Cold, Winter Evening

It's seriously cold out there today. I know. It's the end of November. It gets cold every year. It's only going to get colder. I know. It doesn't mean that I like it. The fireplace is on and I've made a cup of tea. It's time to sit down and knit.

Gabrielle is at the point where I start decreasing for the sleeve.

I took this in the middle of the living room. The mattress is gone. Roko is allowed to do the stairs if Beth has him on a leash so he doesn't run.

While I was taking my picture Mr. Melo jumped onto the bed and decided to get warmed up by the fireplace.

From Churchmouse Yarns. It's a good day to be talking about a cowl. Especially one that is warm and pretty.

Annabella’s Cowl is one of our go-to accessory patterns. Soft and scrumptious around the neck, its elegant length lets you wear it as a hood, if the need arises! To continue our tradition of a two-stranded version, we searched for yarns with drape, luster and warmth. This quest led us to Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk combined with RowanKidsilk Haze. Alpaca and silk are unbeatable for drape and luster, and mohair blends in a feather-weight halo of downy warmth. Mission accomplished! 

Very cool ways to wear the cowl. Who thought to wear a cowl like a scarf?

The simple stitch pattern and knit-in-the-round, seamless construction make this an easy project, suitable for a beginning knitter. When knitting with lace-weight mohair yarn, we prefer pointier needles over blunt–we like the extra bit of control and precision you get with a pointy needle. Also watch to be sure you catch both yarn strands in each stitch. 

We have copies of the pattern in the store store.

Here are a couple of colour suggestions. On Monday I will play with some more.

Again, from Churchmouse. Wearing the Mohair Bias Loop as a cowl is surprisingly warm. You wouldn't think so because it is so fine and knit at a loose tension but trust me it is.

After casting about for ways to holiday-up our scrumptious Mohair Bias Loop, we cast on Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze Eclipse to add a little bit of sparkle. The result? Heavenly. Rowan spun in just a hint of tone-on-tone twinkle to some of their most popular Kidsilk Haze colors with a super-fine metallic thread. The subtle glimmer coordinates with the yarn color and shimmers slightly as light catches the metallic threads, so you won’t ever feel too flashy. We love Eclipse’splayful astrologically themed color palette, and each shade has its own distinct personality. 

Wear this sheer seamless loop as a long, endless scarf, twisted double as a cowl, or around your shoulders as a wrap. We’ve knit it on the bias so the edges don’t roll and it sits nicely on the shoulders. Light as air, it folds up to nearly nothing, and can easily be dressed up or down—the perfect piece for holiday travel. We think you’ll love the combination of gossamer glitter and fabulous functionality. 

We have the Mohair Bias Cowl knit up in the store in Kidsilk Haze Stripe from Rowan. We have the pattern too.

It's time to knit. Stay warm and Go Cats Go!!!

That thing you wear on an airplane in case the AC is turned too high

A very strange title. I know. Keep reading and it will make sense. :)

I've spent a lot of time today working on the website.
-There is a new section for knitting needles.
-Messages have been sent to my 'guy' to get more shade cards added as soon as possible.
-One yarn that I've shown quite a bit lately because Beth has gone crazy knitting with it is Misti Hand Paint Chunky. It's on the website now and shade cards should be coming soon.

The colours are awesome. Here are a few - we have 14 in the store right now.

CP56 Purple Turquoise

CP54 Pico

CP53 Vienna

CP47 Sea Jasper

This is a free pattern from Misti's website that you can download.

One skein of Misti Hand Paint Chunky
11mm needles

Think of the shawl pin options.

Gabrielle is growing. The second skein is almost finished.

When I was coming to work today I planned on taking this outside to get a picture. Then it turned bitter cold (I know it's not that cold but I'm not ready for winter yet) and the snow started. I opted for inside pictures.

Have you taken a look at my Flipboard lately? There was a bit of a lull in adding pictures and articles because Flipboard and Ravelry weren't getting along. They've made up and now I can add patterns from Ravelry. Let the 'flipping' begin. Lots of pattern ideas. I also try to find knitting articles to share as well.

And one more thing before I sign off and start working on the Camp brochure. Sally Melville is going to be joining us for Knitting Camp 2014 and while we were emailing back and forth last week she mentioned her newest pattern. L'Enveloppe - pattern available on Ravelry. From Sally

Every time I wear this and everywhere I go, I’ve had it commented on—by strangers on the street, by shop owners or customers, by knitters or non. And each time they say something like “I love that … thing you’re wearing!” No-one knows what to call it, and—frankly—neither do I. Because one arm goes through (as does the neck) but the other arm is free, it’s not a cape, not a poncho, not a shrug, not a shawl, not a cowl. It’s small enough to wear under a coat but big enough to wear instead of one. And it envelops us in style. And so here’s its moniker: L’Enveloppe. (As you might imagine, this is French for envelope. Its style led me there. I suppose its name could have been “That thing you wear on an airplane in case the AC is turned too high,” but that didn’t sit as well on the page.)

It is very cool!! Take a look.

Classic Elite

Classic Elite has started something new in their latest pattern book and it's the coolest thing. There is a code inside the book. You go to the website shown, enter your code and the book downloads to your Ravelry library. Now I have it on my computer and iPad plus a hard copy. It makes it so easy to print off the pages you need for the project that you are doing. No more fighting with the photocopier to get the chart on the page properly. No breaking the spine of your book to get a copy of something. Yes, sometimes the little things in life make me very happy.

There hasn't been a lot of knitting on Gabrielle but I like how it is looking so far. The yarn is great to knit with.

I just got home from work and need to get my act together. We're picking up the parents soon. I'm the designated driver tonight. It could be an interesting drive home :)

Meet Gabrielle

My new project. I've been in a bit of a knitting lull lately. I can't explain it but it happens sometimes. I have lots of great projects on the go but nothing is keeping my interest. Sometimes a new project is needed. Gabrielle is going to get me back on track. I have yarn, the pattern, the needle, waste yarn and crochet hook for provisional cast on and stitch markers. I'm ready to start.

Beth wound two skeins for me.

Majestic Tweed from Classic Elite

40% wool
20% angora
20% silk
20% nylon

It's knitting up quickly. 5.5mm needles help. I did the provisional cast on and 10 rows while watching Grey's Anatomy. Now a few more rows while watching football.

I like purple but the purple yarn is not part of the jacket. The back is knit from the centre back to the sleeve and then I take out the provisional cast on, put the stitches back on the needle and work from the centre back to the other sleeve. I picked a yarn that will be easy to see when I need to put the stitches back on the needle.

The lull might be over. I need to say good night so that I can get back to my needles.