Vacation Knitting

When I visited New York City a couple weekends ago I knew that it would be a whirlwind trip and only brought my Indigo Dreams Sweet Fiber Yarns socks to work on.  That was the right move as I barely had time or the energy to knit. But every now and then I get to go on a holiday where I know there will be plenty of time for knitting.  My husband and I are taking such a trip.  We are venturing out to Vancouver and taking a driving trip to tour around the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Yes a driving trip means lots of knitting time.  Yippee!  But as every obsessed knitter knows the real question is what should I bring to knit?  I always like to work on more than one project at a time and I definitely don't want to run out of yarn.  However, I don't want to take up too much space in my suitcase with yarn.  So here is what I am thinking:

Pure Worsted by cabinfour 

I want to knit the simple shawl with Woolfolk Far that I picked up at Purl Soho. I cannot tell you how incredible this yarn feels and luxurious it would feel around your neck.  It is made up of ultimate merino and is a chainette construction. You can read about Woolfolk here and a yarn review here.  I think this combination of yarn and pattern will be amazing.

Woolfolk Far

Next on my list is a shawl I have been slowly working on that deserves some attention, Sidere, a lace weight shawl by Hilary Smith Callis.  For this pattern I am finally using my Merletto yarn by Julie Asselin, a gorgeous blend of 75% merino, 15% cashmere, and 10% silk in the colourway Coraline. 

Julie Asselin Merletto:  Coraline

Now if I want to go a little crazy I could bring yarn to start my next sweater project.  Here are the two patterns that have made it to the top of my queue.

Lake Effect by Amy Miller is a pattern that I have written about on my blog before.  This lacy cardigan would be perfect with my Sweet Fiber Yarns Super Sweet Sock Yarn in Chartreuse.  However, knitting a lace pattern always takes a lot of concentration on my part.  Maybe I could just get it started?

Lake Effect gauge swatch

Sweet Fiber Super Sweet Sock

The other pattern that I am all set to knit is Mailin by Isabell Kraemer.  I have been wanting to knit a pattern by this designer for some time.  I have found the perfect yarn to knit it in:  Plucky Knitter Scholar, a 75% Merino 25% Cashmere worsted weight yarn, in the colourway Twill.  This pattern is much easier than Lake Effect but it uses heavier yarn and I know the temperature in the Okanagan is quite hot.

Plucky Knitter Scholar:  Twill

I am not sure what I will decide to bring but hopefully I can show you some progress when I return.  I find it hilarious that I am spending all this time planning my knitting but no time on what I am packing to wear!  But I know you knitters totally understand.

I hope you all find yourself with some holiday knitting time.  Happy knitting everyone!

Store Find: Fishs Eddy NYC Part 2

It's so much fun to discover a new store when you're travelling.  Next to visiting knitting stores I enjoy kitchen stores.  And did I ever find a treasure in New York City.  Fishs Edy, located in the Flatiron District, carries a huge variety of dishes and everything else imaginable for your kitchen.  All the products are displayed in a fun and edgy way.

I could have poked around the store for hours.  There were so many unique pieces. 

Go ahead, have a look around:

These pictures only capture a fraction of what they had displayed.  If you love kitchen stores as much as I do this place is definitely worth a visit next time you're in New York City.  I can hardly wait to return!

New York City: Summer of 2015 Part 1

Every now and then my husband and I love to go away for a fun-filled weekend in New York.  

Of course every visit to New York has to include Purl Soho.  It never disappoints. Look at all this yarny goodness in the front window:

Walking around this store just makes me happy.

Purl Soho

Our hotel was literally around the corner from a number of bead, ribbon and button shops.  As every knitter knows good buttons can make a sweater.  One place I visited was M&J Trimming.  There were so many buttons to choose from. I ended up not buying any...the selection was overwhelming!

This was just one small sample of the variety of buttons available

We decided to try a three hour walking Greenwich Food and Culture Tour, and were not disappointed.  During this tour we ate the most delicious pizza from Joe's Pizza, munched on a warm cookie from Milk & Cookies Bakery, sampled cheese at Murray's and visited a restaurant called Palma that was just full of flowers, to name a few.  We ended our tour with a an amazing cannoli from Pasticceria Rocco.  This tour is definitely worth taking. In addition to the wide variety of food we tasted, the introduction to many small restaurants, that we would have never known about was invaluable. We definitely will return to them next time we come.

During this visit we stayed in the Archer Hotel, a lovely boutique hotel right in the heart of downtown.  In the hotel is a fabulous restaurant called fabrick by David Burke.  The menu was so interesting and the food was delicious.  Take my Lobster BLT Steamed Bun below.  It was so good, I am still thinking about it!  

Lobster BLT with candied bacon!

The other fun thing to do in this hotel is to go up to the top floor to the Spyglass Rooftop Bar, have a cocktail and watch the sunset over the city and the Empire State Building.  We did this on the last night and it was a great way to end the trip.

I also wanted to show you pictures of a store I visited, the Purl Soho of kitchen stores!  But I feel I have gone on long enough for today. Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will share some details about this store and entice you to go the next time you visit.

Sweet Fiber Yarn: Indigo Dreams

What is it about pretty yarn?  I just love to photograph it.  Sometimes I don't even want to knit with it until I have admired it for a while.  

That's what happened when I received my July's shipment of Sweet Fiber Sock Club yarn called Indigo Dreams.

 Isn't it gorgeous?

A Nice Ribbed Sock by Glenna C.