A Knit-and-Read Book

On Thursday afternoon we received a shipment of books including the new book Spud & Chloe at the Farm.  The patterns are extremely cute.

Thirteen knitting projects, accompanied by a read-aloud story, follow Spud, a feisty pet sheep, and Chloe, his perky owner, as they travel to a farm and meet the inhabitants of the barnyard-a farm dog, a pair of piglets, a mother hen and chicks, and more!

I just Soaked the Liberty cardigan and it is lying outside to dry. Being in a lazy mood today I didn't bother pinning it out to the proper measurements.  I just stretched it out on a towel.

While taking pictures Beth and Roko were playing Frisbee. This is Roko's favourite past time. He would play for hours if someone was silly enough to keep throwing it to him.

I love how green our back yard is. The artificial grass is still looking great.

As promised here is a picture of Dryad.  This will definitely need some blocking when it is done.

The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I highly recommend working from one of Jared's patterns.

The Frolic is less than a week away.  I posted these a few weeks ago but in case you missed them here are a few tips if you are attending

-If you don't like crowds then plan to arrive after noon.  It starts to thin out a bit and it is easier for you to get into the booths.  This could mean that you might miss out on some of the hand dyed yarns. 
-Bring your own lunch. Why waste time standing in line when you could be shopping?
-Parking can be an issue so car pool if possible
-If you see something you like write down the booth number.  It is amazing how many people are running around at the end of the day looking for xyz and they can't remember where they saw it.


And some more from the organizers of the Frolic

Tips to Make the Most of the Frolic
. Exact change for the entrance fee is appreciated.
. Bring cash and your credit card. There is no ATM on site. Note that a number of vendors will only accept cash.
. Please come prepared to carry purchased items in your own bags. Vendors must charge 5¢ per plastic bag (City of Toronto bylaw).
. Wear comfortable shoes. You will be walking, looking at booths, going away, and going back again - maybe several times.
. There will be a café serving coffee and light snacks on site, sponsored by the Knit Café. Take a break and enjoy yourself.

Beth and I are on our way to Burlington for Easter dinner.  It is always a great day when we can get together with family and friends.  Dinner at Aunt Rene's is an afternoon of laughter mixed with great food.

Dryad

I was up early again this morning (not something that I want to make a habit of) and got to work on my accounting.  HST is due at the end of the week and not paying the government isn't an option.  Then off to the store to help Jane get boxes unpacked.  By the time I arrived she was almost done.  I was waiting on an order from Rowan to get parcels mailed out.  I waited.  I waited.  Mr. UPS didn't show up so I headed home to get the rest of the parcels mailed.  Don't want to keep everyone waiting.  The phone rang while I was driving home (I have hands free) and Jane was on the line to tell me that Mr. UPS had arrived.  Wouldn't you know it.  I went home and got the rest of the mail done.  Back to the store, pick up the ball of yarn and then off to the post office.  There is still a bit of accounting to be done but I'm not sure that I have the energy to look at it right now.

Did you know that it isn't easy to knit while watching football?  I would get wrapped up in a play and then forget to pick up the needles again.

Here is Dryad with 9 pattern repeats done.  Just 12 more to go.

Taking pictures on my phone isn't always the best thing to do but of course I forgot my camera.  Here is a close up and the colour is much better.

I was supposed to do grocery shopping today but it didn't fit into the schedule so now I am taking Beth to Earl's in Burlington for dinner.

No Sleep

Getting up at 2:30 to watch the golf sounded like a good idea.  We got to watch for a couple of hours before play was suspended for rain.  They said it would be back in two hours.  Okay, I could have a nap and then get up.  Play was suspended for another two hours.  Another nap.  Then they said 9am. Perfect.  I could do my work while watching.  It is 10:20 and the golf still hasn't started.  The word is now 11am.  Why didn't someone tell me last night just to sleep through the night??  Tomorrow morning it will be starting at 3am. Yes, I will be trying again.  :)

While at Camp I was inspired to work on my Dryad.  Jared brought his and I fell in love/lust with it again.

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry and I highly recommend knitting this scarf if you like cables.  I thought it was going to take a long time but each row goes quickly-there aren't a lot of stitches.

Jared makes great charts-you don't need to enlarge them to be able to read them.

The yarn is fabulous-Portland Tweed from Classic Elite.

50% Virgin Wool
25% Alpaca
25% Viscose

18 stitches = 4" on 4.5mm needles
110 m on a 50 gram ball

If you have trouble reading the names on the right just click on the picture and it will open in its own window. Click on it again and it will enlarge for you.  This works for any picture I add to my posts.

It is now 7:30 and I am home from work.  There will be a very quick dinner and then bed.  3am is going to be here sooner than I want.

Sunglasses

Yesterday was a bit of a write off for me.  When I got to work a migraine hit and my migraine pills were at home.  I changed my purse for the Frolic-it was raining and I didn't want my leather purse getting wet.  My migraine pills were packed for the Frolic and when I came home I forgot to put them into my everyday purse.  My mom said I wasn't too bright and my dad called me something I can't write here-a Dutch swear word.  For most of the day I sat in the store with my sunglasses on.  Miss Vickie's didn't even help.

I did do a bit of knitting though.  Not sure why I can knit cables with a migraine but can't do anything else.  Here is Dryad one ball in.  My love for the pattern and the yarn increases the more I knit.

I just finished ordering some yarn for fall.  Noro, Debbie Bliss and Sirdar.  There are some great yarns coming!!

Kathryn left me a ball of the new Noro Kirameki to play with.
60% Rayon.
25% Nylon.
10% Wool.
5% Cashmere.
Lace weight.
450m on a ball.
Very nice shades of purples and browns with a shot of turquoise and green.  Totally my colour.  I'm thinking about Citron.  Has anyone made this?

Cables and more cables

I pulled out Dryad last night and did a pattern repeat. If you are thinking about a cabled project then I strongly suggest this amazing scarf. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I have printed out many copies of the chart so I can mark off the rows as I finish them. Now when I put it away (as you all know I will end up doing) I will know where I am in the pattern.

Here is the link to Dryad on my Ravelry page.



Mom watched American Idol for the first time last night (Dad was working-there is no way he would sit through Idol).  She picked Lee to be the winner which isn't a bad pick.  He has improved greatly over the season.  I am still going with Crystal.  Picked her the first time I saw her and can't change now.

Two different deliveries came today
-Phil and Carrie along with the Soak Wash arrived.
-More Saki from Prism.  We used this amazing sock yarn for the Ruffles scarf and sold out of all the bright colours.  They are here now!!

Tonight I have knitting class and then to bed.  These late night hockey games are killing me.  Or it could be the sun streaming into my bedroom very early in the morning.  I haven't slept past 7 for over a week now.  Way too early.

Road Trip

I really couldn't face the store today so I took a road trip across the border to Walden Galleria.  There were two reasons for the trip.  Cheesecake Factory and the Apple store.  Beth and I decided to give my mom an iPad for Mothers Day and her birthday next week.  Unfortunately the Apple store was sold out today.  Lucky for mom they will be available in Canada at the end of the month.  I had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and brought cheesecake home for Beth and I.  It wasn't very good.  :)

Here is Dryad in Portland Tweed from Classic Elite on 5mm needles.  I just finished row 17 of the chart.

I can't get much knitting done tonight because I am very busy flipping between two hockey games and two baseball games.  My bed is calling as well and I know my dreams will be of the store and where I am going to put things tomorrow.