Take Heart Anniversary

This autumn was overwhelmingly busy with the various knitting festivals I got to attend. After a quick break, I moved into knitting and making a few plans for this winter.  Many new projects have been on and off the needles which hopefully I can share in the new year. I still plan to recap my trips to Vancouver's Knit City and Rhinebeck's Wool and Sheep Festival with a few photos soon. One of my goals lately has been to stay active and social on Instagram. Two weeks ago I had a lot of fun doing an Instagram Take Over for Pom Pom Quarterly to kick off some special celebrations. I can't believe a full year has gone by since releasing Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey. We're celebrating the first anniversary by hosting a Take Heart KAL which is happening now on Ravelry. Head over there to see the details on how to join. It's running till January 2nd, 2017 so there's still plenty of time to participate! 

I thought I'd share my photos from the Take Over on here as well. You can always find Pom Pom on Instagram at @pompommag and my personal account at @fiona_alice_. I am so pleased I could share a little bit of my home, Nova Scotia, with Pom Pom's followers. Thanks for lovely comments! 

Hello Pomcats! I'm Fiona Alice and welcome to Nova Scotia! I'll be taking over the Pom Pom Instagram feed this weekend as Pom Pom and I are getting ready to celebrate the first anniversary of my book Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey, which was inspired by both the Canadian and British landscapes. Nova Scotia is known for its varying coastlines so here's one of my favourite places, Duncan's Cove. Make sure you join in with our Take Heart knit along and tag your posts #takeheartkal and stay tuned for more pics from me @fiona_alice_. 

Hi it's @fiona_alice_  again with my #takehearttakeover of the Pom Pom account this weekend. Be prepared to see a lot of grey over Pom Pom's Instagram feed this weekend; it's my favourite colour whether natural or dyed. Luckily there's a never ending supply of beautiful greys along this rugged coastline, and Nova Scotia's overcast and rainy grey days make the perfect excuse for staying indoors to knit.

If you have a copy of #PPQ18you might recognise this design. Here's Kaali from this year's autumn issue. I couldn't resist using more of Elisabeth Beverley's Plant Dyed Cashmere, grey of course. Plus a few golden threads by Temaricious to match Nova Scotia's late autumn palette. The temperature is starting to drop here so the cozy cashmere is inviting to slip on cold hands. Stay tuned this weekend for posts from me @fiona_alice_ as I share more of my photos.

This is Fergus, my cat, knitting companion and biggest distraction. He constantly competes to be the softest grey item in my hands. To give him a run for his money I dug out some of @toft_uk Aran Alpaca which has been sitting in my stash for the past three years. Fergus loves alpaca and approves this yarn choice so I'll be casting on, just in time for the #takeheartkal. I feel like there is only one project this yarn is destined to become. 

Putting my @toft_uk Aran Alpaca to use and slowly working on #takehearthat. This pattern was originally launched 3 years ago in Issue 7, Pom Pom's Winter 2013 Issue. It's still one of my favourite patterns, and I love to see it knit up by others. I'm selfishly knitting this one for myself.

You can often find me knitting or with my laptop, here at Seven Bays Cafe in Halifax's North End. Thanks for letting me share a little piece of my knitting world with you this weekend. It's wild to think one whole year has gone by since releasing Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey. I would not have been able to do this without your support. I can't wait to see where my next knitting journey will take me! Please keep sharing your projects with me, #takeheartkal - I love to see them. Signing off with much love, Fiona Alice.

 

Since Christmas is around the corner, Pom Pom put some very exciting knitting kits together. The Border Mill has graciously released a special yardage of their Alpaca Tweed for this. There's enough to make the Chester Basin hat and mitten set. Head over to the Pom Pom Shop to see the gorgeous colour combinations! I definitely wish I had more of this yarn in my stash. 

Photography: Pom Pom Quarterly 

Photography: Pom Pom Quarterly 

I was also lucky to be invited back as a guest on the Pomcast last week. You can listen to Sophie and I catch up and discuss what has happened since releasing Take Heart. It has been an amazing year that just flew by but I'm getting excited about new plans to come in 2017. Here's my newly finished Take Heart hat, the project that started this all and just in time for the snow! I love seeing the project photos that knitters choose to share, please continue! I'll have a little treat for my followers here on the blog this week, a little thank-you for your love and support. 

Alpaca Tweed at Loop

Summer is slowly starting to creep into London. We've had a few incredibly nice days lately, even though the temperature still drops and becomes quite chilly at night. I know around this time most knitters change the yarn preferences to cotton and linen and cast summer projects onto their needles. I fear I am the opposite. As much as I would love to knit some linen tops for myself, the urge is never strong enough. Instead, I am always counting down the weeks until autumn's first frost. I tend to work with heavier and warmer blends all year round. So when I heard the news that Loop would be carrying The Border Mill's Alpaca Tweed, I was ecstatic!

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Photo Credit: @looplondonloves

Alpaca Tweed has been one of my favourite yarn discoveries since moving to London. If you've flipped through Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting, you've probably read about how much I love this yarn since finding their stand at Edinburgh Yarn Festival in 2015. At this year's festival, they were number one on my list of businesses to visit. I was pleased to see the new yarns they've been developing since last year too. Loop in London, is stocking their Alpaca Tweed in a special range of colours for the shop. Now that this yarn is within arms reach, this is very, very dangerous for me. 

Photo Credit: Sophie Scott for Loop Knit Lounge Blog

Photo Credit: Sophie Scott for Loop Knit Lounge Blog

To anticipate the arrival of the twelve new shades, I collaborated with Loop's owner, Susan Cropper, to design a fun floral themed bunting for the shop. I'm so thrilled to see that the bunting pattern is now available as a free PDF download. You can find Blossom Bunting on Loop's blog here. Loop's resident blogger, Sophie Scott, transformed the shop's window to display the new colours and bunting. I also knit up my Chester Basin set from Take Heart for the shop which you can now see in person when you stop by to visit. I used Hydrangea Dream for the main colour and Where Breezes Begin as the accent. I love this new combination and how different it feels from the original Night Sky and Distressed Oatmeal used in the book. Also, just a friendly reminder, there has been an errata posted on Pom Pom's Errata Page about this pattern. If you're purchasing Alpaca Tweed from Loop or The Border Mill directly, you'll need two skeins of the main colour if you're planning to knit the larger set. One skein of each colour is still sufficient to make the small or medium set. I hope you love it as much as I do!