Five Things I'm Loving Right Now

Me in Tree Pose last summer after I hurt my arm.

 Shelagh is enjoying warm weather in Florida for a few weeks, so I'm writing this as I prepare for a few days volunteering at The Yoga Show and Conference. This is the biggest yoga show in Canada—seriously, it's crazy big!

This is my second year volunteering and I love it! But I still get the "what if I forget something" anxieties creeping up on me now and then. Never mind that I'll be in a major city and will be able to get anything I want, organizing myself and packing is still fraught with potential crises until I walk out my front door.

What that means is I'm not really focusing on any of my knitting projects or our social media accounts. So, no we haven't dropped off the planet. And no, the changes to Instagram haven't affected our feed. 

So I thought I'd do a quick roundup of what I'm loving right now:

1. Yoga and meditation – I mean, of course!
   
2. Goodreads – Have you checked out this site? I want to read more, and this site lets me (a) list everything I have ever read in my life and continue to add to it; (b) interact with friends who read; and (c) set and track a reading goal for myself every year. This year my goal is 20 books and I'm already at 7 complete and two underway.
   
3. Podcasts – I know podcasts have been around for a while, but I really discovered a bunch last summer while I waited for my arm to heal and couldn't knit or do yoga. My favourites (in no particular order) are "Question of the Day" with James Altucher and Stephen Dubner (of Freakonomics fame); "Happier" with Gretchen Rubin (of The Happiness Project); "Magic Lessons" with Elizabeth Gilbert (the focus is on creativity); and recently "The Lively Show."
   
4. Video Podcasts – Two of our knitting circle friends have begun a very cool podcast on Youtube called "Dye Another Day." If you are into knitting, are interested in patterns, dying yarn, KALs (knitalongs), then these two smart, funny ladies are worth checking out. You may already know them as The Yarn Enabler and The Cozy Knitter on Facebook or Instagram. If you start from the first (they've done about five or six so far), you will also discover other knitting Youtube podcasters that they follow.
   
5. Netflix – Yeah, I'm late to the game here too. My husband and I have begun binge-watching House of Cards when we heard so many good things about the show. What an amazing show!
   

Do you like some of these same things? Do you have any suggestions for books, podcasts, binge-worthy shows? Let us know below.

And Something We Don't Make!

For the last couple of weeks, I told you about some other things I like to make. But this week I want to tell you about some things I discovered I don't like to make. I'm talking about knitting socks.

Have you ever tried knitting a pair of socks? Many of the women at our Knit Night knit sock: lacy socks, striped socks, cabled socks. They are amazing--both the knitters and the socks, that is!

No heel. No toe. Button added to tell top from bottom.

So Margaret and I decided to give sock knitting a try. We figured the most difficult part of the sock would be turning the heel followed by creating a nice--and comfy!--toe. So we started with yoga socks because they don't require either a toe or a heel. I know, I know: that's the easy way out.

We used DPNs (double pointed needles) because we haven't learned how to use the "magic loop" method. Neither of us mind working with DPNs, but Margaret really doesn't like working with needles smaller than 4mm / US 6. And socks use sock yarn, which is usually 3.25 mm / US 3.

We made them! Check out Margaret's take after finishing them. You can read about it here, but she found it too fiddly. And for such small pieces they seemed to take forever--which is the source of her animosity toward small needles. Plus, when you finally get one sock done, there's one more!

However, we decided to give sock-making another try. This time it was pedicure socks: still no toe, but the chance to create a heel. We followed the Mary Maxim pattern, each of us with the correct yarn: mine in pink and Margaret's in blue. I even took mine on a family vacation to Florida. I managed to get my first sock done before Margaret, so we Skyped and I talked her through turning the heel.

Margaret modelling her pedi socks with matching polish. Note heels not showing!

Neither of us were happy with how our heels turned out. And using DPNs showed a little "laddering" effect in the body of the sock. We have heard this will be reduced in the wash. I guess we'll find out for sure because we decided to keep these socks for ourselves.

What's really great is the Knit Night ladies have different options for heels! Who knew there were choices!?!

But, the combination of time, small needles, DPN "laddering" and multiple heel options has meant we probably won't be making socks any time soon.

What are we missing? Do you think learning Magic Loop would help? We'll have to think about learning it! Maybe that will make a difference!

Three Reasons to Shop the Neighbourhood

Have you seen the advertisements for the Yellow Pages "Shop the Neighbourhood" campaign? Here's the description on their website: "On November 28, 2015, Canadians nationwide will be encouraged to make a local purchases and take advantage of exclusive event day deals offered by businesses in their neighbourhoods."

We love the idea of shopping local: small businesses are an important part of the local economy, although they do not garner the same headlines given to large companies or government offices moving into town.

Shelagh and I aren't a bricks-and-mortar store, but we do consider ourselves to be a small business. So here are our top three reasons to support local businesses this weekend:

1. Support larger industries. Small business provide support for other larger industries in a town as well as goods and services for the local population. Everything from coffee shops and restaurants, taxi services, and auto parts provide much-needed support for any larger offices and industries in town.
2. Provide job opportunities. Small businesses offer job opportunities for locals, even family-owned and -operated businesses often need help if they are growing. I think many of us started working in high school for a locally owned restaurant or fast-food place. Or perhaps in a small retail store. Many of these are small businesses and if you worked for one, you were part of the small business family.
3. Add character and community. Small businesses add to the character and sense of community in their towns. Have you heard your neighbours talk about not feeling a sense of community? Do you wish there were more character where you live? Figure out where you spend your hard-earned cash in your town: Is it at a bakery, toy store, boutique, or auto shop? Or a bunch of big box stores? Maybe a mix of both? However you normally shop, your patterns will show you what kind of community you want.

I like to think Shelagh and I participate in shopping local throughout the year. We love yarn--in case you missed that tidbit of information!--and we love going to our local yarn store, Soper Creek Yarn Store; visiting fibre festivals, where many indie dyers attend to sell their finished yarns; or even shopping online to find great yarns. We purposely look for Canadian artisan or indie dyers (shout out to Fleece Artist, IndigoDragonfly, and Sweet Georgia Yarns) and also some local dyers (thank you Yarn Enabler, The Yarn Therapist, and The Cozy Knitter).

We love being part of the indie, hand-making community: it's a fun and creative group of women (mostly) who support and encourage one another.

That's the community I want.

Have fun shopping local on the 28th!

A Gift for a Friend

Our sister Irene was always looking for something special with peacocks on it for her sister-in-law; Teena loves peacocks and are quite meaningful for her. Irene always had a good eye for hunting down something unique for Teena, so when I saw some yarn the Yarn Enabler dyed in a colourway she named "Peacock." I knew I had to get some to make something for Teena.

Then Yarn Enabler brought a couple of skeins of the "Peacock" yarn to Knit Night at our local yarn store. She had dyed a couple of different yarn bases and they were both beautiful but slightly different. It is amazing how different each yarn base affects how the dyes absorb. The woman who had ordered the colour originally bought the ones she wanted . . . but there was one left that she didn't want. It was 75% Superwash merino and 25% nylon sock yarn! Soft and squishy! So I said "Sold!"

Now that I had a skein I had to find a pattern to do this gorgeous colour justice. Baadeck Yarns posted a free pattern that intrigued me. I looked it up on Ravelry and thought it a perfect match for this yarn and for Teena. The pattern is Seaglass by Jessamyn Leigh.

The pattern is written for using DK weight yarn and I was using sock weight. I knit it up to the initial specifications of the pattern just to get a feel for it. I loved how this pattern and yarn look together, but it was way too small. I frogged it after weighing the finished scarf, then figuring out how much to adjust the cast-on to make the scarf.

Once I made the pattern adjustments, the scarf knit up quickly. I worked on it while away on holidays: knitting in the car, by the pool, or just when having a quiet evening back at the room.

Back home, I took it to Knit Night and they loved how it turned out, including Yarn Enabler. But more importantly, Teena loved it!

Y-Knot? A Night to Dye For

Shelagh and I are so fortunate to have such talented ladies in our Knit night group. One of the ladies, Jenn aka The Yarn Therapist, suggested something different than the usual knitting together: she offered to teach us to dye our own yarns! Of course, the entire group heartily agreed because, well, let's face it, we're all yarn lovers. And who wouldn't want to create a custom yarn?

Jenn is an avid knitter, yarn lover, and she dyes her own yarns. She and another of the Ladies, Amanda aka Yarn Enabler, walked us through the process while Christina, aka The Cozy Knitter, was one of our cheerleaders.

So Jenn ordered some yarn blanks in both fingering/sock weight and worsted weight; made up over a dozen containers of dye; and brought along lots of aluminum containers to use for our artistic adventure. Someone brought apple fritters; someone brought coffee; and Shelagh and I brought sangria--'cause that's how we roll.

Shelagh chose two skeins of fingering weight 80/20 Superwash Merino and nylon. I chose two skeins of worsted weight Superwash Merino. And then we spent at least half an hour deciding on colours. Honestly, when confronted by so much choice, it really is difficult to narrow it down to what we wanted.

Did we want a variegated yarn of one colour? Or perhaps chunks of different colours? Or maybe a solid base with speckles of different colours? The choices seem to be endless!

At the top and above, Shelagh "painting" her skeins.

Shelagh went with a different look for each of her skeins; I decided one look for both--I figured I'd need two the same to make something like a scarf.



The photo left shows my two blank skeins in one container as well as each of them after I dyed them using colour Silver Gray.

Below is a photo of my finished skeins wrapped scarf-like on our dressmaker's Judy. Can you see the teal, turquoise, purple and black that I added? When Jenn was showing us the colour options, I fell in love with what I thought of as "peacock colours," those bright colours at the "eye" of the feather. I knew they would look amazing on the platinum background.

Now I want to come up for an appropriate name for my yarn; although it will be considered a one-of-a-kind yarn, I think it deserves a lovely name.

I have some ideas, but what would you call it?

Highlighter of my Life

Here's a close up of the Super Eyelet Shawl design by The Woolly Brew.

One of the ladies at my local "knit night" is an indie dyer known as "Yarn Enabler." You might have seen her yarns on her Etsy shop; she is known for her Fruity Feet and No. 2 Pencil sock yarn.

A couple of months ago, she posted about one of her yarns. I loved the colourway. It made me smile as it is so bright and cheery. She named it "Highlighter of My Life." I looked at it for several days then messaged her to see if it had been sold; it hadn't, so I told her I would buy it. She was happy. I was happy. And when she brought it with her to Knit Night, I fell in love all over again! It is 462yds of soft, fingering weight heaven! And because it's 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon, you can put it in the gentle cycle of the washer and dryer too. Bonus!

I brought it home and began going through patterns. Being a fingering weight, I had many patterns to choose from: socks, scarf, cowl, or shawl. I don't knit socks, so that wasn't happening. But I knew that whatever I made, it would be  a statement piece! The colours are so bright--like a hand full of highlighters. A scarf, cowl, or shawl would look great with a dark winter coat. Whatever I made would cheer up any day and brighten any outfit.

When I came across a pattern for a scarf called "Red Skies at Night," I knew it would make this yarn pop. So I started on it but just couldn't get going on it: too many other projects on the go. (You know what that's like! So I ripped it out and waited until I could really concentrate on it.

Then a FB post from Nova Scotia yarn store Baadeck Yarns linked to a pattern on Ravelry called Super Eyelet Shawl designed by The Woolly Brew. When I saw the picture, I knew it was the right shawl for this yarn.

I made a couple of attempts, ripping it out each time. Then I took a deep breath and read the pattern closely instead of skimming over it--a very bad habit I have!

Once I got into it, I got really excited about it: it worked up so beautifully. I could tell that it work well as the weather warms up and for the cooler evenings because it is so light weight.

It knit up rather quickly which made me really happy after the earlier frogging I did! It turned a little smaller because I used a sock weight and not a DK weight the pattern called for. It is more of a shawlette-type scarf. This suits me fine as I am keeping this one for myself!

And I still have about 46 gm left, so I may make another small shawl or a scarf.