tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83952289384658992212024-02-07T07:14:06.210-05:00Tanis Fiber ArtsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comBlogger866125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-11706967430818208582014-04-21T10:46:00.001-04:002014-04-21T12:17:18.131-04:00New blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSCe1YxJ-_0Yeyor-rTu0kA7tghdEGfSfbpCOfPimTVs_0tuffwSEo13K4I0A1BQ5-jIxuvz3Lr5aYCLAUfVcmQk0XO0lAWsLT9K_sRcKFPigPxIZGggJ1Cig7ghqJ9Bbczjg5a7gCoZg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+10.10.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSCe1YxJ-_0Yeyor-rTu0kA7tghdEGfSfbpCOfPimTVs_0tuffwSEo13K4I0A1BQ5-jIxuvz3Lr5aYCLAUfVcmQk0XO0lAWsLT9K_sRcKFPigPxIZGggJ1Cig7ghqJ9Bbczjg5a7gCoZg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+10.10.00+PM.png" height="411" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>The TFA blog has a new home! Head on over to <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/blog">www.tanisfiberarts.com/blog</a> to see what's up!</b></div>
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<b>Be sure to update your preferred blog reading system to reflect the new address and don't miss a thing! </b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b>Familiar with bloglovin'? simply click the button below to stay in the loop and get your TFA fix.</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/12151535" title="Follow Tanis Fiber Arts - Blog on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=12151535" /></a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-82238975768781326482014-04-16T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-16T07:00:11.844-04:00Design process<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13834650543/" title="image by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="image" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/13834650543_0478c8cd26_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I think that I just may have developed one of the worlds least efficient work methods. Some very clever designers are able to conceptualize a design in their minds, do a bit of swatching, write out a pattern and then have a sample knitter knit it up for them. In very rare cases I think that I might be able to pull that off, but more often then not I design a piece by knitting the entire thing myself... twice! So often I have an idea in my head and then as I'm working on it things change. By having the knit in my hands and working the stitches myself I start off in one direction and then the knit kind of takes me where it wants to go. For me, this system definitely works since every time the design that I end up with is much better than the one that I started off trying to accomplish. </div>
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The fact that I knit my own designs is not what makes me an inefficient designer, the fact that I knit most of them twice is! That photo above shows a section of a sweater in progress. The sweater is now complete, ends woven in, blocked and in fact I'm wearing it as I type and I'm super happy to say that I LOVE how it turned out. The thing is, I've explored a few new techniques in this piece and the whole time I was working on it I questioned wether it would work out or not. As I was working on it I knew right away that there were a few things that I wish I had done differently, but because in the back of my mind I worried that this whole piece was going to get scratched anyway I didn't bother changing them and instead worked my way through the entire garment keeping notes about what I should have done differently. </div>
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Don't get me wrong, this prototype is pretty rad, the little things that I want to change aren't deal breakers and probably won't even be that noticeable in the end. But they will make the pattern better so it's worth it. </div>
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So now I'm sporting my prototype and tonight I'll dream up an alternate colour scheme to knit my final version in. The one that will be just perfect! I'm excited to share it with you all, but I've obviously got a few tweaks to make before it's ready for prime time. </div>
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Speaking of making a few tweaks, I am in the final stages of a pretty major website overhaul! The website and blog will all be getting a brand new look and will look better, work better and overall just BE BETTER! That's the hope at least. I'm just giving you all a heads up that I plan on getting pretty serious about it this weekend and into early next week, so if anything looks weird or different in the next couple of days, bear with me! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-55171199765914766582014-04-14T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-14T07:00:15.882-04:00Ombre stairs<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13834483203/" title="IMG_1158 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1158" height="750" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2936/13834483203_2318801280_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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We undertook a major basement renovation last year. It was big, it was messy, it took forever, but now that it's done it has been amazing and I'm so glad that we did it and have added a whole other floor of living space to our home. The reno was completed a year ago, and yesterday I finally put the finishing touches on the stairs! They are the original stairs and are solid functional, perfectly fine stairs, but they were painted this shade of mossy green that I just really can't stand. So I figured it was about time that I make use of my colour mixing skills to mix up a few blue/green shades and paint the risers in an ombre effect! </div>
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Of course, I'm no master basement/low-light photographer, so trust me that in real life the gradient is more pronounced than it looks in this photo. </div>
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Below is the before shot:</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13828929275/" title="IMG_0361 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0361" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/13828929275_146b1de9d1.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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(I've purposefully made it smaller because I don't want a massive image of my ugly old stairs mucking up my pretty blog)<br />
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I'm very pleased to have officially ridded my house of that particular shade of puce. The awesome thing is this project cost only a few dollars to complete as I already had the black paint, the white paint, 2 shades of turquoise (the darkest and the lightest) and just bought a medium green/blue shade to mix with my light and dark to create a 5 colour gradient. It was fun. </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13834819194/" title="IMG_0373 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0373" height="267" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/13834819194_47b67b9fe0.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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I'm trying to take a more casual approach to my home decorating these days. We've done some major projects that needed to be taken seriously and done right, but now it's all about putting our personal stamp on things and I'm having fun just playing. Next up on the list now that the weather is improving is finally tackling the office! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-73969928053518624642014-04-10T13:31:00.001-04:002014-04-10T13:37:47.388-04:00All the stripes!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13762492933/" title="IMG_1141 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1141" height="762" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5492/13762492933_d0fef6e4b1_b.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;">ock yarn on the left is by <a href="http://www.caterpillargreenyarns.com/">Caterpillargreen</a> in the Concrete and Tulips colourway.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">sock yarn on the right is by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/turtlepurl">Turtlepurl</a> yarn in the Trenchcoat colourway (previously known as Burberry I believe).</span><br />
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It would seem that I, along with every other sock knitter and knit blogger out there, have fallen hard for self striping sock yarns. Bonus points if the sock yarn has been hand dyed! I can't even imagine dyeing yarns this way. They are incredibly beautiful and lovely to knit with, but with every crisp colour shift I think to myself "my gawd! the work in this is off the charts!" Hats off to the clever and industrious hand dyers who are able to pull this off so beautifully, I don't think I have the precision for it. Which is totally cool by me because I'm happy to indulge in a little online yarn retail therapy once in a while and to support my fellow hand dyers! </div>
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Anyways, ok, so knitting with these yarns is so much fun. I've got several more skeins in my stash (I went on a bit of a tear a few months ago) and at the moment I intend to knit lots of simple striped socks. I'm knitting both of these pairs toe up. Though I usually prefer top down, I find it so much easier to plan colour placement and maximize yardage with toe up socks. But then there is that pesky heel! I turned the heel on the sock on the right first, and I opted to do the new <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fish-lips-kiss-heel">Fish Lips Kiss Heel</a> that I've been reading about all over. You can't see it in this photo, I'll show more detailed shots when the pair is finished, but I'm not crazy about it... It was easy and clever but for self striping sock yarn like this it leaves a weird line right across the center of the heel. Also, I definitely wish that I had worked the heel from the other end of my ball of yarn so as not to disrupt the perfect stripes that I had going on. Lesson learnt the hard way. </div>
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For the pair on the left I amended my heel knitting strategy and worked an afterthought heel so my stripes are absolutely perfect! Which really thrills me. I'm not usually so precise and have knit lots and lots of fraternal striped socks in the past and have lost absolutely no sleep over it, but for this pair I really wanted to aim high. </div>
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Isn't it funny how the sock on the right would be described as "mostly beige, white, black with a bit of red" and the sock on the left would be described as "multicoloured rainbow", yet it's the beige sock that stands out as the brighter and more vivid of the two? The rainbow stripes are so subtle and delicate. I love them both to pieces, though sadly, neither pair is for me. </div>
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<b>Have you caught the self striping sock yarn bug?</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-23998069519183593952014-04-09T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-09T10:51:35.112-04:00Trench Hat - New Free Pattern!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Thanks so much for all the lovely comments you left for me on yesterday's post! Once again, I can't tell you how much your support means to me. How about I show my appreciation with a free pattern!</div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/8565637229/" title="IMG_3898 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3898" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8522/8565637229_c60ccce332_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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You may recognize this hat since you've <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/03/shades-of-grey.html">seen it here before</a>. I knit this puppy last year in one evening after seeing a few skeins of yarn sitting next to each other in my stash and being inspired to work with them together. I've loved the hat and have worn it a lot. I especially love the scalloped colourwork pattern and have yet to get it out of my system as I've used it on several other knits since (see bellow!) </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/8565637369/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_3886 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3886" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8377/8565637369_03e1000b1f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />The hat itself is dead simple and is a perfect stash buster. So, download your copy, grab a few of your favourite colours, and knit yourself the Trench hat tonight!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/dls/tanis-fiber-arts-2/206740?filename=TrenchHat.pdf">download now</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246794363/" title="IMG_0400 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0400" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3817/13246794363_f823822151_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used the chart from the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/trench-hat">Trench hat</a> on the body of Rowan's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/tanisfiberarts/schoolboy-vest-2">Scalloped Schoolboy Vest</a>. I love those colours!</div>
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I also featured it on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/tanisfiberarts/rr-hoodie-2">Ross' R&R Hoodie</a> with contrasting i-cord. I would totally rock this sweater in my size... I've been hearing that from a lot of people so... maybe! </div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13409268643/" title="IMG_8208 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8208" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/13409268643_b9de518172_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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So there you have it! This pattern is all about the chart really, can't wait to see what you knit with it!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-42156611804780286222014-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-08T07:00:09.704-04:00And that concludes baby week!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13701981055/" title="IMG_0451 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0451" height="750" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/13701981055_132068d00d_z.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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I have a new <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/trench-hat">free pattern</a> to talk about (nothing to do with the above photo) but I've decided that it can wait until tomorrow because today I wanted to devote a post to something a bit more personal. I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you for not only "bearing with me" while I went on and on about Rowan turning one year old and all the knits I've made for him, but for being incredibly supportive of me and my family. There is definitely a small part of me that worries that maybe you don't want to hear about my baby or his party, that you come here for TFA news and anything that is not specifically knitting related is not welcome. But you've proven that line of thinking to be so wrong and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!</div>
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I've said it time and time again, TFA is a family run business, so any new TFA news is really new family news since everything that happens at TFA comes directly from Chris and I and affects Rowan too. When you run this type of business, the lines between work and play are so blurred. So much of what we do is part work and part life and so a bit of real life spilling over onto the blog is bound to happen. I'm just thrilled that you're all ok with that! </div>
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When I started this blog TFA was but a distant dream, and I still think of this space as a personal crafting journal rather than a corporate brand promoter. Of course, I knit with TFA yarn a lot! And when I release a new pattern or new colours you bet this is the first place I'll come to talk about it, but to me it's more than that. This blog has turned into a huge part of what I love about my job. Writing blog posts has never felt like work to me. Looking back on older posts feels like looking through my old diaries, and I love that I have this place to come and revisit favourite memories. </div>
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I do intend to continue to post about my family's special moments and occasionally pop in with something that may have very little to do with knitting. Although like I said, my life = knitting, so a real life post with no knitting/yarn/colour/crafting content seems highly unlikely! </div>
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So, thanks for the support, and oh ya, cute picture above right? Rowan photo-bombed my Eventide Shawl photoshoot. The Eventide Shawl you ask? Why yes, that's a new pattern that I'll have ready for you before the end of the month. That shot is one of my favourites of the day. So you see, our work photoshoot turned into a lovely mother/son memory for me. I already have this photo printed and in a photo album. Look at how shiny and blond his hair is! What I wouldn't give for hair like that. It's silk! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-36442807506788620172014-04-06T20:10:00.001-04:002014-04-06T20:10:56.919-04:00Rowan's 1st birthday<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679924735/" title="rowanbaloons1 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="rowanbaloons1" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/13679924735_11d4798d70_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679924105/" title="rowanbaloons2 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="rowanbaloons2" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3762/13679924105_5ca5765abf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679921265/" title="IMG_1026 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1026" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/13679921265_6e99e76fc3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13680285214/" title="IMG_1024 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1024" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/13680285214_fde7cbbbd0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679970483/" title="rowanparty by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="rowanparty" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/13679970483_e5c5eeb5e1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679922515/" title="rowanparty1 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="rowanparty1" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/13679922515_650b13ef11_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13680304674/" title="IMG_0995 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0995" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3679/13680304674_67b14c7180_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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As you all know (since I must have mentioned it at least 100 times by now) Rowan turned 1 year old on Friday, April 4th. We had a birthday party for him on Saturday. The whole thing was a ton of fun and I am so incredibly happy to be at the point in my life where I am throwing a birthday bash for my own baby. It's surreal. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was wearing my own party dresses and playing hot potato in my parents basement at my own birthday party. I don't know when I became old enough to have a baby and bake special birthday cakes for him and celebrate one whole year of his life, but it happened. And it feels amazing.<br />
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Actually, it feels more than amazing. It feels like everything all at once. Every single emotion. I think that the only way to really describe it is to say that it's overwhelming. This past year has been the most challenging, exhausting, rewarding, empowering year of my life. Rowan is such a fun, curious and happy baby. Happy really is one of his defining characteristics. That kid just loves life. It's amazing to see. Getting to spend my days with that kind of happiness and those giant toothy smiles (5 teeth now!) is just about the best thing ever. I feel very blessed.<br />
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Rowan's birthday was a blast. He thoroughly enjoyed the day with friends and family. A few funny details about the day: I made those paper buntings and put up a photo for each month of the year to show how much he grows and changes every month. Completely accidentally he is wearing a different hand knit in 8 of the 12 photo's! I let him off the hook and didn't dress him in knits June through September, but the rest of the year was all knits, all the time. Funny right?<br />
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I baked that awesome 3D panda cake myself and am incredibly proud of it! I rented the pan and everything. It took me all day to make, I'd never done anything like that before, but man was it cool. I may have cried once during the process and expressed super dramatically that I was a total failure because my panda's right arm looked weird, but I pulled myself together and Rowan's panda cake looked great. I also made cupcakes because though the panda looked awesome I was pretty sure that it was going to taste like a brick of sugar, I was wrong, it was totally edible. But the cupcakes were a delicious bonus too. Rowan, however, preferred the pineapple... I could have just made him a fruit salad and called it a day - ha!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13679993293/" title="IMG_1091 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1091" height="750" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/13679993293_7a9f7dc81d_z.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-47874882489746955442014-04-03T08:13:00.001-04:002014-04-03T08:13:41.728-04:00R&R Hoodie<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408914583" title="IMG_0691 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0691" height="800" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2889/13408914583_f11e012408_z.jpg" width="534" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rr-hoodie">R&R Hoodie</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/tanis-fiber-arts-2/204876"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">$5</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"><i>The classically cool hoodie - A wardrobe staple for both men, women and babies alike! I designed this hoodie for Rowan, with the quintessential kangaroo pockets, zipper and hood, and it has become one of his most worn handknits because it just seems to always be appropriate. The hood fits snugly over the head (and stays on!) so it doubles as a hat on cooler days. Don’t let the zipper scare you off! Though it takes a bit more effort during installation, it more than makes up for it in ease of use.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408329324" title="IMG_0016 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0016" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/13408329324_453bf61402_c.jpg" width="534" /></a></div>
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This hoodie is the very first thing that I knit for our Rowan. I knit a whole bunch for him before he was born, but they were all for "the baby". After Rowan was born and the dust settled a bit I naturally wanted to design something special for him and when I asked Chris what that should be, he immediately said "a hoodie with a zipper and pockets". He didn't even have to think about it! So, mission accepted, I cast on for this simple little hoodie, worked my way through the body with the pockets no problem, the sleeves and the yoke were a piece of cake. I knew that I wanted to trim out the fronts with a really neat i-cord edging… all that was left to sort out was the hood. But oh man, that hood! My mom and I must have knit no less than a dozen prototype hoods between the two of us. I had gotten it into my thick skull that I really wanted a very specific type of hood. One that would fit snuggly, would stay on and wouldn't be too bulky. The design I came up with is sort of like the heel of a sock. It took forever to get it the way I wanted it, but it was so worth it because in my opinion it really is a very cool hood!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408037875" title="IMG_0098 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0098" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/13408037875_0e376564f8_c.jpg" width="534" /></a><br />
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Rowan has a little cousin named Ross who was born only 2 weeks after him. I knit Ross <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/tanisfiberarts/rr-hoodie-2">his own little hoodie</a> (R&R actually stands for Rowan & Ross!) and for Ross' version I experimented with adding a bit of colour and I love the results. The i-cord edging around the fronts really is the perfect spot for adding a pop of contrast and why not play around with a different coloured zipper while you're at it? I'll be knitting a new hoodie for Rowan soon (he's just about outgrown his Lucky Penny hoodie!) and I'm thinking it'll be grey with a neon green zipper. Fun right? And if you like that scalloped colourwork pattern as much as I do (I used it on a <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/04/schoolboy-vest.html">Schoolboy Vest</a> too!) you're in luck because I've got a free pattern coming out next week that features this motif, so you'll be able to apply it to all your Lucky Penny knits no problem. Stay tuned!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13409268643" title="IMG_8208 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8208" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/13409268643_b9de518172_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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So lastly, we've got to talk about that zipper! I think that a lot of knitters (myself included) are a little apprehensive about sewing a zipper into their hand knits. But I'm here to tell you that it's really not that bad! It requires a little bit of careful positioning and pinning, some easy sewing and that's about it. The very first sweater I ever knit for Chris had a zipper, and though I'm not in any particular rush to hand sew a zipper into a man sized sweater any time soon, for a little sweater like this it was a piece of cake. </div>
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So there you go! This concludes Lucky Penny Baby week! I hope that you enjoy these patterns and that you get a chance to knit them for the sweet little babies in your life. Tomorrow is Rowan's birthday. He will be 1 year old and I am excited and nostalgic and overwhelmed all at the same time. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-56271738528357401412014-04-02T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-02T07:00:08.924-04:00Schoolboy Vest<div style="text-align: center;">
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psst: <a href="http://knittedbliss.com/giveaway-lucky-penny-baby-e-book-and-tanis-fiber-arts-yarn/">Julie is doing a Lucky Penny Baby giveaway on her blog</a>! Go check it out and then come right back!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13563385294/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_8463 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8463" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/13563385294_a279d6c817_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo was an out take from our <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/12/merry-christmas.html">Christmas card</a> photo shoot. I love the expression on Rowan's face, but don't love that I wasn't able to scurry out of the frame quick enough!</td></tr>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/schoolboy-vest">Schoolboy Vest</a></span></b><br />
<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/tanis-fiber-arts-2/204878"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">$5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>In my humble opinion no baby’s knit wardrobe is complete without a knitted vest. Not only are they quick to knit, they happen to be one of the most practical baby knits out there. They keep the body warm while allowing all the frantic arm flailing and Cheerio throwing that little ones love to do. As an added bonus, your baby will look super smart when he’s sporting his scholarly sweater vest.</i></span></span><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13562909845/" title="IMG_8061 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8061" height="750" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3719/13562909845_93f765a956_z.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Ok, so the above photo does not feature my new Schoolboy Vest pattern, it is the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CelticCastOn/master-charles-sweater">Master Charles</a> pattern knit for Rowan by my dear online friend <a href="http://www.celticcaston.com/">CelticCastOn</a>. This vest arrived in the mail shortly after Rowan was born last April. I cooed over it (because it's so cute) and then put it away because it wouldn't fit him until the fall. When fall rolled around I pulled it out, put it on Rowan, and the rest is history. I am very, VERY much a vest person when it comes to Rowan, and I never would have known it were it not for Kelly's awesome gift. So thanks Kelly!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13409274713/" title="IMG_9376 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9376" height="750" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3723/13409274713_8d42320fb6_z.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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I love vests on babies because they are just so easy. They are adorable over a onesie, but let's be honest, what's not adorable over a onesie? The real key for me is that they keep baby warm, but you never have to fuss with making sure that their sleeves aren't bunching up under the sweater, or worry at meal time that they are dragging the cuff of their beautifully hand knit cardigan through their pureed sweet potatoes. Plus, when it comes to the knitting, it's basically as quick as a hat! A simple tube, a little back and forth and then voila, a vest. As you can tell from the variety of vest patterning shown in this post (there are three different colourwork versions of my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/schoolboy-vest">Schoolboy Vest</a> pattern here), the possibilities for adding your own favourite motifs are wide open. The pattern provides you with the chart for the version shown below, but adapting your favourite fair isle pattern for the body of the vest would be a piece of cake. </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408349044/" title="IMG_0599 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0599" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/13408349044_0d8edf51fe_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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In case you haven't noticed, this vest features the same colourwork motif as the <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/04/frosted-alpine-hat.html">Frosted Alpine hat</a>! The two together would make an adorable baby shower gift, don't ya think?</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408009215/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_0576 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0576" height="750" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2881/13408009215_0f82d57f60_z.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh nothing - just reading up a bit on my favourite colour. ;)</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-39898557731918398582014-04-01T08:00:00.000-04:002014-04-01T08:00:11.809-04:00Frosted Alpine Hat<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407956205" title="IMG_0185 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><br /><img alt="IMG_0185" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3821/13407956205_b626aae56a_c.jpg" width="559" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frosted-alpine-hat">Frosted Alpine Hat</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/tanis-fiber-arts-2/204880"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">$5</span></div>
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<i>A hat for Rowan that had earflaps for warmth and ties for the “stay-put” factor was essential throughout the colder months. Rowan wore this fun and colourful hat all winter. Chris and Rowan have coordinating hats, and when they wear them together it’s almost too cute! The pattern is sized from babies all the way up to full grown men. The colour possibilities are truly endless, so have fun with it!</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408308104" title="IMG_0170 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0170" height="838" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3793/13408308104_faffe38995_c.jpg" width="560" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This hat has very quickly become my go-to baby gift pattern. The ear flaps, the pompom, the colour possibilities! It's such a fun knit. I also think that the fact that it comes in multiple sizes is pretty great. You can make a coordinating set for a father/son duo, or for a pair of siblings, heck, the whole family can wear matching Frosted Alpine hats if you want!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408067013" title="IMG_0179 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0179" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7073/13408067013_aa8b287312_c.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
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Chris and Rowan make a habit of posing for adorable photos in hats, see Rowan modelling his Frosted Alpine while it was still a WIP <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/11/golden-oak.html">here</a>. What can I say, we're hat people! </div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408077263" title="IMG_0307 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0307" height="838" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/13408077263_9659c21ae3_c.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-34904667028344277272014-03-31T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-31T08:00:02.110-04:00Keyfit Baby Blanket<div style="text-align: center;">
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Happy Monday everyone! So, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/03/lucky-penny-baby-collection.html">last week I announced</a> that the collection of patterns for baby boys that I've been working on for over a year now was finally finished and available for all to knit and enjoy! Well, this week I hope you'll indulge me in a little more in-depth chit chat about the four patterns that make up the Lucky Penny Baby collection. It is Rowan's first birthday on Friday, so I'm very much feeling the need to go through photos from the year and share some memories. And man, do I have a lot of photos of this kid and his knits. Let me tell ya! </div>
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All of the patterns featured in the collection are available for purchase individually, or as part of the collection. </div>
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Also - I designed these patterns with my son in mind and will frequently refer to them as "for baby boys" but don't for a second think that they wouldn't be just as awesome for little girls! They are totally unisex. </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407928865" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_7980 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7980" height="675" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2838/13407928865_ca52025087_c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Rowan was only 7 months old in this photo! He was so excited throughout this shoot. This shot was supposed to be just to test for light. I snapped about 8 photos of him displaying off the charts levels of enthusiasm. They are hilarious!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/keyfit-baby-blanket">Keyfit Baby Blanket</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/tanis-fiber-arts-2/204883"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">$5</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"><i>It is my experience that one can never, ever have too many baby blankets. I use them in the car seat, in the stroller, in the crib now that baby is older, as decoration over the back of a chair, as a peek-a-boo toy! You name it! Baby blankets are truly a labour of love and seeing as it is something that the baby will never outgrow, it is perfect heirloom knitting. A gift that the baby in your life will cherish forever. This bright, graphic design was inpired by the colour palette of my son’s nursery. It’s modern, crisp and fresh.</i></span><br />
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It seems appropriate to start "Rowan week" by featuring the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/keyfit-baby-blanket">Keyfit Baby Blanket</a> pattern since it was the first design that I completed for this collection over a year ago. This was one of those designs that came together very quickly. My mom and I sewed all the bedding for Rowan's nursery (more on all that fun <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/04/babys-room.html">here</a>) and when I picked out this fun polka dot chevron fabric for the bed skirt I loved it so much and found the colour palette so inspiring that I immediately played with my TFA colourways and put together a Palette to match. Which, incidentally, is now available as one of my <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/palettes.html">TFA Palette kits</a>!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/8454477102" title="IMG_3464 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3464" height="273" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8454477102_22cfc4ed87.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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I had been thinking about this particular triangle and diamonds graphic pattern for a while. I pinned an image on pinterest featuring this design ages ago. I couldn't get it out of my head and a baby blanket was the perfect place to use it. </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407930455" title="IMG_8000 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8000" height="314" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/13407930455_77c8e013a1.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">This blanket requires lots of seaming. The panels are knit first using intarsia, in big blocks of colour. You're only ever working with two colourways at a time. Don't let that scare you! A little bit of seaming is so worth it. Watching it all come together as you sew it together is all part of the fun. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408289134" title="IMG_8026 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8026" height="334" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3733/13408289134_582154b50b.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Rowan has lots of knit baby blankets, we love them all and they are all special, but this is the one that he wrapped himself up in and rolled around on my bed in, which resulted in me getting the above shot which is one of my favourites of all time, so to me, this blanket will always be a little extra special. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-83396273360980732382014-03-27T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-27T08:00:05.786-04:00Lucky Penny Baby Collection<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13433858143" title="Web by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="Web" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/13433858143_2cfa89925b_z.jpg" width="601" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/lucky-penny-baby"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Lucky Penny Baby Collection!</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/tanis-fiber-arts-2/204884"><img border="0" src="http://www.ravelry.com/images/shopping/buy-now.gif" /></a></div>
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$12</div>
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Well gang, I've been working on this collection of baby boy knits for over a year now. The first pattern I worked on was the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/keyfit-baby-blanket">Keyfit Baby Blanket</a>, I blogged about it being almost complete <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/02/baby-blanket-progress.html">last February</a>, more than a month before Rowan was born! Rowan will be 1 whole year old next Friday (boohoo, don't mention it!) so it's fair to say that this collection has taken me longer to wrap up than it took to make a baby. </div>
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Anyways, lets not dwell on that. It's out now and I love it! I guess the good thing about taking so long to get things organized is that I have had a full year to test out these designs with my own baby boy and I can now tell you, with total sincerity, that we have used and loved every single piece. This collection truly makes up Rowan's knit wardrobe staples. In my humble opinion as a mom, these are the classic, baby boy must haves. </div>
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I probably don't have to mention this, but I'll point it out anyways just in case anyone is on the fence about it, but this collection would obviously be perfect for a baby girl's wardrobe as well. I'm all about the little boys these days, but that's because he's all I know! But don't let all my talk of little fella's trick you into thinking that your little lady couldn't rock everyone of these pieces. </div>
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So, because I've spent an entire year fussing over these patterns I am going to give myself permission to stretch out the chatter about them for as long as possible! Haha. I mean one blog post would not be enough for me to get this out of my system. So today I'm just here to let you know that the collection is live and available for purchase, and next week I'll be back with all the details on each piece. Oh, and tons of baby photos, since next week is Rowan's birthday week. You've been warned!<br />
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Patterns are available individually, or sold together in the collection for a steal! </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408914583" title="IMG_0691 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0691" height="750" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2889/13408914583_f11e012408.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rr-hoodie"><b><span style="font-size: large;">R&R Hoodie</span></b></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13408120483" title="IMG_0587 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0587" height="750" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3720/13408120483_9051ae56e6.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/schoolboy-vest">Schoolboy Vest</a></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407956205" title="IMG_0185 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0185" height="750" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3821/13407956205_b626aae56a_c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frosted-alpine-hat">Frosted Alpine Hat</a></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407930455" title="IMG_8000 by Tanis Lavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8000" height="314" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/13407930455_77c8e013a1.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/keyfit-baby-blanket">Keyfit Baby Blanket</a></span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-22471362854632152872014-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-26T08:00:03.094-04:00Club - March 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246141683/" title="Causerie3 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="Causerie3" height="487" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3701/13246141683_d5f269fa2f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I think that many of us would agree that this has been possibly the longest and coldest winter of all time. In the past I've featured a more springy green colourway for March and have always mentioned something about "the promise of spring being just around the corner". This year, not so much. Spring is nowhere in sight. So, to totally rebel against the chill we've cooked up a fiery hot <i>Fiesta</i> orange shade for this months Club shipment. And added a dash of sparkle no less! Nothing can keep us down!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407996404/" title="IMG_8665 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8665" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7455/13407996404_c609c10664_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In classically awesome <a href="http://knittedbliss.com/">Julie</a> style she's designed two patterns to make the very most of every last yard of 1 skein of TFA Cosmic Blue Label yarn. The <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/causerie-hat-and-mitts">Causerie Hat and Mitts</a> set feature a beautiful ribbed cable. The fingerless mitts feature a really cool knitted on cuff (see how the cables go around the cuff? awesome right?) and in case you've never tried that particular technique before, Julie has made a <a href="http://knittedbliss.com/new-pattern-causerie-hat-fingerless-mitts/">great little video</a> to walk you through it step by step. </div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13407641495/" title="Causerie2.0 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="Causerie2.0" height="493" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/13407641495_409ff1daa2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/clubs.html" style="color: #1872b6; text-decoration: none;">Club memberships</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">are available all year long, it's never too late to sign up! Join now and you'll receive your <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014_01_01_archive.html">January skein</a> and March skein along with the next shipment of Club yarns in May. And don't forget! This year we're offering a "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/tfa-year-in-colour-club-2014" style="color: #1872b6; text-decoration: none;">patterns only</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">" option. So if you'd like to knit yourself the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/causerie-hat-and-mitts">Causerie Hat and Mitts set</a> with stash yarn</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, you totally can! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-49416981785845395062014-03-25T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-25T08:00:01.062-04:00TFA Tuesday - MediaPeruana's Warmbreeze family cardigans<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13390445533/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="warmbreeze1 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="warmbreeze1" height="608" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/13390445533_66e568542e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Top Tier Knitter: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/MediaPeruana">MediaPeruana</a><br />
Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/coolbreeze-cardigan">Coolbreeze Collection</a> by me!<br />
Yarn: TFA <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/Coolbreeze_kits.html">Warmbreeze Sweater Kit</a><br />
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I first spotted <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MediaPeruana/coolbreeze-cardigan">this lovely adult version</a> of my Coolbreeze Cardigan pattern (done in the Warmbreeze palette) and thought that it was so nice that I'd love to feature it in a TFA Tuesday blog post. Then I jumped over the MediaPeruana's Ravelry project page and saw that she has also <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MediaPeruana/coolbreeze-baby-cardigan">knit the wee version</a>! That made my day. A family of gorgeous gradient cardigans, what more could you want? Both her adult and her baby version are gorgeous and bring me back to the days when Rowan still fit in his Baby Coolbreeze. I think it's about time I knit him another so we can be twinsies again!</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13390444773/" title="warmbreeze2 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="warmbreeze2" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3805/13390444773_5c85016ca6_z.jpg" width="364" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13390498335/" title="warmbreeze3 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="warmbreeze3" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3743/13390498335_f509461801_z.jpg" width="438" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-50874390774776785732014-03-21T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-21T08:00:00.261-04:00Fashion Friday - knitted family layers<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246982224/" title="IMG_0393 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0393" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/13246982224_a26abf0ab6_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246981274/" title="IMG_0395 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0395" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/13246981274_3e7b8da782_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246794363/" title="IMG_0400 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3817/13246794363_f823822151_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13246795483/" title="IMG_0398 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0398" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/13246795483_32d803211a_z.jpg" height="517" width="640" /></a><br />
Featured Knits: My sweater - a vintage hand-me-down from my mom.<br />
Rowan's vest - Schoolboy Vest - pattern coming soon!<br />
Yarn: My sweater - awesome vintage Scottish wool.<br />
Rowan's vest - TFA Green Label Aran Weight in <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/ChrisGrey.html">Chris Grey</a>, <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/lemon.html">Lemongrass</a>, <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/seabreeze.html">Seabreeze</a> and <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/chest.html">Chestnut</a>.<br />
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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? </div>
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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 <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/12/merry-christmas.html">this one</a>, 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!</div>
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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. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-29744498051547982402014-03-19T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-19T08:00:05.875-04:00A pompom love tutorial <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172639334/" title="IMG_8589 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8589" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/13172639334_d8e720b143_z.jpg" height="500" width="500" /></a><br />
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Who doesn't love a big, glorious pompom!? Actually, they don't have to be big to be fabulous, small pompoms are very often just the thing to spruce up a baby knit, so I don't discriminate by size. I'll take my pompoms small, medium or large, thank you very much! As long as they are fluffy, they are fantastic in my books. So, what's my secret for gorgeous, super fluffy, super awesome pompoms every time? Check out this tutorial for all the details on how I pompom: </div>
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<i>(warning, I use "pompom" as a verb frequently in this tutorial, also, I use a lot of exclamation points, but how could you not when you're talking about pompoms!?)</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172468803/" title="pompom3 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="pompom3" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/13172468803_5be0a2cbd0_z.jpg" height="686" width="500" /></a><br />
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1 :: I use a pompom maker. Absolutely not a necessary tool, you can make perfect pompoms by wrapping the yarn around just your fingers or a piece of card board. But I have <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Bates-Easy-Wrap-Maker/dp/B0019KHGL6">this one</a> and I love it. It requires a lot less trimming and fussing and makes really lovely and round pompoms in a variety of sizes every time. If you love to pompom as much as I do, it's worth the couple bucks. </div>
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2 :: Simply follow the instructions, wrapping the yarn around the two halves of the pompom maker, then fitting them together, cutting your loops and tying it off in the center. For the tying off part I almost always enlist the help of another person, pompom making is made a lot easier if you have 4 hands! </div>
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When that's all done, voila! A very respectable pompom:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172483603/" title="IMG_8573 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8573" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3767/13172483603_5de66c1dc6_z.jpg" height="500" width="500" /></a><br />
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In the picture above, and in the picture below, the pompoms haven't had any extra trimming. See what I mean about how the pompom maker helps to minimize trimming? It's almost a perfect sphere as is. </div>
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3 :: Next is my secret step. The step that takes a "perfectly respectable" pompom over the top to pompom perfection! Soak the pompoms in lukewarm water until they are completely saturated. About 20 minutes. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172628944/" title="pompom2 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="pompom2" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3808/13172628944_7101c78753_z.jpg" height="670" width="500" /></a><br />
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4 :: When they are thoroughly soaked, squeeze them out, put them in a mesh dryer bag, and throw them in a hot dryer to tumble dry for 30 minutes or until they are completely dry. I really have to emphasize the mesh bag for this step, you know the kind that you might use to wash pantyhose and such? In case one of your pompoms doesn't make it through to the other side this will save you from having to pick out hundreds of little pieces of yarn from your dryer. You see that lovely Lemongrass pompom up there? Sadly, it didn't make it. In putting together this tutorial I experimented with Green Label, Yellow Label and Orange Label pompoms, the Orange Label did not hold together well. I'd recommend sticking with wool yarns for this method, the cashmere and silk in the Orange Label seem to make the pompom too slippery to hold up to the tumble drying. Even though Green Label and Yellow Label are superwash wool, which is much more slippery than non-superwash wool, it's got just enough stick to not give you any trouble in the dryer. This is also where that second pair of hands is useful, you can cinch the pompoms much tighter with a little bit of help.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172363455/" title="pompom1 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="pompom1" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/13172363455_f3d44c0d48_z.jpg" height="282" width="500" /></a><br />
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On the left in the above image is the pre-tumble dried pompom, and on the right is one fresh out of the dryer. Big difference right? It just looks so much fluffier and full of life. The dryer takes all those snipped ends of yarn and separates the plies to give you a really healthy looking pompom. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13172636694/" title="IMG_8603 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8603" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2871/13172636694_eaeed09e75_z.jpg" height="750" width="500" /></a><br />
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So there you have it. My pompom secrets revealed! I Hope you'll give this method a try the next time you've got a knit that needs a bit of embellishment. Happy pompom Wednesday everyone!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-47967486980200623442014-03-18T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-18T08:00:12.957-04:00TFA Tuesday - MrsEaves' Woodhollow <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13171104394/" title="woodhollow3 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="woodhollow3" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3782/13171104394_1e9f522c4e_z.jpg" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />
Top Tier Knitter: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/MrsEaves">MrsEaves</a><br />
Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wood-hollow-hat">Woodhollow</a> Hat and Mitts by Kirsten Kapur.<br />
Yarn: TFA Green Label Aran Weight in <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/ChrisGrey.html">Chris Grey</a>.<br />
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This set makes me want to stop everything I'm working on and knit an awesome pair of cabled mitts with a coordinating hat. The pattern is so pretty and simple and crisp and perfect. This is the sort of pattern that would look great in any colour and could certainly add a pop of colour to a dull winters wardrobe if worked in a brighter hue, but I am so in love with the subtle, modern, laid back feel of this set in Chris Grey. So chic. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13171104994/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="woodhollow1 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="woodhollow1" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/13171104994_c4b47921c9_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oh, and the pom-pom doesn't hurt either! Just look at that shot. Sheer hat knitting perfection!</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13171104594/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="woodhollow2 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="woodhollow2" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2520/13171104594_3a7e0f162d_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-32879987640310269432014-03-17T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-17T08:00:03.532-04:00Moodboard Monday - Mallard<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13178224323/" title="mallardpinsperation by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="mallardpinsperation" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/13178224323_8c9dd6592a_z.jpg" height="695" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">top to bottom, left to right: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/270990102552530185/">mallard</a>, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/mallard.html">TFA Green Label</a>, <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/270990102552530167/">earrings</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/tanisfiberarts/embossed-leaves">TFA embossed leaves socks</a>, <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/270990102552530155/">glass</a>, <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/270990102547673251/">tree</a>, <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/270990102547673340/">bobbins</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/mallard.html">Mallard:</a></span></div>
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A rich, jewel toned green. Shining bits of blue peeking through. Cool, calm, beautiful. Pairs wonderfully with gold, cobalt and plum.</div>
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Check out loads of gorgeous Mallard projects <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/brands/tanis-fiber-arts/projects?search=mallard">here</a>. </div>
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Happy St-Patricks day! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-29463539473370885582014-03-12T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-12T08:00:11.553-04:00Frolic Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
Calling this post "Frolic Update" is kind of unfair because it gives the impression that there is some sort of exciting update about to be revealed. I just couldn't bring myself to call this post what it's really all about... "No Frolic for me". Sad face. </div>
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I feel terrible admitting defeat, I had every intention of packing up the family and driving to Toronto for the weekend, but as the months went by and the Frolic inched closer and closer I knew I was lying to myself. It's just too much for us at the moment. I feel like I say that a lot lately. Doing wholesale at the scale that we used to is too much, doing shows is too much... Why is it so hard to know our limits and just say no sometimes!? Because we want to do it all, right? </div>
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Well, I just can't. I've accepted it and am actually feeling really good about it. I mentioned <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/02/inspired-by-wahm.html">in this post</a> a few weeks back that things with TFA haven't always gone exactly as I had planned, but that the way they've ended up is definitely the way they should be. And I stand by that. I used to think that I could do a little bit of everything, but that has not worked for me. It's all good though, in learning what works and what doesn't work, what we love to do and what feels like too much effort, we've been able to streamline where we focus our attentions and we are all the better for it! And I really mean that. I think that we are producing higher quality colourways and patterns these days, and when that happens, everybody wins!</div>
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Instead of being completely bogged down by overwhelming tasks we're being realistic about what we can manage and are focussing on doing fewer things, better. </div>
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So though I won't see you at the Frolic this year, I am still cooking up a plan to have some new TFA available for you there. The <a href="http://thepurplepurl.com/">Purple Purl</a> will have new TFA offerings in their booth, so you'll still have a chance to get your recommended dose via them! </div>
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And one last update for this morning:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13090549593/" title="crazyhat by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="crazyhat" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2315/13090549593_9c44c09500_z.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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This child is growing way too fast. The photo on the left was taken less than a month ago when Rowan still fit in his adorable little hat. I've knit another in a size larger so I could get some good pattern shots and get this pattern published already. Rowan has decided that he's so over being a baby model. Instead he's a baby rebel who will do whatever it takes to make photographing him in focus nearly impossible.<br />
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Oh boy do I love that face! Excuse me while I go kiss those cheeks. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-67086568823018348232014-03-10T08:00:00.000-04:002014-03-10T08:00:08.408-04:00Marathon Quiltathon<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13035857174/" title="IMG_0288 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0288" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/13035857174_5b201f08df_z.jpg" height="441" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13035463445/" title="IMG_0293 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0293" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/13035463445_ff99f3756d_z.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/02/inspired-by-wahm.html">Last week</a> I posted a photo of a stack of fabrics that were destined to become a Colour Dive Quilt. (I bought the kit <a href="http://store.annamariahorner.com/colordivekit.html">here</a>.) And then Saturday I spent a solid 12 hours cutting, sewing, pressing, organizing and then sewing and pressing some more until I had the better part of a quilt top complete. Man, what a day! </div>
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A few things you may not have known about me:</div>
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1) I like to sew almost as much as I like to knit. I'm scared of sewing machines, but my mom is a real pro, so with her handy to help if something goes wrong, I am in heaven. In terms of sewing I prefer quilts, bags, stuff doesn't have to fit. :) Incidentally, one of my favourite sewing projects to date is a <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2009/05/multitasker-tote.html">Multitasker Tote</a> that I made a few years back, also with an Anna Maria Horner pattern and fabrics. AMH is my girl!</div>
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2) I am a tad insane when it comes to my crafting stamina. I worked on this quilt, only stopping to feed the baby, feed myself, or go to the bathroom, from 8:30 am until 8:30 pm. I could have worked longer, but alas, I think that 12 hours of baby-neglect is probably enough for one day. Rest assured, Rowan was in very good hands with Chris, my mom and my sister taking care of him, so it wasn't total neglect. </div>
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One more marathon session and I'll have this quilt top complete. I am so crazy for the colours and the prints. The way that they come together is magical. </div>
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What did you all do this weekend? Any crazy craft-a-holics like me out there?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-57335509114185831142014-03-08T07:59:00.006-05:002014-03-08T07:59:38.472-05:00Piles of yarn<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/13009083664/" title="IMG_0279 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0279" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3154/13009083664_cb152a278f_z.jpg" height="465" width="640" /></a><br />
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When a baby is born, the knitting plans begin! There is a new baby boy in my extended family, so I'd better get busy! I hope to turn these piles of yarn into a small pile of knits this week. </div>
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Happy Saturday! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-71274334392011701612014-03-05T10:03:00.002-05:002014-03-05T10:03:18.094-05:00WIP Wednesday - for Chris<div style="text-align: center;">
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Good morning everyone! Thanks so much for all the support and enthusiasm you've been showing with this weeks <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pattern-sale.html">pattern sale</a>! Who doesn't love a sale right? The shawl that was pictured in Monday's post is already being test knit and I hope to have the pattern ready to roll out next month. So glad you like it!</div>
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So, this week seems to be the week I cast on for a new project every night... I started a pair of socks on Monday night and then a sweater last night and am seriously considering starting another wee sweater tonight because honestly, Rowan is growing just way too fast and I have a few skeins of Green Label Tartan lingering that would make an awesome little hoodie. So... yup, I've decided, another new sweater will be cast on before the day is done. It's a good week for starting fresh!</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/12949399115/" title="IMG_0272 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0272" height="427" src="https://v4s2.yimg.com/so/7393/12949399115_a501bc9978_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I haven't knit a new sweater for Chris in ages. And that's a real shame because he is the best person to knit for. He wears his knit items with pride extremely regularly. He is more than knit-worthy. He's still rockin' a hideous (but sweet in it's naivety) sweater that I knit for him back when we were dating. It's huge and made out of acrylic yarn, but it has hearts on the sleeves and he likes it. I've been wearing my <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2014/01/fashion-friday-reverb.html">Reverb</a> a lot lately, it's shocking how that golden <a href="http://brooklyntweed.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1">Hayloft</a> colourway goes with everything (who knew?) and every single time I throw it on Chris comments on how much he likes it. Last night, I'm in my Reverb, thrown on over jeans and a crazy pink plaid shirt and Chris says: "You look great tonight Tan." And then I realized, it's the sweater! Because let's be honest, I did not look great. He's obsessed with Reverb. So I asked if he would wear a Reverb of his own and he very enthusiastically gave me a "hell yeah!" So, there ya go, how could I say no? I dug through the stash, because I was pretty sure that I had a sweaters quantity of this really awesome rustic wooly wool that would be perfect for his sweater. I found the yarn, a few skeins had already been balled up and ready to go, and cast on immediately! I will be making a few mods to account for gauge, but I'll fill you in on those details when I figure them out myself. The yarn is from my favourite Nova Scotia sheep farm <a href="http://www.lismoresheepfarmwoolshop.com/">Lismore Sheep Farm</a>. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/12949522713/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0274 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0274" height="640" src="https://v4s2.yimg.com/sk/3771/12949522713_10ae7a9c98_z.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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Ok, so then there is this pair of socks. Knit in the Burberry colourway of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/turtlepurl?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Turtlepurl</a> striped turtle toes yarn. I'm knitting them bottom up since the yarn comes in two matching skeins so I'll knit each skein until I run out of yarn maximizing each and every yard. I bought this colourway with Chris in mind, thinking that he would love some classy Burberry inspired socks, but he's not showing me the love that I expected him to for this project... so they may end up going to someone else. I'm loving them however, hand dyed, self-striping yarns blow my mind. So beautiful, so labour intensive, I couldn't do it. </div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/12949524893/" title="IMG_0263 by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0263" height="427" src="https://v4s2.yimg.com/so/7435/12949524893_6ca380f10a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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And to end off this morning's post. Here is a picture of two skeins of Cosmic Blue Label <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/Frost.html">Frost</a> that I snapped yesterday afternoon. I was packing up orders and shipping them out, I had a pile of yarn on my desk and these two skeins were glowing in the afternoon sun. They looked angelic! This photo doesn't really capture the moment as well as I had hoped, but trust me, <a href="http://www.tanisfiberarts.com/c_pages/Frost.html">Frost</a> in Cosmic Blue Label is amazing. </div>
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That's it for me, happy hump day! <b><i>What have you cast on this week? </i></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-80943415779263801582014-03-03T10:58:00.000-05:002014-03-03T10:58:52.936-05:00Pattern sale!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/12906100693/" title="New colour, new pattern, new yarn, new shawl! Details coming... Soon-ish. Love this one. Think you will too. by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="New colour, new pattern, new yarn, new shawl! Details coming... Soon-ish. Love this one. Think you will too." height="500" src="https://v4s2.yimg.com/sk/3714/12906100693_44145bf33c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I woke up this morning excited about patterns and decided that it was high time I explore more of the wonderful features Ravelry has to offer and am running a <b><i>15% off sale all week</i></b>! on all of my patterns in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/stores/tanis-fiber-arts-2">my Ravelry pattern store</a>. The only thing this does not apply to is the Patterns Only 2014 Club membership. </div>
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Use the coupon code: </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">'<b>March2014</b>' </span></div>
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at checkout and the discount will automatically be applied! </div>
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Happy shopping!</div>
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Sale ends next Monday, March 10th at midnight.</div>
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So, this very fun news is followed by some less exciting news... once this sale is over I will be raising the price of a couple of my patterns. Specifically <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/11/bract-hat-pattern.html">Bract</a>, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2013/11/brixter-hat-pattern.html">Brixter</a>, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2011/12/cabled-canuck-and-windward-hat-patterns.html">Cabled Canuck</a>, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2011/12/cabled-canuck-and-windward-hat-patterns.html">Windward</a>, <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2011/10/fairview-scarf-pattern.html">Fairview</a> and <a href="http://tanisfiberarts.blogspot.ca/2012/07/smooth-sailing.html">Smooth Sailing</a>. These patterns are all currently priced at $4 (plus 15% off this week!) and will go up to $5 each as of next Tuesday. </div>
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That lovely photo above? Oh, just a little eye candy for you to feast your eyes on on this chilly Monday morning. A new design I'm working on, in a new colourway (aurora) and a new yarn (amber label) newly blocked... new new new! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-71300936678136237272014-02-28T08:00:00.000-05:002014-02-28T08:00:10.687-05:00Inspired by: WAHM<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanisfiberarts/12821397553/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gorgeous stacks of fabric that will become a #colordivequilt. I love it so! @annamariahorner thanks so much for making such amazing fabrics! #colordivequiltkit by tanislavallee, on Flickr"><img alt="Gorgeous stacks of fabric that will become a #colordivequilt. I love it so! @annamariahorner thanks so much for making such amazing fabrics! #colordivequiltkit" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/12821397553_134521ee4f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Colour Dive Quilt Kit from Anna Maria Horner, the WAHM extraordinaire!</td></tr>
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WAHM = work at home moms. </div>
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For the past (almost) eleven months I have felt a little bit alone in my position as a work at home mom. I know a lot of stay at home moms or working moms who are on mat-leave for the first little while and then go back to work. We all juggle our lives as moms, wives and career women. But as a work at home mom I've been feeling a little isolated, like I couldn't really relate to the moms I know because no one shared my specific set of circumstances. </div>
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Then I saw <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.ca/search/label/juggling%20work%20and%20motherhood">this series</a> that one of my favourite blogs, A Cup Of Jo did a few years back. Scroll to the bottom and there are 8 interviews with work from home moms that I found really inspiring. The irony of the whole situation is that it took me the better part of a day to string together enough minutes to read the interviews. I was constantly being pulled away by work or life. Ha! Balance. The unattainable dream! After tucking Rowan into bed last night I finished reading the interviews and then chatted with Chris about how I think we can improve our work/life management and I'm feeling really good about it. I think carving out a bit of time once in a while to reflect upon your situation and find ways to make small changes that will hopefully make life more organized is really important. We've set new goals for ourselves, now lets see if we can stick to them!</div>
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Another blog post I read recently that really struck a chord was <a href="http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/02/on-changing-dreams.html">this one</a> over on A Beautiful Mess about changing dreams. It highlights the importance of making plans, dreaming big, but then going with the flow. Following your path, even if it takes you places you didn't know you wanted to go. I feel like running TFA has had a lot of "changing dreams" moments. When I started TFA over 6 years ago I had one vision for my business, as time passed, life changed and our strengths and weaknesses became more clear to me things haven't always gone the way I thought I wanted them to. And I'm totally ok with that because I think that we're ending up exactly where we're supposed to be. </div>
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And while I'm randomly chatting about work, motherhood, dreams and life, I've got to mention that stack of fabric pictured above. It's a <a href="http://store.annamariahorner.com/colordivekit.html">Colour Dive Quilt Kit</a> designed by Anna Maria Horner (the quilt pattern and all the fabrics) and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into it! Anna Maria Horner is an amazing textile designer who's aesthetic is so different from mine, but is still somehow so incredibly appealing to me. You know I love a good rainbow gradient, so there is just no way I could pass up this quilt kit. Anna Maria happens to be a mother of 7, her youngest just a few weeks younger than Rowan. If I'm not mistaken, she also works from home, and though I don't know her, just reading her blog and following her on instagram I really get the impression that I could learn a lot from her about balancing work and life with a busy family (her's being 7 times busier than mine!) </div>
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Wishing everyone a very happy weekend. I've got two boys at home (ok, one baby and one man) who are both feeling a little under the weather so I think we'll be spending a good deal of it drinking tea and taking long naps. Doesn't that sound nice? We'll see what Rowan has to say about that. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03589871519332459097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395228938465899221.post-5315181306733438482014-02-27T08:00:00.000-05:002014-02-27T08:00:00.538-05:00Julie's Notebook: Team Tanis Ravellenic Games <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNt6PKrTTou6PPoFWmQLW1uYpFsubiMIWYMSqBjOx5w_b4dyXf9lckvm55PfU3QbVir5oNjUTGFMifPLu-HSC0PWUei79eGEJuXhuDk9nUGm5A7jJ435k3olOlU1VysB7pUoXlKscls8/s1600/team+colours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNt6PKrTTou6PPoFWmQLW1uYpFsubiMIWYMSqBjOx5w_b4dyXf9lckvm55PfU3QbVir5oNjUTGFMifPLu-HSC0PWUei79eGEJuXhuDk9nUGm5A7jJ435k3olOlU1VysB7pUoXlKscls8/s1600/team+colours.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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During the Winter Olympic Games, there is a very fun knit-along called the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/ravellenic-winter-games-2014">Ravellenic Games</a>- 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 <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tanis-fiber-arts">Tanis Fiber Arts Ravelry Group</a>- here are all our winning Golds from Team Tanis 2014:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsoG4-WAYPVCjcQfHKfdKqWuuvdz95-ffh6BJG2X81gvUH8zEdtdjzwcTUWNb7efd5d4PmpOAhQ_1QW4GaDKNBfT-G1RSMGvoHcpl2ZniDhvyRAcInuQu_vrpOGyw9I8Viwjp0v9YEyU/s1600/TFA+Collage+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsoG4-WAYPVCjcQfHKfdKqWuuvdz95-ffh6BJG2X81gvUH8zEdtdjzwcTUWNb7efd5d4PmpOAhQ_1QW4GaDKNBfT-G1RSMGvoHcpl2ZniDhvyRAcInuQu_vrpOGyw9I8Viwjp0v9YEyU/s1600/TFA+Collage+1.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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From left to right, Row 1: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mrsmommy/french-cancan">mrsmommy's French Can Can</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/DishClothDiva1/chelsea-market-hat">DishclothDiva1's Sunny and -35</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Hockeyfleck/coast-starlight-shawl">Hockeyfleck's Ravellenics Coast Starlight</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JamieLynn16/fiddlehead-mittens-6">JamieLynn16's Bonnie's Olympic Fiddlehead Mittens</a>. Row 2: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/highlights/groovy-lace-or-sock-weight-3"> highlight's Ravellenic Games</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Baileycat0/snowfling-mitts">Baileycat0's Ravellenic Games Project</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KarenLC/butterflies-are-free">KarenLC's Butterflies Boot Cuffs</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/PamDKnits/coolbreeze-baby-hat">PamDKnits' C's hat</a>. Row 3: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/janejetson1/sencha-scarf">janejetson1's Sencha Scarf</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sixblueirises/onerva"> sixblueirises's Onerva</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/cccaitie/irisa-cowl">cccaitie's Irisa Cowl</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/somewickedgirl/cavalcade-socks"> somewickedgirl's Cavalcade Socks</a>. Row 4: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LiaIrene/suncrest">LiaIrene's Sugarplum Suncrest</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/wkelly123/snowfling-mitts-2">wkelly123's Snowfling Mitts 2</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JamieLynn16/puerperium-cardigan-2">JamieLynn16's Ravellenics Puerperium Cardigan</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/debbieknits5000/fiddlehead-mittens-4">debbieknits5000's Iris Fiddlehead</a>s. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXi0wsAUYuF7-gxp32kIotyg66gX2RZsRu7FZ5jmktIn4u8B797kgVrrRF0SiuUWxv1ZykU9O8knnETgjAraEY-37gIhEvbBxkGeBNFDteMgYBcEnO3hCJ9rcynhD1itmjccH0J4f8KA/s1600/TFA+Collage+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYXi0wsAUYuF7-gxp32kIotyg66gX2RZsRu7FZ5jmktIn4u8B797kgVrrRF0SiuUWxv1ZykU9O8knnETgjAraEY-37gIhEvbBxkGeBNFDteMgYBcEnO3hCJ9rcynhD1itmjccH0J4f8KA/s1600/TFA+Collage+2.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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From left to right, Row 1: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pugs12/sproutlette-dress">pugs12's Ravellenic Winter Games</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/PamDKnits/thrummed-mittens">PamDKnits Pam's Mittens</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Prairie-Knitter/millwater">Prairie-Knitter Ravellenics Millwate</a>r, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarnlaw/riverbank">yarnlaw's Riverbank</a>. Row 2: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bubbly-one/french-cancan">bubbly-one's French CanCan</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Quellefille/rosewater">Quellefille's Rosewater</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/freddygirl/stripe-study-shawl">freddygirl's stripe study</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JamieLynn16/puerperium-cardigan">JamieLynn16's Ravellenic Games Baby Kit</a>. Row 3:<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/freddygirl/knotted-pine"> freddygirl's knotted pine</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/woolercoaster/snowfling-mitts">woolercoaster's Olympic Snowfling Mittens</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/BarbLLKnits/charlotte-st-cowl">BarbLLKnits Charlotte St Cowl in Canyon</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/somewickedgirl/song-of-the-sea">somewickedgirl's Mallard's Song of the Sea</a>. Row 4: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Petitethings/cabled-canuck">Petitethings Cabled Canuck</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/YarnAndYarns/ogiku">YarnAndYarns Hat Halfpipe: Ogiku</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/missagnes/pemba">missagnes Pemba Headband</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KarenLC/nymphalidea">KarenLC's My Nymphalidea</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NcQLm2I8meNvGa-VqtreARztcV-Qg__dTEYCvpsE0eB2EptXMahJxkVkMrjM4EY2VMXIpY6DS5GjeDFyABSHdDgOgiizqNe-ZymCg25CxFi-JJ0yxSXUBr6yyEwsl02kSQHE7BHM94o/s1600/TFA+Collage+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NcQLm2I8meNvGa-VqtreARztcV-Qg__dTEYCvpsE0eB2EptXMahJxkVkMrjM4EY2VMXIpY6DS5GjeDFyABSHdDgOgiizqNe-ZymCg25CxFi-JJ0yxSXUBr6yyEwsl02kSQHE7BHM94o/s1600/TFA+Collage+3.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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From left to right, Row 1: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/freddygirl/kore-cardi"> freddygirl's kore</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/arlenemarie/kveta-hat">arlenemarie's Peyton Likes Flowers</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/seeyouat5/sproutlette-dress-2">seeyouat5's A Mint One</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Prairie-Knitter/cabled-canuck"> Prairie-Knitter's Cabled Canuck</a>. Row 2: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Quellefille/iron-maiden">Quellefille's Iron Maiden</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Quellefille/stovetop">Quellefille's Go for Golden Clover</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/RoseHiver/touch-tone-socks"> RoseHiver's Touch-Tone Socks</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bethhunt/hitchhiker"> bethhunt's Hitchiker</a>. Row 3: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mgpetitelady/cabled-canuck">mgpetitelady's Shetland Cabled Canuck</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaryKnits7/swizzle"> MaryKnits7's Pink Grapefruit Swizzle</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JamieLynn16/gramps">JamieLynn16's Ravellenic Games Franco Gramps</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/seeyouat5/sproutlette-dress"> seeyouat5's A blue one</a>. Row 4: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knursekettle/pink-grapefruit-cowl">knursekettle's San Francisco</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Huntersma/iris-hat-and-cowl">Huntersma's Ravellenics 2014 Hat</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Quellefille/cream-and-sugar-cowl">Quellefille's Cream and Sugar Cowl</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Quellefille/framed-slouch">Quellefille's Framed Slouch</a>. </div>
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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. </div>
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