February is coming...

I really have been working on my February Lady Sweater. I hope everyone else has had time to squeeze it into their summer as well. Though, I'm shocked at how little knitting time there has been in my days. Funny, when it's not dark by 8 and too cold to be outside I spend a lot more time doing out door things that aren't exactly knit friendly.

Anyhoo.. I have been squeezing this sweater in there as well as a few other small projects. Swatching commenced, I am hitting pretty close to guage the pattern is calling for. The debate for me is that I really fall between chest sizes and also I tend to need more room in the shoulder and arms than most 'lady like' cuts allow for.



The result being that I am knitting a 41. So far, so good. The body is actually all done and I've started on sleeves. Sorry, I know I just skipped a lot of good knitting in there but there isn't much more to tell. I believe there are a few more rows after the eyelet increases to make room for my shoulders but other than that... knit, knit and knit some more. Hopefully I can make the self imposed labour day deadline.

Maybe this will be a Fall Fair entry.

First step... choose materials and do up a gauge swatch.

Knit a Long with me

The February Lady Sweater has been on my short list for ages. It's cute as a button (something I admit to aspiring to), well recommended and really, I think it looks great on a variety of people. So, I am going to do a knit-a-long here at the store over the summertime. It's a quieter time for classes and most knitters aren't interested in taking classes so the Knit In Clinics are taking a break for a couple of months.

The plan is, cast on July long weekend, finished photo to me for Labour Day weekend and all the finished sweater knitters will be eligible for a swanky (to be determined) prize.

I have not knit this sweater before, so we can all do it together! Head over here to the Ravelry link. Make sure to read the wiki (the tab at the top) and print out your pattern. The designer has requested that yarn stores do not print and hand out this pattern and I will respect that request.

Mine is going to be knit out of Vintage. I love, love, love this yarn. It is so nice and squooshy. Brick red I think, as no more black or grey is allowed into my wardrobe until I achieve some sort of colour balance!

Once a Month?!

I can't believe I've only managed to make it over here once a month since Christmas to post. Running my own business I have so many things that need done I'm wondering if a schedule wouldn't help keep things focused. Like Tuesday afternoon, I do some computer work (like posting here.) Not sure if I can commit to that kind of rigid schedule, but it's sure not all getting done right now.

I have finished some knitting. The Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann.



This pattern is always fun. One of my favourite bits though is the little tiny bee buttons. They are from Button Mad the new line of buttons I am carrying.



Produced by a Cooperative in South Africa these buttons are just beautiful. With a tag line like: "Why settle for plastic?" I knew they were things I would like.

Candy for Knitters

I just got in Triana by Katia. This yarn has been backordered since before Christmas and I can see why. It's completely candy for knitters. One ball, one yummy scarf. The 'yarn' is a net or mesh and you knit into the edge loops along one side.

Still Knitting

I have had my needles flying lately. Things for me, things for the shop. I'm keeping busy that's for sure.

By word of mouth I have filled two sock Knit In Clinics. I'm seeing a lot more socks in my future!



I don't think anyone has seen this around here. This is Elizabeth Zimmermann's amazing Baby Suprise Jacket. Not entirely original 13 450 other people on Ravelry have made this. I knit mine in three colours of Vintage to create the random stripe. This pattern really is ingenious, I can see why so many people love it.



This is the Button Tab Hat (Ravelry link) knit again, in Vintage. I lost count of how many of these I made over Christmas. This is the one Mom got in her Twelve Days of Christmas.



And this awesomeness is my new hat. Sockhead hat knit in Serenity 20 Cashmere blend from Zen Yarn Garden. Love... that's all I can say.

Extreme Knitting

Oops, second inspiration video in a row. This is pretty interesting though. Knitting with 1000 strands, totally an exercise in extremes. What I find interesting though is the statement that is below the video (click to get to the you tube site). The yarn used was all deemed excess and garbage. It really is a wonder what our society throws away.

A New Day, A New Blog Post

O boy, life changed a whole lot over the last few months I've been absent around here. Where to begin for a short synopsis? Met a fantastic guy, had surgery on the leg again, renovated the little house, built a garage, expanded the coop, raised my biggest ever flock of meat birds, quit my job for the man and today... today I am picking up the keys for the new and improved Match Factory. Just a little busy huh? Oh, I also went for a quick visit to Vegas, a canoe trip, to Ottawa..mmm...4? times, Toronto a couple of times, have a tenant in the Little House and got a motorbike.

I really will try and update a little more often!

Heirloom Knit Baby Blanket

I'm really not sure what possessed me to knit a baby blanket. A some point I got thinking about all the knitting my Gramma Fearnley did and how so much of that knitting was baby things. This certainly wasn't out of a quantity of babies in my family! They are pretty few and far between really. So many women of her generation knit baby things compulsively it seems. I can see the attraction of those small, portable projects, you only have to look at my socks to see that. Also, often vintage style baby things are lace knitters Mecca, so much details in such a small space.

So I ended up picking up some cream coloured yarn. Apparently the yarn fumes got to me and it's not wool. Not sure how that happened?! Then I landed on the Heirloom Baby Blanket (rav link), a pattern by the Craft Council of America.

What attracted me was that the blanket is knit is strips. Sounds good huh? Small portable just became even more portable. It never occurred to me that all those strips needed to be knit together. Then the lace edge, knit separately, then sewn on. Yup, that's about 4 billion miles of seaming. So, the blanket sure wasn't done for the fall fair 2009, maybe I'll still have it around for 2010 because I don't see any bellies developing in my immediate vicinity.

Check out this pic though.... that's me working on the blanket last summer!

A Great Little Knit

I have been rolling along finishing a bunch of projects this week that are hanging around both physically and emotionally. I agreed to knit this little hat up for a friend's Mom for a Christmas present. She has lost all of her hair to chemo and is finding things a little cold.

From "hats gloves scarves" by Louisa Harding (rav link) this is a great hat. Knit out of Lang Silk Dream it's going to be super warm and extra soft on her head. I hope she enjoys it!

A Slow Start

It really is better to creep up on the new year isn't it? Where have I been? I've been resting a lot, I think I am fully recovered from night shift over the holidays, trying to get lots of exercise and get my strength back to where I was before my car accident, working on the back log of sewing jobs that seem to pile up. As well I have been keeping up with my schedule of therapies to get my bod back. In my defense of my lack of blogging... I give you a Year in Socks....

mmmm.... only eight pair. That's less than one a month, I'd better get crackin'. My goal this year is twelve pairs of socks.

Christmas scarf wall

Check out the fab pic of my friend Matt wearing the Doctor Who scarf I made for him last year in this article. Matt is totally responsible for the great picture. His website link is to the right.



Christmas scarf wall

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Not Scary At All

**Warning**

This post contains gratuitous photos of a pretty soft knitted item. Peruse at your own risk. No zombies were harmed in the creating of this blog post.






This lovely piece of pretty has been done for a while, in fact since July. Of course I didn't block it until two days before the fair because apparently I don't get much done without a deadline. This is Anne Hanson's Boxleaf wrap(rav link), knit up in Dream in Colour, Starry which actually has real silver threads in it. It's very pretty and smooshy, the silver isn't apparent at all to the touch. The sparkle is subtle and pretty.

Overall, a hit. Also, considering much of it was knit under the influence a large quantity of pain killers I'm happy it's even a rectangle!

Radio Silence

I was in a serious car accident at the end of February so I've been pretty much out of the loop. The Sound of Music went ahead without me. By all accounts the show was fantastic. Go check out this review, it's fantasic!

Personally I really haven't been making much at all. A bit of sock knitting is about all I've been able to handle. Check em out....





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What Have I Been Up To?

Christmas knitting and night shift have been dominating my world that last few weeks. This is some of the things I got done. Others I didn't get pictures of, I'll work on that over the next few weeks.

These are two pair of Target Wave Mittens from Norah Gaughan's book Knitting Nature. I made a pair for each of my nieces. This was an interesting knit, the construction is intriguing as are all of Norah's patterns I'm attracted to. The second pair went together a little better after I got my brain around how they worked.



This is a pair of plain men's socks. Pardon the pic, they really are too big for me. They are off living with a friend now.



This is a pair of Anemoi Mittens, pattern by Eunny Jang. These, I've actually had done for a while and they're for me. I've gotten tonnes of compliments whenever I wear them. The yarn is fun, the brown yarn was a present that a friend brought back for Copenhagen for me. The blue is reclaimed yarn from an old cardigan of my Grandmother's that she brought back from Edinburough. So, they have already seen the world and I've just started wearing them.



More to follow.

Fall Fair Time

I can't believe it's September! I guess the only thing to do is get ready for the fair. I always try and enter a few things in hand crafts area. I enjoy looking at what everyone else is up to so I should contribute as well, right? Umm.. yeah, see that picture, the one with the wet afghan pinned out and drying? I'm about to go get a fan to speed up the drying process so I'm sure to have it ready to enter tomorrow. Nothing like doing things ahead?!

What else I've been up to

I've been carrying this scarf around as my distraction knitting, though it's starting to become a tad obsessive. I just want to sit and work on it to the detriment to everything else. Guess I'd better just get it finished so I can focus elsewhere huh?!

Technical Issues

Oops.. I seem to be having technical issues. Lappy may have to visit the tech support lab.

In the mean time, the trees are pretty close to finished. They have been tucked away in the grove for a bit to mature while other things step to the top of the to do list.

Today I
-built a old lady puppet body (which got reworked but was way fun to do)
-tailored her the ugliest dress ever (pic to follow)
-tailored a gown for a skelton
-made various little things like dyed shirt, bow ties and opera scarves\

Over all it was fun build day. Pictures to follow when I get onto my own computer.

New Knitting

This is the first wig of many I hope that will eventually become the stock for my Etsy shop. I have made a few of these, used and abused them and I believe that I can make them to a high enough quality now that I feel comfortable selling them. This one is called Pretty in Pink and is one of the simple, mostly acrylic wigs. I'll put up pics of others as I finish. Finish while still building the new chicken coop, redoing the master bedroom and working full time. This may take a while!

Self Portrait in Lace