It's Here

This morning I spent two hours in a chair at the dentist. Cleaning and then a few fillings repaired. Not a great way to start the day.

Mr. Canada Post came in while I was out with a box from Blue Sky Alpacas. I ordered three sizes of double pointed needles at TNNA. Only two arrived (2mm and 2.75mm) and the third (2.25mm) should be a couple of weeks. We can special order 3.25mm, 3.5mm, 3.75mm and 4mm.

Hand-lathed from Dalbergia Rosewood, Blue Sky Alpacas Five Inch Double Points are handcrafted by skilled artisans in Vietnam. These petite needles come in collectible, award-winning tins.

Kim finished her second Color Play Mohair Wrap last night and brought it in today to show me. It is the same 4 colours as mine (Herb Garden) but she used them in a different order.

They look like totally different wraps.

I made it to the stocking stitch on my vest last night. I love the colour! Big Brother was awesome. I love it when the cocky person gets sent home.

Sorry but that's it for today. Something just arrived that I have been waiting for which means Beth and I are going cruising tonight.

Happy Birthday Canada

I hope everyone in Canada is enjoying a day off with family and friends. So far my day has been great.

I was up early and finished the knitting (and sewing in ends) on my Color Play Mohair Wrap.

Pattern: Color Play Mohair Wrap from Churchmouse Yarns. We have copies in the store or you can purchase on Ravelry.
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe
Colourway: Herb Garden
Needles: 4.5mm

I've been dreaming about the colours for my next one. I had two colour combinations in mind but they have been sent to Ann so now I need to come up with another one. Until I get to work tomorrow I'm going to get back to Windward.

It doesn't look like much here but when finished it is one of my favourite scarves. The pattern is great and easy to follow.

The yarn is Serenity Silk from Zen Yarn Garden. Neville does an amazing job dying colours.

The dogs are relaxing quietly right now. Melo had a bad night with the fireworks. We had the TV turned up really loud. I'm sure all our neighbours could hear but he still heard the bangs. I hope tonight is quiet but that is a dream. There will be more tonight. Please stop early-midnight is a bit late to be setting them off.

Color Play Mohair Wrap

I almost made it to the last section. Probably five rows and then I'm on to double strand of colour A. No, I didn't do anything today but knit. And that is the plan for tomorrow as well. :) I'm hoping to have the wrap done by the time I get to work on Tuesday morning.

You might be thinking that I should get out tomorrow and do something. Probably but I don't have a vehicle. My car hasn't arrived yet. Maybe this week? Mom's Edge is in the garage and Beth is going golfing. I'm kind of stuck at home. Not that I'm complaining. The dogs and I will have a great day.

My blog post wasn't long enough so I started looking through my TNNA pictures. I totally forgot to show the new colours coming for fall from Mountain Colors.

All the colours will be coming in Bearfoot.

Bearfoot by Mountain Colors is a lightweight, machine washable yarn that is perfect for socks and shawls. Made from 60% superwash merino, 25% mohair and 15% nylon, Bearfoot is available in a huge color range.

There is a marathon of The Mentalist on tonight so I'm moving upstairs and getting back to my knitting.

Double Pointed Needle Tubes

Are you a sock knitter? Check these out.

DPN Tubes from Knitter's Pride

• A solution for holding and protecting your valuable and delicate Double Pointed Needles while they are still connected to your project!!
• Made of recycled acid-free paper to store and protect double pointed needles
• Lightweight, highly functional and attractive
• Protects both your DP needles and your Project at the same time
• Allows you to properly protect your project while it is in progress
• Flexible - extends to hold both the shortest and longest needles

Set of 3 tubes, 2 tubes with slots and 1 without slot 

I made it to the next colour last night and it's my favourite in the wrap. The colour you start with is the colour that you end with so the one you like the best is on both ends. Brilliant.

I was up early this morning so Mr. Melo and I sat outside and knit for a bit. He's very helpful.

A customer was just in looking for the Churchmouse Easy Fold Poncho pattern. I totally forgot about it when I talked about ponchos yesterday.

“It's like a really elegant sweatshirt.”

It's easy to knit (just one long stockinette rectangle), easy to finish, and easy to throw on. Whether knit in a humble tweed or luscious alpaca, with a cowl or without, you'll see why this is a favorite!

A very wise customer just shared some words of wisdom with me.

If you knit with red you knit faster.

I don't know how I didn't know this.

Ponchos

They're coming back. Ponchos are shown in the fall/winter collections of Givenchy, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce and Gabbana and Chloe.

A beautiful cross between a sweater and a poncho, this top-down seamless pullover features decorative eyelet increasing along the shoulders. 

Blish is a Norah Gaughan design and is knit in Berroco's Blackstone Tweed.

Download the free pattern...

Kauni has a free poncho pattern.

You can download the pattern here... 

And a little surprise. If you like the poncho but don't want to knit it we will have finished ponchos for sale in a month or so.

The Knitscene Fall 2013 magazine has a great poncho knit in two colours of Classic Elite Liberty Wool.

Throw this basic poncho over a casual outfit for instant impact. Knit side-to-side in a long-color repeat yarn for high visibility.

The digital download for the magazine is available now. I just bought mine and it takes less than five minutes to complete the purchase.

And not to leave younger girls out

Every day is extraordinary when girls wear this modern-day take on Little Red
Riding Hood. This cozy hoodie with top-down construction is a quick knit in Spud
& Chloë Outer and features two big and buoyant pom poms.

Child's sizes 2-12

My Color Play Mohair Wrap is progressing. There are a few more TV shows taped so I should get to the next colour this evening. I'm guessing about 20" to go until it's done. There should be lots of knitting this weekend. Hopefully. :)

I'm Sewing

Mom and dad are on their way home from Myrtle Beach. The ETA is 7-8pm. Thank goodness. There are many, many boxes in the back yard that I need dad to get rid of. Thanks in advance dad. :)

Mr. Canada Post brought in the last two boxes of madelinetosh today.

dk in fragrant and grenadine

merino light in steamer trunk

merino dk in cathedral

Kim and I compared our Color Play Mohair Wraps this morning. We are using the same colours in a different order. You could make four shawls with the same four colours and each would be unique. My shawl is packed in case there is time to knit on the weekend. Not likely but just in case.

I'm sewing!

One sleeve is in and the two side seams are started. It is going to be a long evening.

Mom and dad made it home safely. I have the yarn bowls in my garage and will be bringing them to work with me on Wednesday. No car yet. Hopefully it's here when I get home Tuesday night. Now I need to sew. I'll write from Columbus and promise lots of pictures.

Grape Gatsby

There is a new Soakbox coming at the end of June. Lorna's Laces did an amazing job on the colour! The socks are designed by Fiona Ellis.

These limited edition Soakboxes include Soak wash, Heel- foot cream for feet worthy of hand-knit socks, stylishly matched to premium nail polish and custom Lorna's Laces hand-dyed yarn.

Grape Gatsby should be in the store at the end of June. Reserve yours today to make sure that you get in on the first shipment.

I didn't get a lot of knitting done while we were away. There was too much shopping and eating at CPK. Here is the mohair wrap so far.

I have to put the wrap away now (I'm not happy about it) and get back to my Summerspun cardigan. Only 2.5 weeks until TNNA. The second front is cast on and it's sitting beside me waiting for me to get going.

Beth worked on a new cowl in the truck on the way to Michigan. Unfortunately we found a mistake it the chart after she finished about 12 rows of fair isle and had to rip it back to the beginning. There was a lot of moaning and complaining. It's working now and she has about 9 rows done. It was hard sitting in the drivers seat while she got to knit away but the other option was to let her drive and I don't like sitting in the passenger seat. And don't even think of me sitting in the back seat. I get a touch of motion sickness.

It's home time and getting back to cleaning out the garage. What will I find tonight?

Zen Yarn Garden

This is the pretty yarn that Zen Yarn Garden has dyed for us. Roxanne took pictures and sent them to me so that I can show you.

Actually, I really, really wanted to know what colours we are getting. :) These are all One of a Kinds. I ask Neville to dye me so many skeins and he picks the colours. I don't know what colours I am getting until they arrive.

I can already tell that I'm going to want to take some for myself. The colours look great!

We are getting Serenity 20 and Serenity Silk Singles. Perfect for socks, scarves, shawls, fingerless gloves...

Lynda sent an email yesterday that she has finished two projects. I need to find something else for her to knit. I'm looking at a new pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple-Top Down Drape Front Cardi.

A soft drapey cardigan knit with dk weight yarn at a gauge of 20 sts to 4 inches. The cardigan can look as dressy or as casual as the knitter wants, depending on the yarn used. Sizes x-small through xx-large.

I've read over the pattern and it looks very straight forward. Only one page which is a good thing. A really hard pattern needs at least three pages. :)

For the yarn I'm thinking Noro Ayatori. 60% wool. 40% silk. Now to choose the colour.

I totally forgot about poor Sarah Jane.

She was in the box from Offhand Designs and I was so excited about the other bags that I didn't mention her.

She is a Scottie.

Luxurious fabrics highlight the old-world charm of a roomy framed satchel with a plethora of pockets and pouches that offer plenty of organization and while a removable shoulder strap lends carrying versatility. 

My Summerspun cardigan is growing. Enough for more pictures. I did the cast offs for the armhole last night.

When it's the hottest day of the year so far you should be dragging a mannequin outside for pictures. :) I thought it would show the front the best.

And finally a good picture of the back.

I've knit a few more rows on my Color Play Mohair Wrap. If you are knitting one then I think you will agree that it could be the most addictive knitting you have ever done. You can't put it down. Just one more row to see how the next colour is going to play out.

It's so addictive that you are choosing colours for the next one before you have finished the one you are working on.

When we moved around all the yarn many of the price tags got damaged so today Kim and I made price tags for the whole store. That chore is done and I'm going to knit a few rows before heading home.

Sunday Teaser

More details coming later this week. :)

There are many great resources available now for learning knitting techniques. Classes. Books. YouTube videos. Craftsy. And now a new source. Annie's. The company has been in business for many years and now they have online classes. I haven't taken a course with Annie's but our friend Kate Atherley is teaching for them. Knowing Kate she was very diligent (and I mean that in the highest form of praise) before signing up to work with them. If she likes them then I am comfortable suggesting that you to take a look.

Give yourself a new creative outlet with help from Annie's Online Classes, video craft classes taught by leading experts in each craft category. Your knowledge of crafts like crochet, knitting, sewing, quilting, card making, machine embroidery, beading and more will grow as you explore techniques and create fantastic projects. In no time at all, you'll be on your way to knitting socks, enjoying the relaxing rhythm of Tunisian crochet, quilting using your at-home sewing machine, practicing a variety of coloring techniques and much more.
You're sure to find a video craft class to teach you something new. Each video is delivered to you in minutes, and you can watch at your convenience -- no more trying to find a craft class to fit your busy schedule. You can learn at your pace and in your own time. Watch, pause and watch again as you follow along and practice the sample patterns included in each craft class.

Magic Socks-Knit 2 socks in 1. Some of you have been lucky enough to take the course in the store with Kate. Others of you don't live close enough to enjoy Kate in person but now you can have her on your computer.

Now you can learn an amazing technique in which you will knit two socks at the same time on the same set of needles, one inside the other! It's called "double knitting," and you'll love learning this valuable knitting skill. Join expert Kate Atherley as she clearly explains and demonstrates this seemingly magical technique step-by-step using two different colors of yarn so you can see exactly how to knit each separate sock on the same needles. Instructions are given for double-point needles, magic loop and circular needles.

See the class details on Annie's website...

We sat upstairs for most of the afternoon watching the Indy 500 and knitting. Yes, both of us were knitting. Beth has started a sweater-the back is half done. A big move from hats, cowls and monsters. She decided to go for a nap after the race and I thought about lying down too but my fingers want to knit. The back of my Summerspun cardigan is done and I want need to continue on with the front. Small problem. It's upstairs and I'm downstairs. I could go get it but Roko and Melo will hear me and coming running making noise. That will wake Beth. She won't really mind but she could be grumpy. And she just made Rice Krispies Squares (at my request) so I shouldn't interrupt her nap. What to do? Pick up another project. My Color Play Mohair Wrap wins. 

This afternoon I walked outside and there was a surprise in the front garden. New flowers. The pretty colours in the bottom of the picture. The tulips are from our previous neighbour. Thank you for neighbours who likes to play in the dirt. I love the look of flowers but don't have the time, patience or knowledge to plant anything. My grandmother was amazing with plants but I didn't inherit that gene. I'm pretty happy I got the knitting gene from her instead.

Racing Raindrops Scarf

My main knitting right now is the Summerspun cardigan but there isn't much to show. It looks the same (a bit longer) than the picture I showed last week. Here is my second Color Play Mohair Wrap so far.

The wrap is really addictive. REALLY! I'm already planning colours for my third one.

Churchmouse Yarns sent out an email yesterday with a free scarf pattern.

The pattern was designed for the 2013 LYS Tour that is held in Seattle.

"Simple texture and soft lace-weight drape."

When Karen brought the beginnings of this scarf to our design team, we all agreed the little beads looked like raindrops. Once the scarf is on, the beads almost look like they're chasing each other around, even while they add a bit of weight to the soft drape of this lace-weight scarf. Do you know the A A Milne poem, Waiting at the Window? It reads in part: "These are my two drops of rain / Waiting on the window-pane. I am waiting here to see / Which the winning one will be.... All the best and all the worst / Comes from which of them is first." A whimsical poem for a sweet accessory!

Rowan Fine Lace knits up into wonderfully soft and light-weight pieces, and this scarf is no exception. We think you'll enjoy the easy to memorize texture repeat and the simple sideways construction. Once blocked, the scarf is just the right size to wear multiple ways, with long ties to knot, drape, or to pin.

The pattern is free. You can get the pattern by going to the Churchmouse website and adding the free PDF to your cart. Check out (it's free) and then you will receive an email with a link to the pattern.

After writing about Rowan Fine Lace I took a look at our stock and we are really low. There will be more colours coming next week.

A big box of Opal sock yarn arrived this morning. We have been busy moving other yarns around so I just got it unpacked. This colour is amazing!!

The other colours in the box were great as well.

These are from a new collection called Handwork and Hobby.
Above is knitting.
Below is design.

This is confectioner.

And a few pictures of the rearranging.

 Misti Chunky-100% Alpaca. There is lots of room for the new colours coming later in the summer.

Silk Garden is in it's new home. Arranged in numerical order. Silk Garden and Kureyon are the two yarns that don't live with yarns that are the same thickness. They couldn't fit in the worsted/aran room so they live in the chunky room. It was the only way to make everything fit. If only I could talk my dad into making the store bigger. :)