A friend of mine had a grandmother who collected buttons, which were squirrelled away over the years, snipped off shirts and sweaters that were outgrown or headed for the rag pile. One night when she was visiting Toronto, we had a couple of martinis and she told me about them. How old they were, how pretty, and how she couldn't' bear to give them to goodwill. "I'll take them!" I said. "I always need buttons."

So.... she sent them to me. Along with some yarn as wedding present (How awesome is getting yarn for a wedding present?! Hooray!!)

 This in an incredible amount of buttons, people. And these are just the ones in the 'white buttons' bag.  Now look closer- I've flipped them over so you can see their backs in the second shot. Do you see what I see?


They are shells. the vast majority of these white buttons are made from a white and pink shell. I want to say they look like conch, but I'm not sure. I'm not up on my shell nomenclature.They have this substantial weight to them, you can tell right away they aren't plastic. And then there was another giant lot of coloured buttons, all shapes and sizes. I've taken a few shots of my favourites:

I can't wait to use them!! I foresee a lot of button embellished projects in the future....

Erica and I went to Tango Palace Coffee Company recently. It's my new favourite coffee joint!! Tonnes of bakery goodies, nice and cozy, unhurried atmosphere, and only a few doors down from The Purple Purl. If Erica hadn't totally called me out on exploring somewhere new, I might never know how great Tango Palace was. They have a hot chocolate menu that rivals a starbucks coffee menu. That's pretty fantastic in my world.

Original Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl and Ishbel

Knitter Extraordinaire: Lauren (Rav Id, Blog)

Mods: Combined the simple stockinette of the Ishbel shawl with the lily of the valley lace edging from the Swallowtail shawl.

What Makes This Awesome: What would happen if you took two of the most popular and most knitted shawl patterns out there, and created a hybrid?  This is the perfect combination of the best aspects of each shawl that made them so popular- most people love the look of the lily of the valley lace edging (although actually knitting laceweight nupps is a totally different story), and most people love the beautiful simplicity of Ishbel, with it's stockinette and lace lace edging. The beauty of the Ishbel pattern is that it lends itself so well to using other lace edgings, for those who feel like mixing it up. Just look at the gorgeous results!!

Pattern: Citron

Yarn: Knitpicks Shimmer in "spice" colourway

Needles: 4 mm

Mods: Cast off using my favourite shawl cast off, from the Twilight Shawl.

Notes: Love, love, love. The pattern is wonderful, and great for on-the-go knitting, since it's lightweight and isn't any more complicated than stockinette and increases and decreases. Yet it produces a wonderfully unfussy, utterly perfect shawl. If you aren't into lace, then people, this is your shawl.

I hadn't used Knitpicks Shimmer before, but I love the result. Especially in the spice colourway- I really wish they had more yarns available in this colour, it's amazing!! That perfect burnt orange, with lovely shades of turmeric and deep red, made me love this shawl even more. I tend to fall back into the same kind of colour palette with my clothes, so I love having shawls in colours I don't usually wear- it's the perfect way to change up an outfit or a look, without a wardrobe overhaul.
(I love how well the little horse pin goes with the shawl- the horsey has the same russet tones. It's really old- it was vintage to begin with, and I've had it since I was a child. I'm shocked I never lost it.)

I need to have an Etsy gush for a moment. Here's a picture of the t-shirt I'm wearing in the photos above, which I love.
 My wonderful husband got me an awesome and different t-shirt from this etsy seller for Christmas. And I loved it, but the size wasn't right. We conversed with the seller, who did up a new one in the size I needed, but because we had to wait a few weeks for the t-shirts she prints on to arrive at her workshop, she threw in the awesome t-shirt pictured above. Just because she felt bad about me having to wait. Now I have two awesome t-shirts! And a lot of love for the seller.

See, if I had ordered from a big on-line store, and they were out of stock, tough bananas for me. But what I love about buying on Etsy is that direct relationship between the craft-person and the buyer, so that if there is a hiccup, even a tiny one,  they go out of their way to make your shopping experience with them memorable and wonderful. You feel life they actually care about you, and that's how you get customers for life. NY Hop, I love you!!

 Original Pattern: Norwegian Snail Mittens

Knitter Extraordinaire: Eliza (Rav id, Blog)

Mods: Turned the popular colourwork mittens into a beautiful slouchy hat, adjusting the stitch count and modifying the fronds as she decreased for the crown of the hat.


I love the fact that it's a slouchy hat, they are such a wearable, flattering style for most people. The kissing snail motif is a little romantic when done in the grey an pinkish/purple tones. And for those of you who love the idea of the kissing snails pattern but get second mitten syndrome? None of that when it's all in a pretty hat. And doesn't she look happy wearing it? That's a hat that brings happiness, folks. Project page, including details on how the hat was done are here.

You are all familiar with the famous fashion blog, The Sartorialist, right? Basically a great photographer with an eye for fashion goes around ridiculously posh capital cities all over the world and photographs the most fashionable people that he sees just out and about on the street. But enough about the Sartorialist- have you seen The Catorialist?!

It's got satire, and cats! What's not to love?? Also: I'm completely addicted to this song. The video is not that interesting, so please feel free to listen while you check out the Catorialist, or the Sartorialist, for that matter. And if you love that track as much as I do, it's available for download here.

First up, let's talk about Ravelympics  February 12-28, 2010.  I loved doing Ravelympics in 2008, and I'm excited to do it again. I was thinking of putting a team together- anyone want to join me? I know I could join an existing team, but I thought it might be fun to put one together, and cheer each other on!!  Here is the link to the official rules - we can knit whatever we want, all levels are welcome. I don't have a team name in mind (so open to ideas), but I'd love to knit with you guys, and cheer each other on to FOs for Feb. 28th!! Leave your Rav Id in the comments section if you'd like to join me on the quest to knitted victory!!! 

(***EDIT** For lack any other inspiration, I've called us Team Buttercream (because frosting is awesome). The link for the group is here, feel free to join!) 

And now, on with the FO!!

Pattern: Dipped Infinity Scarf

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Dipped Infinity Scarf Kit The 'green' colourway

Needles: 5 mm

Mods: Went down half a needle size.



Notes: I got this scarf kit for Christmas from my wonderful husband. I'm in love with Tanis Fiber Arts yarn, and I make no secret of that to my husband (or anyone else, for that matter). I was so excited to start on it- I cast on Christmas Day, even though I didn't have the exact needle size with me- I figured 5mm was definitely close enough, and I didn't want to wait until I got back home (which was days away) to cast on. The pattern is simple and intuitive, and really addictive- it's so much fun switching the colours, and watching how they work together. I wasn't sure how I felt about the yellow towards the end, but once it was all worked up-- magic!
This kit makes a long style cowl, which can easily be double and tripled around the neck and shoulders for lots of cosy options. And it's so nice to have a pop of colour in the winter. Of course,  finally having a sunny day to do FO shots helps, doesn't it?

Original Pattern: Bella's Mittens

Knitter Extraordinaire: Isabelle (Rav id, shared blog)

Mods: changed the ribbing/stockinette/cabled mittens into seed stitch and cabled arm warmers. They were knitted flat instead of in the round. Project page, with full details how to duplicate her mods, can be found here.

What Makes This Awesome: I love these armwarmers. I think they are a wonderful take on the pattern for two major reasons: the length and the stitch. The over-the-elbow length adds a bit of drama and more style than the typical armwarmer. And as demonstrated in the photo, they can easily be scrunched down for a more casual, slouchy look that is only covering the forearm. Then there is the seed stitch- such amazing texture!

Remember this little guy, who flew all the way to England to be a part of my Father in Law's Church's Nativity?

I think it is seriously awesome that his church has a knitted nativity. Apparently all the parts have been knitted by various church members, although occasionally some characters get nicked! I guess they are just too cute to resist.  Big thanks to my in laws for getting the photos of the little camel in action. And this year, I promise to get a donkey in there as well.

Original Pattern: Luminen

Knitter Extraordinaire: Morfo (Rav Id)

Mods: Oh, so many. The body length was shortened considerably, sleeves were narrowed, lengthened, and a thumbhole was added. Snowflakes were eliminated, and the cable border was extended around the back. Changed gauge to get a better fit, and added a zipper.

What Makes This Awesome: Alright, we've all seen cabled hoodies, but I bet you haven't seen a cabled hoodie with a band around the back. This conversion from jacket to hoodie is just stunning. The sleeves are ingenious and that beautiful band is so, so perfect. A lot of people have already favourited this on Ravelry, and I'm not the least bit surprised- it's stunning, utterly wearable, and she has kindly shared her detailed notes on the sleeves and all her mods! Project page is here.

Ah, there is nothing quite like the Knitting Project Year in Review photo mosaic to really get an idea of what you knit!

My goal for the year was to knit 20 items. I did pretty good, and definitely beat that goal (although a couple never got any FO photos are are not in that square, and I included the big puff that was most definitely an UGH!). My biggest FO has to be getting married in March! Best decision ever. :)

So- time for some Knitting New Year's Resolutions. This year, I want to have 26 FOs, and I want knit at least 6 Christmas gifts for December. Let's get to it!

Happy New Year, everyone!! I wish you all a wonderful, fulfilling, yarn-filled 2010.