Post Xmas Life...

I'm so excited that Christmas is over!! I'll have more highlights from my Christmas knitting in future posts. One project was an epic failure but it's fixable. 

I think.

Anyways! I'm more than a tad excited! I've been watching Ravelry projects for Prairie Knitting Yarn and have seen some super cute projects being made! When I dyed up Material Girl on BFL Sock I wasn't sure how it would knit up or if someone would even want to buy it. It's one of the crazier fun colorways I dyed and I loved it!

Here's a super wicked WIP pic of WoolDork's (Rav Id) Material Girl Socks :-)

I'm going to be posting follow up pics as she plugs through them :-) I love how they are knitting up and I hope she does as well!!

Happy Knitting :-)

Shaving Down Some Knitting...

It's getting close to crunch time for my christmas knitting and I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to accomplish :-( We'll see. I offered to give Christmas baking to my husbands coworkers this year. So each day I'm baking something and throwing it in the freezer. Then hopefully by Thursday I'll have enough variety of things to throw a gift basket together for the 6 dudes my husband works with. 

Anyways, in between baking batches I've been working on this:

Pattern: Emilien by Ariane Caron-Lacostee

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Heather Walnut & Black

It's my dad's Christmas sweater. It's a XXL size and I'm going to be adding some extra CO for under the arms to give it a little extra space. I decided to do this because last year when I knit it for my brother I noticed that it was a little tight under the arms and even though my brother loved his sweater I know my dad would like a little extra room. So I'll keep plugging away on it.

I've also been working on a bunch of other christmas knitting.  

I'm going to keep knitting and see if this pile dwindles down a bit.

Happy Knitting :-)

Recovering...

Today's post is going to be a bit brief. I'm just now recovered from having one of the worst bouts of the flu I have ever had. My toddler got it first, then about a day later I got it. We were both hurting so bad yesterday that the both of us just cuddled on the couch together under a blanket. Which if anyone knows how active my toddler is, is completely unheard of!

So today is my selfish knitting day. I'm working on a pair of Smokestack Socks for a Christmas gift. I consider it selfish knitting because I enjoy knitting this pattern.

Pattern: Smokestack Socks by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Black Witch Moth

I should be working on this sweater blob, but I'm just not into it today :-(

It's being stuck on sleeve island that has me loosing interest. It needs to be done but my ambition just isn't there. I'm halfway done the second sleeve and it's looking better than the 1st sleeve. I increases the amout of decreases and it seems to be working how I imagined. So that means that I'll have to rip out the 1st sleeve and redo it. Which if it was a worsted or Aran sweater would be no big deal but this sweater is knit in sport weight yarn and is a XXL size. Sigh. I love my Grandma :-) Beacause if it was anyone other than my Grandma...

Happy Knitting :-)

A Cute Little Fox :-)

Growing up my cousin was my best friend. There's only 7 months between us so we grew up together. We were constantly chatting, having sleep overs and confessing out crushes to each other. There were a lot of fun times. A lot of memories that I look back on now with fondness :-) As we grew older, each of us took our path and kept in touch. We started our families :-) 

It's amazing that her daughter is 1 year old already! I had knit her 2 Sunnysides in Garnet just over a year ago when we were waiting or her to be born. It's crazy how time flies. 

Isn't she just the cutest!

So when I asked what Marabel needed for her birthday, my cousin asked for a knitted mitten and toque set in garnet. She had loved the sweaters I knit her and wanted it to match. 

It didn't take me long to find a suitable mitten and toque pattern. I fell in love with Foxy Wolfie & the Fox Mittens patterns. So I ordered a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Garnet and Natural. 

It took me a couple days to knit. Not because the patterns were difficult but I had to do a bit of thinking and decifering with the Fox Mittens pattern. I knit then ripped out. Then did it again. I had to take a quick break then come back to it. Like half a day break. But once I figured it out I banged out the mittens pretty quickly. You can check out my projects page to see what minor mods I did on the Foxy Wolfie toque. Nothing major but it makes the 3 needle bind off look way better down the road.

The set turned out super cute :-) I'm very pleased with them! I hope they are well received! 

The only minor thing that happened was that when I threw them in the wash some of the red from the garnet bled onto the white. I fixed that though. I just threw it in the washing machine again with a bit of Synthrapol and half a cup of bleach and it cleaned up the natural yarn quite well. 

My daughter might be in need of a new toque now! I should have enough of the garnet left for another toque yet :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Ombre Revisited...

My Ombré has been completed since 2012. It's been worn many times and is perfect to wear with a tank top and a pair of jeans. This was the first sweater I knit from lace weight yarn and I loved the light lofty feel of the fabric. It's the perfect sweater to wear when I need a lighter sweater to wear.

The funny thing is that I never added buttons to it since it's completion. I had several options but none seemed right, or I didn't have enough of one type for the sweater. I decided to remedy that a couple weeks ago. I was searching for buttons for my Lady Sunnyside when I remembered I still needed buttons for my Ombré  Then I immediately remembered these beautiful glass flower buttons I bought years ago. I had disregarded them because I didn't have enough. I pulled them out of the button jar and took a look of how they would look on the sweater. 

They were perfect! Although I was short 1 button. I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to find the same button anymore. I had boughten them on Etsy about 2 years ago. What are the odds that the shop is still open it if they still have this exact button?

Pretty good, apparently. 

I was able to buy another set of the exact buttons and they arrived within about 10 days :-) As soon as I got them they were sewn on. 

Pattern: Ombré by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Pink Label in Sand and Velvet Chocolate OOAK

Buttons: Vintage Glass Flower Buttons

They are beyond perfect! I'm so happy with the overall look :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

FO : Lady Sunnyside

Over the years my go to pattern for baby gifts is Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee  It's simple yet has just enough detail so it keeps your attention. I've knit 6 so far!

Yarn From Top Left : Woolen Rabbit Oasis in Violette, assorted Louet Gems Fingering & Sport, the next 2 photos in Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label in Garnet, Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Purple Spotted Swallowtail, Woolen Rabbit Opal in Blush

Sooooo... I was super pumped when I saw that Tanis was making an adult version of her Sunnyside sweater! I saw this photo and I was super psyched! I patiently waited for the pattern to come out. It seemed like forever. Then when it came out I was beyond excited that she offered it for FREE the first week! So I immediately downloaded it and started contemplating yarn choices. 

I decided on Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Truffle. It was beyond perfect :-) I also joined the Lady Sunnyside KAL in the Tanis Fiber Arts Ravelry Group  I wasn't able to finish it in the time allotted but I'm just happy that I was able to get some selfish knitting in for myself ;-) It is beyond perfect!

The only minor modifications I made were: 

- I casted on 8 stitches for the underarm portion which is for the largest size not for the size I knit. Then I would get a little more room for my arms. Then I knit according to the pattern.

- I finished the increase section for tr waist shaping. Then worked straight until it reached my hips in length. I then added 2 more increase repeats so it would fit over my bum. Then I worked straight until I was happy with the extra length.

Not much for mods. I like my sweaters a bit longer so they fit over my bum :-)

I love this sweater and it bloomed out wonderfully when I washed it and dried it. I also found the most beautiful and perfect buttons for it from Chasing Fire Studios while I was at the Calgary Fibre Arts Fair! 

I was so glad that I was able to knit myself something because from now until Christmas it's crunch time to get all my Christmas knitting done! I have everything planned but we'll see if I can get it all done. 

XX Fingers Crossed XX

Happy Knitting :-)

Goodies From The Calgary Fibre Arts Fair...

I've been looking forward to the Calgary Fibre Arts Fair since the summer and the last week I've been counting down the days :-) This is the first one and I was very pleased with it! I was a little disappointed that there were only a few vendors but it can only get bigger every year :-) 

I took a few pictures of a couple of the booths and my favourite items!

The first booth I came across was the Danware booth. They had an abundance of yarn bowls, knit buddy skein holders, and hand lathed knitting needles. The prices were very reasonable, and my friend Lori was able to score a pair of needles. They were beyond beautiful.

I fell in love with the gorgeous braids at the Dragonfly Dyewerx booth. I've boughten from her etsy store before and was very pleased with her yarn :-) We had a wonderful little chat and she sold quite a few items! I had to come back to get this photo and she had sold quite a few braids already!

I had taken a few photos and this is the only one that I could get when there wasn't a pile of people scrambling to grab yarn ;-)

I then skirted over to the Little Barn Studio table and they had a wonderful assortment of braids as well. 

I kept looking at this braid! It was calling my name. 

Although I had already bought some roving and some beautiful buttons. By then the budget was blown ;-)

This was the first purchase I made. I saw the Spin Candy Rainbow Merino Felt Packs from KathFish Fibre Arts and I just had to buy all 3. I'm not planning on felting them but instead I'll spin them. My plan is to eventually make a sweater for my toddler. Although since I'm in the mist of christmas knitting it will have to wait until next year.

Next up? My favorite booth there! I kept going back. Over and over again. I chatted to the Chasing Fire hop owner for a bit towards then end and she helped me find some buttons that would work for a WIP. 

Her buttons were a complete hit and stock dwindled very fast! I was able to buy 2 sets.

The grey/blue ones are for a project I'm finishing up but I bought the blue / green ones on impulse. My button collection is completely out of control and soon I'm going to have to buy yarn to match my buttons ;-)

At the same table was Tamara. She has her own Etsy store Daddysgirl . I was chatting with her for a bit and I was completely enthralled with her Hansen Crafts Mini Spinner. She did all the carving herself. She's the only approved vendor to alter the Hansen Crafts Mini Spinner. So if anyone is interested in a customized Mini Spinner get in contact with her :-)

Tamara also makes these beyond gorgeous bags :-)

I'll definately be going back next year. I had so much fun :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

A Taste of the Rainbow...

Since the last post I've been weaving a bit here and there. It's taken me a little while to get into the "groove" of weaving with a rigid heddle but, overall, I've got the hang of it now. The first few rows are a bit sketchy but it's my first project on this loom so I'm happy with how I'm progressing so far :-)

After my last post I was able to find a bolt but it was a smidgen too big. Like maybe 1mm so it wouldn't fit in the hole. I checked all the hardware stores in my town and there were no bolts smaller than 1/4" x 3". Which was a bummer. So I had my husband widen 1 hole in my loom to accommodate this bigger bolt. It works and now my Loom is on the stand :-)

It's a good thing that I waited to warp my rigid heddle. It was definately a 2 person job and I had my husband help me with it. He was beyond flabbergasted of why anyone would weave when it takes so long to set up. If I was a pro it wouldn't have taken 2 hours. I would rather take the extra time and make sure that it's as close to perfect for my skill level, then whip through it and mess up the whole project. But other than that he was a great assistant ;-)

As soon as the warp was on, I was getting my bobbins wound and ready to go. I got to weaving and did the first couple inches in black before I went to bed for the evening :-) 

Then the next morning I was obsessed with weaving and whipped through a good 7 colors of my gradient. 

This is where I've left off. There has been a bit of progress here and there but not too much. I'm in a groove to finish my Lady Sunnyside. 

I've finished the yoke, sleeves and about 5" of the body so I'm hoping to knit as much of the body as possible tomorrow :-) I would like to actually finish a TFA KAL. My track record isn't so good ;-)

 

So hopefully I'll have progress or FO pics of my Lady Sunnyside in the next post! Fingers Crossed! 

Happy Knitting :-)

Warping Through Nap Time...

I've been tossing around ideas for my 1st weaving project on my Kromski Harp and today I finally came to a decision :-) I was inspired by my test dyeing I did months ago!

I dyed up mini skeins of worsted yarn to test out each dye I purchased and I got a wonderful gradient :-) So I figured that this would be the perfect project. Full of color for a plain basket weave scarf! 

I had a bit of a problem deciding on a color for the warp. I don't have many skeins of plain natural colored yarn. My stash is full of bright jewel tones :-) So while tossing the stash, I was contemplating color combos but nothing was 'right'. Then I opened another rubbermaid container and right on top was a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts 75/25 merino silk fingering yarn in Sand. It was perfect :-)

I got right to warping. I flipped over my Kromski Harp, put the pegs in and started working in my warp. There was a minor disaster just before the end. One of the pegs loosened up and bit and went in an angle. Which in turn, allowed about 10 or so rounds to flip off and go all willy nilly into a giant knot. 

Surprisingly, I wasn't discouraged. Don't get me wrong I swore damn good but I didn't freak. I spent a few minutes detangling and rewinding the ball, then kept on going on my warp. 

All went well after that. I tied off everything. Tied off the cross in a different yarn and chained up my warp. Then I was ready to put the warp on my rigid heddle loom. That's when I realized that I was missing 1 of 4 bolts for my stand. 

So the search started. I've come to the conclusion that it's disappeared into the black hole of missing objects of the world. Right now it's chilling with all the missing stitch markers, dpn's and odd socks. I know I don't NEED to have this bolt to warp my loom but it's really more of a point of frusteration with me. I'm a Type A person that likes to have everything taken care of before I start something. Otherwise it will just bug the crap out of me the whole time. 

Plus, my daughter was due to get up from her nap. There is no way I'm going to start warping when my toddler is running amuck the house. That's a giant disaster waiting to happen ;-)

So hopefully I'll be able to get started on it tonight or tomorrow.

Happy Knitting :-)

Knitting Amiss the Chaos...

Not much on the docket today! I did my errands first thing this morning and was back in time for toddler nap time :-) I'm a little surprised she napped for about an hour. 

YES!!!! 

Anyways, I'm making progress on Lady Sunnyside!! I was finally able to get a photo showing the color as accurate as possible :-) I love this colorway!!

 

I'm currently working on the sleeves. Which are knitting up quite quickly. I still consider it sleeve island just because it's stockinette but at least it's not sport weight yarn ;-)

Right now I've decided to knit amiss the chaos. Tell me everyone that has a toddler has their house looking like this at least one day a week!

I just can't justify picking it all up when I know my tornado of a toddler will come ripping through in a few minutes. As soon as I post this post, I'm going to let her loose. Since I can hear her having a detailed conversation with herself in her crib right now ;-)

Happy Knitting :-)

And A Month Flies By...

The last month has been a little crazy. My daughter was teething like crazy. She had 4 molers pop in which made me want to cry out in frusteration and exhaustion. They took  just over 2 weeks to come in. Now she has her eye teeth popping in. 1 has cracked the gums the other 3 are at various stages of bumping out. Mom's just don't get a break! 

So during that time there hasn't been too much knitting time. When my daughter was awake she turns into a little monkey and when I crack out my knitting she likes to crawl all over me ;-) So the only knitting time I've gotten is when she's napping (which is few and far between these days) or when she's down for the night. Which is also spuratic. Sometimes she's down at 8pm sometimes she's up until 11pm. 

So saying that here's my knitting progress :-)

Yarn : Pandia's Jewels Glitz in Beam Me U , Pandia's Jewels Snug in illogical and Resistance is Futile, Univeral Yarn Pace in Steel

Pattern : my standard tie up recipe.

 I wanted to use up all of the scraps from my Star Trek inspired yarns so I'm going to keep doing stripes until I run out of yarn :-) This is my small portable mindless knitting project. It gives me a break from the next project when I need a POP of color :-)

Yarn : Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Charcoal

Pattern : Etching by Linda Wilgus
 

This is my giant sweater blob. I'm close to finishing it and may or may not have enough yarn. I'm going to be cutting it close, so I'm deviating from my initial plan for this sweater. I originally wanted to do a shawl collar but because of this issue I've decided to leave the button band stitches on the waste yarn and work the sleeves first. Then I can work the button band / collar until I run out of yarn. I hope there's enough yarn for a shawl collar but I'll have to see how it turns out.

Yarn : Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Truffle

Pattern : Lady Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee

I really enjoy knitting with this yarn :-) The color is great and I can't seem to get the color right in any of my photos. It's so rich in person :-) The pattern is well written and simple. I'm further along than what shows in the photo. I've just finished the waist shaping and started working on the sleeves. My plan is to finish the sleeves then use up all the yarn in length. 

I'm quite excited to begin the button search for this sweater. I'm determined that this sweater is for me :-)

Lastly, here's a photo of my spinning progress from this ast month :-) I'm quite pleased with myself and my progress! My only problem is that I get in the groove of spinning and my bobbin looks all lumpy :-( I'm seriously considering buying a WooLee Winder :-) Maybe for Christmas!! I'll have to send some hints to my husband ;-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Stagnant No More...

So about 2 years ago I bought a loom. I had my mind made up on what kind of loom I wanted. I had my heart set on a 32" Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom so I bought it. I got it pretty quickly, which I was happy about! Then I put the box in my spare bedroom (AKA : the craft room) and there it stayed for a year. 

About a year ago, I was cleaning / organizing my craft room and I found it again! So I spent a little bit of time assembling it. Then it went back into the spare room closet. 

Where it still resides today. The loom stand has been living on my filing cabinets!

So I decided that this year I was going to figure out how to use my loom. I bought a couple books and flipped through them. It's an extreme under statement to say that I was overwhelmed with all the steps. It was then that I figured I needed to find a guild. Queue in Ravelry. I created a post in the Red Deer group to find a guild in Red Deer / Central Alberta and I got a response :-) 

So I attended my first meeting as part of the Parkland Handweavers Guild and it was a lot f fun. The ladies are all very nice :-) So now I'm on my way to accomplishing this goal I set for myself. I got to check out some of the WIP's they have on their looms for the guild and I was beyond inspired.

 

I have aspirations to be this good in the future :-) Maybe the distant future ;-) 

Happy Knitting :-)

I'm not ready for this...

Today marks the first day if snow here! The title is fully explainatory of how I feel about this. It's a total bummer. Where did summer go? 

The only good thing about snow is seeing our Blue Heeler Lola experience the first snowfall of the season. She goes completely batty and runs, jumps, prances, and acts pretty much psychotic when she sees snow. It's quite hilarious and makes me smile everytime. Who knew that a dog that came from Mexico would love snow so much :-)

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen this already, but I finished my Smokestack Socks :-) 

Pattern: Smokestack Socks by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: Beam Me Up by Pandia's Jewels on Glitz  

This pattern was a lot of fun to knit. The only minor modification I made was to mirror the front and back of the socks so that the cables ran down the sides. I'm very happy with how they turned out :-) I know my brother will love them. 

I also have some scraps left over of each of the 3 Star Trek yarn so I've decided to use them up in a pair of stripy socks for my brother as well. I just couldn't bear to toss them.  Although I don't have enough to knit up a pair of socks using just the scraps, so a I did some stash diving and pulled out a lone skein of Universal Yarns Pace in Steel.

Yarns: Pandia's Jewels Snug in Resistance is Futile, illogical and Beam Me Up on Glitz. Universal Yarns Pace in Steel.

I really don't have a plan yet on what's going to happen with the stripes. I'm just going to wing it for most of it. I'm planning on using up all the yarn if I can. I'm also considering working both socks at the same time on separate DPN's so I can evenly distribute the yarn as I go. We'll see how they turn out :-)

On the Etsy Shop News : I'm offering free Worldwide Shipping on all purchases over $100 :-) Just use Coupon Code - FREESHIPPING100 when you check out! 

Now I'm off to knit a bit with my coffee :-)

Happy Knitting :-)

Score!!!!!.....

I'm pretty excited today :-) I had one goal and that was to go back to the Red Deer Market today to get more Polypay Arcott Roving from A&B Fiberworks. I was a bit worried that there wouldn't be anymore left but I pushed it to the back of my mind and beelined for the booth as soon as we got there. 

I love all the fibery goodness in this booth :-) The natural colored skeins!

The abundance of roving :-)

That bag is mine :-) I bought what was left of the Polypay Arcott roving, which was 1 lb & 12oz. Although Anne assured me that she had more stashed at their Fiberworks headquarters ;-) So if your interested in procuring some, they should have some at the next farmers market next weekend ;-) Or you can check out their website and contact them to order!

So overall it was a fabulous day :-) I'm going to pull out the wheel now and spin a little!

Happy Spinning :-)

Fabulous :-)

Today is one of those days where I woke up in a great mood! Even though it was a bit chilly this morning and we actually had to turn on the furnace. How can it not be a wonderful day :-) My daughter is full of smiles and gives me big bear hugs! 

I've decided to share the love today :-) I'm offering free shipping until Sunday on all purchases in my Etsy Shop :-) Just use coupon code FREESHIPPING !!

 Now I'm off to knit on my Smokestack Socks  I'm so close to casting off I can taste it. I'm going to dedicate my knitting time to getting these done :-) 

I've already wound yarn to cast on another project ;-) I just can't seem to contain myself! Although I promised myself I wouldn't do any more stash diving today! I really can't be casting on a new project every day!

Happy Knitting :-)

Toss Stash, Wind Yarn, Cast On, Repeat.....

I'm a bit out of control!!  

When I wasn't feeling well I didn't really knit or spin. Now that I'm back to 100%, I'm having a hard time FOCUSING on one project. I have the insatiable urge to cast on project after project. Even though I had 3 projects on the go already. 

There's my Baba's sweater, which has been marinating for a while. I like the yarn, I like the pattern. I'm not keen on the endless stockinette using sport weight yarn. Also, since it's a dark colored yarn. I find I can only knit on it during the day. So I can see the stitches. I really need to get going on this since it's September and I'm sure she wants to wear it this fall / winter. 

I have my Vector  which I'm knitting with beautiful one of a kinds from Tanis Fiber Arts  These were marinating in my stash for a few years before this perfect pattern came along. Love the pattern :-) Love the yarn :-) It's perfect mindless knitting! It's just sometimes I need something more than garter stitch. 

That's why I cast on a pair of Smokestack Socks in my last skein of Star Trek yarn from Pandia's Jewels  The pattern is easily memorizable and addictive. I'm working the leg on the second sock but sometimes you just want to knit something new :-)

I just couldn't help myself yesterday. I saw this project on my Rav Friends Feed and instantly fell in love with it! Then I immediately started searching my Rav stash and found the perfect yarn! I'm using 2 skeins of Penelope by Spirit Trail Fiberworks in the Deep Ocean colorway. The base is 50% Bombyx Silk and 50% Merino. Which means that it's 100% AWESOME!! It's so soft and perfect to knit with :-) Sadly this base is discontinued but if your interested there are some skeins being destashed on Ravelry. 

Back to the project, I casted on ASAP after winding up the skeins. The only modification I made was to cast on 70st so I could make a wider scarf. I'm enjoying knitting it so far :-) 

Happy Knitting :-)

Spin, Spin, Spin...

I'm so glad I'm feeling way better today :-) I'm keeping a positive outlook because sometimes you can get caught up in the negative when your not feeling well. 

One thing that keeps me happy and positive? Spinning :-) I was super excited for my toddler to go to bed last night so I could whip out my wheel. I decided that I would start by spinning the Polypay x Arcott roving. It's very beautiful to spin. A short staple that is light and lofty. I'm spinning it very finely to get either a sport or a fingering weight. I have plans to buy some more next weekend at the farmers market. If I'm able to secure another pound or two I would love to spin up enough for a sweater. So far it's coming along great :-) 

Then I can decide what color I want to dye it after :-)

Happy Spinning :-)

Stockpile...

I haven't been feeling well lately. Not sure what's up but I decided to go to the farmers market with my mom and sister today. It was great!! It's been a while since I've been to the farmer's market and I was a bit surprised to come across the A&B Fiberworks booth. I left with a huge bag of roving.

Top White Roving - Polypay x Arcott Wool roving. I got a pound of it and it's very soft :-)

Dark Brown Roving - Shetland Roving. There's about 8.5oz.

Silver Roving and Dark Brown Roving - Alpaca. There's 6oz of each. 

I absolutely love marbled rovings. The 2 alpaca rovings have wonderful marbling. I'm undecided what to spin first. I've been absolutely giddy since buying all this. It only cost me $52 for it all!!!! 

So now I'm counting down the hours until my wee one goes to bed so I can pull out my wheel! In the mean time I've wound them up.

This picture doesn't do it justice. The Polypay x Arcott ball is WAYYY bigger than a basketball. There's some veggie matter in them but they are easily removable since it's pretty much predrafted! 

So.....there's only 1.5 hrs until bedtime.....it's going to drag on forever ;-)

Happy Spinning!!