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Spark of Joy

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Gifts are hard. I have a terrible time deciding on gifts, be it for my husband, my sister, my mom, my best friend. I strive to find the perfect gift for every occasion, overthink it, second guess my choices and enter a sort of vicious cycle. 

But sometimes, just occasionally I have a brilliant idea. 

My mom is one of these people that are hard to shop for (I believe at least), so I was on the lookout for an idea for this year's birthday. She's not much of a knitter herself, though she knows the basics, it never stuck to her. She always enjoys seeing my projects and she's sported the occasional hand-knit hat (by yours truly of course).

My latest FO is the "Spark of Grey" pattern by Melanie Berg. I've already talked about my admiration for her patterns and am planning my next Melanie shawl. 

"Spark of Grey" turned out beautiful! I really love the two yarns together , and I realized that the colours I chose were also perfect for my mom. I believe that this time I've nailed it! For once I really did find the perfect gift for someone.



Me time - Knitter's Frolic 2016

Sunday, May 8, 2016

We all need “me” time. Mother or not, it’s healthy and revitalizing to carve out a time to indulge in one’s own interests. Be it reading, working out, meeting friends, sleeping, knitting, if you take this time to yourself, you will return rested and refueled. You may feel guilty about it, and I often do, but I have come to really understand how healthy it is to have this “me” time.

Last weekend, four of us piled into a minivan with a giant sheep sticker on the side and headed to Toronto for our annual visit to Knitter’s Frolic. Annual is an exaggeration, as it was only my second time attending, but I can see it becoming a yearly tradition. (I blogged about my first time at Frolic here)

It was a knit and wool filled weekend, with chats, planning, laughs and a few glasses of wine. I had a blast, and it flew by!

We arrived a day early and our friend Jen took us to Romni Wools. I spent an hour walking around the store in a daze, picking up skeins and whining the whole time that I had no idea what to choose. In the end I left without having bought anything. Sad, but true. My indecisiveness continued the next day at Frolic. 

I found the Marketplace overwhelming. Maybe because I went in without a plan. Who has not felt disoriented when faced with booths and booths of yarn. Oh, SO MUCH YARN! Am I the only one? 

In the end I forced myself to make a decision, and ended up with a kit to make the Sashiko Cowl, 2 skeins of Sweet Georgia, that I am earmarking for Rheinlust by Melanie Berg and a lovely project bag from Sweet Fiber.  

In the afternoon we had signed up for a class with Bristol Ivy. A class on knitting on the bias, which turned out to be much easier than I thought. I found Bristol to be an incredibly confident and lovely teacher. The class felt like a sit-down with friends, we chatted, we knit, we experimented and learned something new. Perfection, right?


Wewearknitbot

Monday, May 2, 2016

I have been in a pretty dark mood lately. mostly because of the unpleasant weather we've been having. So I needed a distraction. What better way to change one's mood then to embark on a project with a tight deadline?

A few weeks ago Hannah Fettig started the #wewearknitbot  challenge. The idea was to knit up and style any of her patterns by April 10th. I had the perfect project in mind. 

The Bayside pullover is a pattern I started, and I am ashamed to admit this, in July 2014. I had to eventually set it aside because it turned out way too large, at least a couple of sizes too big, and at that time I was too upset to deal with having to re-knit it. 

Hannah's challenge brought the knit back from obscurity and to the forefront of my knitting queue. It felt like the right time to tackle this project.

I thought that Hannah's request to "style" a hand-knit was a great idea. There has been such a fantastic movement toward an awareness of handmade items, towards an appreciation of hand-crafted clothes, and it is great to see everyone's style shine through.

I myself have become more and more conscious of my fashion choices, and think about where my clothes come from, who's made them and how. 

"Wewearknitbot" was about taking a handmade item and celebrating it by creating an outfit around it. A great idea, right? I have been trying to do something very similar with my "Style- a- knit" series of knits. Granted I am only on knit # 1, but my point is that great minds think alike, you know?

I absolutely loved seeing the fashion show that ensued. If you are curious, you can see all the posts on Hannah's blog here.

I am really happy with my finished pullover. Now all I need is for spring to cooperate so that I can wear it.