Life LackaDaisiCal

In the early days of my knitting career, my reputation was...cast on, knit, knit a bit more, lose interest...pass it on to my Mom to finish.  My Mother, I am sure, despaired at how quickly my enthusiasm turned to empathy;  how a new project would catch my eye and the old project be relegated to a dark corner somewhere.... Then there were the years that I didn't knit at all...life somehow got in the way. When the knitting gene resurfaced back in the late 80's, I vowed to become a monogamous knitter - to cast on, knit knit knit (exclusively) and finish that project! I learned new techniques (stranded knitting), attempted things that caused my poor Mother to gasp. (Gosh, the first time I cut my knitting, I took my Philosopher's sweater to my Mom's house. On her dining room table....we lay the tube of knitting, my Mother handed me the scissors.....and I cut! We both needed a reviving cup of tea.) I know that my Mom was proud of the new knitterly me! I even knit her a ...

I first mentioned "Wave" back in this blog post.... "Coffee Table Update" . I was intrigued with using two different size needles to make a light, yet substantial, Kidsilk Haze fabric.  You have to take care not to miss a strand when knitting two strands of any yarn together, and doubly attentive when it is Kidsilk Haze! A couple of times I didn't notice until I was quite a few rows above one of these mistakes! I had to drop down to the offending stitch and then carefully knit the stitch back up...alternating needle sizes...worth the effort, but honestly, it's easier if you catch a dropped thread when it is only a row or two back! To do this, I learned to stop every right side row, hold my knitting up to the light, and have a scan of the last couple of rows. If you have missed a strand, trust me, you'll see it and it will be easy to fix. If you knit too far past a dropped stitch, it is doable, just a whole lot more fiddly. I had to re...

It's Victoria Day weekend here...that means a 3 day weekend, which is not as big a deal as when we were working and a stat holiday was a bonus. But, it still means that we take it easy, avoid the holiday crowds, put up our feet and relax, in the belief that Summer is truly just around the corner! So, what is a knitter to do, on a long stay-at-home holiday weekend? Well, let's look at the coffee table this morning! I really should finish my Trinity sweater.... Rowan Pure Linen ...look at that lustre! All of the pieces have been knit, the shoulder seams done,  the neckline is finished. With a little focus, I could have a luscious new summer sweater  to wear THIS WEEKEND! I bought a selection of Swarovski crystals to bead the neckline, but I've decided NOT to, ONLY because I think this might be my 'go to' sweater this summer, and without beads, it is more versatile for my daily life. It is so lovely, you have to feel it to believe it. Don't worry, I ha...

ha ha ha....alliteration, you gotta love it! on a bright, but not sunny, cold day Mette + Muddy = a rather warm combo! Seriously, I thought I'd be freezing with a short-sleeved  sweater over a long-sleeved cotton T shirt! (so hard to get the right exposure) I love this no button, knee length "duster" coat! I was ridiculously warm....but when I took that scarf off, boy was my neck cold! Moral of the story? Your Mother was right... Always wear your hat and scarf! (you can tell, I am happy with my "Mette" cardigan! and I love my "Muddy" scarf!) Details: Mette from the Brushed Fleece Collection by Martin Storey Rowan Brushed Fleece Yarn (I used shade 252, Cavern) Muddy from "North" by Kim Hargreaves in Rowan Brushed Fleece and Rowan Fur (I used shade 092, Brown Bear) Ravelry Links - Mette and Muddy It's another snowy March day here! While Lackie and Daisy LOVE IT! Me...well, I'm drea...

+RowanYarns   Fur Brown Bear (092)  Make 2 large "fur" pom poms! Combined with Rowan's Brushed Fleece! Cavern (252) The "Muddy" scarf from "North" by Kim Hargreaves Hubby calls it "The Thing" (and he swears he saw it moving !) See my Ravelry Project Page for any thoughts I had while knitting this! "The Thing" on Ravelry ! I hope you'll take a moment to  Join the Life LackaDaisiCal community, by following in a reader of your choice, or by e-mail, or subscribe to be notified  of new posts (or new comments) Handy links are at the top right for you! I do appreciate all of my followers! Anne   :) \          /\/\   \\          .    .              Daisy and Lackie like followers too!

You've heard of having a Coffee Klatch - when you invite your friends, or perhaps neighbours over for a coffee and a natter? Well, this is the Life LDC Kaffe Klach! I have invited my friends over to Knit Kaffe and Klatch!  Unfortunately, we are on opposite sides of the Atlantic, so meeting in person is going to be troublesome.  So this is going to be a virtual Kaffe Klatch here on the Life LackaDaisiCal blog, reporting on each "Week" of the  +RowanYarns  Kaffe Mystery Afghan KAL! Week 1 Darlene is knitting the cushion in Kaffe's Pastel Colourway She wrote... "Ahhhh...memories of those fun lazy summer days while sitting on the porch and enjoying a large bowl of neopolitan ice cream.  Knitting the pastel square is addictive and brings back those childhood memories.  In the midst of blocking my squares...can't wait to see the new pattern on the 10th!" Ros is knitting the afghan in Kaffe's Brown colour way.  She did some desert island ...

Although Levi Strauss is credited with the invention of "the blue jean", the denim fabric that he used came from the French town of Nimes....and ‘jeans’ comes from the French phrase ‘bleu de Genes’ meaning ‘the blue of Genoa’.   Genoese Navy sailors wore denim back in the 1500’s but it wasn’t until the 1870’s when Levi Strauss arrived at the gold rush and quickly identified the need for hard wearing, yet comfortable, work pants. Levi arrived with a shipment of canvas for tents and quickly converted the material into hard wearing overalls.  The miners liked these new pants, but they found them a bit rough on their tender areas :) and so Levi imported the denim fabric from Nimes and "denim blue jeans" were born.   I grew up when wearing denim jeans was a statement of being young and independent...my parents didn't wear denim!   Although you had to dress conservatively for work....you came home and put on your jeans.  Although they were stylish...they were...

I've been down in the basement......in my yarn room......looking at my STASH! Because I've finished Claudia, a Kim Hargreaves design from her "Smoulder" collection! Should my next knit be another Kim design? I'll have to decide.... Someone always wants to join in the photo fun! Quick links: "Claudia" by Kim Hargreaves from her collection" Smoulder "   "Claudia" pattern page on Ravelry My Claudia on Ravelry Yarn:  +RowanYarns   Kid Classic , Shade 872, Earth My Rowan Stockist - The Needle Emporium I thought this "Earth" shade of Rowan Kid Classic yarn would look wonderful photographed outside with a backdrop of glorious autumn leaves! I had planned to go back into the wood lot on the farm next door....but on Friday the wind was howling and outdoor photography was frankly scary and would have been foolish among a stand of old trees. Alternative arrangements had to be made!   ...