Julie's Notebook: Team Tanis Ravellenic Games

During the Winter Olympic Games, there is a very fun knit-along called the Ravellenic Games- you cast on during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and knit like the wind to finish your project by the end of the closing ceremonies.  We had a great team put together in the Tanis Fiber Arts Ravelry Group- here are all our winning Golds from Team Tanis 2014:

From left to right, Row 1: mrsmommy's French Can Can, DishclothDiva1's Sunny and -35, Hockeyfleck's Ravellenics Coast Starlight, JamieLynn16's Bonnie's Olympic Fiddlehead Mittens. Row 2:  highlight's Ravellenic Games, Baileycat0's Ravellenic Games Project,  KarenLC's Butterflies Boot Cuffs, PamDKnits' C's hat.  Row 3: janejetson1's Sencha Scarf,  sixblueirises's Onerva,  cccaitie's Irisa Cowl,  somewickedgirl's Cavalcade Socks. Row 4: LiaIrene's Sugarplum Suncrest,  wkelly123's Snowfling Mitts 2, JamieLynn16's Ravellenics Puerperium Cardigan,  debbieknits5000's Iris Fiddleheads. 

From left to right, Row 1: pugs12's Ravellenic Winter Games,  PamDKnits Pam's Mittens,  Prairie-Knitter Ravellenics Millwater, yarnlaw's Riverbank. Row 2: bubbly-one's French CanCan,  Quellefille's Rosewater,  freddygirl's stripe study, JamieLynn16's Ravellenic Games Baby Kit. Row 3: freddygirl's knotted pine,  woolercoaster's Olympic Snowfling Mittens,  BarbLLKnits Charlotte St Cowl in Canyon, somewickedgirl's Mallard's Song of the Sea. Row 4: Petitethings Cabled Canuck,  YarnAndYarns Hat Halfpipe: Ogiku, missagnes Pemba Headband, KarenLC's My Nymphalidea. 

From left to right, Row 1:  freddygirl's kore,  arlenemarie's Peyton Likes Flowers,  seeyouat5's A Mint One,  Prairie-Knitter's Cabled Canuck. Row 2: Quellefille's Iron Maiden, Quellefille's Go for Golden Clover,  RoseHiver's Touch-Tone Socks,  bethhunt's Hitchiker. Row 3: mgpetitelady's Shetland Cabled Canuck,  MaryKnits7's Pink Grapefruit Swizzle,  JamieLynn16's Ravellenic Games Franco Gramps,  seeyouat5's A blue one. Row 4: knursekettle's San Francisco,  Huntersma's Ravellenics 2014 Hat,  Quellefille's Cream and Sugar Cowl,  Quellefille's Framed Slouch.  

Quite the feast for the eyes, looking at at all those beautiful projects! It was so much fun to see everyone's progress, and we cheered each other on the whole way. We had 49 participants, and  48 Gold Medal winning FOs. Way to go! I'm so super proud to be in league with all these amazing knitters. Just look at those stunning knits up there. If knitting really were an Olympic event, these are definitely the knitters I'd want to have on my team. 

A KAL and a Giveaway - Urban Collection, Vol. 2

 Clockwise from top left: Charlotte St. Mitts, Jackson Creek Cardigan, Caroline Ave. Shawl worn over the Empire Ave. Cardigan, Duke St Shawl worn over the Northside Pullover. 

As many of you probably already know, Glenna (aka: Crazy Knitting Lady) has done it again! She's 

come out with an awesome sequel to her Urban Collection. Appropriately named The Urban Collection vol. 2. Like the first Urban Collection, there is a little something for everyone here. Accessories, pullovers and cardigans, cables and lace. All the designs also happen to feature TFA yarns! Green Label, Red Label, Yellow Label, Purple Label and Orange Label are all featured. There is something for everyone!  

To celebrate such an awesome collection, I am hosting an Urban Collection KAL over in the TFA Ravelry Group. Head on over to sign up, let us know what you'll be knitting and join in the KAL fun!

In case you don't already have this awesome collection, Glenna has generously donated one copy of the Urban Collection, vol. 2 to one lucky blog reader. Leave a comment here for your chance to win the collection plus one lovely skein of TFA Purple Label Cashmere Sock yarn in the perfectly autumnal Brick colourway.  

To enter the giveaway just leave me a comment. A winner will be randomly chosen on Wednesday, Sept. 11th. 

Accessories and Holiday Knitting: The November KAL Round Up

November was a busy month! The Tanis Fiber Arts Ravelry Forum was buzzing with activity as we had two simultaneous knitalongs, for those wanting a little extra push to get a jump on their holiday knitting, or to tackle a perfect little accessory for the chilly months ahead. The Holiday Knitting KAL was for those making something with TFA yarn that they intended to give as a gift, and 40 knitters participated. Check out the amazing gifts that some lucky people are going to receive this month:

(From left to right) Row 1: smallfanfan's Shift of Focus ,  danimily's Stockholm Scarf , knitstashley's November TFA Knit Along ,  GreenBeanString's Winter Bloom, somesylvie's Mitts for Jen and Marie .  Row 2: JamieLynn16's Joyce's Fiddlehead Mittens , hazelbranch's Peregrine's Solstice Oak , PamDKnits' LT's Hugging Monster , KillerBunny's Secret Christmas Mittens,  knerdy's Newborn Vertebrae , Row 3:  lambdamuepsilon's Wear the Flag, binthereknitthat's Sweet Lilac, tanisfiberarts' Abby's Heart Hat , MaryKnits7's Arching Leaves Socks , rdtebby's Windward . Row 4:  tanisfiberart's Elliot's Crazy Hat , CarlaBeeCreations' Christmas Dinner,  tanisfiberarts' End Of November mitts , pfong001's Rainbow Fish Hat Toddler/Preschooler size,  Quellefille's Wool Leaves. Row 5: binthereknitthat's Alpha Storm ,  CecileinIndiana's Four Season's Hat , RoseHiver's Angela's Mittens , hotcheese's Cabled Canuck,  debbieknits5000's winter hat.

The Accessories KAL featured TFA patterns only (did you know there are currently eighteen TFA patterns for accessories?! Plus all the 2012 club patterns!) and 38 knitters took part. Naturally there was some crossover between the KALs, as accessories are often the perfect knitted gift.

(From left to right) Row 1: knerdy's Arching Leaves Socks , AmyMercer's Cabled Canuck, Janalukas' Guernsey Triangle,  Dheuff's Christmas Socks, knittedblissJC's Strada ,  Row 2: YarnAndYarn's KAL Guernsey Triangle ,  Janalukas' Winter Fairview ,  GreenBeanString's Sleep Tech Dressy , KillerBunny's Cabled Canuck hat, TTeresa's /infinitude Scarves (3). Row 3: twinsknit's KAL Socks, tankinisurf's Fiddleheads , debbieknits5000's buttonless buttons cowl ,  Janalukas' Deep Sea Solaria , Dheuff's Hockey Hat . Row 4:  Prairie-Knitter's The Four Seasons Winter Hat TFA KAL , knitininto's Stormcrest , yarnslayer's Cabled Canuck, Tarazed's Martini Olives, GreenBeanString's Moonset, Row 5:  Quellefille's Cabled Canuck , frazzled01's Gin and Tonc , knittedblissJC's Nashira XL , Dheuff's Holiday Hat, suzieville's Stormy Winds .

So. Many. Beautiful. Knits. It was so much fun checking the thread every day, sometimes several times, to follow everyone's progress through WIP photos, comments, setbacks, and triumphs. November was an amazing month, all thanks to these amazing knitters. One KAL participant from each thread was chosen at random to win a special skein of yarn. The winner of the Holiday Knitting KAL is knerdy, and the winner of the Accessories KAL is Janalukas. Congratulations, knerdy and Janalukas!

November KAL - Elliot's Crazy Hat

Holiday Knitting KAL project #2 - check! This hat was inspired by these hats, an image of which I pinned on Pinterest long ago. Elliot is turning 4 on December 9 (his sister Abby is turning 7 on December 7th and his mom's birthday is December 11th... busy month!) Anyways, this hat is for Elliot. Elliot is an active, crazy little boy so I wanted a crazy little hat for him. I think this one totally fits the bill. When I first cast off I looked at it for a while and debated wether it was the coolest thing I'd ever knit or the ugliest thing I'd ever knit... I'm still undecided, but am leaning towards it being pretty darn cool. I love the blue and green chevron pattern, but the black and yellow bumblebee stripes on top might be a bit much.  

The pattern is completely improvised. Knit in TFA Yellow Label DK weight yarn I just picked a bunch of leftovers skeins that sort of coordinated and started knitting. The brim in extra long so it can be folded over for double the warmth around the ears. Due to the fair isle in the body the rest hat is double thick and super warm as well.

Hopefully Elliot will love it! At least he'll be easy to spot on the playground with this bright hat!

Pom-pom love shot!

Ravelry project page here. 

holiday cheer!

As my second Holiday KAL project I had in mind that I would knit a hat for my sister in law using the stitch pattern from the Smooth Sailing Baby Blanket that I designed for my niece. I loved that mom and baby would both have a special knit featuring the same stitch pattern. I grabbed this skein of Stormy in a really nice worsted weight MCN blend and cast on. 

It turned out... meh... I don't like it. I've frogged it. The stitch pattern is really highly textural and requires quite aggressive blocking to lay flat and look pretty (in my opinion) and if I gave it the blocking I think it needs it wouldn't fit. I'll come up with something else to do with this skein, I already have an idea.

To ease the pain of a failed knit I gave in to my urge to do some completely selfish knitting and cast on for this knitted Christmas ornament!

The pattern is Balls Up by General Hogbuffer and it's brilliant. It's just a simple sphere, but it's perfect. The key is the Styrofoam  ball center, so much better than a lop-sided stuffed ornament. I've knit 3 more of these beauties and will definitely be heading to the craft store to by more styrofoam balls this week! These would make awesome Christmas gifts, but I plan on keeping the ones I've made for myself. There is almost nothing I like more than a handcrafted holiday decoration, and a knitted ornament as lovely as these pretty much takes the cake for me. 

November KAL - Abby's Heart Hat

My first Holiday Knitting KAL project is complete! This is the first of 4, I'm well on my way to having 4 more gifts ready to cross off my shopping list. What a feeling! Only 6.5 weeks left... yikes!

This hat is for my God-daughter Abby who will be turning 7 on December 7th. The pattern is a mash-up between my Grammy's Hat pattern (for the stitch count, decreases and proportions) and #27 Heart Hat from Knit.1 Winter 06/07 by Linda Cyr for the overall look and ear flap recipe. Back in '06, I knit a hat just like this one for my sister. At the time she was a figure skating coach and when she wore this hat on the ice all of the little girls she was teaching went crazy for it! I hope that means that Abby will love it too. 

I modified the earflaps slightly to make them rounder and more "cartoon-heart-shaped". I also added the crochet trim to add a bit more polish. Overall, this was a super fun project. Plenty of interest and detail (fair-isle, i-cord, pom-pom's, crochet, sewing) but in a small and manageable scale so by the time it became tedious it was already finished.  

I am currently having a love affair with pom-pom's. I have a fool proof method for perfect pom-poms that I'll be sharing soon. I'm considering making myself a little holiday pom-pom garland for my mantle. This is the first year that I have a mantle to decorate for the holidays! Exciting!

Ravelry project page here. 

It's knitalong time!

We are gearing up to run another TFA KAL during the month of November. Actually, make that 2 TFA KAL's! Over in the TFA Ravelry group we have set up 2 threads with all the details. The first group is for gift knitter's. To participate in the Holiday Knitting KAL all you have to do is knit a project in TFA yarn that you intend to gift this holiday season. I think we can all use a little incentive to get our holiday knitting in order.

The second group is for the accessory knitters among us. For the TFA Accessories KAL any of our TFA accessory patterns count (Julie has curated a list of all the patterns in the KAL thread). 

For double the fun, knit a TFA accessory as a gift and be entered in both KAL's! There will be prizes and lots of fun had by all in the Ravelry group. To participate, just comment in the thread that you plan on participating in stating what pattern and yarn base you intend to use and towards the end of November we'll set up another thread for you to post your FO's in. The KAL will run from November 1st to midnight on November 30th. Plenty of time to get lots of knitting done!

And just because no post is complete without a nice picture, here is proof that my Palette Cardigan is finished and has had it's FO shoot! It's currently being test knit and I'm very excited about it. 

Almost done!

Nanook!

Y'know, I don't know what I was thinking when I used the say that beige was boring or that Sand was my most blah colourway... it's fabulous! Obviously I've taken some liberties with the photo above (cool, sketchy photo frame) but doesn't it look like it's just glowing!? 

This sweater is so close to the finish line I can taste it! Half a sleeve left and then it'll be time for a blocking party. Those are my weekend plans... what are you up to?

WIP's

My Nanook sweater for the Summer Sweater KAL is coming along nicely. I ran into a bit of a snag when I ended up ripping back about 5" of the body because I thought I knew better and wanted to shorten the length of the yoke, but then after trying it on (5" into the body) I found that the underarms were going to be too tight so I ripped it back and added some length to the yoke. This was totally my fault, I shortened the yoke too much and then ended up lengthening it to exactly the dimensions the pattern called for. I'm really looking forward to blocking this sweater because I know that it's going to change the fabric considerably. Right now it's quite bouncy and squishy, which is awesome, but after wet blocking it's going to have the added element of drape, which is what I'm really looking for, especially for the garter stitch fronts. 

Last week I also cast on for a new sock in a special skein of Viola sock yarn that was gifted to me in a trade with Emily a few years ago. Since Emily has taken a break from dyeing her lovely yarns, this skein may be my only chance to knit with it! Actually, that's a lie, I have one more skein of Viola sock yarn, but still... it's not something I won't be able to buy again. I've had this skein wound into a cake and ready to go for over a year, I had it with me last summer while on vacation but couldn't decide on the right pattern for it. I think it's because it's just a bit finer than my Blue Label yarn, which is what I'm used to, so it never felt quite right. After several false starts throughout the year I finally landed on the 9 to 5 sock pattern by Nicole Hindes and it's looking great!

I've been doing lots of spinning this week to, in honour of the Tour de Fleece. I don't have a real game plan, I'm just trying to make sure that I spin a bit every day. I should have my third completed skein of handspun by the end of the day, 3 skeins in 1 week is a lot for me! 

Nanook

Over at luvinthemommyhood Shannon is hosting her annual Summer Sweater KAL and I am a sponsor! Coincidentally the hostess herself happens to be knitting her KAL project in TFA yarn! Pretty cool. She's even made this lovely button featuring the Yellow Label DK weight yarn in Pink Grapefruit that she's using for her knit:

 

The whole thing sounds like a ton of fun. I love a KAL! We've hosted a few TFA KAL's recently and they are always so inspiring. I'm the first to admit that I don't have the best track record when it comes to completing my project on time. I tend to view KAL's more as motivation/inspiration, it's not a test or a race, nothing bad will happen if you don't finish on time! 

Yesterday was cast on day and I had yet to pick a project. I had something simple in mind, then I wondered if maybe I should use the KAL as an excuse to work on a design... In the end I decided that I should use this as an opportunity to pick a pattern that I loved and do some completely selfish knitting. I looked through my favourites on Ravelry and the sweaters I had pinned on Pinterest but nothing was jumping out at me. So I turned to the KAL Yarn/Pattern chat thread on Ravelry and browsed through what other participants were planning. Isn't that part of the beauty of a KAL! A community of knitters all chatting, supporting and inspiring. And right there is where I found it, the best thing I've see in ages! Nanook, by Heidi Kirrmaier.

I've seen the Bear Track stitch pattern (the one featured on the collar) before, but was never really struck by it until I saw this cardigan. I love how it's used to work the collar, how it creates that gorgeous scalloped edging and how it looks fantastic from both sides. I also love that the pattern features really neat yoke increases, not just your standard raglans or set in sleeves. I'm really into the style and the fit of this casual layering piece. Is there anything not to love!? 

I've chosen to knit this cardigan in my Orange Label Cashmere/Silk Worsted weight yarn because A) it will be fabulous! and B) the silk in this yarn adds a nice little bit of extra drape (as compared to my Green Label 100% merino Aran weight yarn) and I think that the drape will work really well for this pattern. Typically I opt for a bright, saturated colour, but after falling in love with several really pretty, serene versions of this on Ravelry I decided to go with my palest, calmest colourway: Sand. 

I cast on last night and I'm already well into the yoke. The yarn knits up like butter and the pattern is coming together beautifully so it's hard to put down! 

I am really enjoying knitting this and it got me thinking a bit about my knitting habits. Since I started designing I've been knitting a lot more of my own patterns and a lot less of other designers patterns. That's all fine but I've realized that as a designer it can be extremely helpful, insightful and educational to work from other's designs from time to time. For me at least, it's so nice to take a break from my own head, not have to be super critical about every stitch I make, and instead knit for the pure enjoyment of it. I can't tell you how happy I am just stitching away on this sweater, reading the pattern and not taking notes after every row, just merrily following directions and doing what I'm told. I've already learnt a new slipped stitch edging that I think is really pretty and neat, so even though this knit won't result in another TFA pattern for me to sell, the experience isn't any less valuable to me. 

I think I've just had a an aha! moment. 

Colourwork KAL Wrap Up

The Tanis Fiber Arts Colourwork KAL has wrapped up! This KAL had a prize: a palette pack in the colour of the winner's choice. Out of the 29 projects completed in time, Rhonda and her Cashmere Affection were chosen (hooray for the random number generator- otherwise it would have been too hard to choose myself!). Congratulations, Rhonda!

There were lots of amazing projects, and those that finished their projects by June 17th have some stunning work to show for it:

 (Horizontal, Above) Row 1: Lesley's Jaffa Cakes shawl, Christine's Plume shawl, Andrea's Color Spectrum Cardigan. Row 2: Katie's BSJ 3, Shireen's Neopolitan Ice Cream Shawl,  Yvette's Sunflower Socks. Row 3:  Shelley's Little Striped Hat, Lesley's All of Time and Space Socks, Mary's Four Seasons Summer Hat.

 (Horizontal, Above) Row 1: Debbie's Affectionately Colorful, Dee's Citrus Color Affection, Evelien's Four Season Spring Hat. Row 2: Christine's Nightlock shawl, Sarah's Fiddlehead Mittens, Laura's Golf Head Covers. Row 3: Thormoo's Purple Affection, Tanya's Velvet Morning, Jolene's Summer Color Affection.

(Horizontal, Above) Row 1: Rhonda's Cashmere Affection, Evelien's Ombre Cardigan, Sarah's Rainbow Taffy Sweater. Row 2: Yen's Four Season's Autumn Hat, Duncanch's Honeytree Vest, Jamie's Fiddleheads One and Fiddleheads Two. Row 3:  Sarah's Suggestibility Shawl, Denise's Think Outside the Box, Sweetheart , Noreen's  Pastel Baby Shane and Blue Hats.

It's so amazing to see all the wonderful colour combinations that people came up with, it's definitely got me thinking about new combinations for future projects. Even the great WIPs that didn't quite get done in time have been beautiful and inspiring. A big congrats to everyone who participated!

TFA Colour KAL

The TFA Colour KAL has officially begun! I took some time last week to do some swatching, but instead of just swatching a flat rectangle I decided to knit a hat. That way I could swatch in the round, figure out some decreases and after all the work and math was done, I'd have a hat! Bonus. 

The swatch worked out well and now I just have a bit more math to do before I'm ready to cast on for my KAL sweater. I'll keep you posted on my progress! I may not have much time to work on it this week since I'll be a busy bee getting all the Club kits in the mail, but with my swatching all done I feel like I've already made good progress. 

TFA Colour Knit Along!

Last week I mentioned that I was so pumped about my new Palettes that Julie and I came up with the idea to do a TFA Colour inspired knit along. We've worked out the details and are ready to get the colour wheel rolin'! The rules are extremely simple:

1) knit any project in the world that uses more than one colourway of TFA yarn. That's it, that's all. The rest is up to you. If you feel like challenging yourself, try something complex or large scale. If you want to participate but don't think that you can commit to all over colourwork sweater, knit yourself a 2-colour striped scarf! Easy as pie. 

2) cast on day is May 14th, cast off is June 17th, that's 5 full weeks to complete your project.

The KAL will be hosted over in the TFA Group on Ravelry. Julie has kindly set us up with a KAL thread here, check it out for more details.  

To get you in a colourful state of mind I've come up with a few mood boards featuring some of the colourful projects I've knit in TFA. 

Accessories!

Clockwise from top left: Grammies Hats, Garter stitch scarf, Awesome Scrappy Socks, Adelia Mitts.

Blankets!

Clockwise from top left: Ceres Blanket (knit by mom mom!), Log Cabin, Baby Shane Blanket, Granny Squares.

For Babies!

Clockwise from top left: Garter Yoke, Blank Canvas Baby Sweater, Playful Stripes, Striped Blank Canvas.

Sweaters!

Clockwise from top left: Striped Honeytree Vest, Velvet Morning Caridgan,  Ombre Cardigan, Dipped Infinity Sweater.

Of course there are lots of other pattern/project options. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

All about colour!

One of my favourite pages on my website has always been the colourways page (let's get real, isn't the colourways page the best part about any yarn website?) In my website re-vamp project I knew that I wanted to tackle this page and take it up a notch. I think that these new photo's show off all of the colourways better, and overall, the whole thing is just makes me so happy. 

And speaking of awesome rainbows of colour... introducing my new and improved TFA Palettes! The Palettes are essentially the Baby Shane Blanket kits, just re-named to promote more inventive uses. In the past, I've grabbed a Baby Shane Blanket kit several times, intending to use the yarn other projects. This, this and this all borrowed from the kits. They include the perfect amount of yarn to knit just about any awesome, colourful, baby blanket pattern, but I also love the idea of scooping up your favorite Palette and using the yarns to knit several smaller projects (maybe a few striped kid sweaters? Hats or mitts for everyone on your Christmas list?) I view them as a way to try out 8 different colours of TFA yarn, without having to dish out the dough for 8 full skeins. 

All of the above Palettes have been refreshed (with the exception of the Pastel Palette which was just perfect as is!) Some of my old Baby Blanket kits featured discontinued colourways, and since I've introduced new colourways since I made the original kits a lot of my best colours were MIA. Now, every single one of my colourways is featured in a kit (with the exception of Natural, Charcoal and Atlantic, but don't worry, I'm working on a "neutrals" Palette that will include those gems, I just need that 8th neutral!)

Because I'm so excited about these new Palettes I plan on working them into an upcoming colour driven KAL! Stay tuned for all the details. I haven't worked it all out just yet, but I'm thinking that the general idea will be to challenge yourself with a colour project. You don't need to buy a Palette to participate, I know that lots of you have great TFA stashes to work from, however, I'm thinking there should be a prize for most inventive use of a TFA Palette. I'm considering tackling a rainbow sweater myself!

January 2012 KAL

We are putting together a January 2012 Knit/Crochet Along! Head on over to the Ravelry group to join in on the fun. Now that it’s December 1st and we have 31 days until the KAL officially begins, let’s set out the parameters! We are going to try organizing things by yarn label:

• Green Label Group
• Yellow Label Group
• Blue Label Group
• Pink Label Group
• Silver Label & Red Label group
• Purple Label

Each group will have it’s own Ravelry forum thread, and at the top will be a static post listing all the group participants and their chosen projects. If any group develops more than 100 members, we might need to separate out into types of projects, but we’ll see what happens. The rules:

• 31 days to cast on and complete item: You can cast on anytime after midnight on December 31st, and cast off by midnight on January 31st.
  
• Knit/crochet any pattern you like, as long as it’s in a TFA yarn you can participate! For those that are still undecided about their project(s), we can let it slip that there will be a boxing week sale on TFA patterns at the end of the December- something to think about!
  

To join: Go to the Ravelry group thread, and click on your chosen forum (Green label, blue label, etc) and leave a comment letting everyone in your group know what you plan on knitting/crocheting (or colourway, or anything you want). if you are still not sure what you’ll be knitting, don’t worry- leave a comment on the Ravelry thread letting me know you’re still thinking about it and well add you to the list anyways! It'll be a great time for a KAL- the craziness of the holidays will have died down, and a new year is a great time to start a new project.