Sunday, September 30, 2018

Coors Cowl

This easy to knit cowl is made with Palace, Chateau and/or Chalet from Classic Elite.
Chainette yarns are well-deserving of their popularity...the construction simultaneously provides strength and lightness. Add a luxury fiber blend of baby alpaca and bamboo to that inherent lightness and you have Chalet, a decadently soft yarn with a lovely drape in a chunky weight from our MountainTop Collection of yarns spun from natural, undyed fibers. Chateau is Chalet's colorful cousin, available in saturated, vibrant colors.



The owner of Classic Elite has retired so we can no longer get the yarn. It's time to make shelf space. We have made up amazing colour combinations for the cowl and the kits are on sale for $50 (regular $85-90). We've also made some kits in one colour. Not everyone wants stripes. The kits will be in the store for the next week and a half and then they will be packed up and taken to the Woodstock Fleece Festival.

My Ombre Cowl Hood is cast off and I'll block it tomorrow. I almost finished the first ball on The Simples Rule Cowl.

I would have knit more today but Beth was napping so I was in charge of the TV converter. It's a lot of work flipping between football games. I'm going to knit a few more rows and then bed. Tomorrow morning (early) I'm visiting the dentist for cleaning and then off to work. Lynn and I are going to be busy tomorrow making kits and starting to pack for Woodstock.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Veronika

Veronika is finished. I wore it at Camp and love it!!
Pattern: Veronika (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Arranmore from The Fibre Co.
With a cozy, oversized shawl collar and textured ridge stitch body, Veronika will shine knit up in your favourite worsted weight wool. Whether paired with a tank, top or dress, Veronika is effortless and stylish. It’s sure to be a cardigan you’ll reach for over and over again. Knit in one piece, the unique construction of this roomy cardi makes it a quick and fun knit!
The closure is from JUL and is called the Lisbon Trigger Closure.
The Lisbon Trigger is a unique and bold closure ideal for chunky garments. The Trigger has a tension release bar that opens the trigger, allowing one side to slip out of the tab on one side. The Lisbon tabs attach easily to the garment by simply screwing into the fabric. This screw-in approach is ideal for knitwear, crocheted fabric, or loosely woven fabrics where the threaded cylinders that make this type of closure possible can just be worked between stitches/threads. Backing disks are included and held in place by the screws on the wrong side of the fabric to keep the closure secure on the garment. 
Accessorize your handmade garments with this stunning beauty that attaches easily by simply screwing into the fabric and opens and closes with a hinged spring gate ring that slips easily off the tab on either side.
We have another sample hanging in the store that we knit in Eco + from Cascade.
For this Veronika we used JUL Leather Pedestal Buttons.
Pedestal Buttons are improvisational.  These closures require no commitment, no sewing, and no pre-planning.  Instead, they are flexible components that can transform knitted garments and accessories.  To use Pedestal Buttons, unscrew the leather backing and remove the back disk from the shank.  Holding the front disk (on the screw mechanism shank), work the shank gently in between the stitches of your knitwear from the front.  Place the back disk of leather, smooth side out, over the screw shank on the inside of the knitwear.  Screw in the backing with your fingers to secure. For semi-permanent attachment and to avoid losing screws or backings, place a tiny drop of clear nail polish in the threaded cylinder before securing.  This will keep the closure in place while it's on the body but still allows you to unscrew it when you are ready for a change. 
These innovative screw-in "buttons" can be used not only as substitutes for conventional buttons, they may also be used to create shaping, to attach one knitted piece to another, and to baste knitted fabric so that it stays in place semi-permanently.  Be creative.
It's cool today so Lynn and I wore our Comfort Fade Cardis. It is so comfortable.
I should have taken pictures outside of Lynn in her cardigan but we were busy rearranging. The store is back in order. For now. In two weeks it will be chaos again.

Lucy made herself comfortable in Beth's truck. I hope her papers weren't important.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Too Early

Karen stopped in today with her latest ZickZack Scarf (pattern free on Ravelry). She used 2 balls of Mille Colori Baby (107) and one skein of Mrs. Crosby Train Case (Saunter). Mixing a striping yarn with a subtle hand dyed yarn produces an amazing scarf. She was lucky to get out of the store with it :)

I couldn't decide which picture looked better so I used both.


We have new colours of Autumn and Indigo Single Sock. This is Afterglow.
100% merino wool
400yards in a 100gram skein.

Bleached Aqua

Claire's colours are different than other dyers that we carry. Most colours have an undyed portion to them.

Sepia - above
Stonewall - below

Static

Skinny Dipping

The Ryder Cup is taking place this weekend. They are playing in France so it is on TV very early in the morning. I started watching at about 5am this morning. A bit too early to be knitting on something that requires concentration. I went back to my Alexandra's Airplane Scarf (knit with Hedgehog Kidsilk Lace) which is actually more like the Ombre Cowl Hood because I double stranded the yarn.

It is just about finished so yarn is wound for another easy project.

I'm going to make the Simple Rules Cowl in Bamboo Bloom from Universal Yarns. A shipment of new colours will be arriving next week. I've already made the cowl with one skein. This time I am going to double the number of stitches and use two skeins.

Now it's bed time. They tee off at 2am our time. I'm going to set my alarm for 4.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Game Board

We have brand new colours from Regia.

REGIA PAIRFECT is now available in rainbow colors! Just start knitting: No matter where you start (toes or top of the leg), the striped effect is guaranteed! This innovation by REGIA makes it incredibly simple to knit two identical self-patterned socks from one ball! REGIA PAIRFECT is ideal for beginners who want to try on socks for the first time, but also represents a considerable relief and time savings for advanced and experts. With the usual positive wearing and care properties of REGIA.
You can see the yellow yarn on the outside of the ball that is pictured. You cut off the yellow and that is where you start. For the second sock you wind off until the yellow and start again. Perfect stripes!!!

I started on my Game Board Cardigan last night. The first row is slow. There are 23 boxes across the row so setting up all the colours is time consuming. Then it got a bit quicker.
The chart looks like this. I'm taking a few liberties with it. If I am supposed to work 3 rows with a colour but I have enough yarn cut to do another row then I am. Caveat - I'm only doing this within a block. I will change all colours when it is time to start the next blocks.

Our Irises are blooming again. That was totally unexpected but I love the purple pop in the back yard.

I'm on dog duty tonight. It is the first time that I have looked after Lucy by myself. She is having a hard time getting settled. Her dad isn't here. Beth isn't here. The two people who look after her. She lies down for about 15 minutes then she runs to the door looking for the red or blue truck. We'll be okay. Sooner or later she'll fall asleep.
Now back to my knitting. I just realized that I forgot to change needles after the band. My tension looks good and the cardigan is very oversized so I'm continuing on. I'll make adjustments on the front if I need to.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

What is Knitting Camp Like?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to knitting Camp? Anne joined us this year and was busy taking pictures. She just finished the most amazing video showcasing our fun.



Check out Anne's blog. Anne is a Rowan Ambassador and posts about their latest yarns and patterns. She samples the yarns and will give you a fair critique. She is also a Fair Isle expert and her work is amazing!!

Pale from Kim Hargreaves just arrived.
The collection, an inclusive elegant mix of drapey oversized and gently skimming pieces, blend with deep textures and daring patterns softened by a pale palette. 



We received two new colours of Rowan Alpaca Classic with the books.
I think that these would look amazing together for the Simple Stockinette Wrap from Churchmouse Yarns,


I saw this on Facebook last night and wanted to share.
If you live out of town, The Purse Project is in many cities.

I finished the bottom edge on my Game Board Cardigan. I brought it this morning but forgot a few colours so I can't start on the chart until tonight. Blogger doesn't use emojis but I want to add a sad face. I should get some knitting accomplished tonight. The new season of Survivor is starting.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Fall Colours

We went to Terra last night to pick up some fall planters for the store. It was very sad to say goodbye to my summer planters. I spent time with them every day.


I came home early this afternoon. My plan was to have a nap but that didn't happen.

I needed to photograph the new colours of Uschitita. A big basket came home and the pictures are done. Lynn is counting the yarn to confirm the numbers.




Someone loves their pick up.

Don't forget that the Woodstock Fleece Festival is coming up soon. Saturday October 15 from 9am-5pm.
Maybe this year I will make it to the barn to see all the animals.
Now it's time to knit. There hasn't been much of that over the last week but I think I'm caught up and can put my feet up for a few minutes.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Comfort Fade Cardi

We love our Comfort Fade Cardis. Claire from Autumn and Indigo sent us more kits and there is a new colourway.
Yes, I did bring skeins home with me.
The greys that Sarah used for her cardigan are back in stock as well.
Teal
Wrist Rulers arrived as we were leaving for Camp. They are awesome.
Wrist Ruler is a leather wristband with engraved inch and centimeter measurements. If you find yourself always needing to measure things when you’re on the go, this is the perfect product for you. 
Sizes are based on wrapping around your wrist twice. Give it extra length depending on how loosely you want to wear it. Please allow an extra 1/2 inch for the stud closure.
In the store we have
Medium brown
15"

Dark Brown
15"
17"

Teal
15"
17"

Grey
15"
Medium Brown
Dark Brown

Grey
I've already reordered and they should be here by the end of October. These will make amazing gifts.
Harvest
I just finished an order for Hedgehog. These three colours are new and will be coming in about 6 weeks.
Rosehip

Sari
It was very hard getting going this morning. No one made my breakfast. I had to get my own lunch. I miss Camp!!!