5 things

I don't usually blog like this, but I have a bunch of random things I wanted to share and this felt like a quick and easy way to do it! 

I just about made his day today when I said that he could wear a TFA Star pin on his plain white T. This kid loves his flair!

Chris is killing it with his sweater knitting! Every time I post a photo of his WIP on Instagram people go wild. I love that you're all so supportive! He's making the Daddy-sized version of this sweater. 

I never wear dangly earrings, but I might start if I got these for Christmas! I have this bracelet and really love it. I'm a new fan, but a big fan of this Canadian company. Photo from www.Jenny-bird.ca

I'm almost done another pair of socks! This was a fun knit - more details to come when I blog about them officially but you can get a bit more info from my Ravelry project page here. Yarn is a Gauge Dyeworks Club colourway from earlier this year. 

I've been burning this advent candle from Swell Made Co since the 1st of the month and am loving the ritual. The scent is perfection (we have a real Christmas tree, but this just ups the scent factor by a bit) and crossing off the days makes me feel like a kid again!

Lavanderia Sock Pattern - Introductory Sale!

Available on Ravelry HERE for the introductory price of $4 CAD! No coupon code needed. Price will be raised to it’s regular cost of $6 CAD on Dec. 10th. Happy Stitching!

Is there anything better than a pretty lacy sock? I think not. Wearing these lovely socks puts that extra pep in my step on dull winter days. The lovely meandering lace pattern takes a laundry basic and elevates it to a whole new level. I welcome the cold when it gives me an excuse to wear something so pretty on my feet!

I have been on a major sock knitting kick lately. And despite the fact that I feel like I knit tons of socks, it's actually been ages since I've knit a pretty, lacy, fancy sock like this pair. I love taking an unglamorous item like the humble sock and elevating it into something special with a few well placed yo's and k2tog's. 

It’s a deceptively quick knit as the pattern is a pleasure to work and the stitches flow nicely. Myself and my testers all completed at least 1 sock (several completed the pair) in a week! Plenty of time to get a pair done in time for gift giving season. ;)

Scrappy Socks

Pattern: A basic toe-up sock recipe. See this post for a few links. 

Yarn: TFA Blue Label Fingering in Chris Grey and Peacock, TFA Purple Label Cashmere Sock in Charcoal.

Ravelry Project page here.

I've been on a real sock kick lately. I think I knit 3 pairs of socks in the month of November, including a new design that will be released later this week! I'm in the zone. This is the pair that got the ball rolling. A very simple toe up sock, spiced up with a few stripes inspired by a pair of Micah's wee socks. After not having had a pair of socks on the needles for a while this pair reminded me of how much I love small portable projects and using odds and ends of yarn! 

Cute right? I'm actually quite smitten with these. So simple, but quite graphic and striking! Never underestimate the power of a high contrast stripe. :)

Mood Board Monday - Blaze

Afterglow Cowl and Hat, forest bridge, bouquet, milk pail, leaves, autumn colour palette. 

I haven't made a mood board in ages but our latest Club colourway, November's Blaze, just begged to be celebrated! I really love this colour, which is very surprising since I am typically exclusively a cool-toned person. I truly favour my blues and greys so I was pleasantly pleased - albeit slightly confused - by how well this warm glowing colourway suits me. 

The official rule about Club colourways is that they are exclusive to Club members for the duration of the Club calendar year. This year I've made the executive decision to release all our 2017 Club colourways a few days early as part of our Boxing Day Etsy Update on December 26th at 12pm ET. 

Etsy Update Tomorrow At 12pm ET!

Etsy Update on Wednesday, November 29th at 12pm ET!

(TIME ZONE CONVERTER)

I think that I can safely say that we have officially entered the Holiday Season. I for one, am thrilled about it! It's my favourite time of year. Despite my best intentions I still spend a lot of time working on "last minute gifts" because, well, sometimes it's just more fun to actually make the gift you're giving during the season in which you'll be giving it. Right? There is still loads of time to whip up a few quick knits for the lucky knit-worthy people on your holiday lists. Especially if those gifts are knit in CHUNKY YARN! Tomorrow at 12pm (noon) ET the Etsy shop will be full of ready to ship skeins of glorious PureWash Chunky. All orders from tomorrow's update will be in the mail by Monday December, 4th. Unless you combine it with dyed-to-order items from our permanent collection on our website, that would add a few days of processing, but you'll definitely still get your yarn before the holidays I'm certain.  

Silent Movie, Luna, Life's A Peach, Bisou.

Mona Lisa, Blue Opal, Rocket, Hummingbird.

Misbehaving', Purple Purl, Flamenco, Kaleidoscope. 

Above is a selection of most of what I'll have available tomorrow. A bunch of speckles and a few fun multi/tonals thrown in the mix too. Add a pompom (which are also ready to ship!) and you've got yourself one amazing hat.

Below is a little collage I just threw together featuring some of my favourite quick chunky projects - most that I've knit myself and a couple that are still on my must knit list. I'd highly recommend any of these patterns for a quick yet gorgeous gift!  

GAP-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley, my project page - Rove Cowl - Fidra by Gudrun Johnston, project photo by ahickman - Alpine Trail by Jill Zielinski, my project page - Heira - Arika Cowl by Jane Richmond, my project page - Fairy Mist by Julie Crawford - pattern photo by knittedblissjc -  Betsy by Jane Richmond - my project page.

This week is a fun one here at TFA headquarters! I've got literally boxes and boxes of boxes (gold boxes!) and mailers (gold mailers!) arriving tomorrow so I can assemble all your Gift Bundle's and get them in the mail! There's ribbon and tissue and so much golden goodness. I live for this sort of thing!

Afterglow Hat & Cowl Set + Club Recap

This is the Afterglow Hat & Cowl set the last pattern instalment of the 2017 TFA Year In Colour Club. Don't forget I've got a coupon code for you! Enter coupon code THANKS at checkout to receive 20% off any of my self published patterns in my Ravelry shop.

I'm very pleased with this pattern combo if I do say so myself. Allow me to elaborate. It all started when I decided to design a cowl for the November Club. I had already done 2 hats this year, one pair of mitts, 2 wrap around your neck accessories, but no cowl. It was time. I have a funny relationship with cowls. The thing is, knitters love cowls! Designers love cowls! Cowls are totally beloved in the knitting world. But... they are not what I personally reach for when I'm chilly.  I'm just more of a scarf of shawl person. There are 2 reasons for this. 

#1: Pulling a cowl down over my head inevitably leaves my hair weird and staticky and as a curly haired person I prefer to disturb my hair as little as possible throughout the day. It's a legit issue. If you've got curly hair, you probably know what I'm talking about. Let's not get into how hats affect the curly haired among us, that's a conversation for another day, let's focus on cowls today ok? I also personally don't like rubbing my knits all over my face when I pull them down over my head - this issue is specific to small cowls or big cowls that need to be looped twice where I really end up manhandling my head and face in the process. Am I just a defective person? This is getting really personal... don't judge me!

Ok, and #2: They have to be the exact perfect size in order to actually function and keep me warm. I have seen so many cowls that drape beautifully and function as a lovely shoulder/back of neck warmer, but I personally can't handle having my throat and chest exposed, I need my neck to be truly bundled when I head outdoors! Most cowls can be kinda scrunched and bunched up in the front to cover the throat when your jacket is done up, but I just don't find that as comfortable to wear. I'm a turtleneck person, so I like fabric around my neck, just not weirdly bunched. I'm really letting you all in on my deepest personal quirks here aren't I? 

So, in my collection I happen to have 2 cowls that I completely love and wear often in the winter despite my particular aversion to cowls as a genre. I wear my Rove cowl quite a bit. It fits like a neck warmer and when I do up my jacket it stays put and keeps me warm. But the one I wear the most is definitely my Candygram Cowl. It's warm and cozy, looks great on both sides so when it's folded over and you see the inside and it's a beautiful combination of textures and colours. But I think what I like most about it is the proportions. 

Now that you know everything that you could possibly need to know about my personal relationship with cowls (I should probably just edit that all out because this is going to be a long post... I'm feeling chatty!) I want to talk about how this pattern set came to be, because it's kind of interesting if you ask me. I started off with the goal of designing a cowl that would fit the way my Rove Cowl fits, more like a neck warmer. It would use up the single skein of yarn that is included in most Club memberships and I'd love it. I picked out a beautiful cabled stitch pattern that I am really drawn to and cast on. About 3/4 of the way through I realized that I was making a hat, not a cowl, the proportions were totally hat like and even though I was aiming for neck warmer I felt like it was going to be a bit snug. Since I had come this far I thought, ok, so it wants to be a hat, I can work with this, and I ended up really loving the resulting hat! The decreases are beautiful - which is pretty much all I care about in a cabled hat if I'm being honest - the hat looked great! I admired it for a sec and then turned it inside out to weave in my ends and BAMMO! The inside was just as beautiful as the outside!!! I hat no idea that I had been knitting a reversible stitch pattern this whole time. This little detail got me unreasonably excited. 

The top photo above is the "outside" and the bottom photo is the "inside".

A reversible stitch pattern just begs to be used in a cowl, so I set about making this month's pattern a twofer. For the cowl vs. 2.0 I grabbed 2 skeins and aimed for a Candygram Cowl proportion and it came out just right!

I love the way it looks with the top folded over just so. You can see both sides of the knit and admire all those glorious cables. When I do up my coat it sits up and covers my neck I am one happy camper. 

There you have it. Everything you could possibly ever want to know about how I feel about cowls. :) I'm a complicated lady. 

Heira Hat, Floe Mitts, Truss Shawl, Fluidity Wrap & Scarf, Ah Caramel Hat, Afterglow Cowl & Hat.

Looking back on the year I'm really happy with what I was able to put together for you. Chris and I work hard on the Club yarns but the patterns are definitely what require the brunt of the effort. I want to make sure that each pattern really highlights the featured yarn base and colourway but mostly that it's a pattern that could stand alone without the context of the Club. It's a challenge that I welcome. I know that I would not have released this many accessory patterns without the Club's deadlines, and I really appreciate having the motivation.

Next year I won't be offering the same type of Club. With a baby due in late February I think the bi-monthly deadlines are more than I should take on. I've been mulling over a few other ideas for ways to keep me motivated and busy designing while at the same time offering a similar experience to knitters and I'm really looking forward to fleshing out a few concepts. I'm thinking of doing limited edition "Club" kits - a custom colourway and pattern available for pre-order a couple of times a year. Maybe they will include a bit of swag as well, kinda like mini versions of the Gift Bundles... I'm still working it all out! 

Thanks to everyone who was part of the Club this year! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all our American friends! 

Duo Chrome! + A Pattern Sale

So, first the big news: Duo Chrome is live! AND to celebrate the launch of a new pattern I've got a coupon code for you! Enter coupon code THANKS at checkout to receive 20% off any of my self published patterns in my Ravelry shop.

Rowan's Duo Chrome featuring Hummingbird and Poolside with Midnight hems.

Thank goodness I have knitwear as an excuse to take photos of my kids. I swear, 75% of all of my photos are originally taken because I needed a shot of a knit. Though the knit is my excuse for getting out my camera, those precious faces are really the star of the show. I know you all came here for the sweater, but come on! As I was working on my own adult version of Duo Chrome I opened up my test pattern, which had been formatted exclusively with photos of Rowan, and when I saw this shot above I got misty eyed. That's my big boy! I love him so much.

Ok, back to the knit. :) I coulda/shoulda had this pattern ready weeks ago, but I’ve been delaying it’s launch because I really wanted to have kits ready to go with it. Alas, kits haven’t happened yet - this time of year is just too chaotic! The kits will have to wait until we’ve got a bit more time on our hands, but in the mean time, feel free to pick your own colour combos - I swear, you really cannot go wrong. I love the magical effect that the slim stripes have on the colours, taking 2 distinct colourways and bringing them together to create something completely unique. Every combination I’ve seen is beautiful. 

Duo Chrome is knit seamlessly, in the round, from the top down. Two colours are striped throughout the body with a third colour used for contrasting hems. Featuring cool invisible yoke increases and no waist shaping, this is your new favourite sweatshirt!

And now for a bit of fun, I was about 25 weeks pregnant when we took these photos. I'm not new to "hiding" a pregnancy for pattern shots. Since this isn't a maternity pattern I was sort of trying to de-emphasise the fact that I am pregnant in the photos, without much success! The last time I did it I was only 22 weeks pregnant, and apparently that's my cut-off! Rowan pitched in to help with the belly camouflage, here are a few of his casual attempts to distract from the bump:

These poses really crack me up. He was being so sincere! And for anyone who thinks that Rowan is always a cooperative little knitwear model, proof that he's really just a monkey in a sweater. 

Duo Chrome is a really fun knit and I should mention that it's sized from baby to big. I have a pretty speckled skein set aside that I just might combine with a few other colours to knit a Duo Chrome for the baby. Have you picked your colours yet? I can’t wait to see what colour combos you come up with!

Ricochet Hat & Mitts Set! + Shop Updates

The Ricochet Hat & Mitts

I am super excited to announce that I have brand new hat and mitt patterns available! Not only that but they happen to be a matching set. And as if that weren't enough I've also timed the release of the pattern to conveniently coincide with a Mitten Kit Shop Update! The shop is currently stocked with 5 different mitten kit colourway options and 3 different mitten pattern options. I'll be doing my best to keep an assortment of mitten kits available in the shop between now and the holidays. They really do make the perfect gift!

The Ricochet Mitts are fully lined (kits include a cashmere liner in a fun pop of colour - always line with a fun pop of colour!) and the pattern includes charts for either a vertical chevron option (shown here in Slate and Gold) or a chevron that's been turned on it's side (shown here in Ravine and Seabreeze). Who doesn't love a two-for-one!? The hat features a cushy and cozy double brim. Paired with the extra layers provided by the stranded knitting of the body of the hat that makes this one of the warmest and definitely coziest hats I own. On the coldest of winter days this is the hat that I'll be reaching for.  

In other shop news, I've added a third enamel pin to our quickly expanding collection! The TFA Star pin features 16 saturated triangles of glorious colour and I've pinned one to the plain black t-shirt I'm wearing today and instantly feel a hundred times better. They are colourful, they are shiny, they are everything I never knew I always wanted. :) 

Gift Bundles!!!

Today is the day my friends! I am beyond excited to announce this year's TFA Holiday Gift Bundle!  I've done things slightly differently this year in that I've set it up as a pre-order item. That just means that you can order it any time between now and when it sells out (I've got loads, don't worry!) but they won't start shipping until around the first week of December. Basically it's just more practical for me to bundle the shipping as much as possible, so, hopefully this system works for you too.   

OK, so let's get down to the knitty gritty shall we? This year's bundle is cool. I love it! I don't know what to talk about first... how about we start with the yarn? That's actually the last thing that came together for this bundle. I had all the other elements and we kept experimenting with colourways and nothing felt right. I'd put all the items together and then I'd look at Chris and I'd yell: "MORE FESTIVE!!!" This year's bundle is truly festive. Like, literally snowflakes and ornaments and mittens and Christmas lights festive. The colourway had to tie it all together, and friends, I really think that it does! Dyed on our Cosmic Blue Label fingering weight base (sparkles = festive!) we dyed up a colourway that captures all the colours of vintage Christmas lights and in honour of that we've called it Tannenbaum. This is what the greenery on the outside of my house looks like around the holidays. This is the holidays embodied in a sparkly skein and I LOVE it! 

Of course we've got the annual TFA Calendar included in the bundle and this year's tote bag, which I'm very proud of Chris for designing. We brainstormed quite a bit before coming up with this design idea. It's fun and knitterly and wintery and when I attempted the design myself it was a total flop. I was ready to move on but Chris decided to give it a go on his own and the results are stunning, it's exactly what I wanted! Kudos to Chris for having mad skills. ;) As far as tote bags go this one is a goodie. It's 100% certified organic cotton, it's big enough without being too big (15 x 14 x 3") it has a gusseted bottom so it can sit up straight AND it has a zipper! The zipper is the kicker for me. I'm going to get a lot of use out of this tote. 

And finally we have the wee gems that make this bundle truly special. The little extras that will make you squeal when you open your box. A beautiful wood ornament featuring a custom watercolour print of my Snowfling Mittens designed and handmade by Wild Canary Studio. The ornament is exclusive to the bundle and it's very special. Amy, the artist behind Wild Canary Studio, is a friend of mine from way back in my art school days. I'm a big fan of her work and follow her closely on Instagram (you should too!) and earlier this fall she posted about her wooden ornaments and dared any Christmas keeners to start their Christmas shopping early! Well, I'm nothing if not a Christmas keener so I immediately bought a set of ornaments and when they arrived I did exactly what I'm predicting you're going to do when you open your bundles, I squealed and clapped and called my mom. I reached out to her with the idea of collaborating on an ornament for the bundle and not only was she game, she was amazing to work with. She painted a custom watercolour of the mitts and produced all the ornaments I needed incredibly quickly. She's a good egg and I will treasure my Snowfling ornament for years to come. 

And last but not least, I have ventured into a new territory of design and I think I may have fallen in love. Enamel pins. They have been all the rage for a few years now and I don't know why it's taken me so long to jump on the bandwagon but I am now very firmly on it. I've got 2 designs in the shop right now and plan on adding more as inspiration strikes. Keeping with the Snowfling theme this bundle includes an enamel pin design based on my mittens (again, thanks to Chris for the design work!). Spruce up your knitting bag, your jean jacket, your lunch box, heck, spruce up your life with these fun new pins!

So, there you have it gang, the 2017 Holiday Gift Bundle. Your Christmas wish list is now complete. You are welcome. :)

A Blue Dragon Hat For Micah

Pattern: wee balaclava by mama cerise.

Yarn: TFA PureWash Worsted in OOAK Ravine left over from Rowan's rainbow R&R Hoodie.

Ravelry Project page here.

These hats are simply the best thing ever for my little dudes. They are happy to wear them when the weather gets cold (which is half the battle with winter accessories, am I right moms?) and from a moms point of view they are just so perfect because they stay put and cover everything that needs to stay covered on chilly winter days spent playing outside. They are super cozy and cute to boot and my boys love them. I knit Rowan's hat last year and this year Micah has shown interest in looking/acting like a dragon so I happily obliged. It's not quite cold enough to be wearing these hats on a regular basis, but it will be soon, and when the weather turns, we will be ready! Or at least we'll have hats... mitts are another story. 

There is very little that gives me more joy in life than going over to my stash(es) of leftover odds and ends of yarn from past projects and using up bits and pieces. NOTHING better than a stash busting project! For this hat I used a whole bunch of leftovers for the spikes: 

Highlighter - 2 strands of PureWash Fingering held together. 
Lemongrass - Orange Label. 
Mallard - Green Label. 
Seabreeze - 2 strands of PureWash Fingering held together. 
Peacock - 2 strands of Blue Label held together. 
Concord - Green Label.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love holding 2 strands of fingering weight yarn together to work at a thicker gauge. Don't ask me why, it just makes me feel so clever. :) I have an urge to knit all kids of multicoloured stash busting project now. Striped socks! Mittens! Hats! Which is perfect timing since we're right smack dab in the middle of the TFA Fall Colour KAL and multicoloured projects are what we're all about. I'm also getting the itch to get started on some holiday knits... maybe a personal stash busting holiday challenge is in order! 

Comfort Fade Cardi Kits!

It's about time I finally made Comfort Fade Cardi Kits for the shop, am I right? Here they are folks! Scoop one up for a limited time only right here. We won't be doing these forever, but it's always fun to have a new little something in the shop this time of year. Below are bigger shots of the 4 colourways we currently have available - each one built around a stand out speckle. Which one is your fave? I know myself and I would almost definitely end up picking the blue one (Rocket!) but honestly, I could make a very strong argument for why I need a sweater in each of these palettes. I really love them. 

I had a lot of fun putting together palettes for this sweater with colourways from our permanent collection and have been posting a few combo's to my Instagram. The combos below are not available to purchase as a "Kit" per say, but since they are made up of colourways that are always available as part of our permanent collection you could easily purchase the skeins separately and put together your own sweater kit! 

Colourways starting from the top: 1) Shadow, Slate, Stormy, Charcoal 2) Truffle, Chestnut, Brick, Sunset 3) Fig, Velvet, Garnet, Poppy* 4) Ravine, Aurora, Truffle, Chestnut. *Ok, so in the photo I've actually used a skein of Cabin Fever in this palette, but Poppy would be the perfect substitute for a great hot red-to-purple fade! 

As much as I love the kits I've put together featuring the speckles, these palettes are definitely... what's the word... richer... deeper. Equally beautiful, but more saturated. I am not a red gal but I love that purple-to-red palette and that bottom one with the Aurora is really speaking to me. 

So, there ya go! If you weren't planning on knitting yourself a faded cardigan, well, maybe now you're reconsidering? 2017 is officially the year of the Fade, why try and fight it?

Shop News

Hi Gang! A few bits of business first:

• Mini Sock Yarn Skein Sets have been restocked and the plan is to keep restocking as regularly as I need to in order to have them available as frequently as possible between now and the holidays - I'll be aiming for weekly restocks, which I think oughta do it.

• The 2018 Calendars are now available in the shop! They will also be included as part of our holiday Gift Bundle which will be available mid-November. Stay tuned for lots more about that!

• There are still a handful of White Light Skein Sets available.

• Mitten kits are next on my list! I'll be restocking lots of colourways and I'll even have a new pattern coming soon!

Things in the TFA studio are as busy as they ever get and it's all lots of fun. This time of year is always very inspiring - but it can certainly weigh on me and start to feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day. So many kits I'd love to make available, but just never enough time! I've accepted it. I like this pace. I like to be busy and to be striving forward and making plans. I do sometimes/often wish that I had an extra pair of hands to help me wind all those mini skeins and that Chris had a helper out in the studio to dye twice the yarn in half the time! And the truth is those are very realistic dreams. There is absolutely nothing stopping us from expanding our business to include an out-of-house studio space where we can accommodate staff and produce more. But here's the catch... I love our life! I love that we do it all ourselves. That we can leave early to pick up a child at daycare should the need arise, that I can take a long weekend to go visit family out of town without worrying about what's happening at the studio while I'm away. That I can have my kids home with me if I choose to (since I'm being honest, I choose to have my kids at daycare 4 days a week... but the fact that I can keep them at home with me until I feel that they are ready to start daycare and that I have that choice is so important to me.) 

I have a vision of our future that involves a big studio with high ceilings and exposed brick walls, with shelves upon shelves of always well stocked yarn and kits. Of a dedicated spot for shipping supplies, a spot for photography and a maybe even a shopfront where people can visit us in person. Maybe one day, but not today. Today I'm happy to be making kits in my home office in my pyjamas. I'm content to never be more than 12 feel away from my office and yarn stash so I can pounce on a project the second inspiration strikes. And I'm happiest of all to be doing it surrounded by those I love the most.