Henslowe + Red Label = Love

This is my first official FO of 2012! It would have been my last official FO of 2011, but I made a stupid mistake on the set up row of the border and realized on the 31st of December that I had to rip and re-knit the entire border, so I spent the whole day on January 1st doing just that. And now it's finished, and now it's perfect!

This is the Henslowe Shawl pattern by my new fave Beth Kling knit in TFA Red Label Cashmere Silk Singles in the Frost colourway. Frost was last years inaugural TFA Year In Colour Club colourway and I totally love it. It's soft and grey and blue and though I think that this version might be even softer and greyer than the original I love it all the same. With a little more practice to make sure that I can get it just I way I want it in all the TFA yarn bases, this colourway is well on it's way to making it into the TFA collection full time. 

This shawl is a really nice balance of interesting and simple. The construction is really neat, but none of the steps or stitches are overly complicated or require too much focus. The garter stitch body stands up really nicely and is the perfect textural pairing for the light and airy lace. It's also completely reversible and let me tell you, in this yarn... it's like buttah! I'm obsessed. 

Ravelry project page. 

TFA Tuesday: Christmas Flower

Pattern: Flower Hat

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

 Top Tier Knitter: Rosie (Ravelry ID)

Totally Awesome Because:  This is a really gorgeous hat, the kind that people ask you 'where did you get that?' when you wear it, thanks to that amazing flower. I think the colour choice is spot on for this hat- a beautifully rich colour is perfect for winter. I want one in the same colour now! Project page can be found here.

FO's 2011

Koigu Saroyan, blogged here.

Dark and Stormy Sweater, blogged here.

TFA Pattern: Spring, blogged here.

TFA Pattern: Summer, blogged here.

Braided headband, blogged here.

TFA pattern: I Heart Aran, blogged here.

TFA pattern: Grammy's Hats and Mitts, blogged here.

Toe Up Socks, blogged here.

Silk Wispy Cardigan, blogged here.

Spring Socks, blogged here.

Maile baby sweater, blogged here and here.

TFA Pattern: Sunnyside Baby Sweater, blogged here.

Chris' Brownstone, blogged here.

Flowers in the Snow, blogged here.

Blue Striped Scarf, blogged here.

Granny Square Baby Blanket, blogged here. 

Clara, blogged here. 

Clara #2, blogged here. 

River Rapid Socks, blogged here. 

Stockholm Scarf, blogged here. 

TFA pattern: Ombre cardigan, blogged here. 

TFA pattern: Adelia, blogged here. 

Chris' Brownstone Cardigan, blogged here.

Dahlia Sweater, blogged here. 

Stella's Handspun Sweater and my matching hat, blogged here.

First Woven Scarf, blogged here.

TFA Pattern: Fairview Scarf, blogged here.

Luke's socks, blogged here. 

Velvet Morning, blogged here.

TFA Pattern: Cabled Canuck, blogged here.

TFA Pattern: Windward, blogged here. 

Dino Wee Balaclava, blogged here.

Cobalt Julissa, blogged here.


Gramps cardigan and Hunter Hat, blogged here.


TFA Pattern: Business Casual socks, blogged here.


Millwater inspired, blogged here.


Perfect Gramps cardigan, blogged here. 

Perfection in a teeny-weeny cardigan

Some time before Christmas I knit a second (but certainly not my last) Gramps cardigan. I love this wee little sweater more than I can say! It's still missing buttons, and it hasn't been blocked, but I'll to all that eventually. The photo doesn't really do the colourway justice. I used leftovers from Chris' Brownstone Pullover, the blue/gray is a bit lighter and softer in real life. Love. This. So. Much. Raveled with a few more details and mods here. 

Wishing everyone a great weekend. I snapped this photo of a few skeins of yarn sitting on a window ledge in my office the other day. The soft shades of grey and blue looked so soothing and lovely in the winter light. 

TFA January 2012 KAL!

At the stroke of midnight on January 1st we officially kicked off the first Tanis Fiber Arts KAL! It's not too late to sign up, just join the Ravelry group, pick a project that you plan to knit in TFA yarn and sign up in the appropriate group.  

I'm using this KAL as an incentive to knit some of my own patterns. I've already finished one Business Casual sock, knit in Purple Label in the Deep Sea colourway, and I hope to knit at least one Sunnyside baby sweater as well. Since the projects I've chosen are small, I'm giving myself an added mini challenge of finishing one item per week (one sock counts as one item, so I've got two weeks for the pair of socks). So hopefully I'll have at least 4 FO's by the end of the month!

I didn't do an end of year/beginning of the new year wrap up, I always find these big transitional moments a bit overwhelming, but in a good way! I feel the same way in the Spring when I'm all motivated to do some spring cleaning and organize my life, and then in the Fall when I always feel like the year really begins (I guess I still go by the school year calender in my head.) The idea of a clean slate and a fresh start is appealing, and I do like to set goals for myself. I'm not really one for big resolutions, I make the same simple ones every year, to try and be better and make the most of every opportunity in work and in life. I have a good feeling about 2012, I'm not sure why, the number just has a good ring to it. I felt the same way about 1996, nothing momentous happened for me in '96, but I always think of it as having been a really good year... 2012 feels really balanced, I think that's the key. 

2011 was a great year, I knit a lot, designed more than I ever knew I would, and managed to get through my first very exciting year of the TFA Year in Colour Club. Though I didn't make any big new years resolutions, I do have a secret list of goals that I hope to achieve in 2012, and I think that 2011 has set me up very nicely to make it happen. 

TFA Tuesday: Tudor Grace

 Pattern: Tudor Grace

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

Top Tier Knitter: Jennifer (Ravelry ID)

Totally Awesome Because:  Dove is no ordinary shade of grey- with the hints of blues and purples, it has a lot of dimension and is perfect for a lacy scarf like this. I love Jennifer's choice of pattern- the scarf looks so elegant and timeless. And I'm a little envious of all her lovely, snow too!

Millwater inspired

While perusing Ravelry before the holidays for a great (and portable) travel project to bring with me, I stumbled upon Beth Kling's Millwater pattern. This infinity scarf is beautiful, lush and cushy, everything that you need in a winter knit. I knit mine with two skeins of Madelinetosh 80/10/10 worsted mcn in The Alizarin colourway, I've had these skeins in my stash for ages and am really happy to have found the perfect 2 skein project for them. 

Full disclosure - I didn’t purchase the pattern for this lovely infinity scarf because I was pretty sure that I could get the look without the pattern. The big luscious, off-center, reversible cable on a background of crisp garter stitch is brilliant. I can’t comment on the pattern, but I can say that the design is definitely inspiring! I spotted a few other great patterns in Beth's Ravelry store and have already cast on for a Henslowe in TFA Red Label. Don't you love discovering new designers?

Our holidays

Chris and I spent the holidays out East with my family. It was beautiful and perfect! We were never less than 18 people, we stayed at two cottages side by side. We spent our days playing with my cousins kids, going on long winter walks by the ocean, building snow men, having snow ball fights, playing board games, watching movies, knitting, baking, cooking, eating, drinking... Amazing. 

When we go to the cottage in the summer, the beach is full of the friends and family who all migrate East to the shore for their summer holidays, but in the winter there is barely a soul there. It felt like the whole landscape was just for us to enjoy. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas. 

We have a tradition in my family where "the kids" (some of the kids now have kids of their own!) get to open one gift on Christmas eve, that gift is always pj's. This year my cousin found a store that sells adult onesies, so we all got matching fluorescent, plaid one-piece pj's and put them on immediately. It was absolutely hilarious! My cousin's might kill me for posting this picture on the internet, but it's just too funny to pass up!

Hope all of your holidays were as merry and bright as mine!

TFA Tuesday: Cinder

Pattern: Cinder

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Geen Label Aran Weight in Chestnut

Top Tier Knitter: Lorraine (Ravelry Id)

Totally Awesome Because: This is such a great pattern and yarn combination- I love how the Chestnut colourway looks in the thick ribbing and cables, and is such a great scarf colour that really speaks of autumn days and brightly coloured leaves. Such a fantastic job, I love this scarf!

Cobalt Julissa

I cast on extremely enthusiastically for this sweater back in November! I had the body done in that first weekend, and then got distracted by other deadlines and had to wait a few more weeks before I could finish the sleeves. Now that it's done, it was totally worth the wait! This sweater is da bomb!

Ravelry project page here. 

Knit in TFA Green Label Aran Weight Yarn in the Cobalt colourway. I alternated skeins throughout the body, but didn't find I had to on the sleeves. I kept checking for pooling since Cobalt is one of my more variegated shades, but it was working up nicely and thankfully I could knit happily from one skein at a time. 

I'm crazy about the details in this pattern. The cables, the lace, the bracelet length sleeves and the slightly wide neckline... the teal tank peaking through that bright cobalt blue (ok, that was my styling decision, not the pattern, but I love that detail!) Oh, and maybe my favorite detail of all, the cable down the sleeves! Yup, this sweater is pretty much a home run in my books. :) Hats off to the designer Vanessa Smith.

I've been wanting to knit myself a sweater in this bright blue colourway forever, because after all, blue is totally my colour and the fact that I didn't have a Cobalt sweater was a tragedy. Now that I do, I know that I'll be wearing it a lot. 

Happy Christmas to me!

Business Casual Sock Pattern - Free!

My dad is the best and he deserves custom designed socks for Christmas. I've done it once before, and I think that this may become a new Christmas tradition! This year I decided that dad needed a pair of cool, preppy socks. So I designed these faux-argyle cabled socks. You get the fun diamond shapes of argyle, but without all that tricky stranded knitting and with the added bonus of lots of cool texture!

If you too have a cool dad (or mom, or sibling, or friend) who needs a smart pair of socks, why not knit them some Business Casual socks!? I think I may cast on for a pair for myself next. :) 

Knit in TFA Blue Label Fingering Weight yarn one skein is plenty for a pair of socks (small or large). Kick it up a notch and make them extra luxurious by knitting them in TFA Purple Label Cashmere sock yarn! The socks pictured here (which are already wrapped up and under the Christmas tree for dad) were knit in the Atlantic colourway.  

As an early holiday gift from me to you I've made this pattern available for free!  

download now

Ravelry pattern page here. 

Happy holidays!

TFA Tuesday: St. James

Pattern: St. James

TFA Yarn and Colourway: Green Label Aran Weight in 'Deep Sea'

Top Tier Knitter: Tasia (Ravelry Id, blog)

Totally Awesome Because: There is something so lovely about this gorgeous shade of blue knitted up in stockinette, don't you think? It reminds me of actual water flowing. I love this simple knitted tee- I bet it goes with absolutely everything, and looks so pretty with Tasia's dark hair.  Her project page can be found here.