Normally I post a little pattern for you, but I feel like a national celebration of the birthday of a long-dead Monarch (Queen Victoria) deserves something a little more …. today I share the digitized collection of Victorian Knitting Manuals, gratis the Univerity of Southampton’sKnitting Reference Library & JStor. There are 67 books in the collection, so it should keep you busy.
It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of the library and put her in a store full of yarn, but apparently, you can’t take the library out of the girl!
Thanksgiving comes a bit earlier north of the 44th parallel in Canada, it has something to do with our harvest being earlier, therefore we we dine earlier. We are open regular store hours (11 am to 6 pm) on Saturday & Sunday, and closed on Monday. Have a great weekend, wherever you are!
Saturday October 9: 11 am to 6 pm
Sunday October 10: 11 am to 6 pm
Monday October 11: CLOSED
Some Cieslak for the Weekend
Never wanting to leave you without some inspiration, here are a couple of pullovers by designer Jacqueline Cieslak. I love that Jacqueline’s designs are size inclusive, but I love even more that her designs LOOK GREAT on different sized women. Her casual little tops are always just right for people, no matter what shape they may be. Wear them over a dress or a loose shirt, it’s all beautiful! Plus, they aren’t immense projects, so they won’t break the bank, and you’ll actually wear it (an important factor to my mind). they’re pretty, and I think its good to make yourself feel beautiful on the outside, because you are beautiful on the inside.
I think my favourite yarns for these projects would be Fibre Co Road to China Light (’cause I’m indulgent when it comes to nurturing myself), but I’d make at least one size larger because the tension will be smaller. Another idea that gets me going would be two strands of Fibre Co Meadow held together (also indulgent, but I love nice textiles) – ideally this would be in 2 different colours to create a marl.
Bay Pullover
The Bay Pullover is your dream all-weather sweatshirt, whether you’re getting cozy at home or being tousled by a crisp ocean breeze. This relaxed fit pullover features dolman sleeves, uninterrupted stockinette on the front and back panels, and decorative 3-needle bind offs, making for a simple, seamless knit with a clean, modern look. The pattern includes 9 sizes, 6 original video tutorials, technical illustrations for understanding the unique construction, and detailed guidance for choosing your size and adjusting the sleeves.
Size
Because of the dolman sleeves and relaxed fit, BAY works with an extremely wide range of positive ease (anything from 6-20”/15-50cm). If you prefer more drape or a more oversized fit, feel free to size up! In the photos, Jacqui is wearing a size 7 (62”/155cm). Her bust circumference is 54”/135cm, her waist circumference is 49”/122.5cm, and her bicep circumference is 20”/50cm.
Finished Bust Circumference: In inches: (38, 42, 46) [50, 54, 58] {62, 66, 70} inches or (95, 105, 115) [125, 135, 145] {155, 165, 175} cm
To choose your size, measure the circumference of your torso around the fullest part of your bust/chest and add at least 6”/15cm.
To see how BAY looks across the size range with varying amounts of ease, check out the test knitting round up here!
Yarn Options
Because the recommended yarn is a silk/linen blend, both of which are fibres that stretch and have a lot of drape, I recommend using something that also has some stretch. Superwash yarns, blends with cotton, linen, wool, silk, or alpaca tend to be good at this.
The Bay Slipover is your dream all-weather slipover, whether you’re getting cozy at home or being tousled by a crisp ocean breeze. This relaxed fit top features dolman sleeves, uninterrupted stockinette on the front and back panels, and decorative 3-needle bind offs, making for a simple, seamless knit with a clean, modern look. The pattern includes 9 sizes, 6 original video tutorials, technical illustrations for understanding the unique construction, and detailed guidance for choosing your size and adjusting the sleeves.
Size
Because of the dolman sleeves and relaxed fit, BAY works with an extremely wide range of positive ease (anything from 6-20”/15-50cm). If you prefer more drape or a more oversized fit, feel free to size up! In the photos, Jacqui is wearing a size 7 (62”/155cm). Her bust circumference is 54”/135cm, her waist circumference is 49”/122.5cm, and her bicep circumference is 20”/50cm.
Finished Bust Circumference: In inches: (38, 42, 46) [50, 54, 58] {62, 66, 70} inches or (95, 105, 115) [125, 135, 145] {155, 165, 175} cm
To choose your size, measure the circumference of your torso around the fullest part of your bust/chest and add at least 6”/15cm.
To see how BAY looks across the size range with varying amounts of ease, check out the test knitting round up here!
Yarn Options
Because the recommended yarn is a silk/linen blend, both of which are fibres that stretch and have a lot of drape, I recommend using something that also has some stretch. Superwash yarns, blends with cotton, linen, wool, silk, or alpaca tend to be good at this.
Our Summer Sale is ending soon, September 6th is the last day to get 25% Off! Take advantage now, before it goes away!
Labour Day Long Weekend Store Hours
Friday Sept 3: 11 am to 5 pm
Saturday Sept 4: CLOSED
Sunday Sept 5: CLOSED
Monday Sept: CLOSED
LONG WEEKEND PROJECTS
I was thinking wouldn’t it be great to have a small project that’s for the long weekend? Something small, portable, not too challenging. I settled on cloths: face cloths, dish cloths, etc. I know I cherish the little linen cloths I’ve made with Quince & Co Sparrow (they’re like the energizer bunny of textiles, they just keep going …) and I figured you might feel inspired to make something pretty for yourself. There are lots of patterns on Ravely for cloths, but here are a few I found that sparked some joy, and my absolute favourites follow below:
Note: the pattern seems to have neglected to explain how to make an I-Cord (the loop at the tops of the cloth), so here is an I-cord tutorial for those of you who are not familiar with the technique. Alternately, you can skip the I-cord, make your cloth loop free and just weave in your ends – there’s no rule that says a cloth must to have a loop.
Size
Approximately 10 x 10 inches
Yarn Options
Main Colour: 100m required per washcloth. Contrast Colour: 24m required per washcloth.
Make some towels that are so beautiful you’ll never want to use them! That’s ok, some things you use until they’re shredded, and some you keep out to please the eye. Both have their roles in our lives. The pattern is a FREEBIE, and makes for some simple, elegant summer knitting.
Quince & Co Sparrowis my favourite yarn for this project, I love how this linen looks, the silky feels after being washed, and also how resilient it is (it gets better going through the wash) . My second personal choice would be
Kelbourne Mojave – their colours make me so happy, and the I love the the subtle texture of the fibre.
Berroco Remix Light is the budget friendly, earth friendly, use-friendly option – it has so much yardage, two skeins of the main colour will make 3 towels, and 3 skeins will make 5. Plus it’s recycled, has a neat texture, is easy to knit with and wash.
Cascade Ultra Pima is the last on the list, but not the least. This silky smooth pima cotton is a staple, and is always a joy to knit with and wear. If you like a plain, flat aesthetic, this is your yarn of choice.
Normally around holidays I post a free pattern for a project that’s somewhat related to the holiday, and around Canada Day it’s usually something maple-leafy or involving a beaver or a Canada Goose. Recent events have me thinking about this holiday, and what our country’s birthday means in a broader sense. I wanted to feature designs by Canadian Indigenous designers of knit/crochet patterns, but disappointingly nothing turned up. My research was limited to a day and unfortunately I didn’t have the time to start digging below the surface, so if you know of any please send me a note and I’ll update this blog post and include them.
What I did manage to extract from the interweb follows ….
I found some gorgeous patterns by Jessie Mae Martinson, an incredibly talented indigenous designer from the US (I tracked her down through BIPOC in Fiber). She designs pretty little tops & bottoms, great for warm weather. Her patterns are size inclusive and priced on a “choose what you pay” scale. If you want a summer yarn to make her projects designed in fingering weight yarn, try Quince & Co Sparrow. For the DK weight I’d go for Kelbourne Woolens Mojave(no wool, it’s just super soft cotton and linen in gorgeous colours).
Canadian Indigenous Knitting Tradition
I also came across an older documentary made in 2000 for the NFB about the Coast Salish Knitters. I like this film, it’s older, but it addresses the complicated and often exploitative history connected with the makers of these sweaters. For us knitting is a leisure activity, but it’s important to keep in mind that for many of the families involved in the production of these sweaters, knitting meant the difference between starving and survival.
See the bottom of this page for a couple of articles on the Cowichan Sweaters of the Coast Salish people.
Olsen is non-native, but has spent much of her life living in Tsartlip First Nation, where her children and grandchildren now live. She is also author of the very recently published Unravelling Canada: A Knitting Odyssey (2021) and Working with Wool(2010), which received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing. She has several knitting patterns available as downloads on Ravelry. I’ve only just discovered Olsen’s work, but if you’ve read her books please let me know what you thought!
If you want to make the cowl above, I suggest using Cascade Heritage in colours 5742 Silver Grey Heather, 5631 Charcoal Heather, and 5672 Black. This pattern also includes a link to a video of Sylvia Olsen demonstrating Intuitive Colourwork (I don’t know what that is either, but it sounds interesting, I might have to buy the pattern to find out).
Should you now be feeling inspired to whip up your own Cowichan sweater, consider Canadian designer Jane Richmond’s West Coast Cardigan, whichis not a real Cowichan sweater, but is respectfully inspired by the traditional style of the Cowichan Sweaters of the Coast Salish people. I suggest using Drops Andes, or for a more contemporary look try a blown yarn like Drops Wish.
And if journal articles aren’t your speed, I also found a nice little article in a lifestyle Magazine from Victoria: The Story of the Cowichan Sweaters.
We’re shifting over to our Summer Store Hours after the Victoria Day long weekend, so please note that we are CLOSED ON SUNDAYS. We go back to the regular store schedule the week of September 13th.
Saturday April 3: 11 am to 5 pm (pick-up & delivery)
Sunday April 4: Closed
Monday April 5: 11 am to 5 pm (pick-up & delivery)
Last Minute Adorable Easter Creatures
New from the Crafty Kit Company, these needle felting kits contain everything you need to create adorable baby animals. You’ll learn how to make the basic shapes, then build them up with felting wool, and finally, add the details that will really bring your creation to life. Each kit comes with all the felting wool you need, a tube with felting needles, a mat to work on, wire pipe cleaner, nesting materials and clear step by step instructions.
Knit-o-Matic Yarns 