Monday, February 27, 2012

Winter Mitts



We have had a bit of a blast of wintry weather lately. I have wanted to knit these mittens since the holidays. But you know how it goes! With Spring upon us (fingers crossed) I decided I had to get these puppies done. I am a seasonal knitter in many ways and if I didn't get them done soon it would next fall before I would feel inclined to knit them.


J Flood I am not!

This pattern is Maine Woods and Rivers Mittens. The mittens are really warm with the stranding and fit nicely. I really like the outdoorsy theme as it is suitable for anyone. I knit them with Cascade 220. Very nice!




I particularly liked the cuffs. There is an outer cuff that is stranded and a ribbed inner cuff. This provides the wearer with three layers of warmth. I love this feature as I find my wrists can get cold quite easily. The pattern is sized for a larger adult. They are too big for me but they fit Brent perfectly. He is pretty happy about that. He loves anything knit that is functional and involves warmth. It is suggested in the pattern if the mitts are too big to slightly felt or full them. This would work with the Cascade 220. I have a pair of felted mitts and they are super warm. I would just be very careful about felting them.


It is a great pattern to practice some colourwork too.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Hankering for Spring

Spring colour

Even though this has been the winter of a non-winter we are all getting restless for Spring around here. I love these little primulas.They are in grocery stores , nurseries and even some of the big box stores. These were $.99 each!! They don't always last too long in the house as they do like cooler temperatures but they do provided a nice splash of colour. The best part is they can be planted in my garden and most of the time they survive for a few years. Hyacinths are also another favourite.They are so fragrant. Again when they are done they go into the garden and come up again next spring. It is funny but I find spring the most exciting time of the year-flower wise.



Sally has been knitting more pretty little things !!



The  inspiration for these embellishments came from this book. It is a very pretty book just choc-a-block full of different flowers and greenery to both knit and crochet. If you like flowers and like to embellish this is worth checking out. It took considerable restraint to leave this one on the shelf.                                                                                                                                       


I recently saw this author interviewed on TV.  The book is called A New Leaf by Merilyn Simonds and it is available in our local library ( I will be returning this copy soon). The book is a collection of short essays (?) about life in her large acreage in Ontario. It is not a book about gardening per se but about her life and her garden as the seasons change. It reminds me of how the Harlot writes about knitting-if that makes any sense. It is a nice book to pick up at the end of the day or whenever a quiet moment presents itself.



Saturday, February 18, 2012

Hexipuffs!!!!


Cate aka soletluna brought in her Beekeepers quilt this week. This is one of my favourites! The quilt is composed of knit hexagons that are stuffed and then sewn together. It is so soft and squishy and huggable. It is a great project to use up all your left over sock/fingering yarn.(I just may have a few bags of said yarn squirrelled away) Seriously, what a great project. It could be a long term project -just knit a few in between projects. It can be made large or small. It could be a throw or a table topper.You could do yarn swaps with your friends. Or hexipuff swaps! This could be fun!




I just had to give them a try and they are super fun and easy to do. They are so cute! It will be a great project to pack in my take-a-long knitting bag. It will be fun working with all my bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn. It will be like a scrappy quilt- only knit.What a great idea!


Baby owl hat
Julie just finished crocheting this owl hat for her baby. This is her first crochet project-she did a super job! (and it wasn't an easy pattern) The hat is adorable and we are all pretty excited to be with such a lovely mum-to be.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Heart Month


Today the sun is shining (finally) and there is a hint of spring in the air!


And it is Valentine's Day!

Milagro Hearts

Theses little felted hearts were quick and easy to do . They are so cute. The original pattern is in the book Gifted, but there is/was a free copy of the pattern on a Knitting Daily newsletter. They make great little decorations and could be used for all sorts of things.

Remnants from DD's bouquet

Have a great day!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Super Cute Alert



 I just love sock monkeys and anything sock monkeyish.




I know they are totally silly and funny looking and not everybody feels the attraction, but......

Sock monkey hat

Felted sock monkey slippers

To me they are just so darn cute. Sally has been on a sock monkey knitting spree !! I have a pattern for some flip top sock monkey mitts, I really should knit them.


 Sally has also been knitting some hats for little ones. They are all just adorable.





This is such a cute hat-and the bee!




Awwww.....




What is it about cute baby things that make us all get a little goofy!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

What's shakin' in the shop

Cowl/Shoulder Shawl in Kidsilk Haze Stripes






  Cathy and Tianna, my two amigos, have been doing a lot of great knitting lately.Cathy just finished this cowl/shoulder shawl in Kidsilk Haze Stripes. It is sooo pretty and just so nice and feathery light and soft to touch.




 I just love the buttons. Seriously, buttons can really add a colour or textural punch to a garment/project. It is amazing the difference they can make.So many times knitters will finish a project and then just slap on buttons they have around. I guess I look it as jewellery or an accessory for your knitting. It can really make your knitting pop..




 Cathy also recently finished this beautiful wrap/stole. It is knit with a collection of yarns. I believe there is some Kidsilk Haze and some Rowan Felted Tweed in the wrap. It is so pretty. It is a simple knit, the fun is putting the colours and textures together. I will have to get a glam shot of you Cathy! This is a great wrap you could wear year round.


Tianna has just finished a pair of these thrummed slippers/booties. They are so soft and squishy and feel like little puffy clouds on your feet.  I love the multi-colour roving she used to make the thrums The pattern is in the new Interweave Accessories magazine. Everyone seems to go nuts when they put their hand in the slipper!



 She has also been working on an entrelac scarf/wrap for her mom.


I love long striping yarns-you can do so many interesting things with them. The colours do a lot of the work for you and it is just fun to watch the colours change as you knit !

 
  
 Such nice projects, such beautiful knitting. Thanks Tianna and Cathy.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

3-2 -1, I am back in the room




 I know content has been very sparse or really non existent in the past month, but I did get a small amount of knitting done. I also had a trip through the Rockies and I am still in awe of the scenery. Bear with me while I get some of my mountain shots out of the way!!






It was around -32 degrees outside-with the wind chill who knows?



I am glad our truck just hummed along and the heater was working a-ok!




I hit the knitting doldrums for a few weeks post Christmas. Seems that is a yearly occurrence. I did knit this funky looking tea cozy. It is a little misshapen as there are some silly people around here who like to wear it on their heads! It is kind of a rasta tea cozy!




I found the pattern in this book. Oh yes, all you Noro freaks out there, there is a new book of loveliness and inspiration! These patterns would work with any long striping colour yarn. For some reason I can not insert any more text at the end of the post.I will leave you with a few project pictures from the book.

Networked Blogs