Breezy

I want to say thank you and sorry to all have been in during the last week. I haven't been feeling myself and finally made it to the doctor. I have bronchitis, ear infection, throat infection and a sinus infection. When I talk I am very raspy and it seems to bother others more than it bothers me. The coughing is annoying but it will go away soon. Hopefully. The worst part of this is that I haven't been able to get a good nights sleep.

The good part is that I have had a major urge to knit. I finished the neckband of Breezy last night.

 I had it on last night and love the weight. It is as light as a feather.

Now the sleeves.

Blue Sky Alapcas sent out an email today with these great pictures of their Royal Petites.

 

With the same exquisite color palette, twist, and hand as the full size hanks of Blue Sky Alpacas Royal, the petites are 100-yard balls geared towards smaller projects. 

• Weight: 35 grams
• Approx: 100 yards / 92 meters
• Needle Size: 2-3 inches / 2.75-3.25 mm

We have 10 of the 14 colours in the store.

These seven patterns take one or two balls of the Royale Petites. I have a ball of yarn and the pattern for the Mitini Mitts sitting beside me. The fine people of Blue Sky Alpacas gave these at TNNA when you placed an order so that you could knit a sample for the store. I'm going to send it to Ann. She just finished a project and will get them done quicker than me.

Beth and I are having dinner with Sarah tonight. She has been in Canada for a few weeks for a family vacation and goes back on Sunday. She won't be back here again until Christmas so we have lots of visiting to do. Then Big Brother. Who will win the Power of Veto??

Debbie Bliss Winter Garden

Karen called me today and asked me to put yarn away for her that she was going to pick up before the Tent Sale next Monday. Then it hit me. The store is closed on Monday.

For Monday August 27 the store will be open from noon-5 so that people can visit before the sale.

Mr. Canada Post brought in some boxes this morning. One is full of Addi turbo needles. One is shawl pins from Jul and the other was from Ann.

Ann just finished this jacket.

Pattern: Stocking Stitch Jacket from Debbie Bliss Winter Garden

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Winter Garden

Colour: 2 Autumn Leaf

It is knit on large needles (8mm and 9mm) but it isn't heavy.

It is already on a mannequin so I had to stand on a step stool to get the picture. Me and heights don't get along so while I was up there I took one of the Royal Petites from Blue Sky Alpacas and the Soakboxes. 

I went through the box of shawl pins from Jul and put a few on a scarf jacket. I had them on a scarf and the pictures were not the best (okay, that is being polite-they looked horrible). I think this is a much better picture (that really shows the tweed in the Winter Garden yarn).

The pins with red and purple stones are Whorl Fermoir

The next two pins are the Pearl Tendril Fermoir

These are all made from White Bronze, Stainless Steel and Semi-Precious Stone

The bottom pin is a Stingray Fermoir made from White Bronze and Stainless Steel

How many of these are going to end up in my pin drawer at home?

I didn't feel like counting and changing colours last night so I pulled out an almost finished project.

My Breezy Cardigan. I'm using tosh merino light. It is knit from the top down and it was supposed to be finished by the end of June. OOPS!

The front bands are done and now I have 3 more rows to finish the neck band. Then pick up for the sleeves. I'm saving the sleeves until the end because I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn to make them long-they might end up 3/4 length.

This is an old picture I took from the blog-I will have a new picture in the next few days when the front band is done.

This is the original Breezy Cardigan
Designer: Hannah Fettig
Pattern is bought on Ravelry.

Now I'm on a mission to get Breezy done. There are lots of food shows tonight-Around the World in 80 Plates, Master Chef, Chopped and there should also be some episodes of Storage Wars.

I'm going to talk about TV shows now so if you aren't caught up then please stop reading.

Big Brother-It was great that Boogie and Frank were put on the block. Boogie is so arrogant that he went for the $10000 instead of safety. And Frank-messing with Ian's girl. It serves him right.

Y&R-I haven't watched in some time and then I watched on Monday afternoon. Victor and Sharon are married. What is the age difference? Victor is missing. They think that Sharon burned the pre-nup and has something to do with Victor's disappearance. I never liked that girl. I thought Tim Reid was already dead and then he was alive on Monday and died during the show. It's amazing how long you can go between watching and you never really lose the plot.

Kauni

Mr Canada Post brought in a big box of Kauni Effektgarn this morning. We are well stocked!! We don't have all the colours but pretty close.

The Cascade Vest knit in two colours of Kauni. We have this colour way hanging in the store. You knit two rows of one colour and then two rows of another colour. You keep repeating carrying the yarn not in use up the edge.

I have been putting together colour combinations this afternoon.

Kauni has extremely long colour segments. This works great for the striping on the vest or for doing fair isle.

We have two patterns from Ruth Sorenson. These are knit in the round and then cut to make a shawl. It sounds scary but it really isn't.

You can see more of Ruth's patterns on Ravelry

 The Summer Shawl

The Daisy Shawl

The Kauni website has free patterns to download...

Here is my Breezy Cardigan. I didn't get the bottom ribbing done last night. I mentioned to Beth that I thought I would get it done-I have 2 weeks. She looked at me and said try again. You have 10 days. On No!!

I'm going home and getting my fingers working.

I will get it done!!

It was 11 last night when I remembered that I didn't write yesterday. I spent most of the day knitting. I'm going to get the Breezy Cardigan done in time for TNNA!!

Here is the original Breezy Cardigan from Hannah Fettig in case you don't know what I am knitting.

The body is almost finished-it is knit from the top down. I have 3 inches of ribbing to do and then cast off. Then I am going to do all the ribbing around the neck and down the front bands. The sleeves are last because I'm not sure how much yarn I'm going to have. They will be knit until I run out.

Today was a busy day-it was all about me. I left the house just after 9 and headed across the border. We have a family wedding on Saturday and I need something to wear-it was a good excuse to go. :) I found a great jacket just before noon and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (but no cheesecake). Then a bit more shopping at the mall and a trip to Target.

I have a new coffee maker. I wasn't happy with the one that I had. Coffee and especially tea was never hot enough. The new one is set up and I am on my second tea. Much better.

Then back to the Cheesecake Factory so that I could bring a piece of cheesecake home for Beth and I.

The wait at the border was crazy. I made it home around 5:30-just like a full day of work. :)

Beth is upstairs setting the DVR to tape. We made it part way through Hell's Kitchen last week and came to the conclusion that we can't do it. The people on the show are so annoying and have no clue how to cook. Instead we are watching Top Chef Masters, Master Chef, Big Break and Around the World in 80 plates. Now I need to wind more yarn and get back to my knitting.

Breezy

I took some quick photos of my knitting this morning. My sales rep Kathryn is coming in to show me fall yarns and books from Debbie Bliss, Noro, Sirdar.... and I probably won't have time to get some good pictures outside.

This mannequin is great for taking pictures of my knitting because she is a plus size model. When I put my garments on a regular mannequin they look really funny.

I got one row past dividing the body and sleeves while watching Criminal Minds last night.

I found the rest of my yarn this morning. Thank goodness. Now just lots of stocking stitch while I am away. Perfect for in the airport.

I went online last night to look at my bank account and visa statement and there was a charge from madelinetosh. Yarn should be shipping to us tomorrow or Monday. I don't know yet what will be in the box but I think some vintage, sock and merino light

Mr. Melo had to go back to the vet today for more work on his ear. They think they might need to cut open the incision, drain out the ear flap and then put in more stitches. Hopefully they can do it with a local and don't have to put him out.

It is going to be a busy evening so I'm going to finish my post now. Chiropractor. Appliance shopping. Pick up the dry cleaning. Laundry and pack. Wind balls of yarn. Knit and watch Grey's Anatomy-I have a feeling there could be some tears tonight.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. She is having a great week. Mother's Day and a birthday-talk about lots of presents. We bought her towels and cutlery for the house.

I said that today's post was going to be about more Noro. I'm saving that for tomorrow. Or possibly for the weekend.

This morning was spent opening the mountain of boxes from the post office.

Box 1:
Solemate from Lorna's Laces in the new colour Bigger on the inside. This is to make the shawl that Kate Atherley designed.

I sent out a newsletter about this last week and all the yarn in this shipment is gone (bad news) but another shipment left Chicago yesterday (good news) and I should have it early next week.

The pattern is free on knitty.com.

From Kate

When I was a teenager, I insisted my mother knit me a Doctor Who scarf. Although the colors weren’t precisely right, it was exactly what I wanted: an absurdly long, multicolored scarf with a generous fringe. I wore it for years. And years. I was still wearing it when I finished university and started my first proper job.
One cold winter day, a coworker made a comment in passing. I am certain he meant it to be helpful advice, but it stung more than he could know. He said that the scarf was childish, and if I wanted to be taken seriously in my career I needed to dress the part. The scarf got put away, and I spent more than 10 years dressing conservatively for a career that I never quite fit into. 
Fast forward to 2005, when Doctor Who was relaunched to much acclaim, and I was busy reinventing myself and finding a career I could fit comfortably into. I never forgot my beloved Doctor Who scarf – I’d kept it all along – and I harbored a fantasy of reinventing it for my new life.
And so: Bigger on the inside. A sophisticated, grown-up take on the Doctor Who scarf. No matter how conservative your office, you won’t be out of place with this draped tastefully around your shoulders.

The yarn is a bit more navy in colour than is showing in the picture. I took some skeins outside to get a picture (in the rain) and they looked darker but then when I emailed the picture to myself they are looking brighter blue. Very strange.

Box 2:
Spud and Chloe Fine and Sweater in colours we were running short on

Box 3 and 4:
The Espresso Hermosa bag as well as some Boardwalk Bags (the back pack) in Espresso

Box 5:
The Mystery Box. It had ball winders, swifts, Brittany knitting needles and more copies of Knit Swirl.

How is Jane doing on her jacket? There was a small set back and she had to take out a few rows. Right now she and her husband are traveling in their motor home. I think she has it with her and maybe she will send some pictures.

We had a family meeting at the townhouse between me closing the store and knitting class. The towels look great with the bathroom counters that were put in this morning. The kitchen cabinets were installed today as well.

No, the floors aren't sloped in the townhouse. I'm bad at taking pictures.

I am at a huge point in the Breezy Cardigan. There are 594 stitches on my needle. At the beginning of the next two rows I will cast on 54 stitches-this is for the front pieces that hang-I'm not sure how to describe them so I added a picture. 702 stitches. I'm going to start the next row with a longer needle-it is getting very tight on mine.

Once I do the two cast on rows the sleeve stitches are put on stitch holders. Then I will be back to 522 stitches.

It's our last knitting class tonight and I hope to get the stitches cast on.

Beth taped America's Got Talent and we watched a bit last night. Most of the show is terrible acts but there have been some amazing ones so far-William and his Earth Harp is by far the best. Take a minute to watch the YouTube video if you didn't see it live. If I was a judge I would have declared him the winner right there. Beth said the winner gets an act in Vegas. Should he win I will definitely pay to see him.

I'm home from class now. I got one set of 54 stitches cast on and the row completed. Now it's time to cast on another 54 and purl across 702 stitches. I need to wind two more balls of yarn to take with me to Myrtle Beach. I have no clue where they are. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Mother's Day Shopping

Mr. UPS brought us a box late yesterday afternoon from Berroco. We have more Captiva.

Captiva’s satiny feel and subtle shine give it an air of sophistication. Created by wrapping a shimmering filament around a smooth cotton blend, this machine washable yarn comes in a wide range of elegant shades.

This is Pern-a free pattern on Berroco's website.

A feminine and warm weather take on the traditional fisherman's gansey, Pern features easy slipped stitch rib, garter details, and a generous hem

When you are on Berroco's website make sure you sign up to receive their email newsletters. These come out every Friday morning with free pattens.

The newsletter that came out this morning had a section on the mattress stitch-if you are having problems sewing together you garments take a look-there are links to videos as well.

Cindy dropped by with a card for me to say thank you for coming to the Around the Bay Guild meeting last week.

She took some embroidery floss and made a swatch in Linen Stitch for the front of the card. Thank you Cindy-it's great!!



This morning Beth and I took mom to buy her mother's day gift. All her plates and serving dishes. Mom wanted white and I found these dishes at Benix.

After I first saw the plates I called mom to ask if she wanted round or square. She said square which shocked me. I thought it was a bit too 'cool' for my parents. Then my dad chimed in. He wanted square plates. 'Don't you know you can get more food on a square plate?' Good reasoning dad.

My knitting is progressing. I think I have 30 rows to go before dividing the body and the sleeves. I divided the last row onto two needles so that I could show the full back. I love the colour.

Golf is on my TV and I'm going to get some more rows in before going home. 

Coat of Many Colours

Jane has started a new project for the store. I asked her to send pictures so that I can share her progress with you. She even wrote out a post for me. I like this idea. Hopefully she will keep taking pictures and writing about the knitting as it grows.

This  

is going to be this.  It is mindless knitting right at the moment. After the initial casting on so many stitches and then making sure it is not twisted..it really is just knitting and purling. Will see how it grows

Melo made it through surgery fine. He came home with an ugly cut up ear and very clean teeth. We left the cone off for a while because he was just lying on the floor sleeping. When he woke up he shook his head which caused his ear to bleed. We put the cone on him which made him very sad. He asked that I don't take a picture-he looks so sad and silly in the cone. We stayed downstairs with him and I had to put my knitting away because he just wanted me to rub his head. Beth is working from home today so that he can relax. Actually, we didn't know how we were going to get him in her truck with the cone on. He has no clue how to move with it on.

Here is my knitting so far.

June 20 is going to be here before I know it. My fingers better start moving quicker if I am going to get this done!

New Project

I went to the store this afternoon to pick up some yarn. I knew what I wanted and had to dig through boxes to find it.

I started Hannah Fettig's Breezy Cardigan in tosh merino light. The colour I chose is Lolita. It is a bit brighter than the picture but I waited too late to take the picture and we didn't have enough sun in the back yard.

I started this cardigan before in lace weight and found the yarn too thin. The merino light is working up much better.

There would have been more knitting today but I had dogs in my lap for much of the afternoon. Beth was golfing and Roko decided that I was his pillow. Then Melo decided he needed in on the action. Beth is home now and it is time for TV. The Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice with hockey and baseball in the mix. My goal is for the cardigan to be done for TNNA in June. I better get knitting!!

Mystery Shawl

I am finished Clue #2. Now onto the ends. I am loving working with the tosh merino light.

Sometimes people confuse me. On Ravelry in the Westknits Fan Club group we can post pictures of our shawls as we finish the clues. At the bottom of each post there are buttons you can click.

Educational
Interesting
Funny
Agree
Disagree
Love

Someone is going through the posts and hitting disagree on every one. There isn't a discussion going on. We are just showing pictures. Seriously, there must be something better that you can be doing with your life!!

Earlier in the summer I started knitting the Breezy Cardigan in Silky Alpaca Lace from Classic Elite. I like the yarn but it is not right for the project. I can't get the tension and my stitches don't look even. There is no way that I am going to finish a cardigan in lace weight if I don't like how it is looking. So I have decided to cut my loses and start again in tosh merino light. I think the slightly thicker yarn will make my knitting look much nicer.

Mr. Canpar visited earlier today with six huge boxes of yarn and books.

Here are the new books from Debbie Bliss.

DK and Aran weight patterns 

designs for Angel

Also in the box
4 new colours of Debbie Bliss Angel
5 new colours of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran-45, 46, 47, 50, 52. These colours are on my website but they are wrong. Here are the proper colours.

6 new colours of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby. Baby Cashmerino on the website is wrong as well. I took the images from my suppliers website. Not sure where they took the colours from.

4 new colours of Debbie Bliss Glen
7 colours of Debbie Bliss Riva-a new yarn

And also in the box were the new baby books and leaflets from Sirdar.
4 new colours of Crofter DK
4 new colours of Baby Crofter
1 colour of Baby Bamboo that didn't arrive with the other new colours

There are more goodies in the boxes but I am saving them for tomorrow. :)

Beth and I have watched two episodes of the new show Take the Money and Run. We thought it was going to be great. The producers are Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI) and Bertram Van Munster (The Amazing Race). Both produce shows that we watch. So far it hasn't lived up to expectations. I'm not sure if we can make it through another week.

POV competition on Big Brother tonight. Go Jeff!!

Eye Candy

This morning I made a trip to the hair salon. I can't go to a trade show with grey in my hair. Trish doesn't normally work on Friday morning but agreed to come in for me. After waiting 45 minutes for her Melissa coloured my hair. Who knew if Trish was going to show? Trish finally showed and finished the job. She was so upset that I couldn't yell at her. Now I have happy hair.  I absolutely love having my hair done.  If I won the lottery (no I don't buy tickets but one can dream) I would have Trish come to my house every morning to do my hair.

While sitting in the salon I downloaded my emails and there was something exciting from Berroco.

I sent them back an email asking if I could show you the pictures from the new Berroco magazines.  Kris called and said that I could show as many as I want.

Norah Gaughan Volume 9 is amazing!!  I am hoping they will be here by the end of the month.

A profusion of spectacular cables in an inspiring range of sweaters and accessories worked in both dreamy soft shades and bold bright colors.

The cover jacket is knit in Ultra Alpaca.

Blackstone Tweed is used for Travis.  There are new colours for fall including this amazing rust.

A broad expanse of reversible cables makes for a warm and comforting wrap.

Gullveig is stunning!!  I WANT!!

Cables reminiscent of gothic archways form a highly flared swing shape in this deep V pullover.

I sat down this afternoon and knit a tension swatch for Breezy.  I was working with a 4mm needle and hated how it looked.  My first swatch was done on a 3.75mm.  It still looked loose.  The next swatch was done with 3.5mm.  Much better.  I am going with the 3.5mm and restarting the cardigan.  There isn't enough for a picture but sometime over the weekend I will try to get one.

Today is my dad's birthday so I'm off to my parent's house for a visit.