New Knitscene is in!

For those of you that, like me look forward to the new Knitscene with even more excitement then a regular Interweave, because they only publish them twice a year, your wait is over! 

The new Knitscene is in, and there's tonnes of awesome projects! 

I can't wait to cast on for the Dirndl pullover, the Kimono socks, or the Nederland vest!  

come on in and get your copy, before they're gone 'till spring! 

Oh, and if you're wondering about my Swallowtail, I'm down to the border, but have been delayed by a bunch of baby knitting!  more on both the Swallowtail, and the baby knitting soon!  

Laminaria...officially finished!

I couldn't resist the urge to show off my freshly blocked Laminaria...it looks even better now than it did before! (please excuse the stupid face I'm making in this picture). I don't know if you remember me mentioning that I didn't have space large enough to block it on. Turns out that I just had to be a little bit more creative in selecting a space to use. I am very happy to pass on to all of you that a back porch (or a front one I suppose) works excellently for lace blocking. I felt no guilt poking hundreds of tiny holes into it, and it certainly didn't matter that my shawl got it all wet. It was the prefect weather for outdoor blocking today, so I took advantage! Of course, there were times when I needed to place a pin directly in the space between two boards...once again I improvised and pinned "sideways"






I had about 1 and 1/4 skeins remaining from the project, but was a little bit bored with the colour, so I decided to take on another adventure and dye the remaining yarn a different colour. I chose navy blue (because it was dark and would cover just about anything...I also like navy blue). I have to admit that this was my first attempt at using acid dyes, and all in all I think I did OK. I had no idea how much I should allow the water to boil, or how much dye to add (and I don't think that I used enough) but the experience was fun and educational! I'll post pictures of the dried skeins soon!

and you thought I had forgotten...another spot to knit!

I've already told you about my favourite cafes for knitting, and now its time to move on to my favourite parks! First up on the list was a little bit of a let down at the time, but I think that a more well-timed visit would yield much better results (don't go in the middle of the day!)

Riverdale Farm:

Well, I thought that I’d give this one a try. I have such fond childhood memories of this place, but I quickly realized that there was a reason that these memories had remained in my childhood. One visit to the sheep’s pen (I saw a lamb!) and it was clear that I was the only person there over the age of 10, excluding parents of course. I just couldn’t settle down to knit here, it was far too chaotic! The fear of being kicked in the knee by a stray cartwheel lingered in the back of my head as an army of girls tore past me. I counted the temper tantrums that I encountered during my 15 minute visit. 9 in total, some so epic that I considered counting them as two separate tantrums! The scenery was beautiful, there were lots of comfortable looking nooks to pick up the needles in, but I still felt uneasy. I eventually abandoned the farm and took up a bench just in the park just outside of the farm. This was a much more peaceful experience, and I managed to get quite a bit of knitting done here. All in all, I think that Riverdale Farm is certainly worth the visit; just make sure you go early in the morning or later in the evening!
Here's a map for those of you who had no idea that there was a sweet little farm tucked away in our noisy city.



(There are a bunch of other animals at the farm,
but the sheep were clearly my favourites!)

This and That

I am proud to say that the Laminaria is finally done! It may have taken me longer that I expected...and promised, but its finally finished and looking good! The next obstacle on the road to actually wearing my Laminaria is blocking it. I have the patience and skill to pin and re-pin until I have it in the shape that I want, but I don't have a surface large enough to accommodate the size of my shawl. My usual sheet of foam core is far too small, as the tips of the shawl reach the edge of the board already!
I am happy, at least, to say that I finished reasonably close to the deadline.

There is no time to waste now, getting into July and our month of socks! We have made a decision to change the rules just a little bit for sock month. This is because of the shear volume of excellent sock patterns that are available. So here is the change, if you are not interested in any of the sock patterns I suggested in my last post, feel free to knit one of your choice. Sarah and I will be happy to help you choose one thats well suited to you (if you just don't know what you're looking for). Here are a few more suggestions from us to broaden your selection...

Beginner:

• Back to Basics. Knitty.com Fall 2007. I have knit these socks a couple of times now, and enjoyed the experience. A simple stocking stitch fabric is combined with a slightly unconventional toe-up construction. This makes for a simple, but interesting knit.
• Pedicure Socks. Knitty.com Spring 2006. A basic sock construction, with a fun little twist.

Intermediate:

• Monkey. Knitty.com Winter 2006. For those of you who have not knit these socks (myself included) I think that you should. Easily one of the most popular patterns going on the internet these days, Monkeys feature an easy to memorize repeat that gives beautiful results. I plan to knit these babies soon!
• RPM. Knitty.com Summer 2006. A great affect achieved through a very simple technique
  
• Jaywalkers. Another pattern that has taken the internet by storm. These really show off a stripey yarn! You may need to be a Raverly member to view that link. If you have trouble click here to view the designer's page. From there you can email her for a copy.
  

Advanced:

• Pomotomus: Knitty Winter 2005. These socks are notoriously quite time consuming, but entirely worth the effort. Designed to look like the scales of a fish, the end result is quite impressive.
• Red Herring: Knitty.com Fall 2006. Yet another Cookie A design (she's a whiz with socks). The leg of these socks is knit with two colours! Fair isle fans get those needles out because this sock waas made for you.

If you have any sock suggestions that you'd like to share, please leave us a comment or send an email to info@nakedsheep.ca. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. I am so happy to hear that most of you prefer center-pull balls! I am completely on your side.

July is Sock Month

I almost made it. I only have eight more rows to go in my June lace project, laminaria, but they are very long rows after all. I intend to have it finished by the end of the day, however (we'll see how that turns out) I hope that everyone participating enjoyed (or is still enjoying) their lace projects from June. Mine was a blast, and has given me the confidence I needed to tackle larger and more complex lace projects! If you are finished your lace for June we'd love to see it. Even if you're not finished, I'd really like to see your progress! So pop by the store when you get a chance; I'd love to put pictures of your projects up on the blog!

Luckily we have two more months to go in our summer knitting club, and that means two more sets of projects to go along with them. As you may already know, July is sock month, and we've got some great sock projects lined up for you...

Beginner: Basic sock Pattern by Kate Atherly. This pattern in perfect for first-time sock knitters. Its a basic top down sock construction, nothing fancy! The pattern is available at the Naked Sheep for $5.

Intermediate: Froot Loops by Kristi Geraci. From Knitty.com (Spring 2008). A traditional sock construction again, but this time with a fun and simple stitch pattern throughout! A great pattern for anyone looking to move away from stocking stitch socks. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize and fun to knit, also a good first sock for the more adventurous knitter. You may have seen me working on mine in the store (I knit them in Kureyon sock). These socks do fit tight, so I would recommend doing a stretch test as soon as you have completed a few repeats of the pattern. I didn't do this and had to rip out half a sock after I realized how tight they were!










Advanced: Ocean Toes by Cat Bohrdi, From the Book New Pathways for Sock Knitters. For those looking to knit something a little bit out of the ordinary, this is the sock for you. Knit from the top down, instep shaping occurs in the leg, as a "funnel" is knit down around the entire ankle to the base of the heel. From there, the heel turn is worked along the bottom of the heel and knitting of the foot is resumed with only a few inches to go before the toe. A very interesting sock to knit, and a good looking sock at that. I have already spoken about my exploits with Ocean Toes (and I did decide to frog the sock) but I'll be knitting it again, and this time it will fit like a glove! This book will be available at the Naked Sheep in just a short amount of time (we're currently out of stock).

At the end of the summer we will be having a prize draw for all Summer Knitting Club members, so don't forget to pop in and sign up!

Nooks for knitting continued

Next stop on our tour of god knitting spots in the city is...
Mercury:
Mercury is my all time favourite spot to knit in the city; I’ve spent many hours stitching and sipping away in this place. Mercury is an organic espresso bar in Leslieville (Queen st. East between Carlaw and Logan). At first glance you may think I've sent you to the wrong part of town, but one sip of merc. coffee and you'll be thanking me!

• Lighting: light in here is dim, so be sure to sit close to a window if you’re working with a dark colour. The location has large south and east facing windows that let a lot of light in, and a comfy little patio for those who prefer sunnier outdoor knitting.
• Music: another thing you should know about Mercury is that the folks their love music, and they know an awful lot about it! Music at Mercury is loud, but always good!
• People: Anyone and everyone who loves good organic coffee!
• Best for knitting: Socks! Mercury is a very busy place, where a large and complex project would take up too much space.




*also, who else on earth can pour your foam into hearts? (sometimes I get flowers too!)

Distracted from my Distraction

A few posts ago I mentioned a new sock that I'm working on...Ocean Toes? Well, its still on my needles, just the toe left to knit. Casbah has become my favourite sock yarn. Hands down. The combination of amazing Hand Maiden colourways and the softest, cushiest sock yarn ever is certainly a good one! This sock was preventing me from working on my June KAL project (Laminaria), and as I knit franticly away on this sock I slowly began to realize that its a little but snug passing over my ankle. There is a reasonable explanation for this; I knit the sock on a smaller needle than the pattern calls for (I didn't like the loose looking stitches!)
So I have cast aside this sock in order to avoid thinking about ripping it out and starting again.


Luckily I found something new to distract me...my new skien of Misti handpainted lace!
The colour decision took me...a few days...but I finally decided on the calm greens and neutrals of Bar Harvor. Next distraction will of course be selecting a pattern to knit this yarn in. Any suggestions?





I have not completely abandoned my Laminaria, however, in fact I am really enjoying knitting this pattern. I'm about 8 rows into the first border chart, and its looking great! The border charts are more difficult than the center charts, because each lace row is different. I find that it takes me a 1/4 row to figure out the repeat, which slows me down considerably. Nonetheless, here it is. I am not quite half-way through my second skien of Malabrigo Lace, and am beginning to hope that I may be able to knit this shawl with just two skiens. Fingers crossed.

Next Stop...the Moon

Jet Fuel:

Located on Parliament in the heart of Cabbage Town, Jet Fuel is a café with attitude… and a lot of bike couriers (but who says there isn’t room for a few knitters in there too?) Its a big comfy space, with lots of seating, great music, cool people and a bare bones approach to coffee that has proven to be very successful, the coffee’s great people!

• Lighting: Lighting is a bit dim in here, necessitated by the atmosphere of extreme cool. It is still quite knittable, and seats by the window provide perfect light!

• Noise: Loud music and the guy behind the bar yelling out coffee orders

• People: As I mentioned briefly above, Jet Fuel is a mecca for bike couriers. It also attracts hip cabbagetowners and any other folk who like their lattes served in tall glasses (this includes myself)

• Best for knitting: Small projects. This is one busy coffee shop, and there isn’t too much room to spread out a big project.

knit in public...just a bit late

Inspired by knit in public day- which was last Saturday- I have gone on a hunt for good public spots to knit. I frequently knit in public; parks, coffee shops, bars and pretty much everywhere else. Since I have so much experience with public knitting, I thought that I'd share a few of the spots I've found with you. My plan is to post one a day for a week or so...until I run out of good spots. If you have a favourite public knitting spot, please let us know (I'm always on the lookout!).

So here goes...

Merchants of Green Coffee:
An excellent café, tucked away nicely just east of the DVP and north of Queen st. East. The Merchants started out selling fair trade green coffee beans to industrious home roasters and have more recently expanded into roasting for the public! This is good news for us, as their spacious old factory/loft location is now jam-packed with comfy seats, good vibes and the delicious smell of roasting coffee. They have some cats, a very smart parrot, and will be very happy to custom roast you a cup of your favourite beans. They also have some great classes and workshops on home roasting (though I wouldn't try to knit and roast at the same time)

• Lighting: light can be a little bit dim, as there is ivy covering most of the windows, but I was able to work on my ocean toe (sock) without any trouble
• People: Staff are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to growing, processing and consuming coffee, they’re also really nice.
• Best for knitting: Anything you want!


* I am told that I make a knitting face...I think that it has finally been captured on film




For those of you participating in out summer KAL, I hope that your lace is coming along well, I'm excited to see your progress! I have to confess, however, that progress on my Laminaria has slowed in favour of a new sock project. I cast on for Cat Bordhi's Ocean Toes just the other day, and can't seem to put it down. I'm nearly finished the first sock, and its looking great! Here is a pic from a few days ago...




...its grown considerably since then. I will post pictures of the finished sock very soon. Oh, and the yarn I am using (for those who are interested) is Casbah sock from Hand Maiden.

Misti Madness Days

Exciting news!

A new shipment of Misti Alpaca Handpaint Lace is in our store as I type these words! That’s right, the softest, fluffiest, and most beautiful skien of hand painted lace weight baby alpaca yarn is sitting on the desk right in front of me. (Can you tell I’m excited?).

Misti’s handpaints are dyed to the stitch to guarantee even distribution of colour, and no pooling. Each skein contains 800 meters of super soft 100% baby alpaca, that'll keep your fingers busy for a while to come!
Colours currently in stock are...

- Jazz
-Havasu
-Mauvelous
-Bar Harvor
-Blood Lines