Life LackaDaisiCal

  It’s time to think about Felted Tweed, Classic Alpaca...and Creative Linen! Yes, Creative Linen! The three Autumn Winter “stories” in Magazine 68 are.... Seamless - a collection of designs that don’t require seaming! Top down, modular, in the round....it’s all here! City Tweed - 8 “new” classic shapes in Felted Tweed by Martin Storey! Homeware - a selection of items to make life at home just that much better! Throws, a scarf, slippers and super comfy sweaters! All designs by Erica Knight! It’s all here in my run through of the Autumn/Winter 2020-21 Rowan Yarns magazine - Magazine 68! What am I going to knit from Magazine 68?  Picking a design from a magazine....where the models are tall and slim and beautifully made up and photographed! Sometimes it isn’t easy to visualize yourself in any of the new designs. Next time I’ll share how I have choose a project, what the important measurements are for me - to ensure a flattering fit! Of course, this year is #stashappy2020 an...

Have you seen the announcement about the  2017 Rowan Crochet Along? click on the photo to go to a preview! It's a design by Lisa Richardson.....the Felted Tweed Blanket! I keep saying I'm a crochet newbie....but I'm feeling quite crochet confident these days..... so yes, I'm going to Crochet Along! Crochet was something I have come to late....but with the wonder of the internet and youtube videos....by jove, I think I've got it! Rowan will be doing "official videos" to support this Crochet Along. I'd like to share the crochet love with you......and with the kind permission of Rowan, I'll be making demonstration videos about my experience with each release of the Felted Tweed Blanket Crochet Along! Please understand that these videos are NOT meant to be Learn to Crochet videos...I am going to show you the complete motif and highlighting anything I find interesting :) Starting August 4 (the day AFTER the first pattern rel...

Hildis , by Lisa Richardson (free pattern) for ROWAN YARNS Select  Soffili Yak (limited edition yarn) for more details, see my Hildis project page! I have to say that when I saw this knit up at the Harrogate Stitching show last November, it was LOVE! The yarn is a Rowan Select (limited edition) so once it's gone, it's gone!  You might be able to knit this up in Kid Classic...just a thought...of course you'd need to swatch! The pattern was perfect as written. The pockets line up on the exact row that they should to keep the pattern correct....the fronts are facings that fold over....the collar, oh the collar! The ONLY change I made was the light band that highlighted the raglan shaping. I really liked the idea of keeping the edges in the two colours and having them butt up against each other....matching the edge stitches on the collar!  All in all a great knit, fabulous design, DIVINE yarn! Thank you...

 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...

This time of year I find it hard to get into the swing of knitting for Spring/Summer!  I'll be honest, before becoming a Rowan Ambassador, I hardly (if ever) knit for for the Spring/Summer season! Perhaps in my mind I couldn't correlate S weater with S pring/ S ummer. Well, they all begin with S don't they? That's a S tart! Another S !!!! Living here in S outhern Ontario, we have all 4 S easons, but I have to tell you..... S pring and S ummer just sort of fly by. Perhaps that is why I have, in the past, just kept knitting along on my woollen projects....saving them up for the first S now fall in October (big smile here)! (ok, enough with the S's already!) Here it is, April 19 and I'm still wearing woollen sweaters. Although it was quite warm early this week, today there was a chill in the air and I wore my Emley , probably (hopefully) for the last time until the Fall. I've been thinking about Summer knits since I swatched the " 3 New Rowan ...

Summerlite 4ply Rowan's Summerlite 4 ply is absolutely gorgeous!  It's 100% pure cotton,  the finest Egyptian cotton... with a soft matt finish!   Martin Storey designed this collection of 12 delicate feminine garments, all with fine stitch detail and a range of silhouettes. "Rosean" - When I saw this design I knew this was the one I was going to swatch! I've knit a lot of stranded knitting, but I've never used cotton! The swatch is gorgeous, the stitches so fine and perfectly formed, the resulting fabric soft and luxurious! If you love fine gauge knitting, at 28sts per 10cm, this is a yarn that will demand serious attention to complete your project, but you will be rewarded with a truly luxurious sweater! Summerlite comes in 12 fabulous shades - you can see them all here.... Summerlite 4ply Cotton Lustre Cotton Lustre is a blend of Cotton, Modal and Linen What is Modal?  It's sort of like Rayon....but while R...

That's Yorkshire speak.... Here's what REALLY happened at the Mill! All Rowan Ambassadors were present and accounted for bright and early Tuesday morning when our man at Rowan, Karl, arrived to pick us all up in the "Last of the Summer Wine" tour bus! You might not be familiar with this UK television show, but it ran from 1973 to 2010 and focussed on the antics of a trio of men, and the predicaments they got into with various people around and about the town of Holmfirth...yes HOLMFIRTH! So, on the bus we go.....first stop!  The Green Lane Mill...home of Rowan Yarns! Yup, that's the entrance.....and see that window above the entrance?  That's where Karl hangs out!  He has a great view of the comings and going at "The Mill" and has a lovely window seat in his spot too!  Lucky guy eh? and I guess I already showed you this too right....so come on in! Honestly, even though I'd been here before....I was totally in awe....bec...