BIG NEWS...

This post is appropriately titled indeed, it is chokablock with news. I'm excited! It's a bunch of stuff that I've known about for ages, I don't know how it hasn't slipped out in a little explosion of enthusiasm...anyhow, I managed to keep it together until now, the big unveiling!

First off is my favourite; I am about to launch a Kickstarter Campaign to help fund the completion of my new dye studio! For anyone who does not know about Kickstarter, it is a crowdfunding website. I create a profile and a project page, outlining just what it is that I would like to fund, what costs are involved and what I want to achieve. Then, I come up with a whole pile of fabulous rewards for anyone who is interested in supporting my campaign. That's the short version. 

I can't wait to share more information about the project and rewards, and exactly that will be trickling out from now to the project launch date (mid November) and beyond! For now though, I will say that helping me complete my dye studio will not only mean that I can produce more yarn more efficiently...so that's a good thing. It will also mean that you have access to brand new and exclusive yarn, limited colourways, lots of Viola swag, studio visits and...more stuff that's going to remain a surprise. Phew, so that's my biggest news!

Up next in this action packed post is next week's shop update. Wahoo! While this update won't be the biggest, it can boast the return of SOCK YARN. I've finally resurrected one of my all time favourite Viola yarns. This is the yarn that I hoard like a maniac, seriously. I knit a lot of socks, like a lot, and it's my favourite base hands down. So it's back! In addition to sock I'll have Merino Lace and Merino Fingering as well. I'll share some photos next week as update time approaches! For now, here is the triumphant return of sock yarn in Cosmic...

So please tune into the Etsy shop next Thursday November 5th @ 4pm EST

Last, but not least on the list of exciting is the end date of our Breaking into the Pretty KAL. There are loads of lovely finished projects on display in the Ravelry group, and hopefully a few more will squeak in before Saturday's deadline. I'm looking forward to the random draw Sunday morning, and will announce the winner as soon as I know (as well as get chatting to them about their yarn-y prize). So much fun! I loved participating, even though I think I missed the point and kept casting on MORE new projects. I did get an awful lot knit though. Here are my last 2 pairs of socks, all finished on time and sent to their recipients (knit from Viola sock yarn too!)...

Congratulations to all those who have completed, good luck to everyone who is still trying to get their projects done before Saturday and thank you to everyone who participated and chimed in on Ravelry. It's been loads of fun!

travel visit and adventure

As most folks already know (because I've been shouting it from the rooftops) I've just spent a month in England, my lovely other home. As always, I imagined myself with lots of time for organizing, working, sharing photos and all that stuff. In reality, I seem to have spent my time exploring, having fun and enjoying the beautiful landscape, sights and sounds. I have never been very good at multi tasking.

Now that I'm back in Canada (reunited with my maple syrup!) I've begun going through my little collection of photos from the past month. I love so many of my photos that I'm just throwing a whole bunch of them up, so hope you enjoy!

I spent a most lovely afternoon with Sophie, Meghan and Lydia of Pom Pom magazine. We visited the Horniman Museum and their famous walrus...

The museum's huge collection of taxidermy is displayed in the most beautiful way; each pastel-painted board arranged neatly with little samples. I couldn't help thinking that this was exactly how Wes Anderson would arrange a giant collection of taxidermy (and I have a feeling he would delight in such a project!)

 

 

 

LOVE this guy's face!

The Horniman is brilliant and I had such a lovely day with the Pom Pom girls! And on the subject of Pom Pom, I also had the pleasure of being interviewed for their podcast whilst I was in London. If you didn't know or haven't listened yet, click on over to the pomcast. Not just to listen to me waffle on, but also for a healthy dose of knitting chatter and news from the lovely Lydia and Sophie! I had so much fun participating, learning about rain interference in sound quality and chatting about knitting (of course!)

My London knitting consisted mainly of this lovely jumper. I'm using Speckled Mist, the bespoke colourway I created for Loop's 10th anniversary (hooray!) I've hung onto a collection of skeins that were a bit...crazy and am now having a great time blending them all together. The project began as a jumper, just a simple top down raglan pullover. But now that I'm into the knitting groove and loving the colours so much...I am considering something very crazy indeed...making this into a DRESS! Stay tuned, I don't know yet.

I managed to visit a few other of my favourite spots...although forgot to photograph some of them. Borough Market...

Columbia Road Flower Market...

And a fun new thing for me...canal walks!

London was loads of fun, and it's a good thing that I forgot to take any more photos because this post may just go on forever if that were the case. I moved onto Devon next, but will save that for my next post.

lots of things happening

It has been quite a busy week around here. With Tuesday's etsy update, wrapping and packing till a million o'clock (which is super fun and I love doing!) - there has not been the knitting time I would have liked. We can't have everything, right?

Even though my fingers weren't knitting, it seems that my mind was ticking along and making some grand knitting plans. Most of these plans I am keeping to myself, only because there's less pressure to actually make them should I forget / move on...as I am prone to do. I have managed to channel my scattered creative energy into one new project this week, and it's a good one! 

I briefly mentioned in my post about the Viola Breaking into the Pretty KAL that my ambitious knitting list included a jumper knit in Speckled Mist, the colourway I designed for Loop. Well, it's happening folks!!! In my true fashion, I've already had to rip it out once...it's possible that I may have to again, but I don't mind a bit because I'm just loving the knitting! The yarn I dyed for Loop is Merino Fingering, and I've realized that I don't have a sweater knit in this stuff yet. Thank goodness that's about to change. I'm loving the super high twist springiness that's going on, and love knowing that it's also going to be durable because of it!

Once again, I am also making up the pattern as I go along (the reason for lots of ripping out). The trouble with me and creating patterns is that I have a vision of exactly what I want to make, but then I have to use math...and well, that's it. So I knit by trial and error; not the fastest, but it works for me.

Anyhow, here's the little bit I've knit of the neck so far...

...the plan is a simple (ha!) top-down raglan...still deciding what will happen at the bottom so stay tuned! I've also decided to use a variety of batches of Speckled Mist together in this jumper. This colour has a mind of it's own, let me tell you! I hung onto a little selection of skeins that are all quite varied, just because I loved them. Now they're all getting knit together. Sounds mental, probably. We'll all have to wait and see what happens!

 Another sad side effect of all my business is that I have not reported on the studio's progress in a while! Well, lots has been happening, but here's the big stuff...

...and I mean big stuff. Look at this truck! 

Last I mentioned we were all sweating away, digging out this hole (except Lucy the dog did not help, but mostly stood in the center of everything). The hole has since been filled in with gravel (lots of blisters later!) 

The hero of concrete day, Shane! A very handy friend who just so happened to totally know what he was doing; having worked on many a concrete floor before this one. The floor would not have happened without him. I'd still be poking dried up concrete with a shovel right now if he hadn't turned up!

...I have no clue what I'm doing here...

This big stick is called a Darby, so I learned something!

By the end of the day, I was covered in concrete and I barely did a thing!

Here's the finished floor. The change in the room is unbelievable! My brave father tackled the job of cutting lines into the dried floor. I decided to take photos of all the dust drifting out the door instead...

Breaking into the Pretty

I cannot claim ownership of this great idea. It wasn't me, it was the lovely ZarahMaria who suggested a Viola KAL. Long overdue I say. I've just jumped on the bandwagon!

The idea behind this little KAL (and CAL) is to cast on and knit those skeins of Viola yarn that you've been hoarding for...well however long. I have some skeins from the very beginning. That's a pretty darn long time! I've heard from many people that they love certain colours and yarns so much that they don't want to knit them. For those years I spent in England, I fear that I only increased the levels of panic...sorry for that (I felt it too!) My Viola stash, spread over 2 continents, was guarded like the crown jewels; no moth would ever be allowed to sniff it...or eve know that it existed...that's still my policy!

 Now that I'm back to dyeing and have no plans to run off for 3 years again, we all can relax and know that there is always more where that came from. Phew. So let's celebrate with a fun KAL!

I'd love to see what Viola yarn you've been loving too much to use, and what you might be inspired to knit it into? Exciting!

So here's the plan...We've already begun knitting and sharing our plans over in the Ravelry group. So if you want to join, just get in there! Not on Ravelry? Send me an e mail (violafibers@gmail.com) if you'd like to participate and I'll make sure that your project is shared with the group. The KAL will end October 31st. At which time, all completed projects will be entered into a draw to win some more Viola yarn!

As I said above, I suffered with exactly the same fear of yarn wastage. And hoarded lots of my favourite Viola yarns and colours. While I haven't been able to share photos yet (due to flickr not making any sense mostly...) I've finally got it together and chosen my projects, wahoo! Mine is a rather ambitious list, but here it goes...

First off, there are lots of babies appearing in my life recently (none are my own) and that means the special joy of knitting extra cute and tiny things. I've decided to start on a cardigan knit in Mineral Merino Fingering that has been in my stash forever (seriously!) it has a contrasting stripe in a rather bright version of Sea Storm. I love it!

  This first cardigan, is knit in garter stitch with a drop shoulder and cabled 'suspenders' as I've been calling them.I loved knitting this so much that I've dyed up a bunch of Mineral for the next shop update (TBA)!

The next little baby cardi is a variation on the cabled 'suspenders' theme. This time, the cables bend in with raglan increases (knit this one top down). I struggled with colour choices here, and wanted to use ALL of the colours, as usual. I used Merino Singles 4 Ply, and settled on Barouni for the main colour, and contrasting bits of Puddle, Giant Peach and Winterwood. Although I hadn't been holding onto this yarn for a long time these skeins were all REALLY special and pretty much my new favourite colours. It seemed like the perfect opportunity!

The body of my little Barouni cardigan is almost finished, and the sleeves should be close behind as I have a long train journey to Montreal this weekend. Love train knitting!

Also on the agenda are 3 pairs of socks (am I crazy, yes). I love knitting socks, it's pretty mindless for me, and I never turn down an opportunity to add a contrasting colour on a heel or toe. All of my 3 pairs of socks are going to be gifts. Some seriously fabulous friends have helped out with renovations on my future dye studio and I feel they should be rewarded with cozy feet! So I've dipped into my most valuable Viola stash...the old and wonderful Sock yarn. Being such a serious sock knitter, I've hoarded this yarn like a crazy person. I love it. I love the way it dyes up and it knits into the most comfortable and durable socks. I haven't dyed it since I've come back from England, which makes it pretty special to me. Anyhow, I've picked out some fun colour combos for my 3 lucky sock recipients...

a seriously fabulous skein of Sea Storm with Pear for toes...

These are going to be really fun.  Pebble (left) is the main colour. Contrast in Black Lodge, Love and Nut Brown.

Finally, A one off skein that never got a name (I LOVE this one) and a most special bit that remains of the original dew drop. It's an historic moment; the first skein of dew drop that I ever dyed. FUN!

As if that wasn't enough. I'm also plotting an oversized, floppy pullover knit in Speckled Mist, the bespoke colourway that I created for Loop. I fear that this one may be a bridge too far, but had to share anyhow. Gotta dream big, eh?

So If you're game to join the KAL, come visit the Ravelry group. It's easier to crack into those special skeins with a bit of moral support. 

Happy knitting!