Handmade..... the virtues

 

Last night I had a party to go to and since I had to get ready at the store, I quickly decied to throw on the dangling leaves shawl that Nathaly made. Then, I grabbed a shawl pin from Everyday Peacocks to finish off the look (truth be told... it was acting as a stitch holder. I yanked it out and hopefully today I can put it back together)

Here are some observations:

• Wearing a knitted shawl, sweater or other garment that someone else has made is like having a constant hug. There is a special warmth to the item that just can't be attricbuted to the silk and and mohair beauty of the yarn
• Regardless of whether you are thin, plump or somewhere in between, you will look amazing. Perhaps it is because the quality of the knitting, but most likely because you are standing proud. You are likely walking with a little more sass than you would with mass produced garments.
• You know that each stitch was made love, humour, frustration or some human emotion. This shawl was the first item that I asked Nathaly to make for the store. Really, you can say it was the beginning of a friendship. That is what I think when I see it.
• The shawl pin is very similar to the knitted item. It was fashioned by hand by a creative, inventive and amazing southern belle now living in Quebec. This pin was part of my first order from her and in many ways also symbolizes a budding friendship. With each curve of silver, with each addition of a bead, Kam has put thought and care to get it just right. It s smooth and beautiful!
• Each knitted item is a reflection of the person that made it. Just look at the beauty of Nathaly and Kam and the finished projects.

Perhaps, others can relate to how I feel about handmade items. Possibly that is what I love about the store... helping people with their projects so that with each stitch, they can weave in a bit of love, laughter and all that goes into knitting. Whether the item is for themselves or a gift for someone, each piece is unique and comes from deep within. There is a sacred act of making something beautiful, useful and loving out of a piece of string.

With that said, have a great Sunday!

Now, let's show these ladies some facebook love and click on the link and like their page

Tricot Nathy           Everyday Peacocks

 

Great Minds think alike

I remember a few weeks ago having an aha moment when I was talking to Julie Asselin and fondling the baby llama from Illimani yarns at the same time. WOW wouldn't it be awesome if you could hand dye the baby llama. We looked at each other with such glee and excitement..... Fast forward a few weeks and I get a call from Sylvie at Lettuce Knit in Toronto... She wanted hand dyed Illimani yarns in Julie Asselin colours. And, thus, a knitting partnership was born. The next thing you know, Ilimani yarns sent yarn to Julie and here is the first look at it. More will be coming soon

Being a bit of a yarn brat, I insisted I should get first dibs and try out the first versions. Yesterday, the hand dyed silky baby llama arrived. Sorry, I am feeling very possessive... they are all mine ;-) I had been searching for days, for what seemed like weeks for a pattern that would show off the great colour work, great yarn, still look good on me and require minimal finishing. Yesterday, Arleen spoke to me.  Worked in the round from the top down with no sewing and simple raglan increases... she won the contest.

Big thanks go to Kam of Everyday Peacocks for combing through her 6,000+ favorites in ravelry to help me find the perfect project.... there are a few I have discovered and can't wait to knit.

Arleen by Donna Knits

So, I dutifully swatched. Rarely do I do this, mostly out of laziness and also lacking time. My main concern was how the colours would look. Would I get stripes? Pooling?? So I did a rather wide swatch to check it all out.

 All was going great. It seemed like my bamboo addi clicks were just weaving their magic with the silk baby llama heavenliness. The, something did not look quite right.... I was only increasing for the raglan shaping on one side of the markers. Grant it I did not have my fancy everyday peacock stitch markers. I was using  my plain old clover green markers. And while they work fine on most projects. The addis and the silky baby llama were having none of that. So, I ripped back several rows and waiting until I could get to Mont Tricot and get my hands on my special Everyday Peacocks markers.

Well, the next thing you know, the rows were flying by with increases of either side of the marker. It is as if the marker just gently whispers and reminds me kbf before the marker and kfb after the marker. If you don't believe this happened... you should try the magical markers out for yourself

Well, not a great picture, but here is a picture of my progress thus far....

In case there is any doubt. This is a heavenly project. I will be updating you on the progress.
 Stay tuned....

Knitting Tip of the day! Astuce de Tricot pour la journée!

 I love to knit socks. I definitely don't do the same pattern each time. I always seem to need to excitement with either the yarn or the pattern. My favorite way to knit them is on 4 double pointed needles. I have tried magic loop and 2 circulars but there is just something quite fun about the small dpns that keep me fascinated. However, when I get to the heel flap, I start to get annoyed and jabbed by those pesky pointed sticks that are not being used.  My solution: put those stitches on a holder or waste yarn to get them out of them out of the way. With this pair, I tried the Everyday Peacocks stitch holder, available at Mont Tricot. I found it was the perfect length without having to squish too many stitched together or without having something else poke out. Plus, it is gorgeous. The only drawback: I did not want to finish the heel cause it looked too pretty.

J'adore tricoter des bas mais je n'aime jamais refaire le même patron  . J'ai toujours besoin d'avoir de l'escitation avec une nouvelle laine ou un autre patron. Ma façon préférée de les tricotés c'est avec 4 aiguilles à double point. J'ai essayé avec le magic loop et avec 2 aiguilles cirulaires mais il y a vraiement quelquechose des avec les petites aiguilles qui me fascinent. Toutefois, je n'aime pas quand on commence à faire le talon et les petites aiguilles pointues s'enfoncent dans ma main. Ma solution: mettre les mailles en attentes. Avec cette paire que je tricote, j'ai decidé d'essayer les "stitch holders" d' Everyday Peacocks disponible chez Mont Tricot. J'ai découvert qu'ils sont d'une longueur parfaite sans avoir les mailles trop tassées ou avoir un bout qui dépasse. En plus, c'est tellement beau.  Le seule défaut: je ne voulais pas continuer mon talon parce que c'était trop beau.

Fun times at Mont Tricot - On s'amuse chez Mont Tricot

version française suit

We had a great weekend at Mont Tricot. 
On Saturday, we had a visit from Julie Asselin. She lives in Coaticook and she hand dyes yarn. She has a great eye for colour and all things retro. Emily and I had a great time chatting with her and checking out all of her goodies. I can't wait until we get some of her yummy yarns. We kept a few skeins to play with.
Last night, I had a great time playing with hand-dyed bulky wool/alpaca blend. Sitting by the campfire, I came up with a cool, campfire hat pattern which will be published as soon as Julie's yarn makes its début at Mont Tricot. Stay tuned....
Today, I got to work early so that I could write down the pattern. Then, we had a great time when Kam from Everyday Peacocks came to visit.
Not only did she brings us some very cool new stitch markers and other knitting jewelry, she also spent the whole afternoon playing with yarn and hanging out with us. We playing with earrings, crochet hooks and yarn.
We were silly and giggled. We planned the knitting workshop and had a great time.

Then, by surprise, my mother in law and sister in law came to hand out as well. It was a real treat to have them come by.


Then, I came home. Had dinner with the family and spent a little more time knitting so that I could prop up Chulita's little head. Talk about being spoiled....












On a eu une très belle fin de semaine chez Mont Tricot. 

Samedi, on a eu la visite de Julie Asselin. Elle habite à Coaticook  et elle  teint de la laine à la main. Elle a un très bon oeil pour la couleur et  tout ce qui est retro.  Emilie et moi, nous nous sommes bien amusés à parler avec elle et mieux la connaître. En plus elles nous a apporté un paquet de belles choses pour nous donner le goût. J'ai hâte d'avoir ses laines au magasin. On a garder quelques échevaux pour jouer avec.



Hier soir, j'ai joué avec un bel échevau de laine mélangé avec de l'alpaga. Assise proche du camp de feu, j'ai crée une belle touque qui aura le patron publier dès que la laine de Julie arrive chez Mont Tricot. À suivre....


Aujourd'hui, je suis allée de bonheur au magasin pour écrire le patron. Plus tard, on a eu la visite de Kam d' Everyday Peacocks. Non seulement, qu'elle nous a amené des beaux anneaux de répères pour le tricot et d'autres beaux bijoux pour le tricot, mais elle est restée toute l'après midi pour jouer avec de la laine avec nous. En bref, on s'est bien amusé tous ensemble.

Puis, ma belle mère et ma belle soeur sont arrivées pour tricoter avec nous aussi.


Après, on est rentré chez nous pour souper. Chulita était bien contente de retrouver du comfort sur une balle de laine...

Happy Canada! Joyeuse Fête du Canada!

la version française suit....

This Canada, I really wanted to do something truly Canadian. I took this to mean that my knitting had to have a Canadian flair. I decided last night to cast on with a Canadian yarn (Camelspin from Handmaiden), the pattern was Villeray from Falling Stitches. I was even going to treat myself to some pretty little knitting jewelry from Everyday Peacocks. I was quite excited about the pattern because it is only 12 rows that repeat over and over. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy", I thought.

I did not however contend with the persistence of the black flies. The more I tried to knit, the more they buzzed and buzzed around my head. I tried to swat with my needles, but that was a scary proposition since the stitches and stitch holders lay vulnerable flying away. I made it to row 3 quite pleased with myself. Then, I started the barbeque. Being a great multitasker, I figured I could handle just about anything. By the time I got to dinner, I was well on my way and feeling pretty good about my all Canadian blog post for the next day.

Then, the storm hit. I grabbed my laptop and my knitting and other small items sitting by the campfire with me. Once inside, I realized that something was wrong. My stitch count was off, the stitch holder were not in the right place (but they were looking soo pretty. How could they be wrong?) I figured I should stop while I was ahead and I would continue in the morning. Morning came and it was no easier to figure out where my mistakes where. I completely unraveled what I had done and set about starting again.

By the time I got to the store things were moving along quite gracefully. The pattern was starting to show up. Soon enough, I started having customers and could not concentrate on it anymore so thought maybe I could try another semi-Canadian Project.


 I grabbed a skein of slubby blue from Fleece Artist . and the ever popular  Boutique Knits.


I decided quickly on the fawn earflap hat which not only seemed perfect for the yarn, but it would also give me a chance to use my Everyday Peacock stitch holder. Yippie!

Well, I am pleased to say the hat is on its way to becoming a hat. I will be you an update soon enough!

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version française

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Pour la fête du Canada, je voulais faire quelque chose vraiement canadien. Alors, je me suis dit que mon tricot du jour devait être canadien. J'ai décidé hier soir de monter des mailles avec un fil Canadien (Camelspin de Handmaiden). Le patron était Villeray de Falling Stitches. Je voulais même me gâter avec des bijoux pour mon tricot de Everyday Peacocks. J'étais bien excité pour commencer et je penser bien réussir étant donner que le patron consister seulement en 12 rangs qui se répètent.

Je n'ai pas par contre penser aux mouches à chevreuil. Plus j'éssayais de tricoter, plus elles m'agassaient. J'ai beau essayé de les écraser avec mes aiguilles mais ce n'était point une bonne idée. Cela rendaient les mailles et les beaux marqueurs de mailles vulnerable. Malgré tout, j'ai réussit à faire 3 rangs et je commencer à prendre confiance avec le patron. Alors, j'ai parti le bbq. Étant très bonne à faire des multi-tâches, je penser que c'était bien parti mon kiki. À l'heure de souper, j'étais contente de mon progrès et du potential du poste pour mon blogue pour le lendemain.

 Tout d'un coup, la tempête est arrivée. J'ai pris très vite mon portable, mon tricot et d'autre petits objets que j'avais au tour du camp de feu. Rendue à l'intérieure, j'ai réalisé qu'il y avait quelque chose qui n'allait plus avec le tricot. Le nombre des mailles n'était pas correcte et les marqueurs de mailles n'étaient plus à la bonne place (je ne comprenais absolument rien. ils avaient l'air si beaux ses marqueurs de mailles. comment pouvaient - ils ne pas être correcte?) J'ai décidé d'arrêter et tout voir le lendemain. Le matin, j'ai bien étudier mon tricot mais je n'arriver pas à savoir où était l'erreur. Alors, j'ai tout défait et j'ai décidé de recommencer.

Quand je suis arrivée au magasin, tout aller bien. Les mailles et les marqueurs étaient bien à leur place et le motif commencer à apparaître. Mais, avec des clients qui commencer à arriver, j'avais de plus en plus de difficultés à me concentrer. Donc, j'ai décider d'entreprendre un autre projet semi-canadien. 

J'ai pris un écheveau de slubby blue de Fleece Artist . et le livre très populaire, Boutique Knits. .

J'ai choisi le pattron de la tuque avec l'oreillette. Il semblait parfait pour la laine et en plus ça me donnerai une chance d'utiliser mon beau bijous pour tenir les mailles d'Everyday Peacocks. Youpie!!!

Alors, la tuque est bien commencée et je vous donnerai des nouvelles bientôt!