Meeting a knitting celebrity, by chance!

This morning I parked in the front of the Urban Yarn store. As I arrived early they looked to be closed so I dashed across the street to the Book Warehouse to take a look at the knitting books. I returned to the store to find women inside near the window and even though the sign showed "Closed", I checked the door which was opened and stuck my head in "Are you opened?" A woman said, "Well, not quite, but come on in, that's fine." Once inside, I said, is there a knitting course going on or a special event happening right now? She responded, "Yes, its very special: Debbie Bliss is here." DB was already looking at me and I grinned, 'Debbie Bliss, SO NICE to meet you!" She smiled and responded in kind. I felt sheepish and moved on to leave her to her meandering. Lucky me at a chance meeting - there were only 3-4 other women in the store and she was accompanied by two women. She left shortly after my arrival, so I didn't have a chance to grab one of her pattern books which I was willing to pay full price just for her signature. She slipped out as the store was opening. I commented to the woman who allowed me inside that I had just taken my camera out of my purse yesterday to re-charge the battery or else I would have been tempted to snap a photo of her. The lady on staff was very friendly and was willing to answer questions. She said that DB is from the northern part of the UK. She found out two months ago that she was coming to Vancouver as a part of her Canadian tour and invited her in to Urban Yarns. She wished that she could have come in during store hours but it was not meant to be - Debbie B chose to come in early Sunday morning prior to opening. Suddenly aware of the significance of her presence here in Vancouver, I frantically looked up two fellow knitting Debbie Bliss fans on my blackberry to alert them of Debbie's visit - I was able to send an email to my sister and mom. Jayne: I did not have your email and wasn't comfortable with calling you given my lack of experience with using the phone. Just as well, I'd probably have shouted into your ear and embarrassed myself in front of Debbie Bliss. That would'nt have been good.

What does Debbie Bliss look like? Somehow I thought she might be a tall glamorous star, a young blond entrepreneur. Is it in a name that gave me a different impression? In actuality, she looks and is European in her middle age with dark hair and dark eyes with dark glasses and looks like anybody else! She has a nice demeanor and and has a polished charm about her.

It was a fun start to the day and is one to remember.

The pressure cooker is on. Santas elves, get to work!

Lace work in progress
Lately I have been giving attention to lace patterns that I have wanted to try. I don't have the confidence to work with finer yarns at this point, but working with Elanns luxurious cashmere and Paton's new Wool Soy blend makes the task very enjoyable. I dont think I can be listening to my books as these require me to chant out the instructions on each row. "...Knit 4, yarn-over, knit 2, slip one, knit 2 together, pass over slipped stitch, knit 4. Repeat three times..."

A Felted Backpack - using Berroco's Vibe Wool
The yarn was my first purchase from Elann.com. They are a canadian online company located in Delta, BC and will ship to Canada and the US. (Pricing is very good at this site.) I used a free pattern from Berroco.com. At only $1.98 per skein, I also purchased more Vibe in white/black and hope to do a variation of the same pattern. I plan to give these as gifts to my teen girls at Christmas. (Betting on the fact they aren't going to be looking at my blogsite!)

This was a fast and easy project that brought satisfactory results. The cord is nylon with a plastic buckle (often used for sporting goods) and gives a durable look.

The Noro Tea Cozy, Felted
This pattern was from the Vogue Knitting On the Go! Series. I had some trouble figuring out the pattern and bought one more ball to finish it up. It ended up very large and in the end I trimmed off the bottom to fit the teapot. An expensive project I won't repeat, though the felt result turned out nice. It was in the wash at least three or four times.

Scroll down to the fourth photo where you'll see this project, pre- felted. The before and after result is worlds apart.

My Ocean Tote

This tote was made with one skein each of Elann's Highland Wool and Mister Joe's Sangria. I cast on 50 stitches and knitted until the Mr. Joe was used up (approx 50 rows.) Did an I-cord for 50 inches. Simple mindless knitting. The felting turned out a nice result that was fuzzy and soft with a reflective shimmer to it. Very pretty!

Mr Joe and Highland pre-felted

Mr Joe and Highland pre-felted, originally uploaded by slfweather.

I am not sure what will happen to this one. It'll be a bag of some sort. Thinking as I go along. No listening, just thinking!

blanket over teapot, prefelted

blanket over teapot, prefelted, originally uploaded by slfweather.

Before felting. I wonder how long it will take to shrink this!!??

pre-felted teacozy using Noro

Its a wonder that this should shrink down to hug the teapot. We'll see about that.

I have not been restricted to knitting. I like to experiment with different crafts. For me, 2004 was the year of the quilt. (I was stash-busting my fabrics!) I made 5 blankets that summer. I thought I would share my quilting efforts with you before I continued on posting with my knitting.

K's Mothers Day gift 2005

A lovely surprise given to me for Mothers Day. I will always cherish this! My youngest daughter made it in 2005.

K's first quilt 2004/5

My youngest got into the groove of quilting too. Here she presents her quilt. Isn't it cute? The squares are put into 16-patch squares. We got the inspiraton from Kaffe Fassett, who is one of my favorite textile artists.

Quilt table mats 2004

For the last few years, the family has agreed to make gifts for one another at Christmas. This was my result in 2004. My mom is holding Valerie Well's Flip n Stitch. The other two are designed by Ricky Tims.

my 2nd quilt 2004

Presenting my eldest daughter who is camera shy. She is wearing my mothers knitted curling jacket (and still wears it.) This quilt is probably my favorite effort. It is called "Prairie Flowers."

quilted bomber jacket

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My very first quilt effort. I made it for my eldest about 17 years ago. I remember her as a baby while I was making this. She was just learning to stand up, clutching onto my leg while I sewed.

Paternayan wool before felting

I thought it would be fun to show the Pearl Tote before it was felted. The difference is obvious! I enjoy felting because there is a mystery to the end result. I get nervous during the hot water/agitation process.

Pearls Tote Summer 2006

This is a modified version of "Pearls Tote," a pattern obtained at Birkeland Brothers on Main Street of Vancouver. Pearl, the designer, works at the store and is my favorite store person to talk to about knitting. She taught me the Figure 8 Cast-On. I used the tabs for the straps taken from the book "Felted Knits." I used three strands to knit at once and feeded a new skein or leftover yarn as I went along. Paternayan yarn knits and felts beautifully. I have used approximately 700 grams of yarn. It knitted up quickly.

Paternayan tote with Bandit

Pearls Tote is fairly large. Bandit is a large cat too! I had 128 stitches on size 8mm needles.

my first tea cozy 2006

My First felted project using Paternayan yarn. This tea cozy came from the book, Felted Knits. It inspired me to make a big felted tote. I have had the yarn for 17 years and wanted to use it up. This was a test project. From there, I decided to try knitting the large tote designed by Pearl (shown above.) Paternayan wool felts beautifully.

Nepal silk and Noro 2006

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I received this beautiful recycled silk from a boss at work. She traveled to Nepal and brought this back for me. I combined it with Noro Kureyon yarn - thanks to Pearl's (not Purl) clever ideas . She works at Birkeland Brothers in Vancouver, BC. I found the free pattern in Knitty.com.

Tweed tote 2005

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I used leftovers from my stash to do this project. It has squared edges and looks pretty good I think. Hard to see the wooden toggle holding down the V shaped flap.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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