Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: yarn

  • A Knitterly Start to the Year – part 1

    A Knitterly Start to the Year – part 1

    It has been a stressful few months these last few weeks and I have been knitting up a storm – or at least starting up a multitude of projects and even finishing a few.

    I started the Three Skein Project last year and finished it up just last week. What to do with left over yarn when you want to knit just one three colour hat! 

    What could We make with just 3 skeins of yarn?
    As a designer and yarn shop employee I am always taking home yarn, a real hardship, right?!
    Well, sometimes it does leave me with a problem, what to do with the excess yarn. Because, you know, I couldn’t just make a plain hat in just one colour so you could handle the yarn, see how it knits and how good it looks. Oh no, I had to make a hat with striped ribbing and a tri-coloured pompom.
    So, what to do with the leftovers – I usually label the yarn and pop it in a bin, but I really liked the yarn. So, the Three Skein project was born. And is the Sports Edition because of all of the stipes. I think that it makes the knits look sporty!

    The yarn is Haynes Creek Heather Aran by Gathering Yarn, an Aran weight 100% non-superwash wool. You could use any worsted to aran weight yarn in the pattern. These skeins added up to 600 yds in total.
    I ended up with 6 inches leftover of the marled yarn, and then 10 grs each of the red and white yarns leftover, approx. 20 yds each.
    There are 5 projects;

    1. The Classic toque – a little slouchy, starting with a striped rib and topped with a great pompom.
    2. The Court beanie – just covers the ears and shaped with classic cables and twisted sts, and I love the striped rib.
    3. The Round mittens – again with the stripped ribbing and simple shaping with an afterthought thumb.
    4. The Slalom cowl – look at those zig-zags and again with the stripes. An easy repetitive lace pattern in the round.
    5. The Drive-in mitts – short, striped, mitts that cover the palm and back of the hand but leave the fingers and thumb free for driving, painting, typing, anything where touch is really useful.

    What’s with the Stripes?! Stripes are a great way to monitor your yarn usage. It allows us to gauge what we have left and judge what we can use it for, and just how far we can push our results.

    I am quite pleased with mine.

    The first two patterns are now up on Ravelry. The rest will follow over the next few weeks.

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • 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!

  • Flat Iron Hat and Mitts

    Flat Iron Hat and Mitts

    The third pattern has just been added to my Ebook – Just Playing Around.

    Flat Iron was knit with Ancient Arts Lascaux Fine Fingering. This heathered yarn adds a great depth to the cabled pattern. I like this yarn so much that you will see another hat in the collection knit with the same yarn.

    Lascaux Fine / Lascaux Fine 50’s – 25% Manx Loaghtan/75% Punta Arenas Wool

    Lascaux Fine 50’s – 175 meters / 192 yards per 50 gram / 1.75 oz skein

    Lascaux Fine 100 – 350 meters / 385 yards per 100 gram / 3.5 oz skein

    Gauge: 25 – 30 sts / 4 inches (10 cm) US 1.5 – 2.5 or 2.5 – 3.0 mm

    Lascaux Fine is a delightful blend of heritage and modern sheep fibre spun into a 2-ply fingering weight yarn which is perfect for stranded colourwork projects.

    The heritage breed sheep is Manx Loaghtan, found only on the Isle of Mann, and the modern breed is the Punta Arenas from South America. The natural colour of this yarn is a light brown, so it has a heathered undertone when it is dyed, and although it looks rustic, it actually knits up exceptionally soft! This is a great yarn that feels wonderful against the skin, making it suitable for garments like mitts, sweaters and even lace shawls!

    Note: Lascaux has it’s own unique colour palette due to the natural colour of the yarn. 

    Ancient Arts
    Flat Iron Hat – knit with Ancient Arts Lascaux Fine
    I played around with the photo to really highlight the shading of the yarn witch did affect the colour somewhat!

    The hat and mittens make a great set and take only one skein of yarn.

    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!

  • Working on Serenity

    Working on Serenity

    The title this week is perfect on a number of levels:

    a.) I am finally able to work on the edging of The Serenity Wave Shawl. I have had a back issue for the last few weeks that required pain killers and muscle relaxants. Apparently drugs, knitting lace edging and adding beads to said edging do not work well together! Who knew!? So the shawl edging had been on hold for a couple of weeks. I got back to it this week and I am at about 40% of the edging done. I can hardly wait to finish the knitting and block the shawl.

    b.) I have been working on my own Serenity. Peace of mind in this crazy time has not been easy for any of us. And I had been having a rough time of it lately.

    So I took this last week off. I napped. I rested. I knit. I visited one of my favourite relatives, my Aunty Evie, and really tried to work on looking after myself. It has been a good week.

    My auntie and I share a love of sewing and fabrics. So I had to show her my new purchases from Gala Fabrics – the best fabric store and another reason to visit Victoria. They have this vintage woolens section…. $10 a metre. It was so much fun!

    My back is starting to feel better, my shawl edging is finally under way and my ebook, 7 Hats More is slowing growing.

    I added a new pattern on Tuesday, Diagonal Spin and will be adding another one tomorrow.

    Usually my knitting keeps me sane, but some weeks are more challenging than others. I have been feeling challenged lately.

    Do you have tasks or activities that you indulge in that helps you look after your sanity?

    For me – I knit – first in line. I bake and/or cook – second in line. And I love to walk on the beach or in the woods – third in line. And lately harder to do, harder to make time for, simply harder.

    Perhaps because it means leaving the house – leaving this very safe place and entering a not so safe environment. I use up all my courage heading out the door every weekday morning to go to work! Don’t get me wrong – I love my job, but in these Covid times everytime we step out our doors we are adding a little risk to our lives. I am newly risk adverse. Well not newly – I am not much of a risk taker in any way, but I have never before considered walking out my door risky business.

    Perhaps I am channeling my inner Bilbo.

    “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

    Lord of the Rings

    So I am determined to add a walk to every weekend. We will see how I do. The payback is worth the risk.

    Earlier this week, between the rains we went for a short walk at Departure Bay Beach, just down the hill. It was the morning after the big windstorm and there was debris, shells and leaves on the beach. The skies and views were still very grey, so that the colours of the leaves and shells popped!

    I also practiced a little yarn therapy. Never heard of it? I thought not. It is also called retail therapy. I bought some new yarn. Technically I ordered new yarn and it arrived this week.

    Kate Davies is one of my favourite knitting writers and she also creates wonderful yarns. Schiehallion is her new yarn and it is a bouncy, wooly, dk weight yarn that comes in all of my favourite colours (I added a little extra purple as well)! How could I resist?!

    I hope that you manage to find some serenity in your life.

    Be well and knit happy!

    Lynette