Christmas will be here before we know it

Before I forget-the store will be closed on Monday February 15 for Family Day.

Last week I had someone spamming my blog.  They were adding a comment to all my posts so I had to go through old posts and delete these.  Because of this there are some changes to my blog.  When you post a comment it comes to me and I have to approve it before it goes on the blog.  Unfortunately I don't get an email about this and only see your comment when I log on to do another post.  If you make a comment and don't see it for a few days don't worry-I will see it and post it.

Last night Beth went to see Avatar.  There was no way that I could sit for three hours in a movie theatre.  Do you know how many times I would have to leave and use the washroom??  Here are the dogs-very upset that their mom left them.

While Beth was gone I started sewing together my Debbie Bliss jacket.  One sleeve is in and the side and sleeve seam are done.  I will be sewing in the second sleeve once I am done my post.

Jane worked yesterday and a surprise arrived.  A box from Prism with my Christmas stocking kits.  I ordered a finished stocking as well so we would have a sample right away.  Unbelievable.  I will definitely be making a few for my house.

I opened a few kits and took a picture of the colours.  The kits include a skein of Stuff (many different hand dyed yarns tied together) and a skein of Galaxy which is a hand dyed ribbon.  There is also a package of matching beads in each kit.

The only thing not included in the kit is fabric to line it.

We received eight kits in total including two red (the sample colour).  Any colour can be ordered and we have lots of Stuff in stock for you to see the different colours available.

This is going to be a week of finishing

I have been away from the computer for the past 2 days.  Saturday was crazy busy in the store-I'm not complaining-it makes the day go much quicker.  I came home, moved to the couch and knit.

I can't stop watching Grey's Anatomy.  No commercials makes it so much better.  It also helps when knitting because you don't have to put down your knitting to fast forward through commercials.

Sunday morning I woke with a migraine so spend some time in bed.  When I got up it was time to knit again.  The Super Bowl was okay.  I wanted Indy to win but the Saints winning doesn't upset me.  The game was fairly boring though.  I wish they had moved the ball up and down the field more.  What was with the commercials???  CTV over road the US feed and we saw the same 6 commercials over and over again.  We know that the Olympics is coming this week!!!!

The collar is done on my Debbie Bliss jacket.  I need to sew in the sleeves and done!

Rochdale is from Rowan 46 (the fall magazine) and is knit in Big Wool. I started it and then it was set aside for a while.

When I finished the knitting on my Debbie Bliss jacket I pulled this out and finished all the knitting on it as well.  After I sew the shoulder seams I can pick up and do the collar.

Have you read the Yarn Harlot in the past few days?  The Knitting Olympics are back on.  For those of you who don't belong to Ravelry but want to compete, please go to her blog and sign up.  Rules are the same as four years ago.  you can't start before the opening ceremonies and you have to be finished by closing ceremonies.

I need to get moving.  There are lots of chores to be done today.

Fresco

I am watching CNN and the big news is the huge storm hitting the Washington DC area.  It got me thinking that we are still due for our major snow storm.  Maybe I should be showing you some exciting winter yarns because it could be a while before spring is here.

Korey and I have been working on adding some new yarns to the website.  Fresco from Classic Elite is up now.

Classic Elite does a web-letter weekly with great patterns.   Emma knit the Basketwhip Cowl for us.  Heaven!!  Two skeins of Fresco-wool, alpaca and angora.

Here are a few more patterns using Fresco.

Snowdrop Scarf

Snowflake Hat

Fresco might also be familiar to you because Jared Flood used it in his book Made in Brooklyn for two great hats.

Beaumont in four colours.

Beaumont in two colours using a larger needle for the crown.

I spent some time knitting last night and got the second sleeve done. Now onto the collar.

The Y&R is going to be very interesting over the next few weeks.  Emily and Patty.  We all know where that story is going but still can't wait to see it.  Is everyone going to figure out all of Adam's little secrets?  I called the Victor/Adam/Tucker story line before they revealed it in the show-wish I had blogged it.  Daisy and Ryder.  I usually fast forward when they are on but I am looking forward to finding out who their mother is.

The battery on my computer is about to run out so I am going to sign off, plug it in and pick up my knitting.

An evening off

I have no knitting to report. Last night Beth and I headed to Burlington to watch my friend Eveline's kids play hockey. Eveline and I were room mates in university and have been best friends since. We also share the same birthday so I can never get into trouble for forgetting hers. :)

Over the past few weeks we have seen many customers who are knitting the fingerless mittens that appeared in Canadian Living.  There are a few questions with the pattern-especially when it says to continue the pattern as set.  I went on line today and found that on the Canadian Living website the pattern has been rewritten and is much easier to understand.

I just pulled the new Chris Bylsma patterns out and put them on the shelf. Here are a couple more very interesting designs.

The Fusion Jacket

A classic jacket with the spunk of a casual cardi belongs in every wardrobe. A sock yarn and a dk wool worked together in an easy twisted stitch offer a myriad of color and yarn possibilities. 

Now I am thinking that this might be my Olympic Knitting.  I love sock yarn and what a great way to use it-a quick to knit cardigan on 8mm needles.

Interlude-knit in double knitting weight yarn.  Oh, the possibilities.
-Tahki Cotton Classic-we now have 42 colours in stock
-Debbie Bliss Prima or Amalfi
-Noro Chirimen or Aya
-Classic Elite Soft Linen or Firefly
-Rowan Lenpur Linen
-Sirdar Baby Bamboo or Flirt DK

This classic cardi with plenty of spirit breaks convention as the edges deliverately flip and curl. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

New camera

Many years ago we bought a digital camera.  It was a great camera but neither of us actually read the book as to how to use it properly.  There were a million settings and we never got it right.  Then I was using my iPhone to take pictures.  Not bad but no flash.  Last night we had to run to Best Buy and while we were there I bought a new camera.  A Nikon Coolpix (you probably have seen it in TV commercials).  I can put it to SCENE and it picks the proper setting.  It is much smaller than the other camera and will now fit in my purse.

You know what this means-more blog pictures!!

Roko does not like it when Beth knits.  He is sitting on the couch at her elbow sulking.  After a bit he will jump across to my couch and try and sit on me.  Beth says 'can you just love him for a bit?' and then I have to put down my knitting until he tires of me.

This is the new Revive from Rowan. Great colours. I want to knit with it!! Will it be my Olympic knitting??

Here is my sleeve.  I am about half way done.  I forgot that a sleeve can take a while to knit-as you go there are more and more stitches on the needle.  I am going to sign off and knit for a bit-I want this done so I can move onto something else.

Working through my UFOs

I must say that I am loving the new format for Blogger. I preview before I hit post and now the preview looks like the post.

My chores for the day are done.
-Call my financial advisor.  I need to get my RSP contributions made
-Call the TV guy.  Right now I can't change the channel on the TV in the store-I have to run upstairs.  With the Olympics about to start I will need to be changing channels.
-Return phone calls from yesterday
-Place orders

Now I am going to pull out my knitting.

Here is the body of my Debbie Bliss cabled jacket.   Fronts and back are done and joined at the shoulders.  One sleeve is done and the second sleeve is on row 11.  Can I get it done today??

Why am I showing a bunch of towels rolled up?  This is my big cabled scarf. Originally I had it laid out on towels but because it is so long it was folded back three times.  I was afraid that if I left it that way I would end up with fold lines. To prevent these lines I have rolled it up-it took four huge bath towels.

I am still at a loss as to what I am going to knit for the Olympics. I want something that will give me a challenge but it has to get finished in two weeks.

Chris Bylsma Designs

Okay, I like the new posting.  Before I couldn't always make the text content line up with the pictures.  Now everything lines up.

A large envelope arrived from Chris Bylsma filled with her great patterns including some new patterns for spring.

Cables, a bit of easy lace and dropped stitches create an airy, reversible wrap called ‘Vlinder’, which means butterfly in Dutch. Clever buttons and loops along the edges offer endless style possibilities. 

Kaleidoscope is a great sweater knit in double knitting weight cotton.

 Angles, colors, textures and shapes all come together in this whimsical and one-of-a-kind top that’s as much fun to wear as it is to knit.

 

Another garment knit in double knitting weight yarn.

Feel calm and centered in a classic wrap cardi. The faux cable gently meanders to the shoulder and simply glides straight down the back. Ties inside and out provide a custom fit and overall eyelets assure you always keep your cool.

You can see all of Chris' designs on her website.  I think we have every pattern in the store now.

New posting options

This morning was spent having my hair done.  I am very, very happy this afternoon.  No more grey!!

I checked into the store to make sure Jane knew where everything was.  She has been away for six weeks which means lots of changes.

Then I was off to help Beth in her warehouse.  I needed to go into her blogger account for a minute and saw that there is new formatting.  It should be much easier now with pictures.  I can move them around.  It is super easy to change the sizes of the pictures.  How come I didn't know about this?

We received many new patterns in the store today.

This is Charleston from Dolce Handknits.  The pattern was knit in Skinny Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas.

James is knit in worsted weight.  There are endless possibilities for this.

I really like the collar-something different.

I want to see how this looks when it is posted so I am going to end for now.  There is no sense adding lots of pictures if I don't like the look when finished.