Tag: yarn

Fibrations 2014

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RainCityKnits yarn in an apple tree.

RainCityKnits yarn in an apple tree.

fibrations

In the orchard at St. Ann’s Academy, Victoria, BC.

Apologies for the radio silence! Things have been progressing behind the scenes over the summer. One fun summer thing that I did this year was make a day trip out to Victoria for Fibrations 2014. Pacific Coach makes it quite easy to take the bus from downtown Vancouver on BC Ferries to downtown Victoria, so I was up for the adventure.

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BC ferry among the Gulf Islands.

I wasn’t a vendor but my sister was! I hung out at the RainCityKnits booth under the shade of the apple trees on the warm summer’s day. I just love the bright yarn!

RainCityKnits booth.

RainCityKnits booth with Krista and Pammy the Lab and Edd working in the background.

I had a great time checking out all the vendors and came away with a few treasures. Jane Richmond was there and I came away with a sweater pattern. MisoCraftyKnits was there with her adorable project bags. I have large box bag that she made but I wanted a small drawstring style project bag. It even had bunnies on it!

Project bag by Miso Crafty Knits.

Project bag by Miso Crafty Knits.

I saw amazing felted creatures by a very talented artist whose name escapes me unfortunately. Here is a little owl that accompanied me home and now sits on my desk.

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Downtown Victoria had gardens in full bloom near the bus depot and a couple blocks away from St. Ann’s Academy where Fibrations was held. Yes, an orchard on the edge of downtown! This is only 5 minutes away from where I used to live. I miss Victoria.

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And with all that traveling, there was plenty of time to work on knitting projects. Although I don’t actually knit in buses and cars because it makes me motion sick, unfortunately. But the ferry was fair game! I got to work on a fun project… I bet you can guess what I’m making. It’s a new pattern out this fall in time for Knit City.

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One of my favourite summer things is riding on the ferry at sunset. And it didn’t disappoint! What  a great way to wrap up my trip.

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See you soon! Next time, a sneak peek! 🙂

x Rena

A Christmas Sneak Peek

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Hi everyone! I can’t believe that it’s been weeks since I’ve posted. Things have been busy around here with my return to work. I have also been working on things behind the scenes, getting patterns ready for testing and trying to wrap up a couple of projects. There’s always more projects than time!

But what’s this? It’s a sneak peek of a recently finished project using lovely bright RainCityKnits yarn. I’m currently writing up the pattern and should have it very soon ready for test knitting on Ravelry. I love my test knitters! I have a hat project though that will go first for testing. Let me know at theredfoxandgown@gmail.com if you are interested in test knitting for me.

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Last but not least, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. And happy solstice too! It’s fitting that there is snow on the ground in Vancouver for this first day of winter. The best part is that the days finally start getting longer at last. Hooray!

x Rena

Covet: Malabrigo Silky Merino Yarn

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I received an exciting package in the post last week. I love packages, especially packages full of yarn. This package didn’t disappoint. And what was in said exciting package? It was stuffed full of Malabrigo’s luxurious Silky Merino yarn. Yummy! I had to play with it immediately, a moral imperative if you will.

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As you do with new yarn, I rubbed it against my cheek – soft as a cloud! Of course, I’ve never tried rubbing a cloud against my face but that’s what I imagine it would be like. The Lavanda colourway looked absolutely splendid, a new colour added to Malabrigo’s extensive colour roster for 2012/2013. Deep, dark purples to hints of dark grey to lavender. I definitely have a purple thing this spring, judging from recent yarn purchases.

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I confess this isn’t my first interlude with Silky Merino. I have said yarn in Sand and Smoke as well. Love! The 51% silk, 49% merino wool sparkles under the light, all 150 yards per skein (50 grams).

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I have to behave myself, show some iota of restraint. I don’t do restraint very well… but yes, restraint. I will have to wait to use this yarn. It’s in a queue for a garment to be released later this year. It’s all I can say. And maybe also that I have to release and submit a couple things before knitting the lovely Silky Merino up into its destined form by the fall.

Meanwhile, I can stack it and put on my office nook shelf to admire and inspire. That doesn’t hurt anyone one bit! Right?  I was saying something about restraint…

x Rena

A New Yarn Tale: Mini Maiden

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I recently paid a visit to Black Sheep Yarns in Port Moody, BC, specifically on a mission to purchase, and only purchase, a set of circular needles. Black Sheep is a beautiful shop and I love looking at just about everything each time I visit. As often happens, I was suckered into taking a new skein home with me. I tried to resist its charms, but like the Borg, resistance was futile.

As I tried to be virtuous, there was this skein… she was a vision amid all the lace and fingering weight yarn in the display. I tried to lap the shop a couple of time to shake her, but I kept coming back. Finally, I picked up the skein and I knew it was the deal was sealed.

And what tempted me so badly? It was a skein of fingering weight by Canadian company Handmaiden Fine Yarn. Specifically, it was a hand-dyed Mini Maiden variegated skein in the Sugarplum colourway. The colours were glorious, a deep magenta, gold, and palest blue-green. The yarn also had a wonderful sheen, and as suspected, the yarn is half silk, half wool. Perfect! I am a total sucker for silk in yarn, believe me.

I came home and I needed to play with this yarn (and yes, in case you’re wondering, I also purchased the needles I set out for). It was necessary. So I promptly made a nice ball of yarn.

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I admired the yarn some more. It was delightfully soft. So soft!

Of course, by then I couldn’t just leave the yarn alone. A new design project came to mind… and it’s now incubating. I can’t wait to share the results with you soon.

I do wholeheartedly recommend picking up your own Mini Maiden to play with.

x Rena

 

 

Getting Ready for Fibres West 2013

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Apologies for the radio silence – things have been busy around here as spring approaches amid the Vancouver rain. Lots of projects are on the go and I’m busy getting ready for Fibres West on 22 and 23 March 2013, held at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, BC. It’s hard to believe that the event is only 10 days away.

 

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As for The Red Fox and Gown, work has been going on behind the scenes on getting my booth display prepared. Things are mostly together at this point, I’m happy to say. I’m excited to sell printed patterns (on heavyweight paper and kept in a plastic sleeve) at the show, with samples of the different projects on display at the table (guess which one is me below).

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I have about 10 accessories patterns ready to go, including favourites such as the Sage Woodland Hood, Cloud Cowl, the Foxy Business Hat, and the Star Slouch Hat.

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I’ve also helped out my sister Krista with her preparations for RainCityKnits’ booth for Fibres West too. I spent the afternoon yesterday helping out with her beautifully dyed yarns. I got to play with Babycakes (yay!) and her gorgeous electric coral yarn in worsted weight.

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I’m so glad that the Vancouver area has two major fibre events per year, 6 months apart to keep you going. I’ll also be at Knit City 2013 in October. But there’s lots to come before then, with some mysterious pattern designs in the works, including garments as well as accessories. 🙂

Please stop by at The Red Fox and Gown booth at FIbres West and say hi!

x Rena