Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Category: techniques

  • A Quickie…

    A Quickie…

    A few months ago I was interviewed by Stitchmastery. Stitchmastery makes the knitting program that I use to create my charts! I was really stoked when this came out!

    Look at all those pretty lace patterns, all charts created by Stitchmastery.

    Interview series 51 – Lynette Meek – Stitchmastery

    Pattern is on Ravelry, High Summer KAL.

    I love working with striping yarns. Moving the stripes around in different ways is aways challenging. This technique is a little challenging, but great for the adventurous knitter.

    This striping yarn is Poema Stripes by Laine du Nord

    I have started a new scarf, one with a different style of cast-on. For the knitting nerds outs there – have you every knit a rectangular scarf or shawl in the round? Do you know the magic loop method? Why not give this a try?

    Basic instructions for a worsted start:

    Using a 5.0mm US#8 80cm 32in circ, and using a knitted cast-on (you know, the one with the loopy edge) 170 st. Knit 1 row. With a 150cm 60in needle of the same size, turn work so that the RS is facing with the cast-on edge on the top.

    Pro Tip – one that I forgot until I didn’t need to remember – DUH! – if you have them use a 60 in cord with the short tips – you will be knitting in the round without the rabbit ears a lot sooner (magic loop).

    Pull working yarn up and using the new, longer needle, pick-up and knit 170 sts from the cast-on edge. Pull up enough loop so that the needle can turn the corner, YO, knit 170 sts, YO, place BORM marker – 342 sts.

    I love the way the stitches make “turkey tails” as you move them along the cord.

    You will need to pull out the extra cord at each end to turn the corner for the first 10 rounds or so.

    • Round 1 – purl 170 sts, pm, yo, k1, yo, pm, purl 170 sts, pm, yo, k1, yo, slm – 346 sts.
    • Round 2 – knit 170 sts, slm, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, slm knit 170 st, slm, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, slm – 354 sts.
    • Round 3 – purl 170 st, slm, k1, yo, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1, yo, k1, slm, purl 170 sts, slm, k1, yo, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1, yo, k1 – 362 sts.
    • Round 4 – knit 170 sts, slm, k2, yo k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, yo, k2, slm, knit 170 sts, slm, k2, yo, k1, yo k5, yo, k1, yo, k2 – 370 sts.
    • Round 5 – purl all around – no increases.

    From this point increases will be every other round.

    This is as far as I have gotten. I will post more as I go.

    I will post more of the pattern tomorrow, always supposing I get more done today!

    I hope that your knitting is going well! Happy Knitting!

    Lynette

  • New Canadian Yarn

    New Canadian Yarn

    Last November saw the debut of a new Canadian Yarn. One that was sourced, scoured and milled close to home. Albeit home for this new yarn is Ontario, not here in British Columbia, but this is still important. A new Canadian yarn company that is working towards a more sustainable Canadian yarn market! Something that I want to support!

    Waxwing Yarn Company is the name of the new company and is situated in Ontario. The link will take you to their about page which will fill you in in all of the details. Their yarn, Cedre is available in 25 and 100 grs skeins. There are 20 colours and I loved them all. The colours are what I call clear, not greyed, and have been dyed in a palette of beautiful brights.

    I had a hard time choosing just a few colours.

    I ordered 2 full skeins and 3, 25 grs skeins. I basically created my own “try me” option. I am thinking of two separate projects, one a simple, single colour project in cables and lace. This is the collar I have been making. The colour I chose is called Brume – a light tone, just a shade darker than natural.

    The collar is now complete and I love it, Once blocked the wool really took on a lovely personality. The cable and lace pattern I created came out crisp and clear. The pattern is a wavy cable and eyelet rib that really pulled together and stayed bouncy until I blocked it out firmly. After washing and blocking the yarn had softened but still has that wonderful woolly feel. It is behaving beautifully, staying blocked and open.

    Torrent Collar, is all about the rain around here lately, water streaming down the windows and rollicking down the river, I love living on the west coast. The inspiration that surrounds me is an every day happening from the morning sunrises to the evening sunsets.

    Sunrise – no filter

    Torrent Collar is being test knit right now and should be available as a pattern in a few weeks!

    A good start…
    Beauty shot
    I-cord loop bind-off
    Looking good on a form
    Not bad on me as well. This is the small/medium size, I really should have made the medium/large, it would sit better, but it is cozy.

    I am thinking maybe and hat and some fingerless mitts will be created from the remaining yarn, something in fairisle! Or maybe entrelac? It has been a while since I designed something in entrelac. Oh so many options.

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • New Year

    New Year

    New projects, more plans, life goes forward. I have many plans but no resolutions, I seldom keep a resolution, but plans can be changed and adapted to fit the moment. How about you? Do you make or keep resolutions?

    I have finished knitting the Moebius and I am very happy with the result. I love a fringe bind-off. It takes an extra long time, but the effort is so worth it. I wore the Moebius to work on Thursday. It looked great, the feedback supported my thoughts on the matter, and felt good. I did not block it as I really wanted to keep it deeply textural.

    I will need to reknit the moebius with a different yarn for the workshop in March. Gathering Yarns Popcorn is not currently available, so I am going to use Fleece Artist Slubby Mix.

    Slubby Mix is a Merino/BFL blend, thick and thin single ply, and it will give me the texture that I really loved about the Popcorn. The pattern I designed I think will look good in a smooth yarn as the pattern is a very simple knit and purl texture. But it looks fabulous in a textured yarn that adds extra depth to the textural pattern.

    This full day workshop will run March 22, 10:00am to 4:00.

    The Year of Hats, a series of 4 hour workshops, will start in a couple of weeks. Each hat will focus on different techniques. Some will be easy, some will be more challenging. There will be homework to do before each workshop. The ribbing or band will need to be completed before the workshop so that the class time will focus on the technique being featured in each hat.

    Jan Cap
    Feb Cap – Beret
    March Cap – fair-isle beanie

    It will start with the Jan Cap, something a little simple to set us up for success as we work our way through the possibilities. This cap is a little slouchy with a seed stitch body, a slip st detail and is finished with a jaunty tassel. This workshop will run this January 25th from 11:00am to 3:00pm with a 4 hour workshop.

    The Feb Cap is a classic Beret. This Beret has a little bit of stranding for detail and a little I-cord loop as a final flourish. This workshop runs February 22nd from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

    The March Cap is a fair-isle beanie, the Sea Star Beanie. A 3 colour fair-isle band is topped with a textural knit and purl sea star crown. This workshop runs March 29th from 11:00am to 3:00 pm.

    Any curling fans out there? I will be going to Kelowna to watch the Brier, at the end of February. While in Kelowna I will be teaching a couple of classes at Kelowna Yarn and Needle Crafts.

    If you live in the area and want to take a class, or are coming to the Brier and want to add on something a little different, check out the information below and/or contact Kelowna Yarn. I usually bring a few extra samples to touch and wear so if there is something that you want to see…. maybe I can accommodate.

    First there will be a workshop on double knitting, and a then a class on knitting the perfect pair of gloves.

    I am designing a new double knit pattern for the workshop. Winter Florals, knit with Ancient Arts Superwash Merino DK in the Cranberry and Mineral colourways. I am very pleased with the way the pattern is knitting up.

    If I have time I will finish a pair of gloves that I have already started for myself. They feature a beautiful beaded cuff. The beaded pattern looks simple but is very effective. The beads are pre-strung and then knit in as the cuff progresses. The remainder of the gloves will be plain stockinette.

    This year I will be focusing on finishing some projects already started and hopefully expanding my designing skills. There are still so many things to share! I know you must have something that you want to make or learn how to make. Let me know and maybe a new class can be created.

    Around the house we have gone back to “normal”. The Christmas decorations are down and there is a pot of pea soup simmering on the stove. I don’t have any baking planned today. We are kind of taking a small break from sweets. I ate waay to much over Christmas and New Years.

    We do have a very big plan this year for ourselves! We are downsizing! Heaven help me! How will I fit all of my yarn into a smaller place!? That is a future problem that will take all of the next few months to figure out!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • A Day to Dye

    A Day to Dye

    I haven’t dyed any yarn in a while. And I have had a particular project in mind for a while. I am thinking of teaching the moebius cast-on again, but I want to keep the knitting simple, a textured yarn with great coloures seemed to be the best way to go! So I am going to while away the day preparing for and then starting the project. First to dye the yarn.

    The Yarn

    I got the yarn prepped and dyed before breakfast. Right now it is drying. The yarn is Popcorn by Gathering Yarn. It is a 93% merino, 7% nylon blend chunky yarn – 100m per 100grs, highly textured and very soft. My dyeing tools are pretty rudimentary, a heavy steel pan, not to big – I generally don’t try to dye more than 2 or 3 skeins at a time, stainless steel tongs and bowl for presoaking the yarn and basic white vinegar to help set the colours. The dyes are Jacquard in bright yellow, lilac and turquoise.

    I love to watch the yarn change as the dyes are absorbed into the yarn. My stove has the perfect center element, long and narrow, it works perfectly as a low heat source for the dyepan.

    Just a little yellow dry dye for effect.
    Apparently a little goes a loooong way!
    What have I done!?
    Ok! This is more like it.
    This is looking pretty good!

    As you can see there are a lot of changes as the dyeing progresses! I am quite pleased with the final effect. It is easy to see that I am not a professional dyer, but I still get results that I can work with. These two skeins are a little different, but if I alternate the rows – which I will most definitely do – I should get a good result.

    The first picture is the yarn when wet. The second is the yarn when almost dry. You can see how different the skeins are.

    The Project

    I haven’t knit a moebius in a while. You know that a moebius one of those never ending circles that mathematicians and scientists just love. It is a mathematical concept discovered in the late 1800’s by two scientists working independently of each other.  Like the wheel, like knitting, it was it’s time to be discovered.

    Beside the text, is a Möbius strip made with a piece of paper and tape. If an ant were to crawl along the length of this strip, it would return to its starting point having traversed the entire length of the strip (on both sides of the original paper) without ever crossing an edge.  Wikipedia

    Knitters love them too, especially Cat Bordi, her moebius cast-on has really added something to the knitting lexicon.

    The first project I knit using the moebius cast-on was the free pattern Grace Cowl. I was hooked. Since then I have designed a few moebius patterns. And I think it is time to create another pattern, something simple, something for teaching the technique to knitters who love to play and learn a new cast-on.

    The moebius cast-on is a center line cast-on. This means that once the cast-on and first round are knit you will then be knitting in two directions.

    The Moebius cast-on resembles a modified provisional cast-on; but is not provisional and becomes the two center rounds of your garment.  Like some cast-on’s, provisional or otherwise this cast-on is “un-tensioned” and requires patience for the first half of the round of knitting – the second half of the round is easy.  From the Moebius cast-on, like any other cast-on, a knitter can knit almost any kind of stitch and create a unique garment.

    Be prepared – each half of the curve is the mirror image of the other half.  For example; if every round after the cast-on is knit, one half of the moebius will appear as stockinet and the other half as reverse stockinet.  Because of this a reversible stitch is recommended for those knitters who want both sides to be visually the same.

    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tri-leaf-moebius
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/victorian-grace-moebius
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/river-moebius
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cloisonne-moebius
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waves—welted-moebius
    https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/parquet-entrelace-moebius

    Popcorn is a lovely textured yarn and with being hand-dyed will knit up in a wonderful moebius without to much effort beyond knit and purl textures. I am thinking of a simple seed stitch alternating with some garter st bands. Time to try the cast-on with the dyed yarns.

    The skeins definitely will need to be alternated! But aren’t they pretty! It was hard to find some natural light to really show you the colours, today is definitely grey. The dining room window sill did the job!

    I couldn’t find my Addi circ needle, 8mm, US 11, 120cm or 47 in long, my preferred needles for this technique, so I am using an old Crystal Palace bamboo circ, 55 inches long. The cord is a little stiffer than I like to use. But everything else is buried behind other stuff until the Christmas Decorations are taken down and everything put away!

    The Knitting

    Supplies – 8.0mm circ needle, 55 inches long, 200m chunky yarn, BORM and halfway point marker

    The most difficult part of moebius knitting is the cast-on and the first half round of the knitting. The cast-on is a unique one, almost provisional, one that creates an upper and lower row of stitches.

    This cast-on has no tension and the stitches love to leapfrog over each other for the first half of the round. After the first half is knit the stitches will behave themselves.

    Picture – cast-on and first half round complete

    Once the first half is knit everything knits as normal except for the fact that you are knitting away from the center. As you get further and further from the center you can see the cords separating and the knitting getting wider. It is so magical!

    Time to give my hands a break and do something different! But not for long! This is building up fast and I really want to see it complete!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Looking Forward – a Personal Reflection on Being Older

    Looking Forward – a Personal Reflection on Being Older

    2025 is fast approaching and I am looking forward towards a calmer year, with less sadness and more joy, with more opportunities looked for and more chances taken.

    1/4 inch tall this small treasure caught my eye as I walked past a trunk with a large opening at the bottom was this flash of white. Turned out it was this tiny mushroom, glowing white in the shadows.

    Now sure where this month went. It has flown on by since my last post, which was the first of the month and now it is close to the end of the month.

    I turned 65 this month. Not sure what that means to others, but for me it is a reminder that life is getting shorter. (I have been told that it means I am old! LOL!) So, If I want to try something new I should do it sooner, seek it out, rather than waiting for it to show up! It also doesn’t mean quitting working, it does mean changing how I work. I am lucky to have a job I love. The same job I have been working for the last 24 – 25 years. Working at Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns in Nanaimo, helping, teaching other knitters to stretch their skills and take the chance to create what they want. Teaching, sharing my knowledge and experience of working with different yarns, to help others chose the best yarns for their projects. And always playing, there are always new tools, needles and yarn to try.

    Perhaps this is my knitting Motto!

    Working at Mad About Ewe has brought so much joy and so many opportunities. While working, I was encouraged by my customers to try new things as well. I joined Ravelry thanks to Liz who thought that my teaching patterns would work well on Ravelry! She had to suggest it more than once, and she brought in her friends to add their support of the idea, as I was reluctant.

    Liz and company were correct. Through posting my patterns on Ravelry and the feedback garnered there, I gained confidence and continued to expand my designing reach.

    I entered competitions and expanded my reach in that way. One competition lead me to designing for Vogue Knitting and another started me designing for the Buffalo Wool Co. Others offered up only experience – sometimes the best of the options.

    I want to do more, try more, and work with more yarns. I need to reach out more, take more chances. I started in a small way this year – next year I will try more.

    I have been asked if I will retire, not yet, perhaps never! Retirement – who needs retirement – by some standards, doing the job you have always wanted when you retire – I have been retired for the last 25 years! One change to the job is that I only work 4 days a week instead of 5. That was supposed to give me more time to knit! But life this last year had other plans!

    I will never stop knitting – so working in a vanguard store – one that brings me new yarn and opportunities is not something to give up.

    Next year – I will add more things, more ideas, more plans!

    I didn’t walk much this year – that will change. I will make the time. I found I really missed the walking and the grounding it gave me.

    Next Year, it is waiting for everyone! Change is waiting! Joy and hope are waiting! What are we waiting for!?

    This morning Tom and I went for a walk around parts of Bowen Park, mostly around the Millstream River. We wanted to see how the heavy rains had affected the flow! And had they ever!.

    I have wonderful friends, many made through my work. One friend, Angie, did this fabulous sketch of Sophie, from one of my photographs. I had it framed. Thank-you Angie. Such a wonderful gift.

    There has been a lot of knitting this month, mostly gifts.

    December is the month that I devote to the gift making part of knitting life. Not everyone gets the gift I want to give, sometimes, most times, I have to pick and choose who gets a knitted gift. I make many hats and small accessories, and I love to make Christmas ornaments. This year I am making Shetland Stars.

    It is a lovely little lace pattern by Elizabeth Williamson. The yarn is Shetland Ultra.

    I wanted to make a garland for my daughter, but I have only made a few. So I will make a few more next year.

    Stars before and after blocking.

    Have you noticed that there is never enough time to acknowledge to ones you care for in a way that means something to you both?

    I think that the best gift is time. It is the hardest to find and the most expensive to give. It is also the gift most treasured by both the recipient and giver! Oh for more time!

    I hope that you have had a great year. I wish a wonderful year ahead. I wish you the time you need. I wish you nothing but happiness!

    Be Well.

    Lynette

    The bench – for when I am ready LOL!

  • Dec 1, 2024

    Dec 1, 2024

    This the beginning of the Christmas Season for many of us. Especially those of us in retail. As I work at my LYS I need to get my Christmas Mojo in place and be ready to help those who need my help, either with gifting ideas or help in sorting out problems with finishing those special things.

    I love this time of the year. It doesn’t matter what you celebrate or how you celebrate, most cultures celebrate the Winter Solstice in some way. Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Soltice or Saturnalia, they are celebrations of joy and sharing! And an acknowledgement that the longest night of the year has come and gone. So every year I like to share a pattern through Ravelry or here on the blog (now that I know how! LOL!) So here is my gift to you free for the month of December and running through early January!

    I was thinking about this and realizing that for the Southern hemisphere this will the shortest night of the year! Still any excuse to celebrate is a good one!

    I thing that Cyclone is a good basic hat pattern. Not too fussy, will look effective in alsomost any colour and it notes the kind of year that many of us have had! Chaotic and cyclonic. So I made it my Christmas pattern. It will be free for the month of December and going into early January.

    The stitch pattern is a fairly straight forward mosaic stitch. I love mosaic stitching because you are never working more than one colour at a time! No carries! Because of the size of the mosaic pattern there is really only one size, but notes are included to adjust the size a little up or down to accommodate larger or smaller adult/teen size heads.

    CycloneDownload

    Just to be different there will be a couple of free patterns this year. I turn sixty-five this month as well. So I am going to celebrate that too! And no, retirement is not part of my plans. After all, I am already working at what I love. So, I would like offer up another pattern for free for the month!

    Cozy Bells is a tea-cozy designed to celebrate Christmas every day of the Year. The bells will jingle softly as the tea is poured and your tea will remain warm for quite a white! I recommend printing this pattern in colour as there are many how to pictures to go along with the embellishing.

    Cozy BellsDownload

    Life has been rough for the bulk of the year so I am seizing this moment to share some joy! I hope that you like the patterns and will take this opportunity to try them out.

    On a sad note, Sophie, our beautiful beagle passed away last week. She was thirteen and had lived a good life. She was always happy, tail wagging at every greeting and never, ever, passed up a treat that came her way. She was loved by all who knew her and never met anyone she didn’t like. She is missed every day.

    At work we are starting to organize our ideas for next years classes. And I am going to offer up a “Year of Hats”. A series of workshops, each one about a hat, or headgear of some type. There will be different weights, different techniques and yarns to work with. Quite a few are already done. There will be a blog post, maybe next weekend, all about this project.

    I am really excited about the turquoise item below – the technique is colourwork slip stitching! You a never working with more than one colour! I am working with several colours of Patagonia Organic Merino. Wouldn’t it look great with the drops done in a hand-dyed yarn? What do you think?

    I am also going to resurrect a few of my older projects. Things that I really want to finish – either patterns or projects. A mixture of both! You can see that I am setting up my New Years’ resolutions as I work my way through this!

    Squared Away Blanket – I umm started it before Logan was born, 9 years ago. Maybe next year….
    And I really want to get back to my Dress.https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knit-a-dress-with-me
    And these gloves – there are so many patterns I need to finish!
    A Sweater for me…
    A new use for reinforcing yarn…

    I am playing with a new yarn – Cedre, by Waxwing Yarn Co.. This is an all Canadian endeavor. The yarns are sourced and scoured in Ontario. Then they are spun in Quebec.

    Cedre is a woolen spun single, I would call it a solid 4-ply in weight. It has a lovely roundness to it and is very springy. I am putting it through its paces while working this mini poncho. I started with a 2.75mm and have settled on a 3.75mm for the body. The stitch definition is crisp, even at this needle size and I can hardly wait to finish this project. I want to see how it reacts to blocking.

    So, Happy December!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Long Weekend – Colours of the Fall

    Long Weekend – Colours of the Fall

    It was a very productive, very busy long weekend here. We were Grand-dog sitting and I was working on a pattern. We binged some tv and generally had a quiet weekend.

    In the past I created the charts for my patterns with the Word program on my computer. I beat it into submission (maybe it beat me into submission! LOL! ) and learned how to create charts for cables and colourwork. I considered it an Ok system, not perfect, but serviceable!

    A few years ago I discovered Stitchmastery and It is much more than serviceable! Stitchmastery is a software tool for designers that allows the designer to create beautiful charts. The learning curve was a bit of a challenge at first. It still is, but I am learning more about what Stitchmastery can do every time I use it!

    So this weekend i decided to work on a set of charts for my next release in my Salish Sea Collection, Spirit Bear! The transfer is going along fabulously. I took the biggest chart, the back, it required 4 pages to create with word and took it down to one page using Stitchmastery! I was so thrilled with those results! The rest of the pattern will go much faster as I learned all the shortcuts as I worked on the back chart!

    Maybe I will finish the rest of the charts for Spirit Bear off this coming weekend!

    We walked the dogs, Sophie, our 13 year old beagle and Alfie, my daughters 3 year old, at a beach every morning this weekend, Piper’s Lagoon, Neck Point and Departure Bay beach. Every morning was glorious – grey and foggy and sometimes even a little wet! The tide was out and that gave the dogs so much beach to run on every morning. It was a great start for them and for Tom and I.

    Check out my walk around Neck Point on Sunday, always one of my favourites. We were there around 7:00am. See the beauty of the fog, the soft greys of the sky and the colours of the foliage. See how calm the sea was. It was a beautiful morning.

    A profusion of Turkey Tail Fungi!
    My favourite view in the park, always!
    The skies might be varied shades of grey but check out the mix of fall colours in the foliage.
    The poA lone eagle in the distance
    The point at Pipers Lagoon and Shack Island through the fog.
    More fall foliage!
    Beach debris.
    I do love the Fall foliage! I never seem to tire of the shades the nature creates, just by changing the temperatures!

    On Monday I made a blackberry pie with some frozen berries. It was like a little bit of Summer had come for a visit!

    We still have five batches of berries frozen for pie. It will keep the Winter at bay.

    How as your long weekend? Was it productive? Or was it lazy? It is sometimes hard to decide which is best!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Tea Cozies – my Toys

    Tea Cozies – my Toys

    I have been knitting Tea Cozies pretty much as long as I have been knitting. At first – they were just for me. I knit them for my pots and as gifts for friends. It wasn’t until 2009 that I posted my first cozy patterns. Victorian Cozy, Harvest Cozy, Bluebells in a Row Cozy and Thistle and Heather Cozy. They all grew out of my first retreat as the “headline” teacher.

    I think my latest cozy pattern was over 8 years ago, in 2016, Andean Dreams Cozy. So I am wayyy… overdue for a new cozy pattern. This year I am going all out. There will be two new cozy patterns and both will be released in the next couple of weeks.

    Dancer Cozy – a Gentleman’s style cozy in a very heavy wool Prairie Wool Fusion from Custom Woolen Mills.

    Like most of my patterns it has been designed to teach a technique, in this case, West Coast stranding, in the Cowichan style of knitting. The class starts this Tuesday, Nov 5th.

    And just because I can, and just because I think a cozy should be whimsical and more than a little over the top; I have designed a Christmas Themed Cozy. This one is also for a class, a class on knitting and attaching embellishments. There are still a couple of holly sprigs left to attach – ready for a class demonstration.

    Please note that the cozy is not bad looking without the embellishments. So if you are not a fan of embellishing the Cozy will still look great on its own! This cozy has been knit with Estelle Worsted from Estelle yarns. This class will start the Tuesday after the Dancer Cozy is done, Nov 19th.

    Cozy Bells – the latest cozy in the collection. Or it will be shortly! The bells really do take the cozy to a new level. They jingle so softly, all cozied up within the wool bell shapes. They add just the perfect festive touch.

    I have often been asked which cozy pattern is my favourite. I really cannot say as it is always the one I am working on or dreaming up. I honestly love them all. The one I am most proud of though, is the cozy I created for an Australian Cancer Fundraiser. It was the same year as the Tea Cozy Retreat, 2009 – I think!

    It took a lot of time and effort. I called it Waltzing Matilda’s – Wreaths of Hope.

    When I was a child I always saw sheep dancing whenever I heard this song.

    Happy Knitting

    I hope that your tea pot is always warm and ready for your second cup!

    Lynette

  • Jingle Gnome Chapeau Part Two

    Jingle Gnome Chapeau Part Two

    Now that the class has started there has been a request for a mitten pattern to co-ordinate with the hat! So…

    I am knitting a pair. The first mitten is complete and the second it started! There will be two sizes of mittens, small/medium (for me) and a medium/large. I am knitting the small/medium as the sample pair. UPDATE – the second mitten is finished! They practically knit themselves!

    I decided to knit the loopy cuff with two colours, grey and white. I knew that there wasn’t enough grey for a solid cuff on both mittens, and I am still not sure that even with mixing the colours that I will have enough grey to finish the mittens. I am loving the colour mix, sometimes need is the best teacher! We will see if I have saved enough of the grey to finish the mitten without purchasing more yarn.

    The pattern for both hat and mittens is basically complete – it just needs some pictures and a photo tutorial for the afterthought thumb – my favourite thumb for most colourwork mittens. This thumb is easy to knit and does not interfere with the colourwork pattern.

    The inserted sts. The guideline for the thumb placement
    Using two dpn’s pick-up 1 arm of each st above and below the inserted waste yarn.
    Starting at the center arefully cut and remove the waste yarn.
    Waste yarn is removed and the sts are ready to be knit.
    First round has been created.
    Mitten with completed thumb.

    The pattern is available on Ravelry as the Jingle Gnome Chapeau with Bonus Mittens.

    I love the vintage filter on my computer photo editing program, it really suits the mood of the Jingle Gnome Chapeau!

    Happy Knitting!

    Lynette

  • Another Possible Class Project

    Another Possible Class Project

    Would you like to learn how to knit a tea cozy like this?

    I love to knit tea cozies.

    This is a different yarn from the usual. Ray Gentleman, whom I work with, challenged, suggested, put an idea out there about creating a West Coast Cozy with the Prairie Sea Fusion from Custom Woolen Mills.

    The idea stuck in my head and I had to knit it out!

    So, if you take the class you will make this charmer of a cozy. You will also learn how to strand the yarn in the proper way for a West Coast knit. Oh and look at that fringe! Learn how to finish the cozy with the fringe on top…

    This is The Dancer Cozy. I am quite enamoured with it.

    A few years ago I started designing with the Cowichan style of wools. Nowadays that includes Briggs and Little Country Roving, Prairie Wool and Prairie Sea Fusion by Custom Woolen Mills. At the store we were always being asked for the Cowichan patterns, which were really the old White Buffalo and Mary Maxim patterns, not the true West Coast patterns. Those are the intellectual property of the original knitters.

    I try to create patterns respectful of the past and the present motifs of the West Coast. They reflect my lifetime of living, mostly on the Coast but also in northern Canada and Malaysia. The OOkpik childs set is based on a childhood memory, a small stuffed snowy owl that my father had given me, named OOkpik. I designed and knit that set for my Grandson. The Standing Tall Gauntlets are based on memories of the gauntlets I wore when living in Northern Manitoba. You needed that extra heavy layer over the basic mittens or gloves – it was cold up there!

    The Dancer Cozy reminds of both the Button Blanket dances of the West Coast and the Shadow Puppets of the Malaysian Peninsula. The shapes are both stylized and simplified, taken right down to suggestion and imagination.

    The Spirit Bear will be my next sweater pattern release in the Salish Sea Collection.

    Spirit Bear
    Bento Box
    Wolf Song
    Wet Coast
    North Sea Hap
    OOKpik
    Standing Tall
    Sitka Poncho
    Spirit Toques
    Cowichan Inspired Toques

    So much inspiration, never enough time! I love where I live!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Lynette