It's official

After all that work we did it!  I got the certificate in the post today :O) 

We broke the record for the largest group of knitters in one place!  Wooooo Hooooo!!!

Thank You, Thank You,

Thank You

to everyone who took part! 

The Roscommon Lamb Festival Committee,

my family and friends,

my AMAZING boyfriend (who even came and knitted on the day),

my fantabuloso knitting group The Cast Offs,

the people of Roscommon town,

all the people who came and helped on the day with registering people, organising car parking, food  etc,

Anne Van Dyke for travelling all the way from New Zealand to take part,

and all the people who travelled from nearly every county in Ireland to take part. 

You did it!

Each and everyone of you helped break the record!

And for those amongst you who thought I was mad and that I'd never make it happen - sausages to you !

Keeeeeeeeppp Stitching everyone

We might need you to win it back the year after next because rumour has it there's plans to take it from us already. 

Bring it on!

Thank you for the fabulous bouquet of flowers and bottle of bubbly xx 

Another Knitting World Record

Not content with one knitting world record, I'm going for another!

You can join in too.

Just click here for the details and pattern.

Womans Weekly are celebrating their centenary this year and as part of the celebrations they are attempting to set the world record for the longest line of knitted bunting and are looking for people to take part.

Click here for further details and a pdf pattern for the bunting to download.  It's super easy and quick to knit up and the perfect stash buster !

All bunting must be sent in by 19th Septemner 2011.  Me and my knitting group, The Cast Offs, have already started on ours :O)

Keeeeeeep stitching !!!

Knitting World Record

We did it !!!

After months and months of organising, hours and hours of knitting, days and weeks campaigning and copious amounts of radio interviews, emails to newspapers, tv shows and knitting-related businesses it all came together.

On 30th April 2011

at 1.00pm

Roscommon broke the record for

the largest group of knitters

knitting simultaneously in one place

with 1,147 knitters!!!

Thanks a million to the Roscommon Lamb Festival Committee for hosting the event, all the volunteers on the day who were simply amazing, the lovely lovely ladies in my knitting group The Cast Offs for all their help with the knitted car (below), the bus loads of people who travelled from 20 counties across Ireland,  the people who travelled from New Zealand, Malaga, Germany and the States, all my friends who helped out when I was close to break down the week before and most of all my gorgeous lovely boyfriend who kept me smiling throughout it all.

I hear that the States are already planning to beat us.

For now I wish them good luck.

The thought of arranging it all again is quite daunting but who knows ....

I may be back! 

1000 Knitters Wanted!

Theres's just a few days to go

until the big event

and I'm telling you now

1000 knitters are wanted!

We want them all

to gather in Roscommon

On Saturday afternoon

at half past eleven

If you haven't registerd

just go online

follow this link

there's still time!

Come along

and be part of the knitting

help spread the word

and keeeeeeep stitching !!!!

If you're new to the blog I'm organising a knitting world record attempt on Saturday 30th April in Roscsommon town (Ireland) as part of the Roscommon Lamb Festival.  We are attempting to break the record for the largest group of knitters, knitting simultaenously at one time for 15 minutes.  Find more info and a registration form on the Roscommon Lamb Festival website  here.

Knitting & Sculpting

As part of the build up to the Knitting World Record Attempt I've been organising lots of Stitch'n Bitch mornings, Knit'n Wine nights and even an interactive knitting window display :O)

Here's a few pics of me and some of the ladies knitting in Frances' shop window in Roscommon from last weekend.  It was great fun! I laughed so much.  The reaction on people's faces as they walked past was hilarious :O)

In between all this knitting I'm trying to finish some of my sculpture projects at college so I'm busy busy busy.  Thankfully the weather, albeit sunny, is still cold (we even had snow last week) so I'm not being tempted into the garden ... just yet!

We've been carving stone ...

and doing LOTS of paper mache. 

I liked it to start but now I'll be happy not to see it again for a LONG time!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend x

Health benefits of Knitting

I am currently knitting obsessed!

I eat, sleep and breathe it at the minute.

Not only is it my chosen theme in my painting assignment at college and the bulk of my Communications aassignment but I'm also organising an attempt to break a world record for the largest group of knitters in one place!  I think there should be a full stop in there somewhere but I'll leave it out because reading it without a full stop gives you more of an idea of how I'm thinking at the minute.  I'm thinking fast and quite frantically!

So you will forgive me (I hope) for the break in blogging. 

I'm working on my report for college at the mo. Ok I'm taking a break and catching up on blog land for a few minutes, ok it's been half an hour and I haven't even made my lunch yet but you know what it's like :O)  

My report is about the health benefits of knitting, something I feel strongly about.  I'm always saying "knitting is the new yoga" whenever people ask me about knitting or when I get interviewed and I think people think it's just some sort of slogan I use.  It's not.  I genuinely believe knitting (actually any craft) is extremely beneficial to your health.  I have always been creative and if I'm not knitting I'm sewing or drawing or baking or doing something with my hands and I can't imagine my life without that.  I once applied to be on Big Brother, I think it was the second series.  I always think how lucky I am that I wasn't chosen as I'm pretty sure I would have ended up having a Vanessa-like melt down because it really would be my idea of hell to be locked in a house with no way of being creative whatsoever, apart from cooking that is.  (Yes, I wonder why I applied too but that's a whole other post).

In my search online I have found so much information from the US and UK supporting the health benefits of Knitting but not much on Ireland so I think I might start my own search.  In the meantime have a look at this video of Ann Hood, author of the Knitting Circle, reading an extract from the book which she wrote after the death of her daughter.

So what do you think? 

Do you think there  are health benefits to knitting?

Did you learn to knit at school?


Do you know if any of your local schools teach knitting?

Let me know what your thoughts are.  I'd love to hear from you.

On a lighter note check out this super cute knitting vid on youtube - Love it !

Knitting Lesson Part III

How to Knit/Garter Stitch

Once  you have mastered your slip knot and cast on your stitches you are ready to knit. 

Just follow this quick tutorial and you will be knitting in no time.

Enjoy!