As I mentioned recently, a new yarn shop - Ewe Knit - opened in TO a couple of months ago in Mirvish Village. It's on Markham St., just south of Bloor - a very quick jaunt from my home or from work. I've visited there twice now and I'm SUPER impressed. Increasingly so.
Do yourself a favour and check it out. Have an espresso while you browse for yarn in a gorgeous Victorian row house. (I'm biased as I live in the less grand version of this style of century home.) And make sure you chat with the very knowledgeable and friendly staff.
Claudia, the owner, is the chicest woman in a "I used to live in Milan" kind of way. (Note: I have no idea if she ever lived in Milan.) She is so passionate about yarn and has such a beautifully curated supply of high quality yarns in many different weights and hands. I do believe she leans to the fine and medium length fibres spun sleekly in many colours (Filatura di Crosa merino, for example), but if you want your natural yarn fix, there's a more than adequate selection.
I stopped in briefly this aft, on my way to acupuncture, and I could barely tear myself away. I LOVE to pet yarn! It's all so beautiful and soft and colourful and warm. There's inspiration and possibility in every ball. I find it harder to resist than fabric - which I find very hard to resist - because it's compact.
Anyway, I wasn't even intending to blog today, much less about knitting which I seem to write about compulsively lately. (Note: my first love is sewing. I just seem to have a lot to say about knitting at the moment.) And then I went into the shop and wanted to pitch a tent there and now I'm typing away...
One thing I was able to purchase in 3 seconds flat - and which isn't my "thing", particularly - is the latest Louisa Harding pattern mini-book, "Amitola: Fourteen Projects for Hand Knitting".
Seriously, I can scarcely stand variegated yarn and loose, flowy garments, but I was transfixed:
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| I found these pics at Designer Yarn |
Or maybe it's that the entire universe seems SO drab, I'm desperate to stare at colour as those needles click.
I can't say if I'll be investing in some of this yarn, but I did buy the book. And the yarn looks so cheerful in those little skeins. What do you think?
Have you used this yarn??
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Pretty pictures. I really wish I had that girl's hair. In reality though, if I tried to wear any of those garments, I'd look more like the original sheep with punk-colored wool than I would a chic woman in a finely made outfit.
ReplyDeleteOMG - Hilarious! That's what I'm worried about :-) But her hair has completely bamboozled me. Somehow, I think if I make that crazy vest I'll look like her. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I feel about a well curated, nicely arranged, yarn shop. Such a sensory delight of colour and texture, such a mesmerizing invitation to so many possibilities. It's way too tough to leave anything behind.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I've done my share of variegated knitting, and I still love the colour stories in Noro. But most of it now just screams "I made this myself! Aren't you going to compliment me?" (to which the hasty reply would be. . . well, you already know).
Hey, maybe that's why the designs as pictured above can appeal -- that model has such a languid pose, it's almost impossible that she made anything herself, am I right?
Ha! It's true! And it helps that she's very slim and these "handmades" are very well styled.
DeleteI can see myself making the scarf. But probably not with this yarn (because it's not quite soft enough for me - I require VERY soft yarn).
Or maybe I would make the shawl, but again, in a cashmere. One colour only.
But I don't regret buying the book or the patterns. It's beautiful reading.
I don't have a whole lot to say about the knitting posts, but I do love reading them. The shading in those finished projects are lovely but I think I'd have a hard time styling them. It's maybe a little more "out there" than I'm comfortable carrying.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sera. I think they would be almost impossible to wear. Kind of like most things we see modeled :-)
DeleteBecause, of course, that's how we all dress on the school run. I swear I'd be stoned. Or sectioned! Or laughed out of town by the politer mothers.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm with you on the knitting. I have to have a project on the go at all times or I'm lost. I was thinking this afternoon I should post what I'm working on because the knitting is taking over the sewing on these dark, damp, cold days and evenings.
:-) I mean, who actually wears olive and saturated green together? It's practically transgressive. And therefore appealing!
DeleteYou should def write about knitting. It's all fun to read about. You don't need to be making a project to enjoy hearing about how it's going.
Oh, I totally know what you mean about Louisa Harding! Her designs aren't usually my style at all, but I could spend hours looking through her books. They're always so gorgeously styled and photographed. I just enjoy them as eye candy, whether I ever make anything from them or not.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this. There was no way I was walking out without that book. It was totally aspirational. And the nature pics are gorgeous.
DeleteSewing is my passion; knitting is my habit. And it's become such a habit that my husband got all fidgety the other night when I wasn't knitting and swore he couldn't concentrate on the tv without my clicking away in the background! *L'amour*
ReplyDeleteThat is a perfect way of expressing it!! And your husband is hilarious.
DeleteOh I love a well curated yarn shop and an owner with a strong point of view. I'd fall under the spell. I love sewing. I can't imagine not knitting. And I love looking at Louisa Harding's books. I think I need to go out and see if this one is in the local store, but so far they have just been pure fantasy reading for me, although I do tend to be a sucker for the variegated yarn because I fall in love with the colors, and then tend to be disappointed in the final project (although not the knitting of it). I'm knitting something with Noro sock yarn now, I hope it doesn't turn out too homemade as opposed to chicly handmade
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've stepped into a magical land when I go to a good yarn store! I know you have a lot of experience of the variegated yarn. I love it in the skein, but then when I think of wearing it, it all seems overwhelming :-) Everything you make looks chic!
DeleteI'm ashamed to admit that I didn't stop by to comment on the designs, it's all about the hair! I am swooning with hair lust, literally swooning.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, the hair was half the reason I bought the book in the first place :-)
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