MOONRISE KINGDOM SHAWL

 Bad blogger here, sorry for the silence. February is just the weirdest, a minute it's there and suddenly it's March. So I wrote my Life Right Now post a bit too late, and wasn't sure to post it, and here you go it's March 11th. Nothing special happened in February anyway, except getting my knitting mojo back and listening to Imagine Dragons new album on repeat: Smoke + Mirrors. 

Finished a lot of projects, including my Mountain Moss Shawl which I LOVE. it's big, soft and yellow, perfection to me in other words. And that lace border!! I might reuse it on other shawl, it's absolutely gorgeous and perfect and not too much of a pain to knit!

 The shawl was made out of a skein of Tosh Merino Light in the colorway Candlewick and is based on a pattern from my favorite knitting magazine: PomPom Quarterly, issue 5 I think. The reason I'm calling it Moorine Kingdom is because that issue 5 has a camping theme, with a definite 60s/70s vibe, and that yellow just reminds me of the movie and Wes Anderson in general. If you have never seen this movie,  a/ it's not too late. b/ it's amazing.

Next shawl on my needles? Merlot, by Elise Dupont, in light grey and turquoise. Can't wait!

A YEAR OF SOCKS // REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

First toe up socks!! And I actually really liked it! Makes it a/ super easy to try the sock as you go so it ends up perfect b/ use as much yarn as possible instead of making the cuff too short because you're worried about yarn management.

This pattern called for short row toe which is both pretty and perfect for my foot. It's not super pleasant to knit however because I kept losing track of where I was at in the wraps and turns. So I might give Judy's magic cast on a try next time I do toe up. So I can compare. Also, garter stitch toe are AWESOME! It's super cute and super squishy and thick which makes it extra comfy when worn. Will definitely do that again.

The pattern itself is very well written, like I said it was my first time doing toe up and I managed it using only the pattern and without having to rip so it's a big win! The texture is quite cute and not complicated at all. It's also some sort of ribbing variation which means that the socks is quite stretchy. That's pretty cool considering I tend to knit too tightly. So would highly recommend it! It's 4£ or so I think and well worth it.

The yarn! I went super simple (and cheap) by using Cascade Heritage (it's a 80% superwash merino 20% nylon blend) in the best color ever: mustard yellow. Super nice to knit with + very sturdy yet soft. Definitely a reason to be cheerful! 

Now let's talk about the not so good stuff. Sock #2 is smaller than the first one. I have no idea what happened to my gauge. Well I have a small idea. The last 10 days have been super stressful and scary and sad so I might have taken it up on my knitting hence the tighter gauge. The sock still fits thanks to the stretch in the pattern but looks smaller by like a centimeter around the leg when worn. Handmade isn't perfect right? I'm ok with it. I just really really need to move on to two at a time knitting. If I can solve the tangles and yarn mess of the process first. Wish me luck.

PS: I have no idea what my next pair will be. I really want to try some self stripping yarn but can't seem to find any in France, or in stock. We'll see. 

SCHWIMMEN HAT. WELL, MORE LIKE HATS.

I may have found the perfect winter hat. 

It's called Schwimmen, and was designed by Shannon Cook. Her blog is also really cool by the way. Also, I think it means To Swim, which would make sense looking at the hat. Anyway, this is a really cool hat, that looks like it takes a lot of work but really doesn't. Each took me like two days. Hats are awesome. 

So, here's the story. For Christmas my sister asked me for a cowl and a hat. We bought the yarn back in October with patterns in mind. But in December we discovered that one and well, she really liked it. I wasn't too sure if it could work because the pattern called for DK weight yarn and the one we chose (the blue one) is a light worsted yarn (by Quince & Co, full review soon). But my sister has a rather large head so I thought hey that could solve that. And guess what? The hat is a perfect fit for her!! Comfy, warm and slouchy, just like she asked.

The truth is, I really liked it too. And I had some DK yarn in dusty pink that I knew would one day become a hat. So I made another one! It's on the smaller side which is perfect because I have a small head and it is SUPER CUTE. Pink somehow seems to go with everything, which is awesome. And so here you have it. two sisters. two Schwimmen. 

So, are you more of a pink or a blue kind of person? 

HENSLOWE SHAWL

A year ago, I grabbed a pair of 12 mm needles (not knowing those were huge of course) to knit some warm hats and snoods (all knitted flat haha). The word shawl mostly reminded me of my grandma, or a Jane Austen book. Definitely not something a 25 year old would wear. And here we are, a year later, and I can tell with certainty that this shawl is my favorite thing I've made in 2014. Shawls you guys! They're big and warm yet drapy and light. They are awesome to knit, just challenging enough that you never get bored and there's a bit of magic in them too. Seeing them grow when being blocked is just the best!

And this one, I just love it. I loved knitting it (definitely would recommend the pattern to a beginner shawl knitter, lots of cool techniques!), I LOVE the yarn (it's Madeline Tosh Merino Light), it's so crazy soft and has the most beautiful shades, and I love wearing it. It's super light yet because it's pure wool you get warm immediately. So comfy. I need one in every color. Not kidding. I might make one for my mom. Unless I decide to keep that one too ;)

ps: that's my big sister modeling for me so I could take so cute photos of it. 

ps bis: what's your favorite knit/project of the year?

PINNED IT MADE IT // a DIY kind of Christmas Tree

'Tis The Season to make pompoms, hang stuff on the walls and spray everything in gold. So on Thursday, as I decided to decorate my desk area, I thought, hey let's make a tree out of branches. I mean, that looks cool and doable!

To create your own Christmas Tree you will need:

Branches (I gathered mine in the woods last Fall)

String, glue and nails

Pinecones, pompoms, Christmas decorations, handmade or not!

Glue, scissors, gold paint, wool

Ready? It's super easy:

1/ Gather your branches and arrange them from smaller to bigger to get a triangular shape. You can leave your branches raw like I do your you could have fun and paint them, crochet them, whatever you fancy!

2/ Using string and wires, connect your branches together, starting at the bottom. Make a big solid knot at the top to link the two strings. You will be using it to hang your tree! (all you see on mine is a big fluffy pompom but behind it is a nail on the wall to which the tree hangs!). If you fear your knots are not super solid you can also add glue on top to secure everything!

3// Decorate your tree! First I glued some pinecones to the branches ('Tis the season idea: spray paint your pinecones in gold! it's the cutest), then I made pompoms with some wool I had in my stash and finally I went through our christmas stash and chose a selection of small decorations that I tied to the tree using some scrap wool. You could also add some christmas light if you feel like it!

4// Hang your tree and enjoy <3

Pinned it Made it is hopefully going to be a recurring series here on the blog. I love Pinterest, I spend way too much time on it, I have lots of very inspiring boards (like Knit It, Do It Yourself, Crochet It, Scrap It…) and let's be honest, I've been meaning to create this feature FOREVER. But life happens, you pin, and then nothing happens. No More! Let's make stuff!

Thinking of it, I could even add a linky widget thing at the end of the post so you guys could participate and make stuff inspired by your boards. That could be like a monthly thing. What do you think??

ADRIFT MITTENS

Mittens! Or is mitts when the fingers are not covered? Because in french mitaines and moufles are two different things so maybe you guys differentiate in english too? Nice way to start a post right?! Anyway, they're done! And oh so warm and soft. Here's a little step by step photo of how the first one came together ;)

The pattern is called Adrift and was made with some Plucky Knitter fingering yarn in mind, which I actually happened to have in my stash, with no real idea of what I would do with it. 100% of the reason I had grabbed the skein in my LYS in September was that amazing emerald green shade (it looks very Wizard of Oz to me). It's MCN yarn, which means it's a merino, cashmere and nylon blend. I had never knit with cashmere before. And you guys, I get what the fuss is all about MCN now! It knits up beautifully, it's super soft, elastic, strong, warm. I just LOVED knitting with it and I love wearing the mitts even more! 

The pattern was super simple to follow and memorize, I learned to do a thumb gusset without too much trouble (I picked up a few more stitches than the pattern said because I kept getting holes. The 5th try did the trick and the thumbs both look awesome now (if I may say so). I tried them on as I knit so I just stopped once the length was to my taste. They knit up CRAZY FAST. First one took me like 2 days and just one day for the second one. I have been wearing them all the time ever since. Let's make a whole lot more! Next on my list are the Antiquity mitts and a pair of basic mittens for the very cold days.  

Bonus photo! Thank you for stopping by this little blog and saying the sweetest things in the comments. You guys are the best!

SHETLAND WOOL WEEK // MY SHWOOK HAT

You guys, fair isle is THE BEST. I had so much fun working on this hat. Even though I had to do it twice (more about color issues and change of heart here). Picking colors is a lot more complicated than one would expect, not only do they need to go together but there is also contrast to consider, otherwise your pattern won't look much like a pattern at all! I ended up using a lot of blue, a touch of yellow to make it pop and some grey so it wouldn't pop too much. It's all about balance I guess. 

Fair isle can be quite impressive but knitting it isn't that complicated. You never work with more than two colors at once and except for a few tangles here and there it's just about following the pattern. Tension can be an issue, but that's what blocking is for right?

Honestly, there is only one thing I do not like about fair isle, and that is the gazillion ends one has to weave in at the end. Some more honesty? I still haven't woven them in… Won't stop me from wearing it though!

Yarn now! As you might know, fair isle comes from Scotland, it's actually the name of a small island near Shetland. So of course I had to use some scottish yarn! I went with Jamieson & Smith 100% Shetland wool. It's quite a rustic yarn, you can almost picture the sheep enjoying the Shetland lands and weathers! It comes in a lot of colors all very very gorgeous! It's quite nice to knit with, soft enough that your hands won't hurt, nicely elastic (always nice when working in fair isle!), it's quite shiny and blocks beautifully. Basically, I love it!! 

So, what next you ask? Well I have a few projects in mind :)

A cool sweater: Elementary, a cute hat & mitts combo, a magical cowl and a gorgeous cardigan!

Plus a few dozen more on my Ravelry fave ;)

MY CUP OF TEA // OCTOBER SOCKS

I finished my October pair of socks you guys! They are called My Cup of Tea socks and I never want to take them off! I used Oh Loops yarn in their Expelliarmus colorway. The yarn is a 80% superwash merino 20% nylon blend and it became the softest, prettiest thing ever after blocking! So glad I have two more skeins of that mix to knit with! The pattern is free on Ravelry and was pretty simple to memorize. The socks were knitted cuff down and I just followed the pattern for the heel and gusset, nothing fancy here (yet ;)). I'm quite proud of my toe, I'm getting way better at the kitchener stitch I think so, yay!

Monthly sock challenge 2 of 12 is thus completed! November now! I really really want to try toe up socks! But honestly a bit scared, they do seem way more complicated somehow. I do love the Leyburn socks though but the pattern isn't super generous in explaining the toe cast on and such so I have been digging the internet and youtube for tutorials and such, reading about the Judy's magic cast on a try! I however have quite a few things planned for November already so I think I might make the toe up my December socks using either the Leyburn or the Reasons to be cheerful pattern and go with a basic cuff down vanilla sock for November. I have a very fun multicolored skein of Oh Loops that would be perfect for it. Check my IG feed in the coming days to see what I decided ;) 

So, what are you guys doing for your November pair of socks?

WHISPERING PINES

I made a shawl!! So much fun to knit! I'll confess to being a bit scared at first. I mean, just the word lace kind of sounds tricky right? But really it was a pleasure to knit! I would most definitely recommend it to a beginner knitter looking for a simple yet full of new techniques pattern!

A bit of details maybe. The shawl is called Whispering Pines, partly inspired by the loveliest poem ever, Stopping by Woods on a snowy evening and is the first design of Molly from A Homespun House podcast (which I highly recommend!!). It uses around 420 yards of fingering weight yarn or light sport yarn. I chose to knit mine with some Quince & Co fingering yarn in their Cypress color way. I honestly knew right away that this shawl would have to be in forest green and it turned out even better than I expected! I have two more projects planned using Quince & Co wool so I will give you my opinion of it a bit later! 

Blocking it was a bit trickier than actually knitting it because I don't really have any proper equipment for it, so it's not quite as big as it could be. But I can always block it again so it's no big deal! 

So basically, shawls are awesome. Let's knit some more! Seriously though, I feel like I need shawls in every color and every thickness of yarn there is now. And I already have a few in mind of course! 

Like Henslowe, Brill, Drachenfels, Hansel, Aeris, Winterberry and Campside.
Which one do you like best?

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

FOR THE LOVE OF SOCKS

I did it! I've made a pair of socks! And I don't even wear socks! Well at last I didn't. But they are so comfy and pretty. and handmade! It's the beginning of a love story let me tell you. My family is warned, it will be a sock kind of Christmas ;)

I used a free Ravelry pattern called Hermione's everyday sock, perfect for beginners and super cute and not too boring (you wouldn't want your socks to be boring right!). As for the yarn, it's Malabrigo Sock yarn, it's 100% super wash merino, which isn't ideal for socks (it's better with a little nylon thrown in the mix!) but I just loved the color!

For the knitting itself, I confess, I did have to watch a few Youtube videos to help me with the heel (I highly suggest Martingale's 3 part videos How to Knit a Sock !) but other than that it was super easy. I apparently am kind of lucky because I followed the pattern to the word without any modifications or gauge checking and the socks fit me PERFECTLY. Maybe the designer is my feet twin who knows!

I improved my "technique" a lot between sock 1 and sock 2 and there is still a lot I would love to try/change with the next technique, especially for the heel, and the grafting. As everyone who knit socks for the first time, I was super afraid that I would run out of yarn and so made the cuffs not too long. And obviously I ended up with a LOT of yarn. I might have enough left for small mittens I think, or maybe baby socks for my nephew? We'll see!

`

Of course now I am addicted, and thus decided to join the lovely Liesl in her Monthly Sock Challenge! I have even already cast on my October socks! I will be using Oh Loops yarn in a lovely soft pink and another free sock pattern called My Cup of Tea (aren't sock pattern names awesome??). Very lovely, very girly and from what I have read so far not that complicated.

So what do you think, ready to knit some socks?

PINECONE & MULBERRY

Pinecone & Mulberry is a very lovely hat I test knitted for Melody. I first thought I would use Brooklyn Tweed Shetler yarn but really did not like the stitch definition on the central panel (i'm thinking it's more of a cable style knitting). So I went through my stash and picked my Malabrigo worsted yarn in the Frank Ochre colorway (yellow mustard for the win!). It's actually the same yarn I knit the friendship scarf with! I just love the quality of it and the colors are all super rich. Definitely a big fan of the brand, I'm planning on trying their fingering weight pretty soon!

The pattern is super simple, mostly garter stitch with a very elegant stitch pattern in the middle. I just love it and seriously can't wait for the weather to get a bit more cold just so I can wear it! 

You can check out the pattern and the other versions made by the test knitters on Ravelry!

introducing: craft 25

As i've told you here a few days ago, i am decided to make my 25th year The Year Of Craft.

I guess it all started when i was just a little girl who liked to cut out pretty things in magazines to glue them in a notebook filled with doodles, then later when i made pretty necklaces and bracelets with pearls or even later when patterned paper and letter stickers came into my life and i feel in love with scrapbooking. Forward to right now and a 25 year old girl who spends her days knitting, crocheting, art journaling, gluing, painting, weaving, cutting. Making things with her hands. There is quite nothing like it.

To celebrate (and also, have fun), i am going to create 25 crafty projects, each using a different technique or material. I am so excited to try new things (wood?), rediscover mediums i love (felt! it's been too long), and see how far i can push my creativity and where it might lead me. Some of these projects I already have in mind, some I juste wrote down on a piece of paper along with a few sketches and some don't exist yet. This is going to be so much fun. Let's go make something!

THE DAY I MADE A LOOM

The thing about getting into knitting is that you quickly become surrounded by yarn. Like, more yarn than you can probably knit. Mostly because of that thing that happen in all craft stores, when you look around and think "oh this is pretty! i'm sure i could do something with it". Well i chose to weave all that yarn.

It actually started ten years ago when my sister moved out and decided to throw that big cork board. I looked at it and knew there was something to do with it. So i saved it. And over the years i've used it to pin pretty stuff (remember before Pinterest?) and create photo collage of life, friends... And now, it's a weaving loom! 

Best part about the loom? It cost me nothing! I already had the board, already had the bobby pins, and for the thread used to start the weave? It's a pretty white kitchen string we have plenty of at home. And obviously, the yarn. The blue I just used as a color accent for a beanie so i had most of the skein left. The pink i just bought (who doesn't need pink yarn in her life?), and the white I have lots of because when i started knitting i thought "oh i'm sure i'm going to need plenty of white yarn" (i haven't made a single white knit yet...) So here they are, all the ingredients for a perfect weaving day. 

If you are anything like me, before the actual weaving, you will make sure to have a pretty Pinterest board full of inspiration, techniques, and beginners instructions to help you get started. Or you know, you can use mine ;). Time to have fun! Cool thing, you can't really mess up and drop a stitch like you would in knitting. As long as you think, hey i like this, then it's a success! I love fringes (or rya as they are apparently called) so i did a lot of those, and then lots of plain weaving, a bit too tight some times, but i'm ok with it. Last thing i did was secure the top of the weaving with a branch i found in the woods recently (cute, right?)

Now if you'll excuse me, i have some more weaving to do!

HELLO STORY WEEK 3

art print from Small Talk Studio

Week 3 over in the Hello Story classroom had us worked on stories of direction. Which is just a cute sentence that means that we got to work with lots of arrows. Of all the design elements that come and go in the trends, i think they are my favorites (with cameras, obviously). 

Before working on new layouts for this week, i went to have a look at my archives. And found out what i already knew. I use arrows. A LOT.

On layouts: lots of wood veneers to direct your eyes, from pretty patterned papers to frame my design, stitched on the layout like a frame, cut out to make you look at the pretty photo,so you'll see that tiny detail on the photo on which the layout is based, everywhere because there is no such thing as using too much gold glitter arrows!

And on my Project Life spreads: wood veneers to accentuate an element, 3 similar ones to give more balance to the spread, just because they're pretty

As for the layout made specifically for the Hello Story class, well it's quite not ready yet. The thing is i recently decided to print a bunch of 12x12 and 6x12 photos but because in France it is crazy expensive i have been looking for other options in the UK & US. So that is going to take a bit longer, hence the layout that should be ready but really isn't. BUT i did made a digital version of it! Mainly because i want to print the photo with some little cute stuff already on top of it, and once i start playing with photoshop there really is no stopping me. So i thought i could share the digital but clearly not definitive version of the layout i have in mind. Can't wait to work on the "physical" version of it (i don't think digital scrap was made for me lol)

Do you think there are enough arrows? I'm not quite sure...

THIS TIME LAST YEAR

A year ago, on one very hot 23rd of August, 2012 i was getting my very first tattoo. imagine it said. my favorite word in the universe. it reads the same in both french and english, so i don't have to translate anything here, another reason i love it. i believe that our ability to dream, create and think of things that were, are or could one day be is our greatest tool. I have always been a dreamer. Maybe because i was never satisfied with the everyday routine. Maybe i read too much books, and thought at 11 that i could definitely get a letter from Hogwarts, or that leprechauns had something to do with these beautiful rainbows and that there was so much more we could not see. I dream when i am sleeping, i make stories in my head when i am bored, i imagine my future. One year ago, as this word was painted on my skin, i fled the pain and thought of what was to come: leaving for Canada 5 days later. Starting my final internship 6 months later. Graduating. Starting my life as a somehow responsible adult in the Summer '13. New dreams came in the middle of all that, new stories that i wanted to write. I am not sure at this point that i still care very much for the 4 years i spent studying Business and Marketing. I long for travels, discoveries, earth in my hands, experiences, love, fun, night skies. But what you dream of is not what matters most, it is that you keep fighting to make them come true.

Today is a very hot day too. 23rd of August, 2013. Had you asked me one year ago, i would have told you that i would probably be starting a job somewhere in the world. Paris, London, Toronto. I would finally have moved out of my parents' house and settled somewhere else. There would be new tattoos on my skin. Well, the next story is still about needles. One meant to bring a few hours of dreamless sleep while the doctors do their job. I love irony, and sarcasm (i am, after all, parisian), so this one is quite funny. I thought i would spend my last summer as a student going on some kind of adventure, maybe a road trip. Except for a much needed break in London, i spend it at home. Reading a very big amount of books, watching a lot of movies. Thinking of new dreams, new stories. Somehow, it ended up being both the worst and the best moment for me to get stuck at home, unable to do any kind of adventuring, or even lie on my back. i discovered a person, and her book, that got to me so deeply i started to think of a completely new life for me, and what better moment to make new plans and do research than when stuck at home huh?

As the doctor do their work to get me 100% back on my feet in hopefully only a few weeks, i am still so very grateful for this word on my wrist. IMAGINE.

HELLO STORY WEEK 1

 This Summer, i am taking Ali Edwards' class Hello Story. I love scrapbooking, Project Lifing, and basically just playing with photos. But actually telling the story is something i kind of struggle with some times. Also, i'm a huge Ali's fan. Only two reasons i needed. So far, so awesome. I love the class, though i am super behind. I only did projects for week 1 & 2, and today i am sharing the first one.

Without telling too much, Week 1 is about Timelines, which i think are awesome, even more once you realize that they don't necessarily need to be about time. The layout i chose to work on will go straight in my Canada album, probably among the first one because it works great as an introduction.

 Here are 5 facts about the layout:

- circle design are super cool. because they are very graphic and at the same time don't feel too "grid-like". if that makes sense.

- I first made the layout on photoshop so i could see which type of photos would look good at that format and so i could print them at the exact good size. an almost completely digital version would have looked awesome i think, but my printer doesn't print 12x12 so that was that.

- i do realize that winter isn't really a place like Toronto or Ottawa, but honestly it did felt like a pretty real place by minus 15° celsius on some days.

- i really wanted to use that "never forget" stamp (it's awesome right?), but then the whole layout felt unbalanced, so i added some more stamps from my Dear Lizzy phrase stamp

- i need a LOT more of these woodgrain mini letter stickers by Basic Grey

A WONDERFUL THOUGHT

Spending my days watching the Olympics. That's weird how much i'm into it considering how much i don't like sport the rest of the time! While doing so my hands feel pretty bored though, so i started a little sewing project to keep them busy.

I spotted this cute embroidery pattern a while ago and decided to use it but with a different sentence.

I had no fabric on hand so i went with aida cloth instead. It's definitely not perfect since it shows a little through when exposed to direct sunlight, but since i'm keeping it far from direct light it's just fine on my wall!

I liked the original sentence but i had another one on my mind at the time, so what i did is write the sentence down on photoshop, pick a pretty font and then printed it at the right scale. I then used it to copy the text on the cloth with a light pencil and began stitching.

Here's how it looks: