Feyre Shawl Finish

Temperatures are cooperating here in Vancouver (yay winter!), so I've been able to wear my Feyre Shawl. I introduced you to the beginning of this project with more details back here. It came with me to Ontario for a long visit in August, where I was able to finish it completely at the cottage (location of photo shoot: a dock on the Lake Huron side of the Bruce Peninsula).

It is very soft and deliciously stretchy in the MadeleineTosh worsted weight. I love the smoothness of this yarn and how beautifully defined the stitches are in this gauge. Knitting this shawl was so enjoyable! I learned several new skills and relied heavily on YouTube demos to get me through, but it wasn't difficult. I do find it challenging to follow the wording of knitting stitch descriptions - I really need a video demo to "get it".

It was extra lovely that I got to meet the designer Shannon Cook (soveryshannon), in person at KnitCity here in Vancouver in September. I wore my shawl - it was fun to show it off to Shannon! While there, I bought another of her shawl patterns and her new Veronika cardigan. I'm still searching for the perfect yarn for that one...I'm not sure that I can make such a large financial investment in a knit yet, haha!

I've been sewing as well (I even finished quilting and binding a long-standing WIP at retreat last weekend), but unfortunately the days are dark and rainy here lately, so I haven't been able to take photos. Stay tuned...the sun is sure to come back eventually. I have lots to share!

Shawls, Continued

Two more shawls (I think numbers 11 and 12) are off the needles and blocked. I've already shipped the Ardent off as a surprise gift for a long-ago Flickr friend with whom I was recently re-acquainted on IG. She once spoiled me so much in a swap and when she commented that this shawl was made "in her colours", that sealed the deal. Plus, she lives somewhere that it will really come in handy in a couple of months.  I can't possibly keep all the shawls I'm knitting (I have kept 3 for myself: the first Boneyard, the first Ardent and the Abalone pictured below).

This asymmetrical Ardent Shawl pattern by Janina Kallio of Woolenberry is available on Ravelry. It was suggested to me by Danielle as an idea for a one-skein project. When I was in Australia, Dan came to Sydney for my Improv Under the Influence workshop and gifted me a gorgeous grey skein of Merino (which became my first Ardent Shawl).  This blue/pink/purple one is made with Providence Bay Sock dyed by Bayview Fibre Arts, a Canadian shop in New Brunswick. The colour is Bachelor's Button. My mom recently stopped into their shop and came out with several sheep worth of wool, I think. She sent me this pretty skein and it was lovely to knit with!

Also purchased in Australia was this incredibly beautiful single spun lace Merino (below). The Abalone Shawl pattern is available on Ravelry. Carle' Dehning of Nurturing Fibres designed the shawl and dyed the yarn, too. I knit up the shawl in the same colour combination that was in the pattern images and I love it so much. The shawl is breezy, light and soft.

This was definitely my most challenging knit to date. I thought knitting holes on purpose would be all kinds of fun, but the holes are made differently in every lace row and the instructions were new to me, so I had to call on the experts for help: mom (superknitter), Double N Dianne (beezersnana) and Leanne (shecanquilt) who actually came to town prepared and gave me an in-person tutorial as well as treating me to a delicious breakfast!  I could not have finished this shawl without Leanne. I'd already frogged that second-to-last lace row about 8 times but I really didn't want to give up!

I also contacted several strangers on Ravelry who had successfully knit the shawl. I'm so new on Ravelry and don't have a community there, so I was thrilled and delighted that every single person I contacted got back to me with answers, advice and plenty of encouragement! How nice! I knew from project reports there that the shawl improved dramatically with blocking to stretch out the lace rows. The blocking really did have tremendous results, not only increasing the size of the shawl by a ton, but also just evening out the very fine stitches and creating a lux garment. I am very proud of this knit even though I'm sure there are some mistakes.

My needles weren't idle for long. I'm already well underway with my next shawl: Feyre by Shannon Cook (soveryshannon on Ravelry). This is knit in worsted weight and it feels like I'm knitting on broomsticks after that dainty laceweight project. It'll be a much chunkier, warmer winter shawl. I love the MadTosh colours I'm using: Antler and Smokestack. Every project has taught me new techniques and stitches. With this one, I learned the Garter Tab Cast-On, Classic Slip-Stitch Rib and when I make it to the end, I'm going to have to figure out how to do a slip stitch ribbed edging. Eep.  Luckily, Dianne was on retreat with me this past weekend and helped out when I got stuck. My knitting is definitely a community effort.

The next few weeks bring more travel for me as I visit family and settle my daughter in university 4 provinces to the east. It is an incredibly exciting time, but I guarantee you that tissues will be required. I don't imagine I will be blogging again until sometime in September. Enjoy the rest of your summer month(s) and welcome spring to my southern hemisphere friends!

Making it Down Under

If you follow along on Instagram, you know that I was recently in Australia for a vacation with my husband, B. The purpose of the trip was mainly to see our daughter play rugby with her high school team (they toured the north island of New Zealand before heading to Newcastle, NSW to play a 15's game and 7's tournament). We caught up with them in Newcastle to see some great games, but unfortunately their 7's tourney near Sydney was cancelled due to all of the rain and flash-flooding.

I have many photos to edit and cull through before doing any tourist-type posts, but I thought I would start with a few photos of creative stuff I was able to accomplish on this trip (staying with a kind and generous quilty friend certainly helps to get your creative on when vacationing!).

I admired Lorena's linen dresses, of which she has several, made from fun fabrics. She'd used the Eva Dress pattern from Sydney design and fabric store Tessuti.  We made a trip to the shop, where I ogled the Liberty tana lawns on display (but restrained myself from buying). They have sewn samples of all their in-house patterns that you can try on! This is absolutely the best thing ever for someone like me who has major garment-sewing challenges. Most of the patterns are for light, lineny, flowy dresses and tunics. I purchased paper copies of their Eva Dress and Ola Tunic. The size medium Eva dress fits me and the size small (crazy!) Ola Tunic fits me. Here's the Eva dress that I made on Lorena's serger and Bernina, using MakerMaker linen purchased in Berry, NSW at the adorable Berry Quilt & Co.

I'm looking forward to making a second version next week without sleeves! I've got a gorgeous red and black crossweave linen/rayon blend that I think will be super comfy. The linen above needs a few good wearings and washings as I find the linen/cotton is a bit stiff.

While on this trip I did a bit of knitting (both on airplanes and on the couch in the evenings) and was able to finish a smallish Reyna shall that's more of a scarf. It's been blocked but I still need to darn in the ends before sending it to a friend as a thank you gift. I love the colour!

Before leaving, I gave some thought to the Vancouver MQG - Ottawa MQG mini-mini quilt swap that would be due shortly after I got home. I brought along a few EPP papers, thinking that I'd make something hexagon-related, but plans changed! Lorena had just returned home from QuiltCon with some of Victoria Findlay-Wolfe's new "snack sets" which are tiny acrylic templates for small piecing. I hand-pieced this little 8" quilt on the dining table, as well as on trains and planes. I've just got a little bit more hand-quilting to do on it.  

And finally, I had the opportunity to teach a workshop!! It was such a fun day and a total pleasure to see Cath and Danielle (two lovely Aussie quilters I'd met in Austin at Quiltcon2015), both of whom travelled a long way to attend.  Everyone was so kind and I think they really enjoyed their Speed Date with Improv!  Class was held in a renovated WWI hospital that now serves as a seniors activity center (you can see the wrap-around veranda where I'm standing in the dress pic above).

Here I am with Lorena (lorena_in_syd), Cath (cathmosely) and Danielle (petitselefants)

Our beautifully-lit classroom

Here's Monique (sharingthegoodstuff) with her fab improv elements. It was her first time trying improv work!!

All of the gorgeous women who sewed with me! What a fun day (fueled by delicious snacks prepared by Lorena - she really spoiled us on this trip with her generosity).

I am busily preparing for a 3 week teaching tour coming up quickly, so no promises, but I will attempt to get some proper Nikon-taken touristy photos up here for you at some point soon.  Lots of mad sewing going on. If it ever stops raining in Vancouver, I just might be able to take some pictures to share with you!

Winter extension

We've had an unusual winter here in Vancouver with lots of gorgeous snow. I am a bit of a crazy person by Vancouver standards because I LOVE the snow and always want more.  It snowed this weekend while I was teaching over on Vancouver Island for the new Nanaimo Modern Quilt Guild and the fun continued with a few scattered flurries this morning here in Vancouver. How lucky that I got to enjoy the few falling flakes during a walk on the seawall in my new Rikke hat!  I managed to finish it in just a few days (and secretly hoped it would stay cold enough that I could wear it a few times before spring).

Taking a selfie of the back of one's own head is a challenge (and you look pretty dorky doing it, I might add). However, it is the prettiest part of this garter-stitched hat, don't you think?

I began this hat once before, but after knitting about 4 inches and trying it on, it slipped easily down over my eyes and ears. Some helpful folks on Instagram suggested casting on 96 stitches instead of the pattern's 104. I like the fit much better. I also began my decreases after 7 1/2" because I didn't want the hat to be so super slouchy. I love the Malabrigo Rios in pure merino super wash. It is incredibly soft!

Rikke hat is a free pattern by Sarah Young available on Ravelry.

Rumours Confirmed: I'm a Knitter

I can't stop. Here's the 8th shawl I've made since October. It's the Reyna pattern (free on Ravelry), knit with a gifted skein of self-striping shawl yarn from Green Caterpillar called "Fade to Blue".

Now, before you think I'm all super clever with the contrasting bind off, I will admit to my rookie mistake. I didn't leave enough yarn to complete the bind off row. I felt mildly panicked because if I pulled out those lace rows, it would be really hard for me to get the work back on the needle. I decided I might as well bind off with some leftover green yarn from a previous shawl project. It is a heavier weight than the fingering used for this shawl, but I went for it anyway and I love how it turned out!

After a soak and blocking, it is so light and lacy! This will be a thank you gift for a friend soon. I'm ready to move onto a new knitting challenge and have decided on the Rikke hat (another free pattern on Ravelry). I started it once already, but ripped it out when I realized the cast-on row was too large for my head. With some helpful Instagram advice, I'm ready to start again with a gorgeous skein of Malabrigo Rios.

Poppyprint Knits!

When I went down to Seattle to shoot the photos for my book Make It, Take It, I needed some pretty knitting needles to show off Kristie's Knitwit Needle Clutch project. All of the interchangeable cable sets that my friends had were clear cables with white needles that wouldn't show up against the low volume print fabric inside the clutch. Thanks to the generous people at KnitPicks, I was sent this beautiful set of their interchangable circular needles to use as a prop and then keep! Lucky me!

Knowing how much people love these needles, I figured I should at least try knitting something with them. Last spring while visiting a friend in Victoria, we went to a sweet neighbourhood knitting shop called Knotty by Nature. While there, I chose two skeins of Malabrigo Rios in a gorgeous deep blue along with a copy of the free Boneyard Shawl pattern by Stephen West on Ravelry. The helpful man-knitter working in the shop that day convinced me that if I could knit and purl, then I could knit this shawl. My mom taught me to knit when I was a teenager, but since then the only thing that I'd made was a set of simple beanies for me and my family for Christmas 2014. I am definitely a novice.

I made this coral one for my sister.

It wasn't until Thanksgiving weekend in October that I finally consulted YouTube for a cast-on video and got started. Well, I actually got started about 5 times because I just couldn't tell if what I was doing was correct. Right off the bat, I had to learn what M1R and M1L meant (that's "make one right and left" for you non-knitters). Once I got the hang of the pattern things went very quickly for me and I really enjoyed the process. I could actually sit with my family in the evenings and knit (I can't do that with my sewing machine).  The hardest part for me was remembering to count my rows and inserting the purl row that makes the ridges.

This is mine and I so love it! Malabrigo Rios (I don't know the colourway). I'm mostly wearing it with the "V" in front and the ends wrapped around my neck over my shoulders, like a scarf.

My first shawl was such a success, that in true Krista fashion, I decided that my sister and 3 SIL's would all get one for Christmas.  I did it! I knit 5 shawls (plus a bonus one that I donated to the Christmas Bureau) before December 22. Yay! There is a freedom and total lack of stress knitting something that doesn't have to actually fit anyone.

This is the Malabrigo Rios in Lettuce

I won't go so far as to call myself a knitter, but I think there will be more projects in future.  There are so many great free patterns and although I never thought I'd be a shawl wearer, our much colder than normal winter has me thinking I could use another.  Perhaps I'll even venture out to an easy lace pattern.  Knitting holes on purpose has appeal.

One think is for sure: I'm going to promise not to collect yarn. I have zero storage space and simply cannot allow myself to stash yarn like I do fabric. I repeat: NO STASHING YARN.

I'll let you know how that goes.

28 days of rain and other things...

Fact: it rained 28 days in Vancouver during the month of October. Know what that means for sewing bloggers? Lots of sewing time surrounded by Very Little Chance for Decent Photography. So, in order to stay in touch with you here, I'm going to break a personal rule and publish some sketchy iphone photos. I try to only use good quality, well-lit photos taken with my Nikon on the blog.  It pains me to do otherwise, but I have been making and teaching and doing fun things that I want to share, so here goes.

First up, last weekend I made this super cool leather tote at a workshop with Riley at Lonsdale Leather in Vancouver. It was a 3-hour evening workshop with 7 students and everyone had a completed bag in well under 3 hours. We were able to choose pretty much whatever leather we wanted from the warehouse, so I went with this distressed grey that is rather unique. I love the neon waxed poly thread for the hand-stitching! Patterns were provided by Riley. We learned how to cut out with an x-acto knife, glue our seams, mark our stitch lines and holes with a perforating roller, punch the holes, stitch the seams and rivet the handles on. I love my new tote!

The weekend before, I was very fortunate to be a teacher at the Denman Island Creative Threads Conspiracy. I re-connected with several women I hadn't seen in a long time, several of whom I had no idea would even be there! How fun. We did my Structural Improv workshop with gorgeous results. I always enjoy introducing traditional quilters to the concept of improv and designing-as-you-go with pieced units. 

There were about 5 or 6 concurrent workshops all running in the community hall within "classroom" spaces created with hanging quilts as walls. I wasn't sure how all that was going to work out, but it was super inspiring and fun to see what everyone else was teaching and making. I was especially thrilled to see two older gentlemen in the beginning sewing class, sitting together in the back, consulting their machine manuals.  A couple of my friends took a 2-day indigo dying & shibori workshop with gorgeous results (see one of Rossie's pieces below)!

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 days on this small island, surrounded by a caring, creative community. I was well-fed with local organic produce and hosted in a super cosy island home by the Conspiracy co-ordinator and her ceramic artist partner. We were treated to a presentation by the Llama Lady one night and learned all about her herd of Llamas and Alpacas and the gorgeous fibre they produce. 

Here are the fantastic women from my class with their works in progress!

I managed to complete a second class sample for my new Speed Date with Improv workshop coming to several modern guilds this winter/spring. This one is called Mojito; for now you just get a glimpse of one corner and the facing. A full frontal pic will have to wait for some natural light.

I also finished up this special table runner for days that my stitch group, the Gathered Threads, come over! I used the same pattern as my Variegated Threads quilt (available in my Craftsy shop here) except that I sewed 7 spools side by side. I love it on my rustic pine dining table; the Oakshott fabrics are so vibrant. I'll be teaching this as a workshop this coming weekend for the Blue Mountain Quilter's Guild and I can't wait to see how the students like working with their custom Oakshott kits!

Kathleen Riggins was in town recently and did a trunk show of beautiful quilts and longarm quilting at the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. The next morning, I took a 1/2 day "marking for free-motion quilting" class with her at Stitch and Bobbin, my LQS. I learned a couple of cool infill and grid marking ideas that may or may not make it onto a quilt at some point. I enjoy practising on small sandwiches, but am a little intimidated to try ideas like this out on a big quilt. 

This afternoon I covered a wooden TV table tray to make a portable ironing surface for retreat. I might not have given my choice of cover enough consideration...the not-to-subliminal messaging could prove hazardous to my bottom line! I think the word CHOCOLATE is visible no fewer than 8 times!

My final tidbit of news is that I'm knitting!! I just finished a Boneyard Shall  and I absolutely love it knit up in Malabrigo yarn that I purchased on sale at Knotty by Nature in Victoria last spring. I know that I will make more of these because it was super enjoyable to do and very fast, too. Photo if the sun ever comes out again....

Using my Noggin'

That's what I did! When Kristie posted photos of herself sporting a cute cable-knit hat last month, I proposed a swap so that I could have one, too!  I've mentioned before what an expert knitter my Mom is, but I'm constantly asking her to knit me stuff. It's time to share the love and let others have the joy of creating beautiful knitwear for me, hehe.

Like my new hat?

How come everyone is so much faster than I am?! My hat arrived earlier this week. Damn that mother of 3, part time professional for being so gosh darn efficient with her time.  Although we both pledged to keep our little swap totally low key, I don't like things to drag out too long for fear of getting a reputation. As in "oh, she roped you into a private swap, too, eh? Have you also been waiting 3 months for her to pony up?"

I offered Kristie a threadcatcher, since I can pretty much make those things in my sleep, but she already has one. She suggested an armchair pin cushion/caddy made with Amy's tutorial.  She also said that she likes blue and green and when I prompted further, I found out that her stash is Echino-less. Well, that's just not on!

I was more than happy to try out a new pin cushion idea and will make one of these for myself soon, too. A threadcatcher is perfect beside your machine, but this handy unit is what you need beside you on the couch! Amy's tutorial is super easy to follow with great photos and I made it even easier by not using pieced pockets, and simply topstitching the pocket tops instead of binding them.  I also topstitched a couple of sections to one pocket to hold scissors, a ripper and a spool of thread. After posting a pic on Instagram last night, I got the inevitable question: Where does the beer go?  Ah, the answer to that is NO WHERE near my Echino!

I busted out the Auriful 12 wt for some bold quilting lines again, after loving the look on my pear potholders. Kristie and her family are currently sunning their buns and likely sporting mouse ears in Florida.  Hopefully this will be waiting for her when she arrives home.  

Thanks for a fun swap, Kristie!

Check out my new hybrid(s)

The queen of socks is in da house.

I've been saving my favourite bamboo pair for repair. The porcelain tiles in our front hall/kitchen have pretty sharp edges and sadly, they wreak havoc on my lovely socks. I'm just not much of a slipper fan - I prefer sock feet in the house. In summer, I asked Mom if she thought we (ahem, she) could cut off the foot of a too-far-gone-for-darning-sock and re-knit a new foot. Well, to be totally honest, I first asked if socks were knit from the toe up, or the ribbing down. I didn't even know!

I think just because I'm her daughter and she's my Mom, she agreed to try. I mean, she's a master knitter and all, so I knew she could do it. Look at my cool new hybrid socks!

Complete with new, fancy reinforced heel design!

The new darker blue yarn on the foot was left over from the ankle socks she knit for me on the plane ride here. Now we know that

1 sock skein = 1 pair of ankle socks + two new feet (ladies size 8.5-ish)

I'm not on ravelry so I have no idea if this is common practice (do you?), but I'm pretty proud of my Mom's efforts to salvage my beloved bamboo socks and use up an entire sock skein! She thinks they are totally weird. Perfect.

This parental visit has been made extra exciting by our home team. My folks are pretty bummed that their Habs are out, but they've jumped on the Canucks bandwagon with us. Grandma picked up some belgian chocolate brownie pucks on our outing today.

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

Guerilla Knitting on the Bruce

Here we are, visiting my parents cottage on 'the Bruce'.....the Bruce Peninsula, that is. There are a lot of fun things going on and we're having a fantastic family time! My parents have left for the long weekend, taking D with them to Prince Edward Island to visit my sister and her family.

So, it's me and the boys (husband B, son T and my youngest brother S who is 33 going on 18). You won't believe what they got up to last night....if you really want to know, you can see it in motion here. I'll give you a hint: Tresemme hair spray, PVC pipe, a BBQ igniter and a potato. It's worth a quick view and you'll make T's day by racking up the views on his first ever YouTube post.

A few days ago we went into town for dinner on the harbour. While waiting for our table, we walked out to the lighthouse and saw this! How excellent!

You can see this mooring ring has been bolted to the limestone for a very long time - check out the groove worn in the rock around it. I wonder if the knitted cover once went the whole way around the ring?

In other knitting news, my Mom has been busy since we arrived. I think she's finished 4 pairs of socks in the last week and a half. A pretty pink pair for D, another pair of ankle socks plus a regular pair for me and another for a family friend. I think she's up to pair # 155 or so. A veritable sock-knitting machine, she is.

With the cottage a little less busy, I've pulled out my fabric and started piecing the tree skirt - it's fun to be sewing here. I also managed to complete and mail my MiniQT swap quilt for July. I can show you a photo once my partner in California receives it.

There's lots more to share.....I'll be back soon!