Off the Needles: Ravellinic Mittens

Here are my finished Snowfling Mittens, pattern and yarn by Tanis Fiber Arts, that I knit during the Olympics.  I really love the red cashmere lining, and how it makes the mittens extra warm hiding any yarn that might get caught on rings.  I have small hands and these mittens fit me perfectly.  I would definitely go up a needle size if I was knitting this again for someone with hands bigger than mine.

Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label Cashmere yarn lining in Poppy

TFA Yellow Label in Natural and Charcoal

If you'd like to knit a pair you can buy pre-made kits on the Tanis Fiber Arts website. However, this particular colour combination was bought from Tanis during an Etsy sale.  It looks like I still have time to wear these mittens this winter as the temperatures remain cold in my part of the world.   Will it ever warm up?

Come back and join me next time as I review the yarn stores I visited during a recent visit to New York.

Sweetheart Charms and Ravellinics

Purl Bee is always one website that you can count on for free, beautiful project ideas.  Recently I saw one such project that I couldn't pass up.  It was a perfect Valentine's Day craft for my grade sixes. After teaching them how to sew at Christmas this craft was a great follow-up to make sure they hadn't forgotten what they had learned.  So here are a few pictures of what they did.  It was much easier this time...not so many students needed help.  And they were so excited to try sewing again.  Many students wanted to put a secret note in the pocket, others were going to put in a little candy.

Sweetheart Charms

The Olympic Opening Ceremonies started on Friday and so did my participation in the Tanis Fiber Arts Ravellenic team.  I am knitting the Snowfling Mittens.  So far one outer mitten is done, the liner still needs to be done.  I can't believe how warm these mittens are even without the liner.  I am working on knitting with each coloured strand of yarn in each hand.  I am typically an English style knitter but envy the speed in which Continental knitters complete projects, so this has been a challenge for me.

Snowfling Mitten

I decided to block this mitten as I was worried that it was a bit tight on my hand.  However, it blocked beautifully, stretching out enough so I have lots of room for my hand and the cashmere Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label liner.  Check out the other great projects on the Tanis Fiber Arts Ravellenic team.

Tanis Fiber Arts Ravellinic Team

I have been in a bit of a knitting rut lately.  I really want to knit a cardigan using yarn I have on hand. Unfortunately I cannot get the correct gauge.  Or if I do, when I start knitting, I am not happy with the yarn and pattern pairing.  It is very discouraging.

However, I am looking forward to the beginning of the Olympics and I have joined Tanis Fiber Arts Ravellinic team.  For those  of you wondering what I am talking about let me explain.  The Ravellenics run alongside the Olympics.  You can join any of the many teams popping up on Ravelry and state what project you will be working on during the Olympics.  As soon as the Opening Ceremonies begin (February 7), so do you, and the object is to finish whatever project you pledged to do by the end of the Olympics (February 23).  My project of choice is Tanis Fiber Arts Snowfling Mittens.

Snowfling Mittens

I have two of these kits and, ideally, I would like to get both done.  It is hard for me to judge how long each mitten will take as they have a cozy cashmere lining which does dual duty of making the mittens extra warm, but, also hiding all the stranded work so it doesn't get caught on rings/fingers etc.  I am really looking forward to watching the Olypmics and cheering Canada on.  By the time the Olympics is over, spring will be around the corner, leaving this dreadful winter behind.

Another KAL that interests me is the Journey Knit-a-long (February 5-26) hosted by Shannon Cook and Jane Richmond, authors of the Journey book.  There are so many lovely projects in this book and I have been wanting to try Spate, a lovely mitt pattern.  Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook have such simple, beautiful, classic patterns.  The book, set on Vancouver Island, is just gorgeous to look at and if you haven't had a chance to look through it I highly recommend it.

There are so many beautiful patterns cropping up on Ravelry that I find I am very distracted from my knitting.  So my goal for the next few weeks is to really focus on getting the above projects done and stay away from my computer!  

Go Canada go!

Beating the January Blahs

Well as you all have heard it is freezing in this part of the world. The good news is it almost the end of January and I am hopeful that February will see temperatures a little warmer.  To help pass the time I have been staying in and knitting.  One item I have finished is this Checkerboard Lace Scarf, a free pattern from Purl Soho.  In the past I have not had much luck with patterns involving lace.  I guess my knitting skills must be improving because I was able to finish this scarf and actually enjoyed the process. You know that feeling when the pattern and yarn go so well together...well that's what happened with this scarf..the combination of pattern and Madelinetosh Merino DK in Baltic was fantastic.  Preblocking the scarf was 54" in length, and then, after blocking, it grew to 70" and the lace just opened up, making the scarf light and airy.  It was a magical thing.

Checkerboard Lace Scarf

I received this Precision Pocket Scale from Lee Valley Tools, a bargain for $16.50.  I used it for the first time knitting this scarf.   I weighed my yarn when I was nearing the end of the project and I was trying to decide if I had enough yarn to complete another row.  The scale can measure the lightest of weights making it a perfect tool for all knitters.  I definitely see a future using this scale quite often...it just takes out the guesswork and eliminates unnecessary ripping out.

Precision Pocket Scale from Lee Valley Tools

Another pattern I managed to finish was  Fallow Mittens by Melissa Schaschwary (dandiliongirl).  It is a lovely pattern, however, I am not a fan of this yarn.  It is Fyberspates Scrumptious DK and I bought it on a trip to Bath, England a year ago.  It is a 50% silk and 50% merino blend.  I found the yarn split easily and the one time I had to rip back a few rows it was challenging.  However, the yarn has a nice sheen to it and the mittens feel quite warm.

Fallow Mittens

I am also knitting an Easy Folded Poncho using some gorgeous Juniper Moon Farm Herriot, a DK-weight baby alpaca yarn.  This is a plainly knit rectangle that when completed is sewn to make a poncho.  I am almost halfway and I just pick it up when I have a couple minutes as it doesn't require any concentration.

If you live in my part of the world I hope you are finding something fun to do until it warms up.

Big Birthdays

Well the birthday I have been dreading has come and gone and I have to say that I actually enjoyed it. Somehow it turned into a week long celebration with lots of lovely moments.  One of the highlights was a gift that my friends surprised me with.  They wound 50 balls of yarn and strung the balls together to make a lovely garland.  That's right folks, I admit it, I turned 50.  With the exception of one of these friends, none of these ladies are knitters, so the thought of them sitting there winding up 50 balls of yarn for me really touched my heart!  Over the years these friends have patiently listened to me go on about my latest knitted projects, when I am sure they were wondering when I was going to talk about something else.  Here's a photo:

My lovely garland

Isn't it wonderful?  I will have to find a special place for it that's for sure.

Even my non-knitting sisters got into the knitting mania that is my life and got me the cutest little knitting bag called the Rosemary Bag from Della Q.  Honestly it's the perfect size to carry around a skein or two of yarn and a knitting project.  And they even picked the one that matched my circular needle case that I showed you in an earlier blog.

Rosemary Bag from Della Q

My husband sent 50 tulips to my work which were just gorgeous

50 tulips!

and gave me a gift certificate to Tanis Fiber Arts (as did my sister-in-law).  I guess I am known for my knitting obsession!

Speaking of Tanis she held a Boxing Day sale on Etsy and I was happy to be able to purchase a few things. Her yarn is so hard to resist as she has such a lovely way with colours.  The Red Label (75%merino, 15%cashmere, 10%silk) is incredibly beautiful to work with.

Red Label in Slade and Fjord

I also got two Snowlfing Mitten kits which I intend to knit up for the 2014 Ravellinic Games which is held during the Olympics from February 7-23rd. Will you be joining the fun?

Snowfling Mittens kit

I feel so fortunate to have such lovely friends and family in my life and I am very grateful.

My lovely children and the birthday girl.  Cheers!

Year End

Well Christmas has come and gone.  I managed to finish my son's scarf and my mother-in-law's Marin shawl in time.  I used Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Tart.  My mother-in-law wore the shawl on Christmas Day...she seemed to really love it which made me feel great. It was worth all those early hours of knitting before anyone else woke up in the house.  I proved to myself that I can knit fast when under pressure because I basically finished this shawl in about two weeks.  The fringe on this shawl took forever...it was supposed to be four inches, but after three inches I was happy with how it looked and cast off.  This pattern makes a cozy shawl that is big enough to snuggle into on a cold day.

Marin in Madelinetosh DK Tart

My son asked for a scarf that was not too long.  I used the pattern called Forever Ribbed, a free pattern by Julie Hoover using a yarn called Mirasol Paqu Pura and combined it with Madelinetosh Prairie in Charcoal.

Forever Ribbed

The one thing I didn't finish in time was my Christmas wreath.  Time just got away from me.  It was very easy to do but just time consuming.  I ended up finishing it on Boxing Day.  I basically took a styrofoam wreath, wrapped a beautiful ribbon around it and then glued some lovely glass ornaments on it. (I bought all those ornaments for $6, a real bargain).  I am very happy with how it turned out and now I will have it ready for next year.

My husband gave me a great gift.  Just look at it below.  It is a circular needle case from Della Q.  Just looking at it makes me happy.  Look how cute the outside is:

Della Q Circular Needle Case

There is so much space to organize a variety of needles.  Usually my needles are kept in a box spilling out all over the place.  The only downfall with this case is there is no velcro to keep the individual pockets closed.  I think I may add velcro myself....it will really help keep the pockets closed that have more than one needle.

Look at all those pockets!

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2014. Thanks for visiting my blog this year and I hope you pop by again in 2014.

GTA Ice Storm Images

The GTA has been hit with an ice storm.  Many areas are without power.  Here are some photos of my yard:

Most of the damage we sustained is nothing compared to some of our neighbours, a couple streets over:

 The ice is absolutely stunning to look at but oh so destructive.  It will be sad to see the extent of the damage once the ice melts.