Where is the box?

July 11, 2018, 6:09 pm

A few weeks ago we received new Fino Mini Skein Kits from Manos. There is a great new cowl pattern.

All you need is one kit and a 3.75mm, 40cm circular needle. This is the perfect pattern for a beginner knitter. It's also ideal for 'sitting in the car' or 'watching my kids play soccer' knitting. Just knitting and purling.

Download the pattern for the Fino Shadow Cowl - it's free.

The cowl pictured was knit with kit #8 - Henrietta.

Lynn as away at the cottage this week. It seems to be a theme. She is working on her Comfort Fade Cardi.

She chose tosh dk for her cardigan. I'm jealous. I love this colourway. We can't have the same colour - we'd have to call each other in the morning to make sure we didn't wear them on the same day.

My cardigan is growing. A few more rows and I'm onto the ribbing. How do you like my shawl pin? I went outside to take pictures and needed to hold the fronts together.

Sorbet. Gossip. Beach Bunny. Oh my. Our Hedgehog order has been shipped. It has left Heathrow according to my tracking. If we are lucky it will be here by Friday but more than likely early next week.

If you miss out on the new colours, don't worry. Our next shipment has gone into production.

We watched The Amazing Race last night. Oh my goodness. A task where you have to deal blackjack. Beth and I were crying. We could have done that in 2 minutes. And next week they are going to be racing cars. I want to do that :)

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Yarn Bomb

July 12, 2018, 1:06 pm

≫ Next: Dragonfly's Path

≪ Previous: Where is the box?

Diana came in this week with a new sample for the store. LOVE IT!

Espe (purchase the pattern on Ravelry)

Inspired by the spectacular colors of the Colorado aspen groves in autumn, this wrap uses lace leaf motifs that let the beautiful colors of the gradient yarn take center stage.

The shawl is worked in one piece, side-to-side, from a tiny six-stitch cast on, and it increases along one edge forming a practical, elongated triangle. A simple yarn over edging is worked along the two longer sides; this can be used for finishing since the blocking wires can be easily threaded through the yarn overs.

We used one Freia Fibers Yarn Bomb for the shawl.
786m (860 yards) on a ball
100% US Cruelty Free Merino

Yarn Bomb is exactly the same as Freia's Shawl Ball but has double the yardage. I have taken the following sentence out twenty times trying to figure out how to write it so I think I might show a picture to try and explain.

2 Shawl Balls = 1 Yarn Bomb in yardage. But in a Yarn Bomb the colour only grades once. If you are using a Shawl Ball, you will go through the colours twice.

We used 2 balls of Shawl Ball to make the Sonoma Scarf. We wanted the colours to grade once. By working both balls at the same time (two rows of one and then two rows of the other) we made the grade longer. If you were making the scarf with a Yarn Bomb you would only need one ball and your colours would grade like this.

If you are confused, ask us the next time you are in the store. It might be easier to explain in person.

The Yarn Bomb won't be in the store until the end of August. I have the three balls pictured. These are mine but I am willing to part with one or all if someone needs to start a new project. I totally understand :)

We love Merino Mia from Prism Yarns. There will be three new Gradient Packs coming in August.

There will be two fabulous new patterns coming as well. One gradient kit (8 skeins) will make either shawl.

We used a Gradient Pack to make So Faded (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

Finally some flowers. I hope that the deer stay away. They've already eaten the buds off too plants. Or it was Alex when she came in yesterday - I asked her to have lunch before she came today :)

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Dragonfly's Path

July 13, 2018, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: Neighbourhood Watch

≪ Previous: Yarn Bomb

Cathy and Sarah are having fun at the cottage. Cathy has been busy knitting and finished the Dragonfly's Path Shawl (pattern purchased on Ravelry). They had a great photo shoot today with Sarah's husband John taking the pictures.

The shawl is beautiful.

The pattern was a pleasure to knit, especially the border with the I-cord edging.

Cathy used 2 skeins of Life in the Long Grass Sock.

I really like the LITLG yarn and will definitely knit with it again.

Dragonfly’s Path is a crescent-shaped shawl with long ends to warm your shoulders or wrap around your neck as a scarf.

The body of the shawl is squishy garter stitch, finishing with a simple purl ridge. The edging reminds me of a dragonfly flitting along the shore of a lake. The dragonfly (a pretty cable) meanders back and forth across a garter-stitch background, creating a softly scalloped edge along the way.

Enjoy yourself as you follow your little dragonfly’s adventure!

Fully written instructions are provided, along with three optional charts.

Alex started moving things around yesterday. We need to get ready for all the amazing shipments that will be arriving over the next month. These are just the hand dyed yarns coming.

Hedgehog Fibres - I thought we might see it today but it looks like Tuesday
Rockshelter from Meadowcroft Dyeworks - next week
Adelaide from Primrose - sometime in August
Long Dog Yarn - beginning of August
Madelinetosh - end of August
Autumn and Indigo - sometime in August
Frabjous Fibers - sometime in August
Freia Fibers - sometime in August
Prism Yarns - end of August

And some exciting news. I'm casting off the body of my Comfort Fade Cardi. Now onto the sleeves.

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Neighbourhood Watch

July 14, 2018, 4:30 pm

≫ Next: Chevron Shenanigans

≪ Previous: Dragonfly's Path

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Lynda yesterday. Another great shawl.

Meet Chimera (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

This three-quarter square shawl is worked from the centre out, beginning with a garter tab. Two garter tab options are included in the pattern: Turkish cast-on (my favourite) and the standard. One skein of main colour is worked in one stitch pattern, followed by five gradient mini-skeins worked in a second stitch pattern. Hard blocking is recommended as it opens up the lace and makes this pattern shine.

Instructions are included for optimizing the amount of yarn in your skeins.

Both charts and written charted instructions are included for your convenience.

The shawl is knit with a full skein of Cheshire Cat from Frabjous Fibers and a Cheshire Cat Mini Skein kit. The colours that we used will be back in stock at the end of August. There are lots of amazing colour combinations for you to start right away.

I had fun playing with the yarn.

86 Buttercake and 104 Land of Wonders

24 Too Much Pepper and 32 Fuchsia to Turquoise Shadow

94 More Slumber and 18 Jub Jub Bird

Karen came in to show off an amazing scarf. It's the ZickZack Scarf (pattern free on Ravelry)

Karen used one ball of Debbie Bliss Rialto Sock (colour 15) and one skein of Mountain Colors Twizzlefoot in Icicle.

The original pattern calls for two different colours of self-striping yarn. I really like Karen's version using one self-striping and one hand dyed fingering weight.

An impressive yet easy to knit scarf in the style of a great Italian designer.

The chevrons are worked with single increases and decreases – no knots in your fingers trying to knit complicated double decreases and no double increases where the stitches get tight and hard to work with…

Customers comment that I need to stop posting finished projects and ideas here because they don't have enough time to knit them all. I have the same problem when customers bring in show and tell. I really, really want this scarf. I tried to keep it but Karen put it in her purse.

Lynn accomplished quite a bit of knitting while she was away. She's onto the third colour for her Comfort Fade Cardi. We might end up with matching cardigans. I love the colours.

I'm part way through the first sleeve on mine. The sweater is knit in reverse stocking stitch. For the sleeves I am knitting them inside out on a circular needle. This makes the knit side on the inside and the purl side showing. That's much easier than working every round in purl. The only thing you need to watch when doing this is picking up for the underarms. I'll take some pictures when I do my second sleeve.

This is one of Lucy's favourite spots at our house. From here she can look out the front windows and keep an eye on the neighbourhood.

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Chevron Shenanigans

July 15, 2018, 7:44 pm

≫ Next: Adjusting the sleeves

≪ Previous: Neighbourhood Watch

©Stephen West

I am obsessed with Chevron Shenanigans (pattern purchased on Ravelry) by Stephen West. Thank you Stephen for letting me share your pictures.

©Stephen West

Select a palette of fading colors to knit this top-down garter stitch shawl. Short rows with chevrons create the unique asymmetrical shape. The small size features four colors and the large size uses five colors fading from light to dark. I-cord edges decorate the clean lines of this classic Westknits shawl.

There are two sizes available.

Yarn: Fingering Weight

Yardage: Small Size with 4 colors
Color A - 200 yds / 183m
Color B - 390 yds / 357m
Color C - 370 yds / 338m
Color D - 250 yds / 229m

Large Size with 5 colors
Color A - 130 yds / 119m
Color B - 320 yds / 293m
Color C - 395 yds / 361m
Color D - 380 yds / 347m

Color E - 220 yds / 201m

Take a look at the finished projects on Ravelry. It is going to be hard to choose colour combinations. Bright? Purples? Subtle? Greys?

I emailed Stephen for permission to use his pictures - I always ask before using someone else's photos. He gave permission (as long as credit is given) which makes me happy.

We are going to have a busy week next week. There will be a box coming from Meadowcroft Dyeworks (possibly Tuesday but probably Wednesday). Lots of Rockshelter Sock. New colours of Rockshelter Sock.

The first sleeve is almost finished. I'm heading to the store in the morning to water the flowers and wash the floors. Then I have the afternoon to knit.

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Adjusting the sleeves

July 16, 2018, 5:40 pm

≫ Next: Potlucks

≪ Previous: Chevron Shenanigans

I'm not sure that I can wait until tomorrow to see the new Hedgehog colours. We will be getting one box in the morning. The second box is still caught in customs. I will update the website after the box is unpacked and I'll keep watching the Canada Post website - maybe the second box will be released tomorrow.

I borrowed some pictures from Hedgehog Fibres. Here are Anime and Hawk on Skinny Singles.

There wasn't as much knitting accomplished as I had planned today. Okay, make that no knitting so far today. I needed to spend time updating the website. I totally forgot to add the new Cocoknit's bamboo cable needles to the website.

This array of Bamboo Cable Needles are used for holding stitches while working cables in your designs. When not in use, place them on your Maker's Keep magnetic bracelet - the smooth nickel-plated steel band is designed to cling to any magnet.
Needles can also be used to pick up stitches when using the Cocoknits Method of sweater construction.
The small needles are also handy for picking up stitches when using the Cocoknits Method of sweater construction.
Set includes one each of five sizes:
- US 2/2.75mm
- US 4/3.5 mm
- US 6/4 mm
- US 9/5.5 mm
- US 10.75/6.75 mm
I was up early and out of the door to do some work at the store. I washed the floors. No, I won't win any competitions for the job I did but it is much better than it was.
Now it's time to knit - I'm at the cuff on the first sleeve. Small problem. I knit the sleeve too long. I kept going and going not realizing that the cuff is 32 rows long. I'm going to adjust the cuff to make up for it.

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Potlucks

July 17, 2018, 6:22 pm

≫ Next: Gearing up for Fall

≪ Previous: Adjusting the sleeves

Box one arrived this morning. It was so heavy that Ms. Canada Post couldn't carry it into the store. The three new Potlucks in Skinny Singles are amazing.

The second box is still in Customs. I hope they release it soon. Please.

Sarah has been knitting away on her Comfort Fade Cardi. I think I might need one in grey too.

Our TNNA order from Spincycle Yarns should be leaving Washington State this week.

Introducing our newest yarn, Dream State! We've been dreaming of a worsted weight, and now it's here.

Our mill is located on Queen Street in Bellingham, Washington, and runs full time. We dye in-house as well, in the same fashion we used to dye when we were handspinning. Our pots are bigger, though! Because we dye the fiber before it's spun, colors meet and part ways in stunning, unique combinations; the overall effect is of a balanced, seamless whole.

The color transitions are slow and dramatic, and each skein is unique. When planning larger projects requiring more than one skein, allow for nuance.

worsted weight // 100% superwashed American Wool // 150 yards per skein // hand wash or machine wash cold, lay flat to dry // suggested gauge: 4.5 sts per inch on US #7 // MADE IN THE USA FROM SHEEP TO SKEIN

I can't wait to receive Dream State. 8 colours will be coming.

Rachel from Spincycle Yarns knit Tensho (pattern purchased on Ravelry). She used one skein of Dream State for all the colourwork.

Lynn is thinking of making Humulus (pattern purchased on Ravelry) using Dream State for the yoke. Hmm. Has me thinking about a store sample.

We had dinner with my dad's Uncle Bert tonight. Swiss Chalet (can't go wrong with that) and then back to his condo. He is an artist and does a lot of painting. He wanted Beth and I to pick out one of his pictures for our house. We picked three. He was so excited that we are going to hang them.

I finished the first sleeve on my Comfort Fade Cardi last night. I'm tired tonight so I don't think I should start the other sleeve. It might be better to work on something that is already on needles.

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Gearing up for Fall

July 18, 2018, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: You're never too old

≪ Previous: Potlucks

Our order from Long Dog is leaving California this week. Yay! More pretty colours. There will be two fingering weight yarns in the order. In Singles there are 31 colours including...

A Pirate's Life

single: 100% superwash merino wool; single ply | 400 yds per 100g | 7-8 sts per inch on US 1-3 needles

Daydream Believer

First Blush

Funny Valentine

Grace

New Growth

Octopus' Garden

There are 9 colours coming on the Bounce Sock base including...

Fresh Bloom

bounce sock: 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon; 4-ply | 464 yds per 100 g | 7-8 sts per inch on US 1-3 needles

Through the Woods

Popsicle Stand

Frou Frou Drink

Birthday Cake

I received an email today from Hedgehog Fibres requesting payment for our next shipment. It will be leaving Ireland soon. YAY!!!

That is the happy news. The not good news.

UPS sent my parcel from Meadowcroft Dyeworks (Rockshelter Sock) who are located in Pennsylvania to Minnesota. A bit out of the way. After three phone calls (including a supervisor) no one can tell me when my box will be arriving. I got told to keep watching the website. UGH!!

Canada Customs is still holding the second box of Hedgehog Fibres. There is no way to find out when it will be released. You can't phone to find out where it is in the process. They work at their own pace.

I'm going to finish with happy news. The Rowan boxes are still scheduled to be here for August 1.

Around Holme is another magazine coming from Rowan for Fall. Lots of beautiful tweeds.

The patterns in Rowan Magazine 64 are only available by purchasing the magazine. For all other pattern books from Rowan (this does not include Marie Wallin), you can purchase the book or you can purchase the individual patterns on Ravelry.

My garden is flowering. So far no more visits from the deer. Now I'm starting to worry about them. Are they okay?

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You're never too old

July 19, 2018, 5:16 pm

≫ Next: Chunky Knits

≪ Previous: Gearing up for Fall

The Open started today - golf for those of you who don't follow sports. I was up at 5:15 to watch. I still haven't picked up the second sleeve on my Comfort Fade Cardi so I was knitting away on Fading Point. Then I had a small cry. My last two colours are too close. And I am finished the first side. The second side is only at the third colour so I'm going to use a different fourth colour on this side to see how it looks. Then I'll have to rip out the first side. :(

Lynn's comment "it must really be off if you are going to rip out - you don't rip out" She's right. I don't but I will this time.

Here are some pretty pictures from Mrs. Crosby. The new colours for fall.

I stopped and had breakfast with dad on the way to work. He's normally out of the house at 6:30 and off to Toronto. He wasn't feeling well this morning (he's okay, it was his excuse for staying home and watching the golf). I gave my gardens a good water when I got to the store. My hostas are so big and can't seem to get enough water. Then I had an idea. That always means trouble.

We're hanging Hedgehog Skinny Singles. This is a much better way to show off the colours. There is one small flaw in my plan. The grid can't hold all the colours. The more solid colours will live on the shelf beside the grid.

So this opened a can of worms. Now we are moving more and more things. Lynn is joking that I need to wake up early every morning.

Lynn and Alex did a great job getting all the Hedgehog rearranged. Tomorrow Lynn and I need find a home for some other yarns but this section looks good.

Diana finished Sandscape (pattern purchased on Ravelry). It is awesome. We used a Fading Point kit from Autumn and Indigo. 34 Autumn Rose. There was enough yarn left over that she is going to knit Free Your Fade. We are going to have a 5 colour version.

Lucy came for a visit and was really thirsty. She loves water.

I like to play in the water too. I was making rainbows with the water sprinkler this morning. You're never too old to play in the sprinkler.

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Chunky Knits

July 20, 2018, 6:13 pm

≫ Next: Finished Projects

≪ Previous: You're never too old

Rowan Chunky Knits is another new pattern book coming for fall. This one uses Brushed Fleece and Big Wool. These are great designs knit on big needles.

There are so many amazing patterns coming from Rowan for fall. Choosing is going to be hard.

This sweater looks so cozy. I think I'm going to need it.

The good news first. Our next shipment from Hedgehog Fibres is on the way. All new colours in Sock and Skinny Singles are in the shipment. Canada Customs is still holding one box from our last shipment. Maybe next week. It'll be interesting to see what arrives first.

The bad news is that our order from Meadowcroft Dyeworks (Rockshelter Sock) won't be here until Tuesday. It was mis-sorted and went to Minnesota. I placed many phone calls trying to get them to rush it to us since it was their mistake. No luck. It was shipped Standard Ground so they were going to continue shipping it that way. I could pay more to speed it up. Yup, their mistake which they've admitted. Anyway, it's given us time to rearrange a lot of other yarns and we'll get the box on Tuesday.

In anticipation of the box arriving we moved Rockshelter Sock back into the fingering weight room.

The fingering weight room is looking great. There is so much more room to walk around. It's almost scary. I might need to order more yarn :) The same can't be said for a few other rooms. Next week we tackle the front room.

I still haven't started the second sleeve on my Comfort Fade Cardi. There was no time in the store to sit and knit. Maybe Sunday afternoon. Lynn could have the body of her's finished tonight. I'll get some pictures tomorrow because it is looking so good. So Good!!!

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Finished Projects

July 21, 2018, 4:30 pm

≫ Next: Fading

≪ Previous: Chunky Knits

Linda finished her Fading Point. Oh my goodness. I want!!! Do you know the IKEA commercial where the wife is yelling 'Start the car!'? I wanted to yell that and take off with the shawl.

Her colours are
Uschitita Days Like This - we are out of this colour but Primrose Adelaide Thrash looks good with the other colours
Skinny Singles Dove
Uschitita Vanilla Sky
Skinny Singles Monarch
Fuse 2020 (one of our one of a kind colours)

I had my post almost finished (it's only 11:30 but I've been here since 8:30) and Linda came in. Change of plans. I'm saving today's post for tomorrow.

Then Cathy sent an email from the cottage.

She finished a 3 Color Cashmere Cowl. The yarn is a Party of Five kit from SweetGeorgia. This colourway isn't available yet. It's new for fall and I was able to get a kit at TNNA. We should have the new colours at the end of August.

Here is my second cottage finish. I used the Sweet Georgia kit you gave me. I adjusted some of the pattern sections to accommodate the amount of yarn in each colour but the number of rows are pretty close to the original pattern.

I have a feeling that Cathy isn't going to get to wear this. Sarah might pack it in her suitcase and take it home. And if Sarah doesn't take it I will.

My post was finished and scheduled when Kathy came in with an amazing shawl.

This is Find Your Fade knit with a special kit from Meadowcroft Dyeworks. The yarn is called Silk Traveler. It is 70% superwash merino and 30% silk. I ordered the kit because I loved the colours. When I blogged about it Kathy came in and grabbed it. I'm glad she did. It would still be in a bag at my house and the yarn is so beautiful it needs to be shown off.

I thought I was finished and Jean came in with her Rainbows in the Gorge. She was unsure about her finishing. She did an amazing job. The back is grafted. From top to bottom and it is perfect!

This is a Cheshire Cat So Fond of Rainbows Kit. The colour Jean used is Spectrum of Moonlight.

Thanks Linda, Cathy, Kathy and Jean for sharing. You made today's post easy. And really pretty!

I thought about saving some pictures for tomorrow but I couldn't wait to show of these beautiful projects.

Dad and Lucy came for a visit. I'm not sure that this looks comfortable but Lucy was happy.

Golf is on the TV in the store. I was texting Beth about it while writing my post and this is what I got back.

I hope the puppy is a little less stubborn than Lucy.

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Fading

July 22, 2018, 7:08 pm

≫ Next: Travel Project

≪ Previous: Finished Projects

Lynn's Comfort Fade Cardi is coming along and it is beautiful.

She is at the cottage for a few days and will be starting the sleeves.

I've been working on Fading Point today. I made it to the lace section of colour 4. After looking at colour 4 and 5 I decided that I was going to keep going with them. No ripping out.

A little happiness from Rowan. The new colours of Felted Tweed. We should have them ready to sell on August 1.

My chore for tomorrow is to work on Knitting Camp.

We added a new class this year. Dying Sock Blanks.

In a nutshell, a sock blank is a knitted rectangle designed to be unraveled and then knit into socks, scarves, shawls, mittens, or anything you would knit with fingering weight yarn.

They look a little bit like an unfinished scarf with live, loose stitches at each end. Sock blanks are machine knitted with undyed yarns and then dyed.

Take a look at this blog post from Felicia at SweetGeorgia Yarns for ideas of what you can make with sock blanks.

We still have room in all the workshops but don't wait too long. There is a limit on the number of people we can have in the dye workshops.

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Travel Project

July 23, 2018, 7:44 pm

≫ Next: Elvis is back

≪ Previous: Fading

Saturday afternoon I am flying to Myrtle Beach for a few days. I need to run a few errands there. That sentence sounds funny. I need to meet with our phone/TV/Internet/security company. It's time to upgrade a few things and I have to be there in person to do it. I need to do some banking as well.

What knitting do I take?

My Comfort Fade Cardi (I'm doing the second sleeve tomorrow) is too big to take.

Fading Point is too large for knitting on the plane. I'm almost finished the second half and will be joining. That means taking two pieces of knitting and four balls of yarn.

I've been looking at Time Trades for a long time.

It is knit with 2 full skeins of fingering weight and a mini skein kit. I'm going to use two colours of Life in the Long Grass. Pressed Flowers and Barefoot. I'm adding a Fino Mini Skein kit in the colour Beatrix.

Today was filled with errands including meeting my dad at the store. We are making some storage shelves in the book area. Everything has been measured and we're finishing in the morning. That means early to the store. Which means heading to bed now.

I've been tracking a lot of boxes today. The box from Meadowcroft Dyeworks is arriving tomorrow. Lots of Rockshelter Sock.

The first box from Hedgehog Fibres is still caught in Canada Customs. The next two boxes have left Heathrow and will be arriving in Canada tomorrow. Fingers crossed they make it through Customs quickly.

Knit kits were released from Customs and we'll see them this week. We have purple and teal arriving.

And the last box for this week. Long Dog should be coming on Friday.

Now I really need to get to sleep.

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Elvis is back

July 24, 2018, 7:02 pm

≫ Next: It's Here

≪ Previous: Travel Project

I started thinking about my mini skeins last night in bed and all of a sudden a light bulb went off. Why not use tosh unicorn tails?

I'm really happy with this combination.

Dad came this morning and we have shelves. All the pretty Hedgehog skeins live together now.

Mr. and Ms. UPS visited this afternoon to deliver a large box from Meadowcroft Dyeworks. The new colours in Rockshelter Sock are amazing.

Blacklight Elvis is back.

Diana used Rockshelter Sock for her Fading Point. All the colours are back in stock.

It finally happened. I picked up the second sleeve. Lynn was snapping pictures and I hope you can see what I was doing. (Take the needle from the purl side to the knit side, pick up the yarn and take it back to the purl side). The Comfort Fade Cardi is knit in Reverse Stocking Stitch. The sleeves are knit on circular needles. If you want the purl side out you need to purl every row. Oh my goodness. That would be so slow. The designer, Andrea Mowry, suggests knitting the sleeves inside out so that you are knitting every row. That's good but you need to make sure that you pick up the stitches back to front to insure that the seam is on the inside of your sleeve.

I have so many more pictures to show but I'm saving them for tomorrow. Sarah finished the body on her Comfort Fade Cardi. I cast on Time Trades. Thank you Lynn for winding my unicorn tails this afternoon. I made up kits using Rockshelter. Now it's bed time. A customer asked today if I was okay. She said 'you look exhausted'. I guess I need a good night's sleep.

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It's Here

July 25, 2018, 7:12 pm

≫ Next: Slow Curves

≪ Previous: Elvis is back

I came to work early thinking that I was going to knit. Wrong. Mr. Canada Post followed me up the driveway with three boxes.

The missing Hedgehog has arrived. YAY!!! The new colours of Sock look great. This is our newest Potluck - 1640.

Beach Bunny, Gossip and Sorbet.

Hawk and Deep End Kidsilk Lace.

Spincycle arrived. A restock of Dyed in the Wool and the new Dream State. It is beautiful. Lynn ripped the box from hands to look at it. She is dying (HA HA) to knit with the Dream State.

We've been putting together colour combinations for Dream State and Woolstok. I'm going to send yarn to Lynda today so that she can start a sweater for the Knitters' Fair.

Lynn is going to knit Humulus (picture on the left). She's still playing with colours. Lynda is going to knit Tensho as our store sample (picture on the right). We're going to use Midnight Sea (dark navy/almost black) as our back ground and Mississippi Marsala as the contrast.

Here are some combinations that we put together for Lynn.

Sarah's Comfort Fade Cardi is growing. She's onto the sleeves. The colour is fabulous.

We already have so many pictures today that I'm saving my newest project until tomorrow. Andrea stopped in this afternoon and brought a finished shawl. It's beautiful and will be the star of tomorrow's post. We just finished Big Brother and now we're watching The Great British Baking Show. More knitting time :)

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Slow Curves

July 26, 2018, 7:36 pm

≫ Next: Slow Curves

≪ Previous: It's Here

Andrea stopped in yesterday with her amazing Dotted Rays Speckled Fade. I love this shawl.

It is so large that it's hard to get a picture of the whole shawl.

Did you see this on Facebook? Coming tomorrow.

Two more rows and I'm finished with the navy. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. I'm on a mission to get out of the unicorn tails and into the LITLG.

My colours are
Unicorn Tails
Black Widow
Whiskey Barrel
Bronze Age
Celadon
Antique Lace

LITLG Singles
Pressed Flowers
Barefoot

I thought I was going to get some knitting done in the store today while watching the Canadian Open. Not. I thought of something on my way to work and we ran with it. Lynn, Alex and I have been rearranging.

Hedgehog Sock has a new home.

The worsted weight room has a new look.

We haven't finished yet. There is one section that I'm still contemplating.

The Landscape Wrap from Prism Yarns is sharing room with tosh sport. No more digging though baskets to look at the colours of sport.

More fun will happen tomorrow. A huge box is arriving from Long Dog. Lots of fingering weight.

I get to sleep in a bit in the morning. With all the rain we had this afternoon I won't need to water the garden. I'd be happy with a few evenings of light rain. I'm sure the farmers would be even happier. Now it's off to bed to dream about the pretty colours we'll be unpacking tomorrow afternoon.

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Slow Curves

July 27, 2018, 5:12 pm

≫ Next: I'm Here

≪ Previous: Slow Curves

Slow Curves is the newest pattern from Joji Locatelli. The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry.

Slow Curves is a crescent shawl design that alternates wedges of solid colors with wedges of ‘faded’ or mixed yarns. With the use of short rows, these sections create curves that move like a pendulum. On one side of the shawl you will see 4 definite solid sections and on the other side you will see them all blended together.

The result is this beautiful, big, optically intriguing shawl.

CONSTRUCTION NOTES

This shawl is worked from the centre top down. Stitches are increased at each side on every row to give it its characteristic crescent shape. The colors fade into the next one as you work short row wedges.

Thanks Joji for the beautiful pictures.

As I was running out the door I put together two colour combinations.

I chose LITLG Singles and Long Dog Singles
Bouquet
Ripple
Wild Rosebay
Sucker Punch

I added a skein from Autumn and Indigo for this colourway
Hemispher
Ocean Flight
Ceramic
A Pirate's Life

Lots of pretties from Long Dog Yarn arrived this afternoon. We almost tackled Mr. UPS when he finally arrived.

All the yarn is on the website.

Lynn and I have walked through the store to make sure everything is in order. My flight tomorrow is in the afternoon but I'm flying from Niagara Falls, NY. The airport is close to the outlet mall and you never know what the border wait time is going to be so I'm heading out early. I'll try and blog tomorrow. If you thought the humidity was bad here last week it's even worse in Myrtle Beach. I'll be inside a lot so there should be time to write about all the amazing yarn coming next week.

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I'm Here

July 28, 2018, 7:19 pm

≫ Next: Primrose Adelaide

≪ Previous: Slow Curves

I made it safe and sound. The flight was very rough. It's a good thing that Beth wasn't with me - she doesn't fly well.

At 8am I looked at border wait times. Queenston-Lewiston (the closest border crossing to the airport) was already a 40 minute wait. I was afraid that at 9:30 it would have been longer so I crossed at the Rainbow Bridge. I stopped at Duty Free and this is the view from the parking lot. It was such a beautiful day. I was kind of sad that I was in a hurry and I couldn't stay and watch. It doesn't matter how many times you see the Falls you are still amazed by it.

It turns out that I should have stayed. I was at the airport by 10am for a 2:40pm flight so I went to the Outlet Mall. After spending more than I should have I sat at Panera Bread for a while and knit.

I accomplished more that I thought I would today. Two more rows and I'm into the third colour.

I'm really enjoying the knitting. Not too hard but a bit of lace to keep it interesting.

Now it's time for bed. I didn't really do anything today but I'm worn out. I'm also afraid that if I start on my knitting I might go for a few hours.

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Primrose Adelaide

July 29, 2018, 8:36 pm

≫ Next: Alpaca Classic

≪ Previous: I'm Here

Time Trades is growing. It would be further if I didn't have a really long afternoon nap today. The third colour is showing a bit more red/burgundy than it is. That's what happens when you take pictures at 11pm inside.

Wednesday afternoon I received a surprise email. Primrose Adelaide is ready and on the way to us. That was so quick. I didn't think we would see the yarn until late August. According to UPS we should see the yarn on Tuesday.

Dirty Pool Toys

Animal

Jungle Bungalow

Istanbul

Batty

Just For Kicks

Tamagotchi

Moonstone

-Fingering weight

-100% Superwash merino

-435 yards / skein

-single ply

-115 gram skein

I have my laptop with me and will try and get the yarn on the website before I get home. Try. I can't wait to see the colours in real life. I have images in my head of Istanbul and Moonstone together for a Time Trades.

Now I must get to sleep. I have a repair man coming at 9am. I need to get to breakfast and back before he gets here. Yes, I could make breakfast. I have a full kitchen. But, I don't have groceries. Cracker Barrel does a much better job with French Toast than I can.

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Alpaca Classic

July 30, 2018, 6:41 pm

≫ Next: New Nordic

≪ Previous: Primrose Adelaide

We're just a few days away from the fall Rowan arriving in the store. I talked about one section of Rowan Magazine #64 - here are some garments from the second section. Alpaca Classic.

We will have the new colours and books for sale on August 1.

We've had rain all day. I feel bad for families here on vacation. About an hour ago we received a message on the security system that there was a tornado warning. It has passed but we are still going to see thunderstorms all evening.

I had lunch at River City Cafe. It looks like a dive but the burgers are awesome.

The rainbow was out when I stopped for a tea.

This is the road to my house. The top picture was out the driver's side window. The bottom out the windshield. It's hard to believe the difference in the sky.

Now I'm in for the evening. A bit of knitting and some work on the website. I have added a few of the new Rowan magazines for preorder. We will be shipping on Thursday. The new colours of Felted Tweed and Kidsilk Haze are up as well. I will add quantities on Wednesday morning before getting on the plane.

Big Surprise - two boxes are arriving from Hedgehog tomorrow. Poor Lynn. She is going to have so much yarn to unpack.

The website is ready for the Adelaide from Primrose. Here are two more colours that will be in the box.

Dolores

Smoking Gun

I'm saving pictures of my shawl for tomorrow. I didn't accomplish a lot today. I'm finishing Love it or List it then bed. For some reason I was up at 6:30 this morning and didn't have a nap today. I'm exhausted.

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