What’s Happening!?
This summer is flying by for me! I’ve been madly working on the book (we are sooooo very close, everything is done but the arrival of our prototype I will keep everyone updated). I’m trying to enjoy mummyhood day by day but it moves fast and suddenly family is in town, we are trying to get out and about as a family on the weekends, and *POOF* there goes summer! Fast fun and furious and it’s gone. I’m one of those weird people who doesn’t really care for summer, it’s always too hot for me (even in BC and even during kind of a cool summer) so It’s not really so bad that it’s going fast but I haven’t even been swimming in the lake yet!
It’s late at night as I write this so I don’t have any great pics to pass on but I thought I would let everyone know there will be a Gourmet Crafter Yarn update shortly and some lovely FO’s! I’m working my way through a blocking queue right now so things feel like they are getting done really quickly even though they have been sitting and waiting for me to get out some blocking boards and pins! What a procrastinator!
Something New
Some of you might know (and some of you might not) that my dear friend Emily and I are working very hard to finish up our very first book! We have been madly designing, knitting, writing, and photographing our designs for Nine Months of Knitting.
Emily and I first met while we were both working at Urban Yarns and bonded over our love/obsession with knitting. Emily is a master lace designer and I’ve knit her very popular designs, the Photosynthesis Shawl and the Sunflower Shawl, both were easy to follow and the finished projects were beautiful. Emily and I have joined knitterly forces in Tin Can Knits. Because we are living in different cities most of the time we communicate via phone and email so we were inspired by the idea of little children and their string connected tin cans.
Nine Months is a book of 9 patterns to knit while you are expecting, or for some little wonder you know. Some of the patterns are designed so you can knit them up for the whole family. That’s all I can say for now, but stay tuned!
Knitting Neon
When I first ordered the yarn for the Stripe Study Shawl I thought the yellow was a little more mellow. When it arrived in it’s neon glory I wasn’t quite sure it would be all that I had hoped for. I was originally planning to pair the yellow with a grey but after a considerable amount of thought I decided to go with a dark teally blue (Norway Spruce). I figured if I was going to go for it, why not really make the neon pop? So I’m working away on my Stripe Study shawl and now all I have left is that big neon border and I have to say: I love knitting in neon.
It’s super crazy, reminds me of my elementary school years in the 90′s (I’m 27, no need to do any math) and it’s a real conversation starter. People are quite intrigued by the eye popping colour and always want to know exactly what I’m making. I think they either love it or hate it but no one has said they hate it. I can just tell.
The problem with this neon thing is that I suddenly want to knit everything in neon. My favorite outfit for Hunter lately is her shirt with a bright green trim and her neon pink booties. Wouldn’t an electric yellow sweater go well with that?! I’m losing it. Possibly I burned out my retina’s knitting the Stripe Study Shawl and I no longer understand colour…..
A Summer of Lace
Shetland Triangle
Ugh, I have been on a bit of a yarn buying bender lately and it’s all coming up lace for the summer. I’ve cast on for 2 shawls so far, the Rock Island in SweetGeorgia Silk Lamb Lace and another Shetland Triangle (more on the Shetland here) but I have a feeling they are just the beginning!
Rock Island
I’ve been working in the Tosh Merino Light lately and absolutely loving it. The single ply is nice in a lace and the colours are amazing of course. I have acquired more Tosh Light to make a Stripe Study Shawl and a skein in the pretty Tart colourway to make I-don’t-know-what for my Mummy for Christmas. I purchased the yellow (Edison Bulb) from Purl Soho online and it came a little more electric than I expected. I’m still happy with the contrast.
Study Stripe Shawl: Norway Spruce and Edison Bulb
This already seems like a lot but doesn’t really even come close. When miss Emily moved to England for a year she de-stashed a few items to me including 2 skeins of Malabrigo Lace in a brilliant blue, I’m thinking Swallow Tail or Vesna but I’m not sure yet.
Malabrigo Lace
I also partook in a small yarn trade with KT and exchanged a skein of Tosh Light in Antler for some Hedgehog Fibers I’ve been dying to try out in Sour Cherry. It’s a gorgeous light cashmere yarn with a lot of loft to it and it’s so buttery soft. I’m also not sure which pattern I want to do with that one. I’m open to lace suggestions though!
Hedgehog Fibers Pure Cashmere Lace in Sour Cherry
A Hat for Camping
I have knit many a Giacomo’s baby hat, 5 of which currently reside at Urban Yarns. It’s a quick knit with a lot of elements I love: fair isle, baby sizing, usually a pompom. I always mean to pick up the set at UY but never seem able to remember when I’m there. I can knock out a hat in an evening making this project even better with limited knitting time available.
With my beautiful leftovers from the Snuggle Sack I knit for Hunter I whipped up a pretty little hat in a colour combination I’m quite pleased with. It was one of those projects I didn’t think about too much, but I’m really happy with. I immediately wanted to knit a blanket or sweater in the same combo but Alchemy Temple has proven pretty hard to come across. The hat held up well during the camping trip, fitting her head perfectly now and not even coming off while she slept. Wonderful! Even though it is a washable yarn, I decided to hand wash it, just to be safe. It’s still a little smokey but none the worse for wear.
Recent Acquisitions
I was up in Kelowna last weekend and I popped in to their lovely yarn shop. Art of Yarn. It’s a lovely shop with many yarns quite suitable to a yarn snob such as myself. Of course I was immediately drawn to the Madelinetosh rack, it’s really become quite the obsession. I have collected a stunning little bin of the stuff and I have many fantastical plans for each pretty skein. When I was in Kelowna I picked up a skein of the Tosh Merino Light after being a bit smitten with Ann’s picture of it here. It just looked so shiny and nice!
The other purchase I made was 2 skeins of T-shirt yarn from Be Sweet. I think I will make a little top for Miss Hunter out of it. It does seem a bit funny to make a shirt out of recycled shirt yarn but I think it will be pretty cool none the less.
Things that Need Buttons
I have a giant button jar, as you can see. It’s so much fun to dump out the jar and sift through my button choices whenever I start or finish a button friendly project. I was discussing buttons with KT and she made some good points about the combination of knitting and buttons. She is of the opinion that the knitting should be the star of the show but I’m not sure I’m on board. I think it depends on the project. Something smaller, like a cowl, some mittens, maybe some felted slippers, can showcase an awesome button. When it comes to sweaters though, she has a point. It’s just too much work to have your knitting upstaged by a flashy button. A button should really compliment a sweater, not show it up.
Yet, among all these buttons I cannot seem to find the perfect button for these projects. They are small, so a loud button is allowed but I just don’t seem to have the perfect one in this cascade of buttons. Why is this? Every time I go to Button Button I make a purchase of the buttons I went for and I always walk out with a few treasures I have discovered. Perhaps I should have chosen the buttons first, but thinking ahead isn’t necessarily my strong suit. Anyhow, I have a small pile of goods to be adorned with buttons and a few project on the go that I can now pick out buttons for. Time for a trip to Button Button!
Projects on the Go
I have had another case of startitis that has come on quite suddenly. Since I am on maternity leave I decided to put myself on a yarn diet. I’m still getting a good amount of knitting done, the baby naps a fair bit and she’s kind of a lone wolf so she doesn’t like to be held all the time. This makes for some free hands and relaxing knit time. The yarn diet goes like this: 2 balls knit for 1 ball acquired. This is a slow but sure way to reduce the stash and my yarn spending habit. For some reason this makes me feel free to start whatever project I want with yarn I have, it’s a strange thing.
First up is my Thermis Cowl. I’ve knit this up twice before, one for my cousin’s birthday and one as a sample at Urban Yarns. Unfortunately the UY version went walking one day. It’s so sad when knitting is stolen. It’s not the yarn I miss as much as the time… This one is being knit in some pretty Tosh DK from Madelinetosh. Tosh of any weight is my newest obsession, it’s fantastic. The colours are so rich.
Next up is the Tea Leaves I’m working on for my Mom. I told her I was knitting it for myself so I could knit it in front of her. She’s a very smart woman but she never picks up on stuff like that. I could probably just tell her what I was getting her for her birthday and she would just forget and be pretty surprised when she opened it. I enjoy this quality in her, it makes life easy sometimes.
I’m also working on a Clapotis for the UY Clapo-tea party May 6th. I haven’t gotten very far but it’s going to have to stay at the top of the pile so I can get it done in time. It’s a pretty simple knit once you’ve established your pattern.
I’ve also cast on for a pretty fair isle cardigan for miss Hunter. I couldn’t resist this sweater when I came across it on the Purlbee blog. I’m knitting it in Blue Sky Alpacas Sport and Melange. I’m not sure this is the sanest choice but I had all but 1 skein of yarn already on hand so I decided to go for it. I’m LOVING this colour combo.
That’s all for now but I’ll let you in on a little secret: this is not all the projects I have on the go…..
Etsy Update!
It’s been a while since I last updated my Etsy shop! Since my yarn dying is currently a rather small scale operation, I have been having trouble keeping up with orders from AnySpunThread and Urban Yarns. I finally managed to order yarn blanks in a more appropriate number and dye some up for my Etsy shop. I’ve also got 2 new colourways: Highbury Blossoms and Vancouver Sky.
The inspiration for Vancouver sky is obvious, those grey days by the water. The pair in the photo are my friend Robin and her son Jaden. They thoroughly enjoyed their outing, grey skies or not. This yarn is a pale grey with streaks of darker grey and black.
Cherry blossoms abound on Highbury street in Vancouver. Every spring the sidewalks are completely pink. This yarn is dyed a pale pink but with shots of dark brown to represent the branches.
Check out my Etsy shop for the latest batch of Gourmet Crafter Yarn!
Tiny Tea Leaves
I think this might officially be the fastest sweater I have ever knit. Not so much in actual knitting time, but in dedication. I knit it up in 1 week and 1 day. It’s sized for a 2 year old but at the rate she’s going, Hunter will fit it in no time!
The yarn (Swan’s Island Organic Merino) and pattern (Tiny Tea Leaves) were a gift from the darling Sheryl of AnySpunThread. Up until she was born I intended to call my baby, whether it was a boy or girl, Hunter Sunshine. For some reason, that I cannot fully understand now, I decided in the hospital to give her the family name of Ann. She will, however, always be my little Sunshine. Sheryl picked the yarn for a little Sunshine girl with cute vintage buttons to match, does she know me or what? The pattern is so nice I’m knitting the grown up sized Tea Leaves for my mom out of the SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in the colour Cypress. Such a nice thoughtful gift, thanks Sheryl!
