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4 Sleeps. Yikes!

April 26, 2016, 5:03 pm
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Classic Elite's latest Web-Letter just arrived in my inbox. The Diagonal Summer Scarf looks great and is easy to knit.
We couldn't resist re-knitting this scarf pattern from two years ago in newer colors of Bella Lino. The colors blend so beautifully!

The simple, reversible scarf is easily customizable to whatever width and length you want. Work your scarf in one color or many – since all Bella Lino shades have a flax-colored base, contrasting colors will blend beautifully (the scarf shown uses four different colors). Or work more visible stripes in the tone-on-tone, almost solid colors of Fortuna, Bella Lino's sister yarn.
This is Cathy's scarf that is hanging in the store. I hope she forgets that I have it :)


58% Linen, 26% Viscose, 16% Cotton
5-5½ sts/inch on US 4-5 (3.5-3.75 mm) needle
164 yards/50 gram ball
hand wash cool, dry flat
17 striping shades

Bella Lino is a lightweight yarn that creates an airy fabric with long, harmonious stripes. Great for warmer weather, each of the shades in the summery palette has a linen-hued base.

The store is a mess but Cathy will straighten things out Friday afternoon after we leave for the show.

Here is the floor plan for the Frolic. We're in Kobayashi Hall, booth 10.

I've made it to the final colour on my shawl. It's knitting time. I might get it finished.
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Birch

April 27, 2016, 6:17 pm
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Kidsilk Haze has been a staple of Rowan's yarn line for many, many years. Here are the best selling colours for 2016.
Our ever popular Kidsilk Haze is a beautiful and versatile fine yarn made from a blend of super kid mohair and silk.
I've heard it referred to as Kid Crack Haze. Once you've used it you can't stop.

Birch is knit with 3 balls of Kidsilk Haze. The pattern was originally published in Rowan #34 but now you can download it for free on Rowan's website.
The pattern is written for both a stockinette and garter version, your choice (the difference that even rows are either purled for stockinette or knitted for garter) and measures a generous 80" wide and 40" deep. Knit flat, starting from the long straight edge down to the point, this triangular shawl looks beautiful flowing free and open or gathered in close.

Now it's time for Survivor. I'm almost finished the shawl. It's going to be close.
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Ponchos are cool again

April 28, 2016, 1:18 pm
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Finished just in time for the Frolic. Wannietta knit the poncho. I blocked it and sewed it together. This is backwards to how it normally goes. Wannietta had just finished the knitting when she drove down for a visit. To save on the shipping charges, she left it with me to finish.

Pattern: Churchmouse Yarns Twice Reversible Poncho (available in the store or on Ravelry)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Cloudgate - Midway

From Churchmouse
Our new Poncho design is truly 'twice reversible': both the fabric and the shape can be flipped. This stitch pattern has two 'right sides' -- versatile! We also added instructions for a nifty hybrid graft/seam for true reversibility. Wear your poncho point-in-front for relaxed 'boho' style or point-in-back for a little more polish. Options upon options!

This poncho shape doesn’t follow the usual conventions of sizing (bust/waist/hips)—it’s more about scale. We designed this poncho in two sizes so your result will be comfortable and flattering. The two keys to the fit are the neckline and the back/arm length. The width of the rectangle determines where it hits—we like just at the bent elbow, which is also just above the waist.
We chose Cloudgate for the chunky version of the poncho.
A springy bouncy bulky weight. With a 90% superwash merino wool 10% nylon fiber content, Cloudgate will feel luscious next to the skin but wear beautifully over time.
109m/120 yards on a 100gram skein


Churchmouse just sent out a newsletter with a remake of their Welted Cowl.
Our Welted Cowl transitions easily from late spring into summer (and fall!), and is warm and light at the same time. A two skein project, so it's quick, and alternates knitting and purling in the round - just the right amount of variation and mindless. A fun way to taste this new yarn!
Pattern: Welted Cowl (available in the store or on Ravelry)
Yarn: 2 balls Rowan Softyak DK
76% cotton, 15% yak and 9% nylon means Softyak DK has a stunning soft handle and is a perfect transeasonal yarn.
I think we are ready. All except for one box from Frabjous Fibers that is caught in customs. It won't be at the show but we'll have it early next week.
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'Tis the night before

April 29, 2016, 6:13 pm
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We're home from setting up for the Frolic. We have mannequins to dress and price signs to put up in the morning.

I spent a few minutes talking with Bristol Ivy this afternoon. If you are taking a class with her over the weekend you are very lucky.













Now I need to finish my shawl. There are about 25 stitches to cast off and the ends to sew in. Then a good nights sleep before the big day.
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Knitters Frolic

May 1, 2016, 5:57 am
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We had a great day at the Knitters Frolic. There are many people to thank. My dad, Beth, Lynn, Cathy, Sarah and Wannietta for helping with set up, take down, working in the booth and working in the store. To the organizers for putting on another great show. And thanks to all who came by the booth.

We had a bit of fun in the morning - our visa machine died. We took credit cards the old fashioned way. It took a bit longer but knitters are great people and there were no complaints.

With the visa card machine issues I almost forgot to get pictures of the booth. Where is Wannietta? She was working security at the door.


I'll get better pictures but here are the ZickZack scarves that Wannietta knit out of Debbie Bliss Rialto Luxury Sock. The colours look great.

We still have to unload the grid at the storage locker and then I'm knitting today.
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My Meadowside

May 2, 2016, 2:07 pm
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When I got home on Saturday night I really, really had the urge to knit. Being around yarn and knitters all day will do that to you. My only problem, I didn't really feel like working on something that was already on the needles. This is what happened.

Pattern: Meadowside (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto Luxury Sock - one ball each of two colours.

I'm using colours 5 and 7.

I showed pictures a few weeks ago and the shawl has been on my mind since. I couldn't help myself.

The pattern is super easy to follow and memorize. Perfect for a long car trip or a flight. Or for sitting at the soccer field or baseball diamond this summer.

Our box from Frabjous Fibers arrived today. I'm sad it didn't make it for the show but we have great new colours in the store (and soon to be on the website)




Now it's time to update the website. And then a bit of knitting. My yarn is calling to me.
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Fall Rowan

May 3, 2016, 5:45 pm
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I've been working away on my shawl. The yarn is great to knit with and I love how the colours are changing. I got into it so much that I went too far before starting the lace. 16 rows too far. There is no way I was going to start ripping out. I'm amending the pattern a bit - my lace starts a bit further down.
Did I mention that I love how the colours are coming out? :)

A email newsletter just arrived from Rowan.
We wanted to get in touch regarding some changes that we will be making to the Rowan range for Autumn Winter 2016. You may have heard some scraps of information alongside some rumours, so we wanted to bring you the official, latest news straight from the Rowan team.

We are very excited to move forward in a way which we see as a return to our roots and a way that originally enabled us to become the design focused team that we are today. Although we will be reducing the size of our overall range, this decision was taken so that we can better concentrate on our yarn favourites such as Kidsilk Haze, Felted Tweed and Cocoon to name but a few.
August will see the 60th edition of our prided Knitting & Crochet Magazine and we hope that you will be as pleased with the collection as we are. We feel that the 43 pieces represent everything true to Rowan over the past 38 years. To celebrate, we will be holding a special anniversary event with Kaffe Fassett in Hertfordshire – watch out on knitrowan for further updates in our news area!

We continue to have the pleasure of working with all of the designer names most associated with Rowan, including Kaffe Fassett, Martin Storey, Sarah Hatton and Lisa Richardson.
Here is a sneak peek at Magazine 60.



Last week I talked about Kidsilk Haze. The colour combination in this pictures is awesome. Can't you imagine a shawl with these?

After work I visited a very happy place. Terra Greenhouse.


The colours are very inspiring. Picking out a plant for the front porch was very hard. I think I'd still be there is the store wasn't closing.
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Mini Skeins

May 4, 2016, 1:07 pm
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Not everyone wants to knit in fingering weight yarn so we ordered some mini skein kits in worsted weight from Frabjous Fibers. These kits come in great colours.

March Hare worsted weight yarn.  This go-to worsted covers it all: softness, elasticity, and wearability.
100% merino superwash
5-oz. mini-skein packs contain five 1-oz. mini skeins
46 yards per 1 oz. skein, 230 yards total
I think that I might make the Perspective Cowl (pattern purchased on Ravelry) with one of the kits.

We have the new Opal Sweet & Spicy 3 in the store. The colours are awesome. So bright and fun.

Along with unpacking orders, we're unpacking from the show. This has us rearranging the store. Samples and yarn have moved. Kind of like spring cleaning. But a lot more fun.
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Happy Thursday

May 5, 2016, 1:54 pm
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We have a new pair of socks in the store. I really wish that you could touch the screen and feel them. They are super soft.
Pattern: Monkey Socks (free on knitty.com)
Yarn: One skein of Lorna's Laces Solemate. The colour is Hampstead.

The really cool thing about Solemate is that the yarn is made with Outlast - a rayon fiber technology that continuously interacts with a body's microclimate to moderate temperature from being too hot or too cold.

Yuzu Soak is back in stock. All my hand knits are blocked and washed in Soak. Yuzu is my favourite scent.
What is it: Soak is modern laundry care. Clean up with Soak’s eco-friendly formulation. Developed to be as easy on the environment as it is on your clothes, it’s the no-rinse clean you trust and love.

Soak is perfect for your laciest lingerie, softest sweaters, baby clothes, quilts, swimwear, workout wear and all the laundry you love. love it. wear it. soak it.

How it works: Just Soak and squeeze. No need to rinse. Lay knits flat to dry. Wash sets (like lingerie) together. Test fabric for color-fastness.

made with plant derived and renewable ingredients
biodegradable, phosphate-free, dye-free, sulphate-free
safe for hand or machine washing (including HE)
Yuzu: Clean with a peel. Pucker up and give your laundry some love with a kiss of tart citrus + crushed eucalyptus.
I'm working away on my shawl.
My only complaint is that I can't put it down. Just one more row to see how the colours are going to change. Who am I kidding? It's never just one more row. More like just five more rows. I should be back to another garter stitch section tonight.
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What a blanket

May 6, 2016, 5:00 pm
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I had no clue what my post was going to be about today. I didn't do enough rows on my shawl last night to get a new picture. We didn't receive any yarn today. Then Jeff came walking through the door. Look at this amazing blanket he is crocheting. When finished it will be big enough for a king size bed.

Jeff's work is amazing. He is much more meticulous than I am. The blanket is crocheted in tosh merino dk. He is working hard to get it finished in time to enter in the Rockton World's Fair this fall. His entry last year won first prize and he wants to win it again. And after the Fair the blanket is being given to his sister.

I'm home and it's knitting time. I need to get some rows done so that I can show off my work tomorrow.
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Rialto

May 7, 2016, 3:28 pm
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My Meadowside Shawl is growing. I can't stop because I need to see what colour is coming next. Tonight's post is a trial on my iPad. Very last minute I decided to go away for a few days. I'm flying to Vegas in the morning and I'm not taking my laptop. I'll be back on Wednesday night and back in the store on Thursday. Cathy and Lynn will be looking after things for me. We have a few more samples in the store in Rialto Luxury Sock. I was going to take pictures outside but it decided to rain in Ancaster this afternoon.
Pattern: ZickZack (free on Ravelry) I haven't figured out how to add a link yet - maybe tomorrow :) The scarf takes 2 balls of Rialto Luxury Sock. This scarf is colour 8 and 12
This one is 7 and 2. It's a very busy evening. Between laundry and packing I'm watching the Raptors, The Kentucky Derby, the NHL game and the Nascar race.  Like I said, this is a new app. I'm going to try and preview the post before I publish but you just don't know how that will work out. It could publish on me. 
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Saturday Part 2

May 7, 2016, 3:35 pm
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For some reason everything looked good until I published it. I'm missing line breaks. 
I can't do a post without a picture so here is another one of my shawl.    I'm playing to see if I can figure it out.  Riders are up and the Derby is about to go.
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Greetings from Vegas

May 8, 2016, 7:43 pm
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It's been a long day so tonight's post is going to be short. My flight was great. I knit for most of it. 
A new project was started. It's a tradition that a plane trip deserves something new. The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry. I'm using two Frabjous Fibers kits for the lace sections. For the solid section I'm using a skein of Frabjous Fibers Cheshire Cat. Pictures tomorrow when I can take my knitting outside. Hotel room pictures don't show well. Now it's time for a bit of knitting and then bed. All I can say is that I'm lame - it's 7:45 here and still light outside. I'm going to be up very early in the morning. :)
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Tourist Day

May 9, 2016, 2:17 pm
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I thought that I would be up early this morning and I was. There are a lot of pictures today.  The plants at the Mirage are beautiful.
I went to the Bellagio to see the Conservatory. A must stop on every trip.
I don't think I have visited the Conservatory in spring. Usually it's Christmas or Thanksgiving. Now I have ideas for flowers that I want at home.
Of course the colours make me happy.
From The Bellagio I took the tram to Aria/Monte Carlo. The new arena looks awesome. All around the arena there are seating areas and great restaurants.
I walked back to Aria with a stop for lunch.
Thanks Bobby. Lunch was awesome.
Now it's time for some rest and maybe some knitting. I think that I might go see Love tonight.
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Love

May 10, 2016, 5:40 pm
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Last night I went to see Love. I've seen the show twice before but it was revamped in February so I checked it out. I highly recommend the show especially if you are a Beatles fan. The music, costumes and dancing were awesome. And there are trampolines. If you've seen a Cirque du Soliel show you know that the trampolines are the best part.
I went shopping at the Forum Shoppes this afternoon. We don't have a lot of malls at home that look like this.
And another picture to prove that I made it outside today.
It is a great time to be in Vegas. It's hot out but not killer hot like July.
These are the next colours for the first half of my shawl. I didn't get much knitting done today but I'm in the room now and going to do a few rows. The hockey game is on and it's quiet time. 
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Home Again

May 11, 2016, 7:26 pm
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I'm home and ready for bed. It was an uneventful but long day. The flight was good. No questions at customs. The drive home was fast.

My suitcase was a bit heavier. There are some new shoes. I bought these really, really comfy Uggs. Actually, I bought two pairs. One in orange and one in a medium blue called Skyline.


I was clicking pictures as we were taxiing out and then after take off. If you haven't been to Vegas then you might not realize that it is surrounded by mountains.

I did quite a bit of knitting on the plane but didn't get a picture before I came upstairs. I'll get some tomorrow. I don't want to go down and wake Beth and the dogs.

Tomorrow morning there is work happening at my house at 7:30am. We have a gravel driveway right now but will be doing a cool concrete driveway after the sidewalks are put in. That is supposed to be happening sometime this summer. My dad is having our driveway dug out and tamped down properly so we aren't working around the sidewalks later. It all sounds good except for the 7:30.

Now to watch the last few minutes of the Raptors game and then sleep.
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Lamina Wrap

May 12, 2016, 11:41 am
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My shawl is growing. I'm going to have to work to get it finished in time for TNNA (a trade show where yarn shop owners go to buy yarn and accessories) in June. I am addicted to the Frabjous Fibers mini skein kits. So addicted that I just placed another order. The first five colours in my shawl are from a one of a kind kit. I talked with the company and they are dying kits just for us. There is also a new kit colour ordered.
And then the neatest thing. Think of what fun you could have with this.
It's the rainbowload of Mini Skeins, oh yes. Four of our popular Mini Skein Packs are combined into one enormous, beautiful rainbow for a full-spectrum knitting experience! Twenty 1-oz Mini Skeins: combine them all for a large project, or spread them out over several smaller projects. The possibilities are truly endless!
Cheshire Cat fingering: 128 yards per 1 oz. skein, 2560 yards total

We have a new limited edition colour of Alegria sock yarn.

40 years ago the Peacock family opened Estelle Designs. They distribute Manos del Uruguay yarns in Canada and Manos has dyed a special limited edition colour to celebrate their milestone. The colour - Peacock - is beautiful but won't be available for long.

I was very excited when we pulled in from the airport last night. I thought that the builder was starting on our front yard. Were we finally getting grass? No, Luke left his backhoe so that he could start work on the driveway this morning.
The whole driveway will be dug up, refilled and tamped down properly.

Dad had all the locates done (it looks like kids were playing with spray paint on our driveway) but when I left for work they were worried about where the water line runs into the house. I hope that they don't hit it :)

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Awake way too early

May 13, 2016, 6:01 pm
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It was another early morning. I was up at 6:30 because dad was coming over at 7. We are getting our fence today. This is fantastic news. No more snow fence. No more fear of the dogs getting out.

Unfortunately the fence guy doesn't work on my dad's hours. He didn't show up until 10am. That was a lot of missed sleep. The only good thing about that was I sat and knit.

After I wrote yesterday's post I remembered that I had a picture of my Frabjous Fibers kit before I wound the balls.

There is an internal debate going. I would love to decorate my bedroom in these colours. The bad thing about that is the new bedding I would have to purchase. Everything I have now is purple.

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Lorna's Laces this afternoon. We have String Quintet kits in the colourway Harp again. This is the colour we used for our Isn't it Romantic? shawl.

I'm home from work and the fence isn't finished. It took all day just to do the posts. The weather calls for rain tomorrow which means no fence until Monday. The dogs have moved to mom and dad's for a few days. They aren't sad about that. The cookie consumption greatly increases there.
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Great day to knit

May 14, 2016, 7:00 pm
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What yucky weather. Cold. Wet. The perfect day to sit inside and knit. And boy have I been knitting. So much after work that I almost forgot about the blog post that I started hours ago. I've made it onto the fourth colour. Pictures tomorrow.

It's been a sock day today. People looking at sock yarn. Knitters trying their first pair of socks. Socks are a great project for long car rides. Or sitting at the soccer field. Or knitting by the pool. Or on a plane.

The new colours of Opal Sweet & Spicy 3 are amazing.
I'm all about fun colours for socks. This is Rainbow Solemate from Lorna's Laces.

Are you afraid of making socks? They look hard and the pattern sounds difficult but once you've made a pair you will see how manageable they are to make.

Kate Atherley has a tutorial for making socks - it's a free Ravelry download.
This pattern is quick and easy way to learn everything you need to know about the top-down sock. It’s designed to be a one-evening knit, and takes you through the entire process of knitting a top-down sock, without driving yourself mad with teeny-tiny needles and teeny-tiny yarn.
Using Double Pointed Needles

Using Magic Loop/2 Circulars

Now I'm going back to my knitting. I have a schedule in my head if I'm going to be finished in time for TNNA. I need another two hours tonight.
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Rainbows

May 15, 2016, 6:03 pm
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Oh my goodness is it cold out there. If it was like this in January we'd be happy but not in May. Beth was supposed to golf today but it was cancelled. Too cold.

I was up super early this morning for no reason so I decided to get my day going. While playing on Facebook I liked the page for Frabjous Fibers. I talked about the new Rainbow Mini Skeins coming soon. Here is a picture of the actual skeins. Oh my. Aren't the colours amazing?


There was a bit of knitting today. One more teal section and then the last colour of this kit. My shawl will be at the half way point. I'm getting excited about the next kit.
It is Gyre and Gimble and I will start with the purple and work to the denim.

It's a big day tomorrow. I'm getting California shutters in my bedroom. It only took me a year to decide what I wanted. Until now I've had brown paper taped to the windows. Once a week we get a flyer in the front door for window treatments. My dad keeps asking when I'm going to get that awful paper out of my windows. I've been debating between curtains and shutters. I pulled the trigger a month ago and called Greg from The Shutter Factory. He did our shutters in the townhouse and in my parent's townhouse. He does great work. He might be a bit more than the flyers in the door but I know that I'm getting quality. Hopefully once the shutters are in I will be able to sleep a bit longer in the morning.

I'm going to knit a few more rows and then bed. It's a busy day tomorrow.
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