Dyeing Plant-Based Yarn

Part 3 of the dyeing series is on the front page of the website this week. In it you will find information and pictures on dyeing plant-based yarns. A lot of fun!

The series will stay on the website on this page, so it can be referred to when needed.

Weaving!

A quick post with a few pics.... and an apology for not blogging in so long.  Kate has been tremendously loyal with posting updates, providing instruction and offering enjoyable, thoughtful commentary - thanks Kate.

I've been weaving more than knitting this past couple of months, and loving every second of it.  Shelley has some gorgeous yarns for weaving.  Below are two turquoise scarves made from a cotton/viscose warp, and a weft of Noro Silk Garden and Sweatermaker 100% wool.

Another Noro Silk Garden in rust tones.

As you know, Fun Knits carries some stunning Araucania yarns - I have bought several beautiful skeins of sock yarn that I am thrilled about, and for this particular weaving project I chose Araucania's varigated Patagonia Nature Cotton in greens, teals and navy.  The scarf of wonderful - strong, crisp and sure of itself. 

Last Thursday at Fun Knits I was dreaming of being wrapped in the softness of Araucania Quellon, a cotton/viscose combo that feels like velvet.  I made a sample scarf that is so lovely I've decided to weave a vest with it too.

Below is a photo of Sharron, myself and Carol - weaving and spinning - at the Saturday Farmer's Market on Quadra Island. We are having a wonderful time together!  Linda (If you've clicked on her name she's in the third photo down - Linda is an absolute treasure and a bookkeeping wizard.) came by this past Saturday and bought one of Carol's infamous baby surprise sweaters knitted up in a sweet assortment of pink cottons.

Wishing you all a lovely evening of happy knitting, weaving, dying, spinning and/or whatever else you fashion with your fibre.

Knitting in the Wild

As a Knitter, I am never without a project (or two, or three, or, well, at least five). My family does a lot of camping, but I don't let that stop me. I pack my knitting according to where I think I will work on it.

Lace scarf with silk/cashmere yarn? That is for in the vehicle. Lace scarf with sock yarn? At the campsite during the daytime. Sock? In the backpack for the beach or some other place we might go. 

Some people are concerned about the dirt of a campsite, and I am cautious. I pack all my projects into their own plastic zipper baggies, with the pattern, needles and anything else I might need.

The campfire ... really that is perfect knitting time. But there is the issue of the smell of smoke and the potential for sparks. This is not the place for knitting a precious sweater or shawl.

The perfect campfire knitting is that most humble of projects - the dishcloth. I love knitting them at the fire, as I don't need too much light and I don't mind if they smell of smoke, after all they are made to get washed!

Another tip for campfire knitting: I use a headlamp around my neck if I'm doing a project that I might need to look at. I don't keep it on my head, as it can be rather blinding to the person I turn towards when talking.

Proof that I know whereof I speak:

Knitting at the fire at San Josef Campground (North Vancouver Island).

Not Just For Drinking ....

Oh I have been having fun!! Don't know if you saw it, but Shelley has Undyed Yarn on the website now. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing about dying yarn on the website -- so today I played around a little.

Here's a sneak peak.

My house smells wonderfully like kool-aid!

In the Red

Check out the front page of the website this week - in honour of Canada Day we have featured our red yarns! It was great fun to go through the yarns and find the reds - it's quite a selection. Now, what to make .....

Cruising on the KAL

I'm really enjoying knitting the Harbour Lights shawl as our KAL project for the summer.

The pattern is easy to read, and the beading is quite methodical and straight-forward. Plus I'm knitting with Malabrigo, (I'm using the Impressionist Sky colourway) on an Addi needle. It doesn't really get any better!

Victoria Fibre Fest

We are back from the Victoria Fibrefest and had a very good time. We went down on Thursday and spent friday just shopping and looking around Victoria. It is such a nice city to visit. On Friday night we went to the fashion show and dinner. The fashion show was excellent. Lots of fibre talent. Some amazing item in the fashion show. Mary Tanti's Mobius Entralac scarf knit with Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. It is a work of art. Catherine wove this teal blouse from strips of fabric. She also knit the white and pink tank top to match the skirt from strips of fabric the same as the skirt was knit from. The green dress was a show stopper. It is done with felting and silk fusion. Marilyn if you read this can you add the designers name in the comments please. I forgot.
My Mom's Revontuli knit with Kauni EQ was well displayed in the fashion show.
On Saturday, I taught sock knitting. This went great but I only had 1 student. It was nice to just have a 1-1 time with this new sock knitter. She did a great job.
Saturday afternoon we shopped again then in the evening we had a Round table discussion. This was nice to just sit and chat with a few knitters about our favourite topic, knitting, and all fibre related things.

Sunday was the Knit Out at Saxe Point park. I am always nervous of the weather for this event. It is scary to subject $1000.'s worth of yarn to whatever weather might happen. We had rain for about 5 minutes just after we got set up and then sun the rest of the day. It got quite windy in the afternoon but that was OK. The rain is the real problem and it was brief. So lucky us. Lots of people came and bought yarn. I left a lot of Kauni and sock yarn especially in Victoria.

Here are some pictures of the event. The picture of the baby was very cute. She was just loving the Kauni and then decided she needed to take that ball home with her so she popped it in her stroller. I love to see the very young knitters to be.

Brenda wearing her lovely Kauni is shopping for a new sweaters worth of yarn. She bought EF for her next sweater. Our view for the day was pretty easy to take. It was a nice weekend and I had fun.

Ready, Set, Knit!

Today is the official start of the Fun Knits Summer Lace Knit-along, with the Harbour Lights Shawl. We will be knitting through to July 31st, and I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's adventures (if you haven't yet joined in, you can find us chatting over at the Ravelry Fun Knits group - you need to join Ravelry to be able to join us over there).

Yesterday I wound my yarn (Malabrigo Sock Yarn "Impressionist Sky") and got all my supplies together. I am a zipper bag knitter - love having my project all together in a clear bag.

Let the knitting begin!

Pictures of the WWKIP Picnic

Here are my pictures. What a wonderful day. There was an impromtu guitar lesson, lots of knitting and a Baby Surprise jacket figured out. Knitters of all ages were there. The kids built forts, swam, watched a magic show, ate and knit.

Knit in Public Day

What a wonderful day Saturday was! The weather was perfect and Shelley managed to snag one of the best picnic sites on Rebecca Spit. About 12 knitters along with various family members (and dogs) came and went during the afternoon; enjoying great company, refreshments, watermelon, gorgeous scenery and beautiful music (thanks to Shelley's husband Bill).

 

 

And when you have this as your knitting location - it's hard not to enjoy yourself!

It was wonderful to have knitters of all ages, working on everything from baby sweaters to scarves to hats and shawls. Truly a great event, and hopefully the beginning of an annual tradition!

(I'm hoping Shelley will also post about the event, as she had more photos than I did.)

For the Love of Noro

Oh I am smitten. I have been bitten by the Noro bug.

This scarf is called Wings of Desire (Ravelry link) and is a free pattern that was designed for the colour repeats in Noro. I used two skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite, colourway 2011. (You could totally use the Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn that Shelley has listed on the website. There are lots of other Noro yarns in the store as well, along with the Silk Garden Lite!) The scarf is a quick knit on big needles. You knit it in two sections and then graft at the neck, so that all the wings are going in an upward direction on either side.

I see more Noro in my future!

World Wide Knit in Public Day Event

Fun Knits is celebrating World Wide Knit in Public Day with a picnic at Rebecca Spit, Quadra Island on Sat June 13th starting at 1pm.

All knitters are welcome. Bring your families, a picnic and your knitting. We will provide juice pop and watermelon. Come and enjoy the knitting fun.

Lets hope for great weather but if it is pouring rain we will knit in front of the store.

Hope all you local knitters can make this event. The distant members of this group can be with us in spirit and we will take pictures to share with you.

Want more information on World Wide Knit in Public Day? Click here!

Roz's knitting

Roz came this morning for spinning group and she had some beautiful item's finished. The first is a sweater that is knit from her first handspun yarn. It is just beautiful. She spun the yarn from Northern Lights in colour Ocean waves. She spun the yarn so fine that she had to double the yarn to knit the sweater. Great sweater and I am sure she will got lots of wear out of it this winter.

The next finished item is a beautiful 100% alpaca shawl, knit from Baby Alpaca Lace weight in the Pi shawl from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac. Beautiful shawl. Well done Roz!!

Lace and a Summer KAL

The month of June we are featuring lace on the Fun Knits website. Lots of yarn, some patterns and a variety of information will be up during the month, so be sure to check it out!

To celebrate all things lace, we are starting another knit-along. This time we are doing another shawl - Sivia Harding's Harbour Lights Shawl. This is a stunning shawl that was designed for last year's Knit Out in Victoria, which Shelley sadly missed. We have shawl kits in store, and will be getting them up online this week. The knit-along can be found in our Ravelry group.

Also coming up this month is Fibre Fest, in Victoria. Fun Knits is once again a major sponsor of the event, and we are looking forward to some great fibre fun!!

Stay tuned later this week for some information on World Wide Knit in Public Day ... be ready for a picnic!

Living in Paradise

How many people get to go to a work meeting that starts this way?

And then in the meeting one person is spinning while you sit surrounded by yarn? 

The store looks fabulous, if you haven't had a chance to see the new look you really should get over and check it out. It looks twice as big!

Cotton Knitting

On the website this month we have been featuring cotton yarns and talking about knitting with cotton.

This week we have a cute pattern to share using cotton sock yarn, so be sure to check it out!

Fun Knits would like to introduce Sharron Hatelt's W.A.R.P.

W.A.R.P. (Weavers' Action Revival Project) involves reviving the tradition of weaving, rejuvenating old looms, and reducing the stash of yarns into items that will benefit the community. 

Some aspects of the project will be:

free handwoven scarves and blankets based on self-assessed need;

blankets and shawls for auction at community fundraisers;

as well as public weaving to encourage and enlighten folks about this wonderful craft.

The 2009 Quadra Island W.A.R.P. summer project will also include hand-spinning and knitted articles. We will set ourselves up at the Farmer's Market in Quathiaski Cove where items will either be given away, or if sold, all monies will be donated to charities on Quadra or Vancouver Island.

Pictured below is Sharron Hatelt of Adalia Fibre Arts Studio (standing happily beside her new Saori loom), the visionary founder of W.A.R.P.  

Sharron is one of the spinning teachers at the Fun Knits Tuesday morning spinning group.

Carol (below with her hands clasped joyfully together) and I joined Sharron soon after she began W.A.R.P.  Carol says, "Sharron is the kite, and we are the ribbons."  The three of us (with help from supportive others including Barry, Sharron's husband, who bought this awesome red tent for the endeavor) brought equipment and fibre to the market and set ourselves up for the first time this past Saturday.

Carol brought her traveling wheel and spun in rhythmic beauty for pretty much the full four hours while I wove donated rainbow acrylic on the handloom, and Sharron wove an exquisite art piece on her Saori loom. 

Shelley came by to visit us and donated several beautiful hand knitted hats.

Pictured below, Carol holds open the label we attach to the scarves and knitted items. On left, the label states that all monies collected will go to charities on Quadra or Vancouver Island. The right says, "Pay a little, pay a lot, pay what you want, pay what you got."

Sharron's inspiration to start this project comes from Travis Meinolf.

Here are two of Carol's adorable, hand-knitted Baby Surprise Jackets. She knit them with sock yarn.

The first sweater went to this sweet little heart of a boy, and the second went to one of our local doctors who spends many months of the year donating her time and medical skills to people in India.

The Farmer's Market happens every Saturday morning 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. from May 16th until sometime in early October.

Come and join us at the red tent.

We hope to see you there!

Sock Yarn Left Overs

A friend asked me to put together some baby items for someone the other week. No time to make a blanket (my usual choice) so I did some bibs and a hat and socks. Then as I still had time, and some left over Opal 6ply, I made a baby cardigan.

This was put together from a couple of patterns, and then played with until I made it work. I had enough yarn left over to make this even after making a pair of women's size 10 socks! I love the big Opal 6ply skeins (this is the Flamingo colourway).

Shelley also has a cute design for some baby socks and a baby hat using left over sock yarn, check it out here (link is to a pdf file) or over on the side in the free patterns link.

Using up sock yarn left overs is just as fun as making the socks, I find. What do you like to do with yours?

Summer hours.....

The store looks fabulous!!!!  

Lots of re-opening energy at the Tues. morning spinning group. Folks walking by on the sidewalk kept peering through the windows to see what was going on. It was great.

Linda and Sharon at the back of the store.

As you can see, the storage room has not been organized yet.....

but the rest of the yarn shop looks awesome.

Relaxing on the couch with different forms of fibre - Sharon is knitting an accordian-style tea cozy in brown and blue (very cool), and Eloise is working on her beautiful needle point design.

Rachel and Roz 

This little boy was looking at the spinners through the window, watching in fascination for about 5 minutes before venturing inside.  Rachel and Roger gave a brief lesson on how to spin.  The boy was 100% focused - it was wonderful.

The quiet after everyone left.

New summer hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.

A wonderful day to you all.