News & Events

New Slub Yarn!

New Base: Slub Yarn!



(My hand-dyed slub yarn is now available in my Etsy Shop )

I have been seeing slub yarn popping up all over the place.

It offers a lovely texture. Plus, a lot of the patterns I have been finding and that have bee)suggested to me pair the slub yarn with another yarn, such as a fingering weight, which makes the added texture that much more subtle.

So, I found myself intrigued enough to get some to dye and see what all the fuss was about!

A few weeks back, I put in a small order for a couple dozen skeins to play with. When they arrived, I spent a day or two considering what colours to dye them and I decided to initially stick with colourways that I know: Wicked Berry, Vamp, Dark Fae and Orchid Sky.

The yarn took the dye beautifully! And, in person, I love the texture even more!

I made two extra Dark Fae for myself. I couldn’t help it! They were just SO pretty! Plus I figured making a sample of sorts would be helpful for folks to see how the yarn knits up.

I am debating between two patterns:

The PeepShow Pullover or the Studio Slub (NOTE: Ravelry link)

I like them both so who knows…maybe I’ll do both eventually!

Here is another slub yarn pattern I have seen if you’re curious to see how it knits up when paired with another yarn.

Slub & Fuzz – an awesome hat that holds slub yarn and fingering weight yarn together

If you know of any other patterns out there, feel free to share in the comments!

Winterizing Crochet Scarves Pt 2: Dr Who style

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about wanting to winterize crocheted scarves.  Crochet tends to create a fairly open weave, especially if you’re using longer stitches (double crochets, treble crochets, etc) so it isn’t always the warmest it could be, regardless if you’re using natural fibres such as wool or alpaca.
I wanted to try sewing a layer of fleece or some other fabric to the back of my scarves for added warmth.
Yesterday, I finally did it!

IMG_0429
Fleece backing sewn to a crocheted Dr Who scarf

It’s an exciting project for two reasons.  One is because I finally tried my winterizing idea.  Two is because the scarf in question is a Dr Who scarf!  Who can’t be excited about that! 🙂 Continue reading “Winterizing Crochet Scarves Pt 2: Dr Who style”

Letters from Iceland: Hiking (and Knitting) with the Elves Pt 1: The Group

This past July, I spent 10 days in Iceland. It was my second trip to Iceland after an initial 4-day stopover last January, on our way home from Europe.
This time though, I signed up for a structured pre-planned trip. The majority of my 10 days were spent as part of a hiking and knitting tour created and run by Hélène Magnusson called “Hiking with the Elves“.
I have been meaning to blog about the trip ever since I arrived home.
I want to record my experience, but I also want to share it with others who are considering a similar trip in the future.
Unfortunately, this has proven to be such a difficult post to write.
Part of the challenge is to try and capture the experience without writing for pages and pages. I’m sure that you, my dear readers, have better things to do that sit in a comfy chair,  with a glass of wine, snuggled up to your computer screen while you read through the novel that is my Icelandic blog post.
The other difficulty comes from the fact that the experience was so tremendous.  How can I ever hope to capture the magnificence and grandeur of it with mousy little English words?
Continue reading “Letters from Iceland: Hiking (and Knitting) with the Elves Pt 1: The Group”

Knit Cast On – Reverse Longtail Tutorial – Great for stretchy fabrics!

Recently I went to Iceland.  For 10 days.
Six of those were spent on a hiking and knitting tour.  Yup.  Hiking and knitting.
More to come about that very soon…but let me just say that it was beyond fabulous!
For now, I want to share one of the handy dandy cast ons we learned in one of our workshops.  I filmed this on site in the mountains of Eastern Iceland because I didn’t want to forget it and I couldn’t seem to write it down in such a way that I would remotely understand it 5 minutes later 🙂
This video starts off with the typical Longtail Cast On, which I demonstrate three times, followed by the Reverse Longtail or German Twisted Cast On, which allows for more stretch. Perfect for mitten cuffs, socks, ribbing…any cast on edge that requires some stretchiness. 🙂
Enjoy!