Blog Page – Page 9 – Laura Chau Designs

May zoomed by

Now that I feel like I *might* have a bit of breathing room on my current deadline projects, a quick catch-up!

I have a couple of patterns in the new June issue of I Like Knitting. I don’t think they’re on Ravelry yet though:

Dad’s Dress Socks are worked in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, one of my all-time favourite sock yarns, in Douglas Fir. They’re worked top down, with an easy staggered ridge pattern and heel flap and gusset.

Maritime Cardigan is a pretty adorable (if I do say so myself!) baby cardigan in sizes 3 months – 2 years. It’s worked from the top down, with panels of twisted stitch medallions down the back and fronts, short sleeves, and ribbed edgings. This one’s also knit in Lorna’s Laces, in the beautiful Shepherd Sport (colour Poppy).

We finally got out to the garden this weekend and planted out the tomatoes and herbs. Sorry for the overexposed photos, it’s way too hot (and unshaded!) to spend much time out on the deck in the morning!

Lots of tomatoes this year: 9 plants, mostly cherry types.

The peas are doing pretty well, getting established – I wish there were most plants though, I ran out and I suspect that the squirrels may have gotten ahold of some of them.

I bought this “framberry/pineberry/strawberry” pack at the grocery store and have high hopes for them! I’ve never grown berries before. We’ll see how they do in a container. Quite a few of the plants at the nursery had teeny tiny fruit – I tried to pick ones that had flowers, but not fruit yet.

We usually just grow basil in with all the tomatoes, but I wanted some different herbs this year as well. Mint, coriander, dill and basil in a container together. It’s okay with me if the mint takes over eventually!

Lettuce that I planted a month or so ago (in COLD April) is definitely ready for some eating. The spread in the container came out a bit patchy, but I’m not sure whether I should plant more seeds since it’ll be so hot.

In knitting, I’ve had so many deadline projects that I can’t share yet, but these will be available soon!

Milkweed original and XL (uses 200g of fingering weight yarn), and a new shawlette in super pretty Mountain Colors Louisa: a cashmere/silk blend that’s OMG SO SOFT. Coming in June!

May 30, 2016
Belfour and Boden

I have a couple of new spring patterns available from Harrisville Designs, part of the Lakehouse Collection. Both are knit in Harrisville’s Silk & Wool, a DK-weight yarn with a cool pebble-y texture and great yardage. The patterns are available through both Harrisville and Ravelry.

The Belfour Tee is worked seamlessly from the top down, mostly a circular yoke construction with a few raglan increases at the bottom of the yoke for a better fit. Short rows are used between the increase rounds to lower the front neck comfortably. The body works up really quickly in the round, with some side waist shaping that you could easily adjust for a smaller or larger waist – or just work straight for a casual boxy fit. The short sleeves, hem and collar are all edged with seed stitch.

Fave, queue and buy Belfour on Ravelry.

The Boden Cardigan is worked the opposite way round – from the bottom up, with raglan sleeves worked in the round. The simple acorn lace pattern is worked in panels on the fronts and back, with stockinette sections at the sides to make the waist shaping easy. The three-quarter-length plain sleeves are great for covering your arms just enough without getting in the way! This is a great basic that can be dressed up or down, the kind of cardigan I wear every day.

Fave, queue and buy Boden on Ravelry.

I finished spinning and plying up this merino/silk roving from Woolgatherings, and I love it! I was trying to get a thicker worsted-ish weight 3 ply, and I think I succeeded, though I won’t know for sure until I knit it up. I’m definitely going to be keeping this skein for myself! The colours were so beautiful in the braid, so I chain plied the singles to keep the colours in long runs. 50% merino wool, 50% silk, 275 yds / 4oz.

May 10, 2016
Snowy April

Apparently April has been the snowiest month of this winter, here in TO! I just saw some hail falling, too. Yeeesh.

I’ve been working on an XL version of my Milkweed Shawl pattern – which originally came out in 2008. That’s seriously an AGE in digital knitting patterns! It needs some new photos and layout to freshen it up, and I’ve been meaning to do a larger version for years. I’m actually striping 2 different colourways of Cashmerino 20 from Sweet Fiber Yarns – I had bought 2 different ones by accident, but they look great together and blend really nicely. I’m at the point now where I’m starting to worry about running out of yarn…here’s hoping I don’t have to rip back again.

I hadn’t spun in weeks, but got back to the wheel this past weekend. This 50/50 merino/silk from Woolgatherings on Etsy is so soft, and the colours are just gorgeous. I split the top vertically into 2 pieces and am spinning each one separately, then I’ll chain ply to preserve the colours. I really wanted this yarn to be a heavier than my “default” thickness (which is pretty thin), so I’m aiming for about a worsted-weight 3 ply.

Despite all the other work I’ve got going (and the fact that I have only 2 hands, dammit) I couldn’t resist winding this awesome yarn from Caterpillar Green in Vancouver, in Blue Light. I wind a lot of yarn by hand these days because I can’t be arsed to set up the swift and ball winder, but it was worth it to see how this yarn stripes up! It’s designed to stripe nicely for top-down, triangular shawls, but of course I’m thinking of a light spring cardigan. At a whopping 600 yards, this skein might just be enough for a little topper. Stay tuned…

This week’s cookie is Jam Thumbprints from Love and Olive Oil, spurred on by the several half-full jars of homemade jam in the fridge! They’re filled with raspberry, blueberry, and meyer lemon marmalade. They’re pretty, tender, and way too easy to eat!

Here’s hoping Spring is actually spring-ing where you are.

April 12, 2016