Life LackaDaisiCal

Madeleine Tosh that is! You might wonder how I got into this predicament.....let me go back to the beginning.... During casual conversation at art class, I found out that my knitting friend Candice has NEVER, I repeat NEVER, been to The Needle Emporium in Ancaster - my all time favourite yarn shop - well, before the leaves were all down and the snow flies - we decided on a ROAD TRIP! (Pulling myself together from all the excitement....) I went because I felt it was a shame that Candice had never been, she had heard about it, but poor thing had never managed to actually get there.  I was determined to show her the way, to enlighten her knitting life, AND to stick to my Yarn Diet plan....I was there to enable Candice to appreciate the beauty that is a fully stocked, totally diverse, luxury yarn shop that is The Needle Emporium!  I WAS NOT going to buy anything (guffawing out loud right here). Well, when we got there and sophisticated Candice turned into giggling Candy - yes sh...

  Sheep Heid by Kate Davies  done with Jamieson & Smith Shetland Supreme - all 9 shades! Daisy gives it a 5 out of 5 cookie rating!

"What a difference a day makes".... as they say. Last nights knitting was a case of opposites attract - what could possibly be similar between knitting and the show "Dancing with the Stars"? Well frankly - nothing!  Except I find it entertaining - and when the "stars" and their partners aren't dancing, I'm knitting - it helps to set aside a dedicated hour or two for knitting - and that's what you do - knit and watch TV, knit and listen to an audiobook, knit knit knit.  That's how you make progress. Here is a shot of the stranding side of my hat - there are some long float areas and you might want to catch the yarn being stranded - as the pattern says - just don't do your catches at the same point on each round - mix it up a bit - this is what distorts the design on the back side - but it's all good! Like everything else in life - you have to practice your craft (s).  When the weather starts to turn cooler, I start to bake - both swe...

I confess, I am currently addicted to small, cute, quick projects.  First there was Peerie Flooers, now Sheep Heid - both by Kate Davies - yeah Kate! Last night (Sunday) while watching Masterpiece Mystery - the new "Case Histories" series based on the novels by another Kate -  Kate Atkinson - with the hero Jackson Brodie being played by Jason Isaacs (another side of the actor who played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films)......looks like there are 6 episodes of this....I'm very happy as we needed some new Masterpiece Mysteries. While watching the hunky Jason Isaacs last night I managed to cast on and get the rib done of my Sheep Heid - love these natural shades of yarn although I do have to keep referring to the ball bands to see what shade is what because of the subtle gradation of the yarns. Kate Davies is a relatively new designer to me - a friend pointed her out a few months back and I must say I just love her work. Kate Atkinson is also new to me....why haven...

Peerie Flooers  Hat by Kate Davies, done in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift yarn. My fingerless gloves, incorporating the Peerie Flooers motif and my Peerie Flooers colourway inspired "Inspira Cowl"

I knew my Ravelry (and before that Yahoo Groups) ID would catch on eventually.... it just had to LOL!!! Knitting Daily calling for all Fair Isle Fanatics LOL! I have already ordered Mary Jane's book - have you? (I have no affiliation with Interweave Press - This is in no way an endorsement for ordering this book direct from Interweave - There are many places to order it from - use your favourite book supplier!)

Remember this post ? Well, the yarn arrived yesterday ! and I didn't even know it.  Seems that the mail delivery was later than usual and we thought we didn't get any mail.....so this poor yarn sat in our mail box over night all by itself and in the cold. So here they are - the 9 shades of Jamieson & Smith Shetland Supreme for the Sheep Heid hat by Kate Davies.   (I got the pattern printed in colour at our local Mailbox store.) Well, not by itself.....this was in the mail yesterday too! Redbud, by Janine Bajus (aka Feral Knitter ) done in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift . I am almost finished my current project - there will be Applöse soon! I've been trying out the new dynamic templates on blogger - how do you like it?  Do you have a favourite display (classic, magazine, timeline?) or do you prefer the old style blogger template with my Shetland photo?  Just wondering..... I feel that these new dynamic templates are really clean and crisp...but they can't be...

by water of course - this is the tombolo to St. Ninian's Isle it wears away at the rocks... and makes interesting formations.

They grow everywhere... You may not think of a Thistle as a flower.....but I do.

I'm following Mary Jane Mucklestone and Kate Davies  via Twitter during Shetland Wool Week - and they have both been over to Eshaness.....I loved this spot and it inspired my Eshaness Cardi.

Muckle Flugga - almost the farthest north you can go in Shetland... it's a pretty dramatic trip...we actually went up and around the top, and our skipper opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate because it is not often that the weather cooperates.

A Puffin - taken at Sumburgh Head the most southern point of Shetland

In honour of Shetland Wool Week - a few of my favourite Shetland photos This one taken in 2003 I believe we were taking a drive on Mucke Roe - close to our hotel.

Yes it's Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada.  I have a lot to be thankful for....great Hubby, good health, good friends (both old and new), and the fact that I have everything that I truly need to live a happy, healthy, contented life. But thank goodness it's only October 2011 - because even though I'm busy knitting away.....when I saw this I just had to have the pattern - and it's knit in Jamieson's Shetland Supreme - 9 shades of luscious natural shades of Shetland yarn - and well....you know.....the yarn should be here in about a week I'd think.  (Yarn diet starts in 2012 remember?) It's a gorgeous weekend and I'm spending as much time outside as I can - this morning when I discovered this new pattern - well, I bought it of course and printed it off (unfortunately I only have a black and white printer - oh dear LOL) and got out my Shetland Supreme shade card (purchased at J&S while there either with the Simply Shetland group in 2006, or when DH...

UPDATE:  FOUND THE E-MAIL! I've lost an e-mail. How embarrassing.  A Shades of Shetland reader e-mailed me about set in sleeves, how you went about shaping the arm hole, etc......it was there, I saw it, I read it, and now it's gone! Please if you're reading this and you know this was you.....e-mail me again - I am so sorry but somehow between my iphone and my mac your message disappeared......I'd like to do a blog post to completely answer your questions. Yup, red faced......even Lackie and Daisy have turned away in shame!!!

Obviously Cindi read to the end of my last blog post..... 1 comments: Cindi Brumpton  said... What it help your "diet" if u were to think of your stash as a shop and when u need to shop for wool, u just go through your stash? Saturday, October 08, 2011 9:48:00 AM  OK, I said it....Yarn Diet.   Yup, for 2012 I am going to try going on a yarn diet......shop the stash as Cindi says.....it's not like I don't have enough in my stash to last for a while (er years). My kind of knitter Cindi is! She looks so happy here - photo taken at Beckside Yarns. I met Cindy on the Scotland, England Wool Trip in September - she lives in Peterborough and she writes a blog called Purl One . She also publishes an on-line magazine called "Purl Peterborough" which celebrates the diversity of our knitting community in the Peterborough area.  Although the focus is on Peterborough, Cindi branches out - for example the current edition of Purl Peterborough has a great article on Icel...