Almost done

Before heading home last night I got a bit more tosh in order. Merino Light is looking much better. There is just a bit more to do and then the store will be back in order.

Did you see the great scarf from Stephen West in the latest knitty.com in merino light? Creekbed uses four colours. I am looking at the shelves mentally putting colour combinations together as I am writing.

Then I started thinking about the phone call I got this week from Maggi. She is coming in this afternoon to pick up colours for a mystery KAL (knit a long). Stephen West is running one on Ravelry. You need three colours of sock yarn and one of the yarn he suggests is merino light.

Have you participated in a mystery KAL? You have no idea what the finished product is going to look like-you are trusting the reputation of the designer.

I decided to join Stephen's Mystery Shawl KAL. The pattern is purchased and now I need to pick out colours. The first clue to the shawl comes out August 1 and then there will be clues weekly.

Mr. UPS brought a surprise box yesterday afternoon from Rowan.  A few bags of yarn (new colours of Lima and Cocoon) that were missing from our fall order and Edna knit in Colourspun.

When you look at the ball of yarn you don't see the colour gradations but they really show up in the finished garment.

Last night Beth and I started watching a new TV series. Beth had heard good things about Damages with Glenn Close and we were going to purchase the DVD for Season 1. Now we don't have to-we are watching it on Netflix. Four episodes later it was 1am and I forced myself to go to bed. I told Beth to be ready at 4:30 this afternoon so that we can start watching again when I get home. The only problem is that you have to pay attention and not a lot of knitting was accomplished. I picked up Scalene and have 6 more rows until I can cast off.

Rearranging again

Yesterday afternoon Mr. Canada Post arrived with 5 huge boxes from madelinetosh.

Included are
-tosh sock
-tosh dk
-tosh vintage
-tosh pashmina
-tosh merino light
-tosh merino dk
-tosh merino

My job today is finding somewhere to put it all! I am rearranging which means the store is in a mess. Hopefully I will have things moved around before I go home tonight.

I have been racing around the store to get the mess cleaned. Since I started the post the tosh merino has a new home. Before the yarn was a split family-it lived it two different spots in the store. Now it is all together again.

Big Brother last night was great. The house meeting was very heated. I love confrontation as long as I'm not part of it. :) If people were talking at/to me like that I would be in tears.

It is many hours later and tosh dk is no longer a split family. The yarn is all together and I hung Every Last Yard with the yarn and put the patterns there too. Some days I scare myself. :)

It is a good thing I'm not seeing my chiropractor tonight. She would scold me for carrying too many boxes today.

I'm hoping that Cathy doesn't read today's blog post. I like it when she comes and straightens the store. I don't want her to know that I can do it if I have to.

Fair Isle Effect

Thank goodness for the rain that is coming down outside but it is making for a dreary day. I know I am asking a lot but can't we have rain overnight while we are sleeping?

There has been lots of talk on my blog lately about Rowan. It's time to start taking a look at some of the other yarns and patterns coming for fall.

Sirdar is known for their amazing patterns for babies and children.

Here are some patterns in Snuggly Crofter Baby DK-self patterning yarn like sock yarn. These patterns go from birth to 7 years.

Sirdar Snuggly Baby Crofter Dk is a gorgeously soft yarn with an incredible Fair Isle colour effect that appears as you knit. Inspired by the gentlest colours of the Scotland Highlands, Snuggly Baby Crofter Dk is the same wonderfully soft blend of 55% nylon and 45% acrylic as Snuggly Dk, and is machine washable and easy care. This yarn will also knit to all Sirdar double knitting baby patterns.

Book 402
Cozy Little Crofters-14 hand knits for babies and children from birth to 7 years in easy, fair isle effect Snuggly Baby Crofter DK.

Over the next week I will show you more of the great baby/children patterns coming from Sirdar.

Big Brother-I am glad that Rachel and Brendon decided it was too early to put up Jeff and Jordan last night. I think it is going to start getting good next week when the people with the golden keys have to start playing the game. No more skating through.

Hawthorne

A box came from Lynda yesterday afternoon. She finished Hawthorne and it is beautiful. The cables are amazing! I was going to ask a customer to put it on for a picture but it is so hot outside that it didn't sound like a fair question.

Pattern: Hawthorne from Rowan Magazine 50
Yarn: Felted Tweed Aran colour 730 Storm Blue

As promised yesterday, here are pictures from Rowan's Dalesman magazine.

Snowdon in Cocoon

Wheatley in Cocoon

Moorhouse in Lima

Mossdale in Lima

Fabulous designs for men but there is no reason why a lady can't wear them.

Fran knows that Beth and I golf and brought us information on a tournament coming up in August for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Go Girls! Golf 2011

Friday August 19th at Flamborough Hills Our Go Girls tournament is perfect if you are a pro, occasional or beginner golfer. This ladies-only event includes a 9-hole tournament, lunch and a perfect opportunity to have fun with your friends, family and/or co-workers. The money from this event helps to fund Go Girls, a program that supports, inspires and empowers adolescent girls to make healthy life choices.

If you are interested, here is the link for more information and to register. Unfortunately I can't golf because I will be in Myrtle Beach for the weekend. It is the only weekend I can sneak away until October.

Ms. Canada Post just brought in a BIG box from Namaste. The Mini Messengers are here!

Beth will be happy to get her bag back. Now to decide which colour I am going to take.

Lois

The store was crazy busy today (no complaints) and I didn't have a chance to write a post. I wasn't feeling well when I got home so I laid down for a while. Mom, dad and Beth went to Boston Pizza for dinner and I couldn't make myself get up to join them. When Beth got home we had Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef. The good and bad of Gordon Ramsay. Lois did grow a bit from the picture I took in the store today.

Last night I accomplished some knitting but ran into another snag. My 10mm needles were only 60cm long. 120 stitches in bulky yarn doesn't fit nicely on that length needle. This afternoon I moved to a 100cm needle.

Beth is upstairs watching Pillow Talk. It is her all time favourite movie. Yesterday afternoon I broke down-we have Apple TV and Netflix. Apple TV is very cool. I can send pictures from my Mac or iPad to the TV. Same for movies and music that I have downloaded. We ran into a major problem while trying to set everything up. Our TV is mounted on a stand and there was no way to get the cord from Apple TV attached to the back of the TV. No way. We would've had to dismount the TV and that wasn't going to happen. Thankfully the same cord is running from the back of the TV into the DVD player. We took it out of the DVD player and Apple TV is working.

There is one Rowan magazine that I still have to show you pictures from. Dalesmen from Martin Storey. Stunning designs for men.

This is Askwith. The cables are phenomenal.

This isn't going to be a long post because I need to hit publish before midnight. :) Tomorrow I will show more of the designs from Dalesmen.

I love 10mm needles

I started a new project last night while watching Big Brother. It took a bit to get going because I couldn't find the 10mm tips to my Addis. I had to go through my box of circular needles and figure out which was the 10mm. That wouldn't have been too hard except that I couldn't find my needle gauge. Anyway, I got to start knitting.

Lynda knit Lois from Kim Hargreaves' Touching Elegance magazine for the store. I love the jacket and decided that I needed one for myself. Saturday afternoon was spent debating which colour to do. Denim blue would be nice but Lynda just finished Hawthorne for me in blue. Purple. Can't go wrong with purple. Grey. Goes with everything. Red won. I have great cowboy boots with red in them and I don't wear them because red does not exist in my wardrobe. Now I will be able to wear them lots!!

 

I took the picture this morning outside on the deck. The colour isn't as orange as it looks here.

The yarn is Drift from Rowan.

Today was a crazy busy day. The morning was spent getting my accounting up to date. The bank is reconciled. All invoices are entered. My HST is ready to be remitted at the end of the week. These are the chores I don't want to do but they are necessary and now they are done. My dad asked me what I did today and when I told him that I worked on my accounting his comment was 'YUCK'.

Then off to the bank, post office, and a few errands for Beth.

It's Gordon Ramsey time. Hell's Kitchen and then Master Chef.  It is amazing how nice he is on one show and what a jerk he is on the other. My knitting and I are making our way upstairs. 10mm needles make me happy!

Fiddlehead Mittens

I haven't picked up knitting needles all week. Trying to get the store in order has kept me busy. Last night (when I should have been sleeping but my mind was working overtime) I came up with an idea for storage so Monday I will be here for awhile trying to get the Rowan room in order.

There won't be any knitting tonight-yarn did come home for me to start something new tomorrow. :) Beth, Lynda and I are making a road trip across the border.

I have been updating the website and going through the Rowan magazine. There are some great patterns that I didn't notice before.

Birch by Martin Storey in Felted Tweed Aran
It reminds me of Kim Hargreaves early work

Kind by Marie Wallin in Lima

Sincere by Marie Wallin in Kid Classic

Rowan magazines are a funny thing. The first time you flip through you might not find anything you like. The next look you will find one or two and after a week of leafing through there are many, many amazing garments that have caught your eye.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Tanis that she will no longer be making Fiddlehead Mitten kits. We have kits in stock but I don't know how long they will last. When they are gone the mittens get to come home with me.

Lynda sent an email that she finished my Hawthorne Cape yesterday. I should have it on Tuesday or Wednesday. Now I need the cold weather to come!!

Finally

Mr. UPS just arrived with a big box of magazines.  

Rowan #50 is here.

Can I please restart my day?

It started early (okay, early for a Friday when the store doesn't open until noon). There were four boxes to be shipped out before I came to the store and I was here before 10 to meet Mr. UPS. When I left home the boxes from Rowan were scheduled to come today.  I got to work and my modem has quit working. Totally done. I phoned my Internet provider (Netaccess-a Hamilton company) and they said that they could ship one and I would have it on Monday. HELP!! I need the Internet in the store. After a few phone calls they found a technician in my area and I will have a modem later today. How am I connected now? My iPhone has a cool feature called Personal Hotspot. Thank goodness because there is work to be done.

Now that I can connect to the Internet again I refreshed the UPS site. Here is the new message.

Incorrect routing at UPS facility / Delivery rescheduled

What? I can't write down the thoughts that went through my head. It looks like we will have Rowan Magazine 50 on Monday.

_________________

It is close to 1pm and I'm forgetting everything from this morning and pretending that Friday has just started.

The nice men from Netaccess were just here with my new modem. It works!! I could switch to a larger company and save a bit of money every month but the customer service from Netaccess is amazing. They fix my problems whenever I call and that includes when the Internet goes out at 10pm. Thank you Netaccess for making my day much better.

It's time to start talking business.

Soak has a new scent-meet Lacey. Mr. Fed Ex delivered Lacey yesterday. The new bottle is very pretty.

Lacey is a material girl, soft and sweet. 
This modern scent combines spring blossoms with sweet bergamot creating a light yet alluring fragrance.

Yesterday I briefly mentioned six new colours of Ondas. Here they are.

99 - blues

98 - browns and rusts

97 - browns

96 - turquoise and grey

95 - purple and grey

92 - pale grey and white

I am going to hit Publish now and get back to the website. The Featured Patterns page needs to updated with the new books that just arrived.

Jane's Knitting

I am sorry for anyone who has to work outside today. It is nasty. To quote Jane, "it is stinking hot out there."

Golf yesterday was good but extremely hot. For the first three hours on the course I was fine but it got really slow and we were standing in the sun quite a bit. When Beth and I were in Myrtle Beach we could golf 18 holes in 3 hours but it took over 5 hours yesterday. I started getting a migraine around the 14th hole but didn't want to take anything until we were done. There was a dinner and prizes to sit through and I didn't want to fall asleep. We got home, watched Big Brother and then I headed to bed. I did think of writing but I just couldn't do it.

Sarah was really busy while I was out.

An order came in with 6 new colours of Ondas.

Then the Rowan arrived. 9 boxes.

Rowan Magazine 50 was not in the shipment but fingers crossed Mr. UPS will be delivering it tomorrow. I am going to be at work early (normally we open at noon on Fridays) to make sure that I don't miss him.

The mini-magazines did arrive.

Purelife Home

Nordic Tweed

Dalesmen

Evolution 

Winter Warmers

There are many, many bags of wool hanging around the Rowan Room right now. Sarah got some put on shelves but unfortunately we are a bit short of storage space.

Big Wool
Colourspun
Cocoon
Drift
Harmony
Wool Cotton
Kidsilk Haze
Felted Tweed
Felted Tweed Aran
Lima

I will have to do some thinking tonight and tomorrow will start some creative hiding for the yarn.

The new Rowan mini-magazines are available on the website. All the yarns are up-just waiting for Korey to add the images.

Jane dropped by to show me her knitting earlier today.

It is absolutely beautiful!!

I wasn't happy with how things went on Big Brother last night. I don't want to see either lady leave. It would have been great if Jordan had nominated Brendon and Rachel. Can you imaging the antics Rachel would have pulled?

Sneak Preview

I am very proud of myself-I have accomplished lots today.
The Noro Kureyon is in numerical order again. I have counted it and the website is correct.
I wrote two newsletters that have gone out. A general newsletter and one for those attending Camp.
Two huge boxes of Sirdar arrived and I have unpacked them. The yarn hasn't been put away yet but I am hoping Sarah will have time for that tomorrow.

Sarah? I am going golfing tomorrow. Dad, Beth and I along with our family friend Mark are in a golf tournament. Shotgun start at noon. It is going to be crazy hot!!

Today I received some pictures from Rowan for Studio 24. It is on order but I don't have a delivery date yet.

I really like the designs and am happy to see them photographed in bright, cheery colours.

I also received a few pictures from the next Kim Hargreaves book called Shadows which is due in early September. Here is a small taste. I'm saving the rest for a day when I don't have anything to show.

Logan in Lima

Tough in Big Wool

I need to get back to work on the website. madelinetosh called today and they are starting to dye a huge order for me. I should have it by the end of the month and there are many new colours to get added to the website.

Wednesday is the big day

I thought about a blog post many times yesterday but never opened my computer. Golf in the morning, Nascar in the afternoon and then Big Brother. Honestly, I did think about writing.

Today started out being all about me. I had a 10am hair appointment. Nothing makes me happier than visiting Trish. No more grey! Then I took Beth lunch and on the way home I stopped at the spa for a pedicure. It was a happy day. I am not going to talk about the rest of the afternoon. All was well again when mom paid for the family to go out for dinner.

I just got off the phone from New Zealand. Listening to a Kiwi talk always makes me smile.

According to UPS the fall Rowan should be in the store on Wednesday. Happy Dance!!

Here are a few more designs from the book. I forgot to bring home the book that tells me the designer and what the garments are made out of. Sorry it is just pretty pictures tonight.

Glenda

Robinia

Oak

Cordial

The TV upstairs is taping many, many TV shows tonight. Hell's Kitchen. Master Chef. Big Break. World Series of Poker. It's going to be a long night!