Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Category: knitting

  • Another Week, Another Hat!

    Another Week, Another Hat!

    February is usually Retreat Month. Not this year – above is Kiwi Cove Saturday morning on the Retreat Weekend 2 years ago – perfect knitting weather.

    Instead of working on my Cathedral Sweater sleeve or the Serenity Waves Shawl edging – both of which are so close to being finished! I chose to work on another Bio Shetland hat, another fact finding exercise you might say! And I am very happy with the results. This one is called Dahlia. So Called for the beautiful floral crown.

    I have a thing for floral crowns. I have a thing for flowers. I am not particularly good at growing them. I am not much of a gardener. I find things that survive my somewhat indifferent skills and go with them. The basic rule is that I do try to find plants that either flower, or I grow herbs I can use in the kitchen.

    I surround myself with my mothers floral petit points and have collected a multitude of the floral “posies” made by Ainsley, Denton and Staffordshire. Flowers quite simply, make me smile, make me happy. They are small things that I note and enjoy, their colours, shapes and scents are all part of the lexicon of things I find enjoyable.

    I hope to have the Dahlia pattern up on Ravelry next weekend.

    I was really happy with the way the Classic Lapel Vest fit. It is just the right length and fit for me.

    I am short with a 44 inch bust and a little more weight than is good for me, but the vest is still flattering.

    Now to write the pattern for more sizes than my own. It will have to be a bit of a formula pattern I think. A few basic sizes and lots of information on making it for yourself.

    Today I am baking a classic lemon layer cake with blackberry jam in the middle and lemon icing all around. It is really just a white cake with lemon extract instead of vanilla extract and fresh lemon peel thrown into the dry mixture. Lemon icing is also simple butter icing (soft butter and icing sugar beaten together) with lemon juice instead of vanilla and milk. This makes the icing very tart and it tastes like lemon candies. Yuummm! If I am being fancy I will candy up some lemon slices to decorate the top!

    Ready to ice the sides. I noticed that I put the bottom layer down upside down – so the jam is oozing more than it should. I think that i will have jam in my icing, and I did!

    I love to cook and bake which is why I carry a few pounds to many. It also runs in the family, most of my cousins also love to cook and bake. And we all love to eat good food! Food is one of lifes’ most basic pleasures and with Covid rules dictating life all around we need to take pleasure where we can!

    I am still feeling the need to start something new so today I am going to start a shawl in some new yarn from The Small Bird Workshop.

    These are non superwash, Island grown Babydoll Southdown wool fibre, blended with Kamloops area mohair and sourced silk (70/15/15) fingering weight yarns. There is no more of this particular blend left, but a small bird told me that she is working towards having more next year.

    This yarn was milled at That Darn Yarn Mill, Kamloops.

    I am really looking forward to starting this project!

    Have you anything new on your needles? Or pulled out a long overdue project? Something for you to wear? You know that often what we make for ourselves is the last thing we finish as we are always knitting for others! Be kind to yourself and knit or finish something that is just yours!

    Be Well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

    PS – Did you see the moon this week? Simply stunning.

  • Filigree and More Unexpected Knitting

    Filigree and More Unexpected Knitting

    Well it has been quite a week!

    I just found out that my hat pattern Roamin‘ was included in a podcast! Fleece and Harmony podcast 64

    I am so stoked!

    Also, I finished a hat, Started the first sleeve on my sweater and of course went to work. Work is kind of a hazardous place to be when you are something of a fanatic about yarns. All natural yarns at least! I use man made fibres for some projects of course, they can be very useful. But much less than natural fibres. Man made fibres generally make me itch, they just don’t breathe.

    Wools are my favourite, Blended wools, those that are spun with Bison, Silk, Yak, Cashmere or Alpaca are right up there too. But wools, non-superwash, hand painted or dyed solid, they slay me. I like a slightly textured yarn, one with a bit of bite. I don’t find these yarns itchy at all – they just knit up into a beautiful texture that suits me!

    This week, quite a few boxes arrived from our suppliers. In one was the new Super Bulky Hand Painted Colour Story by Estelle yarn – 150gr, 75m of wooly perfection. It is so new that it isn’t even on Ravelry. Check out the colours of the Colour Story Sock – the bulky is in the darker tones that are also available in the sock! So I dropped the sleeve (isn’t it wonderful how knitting will wait so patiently) and Thursday evening started to knit. This easy distraction is one of the hazards I was speaking about! Perhaps it is also part of my personality – never short of ideas!

    Well this morning I finished a new vest – a shorty version of a jacket vest with a properly notched collar and single button style closure – Classic Lapel Vest. I knit it in the Tapestry colourway. Pattern to follow in a couple of weeks.

    Last post I was starting a hat. I wanted to play with a few of the the colours of BC Garn’s Bio Shetland. I am working up to designing a fair-isle vest. The next step is a new fair-isle hat that will utilize the colours and patterning that I would like to see in my vest.

    Well, I started this first hat with 15 colours, took away 3 that just didn’t work and added another colour that did! So it takes 13 colours to knit as shown, but it could easily be simplified. It will be a great stash buster! the hat is now complete and I am so happy with it that I wrote up a pattern!

    It is called Filigree and I had so much fun knitting it. I hope that you will too! Click on the button below to download.

    FiligreeDownload

    Yesterday we went for a short walk at Bowen Park. I could hear the water roaring but we never went close. I did see an unusual flower – I think that it is a type of Rhododendron, at least it was on the edge of the Rhodo Grove. It is the photo at the top of the post. Does any one know what it is? We were expecting snow today but that hasn’t materialized – but maybe this evening.

    What is your winter like? Full on snow, wind and cold. Or mild like our west coast weather. I have lived in northern climates and in cold prairie climates, even tropical climates, but my favourite is winter here. Some grey mists, cool green foliage and all the rain you can handle – OK – the rain can get a little old, but the rest of it is just my style!

    I love the look of the devolving petals, they start to look so lace like.

    Today I am making what my mother always called Matrimonial Cake. It is really just date squares, but I think that Matrimonial Cake sounds so much more elegant. I don’t use baking soda and I do add lemon juice and a little fresh lemon peel to the dates. I also make it in a 9×9 pan. Yummm, that way the pieces are deeper and moister for more flavour!

    It is almost time to take the Cake out of the oven.

    Be Well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

  • On to Sleeve Island…

    On to Sleeve Island…

    For my 8 year sweater.

    I am not sure why sleeves are called sleeve island – I know they remind some people of socks and why “knit another one just like the other one” becomes an issue for some – mostly because both items usually come as pairs – and boredom becomes a factor when working on the second one of anything!!

    The term has been around for a while, long enough that most knitters will know what I am talking about! And there is even a sweater by Kate Davies called Sleeve Island! It is a pretty cool piece of knitting.

    But sleeves are just fine in my estimation! In a top down sweater like Cathedral it means you are almost done. Sleeves are short – well for me they are short! I have short arms and I like my sleeves no longer than my wrist – usually just a shade shorter for layering or to enable me to wear one (or more) of my silver bracelets. I love bracelets! Many of mine are made by Joan Hoye, a local silversmith and lace knitter. Joan also makes my markers. Sorry no website.

    Do you collect things? I do! I have been collecting yarn for about 40 years and bracelets for almost as long, around 35 years I think. These are my current favourites.

    I collect antiques and porcelain flowers as well. What do you collect?

    It has been a busy week. The first of my Salish Sea Sweaters – Wolf Song, came back from the Test Knitter. And it is gorgeous! Well I think it is gorgeous! I hope that you will too!

    I received a couple of yarn parcels from Kate Davies

    • 4 balls of the new colour of Milarrochy Tweed – Backen‘. Backen’ is a deep burgundy red.
    • But what is really cool is the arrival of the rest of the Schiehallion that I need to knit myself another top-down sweater. This one with a fair-isle patterned yoke. I have already worked a hat to help pick out the colours I liked. I am basing my colours for my sweater on the hat Failte. Deep purple body with the rich deep yoke colours.
    • My 10 Years in the making book is still on its way as is the other new Milarrochy Tweed colour! Foxglove is a vibrant pink that I am really looking forward to working with. Picture from the web as my yarn hasn’t arrived yet – isn’t the most glorious of colours.

    I have started another hat – this one is to test out the colours for the fair-isle vest that I am thinking of knitting in the BC Garn Bio Shetland. I am using Navy for the background and the colours will sing with that to pop against, except of course for those that won’t! I have already taken one colour out of the line up – the mid blue just won’t do the job!

    Not much to see as yet – but I am determined to play around a lot in the next couple of days and weed out even more colours! Then I will knit my Sleeves!

    Be well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

    PS. Today I baked a carrot cake! i have used this recipe before and it always turns out well. I bake it as a sheet cake. It is now cool enough to ice! Yummy!

  • A New Sweater for Me – Maybe?!

    A New Sweater for Me – Maybe?!

    Ok, it really isn’t new. I started it eight years ago and have picked it up and put it down so many times as I have gotten distracted by other knitting projects – nothing is better than that next project sometimes.

    It was pointed out to me on Friday, as I reviewed my 5 + started sweaters for myself, that if I just gave myself a little push I could have a new sweater in a couple of weeks. A sweater perfect for this weather and something that would actually co-ordinate with my current wardrobe of slacks.

    Well the straight black sweater wasn’t ever going to happen. I need to rip that one back! Why did I ever even start? Well – what goes better with a wardrobe of hand knit colourful shawls than a basic black sweater? I really should knit myself one, just a plain one, one that would be a great backdrop for anything. In DK. Well between boredom and possible blindness I gave that one up. And it is staying that way.

    The cabled and lace Aran Riding Jacket is just a little too complicated for right now and even on the larger needles will take a fair bit of knitting. I am knitting it with some 35 year old Sunbeam Bainin, a traditional lanolin infused Irish wool.

    The fingering weight bohus yoke sweater in Solje is gorgeous and is supposed to be my travelling project as I am on the absolutely plain body. Who knew that travelling was suddenly not an option!

    The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.

    Robbie Burns

    Seems appropriate for our times.

    Well, the 4th sweater option I just can’t find. It would be perfect! A boxy, short, big fat cabled sweater knit in Prairie Wool on 10mm needles. It is currently lost in my stash and I am not willing to do the deep dive it requires. Which just leaves me with one option…. The Cathedral Sweater.

    It was started 8 years ago when this absolutely gorgeous hand-dyed dk weight merino from Madeline Tosh came into the store! I bought it all and started the sweater right away. It was going to be a top-down raglan with easy lace details. I really loved it! And then…. it got put down. I picked it up again a couple of years ago and really got into the body of sweater, it was going to be an A-line shape with a bit of swish, and down it went again….

    I knit for about 4 hours on it yesterday and this morning and added almost 3 inches to the length of the body! Only 5 or 6 inches left. That is motivation enough to keep me knitting. Then the sleeves. They will be fast! Lets see how fast this sweater will finish.

    I seem to be into fast knitting right now. I just finished a cowl and hat combo. Started Thursday evening and finished Saturday morning. Textured Bricks, I love the deep cushy feel of the yarn and slip stitch patterning. The yarn is Slubby Mix by Fleece Artist, in the Boreal and Earth colourways. I added this pattern to the 7 Hats More ebook as well.

    Today is a cooking day. I really do love to cook and some Sundays just seem to lend themselves to the task.

    I made whole grain waffles for breakfast and a Wacky Cake is already cooling on the counter. The recipe that I linked is pretty close to mine I think. I didn’t realize that there were so many versions! It was our family favourite when we were growing up! It was also perfect for my grandson as he was born with egg and dairy allergies, which he is growing out of now. But for a while it was the only cake I could make for him!

    I think that I will make Spanakopita (recipe from Greek with Gusto) to go with supper – finger foods in front of the TV! The Football playoffs have started and my husband is a big fan! And it gives me the excuse to cook something a little different!

    And of course I will be knitting on my sweater and winding yarn for a new project. A fair-isle vest in the Bio Shetland! I have brought home 12 different colours so far to play with – though there is this turquoise that I haven’t brought home yet! LOL!

    The Bio Shetland is the yarn I have been working my new shawl with, it works into lovely stitches, with crisp pattern definition. The first half of the shawl is resting while I contemplate my next move. There are two ways I can work the center, not sure which one I want to use yet.

    I will start with a hat to play with the colours and see what works and what doesn’t. This will be the biggest fair-isle project/pattern that I have attempted to date. I am not much of a garment designer, that requires a lot more patience and sizing expertise than I usually practise. But this year is going to be a year of trying new things I think, expanding on what I already do and just trying new variations.

    Be Well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

    PS – while looking for my partly finished sweaters I found a another purple sweater, also half done and a great many of my stitch markers!