Kathy was styling today!

Kathy visited today wearing two gorgeous hand knit items. She knit The Throwback in Cascade 220. I love her colours. Now I want to make another one.

It doesn't show well in the pictures but her glasses are purple and match her outfit.

I love what Kathy did with her scarf. The pompoms are awesome. Beth designed this scarf and she loves the pompoms. She asked/told me to add pompoms to one of her scarves that is hanging in the store. I was going to write about the scarf today because we received another shipment of Crazy Zauberball. Perfect timing by Kathy.

You need two balls of Crazy to make the scarf. I suggest picking two very different colours so that the striping shows.

I was supposed to finish my newsletter today but I've put that on tomorrow's list. Now it's time for a few rows of knitting while I watch the start of the football game.

Stockings

“Start a creative tradition!” 

In three sizes: Wee, Medium and Jolly Big. And in any length you like. Use these simple shapes and add your own personal touches. We’ve given you a few ideas to get you started, but the possibilities are limitless. They’re sure to prompt a hearty “Ho! Ho! Ho!” from St. Nick.

This is the Basic Christmas Stockings pattern from Churchmouse Yarns. You can purchase the pattern in the store or on Ravelry.

Churchmouse used worsted weight yarn for all their stockings. I suggest Cascade 220 and Cascade 220 Heathers. The colour range is huge.

I made this stocking last year. The yarn is Cascade Magnum and I finished the stocking in two evenings.

You need a 12mm, 40cm circular and 12mm double pointed needles.

The pattern is called Knit Before Christmas Stocking and it is free on Ravelry. There are a few rows of Short Rows in the heel. They are super simple - please don't let this stop you from making the stocking.

I used 50 yards of the Ecru and 25 yards of the Poinsettia. There is enough left from the skeins to make another stocking like this and then one more reversing the colours.  

I used the same pattern to make stockings for our mantel. The outside stockings are knit with Freia Bulky. For the middle stocking I used two strands of Prism Plume. This isn't on the website but we have the yarn in the store.

We just received two new colours of Freia Bulky.

Our shipment of Malabrigo is supposed to arrive on Wednesday. There are great colours of Rasta coming. I know that there will be at least one colour in the shipment that I will make a few more stockings with. Lucy and Boscoe need stockings too.

Whole Grain

Arequita. These two look like they might work with our colours but I will wait until they arrive. Photos are always a bit different than the actual skeins.

I cast off my Nightshift after dinner. This one is really bright. It is Noro Ito 16 & 17.

Miss Lucy spent last night with us. Dad had to work - they were doing repair work in Milton and couldn't start until 5pm. He left Milton at 1am and we decided it was better for him to get home to sleep.

Lucy laid on the landing most of the evening waiting for dad to pick her up. Then she moved to my bed and stayed all night. Boy does she give off a lot of heat.

We took her back this morning and she was so happy to see her dad.

It's Official

Do you need a quick gift? How about Snap? The hat is knit with 4 strands of fingering weight yarn on 6.5mm needles. This hat is a great way to use up your leftover fingering weight yarn. How about the mini skein kit you purchased and haven't used?

Break out your stash of odds and ends, and bust out this marvellous marled beanie! A couple hours and some deliciously simple knitting later, you’ll be looking chic and cozy and will be hoping for a cold snap!

The pattern is from Tin Can Knits and you can purchase it on Ravelry.

The pattern is sized for baby, toddler, child, adult s/m and adult large.

Dad and Beth left early this morning and they chose Boscoe. Beth says he is full of devilment. My dad said 'he is a bugger'. Perfect. The family who came in after dad and Beth (parents and 4 kids) had also been watching puppy cam and Boscoe was their choice as well. They chose the black and white girl.

The white puppy who is sleeping was our second choice. Beth said he is so quiet.

Boscoe goes to boot camp on December 7th and we get him New Years Day. Life is going to change around here.

One of a Kind

Bab's Diamonds (pattern purchased on Ravelry) is a great cowl pattern that can be knit in many thicknesses of yarn - fingering, sport, dk and worsted. Lynne Sosnowski is the designer.

Lynne mentioned the pattern to me because she knit a version in Malabrigo Rios and we should see Rios by the end of next week.

A reversible - though not identical - diamond pattern allows this cowl to look attractive regardless of what side is showing. 

Bab’s Diamonds is worked circularly in a seam-free pattern geared to looking great in almost any yarn - solid or variegated - in any weight from fingering to worsted, and in either a neck warmer size or a more lush infinity cowl. 

Bab’s Diamonds are more visible ash the “wrong” side of the fabric as knitted. Sew yarn ends in carefully so you have a completely reversible item.

A customer was in today to purchase yarn for these awesome slippers - California Comfortable. Another great pattern by Andrea Mowry (photos are ©Andrea Mowry). Cascade Magnum will make thick, warm slippers.

I find slippers to be necessary no matter the climate. They are the definition of cozy. Of Saturday mornings spent at home making pancakes and then curling up on the couch with a good book (or even better - some yarn and needles.) These knit up quick and cushy at 3 stitches per inch, while keeping you stylish (despite your bed heads best efforts.)

I have found that utilizing lifelines makes Afterthought Heels even easier! Check out this tutorial for a visual! 

These slippers are worked from the top down with an afterthought heel. You will knit in some smooth waste yarn where the heel will be placed and then continue knitting the foot, trying it on as you go to measure where to start your toe shaping. After you are finished with the main body of the slipper, you will go back and remove that waste yarn, exposing live stitches to knit the heel. 

Do you have a favourite sweater but you don't wear it because it looks old? It's fuzzy with lots of pills? Try a Gleener.

Restore clothing and upholstery with the Gleener® Ultimate Fuzz Remover™. This patented and award winning fabric shaver and lint brush safely removes fuzz balls, lint and pet hair from virtually all fabrics. 3 fabric-safe edges eliminate pilling while a built-in lint brush finishes up the job.

Rasta and Rios are on the website and we are ready for the yarn to arrive. It was loaded onto a UPS truck today.

The website is ready for the next shipment of pompoms. We should see these by the beginning of December, if not sooner. These raccoon pompoms snap onto your hat so you can remove them if you are caught in the rain or snow. You can easily change the colour of pompom on your hat.

Late this afternoon I had an idea. We have odd balls of Rowan Felted Tweed. We put 10 different colours together. These grab bags are perfect for a Kaffe Fassett project from the new Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 13. There are 4 different grab bags and we priced them at $100 (regular $169.50). These are one of a kind so don't miss out.

I was up really early this morning and was working on a newsletter by 7am. It's just not right so I need to do a bit of tweaking. It should be going out Monday morning.

Dad and Beth are going to be on the road at 7:30 in the morning so I'm making them a batch of muffins. Then it's off to bed. I will make sure Beth gets lots of pictures.

As Soon As Possible

It is time to say goodbye to madelinetosh ASAP so we've marked it down to $22.50 a skein (in the store and on the website).

We need room for the Malabrigo Rasta that should be arriving soon.

Here are some garments that I have knit with ASAP. I love knitting something that grows fast.

Leaf took 2 skeins.

Winter Cove took two skeins of ASAP and was a very fast, fun knit.

Holi Party was a weekend knit.

The Big Hat is knit with one skein.

I used three skeins to make Auburn Wave. You can see my pattern modifications here.

The next Pompom Quarterly will be available in the store on November 27.

Welcome to winter, a collection of patterns inspired by terrain awaits you. The designs are a nod to the tactile and three-dimensional nature of knitwear, but also explorations of the deeper meanings of maps, journeys, and boundaries. The designers, yarn producers, and writers come from, have moved to, and have cultural roots in many different parts of the world. We hope that the stories that are woven into their words and designs will ground you at this busy time of year.

The cover sweater is called Saltings. It is knit with a strand of fingering and a strand of lace weight mohair. The cables are gorgeous.

Saltings is worked flat in pieces from the bottom up, using a strand each of yarn A and B held together throughout. Armholes and sleeves are a modified drop shoulder construction with a slightly dropped shoulder and a short, wide sleeve cap. Three sets of cables at the centre front and back are placed on hold during neck shaping and continued into the collar interspersed by sections of 2x2 rib. 

Beth needs to buy a new dog bed. Boscoe loves the one at the breeder's.

He's upside down with a very pink tummy.

New Tosh

Our friends at madelinetosh are getting ready to dye some merino light for us. I hope to have out of stock colours and a few new colours sometime in December. We need shelf space so I have marked down the price on some colours. These are on sale for $25 a skein until Friday November 22. Each colour is priced so you can see which are the sale colours.

No returns. No exchanges. All sales final. The sale price is only available on the website. If you live in the area, choose 'in store pick up' as your shipping option.

Here are a few new colours that will be in the order. Wolf.

Purr.

Mermaids Unite.

Mercury.

We have a new fun yarn in the store. Furreal. It is 100% Polyester and super soft. I have a ball in my bag so that I can knit a hat tonight during Survivor.

It's feeding time.