Tolt Yarn and Wool: Part One

I never thought I would have the chance to visit Tolt Yarn and Wool Shop, but my dream came true when I was on holiday in Vancouver.  My husband and I decided to drive and visit Seattle.  After a two day visit we drove to Carnation, Washington, in the Snoqualmie Valley.  It is about a 45 minute drive east from Seattle, through the countryside, and is located on a one street town. (Luckily there is a Starbucks around the corner for husbands or non-knitters).  Once I entered this store I was in knitter's heaven.  With a focus on more natural yarn from thoughtfully sourced companies this is a knitter's mecca.  From the way the store was displayed, to the variety of yarn, I literally could have spent hours there looking through every nook and cranny. 
         
Today I am going to take you on a general tour of Tolt Yarn and Wool.  Since I have so many photos I will post another blog with specific pictures of the yarn tomorrow.

Tolt Mitts

Camp Tolt Collection

Bandera

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Banff Hat in Peace Fleece Worsted

Long table for classes

Spincycle Yarns

Quill by Jared Flood in Natural Affects Natural Shetland Fingering

Sounds of Life in Cestari Traditional Collection 2 ply

Huge selection of books

The lovely woman working at the store could not have been nicer.  She welcomed me to take as many pictures as I wanted, asked me if I needed help, but then left me alone to wander in peace and even invited me to stand behind the counter to take a picture with the infamous Tolt sign behind me.  Of course I jumped at the chance being the fangirl I am.

I have had the opportunity to visit many yarn stores and I have to say, hands down, that this store was the most beautifully laid out and had the biggest variety and quantity of yarn, books, and notions that I have ever seen.  With a giant table at the back and cozy chairs throughout the store I didn't want to leave.

Tomorrow:  The tour continues!

The Elder Tree Shawl & Cinecittà

Every now and then I get a skein of yarn that feels more special than the rest. Then, I challenge myself to pick the perfect pattern to showcase that yarn.  The skein I am referring to today is a skein of yarn produced by the one and only Clara Parkes. (Remember the first skein I ever knit of hers?)  It is called CVM/Romeldale 2.0, a two-ply fingering weight yarn in the colourway Aborio.  It hardly weighs anything, but it will be quite warm because it's so wooly.  I only have one skein of this lovely yarn measuring 370m.  

Clara Yarn:  CVM/Romeldale 2.0

After much searching the pattern I ended up finally choosing was The Elder Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia (also known as softsweater), a Canadian from Vancouver.  This designer is quite hot right now on Ravelry.  She is the designer behind such beautiful patterns as Waiting for Rain, The Lonely Tree Shawl and her newest pattern The Rain Outside, just to name a few.  The Elder Tree Shawl is a simple lace pattern, which is easy to follow and I am very happy with the result so far.  Hopefully, with blocking one skein will be enough to make a small sized shawl.  Oh, how I wish I bought two skeins because this pattern is written so that you can keep knitting for as long as you have yarn.  It would have been great to knit this to be a bigger shawl.  This yarn is so different than anything I have ever had the opportunity to knit with.  It is a woolen spun yarn and according to Clara Parkes CVM is the most critically rare sheep breed in the United States.  Here is what I have knit so far:

The Elder Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

If you are interested in being alerted whenever Clara Parkes comes out with a new yarn you can sign up for  her newsletter.  But you have to be fast...it sells out very quickly.

As for finished objects I participated in the Very Shannon Tops, Tanks and Tees Knit a Long  through April and May and ended up knitting a La Maison Rililie pattern called Cinecittà.  It is knit top down, and right from the start you work the lace pattern that will be on the sleeve.  Although the pattern is well written my mind was not as focused as I should have been when starting this pattern and I ended up ripping out the beginning a few times.  Once I was focused though, I knit it in eleven days which I think is a record for me. 

 I knit the first sleeve as directed in the pattern which in place of the ribbing on the sleeves had a lovely cable sweater.  I knit the first sleeve as directed, but once trying it on decided to rip out the cables and reknit it as plain ribbing.  I was much happier with the result. 

First attempt

Second Attempt with ribbing

 The yarn I used was the luxurious Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Baroque Violet colourway.  It was deep in my stash and it feels very good to finally use it.

Madelinetosh Pashmina:  Baroque Violet

Now I am looking forward to picking a few patterns to knit this summer.  I am on vacation in a week and I have so many patterns in my queue that I want to knit next.  I am so excited...stay tuned to my Instagram account as I will try and post some of my trip photos and knitting progress.  Happy summer everyone!  I hope you are all taking some time for yourself.

Spectrum: Joji Locatelli

I am funny about spending money.  I don't hesitate to buy a skein of yarn that catches my eye, but I have had the same raincoat for over 20 years. I never liked wearing it.  It is a well built raincoat, timeless in its design and did an excellent job of keeping the rain off.  But the colour was not one I enjoyed wearing. Everytime I put it on, I groaned inwardly. But the practical side of me just couldn't see spending money on a new one.  

Well I am glad to say I finally bought myself a new raincoat that I love.  Once I bought it I knew, as any knitter would, that I just had to knit an accessory to go with it.  I chose Joji Locatelli's Spectrum, a two coloured garter stitch scarf that was perfect for my raincoat.  It is knit in Indigodragonfly Merino Nylon Sock in a beautiful navy called Tardis, combined with Malabrigo Yarn Sock in Light of Love I happily knit away and tah-dah here is the finished product:

In progress

Once I got the shawl off my needles I was worried about the size of it.  The pattern states that the finished shawl should by 72 x 23".  I expected mine to be smaller, as I had chosen to go down a needle size.   I used 3.75mm instead of the 4mm suggested.  I was worried when prior to blocking it only measured 44 x 17"...but thankfully it grew to 60 x 20".   I didn't expect it to grow quite as much as it did as I was not aggressive at all when pinning it out. But the size is perfect and the beauty of the shape of this shawl is that you can wear it several ways.

Now I had visions of modelling it for you in the rain, with an umbrella over my head but I don't know about where you live but we have had very little rain lately and there is none in the forecast.  So here it is pictured on a beautiful sunny day.  Bring on the rain!

Fun Colours on a Gloomy Day

It is a cool, rainy, spring day here and I don't know about you, but I am craving a bit of colour.  I checked out my Photo Library and Instagram account and came up with some of these photos to share with you.  Just looking at them has the immediate effect of cheering me up.

Socks

Julie Asselin Piccolo in Plume

Business Casual Socks pattern by Tanis Lavalee

Scrumptiouspurl Stripe Me Up Yarn "Bird of a Feather" colourway

My First Top Up Socks by Susan B. Anderson (Craftsy class) using an Afterthought Heel

Knits in Progress (sort of)

Vitsippa by Joji Locatelli (awaiting frogging as it is sadly too small) in Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label in colourway "Papaya"

Yarn

Hedgehog Fibres Sock Yarn in "Jelly" colourway

Malabrigo Sock Yarn in "Light of Love" colourway

Sunrise

On my way to work

Notions

Stitch Markers

My future (I wish) Fringe Supply Bag at Purl Soho

And finally check out this car that I saw when on a trip to San Diego a few years ago.

San Diego

  Love the colour!

Have a lovely week with lots of colour!!

Happy Mother's Day and Suggestions on How To Spend a Day of Leisure

Happy Mother's Day!

Hopefully you will find time to relax this weekend whether you are a mother or not.  May I humbly offer a few suggestions to help fill your day?

While sipping on your morning coffee/tea, how about reading a few blogs?

Inspiring Blogs
The Fringe Association
Knitted Bliss
The Gift of Knitting
Purl Soho
The Blue Brick
Blueberry Hill Crafting

Pick up a knitting/crocheting project and watch some vlogs to keep you entertained:

Favourite Vlogs
Along the Lanes
Legacy Knitz
Casey Neistat
Fun for Louis

Of course checking out the newest patterns on Ravelry is a must.  Brooklyn Tweed is coming out with a new pattern collection May 11th, which I am sure many of you are looking forward to checking out.

Craftsy Tutorials
How about picking a Craftsy Class and learn something new?  There are so many classes to choose from in a variety of the arts.  Recently I bought My First Toe Up Socks by Susan B. Anderson.  I have been working on a pair of striped socks using Scrumptiouspurl Stripe Me Up yarn that I purchased at the Knitter Frolic's show in Toronto last weekend from Shall We Knit, a yarn store located in Waterloo.

Scrumptiouspurl Yarn

This class was the perfect cure to a hectic week.  I followed along listening to Susan's calming and encouraging voice and before I knew it I had knit my first pair of striped toe up socks.  It was the perfect balance to my crazy week. This is the fifth pair of socks I have ever knit but my first pair of toe up socks, using the afterthought heel and Russian bind off.  I am so pleased with my socks because Susan's instructions on gauge and fit are extremely helpful and have led to the first pair I have knit that truly fit.  

Essential Techniques Every Knitter Should Know  by Sally Melville is another Craftsy video that I recommend to all my knitting friends. I love this kind of platform for learning.  You can return to your video time and time again and even ask questions if you get stuck. Let's face it some of the videos on Youtube teaching knitting are not the best.  Craftsy gives you a chance to learn from an expert instructor who teaches knitting for a living.

Awaiting the afterthought heel

Books & Magazines
There are so many knitting books and magazines available.  Have you had a look at these?
Swoon
Knitlandia
Knit-Wear Magazine

And for a non-knitting favourite, here is a fantastic cookbook that comes highly recommended to me by a friend who is a cooking expert.
The Yellow Table 

I am looking forward to doing a few of these suggestions today while I enjoy some knitting time.  Those socks are awaiting the after thought heels and I will finish them up today.

And lastly, how about checking out some Instagram feeds. (Don't forget about mine:  woolercoaster :) There are so many fantastic ones out there.  Here are a few yarn stores Instagram feeds that I love, some of which I have had the good fortune to visit.

Instagram 
La Bien Aimée-a yarn store in France
Do Ewe Knit-a New Jersey yarn store with the best yarn photos
Fibre Space-a yarn store in Alexandria, Virginia
Loop London-another fabulous yarn store in London

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a wonderful day!