A beautiful day for a tour from Norway

Velcommen was The word of Our week.
We were getting ready to greet a planned Textile tour from Norway passionate about yarns, spinning, knitting and craft .

Morning is here and Corporate Touring is negotiating Knitfields tree aligned avenue

Through the arched doorway to the mystery beyond! Edel greets the touring guests of Knitfield from 'Norges Linforening', the Linen association of Norway.

www.norges-linforening.no

Denver our on site ginger girl has a word with Chef and kitchen chief of the morning, Tess.

New at Knitfield is our 'This is us!' visual screen story by Maggy, after a little ancedotal background by Edel on her road to busy Textile decades in Irelands North West.

Stitch interest time and most popular again is Aran in all it's guises. Workshop one becomes a hive of ladies loving the honeycomb and learning the blackberry - back to front and upside down!

They say WE KNIT FUNNY !!! Well done for being such genuine sports and eager weavers.

Edel was challenged to 'cast on' Scandi style and managed a little with great tuition from Hanne. Intense conversation and skill swapping set the whole Townland on fire, like a recreation of some ancient 'meet-up' in this historically textile rich locality.

Johnny Shiels prepares for a well informed invasion in workshop two. His beautiful wheel was built by himself in a family tradition going back to his grandfather. Guests were invited to spin or card wool and Johnny brought his very special hand build loom with an opportunity for everyone to weave a part of Inishowen.

Inspirational Knitfield patterns designed and written in house by Edel MacBride are on the best seller list! We remarked how many beautiful and rich textures and tones the ladies were wearing, many wearing their own soft knitwear or weaving.

Edel tells the story of the yarn designed recently by herself exclusively for Knitfield.

Read more about this on our blog Slieve League here. A hush descended and orders were placed!

The pantry was a go to for refreshments in the form of delicious scones with cream and home made jam.

Produced and co-ordinated beautifully by Tess who brought an assortment of Nicolas Mosse pottery to the party in the form of jugs. Our Knitfield Moville pottery mugs were a little unmatched, yet the home made and real made feel of everything was magical.

Under a Donegal sky !

Norway we imagine is cold and beautiful. Perfect to wear our hand knitted hats and gloves in Donegal spun merino.

 

                                                
From left :Hanne Julie Gjendem  (Leder) of Norges Linforening, Edel MacBride, founder of Knitfield and Designer, Anne Holth Larsen (Norges linforening), Elaine McInaw (tour co- ordinator)

Ireland & Norway

Knitfield and Edel MacBride workshop with Norges Linforening organisation,

April 30, 2014 at the Knitfield Centre in Convoy, Donegal, Ireland

 

 

Farewell, Edel bids a personal good bye and spies some incredible knitting aboard the bus!

The horses made new friends too as they were hand fed clover.

 

Visit again soon !

Thank you to everyone involved. To the family who appeared like night owls to help with prep especially the younger members who brought lots of enthusiasm. To the visual display team on video, sound, merchandising and buttons !!!

Full credit to photographer Mary McDermott and kitchen hospitality Tess Corry (Edel's sisters).

 

A great word of gratitude to Norges Linforening for selecting our destination and bringing such a sense of new beginnings to our year.

 

all images 1987 -2014 (c)Edel MacBride ltd

Thank you to our friends at Marley Wools Ltd and Donegal yarns. 

more information: www.spinningwheels.ie

www.norges-linforening.no

www.edelmacbride.com

www.movillepottery.com 

www.nicholasmossepottery.com

 

 

Dunboyne Castle Hotel workshop with Edel

The knitting needles and hooks of Knitfield and Edel were invited a little further afield this Spring.
The historic location of Dunboyne Castle Hotel, in the picturesque village of Dunboyne in Co Meath called for some knit with style action!
The castle team set to planning, promoting and printing ahead of the theatre style demonstration workshop planned for April 13th.

Edel wears sky eve hood and is ready to knit with a cone of slieve league grey wool exclusively designed by Edel for Knitfield

With a Dunboyne speaker and workshop line up this year to date that included Gaye Byrne and Neven Maguire, it was time to get the best yarns ready and the best dress pressed!

The keys to our Art ! We could crochet with this one on the grand front entrance door ?

After an early start it was time to check the final slides for the introduction. Edel is looking right at home here!

A guest should always be brought in by the front door, on their first visit, so an old irish etiquette goes. 

This includes all the yarn and supplies for the demo too we reckoned.

Time to work the room. What a wonderful audience. Lots of early arrival enthusiasm and great questions. Most attendees could both knit and crochet and some had interests in entrelac and broomstick crochet which is undergoing a revival. 

Indeed Edel was learning a thing or two.

It's great when friends encourage each other into handcraft as these ladies did.

Thank you for bringing your work along. Entrelac in crochet or knit has great possibilities and is fun to 'build'

The little Knitfield boots kept an eye on proceedings.

Indeed inspiration was everywhere. While the drawing room was great for the busy event we did fall a little in love with the library. This pretty ceramic chandelier held great colour chart possibilities !

It was a busy weekend with two weddings at the castle, yet that didn't stop us from swishing on the 

Downton stairwell and looking heavenwards for more inspiration.

If flora and fauna is more your inspirational kick off point, the grounds are wonderful for a dreamy dander or to sneak outside with the knitting. While we had lovely food and service in The Ivy dining room, the ivy in the garden woodlands was every bit as enchanting.

The end

For now

We hope to be back. This lovely gothic door stands lost amid trees in the garden. A nod to the textured history of Dunboyne stretching back a thousand years to the Normans. Many yarns of it's own hidden here.

Thank you if you attended the workshop. It was great to have such a like minded get together. The interest in perfecting finish and technique was heartening indeed, no rush jobs! Thank you if you purchased a 'KNITFIELD' kit or pattern on the day. We are happy to accommodate any follow up requests via the email below or at the Convoy studio number  074 9147508.

To book an inspirational workshop with Edel MacBride or for details on this years events email Knitfield1@gmail.com

Thank you to the team at Dunboyne and to the press which gave the event great mention.

Slieve League, a Knitfield exclusive

To paint one's own yarn is a dream. To paint a Donegal with multiple contrast neps or burrs is a technicolour dream.
To create Slieve League we mixed two base fleece tones of grey and green. The result being a grey flattering on skin tone and Donegal in character.
The neps represented the highlights of a Donegal landscape, the alternating skies, the heather, the rich dark autumn foliage and the strong mosses that grow on Slieve league's rocks.
The result is unique to us in all the world! A classic grey with originality in the fleck tones.

In the beginning ..Nora's wall we call this

 The choice is infinite, so it's all about the edit and a bit like mixing perfume!

It starts with play and a focus on what you're after.

 It's lovely how Slieve League integrates with

 it's birth environment !

 and how it reflects

an Irish sky even on a sky less day! Yes there is a sky behind the yarn in the image.

our first studio ready- to -wear design is underway in Slieve League. It's called the Bricin cardi and named after a saint from the region (c. 590-650). The inspiration came from a locally written poem (below). Bricin also means a small fish in gaelige.

A small and limited edition amount of Slieve League (100% Donegal spun wool) is available to pre-order online at edelmacbride.com

A little about the inspiration........Sliabh Liag (Irish for the grey mountains)

thanks to www.focuspocus.com for this image

Slieve League has been inspiring a local population since the Celts and before with it's majestic cliffs sheltering this Donegal peninula from the wild atlantic. Now a highlight for visitors on the 'Wild Atlantic Way' route, from Donegal to Kerry 

The Donegal heather and fern frame the stark cliffs that at 601 metres (1972 ft) are the highest in europe! Locally the area is know as Bunglas.

Our exclusive yarn colour in 100% spun in Donegal wool was inspired by a visit (or many!) to this Donegal wonder…

Slieve League

Voluptuous Mountain

At the foot of God

Laid out like a Gaelic Queen

In a trousseau of whimsical mist,

Glimpses of ultramarine,

Grated on by gentle sheep.

Snapped at by the sea,

By grappling arms of little farms ensnared,

Slieve League,

Colmcille’s highway

Dropping holy wells,

That lie with doleful eyes,

Hear the footprints of another saint,

Bricín now patronized,

Today as on that ancient scene,

Tomorrow you will ever be,

A noble part of nature’s chart defined

Slieve League.

The poet was inspired by Slieve League and prefers to stay anonymous!

© 2014 Edel MacBride

We hope you join us on the journey of knitting and crocheting a little of our Slieve league wool. Maybe even take a walk on this wild side of Donegal, in your creation!

Edel @knitfield 2014

A bit of Irish crochet history comes to Knitfield

Knitfield was excited to view this lovely collection almost by chance !
Aoife signed up for our 'Crochet by Design' course enthusiastically but a tad unsure. The reason being that while she could knit, crochet had evaded her in the past and as she is left handed, she half blamed that!
Well, following a bit of visual challenge on week one (crocheting left handed means going clockwise rather than anti-clockwise with the stitches, although some left handed folks find it good to work as if right handed), there was no stopping her...hats, hats, hats and flowers and ......

On week three Aoife mentioned 'tops' made by her grandmother for her mother. She was interested in perhaps bringing out the whiteness of one in particular but didn't want to use a strong solution of any kind and was seeking advise. At the last class Aoife brought her grandmothers collection of work to our delighted eyes.
Julia McCarthy of Cappaghmore, Co. Limerick had a speciality, the pineapple stitch! as the tops were crocheted in a good quality mercerised cotton they have worn well, held their shape and the classic styling means they haven't dated. Aoife confessed to having a crochet dress as a child that she may not have been so keen on, but what lovely heirloom pieces these Chanelesque hand crochet tee shapes make.

Very spring 2014 this sherbet lemon is pineapple at it's best. we like the attention to detail at the hemline too.

This lovely little crown or shell crochet stitch is crisp and graphic enough to be Mr Kane!

We were honoured to bring crochet skills to the granddaughter of Julia McCarthy and another generation of who knows what masterpieces to come ?

Aoife sports her 'rose' completed on week four of 'Crochet by Design' by Edel MacBride and Knitfield.

for more information on this excellent crochet and design course including dates visit the website or http://facebook.com/knitfield

Craft Master Series 2

Craft Master Series two on RTE one


Knitwear designer Edel MacBride of Knitfield is knitting mentor on this exciting craft series where five craft disciplines are pitching for the ultimate title of Craft Master.  
With a prize of exhibiting at an international trade fair, Showcase Ireland at the RDS in January (with mentoring from the Crafts Council of Ireland) up for grabs by the winning apprentice!
Sonya Lennon (off the rails) and Brian Mc Gee (crafts council of ireland) lead the episodes with irish designers Louise Kennedy and Paul Costelloe making the final judgement call.
The Crafts featured in series two are Millinery, Jewellery, Woodwork, Knitting and Basketry.

introducing the knitting apprentices

apprentice Derek Montgomery finds a green corner at the studio

Derek who loves to handknit on BIG needles with chunky yarns finds wings when he gets his first machine knitting lesson with Edel MacBride during his craft master week at the Knitfield studio in Donegal

Sandra Bogan is a whizz with a small hook and a ball of cotton

With a great smile Sandra puts her crochet talent to the ultimate commercial test during Craft Master.
Can this great irish tradition of fine crochet and lace making find a place on top shelves and bottom drawers around the globe? A week at the Knitfield studio paves the way....

Fashion designer and apprentice Rebecca Marsden gives Clodagh Harris a peek at her creation

Talented designer Rebecca was locked away in our upstairs workroom... with her incredibly fine yarn on an ambition knitting vision for the Craft Master week.

Tune in on Tuesdays at 7pm on RTE one from September 3 - October 8 2013

further information available from edelmacbride.com /contact/

tel: 00 353 74 9147508

Knitfield event at Harvey's point hotel with Edel MacBride - next is June 1

Bronagh's treasure.

Whether you love knitting, crochet or another yarn craft, the Knit & Network afternoon event is the perfect opportunity to hook up or just enjoy the colour and the view, not forgetting the selection of treats with the tea. First enjoy a welcome punch!

 

Judy enjoying a Knit & Network and again wearing a lovely tea dress of her own creation. We are always excited to see what's in Judy's recent work 'suitcase'!

Elizabeth Gillespie treats some guests at a Knit & Network with us to an impromptu recital, fabulous, in the drawing room. Wearing an Edel MacBride dress with a crochet coat and cape also by Edel. A keen knitter with a taste for luxurious mohair and silks.

 

 

KNITFIELD at the entrance to Harvey's Point in Lough Eske, Donegal, Ireland

KNITFIELD arriving at Harvey's Point for a Knit & Network afternoon tea with yummy yarns ready for action. From 3pm - 6pm on scheduled Sunday's at Harveys Point Hotel, at beautiful Lough Eske, Donegal. Book your place at the next Knit & Network here for €20. Alternatively you may book at Harvey's point reception 00353 74 97 22208.

Designer Edel MacBride at your service for the afternoon

 

Edel MacBride doing a great job serving the welcome punch to guests at the Knit & Network.  The miniature desserts are almost as great as the yarns shared! Beginners, experts and friends are all welcome along to this relaxed event . Our aim is to promote the yarn crafts we love and how fashionable and holistic they are. Meeting with like minded folks in this setting is inspirational. Secrets are shared and even orders placed with each other, while Edel is on hand with open and positive direction in any project. Harvey's will be happy to help with any overnight plans or lunch reservations, just mention the Knit & Network.

Noel Cunningham, Edel MacBride & guests sharing yarn

TV3 personality and Harvey's Point hospitality manager Noel Cunningham even gets hooked at a Knit & Network.

Ladies who travelled far for some team work at a Knit & Network with Edel

The View of Lough Eske from the drawing room at Harveys Point

Doing a bit of measuring up with keen networkers looking to write their own infinity scarf patterns.
 

  The Knitfield kits have everything you need -select yarns, original patterns by Edel MacBride, handmade Donegal heritage tweed fabric covered buttons.
Join us by the lake!

Next Date June 1st 2014, 3pm - 6pm... Booking  €20
ring us for further information : 00353 74 91 47508 10 am - 5.30 pm 

Posh Garage Sale 2013

Edel MacBride Designer Studio Posh Garage Sale

It’s the morning of the first Saturday of June. The sun is shining and you feel like you’re walking through some cowboy’s home in Texas,

But actually you’re at Edel MacBride’s posh garage sale.

Fresh locally produced strawberries

There are balls of expensive yarns and lengths of luxury materials gleaming in the Donegal sun. The sun chairs are out along with tables full of strawberries and Prosecco waiting for the guests. Inside, the shop is full of treasures of every fashion lover – vintage clothing pieces; from vintage knitted aran jumpers to 70’s swift summery dresses. 

Entrance to Edels Designer Studio on a Beautiful summers day

The people gather, enjoying the sun and drinking Prosecco whilst rummaging through countless yarns and materials. Knitters and knitting novices are exploring Edel’s studio for quirky and unique pieces. Of course that’s not difficult, as Edel’s studio is full of quirkiness; there are hand made pottery mugs and hand knitted colourful jumpers.

Edel & Elizabeth in a Convertible with their discerning purchases

The chatter of people bring the place alive; knit-talk and compliments for Edel fill the air. Sun roof’s on the cars are down and even the horses are enjoying the sun. Refreshing strawberries and Prosecco are served on trays to chattering guests. The Posh Garage Sale is definitely Edel MacBride’s social event of the summer.

Entrance to Edel MacBrides Studio with a saddle showing her love of horses