The Quest

Mr. UPS dropped by today with two boxes from Rowan. The first was full of Revive. This yarn is hot for spring. Rowan did patterns in Magazine #55 as well as a simple shapes magazine for the yarn. It is a true DK weight so there are many other pattern options as well.

Purelife revive is our wonderful tweed effect, fully recycled summer yarn. It has a beautiful rusticity.

Recycled Cotton: 36%, Recycled Silk: 36%, Recycled Viscose: 28% 

There were also some new magazines.

The Fine Art Accessories collection is a beautiful collection of women’s accessory designs from textured scarfs and wraps to shrugs and gloves. Using the stunning yarn fine art, the collection offers small projects in knit and crochet to add a statement layer to any outfit.

A beautiful collection of 10 designs for children aged ranging from 0-3 months to 5 years, showcasing the luxurious yarn baby silk merino dk. The designs range from bright and easy to wear casual knits to cosy hats and scarfs, and there's even a cute little purse for your precious little ones.

The Last Hurrah is the final collection for Rowan's Studio publications and so, by way of celebration, we asked some old friends to design a garment for the festive season.  Using Kidsilk Haze, Anchor Artiste Metallic, Kidsilk Haze Eclipse, Angora Haze and Kidsilk Haze Glamour the designers have ensured the final collection is a fitting last hurrah and covers all knitting skill levels from beginner to the more experienced.

There is a trade organization for the yarn and needlepoint industry called The National Needle Arts Association. I have talked about TNNA and the two trade shows that I attend every year. I've been going for over 20 years and it's been a lot of fun. I know most of the board members of TNNA and have given suggestions over the years on getting new members and more participation.

There is a sub group of TNNA called Yarn Group. This is yarn distributors, manufactures, yarn shop owners, designers and sales reps. Because of being vocal I was invited to a strategic planning session in Vegas last October. Because of being vocal I am now the Vice-Chair of Yarn Group. It was time to put my money where my mouth was. Beth and I came up with an idea for the upcoming TNNA show in Indianapolis called The Quest.

The Quest is a fun search for treasure and knowledge that you will be able to complete as you visit the events, displays and vendors at TNNA.   A cool scavenger hunt type experience with the chance to win great prizes!

If you've been to Camp then you will know that we like scavenger hunts. The response from exhibitors has been great. Now I can't wait for May because it is going to be lots of fun.

The bad thing about The Quest - it has really cut into my knitting time. There are many emails and phone calls and conference calls. Hopefully the bulk of the work is done next week and I get back to my needles.

Paisley

Fiona Ellis will be at the March meeting (Wednesday March 19 7:30-9:30pm) of the Downtown Knit Collective doing a talk on Paisley (a design from Twist Collective Spring/Summer 2012).

PONDERING PAISLEY 

Give it a swirl, give it a whirl, hear the story of the Paisley unfurl. Join designer Fiona Ellis as she explores the roots of Paisley designs. It's a story that takes us from the warm lands of eastern promise to the cool highlands of western Scotland, with many twists and turns along the way.  Fiona will show you how they writhe and twist their way from the reign of Queen Victoria into contemporary knitwear design!

“Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment” - Alexander McQueen 

Fiona Ellis’s career is certainly one about escapism. After pursuing a sensible career in laboratory work for textile production and colour cosmetic formulation, Fiona escaped from career-captivity in the early 1990’s to pursue fashion design at De Montfort University. She graduated with a degree specializing in Knitwear design. Fiona then founded founded her independent design business, selling designs to major fashion houses in New York, Paris and London. Her contacts in New York helped her to add design for the independent knitter to her repertoire. This led to her published patterns in major print and on-line magazines, and two successful books published by Random House. Fiona helps people escape from the mundane and bring creative design sensibilities to their knitting.

If you have a chance to hear Fiona talk I highly recommend it. She is awesome! And if you know Fiona, you know that she likes to talk :)

Join us at our meetings. Everyone is welcome!Meetings are held once a month, September to June.7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm, at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue.Innis College is located a block south of the St. George Subway station. Admission is free with membership.Non-members and associate members pay $8 per meeting.Visitors are welcome!

No one brought boxes today. It was kind of sad. We did do some rearranging to fit in all the Lorna's Laces.

Have I mentioned lately that I love Masham?

Haymarket has been moved to give it more room. Now you can really see the colours. The bad thing - it's harder to pick just one colour to knit with.

It's a big night. Grey's is back. What is April going to do?  

Song of the Sea

Mr. UPS came in this afternoon with three boxes from Lorna's Laces. It was like Christmas.

This is Masham in Arlington.

Masham Worsted is a hearty blend of British and Masham wool, hand-dyed in Lorna's beautiful colorways. Each fiber absorbs the dye differently, resulting in a marled look with wonderful depth of color. A warm and classically appealing yarn, Masham is an ideal choice for cold-weather garments like sweaters and cardigans. 

Masham - Northbrook

Sportmate in Northbrook.

Why two pictures of the same colour? To show how the various fibres take the dye differently.

I wasn't sure about this colour when I ordered it but now that I see it in full skeins I really, really like it.

A box came from Lynda today as well.

Pattern: Song of the Sea by Louise Zass-Bangham - purchased on Ravelry

Yarn: Metalico from Blue Sky Alpacas - 2 skeins each of Opal, Silver and Platinum

Needles: 3.75mm

For the yarn striping sequence, please take a look at inspiration's project on Ravelry...

It feels really nice around your neck. Really nice. I had a hard time leaving it in the store - it almost came home with me.

Now I must go. Survivor and Idol are taping and Beth is getting very vocal about my stopping and moving upstairs. She has actually started Idol without me.

Lorna's Laces

You know that bigger store that I talked about yesterday. Now we really need it.

Don't leave the page too soon or you might miss one of the new colours coming from Lorna's Laces. UPS has the parcel and I'm hoping it will be here on Thursday. I'm very excited. The colours are awesome!!

All colours are coming in Shepherd Sock and Solemate.

Haymarket
-DuPage
-Galena
-Northbrook
-Shorewood
-St. Charles

Shepherd Sport
-DuPage
-Galena
-Naperville
-Glen Ellyn

Sportmate
-Northbrook
-Shorewood
-St. Charles

Helen's Lace
-Galena
-DuPage
-Glen Ellyn
-Naperville
-St. Charles

Pearl
-St. Charles

Masham
-Shorewood
-Northbrook
-St. Charles

There are some 'old' colours coming in Masham as well
-Rockwell
-Shenanigans
-Zombie BBQ
-Arlington

See a colour you like but not in the yarn you want to knit or crochet with? Let me know and we can get it for you.

I showed Wainwright a while ago. If you missed the post about it, here is the link...

It is shown in Pewter Masham and that colour is in the order as well.

I totally forgot to mention The Amazing Race in my TV listing yesterday. The first episode was great. Glad to see the twinnies go. I don't think I could have taken another season of them yelling. And I totally forgot about Brendon and Rachel. Or maybe I blocked it from my mind. What was she wearing?

When I got home from work Beth took a few pictures of me in my new sweater.

The front is riding up a touch-I should have looked before we did the picture. It doesn't normally sit like that.

Why the back of my sweater? Look at the shaping. The back tapers in so you don't have all that extra fabric in your back waist that you don't need.

Beth made pizza for dinner so I need to go and eat. I know it is going to cost me something :)

I need a bigger store.

Ms. Canada Post and Mr. Canpar brought in boxes today. We are starting to run out of room but it won't stop me from buying more yarn :)

New mug kits just arrived from Spud &  Chloe.

Each kit contains
-Spud & Chloe Mug
-1 skein of Spud & Chloe Sweater
-1 On-the-Run pattern

Aphrodite Hat Kit

Cupid Cowl

Venus Mitts

We are well stocked in Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton. There were many bags in with the mugs.

This candy shop of color tempts with an array of sweet treats ranging from rich and creamy neutrals to scrumptious and saturated hues. The palette is created with low impact dyes, and a funky twist gives this 100% certified organic cotton a light and lofty hand.

Take a look at the Fraser Cowl. It looks great in the Cotton.

Need a baby blanket? Try the Zig Zag Baby Blanket.

Another new yarn arrived today.

Luxurious Tweed DK is made using sumptuously soft cotton and the finest wool spun together in rich, earthy tones with a smattering of colourful neps in subtle accent colours.

60% wool
40% cotton

22 stitches = 4" on 4mm needles
135m on a 50gram ball

There is also a pattern book (with 17 designs) to go with the yarn. Here are a few.

Nadine is downstairs with her class and I'm going to knit as soon as I'm done writing. I'm casting off the back neck and doing the shoulder shaping on my CustomFit cardigan. Just the sleeves to go. I think I can get it done in a week. And it's one crazy TV week. There was an Olympic hangover this morning. I woke up and put on CBC but there wasn't anyone skiing or skating or bobsledding. It was sad. The good news. The Blacklist is back tonight. And a new Big Break. Grey's Anatomy is back on Thursday. Survivor starts on Wednesday night. Beth has everything taped already so we don't forget.

It really is done...

...and just in time. The closing ceremonies have started.

Why the ends? I wanted to prove that it is totally done. All ends are sewn in.

I will get pictures this week of me wearing the sweater. I'm still in my pjs (no time to get dressed this morning) and I don't have on any makeup.

Pattern: CustomFit by Amy Herzog. There will be more about this later in the post.
Yarn: tosh vintage double stranded in the colour whiskers
Needles: 8mm

The pattern was awesome. The best thing was the sleeves. I have never had sleeves sew into a garment as easy as this one. No false starts. No fudging under the arms. Perfect. Both of them.

CustomFit by Amy Herzog Designs. You put in your measurements, knit a tension swatch and then customize a pattern. If you live close to the store, we are going to start measurements in a week. You come in, we do your measurements and save them in the store account for you. Purchase yarn, make a swatch and then I will help you with the pattern. If you don't live near the store or are comfortable doing your own measurements, you can start your own account.

I pulled out my other CustomFit garment - a cardigan in Classic Elite Bella Lino. The back is at the armhole shaping and both fronts are done. I'm giving myself a week to finish it.

The Daytona 500 was on but now it's under rain delay so Beth and I are heading out to get some food. I have changed out of my pjs and put makeup on. :)  Hopefully the race will be on by the time we get home because The Amazing Race starts tonight and it will be hard to watch both at the same time.

And the winner is....

Beth delivered the food (my mom's Edge was full) and $600 in cash this morning to the Food Drive. Thank you to everyone who donated.

Mrs. Lucas runs the Food Drive and when Beth handed her the cash she almost cried.

 Congratulations Colleen!!!

Thank you to all my suppliers who generously donated

-Classic Elite

-Lorna's Laces

-Freia Handpaint

-Rowan

-Regia

-Wendy/Peter Pan

-Lantern Moon

-Filatura di Crosa

-Misti Alpaca

-Plymouth Yarns

-Old Mill Knitting

-Estelle Designs
-Offhand Designs

-Zen Yarn Garden

Let the sewing begin

It was just after midnight when I cast off my second sleeve. I threw it in a bucket of cold water and Yuzu Soak for 15 minutes...

...and got it laid out.

My bathtub is useless right now.

I'm worried that the sleeves won't be dry by the time I need them for sewing tomorrow. I did a little trick that Jared Flood shared at camp. I rolled the sleeve in a towel and then walked on the towel. It helps to get the excess water out.

We have a new sock yarn in the store.

Supersocke 4ply Jupiter Colour

75% superwash wool
25% nylon
with aloe vera and jojoba

420 m on a 100gram ball.

A colour for everyone.

We have added the pattern for Twisted Donuts on Ravelry. You can purchase it here...

Now it's time to sign off and start sewing. I've been putting it off for long enough. :)

Noema

A new spring yarn from Louisa Harding just arrived.

Noema
75% cotton
20% acrylic
5% nylon

20 stitches = 4" on 4mm needles
120m on a 50 gram ball.

$8.95 a ball

The colours are awesome!

There is a pattern book with amazing patterns.

Speaking of spring, it was a beautiful day in Ancaster.

Just as the hockey game was finishing, the snow started. And boy did it come down. Then the freezing rain started. Beth picked me up and shovelled the side walk. We got a lot of snow. The drive home wasn't fun-the roads were really icy and the fog rolled in.

At least it was a great day at the Olympics for Canada. Tonight is a busy TV night. Nascar. Olympics. Golf. And I need to finish my sleeve.