The Blue Brick

Searching for the Perfect Pattern – A Contest!

May 10, 2016

EDIT: We have a winner! By random number generator, the winner is Meghan Kyte :) Meghan, be sure to check your email!

What to do with 500 yards of tonal yarns? What if I add another 500 yards in a neutral palette? I’m looking for the perfect pattern to show off my new Painter Palette line, and I need my knitters to weigh in!

I’ve put together a few sample combos to show off how my neutrals and palettes could be paired, and I’m looking for the perfect pattern suggestion. The winner will get a Painter Palette kit in my Killarney sock, in their choice of colours! All you have to do is leave a comment on this page letting me know what pattern you think would work (something with 3-5 colours is ideal), then share the contest on your Facebook, and blog for additional entries (be sure to let me know you did!)

Below are some of my ideas for combos, but no need to stick to what I’ve done :) Shawls and sweaters… everything is kosher as long as it’s either fingering or sport weight.

Raincloud and Mt Fuji.

Charcoal and Monarch

Ecru and Eggshell

Jade and Sundown
Fluevog Photo Shoot

May 9, 2016

May 26th, 6-9pm, in the distillery district here in Toronto, The Blue Brick and John Fluevog shoes are hosting a knit night together! Facebook invite here.

For the event, I have designed three OOAK skeins that will only be available at the show, and were dyed to match John Fluevog shoe designs, of course!

Shoes and yarn, what could be better? Really hoping to see as many of my GTA knitters as possible that evening.

Incidentally, you might have seen our new logo floating about, rebrand in progress! It’s a ball of ombré yarn/blue brick. Get it? I’m pretty happy with my new design :)

We had a blast with our mini-shoot, hope to see you at the event!
Knit Night in the Distillery – SAVE THE DATE

May 6, 2016

Psst! All our new products, Painter Palettes, Ombré, Neutrals, and an updated pattern list including Longbeach and Cove will launch tomorrow! Happy shopping :)

Exciting news if you live in Toronto! Fluevog, makers of the coolest shoes on the planet, are teaming up with The Blue Brick to host a knit night in their fabulous distillery district location, in downtown Toronto, Thursday May 26th, from 6-9pm.

The evening will include food, drinks, shoes and of course, yarn! There will be prizes, special OOAK skeins and the ability to view and purchase from our inventory in person.

We’re so excited about this, the first event for The Blue Brick. It won’t involve all our inventory, but rather a specially curated collection for the evening that will include skeins I’ve dyed to match Fluevog shoes.

We are hoping to see as many of our GTA customers as possible, and look forward to meeting every one of you! For anyone making purchases between May 7th and May 14th, AND planning to attend the show, enter the code FLUEVOG at checkout to get free shipping, and you’ll be able to pick up your order from us in person at the event =D (Please only use the code if you’re sure you can make it out that evening).

Looking forward to meeting everyone! <3
The Blue Brick Signature Line

May 5, 2016

First of all – in response to awesome customers I have moved the launch date of the new products forward to Saturday May 7th. You’ll be able to shop this weekend!

When we first started The Blue Brick, we dyed what we liked, totally at random for each Etsy update. This was a lot of fun; it was free-form and inspired and the colours were always fresh. However, it had several drawbacks; customers would rush to the Etsy store for a very frustrating experience, and if someone wanted a sweaters worth of something they were likely out of luck. We started searching for a better way, and out of that was born our online store, and now, our Signature Line.

For the Signature Line, I decided to focus in on what I love most, and what I feel I do best; Ombré yarns, and colour palettes. In my day job as a visual designer and photographer I work the same muscles, so this comes naturally to me, and gives me the greatest joy. With that in mind, here are the last two colours being added to round out what will become our regular product offering, Kim’s Barn & Gerber Daisy.

Kim’s Barn is a classic Blue Brick colour. It’s been around since the beginning, and it was only right that it continue to exist as an ombré colour.

Gerber Daisy (not to be confused with Daisy) is new – a rich red/orange/burgandy mix. I *need* to see this in a shawl!

Together they round out my Signature product offering, a total of 22 items; 12 Ombré colours, 6 Neutral colours & 4 Painter Palettes. I am in love… I hope you are too!
Blue Brick Painter Palettes & Neutrals

May 4, 2016

To compliment my love of colour, one of my goals was to develop my own version of the mini skein set – and my Painter Palette collection was born :) Each Painter Palette comes with 4 skeins – totalling 500 yards (125 yards each). You will be able to choose between Killarney Sock and Niagara MCN Sport.

Neutrals are a line of …. neutrals ;) Clever, right? These yarns are available in any base, and are meant to form a blank canvas on which you can use any of the ombré yarns or mini skein sets. Perfect for multi-skein projects, fair isle, striped sweaters and multi-coloured shawls.

Here are the colours that will launch on May 10th:

Eggshell – Based off a set of eggs from my friend Kim’s free range hens. Delicate and soft, these colours are a great natural palette.

Mt. Fuji – I climbed all night to see the sunrise, and though it was overcast that morning, I still enjoyed every minute of it. Dark and moody with a hit of bright.

Monarch – I took this photo in a butterfly conservatory in Victoria BC. The set is bright and fun, perfect for summer projects.

And lastly, Sundown – it used to be one of my variegated colours, and I still loved the colours – a natural choice for a mini skein set!

To provide a blank canvas for larger projects, here are the neutrals that will also be available starting May 10th:
Feather – A Gentle Ombré

May 3, 2016

My friend Kim is always looking out for me. A year ago, when someones turkey got hit by a car, she saved me feathers. That’s love right there. This is not from that turkey, this feather is a naturally shed artifact from one of Jens’ Guinea Hens, and Kim thought to save that for me too. No turkeys were hit by cars in the obtaining of this feather.

‘Feather’ is the most gentle possible gradient. It fades slowly from a creamy taupe to a warm grey. No bells or whistles here, just a gorgeous gradient.

I love the texture in the feather, the warm grey, the taupe, the spots… classic and understated, just like this yarn.

There is an awful lot coming May 10th. Look for a total site revamp, a new logo and a lot of new products!
Peggy’s Cove Ombré

May 2, 2016

Peggy’s Cove is a gorgeous little spot in Nova Scotia, Canada. It’s a tiny town, with a lovely lighthouse, and a terrain that looks like you’re on the moon.

The town itself is equally lovely, population 640 (in 2011). The lighthouse itself dates back to 1868, but there has been a community on this spot since 1811.

The rocky terrain makes you feel like you’re on another planet, and I fell in love at first sight.

Of course, a Peggy’s Cove colour way had to come!

I chose to work from a photo I took at sunset. You can see people at the base of the lighthouse, and the top of the lighthouse is on. The sky is a surreal colour (unedited!) and the entire scene is very serene.

Peggy’s Cove graduates slowly from teal to cream, to pale pink and then to ocean blue/black. It’s gentle and colourful at the same time, and it will hit the Blue Brick online store on May 10th, along with a slew of new goodies!
New ideas and new directions

April 28, 2016
Changes are coming to The Blue Brick! With mom being sick lately, I realized there was a need to streamline our processes, offer more of the most popular stuff and maybe put less energy into the things that are less popular, or that we don’t feel matches our business goals. I have some new things in the works, and I hope you’ll find them as exciting as I do!
1. Sock Options
  Starting May 10th, when you select a base for your yarn, you will see two new options; Niagara MCN – Sock Option and Killarney Sock – Sock Option.
  What this means, is you’ll get two half skeins (200 yards each) of matched gradients, for socks/mittens/gloves etc. Both our Niagara MCN (70% Merino/15% Cashmere/15% Nylon) and our Killarney Sock (80% Merino/20% Nylon) have enough nylon to produce excellent, hard-wearing projects. If you’ve ever wanted ‘Rose’ or ‘Hyacinth’ in perfectly matched sock skeins, this is for you. If this sounds confusing, stay tuned to the blog for photos of how it will look :)
2. Painter Palettes
  Again, starting May 10th, you’ll see new products appear in the store; ‘Painter Palettes’. A Painter Palette is 500 yards of either Killarney Sock, or Niagara MCN divided into 4 skeins (125 yards each) in complimentary, carefully curated colours. The possibilities, for intarsia, fair aisle, striping and multi-coloured shawls are endless! Here are some of the palettes I’ve been playing with, to give you an idea, this is ‘Eggshell’ and ‘Sunrise’.
3. Complimentary Neutrals
  To add a perfect list of complimentary yarns for pairing with either our Ombré Yarns or our Painter Palettes, I will be developing a few neutrals. Jade will be one of them, and I will add cream, charcoal, and gray. For sweaters, multi-skein projects and blankets, this will give you a canvas within which to use your coloured yarns.
All other colourways that are not Ombré, Painter Palettes or Neutrals will be discontinued (which means that they’re currently on sale!).

It was a tough decision, but I need to streamline my efforts to produce the yarns I love most, and the products I do best. I want to continue to explore my love of colour, and I will do so though the Ombré line, the Painter Palette line, and my monthly club colours. Feel free as always to let me know your thoughts by emailing me: hello@thebluebrick.ca or leaving a comment below!
Hyacinth

April 26, 2016

I’ve really been on a flower kick lately, springtime will do that to you :) Even though it’s been on the website for a few days now, I wanted to highlight one of my new colourways ‘Hyacinth’.

Hyacinths are probably my favourite flower (and tiger lilies, and dahlias, and …) . I love the scent they add to the home when they’re blooming, and I love the purple ones the most. I had quite a bit of fun shooting my hyacinth.

I decided to get in close and use my macro lens, to really show the texture and colours.

The colour way is an ombré yarn, of course :) From creamy white, to pale lilac, intensifying into a strong purple and then being topped off with a purple-blue tint.

I have completed a project to show off the yarn (and it deserves its own FO post very soon) but here is a peek at my pebble beach shawl, which really shows off how the colour changes sit. I chose to do this on our 500 yard sport weight MCN skein, which made for a lovely, massive shawl at 62″ x 20″, so cuddly!
Gratitude and Mum

April 16, 2016

These past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride, and I’ve been very unresponsive to customers as a result, for which I apologize. My mother was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm that, thankfully, had not ruptured. This is a big deal because aneurysms, occasionally fatal ones, seem to run in our family (I will be getting screened myself, just in case).

She went in for surgery, a cerebral coiling to protect the artery and prevent the aneurysm from rupturing. It was a trying day, but the next day she came home. Two days later she complained of feeling faint, and collapsed at home. Thank goodness my father was there and called an ambulance right away.

Mom had suffered a stroke. It is not common following aneurysm surgery, but it’s not unheard of either. A clot formed around the coiling site and traveled. She was immediately given a very powerful medication that would break up any remaining blood clots, but we were asked permission to administer it because there was a 5-10% risk of a fatality. It was a small stroke, but she was hospitalized for almost a week. That first night in the ICU I stayed with her, and we talked, and prayed, and hoped for a full recovery with no lasting disabilities. We were so scared.

Mom has been extremely fortunate. She has full functionality, and is expected to make a full recovery. Yesterday, we brought her home.

We have been fortunate in other ways as well. The community of loving, supportive family and friends that close in around illness is beautiful and humbling. Living in Toronto, we have had access to a first-class healthcare facility in Sunnybrook hospital, the staff and volunteers of which were so professional and caring. They make the difference when you’re going through something so frightening.

Mother’s Day will be extra meaningful to our family this year. We have dodged a bullet, not only in catching the aneurysm before it could rupture, but in recovering fully from a stroke.

Due to this months events, I’m sorry to say there will be no May colour/pattern instalment :( It simply wasn’t possible to test-knit and tech-edit in time. However, I still wanted to dye up a colour to knit something for my mother for Mother’s Day, something huge and bright and cheerful. For this colour I have chosen (of course) Yellow Mums.

Yellow Mums has been added to our website. 50% of all sales will be donated to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, in honour of my mom and to make a small gesture towards the nurses, doctors, volunteers and support staff who have done so much for us.

This months events have not affected our timelines, I am happy to say :) Tons of orders will hit the post office Monday morning.

Much Love,
Shireen