Memories

There isn't much knitting to talk about today.  No boxes came in yesterday.  I am not progressing on my knitting.  The store is a mess.  Now we are done with business.

Dad called Beth last night to check in.  His wilderness safari yesterday was amazing.  He couldn't stop talking about it.  His tour guide came up to him and said he looked familiar.  They talked for a bit and then figured out that she was a tour guide for dad and Beth when they cruised a few years ago.

Mom and dad are going through the glaciers today.  Who knows if they will remember to take the camera on deck with them.  It got me thinking about the trip Beth and I took.  Here are some pictures from our Alaskan Cruise.

Every evening a 'newspaper' is put under your door telling you what is happening the next day on the ship.  We were arriving in Glacier Bay at 6am so we made sure that we were up to see everything.  It was cold out (definitely needed our ski jackets) and we convinced the staff to start serving us hot chocolate with shots of Kahlua. Other travelers thought it was a good idea and the bar staff was busy all morning.

We didn't really need to be up so early because the ship goes very slowly through Glacier Bay and it takes all day to make it all the way around.

Later in the day the sun came out.  It was still cold but we didn't care.  The sights were amazing.

We took many, many pictures that day.  On my computer there are 230 pictures from Alaska and 110 of them are from going through the bay. This doesn't count the numerous pictures we deleted from the camera before coming home.

If you are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise don't wait.  It is a trip of a lifetime. Many people think that an Alaskan cruise is for retired people. So not true. The activities to do in port are definitely aimed at younger, fitter people. Hiking on glaciers. Mountain biking. Sea kayaking...

I am going to stop writing now.  I am turning green with envy because my parents are doing this and I am not.  :)

Alaska

Last night I worked on mail orders and then started on Camp.  We go up north next Thursday morning so I better get moving.

My dining room table is full of yarn, books, needles, bags and kits that need to be made into door prizes.  As a knitter it is nice to see every time I walk through the door but for everyone else it looks like a giant mess.

I also started on the Welcome Packages and continued with the Fashion Show. Yesterday morning I was feeling very anxious that things wouldn't get done but today I am feeling much better.

Our parents are currently on an Alaskan Cruise.  It is actually a quilting cruise that my mom found on the Internet last year.  Mom didn't have to twist dad's arm too much to go.  :) This is their third Alaskan Cruise and definitely not their last.  Beth talked to my dad early yesterday afternoon and then I talked to my mom last night.  Dad picked out some great adventures to do. Yesterday he was going zip lining.

Enter the Fly-Zone! This eco-adventure combines the thrill of gliding above the treetops in a rich rain forest on more than 6,000 feet of dual-cable zip lines, suspension bridges, and a ground-based trail network. At the outfitting base camp in the forest, your trained guide will outfit you with state-of-the-art safety equipment and provide a detailed safety. Then, hop into a Mercedes Unimog 4x4 all-terrain vehicle to ride up the densely forested hillside to the first zip line tree platform. This is your introduction to nearly a mile of dual high-tension cables, linking a network of platforms mounted high in carefully selected old-growth spruce trees. Your guide will progressively ease you into the forest canopy along ten zip lines. Cross two aerial suspension bridges, with breathtaking views of spectacular Bullion Creek, and enjoy unique views of Juneau from the treetops. Discover the hidden ruins of the historic Treadwell Mine (operated 1881-1917), one of the world's largest gold mines, and zip over a 150-foot-deep "glory hole." From above, see the ruins of the original mine refinery, where millions of dollars of molten gold was poured into ingot molds. Throughout this award-winning, nature-based adventure, the sights and sounds of Alaska’s rain forest will surround you. The last zip line takes you to a final platform to experience the thrill of rappelling into base camp. Back on terra firma you will receive a light snack and be presented with a custom cast Alaska Canopy Adventures medal in recognition of your achievement.

Totally jealous.  Mom went into Juneau and visited a quilt shop.  I'm hoping she found me some cool fabric.

Since I started writing this I have talked with my dad.  His adventures yesterday were amazing but he is stiff today.  They zipped in different spots, many times through the trees with the branches hitting them on the head. He said he woke up during the night thinking about how great it was.  Today they are in Skagway and he is going on a Wilderness Safari.

If you seek a taste of the Alaskan wilderness this trip is for you. It takes you face-to-face with a massive glacier in one of the most spectacular settings on the planet. Your adventure begins aboard a comfortable catamaran as you watch for whales and sea lions and explore the rugged beauty of Alaska's deepest fjord. After landing on the beach at Glacier Point, take a short drive and a ¼-mile walk. Then, the forest opens suddenly to the first breathtaking view of the glacier tumbling from the towering mountains into a pristine lake. Boarding a stable 31-foot voyager canoe, you’ll paddle off toward the glacier face that grows ever larger as you approach. The intense blue of the ice sharply contrasts with the polished granite walls and vibrant green forest. Throughout your tour, expert guides share their extensive knowledge of the area. A tasty box lunch is served on board the catamaran.

I did my least favourite thing in the world today-sew on buttons. Lynda finished this project a few weeks ago and I have been procrastinating.  Now I can say it is done  The yarn is Freedom Wool and the pattern is from Twilleys book 463.

Mr. Postman please hurry

Yesterday started off going to the store to unload the van.  Then off to the warehouse to take out the grid and cash desk.  The journey continued to my dads office to drop off the van and then back to the store to get my truck. The afternoon was spent watching football and a bit of knitting.  I was so busy flipping between games that it was almost impossible to get anywhere on my sweater.  Normally Beth is in charge of the converters (when she is home I am not allowed to touch them) but she was at mom and dads with the dogs.

My computer just made a noise to tell me that there was a new email message.  It was from Larisa at Offhand Designs telling me that the new Scotties are ready to be shipped.  Fingers crossed they will be here next week in time for Camp.

I have decided to reduce the price of the bags that are currently in the store. These are the old style bags that are being replaced.

-Scottie
-Zhivago
-Gatsby

Scottie has a whole new style-there is a rolled leather handle and a detachable velvet strap.

Practically Perfect (there is one in the shipment for me)

Tuppence (and I need this one too!)

Supercalifragilistic

Chim Chim Cheree

The big decision today has been what to unpack from the Fair and what to leave packed up for Camp.  There are going to be boxes hanging around the store for another week but there isn't much that can be done.  Somedays I really miss my storage room.

I also started working on the Fashion Show for Camp.  The brochure needs to be printed so I had better hustle.  It is shaping up nicely and will be the best one yet.  The garments are incredible and there are a lot of them. Thankfully I have five models this year.

Another great day

There are many people to thank for our amazing day today in Kitchener.

• Sarah and Lynn gave up their Saturday to help out in the booth. They worked from early this morning until the last box was in the truck
• Wannietta who gave up part of her day to help out in the booth so that we could have a break.  She also worked like crazy to get the Beverly Cardigan finished in time.
• The great volunteers of the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters' Guild. 
• Everyone who stopped by the booth to say hello.  I was surprised at how many people came by to see my finished shawl.
• Beth who helped me set up and take down the booth.
• Cathy who worked in the store yesterday and today.  I can't wait to see what magic she has worked.

I totally forgot to take pictures of the booth until late this afternoon. I also forgot to take my camera which means blurry pictures from my phone.

I decided that our theme this year was going to be Christel Seyfarth.  We all wore shawls which was a great conversation starter.  

The main attraction of the booth was the Flower Power Coat.

It is time to move to the couch and put my feet up.

Big day tomorrow

I just arrived home from Kitchener.  Having a tea and then off to bed.  5am will be here before I know it.  I am so paranoid about sleeping in that I have asked Beth to set her alarm and call me (she is staying at mom and dad's with the dogs) to make sure that I get out of bed.  There are no pictures of the booth yet as it isn't finished.  I don't put out any garments or bags until tomorrow morning. There are horror stories of garments going missing so it is better to be safe than sorry.

A Tweed Story from Debbie Bliss arrived today.

From casual to chic, the six sophisticated knits in A Tweed Story, take the city look to the country.

I showed this picture a month ago and said that it was knit in Luxury Tweed Aran.  That was wrong-I should have said Luxury Tweed Chunky.

Does the pattern look familiar?  It is the pattern that originally appeared in Debbie's first magazine.  I bought the pattern from Vogue and finished knitting it earlier this year.

Wannietta has been busy over the past few weeks whipping up a sweater for the Knitters' Fair.  I 'borrowed' this picture from her blog.  The Beverly cardigan knit in Kauni.  Can't wait to see it tomorrow morning.

DONE!!

Mom and dad are leaving early tomorrow morning for Vancouver and their Alaskan cruise leaves on Saturday morning.  Beth and I decided that they should go a day early and get some rest before the journey starts. Tonight we are having dinner with them-it is a family tradition to have dinner before anyone leaves on vacation.

It is done!!  Okay, there are a few ends still to finish but that can be done during Big Brother tonight.

Now that the bands are sewn down it should be blocked again but there is no way it can be dry for Saturday so that will be a job for next week.

The boxes are packed and I will finish loading the van tomorrow morning.  I still feel like something is missing-we'll see when we start unpacking tomorrow night.

Shawl Pins

Normally I have an idea of how I want my booth to look at a knitting show-it is clearly engrained in my head.  Not this time.  I have no idea how to set it up. What am I going to take?  A few things are packed but I am feeling as if I am missing something big.  Where am I going to set up the grid?  Where are the mannequins going?  Where does the sign go?  No idea.  Many people tell me that I should stay in Kitchener on Friday night to save driving time.  This is why I need to come home.  After we get everything in the booth I am going to remember 'the thing' that I need.

Before I forget-we are in the Marshall Hall in booths 1-3.

I finally opened my box of shawl pins from Annie Adams so I can pack them for Kitchener.  The poor box was very beat up.  Annie shipped it (from Buffalo) but didn't put her name on the box, just her mailing address.  Canada Customs held the box for a month before returning it to her.  If they had called her (the phone number was on the box) she could have driven to the border and added her name.

 There are two new designs.  Willow Square

Celtic

I love shawl pins.  No making button holes!

While I am showing off new pins here are a few new designs from Romi.

In honor of the acquisition of the @ sign by MOMA comes this fabulous shawl pin! Simple, yet sophisticated, this pin blends a sense of whimsy with its elegant design. Made of hand wrought copper, this wonderfully simple pin is very very light, but incredibly sturdy, with no sharp edges to snag or pull. The stick is curved so that it stays put when fixed in place (pat. pending). Body of pin is approx. 1.75 in. in diameter. Pins are hand formed and will vary slightly in appearance

I really wanted to take this out of the box and put it in my purse.

This hand wrought copper shawl pin is an elegant squared kilt-style pin for your most delicate handwork, but is sturdy enough for heavier knits as well, with no sharp edges to snag or pull. Body of pin is approx. 2.625 in. in length. Pins are hand formed and will vary slightly in appearance.

I started sewing down the border on my shawl last night.  I wanted to make sure that the point sat flat so I started at the bottom and then I can fudge as I was work up if necessary.  Hopefully this along with the top edge will be done tonight.  There might be a few ends still hanging on Saturday but it won't be the first time I wear something that isn't completely finished.  :) 

Baby Bamboo

The plan was to write a blog post yesterday morning before going golfing but time got away from me.  When we got home from golf I was worn out.  Too much fresh air.  :)  I laid on the couch for a bit before calling it a night.  I didn't even think about picking up my needles.  Is that like swearing?

Baby Bamboo from Sirdar is one of our best selling baby yarns.  This yarn can also be used to knit adult garments as well.

• 22 stitches = 4" on 4mm needles (double knitting weight)
• 80% bamboo sourced viscose and 20% wool
• 95m on a ball
• great price
• large colour range

There are four new colours for fall.

159 Jack in a Box

160 Paint Box Pink

161 Baby Berries

162 Toy Box Red

The store is a mess again.  There are boxes everywhere of yarn and kits for the Knitters' Fair.  Luckily Cathy (the Neat Freak) will be working on Friday and Saturday.

There is a Criminal Minds marathon on A&E tonight.  I'm finally finished my work for the day so I am going to watch and start the finishing on my shawl.

Done and Blocking

At 2am I cast off the last stitch.  I just cut the last steek and took a quick picture before I started to block.

I added a drop of Soak to Phil and added cold water. OOPS!  We have a Brady situation happening.  Too many bubbles.  Do you remember on the Brady Bunch when Bobby (we think) was doing laundry and added too much detergent.  The bubbles went from the laundry room into the kitchen.

I am going to take the shawl out of its bath in a minute and put it on my styrofoam to lay out.  I really need a bigger piece and hope that dad can help me with that tomorrow.  There is one other small problem.  My blocking pins have gone missing.  I will have to stop by the store tomorrow when we are heading to golf to get a few packages.

I think that a nap might be in order this afternoon.  Good TV tonight-Nascar race and Big Brother.  I will get back to knitting Wild Saffron.  There were dreams that it would be finished for Saturday as well but that isn't realistic-the back isn't finished yet.

Six to go

You know that I am committed to finishing my shawl when I pass up an evening of bowling with the kids. I love to bowl!  When I was young we bowled 5 pin and then as teenagers we started 10 pin bowling.

I spent last night on the couch watching episodes of Criminal Minds.  Bev got me started on this during our trip to NY.  A&E shows episodes on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.  I tape them and they are great for knitting.  It seems like there is a long time between commercials.  While watching the Y&R it seems like it is commercial, then two minutes to knit and then time to hit fast forward again.  You can't build up a rhythm.

There are six rows to go on my shawl.  I think that they should be done tonight and I can cut the small steek that was added so the border can be knit in the round.  Tomorrow I will be 'soak'ing my shawl and lying it out to dry.  The few ends that need to be sewn in will be done when it is almost dry. The cut stitches will be sewn inside the borders and then the borders will be tacked down.

Textile Artist

Linda came in one day bragging about the knitting her son was doing.

I asked her to have Brent send me pictures to see what she was talking about.

WOW!!

Talk about works of art.

To graph out the faces and then knit them is amazing.

The group photo is of evil world leaders at my mother's knitting group/tea party

Righteous Leaders as Brent calls them.

And Evil Leaders.

You can see more of Brent's work on his gallery page or on his Facebook page.

Very Predictable

After I hit 'Publish Post' last night my dad called the store.  "Are you and your sister coming to dinner tonight?".  "Yes we are."  And his response "Good now I can have a beer."  He is so predictable.

I did not get much knitting done last night. Big Brother and then Master Chef.  I was paying too much attention to the TV.  It is amazing that I like watching Master Chef and almost anything on the Food Network.  I don't have time to cook and it really doesn't interest me.  It takes away from knitting time.

I am going to ignore the mess in the store today and knit.  I have to be blocking by Sunday if it is going to be dry for Saturday.

Presenting the last two Christel Seyfarth garments.

The Poppy Shawl.  I am currently jealous of this shawl.  The border is about 1/4 of my border-I would be done by now!!

Kimono style jacket called the Flower Coat.

I can't wait to see this on a real person.

I promised a picture of Lynda's other project.  Big problem.  It requires buttons.  I need to get some thread and a very fine needle to sew the buttons on that I chose.

Beth picked up a box at the post office for me before she headed to the golf course.  Yes, she and my father are taking the afternoon off.  Not so nice.

Back to the box-shawl pins from Romi.  There are an assortment of styles in silver, nickel and copper.  Just in time for the Knitters' Fair.

If I get back to my knitting then a few more rows will be done by the time I close the store.  Have a great night.  Who is going home on Big Brother?

Isn't it time for fall?

The first day of September-the heat can go away now so that fall can start.  I have many great sweaters that I want to start wearing!!

It was a busy day for deliveries.  Ms. Canada Post came with three boxes, Mr. Canpar came with one and Mr. UPS brought one.

Box 1-Churchmouse Patterns for the Knitters' Fair.  Now I need to make up kits.

Box 2-Sweaters from Lynda.  I am just showing one today and then another tomorrow. Here is Wild Saffron knit in Rowan Renew.  I can't wait to get mine done.

I wasn't standing very square to the mannequin when I took this or else my mannequin has a bad lean to her.

Box 3-Elizabeth Bradley needlepoint kits

Each Elizabeth Bradley needlepoint kit is carefully packed and contains the design printed on 10-mesh canvas, our own 100% wool thread, a full-sized coloured chart card, needle and instructions. A Victorian Cross Stitch is used for stitching both the design elements and the background area. Because of the nature of Victorian Cross Stitch, it is not necessary to use a frame when stitching. 

Box 4-Fortissima Mexiko sock yarn

Fun new colours of self-striping sock yarn.  There are twelve new colours in all.

Box 5-Rowan.  Two new colours of Wool Cotton and then a few yarns that we were out of.

Last night just as I was closing Emma's husband brought in the knitting that she just finished and blocked for me.  Payson from Berroco book 298 knit in Blackstone Tweed.

The ins and outs of the leaves make for a very interesting scarf.

The scarf is more teal, not as turquoise as the picture shows but I am trying to get this post done before I go home.  My father has called a family meeting tonight.  Okay, he is craving pasta so we are going to Boston Pizza for dinner.  If we are along then he will have a beer.  If it is just mom then he won't have one.  Don't ask.

Here is garment two from Christel Seyfarth.

The Mongolian Shawl.

The colours are stunning.

Made it with just a few minutes to spare.