Knitting and Cleaning

I played a bit on the website this morning trying to make it easier to find things. Under 'Kits' there are some new categories.

Now you can see kits by the company or look under Afghans and Throws, Cardigan, Mittens, Sweater and Cowls.

Korey and I have been talking about some other changes as well but those will take time.

There was a shock when I came in this morning. Someone broke in and cleaned my bathroom. Cathy went crazy yesterday afternoon (while I was at home on the conference call) and I didn't see it until I got to work today.

These shelves were covered in yarn. And not yarn that was in order. Just yarn thrown all over the place. Now it's neat and tidy.

I think that I should start renting Cathy out as a way to supplement my income. :) She is an awesome tidier and organizer. She had a lot of help from Kim but Cathy was the mastermind behind the operation.

The first front is done on my Bella Lino cardigan.

I'm downstairs writing and Beth is upstairs in the loft, knitting and watching How I Met Your Mother. I asked her if it is funnier if you are watching. When you just listen it isn't that funny. She said that it is mindless TV and she can knit easily to it. I'm going to sign off so I can go upstairs to knit. That also means watching something else on TV.

What's in the Boxes???

A parcel came this morning from madelinetosh. Here are the new colours for spring. It makes a big difference to see them in person. They're much better than the pictures online.

From left to right
Medieval
Red Phoenix
Ember
Farmhouse White
Chicory
Purple Basil
Cape Town Rainbow
Hosta Blue
Black Walnut
Log Cabin Brown
Sun Rose

An email came in late this afternoon with this picture.

Who's it from? I can't tell you. What's in the boxes. Yarn. The yarn that we are going to have in our booth at The Knitter's Frolic. It's still top secret but when I can share I will.

You wouldn't think talking on the phone would be tiring but I had a conference call this afternoon that lasted an hour and a half. I was exhausted. Maybe it was the call or maybe it was the task that I volunteered to do for TNNA in May. I've been pitching this idea for a few years and today it was agreed upon. Beth and I are going to be working on it together and it should make for fun at the show.

It's 10pm and I haven't relaxed much today. Mr. Tax Man has been paid. That wasn't fun but it's the law so I did it. A newsletter was finished and should be going out in the morning. Now I'm going to close up the computers (yes, there are two going at the same time) and put my feet up to watch Top Chef from last night. I need to get back to my Custom Fit cardigan. The first front is almost done. I would like to have it finished before the Olympics. Cough. Choke. Not a chance but a person has to be able to dream.

Big Blast from the Past

Pattern: Cordwood Cowl - purchased on Ravelry

Yarn: 2 skeins of Masham from Lorna's Laces in the colour St. Charles (the yarn should be here in a couple of weeks)

Needles: 5.5mm 80cm circular

It needs to be blocked - tonight's chore. Once blocked I will get better photos. It might be warmer out next week.

Next week a shipment will be leaving the US from Blue Sky Alpacas/Spud & Chloe. There are new mug kits available.

These one-hank wonders include the super chic, cabled Venus Mitts in Popsicle, the pretty-in-pink Aphrodite Hat in Watermelon, and the lovely, zigzag-patterned Cupid Cowl in Manatee. All three are a great way for knitters to show their passion for their craft.

Spud & Chloe sold out of the first batch of these and I don't know how much longer they will be available for. If you are interested, let me know. I will make sure that we get a kit for you.

I like to drink tea from a big mug and these fit the bill. They are large!

An email came in today that will make Beth very happy. She is in love with her Knit Kit and a new colour is coming. The purple should be here by the end of February.

The Knit Kit includes a crochet hook, thread cutter, locking counter, 5 ft. tape measure, stitch markers, darning needle,tip protectors, and collapsible scissors (TSA Compliant) all put together in a very durable, compact, easy to locate device. Everything you need to take your project on the go.

This model also includes better scissors (no more plastic) and the popular needle gauge on the back.

We had a small Knit Kit issue at our house the other night. Beth didn't know (or so she says) that you can't pull the tape measure out to it's fullest and then keep pulling to try and make it longer. It didn't get longer. And it won't go back in. We had to cut the tape measure off. She was upset. I didn't even have to yell at her for being like a little kid.

Cathy and Kim were in today cleaning the teaching room and getting yarn ready to go to storage for the Tent Sale. They came upstairs with a bag of pictures. Wow. Here are pictures of my pictures.

Kaffe and Brandon at The Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival.

I was trying to get pictures with no glare. The original isn't crooked. This is Debbie Bliss - probably 20 years ago.

Jo Sharp

Colinette

A newspaper article about Kaffe and one about me.

There was also a binder with a price list.

I have no idea why this wasn't thrown out years ago but it made for good reading. Interesting reading. This is from 20 years ago. If you think that yarn is expensive now, here is the Rowan pricing from 1994.

Handknit Cotton (called Cotton DK back then) was $4.99 and now it's $6.50.
Cotton Glace was $7.99 and now it's $8.50.
Wool Cotton was $9.99 and now it's $12.95.

There hasn't been much of an increase. Think about the pricing of other things in your life and how much they have gone up in 20 years. Cars. Coffee. Shoes. Air travel. Hotels.

It's kind of sad seeing some of the yarns that are no longer available. Magpie. Donegal Tweed. Fox Chunky.....

It's back to my accounting. I don't want to keep the tax man waiting.

Sunset

Kim brought in her newest Color Play Mohair Wrap today. She named it Sunset.

Not a good day to be taking pictures outside so I was very quick.

 It's nice to be looking at bright colours. Kind of cheers up the day.

While I'm showing bright and cheerful, here is a new sock yarn from Regia.

Fluormania Color - trendy eye-catchers in up-to-date neon style! Energize your autumn wardrobe with neon colors. 

Your kids/grand kids will love these socks! And I don't think you can lose them in the laundry.

Polyamide: 25%, Virgin Wool: 75%

100 g

420m / 460 yards 

$18.00 a ball.

Two colours are Alegria sock yarn came today as well.

A little bit of bright from Rowan Magazine #55. 

Surf.

Knit this womens patterned, stripe t shirt from Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 55, a design by Martin Storey using the beautiful yarn Cotton Glace (combed cotton). With set in short sleeves and scoop neck, this knitting pattern is for the intermediate knitter.

Celeste

Knit this womens stripe cardigan Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 55, a design by Martin Storey using the ever popular yarn Cotton Glace (combed cotton). With a scoop neck collar and mixed colour stripes, this knitting pattern is for the intermediate knitter.

I almost finished my cowl today. It would have fit perfectly into the bright theme. I have one and a half rows and then the cast off. Tomorrow!

Spring Baby/Kids

Mr. Canpar came in this afternoon with a box of new baby/kids from Sirdar.

There is a new yarn called Peekaboo.

Snuggly Peekaboo DK is a gorgeously soft baby yarn that comes in softly printed, dappled colours that look extra cosy for girls and boys designs and makes delightful blankets too. This yarn looks fab knitted in the simplest stocking stitch as well as lacy stitches and cables and can be knitted for babies and children from birth to seven years. Snuggly Peekaboo DK comes in the same wonderfully soft blend as Snuggly DK - 55% nylon and 45% acrylic. It knits to all our Sirdar double knitting baby patterns and is machine washable and easy care.

Sirdar Baby Bamboo has 4 new colours.

Specially developed to be incredibly soft, gentle and smooth for Baby, this yarn is a new blend with natural bamboo and wool fibres. It will keep its quality through gentle machine washing.

114 Candy

115 Bobbi Blue

116 Lemonade

117 Dinky Denim

There will be new patterns for Baby Bamboo but they weren't in today's boxes.

Beth had a weekend of knitting. I'm not sure she did anything but knit.

She's already trying to figure out how she can cut it short. I'm not going to let her.

My cowl didn't get finished. Maybe tonight. There is a new Blacklist.

I was worried that the stitches wouldn't show in the handpainted yarn but they do. I can't wait for Masham to arrive!

An email came through earlier today from the Homeowners Association in Myrtle Beach. It is so cold there that pipes are bursting in houses and condos. We had someone go into our houses and all is good. The bad news - they are expecting snow tomorrow and Wednesday. So much snow that school has already been cancelled tomorrow. They don't see snow very often and don't have equipment like snow plows. It will be interesting. Glad I'm not there. I know it is warmer than here but what a waste of a few days away.

Now it's accounting time. Wish me luck.

Wainwright

Wainwright by Bristol Ivey

An asymmetric cardigan whose construction takes traditional chevrons for a joy ride.

Cardigan body is worked flat; circular needle is used to accommodate the large number of stitches and undulations in the fabric. Circular needle may be used for Magic Loop Method in sleeves.

Lorna's Laces had this cardigan in their booth at TNNA. It is beautiful. When I saw it yesterday morning on Ravelry I messaged Bristol and asked if I could use her pictures.

Purchase the pattern on Ravelry...

Finished Measurements 
32 1/4 (35 1/4, 39, 41 3/4, 47, 50, 53)” bust, when buttoned 
Sample shown in size 39” with 2” of positive ease

Yarn 
Masham Worsted by Lorna’s Laces (70% British Wool, 30% Masham Wool; 170 yds/100g); 7 (8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12) skeins in Pewter, or 1125 (1235, 1360, 1470, 1585, 1695, 1715, 1875) yards heavy worsted yarn

Needles 
One 32” or 40” circular needle (circ) in size US 8 5 mm 
Set of double pointed needles (DPNs) in size US 8 5 mm 
Set of DPNs in size US 7 4.5 mm 
or size needed to obtain gauge

The yarn is new from Lorna's Laces. It's not here yet but it's coming.

Masham
70% British Wool
30% Masham Wool
170 yards on a 100gram skein
4 stitches = 1" on 4.5mm-5mm needles

The fibres take the dye differently which creates a marled look. 

I have a few skeins at home in St. Charles - the wild orange, purple, lime colour way. I didn't take any Liberty home the other night so I decided to 'swatch' St. Charles. In this case swatch means knit a cowl. :)

The yarn is awesome. I've already added more colours to my order from Lorna's Laces. The cowl could/should be done tonight.

BYOB

It's a snowy day and I thought that I was going to get to knit in the store. Not. I sewed in ends on some one's scarf. It really is time for her to learn how to do it herself but I don't see it happening in the near future.

The scarf is knit in Classic Elite Liberty, double strand on 7mm needles. She used 8 balls but if you wanted a narrower scarf you could make it with 6 balls.

The BYOB from Namaste arrived yesterday. I took one home last night so that Beth can get organized. She has a knitting chair. There are a few projects and all her supplies piled on it. Maybe this will help.

Sorry my pictures are a bit out of order. I should have shown the binder first and then the pages but this is how they downloaded and I didn't want to start playing around and mess things up.

INTERCHANGEABLE PAGE:

This page was originally designed as a page to store interchangeable needles, hence the name, but we've found through testing that it's also great for 5" DPN sets, crochet hooks, darning needles, and more! Each page features 24 slots total (the page is double sided so you get 2 for 1!), each measuring approximately 1 inch across and 3" high. There are 12 slots on each side of the page, positioned 6 on the top half and 6 on the bottom half of each side. Each slot is fully reinforced with elastic strap behind the slot in order to ensure that all sizes fit snugly.

Page measures approx. 12.5" x 6.5"

My 15mm, Knitter's Pride tips above and a set of interchangeable needles to the right.

There is an elastic strap in each slot that holds the needles tight. They aren't going anywhere.

 LONG STRAIGHT PAGE:

This page has 12 slots, 6 on each side, which measure 1" across by 6" high. Each slot is fully reinforced with elastic strap behind the slot in order to ensure that all sizes fit snugly. This page is ideal for organizing sets of straight needles and can also house sets of 7" DPNs

Page measures approx. 12.5" x 6.5"

I used this page for double points, crochet hooks and a pen. You can never find a pen when you need it.

The inside cover has two mesh slots for little items and the back cover has a one big mesh pocket.

MESH PAGE:

This page features 2 mesh zipper pockets each measuring approximately 6" x 7" and it's ideal for storing interchangeable needle cables, circular needles, pens, tape measures, notions, you-name-it!

Page measures approx. 12" x 7" 

Introducing the latest and greatest in organization for the needle arts industry...the Namaste B.Y.O.B.!!! (Build Your Own Binder) BYOB is a fully customizable, sleek shell tool binder with 3 optional page types for personal customization. The BYOB case features an exterior rear zipper compartment, removable exterior wristlet, and 3 interior mesh pockets (2 1/2 pockets on front interior & 1 full wall rear interior pocket). The BYOB is perfect for wrangling any tools and is sold as an empty unit (includes the above-mentioned features). 

Mom made chili today - enough for us too - and I picked it up on the way home. She has to make two pots because one of us won't eat beans. And it isn't me. Thanks mom. It was very good and now we don't have to think about making dinner.