Sadie & Oliver

Changes...

They are one of my least favourite things.

But sometimes they are extremely necessary.

My husband moved out of our home last month, and I have been busy adjusting to single motherhood.  I’ve been distracting myself with helping Sadie through it all.  I’ve also been distracting myself with grand ideas and daydreams of my future.  It has to be bright, doesn’t it?  Isn’t there some kind of guarantee at birth?  I’m pretty sure I heard that somewhere.

I took to living on my own surprisingly quickly.  I thought 11 years would have stunted me somehow, but it seems the last few years did enough *magic* to make living alone kind of like heaven; no compromising, my kitchen stays clean and shiny, no uncomfortable silences or wishing I knew what someone was thinking, no way-too-long conversations about why it isn’t working and what can we do to fix it.  It’s nice, being able to just be, free of judgement or expectation.  And I like having the bed all to myself too.

There’s even been some knitting.  A lot of knitting actually.  Accessory knitting!  Couldn't tell you why, but every time I knit a sweater, I don’t wear it.  I want to, I mean to, and then I sell it or give it or donate it to someone who actually will wear it, not just plan to one day.  But the one thing I do wear is accessories - scarves, cowls, hats, mittens, love them!   So that’s what I am doing – stashing away accessories for the upcoming Fall and Winter.  This one doesn’t have a name, but she will soon.

 

It's a beautiful cashmere lace weight yarn, Diamond Ecco Cashmere, knitted up with panels of 'elevator lace'.  (That's not really a term at all, but when I charted it and knitted it, it reminded me of the gates that pull across old elevators, a la Nero Wolfe.)  There are some sweet scallops and the icord edging that I am so fond of, knitted along with the scarf so there is minimal finishing required.  And just as soon as she has a name, a pattern will be published!

Cheers to bright futures, and warm necks!  Oh what the hell, cheers to changes too!

The Waterfront Collection

Inspired by dreams of living in a sweeet little cottage near the water, of wandering out to the dock for coffee and breakfast biscuits, and splashing around in shallow water with Sadie on a summer afternoon, I came up with a mini-collection of patterns, ideal for both pretend life and my real life (at various suburban play parks).

 

 The Bayshore Cardigan is seriously cropped, with a generous hood and fitted elbow-length sleeves.  It's worked from the top down, so lengthening the body would be a simple enough task.  It's finished with a garter stitch trim that's knitted directly onto the sleeves and body.

(Ravel Bayshore)

 

 The Crafter's Bay Cardigan features an all-over chevron lace pattern with loose fitting elbow-length sleeves.  It hits at the hip and has slight body shaping.  It's knit with Classic Elite Duchess, a bulky but lightweight yarn, so it knits up quickly on 6mm needles.

(Ravel Crafter's Bay)

Both are open fronted cardigans with no closures.  They were designed to be casual, easy to wear and comfortable.

And the third piece of the Waterfront Collection is the Port Alice scarf ~ still in progress and soon to be released!

Happy Mother's Day!

This has to be one of the quickest, most fun patterns I've made my way through in quite a while.

on Ravelry (for free!) here

 

The Time Has Come

to knit mittens in March?

to roll your eyes at people who knit mittens in March?

to release a mitten pattern in March?

I'll take all three.  I've released the Alice in Wonderland mitten pattern, I will be knitting a modified extra small pair for Sadie, and I will, no doubt, be rolling my eyes at myself for knitting mittens when it's so Spring-like outdoors.

Alice in Wonderland Mittens ($5.95)

I don't know about your weather, but it's been disturbingly Spring-y here.  That doesn't usually happen until the end of April.  I'm secretly (or not so secretly) hoping for just one more cold snap so I can wear my new mittens without sideways looks from confused Calgarians.

I also wanted to say that the notes and comments I've received about these mittens have been so lovely.  Thank you for such a warm reception,...even if it is March :)

How Thrilled Am I

to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland this weekend?  So thrilled that I'm knitting mittens in March.  But not just any mittens ~ Alice & Mr. Rabbit mittens!

I've been planning them for a good long time, but couldn't get the stranded design and yarn choices quite right until now (that knitted sample you see there is very wrong).

In honor of the movie release this Friday, I'm  having a little contest.  Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite childhood storybook was.  Or tell me what color your socks are.  Tell me anything you like (so long as it's not about the wonders of Viagra or other spammy stuff).  The prize?  A free copy of the Alice mitten pattern just as soon as it's ready for public consumption!  Cut-off is Sunday evening, at which time I'll use a random number generator thingy and name three winners.  Please make sure the email address attached to your comment is correct.  Good luck!

On a side note, thank you to everyone who bought Sadie & Oliver patterns on Ravelry this month.  50% of all the sales will be sent to the Canadian Red Cross for Haiti relief just as soon as I hit 'publish' on this post.

I Just Couldn't Resist

 

the pom-poms.

pattern:  Cabled Chullo (rav link) by Mary Jane Mucklestone

yarn:  Mirasol Sulka

I meant to make this for myself, but my head is longer than my knitting, so it has instead been gifted to Sadie, who's head is just lovely.  And the pom-poms,... I don't have a fancy pom-pom maker, nor the patience to cut a proper one out of cardboard.  I wrapped the yarn around a 2.5" card about 50 times.  Usually this makes sad pom-poms, sparse and skinny and not at all cute.  This yarn though, makes the poofiest, most velvety pom-poms; pom-poms that make you want to stand up and cheer (you know, if you were so inclined to be ridiculously excited about pom-poms).

And now that we've established my geeky love of pom-poms, I'm off to work on my newest love - a hat with a tassle!  (also designed by Mary Jane)

Dear Jackalope Cowl,

This is the story of how you came to be.

Just before Christmas, I was struck with an urge to do a fair-isle something-or-other, and immediately I had an idea for the niftiest pair of mittens my mitten drawer has ever seen.  Yarn was ordered, charts were drawn, and it all went to pot with the yarn being held hostage somewhere between there and here.

That was when I read through the Winter issue of Interweave Knits and fell a little too in love with the Granted Cowichan inspired sweaters.  And *poof* a project appeared in my head offering me exactly what I needed;  colorwork, a small project, an opportunity to flex creative muscles and last, but certainly not least, a healthy dose of jackalopes.

A girl like me couldn't ask for anything better than jackalopes.

Ravel it here or  

The Details

Knit Picks Palette yarn - 1 ball each of Oyster Heather, Tidepool Heather, Camel Heather & Bark

Garnstudio Drops Alpaca - 1 ball in Light Steel Blue, 8105 (for the lining)

2.75mm & 3.0mm, 16" circular needles

Finished Size:  19" at top edge, 23.5" at bottom edge, and 8.5" long

That Merry Season Flew By!

After two days of family and cookies and gift wrap, I was pleasantly surprised when, on Christmas Day, I found Sadie completely distracted by new toys and I was able to cozy up on the couch and watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents to my hearts content.  And how content it was!  My hands had a much needed break from knitting after all of those

(Pile-able Pups)

and

 
(Little Oddment Hedgehogs)

and

 
(Acorns)

and

  and 
(windschief & botanic) 

and this too

The Peaks Island Hood that I made too short, and ended up having to sew the top two buttonholes shut and leave only one buttonhole for closing.  I think the coziness of the Malabrigo worsted and the sweetness of the design really saved me (not to mention the unconditional pride a mother has for her child), because my mom said she loved it.  Phew!

2009 also marks the year I bought my own Christmas Tree, and it was about time.  But the poor dear needs a tree skirt.  We can't have another year of a naked-bottomed tree.  And some stockings would be nice.  I should probably start work on those now so the mad rush next December can be avoided.  But that's not going to happen.  I secretly enjoy the masochistic knitting schedule that comes with leaving everything to the last minute.

If I Only Had a Life

this blog would be updated so much more often!  My days though are filled with two-year old stuff, like potty training, Cinderella, reading the same stories over and over again, short walks to the grocery store, and now cursing the early Winter that has landed smack-dab on Calgary.  It's a lovely life for me, and for Sadie too, but probably not all that interesting for you.

What I do have to share with you is knitting!  I finished the pattern for the Drifted Pearls scarf on Friday night, and wore it on Saturday for brunch and shopping.  The yarn, Rowan Lima, is fantastic.  It's a chainette yarn, so the scarf is light yet lofty and so, SO warm and cozy.  I'm tempted to make everything forever with Lima.

 

Drifted Pearls on Ravelry

 The response to this scarf in the Ravelry community has been lovely ~ so lovely that I'm a little taken aback.  It's incredibly flattering.  I just wanted to say thank you for the kind messages and comments and of course for buying it (if you've bought it).

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and Happy Sunday to the rest!

A Theory

in Shawlette form.  Why Theory?  I don't know ~ I'm much more in love with the sound of words than with their actual meanings.  All that said, it's a fine shawlette, knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino, on 5mm needles, making it quick and oh so soft.

The ends are blunt, like a  scarf, but the body of it is curved softly.  It's worked from the bottom scallop up to the garter stitch short rows.

It's available for $5 USD on Ravelry here: 

  

or in my Etsy shop.

Thank you for all of your kind comments about the Little Ruffle scarf, and your well wishes for our trip.  All went very well, and we managed to have a lovely time and make it there and home without too much more drama.  If you happen to be traveling in BC next summer, I highly recommend the Revelstoke KOA.  We stayed in the sweetest little log cabin, complete with porch swing, and air conditioner.  The Enchanted Forest is only about half an hour outside of Revelstoke and made the whole trip that much better.