DIY - At last

Finally, I can share some of my secrets. It's all in the good yarn. I have kitted up some beautiful hand spun and paired it with some commercial yarn (to keep down the cost) and now for $45.00 you can have your own spuntastic MelonHead creation.

Until the first pattern is released, I will be offering design support for any wool purchased. These kits are a perfect gift for the creative knitter on your list....Beautifully packaged, absolute eye candy for your favourite knitter.

And then they can knit this wonderful design I call "Eat your Peas"

More kit and pattern details to follow. ----Oh yes and on a side note...I have received my first set of double points...I am going to make socks!!!!

Out to purchase the yarn today....

Who Needs the Gym?

It's been more than 3 months since I've had to set up a show and I forgot how heavy the grid walls are. John is 6'4" so the the upper shelving and signage is his responsibility ( as well as continuous lattes throughout the day.

Portobello West is an exceptional venue for Vancouver. As an artisan, it's difficult to find a venue that focuses on fashion. I had an outstanding two days, personally and professionally. Here's a peak at the booth.



I sold my favourite new pieces and it was hard to part with the Pussy Willow Scarf. I got a huge kick out of selling my new handspun----what a rush.

I also have my 2nd order for Barefoot Contessa for the early start of the season and I am thrilled. So head over there to pick up baby and adult pirate hats, sweater sets and my silk and cotton cherry blossom chokers.

Busy hands are happy hands,------but God, my back is killing me. See you back at Portobello last Sunday in April...there will be a lot of new knitting by then.

Sassy Silk

I have designed some retro crochet caps for spring in a silk tweed, I love the feel and weight of it and the designs are simple and funky. I will definitely be buying more of this silk, the weight is substantial, the designs will hold up well and who doesn't want a hipster hat, but made with glamorous fibre.







I am now working on some cabled headbands in a wool,silk and bamboo blend. I am so grateful for the amount of fibre choices that are available, no handicrafter cotton, no acrylic, no icky sticky fibre....I usually ignore spring designing altogether, but this year I am very inspired.

Taking Stock

In an effort to get ready for Portobello this weekend, I have been taking inventory or taking stock, as it were. Apparently I have been busier over the last few months than I thought.

I wanted to ring in spring with fanciful, light scarves and I have added to the nature knits with these three creations.

Pussy Willows
$110.00
Knit in a wool silk blend for the branches and the pussy willows are cashmere and kid mohair. There are 78 separated crafted pussy willows on the branches. What was I thinking? There will only be one of these (ever)

Spring Garden
$80.00
This version is knit in 100% silk tweed, a lengthy vine, 4 separately crafted fantasy florals and some lovely leaves make this the perfect last minute throw on....


I will be making a few more in merino wool with tweed and felting them...Also good for spring wear....And finally

Sea Kelp
$90
This was crocheted free form in an amazing hand painted 100% alpaca. You can wear it in multiple ways and I love the way the kelp curls. This design actually kept surprising me as I was making it. The yarn felt amazing and the whole look so organic, it was literally coming alive as I was crocheting it...

See you at Portobello West this weekend!

I can't knit and snowshoe at the same time!

Okay, this is the first place my knitting hasn't gone. Although it was in my bag, it never came out, not one stitich!

The ride to Grouse Mountain was a quick 20 minute trip (one of the great things about living in Vancouver). This is the tail end of the Lions Gate Bridge heading into West Vancouver.

One of the best things I did after moving here was getting the annual pass for Grouse, you really do get to use it all year round. I love the tram ride up only 4 minutes and you are on the mountain.

I had a definite agenda, something to make me sweat. Here I am ice skating, no pictures of me doing any Dorothy Hammel stuff....I really didn't want to injure any of the children. The rink is huge and you can see the entire city while you're skating...


Snowshoeing was absolutely wonderful and a bit of a trek....John made it to the bottom of the slope in record time and is totally showing off.

The bear habitat was completely covered with snow, we were actually snowshoeing over it....Here is a photo of the stream that they are usually frolicking in when we are there in the summer.

This is a photo of a tree near the end of our trek. I believe the tree is mocking me.

The snow on the branches looked like knit lace.


We ended the day with a "mountain" of nachos, some local micro brewery beer (yeah) and an amazing view of the city.

And we did this on the first day of spring no less...I really love living in Vancouver.

Ahoy.....it's a boy!

Finally, the thing I have been asked for at least 100 times (really). I have designed the pirate sweater to go with the baby hat. It's only taken 6 years, but sweaters are a bit more complicated to design. Take a gander.



I have just finished one in baby pink and black, still working on the hat and definitely planning a trip to Dressew next week for the perfect matching buttons. Now, my crazy bird sweater....

It's been a productive week.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.

What do you do when you have nothing to do, you knit and felt a sign...




100% merino wool in chocolate brown. The letters are embroidered from Fleece Artist "Scotian" silk and wool blend. The letters have a nice sheen. It's much more practical than either my wooden or metal sign, and better represents what I do.

Still working out the booth design for Portobello.

Had a terrific time at the knitting meetup last night. It's been a long time since I've made the time to go, but I met some really fun knitters and we only left once the fire alarm went off and the fire trucks showed up! Ah, Yaletown (no one would leave a half finished latte on a table,fire or not).

Filberg Here I Come!

Well, one down and three more shows to go. The first results are in and I will be showing at the Filberg Festival on the long weekend in August. Judy and Toni will be taking John's place this year as a driver, roomates and all round show companions...Thanks guys.

The Filberg Festival is an amazing show and this is my 4th year in a row being able to attend. As well as having amazing artisans, the lineup of musical talent is very impressive. Just when you think it can't get any better it takes place in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island which is just breathtaking.

Three more shows to hear from, then set for the season. Right now I am up to my eyeballs in hat blocks, wet felt and roving. I am almost ready to pick up my silk and cotton and get on with spring and summer. Will have pictures of the felt hats this week.

Portobello West

What do you think of this for a print ad? I am the most fond of this for a spring ad because of the Cherry Blossoms, but with or without foliage, that is the question....


This is always the problem for me. Choosing. If I didn't love something I wouldn't bother to make it, which means I love everything, which means no decisions. I have officially polled most of my friends about this and must decide by Monday....Wish me luck

Unbelievable Vanity

Something very unique happened today while I was washing the walls....firstly, that I was washing the walls, yes, I'm not the tidiest person around. I had to take down and wash the gallery of photos hanging in the hallway and a mirror as well.

I had everything lined up on another wall while I was washing them and then turned to see this. One of my cats staring at herself in the mirror. Not thinking it was another cat for sure, she was admiring herself!
I promise not to photograph my animals often and add them to the blog, so..... on a knit note -- I have had a very productive day....a silk and lambswool open work crochet scarf, with matching vintage retro hat, a silk/wool blend crochet skinny scarf and a free form scarf in hand dyed rayon ribbon tape. I am also hoping to finish 3 merino cloches so that I can felt them tonight.

I putting together my promo stuff for the group ad for Portobello West. They will be featuring ten artists in the half page ad for the week of March 27 and now I can't make a decision.....How do you represent yourself in one photo?

Stay tuned to see which one I used.

An All Fibre Diet

It was important to get up early and wrap my mind around the day's fibre adventure. Firstly to make sure I didn't actually palpitate and drop when I got into an entire arena full of wool. Secondly to make sure that I stuck to a budget. Since John reads the blog I will not disclose that amount.

I was excited to be travelling with Holli and Nigel, both fibre fanatics and looking forward to the drive to Abbottsford (since I was a passenger I was going to be able to knit for the entire trip) I worked on a felted cherry blossom cloche. Pics to follow.

The ride was lovely....
Now at the destination..Only six dollars at the door. A fair price for this little slice of heaven! So this is what you come to buy.....

And this is where it comes from.......





There was only one goat escape while we were there, and only one coat was eaten (by someone who thought it was a good idea to hang their jacket on the goat fence.) YUM.

There were an interesting collection of vendors, from spinners, weavers, hand dyers,knitting shops, wood working (hand crafted spindles that were absolutely beautiful).

Holli introduced me to the owner of Fun Knits who has a shop on Quadra island....I will be attended her knitting retreat the first week in April to finally learn how to spin and dye and knit, knit knit with the most amazing view......

Also, Pearl (my favourite and most knowledgeable yarn store friend) from Birkland Bros, graciously pointed out the deal on some Fleece Artist.

So what did I buy......(and stayed within budget for the record)

Commercial Yarn......
Roving-which as you can see some has already been spun! The green 50g ball is 50/50 silk and wool and the pink 50g ball is 50/50 merino and alpaca....


Strange stuff.

Okay, now I bought the silk cocoons because they looked cool and I wanted to spin them into some yarn. Once I took them out of the bag they rattled.....EEEEK...apparently the way you get the cocoons prepared is by boiling them....guess what the cracker jack prize inside is.....

So now I'm grossed out and there is no way I can spin, surprise dead caterpillars into yarn. Solution, slice them in half like a cracked egg, dump the surprisingly LARGE dead things into the garbage and then start plying...Never again. The finished yarn (which is wonderful) will definitely be the only one.....anyone want to buy some spare silk cocoons?

Traffic on the ride home a bit more hectic, but still a beautiful view coming back into Vancouver. I will be rolling around in this fibre for days.

A Full Day in the Life of a KnitWear Designer

Wake up, sleepy head, wake up, get your MelonHead out of bed.....Okay, pillow photo first then description of day. Felted merino wool pillow with lambswool cherry blossoms and embroidered branches.....super soft.

The day unfolds....

8:00am - Wake up, wipe the kid mohair from last night's before bed knitting out of eyes and nostrils.
9:30am - Head out to appointment to review first pattern for editing. Talk about pattern, fear of patterns and try to answer the mysterious....Where have all the 7.5mm knitting needles gone...Seriously folks, when was the last time you saw this needle size.
12:00 - Fabulous lunch, made by fabulous designer (not me, Holli)
12:30 - Still thinking about 7.5 mm needles but actually back to pattern discussion. Final conclusion ---another rewrite.
1:30PM- Receive call from Toni and Judy who pick me up and drive me to Urban Yarns. Troll, drool, touch new yarns.... Noro cotton and silk blend, HandMaiden 70% angora, Sea Silk.....squeal with delight..show current projects to store owner, chat about more yarns and then head out to tea shop.
2:00 to 5:30pm....Crochet fiddlehead fern scarf, admire Judy's on needle wrist warmers and congratulate Toni for an amazing job on her first fair isle, in the round wrist warmers in Drops Alpaca no less....Toni, we are all proud of you.
6:00pm to 8:00pm - drop spindle, check e-mail.
8:30-9:00pm- Head out to coffee shop with laptop, update website, blog, download finished project photos.
9:00-12:30--Finish fern scarf, boiled wool cloche, cherry blossom choker.

GO TO BED...Need to get up early..Fibrefest is tomorrow in Abbottsford...I will be going with Holli and Nigel....Yes, a mini yarn road trip....Will be hooking up with Judy and Toni there. Visions of GOOD yarn dancing in my head...

One more picture. Holli's lovely stack of completed sample sweaters from her kits...