It's time to cast on

I figured it out last night. I'm making a sweater.

• Relaxed fit
• Style: pullover
• Length: Low-hip length
• Sleeves: Full-length sleeve
• Neck style: Crew neck

I'm wearing Bailey today. I knit this during the last Olympic challenge. I haven't missed an Olympics yet and have always finished. I hope I haven't jinxed myself.

Beth and Lynn came up with their own Olympic challenge. Cathy and Sarah joined in as well. I can't wait to see how their colourways play out. It looks like I'm going to be doing a provisional cast on tonight.

It's 5:15 and Beth just brought me a tea. Apparently Lucy Neatby taught Beth and Lynn how to provisional cast on this afternoon.

I sewed in the ends of the Cordwood Cowl this afternoon.

Pattern: Cordwood Cowl purchased on Ravelry
Yarn: 2 skeins of Masham Worsted from Lorna's Laces (we don't have stock yet but it should be coming soon)
Colour: St. Charles

I love this cowl and the yarn.

I'm home, had dinner and the Opening Ceremonies have begun. Beth hasn't seen them yet.

Here is my sweater so far.

The colours are coming out better than I thought they would. Now it's time to watch the athletes walk in.

Big Blast from the Past

Pattern: Cordwood Cowl - purchased on Ravelry

Yarn: 2 skeins of Masham from Lorna's Laces in the colour St. Charles (the yarn should be here in a couple of weeks)

Needles: 5.5mm 80cm circular

It needs to be blocked - tonight's chore. Once blocked I will get better photos. It might be warmer out next week.

Next week a shipment will be leaving the US from Blue Sky Alpacas/Spud & Chloe. There are new mug kits available.

These one-hank wonders include the super chic, cabled Venus Mitts in Popsicle, the pretty-in-pink Aphrodite Hat in Watermelon, and the lovely, zigzag-patterned Cupid Cowl in Manatee. All three are a great way for knitters to show their passion for their craft.

Spud & Chloe sold out of the first batch of these and I don't know how much longer they will be available for. If you are interested, let me know. I will make sure that we get a kit for you.

I like to drink tea from a big mug and these fit the bill. They are large!

An email came in today that will make Beth very happy. She is in love with her Knit Kit and a new colour is coming. The purple should be here by the end of February.

The Knit Kit includes a crochet hook, thread cutter, locking counter, 5 ft. tape measure, stitch markers, darning needle,tip protectors, and collapsible scissors (TSA Compliant) all put together in a very durable, compact, easy to locate device. Everything you need to take your project on the go.

This model also includes better scissors (no more plastic) and the popular needle gauge on the back.

We had a small Knit Kit issue at our house the other night. Beth didn't know (or so she says) that you can't pull the tape measure out to it's fullest and then keep pulling to try and make it longer. It didn't get longer. And it won't go back in. We had to cut the tape measure off. She was upset. I didn't even have to yell at her for being like a little kid.

Cathy and Kim were in today cleaning the teaching room and getting yarn ready to go to storage for the Tent Sale. They came upstairs with a bag of pictures. Wow. Here are pictures of my pictures.

Kaffe and Brandon at The Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival.

I was trying to get pictures with no glare. The original isn't crooked. This is Debbie Bliss - probably 20 years ago.

Jo Sharp

Colinette

A newspaper article about Kaffe and one about me.

There was also a binder with a price list.

I have no idea why this wasn't thrown out years ago but it made for good reading. Interesting reading. This is from 20 years ago. If you think that yarn is expensive now, here is the Rowan pricing from 1994.

Handknit Cotton (called Cotton DK back then) was $4.99 and now it's $6.50.
Cotton Glace was $7.99 and now it's $8.50.
Wool Cotton was $9.99 and now it's $12.95.

There hasn't been much of an increase. Think about the pricing of other things in your life and how much they have gone up in 20 years. Cars. Coffee. Shoes. Air travel. Hotels.

It's kind of sad seeing some of the yarns that are no longer available. Magpie. Donegal Tweed. Fox Chunky.....

It's back to my accounting. I don't want to keep the tax man waiting.

Spring Baby/Kids

Mr. Canpar came in this afternoon with a box of new baby/kids from Sirdar.

There is a new yarn called Peekaboo.

Snuggly Peekaboo DK is a gorgeously soft baby yarn that comes in softly printed, dappled colours that look extra cosy for girls and boys designs and makes delightful blankets too. This yarn looks fab knitted in the simplest stocking stitch as well as lacy stitches and cables and can be knitted for babies and children from birth to seven years. Snuggly Peekaboo DK comes in the same wonderfully soft blend as Snuggly DK - 55% nylon and 45% acrylic. It knits to all our Sirdar double knitting baby patterns and is machine washable and easy care.

Sirdar Baby Bamboo has 4 new colours.

Specially developed to be incredibly soft, gentle and smooth for Baby, this yarn is a new blend with natural bamboo and wool fibres. It will keep its quality through gentle machine washing.

114 Candy

115 Bobbi Blue

116 Lemonade

117 Dinky Denim

There will be new patterns for Baby Bamboo but they weren't in today's boxes.

Beth had a weekend of knitting. I'm not sure she did anything but knit.

She's already trying to figure out how she can cut it short. I'm not going to let her.

My cowl didn't get finished. Maybe tonight. There is a new Blacklist.

I was worried that the stitches wouldn't show in the handpainted yarn but they do. I can't wait for Masham to arrive!

An email came through earlier today from the Homeowners Association in Myrtle Beach. It is so cold there that pipes are bursting in houses and condos. We had someone go into our houses and all is good. The bad news - they are expecting snow tomorrow and Wednesday. So much snow that school has already been cancelled tomorrow. They don't see snow very often and don't have equipment like snow plows. It will be interesting. Glad I'm not there. I know it is warmer than here but what a waste of a few days away.

Now it's accounting time. Wish me luck.

Wainwright

Wainwright by Bristol Ivey

An asymmetric cardigan whose construction takes traditional chevrons for a joy ride.

Cardigan body is worked flat; circular needle is used to accommodate the large number of stitches and undulations in the fabric. Circular needle may be used for Magic Loop Method in sleeves.

Lorna's Laces had this cardigan in their booth at TNNA. It is beautiful. When I saw it yesterday morning on Ravelry I messaged Bristol and asked if I could use her pictures.

Purchase the pattern on Ravelry...

Finished Measurements 
32 1/4 (35 1/4, 39, 41 3/4, 47, 50, 53)” bust, when buttoned 
Sample shown in size 39” with 2” of positive ease

Yarn 
Masham Worsted by Lorna’s Laces (70% British Wool, 30% Masham Wool; 170 yds/100g); 7 (8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12) skeins in Pewter, or 1125 (1235, 1360, 1470, 1585, 1695, 1715, 1875) yards heavy worsted yarn

Needles 
One 32” or 40” circular needle (circ) in size US 8 5 mm 
Set of double pointed needles (DPNs) in size US 8 5 mm 
Set of DPNs in size US 7 4.5 mm 
or size needed to obtain gauge

The yarn is new from Lorna's Laces. It's not here yet but it's coming.

Masham
70% British Wool
30% Masham Wool
170 yards on a 100gram skein
4 stitches = 1" on 4.5mm-5mm needles

The fibres take the dye differently which creates a marled look. 

I have a few skeins at home in St. Charles - the wild orange, purple, lime colour way. I didn't take any Liberty home the other night so I decided to 'swatch' St. Charles. In this case swatch means knit a cowl. :)

The yarn is awesome. I've already added more colours to my order from Lorna's Laces. The cowl could/should be done tonight.