Windschief The Second

Windschief seems to be my go-to hat pattern for the guys in my life.  The first one I knit was for the Mister using Dream in Color Classy in a classic grey.  He’s worn that hat a TON and it still looks like it was knit yesterday.  Top marks for this yarn!

After knitting the Ranger sweater for Prithvi, I had a bit of yarn leftover.  Although, he will never be caught wearing the matching sweater-hat combination, I knit him his own Windschief this time adding a bit of extra length for ear-coverage-slash-upping-the-coolness-factor-with-a-bit-o-slouch.

Windschief II 1

It turned out to be a winner once again and the guys have been wearing their hats everywhere.  They haven’t yet realized that their hats are matchy-matchy and I ain’t volunteering that information, hehe 😉

Windschief II 3

Here’s the skinny on this project…

Windschief II 2

Windschief II (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Windschief by Stephen West
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in “Paris Night”
Needles: Size US 6, 7 / 4, 4.5 mm

Posted by & filed under Accessories, Family, Finished Knits, Hats, Kids. This post has 4 comments.

Traditions

Yesterday was Vancouver’s annual Santa Claus Parade and we joined the masses of people to welcome Kris Kringle to our city!  The rain stopped once the parade began… a Christmas miracle indeed 😉

The marchers…

Image

The dancers…

The Dancers

The pipers…

The Pipers

The cuties…

The Cuties

And of course, St. Nick himself (Mrs. Klaus was missing, however, the elves were in attendance!)

Santa's Here

Do you have a Christmas tradition that you enjoy with your family?

Posted by & filed under Family, Rambling. This post has one comment.

Stormont

A quick drive-by post to point you in the direction of a lovely pattern that was recently published by my dear friend, Kelly.

Stormount 2

Test knitting is always fun!  It’s great to work alongside the designer as their pattern is tweaked and fine-tuned before making it ready for publishing.  When Kelly asked me to test knit her hat pattern, Stormont, I jumped at the opportunity.

Stormount 1

Stormont was a great pattern to knit. This pattern allowed me to indulge in the cable fix that I always crave once the mercury dips.  The cable pattern is on the front as well as the back and a bit of slouch on the back makes for a chic topper for those bad hair days 😉

Stormount 4

This pattern is a winner with the wide range of sizes offered – 6 months to large adult.  Check out the many lovely versions of this pattern on Ravelry.

Stormount 3

Stormont (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Stormont by Kelly Ashfield
Yarn: Tosh Vintage in “Honorine”
Needles: Size US 6, 7 / 4, 5 mm

I can’t wait to see what Kelly has in store for our needles next.

I have one more test knit on the needles for another knitting buddy and this time it’s a pair of socks 🙂  Warm head, warm toes :: I’m all set for Old Man Winter!

Posted by & filed under Accessories, Finished Knits, Hats. This post has 4 comments.

Sea Anemone

Outside, the colored canopy is incredible.  Rust, red, orange, yellow, bits of green all around .  Breathtaking. Beautiful.

The colors on this skirt will remind me of the magic outside long after every leaf has floated down and the branches are bare welcoming the pause and rest that is winter.

Sea Anemone, is a skirt designed by the very talented, Elena Nodel.  The cabled section on the otherwise plain skirt was a welcome twist while I was knitting this project.

The pocket is every little child’s dream, waiting to be crammed full of rocks and leaves and “treasures”.

The best part about this skirt is the ruffle at the bottom :: just perfect for twirling!

Details of this project…

Sea Anemone (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Sea Anemone Skirt by Elena Nodel
Yarn: Tosh DK in “Alizarin”
Needles: Can’t for the life of me remember what size needles I used 🙁

Posted by & filed under Finished Knits, Kids, Rambling. This post has 8 comments.

Knit City 2012

Vancouver’s very own fiber festival, Knit City, was this past weekend and what a great festival it was!

There was much yarn and fiber to be squished and a wonderful gathering of designers, fiber artists and all-round yarn enthusiasts.  There were also various demos and classes (didn’t sign up for any this time).  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me, so no pictures of the actual vendors and artisans and yarn, yarn, yarn.  I left with quite a nice haul, though 🙂

The highlight of my experience was meeting Jane Richmond (janerichmond.com) and Shannon Cook (luvinthemommyhood.com) in person.  Both of them are so sweet and so talented.  Jane was promoting her latest design collection, Island, along with the rest of her very wearable pattern line.  I managed to get one of the last copies of her book… total fangirl moment!

Also great fun was the Ravelry meet up.  Knitting and chatting with a lovely bunch of ladies including talented designer, Andrea Rangel (Andrea Rangel Knits), was one of the best ways to spend a rainy Saturday in the city!

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Snail-Paced

On the needles, some sunshine to delay the frost a bit longer….

But… the frost will be here soon and when it arrives, I will be warm…

Almost off the needles, Ravi with a missing sleeve.  Yarn shortage is the culprit and replenishments are en route…

Completely off the needles but not quite ready yet, a ruffly skirt (Ravelry link)…

What’s on or off your needles?

Posted by & filed under Cardigans, Finished Knits, Rambling. This post has 6 comments.

Change

Can you feel the change in the air?  The air is crisper, the leaves are turning and sweater weather is almost upon us!

Ah September, the time for routine!  As much as I love the relaxed pace of summer, I embrace the structure of back-to-school with still some sunshiny playtime left. September also means that I can get back to my poor, neglected knitting basket!

I seem to enjoy knitting along with others and so when Carol Feller announced her Mystery Knit-along I signed up eager to get a sweater finished over the summer.  I did pretty good until Clue# 1 and that’s where my knitting mojo got wooshed away with the summer breeze 😉  The knit-along was done a while ago but I’m inching along on my sweater and almost done with the hip increases.

This sweater has some very interesting techniques, one of them being short rows.

I have a sinking feeling that I might run out of yarn.  Garter stitch is a yarn gobbler!  I might have to make this a short sleeve sweater like Kelly’s… isn’t her Ravi just lovely??  Talk soon 🙂

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Purl

Remember I told you that during all of our travels this summer I visited only one yarn store?  It’s true!

I just had to pop into Purl Soho while we were in New York 🙂  The staff are really friendly and welcoming.

I did alright with my yarn diet and came away with only two skeins of Anzula For Better or Worsted in the “Juniper” colorway.

No pattern in mind yet.  For now, I just like petting the squishy, luxurious yarn!

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New York, New York

5 days of amazing!

It’s hard not to constantly look upwards…

…and spot something very interesting!

A city with so much history and well-loved by all.

In fond remembrance.

The view from above is just as breathtaking

This city is also about people.  Contrary to popular belief, New Yorkers are super friendly and helpful.

And the food… oh my!!  We were too busy eating to pause for picture-taking.  It was too hot to drink soup in New York, we did get this picture though 😉

We will never forget…

Thank you for your hospitality New York!

Posted by & filed under Travel, Vacation. This post has 4 comments.