Buying for the store

I’m in Chicago and had a great day at the show. So much yarn!!!! Right now I’m in my room watching the hockey game and writing. 

Lynn is in the store tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday and I’ll be back for Saturday morning.

Atenti has new fabrics. 

This is Meadow and it is amazing. I ordered all the fabrics to make sure I’m at the front of the line to receive the bags. I don’t think we’ll see these until July or August.

We will have new colours of Starke 6 (above) and Crazy Zauberball (below).

We will have these new double pointed needles from Addi sometime in July.

Circular needles should be arriving in late August/early September.

I have a lot more pictures to share with you tomorrow. There was a lot of walking today and it’s time to put my feet up and maybe knit a few rows or maybe go to sleep. I have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. The trade show is huge!

My Knitting

My DRK Everyday Cardi that I was knitting on while I was away. I’m doing the first set of increases.

I started another Traveler Cowl before I left. This was emergency knitting in case I came to a point in my cardigan that needed too much attention.

These are the Painting Parrellelograms Socks from Stephen West (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

This pattern is the May sock in my Westknits Year of Socks e-book. This pattern is available exclusively as part of the Westknits Year of Socks 2025 e-book. You will receive a new sock pattern update at the beginning of each month until all 12 socks are released by December 2025. The sock patterns will be available to purchase individually in 2026.  

These top-down socks are knitted with one main color and three contrast color pops in fingering weight sock yarn. Stripes and slip stitches form the zig zag parallelogram motifs that flow from the leg into the top of the foot. Stockinette stitch stripes decorate the bottom of the foot for a smooth sole. The cuff features 3x3 ribbing and the heel flap is knitted in easy breezy garter stitch. Choose a light or dark main color that contrasts with three playful contrast colors for a bold geometric effect.

Photos © Stephen West

I’m almost packed to go. Dad and Beth went to Peterborough early this morning for a meeting. We were all up at 6am to get them ready to go. After they left the dogs and I had a nap and then I got everything into my suitcase. It is extremely full - knitwear takes up a lot of room. There are many shoes to match the knitwear. 

I leave for the airport at 5 and the plane leaves at 9pm. I should get a good night sleep and I’ll be at the show at 10am. There will be lots of pictures over the next few days.

Back again

I made it home safely but it was really late last night. 

The rest of the week is going to be all about knitting so today’s post is about my trip. Whale watching was awesome. It was really cold but totally worth it. We were in the Salish Sea. First we saw sea lions.

A sea otter which is very rare to see in Victoria. This is Ollie. We had 4 naturalists on the boat with us giving us lots of information. Ollie is 12 years old and he has scars on his nose which identifies him.

An eagle

We were out of time and ready to head back when the captain cut the engines. Whales were in the area.

There were 3 boats together watching the pod which is called 49A. All of a sudden we saw the Orcas swimming towards another boat to check it out. Then they came right beside our boat. The naturalists were so excited because they said that this is a rare occasion.

The day was so awesome. I was really hoping for Humpback Whales but that’ll be for another trip.

I spent a lot of time at the pier in Vancouver. Cruise ships and airplanes made me happy.

I spent a lot of time on Granville Island. There was lots to see and so many places to eat.

I shipped boxes this morning and then came home to do laundry. 

This is the weather forecast for Chicago. I wasn’t planning on it being so cold. I brought home a cardigan and shawls from the store to figure out what I’m going to take with me. 

Tomorrow I’ll get back to knitting with pictures of what I accomplished while I was away.

Thank you Lynn!!!!

I am writing to you from the west coast. I jumped on a plane for a few days away. 

I started another DRK Everyday Cardi. I’m using Arranmore Light again. My first cardigan was too far along to bring along - it was getting cumbersome. I’d like to tell you that I’ve been doing lots of knitting but I haven’t. I’m into the body now and the short rows are done. There has been lots of napping and lots of walking around.

Unfortunately there won’t be any knitting this afternoon. I’m in Victoria and am going whale watching. I’ll have lots of pictures tomorrow. My flight home is tomorrow afternoon. I get home late and then Monday I’m in the store shipping. Tuesday I’m home with the dogs and doing lots of laundry because I’m back on a plane Tuesday night to Chicago. Another very last minute decision - like this morning. The annual yarn show is this week I need to go meet with suppliers. There are lots of great yarns and accessories to order for fall and it’s much better to do it in person. I’ve seen a preview of the fall Rowan (which is amazing) and I can’t wait to see it. I know that Atenti has new fabrics. Addi has new double pointed needles. There are new colours of Crazy. I’m getting excited to see it all.

I need to give a big (huge) shoutout to Lynn. She came in this week for me and she’ll be back next week. So much for retirement. Thanks Lynn.

Crazy May

The May Crazy Beautiful Colour from Emma’s is available online and in the store.

Get ready for a fiesta in the form of Emma’s Yarn!!!! We are bringing the heat with this super fun, pink colorway featuring the most colorful specks of orange, blue, and of course - more shades of pink

I’ve taken a few days off to recharge after a long few months. There was supposed to be lots of knitting but instead there has been lots of napping. Now I’m going to pick up my needles.

Happy May!!