New Pattern: Snowdrop Tam

 © Willow Yarns

I am so excited to share with you a new pattern - The Snowdrop Tam.


This is a cute slouchy hat that was designed for the Willow Yarns company using their Willow Prairie, a 100% fine merino superwash wool.


I loved how soft the yarn was while working with it. I wasn't sure about the texture, as it is a thick and thin yarn, when I first started knitting it. But as the hat progressed, I began to love it!






This pattern is available through the Willow Yarns Website and through their mail order catalogue.

I've added some of my own photos to show off the beautiful, but easy to knit, texture in the main body of the hat.

The texture of the hat is made up of slipped stitches and knitting underneath the slipped yarns from the rows below - which is actually a lot easier than it sounds!

I know I'm going to make another one for myself this fall :)

New Ravelry Group!

Today we launched a group on Ravelry for the knitters who knit my patterns. This will be a great place to ask questions, get help and share pictures of finished items! I'm hoping that this will be a place where knitters can get inspiration. I can't wait to interact with everyone, answer questions and see pictures. Join here today :)

Fab Finds Friday: The Mud Button

Last year Diana, Susan and I went to the Festival of Crafts at the Stampede Grounds. I always love to see new, local artists showing off their wares.

Diana was looking for potters to make yarn bowls for Gina Brown's - so she talked to every potter that we saw and asked them if they were interested.

Last Friday, Anna Rasmussen called and had some prototypes to show us. Her company, Gammel House Pottery, has just started creating yarn bowls and beautiful, unique buttons.





I love interesting buttons. What is the point of spending a fair amount of time, money and effort on knitting a beautiful garment and then using some ugly, plain buttons?

If only you could feel the texture of these buttons in real life. Some of the glazes are matte and a bit rough - think earthy feeling. Some of the glazes are slick and almost cold to the touch!

The buttons are hand crafted out of porcelain clay and need to be hand washed. The hand washed aspect to buttons, never plays apart in my decision as to whether or not I will purchase said button. My theory is that nice things are worth taking care of. And, realistically the yarn that was used to create the objet d'art that now features the button; probably needs to be hand washed anyway.



This button makes me think "Quoi?" said with an upward lilt.

I love the all over print of Q's. When I asked Anna what her inspiration was behind this button, she told me of her trip to China. There she took many pottery classes and learned from some amazing artists. The Q's come from a roll on print that she bought while she was out enjoying the markets in China.







This rounded, bubble texture button has the most incredible feel to it! I could rub it all day - okay that sounded bad. Let's try again. I could . . . . anyway. I have no idea what I am going to knit for these beautiful buttons, but I can't wait to show you when I do!

Another One In the Works

Another new project. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a clue - It's incredibly soft and I can't wait to wear it soon!

These yarns are just wonderful!

The Turquoise(Lucky) and Grey (Birch) are BFL Sock from Sweet Georgia Yarns. The multicolor is Malabrigo Sock Yarn in #852 Persia.

 At first I was only going to use the Turquoise and the Grey together, but when I saw the multi colored Malabrigo and how it brought out the subtleness of the colors I just couldn't resist!

If you were thinking that you have seen this yarn before - you would be correct. I did post about it earlier when Susan brought it home from the Sweet Georgia Studio. I can't wait to show you the finished . . . . project :P

Flit, Flit, Fly

I saw this cute little guy the other day when I was coming home from Pick Your Project. His wings were so beautiful!

I love the way dragonflies flit around; they always seem like they are on a mission - did you know they can fly up to 45 miles per hour?

Apparently seeing a dragonfliy is good luck - which is always a good thing. Although I was told once that dragonflies should remind you to reflect on your deeper thoughts and desires. Dragonflies have short lives and must live life to it's fullest.

And here I thought he was just a cute bug!

New Yarn!

Susan went on vacation last week and spent a lovely week cruising around Vancouver.

While she was there she visited the Felicia Lo's studio, Sweet Georgia Yarn.

Susan and I are big fans of Sweet Georgia Yarns. The have amazing base yarns and incredible colors. Both Susan and I have designed patterns from her yarn.

I asked if she would mind picking me out some yarn while she was there, as she was already going to be buying lots of yummy-ness anyway. I couldn't wait to see what treasures she would find there!

I said to her in a cryptic message on Ravelry:

"Think teals / purples / greys. Think rich and yummy - a bit of contrast between the balls so that you can see the changes within a few stitches or rows but not enough to be tacky. A really nice silvery grey ball and a semi solid to go with. . . purple or teal. Think a delish shawl with a pop of color for winter . . . like grey, grey, grey, oh my TEAL! (or purple) . . ah I'm not worried, you have great taste."

Fortunately Susan knows me well enough to see where I was going with my idea.

I love the subtle-ness of the semi-solid colorways. I bought two skeins of Malabrigo Sock that matched perfectly with these two - I just can't wait to get started on this project.

The Perfect Bag

I don't know about you, but I always have a hard time finding the perfect bag. There is something that isn't quite right - I wish the pocket was here; not there etc.

I finally found an excellent bag! It might not be completely perfect but it sure is trying :) My newest purse is from Street Level. Most of the Street Level bags are made from vegan leather which is kinda neat. I discovered it while on the "fun" day, during my latest trip to Vancouver, at Barefoot Contessa.

Everytime I go to Barefoot Contessa, I find something cute, whimsical and amazing. Barefoot Contessa delights it's patrons with vintage goods, local and handmade items varying from dresses, jewels and purses to housewares and the occasional book. Love!

This cute doctor bag has 3 compartments: a middle one - perfect for keys, phone, wallet, and 2 outer ones - perfect for knitting! The fact that you can put a project on one side with it's pattern and not worry about the yarn getting caught on all the regular purse stuff is just delightful. And! The inside of each of the compartments has a vintage, flower print feel to it. Too delightful!




And yes! That is 2 hundred gram balls stuffed in there with a pair of addi's! Isn't that just great!