Friday, November 26, 2010

Indie Designer Day

PhotobucketDesigner: Mechthild Flottemesch
Blog: Wolle und mehr...
Rav ID: Mecky
Some Great Designs: Mecky's Rav Designer Page

There's been a number of cute cowl-esque pieces I've noted as of late, and Mecky's Loop Cora (pictured right) is a great example of this delightful trend. If you've got the spare hank or two of aran-bulky yarn kicking about, this is a great style to create - functional and adorable.

Her Braune Corsofino Jacke is a lovely, classic-looking piece. I can see this cardigan worn with a fab belt (and for those of you who sport the tights) this would be a great complement to that fashion.

Finally, I'll point out her Pinke Corsofino Jacke. The play of lace and texture in this design keeps the basic cardigan from being anything but basic!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Happy Synapse

PhotobucketI made a joyous jaunt to my LYS yesterday afternoon.
It was one of those dreary grey days, rainy falling in mists and drizzles.

To clarify: a perfect yarn purchasing day.

I'm a chromaphile, and so I'm sure it's no surprise to ya'll that I have a supercrush on madelinetosh.
And madelinetosh I did purchase - in droves.
It really was something to restrain myself from purchasing every hank, because really, she has such an eye for rich, beautiful colour. The very sort of gem-like tone-on-tone that makes my heart go thumpity-thump.1

Apparently, the human eye can distinguish around 10 million different colours. In this, my love letter to madelinetosh yarn, I do declare that she's a genius with these 10 million options.

So, on to a question:

I purchased, amongst others, one hank of Merino Light in Posy. With 402 metres in fingering weight, I wonder, what would you make?

My preferred pattern parameters include, but are not restricted to: lace, accessory and something non-triangular. (Those lovely three-sided throat warmers are always so gorgeous, but I've come to the sad realization that they're one of those knits I never wear.)

I'm digging the idea of knitting someone else's pattern right now. I've been in designing territory for a few weeks now, and need a bit of a breather.
________
1 It appears I also have a supercrush on the multipurpose punctuational functionality of the dash today.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Indie Designer Day

PhotobucketDesigner: Lily Go
Blog: LilyGo
Rav ID: lprajogo
Some Great Designs: lprajogo's Rav Designer Page

I have dabbled in crochet. Generally, I found it didn't suit my style.
But every once in a while I stumble across a pattern that makes my hook hesitancy waver.

See lprajogo's Gathering Leaves, pictured right.
Her description:
"Gathering Leaves shawl is crocheted from the top down and starts with an easy leave motifs that repeats every 10 rows. Then from small leaves the pattern morph seamlessly into bigger leaves and ended with a beautiful tulip motifs."

She proves herself adept at lace knitting as well, with the beautiful Bella Shawl and more recently released Metropolitan Shawl. With Monsieur Hiver breezing in, I'm really getting the itch to whip up some warm and wonderful winter accessories!

And, just to give you a taste of a non-shawly design, check out her Sage Cardigan. Prettily classic, this cardi has the perfect amount of lace, texture, and a very cool collar!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Le Road Trip

Road Trip - on blog

I bought me a cute little orange Pontiac Pursuit this summer;1 I never thought I'd be a car person, but here we are.

Ever since he drove on into my life, I've been itching to get a road trip under my belt.

And lo, this weekend, I did.

Up to Montréal did a friend and I go, and reams of fun were had.

Excellent food was eaten, beautiful artwork was seen, and impressive churches were visited.

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Notre-Dame

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Me in Vieux-Montréal.

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Possibly my favourite sign. Ever.

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Bird ring from Simons, a Québec department store.

We had dinner Sunday night at O.Noir. Very, very cool. Here's a description of the experience:

Already the rage in Europe, Australia, L.A and New York, now O.NOIR - Canada's first-ever restaurant that invites you to experience food, drink and conversation like never before IN THE DARK!
"It's a sensual dining experience like no other"! says O.NOIR General Manager Moe Alameddine. "When you eat without your sight, your remaining senses are heightened to savour the smell and taste of food. Even simple, everyday dishes like potatoes or plain yoghurt take on a culinary flare".

You can choose your dinner and dessert from a menu, but you can also choose to have a surprise dish. I was feeling brave that evening, and opted for the mystery. It ended up being a tasty pasta with smoked salmon. And tiramisu. Yum.

As you may have noticed, I'm distracting you, dear readers, from any knitting content. Rest assured the wheels are turning. It's just an awful lot of secret knitting.

Restez à l'écoute!2

1 Since I'm weird this way, I had to name my car. He's Palfrey. But I also refer to him fondly as the Orange Beast.

2 En Anglais, "stay tuned".

Friday, November 12, 2010

Indie Designer Day

PhotobucketDesigner: Beth Hahn
Blog: Willow Rosa Knits
Rav ID: willowrosa
Some Great Designs: willowrosa's Rav Designer Page

Soft, flowing fabrics and muted, gentle colours recall an historical aesthetic in the designs of willowrosa.

Her recently released edition in the Miss Flitt Series debuted on October 23, and includes the beauty pictured right, The Ether Overskirt. This is the third part of the Miss Flitt Series, wherein willowrosa lets her historic vibe dance in accompaniment with her elegant and ethereal original artwork images.

I don't think I have to explain why I'm viscerally attracted to this design; it hits up all my favourite knitting elements. Historic? Check. Unique? Check. Awesomesauce lace? Check. Ribbon? Check!!

I'd also like to point out a couple of her patterns from the first part in the Miss Flitt series, The Strange Case of the Magician’s Cabinet.

First is the Annabel Lee Neck Cozy. This sweet little design is functional and fabulous. This designer's attention to detail and thoughtfulness in her unique combination of visual art, narrative, knit pattern and backstory create truly rich compositions that may very well hinder on a Kandinsky-esque Gesamtkünstwerk1.

Second, see her Amith Capelet. I think my favourite aspect of this design is the adorable "flop" the collar does at the back.

And, more about the Miss Flitt Series, straight from the designer:
It's a serialized mystery with character-based patterns, and...
"I’m busy putting the final touches on my four-part 19th c. illustrated mystery with knitting patterns, The Adventures of Miss Flitt: The Strange Case of the Magician’s Cabinet. You can read all about it here: http://www.missflitt.com" .

1Check out a definition here.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Indie Designer Day

PhotobucketDesigner: Holly Chayes
Blog: Crafting Keeps Us Sane
Rav ID: Neme
Some Great Designs: Neme's Rav Designer Page

I love a good lace story.
Neme is great at creating these, with her artistically-titled A Study in Grey (pictured). Grey is the perfect complement to this light, airy, and classically simple shawl. The neutrality of this shade allows the all-over texture to shine.

Study in Grey inspired this sweet baby blanket, Baby's Magic Blankie. I'm mentioning it in particular to point out the interesting shift in appearance and aesthetic when different colour approaches are taken with the same (or, very similar) patterns. Of course, we can all see that the playfulness of the baby blanket colours make it more kid-oriented, but the rows of stripes also create a playful movement to the piece, as well.

And, in a great combination of lace and colourwork, there is Neme's recently published
Birds of a Feather Tam. As you can imagine, I love me this hat. The little feather detail works terrifically with the burst of lace at the crown.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Have You Ever Eaten A Corpse?

PhotobucketDue to the assuredly few of us who are

a) cannibals
b) zombies
c) vultures
or
d) chimera, and various other mythical beasts

I thought making a corpse that was delicious, as well as just a little cute, would be a great endeavour for a recent Halloween party.

They went over as a hit. I was so happy!

Here you see the wee sugar cookie corpses, pre-assembly
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And here you see them, in their piled-up corpsey glory
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All I did was take a basic sugar cookie recipe (subbing in icing sugar for plain old white sugar) and used a straw to "stab" them in the teeny cookie chest.
I used only the smallest dab of strawberry jam to hold them together. With the added bonus, of course, that they look like they're bleeeeeding!
Their little dead faces are just royal icing, a combo of neon blue and neon red to create this sort of... muted purple. In my dreams, they would have had black x's and squiggly mouths, but on a short time frame, I didn't find any black food colouring.
Anyone ever seen any? I'm not sure it exists...