Ooops.

I booked a table at a craft sale... But this one will be different! It's called True Knit and it's in Regina and I believe way cooler people have tables and go to it than at Wilson's. Plus the table is cheaper, and it's one day intstead of 3. It's May 5th and I'm very excited! Since we are now heading into spring here in Canada, I can't really sell hats, mitts and scarves as I do in November. I have some ideas and once I have made some things I will definitely post them.

Here are a couple things that I made in the past year. I made a few of these hat and mitt sets for Wilson's:


I made some green ones, some brown ones, some of the hats had litte ears. All of them sold except for this set so I kept it for Alaina.

I also made these mitts for Jana. They are a superfine merino wool, which ended up being really thin. Since Jana lives in Edmonton and their winter is fairly similar to ours (freezing), I decided to line them with blue mohair (which is actually very easy to do).



I also made Jana this headband. She has one like it but wanted another one. It is made with the softest, most beautiful wool. It is basically a rectangle knit in stockinette stitch for 16 inches. Then I gathered it on the ends and sewed it up bunchy. Then picked up stitches along one side, decreased at the end of every row until the strap was about 3/4" wide. Knit until it was long enough to reach the other side, then cast off. I sewed a button on the end of the strap, made a little loop on the other side to hold the button and voila! I bought some yarn to make myself one, but of course I haven't had time yet :)



With less than two months to go until True Knit, I have set myself a schedule to make sure I stay on track and get stuff done. I will post as I go. I'm pumped about this show. It's going to be great!

Back from Mat Leave

I have missed blogging my knit stuff! I was busy over the past year having a baby (Alaina Lily McCannell was born 16 days late on February 17th, 2011), being a mommy, buying a cabin, travelling, etc. I was knitting all the while, but just completely forgot about my little blog. Well, I'm back. Here is a picture of my adorable little baby girl. She was about 3 or 4 months old in this picture. She is now just over a year old!


The year off with Alaina went by really fast. Here she is at about 4 or 5 months:


Here is a picture of us on the deck of the cabin we bought this summer. it took some hard core convincing for AJ to agree, but we are so happy we bought it.


Here she is with Chels, Jered, my dad, gram and aunt Connie at Chels and Jered's wedding:


While Aunt Connie was in Saskatoon visiting, she bought Alaina a little Riders outfit since the McCannells are die hard Rider fans.



This is Alaina at my parents house in Winnipeg on Christmas morning. She was spoiled and got tons of presents.


And here we are at Alaina's first birthday party. I made her a (healthy) banana cake with (healthy) chocolate icing. It seriously was healthy. AJ hated it :)



Ok, back to knits. Here is a picture of the blanket I knit for Alaina (when I didn't know if she was a boy or girl):


Melissa gave me a little sweater that she bought at Superstore for Amaya and asked if I could knit something like it, so I came up with this:


I did the Wilson's Greenhouse Craft Show again in November 2011 (it was my third year at the show). It was a lot of fun. My mum and sister came here to Saskatoon to work it with me. Here is my table:


As much as I love knitting all the things for the craft sale, I have decided that I am not going to get another table this year. It is quite discouraging. I put my heart and soul into my knits and try to be creative and make things that I think are beautiful and hope others think are beautiful. Unfortunately, the majority of people that come to the craft sale are cheap, and quite honestly, extremely rude. They gawk at the price of everything (and personally I think all of my goods are very reasonably priced. Some have told me my prices are too low even - but these people appreciate hand made goods), and I very often hear the remark, "I could do that." So I have decided that instead of making up a bunch of premade items and trying to sell them, I am going to just do custom orders. I have already had quite a few, and it is much more satisfying to make something for someone who wants it, than making something in the hopes that someone will want it. This is a pair of my legwarmers that are quite popular. I have sold several pairs of these:


Also, these headbands FLEW off the table. I couldn't knit them fast enough. I would finish one, put it on the table, and it would be sold within minutes.




I also sold several of these cowls. All different types of yarn. They a nice alternative to a scarf. I bought some beautiful wool in Victoria to make myself a couple. Haven't had time to yet.



And also these baby cocoons have been popular too. I love making them - they are like making a big long hat. Super easy. And babies look so cute in them!


So now I am back at work full time and have very little time to knit, but I make sure I knit at least half an hour every day. I have to. It keeps me sane. I have more to post but I'll save it for another day.

Christmas knits

I made some ornaments for people this year. This first picture shows some little mittens I made. I didn't actually knit these. I felted some wool sweaters I bought from VV and then cut out the mitten shape. I think they turned out well and people seemed to like them. My favorites are the striped ones.


I also crocheted a little snowman for my friend Kristen. I found the pattern on Lion Brand Yarn's website.


I crocheted the mitten below for my friend Adriana. She is going to be doing my matt leave at SIAST. She is an amazing person, she has helped me so much and she shares my love for knitting.


I knit the mini sweater ornament below (for some reason even though in my file it is right side up, stupid blogger has decided to turn it sideways and I can't figure out how to change it) for my friend Deb.


And I knit this hat below for Jillie. She is going to Europe for 3 months (today I think...)! I hope this hat will keep her head warm :) I made the pattern up and I quite like it.


I knit a bunch of other stuff but will save them for another post since I show be working right now...

Leland's replacement sweater

Sweet little Leland grew out of his blue sweater. Since Leanne and Pre are such strong Nanook Knits supporters (always wear/use what I knit them) I had no problem knitting Leland a new sweater.


I used some chunky acrylic - basically the same stuff I used for the first sweater, but in black instead of grey. My gramma Inez gave me heck for knitting a black sweater for a baby. I am not allowed to knit black for my baby, says Gram.


This sweater pattern is just so easy and always looks so good. I am addicted to knitting seamless patterns because I hate sewing up so much. (I have 3 sweaters and an afghan that have been done for AGES, just sitting in my closet in pieces. I hate sewing up.)


I am hoping Wilson's Greenhouse will be a success, I have a bunch of knitted and crocheted stuff all ready to sell. I also already have a few batches of doggie treats ready. A couple more things to do and I should be good to go!

Growing Belly

AJ has been taking some better pictures throughout the pregnancy, but these are ones I have taken on my phone some mornings when I feel like it. This first one was taken on September 23rd. My belly only really popped out around September 12th-14th when I was home for my Mum's birthday.


This was taken this morning. I can't tell if I got any bigger... Maybe a little bit? It's hard to tell on yourself. I see my belly every day.


I have been feeling tons of movement. I absolutely love it. It's the most amazing feeling in the world. Other people have felt baby move too. AJ, Chels, my parents, Beth, Debby. It's so exciting. I love being pregnant :)

Amaya Belle McCannell

Ian and Melissa had a little baby girl on September 25th and her name is Amaya Belle. She is a perfect little peanut and we all love her. This is her and I the day she was born.




I gave them the pink crocheted converse booties, but she won't fit into them for awhile. So I knit up this little sleep sack for her to stay warm in during the winter. I like it so much I am going to have to knit one for my baby :)




I have had these little bumblebee buttons for about 12 years and never had anything to put them on. I thought they looked cute on this sleep sack. I sewed in a zipper under the white strip. Apparently Ian and Melissa like zippers a lot more than snaps or buttons. Easier to get on and do up on a wriggling baby!


I knit this green hat for Jana's friend. It is two strands of worsted held together, using 6 mm needles. It is a nice loose fit, not as tight as I normally do. I like the fit and may start doing more hats like this.


I lined it with some camouflage fleece for extra warmth and added my label (Nanook Knits). I may have to do more like this for the Wilson's Greenhouse Craft Sale next month! I'm very excited, both Mum and Chels are coming to work it with me. Last year Chels and I had such a great time, it's going to be great.



I'm going to have hats, scarves and other stuff that I can knit up before the sale. And of course, the doggie biscuits that flew off the table. More variety this year, including dairy-free and wheat-free for the poor allergy-burdened pups. I can't wait!

New Favourite

So Melissa is due on September 30th (although we all think she could go any minute now) and I needed to make baby McCannell something adorable. Since Ian and Melissa chose not to find out what they were having, I will have to make this in blue or green too, but started with pink. Are these not the cutest little booties EVER?


When I saw the pattern I knew they would become a favourite of mine for babies. I love making cute things that are cute even to people who don't use that word. Jered and AJ both think these are very cute. That means they are awesome. They are however, not as easy as a lot of little tiny things I am used to making. They are definitely worth it, but my first run through these took longer than your average bootie takes me. I am hoping that the next pair will be easier, and so on.


I plan on making another pair in case they have a boy. And of course, a couple pairs for my baby. They are just too cute. I have two sweaters on the go for myself, and they are both close to completion. I basically just have to finish the collar/neck on both of them, and then sew them up. I am hoping to finish both this weekend.

Then on to more baby stuff!