wiksten-a-thon

Whoops, there goes 3 weeks. I'm going to gloss over the fairly comical story of finishing a 10 month renovation and then experiencing a freak rainfall that not only drops an unheard of amount of rain in your city but also knocks out your power for 3 hours. Which means your brand new sump pump can't work and your brand new basement floods. Yep, that happened. But before that happened, there was a whole bunch of sewing. Of the same garment, over and over again.

In total I made 4 new Wiksten Tank dresses. It started with a black and white striped version which I randomly threw jeans under when it got cold one night. Suddenly I realized how awesome the pattern is - a dress when hot, a tunic when cold. Amazing. So then I made a gingham version. Both of these gaped a little at the back neck, so after a quick search I came across Rae's suggested modification. It worked like a charm and the next one - made from mushroom linen - fit perfectly. Thank you, thank you Rae!

After the modification success I basically ran to the Workroom to get more fabric to make another. I settled on a blue chambray from the new Union collection from Robert Kaufman. I finished it that night (these take 90 minutes to sew, max!) but by the next night, my sewing marathon came to a quick close. A water logged studio will do that to any sewing marathon.

So now I'll get back to knitting while we re-enter the basement renovation phase. Spending time with wool is never a bad thing.

canada day eve

Fireworks are exploding in the background, so it seems fitting to write about my 13th and final book in this year's Canadian Book Challenge. The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson was exactly what I expected - quirky, experimental, creative. But it was also exactly what I didn't expect - heavy, meaningful and heartbreaking. I devoured this small novel and every page was wonderful. I've been sticking to fairly linear storytelling this year so this was a nice break from that, reminding me of some of my favourite writers - Jeanette Winterson, Daphne Marlatt, George Elliot Clarke. The two main characters are so rich and loveable and it was very hard to say good-bye to them. CS Richardson is a book designer turned novelist so I was especially fond of his designer's sense. Structuring the novel around the alphabet, using the scale of a small notebook, the wonderful single opening page in robin's egg blue and the perfect description of font choice - these details added immensely to my whole experience of reading his words. What a perfect ending to this year's challenge.

I can't wait to start this all over again tomorrow! And if anyone out there is looking for the motivation to read a little more Canada, come join the challenge. 

Happy Canada Day!

baby knitting bliss

Oh yes, this is one cute baby hat pattern. I suppose you can't go wrong with the simple combination of cables, bear ears and bows. If you have a baby gift in your knitting future, I highly recommend The Cabled Teddy Hat pattern. This version, knit with Rowan's Pure Wool, is going to a friend's new baby girl. I followed the 6-12 month size and made absolutely no mods. It was easy to follow, quick to knit and deeply satisfying in the adorable category.

The Canadian Book Challenge is almost over (how is it almost July?) and I just finished my 12th of 13 books. I read Joan Clark's An Audience of Chairs a few years ago and thoroughly loved it. Road to Bliss is her latest novel and although it wasn't as captivating it was still an okay read. The notion that a 15 year old boy would leave home and not be tracked down by his loving parents was a stretch for me, but there were some interesting characters and description of place. Though some characters may have been a little one-dimensional, or the characterization of the community they belonged to a little obvious. Or maybe I'm just loving my 13th book so much that I can't remember how this novel affected me.

For more knitting and reading stories be sure to visit today's Yarnalong.

animal party

Not long ago I made a fox pillow for a friend. I was a little smitten with it myself and couldn't stop thinking about the face construction, so obviously I had to try another. The changes are subtle - I made the ears orange instead of white and then the cheeks are all white with a really tall nose. But it actually changes the whole expression.  This fox is quite sly by comparison. He's a great addition to a lonely black chair of ours.

In what is clearly an animal phase, I've been making a number of mini owls. It's birthday party season around here and they've been great additions to gifts for both 4 and 9 year olds. I tend to give them away as soon as they're done, but today I finally remembered to take a photo of a rather colourful version. The free pattern is super easy and it's a great way to use up scrap wool. Sadie and I estimated that with my scrap wool I'd likely be able to make about 1000 of them.

It's probably not even an exaggeration.

wiksten tova, take two

I've been wearing my first Wiksten Tova. All. The. Time. So making another just made heaps of sense.

This pattern is simple and so easy to tweak and modify. I added the sleeves this time but slimmed them, added two inches in length and made a deeper cuff. The shoulders were a bit broad for me, so I took 1/2 inch off either side which actually made the sleeve cap fit better. And the inset pieces overlapped too much in my first one so I cut the edge of each inset piece back a bit - and on an angle - and I really like how it sits now, with just a slight v opening. I excluded the collar again and finished the neck edge with bias trim. Next time I'll round out the inset corners and probably turn it into a dress.

Of course, a pattern only gets better with the right fabric. I can't say enough about this Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn-Dyed cotton/linen - it's soft, has an awesome heathery texture and sews like a dream. I ordered 6 yards to make a shower curtain with and managed to have just enough left over for this shirt (the kids like the idea that I can stand in front of the shower curtain and become a floating head. These are the things we think about around here). The black band at the bottom is the Brussels Washer rayon/cotton - not as soft, but helped give the shirt some definition and now the hem has a better drape.

My Tova love means I'm totally crossing my fingers that Jenny Gordy publishes more sewing patterns. Me and hundreds of other sewers out there, right?

a little more canada

The new studio space still isn't fully organized, but thankfully that doesn't affect my knitting or reading. The pinky-red cardigan is coming along (meaning I'll finish it just in time for the hot weather to arrive). I've been fine-tuning this cardigan pattern so once this one is done I'll finally be able to share the pattern, although it will just be the one size. I'm not mathematically inclined so I don't know the magic of how to figure out sizing up without actually knitting it physically. Perhaps that will be my knitting goal for the next year: learn official pattern-making skills.

As for reading, I've added more to my Canadian list. First, See the Child by David Bergen. I enjoyed this one more than A Year of Lesser, but I'm not about to go grab more of his novels. I do love Bergen's sense of place; I felt like a neighbour in town every time I opened the book. The characters were real, full of flaws and driven by emotions even when they knew better. Loss, longing and the complicated relationships of family were constant themes that kept me engaged. I'll just take a break for now.

I have had quite an affair with Elizabeth Hay this past year, but The Only Snow in Havana is the first non-fiction work I've read of hers. I was not disappointed. There's just something in the way she writes that I really connect with. In this format, I found her prose lyrical, thoughtful and often surprising. Also, it didn't hurt that it was essentially a musing on being Canadian and how as Canadians, we are tied to the fur trade or, at least, a collective need to keep warm. It sounds simple, but it's oh so true. I figure it's my very Canadian-ness that actually makes me a knitter - I'm fated to care about bundling up. Overall it was a pleasant detour from my fiction streak, and another happy Hay read.

For more knitting and reading, catch up with today's Yarnalong.

a wiksten spring

Seeing all the Wiksten tops in the Spring Top Sewalong pool inspired me to run out, buy both patterns and whip up one of each in a matter of days. To my family it may seem a tad impulsive, but I'd like to think that's exactly what a sewalong is for - to feed a collective sewing obsession.   

So the Tova pattern is great. I used Robert Kaufman's linen/cotton which is a bit heavy so although I had added the sleeves, they were too stiff and I took them off. But I quite liked wearing it with a shirt underneath and having playful bias tape around the inside edges is just plain fun. I've never been crazy about the collar when I've seen other Tovas so I left it out and used bias tape there too. I just think it makes a nice shape. Overall a great pattern and well suited to my, er, flattish chest.

Next up, the Wiksten tank. Again, super easy pattern and this time no adjustments at all other than how I attached the bias edges (I pressed the strips in half, stitched them to the wrong side with raw edges lined up and then pressed to the front and topstitched down). Since the inside seams are clean - which I love even though I have a serger and could have simply serged them - the whole garment just feels so "finished". The fabric is some cotton shirting and I love seeing the diagonal version of the checks, which is why pressing the bias trim to the front seemed necessary, even at the hem. It might not be a very flattering neckline for me but this will be very wearable with a cardigan.

So Wiksten officially tried and loved. More in the future for sure.

spring, sort of

While I try to avoid facing another paint colour mishap, sewing has been a decent distraction. I've had this shirt pattern for years - Vogue 7998 - and I finally gave it a try. It's a kimono/wrap style and it turned out much better than I was expecting. Given it's "Very Easy" distinction there are one or two construction details I'm not a fan of but overall I think the seams will hold and the collar does a good job of hiding the questionable bits. I used Robert Kaufman's Brussels Washer fabric which holds its shape and is very wearable. I quite like the tie at the back but it would be great to leave the ties off so you could wrap any belt or scarf around the middle. Overall, a great, somewhat-dressy shirt.

If you're looking for some spring sewing inspiration - and not the all black, full length sleeve sewing that I'm indulging in - visit the Spring Top Sewalong Flickr pool. This top is especially awesome and could persuade me to sew something gray.

And then I remember the gray paint mishap. Sigh.

all things charcoal

As a break from moving supplies, I thought I'd actually sew something (plus I took some time off this week to do just that.  Sewing is very restorative as much as my co-workers tease me for it.)  And instead of making something for the house I put the time into making something for a friend (double restorative, it turns out). A while back I spotted Meet Me at Mike's fox quilt, but didn't until this week think about adapting it to make a  foxy pillow. To better suit a square pillow form I made the fox block out of 12 squares, each being  3.5" high x 4.5" wide. I also inset the eyes so that they were part of these squares instead of appliquing them on top. The fabrics are white linen, salmon raw silk and then my current favourite, Robert Kaufman's Essex Yarn-Dyed cotton/linen blend. It's such a great design and I think it makes for a nice gift. Maybe someday I'll get around to making a wall quilt version - I know a certain basement with bare walls that's just aching for foxes.

Over the holidays I made a scarf for my dad that turned out soft, squishy and quite manly. So it only made sense that Jay should get a similar scarf. I used Berroco Vintage to contend with Jay's rough beard, but he's not one for modelling so the shot above is the best I could do. He seems pleased with the dark gray and he's not a yarn snob, so the blend suits him fine. The pattern is really great - easy to memorize (a center marker is a lifesaver) and it makes a warm, dense fabric. 

Next to the scarf is one of the nicest book covers I've ever seen (at one point I thought the whole cover would be my palette inspiration for the basement). Ru by Kim Thuy was recommended to me my a complete stranger in the line at Indigo a while back. The line was long and we managed to trade a few suggestions while we waited - it was like an impromptu Book Club. Luckily this novel counts for my Canadian challenge and even better, it was a beautiful read. Rather than being a linear story it was more a meditation on Thuy's life told in lyrical and petite chapters. It's been translated from French but somehow I imagine the rolling prose was there to begin with and it's just that fantastic a translation. I was swept up by Thuy's writing and was a little heartbroken when it ended. Thank you dear stranger!

For more knitting and reading stories, visit today's Yarnalong.

sneak peek

Ahhhh. We are practically there - I've got very little painting left to do, we've taken off the floor protection and we've even moved down a piece of furniture. Oh, and the kids had an improv ballet session on the empty floor tonight. Basically we're super excited.

This moment hasn't come without some panic and craziness, but I'm prepared to blame that on too many hours spent painting. You see, when we first uncovered the floor in the hall (photo on left) my heart sunk. All I saw was red in the finish, a tone that I didn't expect to be there. Which then led me to question my wall colour choice. On a section of wall that was finished, and at that point finishing anything was a milestone (because after jinxing myself, I did paint the bathroom 3 times, just like my kitchen debacle, but this time in oil.) I have a bad habit of obsessing about colour and caring way too much about getting it just right. Luckily I have an amazing husband who knew exactly how to save my sanity. While I was at work he brought down a carpet, a bookcase and my favourite mushroom lamp so  the space looked lived in. The floor is just one part of the space, and truthfully it isn't red at all. I was just going bananas at the wrong time. And since that night (only two nights ago!) I have finished up the main room and done the one risky move - a black wall. Thankfully the unanimous vote in the house is that we all LOVE it.

Thanks to a quick March Break road trip to Montreal (aka, "escape painting") I managed to knit up another pair of socks for Sadie. I used the Two-Tone Socks pattern in Debbie Bliss Simply Baby but with larger needles and yarn. The yarn is Koigu Kersti which seems to be holding up really well in the other socks I've made for her, plus she loves the variegated palettes. I grabbed a Berroco variegated skein for another pair of socks while we were in Montreal, at a great yarn store called Espace Tricot. Highly recommended!

Also highly recommended is Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child. Oh, wow. I loved this quiet, fairytale-esque novel - and not just because the cover is amazing or that the description of hand-sewing a snowflake embroidered wool coat had me swooning. It is just a charming story, wonderfully told.

For more knitting and reading stories visit today's Yarnalong.