Unexpected

One evening last week, I was waiting for my daughter to finish Girl Guides and like so many other waiting moms, I popped into the local coffee shop for a drink.  I was happy that I’d remembered to grab my knitting before I left the house because knitting and Starbucks are the perfect duo.

Love In A Mist 1

Deep in knit mode, I noticed the person sitting at the table next to me staring at my hands with curiosity.  I knew a question about what I was doing would be forthcoming. You know, typical questions the muggles ask when they see you knitting in public.  Like, was I crocheting or was this knitting?  Did my grandma teach me to knit?  Do I make all my kids’ sweaters and socks?  Don’t I think wool is itchy?  If you’re a knitter, I bet you have heard all these before and maybe even a few more.  Nope, she didn’t ask me any of that.  All she said was, “Glacier?”

Hedgehog Skinny Singles Glacier

My current project on the needles is this lace shawl.  The yarn I’m using is Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles.  The colorway… wait for it… Glacier!!

Love In A Mist 2

Whoa, that lady knows her yarn!  We got gabbing about yarny stuff.  Turns out she’s from out of town visiting her daughter and like me, she’s a craft addict 🙂

Lace Section 1
I love the unexpected connections you make with others when you least expect it!

**Linking up at Frontier Dreams for Crafting On**

Posted by & filed under Lace, Rambling, Shawl, Yarn. This post has 5 comments.

Bandwagon

Uh-huh, I’ve jumped on one.  Specifically, the Find Your Fade bandwagon.

Partial Fade 2

I began this project because I had this one skein of yarn that I wanted to use. It was too loud and crazy on its own but paired with others, it sings a beautiful tune!

Partial Fade 1

The search on Ravelry and Instagram began. Who am I kidding, it was mostly the gorgeous renditions on Insta beckoning me.  Sold!!

Fade Section 3 Blog

I was casting on before I’d thought this through.  Hello, 233 stitches wide and a wingspan of 6 feet!  I didn’t dwell on those details.

I’m past the halfway mark and I have every intention of finishing it.  But, if I am being totally honest, my interest is waning.  As I pack on the rows into this shawl, I’m realizing that the finished piece is going to be nothing short of massive.  Will I use it very much?  Probably not.  But lookit… so purdy!

Fade Teacup 1

The color morphing with the delicious Hedgehog Fibres yarn I’m using has me adding a few rows to my Fade each day.  I’m at section 8 with 5 more to go.  Then I can cast off and clear out some floor space to block this ginormous thing!

Fade Stack 2 Blog

Posted by & filed under Knitting, Lace, Shawl, Yarn. This post has 5 comments.

Spate :: Finished Knit

I have always loved color.  Especially the big, bold, bright ones!  My daughter is the same. She embraces color and always picks the bright (sometimes neon) shirt over the neutral one.  She’s nine and so this is totally understandable… rainbows, unicorns and all that!  I found this incredible skein of sportweight yarn that had these multidimensional colors while still being sort of tonal.  I was in love!

Tosh Sport Cactus Flower

I wanted to make something with this yarn before Christmas and it had to be for my color-loving girl.  I was flipping through my copy of “Journey”, a knitwear collaboration by designers, Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook, and there it was, a pattern that would be perfect for this yarn.

The Spate fingerless mitts.

Spate 1

I had the pattern and the yarn and then I cast on and did a total number on it!  The fingerless mitts in the book are knit in a neutral, worsted weight yarn.  I had this colorful, sportweight yarn!  I threw caution to the wind, didn’t test gauge and just cast on for the extra small size.  I even went down a needle size or two.  What a rebel!!

And the end result…

Spate 3

These fingerless mitts turned out the perfect size for my daughter’s hands.  I love the texture of the stitch pattern.  The thumb opening was modified a bit so that it was snug and I stuck with the same needles throughout.

Spate 5

I finished them just before Christmas and she was delighted to find them under the tree!

Spate 4

She loves them and they have been really useful for her busy little hands doing all.the.things that 9 year olds do when it is still freezing outside.

Spate 2

This picture cracks me up…  on that incredibly cold day, after I finished taking pictures of her brother’s hat, I got to her shooting her mitts.  At this point, she couldn’t quite feel her finger tips and the whining ensued, “Mama, my fingers… where are they?”   Ah, the things we make others do for our craft 😀

Spate 6

Spate (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Spate by Jane Richmond from “Journey“
Yarn: Tosh Sport in “Cactus Flower”
Needles: Size US 6 / 4 mm

** Linking up with Keep Calm Craft On and Finish It Friday **

Posted by & filed under Accessories, Finished Knits, Kids, Knitting, Mittens. This post has 18 comments.

Barley :: Finished Knit

It must still be winter because I’m all about the knitting 🙂

Curled up in my knitting spot with soft wool running through my fingers, looping the yarn round and round the needles, creating something squishy and warm.  Most definitely a soothing and comforting pastime.

When we had our big snowfall in December, I cast on and finished a hat in a few evenings!

Barley 1

This one to be specific.  The Barley hat by the lovely team at Tin Can Knits.  It’s a great project that goes super quick on and off the needles.

Barley 4

I knit this as a Christmas present for my son, so there was a bit of a time crunch.  Still so very enjoyable. I’d love to make one in a bright color for my daughter with a big, fluffy pompom.  However, for this particular hat, it was all about the moody grey yarn.

Tosh DK Tern

Love this colorway!

The pattern is written for a worsted weight yarn and my son doesn’t like heavy wool hats, so DK was the obvious choice for this project.  I used a skein from my hoarded bin of Tosh DK. The result is this squishy hat, with the perfect slouch factor for my boy.  It’s been cold enough this winter for him to actually use it every day.  Yesss!

Barley 3

I love projects that practically knit themselves.  Barley is one of those.  Getting this thing blocked and dry though, took forever!  The pattern is sized from baby to Large, so you can make a whole whack of hats in a very short time.

Barley 2

We took these photographs on a freezing cold day and so I knew I had to be double quick 😉  “Mama, are you done picture taking yet?  I think I have frost bite!!”

Barley 5

Barley (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Barley by Tin Can Knits from the “Simple Collection“
Yarn: Tosh DK in “Tern”
Needles: Size US 7, 8 / 4.5, 5 mm

** Linking up at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On **

Posted by & filed under Accessories, Finished Knits, Hats, Knitting. This post has 8 comments.

Jolly Wee Elf

The days leading up to the holidays are a perfect time for allowing the creative juices to flow.  It’s the lull before the whirlwind that is Christmas. There are no chores out in the garden, Thanksgiving is done, the tree is up and daylight savings is in full effect.  It’s time to indulge in creativity that warms you inside and out.

Time to bake, to simmer delicious soups, to curl up with a good book, to knit, to drink copious amounts of tea, to indulge in some slow handstitching.  The perfect winter creative list.

Jolly Wee Elf 6 Blog

Slowing things down is so good and necessary.  During my pre-Christmas pause, I found a sweet pattern that I had to make.  The pattern is from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas called the Jolly Wee Elf.  Churchmouse is the most adorable yarn shop ever.  Located on Bainbridge Island, it is a must-see if you are ever in the Seattle area, even if you aren’t a knitter.

The unique details in this pattern make such a cute little elf.

Jolly Wee Elf 3 Blog

I used Jamieson & Smith Shetland wool in a woodland color theme for this little guy.  Jamieson & Smith have such an awesome array of colors in their 2 ply jumper weight yarn.  I must make him some friends because he looks a little bit lonely all by himself.

Jolly Wee Elf 2 Blog

It is a great project that you can finish in a really short time and is fantastic to use up little scraps of yarn from your stash.  Once I finished his arms following the pattern instructions, it’s like his personality came alive!  The pattern gives instructions for two sizes, I made the smaller of the two.

Jolly Wee Elf 5 Blog

It’s January now.  The tree is taken down and the ornaments put away for another year.  But I think I’ll let this Jolly Wee Elf hang out with me a little while longer.  He is warm in his scarf on the snowdrifts.  Yes, we still have snow on the ground!!  So very strange for us west coast folk.

Jolly Wee Elf 4 Blog

Indulging in an evening of creative whimsy with this little elf definitely brought a smile to my face 🙂

Jolly Wee Elf Blog

Jolly Wee Elf (Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Jolly Wee Elf by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith 2 ply in 202, FC38 and FC12
Needles: Size US 2 / 2.75 mm

** Sharing over on Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On and Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Friday **  

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

Bright + Beautiful

Happy New Year dear friends!  I hope your year is filled with plenty of joy, fun and creativity!!

So 2017 is here and it’s time to focus.  While 2016 was a year of tremendous growth both personally and for my family, I sort of lost my way in documenting and sharing the joys, accomplishments and struggles.  While I try to savor the memories of good times and learn from experiences that were tough, I realize that keeping a record is a great way to reflect and improve.  Onward with the new.

Bright Beautiful 8

Speaking of new experiences, out here on the west coast we’ve gotten used to the grey, moody days that are typical of a Vancouver winter. This is a temperate rainforest after all! But this past December has been a first for us since we moved to Vancouver with all. the. snow!!!

Bright Beautiful 2

We decided to brave the frigid outdoors and go for a walk on New Years Day.  10 minutes in and we were racing back to the car dreaming of piping hot soup.  Now I get what the fuss wind chill is all about.  Unless it’s absolutely essential to walk outside, you will find me in hibernation mode!

Bright Beautiful 5

I’m seriously longing for milder temperatures and dare I say in a loud whisper… rain!  

Bright Beautiful 6

But really, the snow has made this winter feel magical and for the first time ever the Christmas songs we hear on repeat over the holidays have been true.  Winter Wonderland? Check and check!

Bright Beautiful 7

I made a few warm and cozy things over the holidays.  They were quick, satisfying projects and kept my fingers toasty 🙂  I’ll share my makes soon.

Bright Beautiful 4

Here’s to many magical moments this coming year for all of you ✸

Posted by & filed under Rambling. This post has 3 comments.

Review :: Scrubby Yarn

I was asked by Yarn Canada to review some Red Heart Scrubby yarn they sent me.  I have to confess, I have never knit with Red Heart yarn before let alone, a yarn that looked ‘scratchy’.  But, I was ready for the challenge!

As you can see, it says that this yarn is great for dishcloths, right on the ball band.  I wanted to test out that claim.

scrubby-review-2

I received three different colored balls of Scrubby and I could knit or crochet a simple square with the different colors to test this yarn.  But I wanted something “funner” 🙂  I looked online and found this interesting pattern for a Tawashi.

To make a Tawashi, you knit or crochet a small rectangle on the bias.  You do this by decreasing stitches on one end and increasing them on the other end of alternate rows.  A parallelogram-shaped piece of knitted fabric is the result.  I used a combination of cheerful pink and bright green to knit my first Tawashi.  It went rather quickly on the needles.

scrubby-review-3

Next, I used this pattern for a more Christmassy-looking Tawashi.

Ta-da!

scrubby-review-4

I thought that this yarn would be really hard on the hands.  If it can get tough grease and grit off dirty dishes, it can surely shred ones fingers.  But none of that happened and my fingers are intact.  The yarn is very different to the touch, I’ll give you that.  But it doesn’t feel plasticky at all neither does it have that overpowering chemical smell that tends to accompany some acrylic yarns.  I was pleasantly surprised!

Time for the true test.  How does it work on getting dirty dishes clean.  Pretty good actually!  I didn’t have to pre-soak the dishes for ages or use too much elbow grease and they came out looking sparkly clean.

scrubby-review-5

Verdict :: this is a great yarn for dishcloths.  A cute little stack of these will be a great addition to a gift basket for a housewarming party or Christmas.

scrubby-review-6

Given that this yarn is textured, a stitch pattern other than garter stitch or stockinette, isn’t going to show up. Also, if you make a mistake while you are knitting/crocheting, chances are no one will see it so just keep soldiering on and don’t attempt to rip out your work.  This yarn is definitely fudge-friendly and can hide a multitude of errors 🙂

Celebrate handmade with these cute Tawashi scrubbies!

scrubby-review-7

This blog post is brought to you in collaboration with Yarn Canada. Skeins were received for review purposes. Views expressed here are my own.

Posted by & filed under Finish It Friday, Finished Knits, Gifts, Yarn. This post has 3 comments.

Road To Mexico

All the blocks for my son’s Mexico Quilt are done.  Hooray!

Road To Mexico 1

I love the combination of the golds, blues and greys and this is going to make a great quilt once it’s done.  Haha, that’s the kicker… once it’s done!
Road To Mexico 3

Given the massive size of each block in this quilt, it should be super speedy. Sadly, speed is not my speed!!  So witty, right?!

Road To Mexico 2

Wait there’s more.

Ta-da!  Zinger block in the mix!

Road To Mexico 5

My son wanted me to add some weird stuff (his words) and we tried different combinations… a solid, a really dark charcoal, a green.  Nothing really did it for us.  Then he pulled out this deep red fabric from the pile of contenders and we placed it with the other fabrics.  Squinted at it, stared at the pile some more and thought it might work.

I don’t know if this will be a good idea or not.  I’ll put these blocks together and then decide if it works overall or just looks odd.

Road To Mexico 4

Oh, I’ll keep my seam ripper handy just in case 😉

**Joining the linky party fun over at Sew Fresh Quilts**

Posted by & filed under Quilting, Quilts, WIP Wednesday. This post has 6 comments.

A Friday Finish – Take 2

Disclaimer:

The interwebs ate my post from this morning… eyeroll, so I’m having to do a re-post.  Gah!

Apologies if you’ve read this stuff before and you’re looking at it again!

Here’s Take 2…

I finished something!  Say whaaat!!

Surf's Up 2

Yeah, it’s true!  The socks that were on my needles are done, done, done.  Let’s totally not dwell on the fact that I began them ermm… last December.  LOL!!

Surf's Up 1

These socks are for the hubster and I had him try them on after I was done casting off the last stitch. The reaction I got from him was, “groooooaaaaan”!  I’ll take that as a good sign.  These are the first pair of handknit socks he has ever worn.  Shame on me for taking so long to knit him a pair!  But, we won’t dwell on that either.

Here they are all set for a nice long bath before they get mauled into shape.

Surf's Up 3

I don’t have the right size sock blockers, but the ones I do have should work to even out the stitches and also produce a sort of sock shape.  Stripes are so much fun to knit and I just love this self striping yarn.  Easy peasy!  I’ll share all the details about this project once they’re blocked and the tails are woven in.

Surf's Up 4

Handknit socks, they are the best!!

Posted by & filed under Accessories, Finish It Friday, Socks. This post has 3 comments.

Sticky Diamonds

It’s nice to ease into some sort of regular programming these days.  What better way that to showcase a work in progress for WIP Wednesday.

Sticky Diamonds 1

We’ve had a few scary trips to the ER with the little one being ill this September.  It’s always harder when your kids are sick.

But she’s fine now and almost completely recovered!  She’s a bubbly little thing and it was sad to see her so sick and weak.  But that’s in the past and she’s back to her old self now 🙂

Our September calendar is covered in scribbles and notes, but that’s how everyone’s back-to-school schedule is, right?  Right?!  I’ve knit a total of 2 rounds on my sock this month, hah!  So, in the evenings, when I have a few precious moments I’ve been sitting with my glue pen sticking things!  These paper pieced diamonds are just the ticket.

Sticky Diamonds 2

I dug out my scraps and cut them about 1/4 inch larger than my diamond paper template on all sides. I’m thinking I’ll use these low volume prints for the center.

Sticky Diamonds 3

Won’t be too long if I keep this sticky situation going.  I’m hoping I’ll have enough diamonds to turn this into a sunburst (starburst??) pattern and make a mini quilt.  The double whammy with this project has been bustin’ them scraps in the process.

Sticky Diamonds 4

I’ve needed something enjoyable and mindless like this to offset the busy days.  I think I’ll keep that sock close by too 🙂

** Linking up today at Let’s Bee Social **

Posted by & filed under Mini Quilts, Scrappy, Stashbusting, WIP Wednesday. This post has 8 comments.