Shelagh's Back from Florida!

My sister is back from her three-week trip to Florida with her husband--and I am so excited!

I mean, we still texted and Messengered each other daily, but it's so great having her back and only a 25-minute drive from me! Thank goodness for technology! I think I would have gone crazy if I couldn't have chatted constantly.

And something else cool about technology is that you can scope out local yarn shops at wherever it is you'll be spending time. So, of course, Shelagh did that before she left. And I'm glad she did because she found a very cool yarn shop in Sarasota called Picasso's Moon. Debra is the mastermind designer and dye-queen. Shelagh just raved over her yarns!

Even though Debra wasn't there, her friend and business partner Catherine--aka Rose of Indigo--was and she gave Shelagh the scoop about Debra's work.

Did Shelagh buy any?

Of course!

And, lovely sister that she is, she gave me two skeins! The one above is called "Strawberries & Poppies and is the most-sumptuously soft superwash Merino bulky loveliness. That one I'm saving for myself because it has all my favourite colours in it: ranges of pink from deep raspberry to pastel, oranges, yellows, and hits of green. I'm thinking a lovely, snuggly cowl.

The other is called "Peacock Hues."  Gorgeously green in a variety of shades ranging from off-white to a forest green. I'm so in love with this it's going to take me a while to "see" a pattern for it. In the meantime, I'll just drool over it as I watch Spring bring green back to our neighbourhood parks, lawns, and trees.

I'll try to talk Shelagh into writing an account of her travel knitting--of which she did a lot!--for next week.

Fashion Friday - How to Wear an Orange Cowl

 
Welcome to a new feature of our blog! In Fashion Friday posts, we'll take one item from our shop and show how you can wear it in a couple of different ways. We'll use items from our own closets because we think we have pieces most women would have.

For our first post, we'll show you how to wear the "Mean Tangerine" cowl. We know orange isn't a colour for everyone. But this time of year—Autumn in southern Ontario—we are seeing a lot of it in nature: leaves are changing; mums are in bloom; and pumpkins are everywhere. And this year orange is being seen in fashion magazines as a hot colour trend. So why not add a touch to your wardrobe? Here's how:

First, how about wearing this for a night out with the girls? We've paired this bright cowl with a couple this Fall's trends: an animal print topped with a black leather jacket. Accessories include black pumps and a black clutch. Sure, you will be seen. But an orange cowl will ensure you'll be noticed. 

Here's a completely different look with the exact same cowl. 

Our other look is much more casual, kind of a meeting-friends-for-coffee-after-running-errands look. Jeans, a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, and a gray boyfriend cardigan accessorized by a brown fringe bag and hiking boots. The orange cowl adds a pop of colour to a neutral wardrobe and is just the right size to keep you warm without getting too hot. Perfect! 

WIP Wednesday - Something New

I've been working on something new, at least for me. I've been writing out some of the patterns I've created! I have designed a few patterns when I couldn't find one I liked. I usually source stitches from 96 Stitches: Knit Stitch Guide by Rita Weiss, a small book I picked up from Michael's last year. And I also reference Youtube videos to watch someone actually making the stitch.

I found a free Pattern Template that I use on my Word-like program. And it has been set up so I really can't forget anything: tools, gauge, abbreviations, photos, charts. Everything is accounted for.

Mostly I'm writing  to track what I've done and figure out where some refinements can be made. It's kind of fun, actually! Some of my patterns have worked out really well and some, well, let's just say they need refining. So, Shelagh or I may reproduce the pattern to make sure it works.

So far I haven't yet created anything very complicated, so my patterns are generally only one page. I've written out three patterns so far, including one for boot toppers, pictured above. I've made a couple of pairs of these, but I need to re-create it to find the best yarn to use. But I've got high hopes for it!

Have you ever written out a pattern for sharing? What info should I make sure to include?

FO Friday - My Catching Fire Cowl

Yes, I read all the books in The Hunger Games series before the first movie was out. I loved them! Who doesn't love a strong lead woman character? But I'm not really a movie-goer, so it was a while until I saw the first film.

I had seen patterns for a really cool-looking "cowl" referencing Katniss and the series on Ravelry. I always liked these unusual cowls, but it wasn't until I saw Catching Fire on Netflix that I knew I had to make one for myself. Remember the scene near the beginning of the movie when Katniss is hunting in the restricted area outside of her town? She is by herself, exploring, listening to the quiet of the natural world. And she is wearing the most amazing gray cowl that is perfect for an archer.

Starting on the pattern.

Back to Ravelry, where I settled on Ashley McCauley's Catching Fire Cowl, which I set it aside until I could find the right yarn. And a few weeks later I found some beautiful superwash chunky by Sweet Georgia in the colourway "Terra Firma": gorgeous earthy burgundies, which suit me more than the gray Katniss wore.

The pattern calls for a Bulky yarn and my chunky made the finished version a little bit smaller than it could have been. And I have to admit it seemed incredibly tiny while I was working on it! But, once Shelagh added the crocheted edging, it seemed to be a more "normal" size. (Note to self: learn to crochet, willya?)

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out! What do you think? Do I look like an archer?

Manic Monday: Or, Why I Can't Get a WIP Going?

So why is today a "manic Monday"? Well, the last few weeks I've been trying to start a project, but every time I do, I end up frogging it. I just can't seem to find a pattern I like that shows of the gorgeous Madeline Tosh yarn in Jade colourway that I purchased a while back from our local yarn store, Soper Creek Yarns.

I wanted to make a scarf that would look great on a young man and could be "borrowed" by his girlfriend. Something not too girlie, not to masculine. None of the patterns I looked at seemed right, so I started looking through Stitch Guides.

First was a Mock Cable with broken rib between the cables. Nah! The edging doesn't look right and you can't really see the cable. But the broken rib part looks great! So. . . .

How about a scarf that is completely broken rib? Below is a photo of the back, which I love. In fact, it looks good on both sides, which is perfect for a scarf. But now I was worried I was making it too wide to make a long enough scarf. So I'll just start again with fewer stitches.

 But it just didn't look right . . . and it started to curl in a way it hadn't when it was wider. I think I'll make a cowl with it. Now if only I can find a pattern. . . . Any ideas?

FO Friday - Shades of Gray Infinity Scarf

Silver, steel, and charcoal altogether in one snuggly scarf and set off by a lovely wine-coloured edge.

Let's face it, knitting brings so many wonderful pleasures: it's relaxing (when it's going well!), it's creative, and it's social (how many of you belong to the Knitting Club in your local yarn store?). But no matter how much you already know, there's always more to learn. I love that! 

This project started after I found three skeins, each of a different shade of gray, in our local yarn store They were gorgeous and the softest yarn ever. I knew I had to have them. The yarn is a blend of 70% alpaca and 20% bamboo. It has the best of both those fibres: Incredible softness and springiness (loft) from the alpaca with the tiniest bit of sheen from the bamboo. 

And as is often the case, I didn't have a pattern in mind for this yarn, but I knew I had to make something that could be worn close to the skin—it's just so darn soft! I did find a pattern in a magazine that I adapted: simple garter stitch using three shades of gray and edged in a lovely wine colour.And that book seemed to be making headlines everywhere, so I arrived at the name easily.

Because the pattern was so simple, I didn't mind trying some new skills: the pattern called for a provisional cast-on,  a three-needle bind off, and a crochet edging to finish. I was so excited to try all of these (I did practice the provisional cast-on with some junk yarn first . . . I wanted to make sure I wouldn't do anything to the lovely alpaca yarn!). I was even more thrilled when I was successful with the cast-on and bind-off methods.

I never did get around to learning how to crochet though: Shelagh finished the edging for me. So this scarf really is a family product.And I guess I'm going to have to learn how to crochet sometime soon.  

WIP Wednesday - Mean Tangerine Infinity or Cowl

You might remember my post "Which comes first, the yarn or the pattern?" posted on October 8. Well, I have begun work on what I think will be a cowl in the gorgeous yarn I purchased at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair.

As I mentioned, the yarn is 100% Merino in a gorgeous variegation of oranges that just sing with happiness. After trying two different patterns and not liking either one, I decided to try a test swatch of a stitch I quite liked, called Tweed Stitch.

So, I knit up a test swatch on the needles I'll be using to make this lovely scarf to figure out the gauge and ensure I have adequate yardage to complete the project.

My test swatch sitting atop the photo of this glorious stitch pattern. Isn't it pretty?

I know I've made the right choice because I'm absolutely loving how this stitch is working with my yarn! A perfect balance of interesting stitch and gorgeous yarn.

After I did my test swatch, I figured out number of stitches per inch, tore out the swatch, measured the number of yards, and worked out how long and wide I could make this scarf based on that information.

Who knew I'd need arithmetic after all these years!?!

So now I've cast on the number of stitches I think I'll need and begun knitting what should be an infinity scarf . . . assuming my arithmetic is correct. I'll just have to see how it works out! I'll share soon on an upcoming FO Friday post.