I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a new beanie pattern, and here it is front and centre. The test knit is underway, although some testers have finished two hats already! I hope to have this pattern ready for release soon, but I want to give the testers a chance to get their knits done. It will definitely be out this month, so keep an eye out for the Dris Beanie.

I really like this design, because it makes use of a cable that is not seen very often in Aran knitting. My mother showed it to me, and said that even within the Aran Islands, it seems to be used just on Inis Oírr (the smallest island, and the one we come from). It's a lovely textured cable, which one of the testers said was like rope. Another tester agreed with me that it reminded her of brambles - which is what gave this design its name. Dris (pronounced Drish) is the Irish/Gaeilge word for brambles.

One of my testers said: " I've never seen this type of cable before, so it was really exciting for me to do something that felt completely different." The cable is a wrapped garter stitch cable, which is usually worked flat. I adapted it to work in the round; thankfully the texturing takes place on the rows where cabling does not take place, so it is very adaptable as a design element. I'm so fond of it at the moment that I'm trying to think of other ways I could use it! ...

In September I mentioned some new patterns I had been working on, saying I would have some more news this month. Well, one of the patterns is completely finished (in terms of writing and proofing it), but I am waiting to hear back if it will be included in a magazine issue or not, so must keep it under wraps for now. The odds are high that it will NOT be included, so keep an eye on my Instagram if you are interested in test knitting a new beanie design!

Meanwhile, you can see another new design pictured here! It feels like a very long time since I worked on this one, since I submitted it to a magazine in January, and was accepted in March. I wish I had been able to do some publicity for it when it came out, but I actually thought it wasn't out yet! It turns out this teacosy pattern was in the August 2025 issue of Knit Now magazine, which featured some home patterns with a woodland theme. I'm going to try and get a copy online, as I absolutely love seeing my patterns published in magazines.

You might recall that I previously mentioned that I had been invited by Etsy to take part in the first EU Artisan Day. As you can see in the photo here, it came to pass! I attended some meetings in the EU Parliament building with 7 other Etsy sellers from the EU, celebrating our craft heritage and speaking of the realities of running a micro/small craft business. I felt incredibly honoured to be included in this group! I think we were a good mix of sellers from different crafts, and different countries (Sweden, Greece, France, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and my good self representing Ireland!) You can see some lovely photos of us on my Instagram . It was so nice to meet other Etsy sellers, and find out how much we had in common. Even though it was a short period of time, it felt like we got to know each other well, since we were dining together and staying in the same hotel, as well as participating in Etsy EU Artisan Day. So - what did we do?

It's an exciting day today as I picked up the latest issue of Knit Now Magazine, which has my Beirt Beret & Cowl in it.

I'm so happy to finally share this design - I wrote the pattern and knit the sample last summer, so it has felt like a long wait! Believe it or not, it's a one skein knit, using just one ball of beautiful wool for both makes.

My last post was about publising knitting patterns, and it's such a big topic that I decided to split it into two posts. This is the second part (so feel free to look at last month's post for the first!) Last month, I finished at the point where the design is accepted, so I'll pick it up right there for this month.

I mentioned in my last post about some upcoming knits I will have in various publications, and I thought it might be interesting for you to read how the whole process of knitting publication works. I really had no idea of how it wall worked when I started; I just wanted to publish a pattern of my own as a sort of personal challenge.

September's always a great time to get back into knitting with that feeling of the seasons changing. And a great time for light knit layers!

I can't take much credit for the knitted waiscoat (vest? sweater vest?) pictured here - it is my mother's knitting. Each knit of hers is unique; she has a sort of template stored in her mind, and then adds Aran cabling as she chooses. This particular waistcoast is two-tone (the back is the same colour as the button band on the front) because she wanted to make the most of smaller amounts of wool she had in stock. Having mentioned the back, I might as well show you!

Thank you for the great welcome for my latest pattern, the Little Seagull Shawl (pictured above). You may remember I wrote about it in my last post; it's a quick one-skein knit which is great for lightweight summer knitting. The pattern alternates sections where you have to pay some attention and sections where you don't. I put together a little collage of some of the shawls knit by my test knitters:

Summer has truly arrived in Ireland - certainly in the West, with a sunny spell lasting *two weeks*!

Even though I sometimes feel like knitting less in hot weather, I had a few new designs created in the cooler weather which will gradually make an appearance here : )

First up is the hat pictured above, the Doolin Beanie. I think of this as a sister pattern to the Aran Watchcap, as it features such a similar cable, but the cable is one stitch wide instead of two stitches. It creates a cable with less bulk, and allows for some more repeats - I like both of them, I must say, and love that both are unisex designs. I was running short on inspiration for the name, so I had a little competition on my Instagram & Facebook pages to name the pattern; I thought Doolin was a great choice, with Doolin being the ferry point closest to Inis Oírr. FYI - I try to have slightly different content on all my social media channels, so that you can follow more than one and not just see the same on each one.

Spring is definitely in the air, with the Easter long weekend very close. I hope you get the chance to recharge the batteries a little, whether you celebrate Easter or not.

It feels like I've been mentioning the Aran Watchcap for such a long time, but the test knit call was issued over a week ago, and some wonderful examples have already been shared with me. The pattern will be out soon, and I am so glad to be at that stage! Thankfully very little re-editing will be needed after the test, and then it will be on to new ideas : )

It's not the Aran Watchcap pictured above though, but a hat pattern of mine which was originally published last December in Knotions online magazine. It's actually quite a good knit for this time of year too, as it is nice and light.