Tag: knitting

Kiki Ear Flap Hat with Pompom: Sneak Peek

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Kiki hat fresh off the needles.

It’s a cliche, but so true… the creative juices have been flowing lately, fired up by the autumnal weather and cool evenings. I had to make an earflap hat, with a big pompom on top and faux thrumming. Oh yes. And I’m so pleased with how it turned out. I even figured out how to do crochet for the edges.

 


The hat is so named for my kitty Kiki, who helped me pick out the wool for this project. She picked out her very own colours, smart girl.


I have a feeling this is one sample I’ll be wearing around this winter. Now that the obsessive knitting of the last couple days is over, I need to sit down and write up the pattern and send off to the technical editor. And then I promise I’ll post on Ravelry and Etsy.

What do you think? Am I the only sucker for ear flap hats?

x Rena

Buttons!

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My new crop of custom covered buttons.

I have a new addiction as of today – fabric covered buttons! I went to the fabric store to get some buttons for the new cabled phone cozies and for the upcoming mug cozy too. I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to cover buttons in fun fabrics… and so I did!

Kitty!

Bunny.

Lady bug / lady bird.

 

Fresh button crop.

I have a kitty cat, lady bug / lady bird, little flowers, rose and bunny so far! This is way too fun. I’ll post up a finished cozy very soon with a new covered button!

 
x Rena

Sneak Peek

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Animal, vegetable or mineral?

I’ve been busy working on a project and I have a few teaser photos to share. I thought to myself, Self, you can’t possibly make that. And then I thought, why not? And so the project unfolded and it’s going very well, I’m happy to share.

There is seed stitch…

…and stockinette stitch.

Can you guess what I’m making? I promise that the pattern will be available very soon.

x Rena

Sage Woodland Hood: New Knitting Pattern

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Sage Woodland Hood PDF knitting pattern by The Red Fox and Gown.

I’m excited to announce that the Sage Woodland Hood PDF pattern by The Red Fox and Gown is now available on both Ravelry and Etsy. Ravelry provides an immediate download while with Etsy I will e-mail you the pattern within 24 hours of purchase. I must say I’m amazed to see this in one of the top ‘Hot Right Now’ patterns on Ravelry.

Full view of the Sage Woodland Hood.

I had a great deal of fun designing this bulky knit hood. It was so tough to keep this hush hush while in the development phase because I was keen to share! I wanted something cozy to keep the ears warm and a transitional piece perfect for fall and winter. I can totally see myself wearing this with a vest or over long sleeves while running about town. Or while prancing in the forest like a woodland creature! Or even snuggling down at home (I’m usually cold, okay? Ha.).

The peaked hood has a tassel at the top and a hand sewn toggle closure onto the front. And the adjustable back seam is perfect to custom fit to keep the nape of your neck warm.

What do you think?

x Rena

Ode to Sheep: Merino Wool

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Merino ram.

Since I wrote about alpacas, it’s only fair that I write about merino wool, another favourite fibre. Merino wool, as you’ve probably guessed already, comes from merino sheep. Did you know that there’s several varieties of merino sheep, including the Saxony and Peppin? You can impress your friends with the fun trivia that you learn visiting here.

Merino is prized due to its softness,  warmth and ability to wick water. Merino wool is excellent at regulating body temperature and even has antibacterial properties thanks to the lanolin in the wool.

Merino ewes and lambs.

Another fun fact: merino wool is available in several grades based on its coarseness: strong (broad), medium, fine, super fine and ultra fine. Ultra fine can be blended with luxury fibres such as cashmere or silk to produce a lightweight and highly insulating yarn.

Some of my favourite yarns are made from single ply 100% merino, including RainCityKnits and Madelinetosh. They are absolutely lovely to work with and come in a great array of colours.

Lamb.

And to be fair since I showed a picture of a cria at the end of the alpaca post, here is the requisite lamb photo! Enjoy the cuteness.

x Rena

September Knitting Pattern Contest

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Morgan Hat pattern.

A new month and unofficially a new season has arrived. Autumn is prime time for knitting and I have a list of stuff that I want to knit and create. If only I had more hours in a day! Or knit faster, ha.

Star Slouch Hat.

To celebrate September, I think it’s time for a contest. All you need to do is e-mail me at theredfoxandgown@gmail.com with ‘pattern contest’ in the headline and your name and country before 1 October 2012. Easy, right? I will then randomly select the lucky winner out of the proverbial hat on 1 October 2012. I promise not to distribute or share your e-mail. Please note that I would love to name the lucky winner in a future blog post, but I will check with you to make sure that is okay with you before I do.

Edinburgh Mittens pattern.

What do you win? A PDF pattern of your choice from the Red Fox and Gown to get into the spirit of fall knitting. Or spring knitting if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere! 🙂 I’ve posted the 4 current patterns on this page so you can see what I have on offer. I’ll e-mail the pattern as soon as you let me know which one you like. And that’s it!

English Rose Hat pattern.

Sounds like fun, right? The email address again is theredfoxandgown@gmail.com.

x Rena

RainCityKnits: Gorgeous Yarn Colours

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Gorgeous yarns from RainCityKnits from Gastown in Vancouver, Canada. Source: RainCityKnits.

I must tell you about RainCityKnits from Gastown in Vancouver, Canada. And I’m not just telling you about the yarn because it’s masterminded by my sister. Her yarns are incredible, with beautiful on-trend colours and ethical sourcing.

Sock yarn in berry purple.

RainCityKnits yarns are made from 100% merino wool, spun by a worker’s collective in Uruguay. Krista, the owner / designer of RainCityKnits, hand dyes each skein individually in her studio in Gastown, Vancouver, Canada. Each skein is unique and vividly coloured.

Currently available in sock yarn / fingering weight, with more weights to come in the future, the line includes 13 colours: Heliotrope Purple, Berry Purple, Vermillion Red, Hot Pink, Bright Orange, Lemon Yellow, Wasabi Green, Kelly Green, Blue Teal, Rain Drop Blue, Royal Blue, Midnight Black and Natural. There are also several Ombre, or variegated, versions of the colours.

Swatch.

I am lucky enough to have gotten my mitts on a couple of the colours and I am in the process of designing an accessory pattern to showcase the lovely yarn from RainCityKnits. I’ve made a swatch in the natural colour so as not to use any of my precious coloured yarn!

RainCityKnits yarn colour perfect for some colour on a grey West Coast day.

I hope you’re excited as I am about this yarn. In Vancouver, you can find RainCityKnits yarn stocked at the new Wet Coast Wools shop in Kitsilano. Online, RainCityKnits has an Etsy shop where you can purchase any of these colours. I really encourage you to try this yarn out.
x Rena

Dog Days are Over: Autumnal Hints

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Star Slouch Hat. PDF pattern available from The Red Fox and Gown.

As Florence + the Machine put it, the dog days are over, unfortunately. I don’t mind being proven wrong, though! For those who don’t know, the dog days are the hottest days of summer, usually in July and August for us in the Northern Hemisphere, and falling in January and February for Southern Hemisphere folks. Here in Vancouver, Canada, the dog days usually are in July, but with our late summer this year, August put in a good showing with a heatwave earlier this month.

From every ending comes a new beginning. I really used to scoff at that truism, but there’s really a lot of wisdom in the phrase. Just because you can’t see the road ahead through the fog doesn’t mean that there’s no road ahead. With the ending of summer, a new season and new beginnings. I always have felt that September is really the start of the New Year with back to school and crisp autumnal days.

And the point of all this? With the arrival of fall comes knitting coziness. Fresh patterns, new yarn, supplies. Lists of design ideas. I feel like it’s the first day of school, although I’ve been out of school for some years now; graduate school is all but a memory. I’m ready to hunker down with projects and lose myself in knitting.

Star Slouch Hat in grey.

In preparation for the upcoming Fall / Winter, I’ve been busy working on a line of knitting patterns aimed for beginner to intermediate knitters who are ready to move beyond variously shaped rectangles and are ready to learn a few new techniques. One easy project is my Star Slouch Hat pattern- as promised, it’s an easy-to-knit slouchie beanie, or toque for the Canadians, that you can dress up or down for that urban look. I made mine out of alpaca for extra luxury.

Edinburgh Mittens in alpaca.

My Edinburgh Mittens are a classic, trim mitten style with modern colour blocking. Me being me, they’re also made from alpaca. I took the colour cues from my time in Edinburgh when I fell in love with the city and Scotland in general, particularly from Arthur’s Seat overlooking the city.

Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland. View from Edinburgh Castle.

Click on the pictures above to go to Etsy for the patterns. If you prefer, you can also find my designs on Ravelry for another option.

I am very near ready to post another pattern this week, a twist on a hat pattern. I promise that it’s cozy!

What are you doing to get ready for fall? Do you have any knitting projects lined up?

x Rena