Finished another project and my gold medal

I finished knitting the Vision Coat tonight while watching the Amazing Race. Some of those people are really annoying. How can you walk by the clue box continually for 1/2 hour? How does a 60 year old woman think she can put together a motor bike if she's never done it before?

Back to my Sirdar Aran-I'm not ready to sew together another project just yet-that would be way too much.

Here is my gold medal for finishing my Knitting Olympics project-very exciting.

I am on a role

Now that Zarah is done it is time to complete some of my other projects. I have picked up my Vision Coat from Sally Melville's Book 2: The Purl Stitch- using Trendsetter's Dune in colour 82 plum/rust with pastel golds. So far the back, both sleeves and one front are done. The other front is at the armhole shaping. Should get some knitting done tonight-The Apprentice starts and then The Amazing Race tomorrow night.

I am on a role. While watching movies on Saturday night I started my hedgehog. He got finished during closing ceremonies and yesterday's Nascar race. Here he is unfelted. I needed to stuff him with something so that he would sit on table so I grabbed the closest thing-4 balls of Rowan Kid Silk Haze-boy does he have a happy tummy. Before I can do the felting I need to buy some stuffing (you stuff him to dry so that he keeps his shape and then put in new stuffing when it is dry).

My mom couldn't get a comment posted on the blog so she sent me an email-

Congratulations, you have won the finishing trophy. I don't remember the last time you sewed in your own ends.
Your prize is a four-day trip for you and your sister to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with lodging and golf privileges included. Hugs.

She can't wait for us to get to Myrtle Beach. We can keep dad busy and let her have a rest. He is a going concern-up at 7am and no sitting around for the rest of the day. It will be like a vacation for her.

Done

I am proud to say that Zarah is done. It has been a bit of a journey. I heard about the Knitting Olympics and decided to participate. My first project was going to be a sweater in Rowan Biggy Print. Beth told me that this wasn't a big enough challenge so I changed to Zarah. The pattern is from Elsebeth Lavold's book three The Embraceable You Collection. I didn't have the yarn that was called for so I used Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk. The yarn was great to work with. I received daily phone calls from my dad asking how much I had knit that day. In the past few days my mom even got in on the action. Mom and dad-IT IS DONE!! I even sewed in together, finished off all the ends and sewed on the buttons. This is big for me because usually Wannietta, Rhonda or Jane does that for me.
Now I can work on my Hedgehog (and have a drink). Got the front finished last night while watching a movie. I hope to be felting tonight.
Melo came with me to do the pictures. He got a new sheep to play with in the store-purple even. How cute!!

65 hours and counting

The countdown has begun.

Today wasn't very productive but knitting class was. I didn't answer any questions and just sat there sewing together. Not really but it sounds good. Both front bands are done, one sleeve is sewn in and one side seam is done. I should get the rest sewn together tomorrow. A really big snow storm tonight would be nice-that would give me lots of time to finish.

On the front one band looks wavy. It really isn't but I was trying to get a picture quickly and didn't lie it out flat. So far I am happy with how it looks but I am praying that the collar will sit properly.

Almost there

The fronts and back are joined and I have to cast off one front edge. This leaves one front edge, the collar and finishing. As you can see there are lots of ends to sew in-the yarn only has 65m on a ball.
This is my view when sitting and knitting in the store. You can see that the hockey game is on. Not sure that I want to go into this afternoon's game. What a kick in the butt for our hockey team!! They were awful. Thank goodness for the rest of our Olympic team. Great day. I woke up to news of a gold and the day just kept getting better until the hockey.
More good news today. Half of my order from Jordana Paige arrived. These are the most amazing knitting bags. I have ordered extras of the Messenger Bag (pink and black) and the Knitter's Satchel (purple) so that I can have one of each.

My parents are in currently in Myrtle Beach and Mom reads my blog to see what is going on here. Mom-please tell Dad that I am almost done.

Lots done today-unfortunately no knitting

I am sad to report that not a lot of knitting has been done. I am finished sleeve two and at the armhole shaping of the second front. Just got off the phone from my parents in Myrtle Beach. He did ask the dreaded question 'How much did you do today?' I think that I need to get call display and then not answer their calls until next week.

On a good note though
-Rowan arrived in the store today and some of it is on the shelf. The new colours look great and the new magazine is much better than the fall one.
-Louisa Harding yarns arrived today as well-this is tomorrows job. Louisa does two magazines- one for garments and the other for accessories. Her garment designs are great for casual and dressing up.

And on an even better note I think I have my website problems straightened out. The company who hosts my site also does the maintenance. This worked well until October when employees started to quit. Nothing has been done since then. I call and call and absolutely nothing gets done. I kept hoping that it would get better and they kept promising me that changes would be made but it didn't happen. I didn't receive an invoice until January and then they put the whole amount on my credit card. Visa has reversed these charges and I have paid them for the hosting but not for the work that isn't done. Now I am getting emails that my account is overdue. Unbelievable. Anyways-the good news. I finally found someone who could help me steal back my website and host it somewhere else. Hopefully this will be done in the next few days and the updates can be made. This will mean no time for knitting. Lots of new yarns to get up on the site along with the new Rowan pricing.

I have sat far too long in front of the computer today doing paperwork, etc so it is now nap time.

The race continues

I finally have a picture of my knitting so far. This is the start of the second sleeve. I finished the back and one front is now done to the armhole.

Getting up early every morning is going to kill me but I want to see the Olympics live-don't want to know the results before I see it happen. The past 2 days have been amazing!! There have been a couple of events that I watched 2 or 3 times-the men's figure skating was great. It has been fun watching them live on CBC and then watching again at night on NBC to see what the announcers have to say. I am glad that I have Monday off so that I can watch the women's hockey final without interruptions.

There isn't much new in my life to report. Mom and Dad are off to Myrtle Beach in the morning. Beth and I are flying down for a few days in March. It will be nice to get a couple of rounds of golf in.

Progress Report

I have been knitting my little fingers off. So far I have completed one sleeve and the back is done to the armholes. I am 10 balls in and I figure that the sweater will take around 25-26. Not bad on knitting time but the finishing is going to take a while so I have to pick up the pace. I haven't posted a picture because you can't see anything on the brown.
My big mistake was telling my dad what I was doing. He calls me daily for a progress report. Then I get comments like, 'Can't you knit any faster? or Shouldn't you be at home knitting rather than going out?'

Sirdar yarns arrived in the store yesterday which means I have to spend part of the morning rearranging more shelves. This really cuts into knitting time.

The cutest pattern arrived yesterday from Fiber Trends for a felted hedgehog. I would definitely be starting this except I can't because of my sweater. I think that I will knit one like the picture for my store and then a funky one that will be done in purple. I collect purple teddy bears and this will make a great addition to the collection. These bears live in my room in Myrtle Beach and so far the collection is up to 40.

The games have begun

My post this morning is going to be short-I have to get back to my knitting. Started on Zarah at 2pm yesterday. Didn't get much time to knit in the store-had customers in shopping and I was busy moving more yarn around. After work I sat down and knit all evening. Sleeve one is almost done. Of course there was a mistake in the graph but I got that figured out before I started. Gotta run-must get ready for work.

I am ready to start

My swatch is done and I am eagerly awaiting 2pm tomorrow so that I can start. This is the first time in my life that I have waited to start a sweater-usually I jump in right away.

We recieved new shipments of spring yarns today so I decided it was necessary to move things around. Today's job was the Rowan room. The Rowan hasn't arrived yet but I wanted eveything ready when it does. I washed shelves and swept and then moved the tv. Got it all done and then realized I had been really stupid. The tv is now on an angle and the view from my table isn't the best. I will be spending the next 2 weeks glued to that tv and it is in the wrong spot. Tomorrow morning will be more moving around so that my chair faces the tv straight on.

Tuesday night was our guild meeting. Here are a couple of pictures of the ladies entrelac bags so far. So far only a few have been felted but the rest should be done for the next meeting. The colours look great!!

Knitting Olympics-decision made

The decision has been made. I am going to knit Zarah by Elsebeth Lavold (from her book #3 The Embraceable You Collection). The pattern calls for her Angora-unfortunately I don't keep this in the store. There is no way for me to get it before Friday so I am going to use Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (80% alpaca, 20% silk) in chocolate brown. I have been itching to knit with this yarn for a long time so it might be a blessing in disguise.
I am actually going to do a swatch before knitting this-doesn't happen often. Or should that read never? We are allowed to swatch but can't cast on until 2pm on Friday. I then have 16 days to get this knit and sewn together. This is going to be the big challenge.

I did get lots of knitting done yesterday during that awful Super Bowl. I worked on my Manos poncho-the purple part is now complete to the neck. I am getting on my soap box now-sorry. The game started with a terrible National Anthem, the game was boring and the Rolling Stones sucked. Mick kept leaving words out and it just sounded like loud noise. I have seen them in concert and it was nothing like that. I called my dad to see if he watched the half time and he said 'They suck. Do you actually call that music?' Can't they get someone to do halftime that sounds good and everyone likes? What about Billy Joel or Elton John? They don't offend anyone and everyone knows their songs. I am now off my soap box.

Colour chosen and Olympic knitting

Thanks for your comments on the colours. I think that I will be going with the rust. Did get some more knitting done on it today-almost to the neck shaping on the Manos.

Now my problem is what to knit for the Knitting Olympics. Was going to do a Rowan sweater in Biggy Print. Quick and guaranteed to get it done. Over dinner tonight Beth said that I should find something that will be a challenge. The Olympics isn't for taking the easy way out so I shouldn't do that with my project. Tomorrow afternoon will be spent going through patterns. Unfortunately I start a project as soon as the yarn comes into the store if I like it. This really cuts down on my options.

I saw the doctor on Thursday and was sent right away for head and chest X-rays. She was afraid that I might have pneumonia. Those tests came back negative. I am also having a CT scan on Tuesday to see what is up with my sinuses. It is a good thing that we might get an answer soon and they can fix it.

I will be watching the Super Bowl tomorrow (I guess it is now tonight). Hopefully it will be more exciting than the playoffs.

Manos and good news from Rowan

Here is a picture of my poncho so far with my colour choices for the other half. I am leaning towards the green but would love some input.

Not much else to report. Got some reading done today. Still not feeling great and reading made the time go by quick. Back to the doctor tomorrow-round 3 of antibiotics.

Trying to decide what I should choose for the Knitting Olympics. Has to be something new and I have to get it done fast. Maybe a shawl. Something else to keep me awake at night.

Off to knitting class. If I cancel my Wednesday night class one more time a war could break out.

Forgot something of importance.
1. The pictures of the spring Rowan are now on the Rowan site
2. Prices of Rowan are going DOWN in Canada. Unbelievable. There is already a decrease on spring yarns and Kid Silk Haze. There will be more mark downs this fall.

Boring Sunday

Not much got done today-didn't even go outside-rainy and yucky (such a mature word).

Did get a little bit of knitting done on my Manos poncho-48 rows done now on the purple half. I haven't decided what colour the other half will be. Might be rust but might go with green.

I have spent the last hour finishing my class schedule for spring. So much for taking time off. I will be teaching 4 nights a week from now until April. If you live in the area and would like to receive the schedule, please email me and I will forward to you.

Trying out Blogger for Word

The store is now closed for the day and I am waiting to play a game of poker. Beth almost broke even in our tournament earlier so it is my turn to play. The good thing about playing online is that I can knit at the same time. I am now 12 rows into my Manos poncho. The yarn is nice to knit with. I am even knitting with 2 balls at the same time as the pattern recommends. I don’t usually do this but the colours in the skeins are very different and the poncho will end up patchy.

I downloaded Blogger for Word and am trying it out. Might not like the looks but will see in a minute.

There is another set of patterns coming into the store in the next couple of weeks. They are from a company called Knitwhits. This is one of their neat felted bags and a scarf knit out of Noro. You can see their patterns at www.knitwhits.com.

I sent the post directly to blogger. It didn't accept the pictures so I resent as a draft and then did an edit in Blogger. I guess it would be okay with no pictures but since I like having them in my posts I won't be using Word very often.

Posting at 2am isn't always a good idea

My last posts were done early this morning when I couldn't sleep. Looking back at them there are some things that I forgot to write about-and some new stuff too.

Shopping in Vegas and San Diego was not exciting. I did buy a birthday gift for Jane at Brighton. While there I bought myself a small bag. Other than that there is nothing to report.

While grocery shopping this morning I was walking the cereal aisle and a lady gave me the strangest look. When I was checking out she came running over to ask about the sweater I had on. It was Patrick from Rowan denim-my most favourite sweater in the world. This is my second one because I wore the first one out. This sweater has travelled the world with me and it still looks great-thanks Wannietta for knitting it. Someday soon you might have to do another one.

While playing on the computer at 3am I came across a cool idea for knitting during the Olympics. The Yarn Harlot has the started something called the Knitting Olympics and now a group is started for Knitting Olympics-Team Canada. Still trying to decide if I will be joining. Please don't quote me because it was early this morning but I believe that you must start and finish a project during the Olympics. Of course I don't need to start yet another project but it is a cool idea. Wannietta, Samantha, Cynthia and Nadine have all joined.

Saturday afternoon Beth and I always play a poker tournament online-time to go and hopefully make some money.

New Felted Bags

Here is a sample of the felted bags from Nicky Epstein. Her new book is called Fabulous Felted Bags and should be available in about 2 weeks. There are 15 designs in the book and the decision about which one to knit first will be hard. They are knit out of Jamieson's double knitting weight wool. This is now available in 25 g balls which works out great because you need a lot of colours but not much of each one.

Trip Pictures

Not much knitting to report. I did cast on and knit 3 rows of the Manos poncho. It was calling my name all day in the store.

Here are pictures. The first are of the zoo. The panda didn't turn out well but you can make him out. The polar bears, however, are amazing. Beth spent over 2 hours watching them play so you can imagine how many pictures she took. It was hard to decide which to use.

The next 2 pictures are from our hotel window in San Diego. The first is the convention centre and the second is the new baseball diamond where the San Diego Padres play.

The last pictures are from our hotel room at The Bellagio. The best part of our room was that we could watch the fountain show from our window. If you turned the tv to channel 31 you could hear the music that played along to the water show. If you are in Vegas, make sure you walk through the hotel registration area. The ceiling is amazing. There are glass flowers of all colours hanging over your head. The conservatory is also a must. It is constantly being changed and this must take a huge effort. It is currently decorated for the Chinese New Year. This is the year of the dog so they even had a huge Saint Bernard looking over everything.

Just arrived home

Just got in the door from Las Vegas. The first job was checking emails-I hate spam. There were over 800 emails and at least 750 were spam.

I did sent Beth to Tim Hortons for coffee. That is one draw back to travelling in the US. I am not a fan of Starbucks.

The trip was great but tiring. Flew to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Spent Wednesday and Thursday night at Treasure Island. Friday we flew to San Diego. We stayed at the Omni hotel which was steps from the convention centre. Tuesday we checked out and flew back to Vegas and stayed at the Bellagio.

I am starting to feel a bit better. Saturday was spent in bed-didn't even see the show-but the sleep was needed.

There isn't a lot to report from the show. I did buy
-new hardcover books
-patterns for felted bags
-new Nicky Epstein book for the most fabulous felted bags (plus some kits to go with the book)
-some Mountain Colors yarn
-new Trendsetter yarns

Spent time catching up with friends and having lots of laughs over drinks-they drank and I had water-antibiotics and alcohol don't mix.

Pictures will be posted in the next couple of days. Back to work tomorrow so I will be tired tomorrow night. The 3 hour time difference will catch up with me.

Beth's day at the zoo

Hi - this is Beth writing in with guest commentary. We are at the TNNA show in San Diego. The show has been interesting and Julie has found some new items for her store. The best part of the trip for me was going to the World Famous San Diego Zoo yesterday. It may be the greatest place on earth! I saw the Giant Pandas including the 15 week old little guy who looked exactly like every stuffed Panda you've ever seen. I asked to take him home, but they said no - how mean. Julie had been to the zoo before and had told me that the best part was the polar bears - well as usual she was right. I spent more than two hours at the polar bear exhibit watching them play. I asked if I could go in and play with them, but they said no - there are a lot of bad rules at the zoo - they won't you let do anything really fun. I'm sure Julie will be writing in soon.