Any 4 letter word will work

I learned a good lesson this afternoon. I was rushing around at closing time. Needed to run to Westdale to pick up my new glasses. Many of you are scratching your heads because you have never seen me wear glasses. I get a new pair every 3 years and then don't like them so I never wear them. With the headaches that I have been getting I thought that maybe glasses would help. I now have a funky pair and really like them so I should wear them more. Sorry-back to the story. From getting my glasses I was running to have my nails done. I closed the store and threw my knitting in the truck with a bottle of ginger ale. Long pause-you guessed it-the gingerale spilled all over my yarn. This is the Sassafrass from Nashua for the shrug. I have now started it 2 times on different needles (both pieces were in the bag) because I am sure that there isn't going to be enough yarn and was hoping the bigger needles would help. The other 6 balls were in there as well. I can not repeat what I said!! My question to everyone is-how do I dry out the balls of yarn? I was thinking of letting them dry, knitting up the shrug and then washing. Or do you have a better solution. HELP!!!

Frolic and new project

Here is the Jane Slicer-Smith throw finished. My original plan was to have it displayed on a rocking chair at the Frolic but the booth wasn't big enough for the chair. Many of you came by the booth and commented that the throw looks much better in person-pictures definitely don't do it justice.

The Frolic was a long day but we had fun meeting new customers as well as hooking up with knitters that we already knew. Wannietta, Cindy and Michelle all stopped by to say hello.

Of course I had to start something new now that the throw is done. I was going to make the Trendsetter cardigan but decided on this shrug from Nashua. It should go quickly and then I can start the cardigan. The yarn is called Sassafrass (50% cotton and 50% acrylic). The shade cards aren't on the net yet for you to see but I am doing the colour in the picture.

Almost there

I am proud to write that I only have 1 square left to finish on my throw. I have also finished off all ends. Should get it done tonight so I can post a picture later this weekend.

Beth and I are driving to Toronto tomorrow night to set up for the Frolic. The location couldn't be worse for Friday afternoon travel-the 401 and DVP. There is absolutely no way to get there and not get stuck in traffic.

If you are at the Frolic, please stop by the booth and introduce yourself.

A little quiz for you to take

Got this from Nadine's site.

You Are Bold Red Boots

You like to put your most outrageous foot forward!

What Kind of Boots Are You?

Next Project

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on my throw.

I have decided what I will be knitting next. I know that I still have my shrug to finish (along with the many other projects) but this is calling my name. I am going to Indianapolis in June for a trade show where we buy yarns for fall and I will be working a bit in the Trendsetter booth so I thought that I should have one of their sweaters on. The yarn is called Daisy (the base of Daisy is a combination of Cotton and Acrylic that is blended to create this woven ribbon. Along each edge is a bright printed Viscose/Polyester blend that is woven in place with short and long ruffles. The look is simple and easy with colors that are great for any season and any wardrobe). This isn't a colour I would normally knit for myself but I have a cool pair of black jeans with gold coloured beads patterned on one leg.

This will be my first trip to Indianapolis. If anyone has been there and can recommend places to see or things to do, please let me know.

You will notice a new button on the side that lets you sign up for my store newsletter. The third issue went out early this morning. The newsletter keeps you informed about new yarns, upcoming events and news from the knitting world.

Not much knitting

Life has been crazy but there isn't much knitting to report-I am currently on square 73. Hopefully I will be done this weekend but paperwork could get in the way. I have to finish my tax return, do a GST return, 2 PST returns and finish my online newsletter for The Needle Emporium.

My dad is in Honduras for 2 weeks. They are doing a 'water project' which translates into digging ditches to bring water to the village that they visited in November. This means keeping mom amused while he is away. Last night we took her Swiss Chalet plus a surprise. The tv in their bedroom went on the blink so we bought them a new HDTV for their birthdays. Now I want one-the picture is so much clearer.

Please take a look at Cynthia's blog. She is collecting knit squares for an afghan to be put together for her very young niece who is going through chemotherapy. The response has been great and there will be enough squares to make afghans for other children with cancer. Please take some time to knit a square, I will try and get some done over the weekend.

Rowan Magazine 40

Got quite a bit of knitting done while watching the Masters. I now have 63 squares done. 30 to go.

Thanks Linda, I got the Rowan posters today.

In my opinion, Rowan #40 looks great-I have at least 4 sweaters that I need!!!! I have been very critical of the last few magazines and it looks like Rowan has listened to everyone's concerns. The styling has been toned down-no weird hats or skirts that totally take away for the garments. Here are a few highlights, I can't give too much away.

• 2 mini-magazines in addition to #40
  
• there are 12 designs for men between the 3 magazines
  
• lots of fair isle designs
• 4 new yarns
• Marie Wallin the new designer has done some great work

I also got a peak of the new Nashua for fall. They are introducing a mohair (40 or more colours), brushed alpaca (39 colours), superwash aran, ribbon yarn plus new colours in the existing yarns. There will be 3 magazines.

Rhonda has finished my felted hedgehogs for the Knitter's Frolic. They are so cute.

We are making some progress on the website. The new secure online ordering will be done with PayPal. I did alot of research before deciding on this. If you don't have an account with them, don't worry. You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Got my account signed up and the next day I get an email confirming a purchase which I didn't make. This didn't make me happy with my decision. Talked with PayPal and here is their warning. If you get an email asking you to click on a link to confirm something-don't do it. PayPal won't send emails like this. They told me that companies send out emails to people hoping that you have a PayPal account and you click on the link. These companies have no clue who actually has an account with PayPal. Also, if it is from PayPal, your email will have your full name in the first line. If it says Dear Member it is just someone fishing for personal information. This made me feel much better about my decision.

Fall 2006 Rowan

I am going to get the posters for fall Rowan on Monday. My friend Linda Pratt, who is the National Marketing Manager of Westminster Fibers (the company who distributes Rowan in the US and Nashua to my store) has sent her copy to me. Can't wait to see the great garments for fall. I can't show you the pictures until the launch date on August 1 but I will tell you as much as I can Monday afternoon.

Done!!! plus information on Tent Sale

I didn't get that throw done!! I have 53 squares done on that one.

This is the Diagonal Throw. The tassels are regular but it took a while to figure out how to make them and write it out for others to follow. The cute stand is from my parents. They found it at Cracker Barrel in Myrtle Beach.

The tent sale will be Wednesday June 21 and Thursday June 22. The store will be closed on Tuesday June 20 so that we can get everything ready. The hours will be from noon to 8pm. We tried to make it so people could come after work. In previous years you had to come into the store to pay which caused quite a traffic jam of people. This year we will also have a cash register set up in the tent for those paying with cash. An added bonus-pay with cash and get a 10% discount (on tent sale yarns). Also, on Thursday after 5pm there will be an extra 10% discount on all remaining tent yarns. (Pay cash and get 20% off!!)

Off to knitting class.

Beth's still alive and the camera came home

Got through square 47 last night. Half way done!!!

Today was our first day of summer hours. We're closed on Mondays until September. This gives us all a bit of a break during the nice weather (not so nice today though).

Getting ready for the Knitter's Frolic. We are going to be busy in the next couple of weeks making up kits.

Again a busy tv night. 2 hours of Deal or No Deal, College Basketball final and The Apprentice. Should get a few more squares done.

Sometimes I could strangle my sister

Beth decided to take the camera to work on Friday and it is still sitting on her desk. I will definitely post a picture on Monday of the throw so far. I have completed 40 squares and should be half way after the Nascar race today.

A customer, Darlene, suggested using Constant Contact to send out store newsletters by email. Got the first one sent out yesterday. It shows who has read the newsletter and what links that have opened. I put a picture of the Jordana Paige knitting bag and that link has been opened the most. I got excited that people are actually reading the newsletter and have the next 2 written. My goal is to send out weekly newsletters with new products, store events and free patterns. We will see how long this lasts.

Gotta go, prerace is on.

needleemporium.com

The changes to the website are taking longer than expected but I have seen a preview and I think it will be great when done.

I have been working away on my throw. 33 of 93 squares done. I need to pick up the pace a bit but it should get done.

Last night we had a fun night at knitting class. Kris made a carrot cake (my favourite) and Kelley brought a tea pot, tea and even cut up some lemon. They even talked me into extending their lessons for another 4 weeks so that we can do it again.

The last of the new Rowan arrived today. Holiday is a loosely constructed chainette yarn in a cotton blend which knits on 10mm needles. The palette consists of beautiful muted shades including soft pinks, heathers and blues. The magazine for this yarn is called Tuscan Retreat.

My purchases and afghan update

Here are some of my shopping purchases from yesterday. (I forgot to list a purse.) I think that the boots are my favourite. These came from Brown's-Sherway and Yorkdale had them. There were at least 15 new styles of cowboy boots for the spring. Good news for me since I collect cowboy boots. The shoes and purse came from Town Shoes. The purse also came in yellow, bright pink and lime-it was tough to choose a colour.

I now have 23 squares done on the afghan and 24 is almost done. When you look at the colours in a pile there are some that stand out (I would have left them out) but when knit together they look great.

Busy Day

I spent all day in Toronto which meant no time for knitting.

My day started off visiting Romni Wools. I had to deliver yarn for Beth (Beth runs our distribution company called Old Mill Knitting).
After Romni I stopped at Sherway Gardens. Bought some clothes-nothing exciting.
Then off to Luv2Pak where I get supplies for make kits in the store. This is at Keele just south of the 407.
From there I went to one of my suppliers Diamond Yarns. Nothing like an hour wandering through a warehouse full of yarn.
Next stop - Creative Bag to get bags for the store.
The last stop was Yorkdale. Bought another pair of cowboy boots and a pair of sandals. Couldn't help myself.

I pulled out of Yordale at 5:45 and had to rush back to Hamilton so that I could have my nails done. Gotta love the 407!! I was driving 130 and people were flying by me. 275 km on the SUV today.

With the switch of companies hosting my website I have lost the list of people who have signed up for The Needle Emporium online newsletter. I have spent the last 2 hours starting a new list and writing a newsletter to email. There is a great company called Constant Contact and I am using them for the newsletter. The first one is done but I am going to proof read once more tomorrow before I send it out.

I now have 22 of 94 squares done on my afghan-pictures tomorrow. I might get one more done tonight while watching The Apprentice. It is unbelievable how some of these people got on the show-they know absolutely nothing about business.

Am I nuts?

My pattern for the Jane Slicer-Smith throw arrived yesterday. I am working on square 8 and I have 93 to get finished by April 21. Nothing like putting pressure on myself. The Knitters Frolic is on the 22nd and I want the throw done to display there. I am knitting in the ends as I go so when I am finished knitting there will be no finishing.

I should have rotated the throw before I took the picture. The 2 squares at the bottom will be the bottom left corner of the throw.

Mom and Dad are buying me a rocking chair in Myrtle Beach and bringing it home for the booth. It will hold 3 different throws all with purple shades-should look great.

Beth visited a yarn shop in Rochester, NY today. The owner said that she thinks the next trend will be throws and afghans. She believes that knitters don't want to pay $200 for a sweater but will pay that much for a throw to decorate the house.

Home again part 2

Blogger is now letting me upload pictures. This is my shrug so far. I really like the colour (and it matches suede boots that I have!!) I have made a few modifications to the pattern-I am doing the increases as sloping M1 instead of knit into the front and back of the stitch. Not sure if it will make a huge difference but I like it better.

I talked about my purple bear collection. Here are some pictures from my room in Myrtle Beach. The first picture is the top of my dresser. The other two pictures are 2 of my 3 windows (there are more bears in the third window).

Home again

We arrived home around noon today. The trip was great and we had lots of laughs with Mom, Dad, Aunt Rene and Uncle Bob. Golfed 4 out of the 5 days and came home with colour in my face. It's amazing how time in the sun always makes you feel better. We got out just in time-it rained all day there today!!

I wanted to work on the Jane Slicer-Smith throw while I was away but the pattern wasn't ready. Instead I started a new project. It is a shrug that I saw on Michelle's website. You can download the pattern and there are 3 different versions that you can choose from-I am doing the long back with fringes out of Lane Borgosesia Merino Otto in Lavender. I tried to upload pictures of mine but Blogger is being stubborn right now. I will try again tomorrow.

Knitter's Frolic, getting ready to travel and new yarns

I haven't written anything yet about the Knitter's Frolic. This is Saturday, April 22 in Toronto. I will have a booth there along with other vendors selling anything to do with knitting. There are great workshops being offered from instructors including Lily Chin and Maureen Mason-Jamieson.

Trying to get ready to go away tomorrow which means a late night of chores.

1. Getting the house clean because the cleaning ladies are coming on Friday. Don't want them to see the house a mess
2. The newsletter is at the printer. I have to print off mailing labels so that Jane can get the newsletter out while I am away. This is a job that I hate so the timing is perfect
3. Make a list for the ladies of other jobs to do in the store
4. Make price signs for the new yarns that arrived today.
5. Laundry and packing.
6. Shining my golf shoes.
   

Luckily it is a good tv night-American Idol, Amazing Race and Big Break.

The afghan is almost finished. If I get my chores done I will sit down and finish it tonight. I have big tassles to make for each corner so it won't be completely done until I get home. Still waiting for the throw pattern from Trendsetter. If it doesn't get here tomorrow I will have to pack something else to knit.

I mentioned new yarns arriving today. Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold is a blend of cotton and hemp. Angelica is my favourite sweater from her new book.

I also unpacked new colours of Cotton Classic (Tahki) and the some spring yarns from Stacy Charles.

Not much knitting

I didn't get much knitting done over the weekend. Saturday night we babysat Melo's half brother Rex. They kept sitting on me while I was knitting so it was easier to put it away. The afghan is almost done-maybe tomorrow.

Wednesday afternoon Beth and I are flying to Myrtle Beach for 5 days of golfing. I am trying to decide what to take for knitting. I know that there won't be time but must take something just in case. If the pattern for Jane Slicer-Smith's afghan is ready I will be taking it. It uses Trendsetter Dune, Checkmate, Marrakech, and Merino Otto. Nothing like a project that uses 8 different colours-won't leave much room for clothes.

If women ruled the world

Saw this picture today and had to share it.