Dyeing on a Monday

That's right. We dyed wool this past Monday. What a heavenly way to spend an afternoon. I can't express that enough. We thought we'd do some 'test skeins' in preparations for the dyeing workshop we're having at the store in July. OH! It was far too much fun. The best kind of 'testing' I could ever dream of.

The photos speak for themselves... but I'll give you some wee descriptions just in case.

My merino/angora blend patiently posing for me.


Christine is the the queen of dyeing yarn (and the one teaching the workshop) so I did whatever I was told.


Kersti seemed to be dyeing yarn to match her outfit. I don't blame her. A girl's got to look good in her surroundings.


A successful yarn pie, fresh out of the oven. (Seriously- it goes in the oven).


And finally, the fruits of our labour. We had all the neighbours talking. I even felt some of them might actually consider taking up knitting. I mean, why wouldn't they? They live next door to a yarn shop!


Just after we had tidied up, it hailed. Holy yes, it hailed. Like I've never seen before. After we finished up with our dyeing, we had a hail-ball fight.


Just kidding.

Call the shop if you're interested in dyeing some yarn with us on Sunday, July 13th. It will be another fun filled dyeing day (hail not included).

Time for Teacher Gifts

The school year is drawing to an end and my not-so-little little brother is finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That light might not have been so bright if it weren't for a few very important teachers that helped him make it through the year. He's worked hard and I can tell you my parents are very proud, but the efforts of several teachers must be acknowledged- In the form of a cashmere/merino blend hand knitted sock of course.


Is there really any other way for a knitter to say 'Thanks for helping my son get through his most dreaded grade 11 subject' ? Or how about just grade 11, period?

What is it? Handmaiden Casbah Sock yarn.
80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon (if you're wondering if she loved knitting with it, the answer is 'Ooooh Yes!')
Pattern? A pattern by Mountain Colours called "Fritzy's Socks".

While I have never personally met this teacher, her name has become a very familiar one. It sounds to me like she deserves these. Anyone who can get a 16 year old boy who has been entirely preoccupied with getting his license through grade 11 chemistry, deserves to wear cashmere socks everyday for the rest of their life.

Colour Anyone?

Come on now- I mean REALLY! Don't you just want to dive into this collection of colour?
I do. So that's why I'm posting this. Just to be sure I'm not alone.

What is it? Cadenza. 70% merino, 30% silk.

I started knitting this feather and fan shawl out of the blindingly-bright purple shade and I just keep putting it down, walking a few feet away and admiring it from afar.

Even if feather and fan isn't your thing... wouldn't you need to take a couple deep breaths every few rows?
Holy cow.

Shades of Purple

Lilacs...
and alpaca baby sweaters. We love both.


I didn't knit this... Kersti did! And it's loooovely. A nice little jacket for a wee one. It's got a nice weight to it and is as cozy as can be (or so I would imagine if I had one on myself). I think it's perfect for a nice fall day stroll. Hard to think about when the weather is finally being so agreeable, but we knitters must think of these sorts of things- no matter what the weather. We know that chilly air will roll around again someday. We must be prepared.


Button shot.
Cute.

The yarn? Frog Tree Alpaca Sport weight knit double throughout.
The pattern? Mac and Me pattern #046.

We brought this sweater to the Knitter's Frolic and it was loved lots.
And have you heard the story of Frog Tree Alpaca? I will spare you details now but click on the link if you're interested. All I'll say is it's fair trade, it's alpaca and it's from Bolivia. What's not to love?

Flowers and Felt

Sigh... I just thought you might like to see what's happening in "Mary's Garden" these days. Lovely- no?
I'm a sucker for pretty pink flowers.

Not only are the flowers budding, the projects are popping off customer's needles at a staggering rate. Look at these fantastic purses made by a customer! She made six of them originally but my Grandmother has already snagged two of them. I don't blame her! These things are heavenly. So heavenly in fact they were just too sweet not post here. They must be seen!



Yarn? Cascade 220 knit double strand.
Pattern? From Ella Rae's felted purse book.

Fun to knit, even more fun to accessorize with.
Swoon.
I think I'm in love.
I also think my purse collection is about to get bigger.
Excuse me while I cast on.

Another Scarf- only different

A project inspired by a customer- the Vogue Knitting 25th Anniversary flower scarf by Nicki Epstein. A customer came in wearing it this past winter out of left over merino she had in her stash and I was entirely enamored by it.


While in Long Beach, CA in January for TNNA, my mom and I stopped at the local yarn shop to see how a yarn shop with no winter operates (well, winter as we know it). They had kits made up to knit this lovely scarf and I just had to indulge. You know when you're just craving a wee little airplane project? I knit the majority of the scarf in my hotel room and on the plane. Every knitter needs to purchase a yarn souvenir while traveling so this was mine.


All of the flowers are knit separately and quickly which is completely satisfying- only downside is that you have to sew it all together. That's what took me so long. Not that it took THAT long to sew it up, it just took me a long time to get around to doing it. I procrastinate like that- a lot.


My sister dearest was wearing the perfect outfit yesterday to go with the scarf. Isn't she lovely?
Even more lovely for agreeing to be my model yet again.

Have I worn it yet? Yes. To Canada Blooms. What better place?


Want some details?
Yarn- Alchemy Yarns Silk Purse, 3 skeins
Needles?- 3.75 mm
Pattern? Vogue Knitting 25th Anniversary Scarf by Nicki Epstein
Would I do it again? Heck yes.

Warm Sweaters in Warm Weather

Oh yes, it is so completely lovely out there these days. The warm weather has just made my knitting needles click even faster. I must confess though, this project popped off the needles a while ago- in fact months ago. I just never got around to taking photos of it so I lured my sister into doing it for me.

Voila!
A lovely Fleece Artist 'moss green' Imogen kit.

I love this sweater. Every stitch of this sweater was completely heavenly to knit. I loved it. It's knit out of Fleece Artists's Alpaca Aran which is 35% alplaca and 65% wool. It was definitely love at first stitch.
I stupidly didn't ask sister-dearest to take any pictures of the back of it for me. In any case, you get the idea. Right?


As far as sweaters go, it's a super fast knit. So easy! It's a bit of a mind bender reading the pattern as it's not constructed in the traditional way (ie- back, front, sleeves, sew together). It's all done in one piece from side to side. No seams. No sewing. Just a lot of 'AHA!' moments. I'm a super visual person and had to just sit down and do it before really wrapping my mind around how it would all come together.
The result? I was pleased.

Yesterday we headed down to the Knitter's Frolic at the Japanese Cultural Centre in Toronto. I stupidly left my camera... somwhere? and so I sadly wasn't able to take a picture of our booth. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces there! We had a splendid time, being surrounded by yarn and knitters all day. If you didn't make it down this year, mark it on the calendar for next!

Made by Mary

This lovely creation I cannot take credit for- but it was too good not to post here. I just can't knit fast enough to keep up with posts anyway so this is parfait!

How beautiful is this? Stunning.

What is it? The Angel Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark.

What yarn is it? Why the Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn in colour number 95.
It took exactly one ball, with a little ping-pong sized ball left over.

Who knit it? Mary (yup- my mom). This would probably be... her fourth (?) time knitting this shawl. She loves the pattern dearly and claims that it's really quite easy to get going on.


See the little angels clapping their wings above their heads?

There are little beads on the bottom of each point, in this instance they're all multi-coloured. Who doesn't love beads?

Also-who ever said stripes and lace wouldn't work together?

I wear Scarves in Spring

Spring has sprung. Thanks goodness. The warm weather doesn't stop me from making lovely little winter accessories though. Never.


What is it this time? It's Veronique Avery's Lace Ribbon Scarf from the most recent Knitty. Anyone that knows me knows that it takes VERY warm weather for me NOT to wear a scarf so I had to knit this lovely little one. It's so light and airy that it could be worn this time of year. Maybe that's just me?

(That's my sister. Thanks for being a model sister.)

After flipping through the new Knitty, I happened to notice right away that we carry the yarn they call for in the pattern. I quickly cast on. I was pretty excited and maybe didn't think it through so well before getting going that perhaps the colourway I chose was too wild to really show off the pattern. Nah well- I'm happy with it regardless.
It was a super fun knit and I'd do it again. In fact, I'd definately do it again. I have big plans for more of these babies.

Yarn? 1 skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox (I do like my scarfs super long though and next time I might just splurge and go for 2 skeins)
Colourway? Dandelion 1812
Needles? 3.25 mm


I shall leave you with the taste of Spring in your mouth as I head back down to the shop now. This is what's there waiting to greet me this morning.

Slinky Summer Tank

With winter having lasted so long, I felt that if I cast on a lovely little summer tank top that it might urge Spring to hurry up. It might have worked... The snow seems to be melting at a good rate and my top will be wearable in no time. I have faith. At least knitting passes the time until the decent weather does come along.


The yarn was a delight to knit with. Lana Grossa's "Messina". It's 70% rayon and 30% cotton. You could knit a ball gown out of this stuff the drape is so decent.

Here's some info you might want to know.
Needles? 4 mm
How many balls of yarn? 4 EXACTLY at 125m/ball for a longer version of size medium.
Pattern? A Marks and Kattens pattern which I altered slightly.
Exactly HOW did you alter? Oh, not much. I just made it longer (no one wants to see my naval) and made a split up the back so that I could do the buttons and button loops ala Rowan.



The pattern suggested putting ribbon on the inside of the straps so that they don't sag down to your stomach. I took the advice and am quite pleased with the look (even though no one will see it but me). I think next time I might even consider putting ribbon on the outside. Why not? Who doesn't love ribbon?

The Hat I've Been Wearing All Winter

I finished this thing ages ago and it has kept my head toasty all winter but I'm just getting to posting about it now. I'm not too sure what I've been doing in the meantime... but in any case- VOILA!
What is it? Colinette Iona
Shade? I'm not sure because I threw out the band and it's hard to tell from the shade card- but, it's BRIGHT! It makes my black winter jacket look a little less... like winter.
Pattern? I made it up but if you can't live without it, I'll happily email it over your way. Just say the word, and it's yours!

Cotton-y Cable-y Sweater

Ok. So, I knit and ripped, and knit and ripped this sweater about 300 times but I can tell you that I'm happy with the finished result. It's a sweater I knit for Estelle Yarns and I must confess, I sort of free-styled it (lesson learned- when knitting with a deadline, don't free-style). I just didn't exactly know what I wanted to do when I cast on, but I knew that as I knit, it would come to me. I was right.

So, here is my lovely friend Carolyn modeling it for me (they wanted a size small and she seemed like the perfect person to model it). Lovely job she did.


As you can see, my camera didn't really read the cable running down the front too well, but I assure you it's there.



So, the pattern hasn't been written up yet but I've got notes like you wouldn't believe. I'm getting there.
The yarn though? It's in the shop and other shops. Cloud Cotton by Estelle. Organic cotton and in the particular case, organic colour too. So soft, so squishy, so knittable. Six skeins.
Needles- size 5mm.

This stuff knits fast- unless you decide you want to 'free-style' it.
Sigh.

Itty Bitty Baby Sweater

Oh cute... I love baby sweaters. So, I knit one- for the store of course. I switched up the colours a bit but that would be the only change I made to the pattern. I loooove knitting with Mandarin Petit but holy cow... THE ENDS! Lots of wee ends to sew in for such a small little sweater. Makes you appreciate self striping yarn. I've been spoiled.
I knit the body in the round which was no problem but knitting the little sleeves in the round was a little too finicky. So I opted to knit those back and forth. A little seaming never hurt anyone.



Here are the details of the wee sweater
Yarn- Mandarin Petit.
Size- 3-6 month.
Book- Sandnesgarn- Mandarin Petit Baby 0605. About 5 balls.
Needles- 2.5mm and 3mm.

I cast this on shortly after Christmas when I was craving some fresh Spring colours. I find that these colours just look so- edible. Not that I needed anything edible after Christmas...

I Have Accessorized

Some fingerless gloves- all the rage. You can use up your stash, you can get creative, you can whip them up in an evening (or two). I love them. I love this pattern. I love this yarn. I love wearing them. The yarn was just one skein of Koigu I happened to have in my stash. The pattern is called "Kyla" from Monika's blog.


The only thing I don't love is that my camera just doesn't want to capture the craziness of the yarn. It's my fault, I know. But I just had to use that yarn. Hopefully this string of pictures will give you a good idea of what's going on here. There is a cable on top of the hand, and there are little baby cables running along the ribbing. You just can't see them, because the yarn is too darned multi-coloured. I know that cables are best saved for solid yarn, but I had this stuff and I had to use it. I'm currently making a pair in a more solid tone and yes, I admit that the cables look more crisp. I will be sure to share them with you when I'm done. But I'm a colour person. Through and through and I was happy to marry these two worlds, in this sweet little satisfying project. They're almost as sassy as my shade of nail polish.

First some Knitting, then some Mr. T

First off, let me show you some knitting. I have plenty of it... Especially seeing as I have spent the past month knitting and doing family/holiday/travelling stuff and clearly, not blogging stuff. It's been nice but it's time to get back to this. Because- I like it.

So, I will start by showing you a year late Christmas gift. I gave a friend one clog last Christmas, and finally got around to giving the other this Christmas. I love these things and I think, I especially love this pair. I'm glad I love my friend because it was far too tempting to keep them for myself. I did them out of Galway and have decided that is my #1 favorite stuff to felt with. I have felted with plenty of yarns before... but for me, this one wins.


I am going to stop with the finished projects talk for this post because if I continued with all that I have knitted in the past month, this post would be never-ending. Instead, I'll save them and make some more posts throughout the week. I must share one quick thing with you though before I sign off entirely.

My mom and I went to TNNA this past week in Long Beach, California. It is a tradeshow for shop owners where classes were taught, a marketplace was open with 800 vendors and knitting and needlework people were happy. It was a super trip and we have come back with lots of new ideas, and new inspiration.

The marketplace was overwhelming at points, but thrilling through and through. I would have taken a picture of it for you but I don't think I was allowed to, plus I had left my camera at the hotel to lighten my load. Here is a 'beach shot' instead- just in case you didn't believe that I actually went.


I had the opportunity to take a class with Cat Bordhi and Kaffe Fassett- both wonderful teachers. If you ever get the chance to take a class with them, take it.

But, the highlight of the trip?

My encounter with the incredible Mr. T. I apologize for not having some knitting in my pocket for him to pose with. It would have been... entirely priceless. Next time.

Hats are Happening Here

There has been a lot of hat knitting around here these days. Lots of it. Two winters ago I got discouraged because all of my hats were turning out either giant, or small enough to fit only a sweet little pin of a head. So, I found a solution- a sideways knit hat! That way, you just keep knitting until it fits your head, no matter how big or small it may be!
The pattern is from the Lang Denim book but is available at stores as a free tear sheet. I checked to see if the distributor had it posted on their site but not yet. Ah well. I love it. I have cranked out three or four of them at this point. The one in the picture is just a sample for the store, I made one for my sister, one for myself and then another one out of a different yarn that I wasn't so thrilled with. (Ok- so that's four then).

Yarn? Tosca
How much? Two balls.
Needles? 7mm


Why not get all trendy and wear it like this?
When I'm feeling trendy, that's just what I do.


This hat is knit from the Jane Ellison Mirasol book. I do love the yarn. Hacho. Holy smokes I love the yarn. The hat turned out a little small so I made it a bit bigger but had to dip into a second skein. Ah well. It's only $7.99 a skein so that's not so bad. Such lovely and soft merino though. Just lovely.


So, that's it for today. Now I'm going to put on my hat and clear the snow off my car. Am I ever glad I didn't give up on hats forever. I knew I would one day find another pattern I loved.
I love.