Holli Yeoh Knits

I’ve been working on a nice, basic grey cardigan for the past while. I started it in the summer on one of our vacations and it’s a good mindless travel/t.v. knit. The exciting part is soon to come though. It has a delicate horizontal cable running around the yoke. It is a Eunny Jang design called Tangled Yoke Cardigan and can be found in the Interweave Knits Fall 2007 issue.

When I consider other people’s designs to knit for myself, I assess them for interesting technique or a construction from which I can learn. This fits the bill on both counts. I’ve never knit a yoked sweater before. I realise there’s no great mystery as to how they’re constructed but I want to experience it first hand so I can add it to my arsenal. As for interesting technique–I’m intrigued with the horizontal running cable. I have just another inch or two and then it will be time to tackle that cable.

I also assess my knitting projects for wearability. I’ve made too many bad selections and ended up with sweaters that I just don’t wear. This time I’m sure I’ve hit the nail on the head. I love wearing layers that I can take off or put on as I get too hot and cold. The neutral grey will go with so much in my wardrobe, yet the tweedy yarn adds some interest both while knitting it and later when I wear it.

Gauge caused me some problems. When I worked the garter rib pattern my stitch gauge loosened up tremendously. I had to go down several needle sizes in order to get gauge. However, now my row gauge is way off.  I’m having to knit many, many more rows than the original design so I’m a little worried about running out of yarn. When I was swatching I used a whole ball, so I’m definitely going to have to reclaim that yarn.

Yesterday I went to Granville Island for a visit with my good friend Carmen who was one of the artisans in the Public Market that day. Our visiting was sporadic which was good for Carmen - that means there were lots of interested customers …

… like devilish Danny in his new Devil hat.  How cute is he?!

While I was waiting for Carmen I managed to finish off a pair of socks. Project specs later when I get a picture of them on my feet - and yes, they’re for me!

I love the walk to Granville Island. There’s a community garden along the old railway tracks and at this time of year it’s just beautiful with all sorts of flowers.

Carmen wrote a list of her favourite things about Granville Island in a recent blog post. Let’s see if I can come up with 10 things too, in no particular order:

• the inspiration I derive from all the great artisans selling in the Public Market and on the island

• gloriously fresh produce - especially all my summer favourites (berries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, …)
• Maiwa now carries yarn! (although it doesn’t appear to be available on their website yet)
• creative and thoughtful fine craft at Crafthouse (where I used to sell my jewellery when I was a jeweller) run by the Crafts Association of British Columbia
• the ball machine commissioned by Ocean Concrete

• watching Devan play at the waterpark (this photo was taken when he was two)
• the great programming at the False Creek Community Centre
• the Indian food at Curry 2 U in the Public Market

• meeting friends (especially Beth and Lucy) for a visit and play
• the Granville Island ferry rides

Upon rereading Carmen’s list, I see we enjoy many of the same things. What do you enjoy about Granville Island?

Just because he loves me, my little fibre-conscious boy gave me a love note.

I received another lovely gift recently. Nigel knit a pair of socks for me in some lovely soft merino dyed by Sweet Georgia before she went on her hiatus. The design is one that Nigel has been working on and promises to write up. I just love how the stitch pattern is right and left footed.

Now I did a very silly thing when I washed them. I usually throw my hand-knit socks in the washing machine because they are made of superwash wool and nylon. These are 100% merino so I wanted to take a little more care with them. I remember the Yarn Harlot mentioning that she takes her socks into the bathtub with her when she has her nightly bath so I wore my socks into the shower. I wish I had my camera with me because I ended up standing in a pool of pink water. They bled quite a bit. Then I found it was somewhat difficult to get the very wet socks off my feet. They are fine and dry now. I’ll wear them again when the temperature cools - we’ve been having lovely hot weather for the first time this season.

Today is my birthday and my husband has given me a weekend with Sally Melville at the end of January!  How perfect is that?  I’m confirmed in all the workshops, even the one for which I was on the wait list.  I just love taking knitting workshops no matter what the subject is.  I always learn something new.  I also like picking the instructor’s brain as far as how to make a living with designing knitwear.

Christmas is around the corner and I decided not to do the mad rush on handknit gifts this year.  Although rather belatedly I did decide upon one item.  Take a look at this frothy concoction that’s in the works.  That’s all I’m going to say about it right now.

I’ve been knitting extra pairs of the Guess Who? gloves for a couple of friends of mine who are oh so deserving.  Mechelle has been a great help with photographing my designs.  I wanted to find a nice way to say thank you.  When I was working on the sample pair of gloves to be photographed for the pattern I realised that the colours were perfect for Mechelle. 

The lovely face looking out at us so intently is her daughter Nova who is also a good friend of Devan’s.  I’m looking forward to having Nova model some of my designs again down the road. 

When Carmen saw my new gloves design she was beside herself with desire.  Carmen is the mastermind behind Melonhead KnitWear and she knits like crazy for a living.  Any time that Carmen takes to knit for herself  takes time away from making more products for her business.  In fact, Carmen looks at the cost of her expenditures as how many hats they are worth.  A new pair of pants is five hats, for instance. So naturally because Carmen loved the gloves so much, I felt it was necessary for her to have a pair.  Today I was visiting her on Granville Island where she was selling her wonderful hats in the market.  I sewed in the last few ends while we visited and Carmen went home with a new pair of gloves.

Not only has it been a long time since I’ve written and much has happened, I just lost the rather long-winded post I was working on!  The most exciting thing by far that I’ve done recently is attend the Emerald Lake 2007 knitting retreat with Annie Modesitt.  What a blast!  Before I talk about that though (in another post), I want to back up to how I spent my time in Calgary before the weekend started.

I stayed with Marje, a good family friend and we had a wonderful time visiting together.  It had been a couple of years since I saw her last and I really enjoyed catching up with her.  Marje spoiled me by driving me around Calgary.  She even took the morning off of work on Thursday so I could get to a couple of yarn shops (more on that later too!).

While visiting at Marje’s house, we planned our attack on the yarn shops the next day.  I worked on finishing up Eloise because I wanted to wear her on the weekend.  I didn’t sew up the seams with the knitting yarn because it was too bulky and uneven - I just didn’t want that headache and felt that the seams would not appreciate it either.  Instead I used a fingering weight yarn in a red that basically went with the many colours in Blossom.  I could have used any colour really because the yarn just disappears into the seam, never to be seen again (you can click to enlarge the photo).  Isn’t mattress stitch wonderful!

Two evenings of sewing her together and she’s finished!  I’m happy with the fit and the overall effect of the sweater.  If I were to make it over again I would probably put on long ribbed cuffs to mirror the long ribbing on the torso.  In fact, at first I thought there was a mistake in the pattern because it didn’t call for the ribbed cuffs.  After a very careful look at the rather out of focus photo I realised I had been mistaken.

Sweater Stats
Pattern: Eloise by Jane Ellison in Noro Knits 
Yarn: Noro Blossom in colourway #5
Needles: much smaller than what was recommended, I used 3.75 mm instead of the called for 5 mm.

Testing, testing, 1,2,3!  The site has been moved to a new host and I’ve switched from holliyeoh.ca to holliyeoh.com.  I keep going back and forth on which is prefereable.  Certainly the .com is the most widely used website extention.  At any rate, the .ca will send you to the right place too.  My email address from the Bee’s Knees Knits website should be working again too for anyone who might have been trying to get ahold of me.

I finished a pair of socks while my sites were down for the count.  These computer socks were knit top down with a garter stitch short-row heel from Lucy Neatby’s Cool Socks Warm Feet book along with a matching garter stitch short-row toe - neither of which can be seen in the photo!  We were on Granville Island on Thursday looking at the ducks and meeting up with our favourite friends who came for a visit from the Sunshine Coast.  This photo was taken just in front of the duck pond.

Project Specs:
Yarn: Regia Tip & Top Colour (Top Orion) purchased from Shelley at Fun Knits on Quadra Island.  It’s a cotton/wool blend sock yarn and I liked how they felt the first time I wore them - not itchy!
Pattern: loosely based on Lucy Neatby’s Timberline Toes pattern in Cool Socks Warm Feet.

The teachers at Devan’s school had a professional development day today so he had the day off. Naturally that meant there was no time to design or write patterns.  So instead, we spent a fun day together.  We baked some cookies

and made a crafty sheep.

The idea for the sheep came from this great weekly e-newsletter we get called Kids Craft Weekly.  It has great ideas and it’s kid tested.  Devan has enjoyed all the projects we’ve made from the newsletter.

Tomorrow it will be back to business as usual.  I will be packing up a suitcase full of kits and patterns to send out to Lucy Neatby’s Adventure Knitting Retreat on Salt Spring Island.  The retreat starts this Sunday and I do so wish I could be there too!  I will have to be satisfied with seeing Lucy this Friday evening.  We (the West Coast Knitters’ Guild) is sponsoring a presentation where Lucy will talk about her career as a knitwear designer and her passion for knitting.  If you’re in the Vancouver area you should come out to the event.  Click here for more information.

In the words of a child.  As we were rushing out the door one morning a few weeks ago Devan said, “Hey, I like what you’re wearing … that knitable thing.”   Don’t you just love it?!  How well trained is my boy to notice such things.

I finally found a picture to show you of the “knitable” as Devan continues to call it.  It’s the tiny little pink shrug you can see on my shoulders and it’s called One Skein Wonder, designed by Stephanie Japel .  You may know her as Glampyre Knits.  I used a kettle dyed solid Malabrigo in worsted weight that was in my stash.  It’s so phenominally soft.  I love Malabrigo and would definitely work with it again. Stephanie’s pattern was easy to follow and a good example of a strong yet simple design for which she’s so well known.  I knit it about a year and a half ago before our trip to Hawaii.  I didn’t have enough time for a shawl, but felt the need for something hand knit before I left.

My eyes are going.  I’ve been in denial about this for a while now.  I couldn’t really understand before when my mum would said that she could only knit with dark coloured yarn during the day with good strong light over her shoulder.  Now I get it.

Even though I just bought new glasses with - *whisper* - progressive lenses, I’m still having difficulty seeing what I’m doing with a couple of my current projects when I’m knitting in the evening.  I’m using black yarn.

The Elann order of the black viscose/cotton/linen blend is turning into this multi-directional lace cardigan designed by Mari Lynn Patrick in VK.  I like the waist shaping on the back.  The fronts are interesting too since they are knit on the bias.  Unfortunately the instructions are a bit vague, especially for the fronts. I imagine all the details were edited out in an effort to save space in the magazine.

The second black project is a pair of men’s gloves.  I’m still working on perfecting a new glove pattern.  I’m finding that people’s fingers just don’t come in uniform lengths.  Everyone seems to have very different finger measurements even when their palm circumference and hand length measurements are the same.  I’m not sure why this surprised me when I know that an average measurement is just that - the average of a whole range of measurements both larger and smaller.