Special visitor

There was more rearranging today because we received a big shipment from Naturally yesterday.  I have almost everything where it needs to go.  I was all set to put it in today's post but now I have pictures of something better so there will be yarn pictures tomorrow.

I also started a newsletter.  Hopefully it will be ready to go out on Monday.

Jan and Hannah visited today from Niagara.  We normally don't have dogs in the store but it was so hot out that I couldn't let Hannah stay in the car.  

She came in to lay on the tile floor and was very happy.

What a beautiful dog!!

Ms. Canada Post came in with a parcel from Ann. Here is Ayako (a KnitWhits pattern) finished.  Fabulous.  The colours of Noro Silk Garden show up so well in this design.

My knitting is not progressing as fast as I would like it to. Wild Saffron stays in the store but there hasn't been any store knitting this week. The Malthese Shawl is at home but the rows are getting very long. This weekend will be spent knitting or I won't meet my deadline.

Post take two

I started a post this morning and have been adding to it all day.  Big problem with that.  Every time I left the post and came back the layout got messed up. By the end I had pictures overlapping pictures and pictures overlapping text. What a mess. I then tried copying some of my text into a new post. That didn't work so I hit delete and am starting again. I guess someone was trying to tell me that what I was doing wasn't very good and it should be thrown out.

Not much knitting was accomplished last night because a little thing called a nap got in my way.  I was so tired when I got home from work that there was no way I could keep my eyes open to knit.  After the nap I got back to my shawl.  Eight and a half repeats are now complete.

Ms. UPS came in this afternoon with a box from Rowan and in the box was the new Rowan Studio 19.

Rowan Studio 19 by Grace Melville is inspired by the fresh pastal shades seen up and down the Spring Summer 2010 catwalks. Light weight, floaty layers in sherbet shades and lace are this issues key themes, created in Kidsilk haze and Siena.

There are some really cute designs in the book.  I am on my way home and will not be adding any pictures until I get there.  No more messing up!!

When I got home from work Beth had already started dinner.  Thank you very much!!  Now I can start adding the pictures-my fingers are crossed that it goes better this time.

Two pictures are added and I can see trouble ahead.  All was good until I started adding captions to the photos.  I am about to add the third one and now my toes are crossed along with my fingers.

Bag things are happening again so I am taking out the captions. The pictures did not go back to where they belong and the process to make it right is very long so I am leaving them where they are hoping that you can read everything that I have written.  If words are missing please don't worry.  There wasn't anything important.  :)

Preview

Deep Taupe Vegan Snakeskin

I have carried Jordana Paige bags in the store for a few years and am excited to tell you about a new bag coming out this fall.

The bag is called L.J. Kaelms.  I will have to find out what the name means.

From Jordana's website

Features

• • Row of eight pockets for tools and needles.
• • Three credit card slots.
• • Small zippered pocket.
• • Key loop.
• • Large zippered pocket divider.
• • Two circlets™ to prevent your yarn from tangling.
• • Two yarn pockets below each circlet™.
• • Removable zipper pouch.
• • Large zippered pocket.
• • Two shoulder straps with shoulder drop of 9.5".
• • Feet on bottom.
• • L 11" x W 7.5" x H 12"
• • PVC.

Colors

• • Deep Taupe Vegan Snakeskin
• • Teal Blue Vegan Snakeskin
• • Deep Red Vegan Pebbled Leather
• • Lucky Green Vegan Pebbled Leather

Lucky Green Vegan Pebbled Leather

The bags have been ordered and will be in the store mid-October.  Just in time for Christmas.

Teal Blue Vegan Snakeskin

Deep Red Vegan Pebbled Leather

Felted Tweed Aran and Colourscape Chunky

When dad was in the store on Saturday measuring up for the new shelves I mentioned that I wanted to change how we displayed sweaters in the Rowan Room. There is a large wall at the top of the stairs but we aren't using it well. Now there are many sweaters hanging and I like it.

I have been using Blogger for a while but today was the first day that I noticed 'add a caption' to a picture.  Cool.

There are many boxes going out tomorrow including yarn for Wannietta and Lynda.  New garments for the Knitter's Fair because I don't have enough new for the booth.

I am heading home now and getting the needles out.  There is still knitting to be done on Malthese and the deadline is looming.

Another day on the course

A holiday Monday can only mean one thing-a game of golf. Beth and I went out with our friends Cam and John.  Beth's course was having Club Championship (she decided to pass on playing in it this year) so we went to Copetown Woods.

It was a very good golf day for me.  I beat Beth-something that has only happened once before.  It sounds very good except for the fact that I played from the ladies tees and she played from the mens but I am still taking the win!!!

I had a very bad dream this morning. We had to cancel Knitting Camp this fall. Bayview-Wildwood was redecorating the dining room and we had no where to eat. Boy did I wake up in a cold sweat.

My knitting progressed nicely yesterday.  The Malthese shawl has eight rows of flowers complete and I am part way into the ninth.  Must knit faster!!

The stress has started

Being the Saturday of a holiday weekend the store will either be crazy busy or very slow.  Thankfully it was crazy busy yesterday.  I had to keep apologizing for the mess but it should be gone soon!!  I did get time to work on the Silk Garden-it is in a new home and in numerical order.

Dad made many visits to the store as well.  He collected all my empty cardboard boxes, took many boxes of tent sale yarn and helped me measure up for some new cabinets.

Last night was spent knitting.  There are only 54 sleeps until the knitting retreat.  Thanks Tamara for bringing that up.  And now I just counted on the calendar and it looks like 42 sleeps until the Knitter's Fair. Holy Cow!!  I'm not ready.  I have two projects that need to be finished by then.  I haven't even thought of what will be in my booth.  Now the stress has started.

So, I have to get knitting.  Friday night I got knitting and then realized it was 1am.  I needed to stop and get to sleep because I was working the next day but the knitting mojo was going good.

The last time I measured 15" was finished on Wild Saffron.  The sleeves are part of the body so I am now increasing for the sleeve shaping.

Last night I worked on the Malthese Shawl.  Flower #8 is almost done.

The new Twist Collective is now up.  This is an online knitting magazine with many amazing patterns that you can purchase.
Here are the patterns that interest me
hallet's ledge
hawthorne
red oak
hazelwood

There are many more exciting patterns but I had to stop myself.  :)

Rearranging again

I am still working away rearranging the store.  How am I going to fit the new colours of Cascade 220 and 220 Heathers on the shelves?  Noro Silk Garden doesn't look good where it is so it needs a new home.  There are still new yarns coming from Naturally next week that need to go somewhere. And I haven't even thought about Sirdar, Debbie Bliss or the new Noro yarns.

Dyed Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas has been moved into the Worsted/Aran weight room.  This makes sense since the yarn is Aran weight.  :)

When you walk in the front door the Spud & Chloe Sweater is right in front of you.

I still love the look of this jacket.

Beside the Sweater is a few garments from Berroco-both in Blackstone Tweed. The vest on the left is the new Chunky. The cardigan on the right and the cable scarf (Dryad) are both the Aran weight.

The Christel Seyfarth Kits and Kauni yarn both needed a home. The kits were on the floor and I was afraid that the packaging was going to be ruined.  Kauni was in garbage bags by the book shelf.  Now they are inside the front door.

Make sure you stop by at the Knitter's Fair.  We should have four of the Christel Seyfarth garments on display.  I am saying should just in case they don't make it from the US in time.

A couple of days ago I thought that it would look neat to take large glass vases and fill them with yarn.  Last night Beth and I were out so we stopped at Pier 1 to find some. They didn't have what I wanted so we went to Home Sense.  They had two that weren't exactly what I wanted but would work for a trial.

This is Trendsetter's Victory.  It looks cool but the display will be better when I get a different mannequin for the shrug.

Here is the really large vase holding Naturally's Vero Tweed.  I must say that I really like the looks of this.  The glare in the picture isn't helping but when you come in the store you will agree with me.  :)

Someone mentioned yesterday that it must be hard to work in the store right now.  There is so much new yarn and how do I choose what to knit with.

This reminded me of a story from when we first opened.  I was in university studying accounting and was about to write a major accounting exam.  My mom made me stay home from the store on a Saturday to study.  She called home in the afternoon and my dad said he was busy helping me wind yarn. Mom blew her top.  I was supposed to be studying and not starting a new project.  It wasn't my fault though-the new Rowan had come in the day before!!!

Camp

I am spending the morning working on Knitting Camp. Class confirmations are going out and then I need to figure out the homework for each class.

Jared and I had a nice long talk yesterday.  We talked about homework, class requirements, garments and his plane ticket.

Now I need to start contacting my great distributors for
-sample garments
-door prizes
-goodie bag treats

Beth and I have started working on the Thursday night 'game'.  This is a fun night where everyone gets to meet.  In the past we have played 'Knitting Beat the Clock' and 'Family Feud'.

We are also thinking about the 'treat' of the weekend.  Last year we did a cookie exchange in honour of Cookie.  What do we do this year for Jared?

If you are interested in Camp there are still a few spots left. Don't miss out on a great weekend.  No cooking.  No cleaning.  Lots of knitting.  How can that be bad??

Yak

I was looking online to find information on the Debbie Bliss Fall 2010 knitting magazine.  I couldn't find anything but did find the pictures for one of her new knitting books that I didn't know about.  Hopefully this book will be arriving soon!!

A Tweed Story.  There really can't be enough tweed sweaters in my closet.

Cabled Coat knit in Luxury Tweed Aran

Pleated Jacket knit in Luxury Tweed Aran

As I was writing this Mr. FedEx came with a shipment of yarns including a new Lang Yarn called Yak.

50% Yak and 50% Extra Fine Merino
130m on a 50gram ball
Aran weight (18 stitches to 4")

YUM!!!

Here are the shades that we have received.

Yak-Wikipedia

Now I am home and finishing my post. Beth is yelling at me to get upstairs because she wants to watch Big Brother.

Wild Saffron

I have been running around the store with a tape measure for the past hour. It would be better if I had a measuring tape that goes longer than 60" and isn't cloth!!  I am hoping to hit my dad with my wish list for new shelves while he is tired and doesn't remember what he agrees to.  :)

In the newsletter that I sent out yesterday I talked about Renew from Rowan. Here is the poster for the Purelife Autumn magazine.

This is Wild Saffron.

I am enjoying knitting with Renew.  What?

I have been holding out on you.  Friday night a bag of yarn and the new Purelife Autumn magazine went home with me.

I am onto my fourth ball of yarn and just started the yoke pattern.  The stitch pattern (16 rows) is interesting but not hard.

Have you been watching this season of Big Brother?  It is truly amazing-we are on season 12 and people still have no clue how to play the game.  This is how I would play the game which we know isn't going to happen because I am way too emotional.  I would be that girl who cries every show.  Why does that girl go on the show?

-Spend 10 minutes a day with each of the other contestants.  Play a game (checkers, cards or shoot a game of pool), help with a meal or talk but get to know everyone in the house.

-Hang out with the masses.  Don't hide in your room when everyone else is sitting outside.

-Don't make an alliance until later in the show.  Just fly under the radar being friendly to everyone.

-Don't be the person who runs to the Head of Household making suggestions on who to put up for elimination.

-Go with the majority.  If everyone is voting out Susie then I would vote her out as well.

-Do not get involved with someone else on the show.

More Christel Seyfarth kits

It is another beautiful day outside and for a while it looked like there would be golf in the near future.  Unfortunately Beth has two shipments arriving today (one from New Zealand and the other from England) so she has to be in the warehouse to meet the trucks.

My morning is scheduled with errands-post office, bank and then I am off to the hair dresser.

I am finally home and it is 4:30 in the afternoon.  After the post office/bank and before the hair dresser I took Beth lunch.  With many, many boxes arriving today I figured she wouldn't have time to run out.

Mom and dad are arriving home from Myrtle Beach tonight which means that someone had to run to the grocery store.  That someone was me.  They have been on the road since 5am which means two very tired people.  Dad drives the whole way so he really doesn't want to run out when he gets home.  While I was doing their shopping I did some for us as well.  I ran our groceries home and then off to mom and dad's.  While there I watered the flowers and got the house ready for their return.  It is necessary to butter them up because I need dad to do some work in the store for me this week.  :)

Then it was off to the store to pick up my mail and while there Ms. Post Office came with a parcel.  More Christel Seyfarth kits.

The kits are now being packed in boxes with a plastic cover.  I had to take the plastic off for the picture because there was a bad glare.

This is the yarn for the Beach Rose Shawl.

The colours in the kit are beautiful.

There could be another kit in my future?!?

And it looks even better in a close up.

There were four other kits in the box
-Flower Power Coat
-Bird Jacket
-Large Poppy Shawl
-Bon Bon Shawl

Now I need to finish my list of chores (some are still from last Monday) including doing my GST.

Kinda worked

So the experiment worked but a few things need to be figured out.

The pictures aren't where I put them but at least I can now add pictures while away.

Unfortunately you can't preview before publishing. I think I know a way around that but it is a lot of steps.

For now I will be happy with what I have. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Trying out something

I was going to have a nap but the neighbours are having a pool party. There is so much noise you would think that there were hundreds of people in their back yard.
At least the music is good right now.

I brought my iPad outside to play. I have been searching the app store and now have an app for blogging.




It is supposed to be easier than doing a post in Safari and I am supposed to be able to add pictures. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures on my iPad so I had to go with what was there.



Now the next decision is dinner!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

More Rowan

The weather today is much better.  The back door is open and the dogs are running around outside.

I am sitting at the breakfast bar, watching the Nascar race and working on the website.  On the Featured Patterns page I have been adding garments from Rowan 48.  This shows the yarn used and the quantities required.

As you can tell I am very excited about this book.  We are getting back to the roots of Rowan.  Lots of colour and texture.

Drifter designed by Erika Knight knit in Cocoon.

There are a lot of designs for men in the new book.  The great thing about these designs is that a woman could easily wear them as well.

Trekker.  A great Martin Storey design in Felted Tweed Chunky.

In Rowan 48 there is an interview with Martin Storey. He talks about his upcoming book Nordic Knits which should be available in October.

Felted Tweed Chunky was introduced last year but there was only one pattern for the yarn. This fall we have many great patterns using it.

Here is Explorer from Erika Knight.

Marie Wallin's Hobo in Felted Tweed Chunky.

Roamer (Marie Wallin in Felted Tweed Chunky) - The more I look at this the more I like it.

Lynda and Rhonda-please get your sweaters done quickly because I need some sweaters from the new books.

I am going to continue adding patterns this week while I am in the store.  There are still garments from Winter Drift and Purelife Autumn to be added.

My fingers are itching to get back to knitting but I think there might be a nap in the near future.  Last night was very late.  Knitting and catching up on TV-mostly the Y&R.  Cricket is back and is annoying as always.  Sorry-I have never been a fan of Cricket.

Very excited about Big Brother tonight.  Who is going to win HOH?  I still haven't decided who I want to win.  Every time I think that I have picked a person to root for they do or say something that changes my mind.

Rowan Room

I am still working on getting the Rowan Room into shape with all the new yarn.  Today's task was working on Big Wool and the new Drift.

The front window is their new home.  The yarn is interchangeable so it is better if it all lives together.  If it is all together it makes it easier to find as well. New concept we are going to try.  :)

There are now many boxes of yarn for the tent sale.  Not sure where it is going until the sale-right now it is in the middle of the Rowan Room.

I am making my way to the couch to knit and watch some Y&R-I need to find out why Cricket is back!!

Rearranging again

I am sitting at the kitchen counter trying to work.  I could be doing the parcels for the post office.  Or I could be updating the website.  Instead I am looking at my supplier's website to find the new colours of fall Noro and I found more pictures from the upcoming books.  I don't know when these will be arriving but my guess will be the beginning of August.

From Noro's magazine 28, knit in Kureyon Sock.

Very lightweight and extremely cute.

Kogarashi is a new yarn for fall. Again, we haven't been given a delivery date on this yarn but I am hoping sometime in August.

51% silk and 49% wool.

The recommended needles are 5mm-6mm.  Not a light sweater but not bulky either.  Just perfect for a fall day outside.

I showed some pictures from Jenny Watson's new book a few weeks ago.  Here is another one.

Very cute tunic knit in Silk Garden Sock.

It is many hours since I started my post. The day has been busy in the store-many customers as well as moving things around.  Trying to make all the new Rowan fit has become a challenge. I decided to throw some older yarns into boxes for the tent sale (any RYC yarns we had along with odd balls of Wool Cotton and Felted Tweed).  Here is one of my shelves rearranged.  Felted Tweed, Wool Cotton and Lima are now in order and I mean that literally.  Now all the colours are on the shelf in numerical order.  The website has been updated for these yarns as well and an order is placed for some colours that we are missing.

The apple baskets on the right used to house Felted Tweed and now they are holding Felted Tweed Chunky.

Now it's time to get back to the website.