Birthday wishes, travels and fun...

It has been a while since I've had the chance to post. Lots has happened since Melissa's guest blog (which was fabulous...music and all). Lets get right to the meat of it.

Yes, I turned 40 this past week. My husband whisked me off to Edmonton where I had the pleasure of perusing River City Yarns. Cynthia, co-owner of the fabulous little shop in the heart of Edmonton, was kind enough to tour me around her wares, allow me to pet the softest cashmere and silk and even wind my purchases. I had to commemorate the event in pictures...

Here we see the entrance to the wonderful world of wool...

Next, after a few hours of perusing and petting, Cynthia is winding my hanks of Trekking Handart and Alpaca sock weight...

This is the ultimate corner of downtown Edmonton for any yarn enthusiast.

Today was back to business with the gals at knitting group. A bit of a surprise was brought to me. I must send much thanks, love and gratitude to the caring nature of the many new freinds I have become to depend upon each and every Sunday. Jan, Gale, Melissa, Mary, Jordan, Leanne, Alison (who was absent today, but will be back soon we hope), Pam and Kristen. I was surprised by a DQ icecream cake (an inspiration of Gale's caring heart), with a knitting sheep on its face, a new stitch dictionary (many thanks to a dear friend Jan) as well as a hank of "ornamental" yarn that, as I was told, just SCREAMED Bonnie on the shelf and begged to be gifted (so Melissa noted...:) ).


New sock knitters are being born each and ever time we meet. Here are samples of Leanne's expert stitching. She is becoming quite a sock maker...

Although these were being worked upon a few weeks, they still deserve mention. Kristin is back to the stuffed animal jag and is stitching up little kritters like crazy.

Jan was kind enough to bring in her electric contraption that she's adapted to splitting cotton. She demonstrated how regular weight handicrafter cotton becomes sock wieght in no time flat. This is pure genius!

We all know that the joy of knitting must be spread (for who can resist the urge to share the disease?) Certainly not Pam, who brought along her gentlemanly friend and began to teach him the tricks and arts of knit and purl. I do hope we see Kevin back again...

Melissa has been hard at it once again. She constructed the child's version of the Mother's Day Sock Pattern with Regia Bamboo sock yarn It is beautiful and Acadia will even wear them as the yarn is softer than the pot scrubber type Patons Kroy.

Just a note of business to finish off for this week:

Our next Knit and Knatter is Saskatoon Knitting Circle on the Move, where we endeavour to spread our love of all things yarn to the more remote areas of Saskatchewan. First up is Outlook, SK at CJs Java Joint (located just behind the BMO). Please let us know, via the yahoo group email listing, if you are interested in coming or need a ride with one of the others. Gale would like to meet any one that is going in her car at the Confederation mall at about noon. You can email her at rai dot cara at gmail dot com to make further arrangements.

Jan is stopping my house at around 1 pm and we shall meet the rest of the gang in outlook around 2pm. I have room for one more body. If you are interested please email me (zink dot bonnie at gmail dot com)

Don't forget to join us next Sunday as well...same time; same place as always.

Time off for Good Behaviour…

Happy Easter to all! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind indeed. We had company in between taking turns incubating and entertaining a few nasty flu bugs. Family and friends have been popping by to view the new oven (gotta love KitchenAid!). And the weather has finally warmed and snow has melted so the draw to venture out into the sunshine has certainly been strong. However, this does not mean that knitterly pursuits have been put on hold. Even though, Jeanette and I missed the last Saskatoon Knitting Circle's gathering, we certainly have been keeping busy.

When the flu bug hits and takes hold we barely have energy to accomplish life's obligations. But I always find the energy to pick up the needles and cast on. As always, I've a few projects on the go. My favourite and proudest endeavour is below: A spring time beauty entitled Titania, designed by Elizabeth Klett. I chose to knit with Lion Brand's Cotton Ease in the colour Lake. So this:

Turned into this:

Which, I'm desperately hoping, will turn into something resembling this:

Elizabeth is an up and coming knitwear designer who takes her cue from the words of Shakespeare himself. This lacy cotton top is named for the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her boudoir is described in these lines: "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows / Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows / Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine / With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine." Elizabeth definitely captured some of this magic and poetry in the design, which incorporates a simple scalloped lace pattern and a more challenging twisted vine pattern. The elbow-length sleeves are slightly flared, and the front piece incorporates a V-neck, making this top both pretty and easy to wear.

The front is now complete and the back is on the needles as we speak! I am very excited to complete this garment and aim to do just that by the time the Bard's birthday roles around (April 23).

Now onto other news: The Easter celebratory weekend is on the horizon. As many of you know, our little group of knitters has met EVERY Sunday since we all began to come together. This week, however, we will not be meeting due to the Easter Holiday. Mackenzie Coles is closing its doors and other venues just do not appeal to us. Therefore, it was decided that we would take a break from stitching in public. We will meet again on March 30, 2008 (same time and place). Here's hoping everyone enjoys their holiday.

I, for one, still plan to stitch. We will be spending 5 hours in the car on the way to visit my sister in Brooks, Alberta. Rest assured I will have the needles at the ready and hopefully complete the back of Titania by the time I reach my sister's door. The biggest question is: Have I packed enough knitting to keep me occupied. Let us see: 5 hours there (check, Titania ought to do it); two days of Easter and Family celebrations (well, Titania may be complete by this time…I ought to look around for another project…socks maybe); 5 hours back home (that decides it, I also need to pack extra yarn, the full set of Harmonies and some project books…for who can tell when inspiration strikes???) I just hope my knitting bag is big enough to hold it all

Now for the oven: It is a True Convection oven made by KitchenAid (check out link for full specs and particulars). I have been baking up a storm. I spent two full days baking (I only knit a few rows) when it first arrived. The oven is shiny, has beautiful sing song "I'm done" chimes, has a user friendly convection conversion setting, an auto light that illuminates the gleaming inside when the door is open, is equipped with an auto shut off option and self cleaning. Okay, am I wrong here, or does this appliance come with more benefits than a husband? Oh yes, I almost forgot, it has blinky lights and a touch pad…much fun will be had. I love my new oven.

Well folks that is it for now. Until next we meet, happy stitching.

Next Knit and Knatter

Sunday March 30, 2008

2 pm

MacKenzie Cole's Coffee

Saskatoon, SK

For more information you can email me at zink.bonnie@gmail.com

This week was a very busy week in my universe. But the one bright spot was meeting up with new friends. We held a mini S'n'B at the regular place and time. Since Melissa was kind enough to host an "Escape the Super Bowl Mania" potluck S'n'B at her home, those of us who couldn't quite make it out decided to meet up for a shortened more compressed Knit and Knatter. I'm hoping that Melissa will also be kind enough to update the world on the Potluck S'n'B through her own Live Journal blog. Keep checking for updates.

Gale, Jan, Jeannie, Mary and I had a great time updating each other on the states of our projects and the goings ons in our worlds since last we met. With deadlines looming some our knitting time has been drastically reduced. However, we were able to progress quite nicely on other projects.

The Pirate Booty Bag remains to be a work in progress. Socks are flying off the needles and baby items are being produced at lightening speed, with hopes of finishing on time for the impending arrival of the bundles of joy. Mary is near completion on the Baby Surprise Jacket and My Presto Chango sweater is just about complete. Jan is hard at work on some beautiful "Snowflake" socks and the shrug keeps making an appearance.


So what have we been up to for the past week. The Harmonies have been hard at work! The lustre has not worn, the novelty remains fresh and the joy they provide cannot be described within the confines of our language. The beauty and quality speaks for itself. My first Harmony sock is entitled JayWalker (which I found on Ravelry). The zig zag patter is created by a series of increases and decreases across the patterning rows. Other than that, this sock is formed by using your favourite sock recipe. Sometimes I marvel at how the simplest things can be so interesting and pleasing to the eye.

Due to the lure of the socks, my other inaugural Harmony project, Double Play Raglan Cardigan from the Top Down Sweater Book, by Doreen Marquart, has not received much attention. However, rest assured, it won't reside in the WIP basket for long and will soon be growing by the stitch as the JayWalker sock and Presto Chango projects are completed. For now it is perfectly happy to be resting upon the Harmonies.


Speaking of the Harmonies and their beauty...I've discovered a new addiction this week. Let me first say that the beauty of the Harmonies do not deserve to be dulled. My collection of stitch markers consists of little plastic rings that rest upon the needles. Although they are practical and serve their station in life well, they do not seem right on the Harmonies. For beauty deserves beauty, right? What does a self respecting crafter do?

Why we search for something better, we journey to the land of inspiration and then we set to work. After hours of reviewing knitting catalouges and the internet and seeing the numerous options out there, I finally found some beaded stitch markers that would certainly compliment the beauty of the Harmonies. However, they were quite pricey (a set of 6 cost anywhere from $20.00 to $40.00!) Well, my pockets are not that deep.

So, I searched some more and found a number of tutorials on how to create this knitterly notions on my own. I found an excellent site, created by a GUY knitter , Michael Cook, (I knew they were out there!) who takes us through the process step by step in a practical manner. This is what I came up with! the pink hearts and shoes are my own hommage to Breast Cancer Research and the hearts are in honour of upcoming St. Valentine's Day. I'm sure the coming weeks will see more postings and pictures showing off my daughter's creativity and my ingenuity in learning a new trick of the trade.

A small trip to Dollarama, Walmart and a quick perusal of Michael's offerings set my daughter and I up with the tools and supplies to make hundreds of little beauties, and it cost much less than $40.00!

While searching for the Stitch Marker tutorials, I found a gem of an adornment that provides both beauty and practicality. I came across a Row Counter Beaded Bracelet and just had to give it a go too. These knitterly notions work like an Abacus (by pushing beads back and forth to keep track of competed rows, stitches or repeats). While beading up my new treasures, it occurred to me that the Bracelet and Markers could match a set of hand beaded earrings too! The possibilities are endless. A set could be made to match the yarn of the project. They could be created and given to knitterly friends as gifts. Their construction would certainly provide hours of entertainment and a creative outlet for the children of the house. Yes, beading has now been added to my repertoire of addictions. Trust me, if I can accomplish this, so can you. And I do hope all of you give the beading a go and create your own treasures...doesn't your knitting deserve to feel pretty too?

So that's the update for this week. We hope to see everyone next week at:

MacKenzie Cole's Coffee
Corner of Gray Avenue and Central Avenue (Sutherland)
Saskatoon, SK
Sunday February 10, 2008
2 pm

New friends, new stitchers, warm coffee...what more could you ask for from a Sunday afternoon?

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks in my world. The one staple in my world has been our weekly S'n'B. The members of the Saskatoon Knitting Circle have been busy stitching up a storm and it is my pleasure to show them off here. We've discovered new friends, ogled new knitterly notions and even encouraged future yarn addicted enablers. As always, we have had a wonderful time Knitting and Nattering away the afternoons.

First up is the introduction and welcoming of our two newest gal pals. Acadia, Melissa's daughter, joined us on Sunday January 20, 2008 for an afternoon of discovery. She took to the needles like a pro. Gale encouraged and mentored her through a few rows and in no time at all, Acadia was masterfully completing rows on her rows. Melissa reported that her love of the craft remains strong. Acadia is becoming quite a dedicated little stitcher - so much so that she awoke at 5am one morning, turned on Treehouse TV and quietly knitted away. Apparently, the completed project (of which we are not sure of its name yet) will be gifted to Gale.

Next is Summer. On this cold and blustery day the addition of Summer to our little gathering was a joy. She is an 11 year aspiring stitcher (walking in her Grandmother Jan's stitching footsteps) who brightened our afternoon and learned a knitterly trick or two to apply to the construction of her very first scarf. We all have faith that Summer will become an expert knitter who will soon be stitching up her own socks and avoid the urge to appropriate her Grandmas hand crafted tootsie warmers.

Progress has been made. After weeks of lamenting over the dullness of knitting with gray, Melissa finally finished her Mother's socks. The colourway is quite pleasing to those of us who didn't have to knit with it day in and day out. Congrats, Melissa, on finishing the project. A round of applause to you.

Next on the needles is the Pirate Booty Bag. Gale is making progress and almost ready to begin the skulls. It is coming along nicely and has been dubbed her S'n'B meeting bag. It has received some attention and contention. Gale is desperately trying to decide whether or not to frog it and begin anew. She's unsure as to its finished size (whether it will be big enough) and whether the stitch markers are in the right place. Good luck, Gale, here's hoping the booty bag avoids the frog pond.

Our good friend, Kristen, has been a busy crocheter. She's been stitching up nine patches and granny squares into blankets. They are turning out to be highly coveted items in her world. She'd quite like to keep the purple one, but her Mom is giving strong hints that it needs to go live with her upon completion. Good luck, Kristen. I have the same issue in my knitterly world with sweaters. I make them and my Mom and Sister tend to steal them - NO they don't borrow, they are not gifted, they just mysteriously disappear out of my closet. A number of my afghans are surprisingly adorning the beds and couches in my sister's home too. Hmmmm.....is this an epidemic?

New friends are always nice to have at the meetings and today we formed a new friendship with a fellow knitter. A big welcome to Mary. An environmental researcher who has taken a liking to stitching, Mary joined us for the first time today. She was trying to decipher EZs Baby Surprise Jacket. So any of you out there who have tried it or completed it or even wish to try it, come and join us and let us discover together!

So what's on my needles these days? Did we mention needles? Oh I think we did. Now to the really exciting news. As most of you know my husband gifted me a set of the highly coveted Harmony needles by KnitPicks. Let me just take a moment to pet the needles....mmmm....smoothly goodness - I'm okay now. They are truly beautiful, a joy to work with, wonderful to look at, satisfying to pet and love and drool over! I am a lucky gal. Let us all take a moment and pay homage to the Knitting Goddess for allowing them to come and live with me :)
The cables are supple and forgiving. They have little to no memory, which make them a joy to work with. The wood of the tips and the sock needles (yes I have both...commence drooling again) are smooth and forgiving with just enough "grab" to keep the stitches from slipping off the end of the needles. I simply don't know how I did it before Harmony, for now that Harmony has come to my world, I shan't (if at all possible) knit with anything again. I shall pledge to love the Harmony, protect the Harmony, enjoy the Harmony and encourage and enable all others to partake in Harmony.
So now that my episode is complete, let me tell you what the Harmonies are hard at work on. First, I have cast on the Double Play Raglan Cardigan from the book entitled Top Down Sweaters: Knit to Fit from Top to Bottom by Doreen L. Marquart. This is my first experiment with this construction type and I must admit I am enjoying it.



Of course, the Harmony sock needles are getting a work out too. I've cast on the Jaywalker sock (found on ravelry.com - if you are not signed up for a membership yet I highly recommend you get in the queue and if you are a member I can be found as theknittinggodde - feel free to add me as your friend).
Last but not least is my Bobble Sock. I came up with this little cutey by flipping through my favourite stitch dictionary and combining it with my favourite sock recipe. Very quick to stitch up, very easy and nice and cozy on these blustery days.

Travelling SnB

This past weekend marked another successful SnB for the Saskatoon Knitting Circle. Jan and Gale livened up MacKenzie Coles Coffee with their stitching and laughing while other members (like Jeanette and myself) were there in spirit.

My nephew marked another milestone in his life...he turned 18. So Jeanette and I travelled off to Brooks, Alberta to celebrate his coming of age. Yes, we took our stitching with us. I was busy handing out a number of handmade gifts. Michael loved his Saskatchewan Rough Rider inspired afghan. Michael is now a man, but still needs to keep warm and agreed this is the perfect gift.




















Jennifer Kent-Thistle coveted her Hermione inspired winter ensemble and other hand made items came to rest under Shannon's Christmas tree. Jennifer's favourite colour is red, which makes this ensemble perfect for her. She looks just like Hermione in Prisoner of Azkaban!



















On our trip home (a 5 1/2 drive) Jeanette decided to give stitching in the car a try. She chose eyelash yarn and created a simple yet beautiful scarf. By the time we arrived back in Saskatoon, she had completed just beyond the 1/2 way mark. Quite the knitter she is becoming. She has already suffered startitis and Second Mitt Syndrome. She's knitting almost everywhere and every chance she gets. My next mission is to get her hooked on socks. I just may need the Knitting Circle's help with this one as she is not all that keen on starting with the DPNs.





















This past week saw the completion of one more Xmas item. The list is now shortening, much to my relief. This Hermione hat and Fetcher set worked up well with Red Heart Acrylic. Since the recipient is a teen it needs to be washable, so Red Heart in Burgandy is the perfect medium.

I now have another Hermione hat on the needles for myself! Yes, I do knit the occasional item for myself but tend to do it last. With all the chill and snow around these days it is time for me to update my own winter ensemble. I plan to stitch up a pair of mittens to match the hat and am using the Red Heart Aran Fleck yarn (a creamy natural colour blended with flecks of other yarns to mimick the look of real wool - great for an Aran knit sit like the one above).

That's all the updates for this week. On Sunday December 08, 2007 at 2 pm we will all reconvene our group at MacKenzie Coles Coffee here in Saskatoon. I can't wait to catch up with the girls, meet some new members and enjoy the coffee.

Alpaca's R Us!

Exciting news! This past weekend saw the marking of my parents' 40th Anniversary! So to commemorate the occasion my Dad decided to buy an Alpaca for my Mom's anniversary present. We are so very excited! Fibre at our fingertips, literally! Al the Alpaca (no said my parents were very creative with the naming of beasts) is quite happy in his new and, I have it on good authority, that he's eagre to share his warm and wooly coat with the knitter in our family (okay this is mostly me although others have also given it a go).

Although the picture above is not our Al, it is a great one to show the warm and wooly content of their fibre. I am so excited about this new member of our family. However, I shall have to wait patiently until next spring when he will be ready to sheer and then a little while longer while the fibre is cleaned and spun and ready to knit up into some wonderful creation. It is touted as being one of the warmest, softest and silkiest fibres known to knitters. Added bonus: they are just so darn CUTE!

Anyone out there who has any experience with Alpaca fibre, drop me a line. I am eager to learn all I can about the care of Alpacas, processing of their fibre and knitting with the fine yarn produced. I'm looking forward to learning all there is to know about this member of the camelid family and maybe writing it up into an intriguing article some day.

Happy knitting!

S&B

I hope the past couple weeks have seen much success in attaining your knitterly goals. As you know last week was sparse in attendance, due to Thanksgiving celebrations (we can be forgiven for this one digression). However, the needles will be hard at work this Sunday October 14th.

McKenzie Coles Coffee (Gray and Central in Sunny Saskatoon) will be our venue and it is my hope that we fill the joint with the sounds of clicking, laughter and give their regulars something to stare at once again. Grown women finding amusement with 2 pointy sticks and some string! Who would have thought?

Currently on my needles is a sweater for my daughter who has complained about being cold at school (those darn drafty halls of academia!) What better excuse to pick up some new yarn and a new pattern? With the help of my trusty knitting machine (to accomplish the miles of stockinette stitch that makes up the back of the cardigan) I hope to have the beast finished by Xmas. It is accented with cables on either side of the zipper and the hood as well as extra long cuffs to roll up for that added fashionable accent. I've chosen a demure purple wool blend (by Patons).

The hats are done! Whew! The slipper socks are done (double whew! whew!) with the help of the knitting machine. I was able to knit up 3 pairs today. (picture forthcoming and the picture of the hats needs updating as well, but you get the picture!) This means that the Christmas giving list is getting shorter and shorter and I just might avoid the "IT" process this season. (Yeah right! Okay! I chose this denial state as there is still 70+ days until the fateful day).

I missed you guys last week as the non-knitters thought it prudent that I attend family celebrations out of town (go figure!). It still astounds me that many people on this planet still do not fully appreciate the benefits of fibre and refuse to give the soft fluffy "kitties" the proper respect!

So until Sunday October 14 at 2 pm I wish you all happy knitting!!!!