"The Swiss Army" tool of knitting

I brought some Knit Kits home with me. We have purple kits. They had a limited number at the show and I begged to purchase some so we had them right away.

Dubbed “The Swiss Army” tool of knitting, The Knit Kit offers 10 essential accessories needed for knitting on the go in an all-in-one solution. From a novice knitter to a seasoned knitting veteran, everyone needs a Knit Kit in their project bag! 

The Knit Kit includes a Row Counter (1), Crochet Hook (2), Retractible 5 ft. tape measure in both inches and centimeters (3), Thread Cutter (4), TSA Complaint Slip-N-Snip™ collapsible scissors (5), Round Stitch Markers - 4x 10mm and 4x 6mm (6), Locking Stitch Markers 2x (7), Point Protectors (8), Darning Needle (9), and a Needle Gauge (10) on the back compartment flap.  All together in a very durable, compact, easy to locate device.

The kits are $57.50.

Claire from Autumn and Indigo is getting ready to ship our yarn. Here is a sneak peek at three kits for Fading Point.

Oh my. I'm not sure if I'm going to put them out for sale. I might need them all for myself. The colours are gorgeous!!

I was in bed early last night which meant I was up early this morning. I was at the store before 8:30 to ship parcels. I got 9 boxes packed and to the post office. Happy Knitting! I treated myself to a nap this afternoon but that was a bad mistake. I had stupid dreams including that I was playing in the World Series of Poker in Vegas. Tonight I'm going to knit. There was no time in Cleveland. Now it's time to start dinner- we're barbecuing tonight. The rain has stopped right now so I hope I get it finished before it starts again.

Goodbye Cleveland

Opposite of Boredom is right. A new mini skein kit coming from Frabjous. This colourway will be coming in Cheshire Sock. We have ordered full skeins of these colours in Mary Ann - can you imagine socks out of this??

Friea Fibers has 4 new colours coming. Yarn Bomb is their Shawl Ball but with double the yardage. This ball has over a mile of yarn. One ball will make an amazing shawl.

Look what is coming home with me. New colours from Lorna's Laces in Shepherd Sock. These are sample skeins for me - I have ordered yarn for the store.

I asked about Addi Flexi-Flips. Fingers crossed we will start to see stock arriving soon. For fall there will be bamboo Flexi-Flips. I have them on order and hopefully we are the front of the line.

I had a long talk with Linda who owns Blue Sky Fibers yesterday afternoon. We talked about Woolstok and the possibility of new colours for next fall. I begged for purple and will keep at her. We talked about something else for next fall and she liked my idea. I can't talk about it yet but if it happens we will all be happy. For my suggestion Linda let me have a ball of the new Woolstok Jumbo. I can't wait to play with it. There are free patterns for the yarn... We will have the yarn in the store in July.

Last night I had dinner with Sharon Brant (Rowan Brand Director) and a few yarn shop owners from Canada. We had fun. I will tell you that I am feeling very good about the direction that Rowan is taking. It is going to be a strong fall and it is going to get even stronger next year.

There was no time for a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Next year. I'm happy that we're coming back next June. It is an easy drive. The city is great!

I arrived home just before 1. Then we hosted family Father's Day.

I will be in bed tonight before it's dark. I can't keep my eyes open.

Happy 40th

I was up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I got a tea when Starbucks opened and got to work. The show opens at 10 and I will be sitting down with Rowan to go over fall. I can't wait for the magazine to arrive. It is so beautiful.

Rowan has a red theme in their fall magazine. The amazing coat is knit with Kidsilk Haze. Pictures don't do it justice. Or maybe it's my photography :)

Our friend Fiona Ellis has a new design in Mrs. Crosby Hat Box. She helped with this awesome new colour as well. The pattern is called Tintinnabulation and can be purchased on Ravelry.

Feminine cardigan with slightly flared sleeves. The cuffs showcase an all over lace pattern, details of which are added to the feature cables used at the waistline & cuffs. The waistline detail emphasizes the figure skimming shaping. A flattering V-neck and long-line length make it perfect for wearing for more dressy occasions….or make it in a neutral colour and throw it on over your favourite jeans.  

Cardigan is worked in pieces from the bottom up and sewn together.

A new shawl (Rysy purchased on Ravelry) from Miriam Felton in Hat Box.

Meet the new colours. We have an order arriving on Tuesday with these in Hat Box and Train Case. The other bases will be arriving the following week.

The darker green shawl is called Over the Sea to Skye (purchased on Ravelry) and is knit in Steamer Trunk. I love this yarn. It is 100% wool but feels like cotton when washed and blocked.

The purple shawl is called Three Sisters (purchased on Ravelry) and is knit in Hat Box. I have knit with Hat Box and really like it.

I didn't get the name of the pale green shawl. I will do that today.

Joji's Cathedral Wrap (pattern purchased on Ravelry) is gorgeous in real life. The colour is called Joji's Cathedral and the yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. Our order will be arriving on Tuesday. I can't wait.

Get Cathedral Wrap 20% off until Sunday (June 18)! No code needed! Just place it in your cart and the discount will be automatic. 

Cathedral is a delicate architectural wrap worked in two identical pieces that are grafted (joined) in the middle. When designing this piece, I wanted to experiment with Japanese stitch patterns, so I made the gorgeous lace transition into very graphic columns of twisted stitches. 

For this project I collaborated with Lorna’s Laces to create the perfect color. They have a special project called Color Commentary (launched in 2007) and it’s their way of working alongside designers and other personalities in the industry to create their perfect color.  

They named the color I used Joji’s Cathedral (which is kind of embarrassing for me to say). It is a beautiful gray with purple undertones and delicate black speckles; it will be dyed in all their bases. 

It is so inspiring to see all the yarns and garments.

We carry Dyed in the Wool from Spincycle Yarns. At the show they introduced a new worsted weight version called Dream State. I wasn't going to order the yarn until I saw this cardigan in their booth called Tensho Pullover (purchased on Ravelry). It is a sweater the Spincycle steaked steeked (I haven't had breakfast - I might be hungry). One skein of Dream State is all it takes for the colourwork.

Dream State is the newest offering from Spincycle Yarns’ dye house and mill. 

A worsted weight three-ply, this yarn is soft yet sturdy and has the slow and unique color transitions that make Spincycle’s yarns so addictive. 

100% superwashed American wool, 150 yards, 4.5 sts to the inch on US #8 needles.

Now it's 8am. I guess I should get moving and think about getting showered and dressed.

Hello from Cleveland

My drive was uneventful for the most part. There were a few scary moments when the transport truck in front of me blew a tire but he was able to move over safely and thankfully no rubber hit my car.

I finished with a good list. I forgot to write down Pennsylvania. Considering I drove through Pennsylvania I'm pretty sure I saw a license plate from there.

You can see Lake Erie from my hotel.

The football stadium where the Cleveland Browns play is right across from the convention centre.

I picked up my show badge in the afternoon and got a few pictures from the new products section.

There will be new Party of Five kits from SweetGeorgia.

Then I did a bit of walking. My total for the day was 12km.

I had dinner at Mabel's BBQ, Michael Symon's restaurant. It was very good.

We have many reasons for being thankful for living in Canada. I can add another to my list. We have coffee shops that stay open later than 4pm. Every Starbucks in the area closes at 4. The Dunkin Donuts I stopped into didn't have tea. There is no such thing as Tim Hortons here. The hotel was able to hook me up. It wasn't the best tea but it was better than nothing.

It's Friday morning and I'm up really early. Too early to head to the show so I've started my post. I left a little early because I was a bit yarned out. And I wanted to watch a bit of the US Open.

The Rowan booth was beautiful as always.

We will have new colours of Felted Tweed for fall along with many, many patterns.

There will be a pattern book of Kaffe Fassett designs. I can't wait!

We will have a new hardcover book from Rowan in August to celebrate their 40th birthday. Designs from past magazines. A must have for all Rowan fans.

Frabjous Fibers has new mini skein kits. These have 8 mini skeins. I ordered the kits in Mary-Ann.

A fingering weight sock base: 85% merino, 15% nylon, delightfully soft hand with the smoothness and durability you want in a fabulous sock yarn. 

Think of the amazing socks that you could make with one of these.

This shawl was knit with a new mini-skein kit. The pattern will be available when the kits arrived in July.

It's dinner time so I'm jumping on the trolley to find something to eat. They have a cool system of trolleys that run through downtown and are free. I'm back at the show tomorrow and will more pictures to share tomorrow evening.