thrums good to -27C

look what willa made me! the one on the left is inside out so you can see that it is fuzzy on the inside. they are crazy puffy and warm - i used them today (and it was a chilly -27 this morning!)
ooh in case you feel like making thrummed mittens here is a pattern. the thrums are folded bits of fibre knit right into the mitten - and make these suckers amazing hand furnaces

(ps this lovely shot is stolen from willa)

hello lace (goodbye winter?)

i'm wishing for spring these days ... well maybe not wishing as i do love the bright sun on the snow but i am dreaming of warmer weather and green grass and flowers. so instead of the sweater(s) i had planned, i have been knitting lace. above is the hemlock ring tam knit with "silky wool" - it is wool and raw silk so has this lovely tweedy texture which i think works for this lacy tam. it isn't warm enough yet for this hat .... but maybe in a month or two?

yesterday i cast on for my next lace project: Cobweb Lace Stole by Michele Rose Orne found in last spring's IK Knits magazine. this pattern looks like a bit of a handful! there are no “rest” purl rows in the main pattern/section - but it shouldn’t bore me at least! so far i have the ruffled edge almost done - it reminds me of foxglove flowers



it is for my trip to Reykjavik and Copenhagen in early april with Willa. (squeal!) so i have a deadline i want to wear this light airy for spring in Scandinavia. the wool is from my trip to the east coast with my family last year - it is the prettiest pale coral or salmon pink/orange. it is suri blue a lace weight by Fleece Artist (based in Nova Scotia) - this wool/alpaca is totally lush - the colour has a slight variegation and a soft halo

happy early valentines!

thanks to my mom (her birthday is Feb 14th), valentines is one of my favourite holidays. ok, i know, i like a lot of holidays - this girl likes decorations! but back to valentines - it has never been a romantic date thing - never any "i don't have a boyfriend angst" - to me valentines is all about heart shaped sugar cookies and little cut out paper valentines you hand out ....... so. much. fun! and yes i still handout valentines. i say it's because i lead a brownie troupe (think of the sad little brownie faces with no valentines!) but (cough) it's really because i love it. this year i have some ones that come with little jewels that you can wear on your cheek - hoorah for sparkly things.

baking wise i'm making mini-chocolate cupcakes with tiny heart sprinkles for frostbite. oooooooo and also in the kitchen look what my lovely boyfriend got me for v.day!squeal! yes it is a cast iron enamel pot! i few years ago i found a Le Creuset (in classic flame) in a thrift shop in here in Whitehorse. for a mear $15. love that pot. now i have this beautiful rich red one too! it's a great size (almost twice the size of my flame one). Patrick gave it to me early as i made a big south african style stew last night. yum. i'm thrilled and he loved the dinner

tweedy is done!

Alexandra Ballerina Top by Stefanie Japel (found in Fitted Knits)

Needles: US 10½ / 6.5 mm

Yarn: Rowan RYC Soft Tweed (7 balls + a wee bit more) in Slate Blue

Size: 33" plus a lot more length for my looooong torso


i really like the back - all the waist shaping was done here - although this photo makes it look a bit lumpy!

while i'm still not 100% about this sweater - as i said before it's the chunk factor - it is cozy and the colour is pretty. oh and i think the sleeves are cute too!

Darcy portrait

i couldn't resist sharing this! Yes, it is indeed Darcy's (Colin Firth) portrait from Pemberley, in the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. needless to say best version ever. and the portrait cracks me up (it recently sold for 12,000 pounds)

oooh by the way I've been listening to classic books while i've been knitting lately. Librivox is a great free site of recordings of books (and poems, essays etc) in the public domain.