Saturday, January 22, 2011

Sweet mailbox, part 3—the knitting intervention edition

malabrigo frank ochre
One of the funniest, most generous and talented knit bloggers out there sent me an awesome gift.


Heather's gift
There's a bit of a history with me and this yarn. Several years ago I purchased several skeins of Malabrigo lace in Frank Ochre to knit an exact copy of this. I promptly LOST THE YARN somewhere on the streets of Manhattan. I was heartbroken. Heather got wind of this, and because she is oodles-of-awesomeness wrapped up in a beautiful bundle, she pillaged her own (no doubt well-stocked) precious collection of Malabrigo. How sweet is that?

But I can't help but think that perhaps it's her attempt at staging some form of knitting intervention. And who could blame her?

"Hello, my name is Nicole, and I am a neutral knits addict."

I do tend to get a little monochromatic. How many garter stitch beige/greige/grey items can one knitter knit? Apparently, a lot.

woodland scarf leaf detail
But look: a lace pattern. In a bright colour. I know. The first step is acknowledging that you have a problem, right? Thank you Heather!!!

She also sent me another jeweled beauty, but I'll save that for the last installment of "Sweet mailbox—the intervention edition"

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Sweet mailbox, part 2

I think the mailman cheer-up plan has worked, I'm finally on the mend.

Back in October, I signed up for an autumn swap organized by the lovely Sofia. My package took a little while to get to me, but it was well worth the wait.


Can you guess the nationality of my swap partner? (the box is a hint)

Swap 1


This should give you more clues:

swap 3

Lise is from Switzerland (home of my beloved tennis boyfriend, who is hopefully on his way to winning #17 at the Australian Open). I highly recommend swap partners from Switzerland, as they send the BEST chocolate EVER. My Ricola box was filled to the brim with goodies that were obviously chosen with care:
something for my sweet tooth: incredible chocolate (sadly, all gone now)
something for my brain: books by authors I love, and luckily these are titles I had not yet read
something for my fingers: lovely bits of lace, sweet wood buttons, yarn in pretty, neutral colours
something to warm me up: amazing Earl Grey tea from Mariage Frères, which I have always wanted to try.

What a treat, thank you Lise!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sweet mailbox, part 1

I've been really under the weather these past few days (nothing serious, but sadly, too sick to knit). The mailman has done his best to pick me up with a few cheery parcels.

Herriot grace 1
First, a pretty thing I ordered from the lovely and talented Nikole. Everything she does is impeccable. I may have a bit of a girl-crush on her.



Herriot grace 3
I love every single thing in her online shop, Herriott Grace.



Herriot grace 2
This grey linen tea towel features feathers drawn by The Wild Unknown.



Herriot grace 4


Another thing that has cheered me up are the lovely comments that you've been leaving about my latest knitting projects. I wish Blogger allowed me to reply to you individually. Thank you for being so sweet.

Ok, back to bed. I'll show you the rest when I'm up to taking more pictures...

Friday, January 14, 2011

Hypernuit

Here's a soft and gentle song to start off your weekend:

Monday, January 10, 2011

What I knit in November...

These have been done for a while, but I'm only getting around to photographing them now:

black cash hat long

black cash hat long 2

grey fingerless cash mitts 2

grey cash fingerless mitts

Loop cowl 2

Loop cowl

Long grey reverse stst mitts 2

Long reverse stst mitts

You can read all about them on my Ravelry projects page.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Frozen Herrin

Frozen herrin in the snow

My new hat is ready, just in time for a new delivery of snow (thanks Margie). The thick fabric of stranded colour work will be perfect for those long cold night cross-country skis I'm so fond of.

Frozen herrin finished

Pattern: Caller Herrin, by the stellar Kate Davies. I've re-baptized it "Frozen Herrin", because according to Kate, "caller" means fresh, but my hat is meant for the deep freeze of a Canadian winter.
Yarn: Alice Starmore Hebridean 2-ply, Selkie, Pebble Beach, Solan Goose, Shearwater, Kittiwake, Summer Tide, less than 1 skein of each. I also used a tiny amount of stashed angora for the inside band.
Needles: 3mm
Mods: I knit it exactly as written. Why mess with perfection?

Kate is a brilliant designer, writer, and warrior. Every stitch of this pretty thing was a joy to knit.

Frozen Herrin

Frozen herrin inside
A soft, warm attached angora lining really gives it a professional-looking finish.

Herrin inside yummyness


Herrin brim
I-cord edging. Sure, it's fiddly to do, but it's such a pretty, hard-wearing and tidy way to brim a hat.

Herrin crown decreases
See how elegantly the design merges together in the crown decreases.

After work, I'm going for a quick ski to test my new hat out, and then I'm headed to see one of my favourite bands, Karkwa. I haven't seen a good old fashioned rock concert in so long, I can't wait! Hope the cool hipsters ignore my hat-hair.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy, sweet 2011

I wish you warmth, love and joy.

I wish myself a few things too: a LOT more snow, more art of all kinds, more time with my loved ones, and more knitting to share with you.

Caller Herrin in progress

Caller in progress close up

Caller Herrin, in progress.