Another gift for me!

After knitting my last pair of socks I was really excited to be done. But it didn't take long before I got knitting withdrawal. Quickly, I turn to my stash and found this beautiful clover color Patons sock FX. I know socks would've been great with this color yarn but I really needed a scarf.

I use 2 balls of 50g, cast on 35 stitches on my Addi Turbo #10US and knit with this simple pattern:

1 row - K3, *K2tog, YO, K1, YO, SKP, K3* (SKP = slip a stitch, knit the next, pass over the knit)

2 row - K3, *P5, K3*

repeat row 1& 2 until desired length.

That pattern was so easy and relaxing. Then again I may just do another scarf because I can always use some more relaxation!

Ready for the big January sale!

The new year just started and I thought it was a good time to do an inventory of my stock. I decided that it was good time to offer free shipping for January. I need to make room for the new models. I now have 49 different cycling caps in my Galstudio store! When I started making cycling caps I would never dream of having so many different models. Now, I am already shopping for the fabric for Spring!

The holiday season was definitely crazy and I could not be happier! I reached a milestone with 100 online customers. To celebrate the occasion I gave a free Piccolo Pouch to the lucky customer and I shared a good bottle of wine with my partner!

Ouf! I finished the cable sock!

Last October I gave myself a challenge. I always admire the cable knit. And I love making sock's so I chose this pattern for my first cable project. It was not as easy as I thought but I finished it! I would never consider knitting cable sock's for sale. This kind of work takes lots of time. Be advise, if a knitter gives you a pair of cable socks it can only mean one thing... this person loves you!

I love my sock's, and if I ever make another pair of cable sock's I would definitely not use a varigrade yarn. I worked so hard on the pattern but it's hard to see the definition with this kind of yarn.

The story of my Singer Fashion Mate 257!

I had been talking to my parents about this sewing machine for months. They promise me that Santa would bring it to me if I was nice. That Singer would be easy to get because I already know I was a very nice little girl. We celebrated Christmas with my sister who was already married with five kids. I was thrilled, I knew it would be the best Christmas ever! Lots of people, lots of food and finally I would get my Singer sewing machine!

I can barely describe the expression on my face when I unwrapped my gift.... it wasn't the right machine.... it was some plastic, kid, toy sewing machine! It had to be a mistake! Santa must've been confused! I would NOT accept this gift, no way! After all I had been a very, very nice girl and I would not accept anything less than the promised Singer.

I also remember the face of my mother who was so embarrassed and upset with me. She knew that my sister had to dig deep into her wallet to be able to buy me this gift. Quickly she pulled me alone and told me to be nice, accept the gift, thank everyone, and at my birthday I would get the sewing machine I wanted.

A month later, my Dad bought me a Singer Fashion Mate 257. It was the best birthday gift a seven year old girl could get! My Singer has been with me through all my 20 plus moves. In the back of a truck across Canada and in a cargo hold of a plane. I always made sure it followed me.

Here it is, my forty year old trusty friend. The tool that I express my creativity with...

In the last four years I also acquired this Pfaff serger. I haven't develop the same love that I feel for my Singer. It'll take time. But it's a great tool to work with and I couldn't think of sewing my Cycling Caps without it!

A new Moo

Finally, on Friday my new Moo arrived. I definitely should've ordered sooner. I changed the design for most of them! The first 100 mini cards disapeared so fast that I had to use the old homemade cards. I didn't take a chance this time I ordered 200...

For the love of paper

I just posted two new ‘Hand Made Journals’ and it made me think about how I first started my love affair with bookmaking.

I’ve always been attracted to the feel of nice paper in a beautiful handmade journal. As a young woman I kept many journals. I would buy a cheap book only for the inside pages. Then I would transform the cover with collage and drawings. I still have them all and promise myself to read them in my old days!

When I attended art school, I took an elective class of papermaking & bookbinding with Sharyn Yuen. Wow! I already had the love for paper but she gave me the tools to express that love. I made many books that year…

‘Nikohl’ is a book I made to remember precious moments in the life of my dear friend, while she was fighting ALS. It’s a collection of my photography along with short stories we shared together.

I have made this book in collaboration with my husband. It is a symbol of our life coming together in one book with each side showing photographs of our families. My husband is Chinese descent and I was raised near the ocean on the east coast of Québec. We brought forward our differences side by side in this handmade book. And symbolically tied this story of our togetherness with a piece of bamboo joined with beach wood.

First we take Tokyo then we take the world!

When Galstudio became so big that it needed it’s own corner in the house, I had no choice but to take over the dining room.

Right away I installed a large world map to visualize all the places I would sell to. To think that I could make something that could be enjoyed across the world is overwhelming. My first sale was the “Paris-Roubaix Cycling Cap” going in North Carolina. I can just remember the excitement, what a rush! I put the first pin on my map. With each new sale I added a new pin. Soon the east coast and the west coast of America was covered. I knew that I would sell in Europe and the UK eventually but the real surprise came last week when I sold in Tokyo. I’m as excited today as when I place my first pin last March. I am so grateful to have found Etsy, a place where I can express my creativity and be recognize & rewarded for it.

I see a bright future for Galstudio. Now that I have taken Tokyo I can take the world!