Fun Knits

Teddy Bear Pinwheel

2011-10-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of requests for this pattern so here it is

Pinwheel Teddy Bear Sweater

Small amount of Worsted Weight yarn in 3 colours. I used elann Peruvian Highland Wool

A – Bisque
B – Irish Moss
C - Spiced Wine

5.5 mm ( US 9) double pointed needles.

5.5 mm (US 9) circular needles 40 cm and 60 cm (16” ).

Stitch marker.

2 stitch holders.

Scrap yarn.
Gauge: 18 st. and 24 rows = 10cm / 4" on 5.5mm (US 9) needles.

Directions:
Using 5.5mm double-pointed needles and first colour (natural) cast on 8 st. Place 2 sts. on the 1st needle, 4 sts on the 2nd needle, and 2 sts on the 3rd needle.

R1: Join in a round being careful not to twist the stitches. Knit into the front and the back of each stitch -16 st. on round, mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move this up every round.

R2 and all even number rounds: Knit.

R3: yo, K2repeat to end of round, (6 sts on 1st needle; 12 sts on 2nd needle; 6 sts on 3rd needle).

R5: K3 yo, repeat to end of round. (8 sts on 1st needle; 16 sts on 2nd needle; 8 sts on 3rd needle).

R7: K4 yo, repeat to end of round. (10 sts on 1st needle; 20 sts on 2nd needle; 10 sts on 3rd needle).

R9: K5 yo, repeat to end of round. (12 sts on 1st needle; 24 sts on 2nd needle; 12 sts on 3rd needle). Change second colour B (Sage) on round 9.

Change to circular needles when you need to.

Continue increasing in this manner, changing colour every 9 rounds.
Continue until you have 9 st. between increases.

Next Round: knit the first set of 10 stitches, place the second set of 10 stitches on a holder, cast on 10 stitches using a provisional cast on - see below for provisional cast on instructions (this will be the sleeve later), continue knitting 4 more sets of 10 stitches , slip the next 10 stitches on a holder, cast on 10 stitches using a provisional cast on, knit the last 10 stitches.

Continue in pattern increasing and changing colour every 9th round until you have 15 stitches in each section.

Provisional cast on:
Using a crochet hook, a knitting needle, and a contrasting colour yarn, make a slip knot.

Put the crochet hook through the slip knot and hold in front of needle.

Bring yarn around the needle, from left over top of needle behind the needle then over the hook and make a stitch (the yarn around the needle is the stitch).

Repeat this until 10 stitches on the needle.

These stitches will become the other half of the armhole when needed and you continue knitting on these for the round sweater.
The Edge:

Change to colour B and knit 1 round

Next round, Knit into the front and back of every st.

Next round purl

Cast off
Sleeves:
With colour B and 5.5mm double pointed needles, pick up the 10 stitches from each side of the armhole (20 sts for each sleeve). Place a marker at the beginning of the round. Knit 10 rounds

Next round, Knit into the front and back of every st.

Next round purl

Cast off.
Sew in the ends.

What Next

2011-05-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of people ask me what will I do next. The answer is I don't know. It has been a little over a month since we closed the store. It took us 2 weeks to move out of the store and clean it ready for the next tenant and then the twins were born. That was a big event. So I haven't had much time to think about What next. For now I am going to get my yard looking good, knit and weave for all of my grand kids and enjoy the summer off. One of the reasons We closed the store was I realized I hadn't had a holiday except yarn shows in 6 years so I think I will take a long overdue holiday this summer.
I miss the store a bit and I am left with the world's largest stash, which I may use up if I live to be 180.
The one thing I don't understand and I have heard other people who retire say this too " I don't know how I had time to work"

Twins arrived

2011-04-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Robert Allan Mackie

Hannah Adrian Mackie

Zyan William Zamisky

Meika Layne Shaflik and her new puppy Rocky

So sorry I am late with this post - the twins arrived safely on April 19 mid afternoon. They were each 6 pounds and 19" long. They are very sweet. There names are Hannah Adrain and Robert Allan Mackie. They stayed in hospital for a few days to get the feeding sorted out and now are home, happy, healthy and gaining weight. I didn't get near as much time with them as wanted to but will see them soon again.
Above are pictures of all our grandchildren. I feel so blessed.

Fun Knits is closed and 1 last sale

2011-04-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

We closed the store last night for good. The sale went amazing and I think every knitter on Quadra has enough yarn to do them a while.
We are heading to Naniamo today for one last show. The Vancouver Island Weavers and Spinners are having a retreat this weekend in Naniamo at the Grand Hotel - 4898 Rutherford Road - There will be 4 vendors selling at the market and it is open to the public on Saturday afternoon 10 - 12 and 1-3. Everything in our booth will be 50% off. We still have lots of sock yarn, undyed yarn, a few philospher Sweater kits and some Louet sweater kits. Some books, needles and notions. Lots of Briggs and Little, Tempo and Tempo chunky all 50% off
If you are in the area come by for some great yarn bargains.

Sale 50% off everything

2011-03-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Fibres West and sold loads of yarn but we have tons left. The store is still quite full and the selection is great. So shop early for the best selection. We are closing for good March 31.

Fibres West March 18-19

2011-03-15T19:39:00.001-07:00

We are packed up and heading to Fibres West in Abbotsford. We are taking a huge amount of yarn, fleece, books and notions with us. Everything will be 30% off for the weekend since we are closing the store. We have so much sock yarn to sell so if you knit socks you don't want to miss this sale.
Hope to see you there.
Since we have most of the store with us, we are closing the store until next Tuesday March 22. The sale will continue in store until it is all gone or the end of March.

Grand son #1 arrived

2011-03-06T12:21:00.001-08:00

This is the newest member to our family. Zyan William Zamisky born March 5 at 9:39am. He weighs 8 and 1/2 pounds and is 21 and 1/4 inches long. Isn't he just perfect. We are extremely pleased to announce that Mom, Dad, Meika and Zyan are all doing fine. I can't wait to spend some quality time with this little guy. I think he looks a lot like his Dad.
Now we are awaiting the twins safe arrive in late April or early May. Nothing like spring babies.

Fun Knits is Closing

2011-03-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Linda and I have decided we are both retiring from selling yarn. We have had fun over the last few years but know it is time to move on. We are having a great sale in store.

Sale 30 % off everything - some yarns as much as 50% off

All of the product will be taken off the internet as it will be too hard to manage accurate inventory counts. For internet customers please call the store for purchases 1-250-285-275. We will throw in a bonus for all orders over $75 - free shipping.

This month we are going to Fibres West March 18 -19 so the store will be closed while we are away as we will be taking most of the stock with us. We will be closed March 16- 20. This will be a great sale at Fibres West so if you are planning to attend don't miss our booth. 30 -50% off.

So come in or phone soon for best selection as the yarn will sell quickly at these prices.

As for the Sally Melville retreat Sept 29 - Oct 2 . This is still happening and we look forward to seeing all of you who are coming. We do still have a few spaces left in this retreat.

Tea Towel Exchange on Ravelry

2011-02-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

I participated in a tea towel exchnge on Ravelry. I made 7 towels and sent 6 of them to Sandra who organized this for Jane Stafford. Then I received 6 tea towels plus the one of my own I kept. So I know have 7 great tea towels. This was a fun exchange and I learned a lot about weaving as usual.

The towels I wove were tartan.

Yarn Kabobs Anyone

2011-01-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

So what do you do with stray needles and yarn laying around and you don't know how to knit very well. Meika my 5 year old grand daughter has a solution. She made yarn kabobs. I thought I would share this so if anyone is really bored and tired of knitting they could try this. She had a great time making them

Meika proudly showing her 2 finished yarn kabobs

Meika making yarn kabobs

4 finished yarn kabobs

Very Fun Baby Knitting

2011-01-13T13:07:00.001-08:00

I am having a lot of fun knitting baby sweaters. I knit this little sweater using a free pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple. I knit with 10 different colours of Malabrigo worsted yarn in random Fair Isle that I made up as I knit. This sweater is for Megan and Zach's baby who is due early March. We don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl but this sweater will suit either sex. The little store teddy bear is modelling it for the pictures. The close up pictures of the patterns show the colour more accurate.

Next I will knit sweaters for the twins a boy and girl. I talked to my son last night so I got an idea of what they would like for sweaters.

Store Winter Hours

2011-01-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

Linda and I decided that we will have winter hours for the store. It is cold,dark and even snowy today so we think these hours will be great for us and for our customers. More knitting time.
So until end of March we will be open
Tues - 10 - 4 - opening at the usual time to accomodate the spinners group
Wed - Sat 11 - 4pm
Shelley

Pink Ocean

2011-01-07T14:06:00.004-08:00

Finished my pink ocean ripple wrap, and I do so love it. Sweatermaker Island Hues Lace, my own pattern (free on our website). Used about 575 metres, for a finished length of 72 inches after blocking.

A New Year and some New Knitting

2011-01-04T15:07:00.004-08:00

Do you make resolutions? I don't make sweeping resolutions as a general rule, but when it comes to knitting I do have some goals for this year.

1. Freeform knitting. I am hugely inspired by Jane Thornley, and would like to complete some freeform knitting this year.

2. Knit a sweater for myself. Both of my guys have gotten sweaters in the last year, it's my turn for a nice new sweater.

3. A pair of socks a month. I was inspired by the Yarn Harlot's self-imposed sock club in 2010, and will be trying something similar (although I may not have 12 pairs worth of sock yarn in my stash). I always give my mum socks at Christmas, and it would be great to have some pairs already put aside.

4. Finish my blanket! Again, both of my guys have blankets that I knitted, and I have been working on mine for two years. Mr. Kate even had the audacity to mention he might be due for a new one!

In the meantime, I am continuing to knit up a storm, currently working on fingerless mitts (found a great free pattern from Ravelry - Camp Out Fingerless Mitts), the first pair of 2011 socks and my Ocean Ripple in Pink. I so love Sweatermaker Island Hues Lace!

What are your goals in knitting/fibre this year?

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T20:38:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from Linda, Deb, Kate, Susan and myself. We are going to be closed all next week to reopen Jan 4. so we can all spend time with our families and I can start knitting for all of my new grandbabies. We found out last week the twins are a boy and a girl. We had a nice Christmas here and more to come as family arrive home.

Here is a cute picture of Pumpkin on her first Christmas. I put a bow on her this morning and she has proudly wore it all day. Isn't she sweet.

Huge Boxing Day Sale at Fun Knits before Christmas

2010-12-19T08:42:00.001-08:00

Linda and I thought for a long time how we could best say Merry Christmas to all of our customers and what a better way than with Boxing Day sale before Christmas. So here are the details of our sale.
Our Boxing Day Sale Dec 21 - 24.

The entire store will be 10% off. All worsted weight and bulky yarn and fleece will be 30% off, including amazing yarns like Noro, Malabrigo and Lopi. All novelty yarn 40% off. We have discontinued yarn and fleece on for 50 % off. Come early for the best selection.
For more information email or call 250-285-2751.
We aren't posting this sale to the internet store as our program can't deal with multi % , but will happily honour the sale to all phone customers, just call 250-285-2751. Don't forget orders over $50. have free shipping. So a phone call to the store is nearly the same as shopping in person.

Our holiday hours will be open Dec 21 – 24 10 am - 5 pm and then we are closing until Jan 4, 2011.

Fun with Cables

2010-12-10T10:25:00.004-08:00

I am really into cables right now. I designed this scarf called Fun Reversible Cables. It turned out great. I knit it with Galway 100% wool, forest green. It is really fun to knit and goes quite quickly because of the changing cable rows. I designed it so it would flair out at the bottom and lay flat and then around the neck it would be narrower with just rib rows. It is very comfortable around the neck and everyone who has tried it on loves how it feels.
It is warm and stays in place. Has all the properties of a good looking functional scarf.

This scarf goes well with the Variations on a Theme Fetching Hat that is another free pattern just below the scarf. To complete the set you could knit the Fetching fingerless mitts that are so popular.
I knit this scarf for a friend but after Christmas I am knitting this for myself in red Malabrigo. It takes 1 1/2 skein so you would have enough with 2 skeins for the hat or mitts. You would probably need a 3rd for the entire set. The scarf only took a few days to knit so you have time to knit this for a Christmas present for someone or yourself.

My Variations

2010-12-05T10:15:00.003-08:00

I couldn't resist Shelley's new pattern, Variations on a Theme (pdf link). I didn't have a worsted that I wanted to use, so I pulled out a skein of Eco Wool. This is a DK 100% wool yarn. Because of the thinner yarn I cast on 10 stitches more. The resulting hat is a perfect fit (although it won't be for me).

Great pattern - I think the headband is up next!

Hats hats hats

2010-12-02T14:58:00.002-08:00

I have been having fun knitting hats the last few days. With our sale all week of worsted weight yarns I have been inspired to design some hats.

Roll Brim Diaginal Lace Hat in Galway Paint

The first Roll Brim Diagonal Lace Hat is on our free pattern page and is a hat I designed for with Noro yarn but it looks great in Galway Paint. Galway paint has the subtle colour change within one colour range and looks great in this hat.

The second hat pattern called Variations on a Theme which is also available on the web site and is designed to go with Fetching fingerless gloves. I have made several pair of these and have always wanted a matching hat. So here it is. I knit this with Galway. I am knitting the matching Headband with Green Galway and will post a picture once it is complete.

Variation on a Theme - Fetching Hat knit in Galway

Today's sale yarn is Hayfield Aran a great huge ball (400gr) would make great hats scarves and mitts for the entire family with just one ball.

Did you notice we added another special - Free shipping to all orders over $50. for the month od December. A great time to stock up.

Anniversary Sale !!!!

2010-11-27T08:11:00.001-08:00

Starting Tuesday Nov 30 Fun Knits is having a sale. This is to celebrate several anniversaries. It is Fun Knits Blogs 6th year here is the 1st post. The store opened Jan 2005. We moved to our new location and opened Nov 30 2006, The other anniversary is Linda and I became official partners a year ago 2009. I realize looking back at blog post that I never even blogged about that. ( I was totally burned out). Linda has saved Fun Knits. I was quite exhausted running the store and a Group home for special needs people and ready to quite the store when along came Linda. We talked about it for a while and she worked at the store for a few months and became invaluable. Now a year later after our official partnership I couldn't do the store without her, she is the best partner I could have imagined. She does all the things I do very poorly like the book keeping and so much else. I think we have a great partnership - Thanks Linda - Even this sale was her idea. So join us in celebrating our years of Fun Knits and hope of many more to come.

We are having a sale all next week. Each day there is a different yarn on sale for 25% off. This is for web orders and in store sales as well. Each sale will go for 24 hours starting at 10 a.m. one day till 10 a.m. the next.

The sale starts Tuesday, November 30th with Galway Paint. Great 100% wool and felts beautifully. Wednesday, Dec 1st is Tempo Worsted - lots of colours. Great for children’s sweaters as it can be thrown in the washer and dryer. Thursday, Dec 2nd is Hayfield Aran weight yarn. Friday, Dec 3rd is Briggs & Little Soft Spun. Great yarn from Canada. Sales finishes up on Sat, Dec 4th with beautiful Galway worsted weight - solids and heathers. Don’t miss this great sale for last minute Christmas presents or get a jump on yarn for your 2011 winter projects.

This is too cute

2010-11-20T22:25:00.001-08:00

Today I was working away at the store and my family came in. Meika had a surprise for me, an early birthday present. Look what it was. The sweetest little kitten I have ever seen. Meika named her Pumpkin. She is as sweet as she looks. In the past year at our house we have lost 3 cats and a dog so it was time for a new kitten. Christmas will be very fun with this little playful kitten around.

Me getting my new kitten

Pink Froth

2010-11-17T10:52:00.003-08:00

I picked up this pink ball of mohair/silk blend at the store in the summer, knowing it would be perfect for my sister-in-law who loves pink. The yarn is Alessandra Filati Super Kid, and it is a lace-weight, 70% mohair 30% silk yarn. I knit the scarf on size 6mm needles to get a really airy feel.

I managed to use all but about 1.5 metres of the 212 metre skein, so it was the perfect amount for a scarf - a very pretty product for not a lot of price (love lace weight yarn for economical knitting).

I love the final product, even though knitting with mohair really does make me itchy. Dratted sensitive skin! I know my sister-in-law will love it.

Spring Retreat cancelled

2010-11-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

We have decided to cancel the spring retreat at the end of April. We didn't have a guest presenter anyways. Linda and I both felt with my 3 new grand babies all due March and April I would be a little busy. Sorry if this is dissapointing for anyone but the fall retreat with Sally Melville is Sept 29 - Oct 2 so mark your calendars and keep that weekend free. More details on this retreat in the next few weeks. I just know it will be a great retreat.

I am busily weaving for Christmas presents right now, and once Christmas is over I will start weaving baby blankets.
I have also been knitting lots of socks. I spent a lot of time in hospital with my sister before she died and got several pairs ( yes I said pairs) of socks finished.
After Christmas I need to make 2 more baby sheep sweaters and hats. I am just waiting for the next ultra sound of the twins to see if they are boys, girls or 1 of each.

A Sad Post

2010-11-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

Many of you who know me, know my sister Judy has been battling a brain tumor for the last 8 years. She passed away yesterday peacefully. Judy used to love knitting scarves. She was the best customer of novelty yarn I think we ever had. She was 54 only 13 months younger than me. I will sure miss her but I am glad she isn't suffering anymore.

Spinning Retreat

2010-10-28T08:07:00.001-07:00

The fun never ends at Fun Knits. This year we were invited to be the vendor for the North Island Spinning retreat held at Kingfisher Spa. It was so much fun. We spent the entire time there selling fibre spinning and eating fabulous food. Lynne Anderson from Knitopia in White Rock came and gave a wonderful demonsration on spinning on various spindles. It was so wonderful and inspiring I bought a set of Russian spindles. Four of us bought these spindle sets and spent a lot of one morning leaarning how to work them. It is quite tricky but we all managed. Lynne also gifted me a wonderful little support spindle for spinning cotton. I love using it. It was great to get back to spinning as I haven't done much in the last year. Below are the pictures I took at the retreat. There was about 30 people there and lots of yarn was produced in the 2 days we were there.

Lynne teaching how to use many forms of spindles.

Linda plying her first handspun with the help of Vyvyan

We set up shop in the middle of the room.

My new Russian Spindle set and cashmere fibre

Even the spiders were in the spinning mood at Kingfisher

Maiwa Workshop

2010-10-18T08:54:00.002-07:00

As many of you know I am learning to weave and I have taken several workshops with Jane Stafford but this workshop was the ultimate. I learned so much I don't know where to begin sharing this experience. Firstly the location. The Maiwa loft on Granville Island. We were in this room surrounded by one of a kind, hand woven, hand dyed, sewn, quilted fabric, wonderful wooden book cases full of every imaginable book on every form of fibre art, Trinkets - wooden block stamps, leather bags. It really set the mood for the course. There were 12 students and 12 looms in this room. It was fantastic to say the least.

Little displays of stuff everywhere you looked

We were surrounded by amazing fabric

Bookcases full of books from around the world about everything fibre

More trinkets

We spent a lot of time every morning examing fabulous weaving to see how they did it. This was so much fun

Finding your Zen
2/16 cotton 24 epi. 24ppi
this was an exercize in fine tuning our weaving

We learned how to make Double weave fabric with a horizontal join, Cording, Double width fabric, Fringe on 4 sides with an inlay and interior fringe, Denting with Elastic silk and Finding your Zen.

All of these are woven on 4 shaft table looms. We all wove samples of each of these weave structures.

I still have the fringe one on my loom to do at home as I didn't have time to finish it there.

For non weavers reading this post epi means ends per inch (the amount of ends of yarn on the loom in an inch) and ppi means picks per inch ( the amount of you weave in an inch).

Denting with Silk Elastic
12g Bamboo 20 epi, 20 ppi

Double width
2/18 Zephyr wool and silk
16epi. 16 ppi on each layer

Cording
2/60 silk
40epi, 40 ppi
My sample is 36 ppi

DoubleWeave horizontal join
12 g bamboo
24 epi, 24 ppi on each layer

Hand-dyed Yarn makes me Happy

2010-10-13T14:02:00.002-07:00

Seriously, dyeing yarn makes me very happy. I have finished my striped socks from the yarn I dyed in the summer, and I love them! The yarn is super comfy (80% merino, 20% nylon) knit up, and the colours make me giggle. Now that I've mastered the stripe - who knows what's next?!

Babies this Spring

2010-10-10T15:30:00.002-07:00

Remember a few blog posts ago I knit the baby sheep sweater for my new grand baby coming in the spring. A few weeks ago my son and his wife announced they were having a baby in May, so that makes 2 babies coming this spring. We were very excited about this and then last weekend I found out there will be 3 babies this spring. My son and his wife are expecting TWINS. Now my Mom has retired from knitting so I quickly phoned her and told her she is out of retirement cause I need help. That is a lot of babies to knit for. I plan to knit 2 more baby sheep sweaters a few hats and socks for each of them and weave them each a blanket. Wow this is so exciting.

We will have 4 Grandkids come spring.
In other news I cast on my Venus Rising sweater last weekend. I am knitting it with EY my favourite colours( purple, burgundy and pink) I will post pictures when I get a chance.
This week I am off to a workshop by Jane Stafford - Weaving in the Maiwa Tradition- I can't wait.
Shelley

Here is the first picture of the twins. We don't have a picture of Megan and Zach's baby yet.

Retreat Sunday Oct 3

2010-10-03T22:26:00.001-07:00

(This is Shelley's post, with help from Kate at home to upload the pictures.)

The project for this retreat - the teddy bear sweater version of Lucy Neatby's Venus Rising Sweater.

Samples of Lucy Neatby's projects

Soaking up the knitting information!

HI Everyone from the retreat. This is an amazing retreat. I have been a knitter for about 50 years now, yes I started very young!! and I learned more this weekend than I have ever learned about knitting. Even simple things like counting your rows. Lucy has an amazing knowledge of knitting and design. Her approach to knitting and her descriptions of the family of stitches ex - the parent stitches and the grand parent stitches, the public and the private side of the knitting and many mores descriptions that make the knitting come alive and make you want to treat your knitting with much more respect.

We have many comments from retreat participants and lots of pictures to share with you but first this is what Lucy had to say:

I'm writing this whilst listening to the Pacific waves lapping on the shores of Quadra Island (just off Campbell River on Vancouver Island). Shelley and Linda, the Fun Knits team, are hosting a delightful knitting camp at Tsa-Kwa-Luten lodge.
I've just returned from an eye-popping show and tell. It's always a joy to see the fruits of the needles of ardent knitters. Many,various and breathtaking would be my brief description, but hardly does the pieces justice (but forgive me, it is late in the day). Thus far we've had two challenging days of wrestling with copious short rows, long circular needles and triple strand Navaho knitting, which is all now beginning to yield results in the form of a multitude of scantily dressed teddies, now clad in at least the first half of their future Venus Rising Cardigans.We are hoping for decency in apparel tomorrow!

Happy stitches and stitchers all.
Lucy Neatby

Here are some comments from other retreat participants:

It's wonderful
Jery

Great day wonderful retreat
Peg

Blow out
Jean

Totally wonderful
Donna

Better than I ever imagined
Jane

What a great retreat - super place, super people, super knitting
Thanks Fun Knits
Mary

I have forged a new relationship with my stitches I want only happy stitches, no strangulation, or internation incidents, with their australian cousins down under - Yes you really needed to be here to understand this comment. It is fabulous.
Linda C

The retreat is amazing and so intense. My head is full of great knitting ideas and new approaches to old knitting ideas.
I will always strive for contented stitches.
Shelley

Baby Sheep Sweater

2010-09-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

This is a really cute sweater I couldn't resist making when I found out I was going to be a grandma again. I thought the grand child of a yarn shop owner should be dressed in a soft superwash pure merino wool sweater with little sheep on it. It also has little sheep buttons. The designer of the pattern Jennifer Little allowed us to use her great pattern for the kits. We are selling these kits in the store and on the web site. They are selling fast.

One neat feature about this little sweater is knit on 5.5mm needles and with chunky yarn this will fit a 5 year old very nicely. Meka really wanted a sweater just like her new baby brother or sisters sweater. Meika's sweater needs another arm and button bands then it is finished. I will post a picture of her wearing it. You will have to wait until March to see the new arrival wearing his or her sweater. For now the store bear is wearing it.

Important Retreat Info

2010-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

A quick note from Shelley regarding the fall retreat:

Due to a situation beyond our control the retreat dates with Lucy Neatby have changed by one day. It will now be from Oct 1 – 4 instead of Sept 30 – Oct 3. I realize this may cause problems for some of you. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you and will do what we can to help you attend these dates. Please contact us to confirm your attendance for these dates.

This will be a great retreat and we are looking forward to seeing you.

Stripes

2010-08-12T22:22:00.003-07:00

Got my sock yarn dyed today, after untangling a mess I created trying to make a really long skein. All sorted now, and drying on the rack.

Koolaid Fun

2010-08-10T21:47:00.003-07:00

Had a great time dyeing yarn today ....

..... here's a sneak peak at my silk lace weight.

Picking Blackberries

2010-07-29T09:57:00.004-07:00

About a year ago I was at the store when a new order of Araucania Ranco Multy came in. The colourways were all stunning, but one in particular caught my attention. It reminded me immediately of blackberry picking, as it has all the dark and light purples in it that your fingers get stained with when picking.

I brought it home with me that day, and kept it in the back of my mind as I looked at various small shawls. Finally it told me it wanted to be a Multnomah shawl (a free pattern from Hello Knitty), and I accommodated it.

This is a really quick knit, and fun to work. It took just under one skein (about 20 yards left over) which was perfect. I think it will get a lot of wear in the fall.

Sun Hat

2010-07-25T20:20:00.004-07:00

This week on the store website we are featuring Shelley's cotton sun hat pattern on the front page. While I was camping recently I decided to knit one. I could only find a 3.75 mm needle, instead of the recommended 3.5 mm, but as I am tight knitter I wasn't too concerned. My yarn of choice was opal Petticoat cotton.

I omitted the yarn over row after the picot hem, but otherwise followed directions as written. Love the pattern, and the hat is really cute. This was a quick, fun knit!

Warping in the warm summer breeze....

2010-06-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I went over to Shelley's a couple of days ago and there she was ~ barefoot and blissed-out, in her front yard, wrapping some strands of heather green yarn around her warping mill. She looked calm and happy, doing what she does best -- anything with fibre!

And this is what she saw when she lifted her eyes from the wool. Hard to see it from this photo but the ocean was in her view, and it was lovely, as was the weather ~ sweet and summery.

More wedding pictures

2010-06-20T22:13:00.001-07:00

Bill a very proud Dad walked Megan the beautiful bride down the path.

Zachary and his party arrive by canoe

Meika and Shanti were very cute flower girls, they threw rose petal on the path. Shanti is wearing a small version of the silk woven shawl and Meika is wearing fairy wings.

They exchanged lovely vows they wrote themselves

The happy lovely married couple.

Zachary and Megan Zamisky

June 19,2010

May you both always be this happy

Perfect Wedding

2010-06-20T13:41:00.001-07:00

The weather was perfect, the wedding was perfect and beautiful. Being the Mother of the bride I did shed a few tears. What a great day. Here are some early pictures. These are all sent to cell phones the better pictures will come later. Megan is wearing the silk shawl I wove her in some of the pictures.

Store is closing early on Saturday June 19

2010-06-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

The store is closing early on Saturday June 19 for a very good reason. We will be closing at 1 pm on Sat as my daughter is getting married and we are all going to the wedding. I will show pictures after the wedding it should be great. Pray for good weather for us as it is an outdoor wedding.
I wove my Megan, Meika and theMaid of honor silk and rayon shawl for the wedding and will show pictures after the wedding.
Shelley

Cotton Stretch

2010-06-02T13:57:00.003-07:00

We posted about the store's Cotton Stretch yarns on the website this week, and it got me to thinking about the last of a skein I have hanging around, left over from my socks.

To me, the stretch of this yarn lends itself perfectly to a headband. I'm just playing around with stitches and needle size, thinking I'll graft it at the ends.

I definitely love this yarn (Patons Stretch Sock in kelp colourway) for the slight stretch on it, and it should be perfect for a headband, so I'll keep you posted how this turns out.

Spinning Workshop

2010-05-15T11:25:00.003-07:00

We are pleased to pass along some information for a great spinning workshop this spring. Here are the details:

Exotic Fibres Spinning Workshop
May 30 & June 6, 2010
Instructor: Vyvyan Dorsett

2 Day workshop - 5 hrs each day for 2 Sundays

10am to 4pm

Fee: $100 plus $25 for materials

Learn to spin Cultivated Silk tops, Silk bell, Silk Hankie, Soy

Silk, Bamboo, Cashmere and Cotton

Bring a Bag Lunch

Workshop location on Quadra

Materials List:

Materials fee $25.00

Spinning wheel and oil

Scarf for lap (silk if possible in a dark shade with no pattern)

3 empty bobbins

lazy kate
You can contact the store for more information, and can pay Vyvyan at the workshop.

Leftover Pi

2010-05-10T19:08:00.003-07:00

I've wanted to knit a Pi shawl for a few years now. I've done a baby blanket based on the Pi formula (double your stitches every time you double your rows) but it wasn't lace.

The 10 shawls in 2010 challenge seemed like a good time to make my Pi. I've picked some stitch patterns from my stitch books that work in the round and fit into the stitch counts and row counts of each section. I'm loving working on it!

The yarn is left over from three other projects. I'm using Sweatermaker Lace, Luxury Baby Alpaca Lace and Fiddlesticks Lace. I thought the colours went together well, and together they give me about 1,000 metres. I may come up a little short and need to get some lace weight in a complementary colour for an edging, but at least I will have used up these three lone skeins in my cupboard!

HI - From the retreat

2010-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

We are having fun and learning more than my brain can hold - Shelley

What a great teacher she made every minute count. It has been great group - Mary Tanti

A wonderful weekend - full of talented knitters, great food and spectacular scenery! - Marilyn Welsh

As a first time attendee to the retreat Margaret says - sure learned lots and have great swatches and notes to take home - We had 3 Margarets at this retreat

What wonderful students! I've never met a more pleasant bunch of knitters. They were willing to be challenged and work outside their comfort zone, and to share their expertise with each other. Shelley and Linda were welcoming supportive hosts. The Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge is such a great place to stay--friendly staff, quiet rooms, and beautiful expansive views. I only wish there'd been time to wander on the beach! I can't wait to come back. - Margaret Radcliffe

It was a great weekend. Learned so much this weekend - it was amazing. Super instruction and hand outs and a fun fun group to spend time with. It was the best so far - they only get better each time.
Linda

Everyone else is too busy having fun to write. Pictures will be posted later. You gotta check out the bears!

We should be in for a good weekend

2010-04-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

We are all set for the retreat. Margaret is on her way. She is spending a few days visiting in Vancouver before the retreat. Look at the weather forecast. I can't wait to sit on the deck at Tsa Kwa Luten in the sun knitting.
See you there

Adventure to Quadra

2010-04-06T08:24:00.001-07:00

This week a trip to Quadra will be different. The ferry is not operating for a week. They are building us a new ferry dock and ramp. In order to do this they aren't operating the ferry this week. So if any off shore knitters want to come to Quadra this week they can come by Water Taxi. It is a short walk to the store from the dock but it is uphill so if anyone wants a ride from the dock just call the store 250-285-2751 and we will put up the back in 5 min sign and pick you up.

Campbell River - Quadra Island (Quathiaski Cove)
Water Taxi - crossing time approximately 5 minutes
Service to operate in 6:00 am to 10:00 pm window, leaving Campbell River approximately every 20 minutes
No unaccompanied children under 12 years of age permitted.

This is the notice from the BC Ferry page. We plan to just stay on Quadra all week and knit - weave - spin.

Fibres West

2010-03-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

I spent all evening setting up the booth at Fibres West in Abbotsford. Here is a sneak peak' I actually remembered to take pictures this time. Should be a fun show. Lots of great booth here.

Citron

2010-03-15T10:22:00.002-07:00

Couldn't resist picking up some Zauberball Crazy the last time I was over at the shop, and knew what I wanted to make with it. Citron, a pattern from the Winter 2009 Knitty, is a great pattern (albeit with a lot of stockinette). It creates a wearable half circle shawl, perfect for spring.

The zauberball wasn't quite enough yarn, so I finished the ruffle with an orange Kroy sock yarn in my stash that my son helped me pick out.

Partners.....

2010-03-09T19:12:00.001-08:00

Aren't they totally adorable!!!!!

Shelley and Linda, the dynamic co-owners of the infamous Fun Knits Yarn Shop, snuggled cozily together in the gorgeous tartan blanket Shelley designed and wove (she's a blanket-making maniac of late) and gave to Linda "because the colours are so Linda".

t-towels continued.....

2010-03-06T09:44:00.001-08:00

I decided to add the red, and trade the robin's egg for a lime. The 5.5 yard warp for t-towels is now on my Saori loom. I'll try to do some weaving tonight after work and post some pics.

The colours are more vibrant than this which will show better when the weft is in.
Happy sunny Saturday to all.

Where inspiration dwells......

2010-03-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

I was walking along the beach at Rebecca Spit a couple of mornings ago and chanced upon some garbage strewn here and there by the edge of the shore. I picked up several pieces and then suddenly noticed that the colours in the collection of trash I held in my right hand would make a gorgeous t-towel. At home I pulled the colours off the shelves stocked with cotton cones and here is what I have:

Question: I'm wondering about the addition of red and white - any thoughts?

I'll try to get it warped and wound onto the loom in the next couple of days. And, in case you're wondering - the orange came from a can of orange crush, the pink and green from a kid's toy, the blue was inspired by plastic shreds of fishing equipment, and the robin's egg came from the cellophane wrapping off a cigarette package. Not a nice sight but there appears to be an upside to everything.

Glorious cotton/boucle and a little recycled sari silk...

2010-03-02T14:49:00.005-08:00

I'm crazy in love with our new 2/8 cotton and 2/8 cotton boucle - the colours are enchanting and although there are a variety of uses for cotton (handknit lacy summer shawls, crochet, dish/wash cloths, etc.) as a weaver, I'm over the moon about stocking this particular weaving staple. I purchased just about every colour we brought in and here's what they look like in my studio.

First I wove a t-towel, sett at 12 epi with 276 ends, using 2/8 cotton in ivory, black, rust, and brown for the warp, and brown cotton boucle for the weft.

And then I wove a sample scarf as I'm making a tunic and wanted to see how the fabric would turn out. The sett was 12 epi with 72 ends using 2/8 cotton and cotton boucle in an emerald green and purple -- the green stood out too much for my liking (perhaps an olive would have worked better) so I chose another set of colours for my tunic warp. The weft is Mango Moon recycled sari silk (one of my first purchases at Fun Knits when Shelley was in the little cottage) and pash-mohair combined into one strand.

And here is the new warp for the tunic fabric. It's a combination of a reddish burgandy and a reddish purple (Sorry Shell, can't remember the names - I'll look for them at work on Thursday).

The weft is the Mango Moon recycled sari silk twined with purple pash-mohair.

And here it is directly off the loom unwashed.....

I'll machine wash and dry it a little, and let you know how it feels.

Happy knitting/weaving/spinning and whatever else gives you joy and meaning.

Watching and Celebrating

2010-02-23T11:32:00.004-08:00

I'm having great fun watching the Olympics right now. I love the winter sports!

I'm also enjoying wearing my Celebration 2010 scarf, designed by Shelley and knit from our exclusive Lorna's Laces colourway, Olympic.

This scarf is so warm, and can be worn in many different styles. It was tricky to get started, but once I found a rhythm it was completed quickly.

Thanks for a great pattern, Shelley!

Even the customers want to work.......

2010-02-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

Here is Lisa visiting (and weighing/bagging raw fleece at Fun Knits) from Moosejaw, Saskatchewan. Shelley and I grabbed her up for duty when we realized how much she LOVES anything related to fibre. Her fingers were magnetically drawn to holding and pulling the sheared sheep fleece from New Zealand. She was wonderful!!!!

Thanks Lisa :)

Finished and fabulous

2010-02-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

I love the blanket. I twisted all of the fringes and fulled it in the washing machine now it is hanging over the ironing board drying. It only shrunk 2" each way and it softened up so much. It is light as a feather but will be really warm. It turned out better than I hoped. Now I can't wait for it to dry. I will bring it to spinning on Tuesday for anyone wanting to see it in person.

Here is a close up of the fabric
Now I wonder what colour blanket to do next

It's off the loom

2010-02-13T21:46:00.002-08:00

I wove all day today and with some help from Deb got the blanket off the loom. It is certainly bright. Tonight I am twisting the fringes and then tomorrow it will get gently fulled in the washer. Want to see some pictures.

I just love it and can't wait to get it finished. Fresh off the loom it is 48" wide and 72" long plus an 8" fringe on each end. It will shrink a bit in the wash. I will post a picture of it once it is fulled.

Kauni Blanket in progress

2010-02-12T09:16:00.002-08:00

Yesterday Meika came over to help me weave the Kauni Blanket. She loves weaving but has never helped me on the big loom before. She usually weaves on my 16" Louet Kombo table Loom

First we wound the bobbins. Then we got started weaving with a filler yarn to fill up the space before the real weaving starts. Meika crawls under the loom and works the foot pedal with her hands. I told her when to change sheds - After about 3 times she announced

" Grandma you don't need to tell me anymore. I get it" and she did get it.

Then she threw the shuttle and beat the weaving. I had to help her a bit with the beating so she didn't make it too tight. Once I showed her she got that too.

She needs to grow quite a bit to operate the loom from the seat but she tried. The last picture is about 15" woven on the blanket. It is quite vibrant as you can see. I would expect no less from Kauni EQ. You may notice the weave is fairly loose but this will change when the blanket is fulled. I love it and hope to finish it today and twist the fringes tomorrow then full it. It is 52" wide on the loom and I am weaving 7 ft so fulled it will likely be about 48" X 6 1/2 ft.

Weaving with Kauni

2010-02-11T08:34:00.006-08:00

This Kauni EQ yarn is going to become a woven blanket. Ever since I started getting Kauni yarn I always wanted to weave a blanket with it. I imagined this great rainbow colourful blanket that would be so soft and warm but light. Finally I will get to see this. I wound the warp and it was amazing. Since there are 434 ends in the blanket I had to wind the warp in 2 sections. They looked great chained up and waiting to go on the loom.
I finished getting the warp on the loom late last night so today I want to play hookey from all of my commitments and weave. I can't even imagine how neat this will look. I think it will make little checks when I weave it. I am not sure. I will post once the weaving starts and show how it looks.

My loom is a 60" Gertrude Woolhouse loom.

Celebration 2010 scarf

2010-02-02T08:19:00.003-08:00

We are having a fun knit a long over at Ravelry in the Fun Knits group. We are knitting the 2010 Celebration scarf. This is a fun and frustrating scarf to knit but will be very worth the effort when done. Brenda has finished her scarf already. She is the first to finish by the way and I guess she is extra motivated as she is attending the Olympics in person - lucky her.

This scarf is knit with one of Fun Knits exclusive colour - Olympic from Lorna's Laces. We are purposely stacking the colours to make vertical stripes of the colours. This may sound easy but it isn't. This all depends on tension and needle size and your individual knitting.

I call this 3D knitting as it defiantely adds a new dimension to your knitting.

Weaving and learning with Jane Stafford

2010-01-27T18:36:00.006-08:00

Last week Shelley and I spent a few days on Salt Spring Island with Jane Stafford who was teaching three workshops on weaving. It was FANTASTIC in every way! Jane is an energetic, upbeat, fabulous teacher with a great sense of humour (and colour) who has been weaving for 32 years.

Jane with cotton.

Shelley and Jane.

A gorgeous mohair warp tied to another stunning mohair warp.

Showing us an easy way to tie on.

The cross - winding mohair onto the warping mill.

Shelley concentrating.

Jane pulling the end of the mohair warp and showing us there are no knots.

More beautiful mohair warps.

Cutting the fringe.

Shelley and I stayed at Green Acres Lakeside Cottages on St. Mary's Lake. Our cabin was sweet and the view was gorgeous. As well, we had a whole lot of fun together!

Me trying to take a photo of the two of us before we left.

Some samples of the weavings at Jane's studio.

We both came home with a wider, longer, deeper, passion for weaving.

A wonderful night to you all.

Irresistible

2010-01-22T15:33:00.003-08:00

Did you know that Fun Knits has three exclusive colourways of Lorna's Laces? We do and they are online!

The three colourways are Fun Knits, Quadra Island, and Olympic. I'm hoping Shelley will talk about the wonderful scarf we are all knitting out of the Olympic colourway, as it is her design and very clever.

I couldn't resist the Quadra Island colourway, and knitted up this lovely little cowl with it.

The cowl used less than one skein of yarn - and is lovely and warm. A great burst of colour in this grey weather!

You can see the Lorna's Laces colours here.

Keeping Warm

2010-01-03T14:24:00.005-08:00

I finished up my Christmas knitting on December 24th. I had been making Mr. Kate a neckwarmer, but could only do it as stealth knitting when he was at work. Luckily I cast off and sewed in the ends at 1:30 on the 24th. Phew!

This is a simple 2x2 neckwarmer, done in Koigu KFM, colourway 300. I cast on 120 stitches on a size 2mm and worked the 2x2 rib for about 7 inches. Then I slightly flared the neckline by k2,m1,p2,k2,p2 around. I then worked k3,p2,k2,p2 for about an inch, and then repeated the increase row on the other k2 section. Then I worked k3,p2,k3,p2 for about one and a half inches and cast off in pattern. I used slightly less than half the skein in my estimation.

The flare at the bottom helps the neckwarmer sit snug under a jacket, which is important when you are riding a motorcycle, as the wind will quickly blow anything not tucked in!

The fit turned out great, and Mr. Kate is all ready to start riding in the early spring.

Malabrigo Quickie

2009-12-17T19:07:00.002-08:00

I love Malabrigo Lace with a strong passion that is perhaps a little odd (although probably not to any of you).

A quick lace scarf was in order for a good friend this holiday. Two thirds of a skein of Malabrigo Lace in emerald blue was begging to be used, so I decided on the lovely drop stitch scarf I have used before.

Just blocked it today, and I am very pleased with it. I think my friend will be as well!

Quick Gifts

2009-12-07T10:36:00.003-08:00

At this time of year it is all about the quick knitting!

I managed to get both of these sets out of one skein of Asland Trends Bariloche - beautiful yarn.

Both sets knit up in a day.

I've got more of this yarn in a different colourway to make a big scarf for me ... but it will have to wait as there is more holiday knitting to do.

How is your holiday crafting going?

Evolving Cables Gloves.

2009-11-29T21:33:00.005-08:00

These gloves have a great cable pattern that is evolving by one row each time you do a cable row. In order to keep track of this easily I used my new knitting tool that I know can't live without. We got these Row Counter Plus in the store last week and I knew it was just the item to use when knitting these fingerless gloves. To use this counter I merely used the #1 counter for the rows I was knitting between cables and the #2 was used for the number of times I cabled. If anyone has knit cables before you know it can be hard to tell where the cable row goes if you loose count. With this counter I simply click the big button on the counter when I start every row. For example on the 2nd cables on my pattern I have 4 rows before I cable. So when I start the first stitch of the row after the cable I clear the rows to "0" then I click the big button and it will say "1" and I repeat this until "4" then I know I should cable again. I change to the #2 setting and change the number from "3" to "4" click the buttons until I am back on the #1 setting and start counting to 5 rows for the next cable.

I never got lost , confused or made a mistake on the next glove I knit.

This tool would be great for keeping track of increases, or decreases that are so many rows apart. I can think of a lot more uses for it too

The Row Counter Plus normally retails for $35 US but we are selling it for $20.95 this week.

They will sell quick so don't miss this deal

This is the description of the counter by the manufacturer

Here is how the Row Counter Plus works:
The unit has 3 counters on the display. Each counter is numbered (1, 2 or 3). In the picture above, the large "10" count is the #1 counter and is in the "active zone" (the zone which the user is currently counting) and this number can be added to or subtracted from. The other two counts (the "4" and the "2") are in the inactive zones. To move one of these numbers into the active zone, the user simply depresses the small button to the left of the large button in the upper center. This button "rotates" all three counts in a clockwise direction one position at a time. When the numbers are rotated one position, the number "2" comes into the active zone and the user can then add to or subtract from that number.
The user adds to the count in the active zone by depressing the large center button and subtracts by depressing the smaller center button.
The small button in the upper right is the Reset button which resets to 0 any number that is in the active zone when it is depressed. This button also turns off the electronic beep tone if it is held down for 3 seconds.
How is it actually used?
You could start counting ROWS with the number 1 counter. Let's say you have a repeat in your pattern every 10 rows. You start counting your rows with the #1 counter. When you reach 10 in the #1 counter, you ROTATE the numbers one position clockwise until the #3 counter comes into the active zone. This will be used as your REPEAT counter. You then add 1 to this counter meaning you have completed 1 repeat.
You then ROTATE the counters TWICE so that your #1 counter is back in the active zone. Since this will still have a count of 10 in the display, you RESET this number to 0 and then resume counting your rows again until all of your repeats are done.
The whole process goes very quickly once you learn the sequence which is not complex at all (it is actually harder to explain than it is to actually do it).

If I didn't already buy one of these it would definitely be on my Christmas wish list.

Hat toppers

2009-11-21T09:46:00.007-08:00

Sorry to take so long to get this last hat post up, I am sure anyone who is kntting this hat is just waiting for the toppers.

Your hat should look like this when it is time to make the top. You can just thread the yarn thru all of the stitches and pull tight and sew in your ends and have no toppers at all or you could have fun hat toppers.

You could make 3 I cords and braid them
You could divide the stitches and make 6 thinner I cords
I usually make all the I cord a different length and tie a knot in the end. The knot helps it hang nicer plus it looks neat. Then I tie a knot in all the I cords.

A few new things I tried with this hat

Spiral I cord by Lucy Neatby
on the 5 stitches on one needle.
Row 1: RS facing, K2 tog, K3, inc 1 Slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle. Do not turn the work; carry the working yarn across the back of the 5 sts.
Row 2: RS facing, P5. Slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle. Do not turn work; carry the working yarn across the back of the 5 sts.
Row 3: RS facing, K5. Slide the stitches to opposite end of the needle. Do not turn the work; carry the working yarn across the back of the 5 sts.
Repeat rows 1-3.
This can be made working every Row 3 in a contrasting color. Carry the unused yarn up the inside of the tube by wrapping the yarn traveling from the end of the row to the beginning around behind the yarn being carried up the tube.
Make 2 more

Another top that is fun to knit and even more fun to wear
are these swirly thingies for lack of a better name
You have 5 stitches on the needle but you will only knit on the first 2 stitches first
Knit 2 stitches together then do cable cast starting with this stitch

A You tube video of this cast on
for 30 stitches or whatever you like
Row 1 – knit
Row 2 – knit into the front, the back and the front again of the same stitch. Repeat in every stitch. You are making 3 stitches from 1 stitch.
This will increase you stitches to 90 stitches if you cast on 30.
Row 3 -Cast off
When you get to the end of the cast off, knit this last stitch together with the next stitch on the needle then repeat the cast on and rows 1-3 for the next swirly thingy

You can also combine all of the above and make a very unique top. Once you are finished all your tops you can sew in your ends and use one of your ends on the top of the hat to close the hole at the top of the hat. Just thread your needle and sew this around the hole and pull the wool tight then sew in the ends.
The most important thing is to have fun with the hat. I would love to hear if you come up with different hat toppers so email me at
shelmack@telus.net

Now I leave you with a very cosy warm winter scene. The other night we had a huge storm here and we were very warm and cosy in the house while I was weaving a scarf using Noro Silk Garden Lite - thought I would share how cosy we all were. The cat is Sunset our neighbours cat who adopted us.

Earflap hat knitting in the round

2009-11-17T09:35:00.005-08:00

This first picture is how your hat will look after you knit a few rounds. The ribbing is only 5 rows long and is in between the earflaps. The ribbing helps the hat hold its shape well and not roll

My pomela is kindly modelling the 1/2 done earflap hat. He is a good model and sits quite still I hope no one eats it before the hat is done

Tomorrow we will do the decreases and make a few different tops for the hat

6 ply Earflap Hat Tutorial

2009-11-15T22:52:00.003-08:00

This is a fun hat to knit. You start by knitting 2 earflaps and then join them in the round to make the hat. The pattern is started at the I-cord. To make I-cord follow these simple directions (click on the pictures to make them bigger)

I-cord – on the double pointed needles knit your stitches then slip the stitches back to the top of the same needle and pull the wool behind the needle and knit the stitches again. Repeat this until the I-cord is the desired length. In the case of our hat we will knit the I-cord 8"

Once you have knit the I-cord you start the increases for the earfllap. There is one increase stitch at the end of each row. If you follow the pattern it tells how to do this. Once you have 28 stitches then knit 10 rows but still maintain the 3 garter stitches at the edges. These garter stitches help the earflaps lay flat and not roll.

You knit 2 earflaps. If you want them the same you will need to find the place in the yarn that is the same to start both earflaps. I prefer the earflaps to be different just for fun.

Once you have both earflaps knit you add on the extra stitches for the hat. I use an ordinary long tail cast on for this. You can use the tail of the earflap and then join another yarn for this.

You cast on 40 stitches then knit across the 2nd earflap and cast on 28 more. You will want to put these all onto a circular needle unless you are like me and love knitting on long double pointed needles. These are 10" Brittany Birch double pointed needles in the picture - yes we sell them in the store.

Anyways you join the stitches being very careful not to twist the stitches. To join them without twisting I always make sure all of the stitch bottoms are facing the floor before I knit my first stitch. Follow the pattern to knit the ribbing on the hat.

I will show pictures tomorrow of the joined stitches and the ribbing, the hat before decreases and the decresases. Next will be a variety of fun tops for your hat.

A Cloth to Wash With

2009-11-11T11:54:00.002-08:00

Finished my hempathy cloth, using Shelley's Waffle Weave Wash Cloth pattern.

The skein has enough left to knit another cloth, so I can make this a nice set for someone on the gift list!

A Fan and Feather Lace Tutorial

2009-11-08T17:41:00.003-08:00

A Fan and Feather Lace Tutorial

The fan and feather pattern is an old lace pattern also known as Old Shale. It is a very commonly used pattern and I am not sure who can take credit for inventing this pattern as I haven’t researched that. It is a simple lace pattern that can give amazing results when knit with patterned yarn or yarns that self stripe. The stripe will wave which gives an added bonus. Our scarves shown are done with both the self-striping yarn (Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn - below) the hand dyed mottled yarn (Sweatermaker Silk and Merino - above). The pattern is a simple multiple of 18 plus whatever stitches you want for the edges. In our case we have 72 stitches plus 3 on each edge for knit.
You can make the fan and feather pattern any width you choose by simply adding multiples of 18 for this particular pattern. Add 3 more patterns you get a shawl. Add 6 more pattern you get a blanket etc… Knit this in heavy yarn and big needles you get a heavy weight shawl with the pattern shown.

Cast on 78 stitches
Row 1: knit
Row 2: knit 3, purl to the last 3 stitches, knit 3
Row 3: knit 3, *k2tog 3 times, yo, k1 6 times, ssk 3 times,*
Row 4: knit

ssk –slip, slip, knit
k2 tog – knit 2 stitches together
yo – yarn over the needle

Repeat these 4 rows until your desired length.
Cast off and sew in your ends. Block lightly

A few tips – The purl row is always on a row when the wrong side of the knitting is facing you.
The 2nd knit row and the pattern row are done with the right side of the knitting facing you. This may help you not get lost until the pattern becomes obvious.

When knitting the fan and feather pattern you can simply choose to k2tog or ssk for all of your decreases. I choose to alternate ssk and k2 tog as I like the look much better. The ssk stitches make a left leaning slant and the k2tog make a right leaning slant to the finished stitch. This gives the garment more structure in my opinion. The slants of the decreases meet in the middle of the fan part of the pattern and this opens the pattern up and it lays flatter. It also emphasizes the middle of the fan.
Do a sample and try both ways to see which way you prefer.
Enjoy knitting the scarf.

Shelley

PS - Deb you can knit this I will help you

Wash With Me

2009-11-03T10:30:00.004-08:00

Have you seen Shelley's latest pattern? This lovely wash cloth is up on the website this week, and it is a great little pattern.

Of course, I couldn't resist casting on. I got the periwinkle colour of the Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy and cast on this week-end.

The drape of the cloth is really lovely. I did go down to a 3.5mm instead of a 3.75mm needle, but that's just the way I like it.

I can see a bunch of these cloths, each wrapped around a lovely bar of soap, as perfect little gifts.

Oh So Pretty ....

2009-10-15T10:27:00.003-07:00

My friend asked me to make something for a charity auction she is involved in, and I thought why not? I chose to make my own pattern, the Ocean Ripple Wrap (pdf link), only I halved it to make a leaner scarf (cast on 55 stitches instead of 90, which gives 6 pattern repeats instead of 12).

I used the fabulous Alpaca Baby Lace from Diamond Yarns (used less than a full skein to get a 63" scarf), and boy is it yummy. This scarf is as light as air yet warm. The yarn was a delight to knit with, no splitting, and I love the colour.

The only problem is .... it's so hard to give away!! Luckily I have some Malabrigo Lace in my stash that I think will be perfect ....

Retreat surprise

2009-10-13T09:43:00.003-07:00

While the retreat was taking place I was completely unaware that all of the women were making a gift for me. It started with a conversation Janet and I had about colours. I told her my favourite colours were blues, reds and burgundy. At the store on Friday night I was selling yarn and Janet bought some beautiful yarn in my colours so we laughed and I said wow those are my colours.

The weekend carried on and I never got a sense of something going on I didn't know about. So on Sunday night when I was presented with this beautiful shawl I was overwhelmed. What a wonderful surprise and a treasured gift for me. I will enjoy this shawl and think of everyone who made it while I wear it. It has a new home on my comfy knitting chair and when I get cold it will be handy. I love it.

The shawl was knit by 2 people at a time. It was cast on in the middle and they each knit on an end. It has lots of handspun yarn in it to accent the yarn and as a great keepsake and memory of this wonderful retreat.

I feel so honoured with this shawl

Thanks to everyone who participated - What a great surprise.

Shelley

Retreat Part 3 - Fashion Show

2009-10-11T20:59:00.002-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here is a slide show I made of our fashion show at the retreat. We had the fashion show on Saturday night and on Sunday night we had show and tell. This is when our skeleton's and spider webs were shown. We also talked about what rules we broke and new things we learned at this retreat.

This is the first slideshow I made so I think I hope it turned out.

Tomorrow I will blog about the big surprise I got at this retreat.

Retreat part 2

2009-10-08T09:33:00.003-07:00

On Saturday we got to work learning our new spinning and knitting techniques. These pictures show Lexi with her demo skein of yarn. Isn't it amazing. It was very soft.

Margie with her first batt.

The knitting class really enjoying playing with all that yarn

Catherine - who by the way had her 83 rd birthday at the retreat modeling a woven jacket made with recycle silk material. It is quite a work of art.

I will write about the fashion show this weekend and then I will share with you a wonderful surprise that I was given last weekend.

What a great retreat - Part 1

2009-10-05T21:52:00.006-07:00

This was the most fun weekend. We had fabulous weather 2 great teachers and more great food than should be legal to consume and a great group of women all with a passion for fibre arts. What a creative group. I have many pictures to share so I will do this in a few posts over the next few days.

Janet came over the night before the retreat started for pizza and to pick out yarn for her workshop. We spread it all out all over the living room to decide and took most of it. Too hard to decide so there was lots of colour choice for her workshops.

The next day everyone arrived and the retreat was on. I took the spinning workshops with Lexi and it was amazing. The pictures I show here is what Lexi calls a fibre sandwich - the next picture is what it looks like once thru the drum carder. Wow - well I was hooked right there. I spent the rest of the weekend learning new spinning techniques and making fibre batts. Then Lexi spun the batt and let the fibre dictate the spinning. She showed us how to make fabulous creative yarn.

Look at this batt - isn't it amazing.

More tomorrow

Beautiful Bariloche

2009-09-28T08:53:00.002-07:00

The new Aslantrends Bariloche is so nice! It is a very lofty yarn, almost a thick and thin but subtle enough not to change your gauge. It shows stitch definition well, is soft and comes in amazing colours.

I made an earwarmer in Sky Blue from my free pattern (on the website) and some wristers to match. The set is for a silent auction for a friend's son's class going to Quebec.

Setting the Vibe

2009-09-25T10:37:00.003-07:00

The sun was shining, colliding with the water and creating a million shards of light. While standing on the ferry, I noticed a little commotion off the bow. Too small to be whales, but certainly something playing in the water. Going out for a closer look, I saw two porpoises dart through the water to the left backside of the boat. No one else seemed to notice.

I walked to the back and looked out into the glittering water. There they were. Seven porpoises, jumping and diving and surfing in the wake of the ferry. No one else was there to see it so it felt like my own private show.

Such a sense of joy and being in the moment I felt watching them! Only one photo was in focus, I was too busy watching the porpoises to pay attention to what I was doing with the camera.

That's what I love about coming to Fun Knits, the journey itself is part of the adventure.

Kauni KAL

2009-09-14T07:52:00.001-07:00

As the fall weather is just around the corner we turn our thoughts to knitting for the holidays. What could be a better way to start than with a cuter than ever stocking?!

Knit Kauni With Us!

Here at Fun Knits we love Kauni. So much so that we want to do another Kauni knit along! We have chosen a pattern designed by Shelley (Fun Knits owner). The Christmas stocking is a fun knit, and only takes a small amount of two Kauni colours.

The pattern is available for purchase here; and for the month of September we are offering the pattern free with a purchase of Kauni yarn. As Shelley explains in the pattern notes, this stocking was done with EM and EK, but would also look great done in other colours (what are your Christmas decorating colours?), or even one colour such as EQ started at two different colour sections.

Happy Anniversary Spinners

2009-09-02T17:19:00.010-07:00

We just celebrated the second anniversary of our Tuesday Fun Knits Spinning group. Vyvyan, our original spinner/weaver/knitter/teacher extraordinaire, baked a scrumptious chocolate bundt cake, and Shelley and Linda took everyone out for pizza at the Lovin' Oven next door.

Below is a photo of the lovely Vyvyan wearing her handspun, handwoven (completed with handknit ribbing at the bottom), silk-lined vest. She's posing in front of several colourful rows of gorgeous sock yarn, including koigu, malabrigo and diamond footloose.

First, let me apologize for not hearing or retaining many of the details of everyone's first experience with handspun - it was a lively group with lots of laughter and talk.

Below are a few photos of the spinners....

Maria, myself and Carol with Roz and Linda talking in the background (Linda is a godsend - Shelley calls her ZP, short for zesty partner....go ahead and ask, the story's a good one).

Carol and Diane (If you can see her, Shelley is sitting quietly at the till.)

A vibrant Shelley proudly holding her first skein of handspun yarn. Thanks to Shelley for her inviting, creative spirit - she dreamed the spinner's group into a reality.

Maria holding her first handspun (the small white skein) which was so finely spun - almost threadlike. I think her hat is a brioche (sp?) pattern for which she used her handspun, hand-dyed yarn.

My first handspun using a fine shetland fibre - it was a wonderful experience.

Carol holds up the fisherman's sweater she knit for her husband with her first handspun - she's the one whose fingers seem to hypnotize the fibre into perfectly spun strands. Carol, you're wearing a hat, no doubt one that you handspun and knit but I didn't hear the details - looks great on you.

Our lovely Roz, holding her first handspun/handknitted items - she used Northern Lights for the gorgeous sweater in front. Roz has been knitting for over 50 years and produces so many perfectly beautiful knitted garments.

Here is Diane who lives on a boat with her husband (a beautiful boat - all dark wood and cozy spaces) that faces a forested shoreline and families of soaring eagles. She holds her first handspun which she wove into a beautiful pillow casing. Diane is a master weaver as well and creates exquisite tapestries, blankets and scarves.

Joy is our newest member - she was given an Indian Head Spinning Wheel for a wedding gift. Sharron seemed very interested in the workings of this wheel and attentively taught Joy about her new wheel and how to use it. Joy poses with her first handspun which she actually spun before she even knew how to use the wheel - amazing!

And here, Sharron and Diane talk about spinning alpaca fibre (I think) with her drop spindle. Sharron has been spinning for years and continuously offers invaluable fibre information and teaching tips to all of us. Check out her website to see her gorgeous weavings and quilts.

At noon we walked next door to the Lovin' Oven and sat down for more laughter and talk, delicious pizza, and Vyvyan's superbly delicious chocolate bundt cake. Happily, Marg joined us as well (on Shelley's left in the first photo) - she has been spinning, weaving and knitting for decades. Sorry Marg, I didn't see what you were working on but I'm sure it was beautiful.

I marvel at how inspiring it is to share time with so many wise, wonderful women -- all of us walking our own individual fibre paths and building community along the way.

Happy Anniversary Spinners.....

Lace Calls to Me

2009-08-22T14:30:00.005-07:00

I love to knit lace. It appeals to me, all those yarn overs and decreases leading up to this article of beauty. The final moment when you take the piece of the blocking mats ... magic!

The shawl I am currently working on is A Curved Shawl, from Victorian Lace Today. It is the first lace I have knit on all rows (as opposed to a purl back row). It is rewarding and fun to knit, although the rows are getting longer and longer!

The yarn is Fiddlesticks Zephyr laceweight, in the charcoal colourway. It is soft and shiny and perfect for this shawl.

What lace projects are on your needles?

Shawl Delights

2009-08-09T23:36:00.002-07:00

Sivia Harding's Harbour Lights shawl is such a delight to knit. The pattern is clear and easy to follow. Placing the beads with the crochet hook is simple, especially for a left-hander. And the finished product is gorgeous!

Luckily I'm a process knitter, so didn't mind too much giving this away to a good friend for her 40th birthday (of course, I had to try it out first).

Oh, and the Malabrigo sock yarn? To die for!

Dyeing Plant-Based Yarn

2009-07-28T09:38:00.002-07:00

Part 3 of the dyeing series is on the front page of the website this week. In it you will find information and pictures on dyeing plant-based yarns. A lot of fun!

The series will stay on the website on this page, so it can be referred to when needed.

Weaving!

2009-07-26T18:51:00.008-07:00

A quick post with a few pics.... and an apology for not blogging in so long. Kate has been tremendously loyal with posting updates, providing instruction and offering enjoyable, thoughtful commentary - thanks Kate.

I've been weaving more than knitting this past couple of months, and loving every second of it. Shelley has some gorgeous yarns for weaving. Below are two turquoise scarves made from a cotton/viscose warp, and a weft of Noro Silk Garden and Sweatermaker 100% wool.

Another Noro Silk Garden in rust tones.

As you know, Fun Knits carries some stunning Araucania yarns - I have bought several beautiful skeins of sock yarn that I am thrilled about, and for this particular weaving project I chose Araucania's varigated Patagonia Nature Cotton in greens, teals and navy. The scarf of wonderful - strong, crisp and sure of itself.

Last Thursday at Fun Knits I was dreaming of being wrapped in the softness of Araucania Quellon, a cotton/viscose combo that feels like velvet. I made a sample scarf that is so lovely I've decided to weave a vest with it too.

Below is a photo of Sharron, myself and Carol - weaving and spinning - at the Saturday Farmer's Market on Quadra Island. We are having a wonderful time together! Linda (If you've clicked on her name she's in the third photo down - Linda is an absolute treasure and a bookkeeping wizard.) came by this past Saturday and bought one of Carol's infamous baby surprise sweaters knitted up in a sweet assortment of pink cottons.

Wishing you all a lovely evening of happy knitting, weaving, dying, spinning and/or whatever else you fashion with your fibre.

Knitting in the Wild

2009-07-18T19:33:00.002-07:00

As a Knitter, I am never without a project (or two, or three, or, well, at least five). My family does a lot of camping, but I don't let that stop me. I pack my knitting according to where I think I will work on it.

Lace scarf with silk/cashmere yarn? That is for in the vehicle. Lace scarf with sock yarn? At the campsite during the daytime. Sock? In the backpack for the beach or some other place we might go.

Some people are concerned about the dirt of a campsite, and I am cautious. I pack all my projects into their own plastic zipper baggies, with the pattern, needles and anything else I might need.

The campfire ... really that is perfect knitting time. But there is the issue of the smell of smoke and the potential for sparks. This is not the place for knitting a precious sweater or shawl.

The perfect campfire knitting is that most humble of projects - the dishcloth. I love knitting them at the fire, as I don't need too much light and I don't mind if they smell of smoke, after all they are made to get washed!

Another tip for campfire knitting: I use a headlamp around my neck if I'm doing a project that I might need to look at. I don't keep it on my head, as it can be rather blinding to the person I turn towards when talking.

Proof that I know whereof I speak:

Knitting at the fire at San Josef Campground (North Vancouver Island).

Not Just For Drinking ....

2009-07-09T18:17:00.004-07:00

Oh I have been having fun!! Don't know if you saw it, but Shelley has Undyed Yarn on the website now. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing about dying yarn on the website -- so today I played around a little.

Here's a sneak peak.

My house smells wonderfully like kool-aid!

In the Red

2009-06-30T08:50:00.001-07:00

Check out the front page of the website this week - in honour of Canada Day we have featured our red yarns! It was great fun to go through the yarns and find the reds - it's quite a selection. Now, what to make .....

Cruising on the KAL

2009-06-26T15:15:00.003-07:00

I'm really enjoying knitting the Harbour Lights shawl as our KAL project for the summer.

The pattern is easy to read, and the beading is quite methodical and straight-forward. Plus I'm knitting with Malabrigo, (I'm using the Impressionist Sky colourway) on an Addi needle. It doesn't really get any better!

Victoria Fibre Fest

2009-06-22T08:52:00.006-07:00

We are back from the Victoria Fibrefest and had a very good time. We went down on Thursday and spent friday just shopping and looking around Victoria. It is such a nice city to visit. On Friday night we went to the fashion show and dinner. The fashion show was excellent. Lots of fibre talent. Some amazing item in the fashion show. Mary Tanti's Mobius Entralac scarf knit with Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. It is a work of art. Catherine wove this teal blouse from strips of fabric. She also knit the white and pink tank top to match the skirt from strips of fabric the same as the skirt was knit from. The green dress was a show stopper. It is done with felting and silk fusion. Marilyn if you read this can you add the designers name in the comments please. I forgot.
My Mom's Revontuli knit with Kauni EQ was well displayed in the fashion show.
On Saturday, I taught sock knitting. This went great but I only had 1 student. It was nice to just have a 1-1 time with this new sock knitter. She did a great job.
Saturday afternoon we shopped again then in the evening we had a Round table discussion. This was nice to just sit and chat with a few knitters about our favourite topic, knitting, and all fibre related things.

Sunday was the Knit Out at Saxe Point park. I am always nervous of the weather for this event. It is scary to subject $1000.'s worth of yarn to whatever weather might happen. We had rain for about 5 minutes just after we got set up and then sun the rest of the day. It got quite windy in the afternoon but that was OK. The rain is the real problem and it was brief. So lucky us. Lots of people came and bought yarn. I left a lot of Kauni and sock yarn especially in Victoria.

Here are some pictures of the event. The picture of the baby was very cute. She was just loving the Kauni and then decided she needed to take that ball home with her so she popped it in her stroller. I love to see the very young knitters to be.

Brenda wearing her lovely Kauni is shopping for a new sweaters worth of yarn. She bought EF for her next sweater. Our view for the day was pretty easy to take. It was a nice weekend and I had fun.

Ready, Set, Knit!

2009-06-18T08:25:00.003-07:00

Today is the official start of the Fun Knits Summer Lace Knit-along, with the Harbour Lights Shawl. We will be knitting through to July 31st, and I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's adventures (if you haven't yet joined in, you can find us chatting over at the Ravelry Fun Knits group - you need to join Ravelry to be able to join us over there).

Yesterday I wound my yarn (Malabrigo Sock Yarn "Impressionist Sky") and got all my supplies together. I am a zipper bag knitter - love having my project all together in a clear bag.

Let the knitting begin!

Pictures of the WWKIP Picnic

2009-06-16T16:05:00.004-07:00

Here are my pictures. What a wonderful day. There was an impromtu guitar lesson, lots of knitting and a Baby Surprise jacket figured out. Knitters of all ages were there. The kids built forts, swam, watched a magic show, ate and knit.

Knit in Public Day

2009-06-14T09:30:00.005-07:00

What a wonderful day Saturday was! The weather was perfect and Shelley managed to snag one of the best picnic sites on Rebecca Spit. About 12 knitters along with various family members (and dogs) came and went during the afternoon; enjoying great company, refreshments, watermelon, gorgeous scenery and beautiful music (thanks to Shelley's husband Bill).

And when you have this as your knitting location - it's hard not to enjoy yourself!

It was wonderful to have knitters of all ages, working on everything from baby sweaters to scarves to hats and shawls. Truly a great event, and hopefully the beginning of an annual tradition!

(I'm hoping Shelley will also post about the event, as she had more photos than I did.)

For the Love of Noro

2009-06-10T10:34:00.007-07:00

Oh I am smitten. I have been bitten by the Noro bug.

This scarf is called Wings of Desire (Ravelry link) and is a free pattern that was designed for the colour repeats in Noro. I used two skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite, colourway 2011. (You could totally use the Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn that Shelley has listed on the website. There are lots of other Noro yarns in the store as well, along with the Silk Garden Lite!) The scarf is a quick knit on big needles. You knit it in two sections and then graft at the neck, so that all the wings are going in an upward direction on either side.

I see more Noro in my future!

World Wide Knit in Public Day Event

2009-06-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

Fun Knits is celebrating World Wide Knit in Public Day with a picnic at Rebecca Spit, Quadra Island on Sat June 13th starting at 1pm.

All knitters are welcome. Bring your families, a picnic and your knitting. We will provide juice pop and watermelon. Come and enjoy the knitting fun.

Lets hope for great weather but if it is pouring rain we will knit in front of the store.

Hope all you local knitters can make this event. The distant members of this group can be with us in spirit and we will take pictures to share with you.

Want more information on World Wide Knit in Public Day? Click here!

Roz's knitting

2009-06-02T11:18:00.002-07:00

Roz came this morning for spinning group and she had some beautiful item's finished. The first is a sweater that is knit from her first handspun yarn. It is just beautiful. She spun the yarn from Northern Lights in colour Ocean waves. She spun the yarn so fine that she had to double the yarn to knit the sweater. Great sweater and I am sure she will got lots of wear out of it this winter.

The next finished item is a beautiful 100% alpaca shawl, knit from Baby Alpaca Lace weight in the Pi shawl from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac. Beautiful shawl. Well done Roz!!

Lace and a Summer KAL

2009-06-01T09:57:00.003-07:00

The month of June we are featuring lace on the Fun Knits website. Lots of yarn, some patterns and a variety of information will be up during the month, so be sure to check it out!

To celebrate all things lace, we are starting another knit-along. This time we are doing another shawl - Sivia Harding's Harbour Lights Shawl. This is a stunning shawl that was designed for last year's Knit Out in Victoria, which Shelley sadly missed. We have shawl kits in store, and will be getting them up online this week. The knit-along can be found in our Ravelry group.

Also coming up this month is Fibre Fest, in Victoria. Fun Knits is once again a major sponsor of the event, and we are looking forward to some great fibre fun!!

Stay tuned later this week for some information on World Wide Knit in Public Day ... be ready for a picnic!

Living in Paradise

2009-05-29T13:50:00.002-07:00

How many people get to go to a work meeting that starts this way?

And then in the meeting one person is spinning while you sit surrounded by yarn?

The store looks fabulous, if you haven't had a chance to see the new look you really should get over and check it out. It looks twice as big!

Cotton Knitting

2009-05-21T15:22:00.002-07:00

On the website this month we have been featuring cotton yarns and talking about knitting with cotton.

This week we have a cute pattern to share using cotton sock yarn, so be sure to check it out!

Fun Knits would like to introduce Sharron Hatelt's W.A.R.P.

2009-05-18T13:23:00.005-07:00

W.A.R.P. (Weavers' Action Revival Project) involves reviving the tradition of weaving, rejuvenating old looms, and reducing the stash of yarns into items that will benefit the community.

Some aspects of the project will be:

free handwoven scarves and blankets based on self-assessed need;

blankets and shawls for auction at community fundraisers;

as well as public weaving to encourage and enlighten folks about this wonderful craft.

The 2009 Quadra Island W.A.R.P. summer project will also include hand-spinning and knitted articles. We will set ourselves up at the Farmer's Market in Quathiaski Cove where items will either be given away, or if sold, all monies will be donated to charities on Quadra or Vancouver Island.

Pictured below is Sharron Hatelt of Adalia Fibre Arts Studio (standing happily beside her new Saori loom), the visionary founder of W.A.R.P.

Sharron is one of the spinning teachers at the Fun Knits Tuesday morning spinning group.

Carol (below with her hands clasped joyfully together) and I joined Sharron soon after she began W.A.R.P. Carol says, "Sharron is the kite, and we are the ribbons." The three of us (with help from supportive others including Barry, Sharron's husband, who bought this awesome red tent for the endeavor) brought equipment and fibre to the market and set ourselves up for the first time this past Saturday.

Carol brought her traveling wheel and spun in rhythmic beauty for pretty much the full four hours while I wove donated rainbow acrylic on the handloom, and Sharron wove an exquisite art piece on her Saori loom.

Shelley came by to visit us and donated several beautiful hand knitted hats.

Pictured below, Carol holds open the label we attach to the scarves and knitted items. On left, the label states that all monies collected will go to charities on Quadra or Vancouver Island. The right says, "Pay a little, pay a lot, pay what you want, pay what you got."

Sharron's inspiration to start this project comes from Travis Meinolf.

Here are two of Carol's adorable, hand-knitted Baby Surprise Jackets. She knit them with sock yarn.

The first sweater went to this sweet little heart of a boy, and the second went to one of our local doctors who spends many months of the year donating her time and medical skills to people in India.

The Farmer's Market happens every Saturday morning 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. from May 16th until sometime in early October.

Come and join us at the red tent.

We hope to see you there!

Sock Yarn Left Overs

2009-05-11T11:41:00.004-07:00

A friend asked me to put together some baby items for someone the other week. No time to make a blanket (my usual choice) so I did some bibs and a hat and socks. Then as I still had time, and some left over Opal 6ply, I made a baby cardigan.

This was put together from a couple of patterns, and then played with until I made it work. I had enough yarn left over to make this even after making a pair of women's size 10 socks! I love the big Opal 6ply skeins (this is the Flamingo colourway).

Shelley also has a cute design for some baby socks and a baby hat using left over sock yarn, check it out here (link is to a pdf file) or over on the side in the free patterns link.

Using up sock yarn left overs is just as fun as making the socks, I find. What do you like to do with yours?

Summer hours.....

2009-05-06T09:13:00.006-07:00

The store looks fabulous!!!!

Lots of re-opening energy at the Tues. morning spinning group. Folks walking by on the sidewalk kept peering through the windows to see what was going on. It was great.

Linda and Sharon at the back of the store.

As you can see, the storage room has not been organized yet.....

but the rest of the yarn shop looks awesome.

Relaxing on the couch with different forms of fibre - Sharon is knitting an accordian-style tea cozy in brown and blue (very cool), and Eloise is working on her beautiful needle point design.

Rachel and Roz

This little boy was looking at the spinners through the window, watching in fascination for about 5 minutes before venturing inside. Rachel and Roger gave a brief lesson on how to spin. The boy was 100% focused - it was wonderful.

The quiet after everyone left.

New summer hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.

A wonderful day to you all.