La Kane

I used to wear a lot of red in the eighties. I guess it was the Nancy Reagan effect. I've settled into a nice easy world of blues and greens in recent years so when I saw Derica Kane by Chic Knits...I was surprised to realize I wanted it. In red.

I found a lovely rose red in Tosh DK in a shade called Byzantine at the Needle Emporium. This is my first Chic Knits pattern but it certainly won't be my last. It's just interesting enough to keep your attention yet repetitive enough to take along. I enjoyed every stitch of it.

I bought some lovely Michael and Sheila Ernst buttons at Rhinebeck last year which truly make the sweater extra special.

This was my Rhinebeck sweater this year ( more on that trip to come soon) and it was fun to show the Ernsts their buttons on the sweater.

I'm having a blast wearing it with my red Fluevog boots. They are the Operetta Hjordis from last year.

I'm quite pleased with the number of FOs under my belt this year. Could a new sense of focus and dare I say project monogamy be afoot?

 

Nah. Life's too short for an equally short queue.

 

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Soaked

And now for something completely different.

Our house is 23 years old. I seems like yesterday that we stood in the builder's showroom choosing these cabinets and fixtures. Everything has been looking tired lately so it seemed like the right time to renovate and update the bathroom.

I envisioned shifting from the neutral earth tones we have here towards a rich, luxurious and dramatic colour palette.

I found a grey floor that I loved and from there pulled in subway tile and mosaic tile in natural stone tones of grey, burnt red, wheat and clear glass.

The tub , sink and too are white ( bye, bye almond tub and sink) so the contrast will be dramatic.

Day one, the tub and tile came out and the new tub was set in. We're coming up to one full week without the tub but showing at the health club has worked for all of us so far.

Hopefully, tomorrow it'll be done!

 

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On a Roll

I have another finished object! My shawl for our 5 Counties Guild challenge came off of the loom one week before the event.

I've used a fine neutral warp with Classic Elite lace weight and my merino/ silk hand spun for the weft. The pattern is overshot the blooming leaf pattern.

This was a challenging project as the warp was very fine and sticky. I really struggled with it. In the end, the weight was perfect and the shawl draped perfectly. The displays looked beautiful as each guild was asked to choose an historical Time period to use as inspiration. Art Deco, the Arts and Crafts Movement were two time periods honored.

Our Guild chose 1812 to nod to the bicentennial of the war. The display looked great- my co-chair designed the display.

Our keynote speaker was Judith Bowden, an amazing designer for the Shaw festival's production of My Fair Lady last year. She was kind enough to bing a few costumes for us to see. She shared with us her creative process. I immediately wanted to dust off my sewing machine.

 

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A Special Delivery

The Willie sweater is done and has been presented to the expectant mom.

I love the little ear flap, the way the graphic wraps around the body. A YouTube video showed me how do a chain stitch for the collar.

I highly recommend this pattern. It's fast, cute and fun to knit. I can't quite believe that I got it done before the baby arrived. It feels good o have an FO...now onto my project for the 5 Counties weaving/ spinning competition this weekend.

 

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Chunky yarn...small recipient

I rarely knit for others because most people just don't "get" the effort and care that goes into knitting something. I also often can't finish things quickly due to my work schedule and babies do make their appearances eventually and grow quickly. However, I know a young lady who is expecting a baby soon and she " gets" it. I've been wanting to make the Willie cardigan by Pamela Wynne for some time now so when I was in BC I grabbed the yarn and cast on.

It's been great knit night and take-along knitting. I love its Parisienne vibe. The Intarsia dog wraps around the body with an ear flap and embroidered chain for its neck still to come. The yarn is Patons Shetland Chunky super wash.

I think a jaunty beret would finish the ensemble nicely so I'll be looking for a pattern for that next.

 

 

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La Kane

Well, hello again!

My absence fom blogging is largely due to my technological ineptness. You see- I started blogging from my iPad and then had trouble posting. This is my attempt at getting back in the game as it were.

I'm knitting, weaving, spinning and sipping great wine. My front- burner project is Derica Kane by Bonne Marie Burns. Here's Judy modeling the body. I've since finished th sleeves and am working on the yoke.

The yarn is Tosh DK in the Byzantine colour way. I love the design and the yarn is delicious to work with.

I'm sipping lots of Trius Red 2010 these days. The 2012 harvest has just begun and bodes to be another amazing one. I guess rich, bold reds are in my glass and on my needles.

 

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Toot,toot, tootsie hello.

 I bought some Toots LeBlanc merino/angora at Madrona fiber festival last year.  Given the length of my knitting queue, I figured that it stood a better chance of becoming an FO as a woven object.  I was supposed to create something for a competition ( eventually cancelled) using 3 colours from the OHS tartan.  I chose azure, brown and white.  I had to overdye the fawn shade with the azure and it came out the perfect shade.

In my zeal to get the warp on the loom, I neglected to tie off the crosses and ended up with a tangled mess.  Had it not been Toots LeBlanc, I might have given up.  I took a few weeks to slowly sort the threads and to put them in place.  The warp is brown and white, the weft blue and white.  The pin wheel design is fun and beautiful.  I got the pattern from the Handwoven best of scarves collection.

The cloth is beautiful, the yarn bloomed perfectly.  

Colour me happy.