Trouble with post

Dad and I golfed this morning. I wrote a post with pictures and can't get it to publish.


I am very tired and about to lay down for a nap. Mom and dad kept me out late last night. We left at 8am this morning so I was up at 6:30 which is a terrible hour to be waking up in Vegas.

Tonight we are going to see Mystere. I can't fall asleep.

I will try the post later and see if it miraculously works.


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Golfing

Dad and I set off early this morning for golf. Okay- we left the hotel at 8 am which isn't early at home but in Vegas I should still be sleeping. Tomorrows golf is going to be that early again.


We golfed at The Paiute. It is in the middle of the desert.


There are three courses and today we golfed Wolf. Tomorrow is Sun Mountain.


These are the Sheep Mountains. Yes, that is snow on them.


Here are a few more pictures. There are mountains on both sides of the course.


If you are coming to Vegas and like golf then I highly recommend you call The Paiute.


I'm having a rest before dinner and the show. I think a nap is in order. Can't sleep through Mystere.

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Mom and dad

I got on my way early this morning. I played some slots at the Mirage then moved onto TI. If you know Vegas then you know I was moving towards the mall. :)


I didn't buy anything for myself but I did get a present for Beth.



Then it was on to The Venetian. This is the ceiling where the cars pull in.

Mom and dad should be arriving any time now. When you are out walking in the sun it is very warm. Sorry. I am sitting outside where the cabs pull up in the shade and am glad that I have my fleece jacket on.



Today is going to be showing them around. Tomorrow is golf in the morning. Very early. We are seeing Mystere tomorrow night.

I hope they let me rest for a bit this afternoon.

I saw the cab pull up with mom and dad and I hid until the got to the door of the hotel. They were totally shocked.

They are checked in. We have the car and I am having a rest before dinner.




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Vegas

I'm starting a post but can't hit publish until tomorrow. Currently I am sitting in a chair at the spa having a pedicure.

Then there is some running around before heading to the airport.

I am flying to Vegas tonight. I am surprising my parents-they are flying in tomorrow morning. Beth and I gave them the trip as a Christmas present and about a month ago Beth suggested that I fly down for a few days. It has been killing us trying to keep a secret. There were many times when I almost spilled.

There is golf booked for dad and I on Wednesday and Thursday. We told dad that we would book his tee times. He asked us if he was golfing with anyone. Beth almost blurted out my name.

As we were leaving for the airport I talked to him. They think Beth and I are in Toronto on business. I almost told him that I would see him tomorrow.

I am at the airport now. Beth and I have a problem that we have to be early when going on a flight. No running for a plane. There was no traffic and the airport is dead.

It is Tuesday morning in Vegas. It is 7:30 here but my body thinks it is 10:30 and tells me to start my day. I was up at 3:00 to talk to my parents before Beth drove them to the airport. I told them to have a safe trip and I would see them next week. Mom wanted to know what gift she could bring me home. :).

Here is a picture from my room.



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Location:S Las Vegas Blvd,Las Vegas,United States

Jane's knitting

This morning I stopped at the store to see Jane.  Here is the progress on her sweater. The back is done and she is at the armholes on the front.

There are a lot of ends hanging from the top but she has a reason for that.  After the front and back are blocked she is afraid that she might need to add a few rows in length.  If the ends are all sewn in then she needs to start new pieces of yarn. Now she can just take out the cast off row and her yarn is ready.

My day has been filled with little errands.  I can't say that anything has been accomplished but this is the first time that I have sat down.

Beth and I are on our way to Toronto-hopefully there isn't much traffic.

I promise a much longer post tomorrow.  :)

Blocking

Yesterday afternoon Katherine Matthews (Purl Diving) delivered her two new patterns to the store.

Les Vignes

A lace shawl, that can be worked as either a traditional  triangle with 2 panels or as a "triple triangle" shawl with 3 panels; instructions and charts are given for both versions, in large and small sizes. For Intermediate knitters with some lace knitting experience.

The shawl is knit in sock yarn.

Mala

A lace cowl, with written and charted instructions for large and small sizes. For Intermediate knitters with some lace knitting experience.

The cowl is also knit in sock yarn.

I finished the Zig Zag Tam from Classic Elite some time ago but didn't block it.  Last night I decided to do it.  First it had a 10 minute bath in Soak. Then I took it out and put a dinner plate inside of it.  This helped to stretch it out.

Here it is in the bright sunlight.  Beth was not cooperating or I would have taken a picture of the hat on her head.

The first thing on my to do list for this afternoon is a nap.  I will set my alarm to wake up for the Nascar Race/golf/NCAA basketball. A rest is needed so that I can stay up tonight to watch The Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice.

What's on my needles?

Here is a bit of what I am knitting. Yes, the sock is still on my needles.  Did you really expect me to sit down and knit two socks before starting something else?

The Knitter's Frolic is a month away and it hit me that Sarah and Jane need sweaters to wear.  I started an easy top down cardigan.

Pattern:  Knitting Pure and Simple 294 (it will be about 2 weeks until we have them in the store for sale)

Needles:  6.5mm

Yarn:  tosh merino Amber Trinket

The yarn is a dream to knit with.  It is hand dyed so I am working two rows from one ball and then two rows from another ball.  This will blend the colours together.  If I knit one ball and then the next there can be a line (like knitting with two different lots) and it isn't a nice look.

I keep forgetting to mention American Idol.  What happened on Thursday night?  How could Casey receive the least amount of votes? Seriously.  How could that happen?  I am so happy that the judges saved him.  I hope that Pia and Stefano try singing something more upbeat this week.  They have great voices but talk about boring.  I like to be entertained.  Yes, I was a fan of Adam's.  :)

Yarn and Bags

The store is taking shape. The shelves are full and the floor is looking empty.

Baby Bamboo is on the shelf in numerical order-thanks to Beth.  She came in when she was done work to help me.

Freia from Knitwhits arrived today.  It looks amazing!!  I can't wait to knit with it.

There have been some rumours on Ravelry that Offhand Designs is going out of business.  The business is closing because Larissa's husband has been transferred overseas.  Sadly this season will be the last for these amazing bags.  We just received a shipment that includes one each of the following.  These bags will go fast so don't wait too long if you are interested.

I haven't added them to the website yet because my day has been spent rearranging the store and trying to get yarn onto the new shelves. I will try and get it done this evening.

I ordered the bags with the 25" leather handle.  It fits over my shoulder comfortably.

There was also a Zhivago Jolly Holiday with a leather in the box.  A few bags are still coming

• Zhivago Annie-one with a leather handle and one with a velvet strap.  
• Jolly Holiday with velvet strap
• Super Cali with velvet strap

Scottie with velvet strap

• Jolly Holiday
• Annie
• Super Cali

New Shelves

I decided that we needed some new shelving in the store. Dad and I measured them a few months ago and the cabinet maker finally had some time last week to make them.

This is Jamie and Kelsey bringing them in this afternoon.

The first shelf is beside the cash desk.  This will hold small items that were floating around on the floor.

There is also some storage at the bottom so we can put things where everyone can find them.

The next shelf is in the hallway.  Right now it is going to hold tosh dk.  It might look a bit empty for a week until a huge order arrives from madelinetosh.

The last shelves are in the room on the left-double knitting weight and sock yarns.  The area where the Baby Bamboo lives was starting to drive me crazy.

I couldn't put too many yarns out today until my dad comes in and screws the shelving into the walls.

Some of the yarns that lived in baskets on the floor can now go on shelves.  There will still be a few baskets but less than there was.  Until my dad agrees to make the store bigger there isn't much I can do.

I designed the shelves so that there will be a place to put the baby pattern books and leaflets.

The store is going to be a mess for the next few days until I work it out in my head where yarns are going to move to.

I'm heading back to the store to meet my dad.  We could be a while so I am going to hit Publish now.

Sorry

I guess the pictures of the spring flags was a bad idea.

This morning I debated going to work.  Schools were closed and when I watched the news they said to stay off the roads.

I forgot to get a picture of my car before cleaning the snow off.  There was at least 4" of snow on it by 9am.

I was a bit late but that was a good thing because the parking lot was just being cleaned when I got there.  It snowed and snowed all day.

I left early (no customers) and came home to find out that our road and driveway hadn't been cleaned yet.

Thankfully there was a path for me to walk up. Otherwise I would have been in snow above my ankles.

Here is the start of the driveway being cleaned. We got way more than the 6" of snow that was forecast.  Thank goodness all the past snow had melted.  There wouldn't have been anywhere for them to put todays.

I have no knitting pictures to show.  My sock has only progressed a few more rows.  Knitting class for tonight has been cancelled so there should be lots of knitting accomplished during Survivor, Idol and Criminal Minds.

Sock two

Sock two has been started.  I have included a picture showing the finished sock along with the second sock. Why?  This is to show that I am actually knitting both socks.

This morning Joan and Joan visited.  Joan has knit the Ruffles Scarf a few times and gave me a great idea.  Can't believe I didn't think of it.  Some people think the Ruffles Scarf is too short when it is tied.  Why bother tying it?  Use a shawl stick. Brilliant.  Now it is a great length.  I can't wait to wear it.

Last week I started moving yarns around to get the new Noro on the shelves.  I need a bit more room so there are two Noro yarns on sale. These are on sale until Saturday April 16 while stock lasts.

Here are a few ideas for Chirimen.

This sweater is in Noro Flowers.

The regular price on Chirimen was $10.95 and we have it on sale for $6.95.

Also designed by Jenny Watson and can be found in Noro Flowers.

Chirimen knits to a double knitting tension so there are many options for patterns.

I typed Chirimen under Yarn on Ravelry to see what other knitters have used the yarn for.  What really caught my eye was a shawl called 198 yds of Heaven.  It is a free pattern that I already had in my library.  3 balls will make a great shawl.

Vintage is now $6.95 a ball (originally $11.95).
I used Vintage to knit Jared Flood's Noro Striped Scarf.

While supplies last
No returns
No layaways

To Do

My to do list is very long today.  The cool thing about my list is that I can add to it on my iPad, iPhone or MacBook and through MobileMe it updates my calendars on all three devices.  No more writing it on one and then forgetting to add it to another.  I can also set it to send me email reminders a day or a few hours before an event.  No excuses for missing an appointment now.

From my iPad.

From my iPhone.

Accounting and then write cheques later on?  Isn't this the same?  There was an important cheque that I had to write so I wrote it on its own so I didn't forget.  :)

The banking and accounting are done.  This is the chore that is always put off so I sat down and did it first thing this morning.

The kitchen has been cleaned and the dish washer is running.  I love my dogs but somedays I wish they would pick their dishes up off the floor and put them in the dishwasher!!

This is another one of those never ending posts with lots of pictures.

I make a quick trip to Burlington and stopped at the store to bring Jane lunch.  This is her current knitting.  Jane can't get enough of Kaffe Fassett.  This one is in Aran weight for her husband.  The colours look amazing.

People ask me how long it takes Jane to knit a garment.  She picked up this yarn on Tuesday and the back is done past the armholes.

On Saturday my dad changed the flags in front of the store.

The spring flags are up and they are talking about 10cm of snow on Wednesday.

My sock is done.  I am going to block both socks together. Yes, the second sock has been cast on and I am going to knit two socks that match.

The toe was different than the toe I normally do.  The pattern calls it the modified star toe.  I am laughing as I am writing this.  It sounds like I am some sort of sock expert.  :)

Sock one is done

Sock one is done and the second sock is cast on.  I will take a picture tomorrow.  After waking this morning with a migraine most of the day was spent relaxing.  I am feeling better now and we are part way through the Sunday evening TV marathon.  Amazing Race is done.  I was happy to see the cheerleaders go.  They were very negative and not nice people.  Celebrity Apprentice is next.  Bring on the crazies!!

When I was at TNNA I ordered a cool new yarn. It has been shipped from California and I hope to have it this week. I talked about it in a post from TNNA and took a picture of the yarn in the booth.  Here are the swatches from the KnitWhits website.

• Six mulitcolors with at least 2 coordinating semi-solids for each multi.
• Each multicolor ball starts & ends with the same color, making adding a new ball a breeze with less waste!
• No sudden color breaks, no "wildlife"
• Our yarn is a soft, feltable, single-ply, 100% wool and is made in the USA
• These yarns knit up at the popular 4-5 sts/inch and 6-8 sts/inch gauges, they are interchangeable with other self-striping yarns and can easily be used in any Knitwhits patterns suggesting self-striping yarns.
• Our yarn is carefully handpainted in small batches. Some variations may occur between dye lots. When ordering larger quantities we will endeavor to match colors as close as possible.

There are two patterns coming with the yarn and I am going to knit them both.  Okay, maybe someone will be making it for the store.  :)

Kari Cowl

• A simple but elegant cowl that shows off your self-striping yarn
• Shown in Freia Handpaint Fiber in Purpleheart Worsted
• Suggested Needles: US 9 for worsted or US7 for sport
• One Size, instructions included for two weights of yarn, worsted or sport
• Requires either circular or dpns
• Skills: Knit, Increasing/Decreasing, Knitting in the Round

The colour of the cowl is Purpleheart.  How can that be a bad colour??

• Tan, Rose, Rust, Lavender and Grey
• Worsted:
• Needle size 5-6mm, US 8-10
• 18 sts & 24 rows over 4" on US 8
• 50 grams / 85 yds
• View coordinating semi-solids: Charcoal, Papyrus, Driftwood and Bell Heather

Idun Hat-once the patterns arrive I will be scheduling a class on Entrelac.

• Basic Entrelac shows off the slow color changes of a long repeat yarn, here neatly paired with a coordinating solid
• Shown in our new Freia Fine Handpaint yarns, uses one ball (Worsted weight) each color 
• Suggested Needles 5.5mm, US 9
• One Size with instructions included for customization
• Requires either circular or dpns
• Skills: Knit, Purl, Knitting in the Round

Finished Projects

It was a day of finished projects.  Not mine unfortunately.

Emma came in this afternoon with the Polly Pullover.  Knit in Spud & Chloe Outer (Cedar 7209) from the top down on 8mm needles.

With easy top down construction and simple waist-shaping darts, this quick knit is a great first sweater pattern! 

I will have Sarah or Lynn put it on at knitting class on Wednesday night and get another picture.  It is so cute when on a person.

A bit later Jane came in with a pair of socks. She made the Circle Socks in Mini Mochi from Crystal Palace.  I was in a rush and took some pictures with my phone.  I should have used my camera.

This is the yarn from the Crystal Palace website.

Picture one-taken in the front room with the socks on a chair.

Picture two was taken in the side room after I hung the socks on the wall.

One day I am going to take a course so that the pictures I take come out the proper colour.  :)

After looking at Jane's and now writing about them I think I had better get mine done.  There is about 1" until the toe shaping.  Criminal Minds and knitting looks like a great way to spend my Saturday night.