Fit for a Princess!

HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

Welcome to the world Princess Charlotte!  

I love Princess Charlotte's beautiful baby shawl.  Since I'm a knitter, I had to do some research on it.  The shawl is made of super-fine merino wool and hand finished with a traditional Shetland scalloped edge.  It is made by G. H. Hurt & Son in their shawl factory in Nottingham, England.  

G.H. Hurt & Son began in 1912 and is still family run today.  They are the sole survivor of the lace shawl industry in Nottingham.  

If Princess Charlotte's lovely baby shawl has sparked your interest to knit your own, just search on Raverly for Shetland shawls.  There are over 700 patterns to choose from.  I am partial to the Shetland shawls by Sharon Miller and Elizabeth Zimmerman.

 I also love  Hansel by Gudrun Johnston of The Shetland Trader which is a traditional Shetland Hap shawl perfect for swaddling a new baby in.  Gudrun even has a Cratsy class The Shetland Hap Shawl to help you knit your own version!   I'm pretty certain I will knit Hansel one day for a future family heirloom.  

(Photo credit:  Press Association)

Happy Hearts Day!

Yarn Love 

How cute is this...

a huge heart shaped candy box full of yarn
for Valentine's Day!

Such a clever idea!

Spotted at: 

Monarch Knitting 

529 Central Avenue

Pacific Grove, CA  93950

(831)647-9276

It's Christmastime!

Fair Isle Gift Tags

My hand knit Christmas gifts are being adorned this year with these adorable Fair Isle Christmas cards. 

 Inside Message:

With warm and cozy thoughts of you.

Happy Holidays

I think these red mitten cards (and their message) are perfect for giving Starbucks gift cards, too!

Inside Message:

It's Christmastime

celebrate in style!

The boxed holiday cards (with glitter) are by Carlton Cards.  The cards are small so I'm going to add a hole-punch, thread through some red yarn and turn them into gift tags.  

I found them at Target!  

Cakes & Purls

 Masse's Pastries

Cakes and Purls...what a cute name for a yarn store!

A few months back, I checked out a few newer yarn stores in Berkeley, California that I had never been to before.  And, yes, there is a yarn store in Berkeley called Cakes and Purls.  

 Claddagh Yarns

My first stop was  Claddagh Yarns.  This cute little shop is nestled in a North Berkeley neighborhood known as Gourmet Ghetto.  If you're curious about why this area is called Gourmet Ghetto...well, it's home to nearby Chez Panisse along with other fabulous food stores, the original Peets Coffee, bakeries and restaurants.  

Claddagh Yarns is owned by Amanda Fernandez and she opened the shop back in September 2013.  The shop is small  but carries great yarn stock from Debbie Bliss, Noro, Malabrigo and Imperial Yarn Ranch to name a few.   There were some lovely knitted samples on display that really caught my eye.  This little shop is worth seeking out.

Whenever I find myself in Gourmet Ghetto, a must stop is Masse's Pastries.  They have the most delicious pastries, cakes and French macarons!  The owner Marcia Masse is so personable.  We have chatted about Paris, Paris by Mouth and red currants on more than one occasion.

Cakes and Purls

 My last stop of the day was Cakes and Purls.  I love this concept of a yarn cafe where you can "sit and knit" and have your cake,too!

Cakes and Purls is owned by Maria Sitaro.  She holds a degree in Pastry Arts and combined her love of fiber by opening Cakes and Purls.  The shop is roomy and there are plenty of tables and chairs to meet your knitting friends here and enjoy a little cake and purls.  

Ashley Flower Headband

While visiting Cakes and Purls I was drawn to a yummy cashmere yarn and pattern by Pepperberry Knits. I purchased a yummy skein of their cashmere yarn in color Posies and knit Pepperberry's adorable Ashley Flower Headband for a gift.  It's always fun to discover new yarns and new yarn stores.  And yes, for the record, I left Cakes and Purls with a couple of cupcakes, too!

Chasing Sophie

Swoon

I've been stalking Sophie Digard for a few years now.  From Paris to Carmel, CA...I'm always on the look out for Sophie. 

 Drool

My latest Sophie "spotting" was in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I love shopping on 4th Street in Berkeley, CA and always "pop in" the "girlie girl" Jest Jewels boutique.  Low and behold behind the Jest Jewels counter there they were...

those gorgeous Sophie Digard scarves!  

Sassy

Sarena from Jest Jewels was a doll!  She understood my admiration for Sophie and let me swoon over the scarves.  And here she is even modeling one for me!  We chatted about knitting and her website Christmas Cancer.  Sarena beat ovarian cancer and is interested in starting a chemo hat program.  Stay tuned for future details.

If you're headed down to 4th Street,
here are a few of my other favorite shops:

The Pasta Shop (carries Mariage Freres teas) 

Sur La Table

Anthroplogie

Castle in the Air

Teance Fine Teas

Nest

'tis the Season...

for faux-fur!

 Lavish Collar

by Anthropologie

Faux-fur accessories are the definite fashion trend
this holiday season!  

While doing a little late-night window shopping, 

 I spotted Anthropologie's Lavish Collar.  It comes in five colors and can be yours for $68.00. 

Vera by Louisa Harding

If  you're a knitter and looking for a little winter glam...

why not knit your own faux-fur collar?  

You can knit Louisa Harding's Vera collar in just one ball of her new Luzia yarn.  Luzia is available in 10 colors and retails for $28.99.  That means you can knit your own faux-fur collar for less than half of the Anthro collar!  And, there's even enough time left to "whip" one out for a last minute Christmas gift!

(Vera photo credit:  Louisa Harding Luzia book, photo credit:  Stephen Jessup.)

Stylish Storage

Ceramic Cables

Vases aren't just for flowers!

I'm storing my straight needles now in an adorable "wintery white" ceramic cabled vase.  

I found my cabled vase in the holiday section at Target.  As you can see, the 8" vase is perfect for holding straights.  They also have a larger 10" vase and photo frames in this "wintery white" cable design perfect for knitters who love cables!  They are selling out fast in stores but are still currently available at Target online.  

Happy Holidays! 

Laku

Oh, Baby!

Hats off to Designer,

Yaeko Yamashita 

and her delightful shop, 

Laku.

 Laku

I had the pleasure of visiting Laku 

last Christmas Eve when I was in San Francisco.

The moment I walked in,

I knew I was in a magical place!  

Laku is a whimsical boutique 

where every nook and cranny is filled
with one delight after another!

Besides their magnificent hand-made hats, gloves, scarves, slippers and brooches, 

they carry a wonderful array of vintage jewelry
and antique buttons. 

 I could have spent hours there,

 meandering around...

just like a kid in a candy store!

 Hats & Gloves

I grew up in the end of the era when wearing hats and gloves
 to the city were a must.  

I think it's high time we bring back that tradition and 

Laku's luxurious cashmere gloves could do just that.  

They are scrumptious and the reason I sought out the
Laku boutique.

A year or so ago, while shopping with my knitting friend Daniella in the California wine country we stumbled upon the prettiest hand-made cashmere gloves.  Daniella purchased a pair for her daughter, and the nice clerk told us that they were hand-made by a designer in San Francisco.  

Laku

(Seated left: Design Director, Yaeko Yamashita) 

So, I did a bit of research and found the designer, 

Yaeko Yamashita 

and her lovely store, Laku. 

I'm so glad I found Laku and can't wait to go back.  

If you're visiting the city,
this is the place to treat yourself to a pair of gloves,
a hat, a brooch or

 a delightful hand-made gift
for a friend or loved one. 

Laku 

1089 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 695-1462

Laku is located  in San Francisco's Mission District 

and I highly recommend stopping at nearby Tartine 

for lunch or a sweet treat!

Mad for Missoni

 Missoni for Target

Yes, I'm mad for Missoni! 

Evidently everyone else is,too. 

Today, marked the launch of  Missoni for Target.

The madness and frenzi for Missoni today
caused Target.com to crash and the

Missoni merchandise to fly off the shelves within just a few hours.  

Of course, I had to be there with all the excitement because

I love the designs of the

Italian Fashion House of Missoni. 

 As a knitter who loves fashion,  

I love their mix-and-match patterns and famous knitwear that they are famous for. Did you know, there are even Missoni knitwear patterns in Vogue Knitting magazines from the 1980's and 1990's.

Zig Zags

I am normally one of the first shoppers to hit Target when they have a big name designer collaboration.  Most of the time, the collections aren't even out yet so today I hit my local Target at 9:30AM instead of 8:00 AM when they opened.  No big deal right? 

Oh my gosh, what a mistake that was for me, a seasoned shopper.  I should have known better and I paid the price.  The Missoni merchandise was already pretty well picked over and I heard there was a line out front before they opened.

 Missoni Accessories

By the time I got to Target this morning the accessory items were just about sold out.

I was most excited to see the Missoni scarves.  There were only a few left at my local Target store. So I hit the road to other nearby Target stores and managed to find a few more scarves at each stop I made.  I also lucked out and found a cute cardigan and silk scarf in Missoni's trademark zig-zag print.

I must report that I was most impressed that the Missoni scarves were made of 100% silk and not polyester.  I know the Missoni family must have insisted on that. 

As for the knits...my cardigan is a rayon and cotton blend.  The fun knit scarves I picked up do have some acrylic content which I'm not that crazy about.  At Target prices though...I better not complain!

 The Missoni tags say:

Patterned After No One.

Priced For Everyone.

I feel pretty lucky today that I snagged some Missoni pieces!

Bound for Italy!

PS:  Don't you just love this 21" Spinner Suitcase?

Wouldn't it be perfect for a trip to Italy? 

I went ahead and passed on it today but I did tell my husband that it would be pretty cool

to wear my new Missoni outfit in Italy...someday????

Searching for Sophie!

 That Scarf!

On my recent trip to Paris,  I went searching for French designer

Sophie Digard's exquisite crochet scarves. 

I was seriously ready to splurge on one but never had the chance. 

I did email the Sophie Digard website before my trip inquiring on Paris retailers but didn't receive a reply.  So I was left on my own searching for Sophie's scarves in Paris and came up empty handed.

I did have a Sophie sighting in London though before arriving in Paris.

I spotted a lady with a beautiful and colorful crochet scarf at London's Portobello Road Antique Market. 

I stopped her to compliment her and ask her if she made her scarf?  She was so thrilled to have her scarf admired and proudly told me "I bought it an expensive boutique in Sweden".
I knew immediatley it just had to be a Sophie Digard scarf...

and, of course, it was!

I Can do That!

So now my latest idea is to crochet my own scarf  inspired by a Sophie Digard scarf. 

I've been searching on Ravelry for pattern ideas and  now I'm obsessed with Japanese flower scarves. 

 My Ravelry friend Teresa in England is crocheting Japanese flower scarves and suggested I check out Lucy's Attic24 blog for inspiration.  Thank you, Teresa!  Lucy's blog is very inspiring...so inspiring, she has a fan club of over 4,000 members (including me now) on Ravelry in the We Love Lucy group. 

I'm hoping to go to Japantown in San Francisco soon to buy some Japanese crochet books.  In the mean time, I picked up this I Taught Myself Crochet kit to help get me started. It's been over 40 years since my Great Grandmother G.G. taught me how to crochet a granny square. 

Wish me luck! 

PS:  I've just discovered that my favorite yarn store in London, Loop is carrying Sophie Digard scarves and accessories in their online shop..so you don't have to go all the way to Paris, afterall.


(Top photo credit Sophie Digard Creations)

British Wool

Cotswold Sheep

(I walked amongst the sheep on a Cotswold foot path!)

It's an American knitters dream "come true"
to spend any time in Great Britain. 

I was fortunate to spend 10 days last month travelling through England and Edinburgh, Scotland.  Besides having tea nearly everyday (my other passion) I also filled my time with British wool and shopping. 

Many have asked about my trip. I will certainly be writing about my travels and sharing my shopping secrets with you through out the year.

For now, here are a few of my favorite photos...

I call British Wool.

Little Man

Adorable little man in his "little wool suit" spotted at Portobello Road antiques market in London. 

Why, oh why, didn't I bring him home? 

Wool

Adorable yarn shop Wool in Bath, England. 

The gracious owner Laura even told me where to get my hands on
the Premier Issue of Mollie Makes .
 Thank you, Laura!

Classic British Wool

Never tire of the British classics....

cardigans and cables were everywhere!

Shetland Wool

Shetland Wool spotted at the hip yarn shop K1 Yarns 

in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Loved this shop and will write about it soon.

Fabulous Fair Isle!

There's nothing better than shopping for fabulous Fair Isle

on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.  Yes, I brought home a few scarves!

Yorkshire Wool

Since I have Pontefract, Yorkshire roots,

this local Yorkshire yarn came home with me.

Purchased at Ramshambles "in the Shambles", York, England. 

It was so fun to "talk shop" with Katey, the owner.  She had recently been to a trade show in Warwick and was seated next to Debbie Bliss at dinner!  Talk about true-bliss!

Lambs-Wool

And lastly, there were even adorable lamb mugs spotted at the

Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke-on-Trent, England.

I had the most delightful day at the Emma Bridgewater factory.  I even met Matthew Rice (owner, designer, author, artist and husband of Emma Bridgewater).

Matthew was so kind to take time to chat with me.  I seized the opportunity and told Matthew to please put in a word with Emma about "knitting theme" mugs.  I know there is a Campaign for British Wool and I think it would be fabulous to see some Emma Bridgewater mug designs promoting British Wool and knitting. 

And here's the best part....I asked Matthew if Emma knits.  Matthew told me that Emma was in the knitting industry years ago and worked for the company that did Lady Diana Spencer's famous jumper (sweater) during her engagement to Prince Charles.  Oh my gosh...love this story!

So, maybe there's a chance that Emma will design a mug for us knitters someday! 

Sparkle!

 Snowflake Sparkle

It's not just the Christmas tree that needs a little "sparkle" during the holidays...scarves need some "sparkle", too!

I love my Fair Isle scarf that I bought at Nordstrom a few months ago.  It reminds me of the fabulous Fair Isle scarf currently on the cover of Rowan magazine #48.  It's just about cold enough in California now that I can start wearing it.  I thought a snowflake pin would be the perfect "sparkle" for it!

Monet Snowflake Pin

My secret source for my snowflake pin is Macy's.  I found it this week while Christmas shopping.   It's a very nice piece of costume jewelry by Monet.  It retails for $25.00 but if you're a savvy shopper like me...you won't pay near that! 

Will you be dashing off to Macy's or Monet to get one?

Holiday Bling

Holiday Bling!

I think all scarves deserve a little holiday "bling"!

I had so much fun visiting little vintage boutique shops yesterday "on the hunt" for some holiday "bling" for my hand-knit scarves.  Look what I found!

You can read all about some of my favorite boutiques on my other blog Tete-a-Tete.  These pins were found yesterday in Old Fair Oaks Village.  The top pin is a vintage Albert Weiss rhinestone pin that I snagged at Wink and the wire flower pins are from Bungalow. 

I love the unique wire and beaded floral pins.  Kim the owner of Bungalow doesn't think the artist is making them anymore.  I can see why...the wire crochet work is so delicate it must be quite hard on one's hand to create them.  Sorry ladies...I snagged Bungalow's last two pins so there are no more of these to be found. 

Now I'm off to peak at my Mom's and Grandma's jewelry boxes for more holiday "bling" for my knits.  I bet if you look inside your family's jewelry boxes you can find some holiday "bling", too! 

Holiday Cheer

Cards for Knitters

If you're a knitter you've got to snag some of these adorable Knit note cards!

I think they're perfect for stamping and sending some holiday cheer.

The cards are even color printed on both sides.  With that in mind, I was thinking you could even cut up the cards  into tag shapes and make adorable gift tags for your holiday knit gifts.

Knittin' Note Cards

It pays to be a shopper...that's how I often find cute stuff.  I found these cards at Michaels.

If you want some knittin' note cards you better hurry down to your nearest Michaels.  You can find these cards in the Michaels bargain bins.  A pack of 8 cards is only $1.00.  Yes, you read that right! 

At that price,  I'm sure they'll be gone in no time!

Falling for Fair Isle!

Fair Isle Scarves

I fell for Fair Isle a long time ago. In fact it was back in the 1970's when I was just a teenager. I still even have my vintage Esprit Fair Isle vest to prove it!

I'm still falling for Fair Isle today and love it even more. Now that I'm a knitter, I love the history and the tradition of Fair Isle knitting.

Did you know that it was Edward, The Prince of Wales back in 1921 that made Fair Isle fashionable? He wore a Shetlands hand knit Fair Isle sweater on the links at St. Andrews, Scotland for just one hour and started a fashion revolution.

Thanks to fashion designers like, Ralph Lauren Fair, Isle continues to be a classic.

Knitting designers are keeping the Fair Isle craft alive,too. Just check out the fall Debbie Bliss Magazine to see Fair Isle updated with her Scottish Eccentrics collection.

Book of Fair Isle Knitting

by Alice Starmore

I've wanted a Fair Isle scarf for a few years now. Every fall I start shopping online to see if I can find a Fair Isle scarf that is wool and well made. There are a few Scottish fashion houses that have them but I have never really fallen in love with one online yet.

I've even thought about knitting a Fair Isle scarf. This could be quite a task since I'm a newer Fair Isle knitter, an English thrower and knit Fair Isle with only my right hand. I think it would take me a long time to knit a traditional Fair Isle Scarf.

When Alice Starmore's The Book of Fair Isle Knitting was reprinted, I purchased it immediately for the day when I really want to master Fair Isle and maybe attempt that scarf. Serious knitters know, it is the reference book for Fair Isle.

Fiona Ellis Fair Isle Workshop

To help my Fair Isle scarf quest, I not only bought the right books I also started taking classes. Earlier this year, I took a fabulous workshop Experiment With Color & Fair Isle from Designer Fiona Ellis at Stitches West.

After the workshop, I had more confidence and did start dabbling a bit at Fair Isle knitting with my Katie beret. As much as I love Fair Isle though, I often wonder if I have the patience and desire to knit a traditional Fair Isle scarf?

Jane by Louisa Harding

Now Louisa Harding's Jane scarf is a Fair Isle scarf that I do plan on knitting one day. Louisa designed just enough Fair Isle in the border to challenge a knitter like me. I know this is a scarf that I will enjoy knitting because it won't take me forever to knit.

I still do want that classic Fair Isle scarf though. I always thought I'd have to go back to Scotland to get one. Well, that was until yesterday.

Fair Isle Scarves by Tarnish

Yesterday I stumbled upon some fantastic Fair Isle scarves at Nordstrom.

For all you knitters, yes, the scarves are machine made, 90% wool and Made in Italy. I think their quality is very good. Good enough for Nordstrom and good enough for me.

So, now I am asking myself when is it okay not to knit? I think in the case of this type of Fair Isle design it is perfectly okay to buy a ready made scarf. So I succumbed yesterday and bought Fair Isle scarves at Nordstrom. Lucky for me, they had just arrived so I had my choice of colors. There are at least seven color choices ranging from classic to fab and bright.


I love Fair Isle!

So if you're like me and have fallen for Fair Isle, check out these scarves at Nordstrom.
They are currently only in stores and not online.

The Perfect Button!

Louisa Harding Aurora Flower

Button, Button, Who's got the Button...

Britex Fabrics in San Francisco has buttons. In fact, their 3rd floor has an entire wall devoted to buttons. For me, Britex is the place to go button shopping when you need to find that

"perfect button"!

The Perfect Button!

Last month I finished my Louisa Harding Aurora beret and it's adorable knit flower embellishment. I wanted to give my beret some vintage flair so I had planned on using a vintage earring for my flower's center. It looked pretty nice but somehow I knew I could do better.

I love my Louisa Harding projects so much I am often a fussbudget about their finishing details. I've learned as a knitter that the right details and embellishments really can elevate your knitting to more "boutique looking" results.

Britex Buttons

In one of my favorite books Knitting Little Luxuries , Louisa Harding writes about memories of her Grandmother's button box. Louisa encourages knitters to use found objects, buttons, flowers and ribbons to make their knitting projects unique. I took Louisa's advice and went searching for buttons.

Of course, I ended up button shopping at Britex Fabrics. Button shopping there can be overwhelming...there are so many buttons to choose from. Thank goodness, I brought my knit flower with me to help me make the right button choice. After about ten attempts at trying buttons, I finally found the "perfect button".

My "perfect button" is a lovely lavender glass Czeck button with vintage flair. It certainly looks as though it could have come right out of my very own Grandmother's button box!

I think Louisa Harding would approve!

Happy Knits!

Jessa at Happy Knits

I recently returned from a trip to Portland, so you know what that means...I did some yarn shopping! I've written before what a great city Portland is for knitters. On this trip, I discovered a new yarn store to tell you about. It's called Happy Knits.

Happy Knits is my new favorite yarn store in Portland!

New Louisa Harding Yarn Range

I ventured in to Happy Knits and was greeted by the adorable Jessa (photo above). She was super friendly and gave me a fabulous tour of the shop.

I must say that Happy Knits is the most state-of-the-art yarn shop I have ever seen. They have a room just for hanging out and knitting set up with a computer for customers to use for Ravlery, etc.. There's even a wood burning stove for those cooler Portland temps. There's also a playroom for the kiddies and a separate (sound-proof) classroom.

Jessa told me that the shop just opened in February. There are so many yarn shops in Portland I was wondering how another one would survive. Happy Knits will survive for sure and probably give some of the older (out of date) shops a run for their money! I loved it's modern yet warm interior and friendly vibe. It's a well organized store and easy to shop.

Loads of Louisa Harding Yarn!
Well, another obvious reason why I loved Happy Knits is that they carry Louisa Harding yarns! The shop is well stocked with an array of Louisa's newer yarns.

I even got a raving yarn review while I was there. Jessa showed me a shop sample of her recently knit pretty summer top called Buttercup. She knit her version in Louisa's new Aimee yarn. Jessa told me that she really liked knitting with this yarn! Good to know since I haven't had a chance to try this yarn yet.

Louisa Harding Yarns at
Close Knit
I can't do a Portland review without mentioning my other two favorite stores in Portland:

Close Knit in the Alberta Arts District
and
Knit Purl in the Pearl District.

I always manage to snag a few great finds at both stores and love the friendly, expert service at both stores.

If you get a chance to visit Portland, I hope you visit my favorite shops and
be sure to tell them that Lisette in California sent you!