F.O. Miromesnil by Cléonis

Pattern:  Miromesnil

Designer:  Cléonis

Yarn:  Shibui Silk Cloud (60%% Mohair, 40% silk) 2 skeins

Colourway:  Shore

Yarn:  Tanis Fiber Arts Pink Label Lace Weight (100% Merino) 2 skeins

Colourway: OOAK (it was super close to the colourway Midnight)

Needles: 4.5mm and 5mm
Size:   M1

Ravelry:  see notes

Added Notes:  
1.  This is the second time I have made Miromensil, and once again I enjoyed every minute of knitting it.  I dug deep in my stash for the two skeins of TFA Pink Label Lace Weight yarn, pairing two strands of the lace weight yarn with one strand of Shibui Silk Cloud.  I am a big fan of both yarns and the combination is heavenly. Silk Cloud is super soft, feels so luxurious, and is not itchy at all.  The skeins of lace weight contained 914 m which was was not enough yarn for long sleeves.  I decided to make a short sleeve version and it's perfect for spring weather. 

Love the halo

2. The designer gives you many options to choose from when knitting this top down sweater.  Here is the first Miromesnil I made with a front pleat and long sleeves. 

Miromesnil #1

This time I chose to make the the cropped version and knit until the body was 12.5 inches, finishing with a flat ribbing for 12 rounds.  I feel like you really get your money's worth because of how many pattern options the designer gives you.

As you can tell I am super pleased with this sweater and I know it will get a lot of wear.  I am currently knitting another sweater paired with Shibui Silk Cloud.  I can't seem to get enough of this yarn.  Anyone else obsessed with Shibui Silk Cloud?

F.O. Lumpy Space by Stephen West

Pattern:  Lumpy Space

Designer:  Stephen West

Yarn:  Anzula Sebastian (70% merino 30% Sea Cell)

Colourway:  Cantaloupe

Anzuala Sebastian

Yarn:  Fiber Optic Yarns Foot Notes Paintbox Gradient (80% merino 20% nylon)
Colourway:  Neon

Fiber Optic Yarns

Yarn:  Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles (100% Merino)
Colourway:  Poppy

Hedgehog Fibres

Yarn:  Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label Cash Silk Single (75% merino, 15% cashmere, 10% silk)

Colourway:  Papaya

Needles:  3.75mm

Ravelry:  my notes

Added Notes: 

1.  Okay I get it now.  After knitting several of Stephen West's patterns I can understand why he is such a popular designer.  The patterns are fun to knit and keep you motivated to knit quickly, as you want to sees what's happening next.  Stephen's patterns are easy to follow and always teach you a few new things.

2.  Over the last couple years I have tried to find a pattern to showcase the Fiber Optics vibrant gradient kit that I had bought at Rhinebeck several years ago.  I tried a few other patterns with this yarn but had no luck finding the right match.  However, once I decided on Lumpy Space for my Fiber Optic yarn everything seemed to work.  I used the reds and orange skeins from the gradient kit and made a fade in Section One and Two. I used a speckled Hedgehog Fibres yarn that worked will with the Anzula Sebastian yarn.

I found some leftover Tanis Fiber Arts Red label that I had used on this gorgeous hat by Joji Locatelli called Vitsippa.  It was the perfect combination of pink and orange for the picot edge.  I love it when everything comes together like that.  

Section 1:  Fiber Optics Yarn alternated with Hedgehog Fibres

Section 2:  Fiber Optics Yarn

Section 3:  Hedgehog Fibres alternated with Anzula Sebastian

Picot Edging:  Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label 

3.  This shawl is knitted in different sections as you can see above.  I completed Section One with no problems.  Section Two was challenging for me. I knit the first part of the diamond shape with no problem. Then I had to join the second part of Section One and that's where the trouble started. The sections kept getting twisted.  After a few failed attempts I decided to leave that second half of Section Two and complete Section Three and the picot edging.  Once that was done it was quite simple to complete the second half of Section Two.  The pattern is very well written with lots of photos to help knitters.

I am so pleased with how the shawl turned out and will be bringing it on my holiday to Amsterdam.  I will be there during the national holiday called King's Day where everyone wears orange so I think this shawl will be perfect to wear.  I am hoping to visit Stephen & Penelope on my visit and I will be sure to share my pictures here on my blog and over on my Instagram account.  So stay tuned! Don't forget to check out Stephen West's gorgeous collection of patterns and make sure to sign up for his newsletter so that you can get the latest news and special discounts.

F.O. Scrappy Clarke Pullover

I have been spending some time lately going through my cupboards trying to organize and purge.  I came across the first garment I knit in hand dyed yarn six years ago, called the Honeytree Vest.  Yarn and pattern are both by Tanis Fiber Arts.  When I knit this vest I was very inspired by Tanis' original colour choices, and still to this day love the colour combination.  However, the vest was not something I wore, and I decided that this yarn was too special not to repurpose.

Front of Honeytree Vest

Back of Honeytree Vest

I ripped out the vest and ended up with a lot of very curly yarn. 

Pre-soaking

I soaked the yarn for a long time and then hung it out to dry.   I ended up with a lot of mini balls in the various colours.

After soaking and hanging the yarn to dry

I decided to knit a short sleeve Clarke Pullover.  I have knit two versions of this pattern previously (see here and here) as it is a foolproof pattern, that is easily adaptable.  

And so today I proudly present my finished sweater:

Clarke Pullover

Pattern:  Clarke Pullover

Designer:  Jane Richmond

Yarn:  Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran Weight (100% merino)

Colourway:  Various quantities of Midnight, Mallard, Sand, Lemongrass, Olive, Chestnut, and Buttercup

Needles:  4.5mm

Ravelry: see notes

Added Notes:
1.  My goal was to stick to the original colours, using up as much of the scrappy bits, supplemented by some partial skeins that I had in my stash. I had no specific striping pattern in mind, I just added different coloured stripes as I knit.

2.  With this many stripes comes a ton of ends to sew in.  But sewing ends in doesn't bother me.  It took me about two hours to sew them all in.

3.  The only modifications I made to the pattern was to knit shorter sleeves, and of course, to add my random stripes of colour.  

4.  As always I am super impressed with Tanis Fiber Arts yarn.  The colours are beautifully dyed and the quality of the yarn is excellent.  If you haven't knit with this yarn before I highly recommend it.

I have to admit that I am super happy that I decided to knit this sweater.  Since the yarn was aran weight, the sweater knit up very quickly, and now I have a new fall sweater to wear in my cupboard.

This sweater was a break from my many works in progress.  I will report on those items soon.  I am trying very hard not to cast on anything else.  However, there seems to be a tempting number of new patterns that have been published recently.  It's a fun time of year to be a knitter!  Don't you agree?

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. Deep Woods Toque by Kiyomi Burgin

Pattern:  Deep Woods Toque
Designer: Kiyomi Burgin

Yarn: Sweet Fiber Yarns Super Sweet Sock:  80% merino 20% nylon
Colourway: Vintage Lace

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label Cashmere Sock:  70% Merino 20% Nylon and 10% Cashmere
Colourway: Maize

Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label Cashmere Sock

Needles:   2.75mm and 3.25mm

Ravelry: my notes

Added Notes:  
1. This was a fun pattern to knit.  Once I got through the 5-1/4 inch of fingering weight ribbing the tree pattern knit up quickly.  I like the way the brim folds up offering that extra warmth on your ears.
2. Tanis Fiber Arts and I go way back.  She was the first indie dyer I bought yarn from in 2011 when I got back into knitting. Since that time I have knit 38 projects with her yarn!  When I saw the colourway Tanis dyed for Knit City this year I knew I wanted to do something special with it.  I decided to knit Deep Woods Toque which had been in my queue for some time.  I love how good this colourway looks when paired with Antique Lace.  The bonus is I still have enough of the Tanis Fiber Arts skein left to knit another small project.

3.  The only modification I made was to knit the first row in the same colour as the trees and not in a contrasting colour as the pattern suggests.

I hope you are enjoying your knitting and are not too frantic during this holiday season.  Happy weekend!
p.s. Thank you to my daughter for modelling this hat.  I had her in mind when I knit it.

Happy Birthday Canada: A Tribute to Creative Canadians

I am a proud Canadian, and in honor of Canada's 150th birthday today, I am sharing with you with a photo collection of some yarn and designs of my favorite Canadian creators.  I encourage you to visit their sites to learn more about them. Links have been provided.  

Tanis Fiber Arts:  yarn dyer and designer

Framed Slouch:  Orange Label Cashmere/Silk Worsted (colourway Mosaic)

Vitsippa:  Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label Cash Silk Single (colourway Papaya)

Snowfling Mittens:  Yellow Label DK (colourway:  black and natural)

Sweet Georgia Yarns

Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock (colourway Petal)

Sweet Georgia Yarns Merino Silk Fine (colourway Mist)

Sweet Fiber Yarns

Sweet Fiber Yarns Cashmere DK (colourway Spiced Pumpkin)

Sweet Fiber Yarn Cashmerino 20 (colourway:  Verve)

Sweet Fiber Yarns Super Sweet Sock (colourway:  Indigo Dreams)

Julie Asselin

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Gradient (colourway Mirabell)

Julie Asselin Fino (colourway Meet Me By the River)

The Blue Brick

The Blue Brick Niagara MCN Sport (colourway Iceberg)

The Blue Brick Killarney Sock (colourway Labradorite)

Scrumptious Purl

Scrumptiouspurl Stripe Me Up (colourway Birds of A Feather)

My First Toe Up Socks by Susan B. Anderson

Flock Fibre Studio

Flock Fibre Studio  Take A Hike Sock Mini Set (colourway Wild Orchid)

Gauge Dye Works

Gauge Dye Works MCN Fingering (Colourway Concrete and Tulips)

Playground Shawl 

Jane Richmond:  designer

Clarke Pullover by Jane Richmond

Grace Cardigan  by Jane Richmond

Jésabelle B




































Jenna Rose Handmade

Small Traveller Pouch:   Green Homestead

Medium Bucket:  Tree Houses

Knitted Bliss:  Julie Crawford:  blogger and designer

Espace Tricot:  Store and Youtube vlog

There is so much Canadian talent as you can see!  Thank you for visiting my blog today and I wish my fellow Canadians a Happy Canada Day! We live in a truly spectacular country.

Squamish, B.C.

Squamish, B.C.

Niagara Falls

CN Tower Toronto