Ok, so he’s not that allergic. Tito’s pretty awesome =D and he made me this:
Pretty snazzy, eh? If you’d like to make your own, or to sucker someone into making one for you… he’s posted a DIY right here.
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Just over 2 years ago I finished my first knitting clothing item – a pretty simple, raglan cardi. I was delighted with my accomplishment, and the sweater was super pretty… except that it didn’t quite fit. It didn’t close completely over the chest, and the sleeves were too tight for my arms, and so, sadly, I never wore it past the day of my FO shots.
About a year goes by with this poor sweater living in a drawer. Finally I frogged it. It was a painful decision, but I decided that the yarn deserved better than a shelved clothing item – being that the yarn in question was 6 skeins of Tanis Green Label Sunset! Another year went by while I searched for the perfect project for all this yarn. A few weeks ago I saw this pattern for the Arrowhead Camisole and it was love at first sight.
Nevermind that it calls for cotton. Nevermind that heavy merino is not what one should reach for in summer wear. I had to have this top, had to have it in the sunset, and loved it enough to knit my second ever clothing item. This will definitely see lots of summer wear.
The front is knitted in one piece, the back in 2 pieces and the parts are joined, so it was a little more complex then the first cardi. The lace is so gorgeous in the Tanis, which has such amazing stitch definition. I opted for a crochet finish on top instead of the i-cord, but otherwise followed the pattern exactly.
The pipes… see point above re: arms being too big for cardigan… It’s more comfy than you’d think in the hot weather, the yarn breathes nicely and it’s super nice on cooler summer evenings.
I love the sewn bind off – time consuming but lovely! It’s so hard for me to commit to a whole knitted top, such a time commitment in case it’s just not flattering at the end… but this one was definitely a win.
Ravelry project page here:
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My friends, Johnathan and Beverly, are the cutest couple.
Picture them digging through, not only a tub of yarn, but a tub of alpaca, looking for a skein of not only sock weight, but a skein in turquoise. Every time I think of Johnathan up to his elbows in yarn looking for sock weight turquoise alpaca it brings a huge smile to my face. It’s the same smile I get when I picture T-rex trying to make a bed.
The yarn they surprised me with (from Canadian Alpaca Products) is the softest stuff imaginable, the perfect shade of turquoise and came in a generous 500 yard skein. I wanted to max it out, so I went with the Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark.
The pattern allows you to go as big as you dare, as long as you leave enough for the final chart and cast off. I went 5 repeats more than the recommended size, resulting in a shawl 44 x 22. The shawl is so soft and luxurious, I’m already casting on for another alpaca project.
Blocking never ceases to amaze.
The nature of the lace meant that this shawl opened up a lot.
There is nothing like the feeling that your friends really know you. That they bought me a surprise was touching… but that they got me turquoise yarn – I was blown away!
Thanks Bev and Johnathan – you guys are beyond beautiful! And thanks to the lovely Leslie for modelling for the blog :)
Ravelry page here:
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Toronto had one heck of a storm yesterday. In my totally failed effort to beat the storm home, I only took 2 photos.
This is from my balcony, as they were trying to bring the Kajama in to berth before things got too messy.
This is my cat, Shodan. Shodan enjoyed the wet umbrella. Weirdo.
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On the trip last weekend I was blown away by having got both this photo:
And this photo:
And I spent a good chunk of the trip dreaming of, and madly pursuing, having northern lights, stars and fireflies all in the same photo. I wanted it so badly I must have projected it out into the universe because the next bloody day someone posted a picture of just that, to my favourite sunflare monitoring site.
I was pretty peeved at the coincidence, so I got out my watercolours and made this, just to get it out of my system:
Afterwards I felt better :) And, as a consolation prize, we did get a time lapse. Not just any time lapse, but Tito and I were standing in a field, in the middle of nowhere, goofing off behind the camera with 2 people we love very much – Levi and Laura. To share that moment with them was so very special to us – we look forward to more aurora hunting with them!
The video is not spectacular in terms of aurora – blink and you’ll miss it. But considering how far north we were (even though you can see the glow where the sun set, it was well after midnight) I think it turned out pretty damn good :)
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Every year for 3 years going now Tito and I have maintained a tradition of road tripping for Canada Day – what better way to celebrate it? Here are some highlights from the weekend :)
A panorama in Lake Superior Provincial Park. The cliff face on the left is where the Agawa pictographs are located. They don’t mess around – the area is covered in warning signs about how slippery the rocks can be and how many folks perish there. A few of the pictographs are only visible from the water, and date back 150 -500 years.
Tito, getting a look at one of the images.
We passed the middle of Canada!
Manitoba is as flat as you’ve ever heard. The highway literally flatlines after you cross the Ontario-Manitoba border. What skies!!
This is our favourite stop in Lake Superior Park – Old Woman Bay. We took a great time lapse here of the sunset (more on that later).
This was a great surprise – Aguasabon falls in Terrance Bay, at the top of Lake Superior off highway 17. The volume was incredible – the falls are huge.
I discovered a ‘soul spot’. My happy places are made up of rocks and water and little else. One of my favourite places in the world is Peggy’s Cove Nova Scotia because of this. I was in love, and I couldn’t get enough photos of this lovely spot, called ‘Rossport Park’. I loved it so much I had to go back and shoot it during the day and dusk.
We were treated to some amazing sunsets from the road…
We also passed the ‘Arctic Watershed’ where all streams begin to flow north to the Arctic Ocean.
Finally, another amazing treat – we saw fireflies on our second night, just outside Thunder Bay. Thousands of them danced for us. It took some experimentation, but I was thrilled to be able to capture them on camera.
We saw many other treats, the northern lights (more on that later!) a bobcat (they’re very rare and shy) a moose, a bunch of deer, one fox and a black bear. We visited the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh, had incredible night skies and got in a little hiking. North Ontario is definitely my favourite place on earth!
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This weekend for Canada Day we are driving to Winnipeg. Yup. Winnipeg. By car.
Whenever I tell this to someone, the answer is an incredulous ‘why?!’ (with a few exceptions among the very coolest people I know). The answer is because it’s gorgeous. From Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay is one of the prettiest stretches of highway I’ve ever been on, if not the prettiest. I’ve posted some favourites from that stretch below.
My dad was talking to Tito last night about his family leaving El Salvador during the civil war. My dad summarized ‘So you left El Salvador when you were 10, spent a year in Guatamala and then came to Canada’. It’s not just a description of Tito’s journey, there is a tone of voice to the way he says ‘Canada’ There always is. Hope, optimism, aspiration, a sense of arrival and quiet pride all were present in that one word.
Happy Canada Day.
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I give you an unimpressed guinea hen.
This photo was taken last weekend at the ‘Art in the Vineyard’ show at Frogpond farms, and I promise you there are many more gorgeous photos to share, as soon as I can get 2 minutes to rub together and process all that photography!
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Yep – I’m on it! And this is me.
And just so I don’t feel like the entire post was shameless plugging, here’s a lovely photo of the yarn display we just made (full DIY details coming soon!)
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I have seen some beautiful quilts, and I’ve got friends who quilt, but somehow the art has never called to me (possibly because I suck at sewing. Just a thought.).
But then – my cousin and his fiancee found this lovely little neighbourhood with this colourful little yarn and quilt shop and thought ‘we need to do our engagement photos here’ and, because my cousin knows my version of a candy shop when he sees it, they also thought ‘we need to bring Shireen here‘.
Log Cabin Yardage was love at first site. Colourful and warm, their brick n beam store is spacious and filled with both fibre goodness, and Nicole – the awesome owner who didn’t believe for a second that I was too clumsy to manage a simple quilt.
She got me started on something called a ‘jelly roll‘ – pre-cut strips of cotton in complimentary patterns that you can just roll out and sew together without much thought or planning. She also gave me some basic advice about joining, pinning, consistency and ironing, and invited me to come back with the finished piece to learn how to take it the rest of the way.
Another treat we picked up was fabric inspired by one of my favourite artists, Edward Gorey. Check this out!
I can proudly say that this project broke the mental barrier I had against sewing :) I pinned, I sewed, I changed bobbins and threads, and I had a blast doing it. The fabric is so bright and colourful that watching the quilt grow is is a blast. It’s like variegated yarn, except that the project moves much faster and I got to pick what colour came next.
Here is where I netted out – 65″ x 45″ with fabric to spare.
I can’t wait to take it back up to Nicole and learn how to complete it! If you’re in the Pickering neighbourhood check them out – and if you’re not, don’t let that stop you! You can also order online here.
The Blue Brick 