Now that it’s *finally* dry, I just couldn’t wait for daytime to photograph my new sweater. Never mind that it’s dark out and that the only room remotely illuminated is our tiny bathroom.

My first original sweater! I’m so incredibly surprised it turned out alright!
 
I’m afraid I don`t really have much of a pattern to offer, but I did keep notes of the process and drew up a chart for the reversible rib cables in case someone wanted to knit something similar. However, I have to stress that I’m putting out a huge "attempt at your own risk” disclaimer on here… Much of this was made up as I went along, my memory is shoddy, and I would really hate to frustrate and disappoint a new knitter :(  
Keeping in mind that it’s not really a pattern, and that what follow are convoluted transcriptions of many scribbled little pieces of paper, feel free to use the notes below if you’d like!

Click here for PROJECT NOTES

Mon chandail étant *finalement* complètement sec, je ne pouvais plus attendre pour le prendre en photo. N’importe qu’il fait noir et que la seule salle bien illuminée est la salle de bain! 
C’est mon premier design d’un vêtement pour adultes et quoiqu’il soit loin d’être parfait, j’en suis complètement ravie. C’est le mien! Je dois admettre que je suis également complètement renversée du fait qu'il est plus ou moins réussi - jusqu'à présent, mais efforts dans le domaine étaient plutôt insatisfaisant. Toutefois, je regrette de ne pas avoir écrit de vrai patron. Ce que j’ai à offrir ce sont mes notes écrites en anglais et transcrites ici à partir de petits bouts de papier gribouillés, au cas où quelqu’un se demandait comment je m'y suis prise.


     




Spinster

Thursday, December 8, 2011

In June the Mister and I realised that we need to move in order to accommodate his workplace relocation. I quit my job (!) at the university in July, and we set off on a number of renovations that are necessary in order to put the house on the market. I also decided to return to grad school. My commute to school is a little over two hours each way, which is not only useful to catch up on my readings before class, but also to knit! In fact, I was able to finish this infinity scarf for my sister-in-law thanks to the commute.


The pattern by Sarah Hatton and Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply was part of a kit available to Rowan International members.



 I opted for using size 5 needles instead of the size 4 that were called for in the hopes of speeding the knitting up a bit and widening the scarf a touch. I stopped after the 5th ball since it seemed long enough. I'm glad I did, it's just the right length to loop twice for a pretty cowl!




En juin le monsieur et moi avons réalisé qu'il sera nécessaire de déménager bientôt, car son employeur s'installe ailleurs. Alors j'ai quitté mon emploi en juillet pour commencer les rénovations nécessaires afin de vendre notre maison. Heureusement, je peux tricoter sur la navette chaque jour - en fait, c'est ce qui m'a permit de terminer ce dernier projet, une écharpe pour ma belle-soeur. J'adore ce principe d'une énorme boucle que l'on peut replier en capuchon!Le patron de Sarah Hatton est disponible à partir du site web Rowan International, mais il faut être abonnê.


J'ai utilisé des aiguilles de taille 5 (malgré le patron) dans l'espoir que le tricot irait plus rapidement et je me suis arrêté après cinq balles et non six. Toutefois, le projet m'a prisz plus de deux mois à compléter. Mais cela valu la peine!


Change

Friday, September 16, 2011

In early April I spun up some gorgeous Pigeonroof Studios roving into a skein without the slightest idea what to make of it. But the weather got warmer quickly and I thought that rather than a shawl, a short sleeved cardi might be just the thing to throw on in the cooler evenings. I found Cecily Glowik MacDonal’ds Goodale pattern to be the perfect little cardi to use up about 200 yards of handspun for a sweater yoke! The sweater would have fit just fine if I’d finished it three months - and a few pounds pounds - ago, but now it’s a bit small. Darn those honey cruller donuts! If only knitting were a workout, right?

The body was knit up in a baby alpaca yarn I picked up at the farmers market in Ottawa.

En début avril j’ai filé environ 200 mètres de mérinos et bfl teints par la talentueuse Krista de Pigeonroof Studios. Il fait déjà pas mal chaud au sud-ouest de l’Ontairo et plus j’y pensais, plus je voulais quelque chose à manches courtes que je pourrais mettre en soirée avec un jean short et une camisole. Ce patron de Cecily Glowik MacDonald est une recette parfaite pour profiter de ces petits bouts de laines filés au rouet! La laine grisâtre provient de jeunes alpagas, achetée à un petit marché à Ottawa. Si seulement je l’avais complété au mois de mai, la veste m’irait mieux – j’ai pris quelques kilos depuis le printemps! Ah, si seulement le tricot comptait comme exercice cardiovasculaire…


Good(ale) donuts

Monday, July 4, 2011

I think handspun yarns can lend themselves so well to simple textures like stockinette and garter stitch,  so I thought I'd use some of my own and knit up Nikol Lohr’s Pebble baby vest. 


This handspun yarn is my first attempt at Navajo ply (turning a one ply into three, a neat trick that even piqued the hubby’s interest!). I love how this technique preserves the colour changes in the variegated roving and leaves the self-striping effect intact. It also gives the yarn that bouncy, squishy feel I adore. There are many fluffy, uneven bits of yarn in there, but I'd like to think that they give the tiny vest a rustic appeal. 


This was spun from a Lorna's Lace wool top – I wish I could remember the fibre content!

While this particular yarn was spun on my modern Lendrum folding wheel, I'm really excited to present two other new (to me) wheels.
This is my Canadian Production Wheel, Evelyn. She's French-Canadian like me, and while she'll eventually need some exta TLC for a gap in her drive wheel, we get along swimmingly!


Found in the local classifieds while on a trip north visiting my parents, she's in rather good condition for being well over 100 years old! Dad brought her home for me strapped to the bed of his truck and offered her as a birthday gift :)

I've also been refurbishing this lovely Norwegian- style wheel I found at a garage sale near Toronto. The owners had found it in a DUMPSTER.


It was in great need of cleaning, but the grime was anything oil soap couldn't handle, and it's just glowing now. Made of a number of different woods, my favorite being the birds eye maple of her uprights, and the burled mother-of-all, I think this is a really special wheel, which means I had to name it too. This is Jenny.


And just to bring this spinning post to close, I thought I'd share some of of the fluff that I just finished plying. The fibre is from Pigeonroof Studios.


This is about 4 oz of Blue Face Leicester in « Modolva », plied with a Superwash merino base in the same colourway. I have special plans for these two skeins (about 350 yards, unknown WPI, I really should get around to measuring it!)

Spinning. That is all.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

While it's finally spring here in Southwestern Ontario, you wouldn't know it judging from the flurries at night and the frost I have to scrape off the car every morning! I take this as a sign that I won't have to put the woolens in storage for a good while yet. Why not keep whittling down the stash while I'm at it?


I alternated the Silk Garden and Cash Island every two rows to start, then every 6 rows, then finished off with the silk garden only in an effort to gradually dissolve the stripes. I had very little of the Cash Island left for the contrast-coloured border, so I swapped the ruffles with 2 rows of garter followed by a picot bind-off.


C'est le printemps ici en Ontario, quoiqu'il serait difficile pour moi de le prouver, avec la neige qui tombe  sans cesse la nuit et la givre que je dois gratter du par brise à chaque matin! Heureusement que je suis complètement ensorcellé par les châles à l'instant – épais, délicats, textures, dentelles, je les aime tous!

Le patron : Mara par Madelinetosh

J’ai alterné les laines Silk Garden et Cash Island à tous les deux rangs pour commencer, ensuite tous les six rangs, et finalement seulement le Silk Garden pour le reste du châle, jusqu’à la bordure. Puisqu’il ne me restait que quelques mètres de Cash Island pour la bordule, j’ai substitué les volants avec un rabattage des mailles en picots.

Springtime Mara

Saturday, April 2, 2011

I think I’m stuck on shawls. I haven’t wanted to knit anything else since December, and this little one here is my third in a row. I currently have one in my knitting bag that’s well over two-thirds done. I can’t stop! I mean, they allow me to use spare balls of yarn that had been swallowed by The Stash, are incredibly portable, are interesting to knit without taking a year to finish, what’s not to love?
Will 2011 be my Year of the Shawl?

This one was meant to use up a spare ball and a half of Kidsilk Haze, paired with a ball of Kidsilk Spray that I’d purchased long ago when a LYS closed its doors. Wanting something striped in a delicate way, yet simple enough for TV knitting, I settled on knitting Kirsten Kapur’s Andrea’s Shawl. Again. It really is that much fun!



By my calculations I barely had enough yarn to knit the medium size, but I wanted the width of the large. So I cast on for the large, but knit only half of the border’s 16 rows and then decreased 6 stitches every second row instead of 4. The result was a wide, but shallow shawl. While I’m pleased to get the result I’d been aiming for, I still had TONS of yarn left when I cast off. Most likely enough to have knit the large!

* * * * * * * *

Je pense que je suis coincée. Depuis décembre tout ce que je désire tricoter ce sont des châles. Ça me donne la chance d’utiliser la laine que j’ai déjà. Par exemple, j’avais environ une balle et demie de Rowan Kidsilk Haze qui me restait après un de mes premiers projets ainsi qu’une balle de Kidsilk Spray, achetée à rabais dans une boutique qui fermait ses portes. Je me cassais la tête pour trouver un patron qui ne nécessitait que ces deux balles et qui mettrait en valeur la qualité hyper délicate de la laine. Finalement, trop paresseuse pour entamer un projet dont le niveau de difficulté m’empêcherais d’écouter la télé en même temps, j’ai décidé de tricoter le Andrea’s Shawl une deuxième fois!



Je craignais de ne pas avoir assez de laine, mais je désirais quand même atteindre la largeur de la taille la plus grande afin que le châle puisse faire le tour de mes épaules. Alors, j'ai commencé en tricotant la taille la plus large, pour ensuite accélérer les diminutions. J'ai diminué de six mailles tous les deux rangs au lieu de quatre et j'ai réduit la bordure de 16 rangs à huit. Le résultat est un châle qui peut faire la circonférence de mes épaules, mais qui est bien plus court et nécessite moins de laine.

Je l’aime bien, mais lorsque je suis arrivée à la pointe il me restait tant de laine que j’aurais pu tricoter la plus grande taille après tout! Oups!

Délicatesse

Thursday, February 17, 2011

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