In the first few weeks of 2019 I noticed a lot of ideas for yearly project planning going around on social media, and the one that appealed to me most was the "Maker's Bingo" card I found on the Amusing Yarns blog. I figured it would give me a bit of direction and sense of working toward something without limiting inspiration throughout the year (I chose the version with 5 “free” spaces). Since we’re coming up to the end of the year I checked in on my card recently and marked off some completed projects.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Saltwater Mittens when we started carrying it last spring, and was delighted to find out earlier this year that there was a sequel in the works. Saltwater Classics is now here!
Saltwater Classics continues in the style of Saltwater Mittens, and includes several more mitten patterns, but it also includes many patterns for hats, caps and vamps. What are vamps? From what I can gather after reading The Great Vamp Debate, vamps are usually thick short socks that are worn as an extra layer inside boots or as a slipper indoors – with many regional variations of course. All I know for sure is that I definitely need a pair or two!
Big news! We’re teaming up with Helios Makerspace to offer dye studio access for members who want to work on dyeing projects without investing in all their own tools and equipment. That means that during studio hours, members can come use our space to dye yarn, fibre, fabric, or anything else you can think of really! More details on membership pricing and studio hours are available here.
One of our big goals for Sweet Paprika this year was to source a new line of Canadian wool yarns. We started contacting farms and mills last January, researching options, connecting with farmers, and collecting samples.
Eventually we settled on working with wool from Circle R Livestock, a family farm in southern Ontario. Over the spring we worked out the details to have the wool milled in New Brunswick, and we then spent the summer doing dye tests and creating colour recipes for our new Winfield (worsted) and Sutton (bulky) yarn lines.
Lately a lot of my crafting inspiration has come from my son, who is growing and needs things, and from my goal to live more gently on this earth and think twice before buying and using things.
My values of living frugally and buying ethically-produced clothing that is not damaging to the environment sometimes feel completely at odds with each other. For me, this is where mending, crafting, and buying second-hand come in. Can I mend something to extend its useful life? Can I knit or sew more of our everyday wardrobe basics? Is it something I can trade or buy second-hand rather than purchasing new?
For this mini-collection we sent our Grazioso linen/silk blend lace-weight yarn to three designers from around the world, and they each did a beautiful job transforming their skeins into perfect projects to inspire your summer knitting. And in order to celebrate summertime crafting we're hosting a Grazioso Make-along starting July 1. Keep reading for more details!
It's been quite a while since either Elizabeth or I have had a moment to record our weekly accomplishments here on the blog. I think it's a fun way to share a bit more about ourselves and our projects so I've decided to revisit it this month. I'm not sure we'll try to make it a weekly thing again though, maybe we should change it to "Accomplishments of the Month" instead?
Even though I've been trying to eat mostly healthy snacks recently, sometimes it's nice to have a bit of a treat. Since our Nousrire orders have included lots of dried chickpeas lately, as well as chocolate chips, peanut butter and dried fruit and nuts, we pretty much always have the ingredients for these cookies at hand. I like this recipe because it's relatively low in sugar, has the added protein from the chickpeas and nut butter, and is quick and easy to throw together (it's also gluten-free if that's important for you). I often make a double batch and freeze half - mostly to keep us from eating them all at once!
Over the past four months or so I've been teaching kids to weave at my local homeschooling centre. I'm by no means an expert weaver, but I do have some experience with a floor loom and various smaller looms. One of the best parts of teaching the kids is that it's motivated me to get back into weaving and I'm looking forward to returning to some of my own projects that I'd put on hold.
About six months ago, a knitting friend who had just returned to Montreal from a trip to St John's mentioned to me the work that Christine LeGrow and Shirley Scott are doing to document and preserve the Newfoundland tradition of knitting "trigger mitts". I was intrigued by what I heard, and became further interested last December when one of our aunts sent me and Elizabeth the link to a short documentary piece on CBC's the Sunday Edition about their new book. I still hadn't yet gotten my hands on a copy of the it when the lovely folks at Boulder Publications contacted us a month or so ago and asked if we would be interested in carrying Saltwater Mittens From the Island of Newfoundland. But by then we had heard such good things about it already that we happily said "yes"!
We are so pleased to present a mini-collection of patterns featuring our Crescendo gradient sets! We sent yarn to several indie designers and they have recently released their beautiful designs. This collection includes knitting and crochet, lace and texture, large projects and small. Enjoy perusing the patterns and then don't forget to enter our giveaway!
After we finished up #OperationLoveNovember this past fall, I had a few people ask for our list of actions that we came up with, either to use now in January or February (which can also be hard months), or to refer to next year. So, in no particular order, here they are!
Sweet Paprika Designs propose des matériaux de haute qualité pour les tricoteurs et crocheteurs, en mettant l’accent sur des produits locaux et durables. Les copropriétaires (et soeurs) Debbie et Elizabeth créent leurs propres laines teintes à la main, ensemble prêt-à-tricoter et patrons dans leur atelier de teinture à Montréal et organisent des événements de tricot et de teinture dans la communauté.
