On my needles + new yarn!

I know I usually post on Thursdays, but I wanted to wait after today because I knew I was going yarn shopping! So I didn't mind to wait another day!

But, first things first, what's on my needle right now?On last week's post, I talked about my latest finished project, the Boneyard Shawl, and I said that I needed something a little bit more challenging. So, after looking at my "to-do" list, I decided to start Faverolle by Cirilia Rose (Berroco link).

photo: Berroco

It was a love at first sight. The sporty/handknit look is soooo me! But I think what truly caught my eyes is the color: a soft, smooshy turquoise embellished with natural wooden buttons! How could I resist?! So I ordered the booklet and the yarn (same color!) almost right away! So far, I'm halfway through the back and it's going fairly quickly. I wanted something a little bit more challenging... well I guess it's not really a challenge, since everything is in stockinette stitch! At least there is some construction involved... I am also curious about the pocket: I read the pattern but didn't quite understand how they want me to do it... we'll see!

And an equivalent, if not more fun subject : NEW YARN!! But I know, I know... I already hear you : "But Ariane, weren't you on a yarn diet? Weren't you supposed to knit your stashed yarn before buying more?" I know, I know... but, in my defense, I was with new knitters, shopping for yarn at Mouliné and they had a SALE!

And, for some reasons, I am having a laceweight yarn craving. Since my Citron shawl, I just fell in love with laceweight yarn and decided to treat myself : my first ever skein of Malabrigo!... a yarn I wanted to try since... since ever I think! I heard so much about it that I knew one day I was going to buy some... But, I haven't decided of a shawl pattern yet! Any suggestions??

And since the weather here is über summery, I thought that only a yellow, laceweight yarn could suit my mood. And since Alpaca is my favorite fiber ever, why not hit two stones with one shot? So I bought some gorgeous and soft Super Alpaca Lace from Estelle Yarn. I don't know this brand, but who cares? It's alpaca and it's yellow and it's laceweight. Again, any pattern suggestions?

FO: Boneyard Shawl

Raveled here !

I needed a mindless project to knit between my boutique sewing projects. And wanted to knit something easy before starting another pullover, which requires lots of time, thinking and effort. And this cute shawl certainly fits the bill!

I'll be totally honest with you, this is not my favorite knitted project I have made. Don't get me wrong, the pattern is super well written, the idea and concept behind the shawl is ingenious and effective, the yarn will keep me warm next fall... I think that, at the end, I was just bored! I really love the end result, it made me use some stashed yarn. I think it was just the whole process of knitting this that turned me off. No sense of accomplishment after binding off. No selfrewarding feeling. Just... well another shawl!

We can clearly see the loose stitch... right there...

Maybe it's because a have reach a certain level in my knitting journey. I realized that, if the project doesn't require me to concentrate a bit, need me to focus on counting my stitches or always be aware of counting my rows for some increases or decreases, it... bores me!

Hehe me trying to give a serious top model attitude

Now that's better!

Why so serious Ariane?

Ok. I'm feeling like I'm being harsh on this shawl. I wore it all afternoon and I really love it. It's big (68" wingspan x 32" depth), cozy, and I love the contrasting color bind off (I didn't have enough yarn to bind off, and I was too lazy to unknit a whole row. I had some leftovers from the same yarn but in a different color...).

I don't really know why, but I LOVE this picture!

I really can't wait to wear it this fall, or even during a chilly northern summer night. But let me tell you that my next project (that I'm bringing to tonight's Stitch'n Bitch) is plenty of construction! *hint hint... a sweater?!?* Yep, a sweater indeed! It'll be in the next post. So stay tuned and have a nice *early* week-end!

Homemade Pop-Tarts

Pop-tarts. It was such a treat when I was young! I remember picking them up at the grocery store with my mom, imagining how good they will taste. The hot, melted filling, the crispy tart...

My boyfriend is French, so he never ate pop-tarts when he was young. I was in shock, and immediatly bought him a box. And you know what? He did not like that. Again, I was in shock! How could I possibly make him like pop-tarts? Because, you know, pop-tarts are awesome.

And then, I found this recipe, from Smitten Kitchen (if you don't know this blog, go take a look. One of the yummiest blog ever). And that was it, I knew I wanted to make these. How cooler (and yummier) can it be? Homemade pop-tarts?

So, here is his review : ridiculously DE-LI-CIOUS ! And to me, they taste like the real thing, but even better and with a dash of self-satisfaction! Plus, the recipe is very well written. Just do exactly what she says and you'll end up with tasty, yummy pop-tarts! Just... try these! You won't regret it!

Learning to spin on a drop spindle

Yesterday, I tried to spin some yarn with my drop-spindle. I bought it some months ago, but got frustrated and never really used it.

But, that was before yesterday. Me and my boyfriend went shopping and we stopped by Indigo, a big library store. And, to my very own knitter/sewer/crafter delight, I ran into the fullest shelves of knitting/sewing/crafting books! I could have past the entire afternoon there, looking at books, flipping pages and dreaming about the things I could make. And then I found this book:

Sorry... Amazon picture

Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont shows with great pictures and detailled "how-to" how to start to spin yarn with your spindle. What I thought was super sweet is when she says "If you have a few corkscrews and pigtails, don't panic. " Made me feel better!

She explains a very good technique for beginners : Park and Draft. I won't go into detailling this technique because I am a very beginner myself and don't want to make you do mistakes with my so-so explanation!

But! after a few tests, and some great explanations for a twitter friend, I kinda of got it, and here is the result! One 32.5 yards, mini-skein of handspun yarn!

It has been wasched and dried, but you can still see aaaalll the corkscrews and the piggitails... hum! I think I am on the right path, and I do know at least what I did wrong!

So, on this note, I'm going to go spin...

FO: Citron

Knitting laceweight yarn always scared me a bit. I had a bad experience when I just started knitting. I saw a beautiful shawl in a Knit.1 issue, and I thought that it would be a perfect gift for my mother-in-law. So I went, full of enthousiasm, to my LYS. I choose a yarn with the help of the sales person, I bought needles... I was more than ready! Well ... It was a complete disaster! The center stitch wasn't hem... really strait, I had forgotten way more than 1 yo... Long story short, my yarn slept in my stash for over a year.

But then, I was ready. I knitted easy stuff and complicated stuff, and I felt like I could knit with laceweight again. And this pattern, Citron by Hillary Smith Callis (ravelry link), was soooo lovely that I HAD to knit it! (and it fits with my late resolution of knitting only with stash yarn!)

The yarn, Alpaca with a Twist Fino, is like a dream. Soft, soothing color, incredible feel, wonderful drape... Alpaca is definitively one of my favorite fiber!

I consider this shawl a revolution, or a testimony of the modernization of knitting: innovative construction, modern feel, très wearable, fun detailing and texture, youngish vibe... It's not a surprise if 2700 yarnaholics have knitted this gem!

With this shawl, I conquered my fear of laceweight yarn. I would recommend it to anyone who's afraid of tiny tiny yarn and needles! At first, it doesn't look like anything (like any other shawl...) but when you get use to the tiniest of the yarn, you get amazed at the upcoming result : it's light, flowy, soft and incredibly satisfying!

I will shamelessly say that Citron is one of my favorite knitted project so far. I absolutely love it! And right in time for summer!

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day 1 : Starting out!

I'm so excited to participate to the KCBW! Today, the topic is : Starting out... how did this whole passion about knitting started?

I think that my story is relatively classic. I mean that, my mother taught me when I was younger. I knitted a scarf or a dishcloth, and that's it. I played music and painted and drew a lot when I was younger, but knitting wasn't a part of my creative development.

I just remember as I'm writting that I was absolutely fascinated by a crocheted granny squared blanket my grandmother made. It was big enough to fit on a queen size bed! The cream, brown and redish colors reminded my of the 60's. I used to dream that one day, I was going to be able to make a blanket and give it to my grandchild.

I also remember my mother, making small baby booties for my little nieces... and I just couldn't imagine how she could manage to make the knitting "turn" a 90 degres angle, or make it smaller or wider. I thought it looked sooo complicated!

So, deep inside, even if I wasn't knitting or crocheting, I was already attracted to fiber work.

Several years later, and after 2 or 3 moves inside Montréal, I found, in a cardboard box, some old acrylic yarn and a pair of 6mm needles. I remember that I wanted my mother to make me a scarf with this yarn, but she screwed up the pattern, frogged it and gave it to me.

At that point, I couldn't remember how to cast on, or knit or purl! I decided to give it a try, but I had forgotten everything. So I sat at my desk, turned on my computer and browsed the web. In a matter of minutes, everything came back to me. I knew how to cast on and knit!

With that old acrylic yarn, I made my boyfriend a 1x1 rib scarf (that he doesn't wear). I was really proud of myself, but I wanted more. I learn to make yarnovers, k2tog and k3tog (!!!), I made several scarves for my friends and collegue, I learned to do cables, hats, mittens, and then sweaters, lace... I just kept on knitting. I bought needles, yarn, I looked for harder and harder patterns... I discovered that acrylic isn't the only knittable fiber and that I absolutely LOVE alpaca. I remember the first "pricy" yarn I bought : some soft lime green Alpaca from Misti Alpaca. I made myself a earflap hat out of it, and I still wear it a lot!

Today, I couldn't imagine myself without knitting. It gave me so much! It really keeps me sane, even if I have 540 sts with laceweight yarn on my needles. I just can't stop knitting! It's been a 3 years passionated relationship, and I can't see the end of it. And it was a enjoyable experience to bring back to life the beginning!

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - April 26th to May 2nd

I don't have that much time on my hands, but I just couldn't resist. I love blogging, and sometimes finding good topics can be hard. I thought that joining The Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, hosted by Eskimini Knits, was a great opportunity to blog more and to post about something that I love : knitting!

The concept is really easy : each day of the week, bloggers will post simultaneously on the same topics, like yarns that we love, techniques, our personal goals... It's a great opportunity to share a little bit of yourself and your knowledge to the knitting community!

So stay tuned for tomorrow's post, because the KCBW starts tomorrow! First topic -> Starting out...