New in the shop!

The etsy shop is full of wonderful handknits right now, ready for your holiday shopping! There's a new cream/beige coloured Pombcoup cowl just waiting to be wrapped around your neck. It's so cozy and warm, made with 100% superwash merino wool.

You'll also notice a couple of new colours in my collection. The Ledge Harbour slouch is in white and gold/mustard. I'm also working with a new yarn supplier, so I will have even more colours in the weeks to come!

art + antler

Just wanted to pop in to share some exciting news! Darn it all slouchy hats and wrist warmers will soon be available at art + antler in Hazelton, BC.

I'm knitting as fast as I can to finish up the order, which is also why my etsy shop is looking a little bare. No need to worry though! Fifty-two skeins of beautiful merino wool are heading my way and will soon be knit up into numerous slouchy hats, wrist warmers, infinity scarves, bracelets and perhaps even a new design ...

Pomboup cowl

There's a new darn it all design in the shop! After a couple of failed prototypes, I'm happy to reveal the Pomboup cowl!

 

It's an infinity cowl with a double moss stitch texture. I really love this design. It's the perfect width and length to wrap around your neck twice. Made with soft merino wool -- like all my knits -- it's going to be so cozy this autumn!

While I wait for a giant yarn shipment, I've been busying myself by knitting more cabled bracelets. This set of three is in cream, magenta and black.

I almost have enough bracelets on hand to make an entire sleeve! Cabled cuffs for EVERYONE!

Ledge Harbour slouch

Hey look! There's a new slouchy beanie in the shop! I'm calling it the Ledge Harbour slouch, again named after a place in my hometown of Pubnico, Nova Scotia.

The Ledge Harbour slouch is similar in shape to my other slouchy hats, but it features four eyelet rows. It's a little slouchier than the others and I adore it. I'm definitely knitting one for me to keep! 

The Ledge Harbour slouch is available in red and dark grey.

cabled bracelets

I have loads of scraps of yarn leftover from all the knitting I've been doing. Last week, it occurred to me that I might be able to create something with all of the bits and bobs. I got the idea to try to make some cabled bracelets and, after a few false starts, I came up with a design that looks like a braid.

 

and then I got addicted to knitting these little bangles!

Three different collections are in the shop. Mint and grey, cream, coral red and navy, and ombré grey.

They're a lot of fun and would look great stacked together, as shown, or individually.

In the meantime, the shop is full of hats and wristwarmers. Have a peek!

More wristwarmers

I'm been knitting so much lately. So much, in fact, that I have developed what my optometrist says is "occupational myopia." Yup. My formerly-perfect vision is now a little less than perfect in my left eye because I KNIT TOO MUCH.

So how's this for irony? I'm knitting MORE in order to sell more handknits so I can pay for my new glasses! At least this means there are lots of lovely handknits in the shop!

 

Pubnico Point mitts in light grey and dark grey. As a self-professed tea addict, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pair these fingerless mitts with a nice cuppa. So cozy.

 

My new glasses arrived late last week and I can't believe how clear everything is, even though my prescription is pretty minimal. 

They're the Miles frames from Warby Parker, in case you're wondering!

Black slouches!

People began requesting black hats almost as soon as I opened my etsy shop. The problem was that I couldn't get black yarn from either of my sources. I guess that's what I get for using a discontinued yarn to knit my hats.

That's where Ravelry comes in. I searched people's stashes and found someone on Ravelry who had 10 skeins of black yarn she was willing to part with, so I snapped it up. Two hats were already spoken for before I started knitting, and soon two more were sold!

 

Now there's only one black Abbotts Harbour slouch left, so if you're in the market for a handknit black hat, get it while you can!

So, I've been busy . . .

A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned that a store in Indianapolis was looking to sell some handknit wash cloths. She encouraged me to contact Homespun to see if they were interested in stocking my wash cloths. I sent off an application and only two days later, I got an answer. Not only did they want my wash cloths, they also wanted my hats and wristwarmers! I had enough wash cloths to send off, but I needed to knit many, many more hats and mitts to fill their order. I started knitting, and knitting, and knitting some more! Finally, today I'm sending off a big box full of these beauties to Indiana!

I'm so excited to have my handknits in a real store. This is so huge for me.

In the meantime, there's a new grey ombré Abbotts Harbour slouch in the shop! It was a little experiment and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I'm kind of in love with this one. <3

More hats!

I'm trying to knit a hat a day to keep up with demand, and I have a potentially exciting opportunity coming up that I hope to be able to share soon. In the meantime there are some more hats in the shop, including an Abbotts Harbour slouch in rust, a Minique's slouch in grey and this Minique's slouch in mist.

I just got another shipment of yarn. More grey and a really nice denim blue! Don't forget to like my Facebook page.

New designs!

I was going to write to tell you all that there are two new hats in the shop, but they're already sold! Thanks so much for your support. I'm beyond surprised!

The first new design is the Minique's slouch, named for the little road where I grew up, Minique's Hill.

It's another slouchy hat, but this time a little bumpy, like Minique's Hill. I'm really pleased with this one and will be knitting it up in some more colours as soon as I get that yarn shipment I've been waiting for ...

The next is the Dennis Point tuque. It would be perfect for any of the hundreds of fishermen who fish out of Dennis Point because it hugs the head nicely and the soft merino keeps you toasty! Or, perhaps a fisherman's wife could sport it while she's waiting for her husband to sail in.

My fingers are going to be busy for the next little while, knitting some more hats! I'm so glad people are liking my designs.

Grey Abbotts Harbour slouch

There's a new Abbotts Harbour slouch in the shop! I'm kind of tempted to keep this one. It's such a nice grey.

I've discounted it 25% because there's a slight variation in colour between the top half and bottom half. It's not noticeable when it's worn (as you can see from the modeled photos) but if you're looking for it, you can see it.

In the meantime, I'm working on a new hat design -- my third in the 8 in 2013 challenge!

darn it all is on Facebook!

I've given in to self-promotion and made a Facebook page for darn it all. I'm not on Facebook personally, so I feel kind of weird about this, but I must admit that it's a great way to promote my handknits. And I've already sold a hat because of Facebook, so I guess there's no denying that it works!

 

I'm busy knitting and re-knitting (and re-knitting again), trying to perfect a new hat design.

Pubnico Point wristwarmers

I have been working on my second original design and I'm proud to say that my Pubnico Point wristwarmers are now in the shop!

I'm continuing with the trend of naming my designs after places in my small village of Pubnico. These are fingerless mitts knit in a very soft and squishy superwash merino. The ribbed section on the top gives the mitts some stretch and helps them hug your hands.

On the palms, I've used a pretty textured stitch for some added interest.

These are in the mist colourway. More colours will be coming soon. They're the perfect match for your misty Abbotts Harbour slouch!

spinning yarns

I bought this beauty at Rhinebeck 2012. The colours just grabbed me.

It's Misty Mountain Farm BFL in rainforest. Gorgeous, no? I really didn't want to screw up spinning this into yarn, so I waited until I finished taking the Spinning with Dyed Fibers course on Craftsy before I decided how exactly I would maintain the pretty colours. The course was fabulous. I learned so much about the different ways one can play with colour when spinning dyed fibres. Really, I had no idea there were so many possibilities. Craftsy sometimes has amazing sales, so if you can wait until classes are half-price (or even less!), do so!

So, I decided to try my hand at fractal spinning and this is the result!

 

218 yards of perfection. Well, it may be a little lumpy, but it's perfect to me.

I couldn't wait to start knitting to see how the colours would manifest! In under 24 hours, I had this beauty in my crafty little hands.

Pattern: The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower
Needles: US8/5mm
Started: January 21, 2013
Finished: January 22, 2013
raveled

The only modification I made was to add an extra two rows of the garter edge before casting off. I had some extra yarn and wanted to use up as much of it as possible.

This kerchief has not left my neck since I finished it. It's been really chilly out, so it keeps me warm, and I just love the way it looks. The colours slowly shift from aqua to a more marled mauve and then to gold. As I said: perfection!

New Abbotts Harbour slouch in the shop!

I'm working on some more Abbotts Harbour slouches in new colours, the first of which is in "mist."

It's exactly the colour of the sky and ocean today here in Abbotts Harbour. Coincidentally, it's also the colour of my nails.

matchy matchy!

The hats are in the shop now!

SOLD!

Just checking in to say that the Abbotts Harbour slouch is SOLD OUT! I sold both the rust and red hats last night and sent them off this morning. I'm so excited about my first sales!

My fingers are busy, busy, busy knitting some more Abbotts Harbour slouches in new colours! I'm working on one that's a greenish grey, the colour of the ocean on a cloudy day.

Unfortunately my new business cards and stickies from moo arrived a few hours late -- the slouches were already on their way to their new homes. But the good news is that they look fantastic!

My super talented husband designed the cards and stickies (under my direction. heh.) and I couldn't be happier with the result.

So stay tuned for more Abbotts Harbour slouches! In the meantime, there are still lots of luxurious organic cotton wash cloths in the shop!

My Kiwi 2

Did I forget to mention that I bought a spinning wheel? While I was at Rhinebeck 2012? Did I forget to mention that I made it to knitters' mecca last year?

this passes for "normal" at NY Sheep and Wool

Well, in case I happened to forget, I went to Rhinebeck and had a friggin' blast. I stayed in a mansion with 12 lovely ladies, met some Internet friends, bought stuff, took a train, and spent a few hours in the city that never sleeps. And I bought a spinning wheel, the stereotypical thing to do in Rhinebeck.

applause! applause!

I only really received the wheel at Christmas because it was a gift from my parents. It's an Ashford Kiwi 2 (unfinished) so I put three coats of Danish wood oil on it before assembling it with my handy brother. As soon as it was in one piece, I sat down, put my feet on the treadles and starting spinning. It's amazing how much easier it is to spin on a proper spinning wheel when one has been spinning on a drop spindle all summer.

Speaking of the summer, I'm an interpreter at Le Village historique acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse. I spend my days in a house that was built in 1832, cook and bake on a wood stove, knit, spin, quilt, garden and talk to tourists. It's obviously the best job ever. Someone gave the Village some wool for spinning, but we don't have a working spinning wheel on site (and I'm the only staff member who spins), so I brought it home to tinker with. Instead of breaking out my good fibre right away, I decided to start spinning with some of the freebie wool from le Village. And here is the result.

It's unknown natural/undyed wool, spun to a two ply fingering or sport weight. 480 yards and 178 grams. I'm hoping to dye it at the Village this summer with some onion skins.

I wasn't 100 per cent sure how to use the built in lazy kate on my Kiwi 2. The first time I tried, my singles got royally fouled up in the treadle yoke (it was a nightmare to unfoul. trust me.). That's when I decided to wrap the singles around my thighs and up into my hands to ply the yarn. It worked well.

I have a small (it's actually minute) stash of fibre that I cannot wait to get spinning, but apparently I can't shut myself in my office/craft room while my kid fends for himself all day. Who knew?

Warm legs

It's not been a terribly cold winter, but I still find myself layering socks and slippers, shirts and sweaters, and, in extreme cases, tights and pants to stay cozy.

Enter: the utterly practical legwarmers!

Pattern: some cloudy day by tiny owl knits
Materials: 1 skein Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Every day grey (bought at Rinebeck 2012!!)
Needles: US4 (3.5mm) dpns
Started: January 1, 2013
Finished: January 7, 2013

Raveled

Notes: I weighed the skein and divided it into two equal skeins. I managed to get 25 pattern repeats out of one half skein. I casted on with 4.5mm needles to ensure stretchiness at the top. I didn't follow the pattern for the bottom cuff -- instead I ended with four rows of stockinette stitch and four rows of 2x2 rib. What can I say? I like symmetry.

Verdict: My calves are delightfully toasty and I love how ugly/cute legwarmers look.

Stop the presses.

It's true. I'm back.

Hello world! Here I am!

I stopped blogging after I procreated. There was just no time to write with a new little human being in my life. The newt is now a three-year-old kid and he's so much fun, although potty training is threatening to take the fun out of motherhood, but I digress.

I'm back because I just opened an etsy shop for my handknits. People have been asking me to sell my handknits for a while now, but I never thought it would be possible since I'm not a designer. I really don't know the first thing about writing a pattern, but I buckled down over Christmas break and decided to make a valiant attempt at creating my own design. The result is the Abbotts Harbour slouch.

Voilà! The Abbotts Harbour slouch!

It's nothing fancy. Just a slouhcy stockinette hat with a ribbed brim. But it's mine. And I like it.

I also have some 100% organic cotton wash cloths in the shop and I'm working on my second design as I'm writing this.

Mmmm. Scrubby.

In fact, I'm taking on a new project since this is a new year and all. I'm jumping on my friend Steph's bandwagon and setting a goal to write eight original patterns in 2013. (Read more about the 8 in 2013 project here.)

I haven't decided if I'll publish a pattern for the Abbotts Harbour slouch. I mean, does the world really need another pattern for a slouchy knit hat? No, not really. But if I come up with anything earth shattering, I'll certainly consider it.

So, carry on, as you were. I'm hoping to be back here blogging regularly. It feels nice to write again. Thanks for reading.