going green

Some patterns are addictive. Right now, the Dovetail cowl is my knitting vice. It's engaging but simple, practical but pretty. I love wearing mine and I love knitting it as a gift.

This very emerald green version is a gift for an awesome friend who was extra supportive this summer when I was working through a tough decision. Sadie and Milo actually picked the colour because: 1) they tell me I choose boring colours, and 2) they are convinced they know said friend's favourite colours best. They're probably right on both counts. Kids are wonderfully honest plus mine love getting to make choices in yarn shops, especially when it benefits one of their favourite people.

Reading has been slightly less addictive these days. I wasn't sure what to expect with Dance, Gladys, Dance by Cassie Stocks, but sometimes having no expectations is good. I took my time reading it and in the end it was quite entertaining, like a previously dismissed Hollywood movie you find yourself watching some Sunday afternoon, and when it's over you realize you really enjoyed it. Stock's characters were fun and charming, especially Mr. Hausselman. There were surprises, laughs and a fair share of heartbreak. Oh, and a very pleasant ghost. Overall a great addition to my Canadian reading list this year. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendkar I actually read a while ago but forgot, although it's anything but forgettable. The cover happens to be beautiful, but the story inside even more so. Just the thought that you could be so connected to another human that you would hear and recognize their heartbeat from a distance - ahh, it's romantic and profound and just the tip of the iceberg that is this novel. Highly recommended.

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

frankewiksten

Four patterns, one shirt. Who knew that a Frankenstein approach to sewing could work so well? I've been loving my Tova pattern, but there were two things that just weren't working for me: the sleeves and the collar (I hope this isn't considered blasphemy...I don't mean to say this pattern needs improvements, it's really just a style choice on my part). So far I've simply ignored the collar but I really wanted a shirt I could wear in cooler weather so I borrowed the collar from a Sew Lisette pattern. It worked with only a tiny modification to the length. Next up - the sleeves. Gathered, blouse-y sleeves just aren't my thing and certainly wouldn't suit the new, more traditional collar choice so I opted for a button cuff, typical sleeve borrowed from a really old McCall's pattern. I simply lined up the Tova sleeve cap with the McCall's sleeve bottom and Bob's your uncle. Then the fourth pattern Frankensteined into this shirt was Wiksten's Tank, but just for the hemline. I love the curve on that pattern's hem.

You only get true success with the right fabric though, and I'm a huge fan of this Kokka gingham. Sure, I look like a walking picnic blanket, but who cares? It's red gingham! BIG red gingham! It's all I can do to stop myself from making one of everything with this awesome fabric. I mean, imagine a dress! PJs for Sadie! A laptop cozy!

Oh, speaking of laptops, I am currently without one which is making my posting difficult (and sharing a computer with a husband isn't easy). Hopefully I get my own technology sorted out soon so I can get back to sharing. Laptops may bust, but the "making" doesn't.

(Knock on wood. Did I just tempt fate with my sewing machine's life?)

hobby help

Words and stitches are distracting me from all that is new this week: new school for Milo, new lonely commute home (I desperately miss my little TTC buddy), and new job for me. Gasp. It's a whole lot of new, and it's going to take a whole lot of getting used to. But change is good, right?

I'm not going to go changing my hobbies though. On the knitting front, Sadie and Milo helped me pick a wild emerald green yarn to make a Dovetail Cowl for a dear friend (that pattern is currently my favourite cowl pattern ever).  And as for reading, I have two more Canadian books to add to this year's challenge. First up, Alligator by Lisa Moore. Similar to February, Moore shifts from one character to another in a way that means you don't really get too attached but the pages just fly by. Somehow though, I don't have much to say. At times it was intriguing, but overall it left me a little wanting. The Deception of Livvy Higgs by Donna Morrissey was definitely more memorable for me. It's the first time I've read Donna Morrissey, and I plan to pick up another soon. Location, time period, characters - I enjoyed it all, although I was surprised that the obviously cruel characters ended up still being cruel (perhaps I'm more of an optimist than I realize). Two more down, another nine to go.

I'm a day late, but for more reading and knitting recommendations check out this week's Yarnalong.

little things

A little bit of sewing almost forgotten. My mom sometimes brings tea with her when she comes to visit, so I made her a tea wallet with a few herbal options (this might explain why she brings tea - we don't have the real thing around these parts). It always surprises me what a tiny bit of cotton batting and some favourite fabric can create.

translations

It takes having a quiet evening on a cottage vacation to finally get a photo of this cardigan (photos are my biggest hurdle lately - especially when I have to be the model. It's much easier when I'm making clothes for the kids, but I've been an especially selfish maker for a while). This is my third in a series of cardigans, and the pattern is finally perfect (here is the first and second attempt). I have a fourth waiting to be blocked and photographed and then I will post the pattern here. It's a simple design that really suits my favourite yarn - Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed. I haven't translated it into other sizes, but it's such a basic top-down recipe that I think most knitters could easily size up.

On the reading front, The Douglas Notebooks: A Fable is my first Canadian novel for this year's challenge. Written by Christine Eddie, and translated into English by Sheila Fischman, it is a lyrical, contemplative tale of love, family and nature. Translating must be such a fascinating art. This is actually the third novel I've read that's been translated by Fischman and it gives me the feeling that there is something inherently lyrical about French prose. Trees are central to this story and even this small passage illustrates the rhythm the translation captures: "When they opened the door in the morning, they would take a few steps in the clearing, examining the vegetable garden, and enter a theatre devoted to beauty, inhabited by a crowd of giants that opened up towards the light." Needless to say I was thoroughly charmed by the novel, making me love the Canadian Book Challenge all over again.

For more musings on reading and knitting, visit Small Things for this week's Yarnalong.

the stuff of vacations

When packing for vacation, it's my knitting/reading bag that gets the most thought. How many books is considered enough? What new knitting project can I start? What will I do if - catastrophe of all catastrophes - I finish up everything in the bag?

Turns out that I already underestimated how many books I could read (thankfully there's a bookstore in town, so that error has been rectified). A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion was brought half-read, so I finished that up first. Let me say though, it wasn't the ideal way to start a vacation. The ending is dreadfully sad and I didn't see it coming so I was rather affected by it. Which may explain why I quickly dove into The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. My mood was instantly restored. Don, the main character, was wonderful. His voice was fresh and humourous and the entire book was utterly delightful. I laughed out loud a number of times and really had the feeling that I was reading something genuinely new. But I consumed it over the course of a day, so the experience was swift. Which maybe means I need to be knitting more?

As for knitting, I finished up a little baby gift for a friend at work who is due soon. Hopefully this Koigu Kersti palette is gender neutral enough. I used it for a pair of socks for Sadie but much prefer how the fabric works up when knit flat (instead of in the round). The darker browns are more balanced and it makes a very sweet hat. The pattern is based on one from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits for Beginners but I've lost the book and had to wing it. I used 4mm needles (3.5mm for the rolled brim) and cast on 70 sts. Hopefully it's the right size for a newborn. It's hard to believe that babies are really that small, especially when you have a 4 year old acting as a blanket on his lanky 8 year old sister right in front of you.

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

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.