Happy Family Day

We just got home from Niagara Falls.  A night away was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately we did't get much sleep because we were up watching Olympic coverage.  What a day.  Alexandre Bilodeau.  There is nothing else to say.  Yes, I was crying while watching him interviewed with his family last night.  He is an amazing human and I am so happy he won the first gold medal for Canada on home soil.  We didn't get back to the hotel room until 11:30 and I pulled out my knitting.  A few more rows are done.

Today we went to the outlet mall on Military Road.  I remember my dad taking us there to shop when we were kids.  One bag came home with a present for my dad.  Nothing for me.  :(  A quick stop at Target, an hour in the casino and then home.

Here is my knitting.  The first ball is done.  I need to pick up the pace or it won't get finished.

I don't know why the picture is showing so orange-the yarn has a slight rust look but it definitely isn't orange. Silly new camera.  I might have to read the book to find out how to get better colours.

I am changing into comfy clothes and moving to the couch.  Sleep or knit??

Let the games begin

It is Friday night at 8pm as I am writing.  My yarn and needles are sitting beside me but I can't start for another hour.  A load of laundry is in the washing machine.  I am looking for things to do to keep me occupied.  The dishwasher was done this morning.  The cleaning people were here today so the house is spotless.  What am I going to do for an hour??  Wind yarn.  Two balls are wound and it is now 8:42.  I am going to move to the couch and sit on my hands for the next 18 minutes.

It is now Saturday morning and I am at work.  It was a late night last night.

I enjoyed the opening ceremonies for most of the night.  I enjoy watching the athletes walk in.  When Georgia walked in I had a few tears in my eyes.  KD was awesome.  I am not a KD fan, couldn't name one of her songs but boy did she sing.  From there on things went down hill for me.  Everything seemed to drag on.   It was very unfortunate that the cauldrons didn't work properly.  Gretzky in the back of the truck didn't look right but I guess there was no other way to get the flame to the real cauldron.

I did get some knitting done-about 6" on my back.  About 4" in I decided that I didn't like one thing about the pattern but wasn't ripping out.  I have changed it for the rest of the sweater.  At the start of the row the pattern says to K2tog through back loop.  This gives a twist to the stitch.  I changed it to an SSK and it looks better.  For some reason Rowan doesn't believe in using an SSK.

Here is a close up.  The colours are quite right in either picture but I want to get this post done so I can knit so we are going to live with it for now.

Surprise!!

Karen and Wannietta both voted for bright but I have decided to do boring.  Sorry, I shouldn't ask questions if I'm not going to listen to your answers.    There is method to my madness though.  I bought these great cowboy boots in Vegas in December but don't have a sweater to go with them.

Bracken is the colour.

The browns match great.  Add a red shirt underneath and then there is an outfit!!

The first skein is wound and ready for 9pm EST when I can cast on.

Here is a little surprise for you.  I just finished Ishbel in Noro Sekku.  I used colour 6.  Rhonda knit two samples for the store in sock yarn and I find them a bit small.  If you check out Ishbel on Ravelry some people added two more lace patterns to make it a bit bigger so I tried it.  Now I have a scarf that I like.

I still need to block the scarf.  Then the cast off edge won't roll and the lace will lie flat.

The pattern was easy to follow and now I am thinking about what colour/yarn to use next.

My TV guy was here today.  Rick got the box for the satellite dish moved from upstairs to the store.  Now I can change channels!!  Rick is a miracle worker.  Beth and I have been known to get a phone call from mom that the TV doesn't work.  The first question is what button did you press?  We make a phone call to Rick and he comes and gets everything fixed and working again.

Tanis is here!!

Tanis Fiber Arts is a Canadian company that produces high quality hand dyed yarns.  I have been hearing about Tanis for a while and finally checked her out.

These are her Fiddlehead Mittens.  Can you see the purple lining?  The mittens are knit from the bottom up.  After the outer shell is knit, stitches are picked up from the inside edge of the cast on and the lining is knit.  Both mittens are the same so there is no left or right mitten.

We ordered the kits in the Jewel tones shown and they just arrived.

Poppy from Rowan's Colourscape Folk magazine will be my Olympic project. There is a debate going on (okay-I am debating with myself) about the colour.  Should I do bright or boring?  I still have 24 hours to decide.

Have you signed up on the Yarn Harlot's website?  On the February 10 post scroll about half way down and you will see 'fill in this form'.  Painless-it takes about 2 seconds.

As I am writing this my TV is on and I am watching racing from Daytona.  Race season has begun.  :)

This is going to be a busy weekend.  Olympics and Daytona 500 on TV.  Saturday night Beth and I will be helping with a charity dinner.  The money raised usually goes to help in Honduras-my dad goes on a mission trip every year.  This year the money is going to Haiti.  It is designated for long term projects (like rebuilding schools) and the Canadian government is matching the money 2 to 1.  Sunday night we are going across the border to Niagara Falls NY.  Monday is a holiday so we will be spending the day at the Outlet Mall and at the casino.

Now I need to run and get my newsletter finished.  I finally have a class schedule finished-took me long enough.  

DONE

It is done!!!  Before Rhonda or Wannietta asks, I did sew it together by myself and even sewed in all the ends.

The pattern called for buttonholes and I did consider them.  We have some great buttons from Lantern Moon that would looked amazing.  Usually the front band is knit as a separate piece and attached at the end which makes it a bit easier for button placement. This jacket the front is all one piece so I would have put the buttonholes in while knitting the front.  I wasn't sure where I wanted them-one at the top, three going part way down like the pattern calls for or all the way to the bottom?  Then I looked at the shawl pins and the glass pin from Moving Mud was perfect.  Decision made, no buttonholes.

Here is another picture from a different angle.  I like looking at the jacket.  :)

The amazing part about me knitting this is that I hate doing moss stitch.  Normally I won't look at a pattern that has it but I loved this jacket so much that it didn't matter.

Christmas will be here before we know it

Before I forget-the store will be closed on Monday February 15 for Family Day.

Last week I had someone spamming my blog.  They were adding a comment to all my posts so I had to go through old posts and delete these.  Because of this there are some changes to my blog.  When you post a comment it comes to me and I have to approve it before it goes on the blog.  Unfortunately I don't get an email about this and only see your comment when I log on to do another post.  If you make a comment and don't see it for a few days don't worry-I will see it and post it.

Last night Beth went to see Avatar.  There was no way that I could sit for three hours in a movie theatre.  Do you know how many times I would have to leave and use the washroom??  Here are the dogs-very upset that their mom left them.

While Beth was gone I started sewing together my Debbie Bliss jacket.  One sleeve is in and the side and sleeve seam are done.  I will be sewing in the second sleeve once I am done my post.

Jane worked yesterday and a surprise arrived.  A box from Prism with my Christmas stocking kits.  I ordered a finished stocking as well so we would have a sample right away.  Unbelievable.  I will definitely be making a few for my house.

I opened a few kits and took a picture of the colours.  The kits include a skein of Stuff (many different hand dyed yarns tied together) and a skein of Galaxy which is a hand dyed ribbon.  There is also a package of matching beads in each kit.

The only thing not included in the kit is fabric to line it.

We received eight kits in total including two red (the sample colour).  Any colour can be ordered and we have lots of Stuff in stock for you to see the different colours available.

This is going to be a week of finishing

I have been away from the computer for the past 2 days.  Saturday was crazy busy in the store-I'm not complaining-it makes the day go much quicker.  I came home, moved to the couch and knit.

I can't stop watching Grey's Anatomy.  No commercials makes it so much better.  It also helps when knitting because you don't have to put down your knitting to fast forward through commercials.

Sunday morning I woke with a migraine so spend some time in bed.  When I got up it was time to knit again.  The Super Bowl was okay.  I wanted Indy to win but the Saints winning doesn't upset me.  The game was fairly boring though.  I wish they had moved the ball up and down the field more.  What was with the commercials???  CTV over road the US feed and we saw the same 6 commercials over and over again.  We know that the Olympics is coming this week!!!!

The collar is done on my Debbie Bliss jacket.  I need to sew in the sleeves and done!

Rochdale is from Rowan 46 (the fall magazine) and is knit in Big Wool. I started it and then it was set aside for a while.

When I finished the knitting on my Debbie Bliss jacket I pulled this out and finished all the knitting on it as well.  After I sew the shoulder seams I can pick up and do the collar.

Have you read the Yarn Harlot in the past few days?  The Knitting Olympics are back on.  For those of you who don't belong to Ravelry but want to compete, please go to her blog and sign up.  Rules are the same as four years ago.  you can't start before the opening ceremonies and you have to be finished by closing ceremonies.

I need to get moving.  There are lots of chores to be done today.

Fresco

I am watching CNN and the big news is the huge storm hitting the Washington DC area.  It got me thinking that we are still due for our major snow storm.  Maybe I should be showing you some exciting winter yarns because it could be a while before spring is here.

Korey and I have been working on adding some new yarns to the website.  Fresco from Classic Elite is up now.

Classic Elite does a web-letter weekly with great patterns.   Emma knit the Basketwhip Cowl for us.  Heaven!!  Two skeins of Fresco-wool, alpaca and angora.

Here are a few more patterns using Fresco.

Snowdrop Scarf

Snowflake Hat

Fresco might also be familiar to you because Jared Flood used it in his book Made in Brooklyn for two great hats.

Beaumont in four colours.

Beaumont in two colours using a larger needle for the crown.

I spent some time knitting last night and got the second sleeve done. Now onto the collar.

The Y&R is going to be very interesting over the next few weeks.  Emily and Patty.  We all know where that story is going but still can't wait to see it.  Is everyone going to figure out all of Adam's little secrets?  I called the Victor/Adam/Tucker story line before they revealed it in the show-wish I had blogged it.  Daisy and Ryder.  I usually fast forward when they are on but I am looking forward to finding out who their mother is.

The battery on my computer is about to run out so I am going to sign off, plug it in and pick up my knitting.

An evening off

I have no knitting to report. Last night Beth and I headed to Burlington to watch my friend Eveline's kids play hockey. Eveline and I were room mates in university and have been best friends since. We also share the same birthday so I can never get into trouble for forgetting hers. :)

Over the past few weeks we have seen many customers who are knitting the fingerless mittens that appeared in Canadian Living.  There are a few questions with the pattern-especially when it says to continue the pattern as set.  I went on line today and found that on the Canadian Living website the pattern has been rewritten and is much easier to understand.

I just pulled the new Chris Bylsma patterns out and put them on the shelf. Here are a couple more very interesting designs.

The Fusion Jacket

A classic jacket with the spunk of a casual cardi belongs in every wardrobe. A sock yarn and a dk wool worked together in an easy twisted stitch offer a myriad of color and yarn possibilities. 

Now I am thinking that this might be my Olympic Knitting.  I love sock yarn and what a great way to use it-a quick to knit cardigan on 8mm needles.

Interlude-knit in double knitting weight yarn.  Oh, the possibilities.
-Tahki Cotton Classic-we now have 42 colours in stock
-Debbie Bliss Prima or Amalfi
-Noro Chirimen or Aya
-Classic Elite Soft Linen or Firefly
-Rowan Lenpur Linen
-Sirdar Baby Bamboo or Flirt DK

This classic cardi with plenty of spirit breaks convention as the edges deliverately flip and curl. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

New camera

Many years ago we bought a digital camera.  It was a great camera but neither of us actually read the book as to how to use it properly.  There were a million settings and we never got it right.  Then I was using my iPhone to take pictures.  Not bad but no flash.  Last night we had to run to Best Buy and while we were there I bought a new camera.  A Nikon Coolpix (you probably have seen it in TV commercials).  I can put it to SCENE and it picks the proper setting.  It is much smaller than the other camera and will now fit in my purse.

You know what this means-more blog pictures!!

Roko does not like it when Beth knits.  He is sitting on the couch at her elbow sulking.  After a bit he will jump across to my couch and try and sit on me.  Beth says 'can you just love him for a bit?' and then I have to put down my knitting until he tires of me.

This is the new Revive from Rowan. Great colours. I want to knit with it!! Will it be my Olympic knitting??

Here is my sleeve.  I am about half way done.  I forgot that a sleeve can take a while to knit-as you go there are more and more stitches on the needle.  I am going to sign off and knit for a bit-I want this done so I can move onto something else.

Working through my UFOs

I must say that I am loving the new format for Blogger. I preview before I hit post and now the preview looks like the post.

My chores for the day are done.
-Call my financial advisor.  I need to get my RSP contributions made
-Call the TV guy.  Right now I can't change the channel on the TV in the store-I have to run upstairs.  With the Olympics about to start I will need to be changing channels.
-Return phone calls from yesterday
-Place orders

Now I am going to pull out my knitting.

Here is the body of my Debbie Bliss cabled jacket.   Fronts and back are done and joined at the shoulders.  One sleeve is done and the second sleeve is on row 11.  Can I get it done today??

Why am I showing a bunch of towels rolled up?  This is my big cabled scarf. Originally I had it laid out on towels but because it is so long it was folded back three times.  I was afraid that if I left it that way I would end up with fold lines. To prevent these lines I have rolled it up-it took four huge bath towels.

I am still at a loss as to what I am going to knit for the Olympics. I want something that will give me a challenge but it has to get finished in two weeks.

Chris Bylsma Designs

Okay, I like the new posting.  Before I couldn't always make the text content line up with the pictures.  Now everything lines up.

A large envelope arrived from Chris Bylsma filled with her great patterns including some new patterns for spring.

Cables, a bit of easy lace and dropped stitches create an airy, reversible wrap called ‘Vlinder’, which means butterfly in Dutch. Clever buttons and loops along the edges offer endless style possibilities. 

Kaleidoscope is a great sweater knit in double knitting weight cotton.

 Angles, colors, textures and shapes all come together in this whimsical and one-of-a-kind top that’s as much fun to wear as it is to knit.

 

Another garment knit in double knitting weight yarn.

Feel calm and centered in a classic wrap cardi. The faux cable gently meanders to the shoulder and simply glides straight down the back. Ties inside and out provide a custom fit and overall eyelets assure you always keep your cool.

You can see all of Chris' designs on her website.  I think we have every pattern in the store now.

New posting options

This morning was spent having my hair done.  I am very, very happy this afternoon.  No more grey!!

I checked into the store to make sure Jane knew where everything was.  She has been away for six weeks which means lots of changes.

Then I was off to help Beth in her warehouse.  I needed to go into her blogger account for a minute and saw that there is new formatting.  It should be much easier now with pictures.  I can move them around.  It is super easy to change the sizes of the pictures.  How come I didn't know about this?

We received many new patterns in the store today.

This is Charleston from Dolce Handknits.  The pattern was knit in Skinny Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas.

James is knit in worsted weight.  There are endless possibilities for this.

I really like the collar-something different.

I want to see how this looks when it is posted so I am going to end for now.  There is no sense adding lots of pictures if I don't like the look when finished.

Boring weekend makes for a boring blog post

I came home from work yesterday and had a nap. It was a busy day with lots of customers (I like that) and lots of rearranging. I was trying to get the Rowan and Debbie Bliss yarns out on display. Rowan is done but not the Debbie Bliss. When I woke up I ate dinner (prepared by Beth which always makes it better) and then moved to the couch. Beth had rented the first season of Grey's Anatomy. We didn't watch at the beginning but everyone says the show is good so it was time to check it out. Very good show! We both knit and watched four episodes.

That is right-Beth was knitting as well. Her sweater is cast on, the ribbing is done and now she is in the pattern. There were a few minor issues getting going but everything is good now.

After church this morning I came home and put my scarf in the tub with Soak to soak. Here it is lying out to dry. This is the second set of towels and the scarf is still very damp. It might be done by the end of the week.

I worked a bit on the website and then continued knitting. The second front on my Debbie Bliss jacket is done and I am about to start the sleeve.

Overall it was a fairly boring weekend. Tomorrow, however, is going to be a very good day. Jane is back from her trip and will be in the store and I have a hair appointment!! This always makes me happy. Then I will continue with the website. There are lots of new patterns to get up on the Featured Pattern page.

Perfect Tension

I have now counted her stitches and it is exactly what the pattern calls for. She says "Aren't you going to update your blog post? Perfect tension."

Eight boxes of yarn and books

Today was crazy in the store. I was at work before 10 (we don't open until noon on Fridays) to make sure I caught the UPS driver with my Rowan. Sometimes he comes before we open and then I don't receive the shipment until Monday. I wanted the books and yarn today plus I didn't want Jane to have to deal with it all on Monday. The Rowan looks great. I really want to knit with Revive (the recycled yarn) but can't start anything new!!!!

As I was unpacking the Rowan when Mr Canpar came with two large boxes of Debbie Bliss yarns and books. The new Eco book and yarn is here.

I will be back in a minute. Beth is going to swatch her Olympic sweater but I need to cast on for her. She is standing beside me and breathing over my shoulder, reading what I am writing so I had better do it for her before I hit her.

Okay, I am back now. She is complaining that I am making her swatch. "I knit to tension. I shouldn't have to do this". How does she know that she knits to tension? She has only knit scarves before. Now we are having an argument because she claims she knit a sweater 20 years ago. She doesn't know what she did yesterday but she can remember 20 years ago "like it was yesterday". Now she says that if you want the real story you can read her blog. None of this made up stuff.

Okay, back to business.

Amalfi is another new yarn from Debbie. 70% Cotton, 15% Nylon, 10% Linen, 5% Silk in beautiful shades.





She has now knit 7 rows and wants me to check her tension. This is going to be a long night. Now she is reading over my shoulder telling me that I have spelling mistakes. Seriously. If you read that there was a murder in Ancaster on Friday night....

I am knitting away

Everything in my life is on hold right now so that I can get this jacket done. The first front is done and joined to the back (gotta love the three needle bind off). I quickly basted in the sleeve for the picture. The second front has been cast on and I am done the first twelve rows of moss stitch.

We received a surprise shipment of Noro yesterday. In Kureyon there are three colours from the past.

52-blue, purple and green

161-rust, brown, green and purple/pink

183-green, turquoise, grey and beige

Damn Noro. 52 will work great in my new Log Cabin Afghan. 161 and 183 are perfect for my Lizard Ridge. I am supposed to be finishing off other projects!!!

In Silk Garden we received a colour that I don't think I have seen before and I definitely want a sweater out of

248-beige, green, peach and purple.

How about the Y&R right now? I am thoroughly enjoying it. Even Beth is watching. Victor and Jack working together to get Tucker. Jill and Katherine fighting again-I am so happy about this because when they were friends it was very boring. Billy going after Adam with the help of many others. Great TV!!!

Olympic Knitting

Pearl from Lorna's Laces is 51% silk and 49% bamboo. How can that be bad? I just opened a box from Lorna's with three colours. From the top-Desert Flower, Hermosa and Midway.

Lorna's Laces was owned by Lorna at one time but now Beth owns it. Beth doesn't like to discontinue colours. Desert Flower is an older colour that I found on someones website and fell in love. The box also contained Desert Flower in Shepherd Sock and Helen's Lace.

This is a close up of the Lyerka scarf. One skein of Pearl.

The Olympics are going to be starting soon and I need to figure out what I am going to knit. I keep changing my mind but there are bigger problems at hand. Beth has decided that she is going to knit a sweater as well. Yes, you did read that right. You can follow along on her blog. It is my responsibility to find her a sweater to knit. She wants to use DK weight. 4mm needles. What is she thinking? She will be lucky to get the back done by the time the Olympics ends but I can't change her mind.

I'm going to Seattle

Yarn Market News is a publication for yarn shop owners. The articles have amazing ideas and I read every issue from cover to cover.

This March I will be going to Seattle for their third conference. I attended the last two in Chicago. It is two long days of speakers but well worth it.

My hotel is booked-no problem. Airplane tickets were a whole different animal. I have a lot of Aeroplan miles with Air Canada so I always try to use them when I fly. I also like to fly in Business. The seats are bigger, more leg room, on the plane first (and close to a bathroom), off the plane first and my luggage comes quickly. A normal business class ticket to the US is 40,000 miles. When I first started looking at flying to Seattle it was going to be 170,000 miles. Last week it was up to 340,000 miles. Beth and I can fly to NZ in first class for less miles than this. I decided that I would pass on the conference. Then in I changed my mind and really wanted to go. Yes, there are days when I have a real problem making a decision. I looked at the Aeroplan site yesterday and there was a flight I could take for 40,000 miles. I fly direct to Seattle. Good news. The fun comes in flying home. I fly to Calgary, sit for 4 hours and then fly the rest of the way home. Not the ideal situation but I still have lots of miles.

Absolutely no knitting was done yesterday. Accounting took over my evening. The good news is that my GST return is done and my year end is almost done. When I finish this post I am moving upstairs to watch Idol and knit. The first front might be finished tonight.

Many of you are waiting anxiously for the new Rowan. I am too. The books and yarn were shipped from the US on January 22. Fingers crossed the shipment will arrive this week. I will post here, on Twitter and on Facebook as soon as it arrives.