northern adventure

Last weekend I visited my Aunt in North Bay, probably one of my favourite places on the planet! We did all the usual northern Ontario stuff; lake swimming, canoeing, wandering through the forest...and I went bonkers taking pictures...











My cousin's camp in the middle of nowhere, really. We drove for an hour deeper and deeper into wilderness on beautiful country roads. I even saw my first moose on the way in, cute! Most impressive, I think, is that she and her family built the entire structure from the ground up. They live there for most of the summer without running water or electricity. Sigh, so dreamy!
They have a few ponds on their huge property that are a home for many happy geese and beavers, frogs and countless other cute little creatures.

And here is a view of my aunt's beautiful beach! I took these pictures around dusk on an overcast day. The light was so crazy pretty, how could I resist?!
The water level is really low this year, so all the little plants are new. I really loved these cute little star shaped flowers.











Needless to say, it was a great weekend. I always return from North Bay feeling so relaxed and energized...and I got so much knitting done too! So much so that I managed to finish my Charlie sweater!

I love it! I'd say this sweater has the perfect balance of vintage style and simplicity. So pretty and comfortable, and crazy easy to knit too! I can't wait to wear it when the weather cools off, and am already planning more. I have the Holst Garn Isabelle sent me, so I will certainly knit another with that yarn. But I've also begun to envision a longer tunic/dress version. I'm also so happy with how the yarn looks and feels. Knit to this looser gauge it is so smooshy and soft, and the colour combo is perfect! The stripes are apparent, but not intense; they blend together just a little and I love it!

sweater # 7 is back on track!

After a few days of fussing I've decided that the lovely little puffy sleeved tee I was knitting (don't think I blogged about it, but it sure was lovely!) needed to be ripped and knit over again in my own yarn. I'm knitting this adorable sweater as a test knit for a friend on Rav, and she was SO nice to send me some of the yarn she knit it in! I'm for sure going to knit another in the original Holst Garn, but I'm on a mission to knit my yarn at the moment. And I suppose this is a good time to mention why...I will be appearing at my first ever trade show this fall (YAY, HOORAY!), the KW Knitter's Fair! So I will be knitting like crazy on some pretty samples for the show.

Anyway, here is a look at my second attempt at Charlie...








...And here is the beautiful original that I love so much!

Just in case you are interested, there are a few new items up on the Etsy store. I've been adding them slowly for the past few days. Hope you find something you like!

one more WIP

I've cast on another non-sweater knit. Loosing self control!

I've wanted to knit Laura Chau's lovely over the knee socks for quite some time now. And just the other night, I finally caved and cast on in my sock yarn. I was totally inspired by these lovelies...odd, because I don't usually like red...



Anyway, I'm knitting my pair in Marigold and the toes and heels will be Nut Brown. The colour combo is so lovely, and I'm really looking forward to the miles of stocking stitch ahead of me; I love brainless knitting!

I also manages to take some finished pics of my new hat...











...The last photo is the original hat, and the rest are my reproduction. I love it! Think I'll knit another in a fingering weight yarn perhaps...
I forgot to mention last time that this hat is officially known as my Coureurs de Bois hat. A very cunning friend told me once that I looked like a Coureurs de Bois in my favourite hat. I took this as just about the highest compliment one can receive and have ever since referred to it as such. So maybe my reproduction has to be names Coureurs de Bois #2?

Happy knitting!!

Shetland Triangle. Blocked.

At long last something is entirely finished...man, such a great feeling!

I knit a beautiful Shetland Triangle for my mother's birthday last weekend. Man, what a fun pattern...I'll be knitting more for sure! And now this cute little shawl is sitting neatly blocked with it's ends woven in just waiting to be worn. Here are some pictures I took this afternoon...














Oh yes, and there are a few new things up on Etsy. Some of my favourite colours in the merino/nylon sock base as well as just a tiny bit of Silky DK...

It's not a sweater...

I seem to be panicking slightly over my 12 sweaters in 2010 plan. I was cruising along so well until...sweater #7 I guess...where I made one tiny mistake, and then my mind wandered and now I am completely distracted! Ack! I feel lost in a sea of small project ideas; I'm yearning for hats, mitts, shawls and socks, and I caved just a little...take a look...





very pretty and sophisticated fingerless mitts in Viola Fancy Sock, colour Mineral


These little gloves are knitting up so quickly. I'm improvising the simple pattern as I go along, and I think I'm going to get 2 pairs from just one skein, yowza! I've knit a simple picot hem at both edges, an afterthought-ish thumb hole and just a tiny bit of shaping to pull them in at the wrist. They fit great, look great and best of all they are so darn fast to knit!

I've also just woven in ends on a WIP that has been ongoing for SO LONG! Sometime in the dead of winter, I decided it would be fun to knit a toque-type thing in lace weight yarn. Needless to say, this poor hat sat untouched for long periods of time. I modeled it after a store bought (hiss, hiss) hat that I can't help but love, and get so many compliments on. I've yet to take finished pictures because the poor little hat desperately needs to be blocked; it sat jammed into a tiny project bag for months and now looks more like a fuzzy lump than a hat. Here's a peek anyway, at the 4 inches of ribbing that I knit on 2mm needles!!!!!!!



The yarn I used is Misti Lace in the little 50g skeins. I think I had around 14 grams leftover when all was said and done.

And finally, check out this AMAZING colour that emerged from my dyepot on Friday. It is actually very similar to Mushroom, so I've named it Magic Mushroom, and I love it! Oh, and out of focus in the bottom picture are 2 hand made wooden mushrooms I bought at a little market/crafty thing on the weekend. Cute right?!

and I'm back!

well, I never actually left...just neglected the blog for a couple weeks. Sorry folks!

First off, I just posted a small update the the Etsy shop! Mostly sock yarn in some very fun colours (I think). I've been in a bit of a neutral place lately, but still could not resist a bit more orange. I'm still getting used to my new "job" (really doesn't feel like one) so please bear with me. My plan for the very near future includes much more frequent shop updates!

Check out this incredibly exciting news! My Silky Dk yarn, a 50/50 blend of superwash merino and silk, was featured in the latest Knitty roundtable! And they liked it, WOO HOO, YAY, HOORAY! You'll have to scroll down just a bit to find me, but I'm there. What fun, thanks to Amy and Kate and Jenn and Miko...and of course all the lovely people who liked my yarn!

Speaking of my new favourite yarn, I've been trying to pick a project for six skeins worth. The colourway is "mushroom" and I'm kinda in love with it. Should I knit a jumbo swallowtail? Another sweater (I might be loosing steam on my 12 sweaters plan...just maybe), who knows?




I don't really have any big knitting news to share. It seems that I've been knitting little bits and bobs on my many WIPs, but not finishing a single thing. I'm certain that this means I have to much on the go, but am choosing to ignore that and continue casting on with vigour! The lovely gray sweater that I talked about last time has stalled out...serious frustrations getting the eyelets on the back and front to line up.

The one thing that I have started and finished is a little birthday gift for my mother. I finally knit a shetland triangle (a pattern that I have admired for so long). I really think that this is one of those magical patterns that makes just about any yarn look good. It is also simple enough that it can be knit in a pretty bold yarn and not detract from the yarn's awesomeness. Fact. So the yarn I chose is the cone of Habu Tsumugi Silk lace that I picked up at this year's Knitter's Frolic. This yarn is amazingly beautiful! I'm going to block it tonight, so hopefully I'll have some pretty finished pictures by the weekend!





until then, here are a few progress shots.