Lucky Handmades for St. Patrick’s Day

While three of my parents were of German descent, the fourth was Irish Catholic. St. Patrick’s Day has always been quite the celebration in my home, including trad music, Irish food and drink, and more often than not, something handmade. Irish Flag Cowls I made these for a Spring Break trip almost a decade ago… […]

Kerry Woollen Mills

Taking my usual gift-crafting break until the new year! Wishing you and yours a great finish for 2023. Our last stop on our amazing tour of Ireland was Killarney, which was also stunning. Beautiful mountains, our hotel (that Walt Disney stayed at!) was on a lake and had a bunch of lovely touristy activities to […]

Inis Oirr

This was by far my favorite locale of the whole trip! And really, would a knitting tour of Ireland be complete without a visit to the famous Aran Islands (you know, where Aran fisherman sweaters get their name)? We spent all our island time on Inis Oirr (pronounced EE-nes SHEER), which is the smallest and […]

Kylemore Abbey

This was a stop a ways out of Galway, but one of my favorite stops on the whole tour! It’s a beautiful castle (and walled Victorian gardens that still make produce they use in the restaurant on site) nestled in a mountain on a lake in the Connemara region of Ireland, famous for it’s stunning […]

Galway, Ireland

When we first arrived, I wasn’t so impressed, but Galway made me love it before we left! Nearby is the village of Spiddle, a government-subsidized group of houses that Irish artists can work and sell out of. It was so neat! We met Ciaran Hogan, a second-generation basket weaver, who took very kindly to all […]

Dublin, Ireland

We started our adventure in Ireland’s capital city! We actually added an extra day on to our tour, just in case of travel issues and to have some free time in Dublin, if not. No travel issues, thankfully! Included in our tour was a visit to the National Museum of Decorative Arts (which had a […]

Knits of Ireland

I got to check off a major bucket list item last month. My mom and I booked a Knitting Tour with Irish Tourism to learn the fiber techniques of our ancestors (Mom’s Dad came from an Irish Catholic family). I first read about these trips in a spinning magazine over a decade ago, so I […]

More Irish Adventures

If you missed Cyndi’s first Ireland post, you can find it here. Emma graciously allowed me to return with another installment of Irish Adventures. We saw so many incredibly beautiful and fascinating things, and met so many implausibly beautiful and fascinating people. It truly is a magical place. Back in the early stages of planning, […]

A Pilgrimage to Hedgehog

I’m Emma’s mom, Cyndi, and I’ve just returned from the most amazing trip. Emma agreed to let me do a guest post for her blog. I’m so excited, and maybe still a big jet lagged, so please be understanding. Being of Irish decent, I’ve always dreamed of visiting Ireland, and finally, after decades of waiting, […]

Socks for Ireland

Earlier this year, my mom and I went to a spinning retreat in town, and one of the techniques covered was fractal spinning. The braid I received for the project was green, white, and orangey-gold, which made me think of the Irish flag. My parents were planning a trip to Ireland for their 30th wedding […]