Roko comes home

Dad and Beth picked Roko up this morning. So far Melo loves him. They run up and down the hall of our apartment chasing eachother.

Roko slept in his crate this afternoon in the store. Beth had a meeting so I got to babysit. Roko loves yarn-especially the expensive stuff!! Melo had a rest and kept an eye on Roko. Samantha asked where Melo's name comes from. He is named after Carmelo Anthony, a basketball player.

I thought that it was about time to show some knitting. Here is the back of Kilcar. I have about 20 more rows to knit until the armhole shaping.

Dad is leaving in the morning for 2 weeks in Hoduras. This trip is going to be a bit more relaxing than those in the past. They are staying in hotels this time. One Star!! They were told to bring their own linens, the hotels don't have them.

Roko playing

Here is the latest puppy picture. We don't know which one is ours, probably the one on the bottom. His name is going to be Joe Rokocoko. Roko for short. All our dogs are named after athletes and Joe is a rugby player from New Zealand.

Beth will be picking him up on Wednesday night. Wish us luck. He better not like shoes or yarn!!

Knitting Rut

As you can tell from last few posts, I haven't been doing much knitting. A few scarves have been knit but no progress has been made on my sweaters.

With the store being busy there isn't time to knit during the day and at night I am teaching or doing paper work. Also, nothing is calling my name. Sometimes it's like a sweater yelling to me 'KNIT ME' but right now nothing is very interesting.

A lady brought me this flower today. I had never met her before but she calls for advice. She is a senior living in downtown Hamilton and can't get to the store. Her native tongue is Greek and she doesn't always understand knitting patterns-something we all have problems with from time to time. (Don't get me started on pattern writers and their inability to write easy to follow patterns!!) Dad took the flower to mom because Beth and I have absolutely no clue on how to keep a plant alive.

Beth, Bev, Lisa (Bev's daughter-in-law) and I are off to King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania on Friday for a weekend of shopping. When we booked the trip it was the only free weekend-not our choice to be there Thanksgiving Weekend. The mall will be jammed but we will definitely have fun. Luckily the Expedition is big so there will be lots of room for shoe boxes.

I won't get another post done before we go away. Have a great weekend!!

American Thanksgiving

This was sent to Beth by one of friends in the US. They are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend so she wanted to know if she should set her table the same way.

My mother taught me to read when I was four years old (her first
mistake). One day, I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet
doors was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother
why she was keeping 'napkins' in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in
the kitchen? Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts, she told
me that those were for "special occasions" (her second mistake).

Now fast forward a few months....It's Thanksgiving Day, and my
folks are leaving to pick up my uncle and his wife for dinner. Mom had
assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the
table.

When they returned, my uncle came in first and immediately burst
into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next
came my father, who roared with laughter! Then came Mom, who almost died
of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a
"special occasion" Kotex napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully
arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tail in so they didn't
hang off the edge!!

My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response
sent the other adults into further fits of laughter. "But, Mom, you said
they were for special occasions!!!"

Isn't it easier to just tell the truth????????? Pass this on to
your girlfriends who need a good laugh.

Ruffles scarf is done

I finished the scarf this afternoon. Everyone was going crazy for it. If I was to show you a ball of the yarn you wouldn't look twice at it but when knit and on a person it looks amazing.

When you lay the yarn open it looks like a knit piece of fabric with a right side and wrong side. This is important when knitting-you have the right side facing which makes the ruffles lie like they do.

Here is a picture of me knitting the scarf. It shows how you stab through the yarn and don't wrap the yarn around your needle.

I started another Loopa scarf on the smaller frame. This shows how you are wrapping the yarn around and catching with a thin yarn. Once you reach the top you stitch through the catching yarn and this holds the loops into place. I am using Trendsetter Checkmate. Checkmate alternates between a bright nylon checkerboard that changes into a flat matte’ Nylon ribbon. When the yarn is dyed, the flat ribbon bulks up and the open checkerboard opens out creating a subtle thick and thin against a bright and matte yarn

Korey has gotten creative with the website. In the news section he is now showing pictures with the information on new kits and yarn. He even has it linked so you can click on the news section and it will take you to the appropriate page. This will make it much easier for you to see what is new.

The new Opal sock yarn arrived this afternoon. The colours are wild. If you are looking to make some colourful socks, the new collection is for you.

A fun Thursday evening

It was another busy day in the store. I am into the second ball on my ruffles scarf-sorry, no pictures. I promise tomorrow. Phyllis worked on the scarf during class for me-thanks. Will help get it done quicker.

Speaking of class-I didn't mention that last week Phyllis made us chocolate cheesecake muffins. She owns a cooking store in Dundas called The Keeping Room and has some great recipes. We were going to get chocolate chip muffins tonight but the ingredients weren't at room temperature-who knew there was a difference?

Beth brought Mom to see the store around 3:30 and there was an SUV parked next door at the variety store. Didn't think much of it until 5:30 when it was still there. The car had been running the whole time and the person inside was talking on a cell phone. When I came downstairs for class at 7 it was still there but the man looked to be sleeping. When class was done at 9 he was still there. I was a bit freaked out so Beth called the police. 2 police cars came and they woke the man and had him come out of the car with his hands in the air. After putting him in the back of one car they searched his SUV for about 1/2 hour. After an hour a man showed up who the police talked to and an ambulance showed up. After talking with the police for a bit the new man took the sleeping man away with him. Curiousity was killing us so Beth went out to talk with the police. The man is an alcoholic and his wife kicked him out yesterday. The police found him at 4am this morning, drunk, in his car just down the road from us. They knew him, said he was a good guy going through a rough time. He drank 2 mickeys this afternoon when he was sitting in his car. Thank goodness he fell asleep and didn't drive!!

How about Survivor tonight? The twists this season are great. Atiu is looking really strong-both mentally and physically. Thank goodness for a satellite dish. I am watching CSI for the second time tonight-missed most of it the first time with all the excitement.

Still not much knitting

Today is my parents 43rd wedding anniversary. My dad says my mom has had 40 good years and he has had 3.

The batteries are recharged on my Energizer Bunny and she was back to work today. We cleaned out around a book shelf in the front room which has become a gathering spot for junk. 4 garbage bags later, all the books are neatly on the shelf.

We have a yarn in the store called Solo from ON Line. It is used to make a really cool ruffled scarf but I haven't knit with it yet so I decided to try in last week. Because the book was written in another language and translated to English the instructions are not the easiest to follow. Luckily my best friend Bev works for the mill that makes the yarn and she knit the original scarf that everyone is now using in their pattern books. After I recieved her instructions yesterday I started knitting. The yarn looks like a knit piece of fabric. You don't knit in the traditional way (wrapping the yarn around the knitting needle) you are putting your needle through the yarn and pulling through the stitch on your needle. This sounds difficult but once you see it done it is so simple and the finished product is amazing. I am about 1/4 of the way through the scarf-hope to have a picture of mine tomorrow.

No Knitting

I accomplished absolutely no knitting over the weekend.

Sarah and I were very busy in the store on Saturday. We had lots of new customers in, some who have been reading about the store on my blog. Don't let anyone tell you that scarves are out. We had many customers in who were buying scarf yarn for themselves and for Christmas gifts.

The website has many new additions.

• New Opal sock yarn called Hundertwasser Collection
  
• Debbie Bliss' Donegal Tweed magazine and Chunky Donegal Tweed yarn
• Kits from Rowan magazine 40
• Namaste Knitting Bags
• Nicky Epstein Felted Bag kits
• Jordana Paige Knitting Bags
• New Chris Bylsma patterns

I kept Korey (who maintains the site for me) very busy over the weekend.

I am now off to the grocery store. Mom and Dad are on their way home from Myrtle Beach and we like to have the house stocked for them. I do a much better job than Beth-she spends about $75 where I spend around $200.

The Batteries Died

My Energizer Bunny hit the wall this afternoon. She moved and swept and restocked the shelves but by 5 she was so tired that she had to go home. To top it off she was up at 5 this morning so she baked Beth and I a batch of chocolate chip muffins. Cathy, the store looks amazing and the muffins taste great. The Rowan Room looks twice the size now that everything has moved.

This is a fun boa I knit holding Baby Monkey with 2 other yarns. It looks like a fur collar when you are wearing it. The jacket is from Debbie Bliss' original Tweed Magazine. I have one sleeve and the back 1/2 done on mine (in chocolate brown) but it has been put away for a while. I am not the biggest fan of ribbing-probably because mine isn't perfect. Just a note about Debbie's new Donegal Tweed Aran-it is exactly the same as Tahki's Donegal Tweed-made in the same mill.

I am off to knitting class. Last week we had milk and cookies. No joke. Kelley brought chocolate chip cookies and Lynn brought milk (white and chocolate). I can't wait to see what goodies we might have this week.

The 'Neat Freak' Strikes Again

Cathy worked with me again today in the store. We have almost everything moved. She is coming back tomorrow and we should have the rest of the store done. Her OCD kicks in when there are things to be rearranged. She can't stop until it is done. I had to make her sit and eat her lunch around 2.

It is amazing how much space there is in the store when it is tidy!!

I don't have much knitting to report. I am working on the back of Kilcar-20 rows done and I need 80 to the armhole shaping.

New Puppy

Melo is getting a sibling at the beginning of December. Here are the 3 eligible candidates. We aren't sure which is coming to live with us but they are all really cute!!! Beth has been out to play with them twice.

I am supposed to be at Guild tonight. Sorry ladies, just not feeling well. I am back to teaching 3 nights a week as well as 5 or 6 days in the store. Just need a night on the couch resting.

The new Jordana Paige bags arrived today. Awesome. The new tweed Messenger Bag is amazing. The picture doesn't show the true colours. The plaid is purple, red and gold.

Rearranging Day

I decided that it was time to rearrange the store. Cathy (a total neat freak) came in today to help me. Sorry Wannietta but she might be even worse than you. She begged to do the back room next week!!

I forgot to get a picture of the store at it's worst but this will show you some of the damage we did today. We threw everything into the middle of the store and started working out. There were baskets of yarn everywhere!!

The baby yarn section has been redone as well as the corner by the mohair. The Fiesta yarns are now hanging showing off their amazing colours. Tomorrow Sarah and I are going to tackle the front window where the Trendsetter is. I needed more shelves so off to Ikea I went after work. Nothing worse than going on a Friday night.

I haven't shown pictures of Melo lately. He posed yesterday while in the store. His mauve sheep makes noises which keeps him happy.

Moebius Update

After reading some of your comments yesterday and today I noticed that I didn't tell you what yarns I used. A few people said that they liked the first one better-I do too.

The first one used Trendsetter Pandora Shadow. There are actually 3 yarns within the yarn. The yarns change much like the colours change in Noro.

The second one is out of Trendsetter Tiffany. The yarn has metallic running through it giving it a nice shine.

Dad made it safely back to Myrtle Beach. He called at 9 this morning to make sure I was up for work-I think it was to gloat on the fact that it was already 65 degrees there.

Beth's day wasn't as good. It was snowing in Fort McMurray this morning-she was happy for her ski jacket.

Melo didn't enjoy being a store dog today. Most people loved talking and playing with him but a few were put off. I put him on his leash and attached it to a chair. He can move around enough but he couldn't go greet them. He is standing beside me now with a toy saying 'Please come play with me. I had a hard day!!' I am off to the living room floor. He loves it when you lay down and he can run around and over you. This lasts about 5 minutes and then he goes to play by himself. You are uncomfortable on a hard floor but he is extremely happy.

Moebius Crazy

I am teaching a workshop in the store on Cat Bordhi's Moebius Cast On so I decided that I should be able to do it in my sleep. Over the past 3 days I have finished two of them. Once you figure out the cast on they are so easy to make. The biggest problem is figuring out how many stitches to cast on. The answer is-read the chart in Cat's book a Treasury of Magical Knitting.

Here is a picture of Lizard Ridge blocked with a few squares sewn together. I haven't worked on the squares in a while but will get back to them soon.

Dad is in the air on the way back to Myrtle Beach. I am not sure if mom will be happy about this. She has had a quiet house for a couple of days. When my dad is awake he is constantly in motion. It can become very tiring to be around him.

Beth is at the airport on her way to Calgary. Tomorrow she flies to Fort McMurray and then they will be driving further north to the oil sands on construction business for my dad. It's just me and Melo for a couple of days!!