For the past year or so, I have been steadily increasing my creative endeavours.  I have started dyeing my own yarn and fibre, albeit at this point in a mostly experimental fashion.  I have resumed spinning on my Lendrum wheel and produced some very happy-making results.  I have also started writing knitting patterns.  My first was a take on an ankle sock for (and named after) my friend Shireen, and my second is a simple textured sock for my husband, Chase.  My third, another sock pattern which is currently being test knit, is my first foray into designing with cables.  I have several more designs swimming about in my head, and those will come very soon, I hope.

While writing up the second pattern, Shireen and I talked about whether or not I wanted to stay with crystaldiva, (a name inadvertently given to me almost a decade ago by a client in Florida) or whether I wanted to rebrand to something that had a bit more meaning to me overall.

As most of you know, I am an ex-pat Newfoundlander, and if I am to be truthful, even after 14 years in the Toronto area, my heart still really belongs near the sea.  In fact, I grew up some 500 metres from the Atlantic in a tiny town near the capital city of St. John’s, where the town crest boasted “First To See The Sun”.

So today, I am excited to welcome you to First Light Handcrafts!

I am thrilled that the new name and the new look reflect my east coast heritage.  Even the iceberg that graces the top of my new blog is courtesy of my dad, Jerry, who is an amazing photographer of Newfoundland scenery.  (Go check out his artistry at his Pbase site!)

In honour of my rebranding, today I am releasing the sock pattern created for my husband.  It’s called “Petty Harbour”, after another of our favourite towns in the St. John’s area, and it looks great in solid, semi-solid or variegated yarns.

It’s available for free here on Ravelry.

I am also holding a contest – a giveaway of a lovely skein of Sundara Sock yarn in a blue called “Wistful Longing” (anyone sensing a theme here?).

To enter, leave me a comment.  Tell me what you would do with the yarn, or what yarn you’d knit Petty Harbour from…or just say hi!  If you re-tweet or share this post, leave me a comment telling me that too, and I’ll enter your name more than once!  As my friend Carla says…stack the deck in your favour!  Contest closes on Friday the 19th.  Just make sure that I have some way of contacting you to get your mailing address.

I hope you’ll stick around; it’s shaping up to be a busy time!