cozy greys.... the best greys...

ok... so this weekend my LYS was having a sale... 15% off and double stamps... double stamps!!! haha (yeah, this is a good thing). of course with it being the most perfect of weekends to snuggle up and knit... we had some crazy stormy weather.... how could I say no to this opportunity?! especially when a group of my friends were planning a coffee date before. yeah, it happened....
my plan was to be really good... since I have to save for yarn that i'll buy at knit city... 
but guys.... double stamps!! not to mention 15% off. hahah I didn't really need that much convincing...

I've been planning to knit matching toques for les and owen... but I've been nervous that I could actually eek out 2 hats in one skein... especially since owen isn't exactly a baby anymore.... also, les thought the tern was a little light... so I did what I had to do... buy more yarn. haha... I absolutely love madelinetosh's steamer trunk. it's just the perfect grey I think! and will showcase the stitch definition of windschief nicely don't you think?

and then I couldn't help myself. sometimes you know you just come across a pattern, or a yarn and you can't take your eyes away from it? well that happened. I was flipping through a pattern book and came across celes by none other than jared flood. oh my goodness, it's stunning! it's just so delicate, airy, and perfect. I have to knit it.

and then I found the same yarn he used... isager strik alpaca... and it was perfect. so i'm sure you know what happened next.... it will be stunning. i'm actually thinking of gifting this once it's done, but you know, I just might not be able to :)
anyhoo, my weekend was cozy that's for sure! but now to find the time to knit these things! ha. who needs sleep, right?

how was your weekend? what did you get up to doing? were you under a major storm watch as we were here on the island? come chat. it's a dreary, cold, wet and windy day. perfect for tea and my knitting. xo

cascadia love

I'm sure a lot of you have seen, or heard about the buzz around about Cascadia. A new knitting book just recently released by the fab duo behind knit social. Amanda Milne & Fiona McLean have worked their magic (as best business partners do) and created a knitting book that showcases a beautiful love for the west coast. The patterns are stunning, and all by designers from the region, as well as local yarns that were used!



photo from ravelry

I am thrilled to tell you that I also played a small part in the making of this book, as a sample knitter! I so enjoyed knitting Redcedar. The fact that it made front cover just makes me uber happy! I had the pleasure of knitting with yarn by everything old, and it was amazing! Designer Emily Wessel, of tincanknits has such a talent and eye for lace. I loved loved this pattern! I promise you will too.

There are so many more to knit!! And what perfect timing of this book to be released! Just in time for Christmas gift knitting! (or selfish knitting).

have you checked out the book yet? what's first on your list of patterns to knit? xo

3 months left!

so i looked at the calendar and realized that today marks 3 months until christmas. holy craptarts. are you ready for it? this of course means ... let the late night knitting fests begin!

link

actually it's been a crazy fest around these parts. the exciting thing is that we're getting new appliances! wahoo! (one of them quit on us, and then we just decided to upgrade them all... ) but it'll be a busy time until after it's all settled... so in the meantime, i'm trying to knit like crazy, and enjoy this lovely fall weather!
and plan christmas knits!

are you ready for it?? what are your holiday knitting plans? xo

wooly hugs

finally the weather has turned to fall, and this means owen can wear the sweater I knit for him!! hurrah!!! call me sentimental but i feel like him wearing a hand knit is kind of like him getting a hug from me... even if i'm not right there. <3

i'm sure i'm the most excited about it, and i'm really hoping he doesn't get too warm in school today, but I didn't care. hahaha I wanted him wearing a hand knit already.

i love this time of year, as crazy as it gets for us knitters... our minds are flying a mile a minute, trying to figure how quickly we can get all of those hand knits done in time for the holidays. of course, now that owen is in school, i've been thinking about a gift for his teacher too! goodness i have to be on the ball this year!
but for now, let's enjoy his sweater, shall we? i'm so glad i have that crossed off my list. and i'm glad that the sweater worked out to be a tad big. these kiddos need room to grow!

and i really do love how it fits him. xo

he loves the sweater, and i know he'll be warm in it. this makes my heart so very happy!

this pic is a bit over exposed, but i love it still :).. and it helps to show the detail of the sweater. xo

so just a quick recap of this project:
pattern: fisherman's pullover by Veera Välimäki

yarn: cascade eco + in heathered purple. (less than 1 skein) 

size: 6

needle: 5.5mm and 6.0mm 

mods: i knitted the sleeves in the larger needle as i felt they were a little snug. the rest of the sweater i did in the smaller needle as owen has a pretty skinny torso. 

this is the second time i've knit this sweater, and i'm sure there will be a few more in the future. i love how quick it knits up. the instructions are clear, and i absolutely love the result! and bonus, i had a sweater done for the sskal. (even if it wasn't my size) xo

are your kids in hand knits yet? do you have some grand plans for holiday knitting? come chat! xo

side-tracked... by pulled pork and yarn. but not together.

i'm a little side-tracked today.... because i'm making this. and I am already anticipating just how good my house will smell later this afternoon. hah. we've invited friends over, so i'd better not screw it up.  though I don't think it's all that possible. the oven does all of the work. ;)  actually I've tried several of family feedbag's recipes. and I've never ever been disappointed!
in any case, it's a great way to start the weekend :) that and I foresee my weekend to be full of knitting with these yarns...

I've actually already wound the yellow skein. weee!!! oh there is just something about greys and yellows that I just love... like everything. xo

i'd love to know what you have planned for your weekend! xo

current crushes

i'm always crushing on yarn, that's no surprise. lol. but knit city is coming up, and I have grand plans to buy sweater quantities worth of yarn. what I want to figure out though is what yardage i'll need depending on the weight of yarn. there are lots of sweaters I want to knit up, but I don't want to choose exactly the sweater and then find the yarn for it... i'd rather do it the other way around if that makes sense? so I think i'll have a bit of research to do.. hopefully google has the answer though. ha. because I'm sure i'd rather be knitting than googling.
in the meantime, there are a few sweaters that have caught my eye. first up though, I'd have to check out my queue... but that's insanely long anyways... and searching at what's "hot right now" is probably just as effective.

but here's one sweater that i'm crushing...

photo from ravelry

I know you all know it. it's nanook. by Heidi Kirrmaier. there is something about this cardi that I love... probably everything. haha. I just love the idea of throwing it on and letting it fall where it may... and of course, it will be perfect.

photo from ravelry

redy by annestrick has been on my radar ever since it came out. maybe it's the colour but I would live in this during the holidays. I promise you. although i'm pretty sure this would be another tiny needles tiny yarn knit for me.

photo from ravelry

and then there is pomme de pin by amy christoffers. oh my goodness, I love everything about this look. it's got that casual flair to it, but with the lace.... weeee!!! and the colour? so fall, so cozy... so me!

so there you have it. there are plenty more, but these are the ones first and foremost on my mind today.. I clearly need an abundance of moola so that I can knit up everything I want to.. oh yah, it would help if I didn't need sleep, or have any other responsibilities whatsoever. including eating and going to the bathroom.

haha. but I do have responsibilities... I just volunteered for an event at my son's school.. it's just a couple of hours, and it will be fun handing out the hotdog lunch after the terry fox run.  :) and of course, the other knitting i'm working on is getting done too.. remember the secret gift knitting? i'm over halfway through the first one! wahoo!

at any rate. fall feels close by.. and i'm longing for the woolen sweaters to wrap up in for our walks to school in the morning. soon there will be toques and mitts added to the list of things to knit.. and it makes my heart happy...

what are you crushing on lately? xo

birthday boy!

today is a special day. it's my hubby's birthday!

owen and I are so blessed to have les in our lives. he is our rock, our main provider, best friend.. our everything. we love him very much, and can't wait to celebrate him today!

 owen has big plans of rushing home after school to finish with the decorations.. honestly, the decorating is almost his favorite part. :) no I didn't have anything knitted up for les. but it's ok. he understands. you can bet there will be something extra special under the tree for him come Christmas xo

so in the meantime.. we'll be spending today celebrating les and having fun :) tell me, what are your plans today? xo

cozy days... kleenex and all...

the fall weather has most certainly hit here, and for me it's an exciting time. I've said it a quadrillion times it's my fave season and it really and truly is.. here's what's keeping me company today...

 along with the work knitting going on , and the steady growth of robin on the needles, I've got some secret gift knitting on the needles! ooohhh I hope the recipients love them! well, no they will.. haha. I mean, who doesn't love a hand knit gift in the fall?

I can't wait to be able to show them to you when they're all done!

already we are nursing our first cold of the season. thankfully today is a p.d day, so we've already got the day off... here's hoping it's a quick mend and school can resume tomorrow as planned.

so today this mama is enjoying some extra cuddles, while tending to my little man... and enjoying the quiet knitting amidst a wet and windy day. full with secret knitting on the side, and some lovely warm tea. xo

tell me, what is your Monday looking like? xo

welcome weekend!

hurrah for friday! 

 this was our first week with throwing kindergarten into the mix. and i'm pretty sure we're all tired. i'm so proud of my little man though! and next week it looks like we'll be getting into fall weather, so I can take pics of owen's new sweater! yaay!

we plan on having a fairly relaxing weekend here... and wish you the same! finding that back to school routine (or just first year going to school, in our case) has been a tricky thing.... I know my weekend will be full of knitting... the selfish kind... and maybe a fair, or a trip to Vancouver. haha we haven't decided yet.

tell me, what are your weekend plans? have you found your routine yet? xo

sweater triumph! ... almost...

I've been pretty quiet on the sskal front it seems. but I do have my reasons... something bad happened, and I had to set the project aside for a while I will get to that project in a second. first, let's start with the good news, hey?
I have a finished sweater! not's not the robin, no. it's this one:

I promised my little man a sweater for the start of school! and he's got one! (though as I had predicted, it's far too warm for him to wear it this week. lol)

I've knit this sweater before, and I absolutely love the pattern. here are the deets:
pattern: fisherman's pullover by veera valimaki
yarn: cascade eco + 100% wool.
needles: 5.5mm, 6.0mm
size: 6

I knit this exactly to the pattern, the only mod I made was to use the larger needle for the sleeves. they were just a little too tight otherwise, and once I made the switch to the 6.0mm I was much happier with the outcome.
owen will be uber warm and cozy in this perfect fall and winter sweater. I can't wait for the weather to cool down so he can wear it! (yeah... I did just say that out loud.. lol) and once he does put it on for a decent photo op, i'll be sure to update my ravelry page xo

now for the bad news.. well it's not sooo bad, it isn't the end of the world... but remember robin?

... i'm knitting with 100% alpaca and it's pretty slippery! also working on 3.25mm needles make for tiny stitches. well anyways, I went to try on robin, as I was a few inches past separating for the sleeves, and I noticed a hole!
what?!?!!? it looks like either my knot failed, or the yarn snapped. at any rate, I had a hole. and it landed right on my boob. so my fix HAS to be perfect. so I ripped the stitch back to where the hole was... I was pretty nervous, i'm not going to lie...

in the end I think I might have fixed it, however not a lot of knitting has been done on that sweater.. I needed a breather. also, what with the start of kindergarten, and work knitting really picking up... I needed the break.... soooo i'll get back to it, I promise. my plan is to have it done in time for knit city anyways. that being said.. I still do love this pattern, and this yarn.. it's so soft, and I love the colour combo!

 don't worry guys. I haven't fallen out of love or anything. it will happen. and this sweater will be all worth it!


how are you doing on the summer sweater kal? I've seen some serious progress from a lot of people! well done! any fave projects? come chat. I miss my little while he's at school. xo

big steps!

I remember my very first day of school ever. We had a white house out on McBean street. And I stood out on the porch, new backpack and all (I think it was yellow?)... and waited for the bus. I was nervous and excited all at once. My mom cried,  but I had such a fun time! So many exciting firsts. So many friends. So excited to ride that bus!

Now it's my turn to stand back and watch my little one take that big step into kindergarten. How have the years gone by so quickly?? though Owen really wants us to move just so he can take the bus to school, he still had the most exciting day ever!

He set his alarm on his new star wars clock (huge thanks to Gran and Opa for that one), and basically woke up singing "it's kindergarten day, I'm soo excited!!" Having les home for this milestone in our little one's life meant so much to me. It was a very unexpected bonus for sure! Owen said to his daddy probably 3 times before leaving the house how excited he was! (And this mama got those much needed hugs and shoulder to cry on once we were back home)

He was so excited to find his cubby, and basically ran into the classroom to see what exciting things lay in store. Clearly he was more excited than anything else, and when it was time for mommy and daddy to leave, he barely looked up from playing.  Honestly, this day was really much harder on me than on him. Probably the usual but you know... stop leaping into these milestones already, kid! haha.

We promised him ice cream after school, to celebrate his first day. We certainly jam packed everything we could into that day. I think those were some great memories of his first day, and I'm so very proud of my little man.

This is such a big step in my life too, as Owen has been my constant buddy for the past 5 years. The house is so quiet without him. Of course, hopefully this means that I'll be more than productive. (and I will). But yesterday, I let the tears fall while at home, and amazingly my floors got a good scrubbing ;)

Today he's home with me. As of tomorrow the routine will start. I was kind of expecting some half days to get him used to school, but his school doesn't do that... so today I'm sure he'll be tired :) I'm ok with that. I'd like a few more cuddles. the knitting will happen too. ...it always does. xo

is your little one off on their first kindergarten experiences? what are you up to today? is your little home with you or off to school now? xo

welcome fall!

today we meet owen's teacher! I can't believe he starts kindergarten on Monday!! where oh where did the time go? and this also means that we are well into September now.

guys, this is my favourite time of the year. no question. I LOVE it!!!! pumpkins, spice, wool, burning leaves, crisp morning air, major knitting love. (well the knitting love is year round here, but you know)....

though i'm still happy to knit with fingering weight yarns, i'm starting to stare at the bulkier weights. the soft, squishy yarns that will become quick toques, & mittens. yes i'm already thinking about winter knits.. and gift knitting!

last year I knit owen a stocking for Christmas... It just might be les' turn to have a stocking this year...

yeah, i'm excited for fall knitting. so so excited! and this weekend will have heaps of knitting crammed into it. I have promised a special little boy a sweater in time for the first day of school. xox

what are you working on this weekend? xo

come knit with me!

can you feel it? the routine is hopefully for most of you, starting to fall into place.. the mornings are crisp and cool... the air smells different, yeah.. fall is fast approaching! and this year we want to be ready for it! creatively if nothing else, right?

want to learn to knit this year? local to Victoria, BC? my class schedule is now up!! and i'd love love love to knit with you!!

I have a feeling this will be a busy year with homemade gifts, markets, and new accomplishments.

this is the best time to be inspired, and excited! and I promise you, knitting is super fun!
and really... there is nothing better than a handmade gift xoxo

want to find out more?
you can check out the complete list of classes here. and be sure to give the cloth castle a call to reserve your spot before all are taken!

 

knitting classes with Rebecca of nook.

where?: cloth castle

          786 goldstream ave

         Victoria BC



Phone:1-250-478-2112
Fax:    1-250-478-1050
Email: theclothcastle@hotmail.com

 

when?: first class starts September 18th! check the schedule for more details.

 

 

I really hope to see you there! and if you're not local, I can't wait to hear of all of your knitterly adventures this fall!! what do you have planned for holiday knitting?? come chat. xo

anew...

this morning I woke up to one of my most favourite sounds. (no it wasn't the school bus. hee hee). I absolutely love the sound of the rain hitting the windows, and the roof. it's such a soothing sound to me.

there are so many first day of school happenings today! owen has his first day in a week. i'm sure i'll be more of a mess then. lol. I can't believe that we're now getting back into a new fall routine. this year will bring some big changes for us. exciting ones, I can feel it!

I always feel that fall is more of the start of a new year for me... everything feels fresh, and new, and the whole back to school kind of does it too...  having one more week with my little man at home is good for me. I know he's more ready for school than I am for him to go. haha. this week will be my "baby steps" to his first day.

and as i'm frantically researching lunch & snack ideas, i'll also be finishing up this...

he picked the colour, and the pattern (yeah, I may have given him very little to choose from, and was pretty persuasive.. but you know) and I hope he'll be very pleased with it. i'm sure it will be sunny and warm, and he won't be wearing it... but it will be done xo.


what does your day look like? is it emotional at all? exciting?  any tips for this momma who will be going through the first day jitters in just a week? any exciting fall knits on your needles? xo

safe.

it's labor day?! already?! holy poop.

this past week, as many of you probably know, has been pretty emotional for us. having to say good bye twice as my hubby's ship was delayed on it's deployment, but then have the incident at sea and return home was enough to fray what was left of my nerves. i'm so very glad that everyone is safe, and no one was hurt, save for the mighty Algonquin...
if you want to read about it, check the news article here.

so these past couple of days, we've been trying to re-adjust, and prep for the start of school. owen has been a trooper throughout it all. he's been emotional, sure.. really as any kid would be I would think... but overall he's happy to have his daddy home :)

an oldie, but a goodie.

needless to say it's been a bit crazy this past week :) thank goodness I have my knitting to distract me, hey? and the fact that it's fall puts me in a very happy place. and I promise you, i'll have some goodies to show you, very soon! xoxo

how are you spending this long weekend? are you excited for fall? come chat xo