Tag Archives: seattle

SNOWPOCALYPSE 2019

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We’ve had a crazy mild winter this year- 40s and 50s, and more often sunny than not.  It almost felt like we forgot to have winter.

Well.  We remembered.

And decided to have an entire season’s-worth of winter all in one weekend.IMG_1270.JPGIt started snowing Friday around lunchtime, and kept on going all through the night, until we ended up with knee-deep (or at least calf-deep) snow blanketing the city.  We hit 9 inches on our back deck on Saturday morning!IMG_1280I know that as a transplant from the Midwest I’m supposed to go on and on about how “back in my day we’d drive in three feet of snow, uphill both ways, with our eyes closed, just for fun.”  But, I gotta say, I kind of love the Seattle way of dealing with snow.  Here, we don’t tough it out, we don’t fight it, we don’t shovel or salt or plow.  We just stock up on food when there’s snow in the forecast, call out from work and hunker down.  This morning, I’m fully embracing my inner Seattleite and enjoying the snow through the window, cozy with my knitting and a cup of tea.  Maybe we’ll go outside and make a snowman later, or maybe we’ll just stay inside until the snow melts.  IMG_1284Is there snow where you are?  What do you do when the snow hits?

A Sweater By Any Other Name

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I’ve never been great at naming things.  When we adopted our dog, his previous owners had already named him “Ollie,” so we just said, “Sure!  That’s a fine name.  We’ll keep it.”  It’s an known fact among my friends that when I have to name a character for a video game or a D&D campaign, it’s always terrible.  And whenever I put my toe back in the Fiction Writing Pond, I’m never happy with my characters’ names.

Same goes for naming my patterns.  At first, I tried to name my patterns something clever.  Then I tried naming them with practical descriptions.  Then I gave up on that and started just using random girls’ names (which every other designer has already done).  Just try finding a girls name that hasn’t already been used for a piece of knitwear.  I dare you.

Anyway, long story short, I hit upon the idea of naming my designs after places in and around Seattle that I like visiting.  Lucky for me, Seattle has about a million neighborhoods (I’ve lived here since 2010, and I’m still discovering new neighborhoods, there are so many).  And if you start including parks and neighboring towns/cities, well… I could keep designing for years and not run out of names.

You might remember the Ballard Pullover from a few years ago. 

Ballard is a historically Norwegian neighborhood that’s rapidly changing from a cute working-class neighborhood to a super-hipster area, full of bars and resturants.  I love spending a Saturday down in Ballard, hopping from micro-brewery to micro-brewery, with stops for coffee, tapas and board games.  The Carkeek Pullover is another of my favorites.Carkeek Park is a great place for a nice walk with the dog.  It’s got miles of wooded trails (in the middle of the city!), and a nice little beach that looks out on the Puget Sound.  On a clear day you can see the Olympic mountains.  The beach is a great place to look for sea glass, and if you’re really lucky, you might even spot a seal or two playing in the water.My newest sweater is named after a tiny town to the north of Seattle, Snohomish.Snohomish is a really tiny town- it actually reminds me of where I went to high school.  It’s rural and sleepy, but close enough to a big town to not feel 100% like you’re in the country.  It’s nestled in the foothills of the Cascades (gorgeous!).  They have a really great paved hiking/biking trail that I love to visit with my roller skates.  Nothing better than skating down a nicely paved country road on a clear day with the mountains all around!There might be a more logical way to name my sweaters, but at least I have some sort of a method to my madness.

Do you give your projects names?  What’s the weirdest thing that you’ve named?

Spring Break! (Woooo!)

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Happy Spring Break, you guys!  The Seattle schools are off this week for spring break, which means my sewing classes are off, too.

So what’s a girl to do with a whole week of spring break all to herself?  Should I go to the beach?  Should I sun myself and drink tropical drinks by the pool?

Of course not!  I live in Seattle where my spring break consists of knitting, drinking coffee and (maybe) a little yard work if the sun comes out.

Yesterday was lovely and sunny, but the day before was crazy!  Pouring rain, sun, hail, and crazy wind.  That was some of the weirdest weather I’d seen here in years.  We even had “sun-showers,” where it was simultaneously pouring and super sunny.

Sparkling Rain by Christelle NihoulOf course, spring really has hit here- The daffodils are going crazy, the cherry trees are clouds of pink and white, and the tulips are getting ready to explode.

Flower Shawl by Jenny Johnson JohnenSpring break in Seattle is also a time for goats.

That’s right.  Goats.  (Especially baby ones.)

(I spent the afternoon yesterday at one of my favorite local breweries, sipping tasty beer and saying high to a whole herd of baby goats from the Puget Sound Goat Rescue!  They were tiny (smaller than my dog), and so stinking cute.  Seattle is the best!  Where else would you get to pet baby goats on a Tuesday afternoon?)

Goats of Inversnaid Gauntlets by Kate DaviesDo you get a spring break?  What do you do when you get a break in your neck of the woods?

Inspiration: The Killing

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I’ve been spending my November holed up away from the damp Seattle weather watching a TV show about the damp Seattle weather.  Because, why not!

It’s one of my new favorite TV shows:  The Killing.  (It’s not new, I’m just late to the party.)   Based on a Swedish show of the same name (but in Swedish… or at least I assume it’s the same name.  I don’t speak Swedish), The Killing is basically the show for people who think Law & Order: SVU is too light and funny.

Luckily for me, I am one of those people.

But, of course, the best part of the Killing isn’t the twisty-turny plot, the great acting, or the insanely brutal crimes.  The best part is Detective Sarah Linden’s amazing sweaters.  How amazing are they?  So amazing.mirielle2I have never seen a woman on TV rock the oversized sweater/puffy coat combo as well as Sara Linden.  mirielle1It’s kind of incredible.mirielle5This one even looks hand-knit!mirielle3I think Sarah Linden might be my spirit animal.  (As far as dressing goes.  She doesn’t smile nearly enough to be my true spirit animal.)

Want to channel your inner chain-smoking, crime-fighting, misanthrope?  Try knitting up one of these over-sized beauties.

The Killing Snowflake Sweater in Fritidsgarn by SKD Yarnsimage_medium[3]Flugeldar by Kiyomi Burginflugeldar8_medium2[1]#224 Weekend Pullover by Diane Soucy224_medium2[1]

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away!

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OK.  Fair warning.  I’m going to complain about something that I probably shouldn’t.  If you want to skip this post, I totally understand.

That being said, here goes:

It needs to rain more.

I know, I know!  I live in Seattle, and I’m complaining because the weather’s been too nice?  Give me a break!

Summer started extra early this year, and it has been sunny and warm for months.  We had a few blissful weeks of rain and clouds, but now it’s back to being summery- I even had the windows open yesterday!  I thought I lived in Seattle, and not Los Angeles!

Where is my rain?  Where are my clouds?  Where are my days spent curled up beneath an afghan, watching the rain drip through the cherry tree outside my window, a cup of tea on the end table and a half-finished sweater in my lap?  Where is my rain!

Maybe there’s some kind of knitter’s rain dance I can do?

I could make this gorgeous shawl in lovely rainy colors.

Color Affection by Veera Välimäkicolor-affection-2_small_best_fit[1]

I could knit up these socks with their raindrops, waves and cloud patterns.

Water Cycle Socks by Tami Sheifferdscn0958_medium2_small[1]

Or, if worst comes to worst, I could always just make my own raincloud.

Rainycloud by Anna Hrachovec483379646_e95e3b0597_z[1]

How’s the weather in your neck of the woods?

Inspiration: Seahawks

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Apparently, there’s a football game this weekend.  And apparently the Seattle Seahawks are playing.  Yay!

I actually have very little interest in Football (as did the entire city of Seattle until about two weeks ago), but since we’re playing in the Superbowl, I figured I’d jump on that bandwagon.  I’m all about jumping (and bandwagons).

If you have time before Sunday, how about making a very team-spirited Seahawks hat?  (Fun fact: The Seahawk’s mascot is named Blitz… I just looked that up.  Just for you guys.  Also, Blitz is a sea hawk, which is not actually a real bird.)

Adult Sized Seahawks Hat by Chelan Ku

seahawks_hat_2_small_best_fit[1]Or you could make a scarf from some hand-dyed Seahawks yarn.  (Fun fact: The official Seahawks Colors are College Navy, Action Green, and Wolf Gray.  I’m not even making that up.  Action Green.)

Seattle Seahawks Hand Dyed Yarn by yarnpirate

il_570xN.554593860_nkyh[1]Or, if you only care about football a tiny bit (like me), how about making a tiny football?  (Fun fact:  A standard NFL football is about 11 inches long, tip to tip.  This one is about 1 inch.)

Tiny Football by Anna Hrachovec

tinyfootball_small[1]

Knitting Lessons

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I finally made it back to Seattle late (late late) last night, and I still have to unpack (and clean the house, and put away the Christmas decorations), so I don’t have time for a long, complicated post.

Instead, I have exciting news! Do you live in the Seattle area?  Do you want to learn to knit?  Are you having trouble with a particularly tricky pattern? Can’t make your sock’s heel turn?

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Then you’re in luck!  I am available to help with all your knitting conundrums!

Starting this spring, I will be giving private knitting lessons and group classes in the Seattle area.   I am happy to take you through a pre-designed course of lessons, or to help you with a new technique or tricky pattern you just can’t figure out.  Let me know what you want to do, and we’ll tailor a lesson just for you.  Individual lessons are $20 an hour, and groups of three or more are $15 per person.

Grab your yarn and needles, and a friend or two, and we’ll make it a party!

If you’re interested, please email me at knittingontheneedles@gmail.com

Happy Knitting!

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Inspiration: In the Fog

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Usually fall in Seattle entails rain.  And drizzle. And more rain.  And overcast skies.  And more rain.  Delightful, no?

But, for some reason, this year, Seattle looks like this:

grey_square[1]It’s been crazy foggy for approximately two weeks, and I’m about ready to go crazy up in here.  It’s pretty much the worst.  It’s gray and never really gets any brighter than sort of a wan pre-dawn kind of light.  And, driving is terrifying!  You can’t see more than a block or two ahead of you with any sort of clarity.

But, I suppose, when life gives you lemons (or fog), you make lemonade (or fog-inspired sweaters).

So, here’s what I would like to knit to hold the fog at bay:

Fog Sweater by Tiennie

2183219713_e49a79cf80_z[1]Seattle Fog Beanie by Julie Grantz LeFrancois

6668403171_02b1682249_z[1]Patchwork in Fog, by Mimi FautleyKSH_Stripe_for_pattern_medium2[1]