Monday, June 29, 2009

2nd anniversary

I totally forgot that yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of Beth and I owning a house. It is hard to believe how time flies. Last night were talking about the fact that we used to live in an apartment with one bathroom and now we have a house with multiple bathrooms. Two people can live with one bathroom but more is definitely better!!

Three boxes from Berroco arrived today
-new yarn Blackstone Tweed-a blend of Wool, Mohair and Angora in Aran weight
-Norah Gaughan Volume 5
-Norah Gaughan Men

Cormorant is the cover sweater of Norah Gaughan Volume 5 and is knit in Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Fine.

Norah loves cables and this sweater is amazing. Knit in Peruvia you can find the pattern in Norah Gaughan Men.

Have a happy Canada Day tomorrow. I am hoping for nice weather so we can go golfing.

Monday morning

Emma was in on Saturday with this amazing shawl she knit in Fleece Artist yarn. Sorry, I didn't get the name of the pattern she used-I was having too much fun playing with her son Dexter. Emma is having her second child very soon so I think it would be nice of her to give me Dexter. :)

I showed you the Spud and Chloe pattens last week. This is the box that we have to display them.

The top comes of and all your patterns are organized inside. There are dividers as well so you can personalize your own box. We are sold out of the boxes but more are on the way.

Saturday night we watched two movies.
Taken-I couldn't knit very much because I was trying to pay attention. The occasional subtitles made the knitting hard as well. I liked the movie. It held my attention which is all I really ask for.
Bride Wars-Bad movie. Not much more can be said except to ask where Kate Hudson got that awful hair cut. I did get lots of knitting done so I guess that is a plus.

My stack of paperwork is done so maybe Beth and I will go golfing this afternoon.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The neverending post

It is now Saturday evening. This blog post has been started and restarted about 4 times over the past 3 days. Every time the post was done I didn't like it and hit delete.

This was written on Friday afternoon and I decided to keep it and continue on. If I continue hitting delete then there will never be another post.

After 19" I get to start my armhole shaping. Currently the front measures 12". It seems like I have been knitting forever!!

I am watching General Hospital while working. Something has been bothering me and I just figured it out. The actress who is playing Claudia used to be Carly on the show. WHY?? There has to be a million actresses out there-why bring back someone in a new part?

Back to Saturday night. There really isn't much to report. The weather is great. The store has been busy. We have a holiday on Wednesday. What more can I ask for?

Beth and I are going to watch a few movies tonight. Taken and Bride Wars.

For those wondering-no I didn't start knitting with Spud & Chloe. I have shipped off lots to my knitters though.

Socks in Fine have gone to Ann.

Rhonda picked up the yarn for the Uptown Downtown Jacket yesterday afternoon. Sweater is the yarn used for this.

Wannietta has two garments to knit. The Candy Stripe Jacket but I have changed the colours-also knit in sweater.

The Sidecar Jacket in Outer. I think she can get this done in less than a week.

I'm off to knit and watch movies. Have a good night all.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Spud & Chloe

When I returned home from TNNA many people asked 'What was exciting at the show?' I talked about the Spud & Chloe yarns but not their patterns because I didn't think I could explain them properly. Pictures work much better.

Spud & Chloe is the work of the ladies from Blue Sky Alpacas.

The patterns come in an envelope just like a sewing pattern.

The actual pattern is written on one sheet of paper that folds up-just like a sewing pattern except the paper is much better.

You can follow Spud & Chloe on Twitter and by reading their blog. The latest blog post has the cutest hat!!

Writing about the yarns and patterns is making me a bit sad. The look great in the bags but I CAN'T/WON'T knit with them until I am finished my JSS vest. How many times have you heard that out of my mouth? We should start a pool to see when I actually cave. :)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

More stories about my Dad

I just received an email from Mom. Dad has worked out a schedule for renovations. This story will explain why Mom is doing the emailing and not Dad. First of all he calls a computer 'the machine' or 'that box'. When he went on his last trip to Honduras an email account was opened for him. The construction company was in negotiations for a very large job and if we needed to get information to him this was the best way. The first night there a group of them walked into town and found an Internet cafe. Yes, Honduras is a very poor country but the Internet is available. Dad didn't know how to log in so Cal did that for him. Cal opened his emails to read and now Dad had to reply. My dad has never sat down in front of a typewriter let alone a computer. His message to us read "HI. DAD." That was it. He called home every night after that (and collect calls from Honduras are not cheap). When he got home he wanted to know why the order of the keys were so messed up. Why can't A and B be beside each other?

The renovations are going to take a bit longer than I thought but there is nothing I can do about it. The work needs to get done and if we don't do it in August then it will be April before we can do it.

Here is the plan as of today. The store will be closed from Saturday August 8 until Monday August 17. The store won't be open for shopping during this time but if there is a yarn emergency I can be contacted by email or by leaving a message on the store phone.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Getting ready for renovations

A small amount of progress has been made on the Jane Slicer-Smith Boxed Drape Vest. The yarn is called Zara Print Tweed. You can see that there is a fleck of colour in the yarn. In many tweed yarns (think Donegal Tweed from Tahki) the fleck is a nepp of colour that can be pulled out of the yarn. With the Zara the Tweed is a dab of colour right in the yarn. Wow, these are very technical terms I am coming up with here!!




The back room is going to be divided into two parts. This will become the cash/office area. The needles and accessories will be on the wall to the right and the cash desk will be on the left (there will be a hole in the wall).

Before we could knock a hole in the wall it needed to be braced. My dad worked on this while we were in Columbus.




The doorway is going to be closed off with a permanent wall.

I purposely took a bad picture here. There is a lot of junk still in this room that will be going in a dumpster when we start knocking out walls. This area is going to become the library.

The top part of the book shelf is going to be cut in half lengthwise. Each half will be mounted on the wall in the new library.

This is a job that my dad can sink his teeth into. He loves demolition work!! When I was very young we were at my Aunt Rene's for a Grey Cup party. She made a very big mistake by asking my dad if a wall could be taken down in her basement. At half time the wall came down.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Another project from Bev

Bev came in yesterday afternoon with a vest that she just finished but she wasn't sure how to wear it. This is the picture on the pattern from Naturally. (Where did that hair cut come from??)

Bev put her vest on, I grabbed a shawl pin and we played for a bit. We came up with a few different options. Bev went home much happier.

Has anyone been watching Y&R? I wish there was a way we could just watch the story lines that interest us. Thank goodness for fast forward!!

I am working away on my Jane Slicer-Smith Boxes Drape Vest. 17 rows are done. Hopefully by the end of the weekend (great golf on TV) I can get enough done that a picture looks good.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Another FO

The cardigan was finished before TNNA but there wasn't time to get a picture. As you can see I have a friend. The minute Beth or I step outside he is right there with a ball in his mouth. It doesn't bother me when I am in jeans but I am in black dress pants. They are no longer black but are now furry beige. I have spent the last hour trying to pick the hair off my pants. Thank Roko!

Dog hair can cause problems when visitors come to the house. We remind them not to wear black but for some reason they all do.

After a newsletter is sent out I can see statistics like readership and bounces. Every time one goes out there are many that come back 'non-existent email address'. Don't forget to sign up again if you change your email address!!

I am watching golf and working on the website. The latest newsletter (just sent out this morning) has information about the new Spud & Chloe yarns. These should be on the site later today.

Swing Swagger Drape

I want to start off by saying sorry for these images. My printer wouldn't let me scan into my computer at work so I took pictures and emailed them to my computer. When the pages were lying on the table there was a bad glare from the lighting so I had to hold up the pictures. Obviously my hand wasn't very steady.

These pictures are from a leaflet I picked up at TNNA about Jane Slicer-Smith's upcoming book called Swing Swagger Drape.

These are front and back of the same garment called Boxes Drape Vest. A self striping yarn was used (think Naturally Vero or Noro Silk Garden).

It can also be knit in a DK weight yarn. The same number of stitches are used so the DK version will be shorter. I have started using the new Zara Print Tweed from Filatura. The picture turned out bad (can you tell that my day isn't going well so far?) so I will try again after a few more rows are knit.

I thought that I was going to watch the US Open today but it is raining hard in NY and the golf is delayed right now. While waiting I am catching up on the Y&R. Really-could someone please do something about Sharon? From day one I didn't like her and my opinion hasn't changed.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Back at work

Bev, Beth and I have travelled to NZ a few times to visit our friend Oliver who runs Naturally Yarns. Oliver was at the trade show and drove back to Canada with us. He is here visiting a few yarn shops and then travels back to NZ on Friday. The three of them slept during the drive home leaving me some peace and quiet.

It was great getting back to the store today. I am catching up on the Y&R while writing a few newsletters.

A couple of books coming this fall that might interest you.




When I made my list of 'knitting celebrities' I forgot a couple-
Kristin Nicholas
Sally Melville
Cookie A

I was sick on Monday morning with a migraine so Beth went to the show and met with Cookie for me. At the retreat we like to have games but not everyone has our sense of humour. Beth and Cookie talked for a bit and Beth came back saying that Cookie won't have any problems with the events we cook up.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Monday in Columbus

Yesterday was very busy at the show. The highlight was meeting Jared Flood (Brooklyntweed). Jared has designed a pattern book for Classic Elite and was in their booth. We had time to talk and he would be interested in coming up to Canada and teaching at our retreat in 2010. Happy dance!!!

I spent a while in the Della Q booth ordering bags and needle cases. This is called the Straight Roll. It will hold 60 pairs of straight needles. There are three slots for each size (because we all have more than one pair of every size needle).

Annie Adams shawl pins and key chains were ordered as well. This is the new yarn ball key chain. What a great gift for a knitter in your life.

Other orders were placed as well including Blue Sky Alpacas and their new division called Spud and Chloe. Watch my Tweets and upcoming newsletters for more information on the yarn and patterns. This was definitely one of the most exciting booths at the show.

There are many knitting 'celebrities' walking around the show. It was great talking with
-Debbie Bliss
-Margery Winter
-Norah Gaughan
-Pam Allen
-Jane Slicer Smith
-Veronik Avery
-Jared Flood

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Visit to the Zoo

Beth and I went to the zoo yesterday afternoon. As we walked in the front gate there was a sign saying "Baby Elephant Viewing 10-2pm". It was 1:00 so our first stop was decided. As we arrived at the elephant pen the mother and baby were just coming out and walking around. We watched for almost an hour and both took many, many pictures. This shows how small the 2 1/2 month old baby is. He would walk around the pen and come across a small bump in the dirt which would cause him to topple over. He would roll around for a minute and then jump up and be on his way. It was so cute.

I am definitely not into reptiles but these tortoises were great. Beth's question was "If they need to get them indoors, how long would it take to get them to move?"

Just after entering the park was a stand selling Funnel Cakes. That was our stop on the way out. Who can resist the cake with ice cream and strawberries??

I was at the show from 10am - 6pm today. What did I order?
-Offhand Design Bags
-Elizabeth Bradley needlepoint kits
-Kristin Nicholas sock yarn
-Mountain Colors-Bearfoot sock yarn, Winter Lace shawl yarn and Wool Crepe for Brooke's Lace Shawl
-Lorna's Laces-Helen's Lace, Lion and Lamb, Shepherd Worsted and Shepherd Sock
-Original Artworx Fimo Shawl Pins

There is a big list to do tomorrow so I am off to bed now.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Count down to TNNA

Our drive to Columbus started at 9am yesterday morning. Nothing eventful on the way. Beth and Bev were not the best behaved but that was to be expected. It was like travelling with two 10 year olds but we all survived.

Normally we would be driving today but there are business meetings set for this afternoon. Beth and I spent the morning touring around and doing a bit of shopping. This is the back wall of The Cheesecake Factory. I would love to have this on my dining room wall.

Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake to go. YUM!!!! Who can resist carrot cake and cheesecake in one desert?


Shopping did result in two pairs of shoes. Macy's was having a sale-it wasn't my fault. The picture is very small for a reason. Small shoes are cheaper than big shoes. :)

I have free Internet in the hotel and Beth has her laptop so I hope to continue posting during our stay.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

I'm Back

The tent sale wiped us all out. We finished at 1pm on Saturday and then packed up the remaining yarn and put it in storage. Sunday afternoon was a write off-I missed most of the Nascar race because I was sleeping. Yesterday was catch up day-bank, post office and pedicure. Today I worked in the store. My Noro cardigan is done except for the last few ends to sew in which I will do when I have finished this. Beth will take a picture of me wearing it at the show.

Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Columbus, Ohio.

As you know I like to have pictures in my posts. Here is a small sampling of the bags that Offhand Designs will be previewing at the show.

This is Larisa who owns Offhand Designs with the new Gatsby bag. The fabric is called Warwick. As you can see the bag will hold a lot of yarn or it can be used as an overnight bag.

This is a new fabric called Ritz. I can't wait to see this bag in person on Saturday!!

Larisa has all the bags made up in all the available fabrics. It is very hard deciding which to buy because I want them all.

Maude is one of my favourite bags. This new fabric is called Plaza. I wonder is she will make me some pillows in this fabric because they would go great in my house.

The hotel in Columbus is supposed to have free Internet and Beth will have her laptop so I should be able to post while away. We aren't supposed to take pictures on the show floor but I will find a way to get some.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Day One

I just got home from day two of the sale. Yes, those are ice cubes you hear in my glass of Smirnoff Green Apple Twist. :)

I would like to thank everyone who has visited us so far. The mood has been very happy which could be attributed to the much better weather. Last year was our first year in the hall and I didn't think about the heat factor. This year the heat is very manageable and everyone has been great.

I want to thank everyone who has helped. Cathy and Jane have put in many hours moving boxes and sorting through yarn. Sally finished her day job yesterday and then came to help with the sale. She took today off of work to come and play again. Sarah worked last night and will help again tomorrow.

This is Wannietta and Amanda (who didn't want her picture taken). They drove down from north of Barrie to work last night and today.

Beth and my dad have also put in hours helping move yarn-they will be back at it tomorrow moving the left overs back into storage.

This was about 6:45 last night.


The door opened at 7pm.

Saturday at the tent sale

I am writing from the tent sale. Last night was crazy (pictures will be posted tonight) and today has been steady.

What is happening tomorrow you ask. We are making the already great deals even better. Buy 10 $1 balls and we will give you 10 free. Buy ten $3 balls and we will give you ten free. This also works for the $6 balls.

The sale is open from 10am to 1pm tomorrow.

By the way-we aren't that busy right now so we are starting the special deals now-you still have time before we close at 7pm.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Camp Day


Don't forget that today is Camp Day at Tim Hortons. The money raised helps to send underprivileged children to summer camp-something they would never get to do otherwise.

Read about the Tim Hortons Children's Foundation

The camps look fabulous-I would love to go!!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Tent Sale

Susan came into the store today wearing the cutest little cardigan that she knit. This is from the Debbie Bliss Spring/Summer 2009 magazine and is called Cropped Rib Jacket (who would have guessed that?) She used Debbie's Prima.

This is a pile of boxes ready to be moved to the tent sale. Cathy has cleaned out the back room of the store and there were some great yarn finds. My truck is packed and ready to be unloaded late tomorrow afternoon at the hall. Dad, Beth, Cathy, Jane and I will be making many trips tomorrow afternoon and Thursday morning to get everything moved from the store, warehouse and my house.

Don't forget that the store will be closed tomorrow and Thursday during the day.

Last night Beth and I started watching 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. You know we have a love for reality shows. It could have been the stupidest show on TV. I watched the first hour and then left. The show is supposed to be on Monday-Thursday for the next 3 weeks. Beth figures it will be pulled before next week.

Watch for a sock newsletter later tonight and a general newsletter will go out tonight or tomorrow morning.