Worth it or What?

I knew that knitting for this girl wouldn't be wasted! Look at the fabulous photos that were sent my way just hours ago! What knitter doesn't love a recipient who takes photos and sends them along. She even did her nails! And posed! In her flower shop in Halifax!
Sigh... I'm in heaven.

This Christmas is gonna be a good one.
I just know it.

Look at her goin' for those poinsettias!

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Jazz"y Hands for the Holidays

I am about to pack these babies up and send them off to Halifax tomorrow. I just had to have a wee share with you before they disappeared from my life.


My Christmas knitting goal this year? To use up some yarn in my stash and make sweet little things that my loved ones would actually use. The recipient of these has almost worn out the felted clogs she got last year. Every knitter knows that once their hand knitting has been appreciated by someone, they can guarantee that they will receive more knitted gifts in the future. This lady deserves these babies.

OH! And what's with the nail polish? Well, what's a pair of fingerless gloves without a bottle of coordinating nail polish? It's my numero uno favorite brand of polish SPARITUAL in shade 80145 "Mindful". I wouldn't 'mind' a bottle for myself actually... (oh, I'm so hilarious).

This girl is gonna get stopped in the street once her hands get all dressed up for a night out on the town. Well, that was the plan anyway.

Isn't that just the craziest pooling you have ever seen? I mean... REALLY! While pooling usually frustrates the garbage outta me, I find this version kind of charming.

The yarn?
It's from my stash... and I bought it during a stressed out week of exams about, oh, uhm, three years ago. That doesn't answer your question, does it?

The pattern?
A FREE one from Monica's blog.
They're called the "Kyla" mitts and are found on the sidebar.
I've made so many of these, I could make them blindfolded in my sleep.
I swear.

Did Someone Say Granny Square?

Here you go.

I don't know why I have been putting off 'blogging' about this.
I have wanted to toss this baby into some Eucalan first, but let's be real- you don't know whether I have or not, right? Not through your computer monitor- RIGHT?
Let's just pretend I have.
Pretend that it's 'officially' done.


If you have spoken to me at all in the past four months, you will know how much I completely love this thing. That doesn't mean that I wasn't happy to see the final round of 'single crochet' edging behind me, it just means that I loved every double crocheted step of the way. I loved the colour. I loved the rhythm. It's the most addictive addiction I've ever had.

I began this blanket on a trip to a friend's cottage over the Canada Day long weekend, and I just continued on from there until six balls of Noro Kureyon Sock were all gobbled up. Each ball was a different colour and I did my absolute ultimate best not to obsess over which colourway I was going to go for next. I didn't want it to look like I had "over-thunk" it. You know? But when you have six different colour ways of Noro all in one project, I believe that it's likely impossible to make it look "over-thunk".



Anyway, here are the deets.

-6 balls of Noro Kureyon Sock (I have since lost all of the ball bands, although I tried to keep them all contained in a Ziplock bag so that I could report back to you which exact colours I used)
-1 ball of Drops Alpaca (to do a few rounds of single crochet around the edge)
-3 mm crochet hook
-Hours and hours of going around and around in circles- I mean squares.

And We are Proud

And wouldn't you be proud of this?
I didn't make it- but a CUSTOMER did.


And, uhm, it's sort of the first thing they've really ever made.


Now are you impressed?

Thought so!

The yarn?? Oh, the yarn is so fun. And we had fun picking the yarns with this knitter! It's a bit of this, and a bit of that all knit two strands together throughout, to make this beautiful masterpiece/ Christmas gift. (It's not even December and she's already done a Christmas gift! I think she's on the right track here). Basically any yarn that grabbed the knitter's eye, got incorporated into this shawl.
That's the beauty of it.

The pattern is a free one from Estelle Designs through the link, or in the store. Just ask next time you're in.

Ok.
I just had to brag a little.

Is that allowed here?

Thanks.

Clever Me, Not so Clever Cat

Oh wow. I'm back. Apologies for the absence. I've been busy knitting. But now I'm back. With Projects to share.

I gave you a wee sneak preview when I was telling you of various things I was thankful for- and here it is in the full.

A Noro entrelac scarf.
The pattern?
A free one (who doesn't love free?).
And a good one (who doesn't love free and good?).

The pattern is Danica from Knitty.
The yarn is four balls of Noro Kureyon.
The finished result is loooove.



I whipped this baby off in no time because once I got started, I just couldn't stop. It was heavenly-addictive!
And I have a customer to thank for that.
A lovely customer (you know who you are), asked me if I would ever consider teaching a class in entrelac. I agreed enthusiastically before even realizing myself that I had never even tried it. (I have a tendency to get ahead of myself).
Am I ever glad I did though!
What fun!
What a lovely effect!
ESPECIALLY in self-striping yarn.

Doesn't this scarf make me look like such a clever knitter?
I want you to think I spent hours and hours knitting strips and weaving them all together.

OK- that's enough out of me.

Time to go to work.


But I leave you with this little bad man.

Do you know what that is?
Of course you do.

But do you know what it is SUPPOSED to be?


A sweater for my cousin's new baby.

Sideways Teddy Bears

Today is one of those days that this knitter loves- especially on her day off. As much as I love sunny days and warm weather, when it's rainy and chilly out, it means I can stay home and knit. I bailed on my frisbee game in the city, and opted for an afternoon of tea and yarn instead.
Who could blame me?

As a result- I finished TWO whole projects.
You heard me.
TWO.

I shall happily share with you one.
I can't show you everything all at once.
Well... that and, I have to block the other one still.

First off, let me warn you that this post is a really good indication of how poor my computer skills are. I popped these pictures onto my mom's Mac, and for the life of me can't seem to figure out how to rotate the dumb things. I'm seriously inept. Apologies for making you strain your neck.

Here is, a sideways teddy bear, modeling for me.

Isn't he precious? I'm not even really a 'teddy bear' kinda person, but I'd buy him off a shelf. Fuh sure.


The sweater is off of Garnstudio's website. Pattern # 14-27. When in Scandinavia this summer, no joke- at least 2/3 of the dozen yarn shops we went into had this sample knit up. I had to do it. I love garter stitch, I love short rows, I love Scandinavian yarn shops and I love this little coat. I love it so much that I actually finished it.

The yarn is just what they called for- Drops Alpaca.
Four balls total.
And the needles? I went up from a 2.5 mm to a 3 mm.
I'm such a rebel.




And the buttons? They're from the store. Not going to lie... they're my favorite buttons in the whole place. I had to snatch a few up before they disappear.

Off I go.
It's still raining.
Think I can finish a third?
The day is young.

This weekend I was thankful for...

My new kitten (whose name is Harvey by the way- thanks for all the great name suggestions! They were all such a hoot to read!)

All the lovely colours of the trees.

The fact that even though my two pumpkin pies completely bombed, my dear mother came to the rescue and whipped one up as though it was as straightforward as brushing her teeth. (I'm told that's what moms are for. I'm starting to believe it). She saved the day- and the dessert menu.

And of course, I was thankful for Noro.

It's something I give thanks for everyday.

Even when it's not Thanksgiving.

While I know I'm several days late on this one, I hope that you all had a great long weekend, packed with delicious food, good company, and lots of knitting.

Tomorrow I'm off to set up for our booth at the Creative Festival. If you're headed down there, be sure to stop by and give me a high five! I love those.

My Current Love

That's it.
That's him.



I'm smitten.

He has yet to be named.
We're working on it though.

Suggestions?

Le sigh..

It's the "Party-Cardi"

Oh yes- what a perfect party outfit!
Wouldn't you just be entirely intrigued by any woman who bust through the party doors in this little number?
She would be the girl that you just HAVE to get to know. The one that gets all the good lookin' men and drinks on the house. The one that every woman in the room wants to be.

So what if she's only 6-12 months old?



In any case- cute! Non?
Le sigh... I do love this little get-up.
I even went to the mall to buy a dress to go with it. This cardigan called for an 'outfit'.
It needed to be a part of an 'ensemble'.


I walked around the store with just the sleeve of the sweater to match it up to something. The lady at the counter asked me what it was and when I told her it was a sweater that I was knitting, she told me I was really 'cute' for knitting. "You must save a lot of money by knitting!" she exclaimed. I smiled politely and told her that wasn't exactly the point. What else was I to say?

Hm.
That was rude of me.
Wasn't it?

The sweater details-
Yarn- Wendy's Peter Pan DK
Needles- 4mm
Pattern- Sirdar pattern # 1708

Oooooh! And speaking of 'party'! It's Mary's (AKA my mother's!) birthday today!
Cupcakes and cappucinos for everyone!

Party, party! In a hot pink cardi!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Harmony"-ously Cabled

Oh look! It is possibe to finish a sweater after ignoring it for an entire year.
See???


No, no silly. I didn't do it. My MOM did! I just modeled it! Didn't you read my last post? (I'm still working on my problem, but I think I'm making some progress).
This sweater is actually for my patient sister (with much longer arms than me), who will have to be patient for one more year as it sits in the store for all of you folks to see live-in-the-flesh.
Oh, and trust me, it's worth the drive.
It's soft and squishy as can be. I suppose that's the beauty of merino. That stuff never fails to amaze me when I see it knit up.
It' such a delightful yarn in fact, that Mary herself said she can't wait to cast on in this yarn again. Her mind has been spinning with more ideas for it.

Please let it be known that Mary ignoring this project for a year is not at all a reflection of the yarn- but a result of what happens when you make a big mistake.
Knitter's (well, at least the knitters in this house) seem to think that if they leave a project alone for a year, the mistake just might fix itself.

The mistake was in the pattern so be aware that it's there.
Not a huge deal... just kind of a huge deal when you are way up the back and discover it.
The schematic and the written measurements don't correspond. Mary follows the schematic and of course... ended up with a too short sweater.
The problem was solved and she got back to it.



Mission accomplished.
Wouldn't you say?

Er, that shot was to show off the cabling down the arm.
Did I make my point?

Want some details?
Here you go lovely knitter.

Pattern- From Vogue Fall 2006, page 97.
"Cabled Tunic" by John Brinegar.
The pattern doesn't show a turtleneck but my mom decided to switch it up and kept it simple. My sister loves to be warm and toasty.

Yarn- Naturally's Harmony 10 ply

Couldn't you just bury your face into that?
When you come to visit it at the store, and when I'm not looking, GO FOR IT!

Dear knitter, I leave you with these lovely sunflowers.
Our backyard is full of them.
I couldn't resist.


I'm off, to finish something.
I think I might have just been inspired. I just got so much satisfaction out of someone else's project, maybe I should finish my own!

Creative ADD

Yup. That's what my mother diagnosed me with yesterday. She's right though you know. I cast on a new project more frequently than I feed myself. It's getting to be a bit much.
I have four baby sweaters on the go right now.
FOUR!
That might be alright if I was expecting a baby, or even knew of lots of babies- but I don't.

So, just bear with me.
Work in progress shots can be boring, but then again, so is not posting for a month.

I'm close folks.
So close to finishing something, I can smell the ends being woven in.

On another note- it's my wee brother's 17th birthday today.
I'm not so sure I should still be calling him wee (I'm the 5'7" runt of the family) but I do remember the days when he was.


Happy Birthday.

And to you knitters- Happy Knitting.

Some Sob Stories Have Happy Endings

Here is my sob story, short and sweet-

I am one of those knitters that tends to over pack when it comes to knitting projects while travelling. I always worry I am going to get bored, or change my mind, or that a project just might entirely bomb. My trip to Scandinavia was no exception. Not only did I need projects for the train rides, I also needed projects for the never ending flight. And lay over. And second flight.

I packed as though I wouldn't step into another yarn shop for the next three years.
This included in my carry-on.

I swear I had enough yarn and accessories with me to teach the whole plane how to knit.

And what do you think happened???
They confiscated three of my four pairs of Addi Turbo needles. (I might have lied a little and told them I only had three pairs).

Let me tell you, that I have been fortunate enough to travel lots since security has cracked down on what you can bring on the plane, and I have NEVER had a problem.
Until... this trip.
Let's just say that there were no on-board knitting lessons happening that day.

The good news?

They didn't take my crochet hook.
Or my sock needles.
My 4 pairs of sock needles.

So, I set to work crocheting and this is my happy ending.



This absolutely cheerful scarf.


By the time I got off the plane and had finished this scarf, I almost felt 100% better about having my precious needles taken away from me. ALMOST.

Want to know about the scarf?

Hook size- 4 mm.
Yarn/Pattern- It's a kit! From KnitWhits.
It's called the "Ella" scarf and we have some of the kits in the store. They have been tempting me for quite some time now but I wasn't sure if my crocheting skills were quite there.

Then when I knew I had numerous hours to sit in a chair with nothing to do other than work away at a challenging (well, for ME challenging) crochet project, I jumped at the chance.
Thank goodness I did! Because not much knitting would have happened due to my lack of needles.
Well... unless you want to count the four pairs of socks I had brought on board.

No, I don't travel light.
Ever.

Scandinavia knows their Yarn

For those of you who regularly pop by the store, you know where we've been the past two weeks- in knitter's heaven.
Yup, Scandinavia.
Really- HEAVEN.
Land of Garnstudio.

We made it to about a dozen yarn shops total, through Copenhagen, Goteborg and Stockholm.
I unfortunately didn't write down the names of them all, but I wouldn't have been able to type them out anyway (let alone pronounce them) since I don't have those fancy crossed "O's" or dotted "A's" on my keyboard, although I am sure there is a way around that. Let's just say though, that we hit almost every one. That's a lot of yarn shops... And we thought Toronto had a lot?!?!?!

There were yarn shops at every corner, beautiful fibres and almost too much inspiration. When am I ever going to find the time to knit every single thing I fell in love with?
I guess that's just the life of a knitter.

While I confess I am not the greatest at documenting my travels through photos (I always swear I'll do better next time and never do), I have a few photos to share. Brace yourself.

First off, you have GOT to get a load of this. Seriously.
If my mother had been Swedish, and lived in Stockholm, then this would be her shop.
See the name?
OH YES! It's our sister store. More like our identical twin sister store.
It's the Swedish Mary's Yarns!



I apologize for my photography skills here. Why I decided they should pose in front of the key store and not the yarn shop is beyond me. At least I got the sign... and the soaking wet skein of yarn that was hanging out front. Yes- it would pouring rain.

And here we see... the inside. Our family went for a nice long walk around the wet city while we browsed.
And browsed.
And browsed.



See how serious we get when we discuss our yarn preferences?

The shop owner was a delight and has a blog with lots of great ideas. If you don't speak Swedish (which is probably likely), it's still worth a look through.

We did buy lots of yarn to add to our enormous stash. When you're a knitter, that's the best kind of souvenir you could ask for.
More yarn.

I spent over a week in Stockholm and while strolling through the city a few days later one evening, I happened to stumble upon this.



Some Swedish "knitting graffiti"!
I couldn't resist.
There are clearly some hard core knitters in that city.

I tried to straighten it out on the pole so that you could get the full message, but this was the best I could do.


"World Wide Knit in Public Day" it says.
So, it really is a world-wide event. I thought someone just thought it would be a clever name. ;)

We did manage to get through some knitting as trains became a regular part of our trip.
Here I am knitting with some Danish merino on a little capelet that I saw done in a store that I just couldn't resist. Don't hold your breath to see me finish it through... I seemed to see something every day that I couldn't resist. I have a lot of knitting ahead of me folks...


I'll be back soon with pictures of our haul, and knitting that we managed to get through.
It's good to back.
It's good to knit in my own couch, and no longer a hotel bed.

A Vest in July

What would I do without everyone at the shop to knit for me! Well... I shouldn't say that. I do PLENTY of knitting, I just have a tendency not to ever finish anything. It's a bad habit. I'm trying to break it. It's not going to be easy though.

So, I present to you a beautiful vest made by the wonderful Kersti out of Mountain Colors, "Twizzle". Ugh. So lovely! I wish you could touch it through the screen of your computer! No joke.
Softest.
Stuff.
Ever.

Don't believe me?
Fibre content= 85% merino, 15% silk.
Now do you believe me?
Thought so.

That's me doing my best "knitted vest model" pose.
Not bad eh? The hand on the hip thing?


That's me sort of giving up.

Let's just look at the vest instead.
Shall we?

Pattern- Now and Then Cozy Vest (by Mountain Colors)
Yarn- 3 skeins of Mountain Color Twizzle (with muchos left over)
Size- Medium
Needle Size- uhhhh... I'm not sure. I didn't knit it. I just blogged it.

Where are all the Pictures Lynn?

Alright- here we are. My first ever picture-less post.
I promise not to make a habit of this.
As boring as this may all look on the surface, trust me for a moment.
I have a link for you.
Where will it take you??? You ask.

I did a little spring green baby set for Estelle Designs in the winter out of their heavenly Cloud Cotton (what I am currently crocheting on and on and on with). It entirely slipped my mind to take pictures of it, and now it's out of my hands, and up on their website- pattern and all! Right smack-dab there on their homepage.

Take a peek.

I'm in the midst of doing another one. I promise that I'll take pictures of that one.
Promise, promise, promise.
This 'pictureless' thing shall not be repeated.

Sunny Sundays of Summer

Beautiful weather and looooovely people made my past Sunday one worth documenting. Our yard/driveway at the shop was transformed into a wonderful yarn dying haven.

Dear Christine lead us all in a workshop and beautiful things were created.
So beautiful in fact that a dog walker walking by asked if we were dying wool to sell for the week.
That's how beautiful it was.
(Imagine we actually did it that way?!?!?!)


I, of course, appreciated how people dyed yarn to match their outfits. Did they even realize they were doing that?
This tank top/sock yarn combo made me want to whip out my morraccas and throw on a grass skirt for a little 'number'.


I think that few words are needed here.
You get the idea.
We dyed this beautiful stuff.


All of it.

And in a crockpot?
Did you even know you could do that?


If you ask me... that looks far more delicious than beef stew.

Look out Fleece Artist.
Here we come.

(Thanks to Pam for all of the wonderful photos! Your skills indeed far surpass mine in that department! Merci!)

What a Colourful Week it Was

Last week I couldn't feel too sorry for myself. I was surrounded by the most visually appealing things ever.
To start?
The clematis outside the shop. Don't you just want to throw yourself into this wall of purple?
Ugh.
I fortunately managed to refrain.

NEW YARN!
Mmmmhmmmm.
Some beautiful Shetland Fingering weight yarn by Elemental Affects.
The whole colour range (you know how I feel about colour).
I carried that rack around the store (inside and out) just so that it didn't stray too far from my line of vision.

Shibui Knits Sock yarn- not just for socks of course!
I have my heart set on casting on some of this glorious yarn ASAP.
It's like... butter.
Colourful butter.

We managed to colour some yarn of our own this weekend at the shop as we had our dying workshop on Sunday. Photos... to follow. We had one heckuva good time.
Stay tuned.

Can I Crochet on this Thing?

You won't stop reading if I do? Will you?
I'm telling you, I don't know what has come over me. I have been crocheting like the world is going to end if I stop. Ugh. I'm "hooked".
Entirely.

You know what this is?
Nope. Not a dozen and a half uncooked burger patties...
It's the beginnings of my crochet.


A pile of delicious granny squares.

What's the plan with all of these you ask?

This.


Only multiplied by about eight.

I just can't help myself.
I really want a huge bedspread that puts delightful thoughts of lasagne in my head as I drift off to sleep at night.
Why not?

The yarn? Estelle Cloud Cotton. (and 'cloud-like' it is!)
Hook size? 5mm.
Fun factor? Too much fun. It has dipped into my knitting time entirely, and I don't resent it one bit.
That's major.

And just to warn you- the crocheting doesn't stop there.
Stay tuned.

Striped Socks will Never go out of Style

I really believe that. As long as we knitters keep knitting them, they will be as stylish as can be.

Who doesn't love to catch a glimpse of some knitter's (or knitter's loved one's) striped socks as they cross their legs on the bus?
Oh sigh...

I adore knitting them, and wearing them.


I especially love knitting them when there's aloe and jojoba oil in the yarn! Sheesh. So nice.
A manicure while knitting, a pedicure while wearing.

Delightful.

Yarn? Austermann, Step Sock Yarn. 75% wool/ 25% nylon. Colour # 29.
Needles? 2.5mm
Pattern? The one in my head.