It happened

It was a busy TV night last night which meant lots of knitting. Eos is growing. Somewhere in my head I still think that I might get Shadow and Eos done for the Frolic.

It happened today. I tried to stop it.

Two skeins of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 jumped into my knitting bag. I'm sorry to everyone who didn't get this colour. I have sent another order into Zen and asked them to make me something as close to this colour as possible.

Kim opened her purse and there was 2 skeins in there as well.

A parcel arrived from Ann yesterday with some samples for the store. In a perfect world I could take them outside for pictures but it is raining like crazy in Ancaster.

Countess Mitts

A delicate lace vine travels up the center of these feminine mitts. Adorn your hands with beauty and practicality.

2 balls of Blue Sky Alpacas Royal Petites - 100% alpaca. They feel good on your hands!!

Welted Fingerless Gloves from Churchmouse Yarns
Knit in Rowan Felted Tweed - 1 ball is all you need.

“As pretty as they are practical. And the perfect gift.”

It's never too early to start planning for Christmas.

Turkish Bed Socks

1 skein (50grams) of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. We used Christmas at Downton

The pattern is from Churchmouse Yarns.

They make great gifts as they’re easy to fit and don’t take a lot of yarn. They’re nice for around the house. And terrific for travel. 

My picture isn't going to entice you to knit them (I guess I should have put them on-but the colour looks good) so here is the picture from the pattern.

They look really comfy.

For the next few days I'm going to be glued to my computer and the TV. It's Masters weekend. Unfortunately the TV coverage doesn't start until 3pm so I will be watching online in the morning.

Survivor tonight. In the commercials it talks about the men joining together and voting off the women. I don't think that will happen-the men never get it together to form an alliance.

There was a small break in the rain so I ran outside with the cardigan that Ann knit

The pattern is from Sirdar. Book #441 for their new yarn Americana.
The yarn is Rowan's Revive.

Purelife revive is Rowan's wonderful tweed effect, fully recycled summer yarn. It has a beautiful rusticity.  Recycled Cotton: 36%, Recycled Silk: 36%, Recycled Viscose: 28%

The yarn feels a bit hard and I don't mean that in a bad way. Cables look amazing in it! There is lots of body so your garment doesn't have a droopy look to it. And it is tweed which you won't find in many summer yarns.

I'm going to try and get a few rows done on Shadow before heading home. Are we getting bad weather tomorrow??

Fifty One Shades of Truth

My shawl has been finished for some time (since February) but I never posted a picture of it after blocking and sewing in the ends.

Pattern: All the Shades of Truth (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Shepherd Sock from Lorna's Laces

Lorna's Laces introduced Shepherd Sock in 50 shades of grey. There are 5 different colour ways and each has 10 shades of grey. I used all 5 colours with charcoal as my border hence the Fifty One Shades.

Mr. Canada Post brought in the box from Zen Yarn Garden this morning.

Serenity 20

Serenity Silk Single

It was hard but I didn't take any home with me. Kim didn't take any either. I can't make that promise about tomorrow though. Neville (the business is a husband and wife team) did an amazing job with the colours. He wrote this in an email to me

The best part of doing OOAKs is winding them up and seeing the color combinations/mixings, Roxanne keeps telling me to keep winding and stop admiring the yarns, lol.

OOAK stands for one of a kinds. The colours we received can not be duplicated. Maybe something close but not exactly the same.

I heard from a few customers today that we are supposed to have bad weather on Thursday. I just looked it up on my iPad and there is a Winter Storm Watch. WHAT?? It's April. Can't we have nice sunny days? I don't need it to be hot (you can't wear a sweater if it's too hot) but if the sun came out then I would be happy.

I'm moving upstairs in a few minutes to watch Top Chef Canada. We taped it last night but couldn't watch because the basketball game was so good. Eos is waiting. Actually, I left Shadow at work so that I couldn't work on it tonight.

My sister just informed me that her Inspira Cowl is finished. Then she said 'I can cast it off if you are too busy.' That would be way too painful so I'm off to do it for her.

Craftsy

This morning Beth and I headed out for a visit with Trish. The grey is gone for both of us. What a happy day.

I didn't know what I was going to write about today. My knitting is progressing (I did some at the hair salon) but not really enough to excite anyone.  I thought about skipping today's post but then an email came in that inspired me to sit down and write. Thank you Sue for getting me on track.

Last night I was writing a newsletter and started to research a knitting technique. I ended up at Craftsy.com.

Craftsy is a community of people who love to make things. We're learning from, inspiring and helping each other. We are dedicated to providing the best education and resources for crafters. Check out our courses in quilting, knitting and more!

We Learn.

We take online courses together from amazing instructors. We strive to be better at what we do, and to learn new techniques we haven't tried.

We Inspire.

We share our projects and take pride in what we make.

We Help.

We share suggestions, tips & tricks – helping other Craftsy members complete projects.

We Create.

We Knit. We Quilt. We Crochet. We Make Jewelry. We Sew. We Decorate. We're Creative. We're Unique.

Take a look. There are some awesome workshops for you to take. You can work at your own pace. And at whatever hour fits into your schedule. Rewind if you miss something. Send questions to the instructor. What more can you ask for?

I've signed up and downloaded the app to my iPhone and iPad.

I decided to show Shadow after all. I'm past the halfway point.

I will pick up Eos again tomorrow. There is an important basketball game tonight and I need to pay attention to that.

Workshop with Glenna C

This one day event is being put on by a member of The Around the Bay Knitting Guild. It looks like a fun day and I said that I would pass along the information. We have customers in the store all the time telling me that they won't knit garments because they never fit properly. Take this workshop and you won't have that problem again.

Sweater Fit and “Body Building”! 

Duct tape dress forms and sweater discussion

Saturday, June 1, 2013

This is a full day -- 9:00am to 4:00pm....fun, new skills, chatting and sharing, knitting. The theme is hands on measurements for garments - each participant will come away with their measurements and a working knowledge of how to take proper measurements for others. The workshop is 3h -- sessions are 9-12 am; and, 1-4 pm. Both groups are engaged concurrently -- one group will work with Glenna C; and, the second group will be knitting and enjoying a social time. A list of prep materials will be given to a participant at registration.

St. John's Anglican Parish hall is located in very close proximity to The Needle Emporium on Wilson Street, Ancaster. 

THE FINE DETAILS: 

28 spaces with 14 knitters/group with lunch, tea and coffee provided.

Participants are registered first come, first served basis with $50 cheque. Please contact me for the name and address that the cheque is to mailed to. Fee covers instructor, hall and insurance, food and sundry items. Confirmation of registration will occur by email and include a list of items to bring for the workshop.

NO REFUNDS 

Parking at side of Parish hall, all facilities are on ground floor. 

Visit Glenna's blog

View Glenna's designs on Ravelry

Shadow is growing

Last night we had dinner at my parents. Their friend Bea came over and made ham, scalloped potatoes, cauliflower, peas, red cabbage, a sauce for the ham and an apple pie. We let her eat with us too. :) We have decided to hire her on full time to be the cook chef. It was awesome.

I did knit there and a bit more today.

Shadow is almost to the half way point. The first black section was 10 stitches between the wrap and turns and this one is 2. It's taking much longer to do each section.

I said that I was going to work on Eos today but that has been pushed back to tomorrow. It was a day for not thinking or reading a chart.

No Amazing Race or Celebrity Apprentice tonight. We have the baseball on right now. It might be bed time soon. Despite the nap I had this afternoon I'm still tired. And tomorrow is a big day. I'm seeing Trish to have my hair coloured and cut. Always makes for a happy day.

My dad and his helper

Yesterday afternoon my dad picked up the new sign for the store. The old one blew done in a wind storm and shattered so we have been signless for a month.

I thought he needed help putting it up but he figured it out...

...back the rack truck in. He was about to hit the house but Beth got him stopped just in time. He sort of hit the railing but we aren't talking about that.

Put some 2x4s across the truck to stand on and then you don't need a ladder.

With our pretty spring flags flying. Hopefully spring will arrive in Ancaster soon.

His little helper. Tui loves Saturdays when she gets to go in the truck with dad. 

While he was here he got rid of the pile of boxes in the yard. He likes this job. Stomping on boxes to flatten them gets out all his aggression. :)

I was up early this morning and decided to knit a few rows before heading to work. The pattern is easy to do and doesn't require too much thinking or counting.

We are having dinner at my parents tonight. I hope they don't mind if I knit while I'm there. I'm on a roll.

Tomorrow I'm going back to Eos. It's only 3 weeks until the Frolic and I better get moving if I'm going to wear it. Who knows. Maybe I can get Eos and Shadow done in time. DREAMER!!

Surprise

Berroco sent out a newsletter this morning with a great garment in Blackstone Tweed. Some of us take a long time to make anything so it's a good time to start a project and have it ready for when the cold weather hits in September/October.

Tamarind

This cozy accessory is worked in an easy rib stitch and combines elements from a scarf, a shawl, and a hood.

Tweed for the discerning knitter! This super soft yarn has all the rustic appeal of a classic tweed yarn but with a high dose of mohair and angora. With wear these garments will develop a soft and fuzzy halo. A joy to wear and a pleasure to knit.

Download the pattern...

Mr. UPS just came in with a box that surprised me. I had no clue who it was from and when I opened the box I thought it was meant for someone else. This was staring at me.

I was excited about popcorn but sad that I would have to return it to it's owner. Then I read the card. My friends at Lorna's Laces sent this to me.

I get to keep it. YAY!! The popcorn is really good. 

I totally forgot to write about a box that came in from Namaste this week. It arrived Wednesday morning as we were unpacking the madelinetosh and was pushed out of the way.

Devin Writstlets and Jemma Pouches.

I have all my 'stuff' (credit cards, money, keys, cell phone, medication) in a Devin Wristlet and there is still room for more. It fits inside my big purses or I can carry it when I run out and don't need a bag with me.

It's much later in the evening and I'm going to get this in just under the wire. Kind of like getting a paper handed in right at the deadline in university. I didn't leave the store until after 8 and then stopped to pick up dinner on my way home. After dinner we watched Fashion Star. That is important-kind of like research. I can justify anything. :) I finally hit the 8" mark and added in the black.

It's a bit stark right now but I'm hoping as I get more done it will calm a bit. Beth and I discussed possible colours and there aren't a lot of options with red. Grey might work. Maybe a medium brown. I'm going to still with the black for a few more sections and then reevaluate.

Shoes

I started on Shadow last night. I didn't get as far as I would have liked (wanted to get to the black) but hopefully tonight.

Not much to show you right now. Just garter stitch.

It's nice to have a garter stitch project on the go for those evenings when you don't want to think. Or count.

I'm having a hard time writing tonight. I'm texting with two people, playing a game on my iPad and trying to type. Not going well. I'm trying to concentrate on each chore but I don't think it's working.

The first clue arrived this afternoon for the Sunstruck KAL. If you are interested in joining you will find it on Ravelry.

I wore these shoes to work today and picked my colours for Sunstruck to match them. (There is a bit of shoe theme happening this week.) Yes the colours are very boring for me but sometimes you have to use colours you normally wouldn't.

tosh merino light
from the left
-whiskers
-weathered frame (this colour was sent in error but I really like it)
-whiskey barrel

We might as well stay on the shoe theme and talk about some new sock yarns that we have in the store.

Opal-the original printed sock yarn. You don't have to do any work. Just knit and the pattern happens. One ball (100grams) is enough to make a ladies pair of socks.

And then a little surprise. I've kept this a secret for a long time. We have a shipment of sock yarn coming from Zen Yarn Garden early next week. This is a picture that was taken before the box was packed.

All skeins completely one-of-a-kind (OOAK). Most have several layers of colour on them and will definitely not be repeated again.

Serenity 20

70% Superwash Merino/20% Cashmere/10% Nylon
3-Ply Fingering Weight
Approx. 400 yards (100 g)
Suggested Needle: 1-3 (US)
Washing: Machine/Hand Wash (Cold) | Dry Flat

 

Serenity Silk Single

75% Superwash Merino/15% Cashmere/10% Silk
Single Ply Fingering Weight
Approx. 430 yards (100 g)
Washing: Hand Wash (Cold) | Dry Flat 

Did you know that we send out a separate newsletter about sock yarns? You can email me if you would like to receive these emails or you can click "Join The Needle Emporium Mailing List" in the top right hand corner of this page.

Now it's time to get knitting. At this rate I'm never getting to the black on Shadow.

I almost forgot

I just ran downstairs to wind yarn. Two skeins of tosh merino light.

Red robin breast and onyx. The red is perfect for my new shoes. Why black? Green was way to Christmassy (is that a word??) Purple was way too red hat. I think the black will look classy. It's for Shadow (that I showed yesterday).

I got so wrapped up in my new knitting project that I almost forgot to write a blog post.

The tosh is all put away and looks great. The tosh elves (Kim and Lynn) worked hard all day.

I'm sure their knees are sore from kneeling on the floor most of the day.

We have a lot of merino light!

DK and merino dk looks great as well.

Kim and Lynn had fun putting together kits for the Frolic-Color Affection and Linen Stitch Scarf. I asked them to pick out some colours and their combinations are fabulous. Totally different than my choices which isn't a bad thing. Not everyone loves purple.

It's time for Survivor. We're supposed to have a blind side tonight which always makes for a good episode. American Idol is taping as well. I just can't get into it this season. I hope that the song choices tonight are good. If not there will be a lot of fast forwarding. Then Top Chef. We are down to the final four and they are cooking on a cruise ship going from Seattle to Alaska.

Gotta run. My needles are calling to me.

Halfway

I sat down like a good girl last night to rip out the shoulder shaping of Eos and finish the back.

The front ribbing is done and I'm about 10 rows into the chart. Just past the halfway point of the sweater.

It was exciting to see the truck arrive this morning at the storage unit with my madelinetosh. 31 boxes have been unpacked, counted and repacked. 18 came to the store and 13 are extra stock that will stay in storage for now.

There are bags and bags of tosh sitting in the store right now. I made one trip earlier today and Kim got most of it put away. This is the second load that I just delivered. We will work on that tomorrow. Then kits for the Frolic.

Some of the 526 skeins of merino light that we received.

 A mixed bag of pretty colours.

Some vintage, merino and merino light.

I'm happy to report that I didn't bring any tosh home with me. It was hard to leave it all in the store. And I left it too late. Beth had dinner ready so I had to stop playing. I wasn't sure what pattern I wanted to do either. 

That has been rectified. I'm thinking varjo (shadow) by Veera Valimaki..You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

So now I have the pattern. The next challenge is picking just two colours. I also have to think of the Sunstruck KAL which starts this week. For that I want three or four colours. Yes, I can start two new projects because two projects were blocked this week. :)

It's time for baseball so I'm moving upstairs with my knitting. The good thing about baseball is you can easily watch and knit. The game moves pretty slow so you won't miss anything. We have Hell's Kitchen and Criminal Minds taping as well. Lots of knitting in the near future!!

The air was blue

I sat down last night to work on Eos and got far enough to start the shoulder shaping on the back. The first side was done and then I had to cast off 25 stitches (for the centre back) before shaping the other shoulder. There were WAY too many stitches on the needle. Darn Rowan. The pattern was wrong. I counted and recounted and the numbers didn't add up. There were bad words coming out of my mouth. Then it hit me. SORRY ROWAN-I AM AN IDIOT!!!! I took out the armhole shaping because I wasn't sure the sleeves would be wide enough. Also the sleeves are a lace pattern and I wasn't sure if the top would be stretchy and hard to sew in. Their numbers were correct and I forgot about the 11 extra stitches I had on each side. Instead of ripping out while watching The Amazing Race I cast on for the front and got the ribbing done.

My Linen Stitch scarf is done. Blocked. Ends sewn in.

Pattern: Churchmouse Yarns Linen Stitch Scarf
Yarn: Rastita from Malabrigo
Needles: 7mm

There were a few more bad words this afternoon when I found out that the madelinetosh won't be arriving until tomorrow. My day was planned and I don't do well when things don't go as planned. I spent the time working out the booth for the Frolic. I think it is figured out. I needed some more mannequin clothes which I ran out and bought. Now I need some more grid. Then we are set. Kim will be in the store tomorrow and I will be in the storage until unpacking yarn. :)

Now it's time to take out the shoulder shaping. I will never make that mistake again!!