Amuri

Beth is becoming obsessed by her knitting. She does a few rows and then exclaims 'I'm a good knitter' or 'My knitting looks really good'. It's quite funny. She never wanted to touch needles and now you can't get them out of her hands. Here is the start of her fair isle scarf.

I wish that you cold feel through the computer because the yarn is so soft. You want to snuggle in. It is Amuri Hand Paint.

While we're talking about Amuri, Wannietta just finished a vest in the original Amuri which (obviously) isn't hand painted. 75% Pure NZ Wool. 25% Possum.

Pattern: Aileen - purchased on Ravelry

A slightly fitted vest knit in one piece from the bottom up with armbands and collar picked up.

This pattern uses short rows and the three-needle bind off for the shoulders. You will need to know how to pick up wraps for short rows and how to pick up stitches.

I love this vest. We already have a sample in the store and I have knit one for myself. There is something about the square neck line that I really like. It's easy to knit and looks great.

I don't know if I showed a picture of my Color Play Mohair Wrap finished. Here it is. I will try to get pictures outside as soon as it gets a bit warmer. We should have taken pictures in San Diego.

I'm writing my blog post, writing cheques from my other laptop and texting with Cathy all at the same time. Not a good idea. The first cheque wouldn't print. I tried everything. Even went upstairs to the office and unplugged the printer. Still wouldn't go. Rookie mistake. The computer wasn't connected to the WiFi in the house. Seriously. I should know better. You can all laugh at my expense - it was really stupid. I'm going to sign off now since I'm obviously not in a computer frame of mind. I hope my knitting goes better.

Color Play Mohair Wrap

It's only the 3rd of January and I already missed a blog post. Sorry. I'll make it up when I get to San Diego next week. There will be days with multiple posts showing all the new products that I see.

Yesterday was a crazy day between the weather and a conference call. After work Beth called Cogeco and we now have the channel to watch Homeland. We sat down and watched the first few episodes of Season 3 last night. I could have watched more but if I didn't stop I would have still been watching at 8 this morning. And I finished the shawl. I will block it over the weekend. Probably on Sunday-if we're getting snow there won't be anything else to do.

Pattern: Color Play Mohair Wrap
Yarn: 7 balls (6 colours) of Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe
Needles: 4.5mm

Rowan has a new collection of online patterns for Kidsilk Haze Glamour. See them all...

These 6 designs were created exclusively for Row@n members.  Using Kidsilk Haze Glamour, these beautifully elegant designs by Martin Storey can add a bit of sparkle to your day wear and glamour to your evening wear.

If you aren't a Row@n member, you can sign up on their website in the top right hand corner.

CNN is on the TV right now. Boston and NY are getting slammed with snow. Thank goodness it missed us. It better not be like this next week when I'm trying to fly to San Diego.

Madelinetosh

A shipment is leaving Texas this week with lots of tosh.
-pashmina
-merino dk
-merino
-merino light
-pashmina worsted
-vintage
-prairie
-dk
-chunky
-sport

Looking for a tam pattern? Madelinetosh has a free one available on their website. One skein of dk.

A soft, slouchy beret with a simple lace pattern and whimsical top knit in DK to light worsted weight yarn, worked from the bottom up the hat can be more or less slouchy to suit individual tastes. Sized to fit a woman’s medium.

While we're talking about madelinetosh, there are new colours of tosh for 2014. These have been ordered and I hope to have them sometime in March or April. If there is a colour that you want in a particular base, please let us know and we will make sure that it is set aside for you when it arrives.

Cape Town Rainbox

Chicory

Ember

Farmhouse White

Hosta Blue

Medieval

Purple Basil

Red Phoenix

Sun Rose

Black Walnut

There is a new yarn coming as well. I haven't seen or touched this yarn so it has been ordered in limited colours right now. If I like it when it arrives (and you like it) we will load up on our stock.

Dandelion is a single-ply custom blend of 90% superwash merino wool, 10% fine linen. With a generous 325 yards per skein, this fingering weight yarn is more than enough yardage to complete a pair of socks and two skeins can completed a full-sized lace project. This uniquely soft, fine linen blend is hand-dyed in small dye lots.

Content:: 90% superwash merino wool, 10% fine linen
Length:: 325 yards / 297 meters
Gauge:: 26 - 30 sts = 4 inches
Suggested needle size:: U.S. size 1-2 needles
Care:: machine wash cold, air dry flat

Jordana Paige just posted this on Ravelry

Quinn in Deep Purple is our fastest-selling bag to date. Only 29 remain! We’re working on a re-order, but at this point cannot guarantee it will be available again. If we are able to re-order, it will most likely be late spring when it is back in stock. If you love this bag, don’t wait any longer to order!

We still have 3 purple in stock and then who knows. Don't wait and be disappointed.

The end is in sight. I'm using G&A right now and when G runs out I do double strand of A. Then cast off. I've been checking the weather in San Diego and it's going to be beautiful. No mohair shawl this trip...

...but I'll get lots of wear out of it here.

Tomorrow the store is open from 10-2. Then I'm coming home to hibernate until Thursday. We'll finish Season 2 of Homeland. There is also the Criminal Minds marathon. And I have Seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 of NCIS. Lots of knitting :)

Boxing Day

We're getting ready for Boxing Day and Boxing Week. If you don't receive our email newsletter, take a look - there are going to be some great deals... If you have read the newsletter, make sure you check out the yarns on the website again. We've added a yarn to the Noro page - Ayatori.

Opal Smile just arrived. The colours are great. Who wouldn't love a pair of socks in one of these? And it's on the website already...

 7930

 7931

 7932

7933

 7934

7935

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7937

The shawl is growing. It's just over 2 weeks until we go. WOW. I haven't thought about what I'm taking. Clothes for the show. Clothes for the zoo. Clothes to golf. Then there is the small issue of a meeting that I have to get up and talk at. UGGG! I don't like talking to a group of people. And it's at 8am so I can't have a drink before hand to calm myself.

That was really dumb

I got to work this morning and pulled out my Color Play Mohair Wrap. There is a small problem with it. I repeated a colour. I'm into the E&E section and realized that E is the same colour as A. Wow. I don't know how I didn't realize it until today. I did D&E together and it didn't click that I was wrong. Do I rip out? Not on your life :) My shawl is going to be longer now. I'm adding in another colour to keep E and A as far from each other as possible-A is the colour that I start and end the shawl with. Seriously. Talk about not paying attention. Just merrily knitting along. The part that really upsets me is that if I was going to double up on a colour it wouldn't have been that one. :(

I called Beth from the store and told her my dilemma. The response wasn't what I thought I'd get. "You are supposed to be a knitting professional. That was really dumb!!" Thanks for the sisterly love.

Here is the shawl so far.

I'm happy with how it looks and I think when done no one will know that I messed up.

When I walked in the door from work Beth asked me to fix her knitting. She's knitting a cowl with cables and crossed a cable wrong. Karma!! She shouldn't have been mean to me.

Who holds your pattern?

Beth invented a new pattern holder today. Now she's trying to figure out how to market it.

Melo laid there for at least an hour. Beth would pick up the paper, set the paper down and cross off rows on his back but he never moved.

While it was snowing yesterday she started on a few Christmas presents. The pattern is her creation... One skein of Misti Handpaint Chunky on 8mm, 60cm needles.

She is in love with Josh Bennett's tip. I talked about this before (not sure if it was a blog post or newsletter) but in case you missed it - when working in the round, with interchangeable needles, use one size smaller tip for your left hand needle. The stitches slide off that needle easier and it helps you to knit a bit faster. She has an 8mm tip on the right needle and 6.5mm tip on the left needle.

I finally got a picture of my shawl in natural light. I'm into the D&E section. There's still some football and then the finale of Survivor. I might make my goal. It will depend on how compelling Survivor is.

Lots of snow

It was a snowy day in Ancaster today. Thank goodness for my dad's truck. My car wouldn't have made it to work.

I thought that there was going to be lots of knitting time today. I thought that everyone would stay at home and out of the snow. Wrong. We had lots of visitors today. Thanks to all who braved the snow. Now I'm going to knit for the evening. Maybe all evening. There isn't anything to do tomorrow so I can sleep in. And then knit all day while watching football.

I totally forgot to talk about Grey's Anatomy from Thursday evening. If you have it taped, don't wait. Watch it. I'm not sure that I will be able to wait for the next episode.

I got this far on my post and then decided to have a nap. That was 7pm. I woke up at 11. It's still snowing.

I finished the C&D section and just started the D&D section. My goal is to finish this section plus D&E tomorrow.

I'm not tired so there will be a few hours of knitting before going back to bed.

Tomorrow is a big day. I can start sharing the spring Rowan with you. It's going to be a great season.

Aileen

I haven't talked very much about Amuri from Naturally New Zealand. It is a fabulous yarn and we'll have a store sample in the new year. Yarn went out to Wannietta today.

75% New Zealand Merino
25% Possum

The possum found in New Zealand is not the same possum as we have in North America. The NZ possum is a major agricultural and conservation pest.

The yarn is super soft. And super warm. If you know anyone who has travelled to New Zealand they probably brought something home that was made with possum-hat, socks, sweater, blanket....

Right now we have four natural shades. Beige, brown, light grey and dark grey. Next fall we will have colours. I can't wait.

Wannietta is going to knit Aileen in brown. We have the vest in the store right now knit in Zara and I have knit it in tosh. I love it and can't wait to see it knit in Amuri.

The pattern was purchased on Ravelry...

The shawl is growing. The C&C section is almost done and tomorrow I should be onto C&D. The more I knit the more I like the colours.

Lantern Moon

I took my shawl outside at 5pm and got a picture just before darkness hit. It's becoming an obsession. :) Last night's 'just one more row' turned into about seven rows.

After work Beth and I ran to Chapters to do some Christmas shopping. We scored big. I haven't been in Chapters for a long time. Most of my reading now is ebooks. They had some cool stuff including the Apple section. And the store wasn't too busy. Beth needed to run into the liquor store (next door to Chapters) to get a bottle of wine for a Christmas gift. She said that 7pm was the perfect time to go. The store was empty. Then an hour of knitting while watching Survivor. I'm into the fourth section - double strand of C.

We received some cute bags from Lantern Moon today. Just in time for a last minute gift. The Rosette Bag.

Lantern Moon took a silk drawstring bag and covered it with tiny rosettes. Great size for small to medium sized projects! 6.5” square base x 9”h

I had my shawl in the bag and there was still room for one more ball of yarn. They hold quite a bit.

The Velvet Rose Tool Holder

Ruffled velvet atop a colorful hand woven pattern. Woven pattern & colors will vary, reflective of the loomed craft. Reinforced center for stashing scissors. The velvet ruffles delicately hold needles, hooks, shawl pins, pencils, pens, and more.   4"h x 4"w 

Here is a little bit about Lantern Moon for those who aren't familiar with the company.

Lantern Moon is a small, vibrant, innovative company with global connections, celebrating our twelfth year of business in 2013. We have offices in Portland, Oregon and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Lantern Moon is proud to offer beautiful and functional handcrafted products, providing continuity of training and employment for women and families. The natural materials that inspire our designs are combined with traditional handcrafting skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, and are indigenous to these regions. We are currently working with producing groups in Vietnam, Cambodia and Bali, Indonesia. 

We pay fair wages from our initial interactions and incorporate any increases as community economies require. We audit our suppliers to be sure that health and safety are maintained in the production of a Lantern Moon product. We aspire, through our work with these communities, to strengthen independence and promote self-reliance.

It's time to get back to my knitting. I told you I was obsessed. CSI is on as well and it's hard to figure out who killed Santa while I'm writing.

Just a few more rows

I'm into the third colour on the shawl. There should be some growth tonight. I don't think I have any work so I can knit all evening. I'm not going outside. That's for sure. It's cold out there. It's only the beginning of December and I'm already complaining. When is summer coming?

My plan was to take this outside but it was dark before I had a chance to think about pictures.

The Linen Stitch Scarf in Malabrigo Rastita. When you see this scarf in real life it looks woven. The Rastita has more yarn on a skein than some of the other yarns that we have used for the Linen Stitch Scarf. That makes this scarf wider - almost like a shawl.

We received another shipment of the colours that I used this week.

The colours are hand dyed and the ones in the new shipment are slightly different than what I used for my scarf. Now I want to do another one!

I'm going to experiment with this one. Instead of casting on lengthwise, I'm going to go widthwise. We'll see how it looks. If it doesn't have the woven look to it then I will start again casting on the 450 stitches.

I've been knitting for most of the evening. The third section is almost done - B & C. The next section is double strand of C.

 I really should think about bed but maybe a few more rows....

Weekend Knitting

I got this far on my shawl last night- 7" - the first section is almost done.

There was a lot of knitting today. Football. The Amazing Race (I liked the outcome). The Mentalist (I'm glad we're back to fun story lines where Patrick solves cases). Here I am now. Just over 16" and into the third colour.

It's bed time now. I'm so tired that I can barely focus. I think my fingers are going to be moving in my sleep. They haven't stopped all day.