AYS loves Moms

My mother was here visiting from the States last week and I got to show her the shop for the first time. She had been here in September and had seen the space before I moved in but it looks quite different from what it did then.

 

It was so nice having her here and being able to show off all the lovely yarns to her, especially since its really all her fault that AYS came to be in the first place. I can’t remember exactly when my Mom first taught me to knit; I know I was quite young but I do remember making a beautiful chunky red scarf during a winter break from university. I lost that scarf somewhere and even though it left fuzzier on everything, I am still a bit upset about it. It was also when my Mom came to visit us in Ireland that she decided she wanted some nice Irish wool to take back with her and once we found a great wool shop (This Is Knit) I decided I would try my hand at knitting again too and well, the rest is history.

 

Mom walked away with a ball of Cashmered in True Blue in order to make the Long Striped Hand Warmers by Purl Soho, which is also a great free pattern. Lastly Mom wanted to knit a poncho and decided to do it with Hedgehog Fibres Merino Aran in Graphite which she held double with Shibui Knits Silk Cloud in Mineral. This is being used to create two large rectangles that will be sewn together and then she is knitting a turtle neck into the center of this join using Shibui Knits Baby Alpaca in Mineral. She is improvising the pattern and I’m sure it will be excellent, so I’ll share a photo when she’s done.

Poncho’s have been a common theme in the shop as of late, so I wasn’t surprised when my Mom said she wanted to knit one. I had a few suggestions on the ready, but in the end she decided she was going to improvise one. For those of you who may not want to improvise one here are two of my poncho pattern favorites: Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns or 134-15 b - Pompom Poncho by DROPS Design.

You might not have time to whip up a whole poncho for Mum before Mother’s day but a springy shawl is still be doable such as the Shattered Sun Shawl by Felicia Lo done in one skein of Sweet Georgia Cashsilk Lace or maybe Noordzee by Rachel Brown in one of the beautiful shades of Kettle Yarn Co. Islington. Or if you’re not the knitter but Mum is, perhaps a copy of Rachel Coopey’s newest book Socks Volume 2 or a a funky knitting needle gauge for her notions bag is a nice gift.

Moms are the best and it was great having mine here for a visit and I’m so glad she taught me knit!

-Carmen