The good stuff



The shelves at Purl Sho, New York City



The shelves of The Yarn Company in New York City

I've done a fair bit of travelling over the last couple of years and one of the things that I love to do is to find a LYS and to see what they have to offer. On-line shopping is fine but nothing compares to being able to hold the yarn in your own hands and see the colour yourself!

The discovery of a new LYS is somewhat of a gambit. Sometimes you find a small selection of novelty and cotton dish cloth yarns with some plastic needles on a round rack. Sometimes you find a treasure trove of exclusive colourways or yarns you've only ever seen on-line or in magazines. Usually it is somewhere in between.

The joy of a good yarn store is to broaden your horizons and to inspire you with different colours or textures. A good yarn store doesn't have to be a big place. After all, you can fit a lot of yarn into a small space if you have to! My idea of a good yarn store is one with a large selection of a variety of yarns and in a variety of colours. You can so often tell the colour preferences of the yarn shop owner by what is displayed about the store. A good store, in my humble opinion, offers a broad palette of colour options. 

While in New York City last week I visited 3 of the best yarn stores I have ever seen!

I had only planned to visit one store while in New York and I had  chose Purl Soho, top picture above. It was a bright and colourful store. Now that is an impressive colour palette!  I loved the atmosphere and the way the yarn was displayed. It was like jumping into a impressionistic picture of colour. You had to step back to see the big picture but the close-up view was a happy blur. The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. I bought some gorgeous worsted weight wool made by the Swans Island Yarn Company. A Maine company with a commitment to high quality. I also bought some yarn to make the Simple Pleasures Hat. This is a hat , presumably, designed by someone who works at Purl Soho. I thought that was a good keepsake of the trip. I loved that they offered to wind all of the wool that I bought for me immediately.

I hadn't expected to have the time to find any more stores but my travels brought us near enough to the iconic The Yarn Company, that it would have been foolish to have walked on by without a quick peek inside. This store is now run by a brother-sister team and this famous yarn shop is full of exclusive colourways and unique yarn. One of the owners asked if I wanted a tour and then proceeded to show me, shelf by shelf, what her store had that others did not. What I saw was a commitment to independent dyers, designers and specialty yarn. The selection  of "the good stuff" was almost overwhelming. The owners personally knew and had collaborated with many big name knitwear designers and had the yarn selection to support that. I tried to buy exclusives only but walked away with a small bag of treasures all the same.

My last store visited was a complete fluke but a very happy one! I popped out of a restaurant and was waiting for the rest of my party to come out of a small shop next door when my husband spotted a sign that said Annie & Co Knitting and needlepoint. I skipped down the street and was mesmerized by the impressive colour selection of Madelinetosh yarns. This was a very cozy and welcoming store. You got the impression that the staff would sit you right down and chat with you, if given the option.  I didn't walk away from that store empty handed either.

Yarn is such a tactile pleasure and one that so many people do not fully appreciate until you have the choice between a soft scarf and one made of scratchy wool at your neck.

In one of the stores one of my friends, who doesn't knit, whispered quietly to my husband "Did you know that yarn was so expensive?"

My husband replied wryly "Did you expect her to like the cheap stuff?"

The friend, holding a tiny skein of 100% cashmere in his hand with his eyebrows to the sky at the price said "No wonder she says nothing at all about your comic book collection. She's in no position to complain."

My husband smiled slyly and said "Exactly. You'd better find a seat, she could be a while."

It's a process, knitter!

FO and WIPs- The Good Stuff

I have been making good progress on my projects of late. I have a great stack of FO to show off! You can see that I have been focusing on smaller items lately.

Top row: Frukttradgard, Cabled Canuk, Squall Hat
Middle row: Cascade baby, Dream in Lime, Tangerine Sunnyside
Bottom row: Emperor's New Socks, Knotty Baby Hat, DK socks

Most of these items are gifts for specific people. Some are future gifts for special people. Babies are definitely special people!

These were for Brody. His mother likes monkeys!

Ziyah was also gifted with an extra special sweater.

Georgia's Dream in Lime is a bit of a conundrum. Georgia picked the yarn and the Boathouse Mini pattern.  Both are lovely but only the colour suited Georgia. As you can see below the combination of a disproportionally wide sweater, a boatneck neckline and very stretchy fabric combine to make an unwearable sweater.

I need to fix this but I am not just sure how. I have a couple of ideas... Plan A: I am contemplating ripping out or cutting off the neckline and knitting a more fitted yoke upwards from there. Short rows will be involved and I will be completely winging it. The thought of cutting the sweater is giving me the shakes.

Plan B involves leaving the neckline intact and picking up stitches on the inside of the collar and making rectangular inserts that will come up over her shoulders and help the sweater stay in place. This is the much easier plan; however I am concerned that the stretchy fabric will still fall off her shoulders.

Plan C- and I REALLY don't like this plan- is to rip it all and start over. Sigh.  The yarn is too nice to waste.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I have one WIP to show you.

I told you about the mystery lace shawl project with beads, right? It is going fairly well but I am WAY behind schedule. (Had I really expected to be able to stay on track with this one?) I am only mid way through Clue #2 with the last clue, #4, coming out on Tuesday.  Here is my progress so far:

I like it so far.

I finished Clue #1 twice. I frogged my first attempt because I was using lace weight yarn and was making way too many mistakes due to the fine gauge. (Note to self: stop buying lace weight yarn- I do not like knitting with this!) So I restarted with some fingering weight, Tanis Fiber Arts, Blue Label in the Dove colourway,  from my stash.  The yarn is gray with hints of pink, purple and blue. It is hard to tell in these pictures but the beads are both silver and a muted purple- so I think it works well all together.

I like the beads in the yarn. They add a very subtle sparkle that I think is pretty.  I'm still on the fence on whether I am enjoying the making lace. Beading is a lot more simple than I had expected. I am enjoying the results but this seems like very fussy work.

I'll continue and see what the final project looks like.  It's a process, Knitter.

The season is changing and so is my mind

The season is starting to change and that, for me, means that snow and cold weather is coming.  Probably sooner rather than later.  Autumn is my favourite time of year and colder weather gives me lots of excuses (as if I needed any) to wear my warm and woolies.

I have so many projects on my mind right now. I am days away from starting a mystery lace shawl KAL. I'm excited about it BUT it is easy to mentally put aside a project where you don't know the end result. I am going to try to keep up with the clues but knitting 800 yds of lace in a month may be a little much for me. I just need to get started before I get completely distracted with other things.

I had also promised to knit Finn a sweater. His project is technically first in the queue. We finally have the right yarn and have found the picture of the skull he wants- the skull from The Punisher. The real problem is that if I make this Scott will want one too.

Now I just need to make a chart for this!

So what else is on my mind and in my queue:

1. Cabled Canuck by Tanis Lavallee.  I belong to Tanis' Year in Colour yarn club. I just received my September yarn and it is gorgeous! She provides yarn, in this case her Orange Label Cashmere/Silk Worsted (yummy!) and the pattern. The pattern she sent is also a lovely cabled hat but I like this one better. This hat is going to look absolutely gorgeous in the Mosaic colourway.



Photo Courtesy of Tanis Lavallee of
Tanis Fiber Arts



2. The Lonely Tree Shawl by Silia Bo Bilivia. I really like this worsted weight shawl. I imagine it wrapped around my neck in a bold, yet subdued colour that accents my grey winter coat. It also could be one of those shawls that works well wrapped around or on top of your seasonal coat.

Photo Courtesy of Silivia Bo Bilivia

3. Love Potion by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne. This woman designs fabulous cardigans. (She also designed my Early Evening Cardigan, known to the rest of the world as the Miss Marple Cardigan.) This looks like the kind of cardigan you could live in. Warm and snugly yet stylish and chic. I like the detail of the icord for contrast. (That being said right now when I am not in the throws of knitting 2 miles of attached icord.)

Photo courtesy of Nadia Cretin- Lechenne.

4. Trellis by Lili Comme Tout. If I were inclined to knit a fingering weight cardigan right now, which I might be, this is the one I would make. I may have already ordered a sweater's worth of Hazel Knits, Entice yarn in their new Halloween colourway BooKnits (a Gothic dark purple); but that may just be a unseemly rumour that is being spread by my husband. I love the lace detail on the front. I love the simplicity of the design. A really dark purple seems to be my colour focus this fall. It is a good neutral for me and not too far away from my favourite blacks and greys. I'm already imagining knitting this and have decided that I will knit this as a faux cardigan- it won't really open although I will add the buttons. I think that I would wear this piece closed so as to better show off the lace detail.

Photo courtesy of Lili Comme Tout.
(BTW: I love her play on words.)

Just one more and because mittens are never too far from my mind...

5. Warm Hearted Mittens by Rose Hiver. I am fascinated by stranded colour work right now. I found that I really enjoyed my first pair and I am anxious to do more. As above I may have bought a shit load of fingering and DK weight yarns to make mittens this winter. Those who can see my stash on Ravelry- not my husband!- can see that I am becoming a bit of a hoarder for this type of yarn. I definitely see another pair of colour work mittens in my future; maybe these ones. LOVE them!

Photo courtesy of Rose Hiver.
Pattern can be found in newest issue of Knitty, Fall 2013, for FREE!

So what are you knitting these days?

It's the little things

I have been listening to knitting podcasts lately. I don't have many friends that knit and I enjoy listening to other people chat about their projects and what's in their queue on Ravelry. I am currently listening to: The Doubleknit Podcast, Stash and Burn, and Never Not Knitting.

Here's my problem with listening to these podcasts: stifling my knitter's envy when they discuss their finished objects (FO). Especially while listening to the Doubleknit twins, Jessica and Erin. OMG they are both so prolific!  This is not an actual transcript but this is what I hear when they talk about what they have finished.

Erin: So what have you finished since we last podcast?
Jessica: Well...not much. I've been in a bit of a funk lately. So I knit a charity hat, a pair of socks, some fingerless mitts for a friend, and finished a shawl that I've had on the needles for a long time. Oh, yeah, I finished that blanket I was working on. Oh wait a minute...and that sweater. And started a new one... But that's nothing to your list. (they both laugh) What have you finished?
Erin: Well, I've had a good month. I finished 2 pairs of socks, 7 dishcloths for Christmas gifts,  2 charity hats,  a swap gift, a test knit that I can't talk about, a sweater for my daughter and a sweater for me. Oh, and I started and finished a blanket! And a Rebecca Danger monster for a kid's birthday gift.

Please tell me that I am not alone in saying "Holy Shit!" That is a lot of knitting! Add me into that imaginary conversation and we would say:

Erin & Jessica: So, Jen, what have you finish in the last 2 weeks?
Jen: A hat... for a tiny baby.

I know that it is not fair to compare between knitters. Some are fast, some are slow. Some have an isolated time to knit (me) and others have all the time in the world. It took me a while but I have finally clued into the secret to having a longer list of FOs to brag about in a month... work on little things in large gauge. And knit whenever you can, even if it is for just a few stitches at a time.

A dishcloth doesn't need to be made on 2.5mm needles. Let's crank that up to 4mm needles and get this party started! Are you considering making a fingering weight long sleeved tunic? No, thank you. I'll make a DK weight scarf instead, thanks.

I am adding a few items to the gift basket. Albeit very, very slowly.

 



Here's the actual FO & WIP list for the last month or so. Not so bad.
Clockwise from left: Stripy Vanilla socks, Squall Hat (purple),
Frukttradgard beret, 2 dishcloths,
rainbow Knotty Baby Hat.

So what's next for me: In October I am planning on doing a mystery KAL for a lace shawl that will have over 1000 beads. WOW! That just screams speed knitting doesn't it? Oh, have I mentioned that not only have I never tried lace but I've never beaded before either.  I'm jumping into the deep end with this one.

I'm not sure October is going to be the month that allows me to join the ranks of the elite knitting circle just quite yet.

But it's a process, Knitter.


So what'cha been doing? Me, I've been knitting!







I know that I have been away for a while but I have certainly been busy knitting. I have a stack of FOs to prove it. Some of these things I can talk about and others are gifts for pending babies of friends. For now I leave you with this.

A stack of FO for 2Q 2013!





There is something so very satisfying about knitting for babies. The idea of a new little person wrapped in a handmade knit made of super soft wool makes me want to smile. I also love that these projects finish up so quickly. They make me feel like quite the speedy knitter.

This is another item that was not quite ready to be included in the photo above. I washed it and blocked it this morning. As you can see Howard was in a helpful mood.
 

Howard is "helping" me block a new project.

I also may have acquired some new wool. This is some of it below.  I was thrilled to get some rogue skeins from the Hazel Knit annual sale.

Newly acquired stash on bottom from left to right:
 Madeline Tosh DK in depth,
and 5 skeins of Hazel Knits in an assortment of
artisan sock, entice, divine, and DK Lively.
And the cake on top is Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label, in Papaya,
a club colour for July.

I do not have a plan, yet, for 3/5th of the Hazel Knits wool but I am thinking of a "The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief" by Orange Flower with the DK Lively above, in Cherry Fizz. Like this, except red:

Picture courtesy of: sketchbook on Ravelry.

The Madeline Tosh DK is a for a sweater for Finn. This is the third batch of wool that I have ordered for his Royal Highness and have finally got it right- to both of our satisfaction. The first time I had the wrong colour. The second time I had the right colour and swatched for my project and found that it was the complete wrong gauge. Crap!  Third time is the charm! My fingers are crossed.

Until this recent bout of yarn purchasing I had been doing very well on working primarily from the stash. But my second quarter stats are not all that bad.

2Q 2013 Stats

Stash: 66,935 yd
Traded/sold/given away (to date): 19,096 yd
FO: 4
WIP: 6

The Left Hand knowing what the Right Hand is doing

It started with a knitter wanting to make a nice pair of mittens for her sister for her birthday.

But then it became a story. (A Tale of Two Mittens?) There was drama and tears.

Now it is a war.

I post a picture of completed LH Mitten in my backyard.  She immediately counters with RH mitten at Mossiac Stadium. Okay. Point RH.

 vs.

 

 So that's how it's going to be. Alright. Game on.

She posts pictures of RH mitten at California Adventure Park in Anaheim. I post pictures of LH mitten in her house doing naughty things.  She gets points for travel and I get points for creativity. And for touching her stuff.  Draw.

vs.  

Both mittens called a draw and went for lunch. They were hungry.

Yummy!

 

It was a brief and peaceful détente. And then that silly RH mitten snuck into my van and left me a present... and a rude note. (See here for explanation.)


 

Knock, Knock Mother Fucker, Indeed.

She gets extra points for sneakiness AND a hilarious literary reference. In my book that always gets bonus points.


Hmmm, how is a LH to respond? Any suggestions?

How about this?
If for no other reason than I was the only
person in all of San Diego, in July,
wearing a wool mitten.

Thank You Denise But it is Time to Move On

I have been knitting my Deep and Unrelenting Caramel for what seems to me about 5 months now. In reality it has only been 2 months but it seems soooo much longer.

Might this be my first sweater
that fits me properly?
 So far so good.

And why does it seem like it is taking forever? This top-down open cardigan is knit in one piece, which makes for some very long rows. I've separated for the sleeves and now I am well under each arm but each row is still taking me about 20-30 minutes to knit. Yes, you read that correct... 20 to 30 minutes PER ROW. OMG this sweater is going to take forever to knit!

Part of the problem is that I am a slow knitter and I don't have a lot of time to knit each day; I consider myself lucky if I get 30 minutes a day to devote to knitting. And, as I said, the rows are very long. (I'm a thrower not a picker.) But I think that this is only part of my issue. I think I really need to change needles.

Let me explain:

When I first started knitting I bought the best set of needles that I could both find and afford. I didn't have much choice at my LYS but I was very happy with my purchase of a set of plastic circular Denise Interchangeable Needles. I recall that they cost me about $75. I have used these needles over and over again for many years now. And until now I have never had any complaint.

Photo Credit: Denise Interchangeable

I'm not sure when it started but I recently started noticing things that I didn't like about these same needles that I had used a hundred times before: the flexibility and dullness of the tips and my current issue- the thickness and stickiness of the cord.

I think that plastic needles are absolutely fabulous for a new knitter. They do exactly what you need them to do:  hold your stitches in place very securely as you fumble your way around the needles. At some point along the way I transitioned from needing my stitches held where I left them to wanting them to slip and slide along faster.

One of my favourite Canadian knit bloggers, Miso Crafty Knits, did a series of reviews of needles recently. (Here, here, and here) I found her reviews very thorough and thoughtful and this really got me thinking about what needles I use and why.

So today I made the leap. I splurged and bought myself a new set of addi-turbo click Lace-Long tips. 

OOOH, aren't they pretty?

They are circular interchangeable needles with long, sharp tips. The cords come in a variety of sizes and are of small diameter, even as compared to the smallest needles in the set. The cords are also very flexible. I am very happy with my purchase!

Now let's see if they help me move any faster on my sweater!

The changing of the guard.

It's a process, knitter.