Hi friends,

I've decided to make the permanent move from Blogger to Wordpress!

click here to go to my new website:

Snapshot of my new website!

Thank you so much for reading my blog all this time & for all the support!  Be sure to follow on my new page!  

It is more of a website that will connect to a new store I've opened on Etsy as well.

Super duper excited.



All the best,

Sylvie  xx.


Facebook:    http://www.facebook.com/handmadebysylvie
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Twitter:        http://www.twitter.com/handmadesylvie
Etsy Shop:   ShopHandmadeBySylvie       [opening soon!]

Multi Cotton Goodness

My apologies for the delay on this post!!  I hope you all have been keeping well. xx.

So, let's get right to it!

There have been such an increase in projects this month, I am so excited!  As promised, I will show you the housewarming presents I knitted up for my friends Myles & Jamie who are just moving into their new place in Kitsilano.

When I started, I had no idea what type of pattern I wanted to do the cloth in.  I looked up a bunch of patterns & here are some that you might want to try!  They're pretty easy & seem pretty durable.  

I prefer to make these cloths out of cotton material though..  I would recommend a medium colour (either mixed or solid) - white is just too easy to dirty & too dark.. well you can't exactly tell how dirty it is..

The best part about these patterns is that they're all free!

Ravelry - Pigeon Pair Wash Cloth                (still want to try this one)

Ravelry - Corrugated Cloth                         (love the simplicity)

Ravelry - Spa Day Face Cloth                     (pretty traditional)

Ravelry - Double Bump Dish Cloth              (seems the bumps would help!)

Ravelry - 3 Easy Dish Cloths                       (very basic, perfect for beginners)

If you crochet, this one looks great too - Ravelry - Crochet Dish Cloth

Lastly, I found this pretty funny - Ravelry - "Knit Now.. Dishes Later" Dish Cloth    ($2 pattern)

Blue Sky Alpacas - Multi Cotton in Gherkin

I ended knitting up a dishcloth with a custom heart pattern with 4 matching coaster set in the Blue Sky Alpacas Multi Cotton in Gherkin (100% organic cotton).  I'm also a big fan of this yarn in the Marmalade, Gunflint and Punch colours for dish cloths.  

I'm so happy I scrapped the first cloth I made... I'll show you.

It was just so plain..... time to unravel!!

Hence, I just decided to CO an unknown amount - I think it was about 30 or so.. and I started knitting my own pattern!

In the midst of Heart Dish Clothing..

The edges are more structured so that it won't be too floppy - there is a sort of rib effect it in.  At first, I had decided to just do some plain flat knitting in the centre square.  But as you can see, I spontaneously patterned out a heart in garter stitch.  It's kind of hard to see with the blend of colours, but it's there!

Customized Heart Patterned Dish Cloth

The coasters follow the same pattern and I believe I CO 23 stitches.  It is just the basic RS: knit all, WS: purl all, in addition to the border pattern.  I knitted for about 20 rows before I BO.  I should really write down these patterns as I'm going.....

Set of 4 Customized Matching Coasters

I wish that photo wasn't so yellow...

Completed Customized Heart Pattern Dish Cloth

I hope you enjoyed this post & best of luck with the dish clothing - I must say, they're rather fun!  Definitely going to buy more cotton later for more!

Happy Humpday! xx.

& We Need Music Too...

Hi friends!

I've been in crazy knitting mode as of late - soooo muchh knitting.  The auntie/baby fever is riding at an all-time high, I must admit!

I finally went to the store yesterday & picked up a bunch of new yarns!  More Cascade Magnum for an infinity scarf order, some organic cotton, as well as some more of the Debbie Bliss Rialto.  Today has been quite the productive "cotton-filled" day:  housewarming presents (1 customized dishcloth, 4 matching coasters), organic coffee sleeve...

Blue Sky Alpacas - Multi Cotton in Gherkin

I'll be posting up photos later this week to share with you.  =D

-----------------------------------------------

In the meantime...

I was over at  Kyla's last week.. & we jammed!  It was honestly my first time singing with someone else.  (I started taking lessons in January - following 8 months of it during acting school!)  

We got to play on her toy piano - she strummed her guitar, I played a couple melodies.. then we recorded us singing together.  Yup, we covered "Wonderwall by Oasis" - a classic!

- Click here to hear our cover on Kyla's SongBlog -

Kyla & I with all our instruments!

A little background info - we were paired up as scene partners while we were in the Canada's National Voice Intensive earlier this year!  We were cast as Hero (me) & Ursula (her) in Shakespeare's play, "Much Ado About Nothing".  Our friendship has blossomed & we totally re-did our dinner and wine night like what you would find in the film, "Julie & Julia".  It was super cute!

Hopefully one day we will sing together again (she's moving away =(.. so, I guess I will have to go visit!).  I think our voices compliment each other's quite well - so happy she helped me break out of my singing shell!  Loveeeee, oh love.

Thanks for reading!  xx.

BabyKnits Fever - Newborn Hatting

Hello friends!!

I apologize for the long delay since my last blog post.  Life has been full & I am only starting to get back into the knitting side of things!!  So excited for current and upcoming projects.

For those of you who don't know - I'm going to become an Aunt next month!  

Baby Peanut is going to be a surprise at arrival, so I've been knitting with pretty gender neutral tones.  =)

A few days ago, I started a Basic Newborn Hattie! 

For this project, I used 3.5mm dpns and the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn in Tan.  It only used about 1/3 or less of the entire skein.  I think I'll try to make some booties with the remainder.

I took a couple progress shots I took while making the hattie - I casted on 64 & just knitted right on through.  It was basically a trial & error process... without so much of the error part.  =D  

I LOVE knitting with DPNs (double-pointed needles) since all you need to do is knit the entire way though!!  I definitely recommend it, especially if you have never tried it.  

As I reached around 30 or so rows, I began to start decreasing..

Once I looped up the end & pulled it tight, I left a fairly long tail on.  I took a small crochet hook and chained up about 6 or 7, single crocheting though it 3 rows.  

Knotting up the crocheted chain will create that little knit that sits right up top!  

Off to figure out them booties now....  Happy Tuesday!! xx.

Matchies!

Hello again everybody!

I hope you've all been doing splendidly.  The weather has been pretty amazing (but strange nonetheless) here in Vancouver!  We've had a couple days of summer sun & it's not even summer yet.  =)

It was so hot the other day, I was on a park bench with a friend trying to read some Shakespeare... and then the sun attacked me.  I turned a mighty fire engine red on my arms and thighs - it was terrible.  Been smothering myself in aloe as of late.  Lesson learned.  Don't forget the sunblock, my friends!  Spare yourself the terrible burns.

Asides from the sunshine,  I've finished up some knits.  Here is a matching piece to the NF Claw-Cabled Scarf in Amethyst Heather:

For this project, I used the Cascade Magnum which is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool & my Addi 10mm circulars.  It is just a simple pattern or kkp.

It knitted up super quick!  I just had to re-do the beginning a few times to get the right measurements for the bottom of the hat.  At first I tried casting on (CO) 42... but that was WAY too loose!  Then came 39 & 36.  36 was the magic number for me.

Click here to go to a full chart for all sizes from babies to adults.

I think it'll look very good on my client's mum with the matching scarf.  Happy Monday!

xx.

& We're Back.. =)

I've picked up my knitting needles again after a short month break!  It's been a crazy month full of ups & downs, in more ways than one.  But my Addis have never left my side.

A quote for any other artist out there lost in the cyclic void or oblivion - you will find your way out.

"Art only prevails; it can never ever fail you."

Stay tuned... lots of knits are coming..  ; )

Thanks for all the LOVE.  xx.

Just Another Day..

Good morning or  Guten Morgen (I'm trying to start learning some German) everybody! 

The weather is just getting absolutely spectacular in Vancouver!  I hope you have all been well & doing things that you love.

It's been a pretty slow knitting month for me, apart from taking lots of knitting books out from the library and such.. Honestly, I was SO surprised that they even had such a big section on fibre arts in such a small little branch - West Point Grey!

West Point Grey Branch - VPL

The most convenient thing about this is that my yarn store, Urban Yarns, is right across the street.

My favourite yarn store!!

Other than my current KnitReads... I'm so excited to share this order update with you - I've finished off the Natural Fibre "Cozy Claw-Cabled Scarf".  = )

NF Cozy Claw-Cabled Scarf in Amethyst Heather

Photo from "SOLD" album on HbyS Facebook Page 

It didn't take too long to knit up - of course, some of the cabling took a tad bit longer...  considering sometimes it's just so damn hard to get the point of your needle into the stitch on the cable needle!

For this project, I used 12mm straight needles & a 6mm dpn for my cable needle that I had lying around.

I hope my client is going to love it - I will be making the delivery today.

Wish me luck! xx.