Laine de Bergère

Cloudy Day Leggies

2012-01-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

So pleased to have these! I love wearing skirts and these are just the pretty thing to keep a gal warm.I found them to be very fun and almost addictive to knit. Fast!Mine are made of alpaca in a natural beige shade. I've had the yarn for ages and the leggies have been on queue for ages too. So fun to finally get a Tiny Owl Knits design done! I ♥ her designs.I used Dpns but I did try the magic loop method at first. Couldn't put up with all the shuffling of stitches so it will be Dpns for me unless I find out I was doing it wrong or something...

He ❤'s Habs Socks

2012-01-05T12:05:00.000-05:00

Voilà my first finished knit project for 2012.
A smooshy pair of 80% merino superwash FÉLIX Biscotte socks in the Go Habs Go colourway for Len.
They better make the play-offs!
I don't like toe-up sock knitting. I find it very tedious. Matching the stripes meant measuring out equal parts of wool after the first heel got turned.

Don't ask me how I turned these heels. Honestly, I was roughly following a free pattern off the net for a pair of toe-up socks I found on Ravelry. I had more stitches to work with then the pattern so I just pinned back both ears and went for it.
I am getting very brave on my needles in my old age!

En tout cas, I luuurve FÉLIX sock yarn. Made in Québec Whoo HOO!
Having mowed down a whole skein of this delicious stuff, I ended up with a 12.5 cm leg after making a 72 sts size 10 men's foot. I just had to know how long of a leg you can make out of this yarn in order to sell it to skeptics. Customers see the price and raise eyebrows and shoot me sideways glances like I am ripping them off big time...but no, I don't make up the prices and remind everyone that this is QuÉbeC YARN!!! (maudit). People like to get paid in this neck of the woods. Finally something not made in CHINA. So, suck it up buttercup. We need more Québec Yarn so lets encourage it. EH.
I look forward to knitting more FÉLIX socks my favorite way, now that I know just how far I can go on the leg. It was really worth it.

And how about those resolutions? I for one want to knit more from the home stash this year. I have some fantastic projects ahead.Ali XX

Mon sentier sous flocons

2012-01-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

Bonne Année 2012 !

Je peux dire qu'à 39 ans, j'aime l'hiver de plus en plus. J'ai de la chance chez moi d'avoir mon petit coin tranquille à la campagne. Pendant les mois doux ou froids, j'adore me promener dans le bois.

Ici, je me sens bien et heureuse. Je pense à ma vie, mon amour, et mes projets. C'est merveilleux.

De flocons magnifiques ont tombés pendant ma marche le 1 janvier. Quelle célébration !

J'apprécie la nature et le bercement des bois gelés qui craquent dans le vent comme une mélodie pour celle qui prend le temps d'y écouter.

Mon copain déjà 12 mois ! Il a un plaisir fou de courir mais jamais à me perdre de vue. Il est toujours un peu nerveu.

Je n'ai pas essayé mes skis encore...j'ai trop de plaisir à marcher en rêvant.
Pendant les fêtes, j'ai pris du temps pour me reposer tout en tricotant !!

A. xx

Square Bean

2011-12-20T17:22:00.001-05:00

I have designed a quick winter hat for a special request Christmas gift from Ivy for her knits loving boyfriend.
She wanted the likeness of 'ears' and the hat needed to be a big one.

I happen to suffer from a disappointing case of loose ribbing on hats syndrome so I tried smaller needles this time. Grafting the tube shut and flat gave it a subtle cat lurking under my hat appearance but nothing more, it's for a Dude.

I mowed down a whole 200 meter ball of wool and ended up with a Pope hat so I pulled it over my forehead and gave it a rip until I found the spot where the top would look better and applied a kitchener stitch close. It is inside out in this photo...wha!

After the corners got a good pat: 'voilà'! it looks like ears if you keep an open mind.

It fit Len and he thought it was great but maybe too scratchy...it passed the ears test.

Scott Pilgrim's Sock a. k. a. R I P

2011-12-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

I thought I would never be finished knitting this pair of socks. After the first sock was knit I then realized my son's ankles had really grown since last year. R I P.
Cast on more stitches and knit another version. This time, the heel was still too small. R I P.
A third time around the Dpns, I made a ridiculously long heel flap that gave me an insane amount of extra stitches to be decreased to the original 72 stitches which seems like an awful lot of stitches for a kid in the first place. BUT, I must face the facts. My kids are all bigger and taller than me now. When they wake up in the morning and I look up to ask them if they slept well...it occurs to me they could physically be making their own sandwiches at 6 am...!
Anywho, I kept knitting too far ahead for the toe decreases. Ah! his feet are still boy length (Thank God).
R I P.
Had a beer to unwind and missed a decrease or two.
R I P. Geez Louise!
Ended up leaving more than my usual amount of stitches to be grafted shut at the end since my recipe looks pointy on his slammed-shut-sponge-Bob-square-style feet.
They are done! The colourway has sorta grown on me by now. I do love orange and have a new thing for yellow yarn these days and have always luuurved charcoal so...what to name this project? To me, they look like something Scott Pilgrim would wear and that cracks me up. I am just happy they are done.
....Next!
Ali xx

Frienemy

2011-12-10T13:31:00.001-05:00

There it is...a week of my knitting worth...

I cast aside my sock knitting to make a few sample scarves for the heaps of Newbie Scarf Knitters to gaze-at, paw and entice. I must say, for all my grumbling about this yarn fad it sure has given me alot of business. Selling this yarn has really put me on the map. Knitters are f r a n t i c a l l y trying to find as many colours as possible and thus the word gets around fast that my shop exists. Even non-knitters are dropping in to buy yarn for their busy spouse or friend. It feels good to be too busy to eat my lunch must days.

I still get really excited everytime I sell an actual ball of other yarn though. I go home and gush about the 2 balls of sock yarn that found a good home.

Inventory looms on the horizon too...I may or may not close for a few hours before January to count...

Patterns are on sale at 50% until the end of the year too. I still sell very few...don't know what's up with that. I might use the magazine rack for yarn instead next year. Nobody will notice???

I am getting over the virus that just-about-got-me in November and am enjoying the sudden urge to sew again. I am loving my new sewing room! I bought some wool blend tweed for a new skirt and some cute tartan voile for another one. I've taped some patterns to the wall for mood. My drooling over CABBAGES AND ROSES has really inspired me and the price of their clothing line has propelled me not to mention the bleakness that is my wardrobe. Speaking of which, my wardrobe spit out my missing Sir Swing Cardi last week. After I ordered yarn to re-knit the thing, I found it hanging off the end of a hook in the darkness. What a stroke of luck. I love that sweater.

Christmas treats and gifts are all hidden which leaves me one last free Monday to myself before the big hurrah. It happens to be Len's birthday...I was gonna bake my heart out anyway. I really hope everyone stays safe and healthy into the new year.

Ali XXX

♥ favorite things ♥

2011-11-28T14:58:00.001-05:00

Ive just ripped my knitting back to zero this afternoon since the sock was too tight on his foot but I wanted to talk to you so, I thought you might like to take a peek at a few of my favorite things around here. A while back we were sharing favorite things on our blogs and I thought it would be fun again.

Our Christmas Cactus is beautiful these days. I sprayed its leaves with a spritz fertilizer and it reallllly liked it.♥

Here is a piece from a cute coffee set I found at the market. I love to display it as a decoration in the kitchen. Ive never used the actual set yet. ♥

My oatmeal dish from when I was a wee girl. My Dad tried many tricks in his day as papa to get me to eat my meals. No easy task! This dish he bought for my breakfast. Every morning, he would put hot cereal inside with brown sugar and milk and ask me to eat until I could see my picture. I believed him that it was a drawing of me. I cherish this dish. It has a long crack now and it feels really brittle. Ive hidden it in the cabinet but take it out when I miss him.

kinda looked like me? ♥♥♥

Tweed Dog Coat

2011-11-15T17:45:00.001-05:00

''I have to pee!!''

''man, it's hot in here with this on!''

A favorite vintage pattern of mine from the good old Beehive days. I bought this booklet at W.A. Hodgins in Shawville when I started knitting full-time close to 20 years ago...Many times I admired this little coat and thought it was too difficult for my skill level. At the time, I owned a Miniature Pinscher. He was rather tiny in stature compared to our newest Pup. A Pug/Pinscher mix. In fact, it was very easy to knit.

I used 3.5 mm needles and worsted weight Diamond Galway 100% wool in three colours. Left over stuff from other knits.

One modification I like is a small opening for latching the leash at the neck front. I also omitted the zipper.
I did not bother blocking this knit for photos and the end flipped up for a while but settled down after one use.
I was excited to try it on him! In the photos, I had just arrived home and he was in a hurry to run outside and do his business but obliged to my request for photos...his ears display his eagerness to comply!

The snugness is actually a good thing. The coat stays in place even when we play fetch.

The Kissy Kat Hat

2011-11-14T14:11:00.001-05:00

I think I knit this three times before I was satistfied with the tension and snug fit Chloé requested. It is made of a DK weight pure Alpaca in a natural beige on 3.5 mm circulars and Dpns with some 100% Angora embroidered into the ears that were stitched seperately then sewn onto the crown. (I think the positioning is ok). I used the same ears for Mr. Fox of Tiny Owl Knits design. They fit purr-fectly!

It was tricky placing the ear flaps. I made those first than cast-on the remaining stitches needed for the ribbing. The braids were the finishing touch. I do want to reknit this pattern and pin down my notes for Ravely. Maybe after Christmas.

P.s. no more thumps in the night! :) We moved the creepy commode away from the chilly corner and it sleeps through the night. Gage has moved into his new room as well. His Papa made his bed from a tree the beavers had cut-down last year. Very cool Canadian bed! Now I want to knit a throw with beavers in lumberjack colours.

Creepy Commode

2011-11-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

What old house doesn't make noise at this time of year? The change in temperature makes the siding ping and the nails shrink in the walls...

Chloé has been settling into her new b i g bedroom. Realllly diggin' the space and the double bed and the two windows and all that space and the bookshelf and all that space!

In that room are our old bedside tables on casters with three drawers we bought about 15 years ago. These tables were actually office furniture made of cheap pressed wood. Len assembled them and I suspect he tightened the screws more on one than the other because the one on his side of the bed has periodically made noises at night.

The odd tapping; the odd crack sound that would wake us up or freak me out thinking there was a mouse inside.

Anyways, those tables are in the master bedroom now and it's Chloé's turn to occupy it and two nights ago she heard Knock....Knock................KNOCK coming from one of the tables.

The third knock sent her flying into our room. I was still reading. Her eyes were bulging and her heart was racing. Papa said 'sleep here with us tonight'. Without a second of hesitation she was under the covers between us and thank god for the seam of our mattress or else I would have had no place to sleep at all.

I tried to explain to her that the corner where the table sits is the coldest corner of the house and that makes the wood shift and she replied ' Yeah, I know Mum, it's called paranormal activity!'

Boo!

Snowflakes in my spider webs

2011-11-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

With summer ending and the twists and turns of a few weeks passing, I've been off the blog. Sorry about that.

You see, it's my fifth time in grade 4. I know. Let me tell you that it still kicks me hard in the hind parts.
The homework!

I worked that grade twice myself, and now I am coaching my third wee folk through it and it really eats up my energy in the evenings. Gazou is not a happy scholar like his older sister. Cripes! I've reinacted the scene from the Exorcise at least twice (where the head turns around...) School keeps calling to ask me to discuss progress reports and I kinda resent that at this point. Let's just get through this without taking up half my day off every other week please. People don't realize that self employed adults actually don't get paid time off to run around to meetings. Obviously...

Anywho, I have been knitting. Non stop really. But, with very little to show for it. That's my Motto!

The 100% Wool blanket is still in pieces in a bag by my bedside. There it will lay, I'm afraid until new years, since Christmas is GASP so close I can smell it. Those commercials are really bothersome!

I wanted to make Tiny Owl Knit gifts this year for my loved ones. Let's pray.

-Hey, I wonder if the 100% wool blanket warrants me the right to put up the cool Wovember button from Needled? I am coveting all of Kates clothes, accessories and landscape. Swoon!

The shop has been a steady stream of frilly scarf knitters. I am a bit sad this yarn was born. I hate it with a growing passion but as my sister reminds me, it pays the rent! Where are all the Wool lovers, eh? Did I open my store in the wrong country? I am beginning to wonder about this. And the frilly scarf yarn keeps expanding...I've had to put other yarn on sale to make room for the Polyester sparkly ribbons...makes a country girl wanna run for the hills.

In any case, I am happily designing a cat hat for Chloé at the moment and it is on the third lap around my circular needles. I think I have the size to fit her wee head now. I did not swatch. Could be why it is slow going. The Tweedy Dog Coat is half way there. I can't wait to show you! Pistou will be a picture of Sherlock!

It was my sweet sister Donna's birthday last weekend and she dropped hints about being in the need of a new Great Gatsby Headband. The first one was ~~stolen~~ lost in the move to her new home. I tried my new Baby Alpaca Cashmire yarn for this very special occasion. One skein is exactly the right amount needed to have enough for a crocheted flower on the side like the first one I made. Let me tell you, the Sandnes Kashmir is so wonderful! I'm not bitter.

Chloé is modeling Great Gatsby III

Halloween was here too....

A Cereal Killer

A wanted dead or alive cowboy

Things are shuffling around the hearth these days. Ivy has been staying with friends while attending a new school which means the master bedroom stands empty. She has high high hopes of her own rented place soon. I hope it all works out. She survived a car crash a few weeks ago so that puts everything else she wants to do into a less scary perspective for old Mum.

Len declared it was high time we redecorate the house (thank God!) and he even had the brilliant idea of offering me a sewing room. Everyone jumps one door down and gets new paint colour and a new bed, the works. I am so excited about having an extra room for my crafts and storage. purrrr....

ticked off

2011-10-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

No body ever told me that the beautiful wet lands and shrubs are infested with deer ticks!

No worries, I found a wee baby one surfing on Romeo's coat of fur when we got home from playing ball in the mist this morning. (Just after he jumped on my bed which he is not allowed but he keeps testing me).

My friend Madeleine got a panicky phone call when she opened the Vet's office this morning.

I have inspected his little wiggly bod and found nothing on him but we are heading to the vet on Monday for a check-up to be sure.

We are both a little disappointed that our fun has been extinguished. Who wants lyme disease? And here, I was nervous about duck hunters...

Mon Sentier

2011-10-17T20:17:00.002-04:00

...après mon café sous un arc-en-ciel ce matin, je marche le chien dans mon sentier en bas tout près de la rivière et ma piste de ski. Je suis heureuse d'y retourner après la chaleur de l'été et les insectes...

A rainbow glowed in the sky while I sipped my coffee this morning...then off to walk with Romeo the pup....
He is finally able to enjoy a little run off the leash now that the cooler weather has killed the flying teeth. We are now visiting the ski path and the bay. He loves it.
We are alone to run free and roam around looking for treasures. His new delight.

Nous trouvons des trésors de la nature chez nous ...

...une tablette de sorcière ?

Did you hear that ?

Qui est-ce qui habite ici ?

J'aimerais lui tricoter un manteau tweed pour nos randonnées...

seeing stars

2011-10-12T15:02:00.000-04:00

I am still slugging away at my 'Grille No. 4' star motif for the 'Traditions renouvellés' blanket.
Of this 'Grille No. 4', the pattern says, you only need to knit 4 pieces. I find the star is the less appealing one of the bunch and that is why I decided to get them out of the way first.

I have been knitting every spare minute for days...double knitting means you knit two pieces for every one. That's 8 bloody stars so to speak.

...just casted off the last one a minute ago and went to peek at the pattern again to see what's next...only to realize I was suppose to make my 4 stars each a different colour combination. Shit la merde.

So much for that happy dance I scheduled for 4 pm...

They say bad things come in threes....I should be clear now.

1. R.I.P Mr. Frank the cat. The kids found him dead at the bus stop. I had to peel him off the pavement and I feel really bad because I was the one that thought he should go outside and get some fresh air. He is a barn cat and has been running around for months unscaved coming in and out of the house at will.

2. Unrolled my knitting needle case for packing my 2.75 mm Dpns for my trip to Monteal and inside the fold of fabric was a big Mama Spider and her Egg Sack...YUK! The babies obvisious died when I scraped them off the fabric. I'm a little nervous about Karma now.

3. And now, knitting Grille No. 4 has gone awry. All for nothing except for the first one.

Is it the Full Moon or what?

indian summer

2011-10-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

Our weekend weather was something else. I was a little upset about having promised and arranged a big festive meal on Sunday since it was too gorgeous to be rolling, basting and simmering but we managed. So when Len declared we were hitting the road on Monday, I think I was the first one in the car. We packed our portable bbq and some food and headed to the cottage for the day. I headed to the lake for a bottle of water to wash my hands and found the water level so low that I could only collect a half container of the stuff without getting my feet wet. The sand is now covered with leaves.

The cottage neighbour was there and to my complete surprise handed me my lost camera that I had forgotten on the beach back in August. So happy to have the vacation pictures I took that day of fish admiring my toes ...

Frank the cat and Romeo the pup hanging around the deck while I knit the blue hoodie.

Our last day of swimming in August. My two pirates afloat...

The bag says Minit Lite...they lied, it took me at least 10 minutes of holding a flame to the briquettes to get lunch going yesterday. The breeze did not help I think.

We took the long scenic route home through La Montagne Noir and ended up on the River road in Mayo. The trees are all putting on the ritz. I am thankful for the best summer of my life.

Ali XXX

blanket making

2011-10-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

My Blanket of Snow Throw is on its way.

A puffy pile of squares are all done. These are trinity stitch (point astrakan) rectangles in charcoal, ecru and black 100 % Canadian (Maritime Briggs & Little) wool. Adorable.

After all this, I think I like making them now. Committed to memory, that's for sure. At first, my wrist would hurt so I changed to smaller needles and loosened my grip. There are now 6 of this project on ravelry. And two other blankets I have in mind. I am 50 flavours of happy.

Summer's End

2011-09-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

Pattern : # 16 Hooded Jacket,Vogue Knitting Summer 2006
Designer : Micheal Kors
Yarn : Drops Ice in light blue

Size : Small
Modifications : Knit top down in one piece sans pockets and sans 180 metres of yarn. Used up exactly 20 balls.

Needles : 6 & 6.5 mm DPNs and Knitpicks Circulars.

so I love Mondays are back

2011-09-13T12:33:00.001-04:00

My first Monday. It was blissful. I had a partial day *all to myself* and I enjoyed every minute of it. Time to bask in the sun of a surprisingly hot summer day with high wind. Clothes washed and flapping on the line.

I went for a bike ride. I don't care anymore how *unsafe* it is to risk getting assaulted by a farmers dog or a stone shot from a transport truck. Or heart bruised by the sight of a dead turtle and duck or worse, the smell of decomp from the ditch. I live along a busy highway and c'est la vie. I just want to ride again. I want to spend hours everyday like I did 18 years ago.
I am just a busy mom that needs to put things right.

After that bit of fun, I headed to the garden. Harvested my italian tomatoes. I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce with my own garden fresh tomatoes, peppers and onions. I plan on herbs for winter windowsill harvesting soon. I think chives, tyme and oregano for sure.

I've been using HD's Nikon. Playing with the buttons and settings. I found a cool culinary setting for photographing food. Great! So now, I've decide to have With Julia segments on my blog for my new recipes. A girl does not live on Stitch Alone.

heading to the pot and freezer with these

We are enjoying a tomato glut as Alys would say. The way I deal with this is wash and pop tomatoes in a freezer bag and le tour est joué. When you unthaw tomatoes, the skin comes off like a sock and no need to fuss. I have some bike riding to do remember?

Do you believe in ghosts? I do. The good ones like when my parents pop over from the other side to visit me. Three weeks ago, I came into the empty house from the back yard with the wee folk behind me and I stopped in my tracks. I could smell my Dad was or had been there. His freshly soap scrubbed skin scent that was in every hug from him, every kiss goodnight on his favorite blue sweater, his ball cap. I stopped and turned toward the kids. They all stopped too. I asked *do you smell that?* They both said *yes!* I said *grandpa's here!* We hugged the dog because we suspect how much he (Dad) would have loved him too.

When in the garden together, Ivy remembered how much my Dad loved to eat fried green tomatoes. She said she found a recipe on the internet and so we discovered it was delicious with salmon cakes.

My weekend knitting was rather dull. I finished the Blue Michael Kors hoodie but need to fix the sleeves and tack in the ends before I share here. Instead, I untangled yards and yards of beautiful sock yarn for an elderly customer...almost done. Never again. What a time sucking job.

I ditched the tangled mess for my apron and my old copy of Five Roses cook book. I made a batch of Pâte feuilletée. Buttery pastry that I have decided is my favorite crust ever. The butter makes it scorch easily and I have yet to fine tune the cooking time but it melts in your mouth and was perfect for *pette de soeurs* and cherry pie. Do you see the tiny porcelain cup? Another revelation. The perfect amount of chilled water needed for pie dough.
Also, my new tea pot gleaned at the farmers market.

I am almost done reading my Julie & Julia novel by Julie Powell. Wouldn't you know? I read the part about the 911 day she spent the night before the 10th anniversary. Weird. I am SO excited because my next book is looming on the night stand. I almost kiss it goodnight, I can't wait to sink into my feather pillow with it. A special beloved belated birthday gift. Another book about Julia's Life. Le sigh...

You are my sunshine

2011-09-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

The sunflowers are blooming

They are so grand

Wondering when to pick these?

no news is good news

2011-08-11T14:06:00.000-04:00

I've picked a fine time to close up my shop and be home. My wee garden is being so generous or maybe I have been smart and planted just enough of the right things.

Every other day, I get up early and pick a basket full of 'Haricots' (I luuurve that french word!). We have enough for sometimes both meals of the day.

Along with that, my one plant each of patty pan and green zuccini give me just enough each day for the pair of us that eat them with gusto bbqed with a stroke of olive oil or rib sauce.

I top my morning cereal with this delicacy. I love my fruit pre-packaged! Only one strawberry today. I share them with the birds, I think.

My one water melon plant has grown to monstrous proportions. So glad I only planted the one. SHEESH! The leaves are spectacularly beautiful therefore, I will forgive it for being a bossy thing. I love leaves of all kinds. I can sit and observe them for hours they are so perfect and pretty. Underneath all that mass of gorgeous greeny blue is ONE little melon. I have been snipping off blooms to encourage him.

I almost missed photographing my lovely Coneflowers this year. I did in fact loose my camera after all and had to borrow one to take these pics today. My purple coneflowers have surprised me with their parfum that greets me when I open the back door to the garden.

More about knitting later...

Pssss...over here!

2011-07-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

First of all, I am so glad to say I found my camera. I had accidently packed it away in my suitcase and didn't come across it until I pulled it out to pack up again. Soooo glad to have it back!

I knocked off two pairs of socks since the camera went A-wall.

Regia Jazz colourway knit on bamboo 2.5 mm Dpns for my niece Melissa. I really hope she gets a job in Ottawa and these will be her welcome back socks. If not, I will mail them to wherever she goes. These are a bit long on my feet but I am modelling them here with the help of Romeo the Pup. He was using that patch of sun I guess.

With bags packed, I went to stay with my best friend Tracey for the weekend. I finished my second pair of sockies while I was waited on hand and foot. She is such an excellent host! This pair is Socks that Rock Medium weight merino knit on 2.5 mm bamboo Dpns. They are a wee bit baggy around the ankles but Oh-So-Comfy and purrrdy, I do not complain.

I got home Sunday afternoon to find my garden had busted a move and produced the first cuke, zuccinis, squash, ground cherries and snap beans. I have cooked with our onions this week too.

I planted giant sunflowers for atmosphere and surprise, surprise, there was a patty pan squash seed that was used instead...

I was wondering how my sunflower was managing to look like a zuccini there for a minute until I spotted the pretty little yellow disk under the leaves. I really want to try these!! I am sad I didn't remember I have these seeds and plant more. But it is a pleasant surprise.

I have had a good snack of three coloured beans. Yellow, green and purple.

Another first for my wee garden are ground cherries. I tasted these for the first time last August on vacation and decided to grow some this year. My first ripe parcels arrived Sunday and they were delicious (we found 2).

I have started a Drops winter cotton yarn cardigan in a soft shade a blue. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting...I am on vacation and hope to get alot of things done. Our Pup is doing very well. He asks for the door!! I found a Québec dog food that he likes and it has given his coat a luster. He roams the house all day without too much fuss. He still likes to eat lego and kleenex but has been mostly playing with his own toys. I am very pleased.

The shop vacation hours are working out very well. I have been busy on the Tuesdays I spend at the shop. I am glad so many knitters need my services despite the heat. I get tourists and locals and lots of new comers are still finding the place. Things are very well. The fresh baked fall yarns are heading to Main Street at the end of August, I am sooo excited!

Ali XXX

Fun day just for me

2011-07-20T16:43:00.000-04:00

Upon my birthday earlier this month, I asked Chloé to take photos of the Bbq we had in the garden. My instructions were 'take lots of pictures of the whole party for the blog'. Too bad some were blurry and not all the guests were captured except her Mum, the dessert and the dogs...hmm. I finally got around to uploading these. I had to sift through numerous pet photos to find these on that camera...

The unofficial theme of my party was Julie/Julia Project. I loved that movie and desperately wanted my own copy of it. I think my people got the drift and hints... Ivy gifted me that DVD starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep and my Sister Donna gave me the book My Life In France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Just in time because I was without a new book for about a week.

Growing up with a birthday in early July in the country always meant strawberries and cream. So again this year, I bought fresh berries from the farmer's market early that Saturday morning before work to make it official.

Chloé and 'Peet' aka Romeo our new pup

At the party, our new pup met Poonie for the first time. It went well. I think Poonie thought he was a bit much.

I wasn't expecting the pup to be petrified of our tiny guests, Harley and Liliana. He had to be put to bed early for anti-social behavior.

Chloé did all the decorating of the Gazibo while I was at the shop. She filled recycled jars with wild flowers and garden varieties.

I am wearing the necklace
Tracey gave me in this picturexx

Our meal was sun-dried tomato marinated chicken and porc kebobs. Corn on the cob. Salads. And for dessert chocolat cake and cream puffs. All homemade. We had frozen margueritas for cocktail hour.

my cake decorated with stella oro lilies; the kids loved eating real flowers on the cake!

gluten-free pastry on the left for my Sister;
regular pastry on the right for the cream puffs

Poonie came for my birthday xx

while grilling the meat, here you catch a glimpse
of the bracelet Tracey gave me, it's orange beads and I love it!

I don't like cake but I made one so the kids would sing. Harley tried her best at blowing out all the candles. Good thing I didn't have 39 of them. I had to help her put them out.

We spent the evening looking at knitting magazines.

Thank you Ritchie and Megan for the bottle of Merlot and Len for the comfy deck chair. A special thank you to Tracey for driving all that way to give me orange jewelry and a hug.

Aline xxx

D'accord, on se fait des bas !

2011-06-24T08:34:00.000-04:00

If making your dream come true and opening your own yarn store gets old....ha ha! Not to worry because unexpectedly, you meet some fabulous people in person and make friends too.

One such lady is Clomaille or more affectionately known to me as Cé has come to my rescue this week*

After THE Graduation Dress and mother-of-girl-graduating Skirt and Blouse project, I feel like I just gave birth to twins or something.

The lady in pink is moi and this is my Burda silk skirt and my own designed Floral Printed Georgette blouse

For two days, among all that yarn, I sat in my shop without so much as an inkling as to my next bit of stitchery. Ravelry isn't even doing it for me. I think its terminal... I visited my queue and actually deleted stuff. Ack!
My favorites list only bounced me off in other directions which led me to visit blogs I really think are amazing and reading stories about life that I can't put down or uh switch off...I think I needed that.

My wee folk both had school trips this passed week. Oh the stress of it.... Chloé was going to 'Calypso' which to me is the emotional equivalent of sending my kid alone on a iffy plane to Europe for the day. The only supervision being a head count before lift off and there actually was an emergency episode. I got home from work to a message on the machine from the School Secretary from Hell...this woman has freaked me out so many times this year, I acutally complained. The message said, something has happened, please call the school, click.

ARRRG! The school is CLOSED by the time I get home you *&$%?*?@!!! And yes, she DOES have my work number. I could wring her bloody neck. In fact, if she is there next year, I am drugging her with brownies and tatooing my work number backwards to her forehead!

Anywho, Chloé was fine, the bus was just really late bringing them all home because 3 kids were 'missing' for over an hour at leaving time but were found. No body was hanging from a meat hook which is EXACTLY what my mind flashes to me when I get a call from said School Secretary...Sheesh!

I volunteered to accompany Gage on his trip to Cosmic Adventure (truth be told they black mailed me and made it a Monday) and that's when *Cé came to my rescue. She proposed we knit a pair of socks at the same time this week. A little Regia-Love KAL I could bring with me for that day of none-stop-screaming. Perfect! Knitting a plain recipe sock is JUST what I need to sooth my nerves. Making them for my niece Missy because she came to visit me this week and she picked the yarn. The KAL made it official and I so needed someone to inspire me, merci Cé!

That and some fabulous flowers from my garden, cultivated and the wild....

merci Mon Amour et Je t'aime xx

Today is a big party here in Québec. The Boutique is closed for Holiday. It is pouring rain outside so no partying can actually take place. Thus, I have hatched a plan to visit my Vogue Collection Cupboard after blogging. That's where my knitting mojo likes to hide from time to time. I know he will be glad to see me again. XX

Les Ciseaux de Coco : La Robe

2011-06-21T12:55:00.000-04:00

Finally, the big reveal of my daughter in THE dress I made of her design... with the hair, the body art and not to mention the beautiful heels...

Body art in lieu of a corsage

Ivy and her best friend Angélik.

Ivy and her date, Oli.

I wanted to get a close up of the shoes...but we were rushed to our seats and inside the room was so dark and smokey from the votives that my photos were blurry. I am so glad I took these shots in the foyer in day-light.

Now, back to what I do best. Knit.

Chez Nous

2011-06-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

These roses grow abundantly at our house. We transplanted a few shoots from the back of the property to our immediate yard. In the morning, I admire these beautiful roses with my coffee and paper. The aroma is intoxicating.

Two years ago, a friend moved and she gave me a day-lily to remember her. I have since separated the mother plant and given some to loved ones to remember me! This is my first bloom of the year. So pretty and edible. Fresh blooms every day for weeks.

One of my favorite date-nights is going to Montebello on a summers evening. We eat at the Zouk pub and have soft ice cream at the crèmerie across the street. Beside the Crèmerie is a B&B and I just love and look forward to admiring its garden. It has an old shed that is seeping into the ground with big trees for shade and garden seats throughout for guests. The plants wrap around the yard. There are well-weathered planters overflowing with flowers and herbs here and there. It's so pretty.

One such evening, I noticed the owner was in the yard so, I went over to say hello and tell her how much I admire her garden each time we visit. She was so pleased, she gave me an Iris plant! From this one bulb, this year I have over 40 blooms!

Now, it is my turn to give some. Ah the joys of gardening.

When our Nephew Daniel bought his first house, he asked me if I wanted the perenials he had no intention of keeping....! The burgundy peony did not appreciate the eviction, however, I have coaxed it back to life. This is my first rather sparse but unconditionally loved bloom.

Finally, a shrub that I bought last year from the Rossignol Nursery. It survived the first winter in my new rock bed along the driveway.

What's growing with you?

Chemise Bleue

2011-05-28T11:16:00.000-04:00

EYELET CHEMISE by Therese Chynoweth
Interweave Knits Summer 2006

3.25 mm Circular Needle
Louet Sales Euroflax Original Linen

While you were blinkin'....I made this!

It fits perfectly too. Luckily, this 100% linen is machine wash and dry because I tried to let it air dry as I blocked the stitches but because of the constant rain, the humidity is 100% these days and I was in a hurry to blog about my newest knit.

The dryer worked a miracle with the wirery stitches. It came out soft and defined. I highly recommend this yarn and will look into becoming a stockist for next summer.

Les Ciseaux de Coco : le bustier et la jupe en pièce

2011-05-25T10:37:00.001-04:00

I couldn't help a little happy dance late Monday afternoon...

I felt like Cinderella's Mice when I stood back to admire this Monday's advancement of the Grad Dress Project. I didn't know I had it in me!

Here is a photo of the bustier and the skirt basted together for a final fitting. I have pinned the pieces over top my dress form to take a photo. I realize, it is a little wonky looking but the real thing will be plumb perfect, trust me. The black ribbon is quickly tied to give the general idea of the dress design. Thus, the cat is let out of the bag...

I have another crinoline slip to make next week. The skirt apparently doesn't 'pouf' enough with just one layer. I died a thousand deaths just thinking about unstitching the current crinoline I've applied to the slip. I took another look at the tutorial I followed to make the crinoline and there I was relieved to be told that I could make a second crinoline to layer over the first which makes a bigger 'pouf' effect. I didn't put 24 hours of my time in this to disappoint in any way. HD thinks I've gone mad...

Here's what's left on my list:

Unbaste and Stitch the 4 layers of the bustier together;

Sew in Zipper closure;

May or may not add an anti-slip strip at the top of bustier;

Add ribbon belt;

Hem Taffeta skirt by hand;

The second Crinoline to make;

Attach all layers of skirt to bustier.

Once I get all this done, I will proceed to make myself an outfit for the big night, my skirt muslin is ready. I'll be wearing a burlap bag if this dress takes too long...but Ivy will be gorgeous!

Peace Out

2011-05-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

Shalom-y Long Sleeved Cardigan based on Shalom by Meghan McFarlane
Knit from the top down.

No seams, no fake seams either.

Natural DK superwash merino*

4mm circular needles.

3.25 mm DPNs for cuffs.

Single shell button closure and embroidered reinforced button hole.

My version of the Shalom is done. Happy Dance....

I recalculated the whole shebang and gave it a little Aline flare.

Four panels of the Oh so pretty textured rib stitch. Even HD noticed the yoke, that's sayin' something!

I've been in such a mood for texture lately and this pretty yoke crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's. The math I had to do to get what I wanted was quite an adventure but I made it.

I fell in love with a few sleeved versions of Shalom on Ravelry and thought they looked marvelous in a light weight yarn. I gave my sleeves a very fitted silhouette made by multiple double decreases at the center underarm point. I love the texture of such a decrease. I chose a single shell button closure. If you are tempted, I left as many notes as I could about mine on Ravelry. Find me as bergere9.

*After a bath, much to my dismay, the whole thing grew a little but became softer. The sleeves in particular are hanging a wee bit too long, thanks for nothing SuperWash.

Oh well, it is so cute that my son made a point of asking me if it was a boy sweater and could he have it? Funny how my girls couldn't care less about my knitting but my son watches every stitch are where they go. I gave him a big hug and kiss and promised his sweater will be next. :)

Les Ciseaux de Coco : le corsage

2011-05-13T15:47:00.000-04:00

In hommage to Coco Chanel and her scissors....I've decided to devote my sewing posts to the subtitle: Les Ciseaux de Coco for my sewing project posts.

Knitting is my main thing but I love pretty clothes and am rather crazy about fashion and Haute Couture. I take fits to sew now and then and my recent reading about Coco Chanel's life, the documentary Signé Chanel and Valentino the Last Emperor has me dreaming like a giddy school girl about hand stitching, ruffles and strappy sandals.

So far, about 7 hours of couture have been invested in Ivy's graduation dress project.

So, time to get to the 'bones' of the corset I am making to support the strapless bustier. The cotton blend lining that comes in direct contact with skin, has tiny dots on a white background from my stash of fabrics. A silver organza triple lining to secure the boning and molded cups. I picked thin breatheable fabric for the layers. I imagine late June will be warm weather that Ivy might not yet be acclimatized to.

Placing the molded cups proved to be the hardest part.

this is the corset with hand stitched seams and a spontaneous tulle frill waiting for the fashion fabric layer.

fitting the lining, zipper and crinoline placement

I was nervous about messing up the boning part of the dress. I have been gleaning all sorts of ideas on YouTube and websites galore. Building up my courage to tackle this part of dress making. As it turns out, I loved this part of the project.

It was easy and so effective! I pinned the bustier lining to Ivy and from there, it was clear as to where the bones needed to be placed and lots of them. No need to knock myself out transferring pattern lines...Neh...just do it! I am using close to a meter of nylon Rigilene boning but I am definitely going to order some steel boning for future projects. This is to me, fun sewing at it's best.

Yes Oui Yes Oui

2011-05-10T19:59:00.000-04:00

Just getting around to blogging about the Vintage Hockey Jersey...

7 balls of Tove yarn to make a size XL pullover on 3.5 mm needles. Big enough to fit over a winter jacket or layers under a large hoodie. It was not easy planning for the extra ease, let me tell ya!

Pattern: loose adaptation of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Hybrid pullover from the Knitting Workshop book. (I highly recommend this book!)

Please see my Ravelry project page to read notes and visit the entire list of inspirational knitters that helped me by means of their notes and forum posts. I could not have done this without them.

I finished the second attempt on the wire...as promised, on the evening of the last game for Montreal vs. Boston in the playoffs, I cast off.

I will be forever known as the gal who ripped, frogged and reknit every damn project to within an inch of it's or my life!

I am done. Fini. Game over. The end.

Here's the history for anybody who cares. Before I became a yarn shop keeper, I was a lowly knitter. I got the bright idea to knit this sweater after seeing a Vintage inspired knit Hockey Jersey in a shop window at Christmas. HD and I drove for close to an hour to find a yarn store with the shade of red, white and blue skinny yarn required to knit this jersey. The bag full sat waiting for 2 years until I finally wanted to tackle the very vague Hybrid sweater pattern. After opening my yarn shop, the whole shebang got put on hold.

Only problem now, I still have enough yarn to make another smaller jersey for let's say, my son perhaps? That would be cute. The two of them out on the rink next winter with the to-die-for matching sweaters!! But for now, I will finish my version of the Shalom. I am so over knitting red yarn. That my dears was the first red yarn I ever knit. A whole lot of red yarn. Each ball went on and on forever. Skinny, picky stuff it was. HD won't be wearing it in the house for sure. It is very scratchy. I hope to soften it with a slight fulling session. The yarn is made for felting projects but it was THE shade of red we wanted. HD has been warned to never try to wash it himself. If I die, would somebody please help him keep this clean after I'm gone? Thanks!

The Big Red Thing in the Playoffs

2011-04-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

So this is me on a Saturday Night watching a favorite show the 'Edible Garden' while hovering over the shoulders of the Big Red Thing a.k.a. the Vintage Hockey Jersey take II. While the game was being watched on the big screen in the family room, I am happily tucked into bed with my knitting and smaller tv.
HD tried it on for size that afternoon and the sleeves seemed to fit and this is me crossing both fingers and toes that I nailed it this time. Gosh, I really want to finish this in time for the Stanley Cup!

It's HUGE! You can barely see me under it while I work on it.

FYI :: I am sitting on my Mum's version of the Log Cabin Quilt she made of polyester fabrics years and years ago. It's a piece of art in my opinion.

My Mum loved to do things her way. Quilts are supposed to be made of cotton right? So she made one out of polyester just to prove it can be done. Wicked vintage patterned fabrics too. Stuff I can't imagine anyone would wear but must have, yikes. Unlike my cotton quilts, this one,will last forever, I think. It's a prized possession.

And just so you know, the Montreal team has won every game during my knitting on this pullover. Coincidence? I don't think so!

Spring Fling with Mister Janome

2011-04-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

I loved this pink coat from Black Swan. It got me thinking about taking the covers off Mr. Janome again for some new sewing projects.

I went a googling for some coat sewing inspiration and found a few bloggers that I have added to my must read list. Gigi Sews is one of them. My jaw hit the keyboard when I saw her version of this jacket :: Simplicity 2508

It gave me fever.

I have my body form ready and waiting for fittings for my version but, Ivy's grad is looming on the horizon.

I decided to have a crack at making her gown for the big event. A fun project we could work on together. I can teach her what I know and my sister can pitch in if things go awry.

Ivy had already sketched the dress she wants and then we went shopping to try on different prêt à porter styles to see what looks and feels good on her.

There is nothing like an afternoon in the shops to give me loads of inspiration. I turned things inside out to glean finishing techniques. Some of it was shockingly poorly done. The price tags add the extra kick to get the ball rolling. 235$ is a lot of money for 2 yards of tulle and some lining....

I spent last Monday drafting the bustier pattern using a vintage 1980s pattern from my good old days. I am sooo glad I kept this! I knew I would need it again. Thanks Madonna!

I set out with View C and copied the pieces onto tracing paper.

I made the muslin with leftover coton I had in my stash. It was ready to fit on Ivy after school that same day.
I spent weeks doing research on YouTube for fitting a muslin and it was really fun pinching away the extra fabric and pinning out the new seam lines. Fun to do on someone else. I learned that you sew the wrong sides together on a muslin which I would have never thought of on my own. That explains why I always had trouble fitting patterns. I did not learn this in all the classes I've taken...!

front view of bustier

side view

The fitted muslin will now be my official bustier pattern. I identified each piece with ink. Marked the pattern pieces and waist line.

I marked the new seam lines and had a Coco Chanel moment when I took out my scissors to trim away the extra fabric.

I have been reading the life story of Coco Chanel and one of my favorite parts in the book is of her Russian Ballet Costume making. It describes Coco fitting the costumes on her knees backstage always with scissors in her hand.

I love the mental image I have of that scene. Coco and ballerinas. I ponder how she used scissors to fit dresses. I know there is more to it than cutting...it remains an intriguing mystery. I read on...

I am so excited to go fabric shopping this afternoon! I hope to find some boning when I am there. If not, I found a Canadian on line shop to order it. I can't wait to add the bones to the bodice. I am also thinking of having a built-in bra. I hate wearing strapless bras in the summer so I think it would be more comfortable for the molded cups to be part of the dress. Oh and then the best part of all is the crinoline. The skirt will be full and supported by a thick crinoline slip. So pretty!!

The whole thing is TOP SECRET. Another reason not to buy in the shops...god forbid two gals turn up in the same dress on the big night!!! We did buy special shoes for the occasion. I can't make shoes so that was the big splurge. More money to spend on fabulous shoes is nice.

HD made a few sad comments about the dress making taking over the Hockey Sweater knitting time... I am running out of time for the playoffs so I put Shalom on hold and now that my bookkeeping is up to date, I am back at the big red thing knitting both at home and at work. It goes with me everywhere.

What's your Spring fling?

A trip back home

2011-03-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

These two gals had a great day together!

I made a trip back home to Shawville on Monday to visit one of my beloved BFFs from High School that just moved into her new home and incidently, loves knit and crochet as much as me!

We talked, we laughed, we cried and we had lunch but we never got around to actual knitting...

We spent some time trying to take a picture of us together where you could actually see our projects...that was hilarious.

Thanks to Tracey's daughter Brianna, we finally got a picture with our WIPs when she came home from school. Thanks Bri!! xx

Happy faced dishcloth and irresistible sun hats by Tracey.

the knitting came in second to girl talk

We have decided to plan a weekend together very soon. I can't wait!

Shalom yoke and still not over the Hockey project

2011-03-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

This is rather new for me to tackle 'uncharted waters' in knittingdom. I have taken a notion to knit patterns that were both written as notes for bigger gauged yarn. Not once but twice! Insert Gulp here...So not my cup of tea but the yarn was the boss of me.

I am still sulking about my Hockey Jersey. It sits in the family room waiting to be re-knit, hopefully to the proper size. Taking a little break is nice. I have been obsessing over Yoga positions and Alys Fowler gardening episodes.

At the shop, I started a Shalom that I plan on making with sleeves. I finally finished the yoke for my version of it using DK weight merino. I have been knitting then ripping for weeks now. Mad calculations and loads of scribbles in my note book. I am trying to keep track of my progress so I may provide notes for fellow ravelry folks.
So far, I think it's good but not great. Mine has four panels. I intend to have sleeves too. The whole thing should be rather fitted if things sail along.

On The Saddle

2011-03-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

Was getting excited to be soon finished the Hybrid. I had lots of time to knit this week since HD was home with the kids and business was slow.

I got too close to someone with a bad cough and now my immune system is putting the boots to a nasty bug. I am fighting it, but it has slowed me down. I wonder how many calories you burn warding off the thyphoid? I had to give up my yoga mat temporarily this passed week since, I just can't zone out the sounds of a small house full of people and Monster Jam Stadium. So my left knee has been swollen just to remind me that I've slacked off a bit too much. Yoga seems to keep my joints happy.

I spent my Sunday swaddled in flannel by the wood stove happily snuggled under the big red thing while I worked on the first saddle. I thought it was great and fun the way the whole thing comes together so neatly. HD started to say he thought he would prefer a round neck instead of the laced V neck which was even better news. I was thinking how proud Mrs. McGowan (the last person to try to teach me math) would be to know I had managed the math it takes to knit the EPS way.

The Hybrid is so big now, I use a laundry basket to carry it around with me so the Pup doesn't get at it. The big yellow bus picked up the wee folk this morning and I faced a moment of truth. Damn that shoulder is big...

Wayyy too big in fact. HD is swimming in there! I am too weak to be upset. I have to rip back to the sleeves and reduce the amount of their stitches to make it much smaller in the shoulders. I haven't had this much trouble with shoulders since I gave birth to my son.

So in true Bergère fashion, I am off to rip apart a weeks worth of stitches. On the bright side, way less stitches next time means faster knitting.

What else is new?

Well, Roméo is getting bigger. He learned to 'sit' for his favorite treat. The boy is crazy about carrots. He is such a smart and sweet little guy. I hope he doesn't learn how to jump onto furniture for a while though he tries and tries just to reach me and my knitting.

PS all this talk about saddles makes me want to go horseback riding.

I Really Love My Sister Part II

2011-03-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

My moto is stay away from zips in knitting after the first cardigan I knit for my Papa circa 1994 and discovered how hard it is (for me) to attach one to my knitting and be satisfied.

After 3 hours last night hand sewing the zipper closure to Ritchie's cardigan, it still looks meh in my opinion.
Anywho, it is a beautiful sweater and Ritchie loves it, appreciates all the stitches made by his Mum and tweaking by his Aunt.

I don't have the KnitPicker or snag fixer tool that Eunny Jang demonstrates in her video about turning the zipper tape into a knitted element. I think it would be fun to try if I ever find one of these tools. Note to self, check with suppliers.

Ritchie has graciously modeled the cardigan for my blog post and in return I helped him cram for his French exam. Turns out I have a decent supply of French language books even at work in my back room. I love dictionaries, it's my thing. I find that using two languages daily really screws me up and I can't spell either one but who cares.

The zip has a little bubble to it...le sigh

Ritchie says the sleeves are beautiful!

Here you can see the place where I hacked off the ribbing and added many rows of knitting in the opposite direction. This should disappear after a good blocking (she hopes)

The tide is in

2011-02-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

My new socks are done in Socks that Rock lightweight yarn from my sock club.

I love this colourway :: Tide Pooling

They go with every colour I wear more or less. I was in dire need for some new pretty socks.

The Good Bergère

2011-02-23T17:08:00.002-05:00

Me last Saturday putting the last of the ribbing back on a cardigan I offered to fix for my Sister. It is a cardigan she knit as a gift for her son but he's much taller than the pattern measurements and wasn't available for fittings.

I offered to take the ribbing off the bottom pieces to add a few inches to them.

Chloé was here to take a rare photo of me at work, if you can call it work.

I put the whole sweater upside down on one circular needle and made three seperate balls of wool to knit equal amount of rows on each piece to make the best of what chocolat yarn was left. I had to use some of the constrasting yarn at the very end since there wasn't enough.

Today was the day to sew the whole shebang and tack in all the ends. I really love my sister!!

On Friday she promises to swing by the shop for a wee visit with the zipper and I can knit up a collar and pocket bands with the ball of chocolat yarn she found at home...!!

I am happy Ritchie gets his long awaited cardigan. The men are really having a taste of the good life these days. I am almost at the saddles on the Hybrid for HD.

Chloé's new pup is really doing well. I can't believe his appetit. He loves his crate. Not a peep comes out of him at night. He has already adapted to waking up at the same time as us in the morning. No more 3 am howls like the first night.

He learned how to go up and down the stairs on Monday. He even carried his teddy bear down the stairs by himself. The weather has warmed up enough to take him out for his business which he likes to do.

He's darn cute but he is fast and his little teeth are sharp! He managed to bite me in a tender spot this morning when I tried to comfort him after the wee folk hopped on the bus. I should knit myself a chain maille vest for protection. :)

I've been cloned

2011-02-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

Voilà my duct tape body form of myself. This is so much fun to make!

I watched several YouTube videos on Saturday (there are tons) and this morning sacrificed my tightest undershirt. I wore spandex shorts and covered my hips and neck in cling wrap where the undershirt ended.

HD did the wrapping and we used about 30 meters of tape. After about two even layers, you mark the natural waist you find by bending from side to side and your buddy cuts you out from the back. The undershirt is covered by the tape. Make sure you don't cut your bra. You close the cut line with more tape using the tape lines as a guide. I think it cost me about 20$ and it is MY body. Win win.

I really wanted a long neck on my dress form and apparently my own neck is rather short. HD said he had never noticed this before and we had a bit of an argument when I insisted he tape my neck anyways even if it was really short only to realize he then proceeded to tape passed the cling wrap at some point of our discussion and caught my little neck hairs... AYE! So I sacrificed a few hairs too. Anywho, this was a lot less scary than the time I had to make a death mask of my face for art class. Breathing through straws while the plaster dried. I was never so happy about my huge nostrils. Thanks Dad...

One of the best videos said to use pvc pipes to make a stand for your dress form but HD had the day off from work, the wood and drill handy so he whipped up a stand in no time flat. I still want to paint the base.

She stands at my height too!! I thought it was important for fitting skirts lengths.

We used some foam from an old deck pillow and some newspaper to stuff the cavity. It was weird seeing my body shape from the inside...

We used a recycled soup can turned upside down inside the neck to secure the piece of wood with screws. The whole thing took a few hours but now I have a perfect body form for knit and garment fittings! Woo-who!

Dress forms in Canada are called Judys but I want to come up with my own name for mine. Let me know what YOU think.

Now, I would love to make a fabric cover for my form and then add all the 'bolduc' lines to it. I still have some investigating to do to find the best way to mark the center lines. I already marked the natural waist and the hip line will be the widest measurement. I want to dig out my muslin to start sewing again. I have so much pretty fabric to use.

I have been inspired by Lucy of Corset Laced Mannequin
and Gigisews of Behing The Seams
Many thanks to people that shared the fun videos too!

Are you working on my shirt?

2011-02-17T11:20:00.002-05:00

....and that is the question HD kept asking a week or so ago while I was up to my freakin' eyeballs doing my year end paper work. I have everything under control in the income tax category now so knitting has resumed, sleeves have been attached to the body.
I am decreasing toward those saddle shoulders. I have been reading every article I can find on Ravelry about the Hybrid. I have not come across another Hybrid made at this gauge and/or with helpful notes. Blazing a trail!

Another twist in the story of my life...HD agreed and bought a new puppy for Chloé's 11th birthday.

I am thrilled to have someone in my life that is smaller than me with more wrinkles.

His mother was a Pug and his father was a rolling stone...Chloé has named him Roméo.

Still obsessed

2011-01-30T16:52:00.000-05:00

I am scratching an itch with this one!
The solid stockinette stitch combined with fine yarn on circular needles is really flowing and I like it.
Because of the single ball of blue in my stash for this project, I had to start both sleeves simultaneously last night which seems to be a common denominator these days. The reason is, I want to use all the blue I have for the large main stripe. So I needed to get the sleeve stripes done to clear the way for the body ones.

Both sleeves are on the needles. Aren't they cute? And so glad to find enough DPNs in the house!

I have glady stitched down the hem this afternoon. I really enjoy hand stitching work. I think I was one of the March sisters in a previous life.

What a relief! That ity bity of a curl left at the bottom was stepping on my last nerve.
It looks so crisp and clean now...I just hope it doesn't flare out on the recipient. Oh well too bad.

that awful curl is gone! The back of a chair is a great help.

I will enjoy the mindless knitting of two sleeves before I panic about the shoulders.
I have a special detail to add to the neck as well...One step at a time.

I am off to mend my twingie hip...I think I pulled something on my way down the hill on skis after lunch today. I could hardly make it back to the house at the end of our trip. Ouching all the way. Boo.

Promises Promises

2011-01-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

Having enjoyed the warm fuzzy feeling of working on my nephews all wool stockinette stitch sweater last week, I decided to cast on another big HUGE mens pullover to keep me from succumbing to baking cookies or something.

I promised HD a Vintage style Habs (Canadiens de Montréal) hockey jersey before opening the yarn store and a promise is a promise. The ice rink at home has been such an ongoing great thing for Gage, his Dad and the dudes that join them for a match, it inspired me to try unventing a hockey jersey based on pictures of the original knit versions and EZ's Seamless Hybrid knitting formula. Wish me luck!

As it turns out, I am loving this much. It should be ready for the playoffs. HD is thrilled.

Remembering The Yarniads cool San Francisco Giants sweater last summer and how I wished I had my own sports team to knit up team-love coloured sweaters for....

I am not a hockey fan but my boys are and so game on cause I just wanna knit a sport themed sweater.

I used a Provisional Cast On to start with the intention that I would return later to knit up a cool contrasting hem at the end. A thing I've been looking forward to. I think a hem is a beautiful finishing touch. I actually find ribbed hems sort of tacky. The farther I got from the cast on, the more it curled and curled. Sort of a pain in the arse really because I kept trying to smooth it out to see my progress. HD asked me if it was always going to curl like that ??? No, no, no.... so this week, I woke up at 4 am when HD was leaving for work and decided to unpick the provisional end and start that hem already. The curl has left and it leaves me with a funny looking tube going in two directions...my customers raise their eyebrows and everyone thinks I'm either nuts or a genius for now.

Lonesome Dove

2011-01-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

On Christmas holidays, I dipped into my home stash for this yarn and fished out its corresponding pattern (Anemone Rib) from my Blue Moon Fibers Sock Club circa 2 years ago.

I've been cranking away at it...

A very cool and new technique was learned. That of cabling without a cable needle. It is all fine and dandy but I could not find my beloved 2.5 mm knit picks Dpns that fateful evening. Where did I put those? They were sharp. Bamboo is just dull enough to make me pine for those sharp metal knit picks whilst trying to pick up dropped stitches for the famous trick that is cabling without a cable needle. So far, I managed this much sock leg and then it happened.

I've become disenchanted. I find the yarn colours are pooling due to my tension and all that hard work is sort of hidden by the beauty of this colourway. So I have parked said sock in my basket to mull it over a bit.

And if that wasn't bad enough...Mon amour has been consumed by work. Something about making extra gravy...le sigh. I really wish the world wasn't so hinged on money. It buys nice yarn but when it all boils down to it, it's the time we spend making more and more of it that really sucks life's happiness...And so when I get frustrated or pissed off, I usually sacrifice a house plant. I have none left to kill so this disenchanted sock thing is coming in quite handy after all. CHOP.

Plein Air - Sentier du Lac Croche

2011-01-10T14:50:00.002-05:00

This knitter made a rather fabulous discovery over the weekend. A trip to Montpellier where I spent hours cross country skiing my way around a lake called Le Lac Croche. The trail was not groomed and I was a bit nervous of getting lost, but the dude at the lodge said to stick to the right. So I did.

I followed a fresh trail of Coyote tracks for the first 30 minutes than not a soul had passed since the last snow fall. That was where the hill appeared and half way up I couldn't climb it crisscross style any more so I took my skiis off. All alone in the bush is not the time to get plucky. I have too many things to knit before I break my bloody neck just for having fun.

The scenic view of the sides of the hill were breath taking. That huge rock loomed straight up over my head. The picture doesn't have quite the same perspective I had in that moment of awe.

At one point from the trail, I could see the lake below where HD and Gazou were catching trout for dinner.

At the very top of the hill where I rested. Thankfully!

I didn't wake up expecting to see a mountain...what a lovely surprise that was. A gift for having stopped to rest after ~~clawing~~ climbing up a hill on skiis.

Coming back down the other side of said hill was another escapade I hadn't expected. I was warned of the rocks and not much snow so off came the skiis again for the same reason I took them off before...

Then I saw more tracks in the snow. BIG tracks this time. Was is bear? Then the signs started to appear here and there on the trees.

Bear, Moose, Deer

Hunting 2010

Please be a Sportmen

I saw a few of these signs but nothing to say how far away from the Lodge I was. It was getting late...
Then I came to a fork in the trail. One sign for skiiers said 13 km Lac Simon to the left. So I gladly stuck to the right....then at the bottom of yet another slope I discovered a big swamp and from there had to follow Moose tracks for a while. That my dears was when I:
1. Started to whistle.
2. Wished I had thought to bring our set of walkie-talkies with us.
3. Could really use a pint and a large poutine.

Then, I heard a VTT and heaved a sigh of relief. I must be getting close to the Lodge. Now come on!

We had crossed a bridge to get to the Lake and this was the beautiful view of it from the ski trail when I finally got my courage back.

Five minutes later, I ran into another skiier that said I was almost done but watch out for the pole bridge. He broke a pole on it once. He asked me if I had seen any animal tracks like Coyote or the Linx...? Linx...!! Uhhh, was that what THAT was? Apparently, there are Moose as well. I love Moose but would definetly NOT want to meet one while skiing.

When a got to the nasty bridge, I carried my poles in my left hand only to suddenly have one foot go south and the other west...I came down quick and hard. Hurt one finger and scared the crap out of myself when I nearly fell into the drinks (never mind the poles!)

This is where I took a flip...

Next week, if weather permits, I want to try the Lac Mulet trail and I am bringing the GPS. (beer and food too)

Excited about 2011

2011-01-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

My sister Donna found this vintage dress pattern dating back to the 40s, designed by non other than Mommy Dearest herself! When I was teenager, I used to crash at Donna's house on the weekends and watch Joan Crawford films together...this is a little tribute to the good old days. A fun fact, that she was a knitter. Who knew?

During my long weekends over the holidays, I got a bad case of startitis. Something about a new year to stir me up about a whole year of knitting ahead. I had a nice visit with my stash. Fun to see yarn in there that I bought before the shop opened.

I started a swatch for the Hockey Jersey I promised HD and one of my Blue Moon Sock Kits in the purple and green colourway still in the first 5 cm vicinity. I got the wool blanket in progress out again egged on by the fact that it would be awesome to have it on my bed at night.

At the shop, I had this sample skein of Biscotte Bella sock yarn in my stock room. I decided to crank out a pair of sockies for Pepper since skating season reminds Mums (well at least this one) of the emminent need for warm socks. This yarn is bliss I tell you! I LOVE the fact that it is from QUÉBEC no less. Fun stuff to knit. This sample works out to be stripes of water melon slices. Pink and green. Soft as a kiss. I have drooled over my friend Stéphanie's socks club projects for over a year now. A friend that is signed up to the Biscotte Sock Club. I am so tempted to join myself but time is at a premium. I can't say enough nice things about Biscotte's work and yarn. Lovelove.

In other news because of love, I have offered to fix someone else's knitting project. A rare thing indeed. It is made with Diamond Galway 100% wool which helps to urge me on because I love pure wool. It reminds me of Koonie and the gang -my flock of sheep from the Bergerie days.

I unpicked the ribbing all around the sweater and will proceed to add a little more than a decimetre of rows to fit my dear nephew Ritchie. That in between INVENTORY (ugh!) and serving customers of which keeps increasing, yay! No knitting lessons until the inventory gets counted. I just might explode. And NO, I do not take in peoples knitting to finish. This is a special occasion so don't get any funny ideas people ;)

I have enjoyed reading blogger resolutions for 2011.

I have an idea or two of my own, mainly, I would love to get my body to stretch like it used to when I was a dancer. I have also taken up Yoga and would love to find a class that works with my schedule but for now, I do it alone. Much more biking this Spring and Summer and enjoy my skiis NOW!

tout est calme....

2010-12-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

A little knitting for Christmas got done.
Slippers for Olivier (Ivy's special someone)...just in time because his dog ate his old pair today. Nice timing.

Too big for my feet!

On the 25th, I made a cheese ball and baked a tourtière in the wood oven while I treated myself to a visit with my winter Marie Claire Idée magazine collection. It never gets old...

I have to keep turning the pie to brown it evenly in the antique wood oven. So Worth it!

This year I wanted to make gingerbread dolls instead of the classic gingies. It was fun searching for the page that inspired me...

Fell in love with this photo!

Used parchment paper to trace the doll shape and a sharp knife to cut them out one by one.

Too pretty to eat!

Some day I hope to buy a set of these dolls. I love them!! I have even seen knitted stacking dolls in a book...maybe one day.

Rinkable days

2010-12-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

Our abode is situated on a 7 acre strip of land that goes from the highway 148 all the way to Molson Bay along the Outaouais River on the Québec side.
At the end of a small field the land drops down several meters to another small field below at water level.

very steep path

As it turns out, this little place is heaven for ice fishermen.

At this time of the year HD watches the barometer like a child watches a batch of cookies baking in the oven. Once the temperature dips down far enough on consecutive nights we know that the shalow bay is good and solid for the first trip onto the ice. The river is still dangerous and by all means you have to use your good sense. But, at this time of year, it is perfect for a skating rink on the bay before the heavy snow and the wild wind blows your face off. The skating rink does not last long. It is based on luck really.

Last year we got one good day of skating before the temp creeped back up and the neighbour came along and walked on the rink leaving deep prints that made it impossible to use again. Grrr.

This bump nearby is actually a beaver house! Don't get nosy because the ice is weak around it. They are hot little creatures.

So on my day off this week, me and my son Gazou (oops! I am not suppose to call him that anymore, he is a big boy now...) I mean, Gage and I spent a couple of hours on the annual gift rink.

Must knit this boy a proper wool olympic sweater...

I love my new outdoor skates with the wool lining!

The river is rather high this year and the water has flooded up to the place where we station our fishing cabin during the summer. It has a little stove in there that one could use to boil up a few mugs of heat. I just might try this if the weather keeps giving us these perfect rinkable days of December.

And after you are good and frozen and exhausted, you must climb this!

Les étoiles brillent ce soir!

2010-12-21T12:24:00.001-05:00

The annual Christmas party au Château was fabulous (again).
Donna and I at cocktail hour.
The picture of happiness!

As promised, here is a snap of me in the twinkle dress in our room when we were gabbing up a storm before the party began.

I was going to have a better photo of the dress but my *** batteries died on the spot. Boo.

Here are the shoes the next morning... after I charged those *** batteries! I could not get them back on my poor feet for a proper pix.

Imagine this knitter doing 3 hours of dancing in these! I've had three babies so I know I'm a tough old bird but this was a little nuts.

It wasn't until the next morning in one of the gift shops that I came across those nifty travel flats for such emergencies...oh well!

I did take them off and ~~crawled~~ tiptoed in stocking feet to the room after the dancing...

A few rows of mitten in the lobby before brunch where I met another knitter on her 10th December trip to the Château.

She was working on a gorgeous red blanket that I haven't been able to get off my mind since... I can't wait to finish my own wool blanket.

The food was fabulous. I managed to stay away from broccoli...which makes me very ill.

I loved my Canard confit, the goat cheese... the creamy mashed potatoes and that mushroom sauce....!!!

Thank you FSC for the lovely weekend, and my sister Donna for including me. XX

Knitting by the big fireplace tonight

2010-12-17T13:06:00.008-05:00

My teenager has a special someone this Christmas and as luck would have it, he loves anything handknit. This ones a keeper! So Ivy asked me to make him a new pair of slippers for Xmas. I am cranking out a last minute pair for Oli this week. I was hoping Ivy would break out the needles and knit her own boyfriend gift but apparently it's my thing not hers...

I finished the Coco Cloche. Tried it on. Took pictures. Wore it home. Asked HD what his impressions were. He said 'it looks old', he meant the style of it...in a nice way... I was not offended because the style is old...like about 80 years... but it was too big! I was afraid the wind would take it off my head in one gust. It did not have the much coveted 'cloche' aspect I was aiming for. So the next morning, I frogged it. I have a plan of attack all mapped out for the next one...I still love the yarn despite it being cranky stuff.

Tonight is the big office party at the Château in Montebello. My sister invites me every year and we bring our knitting to sit by the fireplace near the giant tree. The camera with me this time!

I've decided to wear my green Citron with my little black dress...hope I don't fall down the stairs in those heels...eeee!

Ali xx

Les cloches sonnent

2010-12-15T11:14:00.011-05:00

I should get the Coco Cloche knit today. I am starting the decreases...still holding my breath because this yarn is testy. Gorgeous but difficult.
It feels really soft and warm so I hope to have it finished for this weekends trip to the Château. Can't wait to get there!

There was a strike in Europe and the Katia yarn company has been experiencing some difficulties getting yarn over the pond to all the crazed-for-frills knitters...

This is a swatch of the Rizos that I do have in stock. Two colours...back orders to be filled soon.

I am all excited about the new Yarn Harlot pattern. Encompass. I carry the yarn for this one! Whoo! It is uber soft and lush... I am huge fan so this is fun.

This is for Jean... A great link to see the Marie-Claire Idée magazine online. I love this ! I can sit and watch the computer flip the pages for me while I knit. I've been thinking alot about my love for this mag. I go through my whole collection of it every Christmas holiday.

I am also getting a little excited about January 1st, 2011. I love that day. The first day of a new year and endless possibilities. I think I want to order a special knit in 2011. A Bohus sweater kit or an Alice Starmore one...or both!
Enjoy!

Loco for Coco

2010-11-26T12:07:00.008-05:00

I am knitting myself a beautiful hat that I hope will look an awful lot like the one in the Coco and Igor movie. I tried to find a still of her walking up the steps to the villa...that's the hat I want. That's the hat I need. But this still is all I could find thanks to Google...I am not sure if it is the same hat or not...hmm close enough. I definitely love 1920's styles...

Anywho...I have been combing Ravelry for Cloche style hats and found this one that I am trying. Not-Just-For-Chemo Reversible Cloche by Mary Keenan. I really wish it had a more cheerful name... but for linking purposes I've faught the urge to rename it. It's such a cute pattern, it deserves a cute name. Bon. I picked out some Luxury Bouclé Merino for this. Turns out this yarn is nearly impossible to knit with. Yikes! There is no way I can keep track of any of it. It just looks and feels gorgeous so I am pinning back both ears and hope the size medium fits my head. How in the world would you even muster a swatch of this yarn? Luckily, I am not the knitting police...I just cast on and hope for the best.
BTW, I am using garter stitch because of the bouclé...it's all I can do to not run out of the shop screaming down the block...
It would be lush to have this prêt-à-porter for our annual weekend at the Château in a few weeks. My sister told me to sex-it-up-a-bit this year...! So I bought a twinkly cocktail dress and 4 inch heels...now all I need is some red lipstick. Bring on the Canard Confit du Lac Brôme.

Givré

2010-11-19T14:17:00.004-05:00

I ran out of time yesterday to take more pictures of this so bare with me through a dual-post of the same hat.
I really like the way the center top turned out. All swirly and amazing like frost on the windows.

You see, I decreased the top all the while switching back and forth with the colours.

I tried to keep track of the pattern to share it with you but dagg-nammit I had to wing it all the way.

Got lazy and just enjoyed the closing number.

I did have to rip back once and give the hat a bit more height to cover my ears. It that point I remembered that my sister has a longer nogging than me anyway... and once ripped back; lost track of me notes.

So there it is, my new ski hat to go with the fair isle mittens I will get back to by fighting the urge to cast-on two more balls of this discounted yarn to have another go at writing the pattern in blue and white...;)

BTW, I am using this project to teach a class on fair isle technique. I hope nobody asks for the hat recipe.

We meet again...

2010-11-18T16:19:00.002-05:00

I've been swatching a fair isle pattern for the next class I am giving on the subject and discovered that 90 sts of chunky yarn makes a perfect ski hat! I am using some really constrasting colours (forest green and gold) that was not meant to be pretty so I am a little sad about that but at least the coyotes will see me coming on ski trails and clear the way...hopefully.

Or, I could give this hat to my sister for Dog walking with Poonie during hunting season... It makes me nervous that they walk around in deer infested woods. Eek!

I haven't knit fair isle in a long while and it feels good to be at it again. This chunky wool is soft and fast to work with too. I should whip up a few Xmas parcels in no time in this direction.

A swish in the snow

2010-11-16T10:54:00.003-05:00

This knitter is convinced that the Ravelry queue is basically the glorified favorites list since the friend activity almost always conjures up a queue jumper project...!

52 Tindar Mitten by Gudrun Hreinsdottir is my current weakness. I am so excited about this time of year...any day now the snow will whisper softly to me...come hither little Bergère...come swish along the trail with me...I love to hit the ski trails and after being par boiled all summer long I can't wait to bundle up in soft knits and go play outside.

A forest green solid and a natural tweed yarn to match my ski outfit...that I hope still fits. I've spent a whole year in a yarn shop...not so good for my bum. Crossing fingers.

Birds of a feather knit together

2010-11-05T12:50:00.022-04:00

Finally something to blog about...

It seems that the stars are lining up quite nice and neat for me this week. Today, I have all my favorite customers popping in to the shop. I have grown quite attached to some of the lovely and talented people I have met since I became a yarn retailer. As if owning your own yarn store wasn't enough of a thrill! I never imagined the fun people I would get to know. Ting Ting!

Speaking of which, on her last visit, Nanette mentioned she put the finishing touches on her version of the glorious Pin Wheel Sweater that was all the rage around here last fall... She used up her leftover mohair from the stash and needed one more colour to finish which she found here on my shelf. I mentioned to her like I do most clients that I LOVE to see the FOs...

So this morning she arrived wearing her Pin wheel and as luck would have it, I was wearing mine too! Two more ladies came through the door just in time to snap this photo of the pair of us shopping for more wool. And yes, I am as little as a wisp...Nanette is not a giant. Which prooves my point about the vurtues of the pin wheel sweater. It is one pattern that flatters all!

Nanette has agreed to offer her expertise the first Saturday morning of each month (starting in December) for Knitting Help for those people that need help with a current project. Please call the shop for details. I have to delegate such tasks nowadays. My calendar is filling up!

In other news, I have been rattling on with the Aestlight shawl from Shetland Traders. I am using and enjoying a hemp yarn for this. The colour is warm and the Hempathy is pleasant. I think I will stock more of this stuff for next Spring, oh yes. I imagine the fabric to be very cool for summer projects. I find global warming close to unbearable in these parts...so I need cool fabrics to knit and wear. In fact, I really love Fall and Winter thank you very much. Besides, its good for business.

Today is my beloved sister Donna's birthday!! A big bloggy hug to her. She's 26...cough! She is getting a knitted gift this year. I had to make it last summer to have it ready for today. We are going to a mexican restaurant to dig in gluten free and have a really long overdue margarita together. I hope to blog about that FO very soon.

Voilà où je suis rendue avec mon projet courant...le joli châle « Aestlight » .

La boutique bourdonne depuis septembre et mon calendrier déborde de cours en tricot et en crochet en soirée le mercredi. Alors, je commence un nouveau programme pour ceux et celles qui ont besoin de l'aide avec leurs projets. Nanette (voir la photo ci-dessus) sera disponible ici même le premier samedi matin du mois (débutant en décembre) pour répondre au besoin. Appellez la boutique pour vous renseignez de ce service.

La première photo ci-dessus est de Nanette qui venait me montré sa version de la veste « Pin Wheel » qu'elle a confectionné avec du mohair. Et alors, on a bien rigolé lorsque je portais moi aussi ma veste Pin Wheel aujourd'hui! J'adore ce patron qui est si versatile...et oui, je ne suis pas très grande du tout !

Bon tricot! xx

Mes inspirations

2010-10-25T12:45:00.014-04:00

Ma copine Clamille de chez Mes tricots et leurs mailles m'inspire tout le temps et voici un de cet dernier post qui m'a donné cette idée pour organizer le coin du tricot chez nous.

En cliquant le lien ci-dessus, tu verras l'imagine de son joli coin tricot et voilà le pratique classeur pour ses projets de tricot qui sert à tout ranger et comme table pour reposer le breuvage chaud et les outils.

Pendant notre ménage d'été, ma fille Chloé a donné tous ses poupées Barbie avec accessoires tout d'abord vidant ce classeur que j'ai donc su immédiatement que faire avec ;)...mais, c'est géniale ! et, ce cache rapidement dans un placard si necéssaire.

Alors, en week-end, j'ai pris un temps pour installer mon nouveau projet le Aestlight châle dans un tiroir. J'utilise la laine Hempathy par Elsebeth Lavold, un mélange de chanvre doré. La photo Ravelry de Cocoknits du Summer Solstice Aestlight m'a inspiré pour choisir cette couleur pour le mien. (merci Nicole!)

Fellow blogger Clamille posted earlier this summer an idea I quite liked to use for my own knitting corner of the family room. And as luck would have it, Chloé decided to empty this very organizer of its Barbie collection over the summer. So, now we both have a drawer to keep our WIP with a nifty table top for tea or in this case, coffee! The whole thing can easily be tucked out of sight too.

Over the weekend, I introduced my Hempathy yarn and pattern to one of its drawers. Admiring Cocoknits Summer Solstice Aestlight photo on Ravelry, I decided to use this golden colourway for my own version. I have been anticipating this shawl for months now and since this month has been a rough one for me, I decided it was time to cast-on a nerve soothing garter goodness project. I just love the easy-as-pie increasing to this triangle! Those side loops as the cutest thing.

Farmer's dozen

2010-10-21T15:28:00.003-04:00

I just finished 13 pairs of felted slippers in various colours and sizes. I promised 12 but am giving 13 because I counted 2 wee pairs as 1.

Which reminds me that my Mum taught me that 13 is the farmer's dozen when selling stuff. We used to get 13 cobs of sweet corn at the corner...

I made these with chunky sized 100% wool and 10 mm needles. I noted the stitch count and rows necessary to make various sizes and will soon create a printable pattern for you!

Voici 13 pairs de pantoufles feutrés faites ! J'ai décidé de bientôt vous offrir ce patron facile qui sera disponible ici-même. Ça prend de la 100% laine chunky et des aiguilles 10 mm. Un superb cadeau de Noël !

Le Petit Prince

2010-10-01T14:33:00.006-04:00

Linen stitch is everything I thought it would be and more...

I love the way the private side looks like seed stitch but it's not...so clever. Gives this scarf a reversible aspect.

This scarf is a very masculin sort of accessory so I decided to name my project Le Petit Prince.

Who is Le Petit Prince?

A favorite story of mine that I happen to be reading when I cast on. One that never leaves my heart! I think this scarf will be similarly cherished.

I am at the halfway mark now. This is good because I have 12 pairs of felted slippers to make for November. Gulp!

Perline et amie

2010-09-18T17:19:00.006-04:00

Pattern: Briggs & Little Heavy Sock 101 available en français aussi...
Needles: 3 mm dpns bamboo (que j'aime!)
Yarn: 1 skein Tuffy, rosewood & remnant ball of Noro Kureyon 221

Perline
improvised by me
needles: 5mm bamboo circular
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure silk (discontinued colourway)

This is it for latest knitting...I am having an eye procedure done on Monday morning which I pray does more good than bad if you know what I mean...

I just gasped that I have nothing on the needles! except for the Chemise Bleue that is sulking in a bag on the floor of my family room...

Look see...new signs in the door this week...VISA and MasterCard...Just shows that the little yarn shop is getting bigger!

Les vacances...Gone fishing!

2010-09-06T18:42:00.005-04:00

Aucun tricot de fini cette été...soupire!

Les vacances étaient trop emballantes!

Voici la belle maison Fradet de l'Île d'Orléans où nous nous sommes reposés après 6 heures de route...

....Away for a month and not one FO to show for it! I did get my Chemise Bleue to the point of sleeves but alas had to frog it back to reshape the arm holes...so I cast on a garter stitch scarf of silver silk for those evenings with a glass of wine and the cricket orchestra.

We visited l'île d'Orléans in August and stayed at the lovely Vieille Maison Fradet...

Tout près de la berge....Where the tide charmed us all...

Nos filles se sont bien amusées! Our girls enjoyed it very much!

On a masaginé le Vieux Québec...sous une chaleur accablante! Malgré la température, j'ai réussit de me rendre jusqu'au manche de ma Chemise Bleue (tricot courant) mais zut! il fallait retravailler les emmanchures. Alors, je me suis soulagée de cette déception avec le tricot d'un foulard au points mousse de soie argenté.

Nothing like some all day shopping in Vieux Québec...where the A/C refreshed us since it was blistering hot and humid to boot...not really knitting weather, even for me.

Hémérocalles...

2010-07-28T10:44:00.007-04:00

Last Sunday was Les Jardins d'Émmarocalles event in Ripon Québec...

We came home and ate lily petals with our crackers and cheese...

It has been a while since I attended the Monday afternoon spinning group so it was lovely to see Marguerite at the spinning wheel with her knit and crochet accessories on display around her. I must get my wheel out and spin during August vacation...

My good friend Lynda was there!

(I make her look tall!!)

Yesterday I finally got to meet my nephew's baby girl...Liliana Rose. She is 1 1/2 months and 9 lbs...so tiny in my arms. (She makes me look tall!!) This reminds me that I am soooo behind in my baby gift knitting....

On being blue...

2010-07-14T18:42:00.006-04:00

I finally made it to the finish line with one of my ~~thorn-in-my-side~~ long standing sewing projects.
I loooove this linen fabric soooo much that I waited years to be *good enough* at fitting a pattern. The pattern ended up being way too baggy for me in the smallest size anyway, so I ended up fitting this sucker on and off which took about a year.
I started out with cute puff sleeves (elastic inserted in the tiny hem); and I had done a super job of it too but after I thought I was finished I realized the armsye was huge ....and well Simplicity went awry and I had to take it in again and thus wait a few more months before I felt the urge to tackle those sleeves.

This summer, I opted quite matter of factly into turning View D into View F-ish and ta-da!

Pattern: Simplicity 5681
Size 14 into something alot smaller...???
View F +-

...and some more news about the birthday just past...My sis gave me a great hoot of a card. It starts out with "There's alot worse than getting older..."

My sister was reminded of how much I used to beg our mom for knitted sweaters...and then I got one which was an oversized peach fuzzy acrylic pullover with a honking huge cable running up the center of reverse stockinette...ugh!
And the back of the card says "and she could still be cutting your bangs too!!" ...which was the reason I looked like a boy for years...

And.... hubby decided to trade in my car in time for my birthday. I love my new Toyota! I had this cute magnet for my Yarn Store to stick to its door too. Word is getting out about the cozy yarn shop on Main Street one way or another. Beep Beep!

Finding her muchness...

2010-07-08T10:13:00.013-04:00

Aline at 38!

Currently clicking away the heatwave with my Euroflax Chemise Bleue top that I can't wait to finish so I can wash the crap out of it...said chemise promises to be soft and lovely some day. I have a thing for Marie Antoinette inspired romantic clothing...

I say..."Let them *knit* cake" (As long as it's not chocolate because I can't have any and maybe gluten free if you can swing it)

At the shop where the A/C is brand new and doing me all sorts of kindness...I am actually knitting Heavy Socks for next winter... Craziness... Briggs and Little Rosewood Tuffy 2ply Col:97 and some lush Noro Kureyon 221A for the stripe, heel and toe.

GR, see!...I got it today!! impeccable timing after all, merci... xxxx

Stepping out ... Sur la terasse...

2010-06-26T16:46:00.014-04:00

Wearing my new Clementine by Michele Rose Orne shawlette from Interweave Knits Spring 2007.
Needles: 3.25 mm; Yarn: Kertzer Down to Earth Organic Cotton; 3 skeins.

Knit in two pieces that is kitchener stitched in the middle to finish. I have never gafted so many stitches at once! I am still puzzled about exactly where the best place is to call it quits and graft...I will do more research on this subject and maybe do a better job next time since I don't love the look of the grafted bit on this.
My daughters each helped to take pictures of me for this project and all the usual chaos around home while I was trying to pose has me making this rather squirmy expression...désolé.

En français:
Voici mon petit Châle rose completé. Je suis ravie qu'il soit si bien réussit en si peu de temps. J'ai bien aimé avoir cette ensemble pour sortir en soirée d'été sur une terasse à Montebello. Un petit quelques chose sur les épaules pour ce garder comfortable pendant le repas.
Le patron Interweave Knits Printemps 2007 (disponible par pdf) par Michele Rose Orne (Clementine); Aiguilles: 3.25 mm; Fils: Kertzer Down to Earth Coton Certifié Organic, 3 pelotes.
Voir au-dessus pour le lien Ravelry pour en savoir d'avantage.
Ce projet ce fait en deux morceaux identiques qu'on doit d'abords réunir en grafting à la fin. Je dois revoir à mon affaire pour mieux savoir sur quel rang éffectuer cette dernière couture pour que ce soit le plus invisible. Donc, la prochaine fois!

Écharpe Vitrail - patron gratuit

2010-06-23T12:29:00.007-04:00

ÉCHARPE VITRAIL
Par Aline Larivière

Fournitures:
Aig. n˚. 5mm
Crochet n˚. 5 mm
Aig. à tapisserie
Couleur A: noir (200 m)
Couleur B: contraste (280 m)

Abréviations :
Rg= rang(s)
M=maille(s)
End=à l’endroit (knit)
Env=à l’envers (purl)
Aig=aiguille
Gl 1=glissé 1 maille à l’env
1 jeté=passer la laine entre les aiguilles vers l’avant (augmentation)
Aug=augmentation

Explications :
Faire suivre la laine A sur le côté.
Glissez la maille avec la (les) jeté(s) du (des ) rang(s) précédent comme une seule maille.

Monter 37 mailles avec A.
Tricoter un rang à l’endroit et un rang à l’envers.

Rg 1 : Avec B, 8 m. end., *1 jeté, gl 1, 9 m end., * 2 fois, 1 jeté, gl 1, 8 m end.
Rg 2: 8 m env., *gl 1 (incluant la jeté du rang précédent), 1 jeté, 9 m env., * 2 fois, gl 1, 1 jeté 8 m env.

Répéter rg 1 et rg 2 (5 fois).

Rg 3 : Avec A, tricoter à l’end. (n’oublie pas d’inclure tous les jetés des rangs précédent avec la maille correspondante).
Rg 4 : Tricoter à l’env.

Rg 5 : Avec B, 3 m end., *1 jeté, gl 1, 9 m end., * 3 fois, 1 jeté, gl 1, 3 m end.
Rg 6: 3 m env., *gl 1, 1 jeté, 9 m env., * 3 fois, gl 1, 1 jeté, 3 m env.

Répéter rg 5 et rg 6 (5 fois.)

Répéter toujours rg 1 à rg 6 pour faire 29 continuations du patron. Avec A, tricoté 3 rangs à l’end.
Rabattre tous les mailles. Avec le crochet n˚ 5 faire des mailles serrées le long de chaque côté. Renter les laines avec l’aiguille à tapisserie. Repasser.

Crochet Soirée Clutch

2010-06-04T15:01:00.005-04:00

I just finished designing this crochet evening bag made for my cousin Kassy's wedding. I used only one ball of Katia Bolero (silver) and a 2.5 mm hook. It is lined with silver organza fabric with a matching zipper closing. I loosely based the design on an old Coats pattern I have at home. I love the shell stitch with the delicate picot inside each one. I had intended to place a bead for every picot but being too last minute, I couldn't find beads with a big enough opening to fit onto the Bolero thread at my local fabric store. The next bag will have beads for sure!

The shower is tomorrow afternoon so I got this done just in time! I hope she likes it. I thought it would be a handy little something to wear at the reception. I have no idea if this even matches her dress...eek! Crossing my fingers but it is made with love...XX

Pebbles

2010-05-27T16:19:00.008-04:00

Pattern/Modèle
#15 Noro Catwalk two Jenny Watson; Yarn/Qualité: Noro Silk Garden Sock (4); Needles/Aiguilles 3 mm; Notions/Fournitures: button - bouton; Gauge/Tension: oops! - je l'ai manqué...

Noro feels quite nice after a Wet Blocking session aka bubble bath. It feels like homespun to me. A heavier cardigan than I expected from a sock yarn and I did not get the gauge right at all. Boo. It might even be too big for me (as far as hoping it would be more tailored) but hanging in the shop, it oozes inspiration and that makes it all worth while. I must say, this Jenny Watson Catwalk book two is full of lovely patterns and I thought this cardi using only 4 balls was a great incentive while knitting the left front three times by which I managed to finally get the stitch count right...cough.

I made a few minor modifications. I could not bring myself to put ribbing on Pebbles. Nope. The garter stitch frill that I LOVE made it impossible to add any ribbing at all. I used garter stitch on the sleeve edges and the button band. Buttonless in the photo. Gasp!
I did not pick up the amount of stitches required for the band in the pattern either...I simply picked up one stitch of every row and increased 12 stitches evenly spaced on both fronts on the row after the button hole to help it lie flat. It was an idea that actually worked! I have no clue what button I will sew on but I made a two stitch hole in anticipation. I used a single 4 mm Dpn to cast off to control my tension. Perfecto!
I only matched the sleeves...the rest I left up to chance. My way of stating that people should learn to relax with self striping yarn. There, I said it!

Alors, j'ai fini le Noro Cardi. Il est effectivement un peu trop large...j'ai raté la tension...j'esperais que ce cardi soit plus léger mais après un bon bain et repassage...cette laine est quand même agréable et ce vêtement sera très utile à l'automne.

Mes modifications sont aucun points de côte...non merci! J'adore ce volant en pt mousse alors j'ai choisi d'incorporer ce pt mousse au détail de la manche ainsi que la boutonnière. D'ailleurs, ça fait très Bergère après tout!

Je n'ai pas suivit à la lettre la recette pour la bordure devant...j'ai tout simplement relevé une maille par rang et j'ai dû augmenter 6 mailles le long de chaque pièce devant (espacées également) après la boutonnière pour éviter qu'il se gondole.

TRUC! Une aiguille double pointe 4 mm m'a bien servit pour contrôler ma tension lorsque je m'appliquais à rabattre les mailles de la bordure devant.

Un petit mot pour ce qui concerne les rayures...j'ai agencé les manches mais le reste...que sera sera! Je ne suis pas à cheval de l'idée que tout doit être symétrique lorsqu'on tricote de la laine à moitif. On doit apprendre à ce calmer un peu. Ça fait du bien de l'dire. :)

Home sweet home

2010-05-19T11:07:00.002-04:00

Besides knitting on my blanket of snow throw, one rectangle at a time...I tried to make pasties on my day off from the shop this past Monday.

I used Fairysteps Onion & Cheese Pasties recipe from her blog. I was confused with the british measurements at first since I use cups of flours instead of lbs and grams of cheese instead of Ounces so what I did was 1/3 of the Tenderflake recipe which is 2 cups of flour and 1/3 cup of the brick of lard (I omitted the butter...saving it for popcorn!). I bought 300g of PC 5 year old Canadian Cheddar and used 200g roughly 2\3 of it. Three potatoes and two onions all grated in my Mums really old Food Processor. Man, that thing is old! I remember Mum using it to make Onion Pie when I was kid...

I was so excited that I forgot the egg! I realized it after I shut the oven door. Gasp! I have a lot of pie making experience so I rescued the pastry unwrapped them one by one and returned the filling to my big bowl and added one small free range egg from my own chicken coop. Following Ren's recipe as closely as possible feels good. I brushed them with milk; wasn't sure about this either but I sort of remember my cousins Mum doing this with her homemade bread so I risked it and it worked. I peeled an extra potatoe that I decided not to use so I rubbed the pieces with olive oil and added my favorite African Heat spice mixure to have a side order of fries.

Hubby is away on business so the kids and I ate these with some corn of the cob for dinner. I realized I forgot to add salt the the mixture too so they were 'good' but really excellent the next day warmed under the broiler for lunch after the flavours mingled together over night in the fridge. I realized I made them wayyy too big! Smaller ones next time, hee!

1 year already and other good things~Déjà un an

2010-05-15T14:15:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it but a whole year has gone by already! I was too busy chatting with knitters to notice...!

Looking at my new photos of the shop taken this morning, I marvel at how much things have changed around here in just a year.

I am so pleased to meet so many passionate knitters and crocheters everyday. I couldn't ask for a better job.

Hé, déjà un an!! Mais que s'a beaucoup changé ici! Et je suis toujours aussi heureuse d'être la propriétaire d'une petite boutique de laine. Un rêve pour moi!

Harley H. wins the smallest customer award....She recently turned 1 too!!

Voici la gagnante du concours de la plus petite cliente de la boutique...Ouf! que cette pelote est lourde et les aiguilles bulky sont longues!! .....:)

My beautiful Chloé turned 10 today! A yarn shop is exactly where a knitter wants to spend a birthday right?

Bonne fête ma belle Pepper...XXXX

Of course I have been knitting like a fiend...I decided to tackle the #15 Noro Catwalk cardi. I am finishing the second sleeve pronto or at least that is what I keep telling myself. I love skinny yarn but it does slow a girl down...

J'ai presque terminé mon nouveau cardi. Cette fois je tricote du Noro Silk Garden Sock, le modèle #15 du livre Catwalk. J'apprécie bien les manches courtes et romantiques de ce modèle.

I really like the short sleeves for this model...see the gathered sleeve cap? Cute as ever!

I love to stock lots of gorgeous baby yarns (why not?) and look see what's newly ordered for September....

Sirdar Snuggly snowball. A fun pom-pom on string type of baby yarn with patterns to make lots of accessories and soft as a cloud blankets for babies.

J'ai tendance à garder plusieurs laines pour bébés en boutique et voici une nouvelle qualité dont je crac de Sirdar...un brin de mignons pom-poms tous douces à venir en septembre.

Cheers! Ting-Ting!!

The classic

2010-05-01T12:18:00.000-04:00

For the love of garter stitch and stranded knitting, I finished these slippers and don't they look fabulous?
I found the free pattern on Ravelry under Phentex slippers for those of you in the mood for some stash busting toe warming.

Another FO feels good. I have lots of left over yarn from these two skeins of Galway and think some mini slippers would be cute.

The buying of Fall and Winter yarn has begun. Hiccup! I have added Misti Alpaca and Mango Moon to my line up.

The shop will be closed for a month in late summer to take a break and be with my family at the cottage. Freshen up just in time for the big big rush of Fall, I expect the place will be humming.

****

Voilà le classique pantoufle épis de maïs tricoté avec une pure laine. J'adore le point mousse et la technique à deux couleurs croisées ce qui donne une semelle coussineuse comme un nuage. J'ai trouvé ce veux patron classique par Ravelry sous le titre 'Phentex Slippers' et il est déjà traduit en français! Il me reste encore beaucoup de métrages de ces deux pelotes Galway alors je prévois de chaussons bébé à venir.

Il est déjà le temps de choisir mes nouvelles laines pour l'automne/hiver...! Alors, je suis heureuse d'annoncer que j'ai ajouté Misti Alpaca et Mango Moon à la boutique pour Septembre. J'aimerais aussi mentionner que je prends congé pour un mois vers la fin de l'été cette année pour passer du temps avec la marmaille au chalet, youpi!

At last...

2010-04-19T14:59:00.003-04:00

Café et Peanut...

Filet Crochet from May 1996 Decorative Crochet Magazine. #16 Gone Fishing by Glendola Hodges

I started this about 6 years ago...eek! Made for my friend Suzanne. I lost the hook and ran out of cotton...but the blocking process truly saved this project since I had to make due with what I could substitute. I am very pleased. I have decided to pursue all my cast away projects starting with this one. The feeling of triumph you get for finishing a languishing work in progress is quite satisfactory. I hope to see Suzanne this week and must wrap this up into a pretty bundle to surprise her. Now that I have surprised myself!

I have some slippers on the at home scene and my at work knitting is coming along nicely too since I finished the fronts on Saturday. Big sigh. This blog might just survive after all...

Alors, en français...

J'ai un petit faible pour le crochet and ceci est mon deuxième filet crochet. J'aime le plaisir de créer un image par tous ces minuscules carrés. Mais, que c'est long à faire!

Mon premier filet crochet est au chalet...il s'agit d'une tulipe...aucune photo de celle-la, c'est dommage que ma tension en crochet soit si capricieuse. Ce rectangle est terriblement inégal.

Mais pour ce centre de table 'felin', le repassage a sauvé grâce au tableau quadrillé et suffisant épingles et je me suis forcée pour le réussir.

Alors, c'est avec grand plaisir que je vais emballer ce cadeau pour mon amie Suzanne. Elle sera très surprise, elle attend depuis 6 ans ce 'cadeau'....!!!! Au là-là

Tout d'abord, à la maison mon panier contient une jolie paire de pantoufle épis maïs et au travail j'ai terminé le devant du projet Noro Cardi...que ça fait du bien de bloguer un peu...

Sunshine

2010-04-10T11:39:00.000-04:00

Merci Clamille pour cet honneur!

I'm still here...have been spending most of my time at the shop teaching and reknitting the same right side of my current cardi project...You think I could count to 120 without too much trouble but apparently not.

At home, I have been finishing a filet crochet table topper. Almost done. I am crossing my fingers that blocking will save this project...I am amazed how bad my tension is in rectangular crochet. Good reason to stick to round lacey designs!

Écharpe Vitrail

2010-03-17T10:52:00.001-04:00

Based on the free Berroco pattern Chakna. This reminds me of a church window...I used two yarns to make this. A multi gem tone ribbon (Elba) for the centers and a strand of black (Comfort worsted). The pattern is simple using 5 mm straights and makes a stunning scarf to tuck into a black raincoat. I used a crochet hook to tidy up the edges with single crochet (at lib) to frame the piece. I think you could combine any two yarns to make this. The ribbon provides a generous dose of drape and I really like the sparkle of it.

*************************************************

Écharpe tricoté avec un brin de ruban multi-color (Elba) et un brin de noir (Comfort Worsted). Ce patron inspiré par Chakna de Berroco. J'ai gardé mes notes en français pour celles qui seraient intéressées. Tricoter avec aig n. 5 mm et un crochet n. 5 mm pour les mailles sérrés de chaque côté. J'aime bien le drapé et l'éclat de cette pièce grâce au ruban.

...et je Crac!

2010-03-15T18:48:00.002-04:00

Very special pair of socks for yours deary...
Seccotine kindly gifted me this very beautiful skein of Québec's own Biscotte & Cie, Bella in the Crac colourway at Christmas. She made a lucky choice for me because I love orange too! (Gros Merci !!)
I jumped the queue big time to knit these babies. My son had to spend a few ~~five~~ hours at emergency recently and I decided to sooth my nerves with this very yum yarn and set of 2.5 mm Dpns. I think I shocked the nurses...
I couldn't put these down each evening since (I love the colour so much!)...so much so that poor Pounie had a little accident on the floor near my seat since I had to get just one more row (you know you knit too much when...) Oops. I was so eager to get a shot of these today that I put them on soggy while the sun was still beaming through the windows...(you know you are a little cracked when...) and my next knit is blocking its heart out as we type...

Chaussette à la bergère...laine-Biscotte & Cie, Bella (Crac), aig 2,5 mm, 'toe up' (dit dont, y a-t-il un expression en français pour ça?) talon en pt mousse et rangs racourcis.
J'ai commencé ce projet à l'urgence lorsque mon fils attendait pour voir un médecin recemment...je voulais quelques chose de soulageant pendant ces heures d'attente. J'apprécie beaucoup cette laine que Seccotine m'a offerte en cadeau ce Noel dernier...Gros Merci (encore et encore). Cela était pour moi comme un câlin réconfortant d'une amie pendant ces heures d'inquiètude. J'aime bien que cette laine soit fait au Québec. La teinture est extraordinaire and un vrai plaisir pour les doigts de fées.

2010-03-10T19:19:00.000-05:00

My latest knit...

Lace up Opera gloves by Ysolda

Yarn: Berroco Blackstone tweed

Needles: 5 mm

Black ribbon for laces

One very pleased 16 yr old...Happy Birthday Ivy-Lory!!

Merci Sel & Poivre for this new award! A. xx

Seven things about moi:

1. I am very interested in NAMES and naming things...I'm always dying to know what your pet or child's name is.
2. I love to read really thick novels and prefer historic with a sprinkle of romance that take me at least 6 months to savour.
3. I've always wanted a telescope.
4. I love beautiful bags and get heart skippy when I see them (have to try hard not to buy them all).
5. I am really way too sensitive for my own good. Trying to cure this...
6. I would love-love-love to write excellent French...some day!
7. My favorite snack is homemade popcorn with melted butter and good tasting yeast.

Moitié dehors et moitié dedans...

2010-03-07T18:57:00.000-05:00

Patron: Gumdrops par JC Briar Blue Moon Fibre Arts
Aiguilles n 2.25

- la passionnée du fil a réussit la paire de chaussettes 'Gumdrops' à la STR...(socks that rocks-Blue Moon Fibre Arts Sock Club).

J'ai toujours mon club à tricoter de l'année passé; moins cette première paire de jolies chaussettes aux couleurs pastels très hors du quotidien bergère...

J'aime bien ce doux relief avec le cachet du talon et la pointe au pts. mousse!

...et bientôt je CRAC!
*********************************************

Gumdrops by JC Briar - STR Blue Moon Fibre Arts Sock Club
Needles 2.25 mm

Circumlocation office called...this pattern was 9 pages! Cast-on page 6...but I figured it out and am very pleased with my first pair of STR socks from last years sock club. The yarn was too special to knit right away (you know what I mean?) but I have gotten over that now and this is VOILÀ my first of 6 kits done.

I love the garter stitch heel and toe on these nearly reversible socks.
This colourway is totally reminiscent of my entire wardrobe back in 1985...

À pas feutrés...

2010-02-22T15:58:00.009-05:00

Avec grand plaisir, je marche avec ma chienne le long de la piste qui nous mène sur la bay et donc plus loin est la rivière Outaouais chez nous...

Comme il fait beau! La température est un doux -2 degré. Aucun vent...

I've been happily inspired by nature today...very glad to have Poune*tanesca as an excuse to go for a walk. The weather is GORGEOUS today. We headed out along the path that leads to the bay and our fishing hut.

Voici notre cabane de pêche remisée sur la rive pour l'année...

Hier, la petite famille à participer au dernier tournoi. J'ai sorti deux perchaudes! Il fesait beaucoup plus froid hier et heureusement, il y a à l'intérieur un fabuleux poêle à bois minuscule pour me réchauffer les pieds et oui mes fesses!

Len has parked the ice fishing hut on shore as of yesterday. It is over for another year...we had our last family catch and release fishing expedition yesterday. I caught 2 perch! It was much colder too, thanks to the tiny wood stove where you can warm your feet and in my case...a bum!

Allant plus loin sur la piste du trapeur (notre voisin). Il dit avoir traper 23 coyotes cette année parmi tant d'autres espèces pour leur fourrures. Pour vu que je ne voie jamais un coyote sur mon chemin...aye!

Our neighbour caught 23 coyotes this winter...I never see any...I like it better that way.

Les petits fruits rouges suspendus aux branches me donnent un coup de coeur à chaque fois! Je ne me tanne point de les photographier.

I adore these branches of red berries. I never get tired of capturing them for my collection of photos.
Et donc, de jolis champignons pour le déco de la forêt.

Nous partageons notre chez nous avec les castors. Qu'ils font de merveilleux taille-crayons...

Simple beauty...the beaver have been busy! Nibbling trees, year after year...

Bon, alors tout ça sans un mot de tricot...je m'inspire de la nature aujourd'hui. Nous avons passé quelques semaines d'enfer à être malade l'un après l'autre alors mon tricot avance à peine. Je réalise que je dois garder un projet à la boutique séparé des projets à la maison. Je mêne une double vie! Mes laines pré-boutique doivent être utilisées à part. Plusieurs ne sont pas disponible à ma boutique hé hé...

Présentement, je m'encourage à vous écrire un peu en français...nous ne sommes pas tous bilingues!

It would be a shame to sit and knit when a glorious day falls on my day off! Besides, Poune and I need to have some quality time together too...

Back to my current sock projects at home...I lead a double life as a shop keeper. I feel my post-yarn shop stash needs to be knit in private and my shop knitting is best to represent what I currently sell. All this makes for slow progress. I do have some fabulous yarn in both places so it is a win win.

The OKG field trip

2010-02-13T16:12:00.000-05:00

OKG - Ottawa Knitting Guild of which I am a member has organized a field trip to the Québec side of the river. Visiting my new yarn shop was the first stop!

Thank you to the ladies that came, shopped and for all the lovely comments about the *nice atmosphere*. Awww. XXX

Business is flourishing! I am adding new items on a regular basis. I now have handmade stitch markers from Turtlepurl, new Charteze, secure eyes for toy making and skeins of lace for those summer projects.

Some delicious Berroco Seduce and Bonsai for the *bling* knitting!!

Sheila was the winner of my draw for a thank you gift (an ebony shawl pin).

Some customers have returned with finished projects to blog about...

A beautiful shawl and a long gorgeous wrap made with novelty yarns.

The Fress Press Knits felted slipper pattern has arrived too! The one that is all the rage since Christmas...

Bonne fin de semaine! A. xx

Heart Skippy

2010-02-11T11:26:00.000-05:00

Cher&Tendre delivered the new magazine rack. I love the fresh wood smell.
It looks fab and O so practical to have all my patterns in the one sunny spot by the big window...whooo!

I always have a few little favours to ask of him when he comes like fix this and lift that. Fun to get things fixed, moved and refreshed. We had lunch together something we shared for years when I was a full time Mum and now it is a rare treat. Merci Honey!

Some baby buttons have just arrived too...

Should I join the Knitting Olympics? Finishing any knitting around here is a challenge and I do have more projects in mind than I'll ever knit this year...hummm

Deliberating...

making the best of it

2010-02-02T15:04:00.001-05:00

Along with my new *working Mum* status, I end up doing several weekend loads of laundry. (I signed up for this - the joy) Always one to look on the bright side or find the silver lining...I decided to do some feltable knitting to pass the time waiting...while everybody else is out playing. Who needs a holiday? That's sissy stuff.

My friend Suzanne asked me to make her a new pair of slippers. I jumped at the chance to make these for her. She is a special friend that needs a cozy warm pair of Marmee Slippers to rest her sore feet when she gets home.

I knew these would be perfect! I made a pair at Christmas that turned out grand. Fool proof felting is the way to go.

On the other hand...

I was never so happy as to be finished knitting these clod hoppers!! (low whistle) Cripes these are huge! I had a bad feeling about this pattern. I was too chicken to cut short on the length because you can't unfelt the buggers once they have visited the hot soapy aggitator.

All is well, drying by the wood burner on Sunday afternoon....and the black ones were absolutely too big. I did trim the toes back with scissors and the sewing maching many inches to fit my husbands size 10 feet. I am giving these to Dan the friend that came and configured my router for me...set my wirelessness straight...I am forever thankful...After two loads of laundry, these slippers are perfect too. Ahhh... Now, on to some Top Secret birthday and toddler knitting.

Down to Earth

2010-01-29T10:26:00.001-05:00

Delilah's got a new pullover! Some new summer yarn has arrived from Kertzer...yummy Down to Earth organic cotton. Very pretty colours!

Bloemfontein

2010-01-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have to say how delighted I've been while knitting these self patterning socks...

Yarn: Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Socka Mexiko Rosskastanie (Why do they give such names to sock yarn?)

Needles: 2.5 mm dpns

Pattern: Yarn Harlot plain recipe from the book....you know...

So pleased that these fit the boy cause the last pair did not...my son chose this colourway. He likes orange (like his mum). The whole while I've been knitting them I've been hungry for an orange creamcicle.

Thinking about the South African burning sun setting in the late afternoon while it is dim and cold outside in Lochaber Ouest.

I woke up this morning and the sun was brillant for taking pictures!

I scraped some time off my busy morning to head outside to find an appropriate place to photograph the finished sock (second one dangled from the needles, just the toes left to do).

I opened the door in a panic to let Poune escape all frantic cause she thinks FINALLY the invitation has come to go for a ride in the Saturn to spend the day with her Mum...nope, sorry baby just trying to get a decent winter photo of my bright sock.

I opened the door as I twirled the dial on the camera and I hard a distinct spring noise and thump thump...

The batteries escaped as well...out the door they went...one fell through the crack between the deck and the door stop...AHHH!

I was already cutting it close in time before THIS happened. So now I have to crawl under the deck in January to fetch my lost battery in order to take the bloody photo...

On second thought, very glad it is January and all the nasty spiders that team under there in warmer weather are all frozen. Yuk.

So please enjoy this photo, it cost me much to take it.

Verdes Citron

2010-01-21T11:19:00.001-05:00

Citron by Hilary Callis
Knitty.com winter 2009
Needles: knitpicks circular 4mm
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace (Verdes)

Love Love Love it! It is sooo soft and was a very comforting piece to knit over these past few weeks when I needed a little soft pleasant knit to curl up to...

I have been saving this skein of Malabrigo as a gift knit to myself for all the months I have been patiently waiting for customers and believing that I will pay the rent!!

Things are good and getting better every day...starting a business in a recession takes guts...

I really appreciate the caring and generous customers supporting my new business, thank you!!

Going red

2010-01-19T11:14:00.000-05:00

What? A post!

Another pair of EZ (Zimmermann) mittens, this time in a lovely red which the photo taken in hast does not justify...

My kind of day...

2010-01-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

The first day of the year is like a gift...a new beginning

I love to start something NEW on this day and today it just felt like a fresh look for the blog would do the trick

Wishing you a wonderful 365 days to come...

Love Aline XX

wrapping it up...

2009-12-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

Being off is great fun!

I gave my new skates a go on the bay today....It was -13 but felt like -20 on my everything. Next trip, I promise to make more use of layers, wool and hugging the kids if necessary!

I just got home from my annual visit to ~~Edelweiss~~ my sisters apartment
On the edge of our seats for six hours waiting for Mr. Darcy to kiss Lizzy...!! Thanks to BBC for that suspence...
We drank frozen margeritas and made spring rolls after a little shopping...Sales Sales Sales...hard to resist but we were very good just the same. Managed to conceal the loot when Len picked me up ~~early~~...ahem

****
Ribs the cat is making good use of his new Christmas bed
Chloé made it herself from start to finish
She found the fabric in my stash and she made her own pattern using a place mat as a template...I only needed to unjam the sewing machine once when the thread clogged up under the plate...no worries! A little screw driver comes with the accessories and besides...I watched every single episode of Do it Yourself when I was kid...I always remember Mary Bellows when I 'fix' something at home...snort! (Does anybody out there remember this show? hah!)
Honestly, I am pleased the cat is exercising his proprietorship of his new cushion...it makes his Mum so very happy xx...I staggered into the kitchen for a drink in the middle of the night only to find him on his cushion so I know he really does love it more than the dogs bed or the couch, yay

The knitting has taken a back seat for the last few days (only a pair of mittens I left with my sister as a thank you for letting-me-sleep-on-your-sofa token) since I have been peeling mounds of potatoes for the scalloped potato jag I am experiencing, keeping the wood stove belching ash, laundry and endless games of chess.

A generous and thoughtful sister-of-the-knithood (Stéph) gave me a skein of Biscotte sock yarn for Christmas! xx Loving the orange~ how did she know? I wound it on the spot and have been sitting near it ever since: stealing glances
So glad to still get yarn as a gift (a knitter understands this)...that is very kind. merci! xx

p.s. Poune got a new green ribbon for Christmas and I found a sweet houndstooth dog coat pattern I will knit using pink and charcoal chunky in the new year (awww)

pegged

2009-12-18T19:44:00.009-05:00

The car problems have set events in motion for having some extra hands at the shop...

Len had to pick me up from work on Thursday evening so I asked him to bring a drill...

Within seconds I had sawdust everywhere and a lovely peg board to hang some skeins!

My son was happy to put the hooks on the board and hang the skeins for Mum...

We are very pleased with the new look and it makes it so much easier to sell them when they are hanging up rather than stuffed into a cubby that I pull out every time.

I started my version of Citron using Verdes Malabrigo lace (love love love -thanks Hilary xx)

What a totally fun knit! I had to maneouver the 90 degree picking up of stitches with a crochet hook...my eyes are not what they could be and the light is rather dim in the comfy knitting section of the shop and I had to try three times (quelle surprise!) before I opted for the good old crochet hook trick. Well anyway, I love it and I think I got it right. I am so seeing this on me at New Years*

I finished a summer knit this week-the mate to the one sock I had on display at the shop for months.

My son needs warm socks again so I thought I would give these blue ones to Gage but his clod hoppers are way bigger than mine already. I guess I do need more socks anyway.

The garage claims to have repaired my car. Tomorrow is Len's birthday and we have to put the tree up which is always fun. I am planning a little me time for shopping the last few gifts for Poune and Ichabird sometime soon and my ski trail is ready...whooo!

*Every year I make a big deal out of casting on something really grand on New Years day. January 1st 2010 will be February Lady/dreams in colour....ya bébeh!

i'd say maybe even crazy....

2009-12-15T13:08:00.002-05:00

The snow I asked for has arrived but with it came a good dose of crazy...
My nearly-new beloved Saturn sedan had a wee break down last week. The same 'flu' symptom it had exactly one year ago. I was a bit worried and annoyed but thought it would be easy to fix since I thought I could tell the garage it was a repeat problem and would be given the service I needed. Wrong. Last Friday, I was late to open the yarn shop. (gasp! EEK!) One of my dearest customers was waiting on the step for me....very understanding and even offered to pick me up from the garage once I dropped off my car for a check-up. I had a busy day that day and the garage called several times to say they could not find anything wrong with the car. It started A1 all day and the fancy diagnostic computer said there were no problems...They promised to send a shuttle car over to the shop to pick me up after work...Nope! At the last minute they said the shuttle dude was off duty at 4pm and so I took the bus...
I froze half to death (which doesn't take long when you are this short) walking the few blocks from the point where the bus dropped me off and the dealership lot was...I climbed a fence to cut the journey and lost my scarf but that's another story...
I paid them 47$ CDN for having burned at least 5$ or more of my gas tank to tell me that they found nothing wrong with my car. Okay, I forked over my Visa and thought at least I know my car is in top shape than...yeah me!
I get to my car and it wouldn't start....
The problem is intermittent obviously...only when I really need to leave...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Len is slaving away like a mad man to deliver the latest log home to its owner before Christmas. The last thing we needed was for my car to break down. We are both self-employed with three kids, a dog, a cat, a bird, 5 chickens and no help.

Ivy turns 16 in a few months so Len decided to buy her a second hand car ahead of time that we could all use in the meantime in a pinch. We found a reliable Toyoto (no more Saturns thank you!) of which I had to pick-up in the afternoon of my day off. We get there and the owner had not put the winter tires on and we had to tow it out of the back yard to the drive way where we discovered a transmission oil leak. My head is spinning and I am freezing and Len pulls a MacGuiver (it took 2 hours) to patch the hose with a who knows what to get me home.

Len put winter tires on the front and let me swish and swail my way home on a snake trail I think is called Bob's Road in back of Perkins....I thought I would never make it for heavy traffic, hills and lakes...but I did. Once home, Len worked on the car in the shop until it was all set and he left at 5 am this morning to deliver the house....

When Len tried to put the new wipers on the old car, the first one broke. I was on my way to Canadian Tire anyways because Ginette from service à la clientèle called to say I had dropped a bunch of my cards and photos on the floor the day before and they tracked me down to let me know. I tried to return the broken wiper and they said the computer system was 'down' and they could not accept any returns.

So I am driving around with one good wiper...

To my amazement, I got a letter from Père Noel in the mail this morning addressed to me...I did not write him a letter so I am still confused about that one (maybe he does see EVERYTHING)...I gave it to my son and that made him a very happy camper and I had to explain that no he could not peel 9 carrots this morning to feed the reindeer next week...

Tried to warm up my lunch at noon today and the breaker shut me down...now I know that the microwave, toaster, fridge and washroom light and fan are all on the same circuit...great! Lucky for me the panel board is in my kitchenette since the landlady is rarely ever home. Dodged a bullit there. A friend happened to call to see how things were with me and gave me the exact advice I needed to find the right breaker switch in time so I could eat the second half of my pasta warmed...

I have just about had it with the more downs than ups lately so here is my latest knit...

Textured Shawl
by Orlane on Ravelry
needles: 5.5mm
Yarn: 2 skeins of Berroco vintage in lilac

Well....I am thrilled because a big box of yarn just arrived from Surrey B.C. and I have one skein of green Malabrigo lace left in the shop just in time to cast on the awesome new Knitty pattern Citron by Hilary!!! Just what I needed to cheer me up. Another one of those new patterns that come along and sweep you off your queue feet just like that.

I am really looking forward to my week off. I am going to sit around in my pjs eating samosas and watching goofy films with my kids. I hope the bay freezes over so I can head out on my skis to my trail in the woods...well, that's the hopeful plan anyways.

Christmas slippers

2009-12-12T13:09:00.008-05:00

Viking Garn 815-7

by Berit Ramsland

Needles: 10 mm

Yarn: Gjestal Naturgarn

Our cat 'Ribs' very much enjoyed sitting beside me while I knit the second slipper...

'Ribs' can smile and stretch for a mile when he wants to!

It took three trips through the washer and dryer to get these babies to fit my feet (I hope they fit the recipient!). I embroidered little daisy chain flowers on them.

I am using yarn to hold them still for the picture.
I hope Gage's teacher will enjoy these...he has been such a rascal this year! I should pack them up with alcohol filled chocolates...!

Chloé is putting the finishing touches on her very own handmade gift for the class exchange. My kids love these 'Tricotin' hoops I have at the shop. Gage has almost knit up a ball of yarn with his hoop too. That says alot.

Crème Caramel & Muppet Scarf

2009-12-04T17:31:00.001-05:00

Fini! (unblocked because I just just just finished it)

Crème Caramel
Sirdar Click DK #8957 Assymetrical Cardigan
Needles: 4 mm straights
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Zara

Soooo happy to finish this project which means I can start Christmas knitting something I had given up hoping for...

Over the weekend, I knit up a scarf for myself while watching the Grey Cup game with HD.

Muppet Scarf (30 sts garter st)
10 mm straights
Online Linie 43 colour 26 (2 skeins)

So what's next? Tonight is Knit Night here at Laine de Bergère...My sister just arrived with our Shawarma dinner so happy knitting everyone!!!
Aline xx

Twinkle twinkle...

2009-11-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share with you how charming and cozy the shop looks in the evening...

Wired/less

2009-11-25T14:02:00.005-05:00

Man, blogging is hard since I opened up the shop!

I finally broke down and bought a router and low and behold set it up myself. I am now wireless. The new printer is wireless too...I love it. Now I can sit anywhere in the shop with my laptop which really is practical.
This is me smiling...

And knitting like a banshee.... I have the back, both front pieces and most of the first sleeve knit. This pattern is much like a jigsaw puzzle and I can say that it makes for a fun project.Sirdar Click DK 8957

Hubby helped me rearrange the furniture too. He predicted this would happen...hah!

I tought someone how to crochet...this is the blanket in progress. Noro silk garden 284.

Mitts for Papa

2009-10-31T14:42:00.001-04:00

Mittens
pattern: #15 mittens. Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Needles: 4.5 mm
Yarn: Gjestal Naturgarn in natural (discontinued)

My Dad was 49 when I was born (!) The fact that I still have him is beyond being blessed. When I asked my Dad what would he like to have for his birthday, he answered 'a good pair of mitts made with white wool like the stuff your mother used to spin'...
I love a man that appreciates wool and knitting. What is more fun than getting to knit a present for your Papa?
I have really enjoyed making these for him. I know they will keep him warm when he is outside this Fall. I will make a second pair to rotate between washings so he won't need to part with his mitts in between our visits.

Now back to knitting my commissioned cardi...

P.s. The shop had a lovely surprise yesterday...Elizabeth from the comments popped in! So happy to meet her. We talked about ...wool! and more wool! Thanks Elizabeth for taking the time to visit the shop.

Wool be with you!
A. xx

seconds...

2009-10-28T11:41:00.001-04:00

My latest pinwheel made with sour cherry #5134 Vintage Berroco (yum) with long sleeves.
So happy I managed a second chance at taking a picture of this knit. It left the shop before I had a chance to snap a photo a couple of weeks ago. So sad when that happens. It came back for a visit today and ta-da! I captured it!

I finally bought a copy of EZ's pink book. Merci Lynda!! xx I have them all now (I think). I am totally thrilled with it. Even better than I expected. I am already half way through my first knit from it. A pair of beautiful heavy wool mitts for my Dad's birthday. I am using Naturgarn Gjestal natural wool and it is very beautiful pure yarn like I imagine sheepsdown would be. My goal is to knit a hockey jersey for my husband using EZ's Brook sweater instructions and adding the neck shaping and minus the team crest (just the colours).

I am also clicking away at Sirdar 8957 asymetrical cardi. I am using 100% Merino dk with 4 mm needles...tick tick tick! I have so many projects lined up for the shop...Finding new patterns to add everyday...ahhh!

Rumour has it that Kaffe Fassett sock yarn has been ordered...squwee! I feel a sock yarn sale coming on to make room for the new and beautiful Regia...Having sooo much fun! Yarn shop owner rocks. I am so happy I don't care if the H1N1 gets me. cough.

Noro & Tempo

2009-10-23T10:58:00.000-04:00

Look see, some knitting! Another commissioned piece. This time a hat and scarf set made of 2 balls of Noro Kureyon 221 with 1 ball Diamond Tempo 146. I used a free earflap pattern found on Ravelry (the pattern is for the whole family) by Marisa Gibler - The Needle Nook. The scarf was knit by my friend Julie L. to dimensions specified by the customer. The little flower pattern I found in Katia No. 35. I am crossing my fingers that the hat is not way too big for the toddler it was made for....it bloomed after its bath! I will suggest a mild felting session should it be too big. We knit and learn!