CAWcreations provides a brief overview of knitting I am doing and the books I am reading. My name is Cheryl Ann (no “e”). I live in Prince Edward Island Canada with my family and my dog Molly. Hope you enjoy my ramblings.

You can find Cheryl Ann on Ravelry & Instagram as Cherylcan or email via cherylann@cawcreations.org

Don’t forget to check out the CAWcreations group on Ravelry where I host the KALs and chatter about all things knitting.

CAWcreations Episode 23 –
BabyBoo Blanket

New CAWcreations Pattern

The Baby Boo Blanket by Karen Shaw was just published on Ravelry. Karen made the first blanket for her nephew and it was so beautiful I asked her if I could use the pattern as a CAWcreations design. I made the one in the photographs using Fleece and Harmony‘s Baby Boo yarn in Cupcake and Blankie. The picture does not let you touch the yarn, that is the real reason I choose Baby Boo 100% lambswool for your baby patterns. Fleece and Harmony only uses Greener ShadesTM dyes that are certified organic. They come in so many lovely baby shades with names like sprout, blankie, and rosy cheeks. I love this yarn! Karen’s pattern is involved enough to keep your attention but simple enough that you work it quickly. Any Aran weight yarn will do, I suggest 5 mm (US 8) needles to obtain a gauge of 14 sts x 18 rows in 10 cm (4 inches) in stocking stitch. This gives a finished blanket of 78 x 86 cm (31” x 34”). Hope you have as much fun knitting yours as Karen and I did designing the pattern.

FO (Finished Object)

Scrappy Soap Cover C (cable) is the only finished object I can show. The pattern for it will be published in Early August. I have completed a few of them to make sure the pattern is good to go for the eBook of patters for the CAWcreations 2018 Knitting Calendar. The ebook of 10 patterns is on sale for the summer for $15 (saves you $10). I like using 100% wool for soap covers because the wool felts and shrinks as you use the soap. I went to The Great Canadian Soap Company and picked up a bunch of ends that are each about 100 grams to wrap in yarn. There are a few available at the PEICC store in Charlottetown. It is so hard to choose scents because I love many of them. Right now I have covered: grapefruit, unscented, and eucalyptus.

WIP (Work in Progress)

Arcadic by Dagmar Mora is on my needles. I ripped it back so am only barely restarted again. It is fair since I did not pay attention to the pattern when I started it. I got the wool I am using at Gaspreau Vally Fibres. I love their little shop and the colour is so great! I am hoping to make some progress before I podcast again.

Knitting Plans

I want to make the So Faded by Andrea Mowry using my Fleece Artist Canada 150 National Parks colours for Fundy, Banff, and Greenwich. Nina from This Old Knit podcast just finished one, so I went out and bought the pattern right away. It should be fun.

Books

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson

This is a light read being conscious of all the stuff you keep, because if you do not sort it then someone will have to after you die. I hate cleaning so pair that with talking about death and getting ride of things, I should hate this book. But I loved it. It only took me an evening after work to read it. Granted, I have been really working on minimizing what I have and keeping some control on my things so it was timely for me. I love Magnusson’s tone and no nonsense approach to life and death. I must admit my husband does much more of the cleaning around our home, but I still must get a handle on my things. There are many I can get rid of. For example, all those books I bought that I know I will never read again. I give away books I like but will not reread so my collection consists of favourite books and books I do not like. That needs to be fixed. I am also working on everything else. My yarn stash will be the hardest thing.

The Secret of Bowring Park by Christine Gordon Manley

with illustrations by Laurel Keating

I went to the book launch for The Secret of Bowring Park this week at the Confederation Centre Library. I was so pleased that there was such a good turn out on a beautiful summer night. Christine read an excerpt from the book (and told us it takes about 30 minutes to read the entire book aloud). I love how she writes for kids and talked to the ones listening. It is a magical story about two sisters. The younger tells the older that a fairy from the statue winked at her. You have to read it to discover its magic.

Other Stuff

I got some new skirts from A Darn Good Yarn. They had a buy 2 get 3 free sale, so got four miniskirts and one full length. I told them I like purple and blues. The designs were pretty. I had been a bit worried. I love the lightness of the skirts. They are so much more comfortable than shorts for the summer. I also ordered a bag that I will use as a prize.

We have been enjoying the PEI summer. It has been beautiful here although it is a bit warmer than we are used to. I think the farmers could use some rain. I am off on holidays from August 6 to 10.

Happy Knitting and Reading!!