Jodis Mittens

These are Jodis Mittens from Rowan. Kim just finished them and brought them in this morning for me to see.

They are fabulous. I think she should give them to me. :)

Pattern: Jodis Mittens from The Nordic Collection
Yarn: Colourspun and Kid Classic

These cosy mittens, with fairisle detailing are finished off with a cord tie and cute pom poms. Designed by Marie Wallin they use Colourspun and Kid Classic.

Kim has fallen in love with Colourspun and is going to make a coat in it.

Colourspun is a lovely wool and mohair blended yarn which is sublime to knit. Each shade is produced by blending two printed and two solid colours together and then twisted with a printed binder.

If you look at the hands of the mitts it looks like a reddish/pink colour that changes to a rust colour. The colour changes in the yarn are fabulous.

Rowan Kidsilk Haze Glamour arrived yesterday. Some how things got mixed up and the books didn't come but they will be in the boxes that are in transit to us.

There are three free patterns available on Rowan's website.

Knit this elegant lace scarf, a free download as part of the launch of our new yarn Kidsilk Haze Glamour (super kid mohair and silk). This pattern is from the Rowan archive, originally designed by Martin Storey and re-worked in Kidsilk Haze Glamour, this knitting pattern is a sophisticated and stylish design and is for the intermediate knitter.

Download the pattern... 

Knit this lace glamour Scarf, a free download as part of the launch of our new yarn Kidsilk Haze Glamour (super kid mohair and silk). An exclusive web design by Lisa Richardson, this knitting pattern is a beautiful must knit design and is for the intermediate knitter.

Visit knitrowan.com to download the pattern... 

Knit this beautiful lace cravat, scarf or throw, a free download as part of the launch of our new yarn Kidsilk Haze Glamour (super kid mohair and silk). This pattern is from the Rowan archive, originally designed by Louisa Harding and re-worked in Kidsilk Haze Glamour, this knitting pattern is a simple yet elegant knit and is for the intermediate knitter.

The pattern can be found here... 

What was I thinking? I thought that I would get section 2 done last night. 7 rows of black and then 53 rows of beige. I have 22 rows of beige done. Hopefully I can finish that section tonight - there is lots of TV being taped.

Survivor is the first. We always laugh when we read the info. 'A castaway is voted off'. Really? We never would have guessed.

Criminal Minds. X Factor. CSI. It's going to be a late evening.

Chalet

This morning Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Ann with a sweater knit in Chalet. This afternoon an email newsletter came from Classic Elite with a free pattern for a cowl knit in Chalet. Someone is telling me to write about Chalet today.

Chainette yarns are well-deserving of their popularity...the construction simultaneously provides strength and lightness. Add a luxury fiber blend of baby alpaca and bamboo to that inherent lightness and you have Chalet, a decadently soft yarn with a lovely drape in a chunky weight from our MountainTop Collection of yarns spun from natural, undyed fibers. Chalet looks great knit at a wide variety of gauges and textures.

I would have taken my friend outside for a picture but it is pouring rain here right now. I'm not complaining because there are people on the East Coast in a lot of trouble from all the rain. And then some states had a boat load of snow. Hopefully the next few days will get better for them.

Appenzell from Classic Elite book 9183

Chalet is a perfect yarn for a cowl: super soft, thick, lofty and quick to knit. For a quick and easy stockinette cowl, grab a short circular needle, cast on 72 stitches and knit until you have the right height for your neck. Or try this week's pattern for a varied rib cowl with a bit more interest.

Once the first round of rib is established, just work the stitches as they appear - no need to look at the pattern again. And don't be dismayed by size of your pre-blocked cowl - the reversible rib pulls in an alarming amount but will easily block out to the correct size.

Download the pattern... 

Last night I knit like a mad woman. We were flipping between the World Series of Poker and CNN's coverage of Sandy.

The first section is done on my shawl and I picked up the stitches for the section two.

I have a few more rows of black and then just over 50 rows in the cream. That is my goal for tonight.

Go Away Storm

After I published my post last night I continued to knit while watching the end of the baseball game.

14 rows mauve
2 rows black
14 rows denim

This morning I took the scarf outside to get a picture in natural light. It wasn't good light. :) What a dreary day.

Here is a close up of the colours. The denim (left) and grey (right) are very close. I think I should have changed the grey but when done I'm hoping that the colours will look different.

My day consisted of errands, grocery shopping and accounting. Parcels went to the post office, money was deposited in the bank and we have water, chocolate, chips and toilet paper in the house. We are set. Then the accounting. It is HST remittance day and I just finished. I really need to learn that I should do this throughout the month and not wait until the day it is due.

While working the TV was on CNN. My thoughts are with everyone in the path of the storm. It doesn't look good. Hopefully Sandy decides to die down and everyone will be safe.

My knitting is sitting beside me calling my name. There are about 70 rows to go and the first section will be done. That is my goal for this evening.

It's Growing

We had a great time last night at the birthday party. I'm glad that I put down my knitting and went. Lots of family and friends to visit with-some we haven't seen in a while.

I did pick up the knitting for just a few minutes when we got home. Then Beth put on the TV and an episode of Law and Order was about to start. That meant another of hour of knitting.

Taken this afternoon

And it was a good Law and Order. I'm guessing season 4 or 5 - Benjamin Bratt was on. I don't know why we can't have a 24 hour Law and Order channel. It's great for knitting. I've seen most of the episodes so I don't have to give the show all my attention but it never gets boring.

Taken this evening

This afternoon was spent watching football and knitting. We won our Fantasy Football match this week so I'm in a very good mood. That lead into The Amazing Race and Revenge. I'm not going to comment on these in case you haven't watched yet. I did get more knitting done. My hands are a bit tired-I was a knitting machine today. :) I think there is about 100 rows to go until the centre piece is finished.

Customers ask me if I ever get tired of knitting. I go through periods where I don't want to pick the needles up and then there are periods that all I want to do is knit. I'm there right now. I could keep knitting all night but then I won't be much good tomorrow.

Tomorrow I must sit in front of my computer and get paper work done. Not a job I'm looking forward to but it must be done. And not a job to do on no sleep.

There is baseball and football on right now. A bit more knitting time before bed. :)

Have you seen Catherine?

The scarf is growing. This is going to be a short post because I have a huge urge to sit and knit. We have to head out to a birthday party tonight and I'm trying to think of ways to get out of it. :)

I have a lot of rows to do until I get to add in the fifth colour-20 rows of beige, 2 rows of black, 132 rows of mauve, 2 rows of black and then I get to start the denim. I really want to get there tonight and see how all five colours look together. I know, I live in a dream world some days.

I started to write a blog post last night but couldn't finish it. I was way too upset. My Catherine Cowl (the one that I knit) was missing. I know that I saw her early in the day but at closing time she was gone. I'm hoping that someone picked her up and set her down somewhere in the store and that Cathy or Jane will find her for me. If you are shopping in the store this week please let us know if you find her.

Have a good evening and I hope you are dry. We had lots of rain this morning but right now it has stopped. Mom and dad left Myrtle very early this morning so that they could do the drive before the majority of the rain hits. The plus side of the rain is that we (you and I) can sit in the house and knit tomorrow without feeling guilty. :)

I love garter stitch!

I hope you got to enjoy some beautiful weather today. It is hot in Southern Ontario. My sister called in sick this morning (just a joke-she is her own boss) and headed to the golf course. I was a bit green with envy.

All the Shades of Truth-so far so good. Who can complain about garter stitch? I know that some people don't like it but I love it. It is perfect knitting if you are in a car (obviously not driving :), waiting for the kids at soccer or dance or sitting at the hair salon. The colours are working well.

There is a thin line of black (two rows) that break up the colour blocks. In the pattern Laura tells you how you can carry the black up the edge so you don't have ends to sew in. I have decided to cut off the black so I'm not dealing with two balls at once. It's a personal preference.

Night Bloom is still looking red in my picture - it is more of a mauve colour.

Mom and dad are coming home from Myrtle Beach on Saturday. Dad has a bit of work when he gets home. Our box pile grew today. We received the last two boxes from madelinetosh and a box from Tanis.

The box of Tanis was full of 

Red Label Cashmere/Silk Single

The softness of cashmere and the sheen of silk blend with perfection in this single ply yarn.

• 75% merino,15% cashmere, 10% silk
• 115g (4 oz) = 385m (420yds)
• gauge: 7 sts per inch
• needle: 2.75mm needles (U.S. size 2)
• hand wash, lay flat to dry.

In the most beautiful colours

stormy

chestnut

olive

shadow

spruce

dove

charcoal

poppy

grape

sand

frost

I went searching for some patterns that I knew we had. I could only find three and quickly made up kits for the Adelia Cowl and Mitts.

The Adelia collection is the perfect cowl and mitts set to keep you warm and cozy on cool days. The pattern includes three variations on one lovely floral and heart motif; a cowl, fingerless mitts and full mitts. I love how soft and delicate the pattern looks when worked in subtly contrasting tones, and then how it turns into something completely fun and funky when done in brighter, bolder shades. Just because the weather is turning cooler doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun with flowers!

1 skein of each of two contrasting colourways makes one cowl and one pair of mitts, either fingerless or complete. 

You can buy the pattern on Ravelry...

Hopefully the baseball game tonight is a bit closer. Last night was done very early on. We watched Survivor and I got started on my scarf. I'm totally surprised by Lisa. I keep thinking of her as Blair which means there is no way she can play the game. She is stronger than I thought and in a good spot. Her tribe is fighting and she is flying under the radar. A great place to be. Then I watched Criminal Minds. Why do I watch that before going to bed?? I should learn that it can lead to weird dreams.

All the Shades of Truth

I couldn't resist.

From top left going clockwise
onyx
rain water
whiskers
charcoal
night bloom (which isn't this bright in real life)

I rolled the balls and would have liked to get a picture outside but it is dark, foggy and rainy. Tomorrow I will get a much better one.

I'm using tosh merino light.

1-charcoal
2-onyx
3-night bloom
4-whiskers
5-rain water

Have a good night. I'm going to knit and watch The World Series and Survivor.

Laura Aylor

Kim's job this morning was to straighten up the madelinetosh merino light and get the new colours on the shelf. We starting talking about the new colours and I pulled up some patterns on Ravelry. These are all in my library and I've been looking at them for some time. They are all from one designer-Laura Aylor. Picking the first to knit is going to be a problem. :)

You can visit her blog here

I sent a message to Laura asking if I could use her pictures for some amazing shawls and scarves. She gave me permission and here they are.

Jordan Point

3 border options and a center that you can stripe any way you want or not at all give you lots of room to play. The center is knit first from one corner to the opposite side. Choose the scalloped border, the fun and funky flap border, or a minimalist garter band. The scalloped and flap borders use the live stitches plus picked up stitches form the other side. The simple banded border is knit one side at a time, first using the live stitches and then picked up stitches on the other side and top edge. Three specific stripe patterns are given as a starting point. Mix and match them with the borders or use your own idea for the center.

Pattern on Ravelry

Derecho - Spanish for ‘direct or straight ahead’. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. One of these storms hit here in the eastern United States while I was working on my second knit of this pattern.

A triangular shawl knit modularly in two directions to produce a pattern of interconnected stripes. Two circular needles are used to knit on one side at a time while keeping the other side’s stitches live.

Pattern on Ravelry

All the Shades of Truth

A color-block stole inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. There is no intarsia, just picking up stitches from slipped stitch edges. A coloring page is included :)

Pattern on Ravelry

All the Shades of Truth is in an eBook with a new pattern called Oak Park.

A color-block cowl or scarf inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. There is no intarsia, just picking up stitches from slipped stitch edges. A coloring page is included :)

Laura's patterns are very well written and easy to follow.

The techniques you need to know are
-knit
-knit into the front and back of a stitch to increase
-pick up stitches

I told you picking which pattern to do first would be hard.

I have been looking at the merino light display all afternoon.

There are many colour combinations swimming around in my head. I'm not sure I should tell you this but 10 skeins of merino light came home with me so that I can play tonight.

Road Trip

Every fall Beth and I try to get away for a few days. Mom and dad are coming home from Myrtle Beach in a few weeks and suggested we go away sometime in November. We started talking about it. Vegas is the first place we said. I'm not sure I want to sit on airplane for 5 hours with my cough so that got crossed off the list. We had fun at Foxwoods in Connecticut a few years ago but that is a 9-10 hour drive. Where can we go a bit closer to home? Cathy and her family go shopping in Michigan every December. She said there is a great mall with a Nordstroms, Apple, Lush, Coach and California Pizza Kitchen. That has to be a great mall.

What is near the mall? It's not too far from the MGM Grand Detroit. Perfect. So I start looking and there are two more malls within 40 minutes of the hotel that both have Norstroms, Lush, Coach and California Pizza Kitchen. Then my dad asked if we were going to a football game. Excellent idea. We picked the weekend where Green Bay will be in Detroit. And the football stadium is a 5 minute drive, 20 minute walk from the hotel. Things are looking good. Then I started looking online. There is a zoo not too far from everything. Beth's eyes lit up. She loves the zoo. When I looked at the website they have polar bears. That was the clincher!!

The Arctic Ring of Life is North America’s largest polar bear exhibit, which also houses arctic foxes and seals.  This state-of-the-art, $14.9 million, interactive facility encompasses over four acres of outdoor and indoor exhibits. 

The most unique feature of the Arctic Ring of Life is the spectacular 70-foot-long Frederick and Barbara Erb Polar Passage, a clear tunnel that winds through a vast underwater marine environment.  This 12-foot-wide, 8-foot-tall tunnel takes visitors underneath diving and swimming polar bears and seals!  The bears and seals are separated from each other by a transparent barrier but appear to share one aquatic environment.  Visitors then arrive in an "ice world", passing through a frigid ice cave and finally entering the Exploration Station with additional indoor viewing.

The Arctic Ring of Life was named the number-two Best Zoo Exhibit in the U.S. by the Intrepid Traveler’s guide to “America’s Best Zoos”.

We can't wait.

Jane called this morning that Mr. Canada Post was there with 8 boxes.

The first was full of addi Turbo needles including the new addi-Art Diamond needles.

The addi-Art ‘Diamond’ is sure to be on every knitter’s holiday shopping list this year. Unique in all respects, the limited edition needle was handcrafted with great patience and care. This once in a lifetime creation features a visible core of genuine Swarovski crystals which twinkle and dance in celebration of every stitch you knit. The construction of a needle this special required the utmost attention to detail. Thus, for a single day in the fall of 2012, addi devoted their daily production to focus all efforts on this individual item. Keeping with addi’s hands-on tradition of manufacturing, each individual Swarovski crystal was painstakingly placed into the heart of every needle. The final product gently blurs the line between form and function, constructing a piece of art, with purpose.

The addi-Art Diamond is a 32” 10mm-US 15 circular needle.

Look to the horizon, as the addi team continues to allow their artistic creativity to inspire additional addi-Art designs. Each design will be released in a different size, resulting in a full set of limited edition needles.

The second box was from Offhand Designs.
There are four new Scottie bags and four new Marcellas including Roseville (shown).

Then there were six boxes from madelinetosh.

This is vintage in the new colour night bloom.

Two boxes were filled with merino light. I couldn't resist-this will make an amazing Color Affection.

-rainwater
-night bloom
-whiskers

My job this afternoon is to get the website updated.

Then there are a couple of other jobs. A few boxes need to be packed for Mr. Canada Post to pick up in the morning and then there is that awful A word (accounting) that needs to be done.

I made it to 6" on my Linen Stitch Scarf last night! Now I need to work. Maybe knitting tonight. :)

Lesson Learned

I hadn't planned on showing the Linen Stitch Scarf until tomorrow. I was knitting away last night and got a bit rough with my needles. Okay, really rough and broke the cord. I had to knit it onto another needle (thank goodness I had another one here or I would have been making a trip to the store) so while it was spread over two needles I laid it out. Unfortunately it was at 11pm so I couldn't go outside.

I learned a lesson. Make sure that I have two needles of every size. You might think that you want to get rid of those old needles from you mother, sister, neighbour but it might be worth keeping them around just in case.

I learned another lesson as well-be gentle with my needles. :)

Last week I told you about some new bags coming from Offhand Designs. I only had fabric swatches for a few. Offhand Designs just added pictures of the actual bags to their website which make a big difference to seeing how they are going to look.

 Montara

 Saratoga

Calistoga

Gilroy-Offhand Designs is already sold out of this bag so we can't get another when it sells.

Choosing which is coming home with me is going to be tough. Three are the colours of my house and you can't go wrong with black and white. These are all great fabrics!!

Beth and I are playing Fantasy Football again this year. It started out great. We won the first three weeks but the last three weeks have been awful. We are down to 3-3. We debate who to play and have been picking the wrong people. Last week we could have won which makes me mad. I hate to lose! As I am writing this we are discussing who to play this week. I wish we had a genie who could give us the answers. :) I've been searching websites for answers and we are waiting for the football pregame shows to tell us what to do. The pressure.

Beth won and I changed the team. I hope she is right.

Revenge tonight. I can't wait! Now it's knitting time. I have to get a lot accomplished today if I'm going to reach my goal.

Box Going to Lynda

While writing I am packing a box for Lynda. There are three projects-this should keep her busy for a few days.

Project #1 - Peasy by Heidi Kirrmaier

I wanted a store sample in the Lang Donegal and I think this will be a perfect match. The cardigan has been in my favourites for a long time.
Pattern from Ravelry

Project #2 - Adiri Cowl 

Pattern from Ravelry

We are going to do this in tosh pashmina worsted well water. This takes the pressure off of me-we will get a store sample much quicker if Lynda makes it. :)

Project #3 - Linen Stitch Scarf

The yarn is a surprise. I'm not sure how it is going to turn out so I'm waiting for the finished project.

While I was packing for Lynda I made a box for Ann too.

Knit in one of Classic Elite's new yarns for fall called Chalet.

A textured pullover with cable accents and dolman sleeves, knitted sideways.

I would have gotten more knitting done last night if I hadn't been in a bit of computer hell. I decided that I wanted to move music from my old laptop to the new one. There is something called Home Sharing in iTunes and it is supposed to be easy. Just drag and drop. It wasn't that easy. Didn't work. Turned things on and off and nothing worked. I was doing searches online for help. Still nothing worked. Then I did an update to the iTunes on the old laptop. Now it works like a charm. I thought my head was going to explode! Since it was working I moved lots of music which then led me to buying music and making new playlists. I had to turn the computer off or I could have been playing in iTunes for way too long.

I'm looking forward to a day on the couch tomorrow watching football, The Amazing Race and Revenge. My goal is to get to the 6" mark (half way) on my Linen Stitch Scarf. I think I better do a few rows tonight if I'm going to make it.

Adiri

Last night I spent some time on Ravelry looking at patterns when I should have been knitting. There are a lot of patterns (I don't think you could actually go through them all there are so many) so I cheat. I let my friends find the newest and coolest patterns. What are friends for?

Go To
My Notebook
Friends
At the top click on friend activity

You will see everything that they are adding to their favourites and their queue.

A few of my friends had favourited these one and I just bought the patterns.

Adiri by Julia Trice
There is a great size range available for the pattern.

The pattern has both written and charted instructions. This keeps everyone happy.

I just briefly read through the pattern but what I see looks good. When you start decreasing Julia puts in how many stitches you should end up with and how many rows you should have completed. This keeps you on track with your shaping.

The pattern uses a combination of cables and lace to create an overall pattern that is complex in texture, yet surprisingly easy to work.

The pattern is suitable for advanced beginner lace and cable knitters. Please see specific required skills below. Instructions are both written and charted, and a detailed schematic is included. The pattern has been professionally tech edited to reduce the possibility for error, but if you have questions or believe that you have found an error, please contact me.

required skills 
knitting in the round (body) 
seaming, including set in sleeve seams 
picking up stitches along an edge (collar) 
increasing (m1) 
decreasing (ssk, k2tog) 
lace knitting (p2tog, yo) 
cabling

construction 
The body is worked circularly from the bottom up to the armholes, and then divided into front and back pieces, which are worked flat separately. The shoulders are joined, and stitches are picked up around the neckline to work the collar circularly. The sleeves are worked flat separately, and then set into the body. Finally, the sides and sleeves are seamed.

See all the information on Ravelry

I sent a message to Julia last night and she gave me permission to use her pictures. And it gets better. There is a matching cowl.

Adiri Cowl-see the details on Ravelry

I'm thinking tosh vintage for the sweater and cowl. Now the debate begins. Lynda needs something to knit-do I send her the cowl or make it myself? I'm going to think about it this afternoon. There are four new colours of vintage on the way to us (in boxes that the US Postal Service says have left Chicago but that is as far as the tracking shows) so maybe I want to wait for one of them??

Then I got to work and walked by the tosh pashmina worsted. Wicked is calling my name. Now there is a debate raging in my head. :)