House, dogs and new yarns

Sorry-I have been very slow making posts. I am surprised my mom hasn't said anything.

In the apartment, the computer was in the kitchen beside a TV. It was very easy to sit down, turn on the TV and write a post. Now I have to go upstairs and there is no TV. I usually run up and check my messages and then back downstairs to knit. I am getting more knitting done now!! There are also more chores to do in the house. The first being keeping it clean. I am sorry to say that our apartment looked like a tornado hit it but the house is very neat and orderly. Everything gets put away in it's proper place now.

This is our new mirror. The big picture didn't capture the colours so I took a close up. It was definitely worth the wait to get the colour we wanted.
Roko and Melo absolutely love the new house. They are resting after a round of playing. It is fun to go into the unfinished basement and wrestle. The top picture is Melo and Roko is sleeping at the front door. Roko is already bigger than Melo and he is only 9 months old.


We just received in a new shipment of Dream in Color Smooshy Sock yarn. Every colour arrived but I can't say how long we will have them for. You can have either of these patterns free with the purchase of a skein of Smooshy.



Yesterday afternoon three large boxes of Sirdar yarns arrived. There is a great new baby yarn called Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK. The yarn is a blend of 80% Bamboo and 20% Wool. It is machine washable and there is a pattern book with lots of great designs.

Hug is 50% wool and 50% polyester. There are 6 colours along with a great pattern book.

Has anyone been watching Canadian Idol? I live in Ancaster which is just on the outskirts of Hamilton. The city is in full 'vote for Brian Melo' mode. I was driving home yesterday afternoon and a lady was holding up signs at a traffic light that read 'Honk for Melo'. My parents don't watch the show but they are keeping up to date on his progress.

Back to knitting

The store has been slower today so I have been knitting away on a vest for myself. I haven't had much knitting time in the last few weeks so it feels good to get something accomplished. It is the Hip to be Square Jacket minus sleeves. There are a few changes being done but the basic design is the same. I need to get moving-all of a sudden last night it hit me that I have two weeks to get it done.

When I returned home from Columbus in June, I talked about shawl pins that would be coming from a company called Moving Mud. I just talked with them and my shawl pins will be ready next week-just in time for the Knitter's Fair. Here is a sample of what is coming-no two are the same because they are hand made.

Mom and dad came over last night (along with their friends) to hang our new mirror-it looks amazing. I will get pictures over the weekend. It is the first thing on our walls.

How about Big Brother? I thought Dick was going to hit Jen. Talk about going out like a sore loser!!! It will be interesting now because there aren't many house guests left-they are going to have to start turning on each other.

New Yarns

This post was started on Tuesday-I will add new content at the bottom.

Life might get back to normal this week-probably not.

I spent yesterday in front of the computer doing Gone Stitchin' work. The last mailing is now complete and will go out today. Now we just have to finish up the last minute details.

Roko is at the vets-he's being fixed today. Poor guy. Melo will be staying with mom and dad for a few days so that Roko can rest. It will be interesting-Roko has never been away from Melo.

Lots of boxes arrived today.

-Kaffe Fassett sock yarn

-Mirasol yarns

With no posting last week, I didn't talk about Hell's Kitchen. I was very happy to see Rock win-I think he will do a good job. How about Big Brother? Dustin getting voted off was amazing. I hate it when the house guests get cocky and think they are invincible. Eric voting against Dustin was great-the week before Dustin should have voted to get Eric out like he promised he would do. I bet he is second guessing himself.

It is now Thursday morning.

Roko is doing well. He has to wear a cone on his head so he doesn't scratch or lick-it isn't making him happy. He hasn't noticed that Melo isn't around. He isn't allowed on either of our beds so Beth spent the first night on the living room couch. Not very comfortable. We have moved her mattress-king size-into the loft so they can both sleep on it.

The new yarn, Silk Flamme, and books from Elsebeth Lavold have arrived. The yarn is amazing-wool, silk and alpaca.

It's time to start thinking about the Knitter's Fair in Kitchener. The show is only a couple of weeks away. A word of advice for those coming to the show-don't come until noon. The show is packed at 9:30 and you can't get into many of the booths. If you come at noon, the crowd starts to thin out a bit.

Catching Up

The store has been slow so far today (not surprising) so I am taking some time to catch up. I really should be putting yarn away but just can't make myself do it.

The tent sale was hugely successful for myself and everyone who came. They walked away with bags of yarn and got amazing deals. Some ladies paid as little as $150 and got over $500 worth of yarn. Since you can't lock the tent, we had to put the yarn away every night and haul it back out in the morning-I really don't want to see another box for a while.

Stitch N' Pitch had a great turnout. I believe there was close to 600 tickets sold. Everyone looked to be having a good time at the game. Ace (the Blue Jays mascot) visited out section for a bit and we were featured on the Videotron. The Toronto Blue Jays and Stitch N' Pitch are now working on some of the minor problems that did come up so that next year will run even smoother.

We are expecting many shipments next week of new yarns-more to follow.

Lace Weight

Two new yarns for shawls have arrived in the store.

This is Prism's Lace Wool. I received eight skeins to try it. The colours are amazing-the pictures don't do them any justice.


The second yarn is Fino from Alpaca with a Twist. We received about half the colours with the others coming in about two weeks.

Stitch N' Pitch

I now have internet in the store-very exciting that it worked earlier than Bell said it would.

I can not describe to you how much yarn we have for the tent sale. I know it won't all fit!!! You might think that it will only be odd balls-not true. I just pulled an aran weight cotton out of the back room and there were full bags of at least four colours. There were also full bags of Jamieson's Soft Shetland, Shetland Double Knitting, Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK, Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK and Lang Soft Shetland. Don't forget that if you pay with cash there will be an extra discount of 10%.

Just a reminder to all who are coming for Stitch N' Pitch on Wednesday night. We will all be entering through Gate 1. They have set up a special gate so there are no security problems with knitting needles. If you are picking up your tickets at the game, you can get them at Gate 1 as well.

See you at the game!!!

Jacket needs a name

I am very tired today and my brain isn't working. Any thoughts on a name for the jacket?

Robbed by my Mom

My mom called me this morning that she wanted to knit a sweater for my dad. She thought the new Highlander from Alpaca with a Twist would be nice to knit with. Unfortunately my dad does the laundry and the sweater would be ruined so I talked her into Pure Merino from Berroco. After being out and about she stopped by to pick it up. She decided she needed a nice knitting bag and she wanted the Jordana Paige Messenger Bag in the pink/black tweed. This she was going to pay for so she left me $80 on the counter. Of course she needed knitting needles as well. Bamboo would be nice to knit with but the Addi turbos would be better. Two sets of Addi circular went into the new knitting bag. Not a bad haul for Mom!!

The Mystery Sweater is done-okay, there are a few ends to sew in. Cathy is looking very tired in the pictures. She spent most of the day in the warehouse working on the tent sale yarn. Then she came to the store and worked on more of it. The tent is going to be very full with some great deals!!!

I used 18 balls of Naturally Vero colour 51 for the jacket. The pattern is almost finished.




This picture shows a different option with the shawl pin.

Mystery project and shawl pins

Here is the neck on my mystery project. I have finished all the knitting and spent some time today knitting and ripping the neck. The problem is that it has to look good from both sides-now it does.

The rest of these pictures are shawl pins that are handmade in British Columbia. I love them and use them on many garments in the store.

These pictures are for a mail order customer-Phyllis lives in the Yukon and has been a customer of mine since the store opened. I have no idea how she found us but I have been mailing her yarn for almost 20 years. She needs a pin for a vest so I have taken pictures to show her the different shapes that are available. Because the pins are handmade, no two are alike in colour.

New house and store arrivals

I got a new toy today-a laptop for the store. Many days people come in with patterns calling for yarns that we don't carry. Now I can check out the tension, yardage, etc while they are in the store. I can also show shade cards for yarns that we carry. Shipping can now be done from the store and I won't have to bring boxes home.

A shipment came in today from Namaste-we received some new styles of bags that we haven't carried before as well as some bags that we have been out of for some time.

Beth and I picked out a mirror at Pier 1 a couple of months ago. There were two colours in the store-reds and oranges or greys and teals. We couldn't make up our minds as to which would look better in the house. We finally decided on the greys and teals but Pier 1 was then sold out of them. Beth paid for a mirror but after six weeks they still didn't have stock of them. Well, it finally came in today!!! Now we need to get Dad back to put it up.
I got a bit of knitting done in the store today. The second sleeve is almost done on the mystery sweater. Here is a small portion of the back-yes I know they are different lengths. This is the shawl pin that will be used to close the jacket.

Mystery project

My mystery project has had a set back. I was making a vest and have the fronts and back done. The shoulder seams are sewn and I had Sarah try it on in the store on Saturday. It was too big in the shoulders making them sit funny. There is a solution-it is becoming a jacket. Sleeve one is done and the second one is cast on. I promise pictures this week!!!

I was going to have my first golf game of the year today but we decided against it with the heat and humidity. I got a bit of paperwork done, a newsletter finished, parcels ready for the post office and a bit of knitting done.

We are going to sit down and watch Hell's Kitchen when I am done here. I really don't care who wins, just happy it wasn't Jen. There was something about her but I can't put my finger on what it was.

What's up with Big Brother? Kail and Jen again?

Lots of pictures

I have pictures!! The blog has looked pretty boring lately so I am adding some colour from the store.

This is my mystery project. I am almost done-if it works there will be finished pictures next week.

A new vest knit out of Trendsetter Tonalita. The picture on the pattern (3442) didn't excite me but I really like it finished. I used a KnitStix for the closure. After I took the picture I changed to a new glass shawl pin from Artistic Visions. It looks even better!!! Here is an example of some of Christine's work. The pins we have are a bit different-no two are the same. If you have looked at these shawl pins before-great news-the price has come down.

In my moving around madness, some of the colours of Rowan Felted Tweed have found a new home.

This is Jasper from Berroco. The yarn is pure merino and great to touch.

This basket is the Highlander from Blue Sky Alpacas. I talked about this in a recent post and showed the shade card but here it is in a ball.

Stitch N' Pitch

On Wednesday August 15th, the Toronto Blue Jays will be hosting a Stitch N' Pitch night. The game is against the LA Angels and should be a good game.

What is Stitch N' Pitch?
Stitch N' Pitch brings together two American traditions — Baseball and the NeedleArts. Come to a ball game and knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch and needlepoint. Sit among friends, family and colleagues and cheer on your favorite Baseball Team.

The tickets for the game are $20. Contact me in the store (1-800-667-9167 or 905-648-1994) to purchase tickets. Attendees will receive a Blue Jays knitting tote bag that will have some goodies in it for you.

I will continue to update this post as more information becomes available.

July 9
The seats for the game will be in section 207 and 208. The Blue Jays thought that they should put us in a section where we probably won't get a ball-people are going to be chatting and knitting and might not be paying attention to the game.

I now have a bedroom

I have been knitting but don't have pictures for you. I am working on a experiment. If it works out (should know later this week) then I will let you see it.

My bedroom furniture arrived on Saturday afternoon. This is very exciting-I haven't had bedroom furniture (headboards, end tables and dresser) since I left my parents house for university. My bedroom in Myrtle Beach has all these but I usually sleep there about 3 nights out of a year so those don't really count.

The last pieces of furniture we need are couches for the loft and our dining room table.

How about Big Brother last night? Jen crying because she was put on the block-does she think these people like her?

I am off to Toronto-we need bags for the tent sale. The bag store is right around the corner from Yorkdale so I'm going to stop in and see what's new.

Friday morning

My knitting hasn't progressed at all. None of it. I haven't had time to knit while in the store. This is actually good news but my projects are calling my name. I have tried to knit at home but it is hard with two dogs sitting on top of you. I did finish the first ball of my throw (using Trendsetter Yosemite) and then ripped the whole thing out. I had on way too many stitches, it would take 40 balls to make the throw. I have recast on and am a couple of rows in.

We have another new yarn in the shop. Highlander from Alpaca with a Twist. They don't have the shade card on their website yet-the yarn is brand new-so here is a picture for you. The yarn has 130m on a 100 gram ball and will knit to a tension of 4-4.5 stitches to an inch. The yarn is made of 45% baby alpaca, 45% merino wool, 8% microfiber and 2% viscose.

How about Big Brother last night? Kail stays and Mike goes.

I need to get my act in gear. The committee for Stitch N' Pitch is having a conference call this morning to see how the tickets sales are progressing, etc. We want to make sure that everyone who comes to the game gets a Blue Jay Knitting tote bag full of goodies. Most of the yarn distributors are donating yarn. We are trying to have 2-3 balls in every bag along with patterns, some wool wash and maybe some knitting needles.

Tonight is the draft for our Fantasy Football. This is a very long evening but always good for laughs.

Tent Sale

It was sad to see Julia leave Hell's Kitchen on Monday night. She made a good run for it.

I have been reorganizing the store again. There are more garbage bags of yarn put away for the tent sale. We are going to change how things are done this year. The 'name' yarns (Rowan, RYC, Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding, Elsebeth Lavold) are going to be priced at $10 for a 100gram ball and $5 for a 50gram ball. For everything else, you will fill a plastic bag. Each size bag will have a price and you can put as much yarn in the bag as possible. I don't have the time (or the desire) to sit and price individual balls of yarn.

My website will not be updated with the new yarns until the second week of August. Korey is away (how dare he take a vacation) and will look after it when he is back. If you are looking for something and can't find it on the website, please email or call me.

More from Rowan 42

My last post was a bit brief. I had running around to do and work for Beth to do but I wanted to get some pictures up. I know that many people have been waiting patiently for the new magazine.

I must run again. Dinner is in the oven. I can't rely on Beth because she is almost done Harry Potter (10 pages) and isn't moving until the book is done.

I did get the stitches cast on for the throw that I am going to make for our living room. I got the 133 stitches cast on and then Roko decided he needed to play with me and most of the stitches came off the needle-sometimes Addis can be a bit too slippery. Anyway, they are back on now and I am ready to go.

Rowan 42

The magazine is here along with the new yarns.

In the shipment there was
-2 colours of Tapestry (pictured)
-3 colours of Cocoon (2 more to come)
-2 colours of Felted Tweed (1 more to come)
-4 colours Kid Silk Night
-2 colours of Wool Cotton
-5 colours Kid Silk Haze
-5 colours Kid Silk Aura (book to come)

A weeks worth of posts

On Friday a new yarn shop opened in New Hamburg called Shall We Knit. Karen has been a customer in my store so Beth and I drove out to see the shop. The store is beautiful. Karen was rushing to get the store ready because Friday night there was a Harry Potter Festival in New Hamburg. There were thousands of people out, many dressed up as characters from the Harry Potter books. If you are a Harry Potter follower, maybe you can answer a question for me. There were many ladies with bright pink hair-does that have something to do with the story? Beth didn't know but maybe someone out there does.

When we got back into Ancaster (around 11:30pm) Beth suggested we go by Chapters to see the line up. You couldn't get near the store-the parking lot was full and if you have been there you know that it is huge. Beth went yesterday morning to get her copy. She is reading away-she wants to get the book done before someone ruins the ending for her.

Lots of orders arrived this week.

We received a large shipment of Rayon Boucle from Fiesta yarns. One skein will knit this great shoulder scarf. You can also wear this tied around your waist as a bathing suit cover up. These are the four new colours for fall.

Jasper arrived from Berroco. Book 266 has 8 patterns that use this yarn. Joyella looks like it would be fun to knit. We will have a sample of this in the store soon. Berroco is knitting it up for us but they weren't finished when the yarn was shipped.

The shipment of Bearfoot sock yarn from Mountain Colors arrived. There are four new colours-Eureka, Red Willow. Sapphire Trail and Sun River. I almost started a pair of socks this week-to which many of you are gasping-the colours are amazing and I love colour. I have knitting to finish for the Knitter's Fair and Gone Stitchin' Weekend and I stopped myself from starting something new (it isn't easy to do).

How about Big Brother this past week? I never thought Jenn would put Joe on the block. He was starting to grow on my but I really didn't want Dick to go yet. He is going to cause problems in the house which always adds excitement to the show. This is the first time where the house hasn't been dividing into alliances yet.

Hell's Kitchen will be interesting tomorrow night with the teams merging. I don't think the men will be able to work with the women.