I heart....

:: Brown paper packages tied up with string. If you need a little stitchy happiness, go take a peek at Warp & Weft.

:: This London fabric is rad. And so is the person who will be receiving this. Happy birthday M!

:: I got my Bookhou calendar for next year :)

:: Chicken pot pie made with puffed pastry. So good. (But no peas, I don't heart peas)

:: Washi tape monogram notecards.

:: This crocheted flower clutch is beautiful.

Off to Halifax next week for work. Won't have much free time but hit me with your recommendations if you have any :)

Mountain Moss Shawl

This project kept me occupied on my road trip to Chicago. It's a fairly simple pattern, and well, you know what sometimes happens with simple patterns -- you get cocky. After all, who needs to keep track of rows? Me, I need to keep track of rows, that's who. There was a whole lot of muttering to myself and ripping back with this one. The thing is, after I finished, I kind of wanted to start a second one. 

Pattern: Mountain Moss Shawl

Yarn: Swan's Island fingering

Needles: 4 mm

I heart...bunting bunting bunting (and knitting)

:: My friend Johanna made me this bunting. Isn't it awesome? So modern and pretty. I'm still contemplating the very perfect spot for it. Thanks J :) And so to celebrate all things bunting, here's some extreme cuteness. 

:: Washi tape cake bunting tutorial

:: Bunting stamp

:: Sweet bunting stationary

:: Brecon Becons bunting (oy yoy yoy - it looks so beautiful)

:: Birdly bunting silhouette

:: Mavis crocheted bunting

:: Sweet bunting sweater

:: And finally, this isn't bunting related, but I LOVE this book trailer for knitted slippers. If you haven't seen it yet, I promise you will be absolutely charmed.

Embossed leaves!!! Crafting library KAL

Ok, getting my act together and finally joining the Stitched Together Crafting Library Knitalong (KAL).

In this KAL, knitters choose and knit pattern from their own library. When I heard about this KAL I thought it was a genius idea -- I am so guilty of being wooed by pdf downloads and the latest trends on ravelry and I often forget about the beautiful patterns sitting right there on my bookshelf.

So I went down a serious rabbit hole, looking at my books for a loong time. I finally settled on the Embossed Leaves sock pattern from Interweave's Favorite Socks book.

I found a perfect skein of Oceanwind Knits yarn in my stash and now just have to cast on (the very best part, yes?).

Happy day KW

A tote and a squishy scarf for my pal KW in her signature colour (she makes grey look great :) Happy birthday dear friend!)

The scarf is Madelinetosh Pashmina that I've kept (hoarded) in my stash for a few years and the fabric is Storybook Lane floral meadow. Madtosh Pashmina weaves up into something beautifully bouncy and light. Two skeins makes for a nice wide scarf good for wrapping around and around again. 

Hope you all have a perfect September weekend :)

i heart ... chicago

hi again!

Took a road trip to Chicago to eat some deep dish, visit a craft fair, and most importantly celebrate a friend's birthday.

I mostly forgot my camera in the hotel and snapped only about seven pics. But - I did see some cool things:

:: These dear, dear cards by Genevieve Santos

:: Morse code necklaces

:: The perfect hair ties (they really are amazing -- hairbands typically give me a headache, all the while slowly sliding down my massive head. These ones really stay in place and aren't too tight)

:: Chicago style popcorn. Ooof.

:: These felted sweeties were adorable.

:: These cards by a fellow Torontonian.

Some weaving to show y'all tomorrow :)

Cuddle up

Two lovely ladies at the office are having babies. I heard their exciting news months ago and had plans to make something special, a little cardigan or some wee pants or booties. But time got the best of me and so I went to my old standby of sewing some receiving blankets. One is an elephant and giraffe themed flannel that I picked up at the Creativ Fest last fall (who's excited for this year? Me!) and the other is a seersucker-flannel combo (my friend Deb's genius idea - this makes for a really lightweight cool blanket). 

Bricker socks

I worked up one of these socks while travelling and it was so very nice. I made a few mistakes but the pattern and yarn together worked to hide these (when you are on vacation, it is against the law to wear your perfectionist pants). 

Details: 

Yarn - Rowan Fine Art, Raven colourway. That little bit of mohair make these socks feel so very soft.

Pattern: Bricker (These socks are the anti-slouch -- they snug the leg quite nicely)

Needles: 2.75mm