I'm a Little Tea Pot All Dressed Up...

What to do with left over yarn? Found this great little pattern at www.patonsyarns.com.

Sh*t Knitters Say

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Tx32hwJ28

Too funny!

Have Knits, Will Travel

Have knits, will travel. Absolument! Denying a knitter her needles and yarns, especially while on vacation, is like taking caffeine out of coffee. Honestly, do people really drink that stuff?

I was in Paris recently and thought I'd share the following pics with my knitting peeps.

The following picture is entitled... "Sock Over Paris". Here we are on top of l'Arc de Triomphe. 284 steps up and we were triumphant!

Here I am knitting on the back steps of Sacre Coeur. How can you not get inspired in this beautiful city?!

Managed to talk my husband into visiting a couple of yarn shops. A search on the internet quickly provided several options. The following site was very useful in narrowing down my search - http://www.planetpurl.com/community/blogs/travel_paris/. I love when someone else does the work for you :)

A bientot!

Surrender Yer Yarn!

This is a pattern I developed a while back. It's my pirate hat :)

SURRENDER YER YARN!

Chickadee!

Just finished my "chickadee" hat from Colorwork Creations (see previous post). Don't know about you but I just LOVE Chickadees!

Book Picks

I must admit to being overly obsessed with books... especially knitting books.

2 books I just added to my already obese library:

The Sock Club by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott is a MUST have for sock knitters. The patterns are creative, challenging and absolutely to dye for :)

Anyone who knows me will tell you how crazy I am for fairisle/colorworks designs. The following book contains a multitude of woodland inspired projects such as hats, mittens and gloves. I fell in love with the front cover hat pattern which I plan on knitting soon. Click here to check out Colorwork Creations by Susan Anderson-Freed.

Socks, Socks and More Socks!

A few winter projects...

Quite the pair. The blue pair was knitted with 100% wool. The pattern, I took from the Favorite Socks book by Interweave Press and is called Merino Lace Socks (designed by Anne Woodbury. The design flows nicely down the heel which makes it perfect for clogs.

The other pair was knitted with Koigu kpppm. The pattern was taken from the same book and is called Waving Lace Socks (designed by Evelyn A. Clark).

The following pair displays a beautiful A symmetrical design. This particular design is called "kai-mei", named after a famous female physicist and can be found in Cookie A's Sock Innovation book.

In the works...

I'm currently working on this pair which pattern I took from Cookie A's Sock Innovation and is called "vilai". This pattern is both challenging and fun to knit.

Baaabs' Apron

Baaabs, the Lantern Moon Scissor Holder Sheep, is sporting her new apron. Just received it today from Paradise Fibers. It is THE accessory for the fall. Now, I will always be able to find my cable needles; how great is that!

Bacchus Socks

Just finished this cute pair. For this project, I followed Alice Bell's Bacchus Sock pattern from Interweave Knits Fall 2008 collection. The yarn is a Merino(70%)/Tussah silk(30%) blend from Paradise Fibers which was spun by yours truly. :) This was a fun pattern to knit. The inside of the leg is in a twisted rib pattern while the outside has a vine with bobbles for flowers. Tres cool!

Dye Day

Had a fun day dyeing rovings. I achieved the colors by injecting dye solutions into the wool rather than dipping or soaking it. I think I will turn them into sock yarn.

Trixie, tired of waiting for me to come out and play, decided to take a nap ;)

Aran Knits

Just finished my Aran Cardigan. For this one, I recycled wool from an old project. The pattern is from Hayfield's Favourite Aran Knits 2.

Pardon Me, I Didn't Knit That 4 You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUOgqefnt_I

Blueberry Jam Cardigan

Just finished the Blueberry Jam Cardigan kit from Shelridge Farm (another wonderful Canadian yarn company). This 100% wool cardigan (worsted weight) is made up of 6 separate pieces: 2 front, 2 back and 2 sleeves. Also, as it's a slip pattern, only one color at a time. Here are some pics...

Now onto the next project... I have a beautiful Cotswool fleece which I have already washed, combed and spun. I'm thinking cables this time ;c)

Dave the Knitter

I recently met Dave while visiting my friend Diana in Ottawa. She was hosting one of her regular Wednesday evenings knitter's group. She introduced me to Dave, a work colleague and more recently, a new knitter. I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Dave belongs to a "Toastmasters group" and was kind enough to, not only let me hear his latest speech (which won him a club level contest), but he let me tape it as well. Now bear in mind, I am a knitter/spinner, not a videographer ;c) Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

P.S. "Bear", the golden retriever featured in my previous post, makes an impromptu appearance near the end of the video.

Doggie Spins: Bear

A few months ago, my friend Ross handed me 3 grocery bags full of Bear's fur to turn into yarn. Since this was such a large order, I had Bear's fur processed (into rovings) at Wellington Fibre Mill in Elora, ON (Canada). As Bear is a golden retriever, I had his fur blended with border leicester wool and a small amount of mohair to had a bit of luster. Once processed, the rovings weighed 789 grams (or 1.74 lbs) and looked beautiful. Ross' better half, Diana, who will be turning my yarn into knits decided on worsted and sock weights.

Here's a picture of what I have accomplished so far...

Go to QUICK LINKS (left side panel) for more doggies spins, knits, and tails

Sakiori II (Short Version)

Above is my version of the Sakiori II (short version) vest which pattern I found in Interweave Folk Vests by Cheryl Oberle. This was a special order for a friend ;c) For this project, I used the Noro Silk Garden Yarn which I found suited the pattern quite well. I modified the pattern slightly and replaced the original ties with a button - which, by the way, is made from the branch of a deer antler; how cool is that!

Sockies

The red socks were a special order. I used the "Cauchy" pattern by Cookie A. from the Sock Innovation book. I've since knitted many patterns from this book and would highly recommend it to all sock lovers.


The blue socks were a gift for my friend Pam who was kind enough to send me a picture ;c) The pattern is called "Waving Lace Socks" (Evelyn A. Clark) from Favorite Socks Book by Interweave Press. The yarn was made from hand dyed rovings which were spun by yours truly ;c)

Another awesome book is The Joy of Sox by Linda Kopp (Oct 2009) which features 30+ must knit designs.

Curiously Clever Clogs

I knitted these during the holidays and used the lopi wool I had purchased during my last visit at Wellington Fibres (Elora, ON). The pattern I got from Stitch Diva Studios and is called "Curiously Clever Clogs".

The first photo is the before and after - how cool is that!



They are very comfortable and especially warm. I wear them all the time ;c)

Show and Tell

I knitted this beautiful Debbie Bliss sweater (shawl collared pattern) using SRK Perth (70% Merino, 30% Acrylic). I've knitted this pattern twice before. I love following Debbie's pattern instructions - always clear and easy.

Shearing Day

Last Friday was shearing day at Cindy's farm. It was a beautiful day for shearing. I got a beautiful brown merino (lamb) fleece which I can't wait to spin. Following are pics which I took during shearing...

I wanted to take this little guy home so badly - isn't he the cutest!