Summer Knitting
I am not a fan. I don’t particularly like working with cotton, linen is good but I’ve been there done that, silk is great but can break the bank, and it’s often too hot and sticky for knitting with animal fibers. I don’t mind knitting out of season but it tends to look a little weird to those around me. Plus, anything I knit can only be worn late at night or it has to wait for cooler months. Not to be a complete downer but I miss winter already and it’s only July!
In order to perk myself out of my summer knitting blues I decided to create something practical for summer. I knit these sampler placemats with the intention of giving them as host/hostess gifts at a summer BBQ (which, by the way, are my favorite part of summer, nothing like a backyard BBQ). Having finished them, I kind of want to keep them. I wanted a bit of fun colour and some different patterns to hold the interest. They are also a ridiculously quick knit as they are made with Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton held doubled on 8mm (US11) needles. One ball per placemat.
There are 4 different stitch patterns and each placemat is knit with a seed stitch border. If your friends are a little more subdued you could go with the undyed organic version of the same yarn. These placemats are a fun and practical little knit, perfect for a gift or to brighten your patio/kitchen table. Although the label says hand wash only, I have machine washed mine and they are a titch smaller but none the worse for wear. Alexa’s Sampler Placemats pattern is available for free here: Alexa’s Placemats
Maple Leaf Mittens
For those who don’t know, the 2010 Winter Olympics are coming to Vancouver! I’m excited to see my country and my city on the world stage and to be here during the excitement (chaos) of that time. Commuting anywhere will be a nightmare and I’m not really all that big on crowds (a bit of claustrophobia) but I’m excited anyways. I haven’t managed to get any tickets but my lucky mother did. I wanted her to have something to keep her hands warm as she watches speed skaters race around the track and hockey players putting the puck in the net. Not only are the Olympics coming to town but Canada day is coming too. These mittens are slightly unseasonal but this is Vancouver, it still gets cold at night in July.
The flip side
You may be aware of my slight (complete) mitten obsession. I have knit many pairs and even taught a couple of classes on Fair Isle mittens. I decided I would try my hand at designing a patriotic pair of my own. The front features the Canadian Maple Leaf and the palms have some cute red snowflakes on them. I have combined some of my favorite mitten features including the i-chord cast on and the corrugated cuff. Of course, if you desire a shorter mitten, the cuff is optional.
These mittens were made using 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Sport in white and one in red. They are super soft and cozy. I used US 4 (3.5mm) needles for the pair pictured here but I used US 3 (3mm) needles for my Mom’s pair (she has much littler hands than I).
To purchase this pattern for $6 please click here. Patterns are emailed in PDF format.
Gail
One of my favorite things about working at a yarn shop (I work at Urban Yarns, in case I forgot to mention it) is the creative energy that flows around the place. There are always new patterns and yarns and colourways to inspire you and creative individuals working and shopping there. They can be a bit of a bad influence when I am trying to be good and knit from the stash but it is an easily forgivable offence as I am guilty of the same thing.
I had often considered knitting a lace shawl but felt that it was a bit of a ‘knit it becuase I can’ kind of endeavour. What does a 25 year old need with a shawl except for fancy occasions? I don’t even really have fancy occasions. I’m not really a fancy person. I knit a Rectangle Shawl in black Alpaca Silk from Blue Sky Alpacas and although it is lovely it quite frankly doesn’t get much wardrobe play. I had done some feather and fan and a little eyelet work before but nothing that was seriously lace. Then I met Emily. Emily recently started at Urban Yarns and she knits the most amazing lace shawls. The first time I met her she was wearing an amazing blue lace shawl about her neck and I thought to myself: now that is how you wear a lace shawl and remain hip. Not only was it well knit in a lovely lacy pattern (Laminaria) but it was also made of super soft cashmere yarn she recycled from a thrift store sweater and she had dyed it herself. So cool.
Emily was working on a Gail (aka Nightson) shawl in the shops newest beautiful yarn Alchemy Juniper. She used 2 skeins and did 6 repeats. I had to copy cat and she promised she didn’t mind. I had a skein of SweetGeorgia’s Cashsilk Lace in pistachio on hand and I didn’t stop knitting until it was done! I used every last drop of one skein to do 6 repeats of the pattern as well. It’s great! It’s just cool enough here this week to wear it too (last week, not so much). Thanks for the inspiration Em!
The Great Craft Swap: Check!
In my great desire to check things off my never ending list of crafts to finish/start/create I have completed another long standing project. A while ago (I just checked, it was September of 2008) my lovely mother and I decided to swap projects. I would finish knitting her blanket and she would do the hand sewing of the binding on 2 of my quilts.
The blanket was the first major project I started my mother on. She knew how to knit a bit (she knit me a cute yellow sweater when I was a baby) but I had learned to knit from the books she got me. She went with me to the yarn shop a few years ago when I wanted to start my first sweater and picked out some beautiful self striping yarn in warm browns, reds, and oranges (is it sad that I can’t even remember what kind of yarn it was it was so long ago? I didn’t even know to keep the ball band yet!). She decided she would knit a blanket. I set her up with what I thought was an easy enough pattern. A simple basket weave with a garter stitch border. I did the math, chose the needles, and wrote out the pattern. It seemed simple enough, it was just knitting and purling right? Wrong. The pattern wasn’t difficult but it was an 8 row repeat that was difficult to memorize and hard to identify for a newish knitter. Is it a purl 3, knit 5 row or vice versa? Do I start with a knit 11 or a knit 12 or a knit 8? Thus my mother became slightly frustrated and, as somewhat of a perfectionist, did not wish to continue each time a stitch or two was out of place. This led to a problem because each time she made an error she would need me to fix it. She also couldn’t start in the middle of a row. She would have to go all the way across before she could put it down. These were rather long rows so this also became a bit of a problem.
Seeing that the blanket had been put aside, as had my almost finished quilts, I devised the Great Project Swap. This blanked was clearly a poor choice and had been pushed by the wayside. My quilts were so close but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. We swapped. Mom finished my brown quilt in a weekend and I chugged along on the last 7 balls for the knitted blanket.
I had one more problem with the quilt. I had finished the piecing and even sandwiched it but I wasn’t sure how to actually quilt it. My lines are never as exact as I want them to be and my corners do not always meet in a typical quilting perfect fashion. I’m really more interested in blocks of beautiful fabrics in beautiful colours and a simple design. I really love Bella Moon quilt patterns for this. They are great patterns for the ‘non-quilter’-quilter. I was discussing this issue with my mom when she suggested I find someone who quilts for hire.
I inquired at The Cloth Shop (my local quilt shop) and they had a couple of names for me. I sent my quilt out to Jackee and it came back absolutely stunning! She machine quilted it in a free form with lovely green leaves. The quilting matched the fabric and style of the quilt perfectly and I could not have been happier with her work.
Quite reasonably priced too! Since the actual quilting is not my favorite part it was great to have someone with expertise give it that finishing touch. I gave my mummy the binding and the quilt and she finished it off. I love it.
It was then that I realized I really had to finish that knitted blanket! I powered through the last 4 balls last weekend and it is finito! I’m glad my mom still has the same colour scheme, it took so long to finish. It is lovely though, and will be used by my mom, dad, and brothers on cool evenings curled up on the couch. The great project swap was a smashing success!
Kim
I have finally finished the Kim sweater by Fleece Artist that I started last December! Although I struggled at many points I am pleased with the final result.
A little recap on the troubles I had: I started all excited about the lovely yarn and the gorgeous ‘Ireland’ colourway. I balled it all up and was ready to go. I got out my instructions and read the first couple of lines. Cast on over 200 stitches and work 18 inches in stockinette. I was less than enthused. I realize that beautiful hand-dyed yarn needs a simple stitch to show it off but thats about as much stockinette as I could ever want. To make matters worse, I normally don’t worry about alternating balls but there were a couple that were too different to ignore. I had to alternate every other row to even out the colour. I got about 6 inches in before I put it aside and started working on other projects.
A month or so later I got on a finishing kick and I pulled it back out. I persevered through the 18 inches and made the extensions. I then began to struggle with the construction. The criss cross construction is my favorite part of the finished product but I really couldn’t figure it out until it was almost done. I neglected to place a couple of markers and this made the process more difficult than necessary to boot.
In the end the sweater is actually quite beautiful. I like the fit and the criss cross detail looks good. I would say it was well worth it!
Quick
So, I’ve been slammin’ busy lately and have neglected to post but here is a quicky to keep things going. I’ve been in a finishing mode lately and wanted so badly to try on my Kim sweater and model it but alas, it is still blocking. Here is a little sneak peak:
Since I finished off one sweater it was time to cast on another. I was immediately smitten with Jane Ellison’s new book the ‘Queensland Collection‘ when I saw it in the shop on Friday. It’s a mens pattern book with some nice trim looks. I have had trouble creating something that fits right on my tall and thin father and brothers and these patterns are very modern and stylish. No baggy old man sweaters.
There are at least 3 or 4 patterns I’m dying to make but I’m starting with ‘Dave‘. I was also smitten with the new yarn at the shop: Classy by Dream in Color. A washable 16 to 18 stitch gauge in gorgeous colours. I chose Shiny Moss (it’s not really shiny, I’m not sure why it’s called that). The item in the picture is the first sleeve. The pattern calls for it to be knit flat but I’m throwing caution to the wind and knitting it in the round. I’m still not quite happy with my ability to seem.
My Mom
Mom and me
We all start our arts and crafts careers somewhere, and mine begins with my mom. Not only is my mom my biggest art and craft fan, she is also a source of inspiration. She is a great sounding board for all ideas and her enthusiasm for a project always gets me moving. She is also an accomplished crafter herself. She always enjoys colourful and beautiful things and is creative in every way. Always thinking outside the box to solve create problems.
I have vivid memories of being young and baking or crafting with my mom. One Christmas my brothers, my mom, and I made a really awesome gingerbread house and we enjoyed it so much we escalated to gingerbread villages! Mom would slave over all the pieces of the houses and my brothers and I would just go nuts building and decorating.
Mom and I would sew pillows, barbie clothes, and dolls. We would ‘cork’ (I believe they call this spool knitting) coasters and I even made a whole rainbow coloured rug. I learned to cross stitch and knit when I got a bit older and my mom was always behind me. She would pick up yarn or patterns for me and framed some of my finished cross stitched pieces.
My mom is also very supportive of my photography. She has many of my pieces framed in her home and is always very interested to see my latest shots.
To say the least I could never ask for better mom. Love you Ma!
Socks Galore!
I am playing a little fast and loose with the plural of sock. I have finished one pair and two singletons. That being said, I love them!
Watermelon Socks (get it? They even have little black bits, like seeds)
This pair is a design from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski, Escher Socks.
And, of course, the fabulous Nutkin socks
MIA
Hmmm, what do all three pictures have in common?
That’s right, all that needs to be finished up on all 4 socks is the kitchener stitching at the toes. I finished the Nutkin sock first and was looking for my tapestry needle to sew them up. When I couldn’t find it I quickly moved on to the Watermelon socks, figuring the needle would turn up shortly. Once I had finished both of the Watermelon socks I took another serious look about but no needle. I moved on to the yellow pair but I was beginning to think the needle might never show up. My fourth sock is done and still no needle. It is Missing In Action. I might have to bite the bullet, stop being so cheap, and buy another needle.
They are 4 gorgeous socks (if I do say so myself). The pattern for the blue pair is Nutkin, the yarn is Malabrigo Sock. For the Watermelon socks I used Sweet Georgia Superwash Sport in the colourways Dragon and Cardinal. For the yellow socks I used Sweet Georgia’s Handpainted Sock in the colourway Gold Digger (what a great colour name).
Dyed by Me!
For my birthday my lovely Mumsy sent me to a yarn dying class at the Sweet Georgia studio. I am a BIG fan of Felicia’s colourways so it was amazing to learn to dye from someone so creative. I leared to do some imersion dying (all one solid colour) and I chose an emerald green colour and some silk.
For my second feat of dying I tried kettle dying and I think this lovely tealy colour is my favourite. I dyed 2 skeins to make a pair of socks. They are going to be rockin’!
I also tried my hand at hand painting. I made a sort of citrusy, sunsetty colourway in a Malabrigo Silky Wool (I realize I made up both of those words). I also handpainted some angora in a beautiful bright pink with hints of a purlply-grey.
I think the key to dying (at least at first) is to have an idea of what colour or look you are going for but to always be ready for a surprise. I was so pleased with all of my work at the end of the day, I can’t wait to try some more. Thanks Felicia for a great day!
