Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Category: Life

  • Summer Things

    Summer Things

    July 6th was our 25th wedding anniversary and the Covid restrictions loosened just enough so we could have our celebration in the back yard. My husband had been working on this event for almost 2 years, continuing to plan and hope all the way through Covid! Many of the original attendees plus family and friends all came for dinner under a couple of tents. It was a wonderful time. We were all so glad to be visiting and sharing the ours stories from the last 16 months. For many, especially our senior relatives it was their first time out in months!

    Then we went on a short trip to Kelowna in the Okanagan. We stayed at the Eldorado Hotel on the Lake and had an absolutely wonderful time. Swimming in the morning, reading or visiting in the afternoon and eating most of our meals on the Lakeside Boardwalk of the Hotel! The service was wonderful – there was a beautiful little cake waiting for us in our room! The room was comfortable and air conditioned – very important in the heat!

    Our second evening we went out to Mission Hills Winery for a special dinner on the Terrace Restaurant – wine and good food – what a fabulous pairing! I really love the Mission Hill grounds. Every view is beautiful and there is Fine Art everywhere. It was what artists call The Golden Hour as we were leaving – so beautiful.

    Their store is fabulous, full of unique items and of course wonderful wine. I purchased a new cookbook – Wine Lover’s Cookbook by Fiona Beckett It has great pictures (it has to have great pictures) and appears to have quite a few promising recipes. We also purchased some Rose for the wine rack.

    On Friday afternoon I did a Show and Tell at the Kelowna Yarn and Needle Craft Shop! The ladies and I had a wonderful time! I showed off some of my knits and told the stories behind the items. The ladies got to play with the samples and try things on. It was a win/win for us all. I hope to go back in a year or so and maybe teach a workshop.

    The only thing that we didn’t get to do was take a trip on the Kettle Valley Train. It was cancelled a few days before due to the high fire risk in the Valley, well all over B.C. right now. Sparks from the wheels and rails could ignite a fire! That will be a definite for next time!

    I am about a week away (maybe a little more) from finishing the Sundail Shawl. The extreme heat we had delayed its progress and did the trip to the Okanagan, but it is looking great! I am organizing the prizes and can hardly wait to get the High Summer KAL started. I have been collecting pictures of my favourite flowers and have ordered another colour of beads for the shawl. Well if my idea works there will be some more beads added to the shawl. As you know, beads are always optional!

    Be well and knit Happy

    Lynette

    PS The test knitter for Crystalline is working on the edging now! It won’t be long before it is released!

  • Directionality in Knitting

    Directionality in Knitting

    Did you know that knitting only moves in one direction?

    That you can only knit “up” even when you are knitting “down”?!

    When you are knitting you are creating both fabric and garment at the same time and the action of knitting takes “up” the yarn always in one direction. Your knitting will only frog in one direction, will only “run” in one direction and often will only allow you to design in one direction.

    The other day Greta, a friend of mine, asked why certain patterns were upside down when wearing them as a shawl. For example the butterfly pattern in my Covid be Damned Shawl. Why couldn’t they be the other way around?

    Unfortunately, that particular pattern that cannot be reversed, the lines that make up the shape of the butterfly only move in one direction. To make the butterfly right side up, we could have cast-on the stitches, knit the butterfly and then graft the stitches to the body of the shawl to make the butterfly right side up. This would have been a lot of work with certain drawbacks and not worth the effort. Most of the interesting patterns, especially ones with distinct shapes and line are literally irreversible.

    It can be easier to reverse the simpler patterns, but even they can be stubborn. I remember a young designer trying to make a simple sprig go the opposite way in her knitting as she wanted it to go “right” side up, but in the end she bowed to the knitting.

    I just went through the same kind of process.

    I wanted to knit a pattern that was representative of my feelings of shock, grief and sadness. The announcements coming out about the residential school properties and the bodies of the children they were finding were hitting me hard and I know that there is more to come. I decided on a top-down poncho, knit with a stitch that always had reminded me of tears. I wanted to knit the poncho top down and still keep the tear drop shape of the motifs, the stitch pattern did not co-operate. This pattern was a pattern that I could not reverse, after a day and a half of trying I gave up and went to a bottom up version of the poncho.

    The pattern immediately started to behave itself and it knit up in no time at all!

    Tears for the Children

    Knitting this pattern was a type of catharsis for me. I felt compelled by my emotions to knit this idea out. I stopped my other project for a moment (Sundial Shawl) and knit this out of my system.

    The announcements about the Residential Schools and the unmarked graves has hit me very hard. I am not a particularly political person or one who has strong opinions on most political topics, but this, this was very different. As a mother and now grandmother, the thought of my children or grandchild being forcibly removed from my care and culture was a gut blow. That this happened in Canada, my Canada, has really caused me to think and feel things that I had never before considered. I am humbled by our past and want our future to be better thought out and more caring of each other.

    Tears for the Children is the name of the pattern. It is free for all. There are links to donate on the Ravelry Page in lieu of payment. It is very little, but it is a start.

    Below are a couple of links if you are interested in learning more about this issue or donating to the funds to support the healing process for all indigenous Canadians. I am sure that there are more.

    Donate here for the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund.

    Donate here for the B.C. Residential Schools Survivors Society

    Be well, Be aware, Listen to the stories, hear the grief, help the healing.

    Lynette

  • High Summer KAL

    High Summer KAL

    It is too hot to knit! I don’t say that very often, but here on the West Coast we are experiencing an epic heat wave. Since I cannot knit I will tell you the story of what I am knitting and what images and imaginary place influenced the creation of this new shawl.

    My real garden in early June.

    I was planning on posting this blog on July 1st when I post the preliminary sign-up on Ravelry for this KAL But it can be early as I will need to be knitting to catch up on the knitting time that I am loosing to this heat. This shawl is for a KAL (knit-a-long) that I will be hosting starting Aug 1. I am working with Ancient Arts Yarns to create a fun and engaging time to celebrate the Summer and Summer Gardens! The yarn I am using is their Lascaux Fine, a yarn I fell in love with when knitting a couple of hats, Flat Iron and a new one coming up. This pattern will have options to keep you busy and allow you choices in the finishing. There will be prizes; yarns, stitch markers and a pattern or two. So….

    Starting Aug 1, come and join us as we knit a half pi shawl.   The Sundail Shawl will feature lace panels with floral motifs, some beading (all placed with a crochet hook) and a beautiful floral lace edging.  But the highlight of the shawl is the fair-isle garden that edges the bottom of the shawl.  This fair-isle panel will be reversible and there will be an optional sundial motif, also fair-isle, that is knit separately and then incorporated into the center bottom of the shawl.

    While this is not a true mystery shawl as you know the shape and theme of the motifs, the full shawl will not be revealed until almost the end of the knit – when we start the fair-isle section. The pattern will be released in 4 sections.

    I love looking at pictures of wilder gardens, usually English in style. I am not that kind of gardener. I plant, and hope that the object of my affections will survive my somewhat haphazard style of gardening.

    I have just created a Facebook group and forum thread on Ravelry for the KAL. I hope that you will share your progress photos and gardening pictures – your garden or the one you love the most.

    High Summer in my Fantasy Garden

    I love High Summer in my garden.  I can sit on the deck at the back of the house and contemplate the beds of beautiful flowering plants all in full bloom and vegetables all starting to ripen.  The fruit trees are laden with developing fruit.  My time and efforts are showing the rewards of hard work.  The scents in the air make me feel giddy!

    But my favourite spot in the Garden is at the back of the beds, close to the fence.  Beyond the flowers and sparkling fountains.

    There grow the oldest plants and vines, all started by the original owner of my home, a herbalist with an amazing ability to grow anything (some say she was a witch).  That area of the yard refuses to be tamed.  Right now, the roses are climbing over each other to outdo themselves with headily scented blooms.  There are brown eyed Susan’s and Queen Anne’s lace, fighting for space with Forget-me-nots, Poppies and Bergamot.  Under it all in the center of that garden is an old sundial, grounding the space to the passing of time.

    That sundail is special, it doesn’t show the passing of time. the enamel on the face is as bright as the day the sundail was put into the garden. It stays fast and true as teh garden grows around it. There is magic in that sundail. It spills up into the rest of my garden as I plant and tend. I can feel that my ancestress is working beside me willing the flowers and fruits to grow and flourish. Thank-you dear lady.

    Please join me and Ancient Arts Yarns as we celebrate the Summer. Share your favourite garden photos with us and of course your knitting progress.

    Be well and knit Happy!

    Lynette

    Dates to remember:

    • July 1 – preliminary sign-up for KAL – half price
    • July 8 – next level sign-up for KAL – 25% off
    • July 15 – sign-up for KAL – full price – $12.00
    • Aug 1 – KAL starts – first section of pattern is released
    • Aug 8 – second section of pattern is released
    • Aug 15 – third section of pattern is released
    • Aug 22 – fourth and final section of pattern is released
    • Sept 15 – Show-off date and official ending of KAL

    Places to be

    Instagram tags – #HighSummerKAL #HSKAL #sundailshawl

    Badges

  • Tri Leaf Moebius

    Tri Leaf Moebius

    Tri Leaf Moebius is the twelfth pattern in the Just Playing Around Ebook.

    The yarn is Schoppel-Wolle Cashmere Zauber, a lovely soft blend of merino and cashmere. The colour gradation is long and slow so that the lace pattern is not impacted by the colour changes, only enhanced.

    This pattern would look great in a solid. A soft alpaca or cashmere from your stash perhaps.

    A Moebius is a very entertaining knit. The cast-on and first round can be a little fiddly but the result is so worth it. The moebius shaping paired with a soft yarn creates an interestingly graceful cowl.

    The garden is growning and the flowers are blooming. The Poppy is done, as is the Clematis, But the Dianthus is blooming for the first time ever. I moved it from the front yard, where the deer ate every bud just before blooming, to the back yard where this year it is putting on a stellar show.

    • The guilty party – isn’t he handsome though! He lives in the lot next door a great deal on the time.

    Be well and knit Happy!

    Lynette

  • Time and Tide wait for No Man (or Woman)!

    Time and Tide wait for No Man (or Woman)!

    I think of that proverb often as I am something of a procrastinator! Never mind something of a procrastinator – I can and have at times turned it into a fine art!

    Procrastination, practiced properly is a time management tool that works to my advantage as I tend to work better when under just the right amount of pressure. That is what happens when I practice it consciously. When it sneaks up on me and I get distracted by the new toy – usually yarn – it can cause a bit of a disruption, which why I am releasing two patterns today – I, ummm, kinda missed last weekend somehow. It got lost in the sands of time and distraction.

    It wasn’t that I have been doing nothing. Just not the planned things.

    Two Versions of the bento box. So called because it is a little boxy with options, just like a bento box. PS – that is me in the Lapel version of the vest!

    Today’s releases are the Bento Box Vest and the Garry O’ hat. They represent totally opposite ends of the knitting spectrum.

    Garry O’

    The Bento Box Vest is knit with big needles, 10mm, (I used my super sparkly ones) and super bulky yarns and can be knit in a couple of days if you have a little time. Garry O’ is knit with much smaller needles, 2.5 and 3.0mm, and much finer yarns and will take a little time. Both are very satisfying knits for very different reasons!

    Today has been very busy! The first jam of the season – ummm, strawberry was made and Elise and I had a great photo shoot. Below is a sneak peak at some of the upcoming patterns for the Just Playing Around ebook.

    Some upcoming additions

    I hope that you have had a couple of great weeks. Working in your gardens or knitting up a storm, even working. Life is starting to feel just a little more optimistic.

    I have picked 8 whole strawberries from my pots so far – and I am seeing lots more forming. The peas are coming up almost faster than whatever bug is eating them and the beans and tomatoes are looking pretty healthy.

    It is the flowers that give me the greatest joy! Peonies, Poppies, Roses, Honeysuckle and Lavender are all blooming the thyme and sage as well. The bees are ecstatic and the humming birds as well. We are getting lots of rain right now which is good as this last Spring was way too dry. How does your garden grow?

    Be well and knit happy!

    Lynette

    A sneak peak into a fall project.

  • Walking in the Woods…

    Walking in the Woods…

    … Sitting in my garden

    They are my favourite places to relax and recharge at the start or the end of my day.

    Both give me peace and joy! Both help to still my mind and clarify my thoughts. They are constant inspiration for my designs, and life. Their scents and sights bring me great pleasure and are a powerful relaxant to my sometimes churning thoughts. They make me stop and take note of the small things that we sometime miss as we rush through our days.

    What are your places? Where do you find peace and joy? Are they one and the same or are they different?

    I hope that you have a great day! Be well.

    Lynette

    Neck Point Park
    • flowering snowbell
    Good Morning Garden! I wish you could smell the heady scents of rose and honeysuckle, damp earth and the incredible scent coming from the little weeping Japanese tree that is to the left of me as I sit in my chair. It is covered in very fragrant white blooms right now and is quite heavenly!

    Fragrant Flowering Japanese Snowbell

  • It’s Sunday

    It’s Sunday

    So it must be a good day to release a new pattern. Meet Pinecones Cowl. A fast and easy knit for you or for a gift. Infinitely versatile and can be used to try out a new technique – pooling.

    The pooling cowl is for me! My favourite colours all in one easy to wear piece. A rare photo of me (I never like pictures of me). wearing the pooling cowl.

    Elise and I got together this morning for a quick photo shoot! In the rain! But it was fun and went well. I love to photograph my knits in different lights and at different times of the day. Morning light, on grey days is my favourite, there just seems to be a freshness about it – the colours seem to come out better.

    The simpler version of the Plumier stole knit with Handmaiden Flyss.

    We were getting pictures of the Pinecones Cowl and of the Plumier Stole, a new pattern that will be ready in two or three weeks. There will be two versions. One version, a little simpler, was knit with Handmaiden Flyss and my favourite version, which is a little bit more challenging but I love the effect. Knit in two colours of BC Garn Bio Shetland. The lace patterns used are all Shetland in origin, my favourite style of lace if I had to pick a favourite! Really I haven’t met a lace pattern that hasn’t called to me in some way! LOL!)

    Plumier Stole – knit with BC Garn Bio Shetland – the colours are little brighter than reality.

    Today we are going to pick some rhubarb from the garden and I am going to make rhubarb strawberry pie – a favourite around here. How do you like your pie? Do you prefer it plain or serve it with whipping cream or ice-cream? We go both ways in our household.

    Rhubarb from the garden and purchased Strawberries. It should be the perfect temperature come dessert time.

    Well the pattern is up on Ravelry and the kettle is on for tea. The pie is out of the oven and I am ready to sit down and knit for a couple of moments before I contemplate making dinner.

    What’s for dinner at your house? Today I am cooking a roast. Sunday I always try to cook something that will produce enough leftovers for at least one meal – keeps life easier after work.

    Be well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

  • Another Sunday, Another Pattern

    Another Sunday, Another Pattern

    Meet the Big Leaf Maple -Cowl and Toque. Knit with Handmaiden Flouf, on big needles – they are a quick and fun knit.

    Both items are knit in the round and from the top down. The big leaf stitch is a type of drawn stitch and the post here has a video that I did to show how to knit the stitch.

    Just Playing Around will be available at half price for just another evening. By around 9:00am pacific time the price will revert to the full price of $24.00.

    It has been a wonderfully sunny weekend here and I have spent a lot of time in the back Garden. We spend a lot of time here in the Summer.

    Where do you spend a lot of your Summer Time, well your free time anyway? On your Deck? In a your Garden? In a park? Out in the woods? We all have our favourite places, I hope to share some of mine with you!

    Be well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

    Another pattern to be released soon! Elise and I had some fun with a photo shoot this morning.

    Crystalline
  • #Never Not Knitting

    #Never Not Knitting

    Is a hashtag that I use all the time, because, you know, I knit all of the time! LOL!

    As a crafter I really appreciate the hand work of other makers, like this gorgeous Pear Wood bowl by Terry Marshall of Bowled Over Woodturning. Sorry he is not on the Internet, but his bowls can be found at Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns.

    Not a yarn bowl, but a notions bowl, something to keep all my bits and bobs in line. Made of Pear wood with brass filings filling a crack in the bottom of the bowl.. Very cool..

    This week I have been working on the eb00k, Just Playing Around. and today I added two hat patterns to the book. Just Playing around is still available at half price until May 14th or 15th.

    Practically Perfect and Perfectly Practical, a aran weight simple cap that is a free download for all. Knit with Noro Kureyon.

    And Medieval Star, a classic toque with a romantic brim. Knit with Drops Alpaca Boucle and BC Garn Loch Lomond GOTS.

    I started a pooling project for the Just Playing Around ebook as well. Have you ever tried pooling – it is deliberately setting up your hand-dyed yarn to stack and form columns of glorious clear colour.

    Pooling with Llama Lace and Pine Cone lace pattern.

    Jana, my test knitter has finished her version of the stole, Plumier 2 and now I need to finish my version, Plumier 1! No rest for the wicked. Plumier 2 is knit with Handmaiden and Fleece Artist Flyss in the Tourmaline Colourway – look for this pattern to come out sometime early June.

    BC Garn Bio Shetland GOTS for Plumier 2. I am well into the second half, but still have about 2-3 weeks of knitting left.

    So that is what I am up to! What about yourselves? I hope that you are all making up a storm of things to eat, wear and share!

    Be Well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

    A beautiful Pink Dogwood Bloom to celebrate this glorious Spring Day.

  • Mother’s Day Memories

    Mother’s Day Memories

    Mother’s Day is one of those holidays that brings up mixed emotions for most women. We remember and honour (or curse) our Mother if she is gone and celebrate her is she is here; we examine our own successes and failures as a mother and we look ahead to being a Grandmother, able to help (or hinder) the efforts of the mother of said grandchild, be she daughter or daughter in law!

    This is not just a female holiday – it is said that Son’s revere their Mother, or blame them for every wrong in life. I hope that my relationship with my son will have a balance of both!

    It is truly amazing how much influence a Mother, whether good or bad, has in our lives.

    Four generations of my family. I don’t have many pictures of my mother with me and this is the only one of us all together. My Grandmother passed a year later and my mother 2 years after her.

    My mother had issues. I still loved her – but never, ever, understood her. Even as she was dying, over thirty years ago, we still couldn’t communicate. Our points of reference had almost no convergence. There was one love that we shared, the love of working with our hands to create and this was important and grew more important as time passed. It allowed some avenue of communication. We loved hand work and beautiful fibres. Something that my daughter and I share as well.

    I parented by being the opposite of my mother. By asking what she would and then doing the opposite. I made different mistakes – is there ever a life without mistakes? But I did OK, so I guess we communicated better than I thought. We never had the storybook mother/daughter relationship, best friends and confidants, but I have strived to create something close to that with my daughter.

    Beth and i two years ago.

    And I have, I think. Beth and I have a solid loving relationship with boundaries and understanding and support and everything I wanted from my mother. Thank-you Mom for showing me how not to be, I am so sorry that we couldn’t have what we should have had! Perhaps next time around when the wheels of our lives converge again, things will be different.

    Have a wonderful Mothers Day!

    Lynette