Knitting

May 22, 2019

Weekender

// The Weekender Sweater by Andrea Mowry //

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this space. How are ya?

I’ve been juggling being a part-time single mama most days of the week and my what feels like 12+ hour days working on my small business. It is tremendously rewarding and exhausting at the same time. Knitting has always been my refuge even though I barely get the luxury to do so anymore. Most days I am completely wiped out to knit a single stitch so when an opportunity to travel presented itself in March, I knew I had to take full advantage.

I’ve had both pattern (gifted by my friend Ashley) and yarn (Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Narwhal) in my stash for over a year. Honestly, I don’t know what took me so long to knit it up. I shared a sentiment on Instagram a few weeks ago about hoarding my most valued treasures, never wanting to “ruin” the state they came in and Brooklyn Tweed yarn is very very high on that list. I’m ashamed to admit having a few sweater quantities just sitting in a drawer waiting to be used up.

We (myself and my 2 younger mini me’s) traveled to Ottawa to visit my husband for March Break.

Wait… what? why you ask? This should fill you in.

I cast on for this sweater sometime during the 4-hour train ride on the way to Ottawa. We spent 2 weeks there and before I knew it, I had a brand new sweater shortly after we returned home.

Incredibly fast and so rewarding!

It’s knit in the round. Bottom up. Inside out.

The only thing you need to pay attention to is 1) the length and 2) refreshing or learning how to do a Kitchener bind off for the neckband and sleeves.

I used this tutorial from Purl Soho. Easy Peasy!

I loved knitting this sweater as much as wearing it so much I’m already planning to make at least one more. This is easily a wardrobe staple for me and I’d like it in black as well.

These FO photos were taken by my soon to be 20-year-old son, Ryan.

He works for a photography company and with the wedding season now in full swing, he’s booked solid right through summer. He asked for a rain check to celebrate Mother’s Day due to this schedule. We went out on his day off instead.

The plan was to watch a movie then have dinner. He even made arrangements prior for my in-laws to babysit so that we could take our time downtown.

As per usual, we parked at Finch station (he even drove so I could knit!) and we took the subway down. As a young adult, we barely get time alone and it was like a breath of fresh air to catch up with what he’s been up to. We arrived at least half an hour before our movie started so he took me on a tour around his school, Ryerson University. We ended up taking an impromptu photo shoot in the stairwell.

We watched the movie “Us”. He’s currently taking Media Production and is hoping to get in the Film Industry. He’s a huge fan of Jordan Peele’s work and couldn’t wait to show me his latest film even though he’s already seen it before. I enjoyed it! So many creative sequences throughout the movie. Funny how I look at things in a whole new perspective now that Ry is literally dissecting it! Recently, he came home after a lecture from one of the directors of the TV series, Suits. He was so inspired and talked about it so passionately I could taste his hunger for this new passion.

Ahhh, life with young adults is the best!

For dinner, he took me to Assembly Chef’s Hall. We ate so much because we wanted to try as much food as we possibly could. Boy was I glad I was wearing super high waisted pants and a loose fitting boxy sweater 😉 Highly recommend this place. It’s like a food court at the mall except the dishes are 10x better! We plan on going back and bringing the entire family just so we can try more dishes!

I shared most of the food we ate in my stories on Instagram. It’s actually one of my favorite things to share, for no other reason than I’m just happy I’m not cooking hahaha! My dream if when I win that million dollar lottery ticket is to hire a full time chef for life 🙂

Dear Ry,

Thanks for being such an amazing kid. I had so much fun on our date and I feel so lucky I get to be your mom. I love how creative you are, whether it’s playing the piano, taking pictures not just for work but for pleasure whenever you can, and for this new passion you found in film. You constantly blow me away with your drive and motivation and I am so proud of you. I will always support you and be there for you, no matter what.

I love you so much.

xoxo,

mom

April 23, 2019

Episode 7

Click here to watch

It’s an FO show!

Lots of finished items on this episode, a couple of WIPS and some dream knitting. I also explain what’s kept me away all this time and included highlights from our recent trip to Ottawa.

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Show notes:

FO’s:

1. Coffee Talk Socks – designed by Tracie Millar / Yarn: Hue Loco – colorway “Grocery Girls”

2. Opal Socks – vanilla sock pattern – colorway: Opal Hundertwasser # 2107

3. Treysta Sweater – designed by Jennifer Steingass / Yarn: Lettlopi colors 1416, 0051, 1419, 1420

4. Weekender Sweater – designed by Andrea Mowry / Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter – colorway: Narwhal

WIP’s:

1. Soldotna Crop by Caitlin Hunter / Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Sashiko, Klimt, Degas and Drops karisma color # 39

2. Flax Light by Tin Can Knits / Yarn: Yarn Therapist in Unicorn Hole

3. Stripified Shawl by Stephen West

4. Citrine Pullover by Emily Greene

DREAM KNITTING:

Tundra Jumper by The Petite Knitter

OTHER THINGS MENTIONED:

Toronto Knitters Frolic – Sat. Apr. 27

The Knitting Loft

The Flava Factory

Purl Soho – Kitchener Bind Off Tutorial

January 1, 2019

Year in Review

I can’t believe another year has gone. In an effort to be more aware of the things I am making, I gathered all the projects I worked on the past year to reflect. This is an overview of the past, my thoughts on current WIPS and plans for the new year.

I cast on 19 projects in 2018. Finished 16. 1 sweater, 3 shawls, 2 hats, 6 pairs of socks and 4 pairs of mittens. Out of these 16 items, 5 were for my family. Not bad! Let’s break it down:

MY FO’s:

1 sweater – Freja cardigan

3 shawls – Rivulet wrap, Nordic Wind Shawl, Laylow Shawl (for Vanessa)

2 hats – Tiilda and High Pines Hat

6 socks – 1 pair for my husband, 5 for me: Kinda Magic Socks, Galiano socks, I used my sock recipe for the other 3 pairs

4 mittens – the matching Tiilda mittens for me and x3 Tinsel Mittens for my kids

MY WIPS:

I have 3 sweaters still on the needles:

The oldest one is living in my Cake & Knit Tote bag – the Amalgam Hoodie. I haven’t touched this in months. It’s too bad because I’m so close to finishing but I just can’t bring myself to work on it. In fact, I recently transferred the stitches to scrap yarn because I needed the needles for another project. Not sure when I’ll work on this again but as I write this I’m realizing I still want the FO so I don’t think I’ll be frogging it. I’m fine with it taking a longer time out for now.

Next is the Orime sweater living in my Blue Knitterati project bag. This one is about 90% complete but sadly I think my style has changed since casting this on and I don’t see getting much use out of this garment. I do love the yarn and would like to use it towards something else. This will get frogged soon and you know what? I’m ok with that.

The last sweater WIP is my beloved Treysta living in my toffee Fringe Field bag. This is heavily on my knitting rotation and I can not wait to wear it! However, the next few months is going to be super busy for me. I’ll be spending long hours in the studio again so I’m not sure if I’ll get this done in time to wear before Spring but I’m ok with that too. I finished the yoke so it’s smooth sailing now.

As I’m writing this, I realized there are 3 other WIPS that I cast on in 2018 that I forgot to include in the photo above:

The Summer Feelin’ Sweater, the Stripified Shawl and the Coffee Talk socks. The latter 2 are still on heavy rotation but sadly I think I lost my mojo on the sweater. I love the idea behind the yarn but it stains my hand when I knit with it which is why I haven’t picked it up. I still love the garment though and can see myself wearing it so no plans to frog that one anytime soon. It’ll just sit there for now beside my Amalgam until further notice.

My overall thoughts on my making in 2018 and plans for 2019:

I’m disappointed that I only finished 1 garment the whole year! As you can see, I had every intention of making more but somehow got distracted with accessories. I still love to knit hats and socks so I will continue making those but I think for shawls, I want to make at least one big rectangular one in 2019.

I’ve had my eye on the Tokyo Shawl for forever – in fact, I got my sister to pick up the printed pattern for me when she visited Loop London a while back. And during a recent trip to my LYS, The Knitting Loft, I finally picked up all the yarn for it. It’s been a super stressful couple of weeks for me and I have been doing a lot of knitting as therapy. I think that’s why I decided to go for the Tokyo shawl. All that knitting will be good for my soul.

I also want to knit more garments in 2019. Aside from finishing Treysta, I’ve swatched for 2 new sweaters:

Top: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Narwhal for The Weekender by Andrea Mowry.

Bottom: De Rerum Natura Gilliat in Fauve for Citrine by Emily Greene.

Both are knit in worsted weight which I’m finding is my go-to for sweater knitting. The Weekender’s seamless construction will be a super fast knit that I plan to leave by my bedside. Citrine is knit in pieces which will be more my on the go project knitting.

And there you have it! Finish 3, cast on 3. I think I can manage that!

What about you? What are you most excited to make in 2019?

December 13, 2018

Book Review // Jewels

I received Making Stories’ newest book, Jewels, in exchange for a complete review. I have enjoyed reading it over the past week and am now able to share my thoughts about it below. There is also an opportunity to win a copy for yourself and even some yarn! More on that later.

Making Stories was founded by Berlin-based designers, Verena Cohrs (@sustanablistco formerly known as the Wool Club) and Hanna Lisa Haferkamp (@hlh.designs). Their work is focused on sustainability and ethically produced European yarns. Jewels is their 3rd publication containing 12 modern knitwear designs inspired by “deep strong tones of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and opals.”

My favorite design in this collection is the Citrine Pullover by Emily Greene.

Ever since I saw the first teaser photo on Instagram, I knew I had to make it.

The bold lines combined with a boxy, cropped fit and close-fitting sleeves are all elements of my ideal sweater. Not to mention it’s knit using worsted weight. Can it be more perfect?

I knew I wanted to try out the same yarn used for the pattern, De Rerum Natura Giliatt, so I immediately went on their website to choose a color. As always, I find this to be the toughest part! I was torn between genet, fauve, and plume. Unfortunately, genet which was my first choice, and the same color used for the sample wasn’t in stock but that’s ok because I couldn’t take my eyes off fauve.

It’s so far outside my typical color palette, I know! But I’ve been loving earth tones lately and have been craving to add a deep orange to my wardrobe. I also think since I already have a lot of neutrals that I won’t have a problem matching a shawl with it. Plus, it’ll look great with blue jeans 🙂 I can’t wait to swatch!

Here are a few more patterns I’m loving from the book:

The Morganite Hat designed by Imke Von Nathusius is made up of beautiful “diamonds, getting smaller and smaller, flowing out of a line of twisted rib.” I love the color they chose – Darkest Lac from Moel View Yarn.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love geometric patterns and the texture of twisted stitches. I can definitely say this is must knit for me.

The Paraiba cardigan designed by Nadya Stallings has an open front, all over texture and has my name written all over it.

Described as “the one garment you’re going to grab from your closet to throw on over your pj’s to have your morning coffee and your black turtleneck when you meet your best friend for dinner”.

Ummm, yes, please!

The only thing I will note is that it is kind of hard to see the texture of the sweater from the book. They’re all lovely photos, don’t get me wrong, but the motif is somewhat lost against the dark background.

I did have a peek on Ravelry, and was able to see the design clearly from one of the project photos. Based on that, I do see myself knitting this in a shade of grey. Instant wardrobe staple!

Another beauty calling to me is the Heliotrope shawl designed by Sabine Engel.

I have been wanting to cast on a blanket type shawl and the play on bold lines and contrasting colors drew me in.

I did wish they included a photo in the book where I can see the full shape and design of the shawl. I mean, I knew from the description that it was basically a rectangle, but I would have still liked to see it laid out for a clearer view.

It doesn’t bother me though, just a personal preference. I’m totally in love with this design either way and can not wait to make one for myself. It is knit using fingering weight and requires approx. 1690 yards which is going to be a labor of love for sure.

But it’s totally worth it!!!

I have been working on mittens for my kids for Christmas this year. It has been so satisfying to have a quick FO with very little effort so I was thrilled to see a pair included in this book, Spinel by Becky Sorensen (also known as @sopranoknits).

What an adorable colorwork pattern! I haven’t decided if I’ll go with the original 4 colors or just 2. All I know is that this will be the matching mitten to go with my Morganite hat. Both are knit in DK weight and I’ve already made a note to pick up an extra skein 🙂

Last but certainly not the least, I really want to cast on Garnet by Hanna Lisa Haferkamp.

You know how much I love knitting socks!

I always have a pair on the needles and I do have quite the collection already but what I did notice is the lack of lace socks. I’ve only made 1 lace pattern before and I intend to rectify that, starting with this beauty!

There are many more amazing patterns in the book and I encourage you to have a peek at the entire collection. You can find Jewels on Ravelry here.

There is also a KAL happening in the Making Stories group which you can join here. There will be lots of prizes and there is plenty of time to enter. The deadline is not until Feb. 28, 2019. There are also 2 other KAL’s happening right now for Topaz and Rubellite.

Here’s a peak of the rest of the patterns included in the book:

Jewels also has plenty of insightful articles from Melody Hoffman, Paula Goosen, Diana Walla, and Katie Green on yarn + color substitutions. The book also features a designer and yarn profile where you can learn about their creative inspirations and backgrounds.

Click here to purchase your copy of Jewels

// GIVEAWAY DETAILS //

As mentioned earlier, I did receive a second copy of Jewels as a brand ambassador to give to you! Look out for that giveaway on the next podcast (episode 6) on YouTube.

I may have also picked up an extra sweater’s quantity of De Rerum Natura Gilliatt to make Citrine. I’ve been wanting to do a giveaway on Instagram as a thank you to my followers. I’m just blown away for reaching over 5k! Can you guess which color I got?

Make sure you are subscribed to my channel on YouTube and are following along on Instagram – @pearadiseisland for your chance to win a copy of Jewels, and/or, 5 skiens of De Rerum Natura Gilliat yarn to make your own Citrine Pullover!

#jewelsmakingstoriesKAL

Will you be knitting along with us? What pattern from Jewels are you most excited about?

>>All photos via Making Stories<<

September 25, 2018

Current Obsession // Perch

[ images via Jared Flood ]

Gah!

It’s no secret how much I adore all things Brooklyn Tweed – from their yarn to their patterns and overall aesthetic. I’m like a little kid in a candy store whenever a new collection comes out. I get the goosies. (Anyone else watch the finals for World of Dance Season 2?)

Goosebumps. I get the goosebumps.

It’s been a while since I mentioned anything under this category because A) I’ve been a little busy and totally slacking in the blog department B) a project I cast on that I once was excited about under this category didn’t quite work out (total fail on my part) and C) aside from one other thing that has been sitting in my draft for forever, I haven’t really come across anything that gave me the chills….until now.

So last week, Brooklyn Tweed released 3 new colors for Shelter and Loft to welcome the fall season. Pumice (grey), Iceberg (blue) and h-e-l-l-o Yellowstone!

It’s Hayloft’s sister from another mister!

I don’t have the yarn in front of me (yet) but it looks like the perfect marriage of yellow and green IMO. A yellow chartreuse. A heathered yellow chartreuse!!!

On top of this gorgeous new color, and basically what sent me over the edge is the beautiful lace half-hap design by Gudrun Johnson. The Perch Shawl.

I mean… damn! Isn’t she gorgeous?

I love the texture and the shape so much. I have a soft spot for triangular shawls because I find them effortless to style whether draped over my shoulders or wrapped around my neck a la scarf. I’m also curious about the construction – no spine like most traditional triangular shawls.

I am totally dream knitting this right now. It’s actually forcing me to finish something – anything! (read: I’ve got to get a handle on my castonitis) so I can get this on my needles….STAT!

Pattern: Perch Shawl by Gudrun Johnston

Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Loft – Yellowstone

Do you get excited when you come across a design that speaks to your whole being?

As if it was made just for you?

[Disclaimer: All images belong to Jared Flood / Brooklyn Tweed]

September 24, 2018

Hey There Maker // KW Finds

In honor of Makers Monday, I’m introducing a new section to the blog called “Hey There Maker”. A place where I can share some of the things that follow me home.

This is dedicated to all the makers I obviously admire and highly recommend. You’ll find links to their shops below.

In case you missed Episode 4 of the podcast, here are all the lovely things that came home with me from the Kitchener Waterloo Knitters’ Fair:

Boxy bag from ZigZag Stitches

I’ve heard only great things about Catherine’s boxy bags and have been dying to try one out. When she shared a photo of this bag on Instagram, I fell deeply in love. All those socks! In my color!!!

[ image via @zigzagstitches]

When we were setting up for KW, I was fortunate to have my booth within close proximity to hers. I was even luckier that she set one of these beauties aside just for me! Now, I’m on the hunt for the perfect sock yarn to go in my very own ZigZag Stitches bag! I may paint my nails again to match my bag and future WIP when the time comes because…why not? I already have the matching bracelet to go with it 🙂

2. “Woodnote Symphony” yarn from Crooked Kitchen

Crooked Kitchen’s booth was right behind mine and I couldn’t help but notice her beautiful hand dyed yarns! I was on the market for sock yarn to make the Coffee Talk socks by Tracie Millar (casting on as soon as I finish my Galianos) and really wanted to get something as similar to her version as possible.

[ Coffee Talk socks – image via @tracieknits ]

It’s a good thing I had a project in mind for this purchase; otherwise, I would have been lingering at her booth for too long! Too many pretties! I chose the colorway Woodnote Symphony.

3. Unicorn Hole from Yarn Therapist

My kids passed by at KW later in the afternoon so I took them for a quick stroll and introduced them to some of my fiber friends also vending at the fair.

When we came across the Yarn Enabler and Yarn Therapist‘ booth, Vanessa fell in love with Jen’s shawl. A rainbow of all the right colors – pinks and purples to name a few, dyed to self-stripe as you knit!

[ images via Yarn Therapist ]

My daughter was so excited to see such things existed and asked if she could have one just like it.

It’s a generous 180g / 750m of 80% SW Merino / 10% Cashmere / 10% Nylon.

At the time when I picked it up, I didn’t notice it had cashmere. Totally jealous that baby V will get a cashmere something before me! 🙂

4. Shawl pin from The Woodlot

If you’ve been following along for a while, you might recall me mentioning that I picked up one of these shawl pins for my MIL for Mothers’ Day at the Knitters’ Frolic. Since then, I made a note to make sure I visit their booth at KW so I can get one for myself. I love that it can double as a hair accessory! I’m going back for more on the next Frolic, to hopefully get a lighter wood and black if they have it.

[ Shop Metallic Turquoise Wrist Ruler ]

That’s all the pretties for now… as you can see, I was very good at KW… only the essentials!

June 21, 2018

Rivulet

I was honored to be invited once again by Brooklyn Tweed to preview knit their Wool People 12 collection. If you recall back in January, I preview knit the Freja cardigan by Jared Flood for their Winter 18 collection. (I talked about preview knitting before here and on the podcast.)

Wool People is Brooklyn Tweed’s annual collection of independent designers from around the world. It was tough to pick just one pattern to preview knit for this collection. There were so many talented designers to choose from – Annie Rowden, Isabell Kraemer, Emily Greene, Shannon Cook, Melissa Wehrle – just to name a few. In the end, I decided to knit Rivulet. It’s a lace cowl knit in fingering weight designed by Shannon Cook.

She is a fellow Canadian and I’ve knit one of her patterns before – twice – the Laylow shawl. I’m a long time admirer of hers. Totally drawn to her modern aesthetic and am dream knitting so many of her patterns such as the Veronika Cardigan, Haro shawl, Hudson, and Bradway.

As I’ve previously mentioned, it isn’t mandatory to use Brooklyn Tweed yarn to preview knit. It just so happens that I enjoy using it! Another dilemma – choosing a color! I’m typically a neutral lover but I was just drawn to Hayloft. I pictured this gorgeous yellow mustard wooly goodness around my neck and shoulders.

As soon as I got passed the border and completed the first half of the chart repeat, I knew this was going to be amazing.

Slowly but surely, I could see the geometric lace emerging…

I was enamored by the contrast of my turquoise handmade stitch markers against Hayloft that I decided to make a matching progress keeper from an old necklace. I also decided to wear OPI’s Closer Than You Might Belem nail polish from their Lisbon collection because 1) it’s a perfect match and 2) I was going on a trip and needed to get my nails done anyway. I can’t even describe how satisfying it was for me and how happy this sight made me feel!

Radley and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this year. As we sat and reminisced about the past 20 years (married for 10; together since high school), we realized we’ve never traveled alone as a couple before. It’s always as a family, with the kids so we decided while we’re young we’d do something totally different.

Kind of last minute – we talked about going away in passing earlier in the year but never really booked anything. We simply couldn’t decide where to go. Also, keeping in mind a trip at the end of this month which was booked from last year, we didn’t want to go to another all-inclusive.

We decided to go to Amsterdam. At first, we were going to fly into Berlin then take a train to Amsterdam then Paris. It would have been nice, but we only had 10 days. We knew there were lots of things to do so we chose to just stay in Amsterdam and relax and explore. I’ll probably upload a vlog at some point (hopefully!). I brought Rivulet with me on this trip. I knew I will have lots of time to work on it on the plane. Towards the end of our trip, we ended up spontaneously taking a drive to see a little bit of Germany. So, we checked out 3 days earlier than planned and went on the road. More knitting time for me, yay!

We read that it rains a lot in Amsterdam and even though I’m not a gambler at all, I decided to take a chance and only pack dresses and sandals. (Luckily, no rain that week) I brought a bunch of woolies with me for the flight because I get cold easily and I’m so glad I did. We had a pretty long layover in Keflavik, Iceland on our return flight home and Radley had surprised me to go to Blue Lagoon, Iceland! He even packed me a suit and a hat 🙂

Rivulet is a charted pattern but I was able to travel and knit on it easily. I figured out a hack that made it super easy to knit and read the chart. I’ll show it on my next podcast if you’re interested!

I’m so glad I was able to make this shot work…. I literally had 10 minutes to pull it off before sunset.

Although this is a charted pattern, when I returned home and was able to knit several repeats without interruption, it clicked! It is very intuitive and relaxing. It had a nice flow which was an absolute joy to knit.

It’s my first rectangular shawl and I love how it wears!

Like a big, cozy, hug!

My son, Ryan took these photos for me. The day we planned our photo shoot, it had been raining non-stop but thanks goodness it cleared up about an hour before sunset.

These were taken at Wilcox Lake in Oak Ridges – about 10 minutes away from our house. We go here quite often because of the stunning view and has a really great playground for the kids.

There is an option to add buttons and I was waiting to see photos of my fellow preview knitters wearing it as a cowl before deciding on mine. This pattern was just released yesterday but I’m liking what I’ve seen so far! I’m going to see if there are any buttons from my mom’s old clothes I can use.

I’m so happy with my Rivulet. Shannon did not disappoint! So elegant, so modern!

Simple texture + simple lace. I just love it. And Hayloft is going get me in t-r-o-u-b-l-e!!! I’m obsessed!

Pattern: Rivulet // Design by Shannon Cook // Wool People 12

Many thanks to everyone in Brooklyn Tweed for having me once again!

June 17, 2018

Episode 2

Click here to watch

Show notes:

FO:

Laylow Shawl by Shannon Cook (Yarns used: MC: Sweet Skein O Mine in Butterfly colorway / CC: Artfil yarns – OOAK

WIPS:

Summer Feelin’ Sweater by Wool and the Gang (Yarn: Billie Jean Yarn – colorway Raw Denim
Socks for Radley – Father’s day gift (Yarn: Langs Yarns Jawoll color 902)

GIVEAWAYS:

The winner of the pink chevron bag is @haypotter on Ravelry. Congratulations! Pls. get in touch with me on Ravelry 🙂