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Josée Paquin (She/Her)

@uandiknit

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Québécoise now living in beautiful British Columbia and designing knitwear for hand knitters.

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Gnome in the wild 😉 I can’t believe how cute he is! 🥰

The yarn is Fjallalopi and the pattern is from the book The Gnomes of Grimblewoods. Both available @valleyyarn ☺️ by @uandiknit

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a year ago

I’m continuing to make great progress on this one! 2x2 rib on 3mm… no problem 💪💪 I would love to be able to wear it at the store next week 😁 super happy with the short sleeves too. And next project in the cue is the fabulous Space Tank from @heidikdesigns in hot pink Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy 🩷

Pattern: Kaskade by me available on Ravelry
Yarn: Knitting for Olive Pure Silk

#uandiknit #kaskadepullover by @uandiknit

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a year ago

A little sewing project done this morning, overseen by Stitches. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long time! And I couldn’t be happier with the result ☺️ See for yourself on the last picture 🙌

I stole some fabric from a ‘fake’ pocket in the back of the chair to fix Pawsy’s handy work (or should I say clawsy work lol).

No worries, he’s got a few scratching posts now so I think the chair will be fine 🤞 by @uandiknit

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a year ago

Last day of June already!

Feeling better means that I have unearthed two designs I’ve started ages ago and that I now feel like completing 😎 Both in Cascade 220 (available @valleyyarn 😄).

I finished my #fielddaycardigan by @ozetta in @lllimani Sabri I. Can’t say enough good things about this pattern and the yarn! 💙 I made a couple of minor modifications that I will post on Ravelry.

And I’m making great progress on my #kaskadepullover 👏👏 (pattern by me) in KFO Pure Silk (also available @valleyyarn 😄). You can see here the difference between wet blocking and steam blocking. See how the yarn blossoms?

Stay tuned for test knit calls 🤞☺️ by @uandiknit

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a year ago

I posted something similar on Facebook and the feedback was so positive, I’ll share it here as well. The journey through perimenopause and menopause can be dramatically different for one woman to another. If I were to rank my own experience on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say it has been a solid 13 in terms of discomforts. It has literally been kicking my f&$!k’n butt since 2021.
I waited too long before getting help from a doctor. I used to think that it would just all go away, that every woman goes through it and that I should just suck it up. Well, turns out it didn’t go away and many women never have it this bad.
The hot flashes have, by far, been my worst burden. I have experienced severe hot flashes numerous times a day and throughout the night for years. They would flare up quickly and I’d become covered in sweat in seconds. So much so that I sometimes would fog my own glasses and sweat would drip off my nose and down my back. It’s been incredibly embarrassing. At night, I’d have to lie awake, often in soaked bed sheets, until the hot flash went away or take a shower to get some relief. I was suffering from a lack of sleep, dehydration, exhaustion. My brain was in a fog and I could no longer make the charts and calculations necessary to write my knitting patterns.
I reduced my work and social activities and hit an all time low in the fall of 2023. All of this, combined with life changing events like family deaths, moving and settling into another city, left me completely drained and depressed.
I’ve tried my best to handle all of it with patience, grace and humour. I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by amazing friends and a caring family. I’m also immensely grateful to share my life with Cory who’s always been my number one cheerleader.
For the last two years, I’ve been consulting with a kind doctor who prescribed different types of medications which really helped. Some of them came with side effects though so I’ve had to navigate through that as well. But right now, I’m starting to feel so much better and so much more like my former self. The hot flashes are disappearing, I have more energy and I am very optimistic about the future. (More in comments). by @uandiknit

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a year ago

This week we are in Quebec visiting my mom and dad 🥰 Lots of progress on my Kaskade with Knitting for Olive Pure Silk (loving everything about it so far!). And who wouldn’t want to sit there and knit? I also finished my toy and there’s a little girl who’s going to be very happy today 🥳 by @uandiknit

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a year ago

Since the end of March, I have been working part time at @valleyyarn a great little store, minutes away from where I live 😄 I wasn’t looking for a job but when I saw that they were hiring, I thought that this would be perfect for me! I’m so glad that they gave me a chance ☺️ I get to play with yarn, talk with customers about knitting, fibre and colour choices for their projects, etc. It couldn’t be any better! Being a knitwear designer working from home has been amazing and I’m super grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to do it for so many years. I’ve slowed down my pattern writing since last year and I’m so happy to now have the chance to interact with people who share the same passion as me. Come say hello if you’re in the neighborhood, I am usually there every Tuesday and every second Wednesday 🤗 by @uandiknit

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a year ago

Lately…. 😎

1. Swatching with Knitting for Olive pure silk. I want a short sleeve Kaskade (pattern by me).
2. Making good progress on my Field Day Cardigan by Ozetta in @lllimani Sabri II 💙
3. Fresh off the needles. Loved this bamboo yarn!
4. Knitting a toy in the backyard sipping my favourite beer! Would we knit faster with so many fingers you think?
5. Cory on the local news 🥰
6. Stitches saying hello 😉
7. Pawsy always staying close to me 😊
8. A dress my mom crocheted for me when I was a baby. Too bad the only choice of yarn she had at the time was Phentex 🤷‍♀️ Still a masterpiece if you ask me 🥰
9. A show with our besties! Sorry for the close up nostril shot at the end 🤣
10. Love these ground cover flowers we planted with dad last year. by @uandiknit

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a year ago

Do you want to join our team? @valleyyarn is hiring! 😊 by @uandiknit

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a year ago

I ended 2024 with a feeling of openness to new experiences, big or small. And so far, I’m not disappointed. To name a few: I went to Asia, I knit this gorgeous colourwork by another designer just for the pure pleasure of it and a new adventure starts next week… with Julie and her team @valleyyarn ☺️ By the way, they have a sale on right now!

#PohjolaPullover by @sari_n_ in Rowan Felted Tweed 💙

J’ai terminé l’année 2024 en voulant être ouverte à de nouvelles expériences, petites ou grandes. Et jusqu’à maintenant, je ne suis pas déçue. J’ai fait un voyage en Asie, j’ai tricoté ce magnifique pull en jacquard juste pour le plaisir et une nouvelle aventure commence la semaine prochaine… avec Julie et son équipe @valleyyarn ☺️ En passant, ils ont une vente présentement! by @uandiknit

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2 years ago

Over the past couple of weeks, Cory and I had the pleasure of travelling to Hanoi and Danang in Vietnam with long layovers in Bangkok, Thailand and Seoul, South Korea. This was an incredible experience! The people, the food, the sites… amazing! I can’t say enough good things about all of those destinations ❤️ And the cats were happy to see us when we came back ☺️

Au cours des deux dernières semaines, Cory et moi avons eu le plaisir de visiter Hanoi et Danang au Vietnam et de passer quelques heures à Bangkok en Thaïlande et à Séoul en Corée du Sud. Quelle expérience extraordinaire! Les gens, la nourriture, les paysages… 👌 Je n’ai que de belles choses à dire de toutes ces destinations ❤️ Et les chats étaient contents de nous voir à notre retour ☺️ by @uandiknit

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2 years ago

In late summer and early fall, I completely lost my knitting mojo… I didn’t pick up my needles for weeks. I can’t even remember the last time this happened! But turns out, it was a very beneficial break ☺️ I saw a similar sweater in a store near Montreal while visiting my mom and felt really inspired. Once I started knitting it, I couldn’t stop 🥳 Pattern to come, if I can figure out how to write and grade it without being too complicated 🤔😄

The yarn is the lovely @lllimani Royal Alpaca 👌 by @uandiknit

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2 years ago