pretty things.

Oh, how I love pretty things!  Here are some of my favourites.

This lovely package that arrived over Christmas from the amazing Svetlana of S.O.T.A.K. Handmade.  These hexies are to die for!!  I am trying to figure out how to use them best, and am thinking a mini quilt may be in order. Thank you, Svetlana!

This incredible Christmas/birthday bundle from my bestie Samantha in Toronto makes me weep with joy.  LIBERTY fabric, a Liberty book, personalized stationary, the best tea mug ever which I use daily, and a hand knit cowl!  Spoiled.

Pretty yarns, everywhere I look.  I seem to have a bit of knitting ADD and have multiple projects on the go.  Since I have a hard time finding a chunk of time to pull out my sewing machine lately,  I have turned to knitting as my primary happy creative outlet.  I love that I can pick it up easily for a few minutes here and there, and its portability for this mom-on-the-go is THE BEST.

I finished up my Coolbreeze sweater (photos to follow, someday) that I have been working on forever, and have promptly started a new pullover with some gorgeous Tanis Fiber Arts yarn in shadow (above right).  Lord knows we have had more than our fair share of wool sweater weather here lately!

(See?  Portable.  Here I am knitting while at a dental conference.  Made it MUCH more interesting!)

And I did finish up a Northern Loop cowl using TFA iris yarn recently which I absolutely LOVE.  So cozy.  More details on my Ravelry page here.

It has been a popular companion for me these past couple weeks.  Cheers!

plucky

Have you ever heard of The Plucky Knitter and her yarn?  I hadn't either, but it kept popping up all over, with rave reviews.  But here is the thing.  You can't just BUY it.  No. You have to be on the email list to be notified of its release, then sit at your computer at that exact moment and hit refresh a bunch of times to buy it up before it's gone.  It is seriously a frenzy.  It seems Plucky is the rock star of yarn.

Naturally, I had to have some to see what all of the fuss is about.

I ordered a couple sample skeins in different weights, then enough in her pretty bohemian blue for a sweater for me....am thinking this one here.

I wanted to try it out right away.  So I grabbed a skein of the bulky weight in sagebush, a pretty grey-green, and cast on the dropped stitch cowl pattern (love my pouch form Ali!!).

I knit like a maniac in ocd-worthy fashion, and finished this cowl the next day.  And I have to say....this Plucky is good stuff!

This one will be heading south to my lovely friend Kelly, who I had the fun of hanging with in Atlanta, and has made me a gorgeous AMH velveteen and voile cowl in return!  Life is good :)

A run for the border!

Last weekend Big G had a hockey tournament in Fargo, ND.  So, we packed up the van and headed south of the 49th parallel to have some fun.  Now, Fargo is not known to be a metropolis or anything, but it is a pleasant little town, very friendly to its neighbors from the North, and they have Target.....life is good.

Another bonus of a drive to the USA?  There is a little border town called Pembina, which basically consists of a gas station, duty free booze store, cafe, and a handful of parcel depots where Canadians like me can have a variety of items shipped and stored, for a small fee, until we can pick them up and cart them back north with us.  Considering the crazy increases in postal costs recently, it just makes sense to take advantage of the cheaper, and often free, shipping opportunities within the US!

Oh, and I really took advantage!  Thanks in large part to a bunch of post-Christmas sales (including $3.50 yards over here, still some there!), I ended up with several boxes of fabric, and don't forget some yarn! The question isn't "what did I buy?" but more like "what DIDN'T I buy??"

So many pretty things......stacks taller than your average schnauzer, in fact !  Does that mean I have a problem??

Epic failure(s)

So let me let you in an a little fact. When I knit something, I knit it 3 times. I am not saying I knit 3 ITEMS......nope, generally I screw up and unravel until I have knit the damn thing 3 times over!

On the bright side.....I am grateful that yarn can be unraveled; fabric can not be "uncut"! So at least when I have one of my epic knitting failures, I CAN start all over again!

Case in point: my Golden Wheat Cardigan. I started it in November. Consulted a "real" knitter for advice (thanks, Linda). Knit my swatch. Got going....realized I did it backwards. Unravel. Knit again. A couple balls of yarn in, I thought, "this looks small....." Realized I had restarted on the WRONG sized needles- SIZE 6 instead of 6mm (size 10!)! Grrr....Unraveled again. Now am on my way (I hope??). Hope to finish it to enjoy this spring!


Another example: I was to make a cowl on the airplane to/from Disney. Did the knit/unravel dance 4 times and then finally finished it....but it seems a bit small, even though I had made it longer than the pattern. It is wearable, but I know it will drive me nuts and I love the yarn and pattern too much to waste it....so this one will be "frogged" and restarted yet again! But I LOVE the yarn feel and color, and the lacy pattern is nice and light weight so it will be the perfect accessory to enjoy from winter right into spring. Here is a sneak peak (from before I unraveled it!):


So, there you have it, the secret to my "success"! But, even with all the frustration, I still love knitting. What can I say? A glutton for punishment I guess!

And, much like quilting, one of my favorite parts of knitting is finding fabulous new yarn. Here is the next delicious pile I plan to mess up with! Tanis Fiber Arts Green label in Shadow. My "birthday" yarn ;) Gonna knit me up a sweater....maybe in time for NEXT year's birthday!?!

I am salivating over the hand-dyed greys with the hints of blue......

The Anti-Thrifter

Seems like lately I have been "helping the economy" like gangbusters. I was showing lots of restraint until Salt Lake City- then it was like a dam broke. I have been buying things here and there and, well, I am just going to brag about it now. Simple as that.

First up, I love me some nice accessories. And I found the perfect pair of ankle boots that tie up with these cute wraps. I admit they cost a pretty penny, but, when I strut myself around town in these puppies, I feel like Hot Mom. Bonus: most comfortable shoes EVER! No regrets. All 3 kids don't have to go to university, really.


This box arrived for me...come to mama. I am going to love you up into a sweater, oh yes I am! How awesome is this color?

I admit I am a Fabric Pig. Pig, I say!! In a moment of weakness, these lovely fabrics found their way into my cart....The Echo line is divine, and who can resist Denyse Schmidt and Joel Dewberry? I had no choice, truth be told.


Jewelry. Pinterest is going to cost me a lot of dough. I see cute stuff, I follow the link, only $15 on etsy? Okay! Invite a few sparkly friends! Yikes! Here are a couple awesome finds I found here and here (in case you want to come and join The Dark Side).



Off to find some new hiding places for all my goodies!

As Time Goes By

There is a great new shop called As Time Goes By in Winnipeg (at 442 Academy). It is home decor, has all sorts of fun goodies, and the owner, Katie, is a hoot! She also has a couple really fun ideas-her store has a free book exchange and....a button plate? What is that, you ask? Basically a plate full of awesome grandma vintage buttons that are FREE! Look at all the treasures I walked away with:

And here are some of my very favorites :-) I tell you , I was like a kid in a candy store.

Also, I bought this really cool beeswax needle holder. Apparently it helps your needles stay sharp!

Also scored some awesome maple flavored honey, made right here by little Manitoba bees! So crazy yummy...makes your toast taste like French Toast!
Anyways, Katie ships across Canada, so why not pop by her web site and take a peek for yourself?

Okay, at the risk of sounding like I am gloating, I received a couple more great things in the mail this week. First off- some more Denyse Schmidt to add to my obsession...I mean collection. These are courtesy of Kaelin at The Plaid Scottie, as part of a little swap we are doing. Thanks, Kaelin!

Second off, look at these luscious hand dyed yarns!

The purple is Malabrigo Chunky in Cuarzo, meant for a hat for a Christmas gift. Yes, already thinking ahead to Christmas! The orange is Madelinetosh Vintage in Warm Maise, for a sweater I am planning for Last But Not Least. It will be in the same Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi pattern that I am currently working on for The Middle Child. Man, sweaters take a long time!
We are heading on a bit of a family road trip soon (Lord help me), so I hope to take this along to keep me occupied/sane :-)

Making fabric out of string and other projects

Working on a new knitting project here and there, verrrrry slowly. Sorry folks, this one will be rated G unlike my last knit finish ;)

Picked up this gorgeous yarn to make The Middle Child a sweater. I think this is my favorite color in the entire universe. I almost wept for joy when she picked this over More Pink. It's next in the knitting queue!

As for sewing, my vintage quilt is on hold...I partly done the quilting and am not loving it, but am too lazy to pick it all out. So, it is shelved for the moment! Also need to start up the birthday quilt for The Middle Child, who will be six in July. Time to pull out the Far Far Away 2!!

I am also working on a few {secret} projects for swaps and birthdays...will reveal soon!

Love letter

Dear Yarn,

I don't know what has come over me. I feel like a school girl again! When I see you, my heart beats a little faster....

I just want to be close to you, to touch you.


I imagine our future and all the fun times we will spend together. I can picture us together, on a front porch, in my old age.


I know we have only just met, but...is it too soon to say I love you?

Affectionately,
Kristie