<<facebook event link:
<<http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2335023130

To all Toronto Makers & Craft enthusiasts:

You are invited to CraftChat T.O., an informal gathering of people interested in talking about the state of craft, design and DIY culture in Toronto & beyond. Consider this to be a stitch n bitch of the mind…though feel free to bring stuff to keep your hands busy, of course.

This call to gather was inspired by a recent trip by Becky ( Good Catch Craft Fairs, The Sweetie Pie Press ), Jen ( Toronto Craft Alert) & Leah ( Church of Craft, Coldsnap Bindery) to Pittsburgh for Craft Congress 2007, a meeting of crafty minds from North America & Britain (read more about it here). One really interesting thing that came up was how the craft scene/community/culture differs so much from place to place, in terms of people's motivations for participating, how it is perceived by the larger community, and on many other levels. Which begs the question, what's up with craft in T.O.???? What are we doing here, why are we doing it, are we doing it differently than others, could we be doing it better, could we be having more fun, and who is this 'we', anyhow?

Also, we will have materials on hand from the Craft Congress & will be happy to answer any questions about that gathering as well.

If you'd like to participate in CraftChat T.O. (or come hang out & eavesdrop), taking place on Sunday May 27th at 2pm, please RSVP to torontocraftalert@gmail.co

m by May 18th . Once we've got an idea of how many people want to attend, we'll announce the venue.

Looking forward to this,

Becky, Leah & Jen

On the Needles May 6, 2007

I've been working on summer designs for the store lately. I guess books #1 & 2 are on the backburner for the next few weeks and it seems book #3 is nascent. i'm kinda cutting my teeth with store stuff with a simple aesthetic, great shaping and reasonable execution. I'll tell you an anecdote some time about designing for clients, it's a long, dry architectural history ramble.

I've been taking a break from this surplice top in Needful Geranium because it was annoying me (not it per-se, just the designing). I needed a vacation, but i'm back at it this weekend, finishing the arms. It doesn't have a name yet, i'll have to think about it.

Gaia
While avoiding the Geranium surplice i sorta tumbled into a silk tank-top. It was innocent, i swear i wasn't cheating. I started knitting a Handmaiden Silk Vee, but you know me, I'm never happy with the way things are, so i started re-working it. I also already had some Silk Spun in the store so i paired them off and started experimenting with alternating balls of similar but different coloured yarns. you tell me how it works. well, i think it's working well, and this was the pair that was the most dissimilar. gives the colour some depth, and of course prevents the colour from pooling. Right at this moment i'm ripping back a few rows because i decreased when i should've increased. dumb haley.

Knitting & Crochet Pattern A Day Calendar Design Contest

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2. Get a FREE copy of the calendar to which you submit your design. (Submit to both, get TWO calendars!)

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6. The biggest reason of all...WIN UP TO $1000! Click here for more details.
   

If you would like to showcase your knitting or crochet designs in the 2009 edition of Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar™ and/or Crochet Pattern-a-Day Calendar™, please click here and submit the form to us before December 15, 2007 or email us at submissions@knittingpatternaday.com and we'll review your design and image for inclusion in the calendars.

Take this opportunity to get your designs in the hands of knitting and crochet enthusiasts around the world!

Friday Freebies



Baby Beanie

Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties by Stephanie Japel

Vintage Style Lace & Bobbles Cardigan

Lace Wrap Summer Cardi

Crochet Shawl

Crochet hat

Girl's Bolero-Cardi

Jacket (see pic Above )


How to knit a JUMBO CABLE

Sharing



I found bliss last night and I have to share! This thing from clover is fan-fucking-tastic! If it was a kitchen gadget it would be like one of those really great flat head vegetable peelers no kitchen should be without.

One of these things is a lot like the other


Knit Simple Spring 2007 Vogue Knitting Spring 2006

Needle Update!
i'm sorry the needle update has been neglected! i promise that i've been occupied with very legitimate activities like the big sale, merchandising spring yarns, updating my facebook status ... ;-) seriously, i have been working very hard on the needles and so has liane (well, she never stops, i'm not sure if that counts).



1. the raglan from scratch, version 1.2
i guess i can't call it 'betty crocker', hee-hee! i had to make another version to work out the kinks, so i test drove the misti cotton in brown. i know it doesn't look like much (it isn't supposed to, i intended it to be a very simple, easy garment to make and wear) but it's been a ton of work. all totally worth it though, the fit is FANTASTIC! i put a lot of work into that, a great fit is really important to me in a garment.



2. swatches for projects future
Pluto models swatches from left to right: Twilleys Cotton Denim for a potential adaptation of Norah Gaughan's Gored Skirt from Interweave Knits Winter 2005, 2 x Manos Cotton Stria for future design from scratch, Allhemp 6 for future design, Allhemp 3 for future design.



3. Lace Shrug
i can't take a good picture to save my life! long finished, "A Good Bias" lace shrug from Interweave Spring 2005. I'm happy with it. Executed it in some random Estelle 100% Silk that was kicking around, but had to take out 2 pattern repeats on each side to accomodate the lace's stretch. I overdyed it "new brown" acid dye from G & S Dye.



4. Wall Flowers
Sweater from scratch version 1.0 models flowers Liane and I crocheted for the front window.



5. Fleece Artist Kidsilk Raglan Sweater
1.0 again models a store sample of the Fleece Artist Kidsilk Raglan Sweater kit Liane and I are working up. Figured it was about time.




6. Wooly Bully Throw
Liane made this sample a month or so ago with Wooly Bully. Unfortunately, the putzes discontinued this great colour! What the F?!



7. Misti Cotton Silk Baby Sweater
Liane worked up this little sweetie of a sweater & hat set (Pretty as a Picture) from Misti Alpaca.

me gusta el monstro!

Yeah, I like the monsters, but did you really

expect otherwise? I like the nightlife, I like

the monsters, on the disco floor! Michelle sent

me a link to a very cool new Free knitting

magazine, Tejemanejes (sorry, I don't know

the translation for the name).

So you say to the computer screen "Great

Haley, YOU may read 5 languages, But I

DONT! This is a big tease, thanks for nothin'."

Take a chill pill. I didn't learn Spanish, but I

did, however, learn some useful short cuts.

Tee-Hee (my evil academic laugh)! Go to

Google Language Tools and put the Tejemanejes

web address in the "Translate a web page"

field, choose the languages (spanish to english).

Bang, the text is translated. An alternate way

is to google the title of the magazine, then click

on the link "Translate this page" located next to

the title.

Caveat emptor (it's latin) ....

1. Any text that is embedded as a

picture (like the title of the magazine)

will not translate.

2. Machine translation is not perfect because

languages do not translate literally. The words

that the sofware recognizes will be translated

into the most commonly used equivalent. The

computer is good with syntax, but

it can't account for cultural differences and the

grammar isn't perfect. You are going to have

to put on your thinking cap and decipher what

words that don't make sensewould translate

to inenglish knittingeese.

For example, in the Monster pattern, I'm going

to assume the following translations based

on what i know about how knitting is done:

Machine trans: the doll is tiled of above to down

Human trans: the doll is knitted from top down

Machine trans: we mounted 40 points using a provisional assembly
Human trans: we cast on 40 stitches using a provisional cast on

Machine trans: Weave to smooth point until we have 6.5 cm
Human trans: Knit (or work) in stocking stitch until you have 6.5cm

Machine trans: Now we began last the short ones (or returned shortened) to make the heel
Human trans: Now we at last begin the short rows (or wrap & turn) to make the heel

Machine trans: 1ª return: Tile 14 points of the right, to surround a point and to give return to the work. 2ª return: Tile 13 points of the misfortune, to surround a point and to give return to the work.
Human trans: 1st short row: knit 14 stitches to the right, wrap and turn the work. 2nd short row: knit 13 stitches to the left, wrap and turn the work.

i figured that "misfortune" must translate to "left" (as in the direction) because of the cultural stigmatization of left handed people (the etymology of " left" is closely tied to "sinister" ). It was also used on alternating rows with "right".