Coolree

At the Wexford Festival Opera the town's and the region's best was on show. In the Colman Doyle Gallery, I met Alex from Coolree yarns who was sitting behind his spinning wheel.
I bought a skein and hope I won't make a mess of it. It's so beautiful.

I robbed this image from his website - where there's a blog and online shop - www.coolree.com

exquisite hand-dyed wool blends

Coolree is in Forthmountain near Wexford town.

Anticipating the Knitting and Stitching Show at the RDS

I'm looking forward to going to the Knitting and Stitching Show at the RDS on Thursday in Dublin. I got a list of exhibitors from the website of the exhibition organisers, Twisted Thread. The link mightn't always work so I've pasted the list here for my own future reference. Here is what the "suppliers" page on my blog has been trying to achieve! A listing of places in Ireland for dressmaking etc supplies.

List of companies exhibiting
COMPANY NAME - STAND NUMBER
#
The 62 Group celebrating 50 years TGPD15
A
A Rubanesque G5
Abacus Beads (Belfast) A9
Ahmed’s Leathers Ltd B17
John Allen  TGE25
Alpaca Select B9
Alphabet Jigsaw K23
Aly’s Inky Fingers K15
Anglia Textile Works: Themes and Variations TGB7
Art Van Go TGC1
Artistic Handbags - Ann Lacy D3
B
Ballyphehane / Togher Community Arts & Crafts Initiative TGB15
BDI Beads E3
Bead Spider P1
Beads and Bling Ltd E21
Bee Bee Wools - Fancy Yarn N9
Bernina Electronic Machine Centre G7
The Black Sheep R1
Karin Boyes - Eastleigh College TGA17
Braidmakers Workshop G27
Brother Sewing Machines K8
Butterick & Vogue Patterns G13
C
Caitlín Uí Chéidigh - GMIT TGF3
Caroline’s Accessories L5
Rachel Caswell P3
Color Improvisations curated by Nancy Crow TGF15
Colourcraft C&A Ltd C1
Alice Colson - Manchester School of Art  TGA1
The Constant Knitter C3
Cork Textiles Network TGC7
The Cotton Shed K6
Craft Lines of Essex A13
Crafts Council of Ireland  TGG5
Craftspun Yarns K20
Crafty Angels D7
The Crafty Fox G14
Create with Kate G11
D
www.decopatch.co.uk L21
Design Perfection M0
DGH Promotions E19
Dimension Stamps E5
Discover Aloe F16
Doughtys Patchwork and Quilting N2
Dublin Embroiderers Guild M27
Samantha Duffee - Buckinghamshire New UniversityTGA13
E
Earthly Emporium M20

Earthly Emporium G16
Eurotherapy Q23
F
Fabrics Galore E1
Fabrics Galore K25
Fabulous Felt Kate Ramsey K4
FantasticRibbons.com C21
Fashion & Health E23
Felt - Aleksandra Winiarska Q13
Feltmakers Ireland N29
The Fennel Shed M6
Fiddlesticks Fabrics K5
Filament Textiles F30
First Steps Lounge TGD25
Fly Away: from inmates of Limerick Prison K25
Fosters Chocolates C0
G
Glitterati Crafts M2
Good Feet C23
Grafton Academy of Dress Designing E9
Green Acres Quilts M13
Green Angel N15
Green Angel Ltd N17
Guild of Irish Lacemakers M25
H
Jane E Hall TGC3
Hand Stitch Perspectives  TGE15
Helen Garvey - GMIT TGF3
Hidden Celt Q15
Hilary Hollingworth TGA15
Hotshotcraft.co.uk Q7
Hotshotcraft.co.uk Q7
Husqvarna Viking Waterford M12
I
i of the needle P17
ICA (Irish Countrywomen’s Association) P27
Indigo Craft C15
Ingrid de Vane Ltd C17
The Innocent Big Knit SH1
IQFOI / Sew Many Places N25
Irish Country Living (Irish Farmers Journal) E25
The Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA) M29
Irish Guild of Embroiderers C29
Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers L29
Irish Quilting P19
J
Jacana B7
Jiani Charms Belfast Bead Shop F14
Just Art Stitch  D13
K
Kilbora Quilt Shoppe N11
Noor Kimit - Manchester Metropolitan University TGB25
Knitting 4 fun D1
L
The Lace Guild E11
Lauralynn Children’s Hospice F18Sarah Levy - GMIT TGF3
Limerick College of Further Education P23
Limerick Institute of Technology: School of Art & Design  G25
Limerick Quilt Centre M4
Linden Lady Chocolates L4
Little Gifts Ltd F27
Love to Knit Bray G23
The Lucet Co D25
M
Made in Westmeath L27
Magee Weaving N6
Magic Clip P21
Mary Murphy-Madigan G9
Meiflower Q1
Miliner Warehouse M23
Adnan Mirza - Glasgow School of Art TGA3
Moira C on TV K21
Molten Designs E4
Mr Dan B5
mxy Ltd D15
N
NCAD Textiles TGE5
Needlethreader D27
Nicola Flint - De Montfort University TGA11
NKM Shows L2
O
Terri O’Brien - NCAD TGA25
Jessica Odell-Foster - West Wales School of the ArtsTGA19
Oliver Twists  K2
P
Rachel Parker - Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) TGA9
Patchwork Plus F12
Paua2thePeople R17
Payper Box R20
Pfaff Sewing Machines Waterford C4
Pippablue F25
Planet Purple Kids P15
R
R&Z Accessories L25
Rags for Linda F9
The Real Massage Co C24
M Rosenberg & Son N23
Rowandean Embroidery B1
Lorna Rowley - NCAD TGA21
Royal School of Needlework TGF10
S
Saffron & Sapphire B3
SBP Health Q11
The Sewing Shed R5
Sewing World / British Patchwork & Quilting magazine  D21
Siesta Frames Ltd G1
SilkFelt G21
Natalie Simone Davies - Manchester Metropolitan University TGA5
Singer Sewing Centre F5
Something Nice IRL A15
The Southampton Bead Shop A7
Stamposaurus Craft Supplies B21Stitch-Witch R3
Stormhall Ltd R13
Stunt Giraffe Acoustic Textiles - Edinburgh College of Art  TGA7
T
Terri Studio Designs E17
The Handbag Company D0
Totally Beads Ltd Q8
Totally Beads Ltd Q9
Trim The Tree A11
Trim Wool Shop Ltd N21
Trim Wool Shop Ltd M15
Trudy Anne Designs B15
Tetvana Tvshkevvch - GMIT TGF3
U
University of Ulster TGF5
V
Val Holmes   Inside / Outside  Intaglio/Relief TGE7
Village Fabrics M8
Vivid Crafts E15
W
Laura Weber - NCAD TGA23
Winnie’s Wool Wagon C7
The Women of Algeria E29
Women of Finglas, the M27
WonderFil Specialty Threads Q3
The Wool Shop F1
Y
The Yarn Room P4
Yellow Brick Road P13
Yorkshire Book Company A1
Yorkshire Book Company A10
Z
Zentangle ® Designs E13

i-of-the-needle

At the ploughing championships, I came across a stall for a craft supply shop that sells quilting fabric and trimmings galore. They are in Athy, Co. Kildare (the same county as me!). It's hard to tell if they have a physical bricks-and-mortar shop but they definitely have an online shop:
www.ioftheneedle.ie

Lunchbag

I am a commuter. I get the train each morning to work. I see people carrying their lunches (and breakfasts) in all kinds of bags, mostly plastic shopping bags, sometimes sturdier shopping bags with knotted string handles.
I thought it would be nice to have a personal purpose-made bag for this.
The pattern I used was based on the previous bag I made:

But I fiddled with the dimensions, and I didn't really have a proper plan.

The fabric is designed by Melody Miller, her Ruby Star Shining collection. It's a lovely cotton-linen weight.

The lining is a leftover blue lineny thing that I made a skirt out of previously.

The dimensions are wrong, I need to work on that. All these things matter. I think it's ok to through together some fabric, add a handle, that's a bag... but then a fork doesn't fit in it. Or it's too big and you're tempted to put your novel into it as well as your lunch.

Fabric shopping - from the virtual to reality

Everytime I submit an order to the online fabric shop, The Village Haberdashery, I get extremely excited. Annie has a great deal on European Shipping for £5. Often when I shop online, adding things to my cart, I have to chicken out before the last click because shipping from US or Australia or UK to Ireland increases the cost scarily.
I can't wait for this order to arrive. I'm on a tie buzz at the moment! Ties are so personal. When men in my life mention a big occasion, I want to make them a tie! And it's fascinating to look at fabrics and imagine the different male personalities wearing them. A fabric that strikes me as "no, awful" when I'm considering one person, suddenly seems perfect for another!
I've made two ties so far: from yellow silk dupion, and from a gentle-colour-tone floral print (Hope Chest Floral in Blue):

The order I've just sent in includes:

Flock - Kaleidoscope in Blue
Center City - Los Angeles in Midtown
Alchemy - Coquina in Taupe
Curious Nature by Parson Gray - Universe Night

I also bought some more Melody Miller because my previous projects from her fabrics were so much admired.

Ruby Star Vinyl - Records in Ambrosia

Here's my previous projects:

And the ever-efficient Annie at The Village Haberdashery emailed me a "shipped" notice this evening so I'm hopeful that I won't have to wait to long for my parcel to arrive.

Anna Maria Horner's Study Hall Skirt

Months ago, I had this pattern shipped to my brother's friend in America (postage can be so expensive to Ireland).

I found a use for the Happy Black Fabric. I also used an Italian Linen bought in Hickey's. There's a lovely stretch to the linen.

I was worried that the much lighter cotton fabric and the heavier linen wouldn't work together in this pattern texture-wise. I think the idea is to use two fabrics of the same texture. But it worked fine.

I amn't demonstrating the skirt, because, unfortunately, it doesn't suit my figure at all.
Here's the inside:

The pattern was easy to follow. Some instructions were repeated which I found a bit confusing but it did all make sense.

Disappointment - another pattern drafting course cancelled

I signed up to an adult evening course in a nearby community college; in Hartstown near Blanchardstown. It was to run over 18 weeks on Tuesday nights 7-9pm.
But, once again, they didn't have sufficient interest to run the course.