I made it

It was just after 11 when I knit the last two stitches together. The knitting is finished and I will block the shawl tomorrow.

Will I make it?

It's 7:30, dinner is in the oven and I'm knitting like crazy. This is how far I am on Itineris. The extension is done and I'm onto the triangle.

I'm posting now so that I can spend the rest of the evening knitting. When I get the shawl finished I will post the picture just to prove that I made it in time. Yes, procrastination is my middle name :)

Cathy is a very thoughtful person. She wanted me to have an easy post tonight so she messaged pictures of her last project.

Just in time - I finished my log cabin afghan on our last night at the cottage. I did 25 squares instead of 20 because they are so fun to knit. Sort of addictive! I knit 8 ridges instead of 6 for the outside border. And "No!" Sarah's not getting this even though she tried her best to claim it for herself. A great end to a great vacation!

It is absolutely beautiful and I love it with the 25 squares. Now I'm ready to get back to mine. I think that I have 6 or 7 squares made.

Cathy's pictures look awesome. Now I want to rent a cottage next summer.

Next KAL

I've been asked what we are going to do for our next KAL. I'm undecided so I need some help from you. Please leave a comment on this post or send me an email.

I think that everyone is enjoying doing shawls. I have been asked about doing one of these

Warrior Shawl

Artesian by Romi

Ashburn

Halfway There

Let me know your thoughts. Do you know of another pattern that looks interesting?

Just as I was closing I received a phone call from Tina at Freia Fibers. An order is leaving California on Tuesday with lots of fingering.

Kim used 2 balls of fingering to knit Auburn Wave and we have been very low in the store. In a week or so we will have LOTS!

Mint Julep

Espresso

Blue Velvet

Cochinilla

 Fuchsia

 Pixie

Vertigo

Atlantis

 Lichen (the colour that Kim used)

River

And there are 4 brand new colours that Tina hasn't added to the website yet. Here is a picture of them from the trade show in May.

Here is a blog post from a shop in the US - Fibre Space. They designed their own shawl in Freia Fingering and a solid sock yarn. It's fantastic. And our balls of Fingering are larger (322 yards vs 215 yards) so you will get an even bigger shawl.

No knitting today but after I hit Publish a marathon is starting. I'm almost 3/4 through the extension on Itineris. Beth is grocery shopping and running errands for me so that I can knit. I will have it done tomorrow.

Debbie Bliss

Mr. Canpar came in this afternoon with 2 huge boxes of yarn from Debbie Bliss.

Paloma Tweed

71 yards (65 meters)
50 grams (1.76 ounces)
12.0 sts = 4 inches
US 15 - 10.0 mm

50% Alpaca
30% Wool
14% Acrylic
6% Rayon

Roma

87 yards (80 meters)
100 grams (3.53 ounces)
9.0 to 12.0 sts = 4 inches
US 17 - 12mm

70% Merino
30% Alpaca

Itineris is growing. I'm about half way through the extension. I should be writing a longer post, or making kits, or straightening the store but I'm going to sign off and knit for the last hour of my work day. 

Gifts

Interweave Knits Gifts just arrived.

With a new name and a new logo design, the 2014 holiday issue offers the usual collection of delightful quick knits and artful accessories. His and hers hat variations, a children’s tea party, holiday decor, and loads of accessories—shawls, socks, hats, mitts, cowls, and more, fill out the patterns, while technique articles focus on unusual colorwork methods.

My favourite vest, Aileen, knit in Amuri from Naturally.

Amuri is 75% pure NZ wool and 25% possum. The possum adds warmth to the garment. There is some variation in the colour because the wool and possum take the dyes differently.

Last year the yarn was available in natural colours. This year we have colour. Can you imagine the vest knit in one of these?

See all the shades...

I've been busy making up kits for the Knitters' Fair and Camp. While doing that I needed a picture of a garment and I didn't have one. That means that I never shared with you.

Wannietta knit this cardigan and delivered it to us at the Knitters' Frolic. I think with all the excitement that day I forgot to get pictures.

Pattern: Vodka Lemonade (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Mrs. Crosby Carpet Bag

The kits are going well. Unfortunately my knitting isn't. There has been no time to knit. I need to get going on Itineris and the end of the month is almost here. Ugh. I hope to get some knitting done tonight. There might be a marathon on Saturday night and all day Sunday.

The draft last night went well. We are very happy with our team. We only took players on teams that we want to watch. An interesting way to draft but there is nothing worse than having to watch and cheer for a team on Sunday afternoon that you don't like.

Draft Night

Tonight is the draft for our fantasy football league. Beth is visiting a friend who is in the hospital and I'm at home getting ready. I'm supposed to be studying and making lists and figuring out who we are going to draft. Instead I'm posting on Ravelry and writing a blog post. There is still an hour and a half. I was always one to procrastinate when I had to study.

Here's another fabulous Itineris. Thank you Susan for sharing.

Here's a few pics.  I can't believe I finished something on time!Love the colours - thanks to Kim for her helpTosh "Kelp" and Zen "Irish Hills"
What's our next project?? 

Susan did an interesting twist on the pattern. She switched the main colour and contrast colour on the extension. Love it. It really shows off the colours in the multi-coloured yarn from Zen. I wish that I had thought of it.

I must sign off and get to work.

Awesome Colour Combinations

Cheryl send a picture of her finished Itineris. These are WOW colours - in a very good way.

Here is my finished Itineris. I knit it in sea blue and wowzers green. This is my hand dyed yarn I've been experimenting with. My yardage wasn't  enough so I alternated the striping on the end. I kind of like it.  

This is Emma's Itineris knit in tosh dandelion. Her colours look awesome as well.

Kathy knit her Itineris in tosh merino light - clematis and Stephen loves tosh. Another beautiful combination.

The colour choices that everyone is coming up with has been inspiring.

I just came back from the storage unit with some more tosh. This is pashmina worsted in Dachshund. My new favourite colour. 

The newest yarn from madelinetosh is called Home.

The dachshund home has been in a bag over the weekend for me. I decided to share and put it out on the shelf. There is more on the next order - I'm going to use this colour to make a throw for the new house.

home is a 100% superwash merino wool, bulky weight with a generous 110 yards per skein each incredibly soft squishy skein is hand dyed in small dye lots.

While I was writing, Mr. Canpar came in with some Knitter's Pride accessories.

Pack of 20 Blockers (8 blockers with 4 pins, 12 blockers with 8 pins)

• A new and original idea for blocking

• Speeds up blocking on all types of projects

• Maintains tension

• Ideal for working on straight edges

• Made of tough plastic with embedded stainless steel pins

• Two different sizes for different shapes

• Designed by knitters for knitters

Anything that will speed up knitting is a good thing in my world. These retail for $31.50 - remember that there are 20 blockers in the package.

Cleaning and Purging

The day started out with a trip to the dentist office. My regular appointment for cleaning. Nothing major - thank goodness.

Then I stopped at the store to water the plants. While the sprinkler was going I quickly washed the floors in the store. They aren't perfect and I definitely will never get a job cleaning but the store will smell nice tomorrow.

Then home to clean out the garage and basement.

There is a very large bin of quilting fabric.

The bed of Beth's truck was full of stuff. Why clean and purge now?

There is something interesting happening at home. Actually, that would be a new home. Beth and I bought a house. It has to be built and should be ready at the end of February. This is the drawing from the builders website.

It is in a small subdivision just outside of Ancaster and we will be backing onto green space. We will never have neighbours behind us and will always be looking at fields and trees. There is a much bigger back yard for the dogs. We need to get our house in order to list. I'm working my way through my closet. What to keep and what to donate? It is amazing how much 'stuff' you can accumulate. I'm afraid of seeing how much yarn I have in the house. Why am I hoarding it? There is lots in the store if I run out.

This will be the first time that either of us has moved. Kim has moved a few times and has given us some tips. I wish I could just wiggle my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and everything would be ready to go.

We've been very good about shopping. So far we haven't really bought anything but appliances. I know some things that I want but then they have to be packed and move. I'll wait until we get there :)