The Great White North!

Name: Kaitlyn

Date: November 10

Current Location: Montreal, Canada

Howdy all!

Greetings from my FAVORITE city!!! I haven’t visited in a few years, but I LOVE Montreal! I’ve spent the last several years in locales that don’t get very “wintry” winters, so I was determined to get snow and cold this year. And boy howdy did Canada deliver!

My friends and family all think I’m crazy, but I’m so happy up here!

Being a more northerly locale, Montreal and Canada have their own knitting traditions. I’ve investigated a few of the yarn shops here in the city, and I’m very pleased with the quality and selection I’ve found.

Les Laines Biscottes

I was familiar with Les Laines Biscottes, as I purchased their advent calendar several years ago. It was a really good one, and I loved their sock yarn and colorways. They have several locations in Montreal, but I went to the one downtown in Mile End. It’s a cozy, beautiful space with lots of light-colored wood, yarn spilling off of every shelf, and every gadget and notion a crafter could ask for!

La Bobineuse

This is a sweet little space on Avenue Mont Royal. The proprietress is a kind woman who cheerfully answered my questions and helped me find what I was looking for.

Current WIPs:

Squishy Cowl

Still trucking along. Not currently a priority, with the holidays coming up, but little by little, I’m working my way through this one.

Christmas Shawl

It’s DONE! …almost. I don’t have the tools to block it while I’m on the road. Hopefully I’ll be able to do so while I’m at my parents’ home over Christmas and show off the beautiful eyelets. In the meantime, here’s the un-blocked, squashy version, which is still lovely in its own way!

Jaunty Skirt

This is a skirt from Ririko. I’ll admit, it’s chafing my pride to be knitting a size “2XL”, but this is a Japanese designer, so the sizes run much smaller than those from Western designers. I’m super excited for this, especially as I’ll be spending the next few months in a cold climate. Here’s hoping I’m able to finish it before spring (😭)

Vortex “Shawl” (read: “blanket”)

This is technically a shawl pattern, but I’m using sportweight cotton to make it a blanket for a friend who lives in the swampy south! It gets chilly and damp during her winter, but not truly “cold”, so she definitely doesn’t need a blanket made from wool or animal fibers. This color-changing cotton Twister yarn from Hobbii was just the thing!

Everywear Sweater

This delightful pattern from Blue Sheep Knitwear is my first attempt at the drop-shoulder construction. I have some squishy acrylic yarn I got from Joann’s (RIP 😭)

Up Next:

I’m up here in the frozen north for a while longer, but I’ll be heading “south” again for the holiday season.

Stay warm, and keep stitching my lovelies!  ❤