Hello San Diego

We're on the plane about 20 minutes from San Diego. I probably should have started this sooner because any minute they are going to tell us to turn off all electronics.

I made it through 3 and a half episodes of Law & Order on the plane. Great TV to knit to. I've seen most episodes so it was more listening and knitting.

Clapotis is growing. Taking pictures on the plane wasn't easy.

There is the little tv in the seat back. That was tuned into the map. I enjoy watching our progress.

It's 11pm in San Diego. We made it to the hotel, checked in, dumped our luggage and went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. The restaurant opened 2 weeks ago. Like they knew we were coming.

I'm eating my cheesecake while writing. Carrot cake cheesecake. To quote my dad, "it's sooooo good!"

Tomorrow morning we are meeting the ladies from River City Yarns (their stores are in Edmonton) for breakfast. Then the zoo. The polar bears are waiting for us.

It's been a long day and there won't be any resting tomorrow so I should sign off and head to bed.

Finished

Our first hats came in today. 3 fantastic kids hats. It would be great if we could get 3 hats a day from now until the end of January. If you aren't familiar with the hats we are making for Mission Services, take a look at our latest newsletter...

My first hat is finished. Lynn made the pom pom for me yesterday.

The pattern can be found on Ravelry... I used Bastion. 2 balls for the hat and 1 ball for the pom pom.

It is so cold out that my friend needed a scarf. It is the Two Direction Scarf knit out of Classic Elite Liberty Wool.

My biggest concern about going away. What am I going to take to knit? I think I have the pattern picked out but now the colour.

Pashmina Worsted. Alizarin on top and grenadine on the bottom.

Meet Wayne. We finished him Tuesday evening and he is in Toronto. Tomorrow morning he will be flying to LA to participate in a trade show - not the show that we are going to. I hope he behaves.

Beth was having fun changing his eyebrows to give him different facial expressions.

Beth is very proud of her work. She sent pictures to Rebecca Danger, the author of The Big Book of Knitted Monsters. Beth used the pattern for Cecil the Computer Monster to make Wayne.

It's a bit later in the day and the decision about knitting has been decided. I'm going to knit Clapotis in Alizarin. Why Clapotis? Take a look at this project on Ravelry. When I saw golfgirl417's Clapotis I knew that I had to make it.

Most of my 'before I can go away' chores are done. The last few include picking up the dry cleaning, having my nails done and packing. This afternoon I looked in the mirror and my roots are grey again. There is an emergency appointment with Trish tomorrow morning. I should be using the time for better things but I can't deal with the grey. My dad laughed at me and I told him that he should be paying for my appointment. It's my parents fault that I have grey hair-they were both grey very young.

Bella Lino

I'm excited about a new yarn coming from Classic Elite for spring. Actually, it should be in the store at the end of next week (January 16th or 17th).

Bella Lino is a lightweight yarn that creates an airy fabric with long, harmonious stripes. The palette of summery shades each have a linen-hued base. 

Colorful stripes adorn the natural linen colored background of Bella Lino and the linen blend takes dye beautifully. It knits at a similar gauge to Firefly and is interchangeable with Firefly in many patterns.  

A linen, viscose and cotton blend. Mixed colours. What more can we ask for?

And the colour range is fabulous. See all 11 shades...

We have the following colours coming. If you want one that I haven't ordered, please let me know and we can get it for you.

8585

8589

8554

8593

8560

8548

There will be a pattern book coming with 4 patterns in Bella Lino and 8 patterns in other popular Classic Elite yarns.

The Oceanside collection focuses on bright, summery garments and wraps. It also features ethereal knits in our favorite lightweight yarns. In this pattern book we also welcome Bella Lino to our family of outstanding yarns with four patterns.

Don't forget that the new Classic Elite pattern books have the coolest thing. You scratch, like a lottery ticket, to get a code for a downloadable copy of the book. You have the best of both worlds. A print copy to flip through and a PDF copy on your iPad to knit from.

What made me think of Bella Lino today? Classic Elite's Web-Letter just arrived in my In Box with a pattern for a wrap in Bella Lino.

A truly simple knit, this wrap showcases the stripes and drape of Bella Lino perfectly. Easily customizable – knit any width and length you desire.

Download the pattern... 

It is going to be an awesome spring in the knitting/crochet world.

Monster

Beth finished the knitting on her monster and I have been helping her put it together. The best thing about sewing it together is that you don't have to be neat. The yarn is fluffy and covers up the stitches. We've been whip stitching it.

He is huge. The eyebrows were my idea. Beth went and bought felt this morning so that we can make it (I would guess by the colour it is a she) a mouth or tongue.

Here's a bit of happiness. More spring Rowan. The nice weather will be arriving. Not soon but we know that in a few months it will get better out. This magazine and the yarn should be here by the end of January.

Pure Linen
100% linen
130m on a 50 gram skein
17 stitches = 4" on 4.5mm needles
8 colours are available. Very earthy tones. What you think of when someone mentions linen.

I will get pictures of these garments when I see them in real life this weekend. I'm excited to see the linen knit up. I've touched the yarn in a ball but the texture can really change once it has been knit.

It's back to sewing for me. And blocking a cardigan to take. I hope it's dry by Thursday afternoon. And there is laundry. And there is paperwork. And the most important thing-what am I going to take on the airplane to knit?? Wow. I'm tired thinking about it all.

Hats

I've been thinking about something for the past few weeks. There are many people (men, women and children) in the Hamilton area who don't have hats to wear this winter. I guess I should have started sooner with this cold weather but with the way things are going it looks like we're in for a long winter.

I'm asking you to make a hat or hats (knit or crochet) to donate. The yarn doesn't have to be expensive. Machine washable is probably the best. Please go through your stash and find some yarn to help out.

I just finished my first hat. It needs a pom pom but Beth has taken my pom pom maker to her work. She tried it on for me and it looks good but she took it off before I could get a picture.

We are offering you a 10% off coupon for the store for each hat that you donate. Bring in your finished hats before the end of January. The coupon is good until the end of June, 2014. The coupons can't be combined - one coupon per purchase.

You will also be entered into a draw. One person will win a Soakbox of their choice from the Soakboxes that are in the store.

All hats are going to Mission Services who will distribute them.

Mom and dad returned home from Myrtle Beach last night. I just got back from their house - dad has his truck back and I have the Edge. My car isn't ready to see the snow and cold yet.

Dad did a great job packing to get these all in the Edge. He made mom pack inside the trunks.

This suitcase has stickers and even has someones name.

I think we need a few more suitcases for the booth so dad is already planning for when they get back to Myrtle.

I was writing during the first football and missed most of it. The second game is on and I'm moving to the couch to watch and start another hat. I'm also helping Beth finish her monster. The knitting is done and we are starting to sew him together. Pictures tomorrow. He is sooooo cute!!

Getting Ready

For what? There are two things. The snow storm that we are supposed to have tomorrow...

Lots of yarn came home to knit hats. I will explain more about the hats in a newsletter that is going out next week.

I pulled a couple of skeins of tosh vintage for a few more hats.

Who knows if I will be going to work on Monday. It might be a day of Homeland and knitting. All I ask is that we get so much snow that I can't go to work or no snow and the roads are good for driving. My parents arrived home from Myrtle Beach this afternoon so I have to give my dad his truck back. Don't worry. I'm going to ask my mom if I can borrow her Edge.

...and getting ready to go away. I like the store to be in order so we did some rearranging today.

tosh sock has been moved so it all lives together. It was hard to leave work without grabbing a few skeins.

Crystal Palace Sausalito has been pulled off the shelves and lives in baskets now. This shows off the yarn much better.

I took a quick look on Ravelry to see what people have been knitting in Sausalito. Take a look at the Sausalito Smoky Cables-and-Lace Cowl. The pattern is free.

merino light is all together again as well. Cathy is going to be shocked when she comes to work this week.

The football game is on which is making writing my post hard. I have to stop working to watch the game. The scoring is coming quite fast.

Okay, I had to totally stop writing for a bit. That was an awesome football game. The wrong team won but what a game.

The next football game has started so I'm going to sign off to knit and watch.

L'Enveloppe

I was talking with Sally Melville about Camp earlier today and we started talking about her new pattern - L'Enveloppe. I asked her if I could share her pictures with you and she told me to go ahead. This is from Sally's Ravelry page.

Every time I wear this and everywhere I go, I’ve had it commented on—by strangers on the street, by shop owners or customers, by knitters or non. And each time they say something like “I love that … thing you’re wearing!” No-one knows what to call it, and—frankly—neither do I. Because one arm goes through (as does the neck) but the other arm is free, it’s not a cape, not a poncho, not a shrug, not a shawl, not a cowl. It’s small enough to wear under a coat but big enough to wear instead of one. And it envelops us in style. And so here’s its moniker: L’Enveloppe. (As you might imagine, this is French for envelope. Its style led me there. I suppose its name could have been “That thing you wear on an airplane in case the AC is turned too high,” but that didn’t sit as well on the page.)

Because I want everyone to knit this in whatever yarn they like, I offer this in 5 sizes, 4 gauges (13, 14, 15, and 16 stitches to 4” /10cm) and 2 stitch patterns (seed or the easier garter). AND, it is worth noting that I’ve seen swatches that combined yarns--from a shop or a stash: for eg, a light worsted + a lace yarn will give you gauge, a dk + a sock yarn will give you gauge. (You will need the full yardage for EACH of the yarns you combine.)

Because of all these choices, the yarn amount (as shown above) is very inaccurate: the amount of yarn you use will depend upon a) your size, b) your gauge, c) your stitch pattern. All of this is clear in the pattern. 

And speaking of size, this is sized the same way knitting patterns are sized. Measuring around the fullest part of your bust, S = 32-34”, M = 36-38”, L = 40-42”, 1X = 44-46”, 2X = 48-50”.

You can purchase this pattern on Ravelry...

You can knit this in a self-striping yarn, tweed, marled, hand painted, wool, cotton, linen..... The options are endless.

Color Play Mohair Wrap

It's only the 3rd of January and I already missed a blog post. Sorry. I'll make it up when I get to San Diego next week. There will be days with multiple posts showing all the new products that I see.

Yesterday was a crazy day between the weather and a conference call. After work Beth called Cogeco and we now have the channel to watch Homeland. We sat down and watched the first few episodes of Season 3 last night. I could have watched more but if I didn't stop I would have still been watching at 8 this morning. And I finished the shawl. I will block it over the weekend. Probably on Sunday-if we're getting snow there won't be anything else to do.

Pattern: Color Play Mohair Wrap
Yarn: 7 balls (6 colours) of Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe
Needles: 4.5mm

Rowan has a new collection of online patterns for Kidsilk Haze Glamour. See them all...

These 6 designs were created exclusively for Row@n members.  Using Kidsilk Haze Glamour, these beautifully elegant designs by Martin Storey can add a bit of sparkle to your day wear and glamour to your evening wear.

If you aren't a Row@n member, you can sign up on their website in the top right hand corner.

CNN is on the TV right now. Boston and NY are getting slammed with snow. Thank goodness it missed us. It better not be like this next week when I'm trying to fly to San Diego.

Happy New Year

I hope that everyone had a good evening last night. We visited friends and then home to bed just after midnight. It's been a busy morning. The Tournament of Roses Parade. I love watching the amazing floats and bands. Now the Winter Classic is on. There are some (OK lots) of crazy people sitting outside in the really cold and snow to watch. Most of the people in the stadium can't even see the puck.

I've finished the Camp Brochure. Beth is going to proof read it for me tomorrow and I will be including it in an email very soon. Could be the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

There was a bit of surgery done this afternoon. Beth is knitting another monster and somehow 2 stitches got dropped when she was casting off. I got them. In fluffy yarn like this I found them, latched them up and tied them off with a piece of yarn. You can't even see what I've done. Here is her creation so far.

It doesn't look very big in the picture. Yes, pictures can lie. He will be almost 2 feet tall when finished.

We finished Season 2 of Homeland last night. Now I really want to watch Season 3. Hurry and bring it out. So, I was writing away and started doing a bit of research. We can get Season 3 with On Demand from Cogeco. Unfortunately we don't subscribe to that station so we need to do that first. A bigger unfortunately - it's just after 7pm and they closed at 5 today. We can't add the channel until tomorrow. Oh well. I'm actually shocked that they were working at all today.

As I said it's after 7pm and I haven't done a stitch of knitting today. Since it is my day off I really should close up the computers (there are two laptops in front of me and I've been going between the two of them) and rest for a bit. Have a good evening and please stay warm.