Christmas Week Continues!

Partridge in a Pear Tree at Buschart Gardens 12 Days of Christmas Lights Display.

As I had stated before I think most of us can agree that this is pretty much Christmas week.  Between Christmas and New Years there seems to be ongoing festivities and general good food that continues.  But this is when people also start to wonder what (if any) new years resolutions you will be making.

Generally I don’t make resolutions.  Goals…sure!  But resolution that are made on New Years Eve always end up being let go so much sooner for some reason.  This year I have decided I want to make some knitting goals.  Having organized my stash I have realized there are quite a few projects that need attending to and it would be great to have some of these off the needles.

 

Time to contemplate what I want to finish and what I want to start.  One thing is for sure – I will be knitting the Sivia Harding Jo’s Pride Hooded Shawl for the Sivia Harding Knit Along in January.  Can’t wait!  Hope you can join us for that knit along!  

What do you mean….

It’s almost Christmas!  I feel like I’m just getting into the spirit of things with my tree all decorated and the house finally coming together. After all, I did have to decorate the tree twice. It fell on me…so I had to turn it so it wouldn’t do that again…which meant redecorating it.  For some reason…second time…not as fun.  I want to extend this Christmas feeling for as long as possible!  Just love the holiday feeling.  AND I love that it’s socially acceptable at this time of year to have Bailey’s in your tea or coffee…in the morning!

So I’m just making it Christmas week next week.  I’m sure many of you have lots of family plans and parties that make it Christmas week anyways.  So lets just make if official!  And have pancakes every morning, Bailey’s with our coffee and endless Christmas movies on the TV.

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas AND a Happy Holiday Season for those who don’t celebrate Christmas.  May it be filled with lots of love, happiness and yumminess.

XOXO

Ellie

Getting my Christmas on!

This past weekend Christmas threw up in my house!  Yup…as part of my Toronto shipment there was my decorations that came with it!  Which I was very excited about.  I immediately went out to the local tree farm (there are several out here!) picked a tree I thought would work and brought it home (I somehow managed to stuff it into my car).  It was REALLY big for my place.  As of right now only part of my couch is now useable unless you like having a little extra tree in your lap.  Oops.  I chalk it up to being spatially challenged!

Then it was Christmas shopping time.  As I have to ship my gifts to Ontario I was feeling a little behind on the getting this done.  But I managed.

And my favourite part of all??  WRAPPING!!  I love it so much.  I even do friends gift wrapping if they need it!  Things got serious this year as I knew the bows and decorative glass had to survive shipping so the glue gun was brought out.  A glue gun, some wine and Elf playing on the TV made for a fun night of wrapping up all the gifts.

Got it in the car!

Just a little too big.

Glue gun and some red wine to get my wrap on!

The finished product.

Christmas stilettos!

Christmas Stilettos!

All decorated!

Interview with Felicia Lo from SweetGeorgia Yarn!

Meet the creative lady behind SweetGeorgia Yarn Felicia Lo in her Vancouver based studio. We talk about how she got started, what inspires her and we got a behind the scenes look at her studio where all the magic happens.

Meet the lady behind Gourmet Crafter Yarns!

I had a chance to catch up with Alexa Ludeman who is the dyer behind Gourmet Crafter Yarns at Knit City in Vancouver in October.  She also collaborates with her friend Emily Wessel to create beautiful designs and has two books out now – 9 Months of Knitting and Pacific Knits.  In this interview we talk about how she got started into dying and what her inspiration is!  The Antler Cardigan we discuss in the interview is pictured below!

The Antler Cardigan available in Pacific Knits or on Ravelry.com.

Dyer Alexa Ludeman and her newest addition to her family!

How to block a hat!

So I’ve been asked before about blocking hats.  Since we are well into hat weather here in Canada I thought this would be a good time to share!  Hope you enjoy!  Have a knitting question you need answered?  Send me an email at info@knitsbythesea.com and I will try and do a video answer for you!

My new neighbours

There have been lots of changes these last two months and that includes a personal relocation for me.  Although it was very hard to say goodbye to Tofino I’m excited to explore a new part of the island.  In order to be a little more centrally located I have moved to a little town just north of Courtenay called Oyster River.  I am excited to be able to be still be living near the ocean and also to get a little taste of living on a farm!  I am living on an organic apple farm with lots of fuzzy neighbours around me.  And the best part is I don’t have to do any farming…just enjoy the scenery!

So I have been enjoying meeting my new neighbours which include goats, sheep and horses.  Looking forward to exploring the area further.  Are you familiar with this area?  Would love some suggestions on things to do and places to check out!!!

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What a weekend!!

It was a weekend of cozy knitting, great company and a fun teacher.  A big thank you to everyone who came out for Knits by the Sea’s first fall retreat!  And thank you to Fiona Ellis for making the weekend so much fun.  More pictures of this great event will be posted on our Facebook page soon so if you weren’t able to make it you can see what it was like!

We had a fun weekend learning all about cables and knitting as meditation.  And thanks to Flickerine for providing a lovely yoga for knitters class to start off our first morning.  Some of the swatches people were working on were just amazing.  Would love to see more of your projects if you would like to share!  For more information on upcoming retreats you can visit our website here.  Sivia Harding will be joining us in March!

Those darn ends!!

The fingerless gloves awaiting finishing so I can keep my hands warm while working on the computer!

I don’t like weaving in ends.  Love knitting.  Hate finishing.  I’ve always said – I’m a knitter, not a sewer.   So even something as simple as weaving in ends makes me drag my feet.  Thankfully I have lovely fibre friends (thanks Kat!!) who are happy to share tips with me! Which means in turn I can share with you!

If you have been knitting with a wool or alpaca fibre (basically a fibre that can felt) you can needle felt in your ends!  You want to be careful not to be too aggressive about it and create a small piece of felt in your work.  But it’s a great way to secure your ends and avoid having them poke out to the right side of your project.  You just need piece of foam and a coarse felting needle to get the job done.  Quick and easy.  The way I like it!

Now as for the sewing part…well I’m really looking forward to Fiona Ellis’ “Finishing with Finesse” class in a week at the retreat here in Tofino.  I need some help with the finesse part!

Fibre Masks – A work of art!

I met Melissa Nasby at Knit City last weekend in Vancouver and was amazed at her talent. She has a truly amazing gift for creating masks and other fibre accessories.  The masks are really works of art.  We stopped and chatted about how she got started and what inspires her!

How did you get started in the fibre arts?

“I have been crocheting since I was a kid, and was always very drawn to textiles and texture.  My love of fibre as an art form began when I was introduced to spinning wool.  I really loved the versatility of wool as a medium.”

How long have you been making masks for?
“I have only just begun my mask journey this April, so I am very excited to see where it leads!”

Where do you get your inspiration from?

“Mostly from the wool itself.  There are so many breeds of sheep which have many different qualities and textures that I love to explore.”

How long does a mask take to make?

” My masks generally take between 16-18 hours each, depending on the finishing techniques of each character.”

Are they made by needle felting or another method?

“They are all needle felted using a relief-style technique.  They are all hand sculpted from wool, no forms are used.”

Do you do custom work?

“Absolutely! I love to do custom work.  My goal is to create masks for the theatre/film industry.”

To see more of her amazing work or to purchase a mask or tutorial you can check out Melissa’s Esty store here.