Not quite "Knitter's Frolic"...but close!

Yes, I know it was the big "Knitter's Frolic" in T.O. this past weekend. I saw all the eye candy in my Facebook feed. I fought down my inclinations towards jealousy and told myself I had dodged a stash enhancing/income diminishing bullet.

But I went somewhere instead: the Estelle Yarns Open House. It's where all the people who sell yarn to knitters during the rest of the year when they're not busy buying yarn at places like the "Frolic" go to see what's coming down the yarny pipes for Fall. Yes, I said Fall (with a capital "F") because we all know that summer is coming and a lot of knitting needles are cast aside in favour of garden trowels and the like, and I know it seems blasphemous to hurry the sunny summer weather along to make way for chilly fall, but that's when knitting season ramps back up again and we all need something new to look forward to.

I have the envious position of being a designer for Estelle Yarns, and I get to "meet" and often "test drive" new offerings from them that become a part of their in-house label (or not, sniff!). We all know that samples sell yarn, so I come up with some simple and fun accessory designs that I then knit up as samples which get photographed on Estelle's super-cute model and printed up as the free tear-off pattern sheets available to be torn off at your local LYS.

When I arrived the place was humming, but Lynn Cullen, Estelle's Social Media Goddess, greeted me and showed me around the showroom where I got to see many of my new designs on display. I added a cowl to a poncho design I had just completed for a new Estelle yarn called "Union" (which I was told was very popular with the yarn store owners!). As the crowd thinned, I got a few minutes with Chris Peacock and his brother, John and a hug and a chat with Marsha, Chris's wife (and happily enough, Soper Creek Yarn's sales rep and the person I have to thank for the design opportunity!). I saw some photos of designs I had done earlier this year that were destined for tear-off pattern pads.


I became delightfully distracted by a new, super bulky roving-type yarn that required custom gigantic needles. Everyone "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" over the three-skein Estelle Eco Andean DK monster knit (that yes, I'm still working on!).



I capped off my visit with sushi (yes SUSHI! These folks really know how to feed their clients right!) and a cookie, followed by a sniff and snuffle from Charlie Peacock, resident canine (probably because of the aforementioned sushi and cookie residue). Then I hopped back on the highway and headed for home, with the promise of more design work to come but permission to follow my own knitting muse for a little while.

 Oh, and on the way home, I stopped in at Homesense. I was keen to look for a little enamelled metal sieve to use as a yarn bowl (Facebook followers may remember my post about crafting "hacks" which led me down the path to sieve procurement!). I was disappointed to discover that apparently the little enamelled metal sieve trend seems to be over, so I came up with a "hack" of my own: witness the glazed clay flower pot (well really a holder for a flower pot, as the saleswoman pointed out, because "how exactly do you water that?" - her words). Its lattice-work cut outs provide ample opportunities to feed yarn through and the glazing coats all the surfaces so I shouldn't have snagging issues. It's a goodly size as well so it should hold a fairly large ball of yarn (though I can't really demonstrate at the moment as I don't have anything new that needs to be "bowled").

All in all, a successful day, with only a scant $7.99 spent on my "yarn flower pot". Could there be a new knitting hack trend on the horizon? If so, I hope I get the credit for it......

Fluff N Stuff

This weekend was ridiculously fun! I posted some pics on Facebook about the adventures of Ruben and I at A Gift of Art's Needle Felting workshop, hosted by Michelle Houston of The Wild N Wooly. I am absolutely smitten by this craft and am seriously considering converting all the non-superwash fibres in my spinning stash to needle felting materials!

The process is so simple and quick and if you make a mistake, just add a little more fluff or yank some off! Wrong colour? Pick it off and start again. When my husband asked: "So, this is all you need? You don't have to buy some big piece of equipment or something?" I was happy to reply "This is it: a few felting needles, some fluff and a sponge. That's all!"

So here's a complete "gallery" of my creations, which will be making guest appearances at Soper Creek Yarn for now (because my husband asked me "So, now what are you going to do with these?"). My in-class project was the alpaca (which my husband mistook for a giraffe!) After class, in my enthusiasm I whipped off the beaver and the bright yellow chick, and the next day I hauled out a bunch of my spinning fibres and turned some odds and ends into a cute baby owl and a wicked-looking sheep (the outer layer of the sheep is made from my locally-sourced Cotswold lamb locks!).

There's something awesome about being able to use my own fibres in this way because even if they are grubby, stained skirtings from my fleece they still make great felting wools. The lightly stained Cotswold lamb locks give my felted sheep an "authentic" look and the really stained fibres worked just fine as the core wool which I used to build up the initial body shape. Since I hate to waste anything when it comes to my fleeces, it seems this craft was made for me.

When I heard about needle felting and all the adorable felted critters started showing up in my Pinterest feed I knew I was in trouble. For me, needle felting seems like the perfect compliment to the fibre preparation work I do, which seemed like a perfect compliment to the spinning, which seemed like a perfect compliment to my knitting. Perfectly perfect, right? Maybe, but please, don't show me any more cool new fibre crafts (and while we're at it, let's not speak about dyeing wool - at least not around my husband!).

Easter Bunnies, Two Ways

On this long Easter weekend, I was reminded of a super cute pattern for tiny knitted bunnies that my friend Mrs. Ivy found on Ravelry. I decided to take a wee bit of time off from the Estelle design work to knit up a few. I quickly discovered that the pattern is courtesy of one of my fave designers, Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land fame. It also occurred to me that the perfect "odds and ends" of yarns required for this endeavor should be the ones that I used recently for my "Pet the Bunny" mitts, namely the super soft  pink Queensland Leche and the fluffy Debbie Bliss Angel (for the tails, duh!).

So, here are my Easter offerings -bunnies two ways: three tiny bunnies, one for each human in my household, and my "Pet the Bunny" mitten pattern.

Now that I have finished my little trio, I think I will reward myself with one of those chocolate eggs in their bowl. After all, I couldn't spoil the photo op until I was finished with the knitting!

Happy Easter, everyone!!