Creativity, Passion and A Project

I heart everything about this lilac cable and eyelet hat I'm working on right now!

This month we are blogging about love and creativity. At the beginning of February we wrote that creativity is sparked by passion and, like love, can lead to both frustration and boundless joy. Last week, we wrote that creativity is hardwired into our DNA, kind of a family affair. So today, the day after the world's celebration of love, we offer you some insight into one piece we are creating because sharing* our creations with the world is part of the fun for us! 

I am knitting up a gorgeous cable and eyelet hat—we call it a toque in Canada, but I think our American friends call it a beanie. Last Fall (2015) Shelagh and I ordered yarn from artisan yarn dyer Carla Pelzer of Georgian Bay Fibre Co. What I love about Carla's work is that her colours are inspired by the area she lives, a part of Ontario around Georgian Bay that I'm only familiar with through her yarns. This yarn color, Wakefield Lilac, is based on a tall hedge of lilacs on Wakefield Street in Parry Sound. As Carla describes it, the scent of those lilacs in bloom is a reminder of that summer is on its way.

An old Instagram-filtered photo of our lilac hedge.

As I write this, I look out my office window and see our own barren lilac hedge. It's mid-February and the branches are bare. The wind-chill numbers are in the minus digits. But just looking at the yarn in my hands, with its few specks of white and fewer specks of dark purple, I can recall that scent, those colours, that glorious time in Spring when flowers bring delight and set your heart to burst. And I fall in love with the classic of a cable—like the classic lilac hedge in many Ontario gardens—but enlivened by this non-traditional color.

Honestly, I absolutely LOVE this hat I'm making! As I'm knitting along, I feel my heart bursting open like the lilacs the color is named for. It will look so amazing on someone this spring and I can even picture the woman who will wear it: smart and lively, she loves to wear classics with a twist. And she loves to celebrate spring.

*At least once a month, we'll share stories about a project: it may be something that is in our Etsy shop already, or maybe it is something on our needles now. It may be about the yarn, the yarn artisan, or the pattern.

The Commuter's Wife

We are really excited to share some news: we have several of our hand-knit hats available for sale at a retail store in Uxbridge!

That's right! We were invited to sell our hats at The Commuter's Wife on Brock Street in Uxbridge. This is a bricks-and-mortar store owned by Kristy Burgess and it's a lovely little shop that reminds us of a small "One of a Kind Show." Kristy has a great eye and has found some amazing items from artisans in Canada, and especially local artists. Shelagh and I are proud to have our hats among the beautiful items available from other artisans.

Shelagh and I work hard to capture the feeling of our knit pieces for our Etsy shop, photographing and describing items to show how they truly are and how they would work in your life. But really, a big part of the experience of knitwear is missing from the online shop: the tactile experience of picking up the piece, trying it on, feeling it against your skin.

So, now that we have a few pieces available in a bricks-and-mortar store, you can get the full experience of our knitted accessories. And better than that, you can find them nestled among some truly lovely pieces in the very welcoming shop called The Coummuter's Wife in Uxbridge.

Kristy has also begun using her shop as an artisan space for her customers. That is, she brings in local artists to teach their craft to customers. Doesn't that sound cool?

I'd say it's definitely worth the drive to check out Kristy's shop and all it has to offer!