Confession...

Yes, I have a confession!  I now have a stash ;-)  I've resisted long enough but lately, I've been spoiled with a few sweet gifts ;-) plus the Tanis Year in Color Club 2012 that I can't quite keep up with ;-) plus a visit at the alpaga farm ;-)

First, there was an early birthday gift from Andi!

Then, on my birthday, Chantal really spoiled me with a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label Fingering Weight in color Thrills and a beautiful skein of Sephyra Life in color Grand'ma Pie:

 

I know what the first one will become (I have a good friend at work who is pregnant!)  and the second one will certainly become some beautiful socks!

Then the two last Tanis Year in Color Club 2012 haven't been knitted yet but they are beautiful:

The first one comes with a pattern from Jared Flood and the second one with one from Alana Dakos!  I really look forward to knit them!

Finally, I bought these two skeins of alpaga yarn from the Les Alpagas de la Petite Côte:

These will become a winter hat or mittens of course.  The color is natural and it is so so soft!

 

So all of this being said and shown, I'd better go back to my needles because there is a lot of work in the knitting area planned!

 

I hope you all having a wonderful weekend!  Thank you so much for visiting my blog! xx

FO: Andrea's Shawl

I bought a new camera yesterday!  Mine was broken and quite old I must say.  It's kind of difficult to get used to a new camera, but it's supposed to be twice as good so... ;-)

Here is my latest FO!  The yarn and the pattern was given to me by my good "tricopine"  (in French, it's a contraction of the words "knitting" and "friend") Andi from My Sister's Knitter.  Thank you so much Andi, I've really enjoyed working on that project!  You really made my day twice with those awesome gifts!

Really nice pattern, well written and very wearable in that color!

 

Pattern: Andrea's Shawl by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Malabrigo yarn sock

Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm (circular)

Color: Impressionist sky

Start to finish: January 2012 - November 2012

For: Me.

Notes: Just made in one color (no stripes).

 

For some unexplained reason, I was very bad at keeping track of the needle size and pattern size.  When I picked up the project in October to finish it, I was so confused ;-)  Write Maryse write ;-)

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Les Alpagas de la Petite Côte

Yesterday, I've visited an alpaca farm (livestock): Les Alpagas de la Petite Côte. It was really nice and truly interesting despite the rain.  It's quite close to where I live so I hope to go again sometime in the spring maybe!  In the meantime, here are a few pictures.

 

The yarns they make are in their natural colorways exclusively for the moment.  It is gorgeous.  My camera is broken :(  This is why I cannot show you the two skeins of gray yarn (sport weight) that I bought.  They will make wonderful winter accessories!

Have a great week everyone!

Early birthday gift!

I'm not coming here too often these days.  My knitting mojo is a little low since I finished my last project, but it should come back soon with the cold days ahead ;-)

Today, I had a nice surprise in the mail!  An incredible gift from Andi (at My sister's knitter).  She is my knitting fairy ;-)  It feels like a birthday gift since I will be turning 40 (yes, I can't believe I'm already there!) this Wednesday.   Unbelievable!

It contained a beautiful card and 6 delicate snowflake stitch markers!  They are so cute and perfect for the coming winter!  This yarn will make lovely socks!  Thank you so much again Andi!  It really makes my day!  I'm so lucky to have you as a friend!

Oh, maybe next week I will have a different post.  I'm supposed to go visit an alpaga farm.  Stay tuned!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  What are you knitting?

FO: Sunnyside Cardigan

We had a baby shower this afternoon for our friend Stéphanie who is expecting a little baby girl!

At first, she did not know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, so we mostly played it safe with her favorite color, which is green!

It is a good thing that a pregnancy lasts 9 months.  I finished knitting the project Thursday night.  It dried on Friday (yesterday) and I sewed the buttons at night while it was still a little wet.  I'm so glad it was finished on time!

The pattern is Sunnyside Cardigan by Tanis Lavallée of Tanis Fiber Arts.  It is easy to follow but I guess that you have to have some experience because the instructions are somewhat vague sometimes.  It's a free pattern.

Pattern: Sunnyside Cardigan by Tanis Lavallée of Tanis Fiber Arts

Yarn: The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!

Needles: US 4 / 3.5 mm (circular and DPNs)

Color: Insect leaf

Start to finish: August 2012 - September 2012

For: Annabelle

Notes: None.

 

Initially, I wanted to make the picot hem but it turned out that I did not know how to sew the border of it to the cardigan.  Since I really did not have the time to learn a new technique, I tinked a few rows and knitted the garter hem instead.  It turns out I really like it.

 

For the little buttons, I found these little lady bugs.  Aren't they cute!  I think they are really fun on a baby garnment!  It fits very well with the name of the colorway too!

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

FO: Farniente

Here is my finished Ravellenics project: Farniente!  What a beautiful little shawlette!

The lace border is absolutely gorgeous and the stockinette part so addictive.  It is a very quick and satisfying project!

It will probably get a lot of wear with jeans!

For those who wonder, the pattern has yet to be published by Deux Brins de Maille because I was test knitting this size!  It will also come in a larger size and you'll see that it looks very different but just as beautiful!

Mine was knit with Silk Blend of Manos del Uruguay.  The colorway is 3044.  I really loved this yarn and look forward to use it again!

Have a great weekend everyone and for those of you who are still completing their Ravellenics project: go go go!!!

Ravellenics dilemma...

I'm almost done with my project but I have a dilemma.  Here is how it looks now with 9 more rows to knit (stockinette).

I'm thinking about unknitting the plain portion and change the rate of increasing to add a few more rows.   Currently, the border is 4 inches and the plain part is 5 inches.  I'm afraid the blocking will stretch the border even more...

The 9 remaining rows will add 1.5 inches to the plain portion.  If I make the modification I'm thinking about it would add 3 inches (plain portion the double of the lace portion) or even 4.5 inches (plain portion more than the double of the lace portion).

Any ideas?  I don't think the amount of yarn is an issue (although time is)...  It was going so well ;-)  No worries, I'm not going to lose sleep over it and finish after the Ravellenics I guess...

Have a good week everyone!