Fashion Friday - knitted family layers

Featured Knits: My sweater - a vintage hand-me-down from my mom.
Rowan's vest - Schoolboy Vest - pattern coming soon!
Yarn: My sweater - awesome vintage Scottish wool.
Rowan's vest - TFA Green Label Aran Weight in Chris Grey, Lemongrass, Seabreeze and Chestnut.

So, Fashion Friday was supposed to be all about highlighting some of my favourite knits and discussing how I like to wear them in real life. But lets be honest, this kid's got much better style then I do, and he wears a lot of knits, so from time to time lets chat about how he likes to style his knit-wardrobe shall we? 

Rowan, thankfully, is not afraid of a little colour. He can rock a pair of turquoise cords like its nobody's business. He wears a lot of stripes, often paired with more stripes, polka dots or in this case, scallops. He is also partial to vests. He has 3 and wears them all the time. The vest he's wearing in these photos is the same pattern as this one, with modified colourwork. The pattern will be released as part of my upcoming baby boy collection soon (like within a week or two!) I cannot say enough about how much I love the baby vest look, it's adorable and incredibly practical. I will go on and on about it when I release the pattern I'm sure. So stay tuned for that!

My sweater was knit by my aunt for my mother years ago. It was knit with 100% Scottish wool yarn, that's all I know about it, and I am continually amazed at how well both the yarn and the style of this sweater have stood the test of time. Aren't classic pieces like this amazing? Knitting a sweater is a big  commitment, but when it lasts years and gets passed on through generations I would say it's more than worth the effort. I've made it my personal mission to make sure that I design and knit at least a few pieces like this in my career. I really can't think of anything more awesome than having a grown daughter one day who loves to wear my hand knit hand-me-downs. 

Fashion Friday - Boots!

Featured knit: Handspun Hat
Yarn: TFA Superwash Merino Roving in Kelp, handspun by yours truly.
Boots: MJUS cowboy/biker boots in turquoise purchased from Cara Shoes.

A love story:

Girl sees photo of boots online. 

Girl can't stop thinking about them. 

Girl luckily has a contact in the shoe world (this contact happens to be the one responsible for leaking said photo of boots in the first place). 

Girl places a phone call that ends with the divulging of credit card details.

Boots are delivered. 

Girl and Boots live happily ever after until the end of time. 

The end. 

Turquoise boots, impractical? No way. They match just about everything I wear (and knit!) I will wear these every day. Thanks Sara, you're the very best. 

Fashion Friday - super professional

Featured Knit: Adelia fingerless mitts, designed by me!

Yarn: TFA Purple Label Cashmere Sock in Sand and Atlantic.

I had a meeting on Wednesday. A real meeting with an actual business man in a suit and everything. I did not wear a suit. Part of me wishes that I was a fancy business woman who wore smart suits and stiletto heals to work in a marble office. However another part of me really enjoys that I'm a laid back business woman who gets to wear pj's and hand knits to work everyday instead. Because pj's didn't seem appropriate on Wednesday I grabbed the most official looking top I own. A classic blue and white oxford. Any shirt that buttons up and that gets tucked into pants with a belt is pretty darn official to me! 

Anyhow... my meeting went well. I don't think I embarrassed myself too much. I did however, keep my hat on the whole time, and when it was time to explain what TFA is all about I just pointed to my head. Super pro. 

Fashion Friday - Reverb

Featured Knits: Reverb designed by me!
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Hayloft colourway.

I designed and knit this cardigan for Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People 5 collection back in the summer of 2012. I was barely pregnant when I finished it and then sent it off right away. I have been looking forward to the day that I'd get the sample knit back so I could try it on a non-pregnant me and see how I liked it. Guess what... I love it! It's exactly what I wanted it to be. I liked it when I designed it, I liked seeing it on the model and I've liked all the gorgeous versions I've seen pop up on Ravelry, but I love it now that it's part of my sweater wardrobe. It's straight, not fitted, and I like that. Fits more like a jacket, especially with the stand up collar, and I like that too! Don't you love it when a knit works out? I also, kind of surprisingly, LOVE the colour. Take a look at my sweater collection, I have very little in the gold/rust/brown spectrum. Shockingly, I find this colourway extremely wearable. It seems to go with all the bright purples and blues that I tend to gravitate towards. 

So, there ya go, Reverb revisited. Have a great weekend!

Fashion Friday - Mom's scrappy sweater

Featured Knit: This awesome hand-me-down sweater from my mom, knit by Grammy.
Yarn: Some vintage chunky yarn.

If I've got my facts straight, Grammy knit this sweater for my mom when mom was in university, so some time in the late 60's, early 70's I think. It's scrap-tastic. It was knit in pieces, two fronts, a back and two sleeves, and no two sections are alike. The colours are as bright and bold as you can get. It has a zipper and a shawl collar. I was bestowed this jacket back in high school and I've worn it lovingly since. It's shockingly warm, especially with an insulating layer underneath. And it certainly turns heads. Mom has this awesome story of walking down the main drag in Halifax and a car pulls up next to her and this real tough looking guy rolls down his window just to compliment her on her great sweater. 

When I'm wearing a bold knit like this, I usually let it shine as the sole knit in the outfit. A simple scarf, no accessories, the sweater has enough going on by itself I think. 

Fashion Friday - that kinda week

Featured knit: Ombre Cardigan

yarn: TFA Pink Label Lace weight in Midnight and Cobalt. 

It's been a tough week. I've been under the weather. I even went to the doctor and got a prescription and everything. Rowan was sick first, but he seems to be all better now. I think I'm finally on the mend. Let's just hope that Chris doesn't get it next because we need him to be in tip top shape to do all the pre-holiday dyeing! 

I wear my Ombre Cardigan all the time. It's one of my few lighter weight hand knit sweaters. Almost all of my sweaters are dk or worsted/aran weight, which are great, but warm. Sometimes too warm for working indoors. Lounging indoors, that's a whole other story. But with an active baby and an active job, often times a lighter weight sweater is in order. I need to knit more that fit that gap in my wardrobe. 

I also wear bandana's a lot, because I have bad hair days a lot. Bandana's can be a a frizzy-haired girls best friend. I have a drawer full. I love them all. I bet I could match a bandana to any outfit. Lord knows I've tried!

Happy Friday the 13th! I was born on a Friday the 13th. :) 

Fashion Friday - Pink Pout

Psst. The winner of the Journey e-book giveaway is… Katherine K. aka: 1martinigirl. Thanks to all who entered!

Featured Knits: Prism Shawl and Monkey Socks
Yarn: TFA Superwash Merino Roving in prism for handspun shawl (occasionally available on Etsy) and TFA Blue Label in Orange Blossom

I can't wear red lipstick. Lord knows I've tried. I love the look on other people, especially if the bright red lips are paired with a neutral outfit, it's just so incredibly chic. But I'm just not comfortable in the look myself. I've accepted that. On the bright side, I am incredibly comfortable in hot pink! I have a new favourite lip product, it's Magic Moroccan Green Lipstick and it really is magic. In the tube it is green, you swipe it on your lips and it feels like a balm, not a gloss or a heavy lipstick, and it tints/stains your lips your own custom pink colour. Magic right!? The way I understand it it's some sort of magical henna that reacts with your body temperature and ph level to create the perfect pink for you. Crazy and amazing. What I love about a stain like this is that I can sip coffee, kiss my baby, my dog, or heck, even my husband if the mood should strike, and the colour doesn't budge. I've barely worn anything beyond a lip balm since Rowan was born because I don't want to leave glossy lip prints all over his pretty little head. 

For today's post I experimented with taking my own portrait in the mirror. Not easy, but fun. Chris was busy dyeing sparkly yarn so I had to figure this out myself. The best shot of the bunch is of course the one where I'm all blurry in the background and the camera is in focus. Don't you think the coloured lips make a difference? The second to last shot has bare lips, fine, but missing something right?

This outfit is a very good example of what you might find me wearing if you were to stop by unannounced. Jeans, a casual top, hand knit socks (I wear exclusively hand knit socks almost every single day between October and April) and likely either a hat or a scarf/shawl. I have this weird thing about having a bare neck, which would explain why I love turtlenecks so much. Having something warm on the back of my neck makes me feel like my whole body is warm. A naked neck and I'm freezing. I wear my handspun Prism shawl all the time. It's small, more of a shawlette really, and the colours are so pretty, it completes any outfit. And those Monkey's, Ravelry tells me I made them in 2008, they are still looking great! The shawl was knit in 2010, so these knits are both tried and true and holding up incredibly well considering the amount of wear they get. 

Fashion Friday - little lady lumberjack

Featured Knit: Four Seasons Hat in Winter
Yarn: TFA Blue Label in various colourways.

Did you know that I painted our front door this bright blue? Well, I did, and it's the best thing that has ever happened to the exterior of our house. Well, this door and the awesome Christmas lights I put up last weekend. Confession: I'm super festive. There is nothing I like more than this time of year when it's finally appropriate and acceptable to make your home all sparkly and shiny. Our house has a flat roof over the garage and I happen to think that it is a massive crime against Christmas that we don't install some sort of spectacular reindeer display on top of it. It is basically the only redeeming quality of a flat roof, we are totally wasting this great opportunity. 

Anyhoo. So I strung up the Christmas lights and I dressed all colourful and comfy to do it. 

Fun facts about this outfit: 

~ I bought those jeans when I was pregnant from this great maternity shop. They are Mavi jeans and the shop had removed the waistband and sewn an elastic waistband in it's place. After Rowan was born I brought them back and they sewed the regular waistband back on. They are stretchy and extremely comfortable and make me feel awesome for not spending a ton of money on maternity jeans.

~ That plaid shirt is Ralph Lauren size 12 year old boys. I bought the same one for my 6 year old nephew last year. It is incredibly soft and it fit me for almost all of my pregnancy. Who knew 12 year old boys were built that way!?

~ I have owned that badass jean vest since high school. Truth be told, it doesn't get pulled out of the closet every day, but when it does it makes an impression. People love it. Maybe because they think I'm joking? It's a cropped jean vest. 'Nuff said. I think the last time I wore it out in public I was going out for my sister's birthday and I wore it as a gift to her to give her something to tease me about. I'm pretty sure she's just jealous. :) 

The winter Four Seasons Hat is the one that I get the most use out of. Somehow this palette seems to go with everything. 

Fashion Friday - Gold on Gold

Featured Knits: Honeytree Vest and Fairview  Scarf designed by me!
Yarn: TFA Orange Label Cashmere/Silk Worsted and Red Label Cashmere/Silk Single, both in Gold.

I love fashion, I love Friday's, I love knits and I love photography. Let's throw them all together in one blog post and see what happens! Back in the day, when I was struggling to find my calling, working in the fashion industry was something that always really appealed to me. I used to go through fashion magazines like they were best sellers - page turners! Couldn't put them down! I also really love makeup - makeup artist was another career path that I seriously considered. Now, I don't claim to be a super on trend fashionista, but I do wear a lot of knits, and I think that said knits deserve to be featured on the blog more than just once. So often I do an FO post and then you never see the knit again! This will be a way to update you on how I'm actually living with the new knits in my life. When I blog about an FO it's always all about the knit. Fashion Friday's will be my chance to show you how I actually wear the knit in real life. Sure, jeans, a t-shirt and a great cardigan is sometimes all you need, but I'm going to try and push myself to be a bit more creative.  

Jeans, booties, caramel jacket and gold on gold.