Whilst on holiday this summer in Munich, Germany I passed a wool shop.  Well technically I didn’t pass a wool shop as that is impossible!!  I went into the wool shop of course and it made me realise just what a great shop I have here at Grandma’s Attic.  Full of bargains and a fabulous selection of different yarns.  While this Munich shop was a lovely shop, it was a look and don’t touch kind of place and if you actually wanted to buy anything then you would have to take out a mortgage!!

What I did really love about this shop was this bike that was parked outside.  It really was an eye catcher and a great bit of fun.  All the knitting groups around the country could follow this example and cover some local sights with knitting or crochet.  It would brighten up an otherwise dull object!!  Better get permission first though!!

Let me know if you have already done something like this and send photos to share!

Knitted Bike

I have in stock some beautiful felt bags, ideal for keeping all your craft projects together. At the moment I have them in red, tan and chocolate brown. They are £18.50 each and are perfect for personalizing with hand made felted flowers, embroidery or whatever takes your fancy.  Let your imagination run wild.  They will go under a sewing machine with care so you could applique, or you could just leave them plain.  I love them and will be getting more colours in soon so watch this space.

Perfect for all your craft projects

Take one along to your knitting/craft group and let everyone admire your handiwork.

Good morning everyone.

I am sure you are enjoying the good weather and spending lots of time outdoors.  But for some people it is actually TOO hot and I am sure those people would like something to do indoors that is not too strenuous, and I think I have the perfect project for you.

Remember the odds and ends blanket?  Well this is the odds and ends cardigan.  I chose a plain DK cardigan pattern and made up the stripes as I knitted the back, then followed this same sequence for the front and sleeves.  When I ran out of a colour I just omitted it and I think the result is rather striking.  It is age 3-4, and all Double Knitting yarn.  I chose to do a wavy edge but if it was for a boy you could do a plain edge and maybe choose a blue colour for your main.

Double knit Odds & Ends Cardigan

If you have remnants of Aran weight or chunky then just choose a plain pattern in the correct wool weight.

My youngest customer left the shop on Friday a very happy person indeed.  Even though the weather is far too good for wooly hats there was no way this one was leaving her head this side of bedtime!!

I knit mum a pure shetland wool jumper and with the leftovers I crocheted a beanie hat for her daughter and put a flower on with a ladybird button.  It is very cute and a very simple pattern.  The flower and ladybird finish it off beautifully.

Make someone happy with a little love and a hand knit.

Pure wool hand crocheted hat

Pure shetland wool hand knitted jumper and crochet hat to match

I am please to announce that during the month of August I WILL be open as normal and to top that I am offering Euro for pound every weekend in August!  Can you believe it 1 Euro =   1 pound every Friday and Saturday during the month of August.  This sunshine is making me Crazy so make the most of it and get along to Grandma’s Attic and snap up a bargain!!

Collect your winter stash at bargain prices

Everyone has lots of bits of yarn left over from projects and they get put into a bag under the stairs or into the attic and forgotten about.  Well now is the perfect time to get them out and sort them into plys, colours etc and make yourself a throw for the garden chair, a picnic rug or a blanket for the caravan.  This blanket was made with 14 different colours of Sirdar snuggly DK left over from lots of projects over the years.  It doesn’t have to be the same make or even the same ply, just experiment and see what happens.  I had all these in a box and just pulled one after the other out and crocheted a granny square and was so delighted with the result that I did another 23 squares and made a single bed sized blanket!  I did have to add to this to finish it but I did also use up a huge quantity of my stash so I didn’t mind having to get more.

It is just a basic granny square made up of 14 rounds of trebles and joined together with double crochet and round the edge I finished it off with 14 rounds of double crochet.

SINGLE BED SIZE BLANKET MADE WITH ALL ODDS AND ENDS

Retro and vintage are all the fashion at the moment so not only will you turn your spare yarn into something beautiful you will also impress your friends with top fashion accessories!!

Welcome to St. Davog’s School, Belleek!!

Isn’t this an amazing welcome to any school?  Made by the children for every visitor  to Belleek’s local Primary School.  With a little help from Maria and Grandma’s Attic the children have produced this masterpiece that includes knitting, crochet, patchwork, decoupage, beadwork and felting skills.  Maria has been going into the school for 2 hours a week over the last 8 weeks to teach and assist  both boys and girls all these skills.

I think a huge round of applause for all concerned and hopefully it will remain in pride of place for many years to come.  Maybe if they get a visit during the G8 convention the leaders of the world will admire it and take some ideas back home with them!!

Grandma is delighted to tell you about

a fantastic sale that is running throughout the summer.

 I have many lines of yarn already reduced to £1.50 per ball but now you can buy

12 balls for £10.00 making it only 83p a ball

You can mix and match from Funky Fur, Whisper, Fizz, Velvet Touch, Gypsy, Flair, Eskimo, Frizzante, Shimmer, Juicy, Bliss, Colourful and many more

Use this brilliant offer to start your Christmas Knitting early.

I am interested to know how many and whereabouts any knitting groups are in and around County Fermanagh.  A customer from Omagh was sharing her group’s activities with me this morning and it sounded wonderful.  Like us they do a lot of charity knitting, including knitting for the fish and chip babies in Africa.  They knit for each chosen charity for 3 months and then change to another.  This is a brilliant idea and means the knitters don’t get fed up knitting the same things all the time.

Use this blog to share your experiences and charity ideas.  We are always happy to pass on to others what we are doing and also where we send things too. This can be a real problem as not all hospitals for example will take premature baby items or small dolls or teddies for A & E departments. If you are knitting for Africa they prefer dark colours, not pastel so it is wise to check before you knit anything.  There are plenty of causes that are more than happy to take hand knits and will gladly tell you exactly what is needed.

Many ladies, and I am sure a few men, would like to join a group but don’t know how to go about it.  Many customers say they would love to come here but live too far away.  It would be great to know of other groups that I can put these customers in touch with.  Not only do you all do great work but it is a fantastic way for people to meet like minded people, forge new friendships, combat loneliness and depression.  It keeps your mind active and your mind busy.  A small contribution to cover cost of tea and biscuits is a great idea.  If you need to buy extra wool then it can come from this kitty and if, at the end of the year, you have any money left then a treat for yourselves is a great idea. As a treat we recently invited a local herbalist to come in and make creams with the ladies.  A great afternoon was had by all and the best thing was it cost the ladies nothing.  Everyone went home with a pot of cream specifically designed for them and the cost for the day came out of the kitty.  To get started put a notice up in the local post office or local shop for donations of any odds and ends of wool.  Nearly every house has a ball of left over wool that will never be used!!

Good luck ladies and I look forward to hearing from you.  If you prefer you can call me and leave your group name, day of meeting, time etc and I will pass it on to any relevant customers.

Keep Knitting!!!

Jasmine and Ava attend Grandma’s wedding in hand knit bolero’s.

Introducing the other two of Grandma’s  beautiful granddaughters, Jasmine and Ava.  Here they are pictured at Grandma’s wedding wearing lovely pink hand knitted boleros made with Gedifra Barina yarn.  I am not sure if this yarn is still available but it was perfect on this occasion.

They were made using big needles so grew very quickly and to make them even simpler I crocheted an edge all around and added simple crochet flowers on either side of the front instead of buttons and buttonholes.  Nice easy design that can be worn over a fancy dress or with a pair of shorts in the summer.