Chip

I was writing quickly last night and forgot to show the wall of Freia Shawl Balls and Yarn Bombs. Minikins are online and I will do these tomorrow?? Yes, question marks because I will try but can’t make a promise.

Lynn and I had fun this morning. Lynn was sweeping so we opened the door to let in some fresh air. It was beautiful outside. We had a small visitor. Chip the chipmunk ran into the store. It took us about 1/2 hour but we got him out the front door. There was no yelling or crying. I wanted to but held back. 

I believe that Stephen West is going to share more details about his MKAL tomorrow. I will put together kits ASAP.

We have new pictures for the Barber Cords. It is much easier to order online now.

Say goodbye to waste yarn and hello to these amazing hollow plastic cords.

The cords are made of silicone and come in a set of three, packaged in a tin box [diameter 68 mm] with logos on top and colour sticker on bottom.

One set contains 1* ~150 cm (60 inch) & 2* ~75 cm (30 inch) cords.

 

Firmly press the tip of the cord onto your needle (~1 cm) and start sliding your knitting on or off the cord and remember to check that your joint is secured all the time.

When your stitches are in place gently remove the cord from the needle by pushing it off with your fingertip or nail, do not pull the cord off.   

Just pop it gently like an expensive champagne cork.

Beth is watching The Amazing Race Canada that we taped last night. I’m sitting at the kitchen table working on the website. Tomorrow is the launch of Rowan Fall/Winter 22/23. There will be books and new colours going live in the morning. 

Terra delivered my planters today. This has replaced one summer planter that wasn’t doing well. 

The other summer planters still look good so these are living in the island for a week or so.

It’s bed time. Tomorrow is going to be busy between Rowan, Freia and Stephen West MKAL kits.

SoleMates

Our order from Freia arrived this afternoon. I was supposed to be out of the store early but waited for Mr. UPS. I’m glad I did.

The new SoleMates kits look great! We are the first store to get the kits. 

You're not seeing double! These little guys are tracked all through production from start to finish to ensure each pair stays with it's mate - giving you the pair of perfectly identical SoleMates! These are dyed on a Shaniko Merino Superwash base that just gets softer with each wash - and they are already soft to begin with. You will ooh and ahh when you have these on your feet. 

SUPER soft - US Merino - ethically raised - minimally processed, just enough to make them machine washable and dryable - identical (we're calling them 'Sole-Mates' get it?) - great yardage (460yds total/230yds per ball) and yeah, I said soft, right? 

I have the kits online but didn’t have time to get pictures of the individual kits.

Top from the left

• Dirty Hippie
• Metropolis
• Sobek
• Giza
• Sirocco

Bottom from the left

• Harvest
• Pt. Reyes
• Aurora
• Aswan
• Pearl

Lynn is working on her socks - I brought her a kit home from the knitting show in Chicago. It is her first pair of toe up socks - we’ll get pictures this week.

These are the new colours on Minikins. I will try to get these online tomorrow.

Tonight was our Fantasy Football draft (which is why the website didn’t get updated). This year Beth and I have our own teams. This could get tense. Beth’s team received a B and mine a C.👿

BOGO Pattern Sale

Mr. Canada Post stopped by this morning with a box from Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden. The National Parks Collection Socks are in the store. 

I packed boxes this afternoon for those who preordered the yarn. If you preordered for pick up I will be sending emails tomorrow afternoon.

If you missed out we have another order coming later in September.

This is part of the pile that Mr. Canada Post took today. Knitters are getting ready for fall.

Melanie Berg is having a pattern sale.

I want to celebrate a bit... and I want to say thank you for all the support you've been giving me in this past year. 💕

Time for a BOGO sale! On Ravelry, use "knitlove", add as many of my self-published designs to your cart as you like, and only pay for half of them! This is a great opportunity to stock up and prepare for your fall knitting projects. E-books are also included, so happy shopping, from now on through the end of August.

Thank you so much! ❤️

https://www.ravelry.com/designers/melanie-berg

Only Good Vibes is one of my favourite Melanie Berg patterns. We have a sample knit in the store and customers are drawn to it. 

This afternoon I went to Terra to purchase our fall planters. Choosing is always hard. Now I know how customers feel in my store. They say that they are overwhelmed and can’t decide. I had a bit of that today.

The Lone Skein Shawl

Joji has a new shawl pattern.

A one skein shawl is such a pretty thing to make. They are always worthy of our finest treasured yarns, they yield almost instant gratification and they are, truly, the most fun accessories to spice up your daily wardrobe.  

This simple crescent shaped shawl can be made with just 1 skein of fingering (sock weight) yarn. It alternates bands of slipped sts, garter stitch and short rows.  

The crescent is asymmetrical (it’s longer towards one side) and its characteristic shape is achieved by working increases over the edges.

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry. 

The shawl is knit in fingering weight. Please check the yardage. Some yarns will need one skein and some yarns will take two.

Photos © Joji Locatelli

It’s almost time for Stephen West’s annual MKAL.

It's almost time for the Westknits Mystery Knit A Long 2022 and I can't wait to share it with you! The theme for this year's shawl is Twists & Turns, so get ready to be taken on a wild Westknits adventure! There will be more details announced over the next few days on social media and in your inbox, but I wanted you to be the first to know that MKAL season is here so keep your eyes peeled for exciting MKAL updates. 

MKAL stands for Mystery Knit A Long and it's a fun, social activity where knitters from all around the world make the same shawl project throughout the month of October. Nobody knows what the shawl will look like, but you can expect a stunning work of art filled with exciting techniques accompanied by detailed video tutorials demonstrating every section of the shawl. Each Thursday in October, starting October 6, a new clue (set of instructions) is revealed as a PDF update, so you get to watch your shawl grow and evolve one step at a time. The mystery element makes the knit a long that extra bit more exciting and it's your chance to learn something new while having tons of fun. 

I don’t know anything about the shawl but here are a few guesses

• The shawl is knit in fingering weight yarn
• It looks like Stephen is using solid or semi solid colours
• There will be 5 colours (because Stephen’s shawls are usually 5 colours)

Remember, these are only guesses. I’m just throwing them out there. Stephen will have the information out by next Saturday morning. 

There will be one more week to our Birthday Celebration. New products will go live at 8am tomorrow (Sunday) morning.

Happy National Dog Day

Phyllis sent me an email today with a picture of the sweater that she just finished for her husband. Phyllis lives in Whitehorse and has been a customer for 35 years. We have never met but I feel like I know her well. Phyllis found us in the back of Rowan Magazine #1. We were the first store listed and she has shopped with us ever since. Back in the day we did things by phone. That was fun - there was always a lag in the conversations - phones have become a lot better. 

Fishbone was a very enjoyable knit and I really liked working within Rowan Denim Revive. The knitting of this big sweater went surprisingly quickly and unlike Rowan’s earlier denim yarn, Revive is easy on the fingers. The pattern by Martin Storey is clear and straightforward. When it came to finishing it, however, I must admit to setting it aside for a little while! I always get stressed up about setting in sleeves with cotton yarn because there is very little give and every stitch seems to count for the overall appearance. Also, I spent time fretting about sewing in the hood well enough to match my personal standards. So, I took time to practiced with some other cotton yarn and then I bought a tailor’s ham. What a marvelous tool!!! I will never again set in sleeves or attach a hood / collar without using it. I’m extremely pleased with my seams now. I didn’t struggle at all with working in any fullness because a tailor’s ham provides a firm, round surface to work on and makes it easy to create a naturally looking rounded seam. I even used it when I steam ironed the sleeves and hood. In my opinion, a tailor’s ham makes for easey peasy sewing - and that often makes all the difference in world when trying to get a sweater completely finished and done!

Have a sweet weekend, Julie! I’m eagerly getting everything organized and ready to start another new project and as you well know, that’s always great fun. Also, now that I’m so much happier with my finishing skills, I’m feeling ready to start knitting some of the more advanced projects I have been setting aside for years. Get ready for lots more pictures to come!  

Here is a picture of Phyllis’ tailor’s ham. 

I chose the colours for my Earth Stripe Wrap. The lime is the only colour that stayed the same. I couldn’t find a pop colour that I liked better.

Boscoe had a haircut today. 

Jackson went to school today.

Kidsilk Haze

Today I started adding the new colours of Rowan Kidsilk Haze to the website. Unfortunately it’s taking longer than it should so not all the colours are there yet. It got me thinking about a project that Diana knit for us. 

This is Kaffe Fassett’s Earth Stripe Wrap. I am going to have it knit again in new colours. We will lay out the original colours and then I will make substitutions. Mine might not be as ‘earthy’. Or it could end up more ‘earthy’. We’ll see tomorrow.

This is all I have for tonight. I’m trying to finish a newsletter that will go out tomorrow morning. If you don’t receive our newsletters you can sign up on our website.

The box is halfway down the front page.

Back to the Kidsilk Haze.

Bundles

Blue Sky Fibers has new Woolstok Bundles. Our order should be here on Friday.

The 27 Color Woolstok Bundle includes all 27 colors of Woolstok! Bundles are designed for crafting of all kinds; knit, crochet, weave, felt and more.

 

With each mini hank measuring at 12 yards each (10 meters), there are endless ways for you to use these bundles. Every 27 Color Bundle includes 1 mini-hank of each of the 27 colors of Woolstok giving you even more options to explore color.

Knit in the round from the bottom up, this colorful snood is a great advanced beginner project that will match everything in your closet. Uses one 27 Color Bundle and four 50 gram hanks of Woolstok.

The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry. 

The Fall Festival bundle gathers those perfect autumnal colors of rustling foliage and fields full of gourds and pumpkins. Bundles are designed for crafting of all kinds; knit, crochet, weave, felt and more.

With each mini hank measuring at 12 yards each (10 meters), there are endless ways for you to use these bundles. Every bundle includes 3 mini-hanks of 7 different shades giving you plenty of options to explore color. 

These cute pumpkins are knit with one bundle. The pattern is free on Ravelry.

With two stands held together giving you a marled look throughout, you can mix the colors and create your own unique pumpkin patch. 
Pattern uses one Fall Festival Bundle with 2 strands held together throughout.

Sock knitters are loving Malabrigo’s new Ultimate Sock. Malabrigo is offering this sock pattern for free on Ravelry. We have colours in stock and more colours are coming.

Lynn and I had a crazy day today. Thanks to everyone who visited and did orders online. We were able to start opening the boxes from Rowan. We received some Felted Tweed, Felted Tweed Colour, Big Wool and Alpaca Classic. Big Wool and Alpaca Classic will be added to the website tomorrow. There are 4 boxes that we can’t unpack yet that are full of new Kidsilk Haze and new colours in existing yarns. Tomorrow we are going to find spots to put these yarns when they come out of their boxes next week.

Now a bit of time with my feet up before bed.