It has been an epic month. The reno is complete, the storage locker is empty and the house is currently a work in progress with stacks of boxes in each room. We are at the stage where every box is an adventure. What does it contain? Do we really need it? etc. More on this later.
I have knit the square and the fancy for this month and I love them both. I hope that you will too.
The Square
Is is lace, need I say more? Take note of the code on the last page of the pattern. It will give you the Rain Shadow Shawl pattern at half price once it is released, most likely Wednesday or Saturday. It will be good for the remainder of this month (June 2026).
I went down a rabbit hole with this one. Did you know how many styles of pincushion are out there? I was vaguely aware. But now – I am in the know. Pincushions go back centuries and across cultures and stitchery techniques. I didn’t go too wild. I kept the shape fairly traditional, just added a little colourwork. I hope that you will enjoy the knitting. And may be check out some pincushion sites. LOL!
We are up to 8 squares now with the six monthly additions and the two bonus squares. So I am starting to think of how we might want to put them together. I mentioned a couple of the standard styles in the opening post, but I have a couple of fresh ideas. I will share them with you later in the month.
Circular Cast-on – German Pinhole
Here is a link to an earlier post on the pinhole cast-on used in the two patterns for this month.
Rain Shadow Shawl
Just a few pictures to whet the whistle once more. The pattern will be released next weekend. I got caught up in boxes.
Apparently “later in the month” is a thing. I hope that I can get it all done “later in the month” LOL!
I just picked up the Rain Shadow Shawl from my test knitter Jana. And I am so thrilled with how it turned out.
Rain Shadow Shawl was entirely inspired by the new to me stitch I chose for the April Square. I loved the way the stitches moved. It immediately inspired this triangular shawl.
Look for the pattern to be released at the same time as the June Square. There may be a discount code attached to the Square pattern… just saying.
I haven’t had much time for writing this month. I have been emptying the storage locker and that job is almost complete. There is maybe 3 or 4 loads left. Some to Restore, some to the dump and some home. My challenge, and the biggest job, has been fitting everything into our new, smaller space..
I have a couple of quiet corners in the house, but most still hold boxes of “bits” looking for a home. My tea shelf is organized. But my book shelves are overflowing and the yarn room… the less said the better. I have more yarn than I thought. Maybe I have more yarn than I wanted to think. That might be more accurate. It will take a little while to organize that area.
I am having fun working on the square and fancy for June. How you started a new square recently? I am really looking forward to seeing how everything comes together for us all.
Happy Knitting
Lynette
A very busy bee indeed. Look at the colour of that Rhododendron. I love watching my plants bloom. Especially now, in a new garden.
Flowers play a big part in my love of colour. Vivid colour, mixed colour and glorious abandon to colour.
One of the exciting things of a new home is watching the garden come to life. This garden is more minimal than my last. That will change as the season progresses and I get to work on my landscaping plans.
I have discovered that I have a Lilac bush. It is small right now, but the blooms are mighty. These blooms are fragrant and they are purple, lilac purple. They are glorious!
Does anyone know the name of this Lilac? The colour is so beautiful.
How is your garden progressing? What are your favourite Spring Flowers? I am looking for suggestions for my Landscaping projects – any and all ideas are welcome.
May Blanket Squares
Like the blooms this month brought on a lot of inspiration. So there is the May Square, Little Puff Leaves. And the May Bonus Square, Indian Twist Stitch Square. I really played with colour when creating them and you can see that the bonus square pulled the Lilac purple out of my stash!
The wonderful thing about sampler patterns is that you can try out new stitches without a major commitment. The little puff leaves remind me of all the greenery that is showing up on the bushes and trees as we walk through the local parks right now!
Now the Indian Twist Stitch is pretty cool. This stitch pattern has fascinated me for years! I decided that a sampler blanket was the perfect place to try it out!
This pattern looks a little tricky, but is really quite easy. Only two of the rows involve patterning and while slow to work they do pay you back by filling in a great deal of space. This is the simple version in that the twisted sts all line up. I am going to work another version were the rows of twisted sts offset each other. There is a photo tutorial included in the pattern.
This square can be worked in the two colours as shown, but is also effective in a single colour!
Last fall a friend gave me a couple of Lavender Sachets. The lavender was fresh from her garden and the scent is fabulous. I decided that this month’s Fancy is going to be a Sachet, in my case a Lavender Sachet, but you can fill it it with anything you like.
I did not use the worsted weight yarns for this fancy. I am using a light fingering weight. But you can use any yarn you like, just up the needle size to 1 size smaller than the recommended size for the yarn.
The renos on the Great Room, Main bathroom and Laundry Closet – I can’t really call it a room – are complete.
The laundry closet is a perfect gem – stacked washer and dryer on one side and a stainless laundry tub on the other side, complete with a drop down counter and handing space for the delicates to hang dry!
It started out with a washer and dryer on each side of the door with small cupboards above each. It didn’t work hard enough. And as I really believe in a large laundry tub I figured out a way to add one. It so useful to have an oversize sink somewhere in the house.
It is a pretty swank laundry tub. A Costco special.
The counter is a salvaged flooring sample with a piano hinge. It is the perfect size.
The Wool Room is rumoured to be complete today. Which only leaves the outside jobs, siding on the Wool Room, replacing the rotten boards on the deck (almost done) and then painting the deck and the final cleanup. All to be finished soon!
I will do a photo shoot on the Great Room once it has been tidied up. Which will be after the Wool Room is complete. There is stuff everywhere!
This technique is for experienced or adventurous knitters. You will need to understand the basics of socks and also how socks fit on your feet. But mostly you will need to read carefully and be willing to pull out your knitting if at first you don’t succeed. I love learning something new. I hope that you will too!
This is an alternative to traditional heels or toe box shaping. It eliminates gusset shaping and can speed up your sock knitting. I don’t really recommend this style of heel if you have a high arch, which I do. I find it a little tight. If I do use it for myself, as I did in the Koigu Entrelac Socks above. I will add short rows to the heel box, in-between the short rows themselves, And/or make the box over more than half of the stitches.
What I do like about these short row boxes is the Japanese style of Short Rows. The extra wraps create a solid seam that is stronger than most short-rows. Also this heel can be added to a highly patterned sock without interrupting the pattern repeats themselves. As in the Entrelac sock above.
I love using the technique to create the toes for Toe-up socks. The look and the strength of the short rows makes for a strong well defined toe.
Video of the start of the heel shaping. It shows the making of the double sts with YFs and YBs at each side of the heel box.
Once the heel is shaped to the tip, the heels need to be shaped and joined, working down to the full stitch count. The extra loops are worked in as you go with K3tog’s and P3tog’s tbl.
YB – take the yarn back between the needles
YF – bring the yarn forward between the needles
Stitch mount – the way the stitch sits on the needle
P2tog tbl – purl 3 sts together through the back of the loops
Starting the RS with a close up of the “pairs” created by the YB before working the stitch.ready to knit the other half. RS facing, with the sts and pairs separated off in order to identify everything more easily.ready to knit the other half. WS facing, with sides and top separated.
This technique can be substituted into any sock pattern. I have included a few standard numbers to use for the heels. Remember that there is no gusset shaping. So your sock would go something like this – ribbing, leg, heel, foot, and toe.
If you decide to try out the technique, please let me know what you think! If you have problems please also let me know. What are your favourite styles of sock making? Do you have a heel shaping or toe tip to share? What are your challenges in sock making?
Firstly, I have finally updated the Granny Blanket pattern. So if you have been waiting to start, now is the time. I am starting the blanket itself today! The stitches will need to be doubled from the pillow cast-on and the yardage needed per wedge, tripled. This will be a lot of work. But so worthwhile in the end. It is a good accompaniment to the long term Blanket Squares Project that I have going on as well. It will break up the boring knitting with the blanket squares and fancies!
I am so excited to be starting. I want to get a few wedges knit before it gets too hot! Who is starting with me?!
Secondly, the main part of the house is completely done. I still need to do more organizing and it is an ongoing process. I change things around trying to find the best possible spot. The pictures are the hardest. I have so many. My mothers needlework, family pictures, and art I have collected over the years.
I have put up pictures and then moved them. And then moved them again. I can see this may take a while. These few are in their final place. I hope!
Thirdly, the yarn room is about to be started. It got delayed as it needed more work than expected. Which meant the plans had to change etc. But it sounds like it is going ahead, starting midweek.
Getting the yarn room done will help with my organization project as well! More room available, but with more stuff coming out of storage. This will be the start of the final cull. I am sure that this will be both challenging and rewarding. I may be looking or some second opinions.
Walking in the Canyon
Last weekend we went for a walk on an absolutely glorious Sunday. We went to my favourite place on Nanaimo River. The canyon by Cassidy. It has great swimming in the Summer and great walking all year round. You can see that others enjoy the walk as well.
Everything is starting to bud. The fawn (or curly) lilies are in full blown and carpeting the underbrush. Did you know it takes 7 years before even 1 flower comes from the root? Amazing. How long it must have taken to create this display.
A few weeks ago I started with Odd Bunch vegetable delivery. A box is delivered once a week, or less. You decide how often you want the box. The box varies in price with the size. I get the small plus box. It is $26.00 per week plus delivery and it comes right to the door. Below is last weeks box.
It has been very interesting and I think it has proven to be a good value. It has been challenging to cook some of things I wasn’t totally familiar with. I gave the butternut squash to my daughter. Maybe I need a new cookbook! LOL! The quality has been good. Only 1 item in one box was disappointing. Strawberries – just a little to close to the edge. I should have noticed and used them sooner.
It is April first and I was scrambling last night to finish the Fancy for this month! Where ever did March go? Though I am rather pleased with both the fancy and the square for this month.
The Square
The stitch pattern for the square was new to me. I found a picture on Pinterest and turned it into a pattern! As a bonus the stitch pattern is reversible. So I designed a shawl to be knit with the same pattern. Yarn and pattern went off to Jana (my test knitter) on Monday! I am very excited to see if my idea works out.
The shawl will be a traditional top down triangle. It will be reversible and have a pointy edging. Stay tuned for updates. I haven’t had any feedback from Jana yet. So everything must be working out. Right!?
I must admit that I had way too much fun designing and then knitting the fancy.
This months Fancy is a mending kit, something that can travel with you. It holds all the necessary tools. It includes a pocket for scissors and mending threads. There is also a little yarn for darning. A sheet for various styles of needles is provided. On the back, a few buttons are sewn, ready for a “button” emergency.
The fancy with knit with non-superwash wool. I embellished a couple of the pieces with small beaded and knit flowers. I also added just a little bit of embroidery for the leaves. Then I fulled the pieces for extra strenght and durability. It was fun because I used my hands to rough up the pieces in the hot water. It was also very therapeutic.
This month will most likely be just as busy. I am working on designs for the next series of classes. And I have this idea of how I want to put my blocks together… More on that later this month.
Kitchen Reno
The kitchen is done. The wool room has been delayed a couple of weeks. I will share before and after pictures this weekend. I will have three days and time to share all the kitchen wonders with you!
I have been living though a major renovation and the cold of the year over the last month. The cold, though as aspects of it linger, is finally moving on. The cough is the pits and surprises at the most annoying times.
The renovation is now in its final stages, except for the Wool Room! Finding that the small room needed a new roof was a bit of a setback. The rest of the kitchen is coming together though.
The main room has been painted. It currently looks like a store backroom. Everything is piled up and covered in drop cloth. You can see that the new flooring has been covered with heavy cardboard to protect it from all of the activity!
Cabinets are being installedI found it interesting seeing how the uppers are being supported.We have countertops.And lighting, and appliances. The new dishwasher has been delayed and the new microwave needs to be installed!.
Knitting
The laundry room is finally back in action and I got to felting the Granny Blanket Swatch!
My machine is newer stacking Samsung front loader and it did the job well. I threw the swatch in with a few small napkins. I dialed the heat up to the highest and added the detergent. It took a while – approx 2 hours but it worked beautifully. My swatch shrank at approximately 30 percent. It has become a lovely soft and cozy fabric. So the Estelle Eco Shetland Worsted is a great felting yarn.
The center weave and seam felted well. You can’t see the weave or the seam as separate from the fabric. Each segment also shrank to the same size. Something I had been worried about. Sometimes the dyes can affect the felting of the yarn. But this turned out perfectly.
Before FeltingAfter Felting
The swirl shrank from approx 37 inches to about 28 inches.
Before Felting.After Felting.
Next steps, decide how wide I want my blanket to be and start the knitting. I will also need to update the pattern download. You can expect the updated version to be available next weekend.
I was originally gong to fold the swatch and turn it into a half circle pillow. But now…. maybe I should keep it a full circle. I love the effect!
You can have a lot of fun with AI. I love this version of my original sketch. But I am thinking about changing…
Of course I have kept on knitting, not as much as I normally would in this time frame. I was sick or recovering for much of that time.
I am thinking a fall class and new sweater for myself.Two new projects, one for me and class and another a new baby/toddler pattern.
Spring is Springing
I have discovered that I have a Forsythia in the garden. it is small bush, but it wil grow.
I didn’t know it last spring because we moved in too late to see the blooms. The bright yellow flowers add so much cheer to the grey surrounding us right now. These are so fabulous for Spring colour. I did not have any in my last garden. My neighbour had a huge bush so I got to enjoy it fully every Spring.
I love watch the birds darting around right now. There are so many showing up, Robins, Sparrows, Finches, they are so much fun to watch! Everything is waking up.
I hope that you have a great week! I know I will. The kitchen and main room should be fully finished. The main bath and laundry should be finished. And maybe the Wool Room started!
I have often wondered if the opposite is true. I should pay more attention. Right now March is coming in like a Lamb. It is beautiful out there today in my neck of the woods. So clear, and a little warmer, it is really feeling like Spring.
The March square consists of bold cables that are offset each other to create a very textured surface. The garter stitch background helps highlight the texture. The cables are wide and round and all twist the same way. One cable is traditional the other cable has a lace faggoting center. It looks complicated but is very easy to knit.
The March Fancy is a tassel. Not an ordinary tassel but a dressed tassel. Tassels as embellishments have been around for a long time. They can be very simple, or not so simple. Why create a tassel that is covered like this? It keeps the tassels neater for the long hall. Wouldn’t it look great on our Blanket, or maybe a a cushion.
First and foremost, I am getting too old to live out of boxed and canned foods! And who knew that eating out all the time wasn’t fun!
I have also been dealing with the “cold”, you know the one that won’t go away. I took the last week off of work in order to power through some knitting. That didn’t happen.
I was too busy power napping – trying to get rid of the cold. It is slowly going. Have you had the “cold”? Or a cold for that matter. What is your favourite remedy? Mine is hot honey and lemon or tea or both. LOL!
We are now entering week 4 or is it, 4.5 of the renovation and great progress has been made. I cannot say enough good things about MJ Chaley Construction and their crew.
Progress to date:
my woolroom has a door (no change here) – but is now storage for the crews “stuff”.
this room is now looking like it is going to be finished last, it is too useful right now
the main bathroom/laundry, has been gutted, and in the bathroom
the electrical has been upgraded,
the plumbing has been upgraded
including adding a whole house shutoff valve for the water
and the ceiling and walls have been drywalled and painted!
the shower stall has been installed
and the new cabinet is here, but not installed
the kitchen area is so exciting
the skylight has been replaced and the beams and surrounding area have been upgraded with new venting and insulation
as have the outside walls
the entire kitchen has been rewired to accommodate the undercounter lighting and new appliance placements
including wiring being run to power the kitchen island
the plumbing has upgraded for the sink, we did not change the location of the sink
the kicks are in for the new cupboards
the main living area is ready for paint, both walls and ceiling
and ready for new trim around windows, doors and floors
from the kitchen area to the main outside door.the bathroom and laundry areadown the hallway to the back bedroomthe kitchen with kicks and skylight. The grandfather clock won’t be staying there.
Tomorrow the new flooring is going in.
On Aesthetics
There is a movement in design, especially in our homes, towards the homey and cozy. “Granny Chic” I think it is called. I have embraced this style my whole life. The combination of modern and old, of walls busy with art and family photographs. I carry my life in my home. So did my Mum!
We lived with floral wall paper, usually very Victorian in nature. Lots of floral inspired wallpapers and pictures, antique pictures and my mothers needle pointed floral pictures. I simply followed her lead and kept my own home just like hers.
I had this work reframed just after we moved. The old frame was falling apart at one corner. It is now waiting for a wall. My mums’ last piece of needlepoint.
It is odd to find that now those are the homes that we are moving too naturally. I am going to be in style for the first time in my life!
give me flowers, especially Pansies, they always make me happya case full of china florals, very Granny Chic! LOL!
I try to surround myself with Happy.That is really my aesthetic.
I am choosing be a little naive – but I think that we quite often make our happiness. It is how we view the world – half empty or half full. It is how we view the people in our world and how the world views us. I don’t put much stock into the stuff the world says that we need to have to be happy.
I put stock into the people that are in my life. Those are the people in my home and at my job. They are also the people I meet as I go about my day.
Knitting is one of the activities that gives me my greatest joy and happiness. Planning the next project or playing with the new yarn – I am always creating and dreaming. When we find out what we love, happiness is usually close by. It shows us what we want to do with our time.
More Granny Chic – the Granny Blanket
Well, the swatch is complete. But I have no washing machine to full it in. So it will have to wait another week or so.
It is approx 38 inches across. I want it to shrink at least 25% in the fulling process. That would make it approx 29 inches across. I am practicing patience. And using it to cozy up in as I watch tv in the evenings. The crew left us the tv console an couch to live with.
Loose sewing at the join to allow for shrinkagea loosely woven center or loose single crochet would also work to fill the center. it must be loose to allow for shrinkageThe swatch is complete. It is almost blanket size. I am going to be knitting a very big blanket before fulling for the real deal!
I am ready for next Sunday, March 1. Well, almost. The Square and pattern are ready. However, I am still working on the “fancy.” I am having too much fun.
This is going to be a short post. I am not sure when the dry walling team are arriving. Most of the tradesmen arrive around 8:00 am – which is when I like to work on the computer.
The work on the house is progressing. They are about to drywall the kitchen and bathroom. After that paint, then cabinets and finishing. I am told that things are progressing quite well. The possible finishing date is March 7th or 8th.
My yarn room has hit a snag, they are sorting it. But nothing to report there as yet! There are always glitches when doing a renovation. On the other hand…
Now for the Knitting news. No glitch here.
Isn’t it looking great! I am loving the colours and texture. I wonder what fulling will do to the garter st texture?
… the Granny Blanket swatch is almost done. The swatch and blanket are going to be built with 13 wedges. That is official. The swatch is just about there. I will finish it tonight (or maybe tomorrow night!) LOL!. I won’t be able to full the piece for the next 3 weeks. It will take that long before I get a laundry back!
And how beautiful is the world we live in.
Sunday was glorious so we took the opportunity to get out. We went for a walk at Piper’s Lagoon.
LOOK! at the texture. It all started with a wood bug, add time, water and then weather. A somber kind of beauty is the result. Could I recreate it somehow?
I hope that you get the opportunity to go for a walk wherever you live. It is good for anything that ails you, including a renovation.
