Back to work!

Chris and I are officially back to work after having spent a record 19 days on holiday! Granted, 2 of those days were spent in the car, making the 11 hour drive to our family cottage in Nova Scotia, but still, getting 19 consecutive days off is pretty grand. We beat last year's record by 1 day. This year we did a lot of the same things we did last year, you can read all about our cottage life here. 

We had a great time. We've come home rested, tanned and rejuvenated. We're officially ready for another big year. I'm happy to be back at work, I don't like being away for too long. Things pile up, people need yarn! 

Unfortunately, I have a terrible habit of doing absolutely nothing while on vacation. I completely tune out. I did get some knitting done on a few rainy days, which was nice, but other than that I read, I sat, I walked, I chatted, I played games... I brought a stack of FO's, fully intending to do awesome photo shoots, but when push came to shove I just couldn't make myself do my hair, put on makeup and style an outfit to do the knitting justice. So the pile came back home with me and will have to be photographed here in Montreal instead of on the beach in Nova Scotia.

Next year I'll take more photo's! Famous last words... I did snap one pretty shot of a few rocks that my 5 year old god-daughter and I collected. 

TFA Tuesday: Plum's Bloom

Pattern: Bloom

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Yellow Label DK weight in 'Plum'

Top Tier Knitter: Tal (Ravelry ID)

Totally Awesome Because: I love rich colours for baby garments, and this plum is so lovely. I love the texture of the dress with the different stitches, it's adorable and just right for a little girl..  This is the kind of dress that grows with the baby- the ribbing is very stretchy and can accommodate quickly growing little ones. And the icing on this prefect plum confection is that contrasting yellow ribbon- it is the perfect compliment!  Her project page can be found here.

TFA in Twist Collective!

Litchfield Gloves by Elizabeth Doherty for Twist Collective photographed by Jamie Dixon

I am very excited to have my yarn featured in a new pattern designed by Elizabeth Doherty for Twist Collective's Fall 2011 issue. Not only are her Litchfield hat and mitts set adorable, they made the cover of the issue! How exciting is that!?

The pattern features Yellow Label DK Weight yarn in the Poppy colourway.

TFA Tuesday: Baltic Blossoms

Pattern: Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Pink Label Laceweight in 'Peacock'

Top Tier Knitter: Pam (Ravelry ID, blog)

Totally Awesome Because: Bright shawls are so unexpected, because it juxtaposes a really traditional shape and style of knitting with a modern pop burst of colour. This shawl is gorgeous in keeping the classic design, but doing it in a bright shade makes it fresh and more applicable to your wardrobe. I love this shawl- it looks beautiful and that is the kind of blue you can get lost in.

Pinterest Love

I'm not sure if you have heard of the awesomeness that is Pinterest, but  I'm in love. It's the perfect visual bookmarking tool, allowing anyone to keep track of inspiring links, images and ideas from around the web. It's going to be huge there's no question about that. Both Tanis and I have our separate Pinterest accounts, but we thought it would be amazing to have  TFA Pinterest account to have a centralized place to bookmark all things TFA. Come check it out!

Right now it's still in the beta mode, so in order to get an account, you need an invitation from an existing Pinterest member. if you would like to join, let me know (and send me your email address)- I'll send you an invite! We'd love to follow your pins and boards, too.

Year in Colour Club - July

What do die-hard knitters like to knit in July? My guess is small, portable projects that keep your hands moving without causing you to pass out from heat stroke!

The July pattern for the TFA Year in Colour Club was designed by Patti Waters. The Aquarium socks are a great mix of fun summery motifs, but in a warm wooly yarn that you'll be wanting to wear all winter. 

I had a lot of fun playing around at my friends pool taking these pattern shots. Thanks goodness Chris played nice and agreed not to take any full body shots, I was quite a site rockin' my two piece with my hand knit socks!

Club memberships are still available, new members will receive the January, March, May and July shipments all together. 

TFA Tuesday: Jewel

Pattern: Undina and Lir

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Yellow Label DK in "Jewel"

Top Tier Knitter: Monika (Ravelry ID)



Totally Awesome Because: I love how her daughter refers to it as a princess dress, because that's exactly what Monika created- a dress fit for a princess. the colour is bright and vivid and looks beautiful on her daughter, and the dress looks super comfortable. She looks so happy wearing it! The project page can be found here.

A swatch

I've had an idea for a sweater bouncing around in my head for months now. When I first got excited about this potential design idea, I knit a swatch. I've had this swatch kicking around for months, and now I've finally started putting it to good use. I've measured, I've re-measured, I've calculated and tweaked some numbers, and now my sweater is finally in progress. I knit the swatch in TFA Yellow Label DK weight yarn in the Stormy colourway, but the actual sweater is being knit in a new for fall colourway that is still a secret. This sweater concept actually inspired the colourway, more on all that soon.

Taking a break

Chris and I are taking a break from work for a couple of weeks. Of course I'll still be knitting, and I'll definitely be checking my e-mail and posting the occasional blog post, but we're going to try and spend as much time as possible doing as little as possible ;)

Any orders placed will be shipped when we get back to reality the week of August 8th. 

TFA Tuesday: Comodidad

Pattern: Pogona

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Blue Label Fingering Weight in 'Olive'

Top Tier Knitter: Kyla (Ravelry ID)

Totally Awesome Because: Stephen West's shawls are always stunning, and often show off hand dyed and tonal yarns to perfection. This shawl illustrates the point beautifully- the pattern and the yarn are stunning together, Kyla made a spectacular choice. And I love the olive colourway- it always seems a little different each time you look at it, and can even sometimes take on different strengths of the various tones and colours based on your colouring or what you might be wearing. Something about Olive always seems deep and a bit romantic (in a wandering the moor sort of way), perfect for a gorgeous shawl like this. Project page is here.

What's my name?

Earlier this summer I was struck with the desire to design and knit a super easy, super cozy, two toned striped scarf. I know, it was a very specific desire, not just a scarf, not just something stripy, I knew exactly what I wanted! Something big and cozy and squooshy, yet lacy! Garter stitch stripes in Green Label Aran weight yarn with eyelet's that looks good on both sides is exactly what I had in mind. I knit most of this scarf at Julie's cottage over the Canada day long weekend. I want the scarf to have the option of being an infinity scarf, so I'm going to sew on fabric covered buttons. I purchased this pretty seabreeze and spearmint floral, thinking that it would make the perfect Granny chic buttons... but now I'm thinking that it's less granny chic and more straight-up Granny. So the search for the perfect fabric continues. 

I was thinking of calling this design sea-mint, since I think that they are both pretty words, they are pulled directly from the colourways used in this scarf, and they kind of sound nice together. But sea-mint also sounds a heck of a lot like semen, and I'm kind of immature, so I'm not sure I can live with that. Any suggestions?

My blue garden

Remember this glorious hydrangea shot I shared with you earlier this spring? Well, now the potted hydrangea that lives next to my front door looks more like this:

The new blossoms are a bit lighter and the old blossoms are the most interesting faded shade of green and denim. It's very cool. 

And I am thrilled to report that the hydrangea I planted in my back garden last fall is finally blossoming! When I bought it the petals were that perfect blue/purple shade, but I was told not to get too committed to that colour since they can bloom differently once planted depending on the acidity of the soil. 

In an attempt to sway the odds in my direction I tossed fifty cents worth of copper pennies and a couple rusty nails into the hole I dug before I planted the hydrangea. I had read online that it might help to make the soil more acidic, even though it makes me look like a crazy person. 

But it seems to be working! The blossoms are blue and purple with just a hint of pink and I am very happy.