Home Again

We had a great time on our mini vacation. We left later than planned on Saturday because we were worried about freezing rain. It never came and the drive was uneventful. We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed to the mall - Somerset Collection.

The first stop was Restoration Hardware. We were hoping to find lights for our house. They didn't have what we wanted but we had fun shopping the store. I made Beth try this cool hat on. The plan was to buy her one but she didn't want to carry it around. We never made it back. Next year.

We spend some time in Pottery Barn. I collect pitchers like this for Myrtle Beach but it might stay here in the new house. The picture is deceiving - it is 15" high. And heavy - I had to carry it to the car. We also bought large baskets. I saw them in Myrtle in the summer but we had no way to get them home. They took up a bit of room in the bed of the truck.

Sunday was Outlet Mall Day. Great Lakes Crossing is huge!! 185 stores. It took some time to see it all.

American Thanksgiving is Thursday. All the stores are gearing up. Look at the hours for the mall. Open on Thursday at 6pm until 10pm on Friday. Yes, open for 28 straight hours.

And a bit of knitting content. This was a display that we saw in Macy's today. Balls and cones of yarn.

Here is Exploration Station so far. There wasn't a lot of time for knitting while we were away.

Hopefully it will be finished this week. It's been a fun, interesting knit without being so hard that you get frustrated.

Happy Sunday

Knit this unisex jacket the member's exclusive free pattern for November 2014. Designed by Martin Storey using Original Denim, a unique yarn that behaves like denim fabric (cotton), this jacket has an all over rib pattern, contrasting moss stitch collar and pocket detail.

Download the free pattern from Rowan's website...

Rowan Denim will be in the store in a couple of weeks.

Denim is a cotton yarn which behaves like denim fabric.  It shrinks on its first wash and the colour continues to slightly fade over time.  Denim is available in 2 traditional denim shades.

I have many, many denim sweaters and LOVE them. When you knit with Denim you knit the sweater and sleeves longer (the pattern gives you the proper knitting length) and then you wash the pieces before sewing them together. They will shrink to the proper length. Whenever your sweater needs to be washed you throw it in the washer and dryer. You don't look after a denim sweater. That is the beauty of it.

The yarn will fade with every washing but it won't come off on you when you wear it. If you don't want it to fade anymore then start washing it inside out.

Looking for other Denim patterns? There are many on the Rowan website - some are free and others are in books...

Bigga Buddy

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Namaste this morning. The Bigga Buddy is finally here.

The Bigga' Buddy case is an oversized version of our Better Buddy case; it features hidden magnetized interior walls to keep your metal items in place, a removable interior divider, and is made of vegan animal-friendly faux leather. Perfect for quilters, crocheters, knitters, and general Namasterians alike! Contrast stitching, solid construction, and snap button closure; when size matters- you need a Bigga' Buddy! 

The Poppins bag in Raspberry is back in stock too.

Tomorrow morning I'm going on a road trip. Beth, Bev, Bev's daughter in law and I are heading to Troy, Michigan (just outside of Detroit) for a few days of shopping. I hope to blog while I'm away but in case I don't have time (there are a lot of malls to visit) then I will be back Monday night.

Lots of Boxes

We unpacked many, many boxes today.

A shipment came in from Knitter's Pride. The individual, interchangeable Marblz tips are in stock.
3.75mm
4mm
4.5mm
5mm
5.5mm
6mm
8mm

We have a new sock yarn. Regia Stripemania 6ply. This is a thicker sock yarn that will also work great for hats and scarves.

75% wool

25% polyamide

375m on a 150gram ball

22 stitches=4" on 4mm needles

Download the free pattern for the socks - 1 ball on 3mm-4mm needles - depending on how tight you want the knitting to be.

For more free patterns with Stripemania....

Of course I took a look on Ravelry. Here is a pattern for an awesome pair of fingerless gloves...

Fluormania Color is back in stock. Want to knit bright socks that your kids can't lose??

One ball will make a pair on 2.5mm-2.75mm needles.

Lynda needs a project. She lives up north where they are getting a lot more snow than we are getting in Ancaster. She needs knitting to keep her busy. I've had my eye on a cowl for a while but there hasn't been time so Lynda gets this too.

Pattern: Pine Bough Cowl (free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Rowan Tweed

I hope she knits fast. I can't wait to see it finished. No pressure Lynda :)

My knitting is progressing. Clue #2 is finished and I'm going to start #3 tonight. Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. Who actually committed the murder? I'm not sure where the show will/can go for season 2.

Our house is finally ready to be put on the market. Our agent is listing it on Monday. Walls have been painted. It's surprising how much slobber Roko and Melo can get on the walls. It has been cleaned from top to bottom. Really, really cleaned. Today the tile floors in the kitchen and laundry room were professionally cleaned. For some reason the builder used white grout. It doesn't matter what you do, short of scrubbing with a tooth brush, the grout won't come back to white. It's almost there but it took a special machine. The new house has dark grout everywhere. We won't make that mistake again.

Now it's time to put the fireplace on, make a cup of peppermint tea and knit! Stay warm.

Zen Yarn Garden

Mr. Canada Post brought in a surprise box from Zen Yarn Garden this morning.

Serenity Glitter Sock - colours we were running low on.

Content: 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon
Yarn Weight: Fingering 
Hank Weight: 3.50 oz (100 g)
Length: 400 yds (365 m)
Gauge: 7.5-8 sts = 1" on US 1-3
Care: Hand or machine wash.

There are five new colours. YUMMY!!

Baltic Ocean

Rustic Wine

Sandbox

Tuxedo

Wrought Iron

We have a great sample hanging in the store knit in Serenity Glitter.

Pattern: Plank Stole (purchased on Ravelry)
You need 2 skeins of yarn and 5.5mm needle.

There are new colours in Serenity Chunky as well

70% merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon

This custom spun yarn is single ply and is comprised of the same fibres as our Serenity 20 sock yarn. We added a bit of nylon for structure.

One skein of Serenity Chunky will make Cherry Garcia (a free pattern on Ravelry)

It's yucky outside now. Thank goodness I have the Edge today.

Stay warm and safe tonight. It's the perfect excuse to stay in and knit.

They're Back

Ponchos that is.

Knit this ladies accessory cable poncho, a design from the Rowan archive that is now available as a free pattern to download. Designed by Marie Wallin using our wonderfully soft roving yarn Drift (wool), this poncho has  deep rib edgings and a chunky rib stand up collar.

The pattern is free on Rowan's website... We don't have Drift in the store (it's been discontinued) but you can knit it out of Rowan Big Wool or Big Wool Colour.

Ponchos are a must have addition to the winter wardrobe this season and we are delighted to bring you a collection of 7 designs from the Rowan archive.This range includes a simple stocking stitch design with garter stitch edgings, a short sleeved cable design and a super cosy cable cover up.

See all the patterns in Rowan's Online Collection... 

Beth finished her cowl last night. I did the sewing for her today. I think it might have taken me more time to graft the stitches than it took her to knit them.

Pattern: Monster Cowl (free on Ravelry)
Yarn: 2 balls of Filatura di Crosa Ciccio

Beth liked doubling the yarn on 25mm needles so she is going to try an experiment tonight. We'll see how it goes.

As you know I like to take pictures outside. There was no way my friend and I were going outside today. It is really, really cold out there. The good thing is that we didn't get the snow like they are getting further north and in the Buffalo area. I hear we are getting snow tomorrow. It's time to switch vehicles with my mom. My car is moving into their garage and I'm taking her Edge.

The fireplace is on and it's time to knit. The kettle is boiling for a cup of tea. There is no better way to spend a winter evening.

Exit 0

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Lynda this morning. Another beautiful shawl. I really wanted to knit this one but there is a small thing that I don't have a lot of right now - time. Plus there is that small problem of startitis in my life. I knew that if I sent it off to Lynda that it would come back quickly. :)

Pattern: Exit 0 by Laura Aylor (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: tosh merino light - 1 skein each of el greco, aura, ember

Three colors of fingering weight yarn are used to create a bent rectangular wrap full of stripes and angles. The slight bend makes it curve nicely around your shoulders. It’s not nearly as complicated to make as it looks - just one color at a time and some short rows and decreases here and there - instructions are given line-by-line and can simply be checked off as you go.

It was hard to show the real shape in the picture without laying the shawl out on the ground. I would have done it except for the snow :)

All you need to know is

-long tail cast on

-decreasing

-short rows

-picking up stitches

It's the Indie Gift-a-Long time again on Ravelry.

Prepping for the holidays as only fiber folks can, with special deals from tons of indie designers! 

What is Gift-A-Long? It’s a multi-designer promotion to help you kick your holiday gift-making into high gear! 

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 2 month long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From Thursday, November 13th at 8:00 pm US EST - Friday, November 21, 2014 at 11:59 pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 4 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2014.

Read more about the Gift-a-Long on Ravelry...

For the complete list of designers participating...

And then when I thought my post was done, Cathy send some awesome pictures to share. She's getting ready for Christmas.

She's been making wreaths. 

Pattern: Woolly Wreath and Garland from Churchmouse. We have copies in the store or you can purchase it on Ravelry...

This is the smaller size in 2 balls of Lamb's Pride Bulky.

This is the larger wreath in double strand Lamb's Pride Bulky. Cathy used 3 balls for this one.

As I'm writing the tosh ASAP in tart is staring at me. What an awesome colour for a wreath!

It's time to get back to my knitting. I have 6 rows to go on Clue #2. No more incidents with my knitting last night. The stitches are lining up properly and the world is good.

The air was blue

Happy Birthday Bev! It was a big one. 70. Some of you might recognize Bev - she used to own a yarn store in Richmond Hill called The Hill Knittery. And we used to do the knitting retreat together before she moved onto to another job. Bev and I have been traveling to trade shows together for over 20 years. Beth and I have gone to New Zealand twice with Bev and her husband. What do you give someone for their 70th birthday? Especially someone who thinks that they are still 50? We gave her a gift certificate to iFly. It is located in Mississauga.

It's an opportunity to experience the sensation of free-fall. Imagine a 14-foot cylindrical diameter vertical tube that is 45 feet tall in which the airstream is passing at a speed of 175 km per hour. Once inside the wind tunnel, you will have a real sense of what skydivers experience during the free-fall portion of their jump, which is generally done from 13 500 to 3 500 feet of altitude at a speed of 200 km per hour. All of that in an environment that is so secure that it is even accessible to children aged of 4 years and older.

She was thrilled. She has always said that sky diving is on her bucket list.

Beth finished her Technicolor Mosaic Cowl. It needs to be blocked but I needed some knitting content for the post. She saw my picture and told me that I have the cowl upside down but it's too late for another picture. My knitting hasn't gone well today. Twice I had to rip out a full row. A few bad words came out of my mouth. Both rows were K1, P1. Not that tough but I was watching football and wasn't paying attention to my knitting. I thought that I would set it aside for a few minutes and write my post.

Here it is so far. I'm going to move to the couch and continue. I'm getting grief at home because Clue #2 isn't finished and Clue #3 is out.

Happy Anniversary

It's my parent's anniversary today. 51 years. Wow. That is a long time!! :) Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. What did we give them? They are going on an Alaskan Cruise next summer so we are paying for their airfare.

Beth stopped by the store to bring me lunch earlier today. It was crazy busy so she stayed to help. Help meant taking 2 balls of Ciccio from Filatura di Crosa and 25mm needles to start a cowl. She got this far in about 10 minutes. The store thinned out a bit so she headed home. She'll have this finished for tomorrow's post.

There is a new Interweave magazine. I don't have store copies yet so I purchased the magazine online so that I could start the Fall River Cowl. When I took the picture I was undecided on the colour. When I cast on the darker purple won. I will have a big chunk knit tomorrow.

We're on our way out the door to a surprise birthday party. No knitting tonight but the plan is to knit all day tomorrow. I might not leave the house!

Happy Friday

The guild meeting last night was great. Thank you to the ladies of Halton Hands in Motion for inviting me out. If you live in the Georgetown area, please check them out. They are very welcoming. There are all levels of knitters and crocheters so please don't feel like you aren't accomplished enough to join.

Here is a bit of information on the guild...

The great room in our townhouse has 18' ceilings. For 7 years I have been talking about a big Christmas tree. At least 15'. They are very, very expensive so I don't have one. It's a good thing because the new house doesn't have a great room like this.

Beth emailed me pictures this morning titled 'Big Tree'. She had to pull over on the way to work this morning for this truck.

She wondered if this was big enough for me. Can you imagine how many decorations you would need for this tree??

A shipment of Liberty Wool from Classic Elite came in today.

Purple is back in stock. This is the Simple Sweater with Pockets pattern - available on Ravelry.

One sweater concept designed with two simple options: cardigan or pullover. Each raglan sweater has garter stitch trim, front pockets and ¾ length sleeves, and is worked from the bottom up.

I'll be playing with colours this afternoon making up more Inspira Cowl kits.

I thought that there would be time to knit this afternoon and get caught up on my Mystery KAL. It didn't happen. Maybe tonight. The next clue came out this morning and it looks like an easy week. No new techniques :)