Autumn Knitting: Julie Asselin

I love this time of year.  The air is getting crisper and suddenly everyone is need of a knitted item to stay warm.  Yarn shops are full of yarn just waiting to be bought to help knitters survive the fall and winter ahead.  And as for the patterns....everyday new patterns pop up on Ravelry...there are so many that I am adding to my knitting queue daily. 

In the spirit of autumn, I had to do my knitterly part, and so this weekend I visited a yarn shop called Lettuce Knit located in Kensington Market in Toronto. 

Fun spider web outside Lettuce Knit

 If you are a tourist travelling in Toronto and want to get your hands on yarn by Canadian dyers this is the place to go.  This yarn store really focuses on promoting Canadian yarn and carries such brands as Ancient Art Yarns, Biscotte and Cie, Yarns of Rhichard Davrieze, Handmaiden, Indigo Moon, NBK and my current favourite, Julie Asselin, to name a few.  Have a look at Julie Asselin's Colorways page to get a sense of her extraordinary sense of colour. Lately patterns using her yarn are popping up on Ravelry.  One of my favourites is the Campside shawl by Alicia Plummer, a free pattern using three skeins of Julie Asselin Leizu DK, a 90% merino and 10% silk blend.  Another popular pattern using this yarn is a gorgeous sweater called Poivre & Sel.  Also a new pattern that can be downloaded for free (for a short time only) is First Crush, a cabled cowl by Kalurah also knit in Leizu DK.   The very popular shawl pattern, Spinel, by Paulina Popoliek has the most gorgeous lace panel knit in a fingering weight yarn called Fino (75% merino, 15% cashmere, 10%silk).

As you can imagine I had a hard time deciding, as seeing the colours in person made it even more difficult.  Here's what I purchased: 

Merlotto (lace weight) in Coraline

Nanos (fingering) in Blood Orange

Piccolo (fingering) in Plume

The colours are so vibrant

Lettuce Knit has samples of all the yarn colours Julie Asselin creates and will order any colour you require.  The yarn, at this time, is not available online from Julie Asselin's website but can only be purchased through stores that carry the line (there are a few online stores as well).

If you are in the market for some yarn to carry you through the months ahead and are in the Toronto area, or just passing through, go to Lettuce Knit.  You won't be disappointed.

Knotted Pine Hat

I finally finished my Pull Me Over.  I enjoyed knitting this pattern although I wish I had not run out of yarn and been able to do the full length sleeves I had wanted to do.  This yarn really grew through blocking and my sweater is a bit big although it still looks good.  Sand dune is the Madelinetosh yarn colour I used but it is very hard to capture on camera.  You can read all about my sweater here.

Pull Me Over

I finally broke out the Juniper Moon Yarn I was saving and have started creating a new hat by Alicia Plummer called Knotted Pine. It's on sale for $2.00 for a short time so don't delay!  Here's what I've knitted so far:

Knotted Pine

There are a lot of pretty stitches on this piece including the honeycomb pattern on the front, embossed moss rib, a braid, and, on the back, a half twist stockinette stitch.  This is my first time using this yarn and I quite like the halo effect it creates.  Not to mention how warm it is.  You should check this pattern out.

Today I took a trip to Toronto and visited Lettuce Knit which is located in Kensington Market.  This yarn store really celebrates Canadian yarn dyers and has quite a unique and varied collection. The lovely woman working there gave me quite a tour and pointed out some of their unique collection.  One yarn I was introduced to was Julie Asselin's yarn called Hektos, a merino, cashmere and silk blend in a beautiful grey called Shining Armour. Unfortunately I do not have, as of yet, a photo to share with you that will do it justice.  I will show you next time!