Défi 13 de décembre: géométrie

KR destash blanket
Originally uploaded by miminh3

Ma contribution ce mois-ci est un modeste carré composé de quatre triangles isocèles. Cette petite couverture est tricotée en rond avec des laines différentes donc on voit des carrés dans d'autres carrés!

Les laines sont toutes des laines Shibui Knits (ce sont des pelotes orphelines que j'ai trouvées dans le Swap lounge lors de la Knitter's Review Retreat l'année dernière et cette année)
- merino kid, merino alpaca, baby alpaca DK en "wasabi" laissés par la généreuse Clara
- silk cloud en "wasabi"
- merino worsted en "seaweed"
Pas mal pour un projet utilisant vos restes de laines, n'est-ce pas?

Il est temps d'aller réviser votre géométrie avec la galerie de décembre!

KR retreat 2010 - Sunday

Sunday morning was all about "New Beginnings". There were door prizes and there was writing: notes to thank the people who had provided the riches in our goodie bags, notes to the staff at the inn, notes on the KR retreat memory book, notes to ourselves to be opened next year. Among my knitting resolutions, I promised to knit at least 10 minutes a day (dear Fran, you're still watching over me!).

Then Clara put on her sparkly tiara and her funny glasses and proceeded with the ceremony that would unite us with our New Beginnings project. My unlawfully wedded project is Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke cardigan in Rowan Felted Tweed. Per Ann's class, I dutifully knitted a gauge swatch in the two stitch patterns and felt quite virtuous.

And then it was time for hugs and to say goodbye until next year!

PS: I feel that I must disclose what came home with me from the stash lounge because Vicki might blackmail me otherwise!

- 2 skeins of Sundara silk sport in marigold destashed by Rosi (Wendy was nice enough to pick them for me, what a nice roommate!)

- 1 skein of green Shibui merino worsted (which I am using along with the Shibui yarns in "wasabi" from last year's destash for a blanket -- I expect to be done this week)

- 2 skeins of Rowan purelife cotton for some charity hats

- "Modern top-down knitting" by Kristina McGowan

- "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket

- 2 old issues of Interweave Knits

And I won a beautiful skein of String Theory Caper sock yarn in "Blue Hill" as a door prize!

KR retreat 2010 - Saturday

We reconvened bright and early on Saturday morning for our group picture. Above you can see our fearless leader Clara and our stash lounge tzarina Lanea. We then parted ways to go to our respective classes.

I took Ann Budd's class on Knitting Mathematics (aka Intro to Sweater Design). She might say that you shouldn't take classes with her but just ignore it! I learned a lot from her class and came out with the confidence that I *can* knit a sweater that fits me even if my gauge and yarn are totally different from what the pattern calls for. I also proved to myself that Cheryl Brunette's shaping formula is true, just because I like to figure out how mathy things work.

Cat and Melissa seemed to enjoy playing tricks on each other during their classes: here you can see Cat spying on Melissa's "Knitting with Beads" class. I think that their circular needles were separated at birth.

Saturday afternoon was all about the KR marketplace -- at least for me, the serious knitting shopaholic. I decided not to go to Storey Publishing this year since I had already bought "Toe-up 2-at-a-time socks" and "Sock yarn one-skein wonders", but other knitters came back with books for themselves and for gift recipients.

My favorite marketplace acquisitions were:

- 2 skeins of Foxfire Flock Sock in smokey plum (I had already received some Flock Sock as part of my Fall Sheep Share)

- 5 skeins of String Theory Caper Aran and matching green glass buttons for a Lady February sweater (Karen and Tanis had these button sets made to match their colorways)

- Quince Tern in various colors for a future fair-isle project bought from the lovely Pam Allen. That's the yarn I used during Cat's class and it is scrumptious for socks/shawls/fingerless mitts.

On Saturday evening, Cat told us a sweet tale and then it was time for the Knitter's Book of Yarn/Knitter's Book of Wool/Wool-along extravaganza! I just love this picture of Jane with her knitting friends and their Falling Leaves.

KR retreat 2010 - Thursday and Friday

It's hard to believe that after so many months of waiting (im)patiently for the Knitter's Review Retreat, it went by so quickly and I now find myself already waiting for next year's retreat! Here's a quick recap of the retreat that occurred November 12-14 at the Williams Inn in Williamstown, MA.

My carpool buddy and roommate Wendy and I arrived on Thursday afternoon just a few hours before dinner which was exactly the right amount of time to unpack and:

- get a great big hug from Martha at the registration desk

- hand our destash items into the capable hands of Lanea, Purlewe, and team

- marvel at the contents of our goodie bags (I was able to knit an extra charity hat during the retreat with the ball of Zara that was in my bag, how's that for instant gratification?)

Thursday evening was a good time to welcome newcomers and catch up with old friends. The lovely Kathleen gave me a beautiful red Stepping Stones scarf that she knitted with Rosi's cashmere from last year's stash lounge. Cat Bordhi demonstrated a fun way of spinning using a rubber ball and rubber bands (you can see her plying in the picture below).

I attended Cat's class on Personal Footprints on Friday morning and early afternoon. I am now the proud owner of my very own monofoot and ready to knit socks that fit me perfectly. (Unfortunately, I didn't get to snap a picture of Cat playing Prince Charming to each of us and looking into our eyes to see if we were lying about how well our sock toe fit.)

While retreat attendees were trickling in, I got a "behind the scenes" look at the KR marketplace as some of the vendors were setting up.

String Theory

(both Karen and Tanis were able to attend this year)

Briar Rose Fibers

(Chris got mobbed at Rhinebeck but she still brought some lovely things)

Foxfire Fiber and Designs

(Barb and Holly brought the new Cormo sock blend, Flock Sock)

Spirit Trail Fiberworks

(don't worry, the ladies were adequately dressed with knitted samples on Saturday afternoon)

Friday evening was "Show-and-tell". Amazingly enough, Clara was able to ensure that we would describe our favorite yarn or express our undying love for multiple yarns in 60 seconds (or less) so show-and-tell lasted exactly an hour and a half, leaving plenty of time to welcome first-timers, explore the stash lounge, or ask fellow knitters what they were knitting.

Défi 13 de novembre: couleurs fanées

Cowl from "More last minute gifts"

Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle...

Ce mois-ci ma création est un cowl qui arrive pile-poil car il commence à faire froid ici! Le modèle est tiré du nouveau livre de Joelle Hoverson, "More Last-Minute Gifts". La laine est Kashmir (80% merino, 20% cachemire, 180 metres), teinte à la main par Ball and Skein dans un beau violet sombre. La photo a été prise dans le Shakespeare Garden dans Central Park.

La galerie de novembre est par ici!

Défi 13 d’octobre: Petits motifs

Le jacquard et moi, on est super copains! La preuve, c’est que j’ai réussi à tricoter ma création pour ce défi 13 en seulement trois jours (nous étions en vacances dans les parcs nationaux du Grand Teton et de Yellowstone donc j’ai passé beaucoup de temps dans la voiture pendant que quelqu’un d’autre conduisait).

Le modèle est “Transition Gloves” de Shibui Knits et j’ai utilisé l’une de mes laines préférées (Sundara sock yarn, un écheveau chacun d’Arabian nights et Winter skies -- il me reste assez de laine pour pouvoir utiliser ces couleurs pour ma Barn Raising Quilt). Au lieu de tricoter des gants jumeaux, j’ai tricoté des gants complémentaires. Je ne risque pas de me tromper entre ma main gauche et ma main droite!

Les créations des copines sont ici!

Everywhere I go... Yarn!

Pictures snapped on the iPhone: clothes display at the mall and an upcoming Nintendo Wii game.

A crafty weekend

My crafty weekend started Saturday morning at Stitch House in Dorchester with a sewing class titled 'Get to know your sewing machine'. There were three of us and under the expert guidance of Jen P., we reviewed the parts of our sewing machines, how to thread it, wind a bobbin, identify each foot, run a straight stitch, and how to do a blind hem stitch (which is important for short people like me who need all their pairs of pants to be hemmed). I am looking forward to taking another sewing class, perhaps an intensive class for beginners and new sewers so that I can make one of Amy Butler's Barcelona skirts.

In case you're interested in sewing but don't want to invest in your own sewing machine yet, you can use one of the machines at Stitch House for free during a class or use it for a mere $5/hour outside of class hours. Each sewing station has a nice machine, a lamp, and a box of notions and there's a central table to cut fabric and iron.

But there is much more than Amy Butler fabrics, Heather Bailey and Oliver + S patterns at this store, there's also yarn (Classic Elite, Lorna's Laces, Rowan, Berroco, Blue Sky Alpacas, Spud and Chloe, Madelinetosh, you name it). Oh, the madbird needle cases! the funny knitting-related buttons ("will knit for wine")! the pretty stitch markers!

But the weekend was just starting! Boy and I drove up to Maine stopping at:

- the Crate and Barrel outlet in Kittery

- my favorite yarn store in Portland, Knit Wit. Every color of Quince and co yarns was displayed including their new yarns (Tern and a linen yarn).

- the Portland Fiber Gallery. They had just received a scrumptious bag of 85%BFL/15%tussah fiber

- Vervacious on Commercial St. Clara, the Hot Chocolate Orange might want to meet your marshmallows at the KR retreat...

- 555 on Congress St, where we've had three flawless dinners so far

On Sunday, I attended Amy Herzog's class on "Fit to Flatter" at Purl Diva in Brunswick. I learned so much about my shape, why some sweaters work for me and not others, what neckline/sleeve length/sweater length I should wear, what modifications need to be done, and so much more. For example, I will undo a few inches from my Sundara wrap sweater to make the body and sleeves shorter. If you can't attend Amy's classes, you can always read her tutorials, available as blog posts or pdf files -- I promise you'll learn a lot from them.

To end this weekend on a good note, I'll be spending time tonight reading my copy of "Brave New Knits". This was a great crafty weekend!

Défi 13 de septembre: Flashdance

Pour commencer, je dois confesser que je n'ai jamais vu ce film mais il est désormais sur ma queue de DVDs à emprunter. Je ne voulais pas tricoter des jambières alors j'ai suivi les conseils de mes amis: un cache-coeur. Cela me rappelle mes cours de danse pendant les années 80: chaussons Repetto, tutu rose et cache-coeur assorti. Cette fois-ci, pas de rose mais un beau bleu de chez Sundara ("navy over slate" en sport merino). Le modèle est celui de Knitting Pure and Simple (patron # 263 "wrap cardigan top down").

La galerie Flashdance est ICI!

PS: J'ai réussi à tricoter ma création en jacquard pour le Défi 13 d'octobre lors de mon voyage au Far West (d'accord, par vraiment le Far West, juste les parcs nationaux de Yellowstone et Grand Teton). Juste un petit indice en attendant le mois prochain... (photo prise en attendant l'éruption du geyser "Old Faithful").

Yarn shop travelogue: Montreal

I made a lot of progress on my Defi 13 sweater during our drive to Montreal (only two sleeves to knit) but until I reveal the finished project, let's talk about the yarn stores that I visited last weekend.

Ariadne Knits

This store is just a couple of blocks away from the Place St Henri metro stop so you can send your non-knitting travel companions to the Marche Atwater while you're yarn shopping. This store carries some great yarns (Louet, Reynolds, Estelle, Schoppel Wolle, O Wool, Hemp for Knitting, ...) but what I really like are the little maple leaf signs that highlight Canadian yarns such as Koigu, St Denis yarns (Nordique and Boreale), Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino, local alpaca, and last but not least Projekt B.

The Projekt B yarns and fibers are hand-dyed in Montreal and exclusive to this store -- let's just say that I've fallen for them every time I've stopped by Ariadne Knits. How can one resist these gorgeous colors on the alpaca/merino/cashmere, silk/cashmere, mohair, or merino yarn bases? During this third visit, I bought some merino/bamboo fiber and cashmere/silk yarn.

Effiloche

This shop is within a few blocks from the Beaubien metro station in the middle of the Plaza St Hubert. It is packed from floor to ceiling with yarns, fabrics, buttons, and other notions. On the yarn front, you will find Colinette, Sublime, Rowan, Jaggerspun, Araucania, Louet, and Berroco among many other brands. Canadian yarns include Fleece Artist and the local indie dyer Tanis Fiber Arts in merino lace, DK, and sock yarn weight. You will love the store samples that are displayed throughout the store, especially the exclusive kid patterns by Celine Barbeau.

Biscotte et Cie

You will probably need a car to reach this store but it is definitely worth it to see the handdyed Biscotte et cie yarns and fibers in person. The yarns are dyed in semi-solid, variegated, and self-striping colorways in a diverse array of fibers (from merino/bamboo to lambswool/angora/cashmere) and weights -- you can even see the yarns drying in the back room! I bought two skeins of Felix sock yarn and some spinning fiber to make a pair of thrummed mittens and a pair of socks.

You can find Louet, Brown Spun, SandnesGarn and other brands, but the other thing that drew me to the store was the fact that it's the only North American store to carry La Droguerie products! You can buy the pattern books, some colors of Alpaga, Plumette, Baby Douceur, Kaleido, Lin, and Kid Mohair as well as an assortment of fabric and buttons. And if that wasn't enough to tempt you, you can always buy locally made project bags or glass pendants.

True Blue

Artists go through phases, so do knitters (artists in their own way). I am in my blue phase: I finished the blue/gray beret in Nordique, knitted a couple of hats out of String Theory superwash merino in "Blue Hill", and am now working on my September Defi 13 project using Sundara sport merino in "Navy over slate". That's the work-in-progress on one of the white rocking chairs in the picture below taken on Monhegan Island.

In July, Boy and I stopped by Purl Diva in Brunswick and Ellen suggested Monhegan Island as a weekend destination. We followed her advice and spent last weekend hiking, taking pictures, enjoying the ocean view from our room at the Island Inn, and eating way too much. We'll be back!

I am hoping to make progress on this sweater during Labor Day weekend - we're off to Montreal so there should be plenty of knitting time in the car.

I snapped this picture with my iPhone at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport last week. It reminded me of a zen garden, where each person can contribute a stone, big or small, round or square. The Knitter's Review forums are somewhat like that: each knitter contributes with questions, answers, advice, recipes, jokes, and personal stories.

This week Fran and Lucie joined Camille and Trish in a place where they can knit together as much as they want with any luxurious fiber they desire. We miss them all dearly.

I started working on the Barn Raising Quilt (using Sundara sock yarn) again, knitting at least ten minutes a day. To me, it will be Fran's quilt.

Reasons why I like my stash

Sometimes my yarn/fiber stash weighs heavily on my mind. But it has some good sides too:

- When my aunt told me she was learning to knit socks, sock yarn, double- pointed needles, and patterns were sent her way.

- When Ellen posted the details of the fourth edition of "De-stash and Do good", a box full of yarns was set aside for a good cause.

- When one of my coworkers asked for a scarf in turquoise, I showed her a dozen skeins in the right color family and she chose the skein she liked the most.

Yarn: Farmhouse Yarns Bonnie's Bamboo (1 skein)

Pattern: Stella Bamboo Lace Scarf from Luxury Yarn One-skein Wonders

- When another coworker said she liked hand-knitted coasters, I had a dozen skeins that matched her living-room colors for her to choose from.

Twelve coasters in Spud and Chloe Fine (white), Zen Yarn Garden merino/cashmere/nylon (brown), and Spirit Trail Paivatar (green).

- When a fellow knitter wins a contest, I can find something in her favorite colors.

- When Clara announces that Shetland is the breed for the August woolalong, I can go directly to my spinning stash and start spinning (when Polwarth was chosen for July, the July fiber from the Sweetgeorgia fiber club turned out to be Polwarth -- how serendipitous!)

And if a yarn and I need to part ways, I can always destash it on the KR forums or bring it to the KR retreat. So really, it's not that bad!

Défi 13 de juillet: petit bal - guinguette

Ropes and Ladders headband
Originally uploaded by miminh3

Pour ce mois de juillet, je vous propose d'aller au bal avec un bandeau/serre-tête et .... un béret à moitié fini.

Ben pourquoi? Tout a commencé avec une idée fixe: je voulais absolument que ma création de juillet soit un modèle de Veronik Avery, tricoté avec sa nouvelle gamme de laine, St-Denis Nordique. Pas de problème, j'ai une pelote en blanc, parfaite pour le Ropes and Ladders Headband, et une autre pelote en gris, destinée à devenir un béret à torsades. Les deux modèles sont tirés du nouveau livre de Veronik Avery, Knitting 24/7.

Le bandeau est facile à réaliser: il requiert moins d'une moitié de pelote et j'ai utilisé deux jolis boutons nacrés de La Droguerie. La prochaine fois, je monterai mes mailles de manière provisoire pour que le joint soit parfaitement invisible.

Pour le béret, ce n'est pas si simple. Il y a une petite erreur dans le livre et il faut deux pelotes pour ce projet donc je manque de laine à court de route et il me faut commander une deuxieme pelote. Voici où j'en suis pour l'instant (je vous montrerai une photo lorsqu'il sera fini)... Joyeux 14 juillet à tout le monde!

Tour de Fleece

As a member of Team Superfleece, I will try to spin every day between July 3rd and July 25th. I just need to spin Spirit Trail Fiber, Briar Rose Fiber, or a breed from the Knitter's Book of Wool or KBOW Woolalong. I set aside more fiber than I will be able to spin in that period of time but who says that variety is bad?

First photo:
- Briar Rose Fibers Cormo
- Hello Yarn Targhee
- Winterwind Farm CVM

Second photo:
- Hatchtown Farm Coopworth
- Spirit Trail Teeswater/Cotswold/Corriedale
- Spirit Trail Merino/Silk
- Spirit Trail Cashmere/Silk

I'm off to Quebec this weekend so I'm packing my two Bosworth spindles but I'll be spinning on my Louet Victoria when I get back.

Sheep Shares Lamb Visit Day

Bottle lambs_3
Originally uploaded by miminh3

I was lucky enough to spend some time last Sunday with the sheep that grow the wonderful wool I love to knit with, the people who take such good care of them, and the extraordinary woman behind the Foxfire yarns and fibers.

There were cormo sheep, border leicester sheep, angora goats (Butch and the tiny Gypsy), and llamas (Caitlyn and the freshly shorn Crackerjack). But the highlight of the day were Mistral and Georgia -- these bottle-lambs behave more like puppies than lambs! Mistral was especially curious and looked through our knitting bags.

More pictures HERE! Thanks again to our hosts for a great visit!

Contest #2: tell me about your favorite LYS!

Boy and I have been tracking my yarny comings and goings: I've been to 124 yarn stores so far, like Liberty of London (above) and Purl (below). I'd like to celebrate local yarn stores, how much they bring to our community, and how much I love visiting them by having a contest.

Just post a comment to tell me about your favorite yarn store (name, location, and why you like it so much!). The deadline is whenever I make it to store #125 so it could be next week or it could be in a month. The winner (or winners if I get a lot of entries) will be chosen randomly from all the entries and will receive some yarn in his/her favorite colors handpicked from my stash. Thanks for participating and enjoy this picture of a Nantucket 'sheep'!

Edited to add: Shop #125 has been visited (Fil et Fibre in Quebec) so the contest is now over, thank you for participating and your LYS suggestions! The winner of the random drawing is NutmegOwl!

Défi 13 de juin: dentelles

Flower Basket Shawl
Originally uploaded by miminh3

Lorsqu'on me dit dentelles, je pense immédiatement à Evelyn Clark. Ses créations, telle que le fameux Swallowtail, sont magnifiques, ses modèles ne comportent aucune erreur et elle révèle comment inventer son propre châle à forme triangulaire dans le livre, Knitting Lace Triangles.

J'ai choisi le Flower Basket Shawl, un modèle facile à tricoter même sur la route car les parties gauche et droite du châle sont identiques (et non symétriques). A celles et ceux qui veulent se lancer dans la dentelle, je vous conseille fortement ce modèle. Le fil est 'Ixchel' que j'ai recu lors du Spirit Trail Yarn Club l'année dernière. C'est le même alpaga que j'ai utilisé
ici.

Il est temps d'admirer les autres créations à trous-trous.

(Et va falloir aussi cogiter pour le défi de juillet car le thème me semble difficile et je me suis inscrite au Tour de Fleece, pendant lequel nous devons filer de la laine tous les jours du Tour de France.)

Knitting Memories of Alaska

Haines, AK
Originally uploaded by miminh3

Our trip to Alaska went by too fast, as all great vacations do! Here are some knitting-related highlights from our trip -- Boy and I spent five days on our own to visit the Denali National Park and the Kenai Fjords National Park and then hopped on a seven-day cruise from Seward to Vancouver.

- In Anchorage, I stopped by the Oomingmak co-op and bought a beautiful Herder's cap from their Tundra and Snow collection. I talked to one of the knitters there and observed the meticulous and lightning-fast blocking of items. Tip: they use a cardboard sewing cutting board for blocking, it has everything you need to measure your finished item and the cardboard is fine for lace items.

- In Palmer, we visited the Musk Ox Farm which supplies the Oomingmak with its qiviut. It was great to see these imposing animals in beautiful scenery: some calves were born just a few days before our visit so there was some chasing to give one of them a shot, it was just like a rodeo.

- During the cruise days where we were at sea, I took five knitting classes, three with Lucy Neatby and two with Donna Druchunas.
*I had many epiphanies during Lucy's classes regarding the modified conventional bind-off, the garter stitch short-row heel, the toe chimney,... and the list goes on and on.
*Donna's classes on Japanese Knitting and Lace design opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I look forward to navigating japanese knitting charts and maybe even use some of those stitches in my own designs. Should I join 'Je tricote en japonais'?

- I had the opportunity to enhance my stash with some local finds
* sock yarn handdyed by Fireweed Dyeworks in the colorways "Alaskan Wildflower" and "Lupine"
* local qiviut purchased at the Far North Yarn Co. I was thrilled to see a knitted sample hat that only required a half ounce of qiviut, the Wavy Feathers Qiviut Hat, and a knitted cowl that required one ounce. Not only was it the only yarn store I visited that sold qiviut by the half-ounce, it was also the most affordable one ($38 per half ounce). I was slightly overwhelmed by their awesome yarn selection but regained enough consciousness to also purchase Donna's new book, Successful Lace Knitting.
* silk hankies to spin by Raven Frog Fibers
* SweetGeorgia yarns purchased at Three Bags Full: I know that I have plenty of Felicia's yarn already and that I belong to her monthly fiber club but one can never have too much of her vibrant colors
* yarn by Indigo Moon and Gourmet Crafter purchased at Urban Yarns

I might not get around to knitting or spinning these for a while but when I do, the memories of this trip will bring me comfort.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I have a new weapon in my stash-busting arsenal? At last week's Maine Fiber Frolic, Boy bought me a Cricket loom as a birthday present.

Défi 13 de mai: rose

Vu que je n'avais pas beaucoup de temps à consacrer à ma création de mai, j'ai décidé de tricoter quelque chose de petit. J'ai commencé avec l'écharpe Flora mais comme la fleur était trop grosse, il y a eu un changement de plan: l'écharpe devient symétrique et la fleur se retrouve sur un petit bonnet. Je n'aime pas trop le rose (je sais, la honte pour une fille!) mais l'une de mes petites cousines adore le rose donc je lui enverrai cet ensemble.

J'ai utilisé le fil Sweater de Spud and Chloe que j'adore pour les tricots pour enfants: 50% laine et 50% cotton donc parfait pour toutes les saisons, lavable en machine et disponible en coloris acidulés.

J'ai plein d'idées dentelle pour le mois de juin et beaucoup de temps pour tricoter... En attendant, allez voir la galerie de mai!