Flagel Knitting Files

Synchronicity  "is the experience of two or more events as meaningfully   related, whereas they are unlikely to be causally related.  The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence, although the events need not be exactly simultaneous in time." I have an example of synchronicity that happened last week.  At knit night Tena gave me a couple of surprise gifts.  She and her husband, Ron, had recently taken a trip to Portland, Oregon and with Ron being a very avid reader, time was spent at Powell Book Store .  It is arguably one of the biggest book stores in the U.S.  As Ron was searching out his type of reading, Tena perused the knitting section, which is quite large (I have personally spent time, a lot of time there myself). There she picked up two books for me.  One by Tracy Chapman, Toys to Knit, which will be used to make that new granddaughter some cute toys.  (There is a pattern for an elephant, snake, rabbit, bear and monkey.) But the other book, At Knit's En

If you have been following this blog you know I mention Stephanie Pearl-McPhee with a certain amount of regularity.  Apparently she has been referenced no less than seven times by me in the blog.  Here's what I had to say about her back in May 2012: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee from Toronto, Ontario is a prolific knitter and writer. Her blog, the Yarn Harlot is consistently ranked as one of the #1 knitting blogs in North America. She is able to write in intriguing ways and knits up a storm as well. I reluctantly encourage you to take a look at her blog because my efforts pale in comparison. She is such a great writer. Hey, she even has her own Wikipedia page .   To say I am a fan is such an understatement.  Her love for knitting and life, as well as her Canadian sense of humour comes through every word on the page/screen.  I follow her blog faithfully daily.  And on those days when she doesn't post I am a slightly lesser person because I need her kick in the funny bo

Kathleen Cubley , the editor of Knitting Daily, recently posted a photo of her first knitting project.  It was astonishing that she had the wherewithal to take a photo of her first.  This is just what a beginning knitter's work looks like: The swatch above is obviously a sampler where Kathleen was trying out different stitches.  There are several characteristics that make this swatch quintessentially a beginner's. There is no consistent tension or gauge.  See how the side edges of the sample ebb and flow; they aren't supposed to do that. There are unexpected holes that Kathleen was kind enough to point out and I spy others she didn't.  Holes are to be expected as you start to figure out what to do with the yarn.  Most of us wrap the yarn more than necessary at first and create yarn overs.  When the yarn over is knit again during the next row a hole is created.  Holes are great when one is making lace but not required in this sampler.  Both the cast on at the bo

Debbie Bliss is one of the leading knitwear designer for babies and children who lives in the UK. (Since I'm in baby-knitting mode it isn't hard to figure out how I found her.)  With a list of more than 40 pattern books and several bestselling titles to her name, she regularly tours the U.S., Canada and other countries, giving lectures and doing workshops.  More recently she has developed her own Debbie Bliss branded yarn which is sold worldwide.  You can check out her latest yarn and designs here . Her company sponsors awards for up-and-coming designers.  In the Fall-Winter 2012 issue of her magazine, Debbie Bliss Knitting Design , a call went out for a unique baby blanket.  In this year's Fall-Winter issue the winner was announced, Aruna Neela, from right here of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.   Her "Sweet Dreams Russian Doll Baby Blanket" was made with the help of my LYS, Black Sheep Yarns.  This is from their website:   Aruna came into B

Last weekend Paul and I ventured out to see what the Olympic Peninsula of Western Washington State had to offer. The week had been rainy in Vancouver and we were hoping for a break because, well, Paul has a convertible that he wanted to take advantage of as we drove through the National Forest and Park.  Good ole Mom Nature didn't let us down. Below’s a map of the route we took from Port Townsend on the north to Aberdeen on the south and then back up through Forks and Port Angeles back to Port Townsend.  It is cleverly called the Highway 101 loop. A map of the Olympic Peninsula  I have written about Port Townsend before when I wrote about Kim Thomson, check it out here .   And I was able to spend time in Kim’s gallery called Thomson Art Forms & Fine Craft and talk to her about her work.  She may have been startled at first with how much I knew about her.  It soon became apparent to her, I think, that even though I might have been a bit too exuberant, I was a fan rather

This had been planned for sometime now.  And it started with this photo. I know they're cupcakes! My girlfriend Jami became excited about these stilettos so we planned an unusual afternoon activity where we'd make these cupcakes and the guys would have to figure out what to make for dinner. Now when you think about this, it is a great idea.  I've made enough dinners in my life to make them rather uninspiring for me, so I'll pass that work off to others.  With the dinner part assigned, I'm free to do something really truly inspiring, like making stiletto cupcakes! So Saturday was the day to be cake and frosting creative.  It started with one final search for the right kind of Pepperidge Farm cookies, Milano Melts.  But they were nowhere to be found so I settled for Pepperidge Farm, Monaco cookies. Apparently not all Canadian grocery chains stock Pepperidge Farm products as readily as U.S. stores do, so it took four stops to find anything that would work.  (BT