Pans & Needles

10:59 am - August 13, 2012 -

Big, exciting news

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Remember before, when I was knitting fingerless gloves that weren’t for me, but I said they were “for an upcoming fun something”? Well, that something has just about arrived, so here it is: There’s a new yarn shop opening in Toronto, and I’m helping. The shop is being opened by Claudia Quintanilla, and it’s called EweKnit (as in “you-knit,” not “ew, knit?”).

Oh, you thought I was done with the fingerless gloves? Nope! Details here.

My role isn’t huge, but I have to say that helping start a business – and a knitting business, at that – is exciting and daunting and exhausting and wonderful. Essentially, my job at the moment is to run the advertising campaign (something I’m totally new to and finding hugely interesting) and help set things up in the shop. Once we’re open, I’ll continue doing the advertising, as well as start and run a blog, work in the shop, and teach some classes. I am beyond excited.

This all came about, weirdly, because the National Post, where I work as a copy editor, announced in May that it will be cutting its copy desk in the near-ish future. This means that I will be out of a job, as will the rest of my colleagues, and while that hasn’t happened yet, I was feeling some pressure to figure stuff out. I mentioned this to Natalie (formerly of Lettuce Knit), and when Claudia asked Natalie to help with the store, and then decided they needed a third person as well, Natalie asked if I was interested. I was, and I met with Claudia at the beginning of July, and it all went from there.

The only reason I didn’t mention any of this earlier is because it seemed almost too good to be true (I mean, I get to work in a yarn shop, keep my current job for as long as it exists, get paid to knit some interesting stuff, and squish pretty yarns? Pinch me.) and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t before I said anything. That, and I wanted to make sure my bosses at work knew about this, since sometimes they read the blog.

So, what does any of this matter to you (besides, hopefully, acting as an explanation for my erratic blogging)? Well, first of all, you’re all invited to the shop’s grand opening, which is this week! If you’re in Toronto, please drop in – check out the yarn, have a glass of wine, and come say hi (the proper invite is below). Secondly, I would like to assure you that I am still knitting – knitting like crazy, even – and that this blog will return to its usual assortment of posts after this crazy week is over.

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: , , , ,
1:39 pm - July 30, 2012 -

Tobermory weekend

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Last Thursday, L and I took off for a four-day weekend in Tobermory, on Ontario’s Georgian Bay (which is itself a bay on Lake Huron). Our good friend has a cottage there, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have been invited – trust me when I say it was very hard to make ourselves return to the city last night. We swam (it was cold!), kayaked, ate great food, hiked, played lots of games, and of course, I knit.

As often happens when you take a holiday, I now have a million things to catch up on, so here’s the weekend (more or less) in photos. I’ll write a proper post later this week.

Gin and tonic may be the ultimate cottage drink.

The shore in the evening.

Very strange rocks at the water’s edge.

Sunset, night 1.

Sunset, night 2.

Sunset, night 3.

This looks like the Caribbean, but I assure you it’s in Ontario, and that the water is freezing.

Oh yes, the knitting. This is Doublish by Alex Tinsley, and it’s going very well, if I do say so myself. More on that later.

Needless to say, the return to reality has been a little jarring.

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: , , , ,
11:02 am - July 25, 2012 -

Cold soba noodle salad

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Remember when I thought I wouldn’t have enough knitting to fill a blog, so I decided it would be about food and knitting? Yeah. I clearly forgot about that too. In my defence, that is at least partly because it has been so friggin’ hot here (we’re talking mid-40s Celcius with the humidex) that the very thought of turning on my stove makes me queasy. Also, we’ve been eating out far more often than is characteristic, and when we eat at home, well, there have been a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches (what can I say – I’m five-years-old at heart).

Last week, though, inspired partly by this tweet, I decided I finally wanted to use that package of soba noodles that had been sitting in my cupboard for months. I searched around on PunchFork (warning: you will lose hours on this site) and found the perfect blend of summer meal + veggies + soba noodles: Smitten Kitchen’s Spicy Soba Noodles with Shiitakes.

It’s weird how the combination of soba noodles and shiitakes make it look like there’s seafood in there, but I assure you it was 100% vegetarian.

It was easy, delicious, and made for awesome leftovers, and has both L and I planning to make it weekly. Holy moly was it good. I modified the ingredients slightly, in that I used sambal oelek for the spicy part, and then misread the sauce ingredients, and thus used olive oil instead of water, and upon realizing my mistake (and that I’d finished all our soy sauce, so there was no starting over) just splashed some water in there. It turned out very well nonetheless. I also splashed in some sesame oil. I also used sweet potato buckwheat soba noodles, and while I’m not sure it makes a difference, they were really good and I will hunt them down to use again.

If you are looking for something delicious and easy to make on a hot summer night, I really can’t recommend this highly enough. Delicious!

Category: Cooking Tags: , ,
9:00 am - July 23, 2012 -

Book report: CanLit Knit

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The people (clockwise): Emma’s hands (she somehow didn’t quite make it in the shot), Allegra, Katie, Jeanne, me, and Carrie. We’re less red in person. (photo taken by Carrie’s boyfriend – thank you!)

The first CanLit Knit book/knitting club was yesterday and it was great. We basked in the sun on a rooftop patio, drank beer, knit, and talked books (and knitting, and Toronto, and, well, about lots of things.) I‘ll be writing about our book pick Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner later this week, so all I will say for now is that opinion was divided.

The knitting: Emma’s socks (red), Allegra’s blanket, Katie’s top, and my sock .(Jeanne’s yarn bombing is missing because she was worried about missing her train, and I didn’t think to get one until we were all leaving).

As for the knitting, everyone but Carrie brought some (she was balanced out by Emma who brought knitting, but hadn’t read the book). Allegra was knitting a baby blanket (this one, I think); Emma was knitting socks; Katie was knitting the Cap Sleeve Lattice Top, and we were all in love with her colour choices; Jeanne was knitting her first yarn-bombing, which was destined to become a bicycle seat cover for one of Mississauga’s public art bikes; and I was knitting the leftover socks (I’m almost ready to divide for the heel of sock number two).

I think it’s fair to say that fun was had by all,  and we’re planning to do it again in September. There’s no date yet, but I think we’re going to try another short story collection, possibly by Alice Munro (maybe Too Much Happiness, her most recent collection, but we haven’t made a definitive choice). If you couldn’t make it this time but really want to come in September, let either myself or Allegra know and we’ll make sure to keep you in the loop.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: ,
12:19 pm - July 20, 2012 -

Mitten surprise

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I’m thinking the only reason that Debby Bliss didn’t use that name for these mittens (she calls them “Lacy Mittens“) is because it was too close to EZ’s Baby Surprise. But really, these mittens are a surprise. Why? Well, because you knit them flat, and when you cast off you’re left with this, which to my eyes looks more like part of a baby’s dress or jacket than a mitten.

Photographed against a dark background for contrast.

It does become a mitten, though, which makes you feel very clever once you’ve figured it out. The figuring out part, however, certainly did not make me feel clever. Actually, it made me feel profoundly stupid, because I apparently can’t count to four, or read. I found this out when I started the flower lace part and one side of the mitten looked nice like this

This is right.

and the other somehow just looked like this:

Er. This is very clearly wrong.

What the heck? I would like to blame it on the pattern, which has no chart, but really, I suspect I just can’t count. Since that isn’t really a mistake you can ignore, I ripped back and then discovered something very particular about Kidsilk Haze: namely, that is very sticky and does not like being pulled out. Really doesn’t like being pulled out. In fact, some judicious snipping was required to make that operation a success.

Proper flowers on both sides, plus a flat thumb.

After that, though, it was mostly sailing, including the strange thumb construction and the subsequent seaming up.

There is meant to be a ribbon threaded through those eyelets at the wrist, but I don’t have any, so maybe you could just use your imagination? (Also imagine it blocked.)

These, like the Noro gloves, are not being knit for me, but again they were an interesting knit. Strange that the last two things I’ve knit have been deconstructed fingerless mitts, but there you go. As far as the Noro ones went, the pattern for the cuff absolutely needed to be knit flat; these ones, however, certainly did not. Honestly, if I were to knit this pattern a second time (perhaps someone I know will desperately need gauzy little gloves to wear to a high tea?) I think I’d just rewrite the pattern to knit in the round. There’s no reason not to, and I think the seam looks a little clunky running down the side like that (I’d probably leave the seam in the thumb, though, so as to keep everything as much the same as possible).

Not quite my style, but a success nonetheless.

Edited to add: I realized I hadn’t linked to the pattern in Ravelry, so when I went to find it I discovered there’s errata! Although this isn’t entirely vindication, since my problems occurred earlier in the pattern, it does resolve the problem I had later when my stitches didn’t line up with the pattern instructions (despite meticulous counting – you do not want to rip this more than necessary). I just worked around it to make it right, but still, it wasn’t me being inept, and that is very gratifying indeed.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: , , , ,
12:04 pm - July 17, 2012 -

The gauntlet

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Taking pictures of your hand is a little tricky. Sorry.

I finished the first Noro “wrister” this morning (isn’t that a bad name? I think gauntlet is both more accurate and less fetish-suggestive, but whatever). I’m not knitting these for myself, though. Instead, they are for an upcoming fun something, about which I will write at length when the time comes. Until then, be prepared for a smattering of knitting that looks unlike the stuff I would normally choose.

Anyway, I don’t have the ball band for this yarn, but it is Noro (I think Kureyon) in a pink/purple/brown/black colourway. (This is such useless information; if/when I find out what it really is, I’ll update this). The pattern is from Noro Magazine‘s fall 2012 issue, which is actually a really pretty magazine with lots of lovely pictures. The amount of entrelac is frightening, but if you can get past that, it’s kind of like InStyle, but entirely knitwear.

The wrist part looks disproportionately giant, but I assure you it looks less so when worn.

This is my first time knitting with Noro and, well, it’s a little different. It is fun to watch the yarn change colours (and this particular pattern seems to be written so that each block of colour last for about one chart repeat, which is pleasing), but it’s also a little like knitting with a dreadlock. It isn’t unpleasant (which is weird, given that description), but if you’re used to smooth sock yarns, it’s a very big change.

The striping is surprisingly hypnotizing.

 

The pattern wasn’t difficult, but it was an interesting knit because the cuff is knit flat and then you join the piece in the round to start the ribbing and knit the hand. I haven’t knit mittens like this before, so it was kind of fun to try out a new construction technique. Also, even though you can’t quite see it in the pictures, the pattern involves both a sort of faux-cable and lace, which shows up like a little surprise when you put them on.

They may not be my style now, but I know my 8-year-old self is deeply coveting them, so perhaps you know someone who would just die to add these to their back to school wardrobe.

Reminder:
CanLit Knit is this Sunday! I am reading Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner right now and it is excellent and interesting and weird. I promise I will have more astute observations on Sunday. If you want to come but have not yet rsvp’d (in the comments, through e-mail, or via Twitter), please do. We’re hoping for lovely weather and an afternoon of knitting and lit chatting in the sun, so you should probably come.
More details here.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: , ,
9:06 am - July 11, 2012 -

New skills

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I know, that looks like a regular swatch. Garter stitch isn’t new; stockinette isn’t new; ribbing isn’t new. The thing is, though, that I usually knit English (with the yarn held in my right hand) and this little swatch was knit Continental (with the yarn held in my left hand). In my regular life I am not ambidextrous, but I strive for more in knitting, apparently.

I should note, however, that when you learn new things it is slow. This little piece of knitting is more than an hour of work, which feels kind of pathetic. But, I did it by knitting in an entirely new way, and because of that, I’m proud of it. I’m proud of how even my tension is (even though it’s looser than I’m used to), and I’m proud I didn’t make any big mistakes, and I’m especially proud that now, three days after the class, I can still make my hands remember how to do it.

I can’t take a picture of my own hands, so, uh, here’s another picture of the swatch. Sorry.

The obvious question, here, is probably why bother. After all, I am a (mostly) proficient knitter as it is, so why do I feel the need to change it up so drastically (and if you don’t think it’s drastic, just try it – one woman got so frustrated that she gave up after 15 minutes; when you’re used to being good at something, it is really hard to accept that garter stitch might be tricky)? Well, there are two big reasons, I guess (if you leave out simple curiosity): the first is that it’s good to teach your brain new things. It’s really easy to get yourself into routines, and sometimes a little shock to that system is healthy, whether it’s taking an entirely new route home from work or learning to knit with your other hand. The other reason (the really big reason, if we’re being honest) is that I want to be able to do two-handed colour work (that is, hold one colour in each hand when working Fair Isle). I haven’t tried it yet – my swatch and I are going to spend some more time together first – but L gave me a gorgeous book of Norwegian mitten patterns for my birthday and I want to try some out.

And, yes, another shot. In case all this swatching has made you wildly curious, the yarn is Cascade 220 Heathers in colourway 9450 – it’s sort of a soft green-grey.

I also recently bought Knitting with Two Colours by Meg Swansen and Amy Detjen, so I think I’ll try swatching some stranded colour work before I dive right into fancy mittens. I know swatches are boring to look at (even when they’re surprisingly exciting to make, at least in this case), but if my colour work ones turn out, maybe I’ll post them. I’m especially interested in experimenting with yarn dominance…

Have any of you tried switching your knitting style? Who knits Continental full-time? Tips?

Category: Knitting Tags: , ,
8:48 am - July 10, 2012 -

Buckwheat sprouts a sleeve

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It will eventually sprout two sleeves, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. I finished the back on Saturday and decided to keep the momentum going (even though I really just wanted to finish the first of the Leftover Socks, which is only a few rows from done). I cast on for the sleeve on Sunday night and immediately realized I should have thought more about it.

Please excuse the shadows – I refuse to close the blinds when it’s lovely and sunny outside.

I did, at least, read the pattern before starting. But I wish I’d read the sleeve part of the pattern before knitting the front and back, because if I had I might have decided to slip the first stitch in each row, thereby giving myself a nice selvedge edge from which to pick up the sleeve stitches. I didn’t do that, though, so I just had to pick them up through the edge of the fabric. This made for a bit of a mess when I had to repeatedly pull out the picked up stitches and start over so that there would be the same number of stitches picked up on each side, and that they would meet in the centre of the shoulder, etc.

The main thing I learned while doing this, though, is that doing short rows (to shape the shoulders) on double-pointed needles (or, “knitting skewers,” as L calls them) is really annoying. I really need to figure out the magic loop, because I have to think that this whole process would have been smoother (both in terms of ease of execution and fabric quality) if there hadn’t been so many annoying joins. Anyway, here I am, just past the short rows, where I suspect this will start to feel a lot more like a big sock and just tick right along.

I think it looks like the mouth of a big fish…

The sleeve is looking a little small right now, but I’m hoping that’s just because the stitches are all pushed together and not because it’s tiny and will thus require reknitting. Stay tuned!

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: ,
10:12 am - July 3, 2012 -

Canada Day leftovers

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I know that the May 24th long weekend is Canada’s unofficial/official start to summer, but for me Canada Day weekend still feels like the real kick-off. This year, that is heightened because the Post started Summer Mondays this week, which means that not only did I get to have a full weekend off this week*, but I will for the rest of the summer too. This is excellent.

Canna lilies in the backyard.

L and I escaped Toronto for, well, Windsor, where his parents live. I didn’t get a long weekend, but we had two full days of relaxing and that was pretty good. L’s mum has a pool, and since the weather was mid-30s (Celsius), I basically alternated between soaking up the heat (like a turtle) and then jumping in for a swim. Just the best.

Hostas by the pool.

I didn’t actually feel like I got in much knitting (I’m more of a reader, poolside), but then I looked down and realized I got almost an entire sock finished, so that’s not bad. I had about two inches knit when I arrived (I opted to leave Buckwheat behind, it being a holiday and all), and now I’m pretty much at the toe. I’m calling these Leftover Socks because they’re being knit from some of what was left after I finished Colour Affection. I really liked both the colours and the wool from that project, so I’m quite pleased that there’s enough left to actually do something with.

Leftover Socks, zipping right along.

If you’re Canadian, happy belated Canada Day. If you’re in the States, happy Fourth of July! Yes, July is a strangely patriotic month.

*Because I work as a copy editor, I work on the paper the day before it goes out. That means, for the Monday paper, I work on Sunday. I get a day off to make up for it during the week, but I rarely get two days off in a row. In the summer, the Post doesn’t publish a Monday paper, meaning I now get Sundays off, thus restoring my weekend. It’s awesome.

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: ,
10:26 am - June 27, 2012 -

CanLit Knit

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So, a few weeks ago, after I reviewed Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s All Wound Up and finished Colour Affection, a fellow Canadian lit enthusiast and knitter tweeted that we should have get together sometime to knit and talk about books. Now, this might be the kind of thing that one just says in an offhand way on Twitter, but it did get me to thinking. I mean, what isn’t to love about that idea? Especially, if, say, you were to get together to do this knitting and lit-chatting somewhere where you could also order a beer or some other beverage of choice. Truly, this seemed like a golden summer plan.

And so, CanLit Knit was born. Allegra and I have been emailing and we’ve worked out a time, place and book, and we’re inviting you to come join us.

The Details:
Where: The Pilot, 22 Cumberland St.
When: Sunday, July 22, at 2 p.m. (if it’s not raining, we’ll be on the patio)
The Book: Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner
The Knitting: Whatever you feel like! (Also, if you happen to be more into crocheting, that’s cool too.)

We’re hoping that this will give people enough time to plan ahead and find/read the book (it’s short stories, so if you can’t quite finish, come anyway), but not so much time that it gets forgotten. Honestly, I can’t friggin’ wait. Knitting in a bar always brings the most hilarious sideways glances, and the idea of a group of people knitting in a bar makes me very happy. Also, I’ve been wanting to read Better Living Through Plastic Explosives since it was shortlisted for the Giller (Canada’s biggest fiction award), and this seems like perfect timing.

So, are you interested? If so, please let me know (either in the comments or on Twitter or via e-mail). There isn’t a limit, but we would like to know if the group will be big enough to warrant a reservation. CanLit Knit. I can’t wait!

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: , ,