tea & knitting

My favourite blend - lady grey

I got to thinking about tea & knitting over the weekend.

Musing about whether tea & knitting go together better than coffee & knitting? I think that they do, but I wouldn't take my word for it. I'm totally biased when it comes to tea, and an absolute coffee heathen.

Love the aroma, the look, the whole scene...but can't stand the taste! So I'm going to put it on the line and ask you...tea or coffee? What do you prefer to drink when you knit (or crochet for that matter)?

suzy xoxo
PS: When I see visuals like this one below, I yearn to drink coffee.

                 
STORYBOARD: The Fine Art of Coffee Portraiture from Tumblr on Vimeo.

seven | holst garn coast

seven
seven patterns inspired by Holst Garn Coast (wool/cotton)*

1. Stehkragen-Rolli im Stil von Akris by Fur Sie (knit)
2. Lady Bulle by Karen Borrel (knit)
3. Konk Kerne by Véronique Chermette (crochet)
4. Hine by Kelly Brooker (knit)
5. Versio by Ankestrick (knit)
6. Mina dress by Alicia Paulson (crochet)
7. Paper Dolls By Kate Davies (knit)

*massive top-up order due to arrive on Monday

my creative space | blocking & buttons | in threes cardigan

Today in my creative space I'm weaving in ends (only three!), sewing on buttons and blocking. I'll be back next week to share the details & some action shots of this awesome pattern - in threes by kelly Herdich. 

suzy xoxo

My top 5 cowls to knit or crochet in 2013

Has the weather started to cool down wherever you are? Time then to start to think about rugging up. Cowls are super-quick to make and an instant mood-lifter on a cold, wintry day...especially when you have worked it up yourself.  The cowls below are on my list for 2013. I've also included the yarn that I'm planning on using for each one. Some of the yarns I have on my wish list will be arriving very soon at suzy hausfrau. 

suzy hausfrau's top five cowls for 2013

1. Stockholm Scarf by knittedblissJC in Shibui Merino/Alpaca (arriving May)

2. Calm Cowl by Suzana Davidovic (crochet) in MillaMia (snow)

3. Pippi Cowl by MillaMia (knit) just as above in MillaMia (grass)

4. Big Herringbone Cowl by Purl Soho (knit) in Swans Island Worsted (arriving May)

5. Not technically a cowl, but that's how I'll wear it.

Funchal Moebius by Kate Davies (knit) in BC Garn Baby Alpaca. 

More colours arriving soon. 

seven | Shibui Knits Staccato

seven
seven patterns inspired by the squishy Shibui Knits Staccato

1. Rauin by Kirsten Johnstone (knit)
2. geometry | parabola by Lidia Tsymbal (knit)
3. Elise Shawl by Evan Plevinski (crochet)
4. Tulsa by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (knit)
5. Cartographer by Heide Kirrmaier (knit)
6. geometry | hypotenuse by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (knit)
7. Gathering Leaves by Lily Go (crochet)

magazine review | pom pom quarterly (winter)

pom pom quarterly magazine was a lucky find for me recently. Great name too! Love a good name I do.

(Cover | Moira)

pom pom is created by Lydia and Meghan, a duo of London based knitters who say that the idea behind pom pom is that although "knitting is super-cool...the way it was presented in the media, it didn't always look super-cool".  My sentiments exactly!

The magazine is produced every season, based obviously on the Northern Hemisphere.Each issue has several patterns, knitting tips, articles and even recipes! It's a keeper, or a collector mag that's for sure.

Today I'll feature some of the patterns from their Winter 2012 issue. which even has a recipe for Cardamom & Black pepper shortbreads. Perfect with a hot toddy, some knitting & a comfy couch in winter.

(Left | Brigantia gloves)

                                            

             
(Above | Norn)

(Above | Aurore)

(Above | Talia)

Orenburg Lace Workshop | a recap

Last Thursday I got up super-early and super-excited to be off to Sydney for an Orenburg Lace Workshop with Galina Khemeleva. Excited to be knitting ALL DAY, starting with 3 and a half hours of uninterrupted bus-knitting time! Seriously I've never been more excited to catch a bus.

Whilst I will probably never knit a traditional Orenburg lace piece, the primary reason I attended was so that I could grow as a knitter and expand my skills. I got all of this, but what I didn't expect was how the workshop would open my eyes to the advantages of continental knitting. Yes I'm a thrower, that is I hold my yarn in my right hand and 'throw' it over the needle. The continental knitter folk hold it in the left hand and it's super fast, and looks more intuitive to me.

This morning I asked my peeps over on Facebook if any had made the transition to continental knitting, and there was some great discussion and feedback. Click here to read it. It seems that this way of knitting has appeal to those that learnt to crochet first (like me!). There also was a huge interest in learning how to do this, so expect a lot more on this from me.

Galina was AMAZING, it was an honour to be around such an experienced knitter, and learn about the amazing women in Russia, and surrounding countries, who practised the fine art of this type of knitting.  

I may have even brought a little something home with me, to see if I'd like to add that range to the store...stay tuned!
suzy xoxo

PS: Excuse the photos. I was too busy knitting to even get the camera out of my bag!

seven | BC Garn Silkbloom Fino

seven
seven patterns inspired by the sublime BC Garn Silkbloom Fino

1. Astrantia by Nanna Gudmand-Hoyer (crochet)
2. Burberry inspired cowl by Julianne Smith (knit)
3. Summer Flies by Donna Griffin (knit)
4. Fuglemammas omslagsbody by May B Langhelle (knit)
5. Growing leaves cowl by Meghan Macko (knit)
6. Coco's Bobble Dress by Purl Soho (crochet)
7.  Bellevue Cardigan by Laura Chau (knit)

giveaway winner | gingher embroidery scissors designer series

Good to my word, tonight suzy my son drew the winner of the Gingher Embroidery Scissors from last week's blog giveaway.  Thank you so much to those that entered and told us all their 'travelling with yarn' stories and tales of woe. Some of them were so hilarious, I nearly fell off my chair when I read Belinda's story about a bus, MadTosh and some very quick thinking. If you haven't read it do yourself a favour...click here.

So, back to the business at hand. The winner is comment No.5 which was Carla G. Another great comment, with a genius of an idea for travelling with yarn. Carla can you send me an email with your details so I can post your gorgeous new scissors off to you.

Thanks again to those that entered.

Have a great night,
suzy xoxo

PS: tomorrow I'm off to Sydney very early to attend the Galina Khmeleva Lace Knitting workshop! I'll have lots to share for my next blog post I'm sure. Squeeee...

Ravelry 101 | 5-steps | how to add your stash to your profile

So you've just bought some yarn. You admire it for a couple of days, take it out from time to time and give it a good squeeze...don't tell me you don't know what I mean. Then you place it in the stash right?

If we're honest most of us are 'stashers', very few yarn tragics in my experience buy yarn, knit, buy yarn, knit, and so on, in that order. There is always some stashing going on.

So how on earth do you keep a catalogue of that stash? So that you don't pull out 6 skeins of MadTosh in 3 years time, and say 'oh I forgot I had that'. Again, don't tell me you don't know what I mean.

Did you know that Ravelry can help you with this catalogue? That you can add your stash right in the very spot where you search for patterns, from the very comfort of your computer screen! You can search within your stash by weight, fibre or date purchased. This will help you in the long run with your project planning, and maybe even your yarn budget!

The full instructions (including pictures) are below, click on the 'Read more' link.

seven | shibui silk cloud

seven
seven patterns inspired by Shibui silk cloud

1. Lacy Ribbons by Romi Hill (knit)
2. Easy Lace Stole (knitting) by Arlene's world of knitting (knit)
3. Silk Cloud pullover by Kristin Spurkland (knit)
4. Crocheted Moebius Cowl by Churchmouse (crochet)
5. Shibui Mix No.9 by Kristin Spurkland (knit)
6. Mohair Bias Loop by Churchmouse (knit)
7. Gradient by Shibui Knits

giveaway | gingher designer series embroidery scissors

Has this ever happened to you?

Placing my carry on bag on the conveyer belt at the airport in January, I was quiet and determined. Quietly confident that knitting needles (made of the finest ebony) posed no threat to national security, and determined to have it out with any airport security peeps that thought otherwise.

So when my bag was pulled aside, and the project bag taken out I was ready. Before launching into my practised speech rant about why security restrictions have been relaxed to allow knitting needles onboard, I took a moment to breath and prepare. The said security peep then produced my dear ol' mama's finest stork embroidery scissors and asked if they were mine. My pride sank, deflated and defeated I admitted my crime, and he very graciously said "they are lovely scissors madam, but it's a no."

Yes I was sad that they are gone. The shine was somewhat taken off my holiday knitty projects. But replace them I have. The exact same stork pair, and added a couple more varieties to the store for good measure. Including the gorgeous Gingher Designer Series - Jennifer Embroidery Scissors (above). Value $44.95.

If you would like to win yourself a pair of these scissors, just add a comment below which includes your 'travel with yarn' tales of woe.  Overseas entries welcome.

The winner will be drawn by random after midday (AEST) next Wednesday 10th April 2013.

seven | cascade ultra pima cotton

seven patterns inspired by Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton
seven patterns perfect for the change of season.

1. Peltigera by Norah Gaughan (knit)
2. Bambou 03 by Bergére de France (knit)
3. Sorello by Georgie Hallam (knit)
4. One Row Lace Scarf by Turvid (knit
5. Spring Garden Tee by Alana Dakos (knit)
6. Petrie by Beautia Dew (knit)
7. Hakelbeutel by Inga Joana Mertens (crochet)