Monday, Monday, Monday

While Monday is usually a pretty lame day of the week, it is the beginning of my weekend! So TGIMonday!
On Saturday I knit this little cutie pie!



Lambie!



I normally don't use patterns for stuffies, since I like creating my own designs, but this was just too adorable to pass up! This pattern is FREE from Barbara Prime!
Go & make yourself a whole flock! They are too cute for words!



On Sunday I cast on for the flower basket shawl! & I am loving it so far! It is knitting up pretty quickly with the lovely dk weight yarn I am using.



Maybe another reason it is knitting up so fast is my new Addi Turbo Lace needles!!! I am seriously in love with these needles! Now I'll need to find a whole bunch of patterns that use 5.5mm circular needles so I can use these babies all the time!

Well I should go do laundry or knit or something...
Happy Monday,
~Nessa

out for a stroll...

Yesterday was parknit so I went to a local beach for knitting with the . Afterwards, I went to work for a few hours, and all in all it was a fun day. I started knitting a surprise project (& finished it too!), which I will photograph tomorrow. I also cast on for a new project which I caved in and got addi turbos lace circulars for. By the way, I LOVE them! The pointier tips make them so smooth and quick to knit with.



The new lace project is already knitting up quickly in the deep red Wool Gatto (pretty much the colour of the first flower) I got for it.



I took these gorgeous flower shots walking back to my car from work yesterday evening.

They were in various residential gardens that I passed.

Photo's on the knitting front to come tomorrow...


happy knitting!
~Nessa

all by myself

So my life has been a bit hectic lately: working at the woolshop, two knit nites a week, spending time with friends, getting the normal chores done, cooking dinner... the list goes on. I know, I should hardly complain! I mean, everything on my list (aside from chores of course) should be filed under fun, but when you are an extroverted introvert, like me, you need time to yourself to recharge the batteries.



You are probably wondering what on earth an extroverted introvert is, so I'll try to explain. I started out life as a shy little girl, who had a vivid imagination, and loved to read and draw and paint and be in nature. As the only child of a single mom, I often did things by myself. When I hit high school, I went through several awkward years where I spent some time being pretty antisocial (read: still shy), and introverted. My circle of friends at that time could be counted on one hand (even if a couple fingers were missing). In the later years of high school I began to reach out to others, and found that the world was filled with lots of interesting, kind people who I had been missing out on all that time. Since then I have been trying to be an outgoing person, and I especially make an effort to reach out to all of the shy, or "new" people I meet. I was once told by a coworker that when she had first started working at the shop, I was the one who made her feel welcome. This makes me feel so good inside, because I know it is exactly how I want to be treated by others when I am the new girl.
Anyways, since the outgoing me is actually a learned behaviour and the introverted me was really there first (and still is somewhat), spending time with others, while very enjoyable, can be draining if I don't even it out with alone time.



So on Wednesday, when I could have called up half a dozen friends that I really need to get together with because I haven't seen them in ages, I stayed at home doing laundry, reading, knitting, and baking cupcakes ALL BY MYSELF. It was wonderful. Even the laundry was nice because I have this new lilac scented laundry soap that smells like the real blossoms!

I call these the
They come from my favourite cupcake recipe, and include many modifications by me.









CUPCAKE MODS:
instead of soymilk, I added 1/2 cup of orange/lemon juice plus 1 cup water
I added 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
I halved the oil to 1/4 cup
I added the grated zest of the orange and lemon
I omitted the coconut flavouring
I iced them with cream cheese icing and some crushed ginger snap cookie "sprinkles".

When I make these again, I will add even more lemon & orange. Maybe 2 lemons & 2 oranges + grated zest. I would like them to be even more lemony. Also, they would be great with less sugar, and blueberries added for blueberry citrus muffins!



In knitting news, I have gotten quite a bit done on my seed stitch Manos scarf redux.
And I have completed (as some of you have seen me wearing it!) the Drops jacket! I don't have the final photos because I really want to do a proper photo shoot of it. It deserves that. So it will have to wait until I can get Jeffy to be my photographer (probably on the weekend).



Happy knitting!
~Nessa

Sunday Spectacular

Today, and I went photo-shooting at the hill near my house. It is a Garry Oak ecosystem. We got some great shots, including some new ones of the Sunday Market Shawl. The scent of lilacs, and camas flowers was lovely on the warm summer breeze. It has been like summer here this past week!!

Wednesday WIP, & a Little Teddy

Well, I recently learned about WIP Wednesday (how many years have I been knit-blogging and I only *just* found out about it!?)
So here are a couple of WIPs that I've got on the needles...

1. The Drops Jacket!
This baby is almost done. She is seamed, and her collar is about half way there. She should be done very, very soon. I am making the full sleeve version.





2. My So Called Scarf Revisited
This Manos was one of my favourite colourways! I knit it into My So Called Scarf, a few years ago, but I found I never wore it. The stitch pattern showed the pillyness of the yarn, and it curled at the edges, which basically took away from the gorgeous yarn. I am frogging as I go, and making a simple seed stitch scarf (gasp! I'm making a scarf! Me, who HATES scarf knitting!!). It is mindless DVD watching knitting, or reading knitting. I actually am looking forward to wearing this non-curled version, and I don't think the pills will show as much on a seed stitch pattern.





3. Michiru! A Japanese-inspired bear!
Some of you may remember the felt bears I made a few years back. I revisited my pattern, changed it to be an inside seamed design, and voila!



She is, of course, for sale at Coy
at a low introductory price!!!

Happy crafting,
~Nessa

Gentle Forest

There is nothing like walking through a rainforest. The smell of the moss, the trees, the earth, the forest flowers. An indescribably sweet, organic scent. Everywhere you look is green, and not just grassy greens, but greens of all hues, luminous and refreshing greens, mysterious dark greens, greens that seem to glow as the shafts of light touch them, greens that reach into your soul and give you peace and lightness of heart. I love the shapes: fiddleheads, star shaped flowers, tiny mushrooms, large lamp-like tree fungus, limb-like tree roots and branches, leaves of every kind.
I feel at home in the forest, and I know if I ever leave BC, I will miss the forest and the ocean most of all.

Happy Mum's Day

Happy mum's day to all the mums & mothering type women in the world!
This was a custom mother's day request from J for this surrogate mum. She loves birds, and has a beautiful blue parrot as a pet. He decided she needed a blue bird of course.



I actually fell in love with this one, and it was kind of sad to send her on her way to her new home. I might have to make another one soon, possibly for the shop.
Thank you all so much for your positive feedback about Coy!!

Knitting news: the drops jacket pieces are finished!! I have blocked them & I will do the seaming today! Squee!

I hope you all have a lovely day!
~Nessa

Patterns!

I have been holding onto these designs for a while now & I am really excited to be able to finally offer them!

First up: Miss Ella Phint
She was designed on the fly as a gift for a fellow knitter's new baby. The original was in lavender yarn.The design is fairly simple, and requires very little seaming. It is the perfect project for an adventurous beginner, or as a quickie project for an intermediate to advanced knitter. Some of the techniques involved include crochet provisional cast on, knitting flat and in the round, increasing, and decreasing. She is 6 inches long, the perfect little size for a new one. I have designed the trunk to be bendable, or non-bendable (the bendy option is not for babies, and young children).









Next up: Pinot Noir

This simple yet elegant design was created with my spanish grandmother in mind. It is made to be both cozy, and breathable. It is perfect for fall, winter, and spring weather.
The stitch pattern is deceptively simple, easy enough to memorize, and quick to knit.





Thanks for testknitting this pattern, and modelling for the photos!

COY GRAND OPENING!

My new online shop, Coy, is open for business!

Click on the photo to go and see.
Please come check out the shop! To celebrate my new little shop, I am offering free shipping on all items from the Blackbeary, and Bunny Love lines, and half-price shipping on the Bird in Hand line.

All items are lovingly handmade by me, Nessa, and are unique and one of a kind. They are all created from my own designs.

~Nessa