It's sweater season!

I have a new found appreciation for wool sweaters since I got serious with knitting.  When I was researching on wool for making diaper cover for my baby, I learned that wool can absorb almost one-third of its own weight in water, therefore you do not need to put a plastic cover over an overnight cloth diaper even for overnight use.  What does this mean for adults?  Your wool sweater is going to soak up your sweat, making it great for hiking.  The warmth that wool offers is also unparalleled compare to cotton and synthetic fibres.  Of course, not all wool is created equal.  Some people found wool to be itchy on the skin.  Shetland wool, for example, is especially itchy compare to Merino wool.  In fact, the itchiness of wool is what kept me from wearing wool sweaters in the past.  Now that I have more knowledge on wool and an open mind towards wool sweater, I would like to share with you some of my great sweater finds this season.  Best of all, these places all offer Canadian shipping so you can do your shopping at the comfort of your own home!

Icebreaker Oasis Long Sleeve Half Zip Hood

Icebreaker Merino

This is the brand that started my wool sweater addiction.  My husband introduced me to their sweaters and there is no turning back.  A lot of their products are made from 100% Merino wool, but they are not itchy and are machine washable.  They also come in a variety of weights so you can wear Icebreaker all year round.  It is impossible to recommend you just one item from Icebreaker because there are so many great options.  For example, the Oasis Long Sleeve Half Zip Hood is a great piece to in cold weather whereas the Tech Light Short Sleeve Scoop is a wonderful spring / fall piece.

Icebreaker Merino is available in Atmosphere as well as some other retail outlets.  But for a more complete selection, I recommend checking out their stores as well as their web site.  Online orders of $49 or more  ship for free!  Don't forget to check out the Last Call section on their web site for some great deals.  I really like the Allure Dress.

Roots Cabin Cardigan

Roots

Maybe you are not sure if you would like to keep a sweater on all day since you will be going between indoor and outdoor.  How about a classic looking cardigan that you can put on and take off whenever you liked?  This Roots Cabin Cardigan caught my eyes when I was shopping for mitts for my sister-in-law.  This is a wool blend with 40% wool, 15% cotton, and the reminder in synthetic fibres.  The Cabin Rink Cardigan offers a more modern and sleek silhouette in the same great colour combination.  Roots also offer a cute range of hats, scarfs, and gloves.

Gap Fair Isle Sweater

Gap

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I read the fabric composition of the Fair Isle sweater from Gap: 20% Mohair and 13% wool could equate to a lot of itchiness.  And I could see the fussy Mohair when I checked out the sweater in store.  However, the sweater is actually relatively comfortable to wear compare to a hand knitted 00% Shetland wool sweater that was gifted to me.  I wore a camisole under the sweater, and I did not find the arms to be irritating.  If you are especially sensitive to wool, you can wear a collar shirt underneath to minimize the itchiness around the neckline.  My only disappointment of the sweater (for all my knitting readers out there) is that it is not a true yoke sweater, construction-wise; the yoke was not knit in one piece.  The Marled mixed-pattern pullover sweater has a slimmer fit then the Fair Isle sweater (the Fair Isle sweater is quite bulky in comparison) and it does not contain any Mohair!

J Crew Collection Cashmere Saddle Sweater

J Crew

J Crew has become my go-to place for office attire, but they also offer some pretty luxurious sweaters: you can find Merino and Cashmere sweaters in many colors at J Crew. This Collection Cashmere Saddle Sweater is an example of a luxury material meet candy colour garment that J Crew is great at delivering.  I also found a Harley of Scotland Nor'easterly Sweater in the J Crew website.  Having own an Shetland wool sweater, I can guarantee you that this sweater is extra warm.  The J Crew web site offers prices in Canadian dollars.  Shipping is $12 flat rate to anywhere in Canada, and you get the guarantee landed cost on check out so you will not be hit by surprise fees when you receive your package. The discount in store is usually different than that on the web site so it is worth checking out their store if there is one in your town.

Hope you enjoy sweater season as much as I do!  Happy shopping!

Shopping the Victoria's Secret Semi Annual Sale

Everyone loves some good lingerie and even more so when they are on sale!  The Victoria's Secret semi annual sale is on right now.  I thought I would share my experience and tips of shopping the semi annual sale in Canada with you.

I have been going to the semi annual sales for many years now.  I took a break for a few years when I was not traveling to the States very often and Victoria's Secret did not have a store in Vancouver yet.  When I had to travel to the States for the sale, I was able to buy lingerie at a great deal but was having trouble to find some really good finds.  Now that there are Victoria's Secret store in Vancouver and I have been to a few semi annual sales locally, I was able to perfect my shopping strategies.  And here they are:

1. Do your research before hand

The semi annual sale starts on line first.  While there are some really good deals for shoppers in the States, they are not really that great of a deal for Canadians if you were to factor in exchange rate, shipping and custom costs.  Therefore, I do not shop the semi annual sale online.  However, you can get a very good idea on the items you can expect to find in store when the sale starts (which is usually a week or so after the online sale started).  If you have a favourite style that you wanted to purchase but did not want to pay full retail, you can see if it is included in the sale.  Also, get your bra fitting done before the sale if you have not had one in a while.  You want to walk into the sale and know exactly what size you are looking for!

2. Online VS In Store

Although I do not shop the semi annual sale online, I do notice that panties are a lot easier to find online than in store. (I will explain this further later in the post.)  If you would like a specific matching bra and underwear sets, shopping the sale online is probably the best way to go.

During the semi annual sale, items are sorted by size into bins in store by the sale associates.  You can imagine that these bins are not going to stay sorted and well organized for very long with all the treasure hunters digging through them.  Therefore, the best time to shop the sale is first thing in the morning when the store opens.  If you go later in the day, it is not a bad idea to look into the bins neighbouring your size since items could be misplaces into them.

3. Shop early for matching sets

Matching sets are hard to find in store during the sale, but it is not impossible.  The key is to hit the sale as early as possible (i.e. first day of the sale, as soon as the store opens).  I received an email from Victoria's Secret notifying me that stores would open doors at 7 AM to Angel Card holders, which is an hour earlier than everyone else.  I called the Robson store to inquire since the store normally opens at 10 AM but I should be able to get in a 8 AM according to the email even though I am not a card holder.  It turned out that the Angel Card holder early bird arrangement is for the States only.  The Robson store will open their doors at 7 AM to everyone on the first day of sale.  While I cannot remember if this is the case for every semi annual sale (this is the first year I was able to go early in the morning), it is good information to have since you can potentially shop the sale before you go to work.

Very Sexy Front-Tie Balconet Bra and Cheekini Panty in silk & lace with matching robe

I went to the Robson store at 10 AM on the first day of the sale, and I was able to find two matching bra and panties sets.

4. Look for Designer Collection and limited edition items

Designer Collection label

While lingerie has a very practical every day function, I also love the romance of beautiful "special occasion" lingerie.  Victoria's Secret has a Designer Collection which carries items that has a lot more luxury details but are priced quite a bit higher compare to their regular lingerie.  I also noticed that some of these items are incorporated into their existing line up (such as Very Sexy Luxe and Dream Angels Luxe) instead of being a separate Designer Collection line.  They can be easily identified by a black Victoria's Secret Design Collection label on a pink card.  For example, this is a Very Sexy Luxe set marked with the Designer Collection label.  It is made of silk and lace which is not a fabric combination used in regular Victoria's Secret lingerie.  These Designer Collection items, which are often priced closed to or over $100 regularly, often go for half price during the sale.  It is a great way to add some interesting pieces to your lingerie wardrobe at some amazing prices.

A Dream Angel set featured in the VS 2014 Fashion Show

Other awesome pieces to look for are the limited edition items such as the ones for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Victoria's Secret fashion show.  There are some really beautiful designs from these collections and Victoria's Secret do not make them again once they are sold out.  I would often try on these items when they are being sold at regular prices to see which ones I liked, and then I would look out for them during the sale.  Some of these items are marked with special tags, some of them are not.  So it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with them before you walk into the sale.

5. Shop multiple stores

It is hard to say what you are going to find in the sale from each store.  If you have the time, it is definitely worth going to multiple stores for the most selection of items.  There were two bras that I liked but could not find the matching panties from the Robson store.  I purchased the bras anyway and was able to find the matching panties from the Richmond Centre store.  Since Victoria's Secret has a very generous return policy (90 days return with receipt), you can always return the purchase if you could not find the matching bra or panties later if you could not find them in the sale.

6. The best deals come towards the end of the sale

If you think the sale prices are good, wait until the sale is almost over!  Items are further marked down (often an extra 40% off the sale price) forwards the end of the sale.  While selection might not be as good as the beginning of the sale, there are usually still some really good finds if you are willing to dig through the bins and go to multiple stores.  For myself, I aim to shop for matching sets at the beginning of the sale, and then I shop opportunistically towards the end for hidden gems that are in the not-so-full-anymore sale bins.

I hope you found my post helpful. Happy shopping!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I have been really lazy with blogging because I am spending a lot of time on knitting.  It is usually the cast around Christmas as I have this vision of getting all my friends and family members a hand-knitted gift.  While I am frantically knitting every spare minute I could find, I still find it impossible to make hand-knitted gifts for everyone in my social circle every year.  So here is the rule I made up three years ago: Every year, a few people will receive a hand-knitted item from me, and they won't get another piece until everyone has got something.  I am slowly but surly making my way towards everyone in my social circle, but what I did not anticipate was that my social circle would actually expand, and that the number of hand-knitted gift worthy people would increase over the last three years.  Trust me, this is very mind boggling for someone who is not very social like myself.  Anyway, I am blogging now, it's all good.

What I would like to tell you today are some amazing products I found at Target.  If you have not already discovered, Target is now opening stores in Canada, and I must say I have been very pleased with my Target shopping experiences in Canada so far.  This positive shopping experience was further reinforced when I found the treasures I am about to tell you.  For those who know my love of Petunia Pickle Bottom, bags, and geometric patterns, it should not be hard for you to understand why I felt head over heels for these Orla Kiely products for Target.  When someone in a PPB chit chat group posted pictures of the Orla Kiely makeup bags she found in her trip to Target (she is from the States), I was praying for Target Canada to carry them.  And my prayer was answered.

It took me a few trips to three Target stores to find all the styles that I want; it was evident that these bags were selling fast.  The Target Canada site does not have prices for products, but the price points for these products are fairly similar to Target USA.  In fact, the Sweet Pea Double Train Case was only $15.99 in Canada, which is $4 cheaper than the States.  It could very well be a pricing error on Target Canada's part, but I got the same price at two Target Canada stores so maybe the Canadian price is better after all.

I want to draw the attention of all you knitters to the Sweet Pea Beauty Organizer:

This bag measures 8.5" H x 3.25" W x 12.5" D, and it features multiple organizing compartments which are really handy.  This is a logical choice of bag for organizing my knitting notions!

I put things that I do not use very frequently into the large zipper compartment.  The middle pouch which is just slightly smaller can actually fit quite a bit, and that's where I keep lose things that I need access to all the time.  My cable needles, scissors, and stitch holders fit in the other slots nicely.  I can also hit my HiyaHiya knitting needles into the bag; all I have to do is the fold the plastic above the zipper down. (Are they even called zipper? Well you got the idea!)  This is very nice because I can pack my double point needles into the bag!  This is pretty cool, right? ;)

There are many other bags from this line if you don't find this one suitable for your needs.  Since this is sort of a "budget" line of Orla Kiely products (as with a lot of designer collaborations with Target), you do want to check the bag throughly before making a purchase.  In my experience, the "problems" with these bags are with the fabric.  Some of them were not sewn on flat, making the bag looks a little warped.  Another thing to watch out for is the colour on the fabric; sometimes there are white or black dots over them and they cannot be removed.  Of course, pattern placement is always a good thing to look out for if there are multiples of the same bag for you to choose from. ;)  Aside from this organizer, I also have a Sweet Pea Double Train Case for my make up, a Graphite Double Zip Beauty Organizer for my travel toiletries, and a Graphite Train Case for my daughter to carry her toys around when we go.  I am very happy with the quality of the bags for the money I paid, and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do. (A little Boxing Day shopping perhaps? :D)

I wish your very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Style Meets Function: A Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Cameo Clutch Review

I always thought that I am a practical girl when comes to selecting tools.  When I kept going to the "Clearance" page on the West Coast Kids web site to admire the Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Cameo Clutch in Mocha Berry Cream, I wondered what got into me.  I meant, European cut velvet and tweed hardly sounded like a baby friendly fabric combination, right?  But the lovely pattern and the fabulous color combination of beige, brown, and pastel blue appealed to my aesthetic sense in so many levels!  So I called the West Coast Kids Richmond location and asked if they have any Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch in stock.  I was told that there was only one left and a ladywas about to purchase it.  Bummer!  Not my luck I guess.  Maybe I will check out the Crosstown Clutch, the "little sister" of the Cameo Clutch as I like to call it, when I go to the store next time.

A few days later, I made a trip to West Coast Kids to pick up some toy straps.  I went to the diaper bag section to adore the Petunia Pickle Bottom bags.  I could not find any Crosstown Clutch, so I asked a sales associate if they had any in stock.  Turned out that their Richmond location did not stock the Crosstown Clutch, but the lovely lady told me that they had a couple Cake Cameo Clutches in store.  And there it was, the Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch sitting in and amongst other bags and clutches from the Cake collection.  I took the clutch down from the display case to check it out, and it was love at first sight.  I own a lot of bags, and I could tell that the Cameo Clutch was very well made the moment I held it in my hands.  The clutch still costed a little over $100 after the discount, but I also believed in "you get what you paid for."  After showing it to my husband and got his seal of approval (it makes me feel less guilty about splurging on the clutch; silly I know!), I brought home the Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch.  I carefully placed the clutch in the dust bag that came with it and neatly placed it on my purse rack.

Coin purse in matching fabric and hardware.

For the next forty-eight hours, I found myself constantly reaching into my purse rack for the Cameo Clutch, taking it out of the dust bag and adoring it like a piece of art.  The Cameo Clutch is a piece of art.  In a clutch roughly the size of a piece of letter size paper, there is a very generous size changing pad, a "Cake" monogramed wipe case (both items are in the pastel blue color that matches the tweed on the clutch), a coin purse in match fabric, and a lot of room for other items.  I have a wedding to attend in two months time; I thought that would be the perfect time to debut this clutch.  After all, I am too fashion conscious to carry a bag that screams "diaper bag" to a lovely affair in a heritage farm while wearing a vintage party dress.  One afternoon, I stumble upon some play kitchen ideas on the IKEA Hackers web site.  My Cameo Clutch sat quietly on my purse rack for days as I was fully engaged in planning an IKEA hack play kitchen for my daughter.  Then I wanted to make a trip to IKEA to check out some supplies for the play kitchen.  I thought, why not take my Cameo Clutch for a test run?  After all, I believed that the Cameo Clutch should be similar to its "little sister" the Crosstown Clutch in function, "perfect for trips across town and back" as Petunia Pickle Bottom put it.

Interior pockets and detachable changing pad.

I put two eco-disposable diapers into the same compartment where the changing pad was placed.  Instead of using the wipe case, I just took my half-full pack of wipes, which is roughly the same thickness as the wipe case.  I put my credit card, ID, and some case into the coin purse which I hooked onto the key clip along with my house key.  I also packed my cell phone, a burp cloth, a sleeper, a soother, and a wet bag into the clutch.  To my surprise, the Cameo Clutch zipped up nicely and did not look overstuffed.  I did found the clutch to be a little awkward to carry; it was a little too big to carry under my arm, and it was a too heavy to carry comfortably using the wristlet strap.  That was when I really wished I pay the extra bucks to purchase the current model of the Cameo Clutch: PPB changed the design of the strap so that it can also be worn as a shoulder strap as well - Brilliant!  I ended up carrying the clutch under my arm.  I was very pleased with the fact that I did not have one single moment where I thought "damn I need something but I do not have it with me because it does not fit into the clutch!"  If nothing else, going out with my baby and the Cameo Clutch taught me how to pack smarter and lighter!  While I did not have to change my daughter's diaper during the IKEA trip, I did make use of the changing pad as well as the wipe case in my next trip out with the Cameo Clutch. (After a successful trip out with the Cameo Clutch, I was hooked!)  I love that the changing pad is bigger and more compact than the one that comes with the PPB Touring Tote.  All in all I really like the Cameo Clutch, and I will have to work on getting a Crosstown Clutch for everyday use!

Wee-Be-Gone!

Cloth diaper laundry day was something that I both really hated and really loved.  I hated it because I could not stand the overwhelming smell of pee coming out of the diaper pail liner when I tossed the diapers into the washing machine.  On the other hand, I loved that there were a few hours in between start of laundry to the next dirty diaper where I did not have to hold my breath when walking into my washroom just to avoid the smell of pee.  I came across the Weehuggers Wee-Be-Gone patch when I was shopping on the Caterpillar Baby web site.  It claimed to be able to absorb the ammonia-like gas presents in cloth diapers; it is also washable and infinitely reusable.  I was curious about how this product works so I check out the Weehuggers web site, and interesting enough the product is not mentioned in their web site!  I read the reviews in Caterpillar Baby which are really positive, so I went ahead and ordered two large patches to give the product a try.

The patches arrived looking just like the way it was shown on the web site; there was no fancy wrappings which was good since they ended up in the garbage anyway.  I placed one patch into my half-full diaper pail liner (I do not have a pail; I just toss the liner on the washroom floor) to see what's going to happen.  Amazing enough, the pee smell significantly reduced in just 20 minutes or so.  I washed the patch together with my diapers the next day, and I put my second patch in the bottom of my second pail liner.  When I walked into the washroom the next morning, I could smell really strong pee stink again.  I was a little confused as the patch was working just fine yesterday.  I went to the Caterpillar Baby web site again for more instructions and found this right in the description of the product: "For best results in diaper pails, sew or otherwise attach patch to the top of the liner."  So I carefully dig through my dirty diapers to retrieve the patch and placed it at the top of the line, and whoa the pee stink was gone in less than half an hour!  Since then I sewed my patches to the top of my liners, like so:

Weehuggers also make wet bags and laundry bags with the Wee-Be-Gone patch built inside it.  The wet bag has two compartments: a smaller one for clean diapers, wipes, and other supplies, and the larger one for soiled diapers.  It is a hobo-style bag with a non-adjustable strap and it is fairly generous in size; it is great for day care or even an overnight trip.

I can see myself taking this bag to swim or to the gym to hold dirty outfits as the Wee-Be-Gone patch "will also help to eliminate stink from gym clothes (perspiration), wet bathing suits (fungi), or even decomposing garbage" according to its product description.  I did not purchase the laundry bag, but according to the picture it also has a handle which is quite convention for carrying or hanging up.

Overall, I am very happy with my patches and wet bags.  I found that these patch and wet bag tend to run out of stock fairly often; if you find a place that carries it make sure you get enough of them!

"Adaptation" Soaker

I haven't made a blog post in a long time.  Not that I think you cared, but I had a baby in March and she has been keeping me really busy!  One of the advantages of being on maternity leave though is that I can spend a lot of time to knit; I was able to finish up a few projects that had been sitting around for a while.  I have been looking for soaker patterns recently as I purchased some fitted diapers for my daughter.  I found this pattern called "Adaptation" by Connie Stults on Ravelry which looks really cute AND does not require short rows!  So I decided to give that a try.

For those who are not familiar with soakers, they are wool pants that go over cloth diapers; simply put they are diaper covers!  The amazing thing about wool is that it can absorbs liquid 30% of its weight before starting to feel damp, and the lanolin in the wool is anti-bacterial (think nipple cream for breastfeeding moms).  In order for soakers to work, you have to use 100% wool.  For this project, I used a skein of the Malabrigo merino worsted in Oceanos from my stash.

My first challenge was to determine the size of soaker I need.  I am using AI2 diapers on my daughter right now; I figured the fitted diaper is going to be as big (if not bigger) as the AI2's so I simply measured her hip circumference with a AI2 on her.  I ended up with 20" which is approximately size medium.

The pattern is very easy to follow.  I used 3.75 mm needles for the waist band ribbing and 4.5 mm needles for the body and leg cuffs (will need double point needles for that).  The pattern did not provide instructions on making the eyelets for the draw strings and I was too lazy to figure it out, so I just knitted 1x1 rib for the entire waist band.  I did increase the length of the waist band to 2.5 inches since I wanted the soaker to stay on my very squirmy baby properly.  The diaper did not take very long to knit up; what really slowed me down was joining the seams.  If you look at the projects on my Ravelry profile, you'll noticed that all my projects are knitted in the rounds or do not require seaming at all. (I work really hard to avoid joining seams!)  I made one baby sweaters that required making up, but it was a disaster.  To make sure I wouldn't ruin my soakers, I watched the videos on mattress stitches that was noted in the pattern.  The videos were really helpful, but as a first timer I was really slow and had to watch the videos a few times.  (Note: If you have never done mattress stitches before, I do not recommend doing it at 1 AM in the morning with a little reading lamp as your only light source!)  After a few tries, I finally got my mattress stitches right and made up the diaper; I decided to work on the leg cuffs after I get some sleep.

I tried the soaker on my daughter before I stitch the leg cuffs; it fitted over her AI2 nicely.  It should fit over the fitted diaper nicely according to my plan!  Picking up stitches is another thing that I have been actively avoiding.  I've only done it for my Featherweight Cardigan and it was quite painful (I made the cardigan full length and that was a lot of picking up stitches to do).  Picking up the stitches for the leg cuffs of the soaker is not nearly as bad; I only have 46 stitches to pick up on each leg.  I knitted 12 rows of 1x1 rib on each cuff, weave in ends, and whoa the soaker is done!

I washed the soaker with Eucalan wool wash and soaked it in the same liquid for 15 minutes to lanolize the soaker.  The soaker is drying now; I am looking forward to putting this pair of soaker pants in action!

Antique Brass Light Fixture

As a home owner on a budget, I am always looking for ways to create a unique and comfortable setting at my home without paying breaking my bank.  I like the mood that antique pieces bring to a home, but I also like the price tags of Ikea furnitures; therefore, I hunt for statement antique pieces to mix with "mass market" furniture pieces to create a "modern vintage" look.  While waiting to move into my current home, I found an antique brass light fixture with roses dangling on it at the Cloverdale Antique Mall.  I felt in love with the fixture instantly, and I decided to design my future breakfast area around this piece.  After endless trip to the antique mall and some more trips to other furniture places, I finally got all the pieces I needed to decorate the breakfast area at a reasonable price.  It got tricky, however, to purchase other light fixtures to go with the surrounding areas as brass fixtures with roses wasn't really the thing to do in the 21st century.  When I found another antique brass light fixture with the rose motif from the same antique dealer, I called my husband and said, "This is meant to be!  We are bringing it home!"

Crystals and roses from the fixture.

Like most antique pieces, the were some flaws with my light fixture.  The crystals were not shiny anymore, and the roses were not in perfect shape.  That said, I was delighted about imperfections on the roses as they reinforced my believe that they were hand made and therefore should not be perfect.  I was a little concerned with the not-so-shiny crystals thought as the fixture was fairly small and I wanted the crystals to reflect as much light off the bulb as possible.  Another dealer in the same antique mall happened to sell crystals for light fixtures, so I picked up some to replace the ones on my fixture.

Replacement crystals.

The new crystal has a lot more shine.

The "prettying up" the light fixture process took a lot less time than I anticipated.  The crystals and roses were removed from the fixture by the cashier to avoid damage during transportation.  I started by cleaning the fixture with a damp cloth and then wipe it dry with another piece of cloth.  I then removed the old wires on the roses and crystals and replaced them with new one.   Hanging the crystals and roses onto the fixture was not particularly difficult; thanks to the petite size tools that I collected from my beading days.

I left the electrical work to my husband.  30 minutes later, we had ourselves a "new" light fixture in the hallway!