A Look Back: 2017

Like so many of you, I have continued my obsession with knitting and yarn.  I think there has to be some kind of Ravelry record set this year for the number of patterns published.  It seemed like everyday new patterns were popping up on the Ravelry Pattern page.  It was hard to keep up.  I have enjoyed checking out all the new patterns and yarn throughout the year and the size of my queue is ridiculous.  There are just so many patterns I want to knit.  I think we can all agree that 2017 will be remembered as the Year of the Fade thanks to Andrea Mowry.

I present to you my annual round up of favourites for 2017.

Best Yarn Shop:  Haus of Yarn, Nashville, Tennessee
The variety of yarn, the size and warmth of the store, and quantity of knitted samples was impressive.  I would highly recommend this store to anyone visiting the Nashville area.  You can read about my visit here. 

Just a sample of what Haus of Yarn carries (Wool & Boon and Old Rusted Chair)

Feyre Shawl by Shannon Cook:  one of the many samples at the store

Best Sweater/Cardigan:  Camira by Carol Feller. 
I love this cardigan's unique construction and how well it fits.  It is a sweater I wear on a weekly basis, and I think it would look great knit in many different yarns.  

Camira by Carol Feller

Best Yarn Brand:  Woolfolk
I have knit a number of accessories in this yarn and love everything about it.  It is incredible to wear, and my dream would be to knit a cardigan in this yarn.  I would never take it off.

On the C Train knit in Woolfolk Fär

Best Yarn Colour:  Maize by Tanis Fiber Arts (Purple Label)
One of my favourite things to do is to photograph yarn.  When you have a colourway that looks like this, it is an absolute joy.  Tanis outdid herself when she created this colourway specifically for Knit City 2017.  

Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label:  Maize colourway

Best Knitted Accessory:   Deep Woods Toque by Kiyomi Burgin. 
My favourite accessory was a hat I knit for my daughter, using Tanis Fiber Arts' Purple Label Yarn, combined with Sweet Fiber Yarns Super Sweet Sock.  I love everything about this hat.  The colour combination and finished product makes me so happy.

Deep Woods Toque

Yarn That Impressed Me:   Gauge Dyeworks Merino Twist Classic (colourway All Together Now) 
I knit Martina Behm's very popular Hitchhiker using this beautiful colourway.  I love how the yarn colour switches back and forth.  I think the dyer behind this yarn is super talented.  Just have a look at the shawl below to see what I mean.

Gauge Dyework Merino Twist Classic

Hitchhiker Shawl

Best Knitting Instagram Feed:  1. Clara Parkes (Instagram stories)
If you haven't checked out Clara Parkes Instagram stories you definitely should.  She is so witty and her stories always make me laugh.
2. Instagram Photos:   As for Instagram pictures this is an impossible choice.  The amount of talent on Instagram is incredible and inspiring (and a bit overwhelming trying to keep up to be completely honest).  Some of my favourites are:  espacetricot, quinceandco, boylandknitworks, happycactusdesigns, soveryshannon and mysocalledhandmadelife.

Best Knitting Magazine:  Laine Magazine
This Nordic knitwear magazine showcases impressive patterns by talented designers, as well as interesting articles.  It is an enjoyable read and totally worth every cent.  If you haven't had a chance to look at a copy yet, you can check out the patterns from the magazine on Ravelry.  

A few of my favourite publications

Best Knitting Vlog/Podcast:  Melissa and Lisa of Espace Tricot wins hands down for me this year. 
This definitely was the year of the podcast. There are so many talented vloggers out there, but the owners of Espace Tricot (a Montreal yarn store) are consistently enjoyable to watch.  Each time I watch their podcast I always learn something new, and end up adding patterns to my queue.  I find them so entertaining and talented.  

Favourite Designer:  Andrea Mowry  
I have yet to fade anything, but I admire Andrea's talent and prolific designing.  I have many of her patterns in my queue and will definitely knit a few of her designs in 2018.  Here is one of Andrea's patterns called Goldfinch that I knit this year.

Goldfinch by Andrea Mowry
knit in O-Wash O-Wool Sport

I am also super impressed with Caitlin Hunter and her unique designs.  I am excited to see her new designs in 2018.

Best Yarn Show:  Knit City in Vancouver
I have to be honest and admit that I only went to one show this year, but wow, it was a great one!  Everyone involved in Knit City was super friendly.  There was so many talented designers and dyers, as well as amazing classes by talented teachers. Vancouver is my favourite Canadian city to visit too. If you can only go to one show next year this is the show you need to get to.

Designs by Sylvia McFadden

I think it was a great year in the knitting world.  I am excited to see what new designers emerge in 2018 and what's hot.  What were some of your favourites?

F.O. Camira by Carol Feller

I can't tell you how much I enjoy knitting a sweater or cardigan which is constructed in an unique way.  For example patterns such as Hitofude by Hiroko Fukatsu, Japan Sleeves by Joji Locatelli, and Capall Dubh by Carol Feller are examples of beautiful patterns with interesting constructions that I have knit.

Once I saw Carol Feller's gorgeous cardigan for this year's KAL (knitalong) I joined right away. I knew I was in for an entertaining knit.  I was not disappointed.  The directions were broken up into four clues and were very clear.  Additional help, if needed, was available in the discussion boards and that made the project so easy and fun to follow.  Here are the details:

Pattern:  Camira

Camira front view

Camira back view

Designer: Carol Feller

Sweet Fiber Yarns Merino Twisted Worsted

Yarn:  Sweet Fiber Yarns Merino Twist Worsted (100% Merino 183m)
5.5 skeins

Colourway:  OOAK 

I have been a long time fan of Sweet Fiber Yarns and was lucky enough to snatch up six skeins of this yarn at the Knit City yarn festival at the end of September. (I used the word snatch as it was an extremely busy booth and these were the only skeins of this particular colourway).  It is very hard to capture the correct colour of this yarn, but the swatch below gives you an idea of the gorgeous mix between purple and  blue. 

Needles:   4.5mm & 4mm

Ravelry:  Camira

Added Notes:

1.  The construction of this cardigan was unique and very entertaining. The directions were broken down into four clues. The first step was to knit the center column of the back. 

Clue 1

Next the sleeves were constructed coming out from the center column. The bonus of this step was having the sleeves done so early in the pattern.

Clue 2

Then stitches were picked up around the front and the back and the rest of the body was completed for Clue Three.  For the final clue the collar and button band were knitted.

 2.  I did not want my cardigan to have too much positive ease and kept that in mind when choosing the size.  Prior to blocking the sleeves were a bit snug and the sweater length was not quite as long as I wanted.  But as with anything knit with superwash yarn, the cardigan grew with blocking, and I am very happy with the resulting fit.

3.  I tried to take some photos of myself to show you the fit.  My son usually helps me out when I need a photo taken of myself but he was not available to help.  Luckily I finally bought myself a tripod and I braved the cold weather to try and get a decent shot of myself. The following was the best one out of the bunch.  All the ones with my face in it consisted of me with either a weird expression on my face or the photo was not in focus.  I definitely need to practice! 

I would highly recommend this pattern as it was a very fun knit, but not difficult at all.  If you are nervous about knitting this cardigan, there are lots of photos and support given in the Discussion Boards, that should answer any questions you may have. Enjoy!

Woolercoaster's Wonderful World of Wool: September 18-24

I love this time of year. Although it is still hot where I live, I know sweater weather is around the corner.  There are so many beautiful new patterns and yarns cropping up on Ravelry each day.  Here's my picks for the highlights of the week:

Hot Patterns:
1.  If you are looking for a shawl that uses up some smaller quantities of yarn check out Melanie Berg's new pattern called True Colors.

2.  Thea Colman has come out with a new cabled cardigan pattern called Nor'easter.

3.  Josie Paquin and Heidi Kirrmaier have teamed up to create the Strong and Free collection which consists of 3 cardigans, 3 pullovers and 4 accessories all knit (or dyed) in Canadian yarn. I really like the Mount Pearl hat pattern.

4.  And if you are in the market for a baby cardigan pattern here's a cute one:  Aimee's Rainbow unisex cardigan by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne


Free Patterns:  
1.  Knitty Deep Fall 2017, 12 free patterns from designers such as Laura Nelkin, Julie Crawford, Carol Feller, and Amy Christoffers.  Check out Julie Crawford's cowl pattern below.

Alicorn by Julie Crawford
©Knitty Deep Fall 2017 

2.  The East Coaster Cozy is a free pattern until the end of September.  This cup cozy looks like a perfect gift.

3.  The Espace Tricot ladies have done it again.  Using the leaf pattern from the sweet cardigan Norwegian Fir they have created a baby blanket called Petits Pins.  It is so pretty, isn't it?

Clubs:If you are a fan of Julie Hoover's designs then you may be interested in her Sweater Club 2017 which was introduced this week.  By joining this club you will get two exclusive sweater patterns (one cardigan and one pullover) featuring a Woolfolk yarn in the quantity you need.

Yarn Festivals:

Gauge Dyeworks (available at Knit City)

One of my favourite things to do is to go to a yarn festival.  There is nothing like being around other knitters who are as passionate as I am about all things knitting.  I love having the opportunity to touch and feel yarn that I have only seen on the internet. For example, new colourways by Gauge DyeWorks will be available for purchase, such as the gorgeous colourway above. I am excited to be going to Knit City for the first time this year and I will be sure to write a blog on the event.  The Canadian west coast yarn festival, an annual event held in Vancouver September 30-October 1st.  Besides the amazing yarn market there are so many designers, classes, speakers and vendors. I can hardly wait. 

YouTube Videos:
If you are looking for some company while knitting check out Andrea Mowry at the Yarn Pimp's store.  Interview here.

That's just a tiny drop in the bucket of what is new in the knitting world.  Please feel free to add your own favourites in the comment section below.  Happy knitting!

Woolercoaster's Wonderful World of Wool: August 5-11

Today I am trying something new on my blog which I hope you enjoy.  I have highlighted a few patterns, KALs and yarn that have caught my attention this week in the knitting world.   

Week of August 6-12

1. Thea Colman (Baby Cocktails) came out with a new hat pattern called the Boston Flip.  This hat was designed as a gift to her daughter, and her daughter's best friend, as they go off to college this fall.  The explanation for the hat's design was incredibly sweet.  Read all about it on her blog. 

2.  Joji Locatelli has come out with two new patterns this week:  the Longline Cardigan and the Bobble Cowl.  Both patterns are knit in Malabrigo Mechita which is a fingering weight yarn.  She is offering 20% off all her patterns from August 10-20 using the code jojifallkal.   This sale is in anticipation of her Knit Along starting September 1 running until December 10th.  More information can be found here.

3.  Carol Feller, another prolific designer, has come out on Instagram and on her website with a new sweater design called the Camira Cardigan which will go on pre-sale on August 19th.  The first clue will be released October 7th. This is one KAL I am considering participating in.  I think this pattern will be very interesting to knit.  I participated in a previous Carol Feller KAL and knit a sweater called Capall Dubh which I absolutely love.  More information is to follow.

4.  Another sweater pattern that caught my attention was Fresh by Josée Paquin. This sweater would be a great stashbuster and would be a fun knit.   Josée uses Julie Asselin Fino fingering yarn combined with a Julie Asselin's Leizu Fingering Gradient Set.  Love it.

5.  A new publication entitled Plum Dandi Knits:  Simple Designs for Luxury Yarns by Melissa Schaschwary and Alicia Plummer is available for preorder on Amazon.  It is being published November 30, 2017 by Interweave and I am sure it will have many beautiful designs.

6.  And finally, I know I don't have to tell you about Andrea Mowry's newest pattern and Mystery Knit Fade Along called What the Fade?! starting August 31st.  However, what you might not know is Hedgehog Fibres is having another Colour Sets sale on August 12th where you can purchase a six skein set directly from the extremely popular dyer to use for this pattern.   (One can dream.)

That's my round-up for today.  I had fun compiling it and please feel free to add any other items that you are excited about in the Comments section below.

Now I can't leave you without any yarn pictures.  How about a few shots of some of my recent purchases?  Although I will not be joining in the Mystery Knit Fade Along I do enjoy a skein of speckled yarn.  There are so many beautiful ones to choose from...it's mind boggling.   Here are a few of my faves:

Primrose Yarn Adelaide:  In Between the Lines

Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles:  Bubble & Bounce

  

Life in the Long Grass (LITLG) Fine Sock:  Shack

Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles:  Poppy

What am I going to do with these skeins you ask?  I am not sure, but with these colourways I am going to have fun figuring it out.  

Happy weekend everyone!

F.O. Clarke Pullover and Other Autumn Favourites

Here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend.  I am extremely grateful for all the special people in my life.  I also appreciate all the yarns and creativity I am able to enjoy.  I took some time this weekend to look over some of my favourite photos and I can see that autumn is a reoccuring theme.  So I have compiled some of my favourite photos to get you all in the autumn spirit. I have attached the links if you are interested in reading about any of these photos in detail.  (Left to right in a clockwise direction).

Clarke Pullover

Here's my most recent F.O. : Jane Richmond's Clarke Pullover knit in Malabrigo Rios in the Piedras and Cocoa colourway.  I can't tell you how happy I am with how this turned out and how comfortable it is to wear.  It will get a lot of use I am confident. I highly recommend this pattern.

Sweet Fiber Yarn Super Sweet Sock

Sock knitting in Sweet Fiber Yarns Super Sock, flowers at St. Lawrence market, Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers and a bag from Jenna Rose Textiles.

My Grace Cardigan by Jane Richmond , a walk in my neighbourhood woods, Capall Dubh: a knit-along by Carol Feller , and more Sweet Fiber yarn, Cashmere DK in Spiced Pumpkin and Super Sweet Sock in Monarch.

Malabrigo Sock in Primavera and my F.O. Line Break by Veera Välimäki

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians.  Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by my blog and sharing a part of your day with me.   I really appreciate it.

Capall Dubh: Carol Feller

Setting goals is a tricky thing.  I am all about setting goals for myself but as I have become older I am trying to be kinder to myself when I don't reach my goals. I am trying hard to go with the flow and accept that some things happen that can alter what I want to achieve.

I joined Carol Feller's KAL in the fall with the intention of knitting this lovely sweater, named Capall Dubh, by mid December.  However, I did not complete it until the beginning of January due to work obligations and Christmas preparations.  In the past this would have bothered me but I decided to let it go and not worry about it.  Life happens.

This is the first Carol Feller pattern I have ever knit and I think it is very well written.  I used Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Alabaster colourway.  It is a sport weight yarn in a lovely merino, silk, and cashmere blend.  The colour is hard to photograph but I would describe it as the colour of honey with darker undertones.  This was the first time I knit with Pashmina and it is going to be so luxurious to wear.  

Madelinetosh Pashmina

The cardigan was knit from the top down and the sleeves were knit in the round.

 The lace pattern was easy to follow and the resulting cardigan fits very well.

I had to reknit the first sleeve as it came out way too tight.  Knitting two sleeves is hard enough but knitting three sleeves was torture!  Well I might not have met my deadline but I am starting the New Year with a new sweater.  As for other New Year resolutions I am going to try to enjoy the moment more and not always look immediately to setting the next goal.

Happy New Year to everyone!  I wish you all the best in 2015.

The Rhinebeck Sweater Book and Other Great Patterns

There are so many new patterns cropping up on Ravelry that I wish I didn't have to work and could just sit and knit all day!

Here is a list you should check out.

First up is Ysolda Teague's The Rhinebeck Sweater book and e-book.  If you go to her website you can look at all the patterns and preorder.  Pumpkin Ale is one of the patterns I am excited about.  This book contains patterns by many of the top knitting designers like Thea Colman, Gundrun Johnston, and Cecily Glowik MacDonald just to name a few.  The book and e-book will come out November 6th.

Another pattern that I quite like is called I Heart Cardigans by Tanis Lavallee (of Tanis Fiber Arts). This lovely worsted pattern has cables and looks like the perfect fall sweater.  Love it!

I am a big fan of Amy Herzog (who by the way has a cardigan pattern in The Rhinebeck Sweater book) and she has come out with a pattern called Dalriada in sport weight yarn.  It looks like a very flattering style of cardigan that will suit many different body shapes.

Gabbro by Carol Feller is another sweater pattern that looks lovely to me.  It is a fingering weight sweater with some pretty lace work.

And then there is CustomFit which is a new venture by Amy Herzog.  Basically you pick your yarn, knit a swatch, take your measurements and through Amy's program a sweater/cardigan will be designed for you to your exact measurements.  I am on waiting list to do that as they are unrolling the program slowly.  You can see what some test knitters have made using Amy's program here.

I find the knitting industry so exciting right now.  There is so many ideas, designs, yarn choices...the possibilities are endless.  It really would be a great industry to work in and I envy those that do.

Pull Me Over in progress

As for my knitting status I have stalled on my Pull Me Over sweater pattern. I decided I really wanted to do long sleeves and I ran out of wool.  A new skein of Madelinetosh 80/10/10 worsted is on its way to me so until then I am working on a fun little pattern called the Inspira Cowl using some Classic Elite Yarn Liberty Wool.  It's a fun pattern and is knitted with two different coloured multicoloured skeins so the yarn colour you are knitting with keeps changing.  Here are my details here.

Inspira Cowl

So happy knitting to all of you.  What patterns are you excited about?