VKL Bellevue- a fun trip with mummy!

The other weekend mum and I packed our bags…a lot of bags and drove down to Bellevue, WA USA for a fun, and educational weekend of knitting knitting knitting! Here we come Vogue Knitting Live!
I would like to say the drive down was seamless, but we managed to get a major flat tire.

We were lucky: we managed to be close to a truck stop, a nice man changed the tire for us and it wasn’t raining!!

After watching how a tire gets changed, mum and I both think we could do it ourselves even though the bolts seem to be on super tight! Tip of the day from my husband, unscrew the bolts BEFORE you lift the tire so it doesn’t move!

VKL weekends are always fun and so full of learning. Our first class was Tips & Tricks taught by our favorite, Josh Bennett. We love his charismatic and upbeat teaching style, not to mention, the new life-changing cast ons he taught us!! After, we attended a great lecture with Trisha Malcolm, editor of Vogue Knitting Magazine. Same lecture as last year, but we heard different things. Main take-away: to establish a definite style/look/ or certain signature technique to my designs and become an expert at that one specialty….I have a lot to think about! Afterwards we took a class with the always amazing Susan B. Anderson; she is just so inspiring. I love her 3-group teaching style and her classes are always so engaging! The next day we took an intensive 6 hour class with Ragga. She specializes in Icelandic Lopi yarn garments. She taught us how to steek- my number one knitting fear conquered! If you are not familiar with steeking…it’s knitting in the round and then CUTTING your knitting to make a cardigan or open a hood!!!

This is my 3^rd time attending VKL. The first year I went to VKL New York, which was a pretty spectacular location. Bellevue, although not NY, is a great location for the weekend and the fact that I get to go with my mum, makes it so much more special! This year we met up with my aunt which was icing on the cake! Oh, by the way, my mum is such a celebrity at VKL! All our instructors absolutely love and support her. They get so excited about her shawl pins and new knitting accessories she makes.

I always come back jazzed from VKL. This last week and a half I have been clearing some designs out of my head and really focusing on developing Kits (pattern & yarn combos). Most of my current patterns I sell will be offered as a kit but I have a few new ideas which I am really excited about. They will all be available on Etsy soon, I will keep you posted.

Here is a sneak peek….

 

 

A new year 2014

It’s the second month of 2014 and I am thinking about how fast time is flying and what I want and need to accomplish in the next months to come.  I am finally feeling relaxed in a way I have not felt in a long time.  It isn’t the relaxed where I kick off my shoes and twiddle my thumbs, it’s a relaxed clarity where I am more focused, have serious goals and have the energy, time and mental space to follow through!

I have recently launched an etsy shop called The Crafty Jackalope.  So far it offers knit & crochet handmade accessories; knit & crochet patterns; stitch markers; and project bags.  Soon to come, “Create-Craft” knit tool kits and “Be-Crafty” knit your own kits (yarn & pattern combos).  I am making and designing like crazy, building this little shop in hopes that it can turn into something really great!

Check out etsy, follow me on Instagram, twitter and/or Facebook!

Updating the pattern page

Spring is in the air I can feel it, but it is definitely not time to pack up the winter knits. It is crisp, cool and freezing in some parts of Canada! I personally love a chunky cowl all year around to keep me well heated bundled up in my puffy down jacket or keep me toasty in my leather or jean jacket as it starts to warm up or keep me stylish in a t-shirt just before summer hits. I designed the Mega Chunky Cowl with all that in mind- fashion and functionality!




For spring/summer I revamped the Jenny Wrap adding a little stripe action for fun and knit it out of Rowan’s Creative Linen, a cotton/linen blend. Easy to knit, easy to wear and now you can make it for all season!

 

About a year ago I designed a mini Canadian collection: Canadian Trapper Hat (which is a version of my original Top Down Trapper hat).




The Canadian Slouchy Toque.




Canadian fingerless Gloves.


I use Canadian hand dyers for 2 of the designs: The Trapper Hat which I used Sweet Georgia’s Superwash Worsted from Vancouver and the Slouchy Toque which I used Fleece Artist’s Africa from Nova Scotia. And, I use Miski from Mirasol for the fingerless gloves. Although Mirasol is not a Canadian based yarn their story is quite unique and a great yarn company to support. They created the Mirasol Project which helps disadvantaged children in Peru improve their future.

seeing double

It is pretty rare that I knit the same thing twice, but there are those exceptions. oh my bear! by Tiny Owl Knits was one of those. I knit it for myself and then for a friend. It is in a chunky weight yarn (Berroco Peruvia Quick) and a fun pattern to make. I love the shape of this pattern- I could imagine making it again with a different motif on the front like a cat with a big bow tie?
.

Watershed Vest by Amy Swenson was another
pattern I repeated twice. This one I originally made for a friend out of Sweet
Georgia Worsted Weight yarn in Black Plum and then again for me in the original
yarn the pattern called for Heichi by Shibui in Canal.

And then of course for some reason I have made a gazillion (OK, only 4) Jenny Wraps They are just so easy, fast and cozy yet sophisticated to wear. I designed the alpaca and mohair version first, and then replaced the mohair with sequins for some serious bling, and then last summer I designed the Jenny Wrap Stripe Style which I knit out of Rowan Creative Linen (50% cotton & 50% linen) held doubled.

aaaand I am baaaaaack

It’s been close to a year since my last post…so you know what that means- I have a lot of projects to share!  I never stopped knitting since I last posted, if you were wondering; I still have a very bad case of startitis; and if anything, my knitting obsession has gotten worse!

Sadly we took our Christmas tree down last week.  I think this is the first year it came down before February.  It was pretty crispy and felt a bit crowed by the end, so I guess it was time. I don’t knit gifts for Christmas since there would be a long line up of friends and family to knit for all at once, and in true “Amanda Style” I would leave it to the last minute = stress!  So, occasionally I knit for birthdays.

A few birthdays ago I knit my mom the Ptarmigan cowl by Jared Flood in Filatura Di Crosa Superior held double in Muskrat colour. This cashmere blend was of course a delight to work with!  Cashmere is truly my favorite fiber to work with and wear! I am also a huge fan of Jared Flood and the Wool People patterns.  They are always written out well, and the fashion is rustic, simple and stylish!

This year I surprised my mom with the Houndstooth Bandana.  I originally knit this as a sample for the shop but as soon as I could I wrapped it up and gifted it! It was knit from the beautiful Aslan Trends King Baby Llama & Mulberry Silk yarn. I enjoyed knitting with the smooth yarn and was super pleased with the outcome!

 

happy first day of spring!

Let’s add some colour to this blog in celebration of the first day of spring! It was a beautiful day here in sunny Vancouver.  The air was crisp, the ground and flora was greener and the sky bright blue.

As my knitting skills grow, so does my clientele. I knit for a few special people whom I get to know and can appreciate the craft.  This hot pink wrap was a custom knit.  It is based on the pattern #02 Pompom capelet by Kazekobo from Vogue Knitting Magazine early autumn 2011.  I did not do as many cables and omitted the pompoms.  I used 1 skein of Mini Maiden 1-ply silk yarn from Hand Maiden Yarns.  It was a long delightful knit and the colour was inspiring.

I always have a store sample on the go.  This time I chose a crazy sunny colour- totally out of the box bright yellow! This pattern was a top down sweater from Blue Sky Alpacas: Thea’s Pullover.  I used the new Techno Yarn, again from BSA.  The yarn is made up of alpaca fibers threaded through a silk mesh tube; the advantage is non-pilling, less hot, super soft with a surprisingly minimal halo.  A little understated on the skein, this yarn was unpredictably great to work with and I like how it looks as a fabric.

Like everyone else in the knitting world, I too got on the Honey Cowl bandwagon.  I chose an electric blue Madelinetosh yarn: Tosh Merino DK colour # fathom.  This project was a relaxing no-brainer that kept my interest the whole way through- I could almost make a few more!

Hello 2012

And I am baaaaaack!  Woosh that was a long span of non-blogging and a lot of knitting!  Suddenly September (2011) arrived and I got caught up in teaching, repairing broken sweaters and knitting and now, not only is it February but February 2012!  You must be wondering if I ever finished knitting all the projects I started in 2010 at least by last month.  Well, truth be told, I have a few left over & unfinished; the Feather Sweater, Kitty Mittens and the Big felted bag…that is not too bad- 3.

But you know the reason for not finishing the last 3 was because of all the projects I started in 2011!  Since my last blog I have knitted/completed 17 or so projects and cast-on/incomplete 6. For the next couple of weeks I will post all these projects and I am sure start new ones!

After knitting the BSA Ida’s vest I started working with Mohair Bouclé from a company we love to support, Be Sweet.  I find Bouclé can either look fantastic with the right pattern and needle or become a terrible disaster and be extra tacky.  I was intrigued by the yarn in its ball form for quite some time and when I spotted the pattern Bouclé Cocoon by Hilary Carr

I knew this would be great to knit and I was willing to take my chances on the look of the final outcome! I am happy how this turned out in the end. I ended up adding a white strip to the back and around the edging adding a belt to match because I ran out of grey yarn.  A design feature by default and I like it!

I used 4 balls (100 yards each) in Grey and one in White and used 8mm needles

Did I tell you I was trying to teach myself to crochet?  I never would peg myself as a crochetter however, like knitting it does have an addictive quality to it and I do enjoy it now-and-then. Nevertheless, much like the Bouclé, it is essential to find the right pattern or it too can look terribly tacky, in my opinion.

I cannot tell you how many times I started and restarted this pattern. The lingo for crochet pattern reading is much wordier than a typical knitting pattern which surprisingly really threw me off.  Not to mention this pattern might have been too advanced for a novice crochetter.

I used a really pretty, grey sparkly yarn from Louisa Harding called Jasmine.  Using 5 balls for a total of 535 yards and 5mm crochet hook I finally finished this Crystalline Snood by Jennifer Hansen with the skills to crochet!

A Balancing Act

Balancing between knitting someone else’s pattern vs. designing my own patterns is a bit of a challenge.  I get distracted very easily by all the cool patterns out there putting my own designs on hold.  I justify it by convincing myself that following someone else’s design is learning new techniques, new construction and new pattern writing methods which is probably true but to develop a proper knitwear or accessory line would be quite the accomplishment.

These days I seem to have a Vancouver/BC/Canadian theme running through my designs.  It started with the Canadian Tote featured a few months back.  Recently I re-vamped my Canadian Trapper hat make it truly Canadian; knit with local dyer Sweet Georgia Yarns worsted weight held doubled in colour China Doll and with an Angora by Fleece Artist from Nova Scotia.

Another design I recently finished is the Vancouver Skyline Cowl knit with local dyer, Gourmet Crafter yarn in 100% Cashmere.  What’s so fantastic about Gourmet Crafter colours is the designer, Alexa Ludeman who goes around town photographing to inspire her pallet.  For this cowl I used colours: Vancouver Sky, Backyard Greens, and Whale Watching.

I really wanted this cowl to painterly and somewhat abstract.  If you look close you will see the Two Lions, the Shangri la, Science World, and BC Place.

Of course I couldn’t go too long without knitting a softie!  Here are 2 dogs I knit from my new favorite book Knit Your Own Dog! 

The English Bull dog was knit with 2.75mm needles and Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply held doubled- he has a lot of character.

The Afghan is totally regal and knit in a subtlety variegated Noro sock yarn and Blue Sky Alpacas Sport weight.

And what is knitting without a little pressure- in the middle of my multiple project agenda I just whipped this vest up in about 10 days!  It is called Ida’s Vest and it is a great Blue Sky Alpacas pattern knit in Worsted Hand Dyes which is one of my beloved yarns to work with!  I adorned it with some stunning shell embossed clay buttons made by local designer Nancy Walker.

call me crazy

I confess last weekend I casted on at least 5 more new knitting projects…ahhhh call me crazy.  Either I am super creative, addicted to knitting or I am filling my life up to the brim with knitting to keep myself sane; I think it is a combo of all 3.  I seem to go through fazes when I cast on a ton of projects in a short period of time so I have about a dozen or more on the go at once- a bit overwhelming at times! How can I possibly finish all these?  But I love the thrill of continually learning new patterns, trying new yarns and designing. I get excited easily over knitting and can’t wait to try new things!

So far I am doing pretty good- I seem to be rotating through projects in a calm and manageable way!

Recently I have been trying to break knitting down and understand why I am so addicted to it- what makes it so therapeutic for me? So, lately when I knit I try to catch myself thinking to be aware of my thought process.  I now know if a pattern is especially complex or has a lot of layers I am usually counting in my head or thinking about the stitches, the way they fall on the needles, how fast or slow my knitting project is growing and wondering how many repetitions it will take for me to memorize a pattern.  If I am designing, I am thinking about how I want the design to look, hoping it will work out, and thinking about how I should write out the pattern, what I should change or if I need to start over.  If it is a simple project I tend to either think of nothing significant at all or I work through tough obstacles in my life.  The fascinating thing I observed whether I am counting, zoning out or thinking of major things going on I still feel a sense of calm and I never feel negative even if my thoughts are based from negative topics. 

I love knitting and I am creatively crazy about it!

Spring Knitting

This spring has been pretty cold and i’s hard to believe summer is a little over a month away when I am still wearing wool toques and scarves.  But each day a new resilient flower seems to peek out of the ground or bloom from a branch which makes me believe the heat is coming and outdoor knitting is right around the corner.

I am proud to say that after 1 year I have actually finished the “Olympic” project I started at the opening ceremony; the Prairie Boots by CoCo Knits.  These are the boots that I almost completed by the closing ceremony but I ended up knitting one boot inside-out and after tinking it I knit 2 left feet.  Clearly I got frustrated and put it down for a year.  Looks like I don’t have an updated photo- I’ll post one next time.

A perfect and adorable quick knit is Bitty Bump by Gina Bobomo.  It is a top down sweater knit in a chunky slubby yarn ranging from sizes newborn – 4T.  I used the colourful Asland Trends Los Andes.  I used 2 skeins and 8mm needles. 

I found Oink, a free pattern on Spud & Chloe’s blog.  This pattern calls for Sweater, a worsted weight yarn but I knit it in a super chunky yarn Outer by S & C and went up to a 6mm needle.  I knit 2.5” instead of the suggested 1.25” in the body section.   This created a bigger flying pig!  These pigs are about a 3 -4 hour project each.

My mother loves birds and often finds live cams of them.  The latest one is of a little hummingbird and her baby. Today the baby looks as it is going to fly for the first time; I have to say it’s amazing to watch!  For Mother’s Day I knew exactly what I was going to knit for my mummy, Sweet Robin Wrist-ees by Tiny Owl Knits.  These gloves are so sweet with a robin on the right and her nest full of eggs on the left!  They are knit with fingering yarn and I used an assortment of Spud & Chloe Fine, Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply, Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino (KPPM), Schoppel Wolle Ambiente, And Sublime Yarns extra fine merino wool 4 ply.  Although these are little delicate gloves they do take a lot of colours, hence all the yarns; I will be able to make a few pairs. One last tip- I used intarsia technique to prevent any pulling.

Last but not least, this week I finished Ella by Trudy Van Stralen.   This knitted cape is a Louet pattern and I used the suggested yarn Louet Kidlin which is a stunning mix of Linen and Mohair.  The ruffle is knit separately and I was dreading it when I read that I needed to make 3: 1 casting on 530 stitches, 2 casting on 595 stitches- WOW that is a lot but I have to say, these ruffles ending up being the most enjoyable part!