My December Little Shawl in Madelinetosh Yarn

Winter is upon us.....brrrr. Time to pull out all our knitted pretties! I am wearing my new winter scarf/shawl/wrap. It is aptly named the December Little Shawl. This  is a great pattern if you are new to lace or if you are a  more experienced lace knitter. I used Tosh yarn in a dk weight using the colourway Torchere.It is a very vibrant mix of reds and oranges, absolutely beautiful! I have seen this pattern knit up in a fingering weight too and it is really nice too.

I really enjoy knitting these types of shawls/wraps. They knit up fairly quickly and are interesting to knit. Anyone would love to receive one as a gift. Even better, make one for yourself!

My knitting odyssey with the spiral knit cowl in ASAP Madelinetosh is continuing. This colour is Lolita. It is totally awesome! I can not get enough of this beautiful yarn, it is so pretty and just heavenly to wear.

Have a good weekend friends and keep warm!   Chris

Beautiful Madelinetosh Cowls

I am knitting again. It is beyond words. I am sure you all understand...completely!!

I am knitting big soft beautiful cowls with Tosh yarn. They are awesome!

This is a great quick knit beautiful project. They can be worn outside of your coat or jacket.

Or they can be worn on top of a sweater or shirt.

Scarlet

Forestry

 

 

 

 

 

Spectrum

 

This my friends is potato chip knitting at its best. I used Tosh A.S.A.P yarn and the colours are amazing. They are quick and easy and it is really really hard to stop at one or three or .......whatever! Just so nice to wear, very pretty and warm, but not too bulky. They are knit on a 10mm needle, can I say more! Follow this link for the pattern.  If you are unable to get this specific yarn there are lots of beautiful chunky/bulky yarns available at your LYS.

 Happy knitting friends,   Chris

And let there be food!!

Our fearless and most patient cooking teacher Heather

Well it is autumn, again . I just don't know how the seasons fly by so quickly but they do. Of course it is prime knitting season, lots of beautiful yarns and patterns available and ohh so many projects to dream about and do. Once a few cooler days and chilly nights set in, I always feel quite inspired to do some cooking again. 

Heather is a member of our knitting group and she is one talented woman.She is a knitter, United Church minister, humanitarian, mixed media artist, wife, mother ,grandmother,.....and the most awesome cook! She has graciously invited us all to lunch on occasion and it has been fantastic.After much begging and pleading Heather happily agree to teach us to cook some Cretan and Arabic dishes.  Oh my!!

Heather's lovely daughter in law Lauren is having a baby!

We all had so much fun! It was great to learn about new foods and learn some new cooking skills. It is amazing the difference the use of such simple ingredients as garlic,olive oil and fresh herbs can make to fresh vegetables and meats.

Judy made the best bechamel sauce ever!

We are expecting calls from the Food Network any day now!

We made Moussaka, Dolmades, Dagos, Fatoosh, Tahini Sauce with Fish, Layered Tomatoes...it was all awesomely delicious.                                          

 

Layered Tomatoes

Dagos-I could live on this stuff!

I was remiss in not taking more pictures of our culinary masterpieces but I was too busy eating! Fortunately (and we are all so lucky) Heather has agreed to do another class on North African Cooking. So exciting.

Needless to say I enjoy my knitting but what has been so extra special is all the wonderful and interesting women I have met. For that I feel extremely fortunate.I have learned so much from all of you. Thanks so much

It's the Canadian Thanksgiving here this weekend and I sure have a lot to be thankful for.I wish all of you a great and happy weekend, where ever you may be.

and there will be knitting in the next post!

                                                                       

Creative Colourful Capelet

Sally being a really good sport!

The weather here the past few weeks has been so changeable. We have gone from record warm days to snow to warmish days to thunder and hail storms. On one of our nicer days Sally wore this into the shop. It is a capelet than can also be worn as a cowl. I apologize for a slightly blurry picture but I have to shoot fast!

I really like this idea. Often in spring (when it actually warms up) when the weather is in a transitional state I really don't need much of a jacket. The sun is warm but the air can be a bit cool still. Having a capelet to layer over a tee or a light sweater would be great to keep warm without feeling all bundled up. Sally knit this using two different types of Noro yarn, one a semi solid and the other a multicoloured boucle. The colours are super pretty together. You could knit a bright colourful one or one in a more neutral palette. I love the drawstring at the top with the pom poms-gives it a fun casual look.

The two different yarns give a nice textural look

It is a very fun and easy knit.

What a face!!

 This is Wendy's new puppy Tima. Tima, pictured here with Colleen, is a beautiful Labradoodle. She is the calmest sweetest puppy ever. Her fur is like silk. We all fell in love with her immediately. She will start her training to be a service dog with Wendy soon.

Absolutely adorable!

And then there is Archie

Happy Spring friends!!   Chris

Saturday Super Knitters

I am constantly amazed at what everyone is knitting and how beautifully they are done. Charm recently knit this little puppy. It is styled after her own dog-a Jack Russell cross.

 

Charm with her new puppy

Charm is a super knitter with loads of patience and great skills for all that detail!

 

Cathy Stiles knit a Westie for her daughter. I love his tartan scarf. Dougal is her daughter's dog.  Westie's are great dogs but can be a handful-I am liking the knit version! Cathy has also been knitting lots of fun novelty things. She does a great job. I will have to get more pictures.

We had a visitor on Thursday. This is Hughie, a Welsh Pembroke Corgi. He is the cutest happiest dog. Hughie is Pen's dog and Pen is Brenda's sister and Jen's aunt (of Thursday class fame). She is currently moving to Kelowna. She is a super knitter and lots of fun! we are all really looking forward to having her knit with us.

Cheryl is modelling her Aidez sweater and matching tam. She did a beautiful job. Aidez is an aran cardi. They are really nice to wear, look great and never go out of style.

Eileen has completed one of her pre- felted slippers. It is amazing how big they are before they hit the washing machine.

Lee Ann is knitting her slipper

Lots of knitters are knitting felted slippers as future gifts now. What a great idea, sometimes it is really hard to knit for some of the special people in our lives but everyone loves slippers.

 Cathy R. is knitting lots of them and very fast too! I love the ones with the flowers.

Lucy and Lisa planning Lucy's knit skirt

Stacy is a super knitter!

Stacy knits a lot of beautiful sweaters and coats.She is currently knitting an aran sweater using Cascade Eco. It is going to be lovely.Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture!!
  Have a good week and happy knitting friends  Chris

Tuesday Knitters Rock!!

two very dedicated knitters

February has been a very prolific month of knitting amongst my peeps! Louise (on left) and Jackie (on right) have been knitting and knitting and knitting these fabulous felted bags.Louise and Jackie were kind enough to provide me with a before and after shot. Can you believe how big this bag is before felting? It is almost a sleeping bag!!Jackie's finished bag is awesome. It is a strong and sturdy bag that sits upright on its own. I calculated that between the two of them they have knit over 1.6 km of yarn.

Where's Jen when I need her

Infinity scarves are still really popular to knit and wear. I don't think they will ever go out of style. They are so easy to wear-just a couple of wraps around your neck and you are ready to go. Last year Sally suggested I  knit a bias infinity scarf and I did! Sally always has the best ideas. I don't need much convincing when I can use Noro yarns!

Frances modelling her scarf knit with a Berrocco yarn

This year, lots of knitters are knitting infinity scarves. Frances knit one in over a week. I believe she used a Berocco yarn-my picture really didn't do it justice.

Deputy Barb

Barb knit a beautiful one using Boboli-a Berocco yarn. We all agreed she should buy a new coat to go with her new scarf. Many thanks to Barb who took my scribblings and formalised it into a well organized pattern. Thanks Barb, you are awesome!!

Evelyn knit a gorgeous scarf using Noro Silk Garden. Absolutely lovely!

Jackie knit her's using a Sirdar Country Style yarn. This yarn has built in striping and fair-isle patterning. It knit up beautifully. I should have taken a close up picture of this one, as it was quite unique. Wonderful!

Laurie, Frances and Geri are knitting intently

There's Brigitte knitting two at a time socks!

The Tuesday Morning ladies are absolutely delightful and are great knitters!! We are all planning to knit lots more infinity scarves for gifts ...and maybe for ourselves. I think this is what is so great about knitting with a group of like minded knitters-we all encourage, help and stimulate each other.( I don't like to use that word -enable!)

Busted Louise! Probably looking at new patterns!

 Thanks again for everyone putting up with me and my camera and my "Glam Shots". I have lots more pictures of knitters and projects to share. Stay tuned and happy knitting friends.  Chris