Featured Blog: Sparrowpost

You may have seen Catherine around this blog. She’s certainly a familiar knitter for me and a total sweetheart to boot. (To boot: what does that even mean? I am resisting googling etymology or I’ll come back to this post three hours later with no idea what I’m doing.)

Catherine has helped me out with the Kickstarter campaign last year and along with a little gift through the post (soon), I’m sharing her website with you. It’s called Sparrowpost and it is just delightful.

Now, she doesn’t always write about knitting – or even that often. However even the most dedicated of knitters need time to think about something else and if you’re going to do that, go to Sparrowpost. Catherine writes about such a variety of subjects and, more importantly, she does it well. Just look at a quote from her recent post:

Summer is a claustrophobic time and winter is the great opening. We’re all exposed now, to the sun and wind and elements. Gracious green canopies no longer spread out in umbrella formations, bestowing dappled light and easier breathing. No, it’s time for sullen scolding winds and scudding clouds.

I don’t know about you, but I’m entranced. Go check out the rest of her blog for lovely almost dreamlike writing on a wild range of topics, and check out the featured image from this post to see how beautiful her photography is too.

Thank you, Catherine, for your generous help.

Featured Blog/Shop: Kniterary (this is my LYS!)

Okay, I’m going to admit to a TINY bit of bias here: Kniterary is my LYS (local yarn store) and I love it. It is run by my yarn dealer, Martina, who has become a good friend over the years of me turning up to fondle her wares. So to speak.

Martina has an online shop which you should check out. You can find it here.
With a whole bunch of different excellent yarns on sale there, you can also pop by the store yourself if you live in the Greater Toronto Area/Durham Region. It’s in downtown Whitby. To explain what an excellent store it is, let me tell you this: I lived in Whitby for six weeks, maximum, back in 2012. Yet I still go there. When I was stuck in the UK before my permanent residency came through I visited Ontario for two weeks and made special time to go to the yarn group on the Thursday night, even taking a few hours away from seeing my girlfriend. That’s how good it is.

The thing is with yarn stores is that they can have the best yarns in the world but without the community and the friendliness you’re not getting anywhere. Kniterary has everything you want in a LYS.

I promise to stop gushing if you go visit the store/online store. Go. Off with you. Shoo.

Featured Blog: Fiber Sprite

After a bit of a hiatus (sorry guys!) I am back to posting the featured blogs from those kind, lovely souls who supported my Kickstarter last year. I’m working hard on the knitted gifts and there are a few other blogs/shops to feature in the meantime.

If you’re expecting a gift it’ll be there in the next couple of months – as I said before, the response was much larger than expected so my timeline kind of flew out the window. But happily.

Today I’m featuring Fiber Sprite, a website by Pamela. It’s relatively new but there is tonnes of excellent content. In her own words:

Fiber Sprite is a new blog that focuses on all kinds of fiber art (mostly knitting, spinning, and weaving). You can also find the “Legend of the Fiber Sprite,” which is the story of my fiber journey.

I’m all about knitting origin stories as you know.

First up: the blog is adorable. I mean, way cuter than mine. I’d be jealous except I love it too much. It’s clean and bright but not at all sparse; it’s got enough content and pretty pictures to feel cosy and warm. Just what you need from a knitting blog.

If you’re looking for some post highlights, check out these links:

• It seems like Pamela was super busy in 2015…
• …and she read a whole bunch of books to go with it (SO many books!).
• She’s a talented new weaver.
• Of course she’s also a fabulous knitter.

The day I’m half as classy as Pamela I can shut up shop and go home.

Again, check out Fiber Sprite, and please excuse me if I’ve managed to type it the English way (fibre). It’s baffling my brain!

Last Day to Win!

If you haven’t already listened to episode two of the Knitter Nerd podcast, go do so. Also, comment on the post with one of Diane Martini’s gorgeous patterns and you could win one of them from me.

A reminder of how lovely they are:

From Diane Martini’s Designer Page. © rantini 2015

I’m personally making the Marigny sweater as soon as I can find the right yarn for it, but she has some lovely things to choose from.

You can also use the code polo2015 on any of her patterns this month for 25% off. What a bargain.

Featured Store: Bonny Knits

If you’re looking for gifts to give your loved ones this year it’s always nice to give them something handmade. Unfortunately (as we were discussing Monday) it’s not always possible to find enough time. Why not pop over to Bonny Knits, a store with all sorts of handmade treasures?

For an added bonus you’re buying from a very nice person with a generous heart; Bonny helped me out with my Kickstarter campaign in September.

Going through her store was difficult: I want to share ALL of her pretty things. She’s so talented! You can see how much love and talent goes into each piece.

On top of that, her prices are extremely reasonable considering the quality and time taken. Bonny, you’re awesome.

Here are the above pieces:

• Blue & Black Unisex Beanie
• Gray Dark Pink Lace Infinity Scarf
• Purple Felted Tote Bag
• Yoda Knit Hat
• Rainbow Pompom Hat

Thank you Bonny for your support, you are a lovely person. For those of you who haven’t checked out her store yet, go click here and get to it. There are some gorgeous things on sale and it’s so rewarding to support a talented person instead of a big box store at this time of year!

Procrasti-knitting

When you’re looking at a pile of WIPs that need finishing, what do you do? When you realise that it’s also November and you have to figure out how to squeeze in at least 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo, what’s your plan of action? Oh, let’s not forget a dedication to writing comic reviews and a book review assignment due at the end of the month for your other site.

If you’re sensible you’ll write a plan of action and get going on all your commitments. If you’re me, you’ll find a project you haven’t touched for months and start procrasti-knitting.

On the plus side these socks are necessary, though not urgent. They are a gift for a dear friend who once had me knit her a lovely green dress out of Manos del Uruguay while I kipped in her bedroom, cut adrift from my partner while I waited for my Permanent Residency in Canada. Lucy is one of the best people I know in the world; she’s the kind of friend who hears you’re stuck in the wrong country again and the first thing she does is offer her spare room, hundreds of miles away. She’s a wonderful musician and artist, and we had an intense eighteen months leaning on one another before my PR came through and she moved to Glasgow with her partner.

When I was on my way back from Manitoulin, where I bought this yarn, Lucy texted me to ask ‘Aunty Eag’ (me) whether I can please knit her lots of baby things. I burst into tears and announced the socks I was knitting had to be for her. If I finish them today then I can get them sent to her before Christmas, thereby breaking my trend of never getting any gift to anyone on time ever.

If you’re wondering about the Eag thing, her neighbours were some young kids with broad Geordie accents and one day they were leaning over their wall telling us they were learning to spell. They asked what my name was, then said “I can spell Laura! E-A-G!”.

Yes, my ‘real’ name is Laura. Forget you knew that, please.

The yarn is crunchy and amazing, and it is dyed with natural colours. I’m looking forward to washing it because it’s superwash and turns much softer after, or so the dyer told me.

On the plus side I’ve already finished two out of the Kickstarter rewards and written 10,000 words for NaNoWriMo, so this is just a case of November being my most productive month. If I indulge in a little procrasti-knitting between important things, well, at least Lucy will be getting her Christmas gift on time.

Featured Store: Pleasant Plushies

Are you looking for somewhere to buy some adorable plushies just in time for the holidays? Of course you are, in which case you should check out Pleasant Plushies, full of geeky-adorable gifts for yourself or others.

You’ll have the added bonus of supporting an independent creator who helped support this blog during the Kickstarter. Rachel has been creating plushies in the amigurumi style since 2012, saddened by the lack of plushies that she was craving. Her creations are adorable and interesting.

Take a look at some that are on sale now:

SO CUTE JIGGLYPUFF

JIGGLYPUFF! ($35 USD)

I really love Pokemon. I might be biased, but this is super.

Omg a tamagotchi

Tamagotchi “Tarakotchi” ($15 USD)

When I was a kid I spent hours playing with my tamagotchi and this makes me all nostalgic.

Oooh it’s No Face

Spirited Away Inspired “No Face” ($25 USD)

A few years ago my girlfriend had me watch Spirited Away and I loved it. This was one of the best characters.

As you can see Rachel is creating a whole bunch of interesting, complex amigurumi that’s perfect for the geek in your life (especially if that geek is you). I could post every one of her creations and show them all off. So cute!

If you want to see more from Rachel head over to her blog, also named Pleasant Plushies.

Thank you again Rachel for your support!

Featured Blog: LargeRoomNoLight

Today’s featured blog is:

LargeRoomNoLight: Confessions of a Creative Energy Addict

Thank you again Belinda for your support, and I’m not just talking monetary. You’ve been a regular commenter here and it always makes me smile to hear your thoughts.

LargeRoomNoLight is Belinda’s blog and you can see right off the bat that she’s a talented and creative person. Her most recent creation on the blog is a beautiful sweater with sleeves that were, as she says, her kryptonite. It’s a good thing she kept going with the project because it’s lovely!

From LargeRoomNoLight

She also takes gorgeous photos, even with her smartphone. That’s talent. I love browsing through her latest images; they’re always a treat.

It’s rare you find a blog that’s not only full of pretty pictures but also written from the brain of an eloquent and thoughtful person. I enjoy that as much as seeing her projects and adventures. You should head over there and check out LargeRoomNoLight as soon as possible.

Featured Blog: In The Rounds

Today’s featured blog (via Kickstarter, thank you again Lisa) is In The Rounds: Life, knitting, and everything in between.

Now, before I start gushing about this wonderful blog, let me preface it with a note that I know Lisa in real life. We met at a knitting group in my town where we bonded over a mutual love for geeky things and pretty fibres. That said, her blog In The Rounds is one I would have enjoyed regardless.

Lisa works in a museum and has a passion for history, something that you can find portrayed at In The Rounds. Knitting is something that has a long and fascinating history, something traditionally passed down through generations. Lisa knits from old patterns and explains not only how the item was made but also the story behind it, and isn’t that what makes knitted objects so much more interesting than store-bought clothes? Each knitted hat or scarf or shawl has a story of its own and Lisa does an excellent job at telling it.

The Sortie Hat from In the Rounds

The way Lisa writes in her blog is always clear, smooth, and interesting. Not only that but the passion she has for her subject (whatever it is at the time) really shines through. You’ll like her blog, I promise.

Go over there now and have a look, and don’t forget to follow her!

The initial thank-you

For the kindness of strangers and friends alike.

My Kickstarter, if you were not aware, was a resounding success. If you want to learn more about it, click here.

Thank you!

The first of my thanks goes to June, one of the many generous souls around here. Thank you, June. You rock.

Next: Thank you Tanya (or TanRAWR!) who runs the lovely www.yarnya.co.uk. Your next point of call after me should definitely be her. Her banner alone is worth the trip (spoiler: it’s adorable).

Then there is Donald, AKA Hamcat, who is a fellow writer at NerdUnderground.net. Thank you! You rock, but then you already knew that. (If you didn’t know, we also podcast once a week over there.)

Finally (for today) there’s Kelly. Now, I know Kelly in real life and she is fantastic. Funny, smart, kind; everything you could want in a person. Thank you, Kelly. She’d like you to check out The Hunger Site because she’s awesome.

No, that’s not everyone. There are many more thanks to come but the others picked out rewards that gets them their very own post, so I’ll be setting that up for a once-a-week extravaganza starting Wednesday. Oh yes. These are exciting times, folks. I have some wonderful people around me and I can’t wait to share the exciting things they have to offer.