May is Purple

May always seems like the beginning of the Year in Colours to me because of the way nature's palette comes alive.  It starts with irises:

Then moves onto many other variations of purple and green.  

2 kinds of lavender 

Sage

California Lilac alive with bees

Everything put together

Lastly, sometimes nature also produces these colours in unexpected places:

Eucalyptus Soap

This past weekend my soapy friends & I gathered once again to make soap.  It had been a while since we had gotten together for such an occasion.  Since our soap teacher is no longer taking groups, we had not met to make soap as it's difficult to get 4 cooks in a kitchen.

So this past weekend, we were all in the same kitchen at the same time.  2 friends used the mighty attractive Good Planet cold-processed soap kits, while another made her lovelies from scratch.   As for me, with jet-lag and all, I watched the excitement from the dining room as I couldn't get my oils together in time.

It was so exciting to watch all the soaps come together that when I returned home, I measured and melted all the oils, then let them rest while the family had a nice Easter Monday dinner at Mom's.  When we returned, I mustered the courage to get the lye+water going.  This was my first time making soap without a mentor with me.  Although I have made soap for 5 years now, I had never made it on my very own.

Before

After

 It took a little over 60 minutes for the lye & oils to cool to the right temperatures.  I had to place the oils in the fridge for a while to get them to cool quicker but when everything reached 114 - 117F, I mixed lye & oils together.  I still love seeing the oils develop a new personality when they thicken as they reach the trace stage.  I always feel like greeting them with a "Why hello!  That's who you are!"

This batch was a mixture of:  olive/coconut/palm oils, cocoa butter, water, lye, and eucalyptus/lavender essential oils.  Some bars also have spirulina (for a bit of green contrast), and Deep Bay fennel seeds.  I upped the palm oil % to make the bars harder this time.  They were ready to cut today and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Aubade Shawl

Last summer involved many trips back and forth between Victoria and Vancouver.   For the unitiated, this involved a 1.5 hr ferry ride, with an hour commute at each end (using transit).  While it was a stressful period, the ferry ride was made easier by keeping busy with a project.  Knitting atop the Sundeck on a beautiful sunny afternoon is a perfect antidote to a stressful situation.

I filled this project with so much dedication and love that it seemed fitting to gift it to an acquaintance recently diagnosed with cancer.  The pattern and colour were so beautiful together that it felt really good to gift it to someone who needed a lift.

But truth be known, I really missed this shawl and kept thinking about how nice it would feel to wear it.  So with the colour only available for a few more weeks, I decided to order more of it and make one for myself.   

I don't often make the same project twice and come to think of it, have never re-knitted the same pattern in the same colour.  I'm glad I did because I have learned that each project really has its own personality.  While the first Aubade was perfect in every way, this 2nd one is slightly flawed and a bit more loosy-goosy, which of course, makes it more endearing!  

I love this new shawl and can see wearing it all year round because it is so light, perfect for cool Westcoast summer nights, or as a winter scarf.

Aubade 2.2

Green - Line Break Shawl

2012 was the summer of green & blue.  The often fickle West Coast weather was amazing when J. & I went on a roadtrip around Washington's Olympic Peninsula, land of giant green trees & blue ocean.  

La Push, Washington

Two years ago, I bought wool with this shawl in mind.  For some reason I didn't get around to making it right away and more or less forgot about the colour combo until I saw Veera Valimaki's "Line Break Shawl" pattern.  As soon as I saw it, the blue/green colours screamed back at me.   

I couldn't wait to start this project.  With row upon row of garter stitch, it was the perfect travelling project.  No need to count rows or read a chart, but just watch the scenery in my summer roadtrip adventure as it unfolded before me!  

Knitting short rows made the project seem quick.  I had intended on making a lacey border with the light green, but decided on the modern look of the border as written.  This is my 3rd asymetrical shawl (Stripe Study, Color Affection).  I have yet to knit a triangular one, and perhaps never will!  

Stripe Study Shawl

Last summer I fell in love with Veera Valimaki's Stripe Study Shawl.  Not normally a big fan of asymmetry, this surprisingly became the first of 3 asymmetrical shawls I knitted this past year (Mom's Color Affection).  My past self would likely roll her eyes at the fact I'm wearing shawls, however the colours and asymmetry gives them a modern look; not your grandmother's shawl.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

I fell in love with the stripes in this design at first sight.  The project progressed quickly with short rows and garter stitches.  I just couldn't put it down until a bit more was completed.

This 1st ever shawl for me was knitted with leftover sock wool which I had used to make socks, gloves, and a scarf.  All yarns are from Montreal's Tanis Fiber Arts.  I mainly use sock wool now because it makes it so much easier to mix & match leftovers.  I ran out of the dark blue "Stormy" & had to order online since it's no longer sold locally.  The newer version was a bit darker and actually gives the shawl more depth.

New skill:  short rows (wrap & turn)

I never did block this project.  I just wore it so much that it stretched out beautifully on its own!  More deets on my Ravelry project page.

Yoga and Knitting, is there anything else?

Mid-March and the beginning of Spring Break.  It's been a tough winter since Christmas.  My January Yoga Challenge resolution seems long gone.  I made it home on a Sunday morning after day 20 of my Bikram Challenge, back in mid-January, and was promptly taken down by pneumonia.  2 months later and visits to the hot room are still too infrequent.  I am taking it easy because my breathing is still laboured.  My flexibility is suffering so I can't wait until I can practice more often.

I'm thankful for knitting to keep me occupied while I was really sick.  One lesson learned from battling breast cancer is to have goals each day, no matter how small.  Battling pneumonia, I was too sick to read but the repetitive motion of knitting, along with watching PVRed Tour de France 2011 episodes kept me going for a few weeks.

With knitting Christmas presents behind me I was finally able to tackle a project for myself.  Last summer I stocked-up on a few skeins of "Meadow" from Tanis Fiber Arts before it was discontinued.   A bit of back & forth knitting and "voilà", a new Azzu Shawl for me.  I love it!  It's soft, squishy, and warm.

I was able to take part in the Tanis Fiber Arts Knit-along in January.  I had not signed-up at the beginning of January because I didn't think I would be able to finish a project in a month.  Funny how things happen sometimes.  My yoga goal went down the tubes but I now have a new shawl instead.  My first knit-along, it was really fun to watch all the projects evolve and I discovered many new beautiful patterns.  Wool + pattern + needles = Joy!