musings | Laura Chau

Currently On My Needles

October 29, 2015

I cast on a few new projects to take with me to Rhinebeck! Of course, I have more WIPs (works in progress) than just these, but most of those are currently in time-out…

I’ve been loving all the swingy, fun tunic tops that have been available lately. They’re perfect to wear with leggings (long enough to cover one’s behind…if you’re kinda short like me), boots, and handknit sweaters! When I was considering yarns for a handknit tunic dress, I knew it needed to be knit up in something fairly lightweight to help it keep its shape and not be too heavy or warm. Elspeth Lavold’s Silky Wool is one of the lightest yarns I know of in a DK weight, with about 190 yards per 50g. I love the tweedy colours and pebbly texture, too. This one is worked from the top down with a v-neck, and I’ve got a few details floating around to add to it (big one: pockets).

I’ve been wearing my Ashworth Scarf a ton – nothing beats cashmere for lightness and warmth! I’ve had this Jade Sapphire grey cashmere for awhile, and I love it held together with the black Jaggerspun merino/silk. I want this bias-knit wrap to be nice and big!

My crazy colourwork sweater has been stagnating, but I’m determined to get it done to wear this winter – I’m almost up the armholes on the body. I started a sleeve to carry around with me, but it hasn’t seen much action lately either.

I’m teaching at a retreat in Prince Edward County with Rosehaven Yarn Shop next weekend, so I’m also working up some new samples! Entrelac is fun. The gradient sample is knit flat in Eco wool, and the cowl is worked in the round in some scraps of Cascade 220.

What’s on your needles this Halloween weekend?

the yarn wants

January 12, 2015

I’ve been window shopping tons of yarn lately and thought I’d share – some Canadian yarns, some not, but all totally beautiful and covetable! This season I’m all about round, squishy, bouncy wools (when am I not, though?), single breeds, and both rich colours and natural ones.

I don’t have any affiliations with any of these yarn companies or shops. Consumerism ahoy!

Canadian Yarns

Photo: Colorsong

Fleece Artist Coraline (via Colorsong) – bulky Corriedale, dyed in Canada by one of my longstanding favourite Canadian yarn companies! The colours are always amazing, and this yarn looks so squishy and warm.

Photo: Gala Wool

Gala Wool merino – pretty *ahem* old-school website, but the yarn looks so squishy! Wool raised in Saskatchewan, naturally dyed in BC.

Photo: Roving Winds Farm

Roving Winds Farm cashmere – Canadian cashmere? Yes please.

Photo: sweet fiber

sweet fiber cormo – this was a limited edition yarn and I don’t think it’s even available (sorry!) but I can still enjoy the photos and idea of it! Cormo is one of my all-time favourite wool breeds.

Non-Canadian

Photo: TONOFWOOL

TONOFWOOL cormo – Australian cormo, spun in New Zealand – it was available in the US at Woolful Mercantile but is sold out. Drool.

Photo: Elsawool

Elsawool woolen spun, worsted weight cormo. All the things I love.

Photo: O-Wool

O-Wool Classic Worsted – 100% certified organic merino wool, tightly spun and plied for both durability and softness! I’ve used O-Wool’s Legacy DK for my Tiverton cabled pullover and it was awesome.

Photo: Dirty Water Dyeworks

I’m actually knitting with Dirty Water Dyeworks Johanna right now – and I want more! It’s Targhee wool, which is soft and squishy but still with body and heft. Plus it comes in huge skeins! Lovely, lovely.

Photo: Sincere Sheep

Sincere Sheep Equity Fingering – a bouncy, semi-woolen Rambouillet wool from Wyoming.

Photo: Knit Purl

Have you heard about Woolfolk? The fiber is harvested from “Ovis XXI Ultimate Merino” sheep in Patagonia and given 2 different treatments – Tynd (fingering weight, standard ply) and Får (shown above), which is a worsted weight chainette. I love chainette yarns and hope to actually try this one soon! My friend Olga designed the inaugural collection and it is all so beautiful.

Photo: YOTH

Last but not least? YOTH yarns, merino/cashmere/nylon blend in two weights, dyed in a food-inspired palette.

Whew, that’s a lot of pretty yarn to look at! What yarns are you coveting these days? A knitter can dream…

It’s 2015! plus a quick sock heel tip

January 5, 2015

There’s just a dusting of snow on the ground and the wind is howling past an outer window that’s frozen a bit open, but it’s bright and sunny, I have coffee, and it’s 2015! 2014 was okay – some good stuff happened, I ate lots of good food, and made loads of stuff! I’m not feeling very reflective on the past year, mostly because I’m ready to get on with the next – which also includes eating good food and making stuff ;)

Much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t finish off all my old projects to start anew in 2015 – I have way too many sweaters in progress. I took a long vacation over the holidays and barely even knit, because I was too busy sleeping and playing Lego Batman 3. But I’m excited to be working on a new collection of sweater patterns this year – it’s getting a bit bigger than I originally intended, but that’s okay. I’ve been needing a larger project to really get into!

I did start some socks before Christmas with the intention of giving them to Dale, but of course they got pushed back (mostly in favour of cross stitch projects). They’re almost done now and I might be running out of yarn! I did make the leg a bit longer, so I was flirting with that possibility anyway. He won’t mind if one toe is a different colour.

Here’s a little sock knitting tip I shared on instagram – to help reinforce the bottom of the heel (especially in merino sock yarns like this one, Socks that Rock), I often continue the slip-stitch pattern from the heel flap through the short rows for the heel turn. Just work the heel turn as you usually do, but continue slipping the stitches that were slipped in the heel flap, and knit the ones in between. Once the short rows are complete, switch back to stockinette for the bottom of the foot.

Housekeeping: VATMOSS

You may or may not have heard of #VATMESS, new legislation affecting digital goods purchased in the EU. It’s a large unholy crapfest! Ravelry has a great summary and has been working so, so hard to provide a solution for sellers who want to comply. Whether or not EU countries will come after me for a few euros a year, I don’t know, but I have decided to make my patterns available through the new Ravelry/Loveknitting portal. If you are in the EU and you click on a buy now link on one of my patterns, you will be taken to a Loveknitting checkout to purchase the pattern. Thanks to some magic by Casey, purchased patterns will still show up in your Ravelry library, so it should be seamless. I’m still in the process of making sure all my patterns on Loveknitting are properly set up, so please do let me know if you encounter any issues! I haven’t shut down other venues like Craftsy, we’ll see how that goes.

Bellevue Price Change

As a result of the Ravelry/Loveknitting integration, I’ve decided to make my Bellevue patterns available separately on Ravelry, as they have been in other places. The Bellevue Worsted Weight and Bellevue Fingering Weight patterns are now $7.00 CAD each. Castlegar and Tephra are both unavailable to the EU right now, but will be up again as soon as I can reformat them.

Send me your editing!

Last thing – I would love to do more tech editing in 2015. I have many years of knitting design and sweater grading under my belt, as well as Adobe suite and a quick turnaround. Email me if you’re interested!

Here’s to a fun, healthy, productive 2015!