Knitting for Age Action Ireland with Innocent

Everybody knows about Innocent Smoothies. They're the guilt free drinks that pack a punch of flavour. But does everyone know about their initiative The Big Knit?

For the last two years Innocent have had the nation knitting little 'hats' for their bottles of smoothies and it's all in aid of Age Action Ireland. 25c for every bottle sold with a hat is donated to the cause. They call it 'The innocent Big Knit' and the time is here again for us to take out our needles, hooks and scraps of wool and get our creative juices flowing. You can knit or crochet the 'hats' whichever you prefer. 

Image via Innocent Ireland Facebook

For the not too experienced knitter you can check out www.innocentdrinks.ie/thebigknit for ideas and patterns. You have until Friday 30th November to get your creations to them.

I'll definitely be helping out the cause and will post some of my creations here. In the meantime I'm happy to help if you're having trouble getting your head around the pattern ("head around the pattern," get it? Because they're hats? No? I'll stop.) or if you're a dab hand at them I'd love to see what you're producing. Just leave a comment!

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Card Making - Birthday Card

I thought I would share another of my crafting loves and that’s card making. I’ve been doing this for a while but only for friends and family.

I love that it can be time-consuming and allow you to while away your day getting lost in different card colours, textures, ribbons, glue, glitter, print outs, cut outs and the plethora of other elements you can include. Or you can simply take 10 minutes to put together a card for someone special. Either way, no matter how long you spend on it, the thought is always so appreciated.

I made this card for my son for his birthday a few weeks ago. There isn't anything too complicated going on here and yet it’s so effective.

I’m going to be making a lot of Christmas cards soon so stay tuned for a tutorial or two coming along.

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Preparation for First Ever Craft Market

Recently I bit the bullet. I booked myself a stand for the craft market in Glasnevin, Dublin this winter. The stocklist hasn't quite been finalised just yet but I hope to be selling scarves, hats, headbands and Christmas cards.

While I'm up to my eyes in wool and paper I wonder about what it is that made me dive into this. The fear that I'm not making the right stuff, that no one will want what I have to sell, it nags at you when you're staring at pattern after pattern after pattern.

But you really can't beat that sense of satisfaction when you cast off your final stitch and hold up what you've just created. So that's what I'm focusing on, enjoying the process, one scarf at a time.

Have you ever held a stand at a craft market? Any advice for a first timer?

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Old Habits, New Beginnings

Some things are a natural progression and while this maybe doesn't feel "natural" it definitely feels right.

I've been knitting, sewing, crocheting and making cards for as long as I can remember. It's my passion but was only ever treated as a hobby, to be carried out whenever I could steal a bit of time. But this year I thought, why steal scraps of time to do something you love? Instead, I'm going to dedicate precious time to it.

So here we are. I hope to use this little slice of cyberspace as a place to share ideas, talk about markets, fairs and fetes and throw myself into this blogging thing (I'm sure that's the technical term).

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

- Alice Morse Earle (to be honest though, I know it from Kung Fu Panda)

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