Knitter's Fair

All of a sudden it hit me-the Knitter's Fair is in less than two weeks. OH NO!!! I'm not ready.

There is a long list of things that need to be done. How am I going to set up the booth? What am I going to take? How many sample garments am I taking? As I am writing this I realize that I need more grid and hooks, more mannequins, clothes for the mannequins, a new sign......

I have been on the phone with suppliers begging for new products.
-Larisa at Offhand Designs is rushing out some new bags and fingers crossed they will make it here in time. This is the new Gatsby bag in Plaza. There is one of these in the shipment for me!!!
-Lorna's Laces is rushing Helen's Lace
-Spud & Chloe yarns and patterns should be here any day
-Rowan Colourscapes Chunky has been ordered. Will I get my sweater done? Will Sarah get her vest done? Will Rowan send my sample garment?
-the list goes on because you know I don't have enough yarn in the store for the booth :)

I'm going to sign off now and get working on my To-Do list.

Cora is done!!!

It has been a few days since my last post. The store has been crazy busy-thanks for everyone who came in the past week to see our new look.

I finally finished my scarf-the ends are sewn in too!!

Now I have gone back to Iris. After much debate I decided to rip out the first sleeve. In case you have forgotten, I cast on the wrong number of stitches and the sleeve was going to be too small. Now the right number of stitches are on the needle and progress is being made.

Beth is talking away as I am trying to write this making my job very hard. I tape the Y&R every day but don't always get to watch it every night. Last night I watched three episodes. Beth is normally playing on her computer downstairs but can hear what is going on. Last night she listened to the first two episodes but missed number three. I am now filling her in. She is asking some intelligent questions so I know she has been paying attention. Nikki has been missing for a while and Beth believes that Adam has her stashed somewhere. Interesting.

It is only 9:30 and it feels like 3 in the morning. I am going to move to the couch and see if there is something to watch on TV.

I can knit

The knitting content on my blog as been almost non-existent lately. Here is the scarf I am knitting with Rowan's Colourscape Chunky. The pattern is very easy to follow-just 20 rows.

Two large boxes arrived yesterday afternoon that included
-the new Debbie Bliss magazine for fall
-Sublime Organic Wool-5 new colours
-Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK-new book and 5 new colours
-Katmandu Chunky from the Queensland Collection-a magazine is coming for this yarn from one of my favourite designers-Jenny Watson

Korey is working on a new design for the website. There are going to be some great additions including a 'search' option and more pictures. He send me a concept page to look at today and I am excited about the changes.

Big Brother-I'm not sure back dooring Russell was the smartest thing Jeff has done. Michelle, Natalie and Kevin can now get together and they can get rid of Jeff and Jordan.

New Chunky Yarns from Sirdar-Part 2

It was great to have an afternoon of fun yesterday. Beth and I golfed 18 holes but the round didn't start out well. We had two men in front of us who were very, very slow. I don't care if you are a bad golfer but you can keep the pace of play moving. My dad taught us to golf when we were very young-course etiquette was drilled into us and we play very fast golf. After 2 very slow holes we decided to skip a hole and move in front of the slow men. The rest of that nine went well. When we started the second nine there was no one in front of us. We scooted around the course in no time.

Sirdar introduced Crofter DK for the fall of 2008-you guessed it-there is a chunky version for 2009. You just knit and the yarn changes colours so it looks like you did a lot of work.

The yarn is a blend of 60% Acrylic, 25% Cotton, 15% Wool. It is machine washable-great for kids.

New Chunky Yarns from Sirdar-Part 1

Last fall Sirdar brought out Escape in a double knitting weight (knit on 4mm needles). The yarn was a hit so this year it was introduced in a chunky weight (knit on 6.5mm needles).


From Sirdar's website
"Escape Chunky is a gloriously vibrant, multi-coloured yarn that creates a wonderful colour change effect as you knit. It comes in a beautifully soft, wool rich blend and is machine washable. This yarn knits to our standard chunky tension and will knit to all Sirdar chunky patterns."

My morning has been busy so far trying to get my chores finished so Beth and I can golf this afternoon.

Bank-done
Mail orders-done
Cheques to knitters-done
Newsletter-done

I just talked with Beth and golf is a go. Running quickly to the post office and then off to hit that little white ball.

Knitter's Fair

Gardening is not my thing. I have been working very hard though to keep our plants looking good. The flowers on this plant are going crazy.

Beth and I have been watching the last few days for this flower. It finally came out this morning.

All of a sudden it hit me that the Knitter's Fair is coming up and I haven't talked about it. Saturday September 12 at Bingeman's in Kitchener. There will be 70 vendors selling anything and everything to do with knitting. Watch my next newsletter for more information.

Not much knitting has been done this week. I started working on the Cora scarf from Rowan. Hopefully there will be a picture tomorrow-mine looks just like the picture-I am using the same colour.

Finished Garments

Two parcels arrived in the mail on Tuesday.

Wannietta sent the Candy Stripe Jacket-a Spud & Chloe pattern. Lisa and Michelle both tried it on today-I should have taken their pictures in it-it looked great on both of them.

I really need to learn to send buttons with the yarn because I really hate sewing them on.

Alice in Wonderland is from Tahki's newest Tweed Magazine.

I was going to run and get some new mannequin clothes after work but there was a small problem-a huge storm!! There was no way I was going to be running in and out of the truck in that rain.

After work Dad and Beth came to install my new TV. Right now the box for the satellite dish is upstairs so I have to run up when I want to change the channel. I know that we can get some gizmo that will let me do it from the store-been there, done that and it didn't work. Next week the box will be moved into the store.

This is what I will see when sitting at the table.

It's time for Big Brother so I am moving upstairs to the couch with my knitting. Rochdale (the last time I talked about this was weeks ago so if you forgot it is a jacket knit in Big Wool from Rowan 46) is moving along. One front and the back are done. I might make the armhole shaping on the second front tonight.

Debbie Bliss

We finally have the store in order and 4 huge boxes showed up today. Debbie Bliss' new book The Big Easy came along with 4 colours of Como, 6 colours of Cashmerino Baby, 4 colours of Cashmerino Aran and 5 colours of Luxury Tweed Chunky-4 more colours will be here at the beginning of September.

This is the Mock Cable Jacket in Luxury Tweed Chunky.

What a great jacket. This is the Cabled A-Line Coat also knit in Luxury Tweed Chunky.

The yarn is 85% merino wool and 15% angora. If you love tweedy yarns but prefer something softer, this wool/angora blend is for you.

There will be a new Debbie Bliss magazine coming out this fall. I don't know the exact date it will be arriving but it should be near the beginning of September.

How about Big Brother last night? Chima was a nut case!!! I am so glad to see her go.

Thanks Dad

Yesterday was a very long day but we made it. Cathy, Sarah and I (okay, mostly Cathy and Sarah) worked like crazy getting everything organized.

I did plan on sharing these pictures last night. I was in the store from 8:30 until 7:30 and when I got home Beth had dinner ready. I ate, took a nice hot bath and went to sleep. This caused a problem today-I was awake at 5:30. I knew that if I went back to sleep for a bit I would feel rotten all day so I got up and off to work I went.

During the renovations I planned on moving all the sock yarn to the new section. When I started unpacking the chunky it took up more room than I thought so only part of the sock yarn moved. It's not ideal but there was no way to leave all the sock yarn in the old section.

Now all the chunky yarns are together. There are a few gaps because we are waiting to receive the new Crofter Chunky from Sirdar and Debbie Bliss' new Luxury Tweed Chunky.

Bulky yarns are going to be big again this fall and we have lots to whet your appetite-Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky, Spud & Chloe Outer, Tahki Montana, Naturally Aspire Super Chunky, Debbie Bliss Como and Twinkle Soft Chunky.

Cathy is a neat freak (this is a compliment) and she organized all the books before putting them on the shelf. I would have thrown the books on the shelf and worried about it later but she took the time to make it easier for you when you are looking at the books. The major names are all together-Rowan, Debbie Bliss and Noro. Then she did a crochet section, afghan section, how to section, etc.

My dad likes to be a trouble maker. His favourite saying is that housework is 'woman's work'. He doesn't really mean it but he likes to stir the pot. The last thing we did before leaving the store last night was mop the floors. We both had mops-I would do an area and then he would do it again-the floors were sparkling this morning. Now I have a picture so whenever he opens his mouth I can tell him to look at my blog.

I want to say a big thank you to my dad. Without him this would never have been possible. He is worn out from all the work so he is taking mom to Myrtle Beach for a couple of weeks on Thursday. They can't leave tomorrow because I still have a few odd jobs for him. :)

THANKS DAD!!!

Done

I was at the store by 7:15 this morning. The painter was there but not my dad. About 20 minutes later he showed up with a truck full of shelving. Here are the shelves that will hold the yarn in the new section.

There wasn't much I could do in the store while the painter was working so I spent most of the morning cleaning the apartment. Up the stairs and down the stairs with more 'stuff' for the dumpster.

Dad had a meeting to go to and returned to the store at noon along with Phil to put in the cupboards. The shelving needed a bit of work because the floor isn't level. That happens in a 200 year old house.

My new cash desk is much smaller-hopefully this means less collecting of junk.

The bookshelves have been cleaned and are ready to be filled. I started carrying books but was getting tired and grumpy. We will have these filled on Monday.

Around 1 this afternoon Dad sent me on errands. We needed a bucket and mop to clean the floors. Oh, and by the way, stop at the beer store for us. I don't like beer but I almost reconsidered this afternoon.

My cousin Tim who did all the electrical work.

I need to run and have a shower. Mom and dad want to go out for dinner. I can't really so no when dad did so much for me this week.

I'm sorry to all who showed up and wanted to shop this week. There was no way we could stay open while this was going on.

Tiles

All my pictures recently have been the store. Here is Roko sulking. He was mad last night because I wouldn't take him out and play ball with him. Roko can run up and down the yard forever chasing a ball. He is beside me right now looking at me with very sad eyes.

John arrived early this morning to start the tile. Did you know that tiles have dye lots like yarn? There was no way we could match the original tile in the store so I went to a totally different colour.

The colour is a bit off here. The lights were already out when I realized that I didn't get another picture. Dad and John will finish laying the tiles in the morning. The edges need to be done and then the grout.

Tim will be coming in the afternoon to hang the new lights so we can actually see what we are doing.

Cathy spent the day in the store tidying the bathroom. Old shade cards-throw them out. Faxes about cheap vacations-in the dumpster. While she was having fun I was with Beth being her shipping assistant. Many boxes went out by Canpar and Canada Post.

I saw the rest of my cabinets today. The new cash desk looks great!! Dad says they will be put in on Saturday afternoon. I'm starting to get really excited.

Big Brother is about to start so I am heading upstairs. I hope Jeff uses his coup d'etat power and puts up Jessie and Nathalie. That will make for a great show!!!

Renovations Day 4

The tiles are being laid tomorrow so Rob spent the day today getting the floor ready. First mesh was put down on top of the wood. Then he made some special mixture that had to be spread across the floor. Definitely not a job that I wanted to do.

Here is a close up.

The painter arrived at 5pm to spray the walls in the library and cash area. He will be back on Saturday to do the walls and ceilings in the main room.

The Rowan Room is taking shape. Kid Classic, Cocoon, Felted Tweed Aran and British Sheep Breeds.

Cathy and Sarah helped all day getting as much done as possible. We are at a stand still until Monday when the cabinets go in the new room. Monday will be spent getting all the chunky and bulky yarns on the new shelves. The library will be set up and then we need to put out the knitting needles. It is going to be a crazy day!!

Renovations Day 3

We ran into a small problem yesterday. This used to be the kitchen which meant taps and running water. The piping had to be cut out and dad thought we could just cap the pipes and cut off the excess. No we couldn't. This would mean no running water in the apartment. The plumbers spent all afternoon fixing the problem and when I left at 5 the hole in the floor was fixed as well.

Rob did a lot of mixing today. In this picture he is mixing the self leveling cement. Big problem here. We need water to mix the cement and the water is turned off so they can cut out the pipes. Dad made a few trips across the road to the gas station. People driving by must have looked at him weird-who walks across Wilson Street with buckets? The self leveling cement is a great invention. You pour it on the floor wet and watch it move to the low spots. When we get to the store in the morning it will be dry enough to walk on.

The drywall will be done tomorrow and the painters are starting tomorrow afternoon. The tile floor will be started on Thursday morning. All the new cabinets are made and are waiting in Beth's warehouse until Saturday.

Cathy, Sarah and I are going to be busy on Monday. You can't walk through the front of the store. There is 'stuff' everywhere.

I'm on my way upstairs to watch Y&R, Hell's Kitchen and Big Brother. Some knitting has been accomplished. The back is done on Rochdale and I have cast on the second front.

Another job I don't want

This morning started out with a dentist appointment. Not my idea of fun. A tooth had to be refilled.

On the way home (my dentist is 45minutes away-gives me some alone time) I called Beth and she was in a panic. A huge shipment arrived from Italy. There was 4 skids of boxes-at least 10 boxes on a skid. This had to be put away NOW because there was a truck on the way with another shipment-this one from New Zealand. I picked her up a sandwich and headed to the warehouse.

My first job was putting yarn on the shelves. Unfortunately these were the top shelves and I had to keep climbing the ladder. I don't like climbing the ladder. I complained loudly about this so she gave me another job.

The boxes all have labels detailing what is inside. My next job was to go through the boxes and cross the yarn off the packing slip. The packing slip was 15 pages long and was not in alphabetical order. This took forever. Of course I complained about this job as well. The warehouse was very hot today. Why do the boxes have to arrive on the hottest day of the summer?

My next job was to start picking orders. Big mistake. I kept finding colours that I don't have in the store. 2 bags for XYZ Yarn Shop and 2 bags for The Needle Emporium.

From my warehouse job I went to the store. It is looking good. Tomorrow morning dad is pouring a special cement on the floor that will level it. Then the drywall will be done. Tiles on Wednesday?? The rest of my cabinets were measured today. These should be ready by Friday so as soon as the painters are done they will be moved in.

From that job I went to job #3. I spent a few hours working in the office of the construction company.

I forgot to take pictures today so here is a surprise. This pattern (Bailey) didn't make it into Rowan's Colourscape Folk and I have been told that it will be a free pattern on the Rowan website. Keep checking their site for it.

I don't want a job in construction!!

When I arrived at the store this morning (7:15am - I was on dad's time today) dad had already ripped out the front counter and was working on the wall. Tim, Zach and Mike arrived after me and worked like crazy getting the kitchen cupboards ripped out. The walls came down and then it was time to work on the floor.

Dad loves to use power tools. He is working on getting the tiles up.

The dumpster is full!!

This is Tim and Zach trying to pack everything down. Zach was the rookie on the job which meant he had to carry all the garbage out. The poor kid must have made 100 trips out to that dumpster.

Here are a few pictures of the new shelves in the front room.

When I opened the store we had a rule that nothing would be on the floor. LOL. It didn't take long before we had baskets and then more baskets. Hopefully these shelves will help us keep the front room organized.

The rest of the store is total chaos-and that is putting it mildly. I can't wait for next week when I can start getting everything back in order!!!

We were supposed to take dad to the Ticat game tonight but it is raining out and my body hurts. A day of physical labour can wear you out when you aren't used to it.

Blast from the past

My mom called me today and was very upset (not really). How could I call her a pack rat on my blog? Dad was killing himself laughing in the background.



Alot of old stuff (patterns and very old yarn) went into the dumpster but one thing I grabbed was a bag with a few balls of Tuttofilo-a mohair/wool blend with eyelash. FABULOUS. This yarn came out when I opened my store. 22 years ago it retailed for close to $20 a ball. A sweater was over $300 and a jacket over $400. We couldn't keep this in stock-I don't know how we ended up with some left over. Beth doesn't remember much about the early days of the store but she does remember Tuttofilo.

I also found many of my old Rowan books and my copy of Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore. When this is all done I am going to set up my knitting library. I know, who am I kidding, this won't get done for a while.

Cathy and Jane worked very hard today and we are almost ready. My job tomorrow is cleaning out the drawers at the cash desk. At the end of the day we need to clear out the needles and books. I am feeling much better-the last few days I was worried we wouldn't be ready for my dad to start. And believe me, that is not something you want to encounter.

I had a visit from my Rowan rep today along with one of the very big bosses at Coats. He was in Toronto for the day visiting shops. I mentioned the Rowan website and he assured me that in about a month we will see a big difference. Much faster and easier to navigate. The free pattern section will be expanding as well.

I'm off to watch Big Brother. Please, please, pretty please, send Ronnie home!!!

Pack Rat No More

I have been working since 6:30am and need to take a break.

Dad and I spent the morning cleaning out the back room. There was a lot of junk. Why was I keeping that old Christmas tree? I did find a treasure though. My bucket of old Rowan chunky yarns. How many of you remember Bright Tweed?

It is now 10pm and I have relaxed on the couch watching some TV. Two episodes of Y&R and Deadliest Catch. I remembered that this post was started and thought I better finish it quickly so I can fall into bed.

The dumpster is half full already. I spent some time going through the back room and then asked my dad to throw everything out. The clock radio with a cassette player has been in the store for a while. Beth hasn't looked at her skis for over 10 years.

After the kitchen cabinets on Saturday it will be overflowing.

The back room is almost cleaned out. There are a few bags of yarn that we need to move out and then the glass shelves can come out. The book shelf in the store is being cut in half and mounted on either side of the window.

This window is being knocked out and will become the doorway into the library. The wall in the background is coming down to make a large room with more shelves.

What was Ronnie thinking last night when he threatened Michelle? I would have called everyone into the house and make him repeat what he said. It's not hard to believe that he wasn't liked in high school.