Influential Knitter

A few months ago I posted on Instagram a photo of a lace shawl that I had inprogress. It garnered quite a few likes and some questions. The next day the pattern for this shawl was number one on Ravelry's 'Hot Right Now' list.  It's called sweet dreams. 

I was shocked. I have more influence on the knitting community than I realized. I must admit to being a little proud too. The timing of the thing was too perfect for it to have been a coincidence. 

Then when I visited the Yarn Harlots website I realized how delusional I could be.  She was knitting this shawl too. Independent of what I was doing, she had cast on for the exact shawl.   The Yarn Harlot! What was I thinking. Of course the 60 likes I had gotten on Instagram (still impressive in my books) couldn't be enough to influence the top 10 Hot Right Now on Ravelry. But it was really nice for that brief moment.  

I was inspired to cast this on after seeing it knit up in 100% mink yarn at Dartmouth Yarns in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  It was gorgeous. I purchased the exact same yarn. It was a little darker colour but that didn't matter. I also purchased the same colour glass beads from a store here in town. (There are several stores here that sell beads. We are lucky that way). 

I have no recipient in mind for this little shawl. It is so unbelievably perfect though. The mink. The colour. The beading. And of course the lace. Just look those points. 

The bindoff - as the yarn harlot noted - took forever.  But it was so worth it. 

I had purchased this little shawl pin from an etsy seller out of Montreal called Every Day Peacock.  It is so beautiful!!

And it suits this little shawl so very perfectly. It is the cherry on top of you will. 

By the way if you are in the market for shawl pins or even some very special stitch markers - do check this guy out. His packaging alone made the purchase worth it. I also purchased a really unique music themed pin as a gift for my daughter. It is so beautiful. 

The funny thing was both the Yarn Harlot and I cast on for these shawls about 18 weeks ago (according to Instagram)

And we are both finishing up at the same time even though this shawl didn't take that long to knit. She made many mods to her version making it much larger. I knit mine exactly as the pattern suggested. I did worry about running out of yarn towards the end but it all worked out. 

I wonder what this knitter will be casting on next? Keep looking at Ravelry's top ten. You never know what might show up next. 

Randomness

Well hello blog. Its been a while. I'm sticking to my story and blaming it on Instagram. I still knit, I still craft, I still take pictures of it all and I still want to share it with the online community. Like I've said before, it seems Instagram is filling that need. I don't even put my projects up on Ravelry with any regularity any more. Shhhhhhhh! I know, CRAZY!!

My whole desire to blog came about years ago as a way of documenting swap packages that I had made and received on Craftster. I can't tell you the last time I went on Craftster. I can't tell you the last time I was involved in a swap. Then the blogging more or less became a desire to document my crafting - a journal if you will. I keep telling the girls that when I'm gone (a long time from now hopefully) and the things that I've made for them are used up and worn out then at least they will always have this record to look back on. My digital footprint left for all my ancestors to see what an enterprising person their great great granny was. I still feel that way, and I still resolve to keep blogging even if I only have 9 followers.

So in that vein, here is what I've been up to the past month.

I knit a headband. The pattern is from Mel Clark's book Knitting Everyday Finery and I love it! This promises to be my most utilized knitwear to date. I wear it a lot because my hair is in a mess a lot. Its alpaca and silk and so far not too hot (mind you, we had snow yesterday, so everything is relative)



I blocked some finished projects. The stripey socks you'll recognize. The others are a cute little baby vest destined for some baby girl. The pattern is Milo and so versatile. Totally worth the few bucks that it cost. I love the little heart cable and I'll definitely be making this little pattern again. The orange beret is called "Meret". I did this as a KAL with some of the ladies on Instagram. Its made from my handspun. Its rather large on me but would likely fit my larger headed offspring no problem. I will likely gift this to her at some point.



I bought yarn! And OHMYGOD!!! Its all Socks that Rock. It is so beautiful!! All I want to do it look at it. Now thats wrong I know. I feel like buying a shadow box and framing them. I'm not sure what I'll make but right now I'm just enjoying the gorgeous colours. I think I may have fell down a rabbit hole when I joined that socks that rock club. I don't really want to knit with any other yarn. This could become dangerous.



I fixed a miss crossed cable on my Hope Springs Eternal socks from my Socks that Rock Club. I thought I could live with it, but 10 rows later it was still bugging me. I dropped those 6 or so stitches back and fixed it all - no problem. Pretty pleased with myself there.



And I finished spinning this beautiful yarn. This was spun from Rolags that I purchased from Blue Mountain Handcrafts on etsy. My first time spinning rolags and I really liked it.



Well thats my randomness for today. Hope all is well in your crafting world!

Bursting at the Seams!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks. Kev and I drove to Sherbrooke for Amy's convocation. It's hard to believe that she is finished her degree. Her time in Quebec has been wonderful. I'm going to miss going to Lennoxville/Sherbrooke. I can only imagine how she must be feeling. Here is a photo of the two of us on convocation day. It was such a great day. The weather was great, even the honorary doctorate speakers were awesome. We had such a great time. I am so proud of my daughter - I'm just about bursting at the seams! I had hoped to wear my orchid thief shawlette to the convocation. It would have matched my dress perfectly. But alas, I couldn't pull it together. I had plenty of time to finish it - but knitting lace while driving on a dirt road - not ideal lace knitting conditions! I did finish it when I got home and I couldn't be more pleased. Well, maybe I'd be more pleased if I actually had enough yarn to finish the bind off - but, oh well! I had to bind off in the fingering weight version of the Tanis Fiberarts yarn. I think this is my first full sized, lace weight shawl. It sits so nicely on my shoulders. Here it is on my kitchen table. Its quite large. And of course no vacation would be complete without souvenir yarn. I managed to fit in a quick visit to Lettuce Knit in Toronto where I bought (amongst other things) this gorgeous Tanis Fiber Arts yarn. I just love her colours so much! And I visited a spinning supply shop called the Fiber Garden in Jordan Station which isn't too far from Niagara Falls. I bought some lovely batts (er...amongst other things) while I was there. I can't wait to spin this stuff up!!

A Very Random Saturday

Its been a while since I last posted and I feel I'm over due. For some reason I only tend to post finished objects, not works in progress - so it would seem that I'm not doing too much, but I am - honest.

Now, I don't knit for Christmas - way too much pressure. I have been known to knit for Halloween though. Thats whats been taking up my time lately. I've been charged with the task of knitting a lobster costume for my nephew Colson. Last year, I did a duck costume, remember? After a search on Ravelry, I realized no knitted lobster costumes patterns in a toddler size were to be found. Believe it or not, there was an infant bunting bag pattern that is super cute, but no way would Colson put up with being bound up in that for Halloween, not anymore, since he is walking this year. So, I've been improvising my own pattern and so far so good. I've two mittens completed and almost finished the hat. Next up, legwarmers that somehow look like a lobster tail. Yeah, I've saved the best for last. And I have to finish this by tomorrow. Pictures of my success (or failure...eep...) to come later.

In other news, I've been so busy with Anne Hanson's Knitspot Fall into Colour Club!! I've completed Longshawdows. I wear it all the time. It is so beautiful and lightweight, yet warm enough.

This is a picture of it blocking - aggressive blocking makes all the difference. I just love the colours.

And here it is on my neck.

I've finished the knitting on the second pattern from the club too. Its called Hazeline. Its a top down, triangular shawlette pattern. I'm smitten with this too. I just have to graft the center stitches together, block it and I'll be good to go.
This isn't a great picture, it was taken in the dark with a flash. The colours are very sophisticated. I'll post a picture, post blocking. When I get a chance...too busy knitting a lobster.

And here are the mittens that I finished knitting for Sam. She loves them. I love knitting for people who really appreciate things. She was so grateful for the mittens and she's been wearing them ever since.

In an effort to try and document more WIPs I'll show you what I've been knitting. I started this hat my favorite designer Lee Meridith. Its called Wild is the Wind. She has a new ebook called Remixed - she is releasing a pattern each month. So far, I've received two patterns and I love both. Lee writes any gauge patterns - which I love! This hat is no exception. The pattern features twisted stitches and is so pretty. I just have to finish this lobster, so that I can finish the hat.

And finally, here are a couple of pictures of the latest addition to our family...well, not directly our family. I'm not sure I could take training two puppies right now. These two cuties belong to Aimee, Keith and Max. This is Bailey.

And this is Spike. I think they are insane, but I can't argue with the cuteness factor!

Going big!

I've been pretty monogamous to my fall club knitting, but its lace knitting on laceweight yarn and its getting a little tiresome. I've been hankering for some immediate gratification knitting. And this involves super bulky yarn with huge needles.

And since I'm still a few shawls short of my goal for 11 shawls in 2011, I was on the hunt for a bulky shawl. I just received my latest issue of Interweave Knits and loved the Pembroke Wrap.

I had to go out and buy yarn for it, and of course the selection is so darn limited here in Goose Bay. I ended up buying Bernat Roving This is normally not something I would buy as it is 80% acrylic, 20% yarn. But, I needed super bulky and I wanted it now. So, whats a girl to do. Of course, this will likely be gifted and thats a good thing since most of my giftees appreciate a washable item.

I do think I'll make this pattern again. It was so fast...like 3 hours fast! And next time, I may even spin a bulky yarn for it - that will make the gift even more personal.

In Fall into Colour Club knitting, I have finished Longshawdows. I just have to graft the two ends together. Then I can cast on for the next project in the club. Its called Hazeline!! Cant wait.

By the way, who says that acrylic blends don't block well? Here it is preblocking

And here it is post blocking. Not as nice as a 100% wool fiber, but still I think it blocked out rather nicely.

Fall in Full Colour

I am really enjoying Ann Hanson's Fall in Full Colour Club.

I've been pretty monogamous with knitting the first project. Its called Longshawdows, which is a great name since the colours do look like shawdows. Here is my progress so far.

It is such a great lace pattern and the yarn is stunning! This yarn is a custom blend made for club members by Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Its a laceweight merino, cashmere and silk blend.

I've also received my second shipment. I love this one too. Here is Morgan modelling it, since he thinks it looked like hair.

The pattern for this yarn is a triangular shawlette - which I love knitting. I'm resisting casting on until I finish the first one.

And in family news....guess who started hockey this week??

Too big!

Numbers 2 and 3

  The second finished project of 2011 is a hat.  The pattern is Spry from Knitty.  I knit it exactly as the pattern is written, using the same yarn (Noro Kuryeon) even.  I really enjoyed knitting this hat.  It features four intarsia panels in a colour changing yarn.  The designer also wrote a fingering weight version featuring 6 intarsia panels.  I think I'd like to knit this again.  I'm not sure who or where this hat will end up with, but my gift knitting for Christmas 2011 is off to a great start. 

Another item for my gift knitting box is this great Shawl that I finished.  FO number 3!  Its designed by Susanna Ic.  She designs these perfect little shawls that are so wearable.  Wear them like a shawl or a scarf or a kerchief.  I knit her Abrazo Shawl from twist collective last summer and I really enjoyed it.  I liked knitting this even more since it was done in a worsted weight yarn, knitpicks Andean Silk.  This is a wool/silk/alpaca blend and I really, really enjoyed knitting with it.  (Dangerous for me to even look at knitpicks website - way too tempting, and I'm trying to cut back...well...somewhat)

I'm always amazed at pre and post blocking pictures.  This one is no exception.  Can you believe that some people never block their work?

The picture on the bed is closer to actual colour.  Look at my yellow croc.   

And here is my attempt at an artistic shot off my back porch.  Sadly we don't have a lot of snow. 

The Joys of Blocking

Pattern is Abrazo from the most recent Twist Collective.  Its knit in knitpicks new tonal lace yarn, and I love it.  Its one of the first (if not the absolute first) attempts at lace knitting in a lace weight yarn.  I did find it difficult to get used to.  Its not like knitting with nose hairs, as its been suggested by other knitters opposed to knitting with lace weight, but it is a little tricky.  The results are stunning though, and definitely worth it. 

This pattern actually called for knitting in beads, which I omitted because I hadn't done that before either, but I might contemplate it at sometime.  This designer has a new pattern in knitty called Annis which is very similar to this one, except it uses nupps instead of beads.  I might try this one too. 


Can you believe that some people never block their work?  I'm sure that its not lace knitters.  Blocking this was a real joy, seeing how the pattern opened up.