September Knit Night!

This September we had a wonderful 'Knit Night' at my friend Jo Anne's place... the joys of a 'knit night' with my fellow members of a spinning and weaving guild is that every craft get represented!
Here are a few photos from our evening... Jo Anne and I were knitting sweaters, Barbara was spinning on her beautiful little castle wheel, and the Griffiths sisters were hemming their latest weaving projects.

Ruth's piece with the dragons is made from handspun, and Janice's multiple tea towels each represent sometime from her family.  So cool!

Jo Anne has also recently finished her lately handspun project - a BEAUTIFUL shawl, check out more info and pics here on Raverly!

Can't wait til next month!
PS - we missed you April!
Cheers!
-Grace

Crofton Cuffs

 Today I have published my free Crofton Cuff pattern! It is available for download here!
Or check them (and my other patterns) on my Raverly store.

From the pattern notes...

"Don’t lose your mitts again! These cuffs are easy to pull up over your wrists so you can wash your hands or take care of any other dirty business without taking them off. The long sleeved version will keep your arms warm on an early morning run, and the short version fits nicely under a jacket sleeve. A seed stitch or ribbed flap on the back of the hand can be flipped over the top of your hand to cover your fingers, keeping you extra toasty warm."

They are an easy Christmas gift, good for both men and women. They would be an excellent glove for anything from running to walking the dog to racking up those fall leaves.

As always, if you decide to cast these on, please share your work! I'd love to see how they turn out and hear your feedback!

Cheers!
-Grace

Spinning In Public at Artful Sunday

This year the Greater Vancouver Weavers and Spinners Guild was asked to come on out and demonstrate their talents at the Artful Sunday event at Britannia Community Center along Commercial Drive.  On August 26th 2012, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we hauled out our spinning wheels, charkhas, looms, and drop spindles and set up under a wonderful blue sky and crisp white tent generously provided for us by the Artful Sunday's organizer, Katherine.

It's always so inspiring to watch my fellow spinners at work, and I find it really satisfying to get to share my craft with complete strangers that maybe never thought that spinning yarn could still be a viable hobby now-a-days.  Commercial Drive is such an open and creative neighbourhood - we met TONS of people with looms, who knit, who play with other forms of fibre, and it was great to get to chat to everyone walking by.

I took a few photos of our day out, check them out here if you like!

I really hope we get the opportunity to go out again next year!

Cheers!

-Grace

Lillooet Legwarmers

 Introducing... the Lillooet Legwarmers!

I am releasing this pattern as a free Raverly download today! Or feel free to download the pdf here...

http://www.super-awesome.com/ThinkSweet_LillooetLegwarmers.pdf

From the pattern notes:

"These simple but versatile legwarmers are designed to fit YOUR style!  Knit them long and wear them pulled up past the knee to give the illusion of a stocking that will keep your legs extra toasty warm, or scrunch them down to the ankle for a more “traditional” 80’s look.  Use a neutral colour to create an elegant pair for an evening out on the town, or alternatively, play with some stripes or bright colours for a more funky style!"

So make 'em long, pull 'em, push 'em down! But most importantly, keep those leggies toasty warm! As always, please show me if you decide to make a pair, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear it!

Cheers!

-Grace

Bridal Falls Gloves

Ta-da! I have released another free pattern today!  You can find it here:

http://www.super-awesome.com/ThinkSweet_BridalFallsGloves.pdf

or on Ravelry of course!

From the pattern:
"These gloves were designed for all the lucky gals I know who are getting married this summer. The left glove has a special little embellishment below the ring finger; two intertwined wedding rings are cabled into the back of the hand. The right glove has a similar line to the ring finger, minus the cable-work. They look lovely knit in a traditional white, or choose a more dramatic colour to match the personality of your blushing bride."

Thanks again to Jo Anne Ryeburn and Laura Gorrie for the test knitting and feedback! And thanks to Crystal Sing as well for the use of her lovely photo (that's her in the red version of the gloves).

I made quite a few of these this summer as wedding gifts, and Jo Anne made a LOVELY pair out of handspun that just makes my heart go 'pitterpatter'.

Cheers!
-Grace

Whiskey Creek Scarf!

Today have have posted my very first pattern to Ravelry!
Please check out the free download for my Whiskey Creek Scarf Pattern:

http://www.super-awesome.com/ThinkSweet_WhiskeyCreekScarf.pdf

From the Pattern notes section:

"This scarf is designed to showcase those self-striping and multicoloured yarns that can tend be too muddy or busy for many interesting lace patterns. The simple, open design can also display any sport or fingering weight hand-spun yarn to its maximum advantage. This scarf, knit to bias to the left, is cast on one corner, increases in size to the width of the scarf, then continues to the opposite point. It can be blocked into a rectangle if desired, especially with the help of tassels on each end. Enjoy the organic shaping and the detail of the subtle cable-work that adds some movement in the body of the scarf.
Additional notes:

• This pattern includes charts and written instructions.
• This scarf can be completed in sock weight or sport weight yarn.
• For best results, make sure you block your project to open up the eyelets nicely!"

I made two example projects for this pattern: one is a fingering sock yarn (the light blue/green/brown colours) and one in a sport weight yarn (the darker brown Noro version).  Same needle size, but the different gauges created a different drape and texture in each scarf, which I found rather pleasing!

Check out the pics below:

If you knit up this pattern, please share your work and feedback with me! I am a new designer, and even though this pattern has been edited and tested, I would love feedback and to see your final work!

Cheers! And I hope you enjoy!

Finally! My work will be up soon! I now have three patterns with final photos, editing, and layout complete, and another three to package before they can be released! As soon as I have fine-tuned a few other things, I will be publishing the patterns for a scarf, a pair of mitts, and some legwarmers. Whew! This endeavour has been going a little slower than expecting, but I am still enjoying it and I can't wait to share my work!
Cheers!
-Grace