Life LackaDaisiCal

Rowan Yarns has been producing their seasonal magazines for 30 years! Imagine that! All of the magazine covers were displayed in the Rowan offices in the Green Lane Mill... wonder where they are now? (In case you didn't know, Rowan moved out of the Green Lane Mill building this year, to new digs at Brookes Mill in Huddersfield.) I started buying Rowan Magazines with number 11 - see it in the above photo - second row, second one from the left! Confession...I NEVER knit anything from a Rowan magazine....like for years! I was too intimidated by the fabulous designs and my startitis condition. You know what I'm talking about...start a project, start a project, see something new, start a project...never finish a project. It was YEARS of collecting (the magazines and yarn too) before I actually finished anything. A Rowan Club at my LYS really got me focussed on the actual knitting of the Rowan Designs that I loved so much. Magazine 1 was published in 198...

 I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again.... I  L O V E Rowan's Pure Linen! The sheen of the fibre, the shades are subtle yet strong, the fabric it creates has presence... you know you are wearing it, and it drapes beautifully. If you haven't tried Pure Linen....get yourself to your LYS and pick some up. There are 11 subtle shades...8 original and 3 new ones added this season, including the blue I am wearing here, Patagonian! Then there is the bright orange, Monte and the gold, Simpson. It was so hard to decide, but this seems to be my "blue" knit phase! Lisa Richardson created the designs in the  Pure Linen Collection  last year....all classic summer shapes to knit and wear forever! This sweater is the  "Trinity"  design from this collection . The pattern as written is  perfect ! My only modification was to the neckline. I loved the shape and depth of the V as is, so instead of doing a ribbed finish...I ju...

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...

Rainshadow Hanging Garden Stole sample beaded bracelets for the workshop! examples of how colour and beads work together! Rolling Thunder Gauntlets Fluency Gloves Dryad, by Sivia Harding for Twist Collective, Winter 2009 a personal favourite right now :) Lumen, by Sivia Harding for Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People 4! Bead Whimsey with Sivia Harding That was the name of the class that I took at the Toronto Knitters Frolic.  I have attended many workshops in my time, so it takes a special workshop to catch my attention. Do you know her? I have to admit, I wasn't aware of Sivia's work until it was announced that she was the special guest for the Frolic. When I did some research on line, I was intrigued by her beaded knits and signed up right away! "Bead Whimsey" did not disappoint! Sivia brought so many examples of her beaded knits. We talked about the different beads available out in the bead wor...

Well, I stuck to my plan of NO MORE YARN! I am so fortunate to have not one, but TWO local yarn stores to supply my fibre needs.  My really close LYS Main St. Yarns , and my nice drive to Ancaster local Rowan stockist The Needle Emporium ! These two LYS's provide me with lots of yarn appreciation time.  MSY wasn't at the Fair....but Julie from The Needle Emporium had a booth at the KW Fair and she was there with lots and lots of Mrs. Crosby yarn.  This yarn is seriously gorgeous and I have had to "step away from the yarn" more than once.  Julie did a blog post about the Fair and you should go visit and read her post! Just because I wasn't buying....didn't mean I couldn't ooh and ahhh! laughing! I'd like to use this blog post to introduce you to a brand new Canadian indie dyer! my iPhone photos do NOT do this yarn justice... my knit bud was fascinated... Here's Darlene and the creator of these fabulous shades! Carla is wearing ...

I was so excited to be visiting the home of Rowan, "The Green Lane Mill" in Holmfirth.  This would actually be my third visit...but my first as a Rowan Ambassador. Knowing what I'm like with jet lag, I decided to arrive one day early to catch up on sleep and do a recce of Holmfirth. After a long flight to London (our take off was delayed two hours), a scramble to rebook my connecting flight to Manchester, and having to read the railway timetable to figure out what train to catch to Huddersfield, a short taxi ride later and I was checked into my room. my room, with a view... Holmfirth was on the Tour de France route, and the village had done itself proud. store fronts were decorated with bunting... red and white flowers...and bunting of course! this cafe had gone all "Tour de France" for the occasion! and the main street just around the corner was heavily done up in "Tour" bunting! There is a yarn shop in Holmfirth, cal...

Although there are a few who do both, it seems that you are either a blog reader, or you are a fan of Facebook..... Friends of mine cringe at the thought of Facebook..... Facebook friends LOVE the spontaneous nature of Facebook, and don't want to read a whole blog post.... As a Rowan Ambassador, I like both!  I like to blog about project details here....with a bit of Life LackaDaisiCal thrown in....while on Facebook I "share" the highlights of what I come across on the net with my Life LackaDaisiCal community, those who have "Like" ed my page..... (You can tell easily if you have "Like"d my page - look to the right - see that little Facebook box - if you have liked my page....there will be a little check mark there....if not....oh dear (laughing) you should!  If you are on Facebook, you will have seen my "shares" this week.... That I've started knitting with Rowan's Pure Linen - this is the shade "Avocado " ...

While I was waiting for the Rowan Yarns Fine Art Aran mini collection to come out....I've been knitting up one-skein "Swatch" cowls. Trilogies are all the rage - The Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, The Chronicles of Narnia....for more great books written in trilogy....go to  Goodreads  here... There are Trilogy movies too.....like the Jason Bourne series, the Mission Impossible movies and the Lord of the Rings trilogy! so I had to do one more to complete my own trilogy, a Trilogy of Swatch Cowls! This time I'm using a fabulous neutral shade called Bachata (no 551) Surprise, surprise.... I just got an e-mail from my LRS to advise....that.... the Rowan Fine Art Aran mini collection booklet has just arrived! (ahead of the January 15 release schedule!) Mini-collections are "vintage" designs reworked in new yarns... This one called "Dali" - it was Chippy by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan 27  This is the fabulous Lowry by Martin S...

Quick links: "The Lonely Tree Shawl" by Silvia Bo Bilvia My  Lonely Tree Shawl project page  on Ravelry Yarn: Lorna's Laces Haymarket , in the shade "Flushing" Where'd I get my yarn?  At  The Needle Emporium  Knit Camp! I was determined not to buy any more yarn at Knit Camp... I'd arrived with a bit of my own to knit up, but I fell head over heels for this lovely shawlette and bought a skein of Lorna's Laces Haymarket on the spot.  I just couldn't resist the Flushing shade! It is hard to describe and hard to photograph..... I cast on when I got home from Camp, and cast off on our way to cottage country for the Thanksgiving weekend!  Lucky...as I ended up needing to wear it as it was cold out on the water! I added this shawl to my outfit for the day - it was cool on the water! I was already layered in wool with my Mary and my Easy Folded Poncho!   It was a glorious day, and the fall ...