Finishing touches

There's something rather nice about the very final stages of a project - the last few ends to weave in, the buttons to sew on, a waft of the steam iron, and then it's done, ready to take its place beside the other finished objects. Years are like that: the planning, the execution, the modification on the fly, and then the accomplishment after. So before we get started on a fresh and shiny 2013, let's have a look at what we've just finished. You might, as with the best projects, want to sit down with a cup of something while we look back. The big news early in the year was the launch of the new online shop. This involved a lot of lists and a lot of pictures of yarn and a lot of computer code, and the result was a huge improvement on what it replaced. So we have happy memories of shooting beautiful yarn (that's definitely Noro in the foreground, and isn't that Studio Donegal Soft Merino ready for its close up?). Judging from what you've been saying, you like it too (and we still want your feedback if we can make it better for you). But really soon, it was spring, and our thoughts turned to garments that would be useful right through the summer. The Spring Knit Along kicked off in February, with a choice of two cardigans - it was enormous fun, with new skills learned and new yarn tried out and a wonderful supportive Ravelry thread. The result, in Lisa's case, was this: a Fan Jacket that's pretty and vibrant: So keep an eye out for our next KAL - and spring can't be far away now. Over the course of the year we had the privilege of welcoming a lot of illustrious visitors to teach at This Is Knit, some old friends and some new. Carol Feller gave an excellent workshop on seamless garment construction, and one result of that was several of Carol's pattern centenary cardigan, Ravi. Kate Davies came back to This Is Knit in April and gave us the world premiere of her Steek Sandwich workshop. There was a lot of trepidation, and then a lot of triumph, as the steeks were cut and the stitches behaved: We love Kate. We hope she comes back soon. We were also very proud to host Aoibhe Ní to give a number of her clever Tunisian Lace crochet workshops - it's been an amazing year for her, and we can't wait to see what she does next. Woolly Wormhead came to give a fabulous class on making the perfect hat in August, and goodness, there were so many to be inspired by: an entire table covered with clever, flattering headwear: In September, we took over the theatre upstairs in the Powerscourt Centre for the annual Yarn Tasting. It was a lovely night, and Ysolda Teague and Carol Feller were our special guests for the evening. There were exciting garments to try on... ...there were piles and piles of samples to rummage gleefully through... and there was tempting new yarn to go home with. What more could you want as the evenings drew in? Carol's coming back in February to give us some more workshops, this time on short rows and on cables and charts - you'll find details here. In fact, that's something else that was new in 2012: we started using a new booking system, the one that we blogged about back in April. It makes finding out what's coming up and then seizing your place very convenient. A word of advice, though: events can book out very fast indeed when they're announced (Woolly Wormhead and Ysolda's workshops were full in a day or so), so the sooner you hear about them the better. The best way to keep up to date is to follow us on twitter - we're @Thisisknit, and we announce sales, events and all sorts of things there, so keep an eye on our feed. Indeed, if you were following us back in October, you'll have found us live tweeting from the Blog Awards - we're very happy to have been finalists, and we'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who nominated us, as well as a big Congratulations! to the winners. It was a fabulous night, and thank you to everyone who worked so hard to organise it. Right in the middle of the year, we had the worldwide spectacle of the Ravellenic Games, with Team This Is Knit marching proudly into the stadium behind a small but appealing alpaca. Impressive feats of skill and daring were on display, new techniques mastered, new patterns deciphered, and in one case, a cardigan finished and then entirely frogged during the Olympic Closing Ceremony (it didn't fit, and both the knitter and the yarn are much happier with something else). To everyone who took part, or cheered, or provided tea, salutation, and to our tireless Team Captains Jacqui and Nadia, thank you! We've said many times that our favourite thing ever is when the yarn comes back into the shop, all made up into your finished object, so we can admire both it and your skill. This was a particularly good year for us, then. Back in May, Clare, who's clareblove on Ravelry, brought in her outrageously lovely steeked Latvian Garden Baby Blanket. Knitted in the round and then cut open before being backed with cotton fabric, this is a knitting tour de force. It's still on display in the shop, and not a day goes by without someone exclaiming over it in wonder. It's all of that and more. Come see it. Sometimes we get to see beautiful things that aren't knitted, too. Late in the year, we made two new friends, Catherine and Annabel, who are visiting Dublin from Mauritius. It turns out that although knitting isn't that big there (one can easily imagine why not!), other crafts certainly are. One day, Catherine brought in some of her ribbon embroidery to show us, and we gasped: That's the house where Catherine grew up. Such three-dimensional beauty, with the flowers spilling out of the frame, and every one of those flowers a little yellow ribbon French knot. And there's more. This one's still in the embroidery frame, and it's a riot of exuberant flowers in all the colours. We were simply charmed by it - thank you, Katherine, for showing us your lovely, inspiring work. For all-round knitted delight, though, one event stood out this year. In April, Jenny, one of our customers, married Rossa. The wedding was one of the most beautiful and original we've ever encountered - a lavender theme, hand-made stationary, a wee knitted bride and groom on the top of the cake, and the loveliest Echo Beach shawl, all alight with Swarowski crystals. The wedding photographer was Julie Matkin of halfadreamaway.com, and a very good friend of ours. All of these wedding pictures are her work (used with permission, of course), and if you want to see more, then go over there and look through the gallery, or click through to onefabday, which this week featured Jenny and Rossa's day as one of their highlights of the year. A lavender theme, you see! There's more, much more, on the crafting of this delightful and touching wedding on Jenny's own blog Crafty Tails. Go have a look - you'll be glad you did. Jenny and Rossa, our very best wishes for a long and happy life together! Finally, there was yarn! Boxes and boxes of it arriving through the door and leaving in smart paper bags - new brands, new ranges, new colours to show you. This year we added Coolree Yarns to the mix, hand-dyed in County Wexford by the very talented Alex McLeod: And if you want to see it knitted up, here's a shawl of Jacqui's (looking back over these pages, she made a staggering number of shawls this year, including the Cladonia right at the top of this post) - doesn't the colour work beautifully with the stitch pattern? Also new this year were Jamieson and Smith Shetland wool in jumperweight and laceweight (we're avidly awaiting Kate Davies' new book), lovely soft Aran merino by Rico, MillaMia sportweight in those lovely bright shades and soft and colourful yarns from Katia. So much to crochet and knit, so much to plan.... Well, we've come to the end of the year - that's the last end woven in, the last blocking wire removed. Time to fold up that project and cast on a new one. Knitting? Crochet? Spinning? Earthy cabled Aran or delicate lace (from the Irish Indie Dyers' Lace Club, perhaps)? Oh, why choose - let's do all of it! Happy new year!