Knitting - my guilty secret or a great pastime

I haven't posted any of the pictures of my handknits here, so now's as good a time as any, I guess, seeing as I have a few creative types following my blog whose work is seriously covetous and leaves me in the ha'penny place. Have a look at Rudee's blog and Stephanie V's blog and you'll agree.

Nonetheless, here I am writing this wearing my latest creation (see photo) - well, Lidl's actually, as I got the wool in our nearest branch of the German chain store that has revolutionised supermarket shopping in Ireland in the past decade and broken the near-monopoly of the existing multiples, Irish and British. The nice thing about Lidl is that they have the most bizarre and eclectic stuff on sale which changes each week with their offers, detailed in their weekly brochure or online.

Next week they are selling wool and knitting needles and I see they have some more of the same wool I got last time, and which I used for this deliciously furry waistcoat I'm wearing right now - it is just so cosy and was a doddle to make. I finished it last night, using 5x50gm balls of Rio wool in a burgundy random-dye shade, and it is feels as warm as it looks. Total cost - €5.98 if you want to be pedantic as a 4 ball pack is €4.99. I don't cost the labour as it is therapeutic and totally relaxing for me to spend an evening knitting as I read and/or watch TV and chat. They include a pattern for a scarf, jumper or waistcoat with the wool which is a great bonus if you are afraid to embark on any knitting project without the security blanket of a pattern to follow - as I am!

I made a nice grey, black and white random-dye scarf for Jany (son Shayne's partner) at Christmas and that wool was also from Lidl. So they have a struck a chord with me for their wool and given that it can be a very expensive product in craft shops I am always pleased to get a good deal - especially as it is excellent quality and great value.

I made a scarf for myself this month with another pack of wool from there, in an electric blue which I combined with a deep cerise I had leftover from another scarf I made last year and subsequently lost. You can see the result - it is warm and cosy and perfect for this chilly winter we're having.

I will have a look at what they've got this coming week and probably get some more bargain-basement wool for some more fun projects. I started knitting a few years ago when a craft shop opened in Lismore - sadly it closed over a year ago, victim to the recession and high rents although it has relocated to another town. I got a lot of lovely wool there and some patterns as well, and have used them a few times for boleros, a jumper and a mohair cardigan/jacket.

I got this lovely knitting book for Christmas which has great patterns for timeless as well as contemporary clothing and accessories and I even adapted the Lidl waistcoat pattern to include armhole shaping from the book.

A couple of years ago I got a knitting diary which was meant to be maintained for all my projects -needless to say it has sat gathering dust as I am not that organised; perhaps blogging about them will suffice until I get time to get organised! And of course with granny-hood imminent I should start on baby knits, as all I have done to date has been strictly for myself or Jany - teen daughter's way too cool for my knitting - until it catches on as a retro must-have!