This lovely hand-dyed yarn was a gift from my friend Heather. She and her boyfriend stayed with us for a few days in June and she picked up a skein of Indigo Moon Merino at her local yarn shop — Baaad Anna’s in Vancouver — as a thank you.

Indigo Moon Yarns are made on Gabriola Island, British Columbia — an idyllic spot for a yarn making! I’ve been to Gabriola once but it was for a community radio conference so unfortunately I wasn’t able to check out Indigo Moon HQ. The colourway is called Northern Steppe and you can see what it looks like in skein form on the Indigo Moon blog.

The pattern is Stephen West’s Pogona, from Westknits Book One. I was a little light on yardage, so I ended up one inch short in the body of the shawl and four rows short in the garter stitch edging. If I’d been more realistic with the whole yardage situation, I would have started the edging sooner so I could have done the full six rows of garter stitch.

I love the folds that the stitch pattern creates and it’s super easy to memorize once you do the set up rows. I think it would look really lovely even larger than written, and worn like a scarf with all the folds and peaks on display. Next time! I know I’ll give this one lots of love come autumn.

[Photos courtesy of Christopher]

[Ravelled]

I went to my first Knitter’s Frolic this afternoon, held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. I have to admit, it hurt a little bit to take the bus to Don Mills on a non-work day!

The Frolic is put on each year by the Downtown Knit Collective and is mainly a marketplace and series of workshops. The spindles above were at the Gemini Fibres booth. Plenty of spinning equipment and books, including a charkha. I’m dying to try one out – I like the idea of having a little notebook charkha.

Indigo Moon from Gabriola Island, BC was there as well. Really beautiful, rich colours and naturally dyed silks. I showed amazing restraint and didn’t buy a single skein of yarn. I’m still wondering how that happened.

For the second time in the last month, I flirted with the idea of buying three skeins of Malabrigo Lace. I have Hannah Fettig’s Featherweight Cardigan in mind, if I could only commit to a colourway!