Mouline Yarns, bonsai, and a new project.

After getting sock yarn at “La Tricoteuse” I was excited about discovering more Montreal’s yarn stores. A fast Google search revealed a list of at least 10 stores spread all over the city, from East End and Plateau to the West Island. The closest ones to my house were “Ariadne” and “Mouline Yarns” located at a walking distance from the Lionel Groulx metro station. I decided to start my explorations with “Mouline Yarns”. The reason was purely materialistic – they were having a big Spring sale and who can pass discounted yarn?

The first thing that surprised me was the amount and the selection of yarn. It seemed like each corner of the store was holding more and more surprises. Loyal to the advertisement, most of yarns were reduced, some to as much as 50% and 60%.

The shelves were stacked with yarns and topped with different garments knitted with the presented yarn selections. Scarves and shawls, socks and mittens, baby sweaters and full-sized adult tops decorated every surface of the store. It is nice to be able not only to see the yarn, but to touch the final item, to know how the colors would look like once the sample is knitted.

Apart from yarns, the store also carries the greatest selection of knitting and crocheting books and magazines – this was the place where I spotted the first North American issue of "Verena" magazine.

I asked the owner (Svetlana, yes she speaks Russian, as well as fluent English and French) about lace-weight yarn and showed her the pattern from “Knit1” magazine. As it turned out “Mouline Yarns” had exactly what I needed: sea silk in different vibrant colors. Unfortunately it was a bit pricey for me and I asked for any acceptable alternatives. Svetlana offered several yarn varieties and explained how many skeins I would need and why one type would be better than another. I chose beautiful Baby Alpaca yarn (from Misti Alpaca) that was very affordable and picked two skeins of a nice "Blue Mist Melange" color (CD 42).

I also picked up a pair of Addi Turbo lace needles that Svetalana recommended. Sensing my “newness” to the whole knitting business not only she explained to me that the yarn had to be rolled into balls before knitting but let me use the yarn winder, patiently showing me how to mount the skein, find and cut the nod, and attach the end to the rolling part.

While rolling the yarn I witnessed numerous customers coming to Svetlana with different questions and she would recommend yarns, explain patterns, or simply give some advice.

I couldn’t not come back to the store again and soon after finishing my socks I came to “benefit” from some yarn specials – but this is a different story.

Mouline Yarn

2657 Notre Dame West (Not far from Lionel Groulx metro station)

The store offers different workshops and lessons. Call (514) 935-4401 to enquire about the summer schedule.

It has absolutely nothing to do with knitting but I wanted to share this picture of one of the goregous Bonsai trees from Montreal's Botanical Garden. If you are in Montreal check out the Japanese Garden and Pavillion of Jardin Botanique.

And finally, here is a colour scheme for my new crocheting project:

I am using 3 different "Bernat" colors: Off white (00002), Boston blue (27201) - part of their "Colonial colors" collection, and Earth Ombre (33048) - part of "Naturals" collection.

Don't you wish your slipper was hot like mine?

Do you remember a little secret project I started a while ago? I think it is time to share some of my progress with you. The little blue swatch turned into a wonderful sexy slipper (I have been a slow knitter recently and the second slipper is still in progress).

For those of you who do not know me or my taste in shoes, here is a picture of the sexiest shoes ever, according to Anna. And yes, I owe a pair exactly like this:

Now you can see why I use the word “sexy” when describing my new slipper. The pattern comes from one of back issues of “Knitty” and it is called: “Twinkletoes”. I slightly modified the original pattern: by mistake, I did not knit the strings same way as described on the pattern. I also did not knit the 1k1p border, since it was making slippers a bit bulky-looking. Because of this modification I am afraid that the back of the Sexy Slipper would slip off my foot (no pun intended). A loop in the back of the shoe that would hold the slipper and the straps would prevent slipping. I will definitely post pictures if this modification will be made.

When my dad saw the Sexy Slipper he asked with terror in his voice whether I was planning on wearing it outside! Sometimes I wonder what others think about me.

The new technique I learned from this patter was a "Lifted Increase/Decrease". Although the pattern provided explanations and instructions I searched some detailed instructions and videos and here are links to the most useful ones:

Wonder How To has links to every possible "How to" video. Here is the one for Lifted Increase/Decrease

Stich Diva Studio has some useful instructions with step-by-step photographs. Here is her version of LI/D. I really like the way she uses yarn of 2 different colors to make explanations easier.

Stash

Stash organizing is one of the biggest problems for knitters. No matter how hard you try the amount of yarn eventually exceeds the amount of empty space available for its storage. Also, as time goes by, one accumulates more and more half-finished projects that have to be stored until the better days.
Experienced knitters have different ways of managing their stash; some keep it in their closets while others have elaborate organizing cabinets and boxes.

Last week I realized that my stash is getting too big for its basket. I tried solving the problem by putting some of it in the box, but miraculously couple of plastic bags full of yarn appeared in my living room (I had nothing to do with it – they just appeared one morning on top of the table). I tried separating yarn by the usage, putting it in Ziploc bags, spreading started projects evenly over the rooms in my apartment. None of it helped taming the yarn monster. Finally, I found a big box and managed to staff all my stash in it.

I realize that the box is already full and any new yarn acquisition will lead me back to square one, but next several days I’ll be enjoying my neatly organized stash.

P.S. As I was proofreading the post, my dad brought me a plastic bag with 10 skeins of mohair/acrylic yarn from the owner of this wonderful dog.

I managed to fit it in the box but looks like the week will be spend thinking of new stash organizing techniques.

YEY for Verena.

North American knitters can finally enjoy European designs from Verena magazine!

My mother used to sew. It was common for women in the USSR because the choice of ready-made clothes was limited and not the best. By the time my sister was born my mom was so good that people had a hard time believing that the clothes we wore were handmade. Mom would modestly say that she is not a good seamstress (she was good, believe me), but rather she had good patterns and instructions. All her designes came from Anne Burda's magazine which was very famous in the Soviet Union. These magazines were staples in Russian households at that time. Women would lend their magazines to friends, trade them, copy patterns for others, and the lucky ones would actually get a xeroxed copy of an article (they were expensive and not all the issues were available). The beauty of Burda's designs were their timeless elegance and classiness so it did not matter if the patterns were a couple of seasons or even a couple of years old.
My mom's magazines were carefully stored, and could be looked at at her presence, on a hard surface (to avoid any damage - after all they were simply stapled together), and only after I would have wash my hands. She did not like to lend them to people and did not allow anyone, but herself, to trace the patterns.
Some of mom's friends would knit and they were the lucky owners of Burda's younger sister - Verena. Verena's models were always classy and were far from simple knitted socks and sweaters that grandmothers would make. At the same time, just like Burda's items, they seemed to be easy to make and had planty of instructions. Another thing about all Burda's magazines is that their designs would fit a regular-framed woman, the one that has curves. However, for those who found them too big or too small there were easy instructions for adjustments of the patterns.

Five years ago I was contemplating the idea of sewing and the first thing I did, naturally, was to buy a Burda magazine. Just like in childhood, I would carefully flip the pages looking at designes and patterns, imagining which ones I'll do first. I was SO excited to have my own little collection of those precious gems. Unfortunately my sewing enthusiasm died after my first skirt; the process was too tedious and uncreative, but I believe I'll get back to it one day.

When I started knitting the first reflex was to buy a Verena magazine. I was very deceived that none of my favorite magazine stores or bookstores carried them. Moreover, none of the store-owners knew what I was talking about. I "googled" the name of the magazine, tried searching representatives, but could not find anything in Canada or the US. As it turned out, Verena was simply not available in North America until recently.
The beginning of Summer marked the first North-American issue of "Verena". If you do not know about this magazine I highly recommend you checking it out - you would be pleasantly surprised with all the interesting and creative projects. Check the book, yarn, and magazine stores - I already spotted a copy in one of Montreal's yarn stores!

Out with the old ....

As I write this on a grayish summer day my feet are happy. Happy and warm …..They are also pretty, stripped, and soft. Well technically it is not my feet; it is Mr. Socks that are pretty, stripped, and soft. Nine days after the birth of Mr. Sock, Mr. Sock II came to this world on June 19^th at exactly the same time as his older brother 3:18PM. Weird coincidence!!!

I definitely enjoyed knitting socks. Enjoyed so much that my next project would be “Fluke” (click on the link to get the pdf pattern and see where the picture comes from), for my sister, made from the wonderful German “Fortissima Socka” (color #2048).

What would I have done differently? I definitely made first sock too loose. Socks in general should be knit tighter than other garments. Also I had to adjust the first sock (decrease and increase) and be careful when knitting the second one – I wanted the color-pattern to be identical. I would also follow the PDF pattern, because it has calculations, rather then casting on 60 sts without considering the tightness of my knitting and the circumference of my calves – I find that design on the back could benefit from a tighter fit.

While I was working on the second sock I crocheted yet another dishcloth. Now I have a set of 3 and still lots of yarn left – expect more dishcloth pictures in near future.

And finally, here is a sneak preview of my next project. I already have socks and some slippers, to go with, would be nice. I picked up bright blue yarn yesterday and started my knitting.

The color of yarn is much brighter and livelier in real life. It's "Galway" Irish worsted knitting wool in color # 5050 Oh, the pattern … I'll keep it a surprise for now!

Recieved

Do not have much time to write - it's 1AM over here, but I got the books and they are AMAZING! Can't wait to knit ........ everything.

I will write something more coherent tomorrow.
Good night!

Books, books, books

I am still working on Mr. Sock II. As some of knitters mention, there comes a point in any project when you just can not wait to finish it, and that point came yesterday. Unfortunately my Ikebana class (what, you thought knitting is the only unusual thing I am into???) took longer then expected and I did not have time to finish the sock. I got to the heel part, but hey, it is all downhill after heel, right?
I also did not get a chance to take pictures - BAD blogger, Anna, BAD!

I do have something to share with you today: I place my first knitting Amazon order! I exercised great self-restrain and discipline while ordering. Those of you who know me in real life can imagine how hard it was. I first narrowed my choice to 30, then to 17, finally I picked 8 ... only 3 books made it to the "shopping cart" but I believe I made the right choice.
Here are the top 3, as chosen by yours truly

3rd place:
I am yet to share my full story of shawl knitting with you. For now I'll just say that I did not give up the Knit1 shawl. I actually got some awesome yarn and special needles (it's a blogworthy story on its' own), and I even started it. I also looked at tones of lace knitting sites and I feel that after socks-addiction it would be shawls. Oberle's book is PERFECT for that.


2nd place goes to:


I had to get a crochet book, I am a Crazy Crocheter after all. To tell you the truth my last trip to the bookstore left me disappointed; for some reason there were no good crochet books there. It seems like people knit but do not crochet, anymore. However, Crochemealong blog proves the opposite. This is the blog, where people share their progress on the objects they make from "Crochet me". After looking at all the gorgeous projects I could not resist ordering the book.


And the winner iiiiiiiiis:


It had to be about socks. Even if I already have 20 patterns waiting to be knitted, another 70 are more then welcome. I also heard great reviews about Rowley's book - can not wait too flip through all the designs.

P.S. the order of books does not reflect my personal preferences. I like all of them equally, just like mothers love their children.

Knitting in public

I had a great weekend and even though I did not make it to the wwkip celebration at ParcLafountaine I still contributed to the knitting in public more then once. I got some interesting comments and considering writing a book of “knitting prejudices” … but let start from the beginning:

It was my friend’s birthday on Friday and we were meeting for some drinks and the local bar. Since Anna (that’s the name of my friend, and “yes, Russians have no imagination so every second Russian girl you meet is called Anna”) so Anna does not like surprises and I couldn’t make a big surprise party for her, instead I had a very special guest who traveled all the way from Seattle. I LOVE seeing people’s reaction at these kinds of situations – it is priceless.

Once all the gang was there and the conversations, sangria, and beers were flowing, I decided to get my yarn out and knit. Little did I know, but some people find it rather embarrassing to be seen with their knitting friend in public, and especially in the bar. To jump ahead, I told the story to my dad and he was shocked that I actually knitted while drinking wine. According to him it is impolite to knit outside of one’s house.

Friday’s disappointing experience didn’t diminish my enthusiasm and I decided to continue my knitting in public escapade. I brought my bright yellow crocheted purse and my knitting project along with me on Saturday. First, I knitted on the metro. All-in-all it was very nice.; one lady actually smiled at me. After, I met with Eric and we sat down in the park, where I got my Mr. Sock II out. People would look or smile and then the older gentleman asked the most unexpected (to me) question:

- Is it a boy or a girl?

First, I was sure he was referring to me. From the picture above one can see that I am clearly a girl, with longish blond hair. I was also wearing a long skirt that day so his confusion was surprising.

Then I thought that he was referring to the knitting project. The sock is bright red and tubular …. I doubt it looks like either a boy or a girl.

I was very perplexed and didn’t quite know what to answer. Thank G-d Eric was there to save me. He jokingly said something to the gentleman (I was too perplexed to pay attention) and then explained to me that knitting is usually associated with being pregnant, so the gentleman was enquiring about the gender of my future child. I found that hilarious. So not only you are an old babushka if you knit, you are also a pregnant old babushka!

My third attempt in knitting at public happened later on that day. At a “house-cooling” (it'a the opposite of house-warming) gathering I was showing off to one of my friends, parading the yellow purse, when a GUY standing next to me said that he used to knit, and he would do it on the way to school in public transportation. Apparently girls find it sexy and he is contemplating the idea of joining one of the knitting groups since he is on the search for a girlfriend.

And what did YOU do for the knit in public day?

I could not leave you without some knitting pictures, so here is Mr. Sock II. He is getting bigger and bigger and I can not wait to do the heel.

Next is a felting project I casted on. I never felted before but I fell in love with this purse and with the yarn. I am a bit nervous about it.

And here is another half-finished project. This is a scarf I am knitting for Eric. I really like the autumnal colors and the rustic edging. I find it’s a great project for a beginner because you get to practice your purling and knitting.

Yesterday was an interesting day...

First of all, it’s finally cooling down here in Montreal. We had a huge storm the day before (I missed it working in catacombs): crazy winds, downpour, thunder, and lightning. I think that it was a sign from the Gods marking the birthday of Mr. Sock.

Secondly, I was puzzled by the following question:
Do you identify yourself with

a. Your country of origin
b. Canada

c. Quebec

d. Montreal

I had to think a while about that one and I am still not sure if my answer was final.

I kept thinking and then decided to cast on the little brother of Mr. Sock – there is no better time to think than while casting on. 60 stitches later I was interrupted by a gentleman, who needed help with the printer and the computer (oh yeah, I was knitting at work). After explaining to the gentleman that he is distracting me and will be responsible in case I’ll freeze to death, because the long Canadian winter is coming sooner then he thinks, and that I would like to be warm and comfy throughout those 8 months, and having TWO socks (not just one) is essential for my warmness, I received a rather interesting reply:
“You might be European, because Canadian girls your age do not knit”.
I was SHOCKED, I tried to contradict, but my shock was too strong – CANADIAN GIRLS KNIT!!!. You don’t have to be a Russian babushka (grandmother) to knit. So, Canadian girls, lets get out there and show people that we knit! And this is THE TIME to do it – June 14th is the World Wide Knit In Public Day. Get out there, bring your hooks and needles and show people that we knit.

If you are a Montréaler there will be some knitting at Parc Lafontaine. There more details on MontrealKnit website.

If you are a Torontonian you better be ready. Yarn Harlot is celebrating her birthday on the same day. And she invited this guy. You do not understand why it’s so exciting? Franklin, aka The Panopticon is making a 1000 Knitters project and if you are a knitter you have a chance to be a part of this! I would assume that most of the places are probably booked by now but you still might get in if someone cancels. Read this if you want to know where to call and what to do. If not for my friend’s birthday on Friday I would probably get a ticket to Toronto and enjoy the “happening”.

And if you are anywhere else in the world you should join one of the kip groups. And you still have time to start one, in case your city/country does not have any. Check out the website, get out there, and KNIT/CROCHET!!!

And here are pictures of Mr.Sock that I took last night. Let me tell you, it is VERY difficult to balance on one leg while taking pictures of the back of the other. It stroke earlier today that I could’ve done it sitting down – but hey, I like the challenge. I apologize for bad quality of these pictures and I’ll get someone to take better ones as soon as I can.

The birth.

Today, at 3:18PM, on the hot and humid June day Mr. Sock was born!!! HOORAY!

The mother and the baby are doing fine. The birth was easy, thanks to the instructions for Kitchener stitch from KnittingHelp website.

Thank you everyone for support and help. Pictures of newborn and happy parent are coming up soon. Feel free to send gifts, flowers, and chocolate.

HOT

It is hot in Montreal. Third day in a row my brains (that small amount of substance living in my skull) are melting. I envy those who find this kind of weather "beautiful" and "sunny". My friend called me on Sunday (the day we beat all the records for the heat and humidity) telling me that I have to get out because it's "gorgeous" outside. I might be weird but I don't find sauna-like temperature and humidity "gorgeous", I find it disgusting, suffocating, and too much to handle.

OK I am done complaining and can switch to more crochet/knitting related things. By the way, I never complain about cold and you will never hear me saying: "Darn winter, can't wait for it to finish" even if it's snowing in April. This is why I believe I have the right to complain in summer. And yes, at any given moment I would take -30 over +30.

OK OK this time I will talk about knitting. I've been browsing through a lot of blogs, online yarn-stores, knitting/crocheting communities over past couple of weeks. I save all of the links and will eventually (that's the key word, in case your brain is as melted as mine) post my favorite ones. Today however, I couldn't wait to share with you these:


First I was not sure what these were and why anyone would knit them, but later on I followed the link to this wonderful website (TitBits).

I love when people turn their experience into something creative, I also love when people find more accessible, easier, and cheaper options to solve problems. And in case you were too lazy to check out the website, I'll explain you that these are knitted breast prosthesis for breast cancer survivals who had to undergo mastectomy. I think that the idea is BRILLIANT. You can buy the already-made one or you can make one yourself. They are inexpensive (~60$ - compare to silicone ones that are $400) which allows women to have several prosthesis. They could be weighted or not, depending on the "feel" you prefer. They come in natural as well as wild and funky colors. They are SO beautiful. Once again let me tell you that I find this whole thing AWESOME!!!!!

P.S. The image comes from Knitty website.

Mr. Sock is almost done.

The knitting part is done; all I have left is to “sew it up”. I can’t wait to buy the tapestry needle, finish the sock, wash it, and see how it looks on my foot. It won’t be the first time I’ll be trying it on, but I think that washing will do it good and will make it even more attractive (by hiding all the irregularities and little “mistakes” in my knitting). All in all it was a lot of fun. I think I’ll be knitting lots of socks. I actually have a next project in mind, as soon as I’ll knit Mr. Sock the second.
I am a bit disappointed that I made couple of mistakes, but I hope that none of them will show. I am also disappointed with the lack of measurements on the pattern (not the pdf one but the one I had in my calendar); I planned to make the sock for Monkey Face (my sister), I even bought yarn with her color preference in mind, but 60 sts gave a diameter way too big for her leg. It’s actually a bit loose on my leg but I hope that washing will tighten it up just a bit. From now on I would make sure to get my dimensions and to use patterns that provide size measurements. By the way, my “mistakes” should be blamed on the lack of measurements: I had to decrease and increase in certain parts of the sock and it makes it looks uneven.

After finishing the sock, I decided to do a bit of crocheting. I got some multicolor cotton yarn on special at Zellers; it matches the orange I used for my dishcloth, so last night I crocheted the second dishcloth, using the same pattern but in different colors. I love this kind of no-brainer projects; since I don’t have to count my stitches every 2 seconds I can enjoy a good movie (last night it was “12” by Nikita Mikhalkov – Russian movie that was nominated for Oscar’s last year) and have a final item done by the end of it. I even managed to weave in the ends – impressive!!!

Let me tell you though, I am getting spoiled with good yarn. After using Regia sock yarn, I am so used to the thread slipping of my needle easily and almost knitting itself. The lower-quality cotton was hard to knit with and left my hands covered with orange fuss. Now I can see why some yarn costs 99c for skein, while other is 5$ for the same amount!

Knitting in the time of cholera

I managed to get sick. Came home Thursday with headache and sore throat, slept for 3 hours, woke up, ate, and went straight to bed again. Yesterday I was still sick … let me tell you: it’s no fun at all. The only good thing about being sick is that I can spend most of the day knitting, and since I haven’t been very productive for past couple of days I got back to my sock.

The long-promised worse started as soon as I hit the heel. W&T??? I thought I conquered all of the abbreviations. I managed to wrap and turn, and slip, and knit but the heel did not look good. So I finally gave up and undid it (what is the proper term for it?). Yes, for the first time in my 3 months knitting/crocheting career I undid part of my creation.

The explanation came from INTERNET!!! By the way, do you ever wonder how people would get all the information in pre-Internet times? I understand that books in the library are very informative, but when you are sick with a fever at 1AM going to the library is out of the question.

Back to the sock, I first found this amazing lady with enchanting British accent who was explaining how to do the heel of a sock. The only problem was that she knitted using British method (duh!) and I had really hard time "translating" it to the continental one. Do not forget I am sick with a fever!!!

After going through more youtube videos I found this wonderful, wonderful lady with clear and coherent instructions on sock knitting. I love the way she compares stitches to girls with different hair colors and pearl necklaces. I also love her step-by-step instructions and would looove to attend one of her workshops. Yes, Cat Bordhi is my new role model!

And just to show off my progress, remember the little guy? Well he grew quite a bit in last 2 days. I even predict that I will be starting his younger brother tomorrow.

I belong!

We all like to feel unique, special, and not like anybody else (in a good way that is). I believe this is why hand made stuff is so expensive, and why people are willing to spend thousands of dollars on houte couture "one-of-a-kind" dress.
Yet, we love being a part of something, feeling that we are not alone, and that we belong....
OK Anna what this pseudo-philosophical stuff has to do with knitting, or did you knit/crochet all night long and are going crazy today?

No no no. I didn't knit anything last night - I had to take care of my sick sister. I crocheted couple of chain stitches while teaching my coworker. And this pseudo-philosophical stuff has to do with the fact that I found this link last night: www.montrealknits.com There are two big knitting groups in Montreal: Montreal Knits and The Montreal Knitting Guild! There are knitting rendez-vouses and stitch-'n-bitch circle almost every day!! There are tons and tons of people like me in this city and I do not feel alone anymore!!!


If only I can overcome my asocial nature and join them...

First yarn shopping experience

I finally made it to one of Montreal’s yarn stores. La Tricoteuse is situated on the corner of St. Hubert and Rachel (779 Rachel East). The store is full of yarn: sock yarn, mohair, beautiful silk, yarn of different colors and textures. I must admit I was slightly overwhelmed when I walked in there (and so was Eric).

After spending good 20 minutes simply looking at all the yarns I decided to approach a nice lady (the owner?) for some help. To tell you the truth, the quantity of the yarn made me forget all the project possibilities I had on my mind and the only thing I remembered was sock yarn for the long-promised socks for my sister. After yet another 20 minutes of admiring all the sock yarn, I finally decided on “Canadian color" (#4746) from Regia. It’s a mix of wool and polyamide. The gentlemen at the cash (husband of the lady?) asked me if it was my first time knitting socks and after my affirmative answer he wished me “good luck” (I am not sure I liked the underlying message in that wish. Is sock-knitting really that difficult???). Oh, I also picked some sock needles for the project.

All in all I was really happy with my first yarn shopping experience. Once the socks are done I will return for some new yarn and I might even take some pictures of the store.

I picked “Reverse Psockology” pattern from “Stitch-and-Bitch” calendar (thank you Es'ka and Jen'ka) for the yarn. It is going pretty well so far, but I am expecting the worse.

Since I am posting the picture of half-finished sock, here is one more of “work-in-progress” projects: the baby scarf (to go with the baby carpet) that I crocheted about a month ago. It is still missing white fringes.

My dad is refusing to call it a scarf. He says that it could be anything! I guess I should hurry up with those fringes.

La Tricoteuse
779 Rachel East (corner of St. Hubert and Rachel, not far from Mont Royal metro station)