Fidra - The Perfect Winter Hat

Want a quick satisfying knit? Gudrun Johnston's Fidra hat is just the thing. I've been dying to make it ever since its release last December, but never got around to casting on. I found a skein of Berocco Ultra Alpaca Chunky in my stash that was just the thing for this hat. It came together in only 3 evenings. I picture this hat coming with me on walks through a snowy landscape, then slowly defrosting by a fireplace in a cozy cabin. Of course, I don't actually have time for a walk these days, I don't have access to a cabin and we don't even have a fireplace. The snow however, we've currently got plenty of.

Spark of Joy

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.

Wewearknitbot

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. 

Image via Instagram 

Image via Instagram

Honey Hat

I desperately wish for spring. My Instagram feed is showing me glimpses of blooming trees, budding branches, sunshine and warm days. Looking out my window all I see are branches encased in ice, and the weather forecast promises more of the same. 

How does one keep happy and motivated under such circumstances? There's always getting away, or planning summer vacation, complete with a countdown to said vacation. Or chasing  a patch of sun across the house, that is, IF the sun ever shows up. In absence of sunlight, you can always load up on vitamin D. Retreating to the couch with a giant mug of tea and a good book.

My cure? Not surprisingly... knitting. I decided to focus on a quick project, something that, at the same time, would use up some yarn in my stash. Instant gratification if you will. You can never have too many hats! So I chose to make the Honey Hat, a pattern which was especially written for this yarn.

As a side note, I rarely end up using the called-for yarn in a pattern, which is a risky endeavour, I know, and I usually obsess over the result, question if I have made the right choice, if there would have been a better choice… you get the idea. I guess this could be a good experiment. Knit up something in the yarn suggested in the pattern, and then experiment with other yarns. Oh, if I only had the time!

But back to my hat. It is a fantastically quick knit, an easy pattern to memorize, and turns out a lovely hat. I love this shade of plum, and the fact that it brings a little pop of colour to predominantly gray days.

Style-a-knit Svalbard

I bet by now you thought this project, my tiny step towards a more handmade wardrobe, had been scrapped. Well, I am here to tell you that it is finished. Just in time for sweater weather, which, yes, has been here for a while, but I am only now getting around to admitting it to myself. The only good thing about low temperatures is the need to wear knits. Preferably all layered, and topped off with a cardigan like Svalbard.

I am so proud of this project. It has been a huge learning experience, one that I am happy to say I have mastered without too much pain. I love a project that stretches your limits, that teaches and challenges. It has shown me that I can knit more complicated patterns then I thought. The yarn turned out to be a great choice for the project. It has wonderful drape and makes for this lovely cushiony fabric. It is difficult to describe, but I believe it turned out the way it was supposed to. I am looking forward to reaching for this cardigan over and over again in the winter.

Other things I am looking forward to this winter? Cuddles under blankets, sipping hot cocoa, reading books, and planning our summer vacation.

And on a completely unrelated note, I have some exciting blog news to share next time around! Stay tuned!

Happy Feet

2015 ended in a family cold, that dragged on for weeks. We are just now recovered, and it feels like we completely missed out on the holidays. We huddled and cuddled under blankets, moving from couch to bed, and  looking for cozy spots. I stayed away from blogging because I could honestly not string a coherent sentence together.

Now I am back, recovered, and ready to talk. 

Winter days, which are certainly here now, can only be survived by wearing warm, cozy knits. I am one of those people that are perpetually cold, my feet are always frozen. What I realized I needed, is a pair of wool slippers, just like the ones my grandma used to make. And being confined to the house for a few weeks, I had plenty of time to research and find a pattern that greatly resembles the slippers I remember from childhood.

I used the simple house slippers pattern by Temple of knit. It’s such a simple, straight-forward pattern, just the way I like it. I cannot repeat it enough, simple lines and great construction are what I admire the most in a pattern. It’s an almost comforting knit. I made a pair for everyone. And bonus….this is the kind of knit you can model while sick. I did not even have to move from the couch to take the photos.

We are all better now, and sporting a new pair of slippers, clearly, things can only go up from here, right? Just think of what I can accomplish with warm feet!

Never enough baby knits

Hi, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's day celebration. We had a beautiful day, a full house, lots of laughter and squealing children. I was planning a quick little post, but time just got away from me.

So I am back today to show off another adorable baby knit. I started this pattern while recovering from giving birth in the hospital. A dear friend of mine sent me this yarn from Berlin, and I wanted to make something special with it for my little one. 

A very popular baby cardigan on Ravelry is Puerperium (how DO you pronounce it?). It is written for a very small size, so it was perfect for my tiny 2lbs, 10oz baby. 

Well perfectly small for her to grow into anyway, as it still is a little big on her now, and she is 3 times as big.

It is a very fast and straightforward pattern. I enjoyed making it, and really like the way it turned out, but my absolute favourite part of this cardigan......the buttons! Aren't they adorable? Ever since I saw them in my friend's yarn shop, I planned on knitting a cardigan to fit them. I mean owls! You can never have enough owls!

The beautiful weather has finally arrived here in Montreal and I am planning on spending as much time outdoors as I can. What about you??

Loose ends - Colour Affection finished.

Maybe it's the spring, maybe it's nesting, but my focus lately has been to finish projects, to tie up loose ends as it may be. 

Looking back over my sparse blog posts of the last few months, I realized that I never posted photos of the finished Colour Affection shawl. So here it is.

This is a project that I started with my Stitch'n Bitch group, a knit that we all loved to hate. You may recall me agonizing over my colour choices, and the famous "to YO or not to YO" issue. The endless knit rows. 

I am happy I stuck it out however, because I have gotten quite a bit of wear out of it since I finished it, and it has also turned out to be quite a versatile piece of my wardrobe. I have paired it with a lot more outfits then I thought. And it has also been admired quite a bit. I love it when knits turn out like that, and let's be honest, that is not always the case. 

I would say that out of all of my knits, about three quarters I wear often, whereas the rest I have never worn more then a handful of times.

Which begs the question....what do YOU do with those knits? Do you frog them and re-use the yarn for better, more appropriate projects? Or is it too painful to undo all those hours of work? I am curious to know... 

Happiness is...

sometimes... 
a cup of steaming coffee...
or a delicious piece of chocolate...
the smell of the air after a fresh summer rain...
or sunlight streaming in the windows...
today, happiness is a pile of lovingly hand-knit items...

I guess I am in spring cleaning mode, I have been going through our closets, sorting, evaluating, making piles. I feel a little invigorated by the warmer temperatures, I am back to making lists and plans.

In the process, I pulled out all of my hand-knits to, honestly, simply admire them. They make me happy. Is that funny? I guess it is, but knowing how much time and work has gone to making them, they feel like quite the accomplishment. It is rare that your accomplishments are this tangible.

The hat on top is for a friend, she asked me to make her, she was looking for a slouchy type hat, and after looking through countless options on Ravelry she chose Norie , another lovely pattern by Gudrun Johnston. I used Malabrigo Rastita in black. It is a very easy knit, a very straightforward pattern, and the hat looks adorable!

Anyone else feeling the spring-cleaning bug? Or at least a little less like hibernating? Tell me about your own projects.

Levenwick

I have to admit, I have been selfish. This is now three FO's in a row for myself, and to be honest, I am starting to feel a little guilty. Enough to have decided to focus on Christmas presents next. But more on that at a later date.
For now, let me introduce you to Levenwick. I really like this cardigan. It has a classic feel to it, and it fits nicely. The pattern itself, I did not find complicated at all, and I learned a few new things, such as the I-cord bind-off, the invisible purl increase, and a new way to make buttonholes. I am always amazed at how every project teaches me something new, but that also means that I still have lots to learn.
I drove myself crazy trying to find the right buttons for the cardigan. The ones I ended up using look OK, but I think that the perfect finishing touch would be shell buttons, something with a nice silvery-blue sheen. Etsy has a few options, but none in the right size, so I'll wait.

I have to say that there are so many patterns that have caught my eye lately, it's crazy! I received my copy of Coastal Knits, and I think I will have to knit every single item in it. Also Jared Floods new Loft Collection and of course BT Fall 11, how can you not want to cast on immediately? And have you seen Hannah Fettig's new Framed Pullover and Autumnal Cardigan ? How does she find the time? I do not believe there is one pattern by her that I do not love...How will I ever keep up with knitting all of them? Ah, there I go being selfish again!
What about you guys? What's on your knit-wishlist? Any interesting projects in the works?

Best friends and a Debbie Bliss cardigan

Do you still remember your best friend from childhood? Do you still keep in touch? How special are these memories to you?

As a mother, I find it fascinating to see my son forge relationships. There’s his best friend from daycare, his partner in crime, whom he plans on taking along for a ride when he gets his own motorcycle and his girlfriend, whom he wears his Super-man T-shirt for. And then there are the friends he sees on weekends, the ones he goes on vacation with and meets at activities.

I am a little obsessive about capturing little special moments for him to remember. I love this picture of A. and one of his buddies. Don’t they look like they’re up to no good?

What does this have to do with knitting you ask? Well, I wanted to show off a new FO. It’s another Debbie Bliss Pattern from “Baby knits for beginners”, specifically the raglan cardigan. I chose a bright-red cotton acrylic mix yarn for durability, and I am really happy with how this turned out.

As this was made for a 3 year old, I enlarged the pattern a bit, and it looks like I’m getting better at adjusting knitting patterns. Now I just have to knit a matching one for A. so they can go out and charm the ladies.

To top things off

I realized recently that it's been a while since I actually knitted something for my son. If I remember correctly the last item was a scarf, last year (I do not count bears that look like pigs ...). Of course that made me feel really guilty (a feeling that seems to be a constant companion now that I am a mother), and I looked for a quick project.

I've recently acquired Joelle Hoverson's "More last -minute knitted gifts" and it has a hat pattern that caught my eye. I had found this beautiful color yarn by Patons, which is meant for socks, but the hues are too beautiful to hide. When I saw the yarn it made me think of rocks covered in moss, lying by the shore (see my inspiration here, here and here ).

Back to the hat though. My issue was that the pattern is written for a thicker yarn, so I needed to change it a little bit. This is the first time I've adjusted a pattern, and I am glad to say it's worked out (to my dismay I realized too late that I had not written down the changes I made).

My next challenge was to photograph my finished project. A. was not very cooperative, this was the best I could do (after bribing him with chocolate).

To get a better photo (or rather, a more enthusiastic look), I tried the hat on myself , and I have to say I like the look of it, so I will probably have to knit another one.