Finished Lizard Ridge

I started this morning with writing a newsletter and while I was looking something up on one of my supplier's websites I found some free patterns for you.

Here is a free pattern knit in Noro Taiyo.

3 balls of yarn and 6mm needles.

A mobius cowl knit in sock yarn.

The Noro yarn used is not available in Canada but the Taiyo sock will make a great cowl. All you need is two balls and 4mm needles.

The other day when I showed pictures of Jane's knitting I should have included the picture from Rowan's website of the finished throw.

Knit this homewares patchwork throw from Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 52 online, a design by Kaffe Fassett using the ever popular yarn Felted Tweed (merino wool and alpaca). With a mix of fairisle and intarsia pieces this throw is a showstopper in any home. This knitting pattern is for the experienced knitter and is a free pattern to download.

Download the pattern... 

While I'm playing on the computer I'm doing some last minute ordering. I don't think they will make it before Christmas but they should just after. Many of you have the Dreamz Interchangeable needle sets and if you don't hopefully you will be getting them as a Christmas gift. While I was ordering needles I saw that there are 15mm tips available. They are on my order.

These aren't available in any set - regular or chunky.

Later this afternoon Gail brought in a surprise for me to see. She finished her Lizard Ridge afghan. It looks amazing!! Gail used Silk Garden. Now I need to get mine out and start working on it again.

The pattern is free on knitty.com

Kate Atherley was here in October and taught a course on the Lizard Ridge. I forwarded Gail's picture to Kate - she loves to see her students finished work.

LOVE it, thanks for sending the pic. Please tell Gail it's fabulous.

I wish I had some pictures of my knitting but there hasn't been much of that the last few days. Maybe tonight. The problem is that I have two projects going at once-in the store I am working on Drop City and at home I am working on the Groovy Shawl. There would be more progress if all my time was spent on one thing but I'm a bit lazy and don't want to carry something back and forth. Wool is very heavy. :) I did say that I was being lazy.

The gift of sheep

I was cleaning out my inbox and found an email from Dream in Color. How did I miss this? They are making Baby Tulip Kits.

I just placed an order. Two kits are coming-one for a girl and the other unisex/boy. There are eight colours in a kit which will make a 6-9 month or 12-18 month size.

Until I hear back from Dream in Color I don't know when they will be shipped. Many suppliers are closing between Christmas and the new year. Let me know if you are interested and I can email you when the kits arrive.

Today I received this beautiful candy tree from a customer. The inside is styrofoam and she pinned every piece of candy on it. What a lot of work. It looks fabulous!! She said that the star came from the dollar store so if you need a last minute gift you still have time to make a few of these. 

I was going to take the picture inside but there isn't a free inch of space right now.

Survivor. Beth picked Malcolm and I picked Michael before we started watching. I was closer but neither of us was right. Watching the reunion show can be very painful. You don't even remember some of the people because they were voted off so long ago. We fast forwarded to the end to see what is happening next season. Fans vs. Favourites. Who are the favourites going to be? I hope they are my favourites. :)

It is much later and our parents just left. We had our family Christmas. Mom and dad are leaving for Myrtle Beach on Thursday or Friday.

Beth and I each got a sheep.

Because of this gift, hope is renewed... The gift of a sheep can change life on the farm for a family in Guatemala-it provides wool, meat, and manure that helps with farming.

That was the perfect gift.

Dad, Beth and I hung our dining room pictures.

It look quite a while to pick out the small pieces. We laid them out on the floor at One of a Kind and then took pictures to make sure we got them hung properly. 

This was the last piece we needed for the long wall.

We might be done. I say might because you never know what Marie-Joel will have when we see her at the spring One of a Kind.

Jubilee Throw

Jane and her husband just left. The Jubilee Throw is growing. Talk about amazing!!!

She wanted to lay it out on the floor for us to see it. Beth and I both screamed "NO". We didn't want it covered in dog hair.

Here is the part that is already sewn together. Jane tried very hard to get it done for Christmas and she almost made it.

Almost all the squares are knit. She pinned the chart to the finished squares so she knows where they will fit into the finished blanket.

Words can't describe how amazing this looks. Beth has already picked the wall that it is going to hang on-the colours are perfect for our house.

Thank you Jane! She is leaving for Florida this week and will be home in March. Maybe she will email pictures as the rest of it grows. :)

Wild Saffron

It's late Saturday evening and I still haven't done my post for the day. Since coming home I have worked on my Groovy scarf. Ball two is almost done.

Luella
A new free pattern from Rowan

Knit this women's , the member’s monthly exclusive free pattern for December 2012. Designed by Lisa Richardson and using the luxurious yarn Fine Lace (baby suri alpaca and merino wool). With a delicate stitch pattern, deep ribbed welt and grown on long length sleeves, this knitting pattern is for the experienced knitter.

Since I am on my finishing kick I pulled another sweater out of the pile.

Here is the picture from Rowan's Purelife Autumn magazine for Wild Saffron. Looks cute on her.

Mine is done and blocked. Just need to sew the ends in. It looks terrible on me. You have the same stitch count throughout the sweater but when you start the cables it pulls in. This makes a flouncy, kind of skirt like bottom. Did I say that it looks terrible on me? I know what I am going to do to fix it. I'm going to put the sweater back on the needles at the start of the cables. Then I'm going to cut the sweater and get rid of the bottom. Then I will work down from the cables in stocking stitch but on fewer stitches than I have right now. This will make it hang straight. I've taken the sweater and pinned the sides to get rid of the extra fabric. It looks much better.

It sounds complicated but isn't that hard to do. I won't be doing it tomorrow but when I do there will be lots of pictures.

I really like the yarn-Rowan Renew. I love the colour. Of course. It's purple. There is a lot of knitting in it so I don't want to rip it out. It won't take a lot of time to fix it. Then another sweater. I'm on a roll!!

Provisional Cast On Made Easy

I still haven't found the Catherine Cowl that went missing a few weeks ago. Something else has run away to join her. The original Linen Stitch scarf that Jane knit in Shepherd Sock from Lorna's Laces. There were a few bad words flying around the store when I found out the scarf was missing.

It's a little later in the day and I am no longer upset about the scarf. I have CNN on the TV (I did get the satellite converter working) and am watching about the terrible day in Connecticut. A missing scarf really doesn't matter. My heart goes out to the families and friends who are affected by this. It is unbelievable.

A big chunk of the afternoon was spent putting needles on the wall. Mr. Canpar brought in a huge box of Knitter's Pride needles. I believe we have every size back in stock.

I did it again. There is another mystery KAL starting just after Christmas. This one is from Joji. 

You can find the details here.

Here is the colour choice that I just made. tosh sock. From the top-heuchera, wicked, night bloom. Something about this combination intrigues me. The purples might be too close which could cause me to rethink my plans. There is two weeks until it starts so I could/will be coming up with more options.

I just read through the information that came from Joji. You will need to use a provisional cast on (only for 3 stitches.) From Lucy Neatby-an easy way to do this

In case the video doesn't work, here is the link. You will never be afraid to do a provisional cast on after seeing this.

It's now 9:30. Beth and I just got home from dinner with my parents and their friends. We had lots of laughs. Mom paid which made dinner even better. Thanks mom. 

Rochdale

Another project finished!!

Pattern: Rochdale from Rowan magazine #46

Yarn: Rowan Big Wool

I started this in 2009 so it's about time. :)

I think it sat for so long because I hated the collar. Today when I put it on I realized that it needs to fold down to the first button and now I really like it.

This is the pile of ends to prove that I actually sewed them in. Notice that there are buttons. Kind of cheating though. They are the new buttons from Jul. No sewing required. They are screwed on.

Today I am wearing Kilcar for the first time. I went back through my posts and in March of 2007 I started the second sleeve so I probably started knitting it sometime in 2006. I actually finished it Tuesday, April 11, 2007. That didn't take very long to get it blocked.

Have you ever noticed that when you are watching TV the commercials are louder than the TV show? I'm watching CNN and they just said a law has been passed that TV stations can't do that anymore. Right on!!

It's 9:30 and Beth and I just got home from doing some running around. There was a TV emergency this afternoon in the store. I dropped the converter to the satellite. The converter is at least 10 years old and decided that it didn't want to work anymore. We went to Best Buy to get a new one. The first one we saw was $65. Seriously? Maybe for our house but not the store. Then we found one for $15. It is going to take a lot of reading to get it configured but for $50 I will try. I also bought a DVD player (thanks to gift certificates from friends) for our living room. DVD players are pretty cheap now. I remember when they were hundreds of dollars and now they are $50 to $100. If you need to go to Best Buy for Christmas shopping I suggest going around 6pm. The store was empty.

I need to sign off and concentrate on the football game. Beth and I are in the playoffs of our fantasy football. We won last week and are in the semi-finals. It's nail biting time. I WANT TO WIN!!! There won't be any knitting on Jack but I think I can get some rows done on Groovy before bed.

Back to Groovy

The past few evenings I have been working on my Groovy scarf. After cabling all weekend I needed a bit of mindless knitting. All you need to know is knit, purl, increase and cast on/off.

My scarf is in Lang Donegal. I just joined the second ball. I'm guessing I will end up using three to get a nice big scarf.

Download the pattern on Ravelry

This design is a balanced triangle shape suitable to knit up as a shawl or large, deep scarf. The design has very deep ribs and notches on one side. It is also designed to be used with 4mm needles and DK yarn. You will need a minimum of 500 meters of yarn for a large scarf and closer to 900 meters for a large shawl. Using more yarn will result in a deeper, larger shawl. This design is quite flexible!

Annie has written the pattern now for sock or lace weight.

This asymmetrical shawl is knit in stockinette and reverse stockinette stitches. You start at one end and continue knitting until you run out of yarn or sooner if you reach the desired size. You may use lace or sock weight yarns or something in between! Use 2.00mm to 3.00mm needles. You will need a minimum of 800 meters lace weight yarn or 700 meters of sock weight yarn.

If you need some mindless car knitting (while someone else is driving of course) for the holidays, this is a good one.

This morning Anne, Candice and Darlene stopped in to look at some Rowan yarn. Candice brought in the cutest thing she had knit. Shadow Box. It is a cross between a cowl and a cape.

See the original on Ravelry...

Candice used single strand Rowan Lima. It was so soft and snuggly. She wears in when flying to keep her warm. We have the same problem-always being cold on a plane. Darlene put it on and modelled for us. Sorry I should have taken a picture. Everyone who was in the store at that time took down the name to download the pattern. It's free.

I will be working on Groovy tonight while watching Survivor. I need to pay attention to the TV and send all my thoughts to everyone left so that they get rid of Abi. Come on. I don't want to see her in the finale. It sounds like a good idea to take someone who you are pretty sure you can beat but that can back fire big time. Imagine if she ends up winning.

Devin and Jemma

Ms. Canada Post just delivered a big box from Namaste.

The Jemma pouches are so cute. They will make a great change purse. Or a little bag to hold your stitch markers, cable needles and small scissors. Or something to put in your purse to hold your lipsticks. Who cares-they are so cute that you just want to have them.

The Devin wristlet has slots for your credit cards. There is also enough room for your phone and car keys. Perfect if you don't want to haul around a big bag. If you like your big bag then this will work great inside to help you organize.

They live in a basket at the cash register. Did I mention that they are so cute??

Mr UPS came in later in the day with a box of Kidsilk Creation. The new colours are beautiful!!

I know that I showed this last week.
In case you missed it or forgot
how great the colours are here it is again.
Make a scarf in under an hour.
There is still time!!

Fast forward to 8pm. Beth and I just got back from my parents. My Aunt Ally made an apple pie for my dad (and one for me) so Beth and I stopped by for a piece and to bring our pie home. She makes the best apple pie.

I didn't get much done on my knitting today. I took Rochdale to work to sew in some ends. Here they are. Didn't make a dent in them.

That game show we watched last night-not going to watch again. It was a thumbs down at our house. My dad always told us that if we didn't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all so I'm not going to say anymore on the subject. Dad taught us well. :)

I've been posting on Facebook and working on two newsletters. It's time to put the computer away and get back to my knitting.

Blocking

This morning I've been playing 'accountant'. My accounting is currently on my old lap top. Every time I want to write a cheque I need to get the computer out, boot it up (it's old and slow) and then open my accounting. I'm trying something new-an online host that I can use from my MacBook. It is kind of fun to be playing with numbers again. Unfortunately I can't snap my fingers and have everything move. I need to do some entering of numbers and today wasn't the day for that.

It is 12 hours later and I'm finally getting back to my post.

Yesterday was spent blocking.

This is Kilcar from Debbie Bliss knit in her tweed. It is on my bed in this picture and very wet after a bath in Soak. I knit this but never wore it because I didn't like the fit. After many towel changes it is drying but not as fast as I would like. I just tried it on (still very damp) and the fit is much better. Except for the sleeves. They are at least 4" too long. I'm not ripping them out so I will have cuffs on my jacket.

This is the picture that I have on Ravelry for the jacket so that you can get a better look at it.

Rochdale from Rowan #46

This is a jacket in Rowan Big Wool that has been finished except for the ends for over a year. It is currently lying on my bathroom floor. I didn't want to totally wet it for fear that the Big Wool could stretch way too much so I laid it out and used the wet towels from Kilcar. Very resourceful of me. :)

I got 30 rows knit on Jack yesterday in between blocking, cleaning and watching football.

If you haven't watched the Amazing Race finale then please stop reading.

Beth is telling me to hurry because there is a new game show with Howie Mandel taped. I also need to get some knitting done.

Rochdale from the magazine. I'm undecided on the pockets. Well, right now I'm decided that they aren't going on but there is yarn left over so I can add them in the future.

The Amazing Race. I'm not sure what to say. When I saw the final challenge I knew the Josh and Brent were going to win. It was one of those challenges where you needed some patience and luck. After they crossed the finish line Beth turned it off because she was so upset that James and Jaymes didn't win. Thankfully they won cars earlier in the evening.

I might be sewing in ends tomorrow. All the Shades of Truth is ready as is Rochdale. I really need to hire a 'sew in the ends fairy'.

Jack Again

Last night Beth and I decided to catch up on Grey's Anatomy. We watched the season opener but the rest of the episodes were taped. We taped them on CTV and every five minutes the sound cuts out for 10 seconds. Very annoying. Finally I grabbed my iPad and bought the season. Now we can watch them without commercials. This seems to be a problem for us with anything taped on CTV.

I got 13 rows of Jack done. I had hoped for more but we all hope for things we don't get.

This is a close up to show the tweed colours. Beige and purple with a touch of khaki green. The big picture is the real colour of the yarn.

I searched and searched and couldn't find the other sleeve. I guess I hadn't knit two. When I look at the amount of yarn I have left I don't think I could have knit a second sleeve. In the back of my brain there is still a glimmer of hope that I will find that sleeve before I finish the front. I do live in a dream world some days.

Now that I'm making progress on Jack I have been thinking of a few of the other projects sitting upstairs to finish. I'm hoping to have a few new garments by the new year. It's kind of like spring cleaning. :)

It's going to be a stressful football day. We are in the first week of the playoffs. After Thursday's game we are way behind. I'm not good at losing.

And then we are done football there is the two hour finale of the Amazing Race. I like the four remaining teams. I think I want James and Jaymes to win. I totally misjudged them at the beginning and they are racing for a good cause.

Have a good afternoon. It's time to get to work on my knitting.

Jack

Meet Jack.

This is my resurrected Rowan project.

The back is almost done. For some reason I stopped about 2" short. I think I was waiting to see how the sleeves were going to fit in. Last night I took back the last row. If your knitting has been on needles for some time you should take out the last row worked and cut the yarn. The stitches left on the needle can stretch.

One sleeve is done. For some reason I thought both were done so I am going to do some digging tonight.

The front was started and I got 14 rows done last night. My plan was to get a picture today but it is pouring rain here so I didn't bother bringing it with me. Maybe tomorrow.

It is from the Rowan magazine The Tweed Collection. I can't find my copy. Luckily I have the pattern photocopied - many, many times. I love the sweater and have yarn stashed for another one. There is one small problem with the pattern-the chart for the cables doesn't match the picture. I decided to go with the picture so I had to do a bit of fudging on the chart.

The yarn is Rowan Chunky Tweed. One of my favourite all time yarns.

Before I left for work this morning I started downloading the first season of The Mentalist on my iPad. It is going to be a knitting night and watching a show with no commercials is so much better.

The chocolate chip cookies I baked
last night for Kate and
her class.

Kate Atherley was in the store today teaching-fixing mistakes and then toe up socks. It was a bit crazy in the store and I didn't get down to see their progress. Everyone commented that they enjoyed the classes. The afternoon ladies were going home to knit socks.

I'm thinking about a nap and then some heavy duty knitting. Yes, I lead a very exciting life. :)

Blocking

It's Thursday evening and I decided to lay the shawl out. I wrapped it in towels to get the extra moisture out. Then I laid a towel on the styrofoam and the shawl is lying on it. It is doubled over-I could have laid it out on two pieces but that would make it impossible to move.

What am I going to do when the bottom towel gets wet? I'm going to put a new towel on the other piece of styrofoam, put the pieces of styrofoam face to face and flip them over. Then the shawl will be lying on the dry towel. I hope this makes sense.

Two pieces of styrofoam are as tall as I am.

Dad took them from a job site. Not any job site-one that he is working on. :)

Currently on my bed. I guess it will lie on the floor tonight. I'm being really lazy and didn't get my blocking wires. I might regret it later but we're going to try without them.

It's now Friday afternoon. I moved the styrofoam to my bathtub last night. That was the only place I could fit it.

We have a new colour of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the store.

Introducing Dalia B.

Beth, the owner of Lorna's Laces, came to Knitting Camp in September to teach yarn dying. Everyone who took the class laid their yarn out on Saturday evening and the rest of us picked our favourite colour. Dalia B. was the winner. Beth dyed the colour specially for us and no one else in the world has this colourway.

I picked up Drop City today. One more section and then I'm going to start the decreasing. I left it at work because I have other knitting plans this evening.

Now it's time to head upstairs and find some knitting. There is a Rowan sweater on the back burner that I have been dreaming about. It's time to get it done. I believe the back and at least one sleeve are done. Lots of cables in chunky yarn. Perfect for this time of year. I don't know when I started the sweater but if I had to guess it would be 10 years ago. Seriously. Get the darn thing done!! I have the urge to knit so who knows how late I will be up tonight.

It's Almost Done

While Kim and I were making kits yesterday I was looking through the free patterns on www.knitrowan.com. I found a few that are very fitting for the cold weather that has arrived. I shouldn't be complaining though. I talked with Phyllis in the Yukon yesterday and it is -40 with the wind chill. -40. That is really cold.

Unisex Scarf

This unisex, cable scarf has been designed exclusively for Rowan's web site by Sarah Hatton, using Rowan Felted Tweed Aran

download the pattern... 

These Big Wool mittens were originally featured in Rowan's Bigger Picture collection and are now available to download.

download the pattern... 

One ball of Big Wool or Drift.
10mm needles.

Beth and mom headed to the airport last night and I stayed home with the dogs and knit. It's done!!! It's almost done!!! I just have to block it and sew in the ends. I'm going to block it first to make sure that the borders are lying flat. If they aren't I might need to take out the cast off and redo. Once I'm happy with those then I can sew in the ends.

Pattern: All the Shades of Truth (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: tosh merino light - 1 skein each of charcoal, onyx, night bloom, whiskers and rain water

I'm feeling a bit empty now that it is done. I really enjoyed making it. In my world garter stitch is very soothing. There is a shipment of tosh merino light coming in the next few weeks. You never know, there could be another colourway in the works.

I just received an email from a customer. Many knitters and crocheters ask me about labels (the kind you sew in the back of your sweater that says Made By or Made with Love or.....) and I don't know where to send them.

I just received my labels...they are lovely, customer service is excellent and very reasonable prices! Just wanted to pass along to my knitting friends.

I haven't ordered from this company and don't know anything about them but if you are looking for labels it might be worth checking them out.

Mountain Street Arts 

My dad just stopped by the store to bring me a tea. He looks tired but was in good spirits. Today was spent pouring concrete. At least in Canada the truck drives up with the concrete already mixed for you. He was heading back to the office and then home for a nap before tonight's football tonight.

I'm home and All the Shades is soaking in Soak. Unleash is the scent of choice tonight.

Dad dropped off many sheets of styrofoam in different sizes. I'm going to empty the water and roll in towels tonight. Tomorrow morning I will lay it out to dry.

Drop City is sitting on the counter looking at me so it's time to sign off and get knitting.

Decorating

I thought that I had a sales rep coming today but that is tomorrow. OOPS. I guess I should put things in my calendar properly.

The store doesn't look very Christmas like so last night Beth wrapped some boxes for me and I raided our Christmas stuff at home. Kim and I are rearranging and making a nice display.

Since taking these pictures Kim has made up some Rowan kits for different scarves as well as moving things around again. Things look a little different now.

This also means moving other things around. To make some room I have put a few yarns on sale. Keep watching the blog because you never know what else we might find that needs a good home.

TWINKLE SOFT CHUNKY

$20 a skein
Regular $35

I used 2 skeins of Soft Chunky and 10mm needles to make this scarf. The pattern is free on the Spud and Chloe blog.

A very popular pattern for Soft Chunky is Marian.
Free pattern on Ravelry for the Marian Cowl
one skein of yarn
15mm, 24cm circular needles

NATURALLY GABBIANO

$7.00 a ball
Regular $12.95

39% Wool, 39% Acrylic, 22% Polyamide
Made in Italy

Size:  50g ball
Length:  approx 40 metres (43 yards)
Tension:  8sts x 13 rows (10x10cm)
Needle Size:  10.00mm / US 15
Garment Care:  30C Hand wash. Dry flat in shade. Do not dry clean

Gabbiano is an exciting super chunky knitting yarn which is super light weight and super soft.  With the added warmth of wool and produced in such a way to make it extra strong, this yarn is soft and very quick to knit.

Two balls of Gabbiano will make the Marian Cowl.

There are many patterns on Ravelry for Super Chunky yarns that will work for both such as

Drop Stitch Cowl

Ms. Canada Post brought in a box of books including The Sock Report.

You can see all the patterns here. There are some very nice ones. Kim has picked out three that she wants to make. I will take a look later this afternoon over a cup of tea.

This picture was just posted on Facebook. My dad is at the airport. They arrive in Atlanta at 6pm and then get on the plane for Toronto at 9:30. Mom and Beth will be at the airport to pick them up at midnight. There is always a large gathering of people to meet the plane so they won't even notice I'm not there. The dogs will be happy to have me at home with them. Actually, there isn't room in the vehicle for me so I will see dad tomorrow.