Anyone have a history of joining the knitters’ parade of MKALs and not completing the mystery FO?
To quote Marshall McLuhan, “We look at the present through a rear view mirror.”
I’ve just started looking at the art of affirmations. • I am grateful for my past as it brought me to the present.
A last minute decision to join @feller.carol MKAL Grainchloch Shawl. Factor in that Vivacious 4ply is my stash and an online purchase for some luxurious fluff, Manos del Uruguay Cabrito in Tiza and Sea Salt.
There’s great community support and plenty of Knitworking opportunities on the Stolen Stitches Knit Hub.
I am extremely fortunate to be able to use the Mezzanine of the IFI Cafe Bar once a month. As it is in the city centre, this is an excellent venue for knitters and crocheters to meet.
Although I am the host for these socials, my other half is the event planner and organiser.
January is a long month, so we choose to keep things cheap and cheerful with tea, coffee, mini cakes and pastries.
Enjoying the auditory, visual and tactile pleasures of knitworking alongside some incredible makers is an incredible experience.
In the coming week or so, I will make an announcement regarding our next Knit & Stitch Social.
Keep an eye on my Instagram, @diane.villamaker for the most recent updates.
We’re halfway through Soctober and I’ve been toting my current sock wip in the first Japanese knot bag that I made at the start of the Pandemic.
Making these little project bags were a perfect stashbuster, using up cotton fabrics from sewing cloth facemasks.
Last year, I went to a party and needed an evening bag .
So, I whipped up one, out of a vintage art deco style damask fabric and lined it with gold silk satin.
I had no pockets and this Japanese knot bag was the perfect little carry all for my essentials – phone, money, lipstick, hotel keycard and my salbutamol inhaler.
My latest collection of Japanese Knot Bags will only be available by made to order soon.
Kandinsky Knot Bag
This Kandinsky inspired knot bag is a work of art . The abstract artist and colour theorist was well known with his bold and brilliantly coloured paintings.
Kandinsky saw the dot, or point, as a small circle. He argued that this was the most basic, fundamental element of painting, observing “everything starts from a dot.” From this basic dot, one could go on to create any variation of line or shape.
Circles were a recurring feature in his abstract art, and he painted them in a huge range of variations, from planet-like orbs to repetitive concentric designs.
Made from a Kandinsky inspired tapestry textile and lined with re-homed drapery fabric.
And knot forgetting one of the famous Impressionists, Van Gogh
Impression by Colour
This knot bag is inspired by Van Gogh’s colour palette. The post-impressionist artist became well known for his techniques in passionate brush strokes in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line.
I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers ~ Anne of Green Gables
I’m back trading as a stall vendor at our first Libertine Market Crawl, today (1st October) . It’s The Murphy Leaf’s first time to leave the comforts of D12 and into the buzz of The Liberties. Exciting times as I launch a collection of handspun yarn at the Market.
The Autumn In-Vest KAL wraps up this week and I’m only partway on the Aldwych Vest.
After the huge success and soldout event of the SnB at the IFI Café Bar, I wish to announce that the opportunity has arisen to have a monthly social at the IFI Café Bar and I’ve seized this opportunity to make it our regular city centre venue for the forseeable future.
Most importantly is that we have exclusive use of the mezzanine. So, the next social will be in celebration of Samháin on Saturday 28 October, 1230pm to 4pm.
It will be a ticketed event going forward as the feedback I have received is that people like the idea of food being provided. To be clear, there is no profit to me. I simply charge what it costs for the food and gratitiuty. I will try to keep it as reasonable as possible. Again, it will be €6.50 which includes cafe style afternoon tea of a selection of sandwiches & chips. And you can purchase whatever you wish to drink.
Today also marks the first day of Socktober. Over the years I hosted Sock KALs, however, this year I’m stepping back and joining the Knit Up Philippines Sock KAL over on Facebook.
I’ll be casting on a true favourite, the Basic Sock Recipe pattern by the Yarn Harlot. I’m getting a head start on my Christmas socks with a sparkly ball of WYS sock yarn that I got as a birthday pressie, which I I contrast with some red from my stash.
It’s a new year, along with a new creative challenge hosted by Kim Werker ( @kpwerker on Instagram).
My creative mojo needs a serious tune-up and a good kick in the a**. So, I’m joining Kim in making 2023 a Year of Making.
The concept is really quite simple: commit to spending even a couple of minutes every day making something… it doesn’t matter what and I get to decide what counts.
I am so excited to get started that I even started a new journal. I even ink stamped a new insert to go into my Voyager notebook.
It’s official, VillaMaker now has a proper online home. I’ve dot commed it. You can now find me on villa-maker.com
Now that I’ve got a proper domain home on the web, I just wanted to say a proper hello as the VillaMaker, a sounds and looks alike of my family name, Villamater. Both my parents were creative in there own way. My Mum crocheted beautiful blankets.
and my Dad created timeless pieces out of wood.
My online presence is still a work in progress as I’m very busy with Christmas surgical hats. How can Christmas be only a few weeks away already. My Christmas fabric stock arrived at the end of summer and I only started a couple of weeks ago.
Disclaimer I personally purchased a subscription to this magazine. I am not afifliated with the author, publisher or shop. This is not a sponsored post.
Aoife Long is a writer, editor of Slow Fashion and creative director at Spirt and Luxury. I came across her Instagram back in August. I take inspiration by her written word on the creative ethos of slow fashion and the Irish wool industry.
The print magazine cover is glossy and smooth, and as I flick through the 28 pages of heavy paper, the colourful images standout so amazingly. Six designers are interviewed in this issue.
The typeface and font makes it an easy read, with the exception of the Mise Tusa article which is printed on a dark green background.
I personally had visual difficulties reading it in a room with poor lighting.
Interesting read about, Bridget Geohegan and the creative collaboration with her mother , Meritta. Collectively know as Mise Tusa. However, this particular article had only one reference to knitting, the Magnifica Wrap. Not one photo in sight, and curiosity got the better of me, so I went over to the Mise Tusa website and searched for this hand knit strips of pink Italian linen. I would have liked to read the story behind this innovative article of clothing.
I’m no stranger to Liadain Aiken and her Instagram grid. I was quite interested on her thoughts of the cottage industry and at this moment it still works for her business.
The thought of getting a knitting machine in the VillaMaker Studio entered my mind as I read about the process of creating her her simple knitwear and adding that pop of colour in Donegal Yarns which gives it that whimsical edge.
I am quite acquainted with Ailbíona McLochainn and her knitting patterns. I enjoyed the insight to her artistic flare and design process. I was quite surprised to read her thoughts on social media by not playing the social game or reading reviews. Designing is her calling, she does not spend her day fiddling with tutorial videos to please content monsters.
Thank you to Ailbíona for contributing the Bachlóg Mitten pattern, specifically written for Spirit & Luxury Irish Wool, which is available on the Spirit and Luxury website. I was a little surprised to see the shipping fees within Ireland for one 100g skein of yarn needed for this project.
The pattern itself can be knit in DK yarn. There are striking elements in the construction of these mittens. So, I look forward to knitting a pair for myself and maybe a couple for Christmas presents.
My knowledge of any UK based slow fashion brands is zilch. I truly enjoyed Aoife’s written imagery of Beatrix Potter and the Lake District as an introduction to Kate Stalker and her brand, Oubas Knitwear.
Kate has a commitment to sourcing British wool and integrating it in her slow fashion designs.
As a hand knitter, I never had an interest in machine knitting, however, it was interesting to note that Siún Carden sees the two crafts as being integrally linked through the culture of making, creativity and technical know how. The Shetland Islands is a dream destination for any fibre lover.
The final interview is with Aran knitter and instructor, Ryan Koenig. He has found a creative way to spin a good yarn about the Aran knitting in Ireland to new knitters and tourists right here in Dublin. He’s also put together knitting kits to complement the Aran knitting experience through his AirBnB.
Thank you for reading my notes on on Slow Fashion Knitting.
I received the book over the weekend and here are my general impressions.
I really like the general layout of the book, which is geared for knitters who want to be Sock Knitters.
Starting off by choosing the knitting needles and yarn, then straight into the nitty gritty of top down sock basics.
I like the way the book is written and the typeface/font is easy to read.
There are 10 top down sock pattern which range from simple to interestingly challenging for Sock Knitters at any level.
There are tutorials on the variations in the cuffs and heels which appealed to my sense of adventure.
At this time, not one particular pattern is calling out to me. However, I do like that there is a hashtag for each sock. So,when I do get the inspirational urge, I can look thru these hashtags on Instagram.
Overall, Pompom published a good all in one book for Sock Knitters and any knitter who is curious about the cuff down sock knitting experience.
My own personal notes:
this was an impulse buy on pre-order, if I actually got to peruse thru the book first would I buy it? No
on a positive note, I purchased it from my LYS to support the local economy and received more loyalty tokens
*this blogpost has a couple of words from the Filipino language (Tagalog).
pambahay: clothing intended to wear around the house
Lolo: grandfather
Lola: grandmother
This cardigan once belonged to my Lolo. My earliest recollection of this classic cardigan was in 1970’s during our childhood visits to the Philippines.
He wore this same cardigan when Lola and Lolo came visit to Canada in the early 80’s. It was his cardigan of choice when going out.
The last time I recall seeing Lolo in this cardigan was in 1983, by then it became his sweater for pambahay only. He was always feeling cold due to his poor circulation.
The garment tag tells me that it’s a Jaegar, All cashmere and made in Scotland. Definitely a natural fibre to keep one warm. Lolo was a connoisseur of fine clothing and accessories.
After, Lolo passed away, my Mum brought this cardigan back from the Philippines.
I really don’t remember how I ended up with this cardigan, however, for the past 30 years or so I’ve always reached for it whenever I got a chill.
On this cool Sunday morning, I went to put on my pambahay cardigan.
I noticed the tiny hole that I’ve been ignoring for months has exponentially increased in size.
One hour later, a mending repair job and sewing on two missing buttons, it good for a couple more decades.
It was a pleasure to catch up with friends during a “stopover” in Cork City on our way to Kinsale.
My glowing smile says it all! I am so grateful for a friend like Evin. She has been my virtual and personal tour guide during my 24 hour visit.
We squeezed in a quick visit to see Carol Feller and real life shopping experience at the Stolen Stitches Studio since I’m use to shopping online from Dublin.
I brought home two skeins of Blasta Light to make a couple pairs of Coill, a new mitten pattern by Eimear Earley. Now this doesn’t count as stash because it was a planned purchase, right?
Diane & Carol
Onto Kinsale, where I discovered the LYS Vivi Trading Co., where Rowan yarns adorn the shelves of this Yarn Shop.
Kidsilk Haze is my weakness
I made some new knitting friends … friendly and knitting expert Claire
and new knitter, Aileen who was making an amazing wrap in moss stitch!
I had the pleasure of joining the local knitting group, check out my IG LIve from the shop!
The best for last photo of the trip is with fellow Dublin Knitter, Deirdre who I literally bumped into at our hotel before heading back to Dublin.
VillaMaker 