Druidess Beret

I've had a bad case of Startitist recently, so I haven't had much to show for my efforts. I started to find this a bit frustrating because I felt like I was getting nowhere. So I made an effort to concentrate on one thing, and have finished this:

Yep, it's another beret (because we all know I don't have enough!). This pattern is called Druidess Beret. I love the cables, especially the plaited one. I used the same yarn as on my Menai Tank vest. I'm now in full-on hat mode again. I wonder if there's such as thing as Hat-Knitters Anonymous?!

I have also been doing some more crocheting. I had started a shawl, I'm not feeling the love for it anymore; but the important thing is that it has taught me how to hold the crochet hook properly. So last night I started another Innocent Smoothie Crochet Hat, and finished it earlier today. Here it is:

Isn't it smashing? :) I love it!!It's called Innocent Granny Crochet Hat and is a free Ravelry download. I'm now feeling brave enough to tackle a larger crocheted item, and I'm thinking of a hat (ahem). So I'm going to have look on Ravelry for something easy using chunky yarn.

I had also finished this last week.

It's a pattern called Fourteen, it was a free download on Rav, but the download doesn't seem to be available anymore. I had made two ages ago, and still had the pattern, so I made this one with one skein Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky that I bought in This Is Knit in Dublin last year. The skein was in the top of the hot press, and every time I opened the door it kept saying "knit me, knit me"! Well, who was I to say no?!

This yarn is gorgeous; unfortunately I failed to notice that the label said it has Mohair in it. Mohair makes me itch terribly, and when I put it around my neck I was itching like a big itchy thing. I suppose I could have given it away, but the yarn is too nice for that (and I'm selfish), so, it's been frogged. :( But it is very soon to become a Plum Cabled Hat.

Before it was finished and I realised the itchiness issue (and after I had fallen for the yarn), I ordered some more of it. And you know how when you order yarn on-line, it seems silly to pay postage for just one thing?! Well, I ordered some Malabrigo Merino too.

The colour of the Lamb's Pride is Elderberry Wine, and this is what I'm thinking of making into a crocheted hat. The colour of the Malabridgo is called Paris Nights. It's much nicer in real life, the dark bit is navy, and the light bit is purply/blue. Guess what it's going to be?? (I haven't settled on a pattern yet, but there are quite a few aran/worsted berets in my Rav favourites.)

Last Saturday my sister and I went to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. We only went to the Folk Museum part, because it took us an afternoon to walk around it. We hadn't been since we were children.

It's full of old buildings and houses from all over Northern Ireland that have been dismantled and re-built at the museum. There's a town area, which has a row of houses, and a row of workshops for different trades, a village green, and then lots of public buildings like a bank, police station, a little cinema, a church and lots of shops like a chemists, a sweet shop and (my favourite) a haberdashery shop. Then there's a rural bit that has lots of different farm houses, a school house, a water mill etc. There's a fair bit of walking in the rural bit, and I would recommend sensible shoes! It was great day out, and we really enjoyed ourselves.

There was also a gift shop, and it would have been rude not to have a nosey! They had lots of different needlepoint sets, and also a Cath Kitson book called Stitch. I had previously seen that book in a book shop in Belfast, and had been wanting it for a while, so I bought it. And I also bought a needlepoint set which is a bookmark with lavender flowers on it.

I have done some cross stitch before. Mr Blackbeard bought me a Winnie The Pooh bookmark set about 10 years ago, and it's been keeping my place ever since. Here it is:

As you can see, I didn't exactly centre the squares (!!), but I think it's pretty good; and here are the book and the bookmark set:

The bit at the top comes with the book, it's all the stuff to make the little bag that's on the front cover. I'm going to start it later on, and I think I'll use it to keep my crochet hooks in.

Happy knitting,

Lynne