Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘

Hello!

It's about time I popped back over here to let you all know what's on the go here at KDRD!

And what better day to write a post than today? So let me get you updated :)

Sadly, Ma Nature continues to be a bit of brat, and photos for the Hornpipe Bag haven't happened. The town where I reside "welcomed" no we didn't! 20cm (about 8 inches) of heavy, wet, sloppy, slushy snow yesterday. Talk about putting a damper on things! So gross, and heavy. Blech. I would hope that's the end of the white stuff but this being Newfoundland, I'm not going to hold my breath. Blue might be my favorite color but I don't think it's a good skin tone for me! ;)

While I wait for the dear lady to sort out the weather for us, I'm getting another tutorial or maybe two ready before the pattern comes out. My way of doing things in double-knitting are just slightly different than what others do so it just makes sense to show you how I did something, doesn't it? I think I'll have one out before next Friday. If the photobombing furry people ever quit with their interruptions ;) Ah, life with cats :)

I'm happy to report the Four Hand Reel, a tote bag pattern drawing inspiration from traditional quilt blocks and céilí (kay-lee) dancing, has been sent to my techeditor. I've tentatively penciled in test/preview knitting to start next month. This would be a minimum 10 week time frame, based on the yardage, so publishing would happen in later June-early July. As always, my timeline is pretty flexible. Definitely out this summer!

The other pattern I'm going over and tweaking before sending off to be edited is my Planxty Hap, a lace shawl with traditional Shetland elements as a base that I've added my own spins to. My aim is to have that through techediting, test/preview knitting, and publishing before winter returns; October/November-ish ideally. We'll see how that timeline comes together.

Countess Cathleen, my hooded cabled cloak design, is at a bit of an impasse at the moment. Charting, and knitting, a knotwork motif based off of the main cable panel I designed is proving a bit of a headache. I will prevail, eventually, but that particular project is in a bit of a timeout right now. I have a couple of other double-knit ideas swirling: a cowl and scarf set, a blanket in three sizes, and a 3 color shawl/wrap with different designs on each side. And there's another lace shawl in the future as well. Plus my usual cable heavy ideas, of course. I have more than a few of those knocking about! 

In my personal crafting I have a few things on the go.

I'm completely charmed by Lyrical Knits' 2023 MKAL shawl, Who Ya Gonna Shawl? (Link to the Pattern listing in Lyrical Knits' Payhip store🔗). I treated myself to this gem and some lovely yarn as a birthday present (Aside: how the heck did I turn 45 last month?!?!), and it's definitely fit the bill as a treat. The mkal, mystery knit along for those not familiar with the abbreviation, is a lot of fun. Check out Mary's previous mkals and her lovely sweater patterns in her Payhip store as well. I have a few in my 'must make' list. You can see my in progress shawl on my notebook blog (link in the sideboard). I'm using 4 colors of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply, which is really lovely, both in colors and for knitting with. Really super happy with choosing it!

I finished these lovely Talamh fingerless mitts for Roomy/Sis. These were designed by Liz Corke, and I started them during the 2022 FOYAL. I used Briggs & Little Sport in "mauve", and I think they turned out just perfect. And I have more than enough left of that ball to make something for me too. I love when that happens :) You can find the Talamh pattern here (link to Pattern listing in Liz's Payhip store🔗)

I've got a couple of gifts on the needles for special little people in my life right now. I confess, between my Who Ya Gonna Shawl? and these cute projects, that's where my personal knitting/crafting time has been going. No pics until these are delivered as they're as much a surprise for the little people as their parents ;) I love making surprises, especially cute ones!

How are your knitting projects going? Have you been using precious gems from your yarn horde? Or found a new-to-you yarn that's becoming a go-to? Are you crafting for the coming spring and summer months, or getting one more cold weather favorite finished? Plans for larger projects this year? I'd love to hear all about what you're at :)

Yours in yarn and a shamrock covered hair scarf, 

Síle

Did you think I was kidding? ;)

You Can Take the Dancer Outta of the Dance...

But you can't take the dance outta the dancer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️

Today is the day of the year I miss my dance fam the most. I miss the chaos of remembering where I was dancing, what time(s) I was dancing there, and (most importantly) which dances I was doing. Midweek wasn't nearly as bad as when Pat's fell on a weekend; I seem to recall a particular Saturday the 17th that entailed something like 9 different places around the city, 12 or 14 different times (a few places we danced more than once over the course of the day/evening), and 12 or 14 different lineups of dancers/dances. I got home about 3am on the 18th. This is why you'll see some people with pins or t-shirts that say "March the 17th. Sleep the 18th" lol. Here's a photo of me onstage from my last major performance:

Yes, that's me; June 2011 onstage at the Irish Pavilion during Regina's Mosaic Festival  

There aren't any dance outs going on here today. Well, even without Covid-19 there wouldn't be. I'm pretty certain I'm it for Irish dancers in this particular town, and I just spent 4.5 days with my back in fits. I've been semi-challenged by a dancer friend in St. John's to video myself dancing and post it. I've been thinking about it the last week or so without his prompting, so yes, you're in for a bit of a dance. It's without music from my basement taken with my phone so I apologize for both the quality of the video and my dancing; please be kind in your thoughts. I know my turnout sucks, and I most likely won't make any clicks I may attempt. I am, after all, injured and not in class or training right now. Fair warning! Off we go!

Here it is: one step of the original hornpipe I learned. For some reason this part stuck with me (and I didn't want to be totally clichéd and post the comp length St. Patrick's Day set)

Until next time!

Yours in hardshoes and a"You don't scare me I was raised by an Irish mother" t-shirt,

Síle