I’ve moved

It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted here, between college finals and everything else in between I haven’t had the time. I have also since moved over to Instagram, which is where you can follow my knitting and thrifting. So please do follow me if you want to keep up to date with my projects and what I’ve rummaged out of my local charity shop! Link below.

https://www.instagram.com/thecraftythrifter/

Moss stitch men’s jumper

This jumper has been a work in progress for some time, put on hold during my final exams. It’s finally finished, although admittedly it’s not exactly in season right now. It probably won’t get much wear until October.

I didn’t follow a pattern for this jumper. I tried at first, but got thoroughly confused. Instead, I used another jumper as a guide, knitting it to the same size and shape.

I used moss stitch for the main part, and a double rib for the neck, cuffs and bottom of the jumper. I used size 5 needles, so it’s quite dense. It’s certainly very warm anyway!

Spring Street Style

I have been away from this for quite some time, studying for finals. But since Spring has officially began I thought I’d put up some different clothes for a change.

Sandals: Office
Shorts, suede jacket, white jumper and leather backpack: charity shop/ my mum’s from the 80’s.

I have entered this outfit for a styling competition, the prize being a trip to New York! So if you like this outfit please do vote, it only takes a second. Link below.

http://beaut.ie/entries/lillian-obrien/#.VSf8R9zF-uQ

Tweed thrift shop blazer

This was a great find at €3.50, one of those fantastic charity shop half price sales. It’s from H&M and luckily enough it was a perfect fit. I love the classic looking turquoise and silver tweed and the neat tailoring at the waist.

It’s one of those jackets that I feel will come in very handy when I start going on “grown-up” interviews for “real” jobs after I graduate. I may not be quite sure which direction my career will take after university, having specialised in feminist readings of seventeenth-century Spanish theatre. I don’t think there is much of a fluid progression to the job market from there, but at least I will have a smart blazer for the presumably countless interviews I will end up touting myself around to as I figure out what I am going to be doing with myself.

Flea market hand bag

Picked this bag up in a Feira da ladra flea market in Lisbon the other day. It was an interesting market, full of some hilariously useless tat; used windscreen wipers, packs of maxi-pads from the 80’s, a huge selection of scart leads and a fair bit of taxidermy. It was a very entertaining afternoon anyway, wading through the junk to find the good stuff.

The stall I found this bag at had an amazing selection of vintage leather handbags. It was run by a lovely Cuban woman, thank God, as I cannot haggle in Portuguese. Until I asked if she spoke Spanish I was just nodding cluelessly as she told me about what she was selling.

I thought the shape was quite unusual, and I like the different textures of leather on the front. It was ten euro and there’s nothing I love better than coming home with something special from a flea market when I go away.

Single twist knitted headband

Yet another knitted headband to add to the collection! This one is very simple, just one twist at the centre and two bands of contrasting purl stitch on both the left and right hand side.

I really liked this dark grey wool as it goes with everything, a lot more versatile than my purple headband I posted last week. This one is also a great deal slimmer, making it more like a hairband while the other one is very nearly a hat.

They really are very handy things when you want to brush back your hair and keep it out of the way. I like to wear my favourite earrings with it, a pair of little rose gold hoops, to make it look like I’ve made a bit of an effort!

Knitted headband

With the frosty weather refusing to let up I have been looking for more ways to stay warm, this was when I decided a good knitted headband would come in handy. This is a very basic design I came up with, a double rib stitched band, gathered at the front. What I liked about this one is that I can wear it with my hair down and it keeps my hair in place, or I can throw it on with a ponytail or bun if I’m being very lazy. I originally planned to make this into a turban style hat, but I stopped before I made the top of it because I like to have the option of wearing it with my hair up. It was a pretty simple one to run up and I have a few more designs of hats and headbands now that I am dying to try out.

Red polo-neck thrift shop jumper

I found this jumper the other day for 10 euro in my local charity shop. There was a wealth of 80’s style knitwear to choose from, I had an absolute field day. I could only afford one and it had to be this red one. First of all, I can never say no to a polo-neck and the colour really jumped out to me. I really liked the contrasting black inset and the cross pattern at the bottom. All in all, very happy with this find.

Moss stitch polo-neck jumper with fawn trim

This is a jumper that I designed and knitted last winter but am only starting to get wear out of now. I used a grey flecked wool and a fine and fluffy fawn coloured wool for the trim. If I remember correctly I used size 6 needles, and then changed over to thinner ones for knitting the trim.

I went for moss stitch for the entire jumper, switching over to rib for a bit of contrast for the cuffs and polo-neck

The fawn trim proved the most awkward to work with. The wool was so thin and the fibres got in the way so it was virtually impossible to see what I was actually knitting. I learnt that a dropped stitch could never be found again. I only knitted a few lines of the trim but I have to say it really was a nightmare.

This was the second jumper I ever knitted so taking that into account I am quite proud of it. My biggest problem with jumpers seems to always be the neckline. I find polo-necks easier to knit because I don’t have to worry about achieving a cleanly finished crew-neck. My tip for anyone who struggles with getting the shaping of the neck right is to get some elasticated nylon thread and discreetly run it through the neckline to pull the whole thing in to shape. It’s a technique I really do rely on!

Single cable fingerless gloves

After knitting countless pairs of gloves for other people, I realised that I actually didn’t have a pair for myself! I wanted ones to wear for those cold evenings in the library. I went for a tan and silver wool mix and knitted on size 3 needles. Instead of my usual style of cable I opted for just one twist in the centre of each one. It’s a very simple design but I quite like it.

With the weather as bad as it is right now they are coming in very handy. I spent yesterday evening in the library with snow coming down on the glass roof overhead. It made it a lot more bearable to be wrapped up warm while surrounded by all of my books.