Spud & Chloe

I spent yesterday afternoon knitting a few more hats. Beth will be making a trip to Mission Services this week to drop off what we have so far and we will be making at least one more trip down before Christmas.

Our pile includes
98 hats
41 scarves
7 pairs of mittens

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!!

We’re a group of dedicated staff and volunteers passionate about reducing poverty and restoring dignity to people who have been socially or financially marginalized.

This year we are expecting to prepare a Christmas program for more than 1500 adults and more than 1000 children.  We will provide a food hamper, toys for children and small gifts for the adults.
We also aim to provide warm winter clothing to our clients who frequently are in need of hats, scarves and mittens.  

Items can be dropped off in the store or at Mission Services - 196 Wentworth Street North.

I know that many of you don't live near the store. Please consider donating hats, mittens and scarves in your hometown. At a soup kitchen, food bank or women's shelter. Every community has people who are in need.

The week of December 9 we will have new enamel pins from Twill & Print. Just in time for last minute gifts.

We added Spud & Chloe Outer to the website today at a great price. It's time to say goodbye. The yarn is beautiful but we need room for new yarns that will be coming after Christmas. This is the Honeybear Hoodie - you can purchase the pattern on Ravelry. There are 3 sizes to this cute jacket. 0-3 months, 4-8 months, 9-12 months. You need 3, 3, 4 skeins.

There are a lot of patterns on Ravelry that use the Outer.

Maker's Trunks should be in the store next week. I can't wait! One will be coming home with me.

Our Maker's Trunk was mindfully designed to bring a little bit of peace to your busy day-to-day life. With enough room to keep the essentials close by, the Maker's Trunk is the ideal way to carry your projects while minimizing clutter. The Trunk is ideal for storage at home, but the handles and latch closure allow you to safely and stylishly take your Trunk with you while you travel without worry. Including maker-specific features, such as two yarn feeders at the top of the trunk and adjustable trays, the Namaste Maker's Trunk is designed to help clear your mind and find Maker's Nirvana wherever you are.

I was up way too late last night watching football. The Grey Cup did not go the way I thought it was going to.

Spud & Chloe Outer

We're almost ready for the sale. There are many baskets scattered throughout the front room. We've moved yarn around to make it easier to get to. Get your list ready - you don't want to miss out on the great deals.

Here are some cute new patterns from Spud & Chloe. The yarns will be part of our sale in a week and a half.

Pattern: Frosting Fringe Scarf (free on Ravelry)
Yarn: 3 skeins of Spud & Chloe Outer and 1 skein of Spud & Chloe Stripey Fine

Soft, warm and fun, this scarf is playful and easy to knit. Just like frosting, you can never have enough of the fringe tassels.

Pattern: Sunday Morning Slippers (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Outer - 3-6 skeins

Knit in superwash Outer, this soft and chunky slipper bootie is a must have for every family. Sized from child’s XS to men’s XL and knit on size 13 needles, you will want to make more than one pair. These cozy slippers can be worn with the cuffs up or down and will keep everybody’s feet happy.

The next few patterns aren't new but they are very cute!

Pattern: Jack & Jill Jumper (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Outer

Knit from the top down, the unisex Jack & Jill Jumper has a nice wide neck opening that makes for easy on and off. Quick and cozy, this kid’s classic is knit in bulky superwash wool and organic cotton Outer, with contrasting ribs trimming cuffs and hem.

Pattern: Honeybear Hoodie (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Outer for the jacket and Stripey Fine for the booties

Complete instructions for Little Spuds Honeybear Hoodie (Outer) and bonus pattern Sweetie Socks (Stripey Fine)

It was a crazy busy day in the store today - I think everyone was stocking up for the long weekend. There are going to be some very pretty projects cast on tomorrow. No work tomorrow means that I can knit a few rows tonight before going to bed. Big Brother from last night is taped as is Master Chef. Great tv to knit to - you really don't have to pay attention :)

Halfway There

I thought that I was finished my first stripe section but I'm only half way there. The pattern says 80 stripes not 80 rows.

Here are some more colours coming from Hedgehog.

Concrete

Crystal

Ghost

Naive

Pilgrim

Secret

Velvet

Did you know that the free patterns from the blog Spud Says (Spud & Chloe) are now available to download on Ravelry?

These Baby Mitts in Sweater are way too cute.

Wouldn't Ribbit make a great gift?

Ribbit is knit up in the fabulous Spud & Chloë Sweater in the Grass #7502 colorway and you only need one skein. The added twist is that inside of the body is a tennis ball! This means that Ribbit bounces when tossed! How fun is that? The bounce is softened because of the knitted enclosure but this makes it even better for indoor play.

I'm putting the needles away and heading to bed. I'm not sure why my Mondays off are so tiring. And I didn't do anything today.

Spud & Chloe Baby

We have new patterns from Spud & Chloe for the little ones in your life.

The Honeybear Hoodie knit in Outer and Sweetie Socks knit in Stripey Fine.

The Bundle Me Blanket in Outer. The pattern also includes the instructions for the Sweetie Socks in Stripey Fine.

The Roundabout Romper in Fine and Sweetie Socks in Stripey Fine.

Rowan Magazine #58 is just a month away. Fingers crossed the ocean currents are in our favour and the ship carrying the fall Rowan gets to the US quicker than expected.

My parents are in Juneau today (speaking of ocean currents). Unfortunately it is pouring rain and foggy. My dad's dog sledding adventure was cancelled and he isn't happy. I think they are going to wait for the rain to slow down and then walk around town.

Now I need to work on the website. I could be without the Internet in the store for the next few days. My Internet provider and I have had a bit of a falling out and I will be shopping for a new provider tomorrow.

Coming Soon

Spud & Chloë Stripey Fine takes color inspiration from our solid palette in the Fine collection and mixes them together to create seven new yummy ice cream colors. Stripey Fine is a beautiful blend of 80% superwash wool and 20% silk that’s absolutely ideal for shawls, cowls, baby knits and some pretty fancy footwork.

The yarn will retail for $20.50 a skein.
175m on a 50gram skein

The colour names are making me hungry.

Here is my CustomFit cardigan so far. One front finished and the second cast on. Knitting on 8mm needles helps it to grow faster :)

The colours are truer in this picture. I normally wouldn't post the big picture but I wanted to prove that I did do some knitting while I was away.

There were a few phone calls back and forth between madelinetosh and myself today. A huge order is about to go into production for us. Lots of everything except pashmina and ASAP. We hope to have it in the store by the middle of February.

I need a bigger store.

Ms. Canada Post and Mr. Canpar brought in boxes today. We are starting to run out of room but it won't stop me from buying more yarn :)

New mug kits just arrived from Spud &  Chloe.

Each kit contains
-Spud & Chloe Mug
-1 skein of Spud & Chloe Sweater
-1 On-the-Run pattern

Aphrodite Hat Kit

Cupid Cowl

Venus Mitts

We are well stocked in Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton. There were many bags in with the mugs.

This candy shop of color tempts with an array of sweet treats ranging from rich and creamy neutrals to scrumptious and saturated hues. The palette is created with low impact dyes, and a funky twist gives this 100% certified organic cotton a light and lofty hand.

Take a look at the Fraser Cowl. It looks great in the Cotton.

Need a baby blanket? Try the Zig Zag Baby Blanket.

Another new yarn arrived today.

Luxurious Tweed DK is made using sumptuously soft cotton and the finest wool spun together in rich, earthy tones with a smattering of colourful neps in subtle accent colours.

60% wool
40% cotton

22 stitches = 4" on 4mm needles
135m on a 50gram ball

There is also a pattern book (with 17 designs) to go with the yarn. Here are a few.

Nadine is downstairs with her class and I'm going to knit as soon as I'm done writing. I'm casting off the back neck and doing the shoulder shaping on my CustomFit cardigan. Just the sleeves to go. I think I can get it done in a week. And it's one crazy TV week. There was an Olympic hangover this morning. I woke up and put on CBC but there wasn't anyone skiing or skating or bobsledding. It was sad. The good news. The Blacklist is back tonight. And a new Big Break. Grey's Anatomy is back on Thursday. Survivor starts on Wednesday night. Beth has everything taped already so we don't forget.

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.