South of Ireland Knitting Tour with Aran Islands - Highlights

Tour Highlights

Dublin Both the largest city and capital of Ireland Dublin has hundreds of historic buildings including Dublin Castle which was the seat of government in Ireland until 1922, and the imposing Christchurch Cathedral which was founded around 1028.

The Temple Bar area boasts a dazzling choice of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops to suit all tastes and pockets, all within easy walking distance of many interesting cultural centres and galleries.

Dublin - South of Ireland Knitting Tour with Aran Islands

Aran Islands – Inis Oírr (Inisheer) What better way to learn about Irish knitting than on Inisheer, one of the famous Aran Islands!

The entire island is almost 8km squared and has a population of approximately 300. Like the other islands the spoken language is Irish although the locals can usually speak both English and Irish. One of our tours of the island will visit all the local attractions including Áras Éanna Arts Centre which has an exhibition about the traditional clothes made and worn on the Aran islands including the famous Aran Sweater.

Aran Islands - South of Ireland Knitting Tour with Aran Islands

Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches & Contemporary Irish Knits Carol has travelled the world teaching in yarn shops and fibre festivals, including Knit Nation in London, Edinburgh Yarn Festival and Unwind.

The classes she teaches cover a wide range of subjects from cables and chart reading, through garment shaping and customisation right through to short rows and colourwork.

Carol Fellor Knitting Workshop - Southwest Ireland Kerry Knitting Retreat

Yarn Development & Knitting workshop with Liz Spillane Liz Spillane is a Knitting Instructor and textile artist operating from her home in Kenmare.

Your workshop with Liz will include creating fancy/ textured yarns, using a single smooth yarn as a base and a variety of techniques to build the texture and colour. The yarn is then knitted with standard knitting needles.

Liz Spillane - South of Ireland Knitting Tour with Aran Islands

Connemara A region in western Ireland, along the Wild Atlantic Way. It has a varied and rugged coastline with many small coves, bays and quaint fishing villages like Roundstone.

Connemara National Park is an enormous area of mountains, bogland and lakes. Our tours of Connemara often visit Kylemore Abbey, a beautiful Benedictine monastery founded in the 1920’s.

Connemara Galway - South of Ireland Knitting Tour

Knitting Workshop with Anne O'Maille

Anne was the proprietor of O’Maille's, one of Ireland’s oldest knitwear stores which famously kitted out the cast of The Quiet Man. In her workshops, using her own patterns Anne encourages pupils to take on the challenges of complex knitting, Irish style.

Anne O Maille - - South of Ireland Knitting Tour with Aran Islands

Fair Isle Knitting with Pauline Gallagher From Stranded to Steeked

Prior to the explosion in interest in Aran knitting, Fair Isle knitting was already well established in Ireland, especially in Donegal which has had a strong connection with Scotland for many centuries.

Join Pauline Gallagher of The Knitting Class in this comprehensive workshop where you will explore the origins of Fair Isle knitting and get to work on a two colour project specially created for the workshop. The project includes traditional features such as stranded knitting in the round, yarn management, how to read a chart and an introduction to steeks. Later you will secure, cut and finish the steek to complete the project. In the latter part of the workshop, have fun exploring colour choices for multi coloured Fair Isle patterns and learn some tips and tricks for making successful choices.

Highlights of the famous Ring of Kerry One of Ireland’s most popular and most scenic driving routes. The Ring of Kerry is a charming circular drive around the stunning Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry in the Southwest of Ireland.

It is more than 170km long, and takes in serene lakes, rugged seascapes and picturesque, colourful rural villages.

Demonstration of Tunisian Crochet with Aoibhe Ni!

Aoibhe N¨ª is an inspirational crochet designer from Co. Meath with over a decade and a half of published designs in both mainstream print and independent press. She has hosted workshops both here in Ireland and at yarn shops and fibre festivals abroad. She is best known for her love of Tunisian crochet. Her designs push the boundaries of Tunisian crochet to create unique and stylish clothing, homewares and accessories.

During her workshops, Aoibhe will take you through all the essential techniques used in Tunisian-lace work including: Tunisian Simple Stitch, beautifully textured rows, and basic chart reading. At the end of the session you will leave with a simply stunning sample full of lacy eyelets and oodles of character. Aoibhe has seen previous students go on to design and publish their own patterns after mastering this technique and with an ever-growing number of patterns available to Tunisian crocheters, it's a great time to have Aoibhe introduce you to the array of possibilities this craft can offer and see some of her amazing pieces!

10 Night South of Ireland with Aran Islands Knitting Tour