Shoes, Roko and something I knit

Roko has an infatuation with the water dish. He loves to play with it, drag it around the kitchen, try to pick it up and nothing is better than getting his feet into it.
























At knitting guild last week a few ladies were making felted mittens. I took the pattern, adjusted it and knit it out of Tussock chunky from Naturally. I still need to felt this-it looks like an oven mitt right now.


I ran to Yorkdale (a huge shopping mall in Toronto) on Monday to get a program for my computer. Of course I had to check out the shoe stores. I finally found something that I like. These are Geox, made in Italy, very comfortable and purple. Can't get any better than this.

Roko

This picture was taken with Photo Booth on my computer. You sit in front of the computer and have your picture taken. I don't have my printer connected to the new computer yet. Once this is done I can download more pictures.

Roko wasn't exactly happy with us for trying to hold his head straight.

In the past week he seems to have given up yarn. Now his love is socks. There are at least 30 dog toys in the apartment but he wants socks!!

Beth and mom are at the airport to pick up dad. They have a bag of sandwiches and treats ready for him. Refried beans at every meal doesn't make him happy.

I saw the spring Rowan last week but have been too busy to comment on it. I did get to see Rowan #41. The sweaters are very 'wearable'. Nothing outlandish. Handknit DK cotton is being used alot in the magazine. I remember there being at least 2 sweaters for men that looked great. Of course I left the notes in the store so I will post these tomorrow.

Progress Made

I finally figured out how to move iTunes to the new computer. Apple won't let you plug your iPod into the new computer and transfer the songs. They figure that you will share the songs with everyone-I guess it's a copyright issue. I had to download my songs onto a flash drive, load them onto the Windows side, copy to the Mac side and then download into iTunes. I now have to plug in my iPod, delete everything from it and then download again.

I also got my Simply Accounting moved over tonight. This is huge because that is the most important thing on my computer.

Tomorrow night will be making the printer work and everything is done!!

If you are thinking of changing to an iMac I would suggest it. Working the Mac and Windows at the same time is great. I would also suggest getting someone to transfer everything over for you!!

I knit about 2 rows on Kilcar today in the store. We received a shipment from Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden so I was busy putting them away. Customers kept coming in as well. I have to chuckle when I am knitting and a customer comes in and says, 'It must be nice to knit all day.' I wish. They are many days when the needles aren't touched.

More computer fun

I am not a stupid person!! I can find my way around a computer!!

That said, I have spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday playing with this thing. It really isn't too bad but there are some things that could have been explained better. When you read some of the books it is like they are written in Chinese.

I couldn't get the internet hooked up for the life of me. It finally hit me that I needed an Ethernet cable which I didn't have. Of course this was Sunday night after everything was closed. I got the cable yesterday morning and right away I was connected. So simple but so hard.

When you buy a new Mac it has something on it called BootCamp so that you can use both Windows and Mac. To switch between the 2 you must restart your computer. I loaded onto the Windows side all the programs I needed, Word, Simply Accounting, my emails-with address book, etc.

I went to Toronto yesterday afternoon to the Apple store and bought the new Parallels program. This lets me run a Windows window while I am working in Mac. No more restarting the computer. Again, the book was helpful but a few more pages would have made everything very simple. I got it all running but had problems with the Windows window. It was taking up most of my screen and I couldn't do anything to make it smaller. After about 2 hours I started playing with every button and it finally worked. Again so simple but so hard. Now that I am running Parallels, I have to reload all my programs into Windows. Wish I had known this Friday night!!

I am writing this post from the Mac site and the window is a bit different. Just above your post there is a tool bar. The Mac toolbar doesn't have everything that the Windows tool bar has. I will be doing most of Blogger on Windows.

All in all, I am liking the new computer. I think it will take some time to adjust to Mac.

Of course, no knitting has been done. No sleep either.

Gotta run and open the store. I could work on this all day!!

iMac

The commercials finally got me!!! I went out on Wednesday night and looked at an iMac. Thursday morning I was back at BestBuy and purchased the iMac with 24" monitor. It is as big as a tv screen!! I have both Windows and Mac software on the computer.

I want to say that all is going well with the switch but there are a few glitches. Hopefully I will work them out tonight and tomorrow. A trip to the Apple store in Toronto on Monday is going to help as well.

• my iPod won't load onto the new computer
• I downloaded our poker account onto the new computer but couldn't remember the password. I sent off an email to get it and my email provider isn't sending it through. Of course you can't phone the poker site. Beth wanted to play this afternoon so there were a few harsh words at our house.
• I have to remember the rest of my passwords as well. Most of them are saved on the other computer so the program or website just opens up.
• I need to find out how to get my email addressed out of Outlook and onto the new computer.
• until I get a program called Parellels, I have to restart the computer to move between Windows and Mac software.
• I am still getting used to the mouse. There isn't a right and left click which is different.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Obviously there will be no knitting done in the next few days. I am almost done the back on Kilcar-should be completed while in the store on Tuesday.

Roko is doing well. He is a clumsy puppy which makes us laugh when watching him play. He can be running along and just fall over.

Puppies need a lot of attention

Things have been very busy in my house. Roko needs to go out every 1/2 hour so there is lots of running up and down the stairs. He can go up the stairs but won't go down. He has to go out at least 3 times during the night so I am a bit sleep deprived. And he really, really likes yarn!!

Wannietta worked in the store on Saturday with her daughter Amanda. She took a couple of pictures of Amanda with Roko.

I haven't picked up my needles in a week but I think I will start back on Kilcar tomorrow in the store.

I forgot to tell you about our shopping trip in the last post. We didn't choose to go over American Thanksgiving-it was the only weekend that worked for everyone. It took 2 hours to cross the border!! A 7.5 hour drive turned into 10 hours. We quickly checked into the hotel and ran to the mall. Cheesecake Factory for dinner and shopping-who would complain about that? The mall opened at 8 am on Saturday morning and we were waiting for the doors to open. The King of Prussia Mall is amazing. Nordstrom, 2 Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, JC Penney and Sears. I got a winter coat and new pair of boots. Just one pair-shoe shopping was actually very disappointing. We got Christmas presents for the kids on our list-thank you Discovery Channel Store. The back of the Expedition was very full on the way home. Luckily the lady at the border didn't ask very many questions and let us go.

Roko comes home

Dad and Beth picked Roko up this morning. So far Melo loves him. They run up and down the hall of our apartment chasing eachother.

Roko slept in his crate this afternoon in the store. Beth had a meeting so I got to babysit. Roko loves yarn-especially the expensive stuff!! Melo had a rest and kept an eye on Roko. Samantha asked where Melo's name comes from. He is named after Carmelo Anthony, a basketball player.

I thought that it was about time to show some knitting. Here is the back of Kilcar. I have about 20 more rows to knit until the armhole shaping.

Dad is leaving in the morning for 2 weeks in Hoduras. This trip is going to be a bit more relaxing than those in the past. They are staying in hotels this time. One Star!! They were told to bring their own linens, the hotels don't have them.

Roko playing

Here is the latest puppy picture. We don't know which one is ours, probably the one on the bottom. His name is going to be Joe Rokocoko. Roko for short. All our dogs are named after athletes and Joe is a rugby player from New Zealand.

Beth will be picking him up on Wednesday night. Wish us luck. He better not like shoes or yarn!!

Knitting Rut

As you can tell from last few posts, I haven't been doing much knitting. A few scarves have been knit but no progress has been made on my sweaters.

With the store being busy there isn't time to knit during the day and at night I am teaching or doing paper work. Also, nothing is calling my name. Sometimes it's like a sweater yelling to me 'KNIT ME' but right now nothing is very interesting.

A lady brought me this flower today. I had never met her before but she calls for advice. She is a senior living in downtown Hamilton and can't get to the store. Her native tongue is Greek and she doesn't always understand knitting patterns-something we all have problems with from time to time. (Don't get me started on pattern writers and their inability to write easy to follow patterns!!) Dad took the flower to mom because Beth and I have absolutely no clue on how to keep a plant alive.

Beth, Bev, Lisa (Bev's daughter-in-law) and I are off to King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania on Friday for a weekend of shopping. When we booked the trip it was the only free weekend-not our choice to be there Thanksgiving Weekend. The mall will be jammed but we will definitely have fun. Luckily the Expedition is big so there will be lots of room for shoe boxes.

I won't get another post done before we go away. Have a great weekend!!

American Thanksgiving

This was sent to Beth by one of friends in the US. They are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend so she wanted to know if she should set her table the same way.

My mother taught me to read when I was four years old (her first
mistake). One day, I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet
doors was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother
why she was keeping 'napkins' in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in
the kitchen? Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts, she told
me that those were for "special occasions" (her second mistake).

Now fast forward a few months....It's Thanksgiving Day, and my
folks are leaving to pick up my uncle and his wife for dinner. Mom had
assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the
table.

When they returned, my uncle came in first and immediately burst
into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next
came my father, who roared with laughter! Then came Mom, who almost died
of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a
"special occasion" Kotex napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully
arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tail in so they didn't
hang off the edge!!

My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response
sent the other adults into further fits of laughter. "But, Mom, you said
they were for special occasions!!!"

Isn't it easier to just tell the truth????????? Pass this on to
your girlfriends who need a good laugh.

Ruffles scarf is done

I finished the scarf this afternoon. Everyone was going crazy for it. If I was to show you a ball of the yarn you wouldn't look twice at it but when knit and on a person it looks amazing.

When you lay the yarn open it looks like a knit piece of fabric with a right side and wrong side. This is important when knitting-you have the right side facing which makes the ruffles lie like they do.

Here is a picture of me knitting the scarf. It shows how you stab through the yarn and don't wrap the yarn around your needle.

I started another Loopa scarf on the smaller frame. This shows how you are wrapping the yarn around and catching with a thin yarn. Once you reach the top you stitch through the catching yarn and this holds the loops into place. I am using Trendsetter Checkmate. Checkmate alternates between a bright nylon checkerboard that changes into a flat matte’ Nylon ribbon. When the yarn is dyed, the flat ribbon bulks up and the open checkerboard opens out creating a subtle thick and thin against a bright and matte yarn

Korey has gotten creative with the website. In the news section he is now showing pictures with the information on new kits and yarn. He even has it linked so you can click on the news section and it will take you to the appropriate page. This will make it much easier for you to see what is new.

The new Opal sock yarn arrived this afternoon. The colours are wild. If you are looking to make some colourful socks, the new collection is for you.

A fun Thursday evening

It was another busy day in the store. I am into the second ball on my ruffles scarf-sorry, no pictures. I promise tomorrow. Phyllis worked on the scarf during class for me-thanks. Will help get it done quicker.

Speaking of class-I didn't mention that last week Phyllis made us chocolate cheesecake muffins. She owns a cooking store in Dundas called The Keeping Room and has some great recipes. We were going to get chocolate chip muffins tonight but the ingredients weren't at room temperature-who knew there was a difference?

Beth brought Mom to see the store around 3:30 and there was an SUV parked next door at the variety store. Didn't think much of it until 5:30 when it was still there. The car had been running the whole time and the person inside was talking on a cell phone. When I came downstairs for class at 7 it was still there but the man looked to be sleeping. When class was done at 9 he was still there. I was a bit freaked out so Beth called the police. 2 police cars came and they woke the man and had him come out of the car with his hands in the air. After putting him in the back of one car they searched his SUV for about 1/2 hour. After an hour a man showed up who the police talked to and an ambulance showed up. After talking with the police for a bit the new man took the sleeping man away with him. Curiousity was killing us so Beth went out to talk with the police. The man is an alcoholic and his wife kicked him out yesterday. The police found him at 4am this morning, drunk, in his car just down the road from us. They knew him, said he was a good guy going through a rough time. He drank 2 mickeys this afternoon when he was sitting in his car. Thank goodness he fell asleep and didn't drive!!

How about Survivor tonight? The twists this season are great. Atiu is looking really strong-both mentally and physically. Thank goodness for a satellite dish. I am watching CSI for the second time tonight-missed most of it the first time with all the excitement.

Still not much knitting

Today is my parents 43rd wedding anniversary. My dad says my mom has had 40 good years and he has had 3.

The batteries are recharged on my Energizer Bunny and she was back to work today. We cleaned out around a book shelf in the front room which has become a gathering spot for junk. 4 garbage bags later, all the books are neatly on the shelf.

We have a yarn in the store called Solo from ON Line. It is used to make a really cool ruffled scarf but I haven't knit with it yet so I decided to try in last week. Because the book was written in another language and translated to English the instructions are not the easiest to follow. Luckily my best friend Bev works for the mill that makes the yarn and she knit the original scarf that everyone is now using in their pattern books. After I recieved her instructions yesterday I started knitting. The yarn looks like a knit piece of fabric. You don't knit in the traditional way (wrapping the yarn around the knitting needle) you are putting your needle through the yarn and pulling through the stitch on your needle. This sounds difficult but once you see it done it is so simple and the finished product is amazing. I am about 1/4 of the way through the scarf-hope to have a picture of mine tomorrow.

No Knitting

I accomplished absolutely no knitting over the weekend.

Sarah and I were very busy in the store on Saturday. We had lots of new customers in, some who have been reading about the store on my blog. Don't let anyone tell you that scarves are out. We had many customers in who were buying scarf yarn for themselves and for Christmas gifts.

The website has many new additions.

• New Opal sock yarn called Hundertwasser Collection
  
• Debbie Bliss' Donegal Tweed magazine and Chunky Donegal Tweed yarn
• Kits from Rowan magazine 40
• Namaste Knitting Bags
• Nicky Epstein Felted Bag kits
• Jordana Paige Knitting Bags
• New Chris Bylsma patterns

I kept Korey (who maintains the site for me) very busy over the weekend.

I am now off to the grocery store. Mom and Dad are on their way home from Myrtle Beach and we like to have the house stocked for them. I do a much better job than Beth-she spends about $75 where I spend around $200.

The Batteries Died

My Energizer Bunny hit the wall this afternoon. She moved and swept and restocked the shelves but by 5 she was so tired that she had to go home. To top it off she was up at 5 this morning so she baked Beth and I a batch of chocolate chip muffins. Cathy, the store looks amazing and the muffins taste great. The Rowan Room looks twice the size now that everything has moved.

This is a fun boa I knit holding Baby Monkey with 2 other yarns. It looks like a fur collar when you are wearing it. The jacket is from Debbie Bliss' original Tweed Magazine. I have one sleeve and the back 1/2 done on mine (in chocolate brown) but it has been put away for a while. I am not the biggest fan of ribbing-probably because mine isn't perfect. Just a note about Debbie's new Donegal Tweed Aran-it is exactly the same as Tahki's Donegal Tweed-made in the same mill.

I am off to knitting class. Last week we had milk and cookies. No joke. Kelley brought chocolate chip cookies and Lynn brought milk (white and chocolate). I can't wait to see what goodies we might have this week.

The 'Neat Freak' Strikes Again

Cathy worked with me again today in the store. We have almost everything moved. She is coming back tomorrow and we should have the rest of the store done. Her OCD kicks in when there are things to be rearranged. She can't stop until it is done. I had to make her sit and eat her lunch around 2.

It is amazing how much space there is in the store when it is tidy!!

I don't have much knitting to report. I am working on the back of Kilcar-20 rows done and I need 80 to the armhole shaping.

New Puppy

Melo is getting a sibling at the beginning of December. Here are the 3 eligible candidates. We aren't sure which is coming to live with us but they are all really cute!!! Beth has been out to play with them twice.

I am supposed to be at Guild tonight. Sorry ladies, just not feeling well. I am back to teaching 3 nights a week as well as 5 or 6 days in the store. Just need a night on the couch resting.

The new Jordana Paige bags arrived today. Awesome. The new tweed Messenger Bag is amazing. The picture doesn't show the true colours. The plaid is purple, red and gold.

Rearranging Day

I decided that it was time to rearrange the store. Cathy (a total neat freak) came in today to help me. Sorry Wannietta but she might be even worse than you. She begged to do the back room next week!!

I forgot to get a picture of the store at it's worst but this will show you some of the damage we did today. We threw everything into the middle of the store and started working out. There were baskets of yarn everywhere!!

The baby yarn section has been redone as well as the corner by the mohair. The Fiesta yarns are now hanging showing off their amazing colours. Tomorrow Sarah and I are going to tackle the front window where the Trendsetter is. I needed more shelves so off to Ikea I went after work. Nothing worse than going on a Friday night.

I haven't shown pictures of Melo lately. He posed yesterday while in the store. His mauve sheep makes noises which keeps him happy.

Moebius Update

After reading some of your comments yesterday and today I noticed that I didn't tell you what yarns I used. A few people said that they liked the first one better-I do too.

The first one used Trendsetter Pandora Shadow. There are actually 3 yarns within the yarn. The yarns change much like the colours change in Noro.

The second one is out of Trendsetter Tiffany. The yarn has metallic running through it giving it a nice shine.

Dad made it safely back to Myrtle Beach. He called at 9 this morning to make sure I was up for work-I think it was to gloat on the fact that it was already 65 degrees there.

Beth's day wasn't as good. It was snowing in Fort McMurray this morning-she was happy for her ski jacket.

Melo didn't enjoy being a store dog today. Most people loved talking and playing with him but a few were put off. I put him on his leash and attached it to a chair. He can move around enough but he couldn't go greet them. He is standing beside me now with a toy saying 'Please come play with me. I had a hard day!!' I am off to the living room floor. He loves it when you lay down and he can run around and over you. This lasts about 5 minutes and then he goes to play by himself. You are uncomfortable on a hard floor but he is extremely happy.

Moebius Crazy

I am teaching a workshop in the store on Cat Bordhi's Moebius Cast On so I decided that I should be able to do it in my sleep. Over the past 3 days I have finished two of them. Once you figure out the cast on they are so easy to make. The biggest problem is figuring out how many stitches to cast on. The answer is-read the chart in Cat's book a Treasury of Magical Knitting.

Here is a picture of Lizard Ridge blocked with a few squares sewn together. I haven't worked on the squares in a while but will get back to them soon.

Dad is in the air on the way back to Myrtle Beach. I am not sure if mom will be happy about this. She has had a quiet house for a couple of days. When my dad is awake he is constantly in motion. It can become very tiring to be around him.

Beth is at the airport on her way to Calgary. Tomorrow she flies to Fort McMurray and then they will be driving further north to the oil sands on construction business for my dad. It's just me and Melo for a couple of days!!

Pictures for Mom

My dad is home from Myrtle Beach for a couple of days to attend some business meetings. Mom stayed in Myrtle with the dogs. We have a rule that she must call when she leaves the house and again when she returns. This way we can keep track of her!!! Dad will see the truck tonight at dinner but mom won't see it for a couple more weeks so here are some pictures for her.

If you look at it by itself it looks white but if it is sitting beside a white car, you can see that it is the colour of white chocolate.
One really cool thing is that the back door can be opened with the key fob. You press a button and it opens up-great for when your hands are full.
I couldn't get too close for pictures of the front because I drove it to Toronto today. I have a bit of a lead foot so there are a few bugs splattered on the front-it is going to have its first car wash tomorrow morning.

Not much knitting to report. Just working on my Noro sweater-mindless work in stocking stitch.

Lots of pictures and amazing news!!

I have been busy trying to get the store back in order after the CreativFestival. Cathy worked while I was away and did wonders straightening the shelves. Cathy is a neat freak and hates to see balls of yarn out of order. Classes resumed this week which didn't leave me much time for writing.

Jane Ellison was in the store on Wednesday teaching a workshop. I forgot to take a picture of Jane but here are some of the students working with the Noro yarns.

We received new colours of Noro Transitions in the store a few weeks ago and I have been trying to decide what I was going to knit. I decided on Holly from the cover of Jane's book Naturally Noro. I am using colour 22. So far I have finished one sleeve and am half way up the back.

Unfortunately we received another yarn that I had to knit with. Debbie Bliss has brought out a new yarn called Donegal Tweed Chunky with a new book. I am knitting the cover sweater called Kilcar in the chocolate brown (colour 3). I knit the sleeve in 2 days so the jacket should go quickly.

Yesterday morning I received a phone call from the Ford dealership. MY TRUCK ARRIVED!!! I picked it up after work today. My mom and dad are in Myrtle Beach and when I talked to mom tonight her first question was 'When are you going to get pictures on the blog?' I told her that unfortunately it was dark and rainy here so they won't be up until tomorrow. The colour is amazing. Someone tried to convince the dealership to let them buy it yesterday.

I lived through the CreativFestival

Just a quick note to say that I made it through the CreativFestival. This is 5 long days (4 for the show and one setting up) of commuting to Toronto. The show went well and we got our name out to lots of people who didn't know we existed.

Congratulations to Wannietta who won the title again as 'Canada's Fastest Knitter'. She really killed the competition.

I spent this morning making our class schedule for November. Tonight I am going to start knitting a Moebius. Since I am going to teach Cat Bordhi's cast on I should know how to do it in my sleep.

There is still no sign of my Expedition. Over the weekend I put nearly 1000 km on the loaner!! I don't think they are going to be happy.

I have a vehicle

This is a wild scarf I made yesterday afternoon while watching football. It is made using a 'Loopa'-something new from Sirdar. It is a small frame that makes the great loops. No knitting required. I used Yosemite from Trendsetter and the scarf took 2 skeins.

I have a vehicle. Not my vehicle but a brand new Expedition to drive until mine arrives. It has all the toys that mine has so I am getting to play.

This is the map on the navigation system pointing me to home.

This is the Sirius satellite radio-tuned to the '80s station of course.

Lizard Ridge has been put on hold for a bit. 7 squares are complete but 1 won't work in the finished afghan. The colours are too pale and it looks out of place with the others. I steam blocked one square last night and it is lying perfectly flat. The others will be done tonight and sewn together so I can show what it looks like so far.

I have been busy getting ready for the CreativFestival this weekend in Toronto. I haven't done the show in a few years so it will be interesting to see what sells. If you are at the show, please stop by. I am in booth 729/731 with Village Yarns.

Saturday night Beth and I went to the Leaf game with our friend Andrea. The game was good except the wrong team won!! It is unbelievable how expensive everything is at the ACC. A medium draft beer was $9. A Smirnoff Ice was $7.25. I can buy a case of 4 for $8 at the liquor store!!

Lizard Ridge

I am finished 4 squares and the 5th is almost done. So far I have ripped out one finished square because the colours didn't work out. Now I am going to rip out half a square because there was a knot in the ball. Of course they didn't join the same colour!! For those of you who know me I don't like to rip out.

If you are working on Lizard Ridge here is another tip. Roll the balls before you start. I am going to roll 2 small balls and this way I will find any knots and can adjust the colours accordingly.

How about the baseball playoffs? The Yankees are out!! I always root for the underdog and whoever is playing the Yankees. Maybe George will learn that you can't buy a winner.

I have decided to do the CreativFestival in Toronto at the end of the month. You might know this as the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival-they have changed the name to allow more crafts into it. I haven't done the show in many years but with all the new knitters out there it is important to let them know about my store.

Jane Ellison will be teaching in the store after the Festival (Wednesday October 25). So far she hasn't given me a description of her workshop so I sent her a proposal.

A workshop about working with self-striping yarns

-how Jane comes up with your ideas for a sweater and deciding which yarn to use

-what stitches look good in a yarn-we could have balls of Noro there for people to play with and do different stitch patterns, for example some lace, cables, knit and purl patterns

-talk about felting the Noro yarns

Done

Color on the Side is finished. I have even sewn in all the ends!!! I will take a picture of Sarah wearing the jacket on Saturday-it looks much better on a human.

Here are a few of my squares for Lizard Ridge. I have the pattern memorized so I am a bit bored with it. Luckily every square is a different colour to keep me interested. I have decided to use any colour that includes browns or greys.

Off to another night of knitting class. Then Survivor!!

New Project

You are probably saying that I mentioned a new project a few days ago. I am not knitting the Jane Ellison sweater-Jane is going to knit it for me.

Color on the Side is almost done. I was finishing the sleeve last night and ran out of yarn. It is a long way to the yarn store (okay, just downstairs) but I didn't feel like going so I set it aside. Hopefully tomorrow. Here is a picture as I was starting the sleeve.


This is my latest project. You can find the pattern at knitty.com. It is called Lizard Ridge and I am using Noro Kureyon but in earth tones instead of the bright colours. You knit 24 squares and sew them together. The square is knit from both ends of the ball to give the striping pattern.

I had to rip out my first square after it was finished. One thing the pattern doesn't state is that you need to make sure that you don't have both ends starting with the same colour. There is more yarn in a ball than needed to make a square so you can cut away some at one end so that your striping works out. You need to be careful if you are going to do this. The pattern calls for 21 balls but I would suggest 24 and then you don't have to worry about the striping. Another word of caution about the pattern. You are doing wrap and turns (not my favourite because they never look neat). The pattern reads

Working Wraps Together with Wrapped Stitches:
Work the "wraps" at the turning points of the short rows, together with the stitches they wrap, as follows:
When working a RS row: Knit to wrapped stitch. Slip next stitch from left needle to right needle (ADD-LIKE A PURL), use tip of left needle to pick up "wrap" and place it on right needle, insert left needle into both wrap and stitch, and knit them together.
When working a WS row: Purl to wrapped stitch. Slip next stitch from left needle to right needle (ADD-LIKE A KNIT), use tip of left needle to pick up "wrap" and place it on right needle, slip both wrap and stitch back to left needle, purl together through back loops.

We had a very long weekend with little sleep. At 3am Sunday morning I heard a huge crash. I ran for the phone and was dialing 911 while looking out our front window. Someone wrapped their mini-van around a tree across from our house. Beth went to see if the person was alright-I couldn't go because I don't do blood well. The man was alert and Beth talked to him until the police/ambulance/fire trucks arrived. They had to totally cut the mini-van up to get him out. First the doors, then the sides then the roof. They took the seats out and then slid him on a spine board. From the time I dialed the phone until he was in an ambulance took 2 hours. It was another hour before the tow truck left and had the road cleaned up. I got back to sleep around 7am and slept until football-not a good subject-our fantasy team SUCKED this week.

Off to watch Vanished, CSI Miami and the football game.

Quick post

I wrote a long post yesterday but for some reason Blogger isn't showing it. I am hoping that by making a quick post, no pictures, yesterday's will show up.

I am finished knitting Color on the Side. I am now doing the edging and should have that done tomorrow.

Off to knitting guild.

Sports Celebrity Dinner

My dad will be going to Honduras again in December for another mission trip. To raise money for the people in Honduras the group holds a Sports Celebrity Dinner which we attended last night. There is a silent auction before dinner and following dinner there is an auction plus guest speaker. This year the speaker was Jesse Barfield. Remember back to the '80s Toronto Blue Jays and you will find Jesse roaming right field. Other guests at the dinner were Damon Allen (QB for the Toronto Argos), Perdita Felician (Canadian track start) plus members of the Toronto Argos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and former Toronto Maple Leafs.

Members of my family (sister, father, my dad's cousin) as well as friends got into the spirit of the auction. Beth won the auction for an autographed Damon Allen shirt as well as a football autographed by the whole Argos team. She also won the auction for the Jesse Barfield signed shirt and bat. My name is on the shirt and hers is on the bat. I can't list everything dad got at the silent auction but lets say the people in Honduras will benefit greatly.

Both Jesse and Damon are amazing people who took the time to talk with anyone who approached them. They stayed right until the end, leaving after almost everyone else had left.

We rushed out of there to catch Survivor at 11 from the west coast. More twists in the game. The new tribes are going to be interesting. Why do they have to make alliances so early? This usually blows up in their faces later on. Haven't they watched previous seasons to know this?

I am making progress with my knitting. Partway down the sleeve-I hope the store is slow today so I can finish by tonight!!

Very busy Sunday

Yesterday was spent sitting, knitting and watching tv. The Ryder Cup started at 7am. It finished just in time for Nascar and football. The evening finished with the Amazing Race and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

The Ryder Cup was amazing. I am happy any time that Tiger loses. Football wasn't so great. We are probably going to lose this week at Fantasy Football. I hate losing!!!

As always, there are some real idiots on The Amazing Race. Do you really think it works to yell at your girl friend? Is it going to make her move faster?

We missed the first week of Studio 60 but it didn't affect us knowing what was going on in the show. I would suggest watching the show-it kept me interested for 60 minutes and I can get bored easily.

Here is Color on the Side. I am over 1/2 way done. The first picture shows the colours very well. The darker picture is the sleeve and front, the back is done and lying behind the front. I am now working on the other side and will be working down the sleeve by tonight.

Another good night of tv. Vanished is a must see show. Then the season premier of CSI:Miami. I didn't watch this at the beginning (not a fan of David Carruso) but am now totally into the show. It helps that there are reruns on all the time!!

The store is almost back in order which means that I have to start moving things around again. We just received our fall shipment of Louisa Harding yarns. She has 4 new books and 2 new yarns. The Noro also arrived. Well, the books came and a few new colours. There is a new yarn called Silk Mountain. There are great patterns but unfortunately only one colour arrived.

Off to knit. I want to get the jacket done so that I can start something for myself. This is the cover sweater (mine will be a touch longer though) from the new Jane Ellison book Noro Unlimited. Jane will be in the store on Wednesday October 25 doing a workshop and it would be nice to be wearing one of her designs . You can read more about Jane on her website.

Also, before I go-Happy Birthday Wannietta!!!

Color on the side

I have most of the store in order so I sat and knit today. I really want to get this jacket done. I think it will take 13 balls and I am on ball #4. I used the provisional cast on when adding the body stitches. When done I can put the stitches back on a needle and do a 3 needle bind off for the side seams-much easier.

The colours are a bit brighter in person than they show here.

There is still no sign of my Expedition. Ford is now searching for it. How do you lose an SUV? I have decided that I am giving them until a week Monday. If it isn't here by then I am going to pick a different vehicle (not from Ford).