What I will be knitting tonight.

Do you have those days when a certain word, item, or a song keeps popping up everywhere? Today was one of those days for me. It started with Esya (aka Urwen) sending me these images she found on one of LiveJournal communities:

They are all part of Luisa Cerano's collection
"Look how cool these bracelets are" said she.
And indeed knitted bangles are pretty impressive. I have seen pictures of bangles made simply by wrapping the yarn around the wooden/plastic base but it was the first time I saw knitted ones. And considering the popularity of the fabric bangles these will get popular soon.

I had just enough time to finish the conversation with Esya when Gabes (aka SweetP) posted this picture on her blog:


Not only prooving my theory about knitted bangles being "cool", not only explaining that this could be a very neat way of trying new stitches or making swatches, but providing us all with a link to instructions of how to make them!

If you want to have the latest "it" object for Fall, hurry up over to See Mi Knit, pick up some leftover yarn, and get to work. You have four days left until the First of September.

P.S. Do not forget to say "Thank you" to Gabes.

Good weekend

How do you know that you had a good weekend? You definitely had a great one if you spend it looking at these:


And playing with these:

I will write a separate post about books and magazines (I got most of them in Toronto) but here is a closer look at my new stash addition.

Here is my first tenсel yarn:


After a bit of research I found out on this website that:

"Tencel ® is the brand name for a fiber called lyocell. Lyocell is a cellulosic fiber made from wood through a proprietary TENCEL® production process. TENCEL® is a man-made fiber but natural in origin. This means it is very comfortable to wear because it is breathable and absorbent, like other natural fibers. TENCEL® is durable and this means that the clothes last."

I can not wait to try knitting with it. I think those colours would look great in a lacy shawl or stole.

And here is a beautiful German wool-based sock yarn called "Strumpfwolle".


Although I have a lot of sock yarn and not enough time to knit it all up I obsessively check out the sock yarn section in every stores. This yarn comes from a cute boutique "Les Laines Saute-Mouton", located in Saint-Lambert (one of the small cities, or should I say boroughs, constituting the South Shore). I really like the way colours change from one to another creating subtle, yet impressive, palette. One of the projects I have in mind for this yarn is a pair of gloves or maybe fingerless mittens.


And finally a skein of Noro, bought at "Les Laines Saute-Mouton" simply because it is Noro and it is pretty.

Blobs

I am back to civilization and knitting. Sorry for leaving abruptly but I was hiding in Toronto for over a week and since people from whom I was hiding tend to read my blog I had to stop posting for a while.... These people are the reason why I could not show my crocheted project until now.
Here is the last picture of "almost finished" secret project:


And here are all the balls and arms assembled into 2 "blobs":


Same blobs but with the hand-made card:


These are modified Doug and Gordo from Crochet Me book. They do not look much like the original ones (I hope Kim Werker would forgive me for that) - I used a completely different size of yarn and had to improvise with the eyes and "costumes". I wanted them to look more like a girl and a boy, since they were part of the wedding gift for my two wonderful friends.

Knitters'

No knitting pictures today. I am a very very slow knitter these days. However I picked up a copy of Knitters' magazine couple of days ago.

They have shawl patterns as well as an article by my favorite Cat Bordhi about sock knitting (what else). The issue also features several nice summer tops and since I am too chicken to knit a big sweater, a nice top or cardigan could be a fun project.
Here are some of my favorite designs. I will appreciate any suggestion and colour changes:





To see all the designs from this issue of Knitters' click here. You can also browse through past issues to find a model you like.

And I can not not show you a beautiful sock pattern by Cat Bordhi:

They are called "Spring Thaw Socks" and it seems like they are made of snow, first spring leaves, and snowdrops.

It is quite obvious that all the images in this post are taken from Knitters' website.

Addition to my stash

July has been busy .... busy with work, trip to Toronto, meeting friends, and knitting. It was also busy with discovering new yarn stores and getting additions to my stash. If you are looking for a place to get a lot of different yarn you have to go to Toronto's Romni Wools.

I have read several reviews about the store. I also seen this picture on their website. I was expecting a big place but felt like it would be more of a warehouse and that I would not like it there. One thing for sure, the place is HUGE. It is the biggest yarn store I have seen so far. And yes, it has a bit of a warehouse-ish ambiance, but hey, they have SO much yarn that it is hard not to look like a warehouse. By the way, apart form different yarn they also carry a great selection of needles and hooks by different producers.

Seeing this colour/texture explosion I almost broke down in tears (now I know how my sister feels when she walks into an art-supply store, and why Urgwen becomes "not quite her usual self" in the bead stores). I felt overwhelmed by the beauty and shear amount of yarn. I could have not walked out without purchasing at least something, so here is my small addition to the stash:


This is a beautiful sock yarn from Araucania. I will admit that the colour combination is not my first choice but since I have been stuck on blues recently I let my sister pick the colour and she fell for this one. I doubt I would be making socks with this, I can envision a beautiful scarf or maybe a pair of warm mittens. The colour of this yarn is 501 and here you can see all the subtle details of it.

Romni Wools has the greatest selection of sock yarn. I wanted some darker and earthy colours and found this:


I am struggling to figure out the name of this one. I know it is German but would like to know how it is called.

And finally, I could have not walked away from the gorgeous Fleece Artist Suri Blue (the colourway is called Dandelion). It will be definitely turned into a shawl some time soon.


If you want to see other colours Fleece Artist makes this site has a beautiful collection with all the names.

How far is Toronto?

Here is Palette on my way there:


And this is what I brought home last night:


I did not knit all the time while on the bus but I am happy with the progress made.
The pattern for Palette comes from one of back-issues of Knitty. I decided to experiment with yarn and used a skein of Noro(S185) sock-yarn I've picked up at Mouline Yarns.

The picture comes from THIS German website.
And HERE you can find another gorgeous picture of the yarn

Originally I was thinking of making socks, something like this beauty by The Loopy Ewe. At the same time I wanted a fun project that would be easy enough to knit on the bus, yet challenging to prevent me from dozing off. This lacy scarf proved to be ideal.

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.

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.

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!

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.