I am running a ‘Learn to Knit’ 6 week course as part of Ards & North Down Council’s Spring Arts and Crafts programme. First week was last night, and everyone learned to cast on, cast off and do knit stitch, and some got as far as purl and stocking stitch.
Especially well done to the two ladies who had never knitted before.
Braniel Church Women’s Youth Club – New faces always very welcome — come along and bring a friend!
I was away for a few days visiting a good friend in Glastonbury and of course the knitting came too.
I had lots of remnants from previous projects and donations, so I knotted them all together, wound it up on a wool winder and am using it double to make a long gilet.
In the background you can see some sourdough dough that I had mixed with a good, well risen starter – it was ready to bake the next morning.
My current commission is to spin some dog hair and make mittens, hats, socks and scarves for the client’s young nieces.
The dog hair is quite short and will not spin at all well on its own, so I have blended it with some alpaca, spun it as a single, and plied with a fine, commercial acrylic yarn.
First two hats completed
This is the jumper I was asked to knit by a client, based on one that got shrunk in the wash.
I include it in a series of items I plan to knit, following what is knit/ crocheted in the Game of Wool program. I didn’t exactly follow the Game of Wool criteria in that I didn’t design it from scratch, however the client wanted a different yarn type, so I had to find appropriate yarn and work out needle size, tension etc before I could start.
This was based on the 80’s style mohair jersey made, I think, in episode 2.
And it’s finished. Ends sewn in and blocked.
I crocheted arm and neck bands as it looked neater than picking up stitches to knit them.
I chose waves and viking ships as the Vikings are historically linked with the Strangford area.
Next project will be the ’80s mohair jersey. Except I will be cheating a bit. I have been asked to knit an acrylic mohair style jersey from an old 1980s mohair pattern. Very little brushed acrylic out there in all of the colours that I need, and at the right weight of wool. So I have bought yarn in a different weight and will need to knit swatches to get correct needles and tension. So I have a bit of a challenge, but not the design work.
It’s not quite finished yet, another hour or so. So it will have taken between 10 and 11 hours to knit.
Will post again when finished
I have been watching Game of Wool – not out of any particular liking for this type of program, rather because knitting is one of my crafts and I wanted to know what people would be talking about.
I have no comments or observations about it, it is what it is. But it did inspire me and challenge me to see if I could do any of the projects, using the same criteria that contestants were given.
So I picked their first challenge – a fair isle style tank top, knit in bulky yarn on a circular needle. I took time to create a pattern, choose colours and get ready to knit. About 4 hours in, this is what I have knitted to so far. Can you tell what the motifs are?
I received my official certificate this morning for the Sustainable Tourism Practice in Destinations course that I did earlier in the year
Castle Espie was the ‘view from the office’ today, more precisely the Lime Kiln Bird Observatory.
I was to take part in the Ards & North Down Council ‘Shorelife Festival’ earlier in the month, however it was cancelled courtesy of storm Amy. The Council then very kindly offered a number of us the chance to exhibit at Castle Espie today, so Welig Crafts, Strangford Lough Activity Centre, myself and MRS MAKER is ART offered a range of activities to visitors to the castle today.
Despite the very changeable weather, plenty of visitors had a go at painting, archery, and making bracelets, and watched willow weaving in action, all with a shore life theme.
Below are photos of my activities, the calm before the storm…..both in relation to numbers of visitors and the weather
Every great place has a story — and here in Ards and North Down, there are so many to tell! From our stunning coastline and historic towns to the people and places that make this region unique, storytelling is at the heart of what makes our destination truly special.
Delighted to welcome Eimear Callaghan, Tourism Northern Ireland; Alice Mansergh,
Tourism Ireland; Aoife McVeigh, Visit Belfast and lots of local tourism providers to our Industry Day today – celebrating The Power of Storytelling.
A fantastic opportunity to connect, collaborate, and share the stories that make Ards and North Down such a vibrant and inspiring place to visit.
I was playing with the Brother Drum Carder this afternoon, blending hand dyed batts with silk (including sari silk), linen and some sparkle.
Suitable for spinning and felting. It is quite textured with the other fibres added in.
We had a little visitor to Makers’ Moot this morning – meet Santi, a retired guide dog, here with his owner Jane.
Three hanks of quite textured long wool x Bichon Freise.
Spun with a very short draft and a lot of twist (which is very evident in the finished yarn).
This is where I finished up yesterday evening – one full bobbin, and one nearly full,
Will definitely be a ‘textured’ yarn when finished.
There was about 600gm Bichon Freise, and 200g washed, carded long wool (can’t remember which breed). It’s all been through the Brother Drum Carder twice, and that has helped to blend the dog hair more consistently through the fleece. Now to the spinning whee
I have taken on an interesting commission – to spin Bichon Freise hair for a lady. Sadly her little dog passed over the rainbow bridge a few months ago and she wants to have a memory of her.
Beautiful, soft, black alpaca on the Brother Drum Carder this evening. This will spin really fine and is destined to be woven by a client.
Some teeswater fleece, spun and piled with some linen yarn, rescued by my friends Hermann and Marion from an old linen mill some time after it closed.
If you are free Saturday 4 October, head over to Glenside Farm, just outside Comber,, and support this very worthy social enterprise. Great coffee and maybe get a head start on your Christmas shopping.
Mum and daughter day today, learning to spin. The lovely Ruth and Sophie were quick learners, and went home with a ball of wool each.
Enrolments for the Autumn Term of Creative Classes and Workshops at Ards Arts Centre is currently open! So if you have ever wanted to try your hand at a new artistic skill, and meet like minded people, then check out the classes available.
I recently knit a friend an ’emotional support chicken’. I posted it over to her, as she is in England and I am in Northern Ireland.
These have been showcased across Facebook and Instagram over the last few months.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝟮-𝟰𝗽𝗺
𝗡𝗜 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗿𝘆 returns with their wonderful birds of prey,
Christine of Kiri Cottage Crafts will be sharing her baking skills with 𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 for sharing.
And, the entertaining 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 will be bringing the past alive
Inspiring Yarns in Newtownards has a lovely selection of wool, and plenty of other craft supplies. Well worth a visit!
We have now become an ‘unincorporated constituted group’, and renamed ourselves ‘The Makers’ Moot’. The main aim of our group is to help retain, share and promote local heritage, and other crafts by increasing our skills and knowledge as a group. By becoming a group such as this, we can apply for relevant grants so that we can learn more crafting skills.
As part of Ards and North Down Council’s Creative Peninsula, craft demonstrations were set up in the North Down Museum in Bangor on Sunday 3 August.
I brought several lucets, a Scandinavian braiding tool, for demonstration. Lots of chat with interested visitors, and a few who tried it out Lucets were used to create decorative braids and trimmings for clothings and household, and also to make more practical cordage and fine rope.
Ards and North Down Council kicked off Creative Peninsula on Friday 1 August in the square in newtownards. A number of us did some demonstrations in the Arts Centre, offering opportunities for the visitors to have a go at the crafts on display.
I had brought a number of peg looms and had plenty of customers, aged from under 10 to over 80.
Peg loom weaving is fun, easy to learn and provides an opportunity for creativity.
I had a lovely morning on Thursday with Molly, over from England and staying with her daughter Zoe for a couple of weeks.
An experienced knitter, Molly was interested in the Scandinavian craft of nalbinding. So we spent a couple of hours nalbinding, between cups of coffee and homemade cherry and lemon scones, and soda bread.
I was given about 20 fleeces this morning from a local farmer – a very welcome gift.
The first job to do is to ‘skirt’ the fleeces which involves removing both the very dirty fleece, and the shorter and weathered parts of the fleece as using these would create a poorer quality yarn once spun.
We have now renamed our club ‘The Makers’ Moot’, and are setting it up as an unincorporated constituted group and hope to be able to apply for grants, once our bank account has been finalised, so that we can access craft courses and learn new skills.
Be a creator, not just a consumer.
I was up at Equine Halfway House, a charity that I support, (and a number of my crafting friends also support it) this morning with a friend who is looking to adopt a pony as companion for her horse. Her old horse had passed on recently.
Discover art at its finest in 𝗔𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 – Our Borough is well known for its many resident Artists and Makers and during the Creative Peninsula visitors can view their work, make a purchase or a commission or try their hand at making something unique!
The Walled Garden in Helen’s Bay said: I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with the wonderful Christine Casey, a fellow champion of sustainable practices, listening to the gentle rhythm of flax fibres being spun once again the Walled Garden
Great morning at Glenside Farm – we were peg loom weaving as part of the Farm’s year long project looking at how fleece turns to fabric.
This was a really interesting course – lots to think about in terms of sustainable tourism.
Lisa Swann from Neal’s Yard will be visiting Kiri Cottage craft club to run a free ‘create your own’ bath salts workshop. And there will be an opportunity to make purchases at the end.
Last Kircubbin Henshed session this afternoon – we made ‘laced pony bead bracelets’. These are easy and fun to do, especially if there are plenty of beads to choose from.
On Saturday I hosted a workshop about how to make braids with a lucet – a Scandinavian weaving tool. This workshop was sponsored by Ards & North Down Council as part of its tourism experience development programme.
We saw an Instagram reel showing a crocheted tea towel holder to hang in front of the oven.
There was no pattern on the reel, but we decided to have a go at making one anyway.
I can identify….
I don’t think my hand made lace would make the grade!
Fairy bells are hung by windows and doors, and their music invites in the good energy and keeps away the rest.
Look at these – the Kircubbin Henshed will be full of good energy!
More woven paper plates flowers from the Kircubbin Henshed.
Looking for ways to use up scraps?
Here is my workshop today, mess and all – and my wee friends.
Some lovely, brown alpaca next in line to be spun. It has been skirted, washed, through the swing picker and e-carder and now sitting beside the wheel.
Great afternoon with the Kircubbin Henshed – we wove paper plates flowers, using ribbons and wool. Lots of great, creative ideas.
Here is a way to easily join yarn. This works really well when you want to join 2 pieces of yarn, with no ends to sew in.
A while ago I bought myself the ‘Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible ‘. It is a beautiful book, with patterns for many intricate stitches. Think Aran knitting but much finer and more complex. I came across it the other day and wondered how many people are aware of this knitting style?
When spinning wool, we often talk about 2 different techniques – worsted and woollen. The difference between worsted and woollen spinning techniques lies mainly in fiber preparation, yarn structure, and final fabric properties.
Back on the horse again after hip replacement surgery mid December. Out for a hack last Thursday evening with my sister, and not an ache or pain!
As a member of a group undertaking the University of Ulster green sustainability in tourism qualification, we had an away day to the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark in Enniskillen.
Thanks to Karen for her expert felting tuition on our last Craft Club meeting. Photos below, plus a selection of what other club members were working on.
Some photos from my last two Ards and North Down craft classed in the Ards Arts centre.
We made Celtic Braids, using lucets to make the braids, which were then attached to linen squares to make wall hangings.
On the second evening we made pretty, beaded flowers from wool.
I was asked to host a crafty birthday party a few days ago, and the ladies and gentleman participants agreed to have a go at peg loom weaving. We used rovings, washed and dyed fleece, and various balls of yarn.
With a little time left, between morning coffee, some, buns and cake, later helpings of the same, and sandwiches and birthday cake at lunchtime, we had a go at learning to use a lucet – to great effect.
It is European Wool day today.
Here is a short video of the batt being carded on my electric Brother Drum Carder.
It is European Wool day today.
So to celebrate I will be spinning some more of this – some texel X fleece that I washed, dyed, picked and carded dyed.
The Estonian Braid, also known as the Vikkel or Lateral Braid, is a traditional knitting technique from Eastern Europe. It creates a horizontal chain of “V” stitches across the fabric, often used as a decorative border on hats, gloves, mittens, sweaters, or other garments. This technique is valued for its ability to add both structure and visual interest to knitting projects.
Discover the art of lucet braiding, an ancient craft with Viking roots that found its way into Celtic culture. This three-hour workshop teaches you to create beautiful round braids for jewellery or decorative cordage using a simple tool rich in history. Explore your creativity with various yarns, beads, and charms. Kiri Cottage is set near Strangford Lough, enjoy views of Scrabo Tower and the Mournes while crafting. Savour homemade refreshments in a relaxed atmosphere.
I am using a 3D printed shepherd’s knitting hook to make a head band.
While researching, I came across this article about green dye that was used in the Victorian age. It is most certainly not for the squeamish.
Knitting likely originated in the Middle East or Egypt between the 11th and 12th centuries. The earliest known knitted artifacts are Egyptian socks, which demonstrate complex techniques like colorwork and purl stitches, suggesting an older origin than archaeological evidence can confirm.
History tells us that honeycomb stitch originates from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, where it was developed in the early 1900s as part of traditional Aran knitting.
The stitch apparently symbolizes hard work and dedication, inspired by the industriousness of bees.
History tells us that honeycomb stitch originates from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, where it was developed in the early 1900s as part of traditional Aran knitting.
The stitch apparently symbolizes hard work and dedication, inspired by the industriousness of bees.
What a busy day! Full house for Craft Club in the morning, and enthusiastic peg loomers in Ards Arts Centre in the evening.
Have you ever wondered how linen material is produced?
Here are the steps on the process – photo is of flax processed through to the hackling stage.
This has been grown and processed by Mallon Linen.
Cosy puppy keeping me company while I am on a zoom call, taking part in ‘Certificate in Sustainable Tourism Practice for Destinations’.
The Blackberry stitch, also known as the Trinity stitch, derives its name from its resemblance to clusters of blackberries.
Its textured, raised design is formed by knitting three stitches together and then creating three new stitches in the same spot, mimicking the appearance of small berry-like bumps.
Shepherd’s knitting, also known as slip-stitch crochet, is a precursor to modern crochet. It originated in northern Europe and was practiced in regions like Scotland, Estonia, Sweden, and Romania. This craft involved looping yarn with a hooked tool called a shepherd’s hook, which was thicker than modern crochet hooks and resembled a shepherd’s staff.
The exact origins of crochet are somewhat unclear, but historians have pieced together a fascinating history of this craft. Crochet as we know it today is believed to have emerged in Europe during the early 19th century.
The first definitive evidence of crochet appeared in 1823 when the Dutch magazine Penélopé published a pattern for a crocheted bag. This pattern included instructions for three different styles of purses using various crochet stitches, marking the earliest known publication of crochet instructions.
Thrumming in knitting is a technique that involves adding small tufts of unspun wool or roving into your knitting to create a warm, insulated fabric. This technique is commonly used in mittens, slippers, and other cold-weather accessories. It can also be used with crochet.
Nålebinding is an ancient textile technique that predates knitting and crochet by thousands of years. It involves using a single needle and short lengths of yarn to create fabric through looping and knotting, making it distinct from knitting, which uses continuous yarn.
I had the opportunity to get involved with a textile event last Saturday as part of the NI Science Festival. The event was the ‘Textile Metatronics Challenge,’ and was essentially an information share and brainstorm exercise to consider how flax and other fibre processing could once again be carried out on a small scale, as e.g. a farm diversification scheme, or by individual or small group textile crafters.
Kumihimo is a traditional Japanese braiding technique used to create decorative cords. These cords are often used for jewelry, obis, and samurai armor.
It’s great to be part of this group, and part of our collaboration journey to pitch Ards and North Down as a key tourism destination locally and internationally.
Here’s a little story about spinning dog hair or ‘chiengora’ as it is also known.
Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived a woman named Lian. She was known for her remarkable skill in spinning and weaving, creating the warmest and softest garments anyone had ever worn. But her secret wasn’t wool from sheep or fur from rabbits—it was something far more unusual.
I have been involved in helping to facilitate a few workshops over the last week or so, funded and delivered by the Department for the Economy, and Ards & North Down Council.
The aim is to help develop and enhance numeracy skills within the adult population using events and workshops such as knitting and crochet, rather than formal numeracy training.
This week’s project at Ards Arts Centre was to crochet or knit ‘worry worms’. These little wiggly worms are packed into a pretty bag, along with an uplifting message, and the idea is to leave them in various places within the community – park benches, gateways etc where they can be picked up by members of the public.
We made St Valentine’s Day decorations at Ards Arts Centre on Tuesday evening. We wrapped wool around pre-cut wooden hearts, sewed hearts from fleece remnants and went daft with beads and ribbons.
This evening’s workshop at Ards Arts Centre was so much fun. We made St Brigit dolls from wool.
This has turned out as a lovely, bright wool. It is hand dyed Galway fleece. It is spun as a single and is very textured.
I am now spinning some raw fleece for a customer to knit an Aran jumper. She has asked that some lanolin is left in the wool, as that is what her customer for the jumper has asked for.
I have just finished spinning the pet sheep commission from yesterday. It was really successful and produced approximately 2 kg of lovely Aran weight wool ready for my customer.
I have plenty of spinning to do tomorrow. There will be need to go out into Storm Éowyn!
I have already washed two large fleeces, then they were picked and carded. Hopefully, I will have them spun by the end of the day.
Ards and North Down Council have again asked me to be part of their 10 week Spring Arts and Crafts programme, and I will be taking participants through a yarn based project each evening.
I am back on-line again after a few weeks recouping from hip replacement surgery in December.
All is going great, recovering well, and looking forward to running workshops and catching up with a multitude of projects, all currently at different stages.
I had a lovely session showing a group how to make rag rugs on peg looms this evening at Ards and North Down Borough Council craft class. This was a lovely session.
Last week we made corn dollies and then we had a go at nalbinding last night. The latter was a bit more challenging.
Nevertheless everyone had a good try at it.
We made the cutest sock pumpkins at Ards and North Down Borough Council last night.
There were some great ideas and we had a lot of fun coming up with them.
This evening we made Dorset buttons at Ards and North Down Borough Council.
Some of these turned out to be quite big Dorset buttons! Most had a Halloween theme too.
Over the last couple of weeks I have run the first two in a series of 10 ‘Working with Wool’ craft workshops for Ards and North Down Borough Council on 24 September and 1 October.
We used a lucet to create a woollen braid at the first workshop and then stitched the braid into a placemat at the second one.
Today I treated myself to a wonderful workshop at The Walled Garden at Helens Bay, where I learned how to make a broomstick.
This was Week 3 of Ards and North Down’s ‘Working with Wool’ program. This week it was about weaving paper plate flowers.
Well done ladies on the creativity, energy and craic that are so evident in the finished flowers!
Today I spent a peaceful morning at Castle Espie with Inspiring Yarns demonstrating spinning to visitors.
There were lots of the other interesting crafts to watch and ‘have a go’ at, and plenty of craft supplies and various kits to buy.
I was delighted this morning to have been part of the first stage of a 13 month project run by Inspiring Yarns and Glenside Farm social enterprises ‘Farm to Fabric ‘ project.
15 lovely people came along this morning to learn the first step in processing raw fleece on its journey towards the finished product – how to skirt and wash it. Complete with large trugs, water, detergent and optional disposable gloves, within 3 hours 5 fleeces – blue texel and Suffolk – had gone through this initial step, and laid out to dry.
The next step will take place on 2 November which will look at how to card or comb the washed fleece, ready to spin.
This was my view from my ‘office’ today! I was baking soda bread on the griddle at Cockle Row Cottages again. I love my visits here and really enjoy the atmosphere in Groomsport and look forward to visiting.
This was a visit to Cockle Row Cottages this afternoon for another soda bread making demo.
I shared the cottage with Santa and one of his elves. There were also two visiting alpacas and a lovely group of flautists playing Christmas songs.
The soda bread was very popular with visitors and I hope to be back again very soon.
Merry Christmas to all at Cockle Row Cottages!
