All you need is love

The gala last night was a lot of fun. I didn't really want to go because of this week's craziness but I'm very glad that I did. It was 60s inspired and lots of people came dressed in tie dye and big wigs. The room decorations were fabulous!! The only thing we came home with was a gift card to Best Buy. You can never go wrong with that. We did bid on a Vegas Golf Trip in the live auction but a friend warned us before it started that he was getting it. It got to the point where we stepped back. It was for charity but he wasn't quitting. 

We really need some pretty pictures today because of this not very nice weather. I'm not sure what month it is. I came to work with a turtle neck on. Lynn just looked out the window and yelled that it is snowing. UGH!!

Cathy's Log Cabin Afghan. I showed this last year but the sand and sun and cottage made me smile. I hope it brightens your day too.

Here is a link to the free pattern...

Cathy used 25 balls of Noro Kureyon - all different colours. For the border she used 5 skeins of Cascade 220.

Today we are going to finish packing for the Frolic.

What are we taking???

Tosh

-merino light

-new twist light (the sock yarn with nylon)

-pashmina

Mrs. Crosby

-Hat Box

-Train Case

-Carpet Bag

Classic Elite

-Santorini

-Come Together kits

Freia

-fingering

-super bulky

Zen Yarn Garden

-Serenity Glitter Sock

Did you know that the K-W Knitters' Guild is running a bus to the Toronto Knitters' Frolic this Saturday? It is now open to all community members, so we hope you will join us for the fun! 

The bus leaves from behind Waterloo Town Square (Caroline and Alexandra) at 7:30am, and makes a stop around 8:15am at the carpool lot at Hwy 6 and the 401. We plan to arrive in time for the first workshops. The bus will return after the last workshop of the day is over, about 5pm. 

The cost is $10, payable by cash at the bus. This does not include your Frolic entry fee. To reserve your spot or for more information, email info @ kwknittersguild.ca.

Survivor tonight. Hockey tonight. Baseball tonight. I hope there is some knitting tonight.

Summer Kerchief

Bella Lino is a lightweight yarn that creates an airy fabric with long, harmonious stripes. The palette of summery shades each have a linen-hued base. 

This cowl is a great summer accessory for when you want to wear something knitted, but it is just too hot! It looks like a kerchief, but because of the round construction, you won’t spend extra time adjusting it, or taking it off and on because it adds too many layers.

A summer kerchief from today's Classic Elite Web-Letter. Download the pattern...

I'm early with today's post because Beth and I are rushing to Woodbridge after work.

A silent auction and live auction. That can get dangerous.

Yummy Colours

The Fleece Artist Soft Mitt kits arrived this morning. The dyers at Fleece Artist do an amazing job with their colour combinations.

The first clue is finished and now I'm onto 2A. It's kind of addicting. So much that tonight's post is going to be short because I really want to/need to knit.

Changed my mind

I started on Brickless with my tosh pashmina last week. I love the yarn. I love the pattern. But I don't like the yarn and the pattern together. I think it is my knitting so instead of continuing and hating it I changed patterns. I should have started with this from the beginning. I've been dreaming about knitting it for a long time.

Follow Your Arrow by Ysolda. This isn't a new pattern - it came out in January 2014. I bought the pattern when it was released and should have knit it then. It has intrigued me.

In need of some fun, selfish knitting after the holidays? Get ready for the first mystery knitalong from Ysolda, with a choose your own adventure style twist. There are five clues, and every clue will come with two options either of which builds perfectly from whichever you choose previously. The result is 32 possible combinations – a really mysterious adventure. In addition, it has been designed to work equally well in a solid colour or in stripes of two colours and instructions for both options are included.

Ysolda writes a great pattern that is very easy to follow.

For the first clue I chose A. The good thing about waiting to start is that it isn't a mystery any more. I have looked at finished projects and know the sequences that I like.

Fabulous FO

Catherine came in today wearing her amazing Roan jacket. This is from Rowan Magazine #56. We changed the colours a bit. She did a navy background instead of black and her birds are blue not yellow/green. It is absolutely stunning. Now I want to get back to knitting mine. 

Roving, pure merino wool. For spinning or felting. Hand dyed Nube means cloud in Spanish, we call it Nube because it's malabrigo's merino.

More Nube came in yesterday. The colours are beautiful. The yarn will also work great for thrum mitts.

Just a reminder if you're coming to the Frolic.

Mother's Day is coming

They're here.

 Dad just dropped off the yarn bowls.

These bowls are made by Amanda Pawley in Kentucky.

Yarn bowls are a favorite accessory for those who love to knit or crochet. These bowls nestle your yarn while you work, both preventing “roll away” and keeping yarn clean as you work. 

These bowls have a “Y” hook channel design, making it easy to switch out your working yarn while still attached to your work. The bowls also have a pass-through hole if you don’t need to change colors in your project. Felted pads on the base of these bowls protects your furniture from scratches.

Here at Pawley Studios we strive to make elegant, yet functional pottery that can be used and loved for generations.  Our high fire stoneware is light enough to be used, but sturdy enough to be past down. 

We only use the best techniques and products at Pawley Studios.  All of our glazes are led free, microwave and dishwasher safe.

Wouldn't these make a great Mother's Day gift? You could always buy one for yourself and then hand it to your family to wrap up. You know you'll get a gift that you like :)

Today's blog post has taken forever to write. I started in the store and then tried to finish it after dinner. I haven't been able to write because I've been glued to the TV. I haven't even knit. I might have worn out the converter flipping between hockey (and hockey) and baseball. And we totally forgot about The Amazing Race. Now overtime. And the Calgary/Vancouver game is starting. I need to get a program where I can talk and my computer types.

How many sleeps?

This week all the Rowan sales reps (like my rep who comes twice a year to show me the new yarns) from across North America were in Toronto for their semi-annual sales conference. A group of them went to Niagara Falls today and stopped here on their way back. I tried and tried but couldn't get anything out of them about the fall Rowan. DARN (this is capitalized because in small letters it can look like a different word and I try to be very careful with my language on the blog). I will get to see it in a few weeks. Rumour has it that this fall is going to be amazing.

There is new tosh on the shelves. DK is above and merino is below. The new colours are awesome.

I saw this banner on Ravelry today.

Now I'm starting to freak out a little. Normally the store is lined with boxes by now with kits and yarn for the Frolic. We have kits made but nothing is packed. Yikes.

Mom and dad just got home from Myrtle Beach. In the back of the car they have 2 boxes of yarn bowls. These should be in the store on Saturday - dad has to get back to work tomorrow. Yes, he's retired but if we made him stop working life wouldn't be very good for my mom. It's better that he has something to do every day.

Many boxes

Mr. Canada Post brought in a huge box from Zen Yarn Garden this morning. You know that tosh problem I had yesterday, I almost had the same problem today. It was hard not to take some skeins home with me. The colours are amazing!

Serenity Silk Single

Serenity Glitter Sock. Tomorrow we're going to make up more kits for Castalia.

A relaxed fit pullover with buttons closing the garter stitch side panels and cuffs. 

Skill level: Intermediate. 

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL) Shown in size S. 

Liberty Wool by Classic Elite Yarns 

9 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) balls 78102 Magic Carpet 

Finished Measurements  

Bust: 36 (40, 44, 48, 52, 56)"  

Designed to be worn with at least 6" of positive ease.

Mr. Canada Post also brought in a box from Lynda. The Magic Carpet Pullover is finished. We just need to add buttons to the sides and sleeves. (OK. Who am I kidding? Lynn will sew the buttons on because that could be my least favourite thing in the world to do.) It's so nice to be able to take sweaters outside again to get pictures.

I need to finish my post early. Survivor tonight. And even more exciting. The Stanley Cup playoffs start tonight. That means lots of knitting. Maybe. I might be busy flipping channels between games.

tosh happiness

Lynn sorted through the tosh shipment this morning and brought over some big bags of yarn. This is always a bad day for me (or good depending on how you look at it). The colours are so pretty that I have to take some home and start a new project.

In the store we have

-Twist Light - the new sock yarn. We received 25 yummy colours.

-sock in new colours and old favourites

-pashmina - new colours and colours that we were sold out of

-ASAP - lots of great colours on the shelf

Over the next few days we will get vintage, dk, merino dk and merino.

I'm home and look what happened. A skein of pashmina is wound. The colour is dachshund - I can't get enough of this colour.

I considered making another Auburn Wave but then I remembered that I have it started in merino light in this colour. I told you that I liked it. I'm going to make Brickless.

After dinner I cast on and I've made it through the first pattern sequence. Why the funny angle? No shadows.

I'm going to keep going as I wait for Game of Homes. The bathroom tonight. This should be interesting.

Knitting Post - Sort of

Today was spent running around. One of my stops was at Terra. I love looking at the flowers in their greenhouse.

I need to have the planters done for the store and our front step at home. They suggested that I wait a few weeks because there are some great tropical plants on the way. I really want hydrangeas but they aren't going to last all summer. They look so pretty here but in a few weeks they won't look like this.

This is where it gets knitting related. Throughout the store they have decorated with yarn. When I was walking in a young girl had a cart with many, many balls of yarn and was doing displays. I asked one of the ladies in the store about it and she said that it is a huge decorating trend for 2015. I can't confirm this but it is a cool idea. :)

They wound yarn around everything. Planters. Sales desks. Anything stationary had yarn on or around it.

Lots of pretty colours strung from floor to ceiling.

It's hard to tell but in the basket there are pieces of wood wound in yarn and they look like pencils.

Madelinetosh came late this afternoon. I wasn't in Ancaster so Beth signed for the yarn. I might have to get up early in the morning to see it before opening the store. I hope Beth didn't get into the boxes. Who knows what she might have taken.

It's here

I think that spring has finally arrived. I picked Beth up this morning in the car with the top down. She complained that it was too cold and made me put on the heat. She got to drive around Myrtle Beach last week in very warm weather with the top down on mom's car. It was a tad colder here this morning. By noon it was much nicer. And we just happened to be in the vicinity of Dairy Queen. The first ice cream of the year in the car.

The store is now closed on Mondays until the fall but if you are in desperate need of yarn tomorrow, Lynn will be there. If it's really slow I will send her home mid afternoon but if it's busy she'll be there until 5:30. I left her a list of the last few kits we need made up for the Frolic. We need to get these made because the madelinetosh is arriving this week. Lynn will be working in the storage locker inventorying the yarn and setting aside the merino light and new twist light for the show.

Yarn Bowls are on their way to Myrtle Beach and should be in the store in about a week.

Yarn bowls are a favorite accessory for those who love to knit or crochet. These bowls nestle your yarn while you work, both preventing "roll away" and keeping yarn clean as you work. 

These bowls have a “Y” hook channel design, making it easy to switch out your working yarn while still attached to your work. The bowls also have a pass-through hole if you don’t need to change colors in your project. Felted pads on the base of these bowls protects your furniture from scratches.

It's almost Frolic time. Here are some of my tips if this is your first time heading to the show.

- trust me, there is lots of yarn. If you don't like lines or crowds, wait until noon to come. There will still be lots for you to see. If booths sell out of something, most are more than willing to ship it to you after the show
- bring lunch with you. Then you don't have to stand in line.
- The Science Centre is very close to the Frolic. You can send your family for an outing and it will let you shop for a while.
- wear something that you have knit. It's always fun to see completed projects.
- if you see something you like, mark down the booth you saw it in. I can't tell you how many times we get frantic people at the end of the day because they forgot where they saw something
- go through your Ravelry library and make notes of yarn that you are interested in. If there is a certain pattern, print that pattern and bring it with you. Also bring information on the yarn. What it's made of. Tension. Yardage. That will make it easier for me and other booths to help you substitute. When you come in the store I can do it on the computer but we have limited Internet access at the show.
- please have patience.
- the Frolic isn't just for knitters. It is put on by a knitting guild - hence the name. Crocheters please come to the show. There is lots of fabulous yarns that you and your hooks will have fun working with.

Now it's knitting time. The first sleeve of my Bella Lino cardigan is at the armhole shaping. I'd like to think it will be finished before bed tonight but that is just a dream.

Happy Saturday

What a beautiful day. I almost (but then thought better of it because I'll be able do to it tomorrow) came home from work with the top down on the car. It was a touch chilly but tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful.

There are some new patterns in Rowan's Ravelry store. They are older patterns that have been reworked in Rowan's Silkystones. Silkystones debuted last summer and has been very popular.

From the Knit Rowan website: Knit this ladies vertical stripe top, a design from the Rowan archive of Magazine 55’s Sally that is now available to purchase online. Designed by Lisa Richardson using the stunning yarn Silkystones (silk and linen), this pretty sweater is worked sideways with centralised stripe patterning. 

This design is available to purchase for $5 as a single pattern from our Ravelry store. 

Previously from Knit Rowan: Knit this women's vertical stripe top from Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 55, a design by Lisa Richardson using the gorgeous yarn Handknit Cotton (combed cotton). Worked sideways with centralised stripe patterning, this knitting pattern is for the beginner knitter.

There are 4 patterns in this collection. Here is the link to all of them on Ravelry...

From the Knit Rowan website: 

Knit this ladies round neck cardigan, a design from the Rowan archive Studio 32’s Dusty that is now available to purchase online. Designed by Marie Wallin using the stunning yarn Silkystones (silk and linen), this round neck cardigan has contrasting colourblock detail to the back, cuffs and band. 

This design is available to purchase for $5 as a single pattern from our Ravelry store. 

Previously stated from Rowan Studio 32: Knit this ladies round neck cardigan with contrasting colourblock detail to the back, cuffs and band from Rowan Studio 32. A design by Marie Wallin, using our wonderful machine washable soft handle cotton yarn, Handknit Cotton (cotton), this knitting pattern is suitable for the average knitter.

From the Knit Rowan website: Knit this oversized cropped tee, a design from the Rowan archive of Magazine 51’s Tamsin that is now available to purchase online. Designed by Erika Knight using the stunning yarn Silkystones (silk and linen), this design is knitted in simple stockinette stitch so ideal for beginner knitters. 

This design is available to purchase for $5 as a single pattern from our Ravelry store. 

Previously stated in Rowan Magazine 51: Knit this over sized cropped tee for a must have style of season. This design is ideal for knitters that are beginners. One of the techniques used for this design is the stockinette stitch.

From the Knit Rowan website: Knit this ladies v neck sweater, a design from the Rowan archive of Magazine 45’s Marseille that is now available to purchase online. Designed by Sarah Hatton using the stunning yarn Silkystones (silk and linen), this basic-shaped sweater has three quarter length sleeves and ‘v’ pattern stitch detail.

Rowan Silkystones is a melange of toussah silk and linen, and each shade is a soft subtle blend of shades. Soft to the touch and with the light silken sheen of wet stones (hence the name) this yarn sits at the heart of our Spring Summer season.

The suggested tension is 20 stitches = 4". There are many, many patterns that you can use this yarn for, from Rowan and on Ravelry.

What a busy TV night. Nascar. Jays. Hockey and more hockey. There are so many channels to flip to that I need to make a list. This makes it hard to get much knitting done. I also need to watch The Amazing Race from last night online. I totally forgot to tape it. Monaco. I'd love to visit.