Ilga's Knitting World: 2012-02-03T16:23:22Z Copyright (c) 2012, Ilga Leja ExpressionEngine tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:02:03 tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.387 2012-02-03T15:18:00Z 2012-02-03T16:23:22Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
I have Downton Abbey Fever and I've got it bad.

Every Sunday evening I will cancel any other plans just to be able to catch the next episode of this British period drama. The characters are interesting, charasmatic, and some of them, impossible. But all of them are completely compelling, as is the story itself.

The costume designs are equally compelling. A knitter on Ravelry admitted to having this same disorder and wondered if there were any knitting designs that could be appropriate for this TV series. It made me think about some of my designs.

I can just see Lady Mary:

Wearing an Antonia shawlette over her shoulders at dinner:

Or an Arabella on her way to an evening ball:

And there is always the consistently popular Antique Lace for almost anytime:

No doubt I'll get some more design ideas while watching this irresistible drama.



{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.384 2012-01-30T10:48:00Z 2012-01-26T14:51:46Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
I have been experimenting with a new yarn lately: Mark & Kattens' Fame Rand.

It is a sock weight yarn, 70% superwash wool, 2% nylon, 5% acrylic, (400 m./437 yds. per 100 g ball). The colour shown is No. 675.

It is a loosely spun yarn with a single thread of black nylon which wraps the yarn. The colours of the wool/acrylic yarn change, but the black thread remains consistent throughout. It gives the yarn its stability. Otherwise I could not imagine that this yarn could be used for sock knitting.

Here I have worked a swatch to try out a very lacy stitch pattern.

I am very pleased with the subtle colour variations from greens to browns and back again. They are so gradual you hardly notice the changes as you are working.

There is a lovely lime green that gives the overall colour scheme some life and pop. You can see it here just inside the beginning border.

I am enjoying working with this yarn and can imagine it working well with almost any of the patterns for self-striping yarns in the Five Easy Pieces e-book.

I can see those colours looking particularly beautiful--and very different-- in a Firelight shawlette:

Or a Watery Ripples:

I am trying something rather different with this project. Time will tell whether it'll be a keeper.

For now I am just enjoying working with the yarn and the colours.



{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.386 2012-01-27T22:48:00Z 2012-01-26T22:07:40Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
This week I learned how to make Latvian "black bread". And it's about time!

I have had the luxury of my mother keeping us well supplied with this Latvian staple food. Finally she suggested that I learn how to make it myself.

And I agreed. So began the somewhat convoluted process of making this absolutely delicious, dark rye sour-dough bread.

As I carried out each direction, under my mother's supervision, I also wrote down the recipe. It came out to 3 pages of handwritten instructions.

My first batch is not cookbook-ready. The top crust is a little light-looking.

But I can assure you that it is completely delicious.

It is not a bread for the faint of heart, though. This is a country-style bread with a tough crust and a strong, distinctive flavour. A bread to get your teeth into. It tastes particularly good when paired with a hearty vegetable soup or a glass of beer.

There is nothing like the aroma of Latvian sour-dough bread baking. And the taste is also totally unique: somewhat sour, aromatic, dense, crunchy. One slice can totally satisfy because it is such a dense bread.

When there is Latvian black bread in the house, I don't eat any other kind of bread, I love it so much.

This batch is basically already gone since I have promised my children a loaf each.

It looks like I'll have to get ready to make another batch soon. Looks like the baton may have been passed...


{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.385 2012-01-24T18:32:00Z 2012-01-25T15:59:44Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
I have become quite a fan of Lotta Jandotter's designs and her spare--but playful--aesthetic.

So it is little wonder that I bought her book: Handmade Living: A Fresh Take on Scandinavian Style.

In her book, Lotta takes you inside her home in Brooklyn and shows you how she has integrated her design principles into her daily life.

The beautiful photographs (taken by Jenny Hallengren) are intimate, without being too invasive, and everything is infused with an appreciation of the handmade.

Lotta specializes in screenprinting fabrics with her distinctive, sketch-like motifs. Some are bold, like the pillow cover shown above. Some are more subtle: delicate designs that co-ordinate with their function almost seamlessly.

She uses her drawings to decorate simple glassware and dishes.

I particularly love her bedroom quilt that she made from the leftover scraps of her fabrics. She sewed them together in strips, without thought of keeping to straight lines. The result is an organic, life-infused textile.

Gee's Bend meets Scandinavian style.

In the book, Lotta also takes us to her studio and shows how she converted a warehouse space, an old knitting factory, it appears, into a fresh, vital, comfortable space, a "second home".

It will be interesting to watch this designer as she develops further.

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.383 2012-01-22T22:06:01Z 2012-01-22T22:17:36Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
Winter has to be the prettiest season--especially after a heavy snowfall.

We have been getting quite a bit of snow lately. And it is turning the landscape into a fairyland.

No wonder Northern peoples have such a rich store of fairy stories when they have been looking out on visions like these!




{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.382 2012-01-19T14:37:00Z 2012-01-19T19:01:08Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
Arpeggio has made Ravelry's Top 20 Patterns for the past two days. Seems the right time to get the Knit-Along underway.

I was quite excited to see Arpeggio appear on Ravelry's Top 20 Pattern List yesterday. And today, when I checked--yup! It was still there. It had moved up to Number 10 this morning.

Ravelry's Top 20 is constantly changing as new patterns are added and receive attention. I'll be looking to see how long Arpeggio will last on the Top 20.

I have had some questions about the yarn kits, too. They are available here. Just scroll down the page to the payment section and you'll see the "Yarn Kits" option there. The pull-down menu gives you all the colour choices for the Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3-Ply for both the one-colour and two-colour versions.

Several knitters are already well underway with their projects. So I have started the KAL page for Arpeggio on the Ilga Leja Fans Group on Ravelry here.

Come join us!

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.381 2012-01-18T14:05:00Z 2012-01-18T16:09:48Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
My first pattern in the Suite for Short Rows has been released: Arpeggio.

Arpeggio truly is all about short rows. It uses the simplest of knitting stitches: the Garter Stitch so that all the drama and interest lie with the construction. There is nothing to interfere with the movement and rhythmn created by the short rows.

To add even further movement, I also used a bias construction throughout. This gives the shawl its curving shape.

It is worked from one end to the other, biasing in one direction for one side, then worked across the back to form the petal-like shapes.

Then it travels down the other side, biasing in the opposite direction.

Both versions are worked in Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3-Ply. I worked it for the first time in the single colourway, Sangria. But then I was curious to see it worked in two contrasting colours.

Julie Leclerc knit the Bronze-and-Ivory sample. Thanks for the beautiful knitting, Julie!

The pattern for Arpeggio is now available for $10.00 CAD here. Kits are also available.

If you would like to pre-order the entire Suite for Short Rows Collection--and receive the patterns as soon as they are released, you can do so here.


{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.380 2012-01-11T14:07:00Z 2012-01-11T17:28:48Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
I will soon be launching my new collection for Spring 2012: Suite for Short Rows.

Many of you know already how much I love using short rows. I sprinkle them throughout many of my designs.

I like to use short rows to shape shoulders and sleeve inclines as in this pattern, In the Piazza:

Or to add more volume to the fabric in places where one needs it, such as the side gussets in Afternoon Breezes:

Or add shaping in places to add interest, like the back detailing in Northern Lights:

My most popular design, Bermuda, is all about short rows. They give the shawl its shape and define the wavy pattern throughout:

So it is not unusual to find that I wanted to experiement even further with short rows.

For Spring 2012, I have developed a collection of shawls, scarves, capelets, and more, all featuring short rows as the main integral theme to each design. All are wearable pieces, at the Intermediate level of difficulty. Kits will also be available for many of the patterns.

You can pre-order the collection now for $35.00 CAD to receive all 6 patterns as soon as they are released. This is a saving of 40% from the full retail price of the collection.

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.379 2012-01-07T22:06:00Z 2012-01-07T22:31:08Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
Simply couldn't resist photographing these pears. That luscious green colour is hard to resist.

Couldn't you just knit them?

And then I thought, "Yes, I could." I actually have that shade of green in the Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3-Ply. It is called 'Moss".

I used it for an alternate version of Balsam:

And also for the Indonesia Scarf:

And then there was the Urban Goddess with a lacy stitch pattern reminiscent of fruit:

Such a delicious colour. I'll have to dive into my supplies of green and see what else I can come up with.

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2012:blog/index.php/site/index/1.378 2012-01-04T15:17:00Z 2012-01-04T22:16:01Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
For Christmas, I knit--and felted--these mittens for my daughter. In the process, I re-discovered the pleasure and surprise of felting.

They are similar to the Gauntlet Mittens in my Gift List e-book.

I had to laugh when I thought, "Here I am using my own pattern and felting instructions to make a gift for someone". Rather than just starting from scratch to make a new design which is my usual way.

But this pattern is infinitely adaptable. You can insert different designs in the cuff or the body of the mitten, if you like. Given that I was using a self-striping yarn, I decided to keep it simple.

In fact, I liked the red version so much that I am now making another pair for myself. This time in a golden mix. Here it is, pre-felting, and minus its thumb.

The yarn I have been using for these mittens is Vero by Naturally of New Zealand. It is a loosely spun 100% wool yarn in a chunky weight that knits up quickly.


They are going to be cosy and warm. With the felting, they will also protect against the wind. Just the thing for winter walks on cold days. I want to get these knit up and felted soon so that I can have them to wear.


{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2011:blog/index.php/site/index/1.367 2011-12-31T14:25:00Z 2012-01-01T17:42:15Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
In a recent conversation with knitting designer Jane Thornley, we discussed the magic of the "space between the stitches".

We were reflecting on what is was that was so special about the activity of knitting. Not just the creation of a functional garment or the play of beautiful colours or the pleasure of making a gift for someone. All these are real pleasures, to be sure.

But there is something more. Something undefinable. Something beyond the obvious.

Something magical.

It happens when we lose ourselves in the spaces between the stitches.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all!



{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2011:blog/index.php/site/index/1.374 2011-12-27T19:29:00Z 2011-12-27T21:05:29Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
Lately I have been working with Debbie Bliss' new yarn Riva.

I bought this yarn when Debbie Bliss visited Nova Scotia in September. Here she is with her daughter Nell.

Riva is just the kind of yarn to work with when the weather grows cold and you want to make something warm and cosy to wear. It is a chunky yarn, 70% wool, 30% acrylic, loosely spun, similar to a Lopi yarn. The acrylic content keeps the yarn from being "scratchy" and, at the chunky weight, any project will knit up quickly.

As far as I know, it is the only Debbie Bliss yarn that is variegated in colour. And as one would expect from her, it is done in an elegant, subdued fashion. The colours are never harsh, but they rather meld gracefully from one hue to the next, in heathery tones.

The colour I am working with is colour no. 41002:

You can see it knit up in a garment here on the cover of Debbie's book which features the Riva yarn:




{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2011:blog/index.php/site/index/1.377 2011-12-24T15:24:00Z 2011-12-19T19:27:25Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
May this season be filled with magic and light.

Best wishes for a joyous holiday season to all!

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2011:blog/index.php/site/index/1.376 2011-12-20T13:45:01Z 2011-12-20T15:01:14Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
Last week-end I attended the Christmas Open House hosted jointly by Armstrong Textiles and Perl Grey. What a feast of colour, texture, and innovative design!

Lesley Armstrong of Armstrong Textiles has developed a unique line of hand woven fabrics for both garments and home decor. They are worked in luscious blends of the softest alpaca and in some cases, wool and silk, too.

She often uses openwork stitchwork, not unlike those found in wrapped and dropped stitches in knitting. The result is a very modern-looking textile that also conforms well to the body with elegant drape.

Here the lovely Chantel models one of Lesley's shawls with one of my favourite pins by Perl Grey .

Adrienne's (Perl Grey's) jewellery is the perfect match for Lesley's woven pieces. Its modern, spare aesthetic complements the the same qualities in Lesley's work.

Adrienne has also developed some intriguing new pieces that are more free-form than before. The arm bracelets and the dangling, curving earrings are examples of that. They are light and easy to wear, each piece with a natural, sand-washed finish and each piece different.

I was also intrigued by the felted hats that were on display. These are a collaboration between these two artists and friends.

Adrienne knitted up--and felted--these hats with Lesley's soft alpaca yarn.

Adrienne also has her own line of beautifully constructed knitting patterns. Her latest, the Hazel cardigan, is a case in point.

Here the two friends are together (Adreinne Thomas on the left and Lesley Armstrong on the right):

Congratulations on a great show, you two! And you know that I didn't walk away empty-handed either...

{extended} ]]> tag:ilgaleja.com,2011:blog/index.php/site/index/1.373 2011-12-16T15:52:00Z 2011-12-12T16:22:13Z Ilga Leja info@ilgaleja.com
I was very excited to learn that Have a Yarn Shop in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia was now carrying Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift yarn.

Last week I braved the "weather bomb" and made my way south to Mahone Bay. And I was not disappointed. Have a Yarn has brought in a lovely selection of this classic wool yarn.

Shetland Spindrift is 100% wool with a woolly feel. You just know that this yarn will have all the wonderful properies of wool: warmth, body, stitch definition, weatherproofing and lovely colours.

It took me quite a while to settle of a suite of colours to start with. And Have a Yarn is planning on bringing in even more colours! In the end, I settled on a series of blues--no surprise there--with some co-ordinating colours. The sunny yellow colour sets them off well.

Shetland Spindrift is a fingering weight yarn (known as "jumper weight" in the UK). It works particulary well with the Fair Isle patterns we have come to associate with Shetland knitting. But the fingering weight works equally well with lace patterns.

I could see it knit up in Queen of the Waves:

Or the In the Garden capelet:

Or in a vest pattern like In the Courtyard:

I am going to try out some Fair Isle with the colours I have now--or perhaps some intarsia.  I look forward to swatching with this yarn and experimenting with it to see what I can come up with.

One thing is for sure: I will have to go back to Have a Yarn in Mahone Bay for more of the Shetland Spindrift yarn. Because I just know I don't have enough colours.




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