Getting Ready for Camp

We have a new sweater in the store. Thanks Lynda - it looks great.

Pattern: Cromwell Pullover (you can purchase the pattern on Ravelry or in the store)
Yarn: Woolstok from Blue Sky Fibers

Cromwell is the new favorite sweater. With longer sleeves, a roomy neckline, 3x1 ribbing and a relaxed fit, it gives a modern look to the traditional raglan-sleeve pullover. Knit in one piece from the top down with springy worsted weight Woolstok. It’s a great advanced beginner piece.

The sweater is surprisingly light. You think wool sweater and the first thing that comes to mind is hot and heavy. This sweater is neither.

One note on the sweater - the sleeves are very long. I originally thought that Lynn had really short arms but then I looked at the pattern picture. The sleeves on the model are very long.

While I was away, Lynn sewed the ends in on my shawl.
Pattern: Lamina Wrap (pattern purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 2 skeins of Frabjous Fibers Cheshire Cat and 2 Cheshire Cat mini skein kits (Beautiful Soup and Gyre & Gimble)

My shawl is very long and I love it. But because it is so long, I needed two skeins of the solid colour. If you want the shawl to be the length from the pattern then you will only do three pattern repeats of each colour (and then you will only use one skein of the solid colour). I didn't want leftover yarn so I did four repeats of each colour.

I've been working on Camp this morning. Homework should be emailed out by the end of the week.

Puppies

The puppies turned one month old today. We get to meet them in a couple of weeks.

I finished. I want to say it was done last night but I was so tired I had to go to bed. This morning I knit the last 6 grey rows and cast off. I couldn't deal with the ends today so..

I've been working away on this shawl all afternoon. I think that I might have it finished in time for TNNA. The big problem - there are a lot of ends on this shawl too. :(

The Last Colour

I just finished the first section of the last colour. I took a lot of pictures but the sun wasn't cooperating. I'm not sure if you can see the differences in the purples here but they are different. It was either too much sun or too much shade in my pictures.

My goal is to finish by Saturday. That will make it three weeks to knit the shawl.

What's next? I'm going to try and finish this shawl for TNNA. Yes, I am dreaming. I don't think there is a chance but I'm going to give it a go.

Pattern: Greyhound Shawl (pattern purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Mrs. Crosby Hat Box

We have a new Opal sock yarn. 

Exuberant sock stripings in colors based on paintings by renowned Austrian artist and sculptor Friedenreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000). Hundertwasser rejected the straight line and embraced bold color, organic forms and humans in harmony with nature.

2102

2104

 2106

2107

Just before I hit Publish, I threw the shawl on the dining table. This shows the purple better.

Now I need to go - the TV needs my attention. We are watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 

I'm Almost There

This is one of the very few projects that I started and worked on straight until it is finished. I haven't picked up another project. Totally monogamous. :) Yes, my fingers are itching for a different project but I'm so close.

The fence is finished. Now we need to decide on our garden. The artificial grass is on the part of the yard that slopes down towards the field. The dirt part slopes back up. That is going to be a garden. I want some pretty flowers and tall grass. 

Mom and dad had an amazing time on their cruise and enjoyed their two days in Seattle. Sunday afternoon they visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass. Yes, I am jealous. Chihuly's work is amazing. They wandered around for three hours. Here are a few of the pictures that mom took. They highly recommend visiting if you are in Seattle.

I think this would look awesome in our back yard :)

Hockey and baseball are on so it's time to knit. I'm almost there.

Happy Victoria Day

A holiday weekend means lots of knitting. I'm almost finished. Three more sections of this purple and then four sections of a different purple.

Beth cast of her latest scarf before heading to the golf course this morning

Yarn: Zauberball Crazy - 2 balls of 2 different colours
Needles: 3.25mm, 40cm

This scarf is 80 stitches. It is knit in the round so you only have right sides to the scarf. No checking and rechecking to make sure the good side is showing. Knit 2 rows of colour A, then 2 rows of colour B. Continue until out of yarn. Beth is really enjoying her mindless knitting and has another scarf cast on.

My flowers on the front porch are blooming nicely. This week Beth and I are heading to the garden center for planters for the deck. We thought about going this morning but I was afraid that Terra would be jammed.

The bad thing about a long weekend - fireworks. Poor Melo has had a bad few evenings and there will be more tonight. He shakes and shakes. We can't get him settled until after they stop. Hopefully with school tomorrow they won't go too late.

My plan was to write last night but he needed my attention. I sat on the couch and he had his head in my lap. It didn't stop the shaking but it did stop the pacing. He does laps around the house.

Now to get a few more rows knit before it's dark.

Yuma

My shawl is growing and I should have it knit in time for TNNA. Sewing in the ends is a different story.

My friend is coming home with me so that I have someone to model over the weekend. My plan is to knit all day tomorrow. Monday will be more knitting sandwiched around picking up my parents from the airport. Their cruise ended today and they are staying in Seattle until Monday morning.

Cathy knit this beautiful scarf in 2 balls of Louisa Harding Azalea. Unfortunately they discontinued this colour but there are still some great colours available.

Pattern: Yuma from Louisa Harding's book for Azalea
Needles: 5mm

Louisa Harding Azalea is a cable-plied, 100% cotton yarn that's very smooth, round and incredibly soft.

It's another busy TV evening. Hockey. Basketball. Nascar. Luckily Beth is in charge of the remote so I can knit.

Summer Wrap

A new pattern just came in for Sirdar's Cotton DK.

The wrap is gorgeous!

Bag: 2 balls
Wrap: 4 balls
Blanket: 9 balls

We have created this fabulous cotton double knitting yarn for hand knit and crochet projects – it can be used to create designs for all the family from babies to adults and looks equally gorgeous in projects for the home. The yarn is made using mercerized cotton to create a subtle sheen and incredible stitch definition so it’s the perfect yarn for lace knitting, cables and crochet work. This Cotton DK is a classic double knitting yarn that will knit to all Sirdar’s DK designs and is machine washable. 

There are great colours to choose from...

Yesterday I mentioned a shipment coming from Freia Fibers. This amazing scarf is knit in the bulky - double stranded.

Pattern: You Look Gradient (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 4 balls of Friea Bulky
Needles: 25mm (I better make sure we have lots in stock)

The stripes in the yarn line up almost perfectly. That is the great thing about Freia. All balls of the same lot are dyed exactly the same.

 

I'll be making mine in the colour Vintage.

We watched the finale of Survivor last night. I won't give the ending away but we were shocked.

It's almost bed time but I'm trying to get a few more rows in before I go. Originally I was going to start with the purple for the second half of my shawl. I changed my mind and went denim. This way it will be green/blue around my neck and purple at the end.

Extreme Cuteness Part 2

My shawl is growing. Almost to the half way point. I better show some knitting first because I have pretty pictures later that aren't yarn related.

During my parent's last stay in Myrtle Beach they had to put their dog down. Tui was 16 and it was time. She was failing quickly. My parents without a dog isn't a pretty sight. My dad needs a dog to walk and my mom needs one to sleep with. It keeps her company during the day. So, Beth and I bought them something and surprised them. A Saint Bernard puppy. They are getting a female and her name will be Lucy. This is one of the puppies from their litter. They get to meet their little girl in 4 weeks. We asked the breeder to pick them the most loving dog. She doesn't have to be the prettiest but she needs to be laid back. Kind of a suck. She needs to get along with Roko and Melo. We want a cuddler. I know, we aren't asking for much but they are good at reading their puppies.

Why a Saint Bernard? My mom gave one to my dad as a their wedding gift. Harmony was awesome. I had one that some of you might remember from the store. Barkley was the most amazing dog. We would like Lucy to be a clone of Barkley.

They aren't very excited :) Mom already has Lucy enrolled in puppy school. Every day my dad (who knows nothing about the Internet - he can't even turn on a computer) asks if there are any new puppy pictures on 'the box'.

There is a bit of extreme jealousy today as well. My dad just called me from their Alaskan Cruise. Today they are going through Glacier Bay. It brought back great memories of my cruise. I don't have the pictures but I borrowed a few from the Holland America website.

It was 6:15am their time when he called. When Beth and I were on our cruise we were already on deck by that time. We were so excited. Our trip was before the iPhone but we did have a digital camera. We took hundreds of pictures that day. Seeing the glaciers calve was unbelievable. It's hard to describe.

He was very excited to talk but the connection wasn't great. Yesterday he helicoptered up to a glacier and went dog sledding. Beth and I did that too. He said it was awesome and he wanted to stay. We felt the same way.

Now it's time to knit. I should pass half way tonight and get to the next colour. Should is the important word. There is baseball, hockey and basketball on. I'm going to be busy changing channels.

Rainbows

Oh my goodness is it cold out there. If it was like this in January we'd be happy but not in May. Beth was supposed to golf today but it was cancelled. Too cold.

I was up super early this morning for no reason so I decided to get my day going. While playing on Facebook I liked the page for Frabjous Fibers. I talked about the new Rainbow Mini Skeins coming soon. Here is a picture of the actual skeins. Oh my. Aren't the colours amazing?

There was a bit of knitting today. One more teal section and then the last colour of this kit. My shawl will be at the half way point. I'm getting excited about the next kit.

It is Gyre and Gimble and I will start with the purple and work to the denim.

It's a big day tomorrow. I'm getting California shutters in my bedroom. It only took me a year to decide what I wanted. Until now I've had brown paper taped to the windows. Once a week we get a flyer in the front door for window treatments. My dad keeps asking when I'm going to get that awful paper out of my windows. I've been debating between curtains and shutters. I pulled the trigger a month ago and called Greg from The Shutter Factory. He did our shutters in the townhouse and in my parent's townhouse. He does great work. He might be a bit more than the flyers in the door but I know that I'm getting quality. Hopefully once the shutters are in I will be able to sleep a bit longer in the morning.

I'm going to knit a few more rows and then bed. It's a busy day tomorrow.

Awake way too early

It was another early morning. I was up at 6:30 because dad was coming over at 7. We are getting our fence today. This is fantastic news. No more snow fence. No more fear of the dogs getting out.

Unfortunately the fence guy doesn't work on my dad's hours. He didn't show up until 10am. That was a lot of missed sleep. The only good thing about that was I sat and knit.

After I wrote yesterday's post I remembered that I had a picture of my Frabjous Fibers kit before I wound the balls.

There is an internal debate going. I would love to decorate my bedroom in these colours. The bad thing about that is the new bedding I would have to purchase. Everything I have now is purple.

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Lorna's Laces this afternoon. We have String Quintet kits in the colourway Harp again. This is the colour we used for our Isn't it Romantic? shawl.

I'm home from work and the fence isn't finished. It took all day just to do the posts. The weather calls for rain tomorrow which means no fence until Monday. The dogs have moved to mom and dad's for a few days. They aren't sad about that. The cookie consumption greatly increases there.

Lamina Wrap

My shawl is growing. I'm going to have to work to get it finished in time for TNNA (a trade show where yarn shop owners go to buy yarn and accessories) in June. I am addicted to the Frabjous Fibers mini skein kits. So addicted that I just placed another order. The first five colours in my shawl are from a one of a kind kit. I talked with the company and they are dying kits just for us. There is also a new kit colour ordered.

And then the neatest thing. Think of what fun you could have with this.

It's the rainbowload of Mini Skeins, oh yes. Four of our popular Mini Skein Packs are combined into one enormous, beautiful rainbow for a full-spectrum knitting experience! Twenty 1-oz Mini Skeins: combine them all for a large project, or spread them out over several smaller projects. The possibilities are truly endless!

Cheshire Cat fingering: 128 yards per 1 oz. skein, 2560 yards total

We have a new limited edition colour of Alegria sock yarn.

40 years ago the Peacock family opened Estelle Designs. They distribute Manos del Uruguay yarns in Canada and Manos has dyed a special limited edition colour to celebrate their milestone. The colour - Peacock - is beautiful but won't be available for long.

I was very excited when we pulled in from the airport last night. I thought that the builder was starting on our front yard. Were we finally getting grass? No, Luke left his backhoe so that he could start work on the driveway this morning.

The whole driveway will be dug up, refilled and tamped down properly.

Dad had all the locates done (it looks like kids were playing with spray paint on our driveway) but when I left for work they were worried about where the water line runs into the house. I hope that they don't hit it :)