Knitter's Frolic 2012

I just read on Ravelry that Franklin Habit will be coming to teach four workshops at the Frolic this year. I heard Franklin speak in Chicago a few years ago and you won't be disappointed if you take one of his classes.

Keep watching the DKC website for more information about the workshops-they should be posted on March 1. I'm pretty sure the classes will fill quickly.

The market is open on the Saturday and there will be classes on Saturday and Sunday.

Here are some pictures of my booth from last year. The planning has started for this year's booth.

While I am writing an email newsletter came from Rowan. There are new patterns in their free pattern section.

A collection of ten timeless designs taken from the Rowan archives featuring one of our best loved yarns, Kid Classic. Designs include a bold, chunky stripe sweater,  originally featured in Rowan Knitting Magazine 32, an elegant slash neck sweater from Rowan Knitting Magazine 30 and a cute, fairisle jumper dress taken from Rowan Studio Issue 14.

Download the patterns... 

If you were off today I hope you had a good day. I got a lot accomplished at home. Boxes were shipped out. Then I balanced my bank which led to working on my year end. I have had enough accounting so I'm going to pick up my knitting.

My knitting

Here are some pictures of my current knitting.

The Honey Cowl is almost done. I've enjoyed working on it and will definitely think about making another one. It is perfect airport/airplane/don't want to think knitting.

Gnarled Oak is progressing. In case you are wondering about what I am making, here is the picture from Coastal Knits where you will find the pattern.

Right now it is just a lot of stocking stitch but I am almost done the third and fourth balls.

The colour in the picture is off. It is more purple than blue.

This picture is the real colour of my cardigan.

Beth and I had planned on taking a road trip to Niagara Falls tomorrow. Then after some discussion we decided that it could be crazy there tomorrow so we went this afternoon. It is always great seeing the Falls.

Beth is in charge of taping TV shows. She forgot to tape The Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice. I got us home just in time to catch them on the west coast feed. Since I can sleep in tomorrow I'm grabbing my needles and watching The Amazing Race tonight. Brendon and Rachel. How much yelling is she going to do at Brendon? I hope he doesn't make a mistake.

Family Day

I missed something in the newsletter that just went out. The store will be closed on Monday (February 20) for Family Day.

Many of you have been asking about Ondas, Triana and Moda Lame. We have lots on order. Lots. Once the distributors receive it from Europe they will be sending it to us. The problem is that they don't know when they will be receiving the yarn. The mills making the yarns are working 24/7 and can't keep up.

Flamenco is a yarn we had last fall. While Cathy was tidying last week she found a few bags that were hiding. We have the colour shown, Waterlily as well as Earth (beiges) and Fruit Salad (bright lime, orange and hot pink).

Poppy arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance to knit with it but maybe later this afternoon.

50% acrylic
47% wool
3% cotton

1 ball will make a scarf.

#8

#1

#2

#4

#6

#7

I'm home from work and dinner is in the oven. We didn't watch Greys Anatomy last night so once dinner is done it will be knitting time. Gnarled Oak is progressing but there are a lot of stitches on the needle. I'm hoping for lots of couch time this weekend.

A-Mazing Blocks Cross Front Vest

I had the Bodega scarf finished before class started last night. This is only a part of the ball. I started doing the other half of the ball to see how long it would be. One ball will definitely make two scarves.

I wound the skein into a ball before starting. I'm going to suggest you wrap the yarn on a paper towel tube instead. My yarn is twisting on itself and that doesn't make me happy.

While I was away Ann sent a parcel with a finished sweater.

Pattern: Freya from Kidsilk Haze Stripe Collection
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe

The yarn is double stranded on 7mm needles. I'm seriously thinking about having Ann knit one for me. It is so soft. Talk about a cuddly sweater for a cold winter day.

Cathy and Sarah did a lot of straightening of shelves for me while I was gone. The store looks great!!

Kidsilk Haze is sitting on the shelf very pretty. Cathy also counted the balls for me. The website is updated and out of stock colours have been ordered.

They also worked on the Vintage. It all lives on the shelf now-like a cohesive family. Every time I walk by I look at the colours dreaming of what one I want to use.

On Ravelry, look up Thea Colman (baby cocktails) for some great pattern ideas.
-Cassis
-Irish Coffee
-Dark and Stormy

Another box came in from Trendsetter today with kits for the mitred block vest. Barry combined interesting yarns in great colours for the kits.

Animal Print (vest on the right)

Meadow (vest on the left)
This kit didn't arrive but
should be here in a week

Peacock

Lipstick Kiss

This morning I had to take my car into the dealership to have my tires looked at. I told dad that last night and he offered to pick me up. 9am. All set. At 9:05 he wasn't there. I thought he was running late. 9:10 still no dad. At 9:15 I called his office. He was there. He forgot me. I couldn't yell at him because he was doing me a favour but I'm not going to let him forget for a few days. :)

Did you watch Survivor last night? One beach-this is going to be interesting. Can't wait for the first romance. Then the fireworks between tribes will really begin.

We went quickly through Idol as well last night. Most of the people we picked in auditions have made it through. How do you forget the words to a song? It seemed there was more of that this year than before.

With Beth working the remote I got some knitting done on Gnarled Oak. The body is almost at 12". I need to get to 19" before adding in the sleeves. No, the sleeves aren't knit yet. Wishful thinking.

I have last night's Criminal Minds taped. Gnarled Oak, here I come.

Bodega

Boxes of goodies that were ordered at TNNA are starting to arrive.

Ms. Canada Post just brought in some yarn from Trendsetter called Bodega.

60% acrylic
23% mohair
17% polyamide

1 skein will make a scarf. This evening is knitting class and while the ladies are knitting I am going to work on one.

The colours we received

411

Blue Berries

Barry, the owner of Trendsetter, does an amazing job with his colour choices.

414
Mardi Gras

The easiest way to make the scarf is with a crochet hook (4mm-5mm). You don't need to know how to crochet, just have a hook.

417

Fall Leaves

Wind Bodega into a skein. Knot the end. With crochet hook, poke a hole close to knot. Place point of hook into ribbon about 1⁄4 - 1⁄2” ahead and poke another hole to grab some threads of the edge. Pull threads through stitch on hook as if to Slip St. and gather. Repeat for length of scarf. At end, pull tail through stitch on hook and tie a know. Pull unsecured edge of ribbon to open up and ruffle.

This doesn't sound hard and will work up quickly.

418
Amazon Jungle

A few more colours will be coming in over the next few weeks. Like every scarf yarn out there it is hard to get stock for the store right now.

Again, I have a hard decision. Which colour? I decided on Mardi Gras. The label is off the yarn and I am ready to roll it into a ball.

I have a tough decision

The box from St-Clair designs arrived yesterday. The bags are fabulous.

This is the Knitting Needle Caddie

This beautiful design will hold all your tools, including tall, short and circular needles, scissors, stitch holders, and anything else you may need. With a fold down flap and magnetic snap closure, your needle caddie is ready to go with you where ever your stitching takes you!

I took the bags outside to photograph. Pictures I took in the store were very dark.

The other side of the bag has many of the same fabrics but they are arranged in a different order.

 Now the decision-which one do I want?

Packing

I'm in the middle of packing and cleaning the house. It is much easier staying in a hotel when you can just walk away and someone else comes in to clean. The sheets are in the dryer and then I should be done.

I have a bunch of stuff to move to mom and dad's house. Shopping I did that won't fit in my carry on bag. New golf shoes. Quilt fabric. Jane's Christmas present-I'm starting early this year. More quilt fabric.

New Footjoy golf shoes. I can wear them with brown or black pants. I considered leaving them here but there are already two pairs in the closet. Yes I have a golf shoe problem.

I love batik quilting fabric and there is something new to me called Bali Pops. Each package has 40 colours cut 2.5" wide by 44" long. I didn't buy them all-I showed some restraint. :)

The dryer is done so I had better get back to work. I land in Buffalo just after 6 tonight. I hope there isn't too much snow in the parking lot and I can get my car out easily.

Honey Cowls

It was cold in Myrtle Beach today. When I woke up this morning it was 28F and I don't think it made it to 40F. I just returned home from a quick errand and picking up dinner. The truck said 31F. I didn't pack clothes for this weather.

Sarah just emailed me a few pictures. Cathy has been busy making her gifts. Sarah and her husband are embarking on a new adventure in their life. John got a job offer in England and they decided to go. Tuesday morning their journey begins. I am sad while writing this. I'm happy that they are doing something exciting but we will miss having her smiling face around the store.

This is the second Honey Cowl that Cathy made. The two skein version in Lowlands-a new colour that I really want to use.

This is Honey Cowl number one. The one skein version, also knit in tosh DK-wellwater. After receiving this one from her mother, Sarah decided that she needed to have the longer one as well. She has a very good mother!!

[I know I should have switched the pictures around but couldn't bring myself to do it for fear of messing up the formatting.]

Sarah wrote in the email with the pictures

I love them both!!!! This yarn is soooo soft. 

I have set my cowl aside to work on Gnarled Oak. The cowl is perfect airport/plane knitting.

I bought seasons 1-4 of NCIS this afternoon. Mark Harmon-how can that be a bad thing? If I watch a taped show while knitting I need to stop and fast forward through commercials. DVDs eliminate that problem. I have lots of yarn to get through before going home (I always think I'm going to get more knitting accomplished than I actually do) so I had better get going.

Myrtle Beach

Yesterday was a really long day. I taught knitting on Thursday night at it was 10 before I was in bed. The alarm went off at 1:30 for me to get up and onto the airport. Everything went well and I was at the airport way too early. Much better than being too late. :) The important things got accomplished yesterday. I understand the alarm system now. It is totally different than the one we have in the store. Our phone line was out as well so it got fixed. We had a faulty part. I want to say that Horry County Telephone is an amazing company to deal with. I called them that the phone was out and within an hour it was fixed. That doesn't happen at home. Sometimes you are waiting days for the telephone repair man. We deal with them for cable and Internet as well. Everyone is pleasant and if you have a problem they are at your house right away.

Madelinetosh Honey Cowl
Free pattern at madelinetosh.com
2 skeins tosh dk
smokey orchid

It was around 5 when everything was done and I was very tired. Having a nap wasn't an option because then I would be up all night. I jumped in the truck and started running errands including a stop at Best Buy for Criminal Minds season one. When I got home I sat on the couch and watched three episodes while knitting. I have a lot of yarn with me and want it all knit before I go home.

You would think that I would have been tired this morning. I woke at 6 and tried to go back to sleep. At 7 I got out of bed and watched another episode of Criminal Minds and knit. Then shopping. More towels and glasses. Then some cosmetic things for the house. A basket for the upstairs bathroom to hold toilet paper. A jug that will go above the kitchen cupboards but I can't reach-a chore for dad when he comes back.

This is the wall unit I bought on my last trip but haven't seen it in the house. Mom and dad are on the lookout for pottery for the shelf and for above the kitchen cabinets. They like driving around trying to find things.

My dad was let loose with a chain saw and he cleared away trees between our house and the golf course. This is the view from the back deck.

If you look the other way on the deck you can see across the road to another hole.

Hopefully I can get some golf in on Monday. Tomorrow it is supposed to be cold. Not as cold as at home but too cold to be on a golf course.

Seedling Handpaint

It's almost time to run home and grab some dinner before coming back for class. This might be a short post. After class I need to get to bed right away. My flight is at 6am tomorrow morning. It sounded good when I booked it but right now it isn't. I will be leaving home around 2:30. The border should be quiet that early in the morning. Okay, fingers crossed the border will be quiet at that hour.

Mr. Canada Post brought in two huge boxes today. The Namaste has arrived. My laptop fits nicely in the Boardwalk bag. So will my knitting and a book. Speaking of knitting-I am having problems deciding what and how much yarn to pack.

The other box was from Blue Sky Alpacas. We are well stocked on Dyed Cotton again. I haven't updated the website yet. The invoice is in my bag and I will be doing that tomorrow.

Then Nick (Mr. Canpar) came with a box of Classic Elite Seedling Handpaint.

This picture was taken in the Classic Elite booth at TNNA. Once the new book is up on Classic Elite's website I will have more pictures for you.

Part of the Verde Collection of eco-friendly yarns, Seedling is a machine washable organic cotton in both solid and handpainted colors. This yarn has the same wonderful texture and softness as Sprout but in a lighter weight.Seedling's organic fiber is more robust and less stressed by chemicals than non-organic cotton, which increases its absorbency and color intensity.

We have 8 great colours in the store.

I'm home, dinner is done and my chores are almost done. A parcel needed to be packed to go out tomorrow. Laundry is done. My suitcase is packed. It's time to run. Moebius cast on part two tonight.