An absolute pleasure to knit. I can’t say enough about Ysolda Teague’s intelligent and thoughtful design. But I tried to on my Ravelry project page. There are heaps of good things knit into this cardigan, “everything nice” really: love, family, safety, home and new friends. I know I’ll wear this a lot, and everytime I put this cardigan on, all of those good feelings will seep into my skin and remind me of what is truly important in this world.

seems to be affecting the other non-knitting segments of my daily life?  

such as the café I stumble upon….

 the beverage I choose….

 and the pastry I eat?

Cinnamon.  It is the rich colourway of the Swish DK yarn I chose from Knit Picks for my Coraline cardigan.   It is garnishing  my hot apple cider tottie.  It is was sprinkled lavishly over our half dozen freshly made apple fritters. It is haunting my very dreams.

If you ever find yourself in the quaint town of Paris, Ontario. (It has a gigantic Mary Maxim store!), do visit the Brown Dog Coffee Eatery and Frittery (Frittery, I love that word) and do have a fritter.  You will not be disappointed.

When Mom and Dad aren’t showing my boyfriend and I around (yes, there’s more to this region than the falls!) or filling us with food (I’ve eaten more this week than all of last year, I’m sure), I sit happily knitting my Coraline cardigan, listening to the many clocks in this cozy edifice tick-tock tick-tock away. I’ve made some progress. My girl is growing up.

People don’t generally take adult sweaters as vacation knitting, but it’s been perfect for my visit, as it’s mostly stockinette stitch, so it’s very easy to just pick up and knit or purl, depending on which side I’m on, and then throw to the side when something comes up. Sure the yarn took up some room in my suitcase, but I don’t need much clothing, so it was not a problem.  And I suppose this is a good sign that knitting has become a habit to me, a way of life, a necessity.

As a knitter who lusts after knitting-type things, I have found the past couple of days to be very fruitful. It began with a visit to a local bookstore, which possessed a knitting and needlework section that was very healthy. I grabbed Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard, for practical type reasons, and then, out of sheer lust, I grabbed Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush.

Ever since, I’ve been flipping through it’s gorgeous pages daydreaming of surrounding myself in luxurious lace shawls whilst bemoaning the lack of lace or light fingering in my stash.

Always practical, Dad suggested I look up some local yarn stores. I, always impractical but very agreeable to ideas I like, of course, complied.

Only one shop caught my eye and drew me thither: Stitch.

Located on the snug and picturesque Main Street of Jordan Village, about 20 or 30 minutes from Niagara Falls, Stitch is so much more than a yarn store. It is, I think, deep down, a philosophy. It’s a crafter’s haven, an experience for the senses, as advertised, a sanctuary.

Now prior to arriving there yesterday, I was on a serious yarn diet. I was trying to knit from stash, to control my habit, for financial as well as spatial reasons. Well, that nonsense went right out the window the second I entered Stitch.

The subtle and soothing scent of patchouli-esque aromatherapy enveloped me as I walked in. A preliminary scan was more an impression of beautiful colours and textures: yarn in all different sizes and shapes set against real wood, solid country home furnishings, everything oozed welcoming.

There was another customer, a lady named M___, who was so warm and friendly to me, as was the lady I presumed to be the owner of the store, J___. And so helpful! I should have asked her name … well there’s lots I should have done. But I was light-headed, very much in awe, and I’m afraid my attention was considerably directed to the yarn.

I didn’t know where to look first. But since my only clear thoughts, other than “I WANT IT ALL!!” were “shawls” and “Estonian lace.” I asked for lace-weight wools. And J___, who was all patience and exuded a pure and tranquil love of the craft and materials, took me around the store pointing out appropriate yarns.

So many choices, hard to pick only a few from them all, but I finally narrowed down my choices to these three beauties:

Malabrigo Sock (3 ply merino) in the colorway Archangel. 

Americo  Flame (5 ply 100% Pure Cotton) in a pale blue.

Skacel Primera Collection, Divine (10 ply silk, cashmere, alpaca) in an aubergine shade
(okay this is more of a dk or worsted weight, but it was too soft to suddenly get picky)

My only regret is that I didn’t take some photos of the shop– I hesitate to even call it a shop because it felt more like a home that just happened to have shelves, cabinets, hooks and baskets of bounteous yarn on every wall of every room. It was the type of haven that knitters like me dream about. I think I will have to go back every time I visit my parents. Or perhaps I should just move out here. A wonderful yarn shop is a good reason to move, isn’t it?

The star of these gloves, is the linen ridge stitch. The way it is incorporated resembles the textured patterns on the treads of tires, and so that’s how these lovelies got their name.

I am eager to see how this pattern could look with variegated yarns such as Malabrigo, or with the linen-ridge portions done in a separate colour of yarn from the rest of the glove. I also think this pattern could lend itself to other types of gloves/mitts, from full fingered to fingerless.

I thought I’d share my pattern here, in case any other knitters want to give some Treads a go. 

I am new to pattern writing, so please forgive me if there is anything lacking.  Please either comment here or message me through Ravelry with any questions, thoughts, or suggestions.  If you do give this pattern a shot, I hope you will enjoy knitting them, and I hope you’ll share your photos and experiences with me.

For those on Ravelry, details on my pair of Treads and a link to the Ravlery pattern download can be found here.

Cheers and Happy Knitting,
Victoria

A cardigan sweater:   Coraline, pattern by Ysolda Teague,   Swish DK yarn from Knit Picks.