launch party tired but very happy!  It is always such a pleasure to get to visit This Is Knit and the Powerscourt centre, such an elegant building with a lovely atmosphere.  This time my husband, Joe, got to come along as well so I actually have some photographs of the event to share with you!

I want to give a big thank you to all the mills and hand dyers who came along so that knitters got a chance to see the yarn ranges and talk with them.  Donegal Yarns, Cushendale Woollen Mills, Kerry Woollen Mills, Hedgehog Fibres and Dublin Dye Company were all there, and we even have the photo to prove it!

From left to right in the photo there is; Chris Weiniger (Donegal Yarns), Tristan Donaghy (Studio Donegal), Miriam Cushen (Cushendale Woollen Mills), Sean Cannon (Kerry Woollen Mills), Carol Feller, Beata Jezekova (Hedgehog Fibres), Elana Kehoe & Yvonne McSwiney (Dublin Dye Company) .

I got started before the launch signing a big stack of books for knitters who had pre-ordered.

Thanks to all you great knitters out there This Is knit sold out of the book.  Fortunately I had an extra box of books along with me so no one was left short!

I am so looking forward to seeing all of the finished knits as they appear, its so much fun to see all the variations created by different knitters to make the patterns their own.  I love talking with knitters about how the garments are constructed and possible ways of modifying to suit their own body type.

Overlapping with the book launch was the Yarn Tasting event that there were many, many knitters at (as you can see!)

At the event I got to meet the super talented (and so very nice) Kate Davies.  She also had a display of her garments and patterns up and it was lovely to get to see (and fondle) them all in person. Her historical perspective on knitting was really interesting to hear, I’m going to be keeping an eye out for her upcoming articles to read a bit more.

During the yarn tasting both Kate and me (much to our surprise) got to give a speech so attendees got to see a mini-fashion parade of a few garments from the book in action.  Thank you very much to all of the eager models (Lisa, Elana, Eimear and Aoibhe) who did a great job.

And of course there was cake (again from the amazing ‘Pepper Pot’ in the centre)…..

It was so very pretty it was a shame to cut it but it just had to be done!

Siobhan from This Is Knit was also busy snapping the event so keep an eye out on This Is Knit’s blog for some additional lovely photos of the event.  So even if you couldn’t be there you can still get some of the virtual pleasure from it!

The pace of life seems to have picked up in the last few days. Spent 24 hours in hospital with my youngest after a sever reaction to his final set of shots. Luckily he seems fully back to normal now!
Over on ravelry my Gilligan KAL (knit along) got started a few days ago. Several knitters seem to be speeding along, having finished the bottom edging and already moving along up to the waist shaping!  If you want any help along the way with the pattern just jump right in and ask.

Next week I head to Columbus, Ohio for my first TNNA.  As the time gets closer I’m finding myself very busy pulling a display folder together and packing my trunk show.  In the next few days I’ll have some more details to share with you about this so stay tuned.  One of the trunk shows I’ll be doing will be for my new book ‘Contemporary Irish Knits‘.  It will be the first public airing of the garments so I’m looking forward to it!  For anyone in Ireland, I’ll be heading up for This Is Knit’s 5 year anniversary on the 30th of June and I’ll have the full trunk show from the book with me, so come along for a look.

Next week I’ll have some news for you also about Knit Nation in London in July so stay tuned….

I had a wonderful time yesterday in the Lace workshop at This Is Knit.  Lisa and Jacqui are quite possibly the most perfect hosts, welcoming and ultra organised.  Many, many thanks.

Unfortunately I was carrying so much stuff with me yesterday I managed to forget my camera so I don’t have any pictures of the day to post.  What I do have however is a picture of the wonderful stitch markers that Karen of Chocolate Bunni Crafts made just for the workshop.  They are just so cute!  I even got to go for sushi with Karen (and Karen!) afterwards, a rare treat.

I was so impressed with what a great bunch of knitters were there, they all just went flying through the shawls.  Everyone working on the Captiva Wrap got a full pattern repeat finished during the class!

Thank you again everyone.

I’m very excited to announce an upcoming class in This Is Knit at the Powerscourt Centre in Dublin on the 16th of May.

This class will teach you how to knit the Centrique shawl or Captiva Wrap. You get to choose which piece you want to learn how to knit with a copy of the pattern included in the class price.

The Centrique shawl can be worked in either a light 4-ply/fingering weight or a heavier dk weight yarn. This pattern is great as a first shawl project. You will learn how to read your lace and create a triangular shawl. I will also show knitters how to adjust the pattern size if they want to work a smaller or larger shawl.

The Captiva wrap is shaped using short rows to create the gentle curve. Worked in garter stitch this project is a great way to learn how short rows work and is designed to hide the wraps well. I will also show how to adjust and modify the size and length of this wrap to suit your needs.

I’m looking forward to seeing all you knitters in Dublin!