Vivacious KIDS :: Review & Giveaway!

 

I got the opportunity to review Vivacious KIDS, an eBook with 7 kids patterns in it for children aged 2 & 10 designed by both Ella Austin & Rachel Coopey. The patterns are all shown in Fibrespates Vivacious DK an 4 ply yarns. (Unfortunately I do not own any Fibrespates yarn). The eBook features 2 hats, 2 sweaters (one cardigan & one pullover), a pair of socks, a jumper and a pair of mittens).

 

Right away I was drawn to the Swashbuckle hoody pattern. I also really like the Jack-be-nimble hat as it uses sock yarn, and boy do I have plenty of that in my stash. With 3 young boys who are growing fast, I’m always on the look-out for nice knitting patterns for them. All these patterns would look great using handdyed yarn. They look like classic designs, and I definitely like ageless pieces. Some styles are great for hand-me-downs, especially when you have 3 children of the same sex. What I like is that any of these patterns (except the little dress of course), could be knit for a boy or girl. This is a well rounded book with lots of extra information, such as help with sizing guidance, gauge, techniques and very useful links to tutorials online. I always love great pictures in pattern books, and the photography by Jesse Wild is wonderful.

Jeni at Fyberspates has kindly given me the opportunity to host a giveaway of this eBook.  I am offering one of my lucky readers the chance to win and in order to do so, I am asking you to leave a comment on this post and let me know which one is your favourite pattern from this collection. Let me know which one and why! You can view all the patterns here. Also, please either leave your Ravelry ID or your email address if you are not on Ravelry so that the eBook can be sent to you. I'll pick the winner Sunday, August 2nd, 2015 at 10pm (EST).

If you cannot wait to see if you’ve won and must purchase this awesome eBook now, you can purchase Vivacious Kids on Ravelry using an exclusive discount code I have to offer you. Use the code: KnitPurlMama to receive 25% off the book or any of the single patterns from now until Sunday, August 9th, 2015. If you do win the collection and you did buy the collection, Fyberspates will reimburse you.

Do let me know if you knit any of these lovely patterns, I’d love to see how they turn out!

Note: I was gifted a copy of Viviacious Kids Pattern Book to review however all opinions in this review are my own.

Montreal Comic Con 2015

 

This past weekend we went to Montreal’s Comic Con. This year, all 5 of us went. (Last year, Quentin stayed home with my parents). This year, we re-used our costumes from last year, as Comic Con got moved up from September to July and we ran out of time to do something different. We will be better prepared for next year. Two years ago I was Rainbow Brite & the year before that I was Wonder Woman.

 

My cousin Jenn, came with us this year, and she made her Sprocket (Skylanders) costume herself. She knitted and stitched on canvas her costume. It was pretty darn awesome!

 

I am a fan of the show Arrow. Last year, I got to meet Stephen Amell. This year, I got to meet David Ramsey & John Barrowman (below, left picture). That was pretty darn awesome.

 

This year, Mackenzie was Robin. Last year, Sean was. They swapped costumes this year to be different!

 

I thought these costumes were awesome. Jawas from Star Wars (left) and Weeping Angel from Doctor Who (right). I have not yet watched an episode of Doctor Who, but maybe I’ll check it out on Netflix.

This year Comic Con was fun! Can’t wait for next year.

10 Inches

In 2013 I cut of 13” to donate to make a wig and yesterday, I cut off another 10” to donate. It was getting too long and I was fed up with my hair. It is a fresh new look for Spring. I am very happy with the cut. I am sending it off to the Pantene Program. I actually shocked my hair dresser when I told him what I wanted to do. No one has ever come in to his salon to do that before. I like shocking people sometimes! Especially for a good cause.

On the Gaptastic Wagon

After finishing my black/grey Gaptastic I had to start one in this beige tone! Marble Chunky by James C. Brett is awesome for this project. Ever since I knit up one as a sample for my shop, I’ve wanted a bunch for my wardrobe. I’ll be ready for next fall with an entire collection of them, I hope. I love wearing infinity scarves, so these will be a perfect addition to my wardrobe. I am knitting mine to 10” instead of the 15" that the pattern is written for. 15” is too chunky/wide for me as an infinity scarf. Used the same 9 mm needle as all the others, and didn’t alter anything else in the pattern except for the width it was knitted to. On to the next one…

Quentin’s Vernissage

 

On Friday, Quentin had his vernissage for school. Every spring, for the last 8 years, I’ve had a vernissage at our daycare. Each kid has made a painting that has taken a few weeks to make (in stages – see pictures below). I was blown away with Quentin’s painting this year – it’s even got a picture of Quentin climbing to the moon! His painting is based on an Eric Carle book called Papa Please Get the Moon for Me. I’ve got a little artist on my hands. I can’t wait to find a place to hang this up on the wall!

 

The Start of a Collection

After knitting a Gaptastic for my friend Melissa in this exact colorway, I had to knit one for myself too. I just love it. It’s neutral and goes with everything. I used just under 70% of the 200g of Marble Chunky (my project weighs 136g) and I knit it to 10” instead of the 15” that the pattern calls for. I find the 15” too chunky/wide. I didn’t want it to be too heavy and I find that 10” is a perfect gaptastic length for me. I love this infinity scarf so much that I have already cast on another neutral color one, and I have plans to make a bunch more in other colors that I’ve had my eye on. I adore wearing infinity scarves all winter, and we have long winters here in Montreal. I hope to knit them over the summer to have them all ready for my fall wardrobe. For sure I am making one in a purple, in a blue-green and I think there is a green one too that I want. The one I just started after finishing this one is beige. I love this project because it’s a great project to work on while talking to others… at my son’s hockey or baseball games, out with friends, at a family member’s house, at a knitting guild meeting, etc…

Have you knit a Gaptastic? If so, how many have you knit?

Knits for Boys Winner

 

And the winner of Katie Oates’ book Knits for Boys is….

Comment number 7 - KERRY!
CONGRATS!

Kerry, please email me your full mailing address so that I can get the publisher to get your prize out to you!

I Believe in the Impossible

This yarn by Fab Funky Fibres on Etsy is way cool. I saw it on Instagram and had to get a skein for myself. The colorway is called I believe in the impossible. I have to say, the service from this seller in the UK was quick and I recommend her. I wanted something bright & cheerful for spring ad this was just perfect. I should be working on other socks but I had to cast on these and I kept knitting to see what color (of 23 colors) came next! These are awesome. I added in black for the heel & toe as I find it makes the rest pop. Also, this allows me to make the skein stretch further. After weighing my leftovers, I have 50g left, enough to make another pair. I can’t believe I finished these in exactly 2 weeks. The last time I made a pair of socks (for hubby) it took almost 4 years. I had a bad case of second sock syndrome.

 

I made sure to start the 2nd sock in the exact same spot as the 1st sock, so they’re an identical match! I’m debating making the 2nd pair from this skein matching or mis-matched. And I’m thinking about doing it with a hot pink heel & toe…

Knits for Boys by Kate Oates

 
I got the chance to review a book called Knits for Boys by Katie Oates, which features adorable and stylish knits. There are sweaters, tops, vests, hoodies, mittens, hats, which are designed especially for boys and sized from 4-12. When I got asked to review this book, I told the woman who contacted me that I was the perfect person to review this book seeing as I have 3 boys of my very own. The book also features reference sections on how to knit for kids, choosing colors and styles, sizing, how to make a sweater grow with your child, how to find a comfortable fit, and even tutorials on simple additions to patterns such as hoods and zippers.

The theme of the book is “Grow with me”. This is fantastic because my boys seem to outgrow the things that I knit for them quite quickly. Katie is a mom of FOUR boys, so she is the perfect person to write a book on boys garments. The tips in this book are fantastic and I learned some interesting things on how to get more use out of children’s knitted garments.

My favorite pattern in this book has got to be the T-Rex Graphic Pullover. I wonder if any of my boys would wear it if I made it.

If you have any boys in your life, then you definitely need this book! Some of the patterns can be modified with girl colors to daughters too, by playing with color or texture. If you are interested in this book, you can purchase your autographed copy here or on Amazon.

You can preview what’s in the book here.

If you are a US Resident, you can enter to win a copy of this book. Sorry to my Canadian & International readers, unfortunately Stoackpole will only ship to a US resident.

To enter, leave me a comment on this post to let me know which pattern from the book would you knit first. Click here to view all the patterns in the book.

Giveaway entries close at 11:59PM EST on April 1st, 2015.

Inches Lost

Three years ago, July 5th, 2012 I blogged about going beyond my weight loss goal. I had lost ALL the baby weight after 3 kids. And then in 2013 I bought the wool shop, I started working full time out of the house, exercise time disappeared and so did my clean eating habits. There’s a wonderful bakery across the hall from my shop, and I was eating from there at lunch and having snacks from there, out of convenience. Slowly, but surely, the weight started to come back on, and I didn’t even realize how quickly that could happen.

In December 2014, I saw this picture of me (left), at my sister’s 30th birthday party. I was so round. And I only realized after seeing the picture. It was time to do something about it – I couldn’t let myself continue like that. I’ve had a love hate relationship with food all my life. The right hand picture is me, this morning, 12 weeks into training 5-6 times per week. (I mainly go 6 days a week, only 2 weeks I couldn’t go 6x, once because I was out of town for the weekend and once the week I started because I started on a Tuesday and couldn’t go more than 5x that week). The trainers at 30 Minute Hit are amazing and push me to my full potential. Some days are harder than others but I push through, and I keep thinking about the bikini that I want to wear on future vacations. I haven’t worn a bikini in years, and I plan to this summer, hopefully! Since starting in January 2015, I’ve lost as of last Friday, 43.75” off my body. I have a bit more to go, but I can see the finish line now. And thanks to the help of my new FitBit toy, I’m hoping to stay on track!

Week 2 vs. Week 12.

Jumbo :: A new yarn weight

The Craft Yarn Council is amending their standard yarn weight classifications to include a new, larger category (#7) of extremely bulky yarn :: called Jumbo! This seems to be in response to new larger-than-bulky yarns that are coming on the market. This addition also resulted in slight gauge adjustments to its Super Bulky category #6. The goal with this change is to make it easier for crocheters and knitters to understand the type of fabric these Jumbo yarns create and the range of hooks and needles generally required. These yarns, many used for arm knitting, did not fit the gauge guidelines in the Council’s Standard Yarn Weight System.

Fingering Weight Weaving

This was A LOT of work. It was quite challenging to weave with fingering weight yarn. It took 2.5 balls of 50g Regia sock yarn to warp this project. Then it took another ball and a half to weave this project. I wanted to show that we offer weaving in my shop, and that one can weave with any weight yarn. This woven project is in my current window display at my shop. I used my 20" Ashford Knitter's Loom to weave this project. I warped it on Feb 27th and was done on March 4th. The quickest project I think I have woven to date! You can view more details & pictures on Ravelry here.

Knubbelchen

I changed the store window at the beginning of March and this window is sponsored by Regia. I knit up baby socks (below in the image) a few months ago for this window and I finally got around to finishing up my Knubbelchen doll. The doll used up 36g total of My First Regia sock yarn. I knit up the doll using a 2.75mm needle. Ain’

Fitbit Charge

I got a FitBit Charge today with a gift card from Christmas. I didn’t know what I wanted to spend it on, and I finally decided that I want a FitBit. Originally I was thinking about getting the FitBit HR but I couldn’t find it anywhere locally, and I didn’t want to wait for it. The only difference between the Charge and the HR is for a few bucks more (30$ more) it tracks your heart rate. I don’t really think I need that, so I went with the Charge model in the end. I work out doing kickboxing 6 days a week (Mondays through Saturdays) and I thought it would be fun to see how many calories I’m burning and how many steps I take in a day, etc. What I love about the FitBit Charge is that it has caller ID, so I can see who is calling me, while I’m working out. I started kickboxing on January 13th, and I absolutely love it. I’ve been going 5-6 days a week (usually going 6 days as long as I’ve been in town to do so), since starting. I’m addicted. It’s been 10 full weeks now and I’ve lost 15 lbs and 40” off my body from my starting measurements. Muscle weighs more than fat, so I’m seeing more the inches lost than pounds lost. I feel fantastic!

Are any of you on FitBit? If so, find me using my email address and add me as a friend! My email address is in my blogger profile.

A Woven Rainbow

I warped this project back in October when I finished my first woven scarf (that I did in my Weaving 101 class). However, life got busy and I didn’t have time to finish working on it. Finally, I decided to finish it – as I needed my loom for a work project that I am now working on. I used my 20” Ashford Knitter’s Loom for this project and 3.82 skeins of Berroco Versa, which is a discontinued Berroco yarn made of 50% Cotton 50% Acrylic. It’s a bulky weight yarn. (14.0 sts = 4 inches). I had a lot of fun with the colors in this project. It’s a super long scarf as you can see, and I love it. Some friends of mine think it might look awesome as a table runner. Being made of Acrylic & Cotton that might be a good idea. Otherwise, it’s nice and lightweight even though it’s long. 8” wide by 84” long (not including the fringe). I still haven’t decided what I will do with the fringe. Oh, weaving is fun! (And quick with bulky yarn)

Valentine’s Window

After my Christmas window won the best window in the mall contest over the holidays, I started thinking about the next window – for Valentine’s Day! I found some fun ideas on the internet (thank you Pinterest), and came up with a few ideas of my own.

After making a pompom rug to cover the floor of my window, I don’t think I want to see another pompom for a VERY long time. My hands were hurting after finishing most of those! I did have some help of some of my knitting friends, and I am so very grateful for their help.

Here are some close-ups of what’s in the window.

Some yarn “chocolate” boxes.

One of my customers makes these beautiful dolls. Their hair, is yarn from my shop. Aren’t they stunning?

Now, to start thinking about my next window!

Neutral Gaptastic

My friend Melissa asked me to make her a neutral colored Gaptastic as she loves her purple one I made her for her 40th birthday. Same thing like her purple one, I knit to only 10” instead of the 15” the pattern calls for. I used Marble Chunky color MC11 for her scarf, and I just love the way it came out. So does she! I want one for myself now, in this color. Actually, I’d love a Gaptastic in a few different Marble Chunky colors. I love wearing infinity scarves around my neck all fall, winter & spring. The only time I’m not wearing an infinity scarf is summer. I think I will end up making myself a bunch of 10” gaptastics to add to my wardrobe. It’s a fun, easy, quick knit. Great mindless knitting for hockey game knitting or at stitch ‘n bitch. Stay tuned, I’m sure you’ll see this pattern again as finished objects this year.

Three times a Rikke

This was a great knit. First I made one in green, then in teal, and then I had to have one in grey. Now I think I want to make it again, in black. Cuz black matches everything too, right? The pattern is Rikke by Sarah Young and I did make some modifications. I cast on 96 sts instead of 104 sts for a tighter fit as I did for all 3 hats, and I also knitted to 8” instead of 9” before starting the crown shaping. What a fabulous easy pattern. All 3 hats are made using Berroco Vintage DK on a 3.5mm needle for the band and then 4.5mm needle for the rest of the hat. Each hat used up 60g/172.8 yards.

Rogers Hometown Hockey Cheer Contest

Please vote for Sean's team! If we win, the team gets to go to Toronto to watch a Habs vs. Toronto game and spend the night!

Here's the link:
http://www.hometownhockey.com/events/172/entries/3414 

I posted the YouTube video above, but to vote you need to go to the Hometown hockey link.

You can vote 1x per day.  PLEASE VOTE!

THANKS!

Snowman Knitted Ornament

This was an adorable quick knit and the pattern is Snowman Knitted Ornament by Gigi Hooper! I picked up 1.75” Styrofoam ball from Dollarama (pack of 10 balls for 1$). This uses very little yarn. I used leftovers that I had in my stash. The white is Uptown worsted, the orange is Diamond collection Merino Lux and the black is Malabrigo Worsted. I used French knots for both the mouth & eyes, I think it looks nicer than the duplicate stitch. These are hanging on our Christmas tree, and they look fabulous. The entire snowman weighs just over 6g without the Styrofoam ball. You can see my two snowman project information pages here & here on Ravelry.