A lot of boxes

Our first order of the National Parks Collection is being dyed this week and we might see it next week. There are still a few parks left from this initial order.

Yesterday I placed another order. These should be here at the end of September. These skeins are also online but under a separate category. 

There will be more Thrum Mitt kits coming in a few weeks. I will get pictures when they arrive - we don’t know what’s coming. It’s a surprise.

Atenti shipped a box to us this morning. We should see these by the middle of September. The bags are available online for preorder.

I was in the store this morning doing mail orders when there was a knock on the door. Ms. UPS was here with 16 boxes. Lynn’s heart just stopped as she is reading this. Most of the boxes are going into hiding for a week. (We have so much extra room to hide them 🤣.) They are the new Rowan which can’t go out until September 1st.

The Amazing Race Canada is starting so I need to say goodnight.

Golfing

Beth and I golfed this afternoon.

We almost cancelled because it was calling for rain but it was beautiful for the first 14 holes. When we reached the 15th hole the skies opened and we got soaked. We were near the clubhouse and decided to pack it in. It was a good decision - the rain hasn’t stopped.

The weather change brought on a migraine but I have very good meds. The migraine is gone but now my head is fuzzy. My post is going to be short.

We will have a new magazine from Kim Hargreaves next week.

Kim Hargreaves latest book, Divine, is a beautiful collection of elegant summer pieces. From pretty little vests through to summer sweaters and cardigans, this enchanting collection, created in pale neutrals, really lives up to its namesake.

This is my Botanic Shawl that I knit with Le Petit Lambswool and Dyed in the Wool. We put together a few new combinations on Saturday. I will try and get these online tomorrow.

Rose Grey and Miss Me

Soft Blue Green and Mississippi Marsala

This combination is for Pressed Flowers. Rios in Whole Grain and Dream State in Ghost Ranch.

I have more to share but my fuzzy head says it’s time to quit. I’ll share tomorrow. Have a great evening. 

Birthday Celebration Week 4

Happy Sunday.

Jackson had a great day. Beth is on the other half of the couch reading.

I’m not sure about the colours but I’m going to keep going. I don’t think there is enough knit to make a decision on whether to start again and change out a colour.

Boscoe thought that the balls of Ito looked like something that he should be playing with.

The latest sale yarns are live and we are offering the Log Cabin Afghan kit at 15% off. The discount lasts until Saturday at 8pm.

If you’ve already looked at this week’s Birthday Celebration specials you might want to take another look. I added more items this afternoon.

This is Cathy’s 25 square afghan with a black border. Each square takes one ball of Noro Kureyon and the border is Cascade 220. 

When you purchase the kit we will include a sheet telling you how many stitches to pick up which will make sure that your squares are square. Okay, they are rectangles but you know what I mean 😀

This is Jane’s afghan. She has 36 squares in hers. It lies on the bed in their motor home.

This is Sarah’s 25 square afghan with a purple border.

This is my 20 square afghan. 

Now back to my knitting. The Great British Baking Show is on.

Swivel

Lynn and I started to make kits for Camp today. You might say ‘it’s still 6 weeks away’ and I will counter with ‘oh my goodness, we only have 6 weeks until Camp’. The kits will be in the store until Camp. They are in baskets and anywhere we can find a place to put them. These will give you some inspiration for choosing your own colours.

I decided that we needed a fall leaves version for the Douglas Cardi kit.

Mr. Canpar brought a restock of Lantern Moon swivel cords. Lynn swears by these. She uses them with her Knitter’s Pride Zing tips.

Lantern Moon’s swivel cords are ideal for knitting in the round projects. The cord rotates at the join so needle twisting is avoided as the knitter goes around. The 24K plated solid brass connector is threaded for easy put-on to needle tips. They are made of nylon coated stainless steel which uncoils easily and stays relaxed, with no twisting. They are available in 7 lengths from 8” to 49”.

Each pack contains 2 cords, 2 wooden end caps and 1 tightening tool.

These cords will work with your Knitter’s Pride tips and we have been told that they will also work with Lykke needles.

Tape measures are back as well. You can find the cords and tape measures on the website.

I was looking forward to watching the Jays game tonight but it is on Apple TV. The broadcast is painful. No more baseball tonight. 

I forgot that there is another Shift kit online. It was hard to leave the skeins in the store. The middle skein is Bright Idea and I have used it in 4 kits. I think I’m obsessed.

Rain or Shine

Stephen West has entered the sock game. Stephen sent out a newsletter this morning.

The Rain or Shine Socks are here! I'm so excited to introduce you to my venture into sock knitting with a project that is the perfect stash buster for your leftover bits of fingering weight sock yarn. I haven’t knit socks in years, but I discovered the secret key to finishing socks is to use lots of colors so you never get bored. Also, cast on the second sock as soon as you finish the first sock! 

The pattern is inspired by dewy, misty mornings when the sun is just beginning to rise and each slip stitch is like a droplet of glistening rain. These are my scrappy morning socks to wear in the morning while I knit with my pups at home, staring at my woolly colorful feet. The socks are a beginner friendly project as you only have to work with one color at a time, so you can get creative and play with color combinations whilst you knit - will you go for a subtle fade or contrasting color pops? The length of the sock is customizable by knitting more or fewer stripes which means you can knit the perfect fit and style to suit you. I think I’m a Sock Knitter now and it feels so good! What other Westknits socks do you want to see from me?

Enter the discount code “RAINORSHINESOCKS20” when you checkout on my website or on Ravelry to get 20% off my new pattern until the end of the day on Sunday 21st August.

Photos © Stephen West

If you are looking for a solid sock yarn to add to your stash colours we have you covered. I put Lang Jawoll on sale for 10% off from now until a week Saturday.

Jawoll - tried and tested a million times and for many years a sock wool classic - including reinforcement yarn for heels and toes to extend the life of your socks! LANGYARNS JAWOLL is the Rolls Royce of sockyarns. The wool is sourced from Corriedale sheep: for JAWOLL we only use wool of the finest provenance from Chilean Patagonia. During shearing the best parts of the fleece are selected and sorted out. The average thickness, the diameter of the fibre, is just 25 microns (1 micron = 1/1000 mm) so the wool feels very soft and is very comfortable to wear. The Corriedale sheep live all year round in the natural wilds of Patagonia. Because of the scant food supply, their wool remains white and grows to an average staple length of 10cm. This makes it take dye well, the colours are brillant and the finished yarn is highly resistant to pilling (knot forming). In every 50g ball there is a spool of reinforcement yarn for knitting in to strengthen heels and toes. This will increase the lifespan of your socks. Due to the superior quality of the fibres JAWOLL is also excellent for baby or toddler knits and for men's knitwear.

I don’t want to admit it but Beth and I are watching Big Brother again. We got sucked in and can’t stop - it’s that train wreck you can’t walk away from. The good thing is that I don’t have to pay attention. I can knit and listen. Elah is coming out tonight.  

A year ago when Lucy was a lot bigger than Jackson. They still like this at dinner time. 

Flox

I didn’t have time to get a good picture but here are the new Flox tools from Floops. I had another UPS adventure this morning. I saw the truck but he turned away from the store. I jumped in my car and followed him down Wilson Street. I saw him and had to turn around. By the time I got back to where he was, he had moved. After turning around 3 times I finally caught him. If you ordered they have been shipped or you have received a ready for pick up email. We still have stock if you haven’t ordered yet.

Here are a few more colours.

We have some Noro Ito coming tomorrow. FedEx is delivering it so we should be okay. We will finally have the colours for this Nightshift. 

Some nights I’m tired when it’s time to sit down. I need a really easy project so a few balls of Ito came home for a Nightshift. 38 & 27. The Nightshift makes me happy. Noro Ito makes me happy.