Finally--an update!

My, my, my. The time--it does fly! Life has been busy, both here and at the shop. School started, with all that entails. A fall line-up of classes and gatherings at the shop has started. Yowza!

The computer woes have finally, at long last, been conquered. Turns out we had a shot modem, followed by a cup of coffee being spilled onto a keyboard. The modem was an easy replacement. Old one out, new one in, and off we go. The keyboard, however. Old one out, new one in. (And we even threw the old one into the garbage--how's that for a radical decision?!) Well, "away we go" is just too easy. I swear the keyboards are identical, and the new one is possibly the same size as the laptop. However, I do find it more than a little difficult to keep my fingers on the proper keys. Strange letters keep popping up. You know what I mean, no doubt.

I know school has started. How, you might wonder. Remember when kids were little and they would insist they weren't tired, right up until they fell asleep in the oddest places? Well, this is what happens at our house these days. Fireplace chugging away, making the house warm and toasty. Sleep inducing in more than cats too, it would appear.
Doesn't she look comfortable? Not even a pillow. You know she's tired when she crashes on the wooden floor, no pillows, no afghan, and not even a kitty-cat for a pillow. Upon awakening, her only comment was along the lines of "I guess I'll go to bed now." She hoped we didn't actually catch her snoozing there on the floor!

On Sept. 8th, which was in fact two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Waterloo-Kitchener Knitter's Fair with my friend Barb. As we entered the facility, Barb commented that we should plan to see all the booths before buying anything. I agreed, because I am, after all, a wonderfully agreeable person. Barb made it to the second booth, where she had a little "falling down" a la Stephanie, over some Handmaiden SeaSilk. I managed to hang onto my balance until I found the Handmaiden Camelspin. (On the right.)
Once opened, the wallet continued its wild and crazy behavior by making me bring home some Fleece Artist SeaWool socks too. I really love the colours and textures of the fibers combined with the seacell--whatever that is! And the smell--evocative of warm evenings in the Caribbean. Delightful!
What else have I here? Some Mirasol Hacho (colourway #304 & 307). This was acquired from my shop--kind of a product evaluation kind of thing. It looks an awful lot like Koigu (some of which has found its way into my stash), and according to my friend Barb, knits like a dream. All I know is that the sock she knit up from it is fabulous, and I can't wait to knit my own.

This weekend we are driving to Michigan to visit my family. There is a memorial service for my uncle on Saturday, followed by a gathering of the far-flung clan. Cousins I haven't seen in seven years and more. Cousins my daughter (16) has yet to meet. Aside from the somber reason for visiting, it should be a blast.

On Sunday, my new niece is being baptized. You know--the one for whom I knit the entrelac bunting. I hear she's growing by leaps and bounds. I sure hope she hasn't outgrown the baby gift already.

But the best news of all? Being in Battle Creek means that we get to have another couple of rides at Fort Custer! Bring it ON!

This IS a knitting blog, right?

It occurred to me, finally, that I haven't written anything about knitting in ages. Since before the computer fried itself, actually. That's been a long time.

Despite appearances, I have been knitting. I have demonstrated entrelac. This scarf was created from the entrelac tutorial in the spring Interweave Knits using three balls of Noro Silk Garden. Beautiful, isn't it? Many folks seem to think so because I've been selling Noro like crazy ever since. My friend, Barb, and I are teaching an entrelac class at the store beginning tomorrow evening, so look for plenty more entrelac scarves around Port Perry.Another shop project which has been finished recently is this top. I used one and a half hanks of Butterfly Super 10 cotton to knit the Cream Tea from the 2007 Pattern-a-Day calendar. June 5, if my memory is at all correct. Sorry about the less than stellar photo. If you want more detail, leave a comment and I'll provide.
Knitting for babies has also consumed some time. Here you see a little pink outfit completed as a store sample. The beret comes from the 2007 Pattern-a-Day calendar and the sweater is from Debbie Bliss Cotton Knits. oth were knit using Filati Carezza. The doll? Mine from childhood. One of my customers offered me an outrageous amount of money if I would sell her. Not a chance. Too many memories.
You also see Bear modeling an entrelac baby bunting. That pattern came from the McCall's Super Baby Book, circa 1979. I wanted to make this pattern for my eldest son before he was born, but couldn't figure out the instructions. Since learning entrelac, I decided to try again for my soon-to-arrive neice. The directions were still pretty bad, but I did figure it out. Bear models it well, but I'm sure Amelia will do better.

I also knit up some socks. On the left are the socks which went canoe camping in Algonquin Park. They were made from Knitpicks Simply Stripes using a generic sock pattern. Very nice sock yarn, and many folks are hoping to find these under the Christmas tree this year. I'm not telling who the lucky recipient is! The socks on the right are from Regia Stretch, using the same generic pattern.
This means that I've finally caught up on the Sock-a-Month challenge over at Delphi Knit & Chat forum! July and August completed! Wait til you see my September socks!

I've also completed a pair of baby layettes for the Durham Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Yellow and lavender. Apparently the shelves are pretty bare at the Pregnancy Centre, so if one was at all inclined, knitting some layettes for donations would be greatly appreciated.
The photos are pretty grainy and terrible. Sorry about that. I'm posting from home on dial-up so I compressed the photos pretty severely.

My brother and sister-in-law announced the arrival of their daughter, Amelia Ann, on September 21. She is the lucky recipient of the entrelac baby bunting. I can't wait to see it on her! Congratulations you two! You did well!