Knitting with Friends ~ Sophie Fontaine-Bégin

A fun quiz to get to know some fellow knitters!

We love people and we think that it would be great to get to know YOU lovely readers.

Today we are getting to know Sophie Fontaine-Bégin, sofifontaine on Raverly.

Sophie lives in Montreal and has been knitting since she was a little girl.

Union worker by day and knitter by night, Sophie is fun, has a huge heart and is full of knowledge due to her interest in a multitude of subjects.

Its always a pleasure for us to be around her whenever we can.

Happy reading everyone!

– Brown or black?

I’m totally black!

– Cats or dogs?

I’m totally cat, crazy about my Violette, a Rex Cornish with lavender hair. 

– Knitting gadget you can’t live without:

My favourite knitting gadget is a yarn bowl. My friend Johanie Bernard makes wonderful bowls, which I collect.

– Knitting style:

I knit English style, sometimes portuguese, depending on the stitch and my thumb tendinitis.  

– Only one color for the rest of your life, which will it be?

I never wore much pink before I started knitting more intensively.

But I couldn’t live without it now! Or Teal, for that matter. Right now, my favorite color is your own “Ancient Gold”. The perfect color!

– Cables or Lace ?

Definitely lace! And yet, I don’t wear that much of it, I prefer simpler things, often garter stitch.

But I simply love the intellectual challenge posed by a great lace pattern!

– First completed project:

The oldest project I remember is a Lapland hat with a Fair Isle pattern. I sold them as a teenager for pocket money. 

– Number of WIPS  on your needle right now…

Ridiculously high! I have at least 8 or 9. Sometimes, the excitement of starting a new project is my motivation. It is important for me to change texture or color according to my mood. 

– Favorite book not knitting related:

That’s a tough one! For the longest time, it was “Un ange cornu avec des ailes de tôle” (“A horned angel with wings of metal”), by Michel Tremblay.

It is one of the few books that made me cry. More recently, I really loved “The Time of our Singing” by Richard Powers. It’s a thousand pages long, and written with much sensibility and intelligence.

– Something that changed your knitting: 

I changed my way of knitting many times. First to work on speed: I’m impatient, always in a hurry!

Then, I learned to limit my movements to avoid hurting my shoulders and, more recently, my thumb.

– Where did you learn to knit?

Knitting came into my life when I was about 5 years old. My best friend’s mom taught us.

I remember like it was yesterday, sitting on the balcony steps, listening to Diane Dufresne singing about meeting the man of her life.

– Hidden talent:

I play the flute! I played it for a very long time and I miss it a lot. I’m planning on buying a flute and start playing again. 

– Wood or Metal?

If you had asked last year, I would have answered rosewood (not any kind of wood!). Today, I like both, but not any kind.

I knit always with circular needles, so the quality of the joint between the cord and the metal needle is really important. My favorite kit is Hiya Hiya Sharp interchangeable.

Light, slippery but not too much, and a flexible cord: they are among the best!

– Coffee or Tea?

I like to mix it up! I couldn’t live without my espresso in the morning, two during weekends.

However, I also love my evening tea, which goes well with my knitting, the stillness at the end of the day and time spent with the love of my life.

– Go-to favorite accessory when knitting a gift?

It is hard to do better than socks. They are very impressive to non knitters, too!

As I never know if the recipients are going to care properly for the hand-knits I made for them, I don’t give much else aside from socks. I can’t bear to think of my creations in a washing machine! 

– Most memorable project?

My first lace shawl, a Laminaria in Haiku, a silk/mohair laceweight yarn. My hands were wet the whole time I was knitting! 

– Morning person or night owl?

I love slow, long mornings, and I hate being rushed. And yet, I have become mostly a morning person.

– A place/country you wish to visit and why:

I’d love to go to Iceland, for the breathtaking landscapes and hiking trails. If I ever go, I’ll visit Hélène Magnusson and bring back her wonderful yarn to make a Scandinavian sweater.

The other place I’d like to visit is Scotland, to wander in its heath and on its misty shores.

– What is the main knitting attraction in your neck of the wood?

I live in Montreal, so it’s easy to find what you like as a knitter. I like a few LYS for different reasons.

Mouliné was where I first discovered modern knitting and indie dyers. I like Espace Tricot for its great products and the amazing advice you can get there!

Finally, my second home is La Maison Tricotée. Not only you can knit there among friends, you can also have tea and taste Céline’s amazing pastries. 

– If I were to visit your neighbourhood or city, where should I go first?

You can’t miss the Botanical Garden and Maisonneuve park. I like to go there to run, walk, cross-country ski, read on a bench while admiring a heron.

It’s my way to dream I’m in the country, even in the middle of a great city like Montreal. 

– Favorite stitch pattern:

I have two! My favorite stitch is garter stitch. I like its simplicity, its texture, its versatility, its comfort and the fact that it allows you to multitask!

I also like to wear it. However, it can be boring to knit! In this case, I like the finished object, not the process. 

As far as process goes, I like all the complicated stitches of Estonian lace, the ones that have a long sequence to them. In that case, I like the process more than the result.