Woolercoaster's Wonderful World of Wool March 3-9

As we near the end of winter, here are a few knitting related news items that might help you fight those winter blahs:

1.  The patterns nominated in the Mason Dixon March Mayhem 2108 were announced this week. The categories this year are: Neck and Shoulders, Sweaters, Yokes, and Mini Skeins.  Under each category are 16 patterns with links provided. Everyone is welcome to vote on their favourites starting March 15th.  By the end of the month there is a final Champion pattern.  If you did not join in on the fun last year, you should definitely check it out.  It's a great way to discover  patterns that you might have missed in 2017.  I can guarantee that you will add some of these patterns to your queue.

2.  Stephanie Earp, a consultant at the yarn store Espace Tricot, has published a gorgeous new sweater called Galore. This sweater is knit top down and colours are changed every two rows. Isn't it stunning?  I also love the fact that it is knit in DK weight and is a great stashbuster.  The colours Stephanie chose are gorgeous, but this sweater would look wonderful in many different colour combinations.  You can get 30% off Galore until March 23rd with coupon code MADTOSH.  I am looking forward to seeing what Stephanie designs next.

©Stephanie Earp

Galore

3. Another beautiful new pattern that caught my attention is Hamble by Isabell Kraemer knit up in Rosy Green Wool Cheeky Merino Joy, a sport weight yarn.  I picked up three skeins of this yarn when I visited Haus of Yarn in Nashville. It is incredibly soft, and I regret not buying a few more skeins to make a sweater. This would have been a lovely one to knit with this yarn.  Isabell's patterns are always easy to follow and look great on.

4.  Have you seen the new Party of Five Mini Skein Sets by Sweet Georgia Yarns including Candy Shop, Salt Water Taffy and Fairytale.  So pretty.

Candy Shop Party of Five Mini Skein Set©Sweet Georgia 

5.  Newsletter subscribers received the sad news that Knit Purl in Portland is closing.  This yarn store was high on my list of yarn stores I wanted to visit.  The good news for knitters is that they have a sale for 25% off everything.  Don't miss out.

6.  Hannah Fettig's first Mystery KAL  for a worsted weight, set-in sleeve cardigan has just begun.  There's still plenty of time to join the fun, and if mysteries are not your thing, the full pattern will be released to all at the end of the month.

7.  The last thing I wanted to mention was Karen Templer's Log Cabin Log-along has finished.  She announced the winners on her Fringe Association Blog here and if you haven't checked out her Instagram feed for the Logalong, it's definitely worth a look.  #fringeandfriendslogalong 

It's great to be back sharing what has caught my attention in the knitting world.  Please visit my blog at the end of each week to check out what's new.

Happy knitting everyone!

FIbres West 2017

What a happy surprise for me to find out that my trip recently to Vancouver coincided with the Fibres West Yarn show.  I have a supportive yarn husband who didn't mind making a slight detour in our plans to check this festival out. This annual fibre show held in Surrey turned out to be a forty minute subway ride, followed by a fifteen minute taxi drive from downtown Vancouver.  It is a two day event that focuses on fiber and yarn and is held at the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Grounds.

There was a good combination of fibre, yarn and spinning supplies and equipment from different artisans.  Here are just a few of my pictures to give you an idea of what was available.

Twisted Fae Fibreworks

West Coast Colour

Chaotic Fibres

Fleece Artist Halo Bundles from Wool Is Not Enough

Big Blue Moma baskets a fair trade company working with artisans in Ghana

Shibui Yarn from Valley Yarn

Sweet Georgia display

Sweet Georgia Silk Mist

Penelope Fibre Arts

nan.c fibre art studio

I thought that this event was held in the perfect venue allowing vendors and shoppers plenty of space to shop.  I love going to yarn shows and I am glad I had the chance to go to this one.  If you have ever have the chance to visit this event I would highly recommend it.  Here are a couple of my purchases that I couldn't resist:

Handmaiden Halo bundle:  one skein of a mohair blend and another skein of fingering single ply yarn

Flock Fibre Studio:  Take a Hike Sock

And as for knitting, I finally got through second sock syndrome and finished my Hermiones's Everyday Socks.  

Pattern:  Hermione's Everyday Socks  

Designer:  Erica Lueder

Yarn:  Gale's Art Wonder Sock (75% bluefaced leicester 25% nylon)

Colourway:  Skittles

I love the result and only wish I had finished them much more quickly.  I am slowly trying to get some works in progress off the needles before I cast on any new sweaters.  Happy spring knitting everyone!

F.O. Voolenvine Vanilla Latte Socks

Pattern:  Vanilla Latte Socks
Designer:  Virginia Rose-Jeanes
Yarn:  Voolenvine Yarns Wolke
80/10/10 blend merino/cashmere/nylon
Colourway:  Deck the Halls
Needles:  2.5 mm 

Voolenvine Yarns Wolke Base

I bought this skein of Voolenvine yarn during Rhinebeck weekend at Indie Untangled.  I was quite taken by this colourway when I saw it in person.  I tried a couple shawl patterns first but I decided the colourway looked best knit as socks.  There are so many sock patterns to choose from, it can be a bit overwhelming for a new sock knitter.  I decided on the Vanilla Latte Socks as I saw there were over 7000 projects using this pattern.  After knitting them now I know why this pattern is so popular.  This sock pattern was great, not only because it was a free pattern, but because it offered the knitter a few options. First there were three heel flaps to choose from:  Stockinette, Slip Stitch Rib and the one I chose which was the pretty Eye of Partridge. Then there were the Toe Shaping choices: the Rounded Wedge Toe (that's what I did) or the Star Toe.  I was quite happy with how the pattern turned out and the fit is great.  This is the first time I knit a sock with 56 stitches and it really helped me get the proper fit.  I think I have been knitting my socks too big in the past with 64 stitches.

The second sock is much lighter than the first

Notes:  I knit the first sock from the outside of the skein and the second sock from the inside out.  I am not sure why I did that.  However, the first sock is much darker than the second sock.  Lesson learned when knitting with hand dyed yarn.  I won't do that again.  However, the sock feels so lovely on...perfect socks to wear on Christmas Day.

This is my fifth pair of socks that I have knitted.  Although I absolutely love wearing knitted socks and prefer them over store bought ones, I still question if it is worth it. I am not the fastest knitter and with limited knitting time one pair takes me a couple weeks.  I think I would rather invest my time in other kinds of projects.  For the next while I think I will focus on knitting some patterns that are not fingering weight.

p.s.  That's not quite true.  I just cast on a shawl in Sweet Georgia's Cashluxe Spark which is a fingering weight yarn!  But my other projects will not be fingering weight. I swear!

Sweet Georgia Cashluxe Spark in the colourway Shoreline