Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Christmas to everyone reading this :)

Things have been very busy for a while, so apologies for not posting as often as I'd like; I'm still getting the hang of using my new 'tablet' but am so pleased with myself for being able to have paid for it with my Selkie money! I'd never have thought that I'd be doing that well with all this!!

Having been VERY good lately and not buying any new yarns I kind of had a moment of weakness...Black Sheep Wools were doing 'free international shipping' (as well as running a sale!) so I had a splurge! This will keep me going for months I think!!

The black Patons smoothie is for a custom order for Jana's son - black long wrist warmers and a 'net' scarf - can't wait to get started on it but I'm in the middle of a pair of 4-ply wrist warmers so I want to get them finished first.

The craft fairs I've done lately have been pretty successful - but the last one was in Dromid on Sunday (from 2-5pm) and I didn't sell a single solitary stitch! It was so disappointing but I guess it's just one of those things -- at least the other ones had gone alright and my Etsy shop is doing fine (though it's pretty quiet right now..)

Like this time last year I'm back to trying to get my 'shop' restocked after the holiday rush -- I've got 49 items listed right now; it's funny, through the rest of the year I think 'Oh I've got too much in my shop' but then all of a sudden it seems to disappear!

----stopping this post short to go and watch tv ('Eastenders'!) and to have a glass of wine -- will hopefully continue later or in the next few days....

high tech Selkie

This is the first blog post I've written on my brand new Google Nexus tablet! It won't have photos or anything swish but it's just so cool to be able to post this while I am snuggled on the sofa with Peter :-)

I've tried really hard to save up my 'selkie' money this year - by not keeping buying wool as soon as something sells in my Etsy shop or at a craft fair and so I've been able to buy most of my Christmas presents with my selkie savings and was able to treat myself to this awesome piece of technology!

It'll take me a while to get the hang of it all but isn't technology amazing??

Crazy Crazy Crazy...

Drat it, I had meant to write a third update on my blog in November, but now it's the 2nd December already...time really flies!

I had been a bit apprehensive about my shop on Etsy, and was worrying that sales would be seriously down this year; but of course I was worrying about nothing (as is often the case) -- the month of November was great in my shop! I even took $150 more in sales this year compared to last November (and I was really happy with how things went last November)

It's great - I'm really thrilled, I never thought I would ever be this much of a success with my crochet, and in such a relatively short period of time.

 I did a craft fair in the Tech down the road yesterday and it was SO successful -- best of all was seeing lots of people walking around wearing my wrist warmers and cuffs :o) I decided to keep a pair of the wrist cuffs for myself and was wearing them at the fair, and I think that really helped me get some sales. The ones I kept are these

 -- the deepest richest purple, with a blend of baby alpaca and mulberry silk -- heaven! I even had a woman offer to buy them but they are MINE now!

I also had a craft fair over the previous weekend - the Holistic and Wellness Fair in the Royal on Valentia. It was pretty quiet but I didn't do too badly and would be interested in taking part when they hold another one next year (in February, in Tralee)

I've been really good and kept a list that weekend and yesterday of everything that sold at the fairs -- it isn't like me to be so organised, but it really helps to keep track of how much €€€ I've made and makes it easier when I'm re-activating my listings to put them back up on my Etsy shop.

At the Holistic & Wellness Fair I sold

• black/white wristwarmers (Tivoli aran)
• pinky/purple wristwarmers (Freedom Spirit)
• black/white wristwarmers (Freedom Spirit)
• pink/gold wristwarmers
• orange wristwarmers (Mirage)
• blue wristwarmers (Peter Pan)
• blue wristwarmers (German acrylic)
• 10 cotton face scrubbies (I sold them individually for €1 each)
• green curly scarf (Mirage)
• blue curly scarf (glittery German yarn)
• cotton bath mitt (natural cotton)
• curly blue/black scarf (Noro yarn)
• red wool hat (Killarney Woolen Mills)
• red/black beanie
• striped hat (Tivoli Ocean)

Not too bad really.

Then yesterday I sold....

•  wrist cuffs (Noro wool)
• brick red cuffs (angora/wool)
• grey cuffs (baby cashmerino)
• duck egg blue cuffs (merino wool, I think it was Debbie Bliss, not sure!)
• bright striped cuffs (Knitcol yarn)
• purple hat (angora/wool)
• rainbow hat (wool was bought in town, can't remember what it's called)
• blue bow hat (blue yarn with glitter, bought in Kidderminster)
• blue wristwarmers (German acrylic)
• green/red wristwarmers (Sirdar Crofter)
• green wristwarmers (Mirage)
• blue multi wristwarmers (posh Fair Trade yarn from Uruguay) 
• brown wristwarmers (Mille Colori)
•  brown cowl (Mille Colori)

 Phew! It's been wonderful -- and next Sunday I'm off to Valentia again for another craft fair! Then the following week there's one in Dromid, which would be nice to go to too...that's if I have any stock left - ha ha!

I'm working hard to get some more wrist warmers made for these craft fairs (and for my Etsy shop too) -- I thought I nearly had too much stock; but it doesn't look like it right now (this is a wonderful complaint though!)

As well as trying to build up some stock I've got a list of 'commissions' for people, and also I'm making cotton/bamboo bags for two of my nieces for Christmas, which I need to get on with!

Pretty Flowers :)

I thought I'd try and write my blog a bit more often now that I'm not so busy with work and other bits and pieces in my life so here we are, only the 6th of November and this is my SECOND blog post of the month! What's coming over me??!

So anyway, these are some of my beloved orchids! I always thought that orchids were something that would be really hard to grow and take care of: that once they had flowered you may as well throw them away as they would never flower again (unless you did some super-dooper feeding regime) --- but I've had most of mine for nearly a year now and some of them are already flowering for a second time! All this without any special care or feeding or whatever. All I do is to water them with the water from the dehumidifier (whenever I remember!) - I think they are just happy on that windowsill so I haven't tried to move them or do anything with them to tempt fate.

The third photo is one that I just bought yesterday; I saw it in M&S and thought ''oooh that looks unusual'' and bought it as a treat to myself. Hopefully it will be as happy there as the other ones are - I've got two of the old ones flowering right now (and the flowers literally last for weeks!) and then yesterday I noticed that another of the old ones has a new shoot coming on an old flower stalk - so eventually that will flower again for me too. I can't remember what colour flowers that one has so that's kind of exciting - I'll just have to wait and see.

I've bought myself four new amarylises this year and of course now I can't remember which is which - but that's part of the fun. Three of them are 'double' versions and I think the fourth one is plain white but I'm probably wrong...

Rainy Days and Mondays...

sad song  (click on the link) - when I was down on the beach yesterday I had this song going round my head (thanks to the weather!) so I thought I'd share it in here too as this is kind of my own personal headspace too.

Anyway...I went down to the beach yesterday with Peter to take some photos of the bags I'd just finished making as I needed to get them listed  -- I finished the wool ruffled one a while ago but was slow to get it photographed and listed (how I HATE writing listings!) but the love heart ones were just finished yesterday as a custom order so I was keen to get them online. The pink one is just so cute - it's for a little seven year old girl!


luckily the weather wasn't looking TOO showery so after we'd taken the photos Peter headed home and I headed off for some beach combing.

For the first time ever I took an umbrella with me (I was SO grateful for that just minutes later) - you can always see the showers coming in from Ballinskelligs (the other side of the bay here) but yesterday they were coming just so fast and  there's nowhere to shelter on that beach -- the cliffs aren't safe nowadays, too many falls of rocks, so I was so happy that I'd brought my umbrella!

 Our weather has been pretty stormy lately (though nothing compared to 'superstorm' Sandy of course) but look at all the poor worms that lost their homes :( I'm not sure what the proper name for these are but they are little worms that live in the sand and made a little tube out of sand to live in  - the sea must have been so rough that it churned up all the sand and evicted the poor worms. You need to click on the photo really to see how many there were - and that's just one patch of them :(

I thought I'd add a couple of photos of the shower coming in from Ballinskelligs - the second photo was taken while I was sheltering under my big umbrella!)

I'd brought some crochet with me to work on (a pair of wrist cuffs - but it was too wet to sit down and really enjoy the beach!) - but there's always another day at least.

Home Sweet Home!

Peter and I are just back home recently from a trip over to England - it was all a bit of a rush really as we were going over to help look after P's Mum after she had an operation to remove a cataract. I'm happy to say that it all has gone well and her eye-sight is lots better - she can finally see things out in the garden/on the TV etc and has been able to have a look at the crossword in the newspaper again (using a magnifying glass while they are waiting a few weeks for her to have a proper eye test). She's had a few bad days after the operation and we were all a bit apprehensive that it wouldn't 'work' (and she's totally blind in her other eye so it really needed to be a success)

While we were over we fitted in just SO much in to our time there; trips to the cinema, visiting Peter's lovely daughter and her boyfriend in their new house -- they'd moved in six months ago but this was the first time I'd been over to England since the Springtime so it was fab to see their new home together...we also had a day out in Birmingham (which was so over-whelming, I'm not used to crowds and so much noise now!), and finished off our time over there by going down to Portsmouth to visit my sister and her family for a flying visit too.

I also was able to finally get the wools I'd ordered a while ago - the postage was too much to Ireland so I had it sent to my mother in law's house & had to wait (impatiently!!) -- we also went to the wool shop in Kidderminster and then there's one down the road from my sister's house...

It was fab to see everyone and great to catch up but I'm just SO glad to be back home - you really can't beat sleeping in your own bed (with Oscar curled up on the pillow next to my head!)

Today was my first proper day back on the beach since we got home -- yay!! I took my crochet with me -- I'm working on a pair of wrist warmers in Tivoli Celtic Aran (which has been discontinued - nooooo!) The scarf is one I've made for myself with some yarn a friend brought me from America! I utterly adore the colours in it...it's just perfect. There was enough for me to make myself a hat too!!!

This is where I was 'working' this afternoon - the sun even came out! You really can't beat 'home' :)

October...

...and now I'm unemployed! My job on the ferry has finished for yet another year - I can't believe that I've completed my 7th season there; where does the time go? I thought I'd add some photos from the last couple of days at work; they pretty much sum it up really :) I know I'm so lucky to still love my job after so long but oh! I am so grateful for my winter break from it all. I don't really have anything life-changing planned for the winter, but I will keep myself busy with my crochet, beach combing, and tackling clearing one of the local grave yards (a 'job' I started on last winter and which will take years and years to complete)

On Etsy I've just listed my 101st item in my shop -- I had made it to 100 listings earlier this year but since then hadn't been able to make it back up there again -- because of this just being a hobby really, and real-life and work taking over in importance through the summer months. Hopefully things will pick up a bit for the winter over there...but I am intending to take part in more craft fairs to try and get some extra sales - the next one is 24/25th November on Valentia.

I've sold a couple of the wrist cuffs that I'd made for my shop - they really were a bit of an experiment so I'm really pleased that someone bought two pairs! This is a pair I just listed yesterday - the photo doesn't do them justice...they are the deepest most gorgeous shade of purple and are a blend of baby alpaca and mulberry silk - just pure heaven... If these ones don't sell I'll definitely keep them for myself as purple is my all-time favourite colour...


This is something that I'm making for myself - yay!! A lovely friend brought the wool over from America when she was on holiday over here and I'm making the most wonderful scarf with it -- isn't it lovely? I really adore how the stripes are working out properly so that the colour change isn't in the middle of a row - a happy accident! I can't wait til it's finished and I can wear it -- I'm hoping that there will be enough of the wool left over so that I can make a matching hat...I need a new hat.

I'm not really a 'hat' person but I'm recovering from the nastiest flu-y cold and found that wearing a hat outside at work really did help; so it would be good to have a couple to choose from.

 And finally..it wouldn't really be a proper blog update if I didn't post a photo of my 'darling one' -- I'm sure Oscar thinks that's his name really :) He's been so up and down lately; I don't think I've written about it on here but he has colitis which is a long term inflammation of his guts and means that he has good and bad days. On bad days he'll just want to curl up and sleep and won't eat much at all; but on the good days he's just like any other normal cat.

  I took this photo of him on a bad day and it pretty sums it up; he just wants to curl up and sleep til he starts to feel better. I know how he feels really...