Freebies
ruffina & solaris jackets

kitty bath mitt


Damn Hat
what kind of fuckery is this?! i just want a hat to wear sailing this sunday. this is making it a bit better - Wiretap: a secret history of famous friends (listen to the second segment)

i blocked the hats and starched them. they look good blocked, but the size is still rediculous. i mean really, mushmouth in hemp!

as an aside, i really like this colour for the hat. it's called Cinnamon.

this is the second incarnation i worked on late into the night. still too big. seems i missed one of the pattern flaws. 2 out of 3 aint bad. on to lucky number 3!

Around the House

Lucy hoarding rovings (they aren't in her mouth)

Marvin with Pluto: uneasy

Caitlyn's finished sock. Opal Hundertwasser #1432.

TTC knitalong. Ahn-Lee & Pluto

What I've been getting up to ... June 13, 2007

summer bird bag i made for pluto. Super 10 cotton in random filet crochet stitches and half double crochet. single crochet for the bottom. so far it works well, but pluto doesn't like it as much as the green bag, he doesn't have as much personal space inside and the windows are much smaller.

the beads on the bird bag. it's a good luck guy (seemed more apropriate for a pet bag than fish).

Geranium 1.2

This was Geranium 1.0. The fit was good, but the sizing was off. The gauge was totally different in the swatch than the sweater. Beware the duplicitous design qualities of linen!

Misti Handpainted Baby Alpaca i'm going to swatch with for a new sweater design. something peasanty.

knitting by the book ... June 13, 2007

i needed something mindless on the needles for when i'm at work & play. i'm working on Stitch Diva Sahara in Dale Svale colour 9451.

The Sahara Product Shot

hemp i'm using to make a summer crochet hat. it loves the camera!




just a random crochet hat pattern from "Hooked Hats" from the Toronto Public Library.

too big! my sttich gauge was fine, but they didn't provide a row gauge. you get what you pay for. i'm going to give it another go with the Allhemp3 and an F hook. or maybe dale stork if that doesn't work. it's too heavy anyway in the original method with 2 strands held together.

Store Samples



We knitted this Jo Sharp pattern (Knit Magazine issue 2)in Jo Sharp Desert Garden Aran Cotton. We made size medium (should fit a 39" to 40" bust) with 8 balls. it was really easy, very comfortable & soft, but unfortunately we didn't check the gauge first and it turned out huge - our bad, ALWAYS check your gauge! Still, i really like it. i'm thinking i might have to make a dress/tunic/beach cover-up on the next go.

the Jo Sharp product shot.

We just finished this Handmaiden origami sweater. Cool construction. I'm inclined to switch off the yarn, it isn't really anything special. that way it can be up-sized too. annnnnnnd .... as i look for the link i notice that it is no longer featured on the Handmaiden website. I guess they aren't doing it anymore?! :-( well, if you want to do it i'll hook ya up.

This is what I'm ....



this is what i'm reading, Loop-D-Loop Crochet by Teva Durhap. It's absafuckinglutely brilliant! She's a picasso, a bernini! i'm so glad she's alive.


i'm listening to Wiretap: you can listen online

Friday Report

well, here is the surplice i've been workign on in Needful Geranium. The yarn has more stretch in person than in my swatch and it's only several sizes larger than i anticipated. the pattern is being emmended, i'll knit it up again in my size.

i was up late working on more swatches for the shrug i've been working on. the Dale Svale knits BEAUTIFULLY! even if it isn't used for this project it's going into production on something. I co-opted one of the Fleece Artist Celtic Cardigan kits for this project. The scotian silk is nice to work with, it's got a lot of body. my third swatch is drying, once it's done i only have a little math left and then it's going to the needles. i woun't bother you with snapshots of swatches, it doens't make for exciting photography.

Friday Freebies
Chair Seat

Scrap Rug

Bunny Love

<<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