Mittens!

Today the forecast was for 15 - 20 cm of snow. We got about 6cm and then it turned to rain. I'm good with that as I am not a winter person. Give me warm weather. Anyway, my sister sent me a couple pairs of her knitted mittens and asked me to build her a snowman (she's in Tennessee) wearing a pair of the mitts. Didn't happen!! Sorry Joan. But here are the mittens:

The last time she was here, we went to Annapolis Royal to the summer market. One of the vendors was selling the pattern for mitts with the pointed tops. We tried on a pair and were surprised at how comfortable they were as we always had the rounded top ones that our mother made. 

Here are mittens she made for my granddaughter, her great niece. Aren't they gorgeous!

• 36 Free Knit Mitten patterns at All Free Knitting   
• Mitten Patterns from Interweave    
• Herringbone Mittens (free pattern) from Knitting Patterns Galore
• Mitten Ornaments pattern   
• Mittens and Snowflakes Wall Hanging from American Patchwork & Quilting   
• Hanging Mittens to Crochet from Highland Hickory Designs 
  

Enjoy!

Knitting is Finished

I finished another pair of mittens for granddaughter, Gale, last night. Hand delivered this afternoon. She was delighted.

The wool is 100% merino yarn, worsted weight superwash and is The Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze. (No, I did not misspell his name).

• Yarn Basket Ornament 
• Knitted Snowman 
• Knitted Mug Cozy 
• Love Knitting, free patterns    
• All Free Knitting Patterns 

 Enjoy!
        

HOT!!

HOT!! That's what it was like here in St. John's today. Back garden thermometer registered 31C and that was in the shade. I don't know if it broke the record from 1948 or not. It's now 9:00pm and it's still 25C.

Several of my stitching group (we call ourselves the mini guild girls) took me out for lunch. Thank you so much. It was lovely. (I'm moving to Nova Scotia on the 16th).

My garden is still in bloom. According to the old wives tales, the abundance of dog berries, means a long, snowy winter. It's too early to even think of that since last winter was extra long and the dog berries were scarce. Go figure . . .

I've been slack sharing links these days but hopefully, when we move, I'll get back on track.

• Free Canvas Book Bag tutorial  
• Summer Bag - this is interesting   
• Convertible Knit Hat / Cowl (easy for a beginning knitter)   
• Winding Yarn (why didn't I use this method the other night!!!)

Enjoy!

Finished - finally!!

Well, the purple mittens are finished! YAH! They are the first pair I've ever made. I've been knitting since I was seven (my Gran taught me to knit) and I've knit most everything else except socks (leave that to my sister, Joan) and mittens. There is enough wool left to do another pair as I found out when I weighted the mittens and then the leftover yarn. Digital food scales come in handy for lots of things. Info on the yarn HERE.

I wish every one a Happy Labor Day Weekend! If you are out and about, have a safe trip home. That means you, too, Joan.

Enjoy!!

Cast On, Cast Off

A couple of days ago, I dropped by Cast On, Cast Off to get some yarn. They don't have a web site but they are on Face Book for those of you interested in seeing their yarns. Don't you just love the name of the shop?!!

Go HERE & HERE  for two previous posts to see some photos of the shop.

Here's what I purchased:

My sister knits lovely socks but I'm going to try my hand at mittens. I've never made mitts before but I've knit many other things so this shouldn't be a problem. Guess who gets the first pair? Someone who loves pink and purple and is 6 years old. This colour will match her purple and lime green winter jacket.

Wish me luck!

The pattern I'm using is a free one: The World's Simplest Mittens. Lots of free patterns there too.

Enjoy!!

Brrrrrr - It's Cold Outside!

Winter has come early to St. John's, NL. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of snow, wind and cold weather and we are having lots of that this week.

Cold Weather Projects:

• Honey Cowl 
• Cute Christmas Yarn Basket Ornament 
• Knitted Snowman 
• Knit Jacket    
• Knitted Mug Cosy 
• Winding Yar

 Several of the links above came from my friend at Magpie's Mumblings.


Enjoy!!

UFO # 3

March is going out like a lamb! YAH!!! This has been a very cold month here on the east coast. I just hope I won't need to wear winter clothes much longer, especially this knitted Willow Cowl that was finished recently. It was started last summer.

This pattern is by Amelia Lyon. I used Alegria, hand-painted yarn, from Uruguay. It is a lovely yarn to knit.

This is UFO # 3.

Our Wednesday stitch group decided to challenge themselves to finish as many UFO's, started before 2016.  This is a selfie. I found that the best place to take the photo was in front of a mirror. That way, I could see what was in the camera screen.

Check out some knitting patterns below:

• 56 Free Cowl and Scarf  Knitting Patterns
• Cowls on Pinterest HERE
• 40+ Free Cowl and Neck Warmers 
• All Free Knitting Cowls  
• Free Cowls and Neck Warmers from Knitting Help  

Enjoy!!

Ideas!!

There is not much going on in the studio this week due to a nasty head cold. I've tried to do a few things but after having to ravel out a few rows in a knitting piece, I gave up. However, I did manage to surf the net and found a few things of interest.

• A cool Owl Hat Free Knitting Pattern and a Crochet Pattern
• Eye Candy from Jane Blair Quilts, click on gallery  
• Canvas Tote to make
• Applique Lessons - interesting
• Mouse Pincushion Tutorial 
• Mexican Waves Scarf (pattern on Revelry)   I think the colours caught my eye!

Enjoy!

 

Stockings

My mother made our Christmas stockings from red flannelette and hand embroidered our names with green wool. I still have mine. Santa usually had a special surprise in the toe of the stocking.  It wasn't usually anything expensive. However, I do remember one year, getting a compass in the toe. I was in Girl Guides at the time and it came in handy.

Here's some links for you to check:

• History of the Christmas Stocking  
• All Free Stockings 
• Patterns for Stockings       
• Sew an Easy Stocking 
• Knitted Christmas Stocking 
• Tutorial  another HERE 
•  10 Assorted Free Patterns 
• Stained Glass Stocking 
• Jingle Bell Stocking 
• Crochet 8 Stockings 
• Lots HERE    
• Pinterest: HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE 

I made this years ago!

Two Done, One to Go!

So far this summer, I've knit two scarves as Christmas gifts. With the lack of summer in Newfoundland, they could be used now! The temperatures on the island are way below normal. Hopefully August will be better.

I've started on a third scarf. The yarn is Sakura silk and sooooo comfortable to wear. My sister gave me one last year and it is my favorite. HERE's that one. In fact, I am knitting one like it next. You can see the colours of the two just completed below.

Annapolis Royal Market

Market Day at Annapolis Royal during the summer, has lots of local products including fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and maple syrup. We came away with some of the maple syrup. A home made cookie was sampled as well but not by me!

The art community is thriving as was evident by the various vendors selling their craft. Wooden carvings were in abundance. This comes from the strong Acadian influence in the area. A few potters and jewellery makers also had work for sale. I also saw some craft from other countries. 

Of course, I zeroed in on the gorgeous hand dyed yarns from the Farm Wool Shop. There I met Cheryl den Hartog, of BarnKat Knitter. She designs her own knitting patterns - the mittens and tea cozy. She said she prefers to experiment with new patterns on smaller projects such as the mittens. The idea for the tea cozy motif came from a cookie cutter. Quilters have been using cookie cutters for applique motifs as well.

Ñ

 

Making Memories

Yesterday, my 4 year old granddaughter asked if she could stitch something. She learned to do a little stitching with me at Easter when I was in Chicago.

 

This time, I decided to trace her hand (thanks T. for suggesting it). Gale wanted it hooped just like grandma's stitching and a magnet for resting her needle. I removed the hoop to take the photo.

I was very pleased to see such interest in hand stitching for one so young. She was determined to finish stitching her pinkie. Halfway through, she said, 'Grandma, I like to do stitching'. She also wanted her foot traced. We will see how much will get done.

My grandmother taught me to knit at age seven. I remember it was a bright green yarn and I made a scarf for my doll. It's amazing that I remember that but it had such an impact on me and on the things I like to do with my hands.

It's all about making memories!

 
 






















For the Knitters

I bought some Sakura yarn at Fiber Lilly here in St. John's. This yarn is 50 % silk, 30 % cotton and 20 % acrylic. My sister knit me a gorgeous scarve from this yarn and I just love it. It is so soft and warm. This yarn will be used in my summer knitting.

I'm using a free pattern by Estelle Yarns called Seafoam Scarve.

Find more free knitting patterns below:

• Ravelry, a free site for knitters and crocheters (lots of patterns)
• Estelle Yarns
• Knitting Pattern Central
• Canadian Living - 140 easy and free knitting patterns
• Knitting Help - free knitting patterns
• Lion Brand Knitting 
• Knitting Patterns on Craftsy 

Enjoy!!

Knitting Project

This winter, I have been knitting a sweater for my granddaughter. It was supposed to be for Christmas but with attending the different Christmas Craft Fairs, it had to be put aside. Well, it is finally finished! I will give it to her today. Yes, I'm in Chicago! And, attending the International Quilt Show. More about that later.

The wool is Bentley by Cascade Yarns. I opted to do a one button closure with a loop instead of the recommended zipper. The pattern is from Pick the Pieces by Lorna Miser.

Stunned Moment

While having breakfast, I realized that I'd had a 'stunned' moment yesterday! For those of you who aren't familiar with some Newfoundland sayings, 'stunned', according to the Newfoundland Dictionary, means 'stupid, naïve, foolish' (click on the letter 'S' on top of page and scroll down to 'stun' - it won't let me zero in on the particular page).

Well, that's how I felt when I realized that I had forgotten to post the photos I took of the Molly Made booth at ACTS. When I was writing the post, something bothered me but I couldn't put my finger on it. Now I know!!!! Sorry, Molly. She had a lovely booth too. Here are the photos, a day late. But better late than never! And double the exposure.
Enjoy!!

Finished samples of larger kits.

Kits and samples

New product

Featuring - Molly Made - Fibre Artist

Molly White is a fibre artist, living in Woody Point, located in beautiful Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland.  Her specialities are rug hooking and knitting. She designs and creates her own patterns and kits for the wholesale market and for her own studio and shop, Molly Made Fibre Art Studio. You can find out more about Molly HERE.

If you visit Gros Morne National Park, please visit her studio. You won't be disappointed!

Rock Recipes

Today was a snow day! I spent the morning working in my studio and in the afternoon I baked a Vanilla Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from my Rock Recipes Cook Book. The cake is delicious!
I've been a follower of the Rock Recipes blog (I think since it began). It is full of wonderful recipes and colour photos of all the delightful dishes. I highly recommend you pay a visit.

This is a photo of the Vanilla Cream Cheese Bundt from Rock Recipes. I didn't use the same icing called for in the recipe because I ran out of cream cheese. I mixed up some white icing instead.



Here's a few free patterns to consider (food related, of course!):

• Crochet cupcake key ring
• Cupcake Tea Cosy
• Cupcake Pincushion
• Kitchen Stitching Quilt
• Knitted Food Patterns

Enjoy!

Knitting

I knit my way to Chicago and finished this sweater while there. It's sized 4T. The yarn was easy to knit up. The pattern is SRK 74 Bobble & Lace Trim Pullover using Marble yarn.

Knitting Book

A few days ago, I wrote about a book that I purchased at the yarn shop, From Ewe to You. The book is 75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colourful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet. It has lots of colourful photos. The creatures would make nice gifts.

Enjoy!

Jake the Pirate

My little three year old granddaughter loves Jake the Pirate. She received the ship with all the characters for her 3rd birthday in March. We just finished role playing with the small characters on the ship. Out of curiosity, I did a search for Jake the Pirate and quilting. I was amazed to find fabric with these TV show characters on it as well as some knitting and crochet projects.

If you want to make some costumes for these characters, check HERE.
I also discovered some other projects for this kid's show, such as a party theme, and knitting and crochet stuff. It's amazing the amount of things out there for children's shows.
Enjoy!