Happy Thanksgiving To all our American knitters, Puddles and I wish you a truly blessed and happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for – including each one of you, especially! On my recent trip to Toronto I was blessed to stay in the beautiful Woodsong B&B outside of the city. Acres of woodlands, a pond full of swans (with geese and ducks), and cold fresh air woke me each dawn. Here are some trip pictures. May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, love, and togetherness. God bless!
Such Fun
Camera dad and I are still kicking it up here in Canada for treatment, but I had to pause to gush – I got to meet a couple of you wonderful knitters in real life!
Cultivating with Vegan Yarn
Please join me in welcoming back Heidi from Vegan Yarn ?. We first met Heidi in 2014 on the blog Dye to Perfection. Since then her indie small business has grown like the weeds she uses for dyeing! With our Je Ne Sais Quoi MKAL, I thought this the perfect time to check back in with her to discover how her adventures the past few years have molded the growth of Vegan Yarn. Q1. On your FAQ page on why vegan you state: “To be really simple, we prefer to allow animals to live their lives free of the intentional or unintentional violence of a human-made industry. Like the saying goes, ‘live simply, so others may simply live.’ Please keep …
Summer Knitting Tank Top Tip 2
Today’s second “Summer Knitting Tank Top Tip” installment takes your WIP to a flawless FO. Tip 2: 3 needle bind offs with slipped stitches. In the last tip, to save finishing time, a slipped stitch (or 2) was added around the arm openings. But what do you do when it comes to the 3 needle bind off? If you follow the technique normally you’ll get a jut out at the end of the bind off. This creates an unsightly bump at the very top of the shoulder where everywhere else along the arm opening the slipped stitch nicely tucks the edge in. Don’t worry though. The fix is simple! Bonus: I didn’t have the a spare needle, so this tutorial …
Summer Knitting Tank Top Tip
I’m sure you’ve heard me say it, “I hate finishing!” When the knitting comes off the needles I’d love nothing better than to wash, block, and wear. Knitting tank tops is a great way to enjoy knitted garments in hot weather without the dreaded hours of finishing. A tank will have far fewer ends to weave in than a sweater. But there are some easy ways to sneak your finishing into the knitting process so that when those last few shoulder stitches are ready for the three needle bind off, your FO will be all the closer to “ready to wear”. Towards that end, I’ve got a couple of fun knitting tips to share – today is tip 1: underarm …
The Inn at English Meadows
When your mom hasn’t had a vacation in over a decade and agrees to traipse all over Maine for you, there is nothing so wonderful as to hear the words, “the Inn made it feel like I was on a real vacation!” If one word described life at the Inn at English Meadows it would be care. Each morning the innkeepers, Kate & David Parisi, served a three-course gluten-free & dairy-free delectable feast for mom and conventional three-course delectable feast for dad. The 100% cotton linens were cleaned separately with unscented detergent. They even placed an ozonator in the room to rid it of any contaminants. Mom said specifically that she didn’t smell any cleaning product residue! A little thing, …
Wandering Around Woodsong
I’m back from the enchanted winter break at Woodsong B&B. First off, thank you kindly for all your notes and prayers – the treatments went very well and I feel great! Second, my apologies, the trip was extended so I ended up missing last week too. But I’m excited to share some of my favorite trip pictures with you. The weather was cold, colder, arctic cold, warm, cold, hot, frozen… in that order. But that made me enjoy wandering around the property and portions of the Rouge River Conservation all the more! And speaking of birds… Birds weren’t the only wild life I saw… in addition to red, black, and grey squirrels I also caught glimpse of a very furry …
Travel with GAL 2016 Designers
As the 4th annual Indie Design Gift-a-long approaches our blow out New Year’s Eve bash, I came across something extra special from one of our designers that I couldn’t wait to tell you all about. I know you’ve seen some of her work before (Puddles & dad have modeled it), but she also does jaw dropping, gorgeous, wow shawls as well as Mosaic knits. US-based indie designer Simone Kereit created Knitterati Retreats to introduce knitters from around the world to her home country of Switzerland! Simone offers 2 retreats for 2017: Schloss Munchenwiler runs July 31st- August 6th (left picture above) and Riederalp & Aletsch Glacier Retreat runs August 7th to 13th (right picture above). They both look absolutely amazing! …
On Location – Woodsong Bed and Breakfast
For the past 2 years when traveling for my medical treatments, I’ve been blessed to stay at an eco B&B just outside Toronto, Ontario – Woodsong Bed & Breakfast. Nestled on 43 acres of Ontario’s finest, Woodsong B&B offers comfortable accommodations in a spectacular setting. The front wall of windows opens upon the pond and waterfall with a swimming pool, tennis court, and miles of hiking trails off to the left. Object d’art pop up in the most unusual places from the decor to the landscaping, always eliciting a smile. The innkeepers, Gary and Liivi, make one feel right at home accommodating food allergies (& others too) with graciousness, concern, and care. The furry innkeepers keep their distance until you …