Hey There! Long Time No See!

Hello all! Long time no see! :)

I took the hiatus from knitting for what seemed like an eternity and did other things with my time...
Such as:

• Seeing my little boy fall absolutely in love with Kindergarten!
• Getting the opportunity to work on my voice over work. 
• Watching my darling husband take on the challenge of a new job... as well as biking and swimming three times a week...
• Working at honing my beginner sewing skills because... well... I NEED to craft! :)

I remember looking in the closet in the spare bedroom last week and happened to stumble upon my fabric stash. I remembered that I wanted to try a cowl pattern  I found on line. It didn't quite work out the way I liked so I started playing with the fabric a bit, found what worked and then got totally hooked. I sewed together some cowls out of my a few different types of fabrics: fleece, flannel, some coordinating "fat quarters" and some funky fabric called "missoni." I totally got addicted to making them... so er... now I've got a TON! A few went to my sister in-law's craft booth at the Christmas craft fair last weekend. And the others are just waiting around for Christmas... ~.^

Here's a few styles I tried with different fabrics...

top left: Three coordinating fat quarters
top right: Missoni fabric
bottom left: solid fleece and brushed cotton in plaid print
bottom right: Three coordinating fat quarters and solid flannel

But now...

I'm sooo super happy to be knitting again... However, I have learned my lesson and I'm taking it slowly and carefully this time! I decided to start with a project just for me...

The cooler weather is taking it's toll on my hands so I've started a fingerless mitten pattern by Jane Richmond Designs called Rathtrevor from her Island collection.

Here's the first one so far. Please pardon the double pointed needles. I'm just getting the hang of using them and wanted to see how the wrist fit.  :D


Wish me luck!

Knit Project: The Strathcona

So here it is... The Strathcona by Jane Richmond. I must say... I am loving this pattern. It is so light and airy and the v- shape of it is so unique. It will be perfect for summer.

I'm not sure if I have enough yarn to make the full sized scarf but I just wanted to try it. So I chose to use a Mericash fingering weight yarn by Punta Yarns (80% merino/ 20%cashmere) in "baby pink." It will be a bit shorter but I think it will look great. And since it's such an open mesh it will probably give a little warmth without being too stifling. So it'll be perfect for our cool Vancouver Island breezes :)

So far it's knitting up pretty smoothly and SO soft!

So once again... Great pattern, Jane! ~.^

Knitting: My Rae Collection... So far... ~.^

I just absolutely LOVE this pattern! The Rae scarf is still one of my absolute favourite scarf patterns. However... A close second is one that I just started knitting up yesterday... The Strathcona... Stay tuned to find out how it's going... :D 

Jane Richmond is just fantastic!

Family: My Husband's First Knitting Project!

My husband is incredible. ^.^ He learned to knit just this past February. As soon as he got the hang of it he started finding it more and more gratifying. I kept all the little swatches he had made and each one got better. His tension became more relaxed and consistant. I was in awe of how quickly he was progressing. Then he was up for a challenge... A first project.

So I found this book in the library called Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein (that I have since ordered on amazon and am now waiting patiently for it's arrival ^.^...) and in this book my husband decided on his first project... The "Reversible Cable Scarf" and as you can see... He's doing a pretty awesome job so far.

The book is fun, witty and it has some great knitting patterns (my husband and I looked through it together and with the exception of one or two items, there wasn't anything in the book he wouldn't wear. woot!) But the really great thing about this book is that not only does it give advice on what men like (and don't like) in clothing or accessories, but it gives you the reasons why... And you know what? All the explanations made perfect sense... And THAT is what I absolutely love about this book.