Good grief!

I am so very, very tired of having computer issues. Just when we think we've got it resolved--ZAP!! Something else goes wrong. I keep waiting and waiting for it to all come together. Which means that I haven't posted here in ages. Ages being defined as two weeks.

And if you were hoping for pictures? Ha! Fooled you! Because the camera and its related software is on the home computer ... which isn't talking to the internet for some strange reason. I'm in the shop right now with the o-l-d, t-i-r-e-d laptop. Which has a USB port that doesn't talk to anything.

Isn't technology wonderful?

Carrie has been for a nice visit with her dad in Michigan. Doug and I went to Michigan for a weekend to see my brothers and sisters and attend a baby shower for my youngest brother and his wife. She's due in August, and looks wonderful. Then we went back to Michigan to retrieve Carrie from her dad. That's three trips to Michigan in three weekends. THAT'S a lot of road time.

What I've accomplished knitting wise is a pair of baby sets for the Crisis Pregnancy Centre. And half of a baby gift for said brother, his wife and the soon-to-arrive bundle of joy. In a perfect world, you'd see pictures here. And maybe someone does live in a perfect world. But it ain't me.

And what's with this terri ble lag with Blogger? I type out a whole sentence and then I wait forever (OK. It's maybe two seconds) for the words to appear on-screen. It's like being back in high school and jamming up the IBM Selectrics in typing class all over again.

Here's hoping that sometime in the foreseeable future the camera will be able to talk to the software; the computer's modem will be able to talk to the internet; I'll be able to post photos again; I'll actually win the big prize in the Lotto and be able to treat all my loved ones and favorite knitters to a special treat ... and other assorted good things that we all wish for will happen.

Well, this has been interesting!

We seem finally to not only have a computer, but also a functioning internet connection. This has been an extremely interesting experience, recovering from a major hard drive crash. I do believe that we will be performing a back-up of the important data in a far more regular manner henceforth. Well, performing a back-up, never mind the manner.

In the last couple of weeks, a lot has happened. The daughter survived the exams and end of year activities. Officially, Grade 10 is over.

The daughter attended the Grade 12 Prom with Dave, a young man she has come to know by way of the Rebel Improv team. The dress was borrowed from a friend, and I knit up a shawl to accompany it. The shawl was knit from SeaSilk, 150 grams, purchased at the Knitter's Frolic. She loved it, and it loved her.
She has now gone to visit her dad over in Michigan for a couple of weeks. I sure hope she is having fun.

In other news, we have discovered that the Lizzie-kitty has good taste. Here, she is enjoying a ball of Paton's Classic Merino.
But she suspects that we are holding out on her. Somewhere there is a better ball of wool for her to snuggle.

She would be correct. We were holding back the Luxury Alpaca Peru.

Nice to see that I'm raising more than one yarn snob!

Hmm. Cat or dog?

You Are: 50% Dog, 50% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

I've been seeing this little quiz thing around the internet for a while. Since I currently can't show photos, this seemed like the next best thing to do. And I'm half dog and half cat. Hmm.

This might explain why LI love lounging around in the sunbeams.

Back-up?

So not so much posting happening here at Knits 'n Stuff. Some knitting, but ... alas, no photos.

You see, we had a catastrophic hard-drive failure. Of course, we all learned of the importance of doing a regular back-up from Stephanie's mishap last holiday season. Right? Of COURSE WE DID. All over blogdom, knitters were doing back-ups that day. Did that translate to a regular routine of performing a back-up? OF COURSE NOT. Because, you see, those catastrophic failures only happen to other folks.

This week, I am "other folks." We lost the carefully compiled list of e-mail addresses, daughter's photos from her trip to Vimy Ridge for the rededication ceremony, not to mention the daughter's two biggest school assignments of the term. Software for the digital cameras, anti-virus protection, Bicycle solitaire statistics (I was trying for a win in every game!), our favorites for internet surfing, the dial-up accelerator from Primus.

Sigh. All gone.

We did manage, by the hair on our chins, to recover the daughter's homework and one other very valuable document. And since we'd managed to access the hard-drive once, we could recover the remaining documents at our leisure. Right?

WRONG! Oh so very wrong.

Who knew? We certainly didn't. Fortunately, the folks at PC Paramedics (Peterborough) were kind enough to not charge us buckets of money for the failed data recovery.

Now we get to figure out how to reconfigure the computers for optimal usage by the family. Reload the software. Try to rebuild the address book. AND PERFORM A ROUTINE BACK-UP!

Dang. I hate it when I become "other folks."

If you are reading this and you live in Ontario and have a knitting blog, you are invited to join the Knitting in Ontario web-ring.

Oh yes--go back-up your computer data!!

Dulaan deadline

I've been contributing to the Dulaan Project since its inception via Ryan's blog. The first year was a bit hurried and I managed mittens and hats. Last year, I contributed some kids sweaters, socks and the ever-present mittens and hats.

This year, I've not been so prolific. The shop has kept me somewhat busy. I did, however, manage to finish up the 5 items I promised Ryan ... and two more. Here is this year's contribution:Three solo hats, one pair of mitts and hat, a scarf, an adult sweater and a child's sweater. Not as good as I had hoped, but at least I have contributed to the warming of Mongolia. A worthy cause. I wonder if the Project will continue?

In other knitting, I have done some knitting with the Regia Java cotton-blend. The colours are delightful--all ten of them. I selected the most sedate to make a pair of socks for my husband. Here you see the finished socks:
Do you see anything peculiar with these socks? They are the closest to identical socks that I've ever achieved. I was so pleased, cruising along. To my dismay, I found a knot in the yarn while completing the foot of the second sock. Not only was there a knot--it would fall on the bottom of the foot. Doug already complains about the harshness of various socks. (He would give Princess a good run for her money, no doubt!) A knot in the sole of his sock wold be absolutely unacceptable.

I dutifully reworked things so that the join would be on the upper part of the sock. And that's when I realized that I'd come SO close to perfection, only to be euchred by the yarn itself.

An interesting note--one of my customers had experienced the same dilemma while using a ball of -- here it comes! -- Regia Java. I haven't had any other sock yarn returned for this reason. Of course, this evidence is only anecdotal, but ... I'm not sure I'll be getting any more of the cotton.

What I did last weekend.

Last weekend was a busy one. I've been plotting and planning and conniving for about six months to give my wonderful husband a surprise birthday party. Do you know how difficult it is to plan a surprise party? Especially when the recipient of the party spends most of the day in your presence?

I knew that I wanted to have a lot of food. How to do that and still keep a surprise? Get the party catered. Adds to the expenses, but a real necessity in this instance.

Order the cake from the local bakery. Preferably on Wednesday if the party is on Saturday. Purchase or make the decorations ahead of time. Stopping at Wal-Mart doesn't insure that you will have decorations. A real party store is definitely the place to go.

And hope for good weather so that the necessary skull-duggery keeps the husband away from home for the necessary hours.

I was lucky. He never even suspected a thing. (Of course, the fact that his birthday was in November might have something to do with his being surprised. But it was a 50 and a half party--honest!)

Doesn't he look happy? And not at all abashed or ashamed to admit that he has turned 50. The young lady at the bakery thought I was silly in the extreme when I ordered the cake. I guess most folks don't celebrate 50 1/2.

The party was held at the Booth. This is the name of the pavilion at the little golf course that our cottage ownership provides. It comes in handy when you want to do something like this. It holds plenty of people, has a wrap-around porch, and the biggest yard for kids to run around in that you could want.

Here are a couple of photos of the folks singing "Happy Birthday" to Doug.
That's Cathy, Jon, Johanna, John hiding behind Johanna, Mary-Lynn, Megan, Jack, Candy and Mike.
And here you see Carrie, John, Al, Irene, Joe and Catherine, and Cathy again.

It was a nice party. Kept me nicely distracted from knitting for a couple of days. Doug thinks this should be an annual event. Minus the surprise part. And he thinks I should be included in the festivities. I haven't decided if I'll admit to having birthdays ... but the party sure was fun!

I saw the Y arn Harlot!

Friday night was the Canadian launch of the Yarn Harlot's fourth book, titled "Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off." The event was held at the Indigo Books at Bay and Bloor, beginning at 7:00 pm.

For a variety of reasons, which will be explained at a later date, I arrived at precisely 7:00 pm, the scheduled start time. Seating had been gone by 6:15, and the standing room only area was a bit crowded as well. I don't know how often Indigo hosts authors speaking about their books, or how many people attend these events. But they were seriously short of space.

As usual, Stephanie was hilarious. She connects well with those of us who knit. She claims to be nervous about speaking in front of a crowd, which could well be true. She did seem nervous in the beginning. But then she hits her stride and the crowd loves her.

The newest acronym coined by Stephanie is the group C.H.O.K.E. This is a sub-group of T.A.K.E. (Team Against Knitting Enjoyment). C.H.O.K.E. represents Cultural Humiliation Of Knitters Everywhere, and is evidenced by the general lack of respect accorded knitters world-wide. Stephanie even relates how her very own loving mother succumbed to this insidious group. (Fortunately, Mom has generally recovered!)

Finally, Stephanie began signing books. After an hour in line, it was my turn!

The sock in Stephanie's hands is the current sock in progress. A sock originally destined for my husband Doug. Now that it has been touched by the hands of The Yarn Harlot, I'm not so sure ... I wonder if he'll have the proper respect for the sock. And I got to hold Stephanie's sock. Way cool!

The After-Party was at the Spotted Dick, a pub down the street. My wonderful husband met me there, and we were able to visit with other folks who had attended the Launch. Much to my surprise, at the table next to us were a couple of ladies who had driven in from Lansing, Michigan. They even knew where Bellevue (my hometown) is. If you are interested, you can say "Hi" to Lynn here. (Note to self: See how to get Lynn to come in for a class or two...) I also met Rae who owns the Rae's Yarn Boutique. I will be sure to find her next time I'm in the area.

In keeping pace with the Knit-Along over at Knit 'n Chat, here is a photo of my May socks.
The employees of the Ontario Ministry of Finance are currently seeking donations for their annual charity bazaar fundraising event. I donated these. Knit from Regia Java in the Champion colourway, by way of magic loop. One week from start to finish.

My life will never be the same

This is my car.

These are my keys.

This is my daughter. Isn't she beautiful?

This is my daughter's new driver's license.

My life will never be the same.

The Sounds of Summer

It's Victoria Day weekend, which means that where I live life gets busy.

You see, I live on Lake Scugog in a "cottage community." Every Friday night, the road fills with cars. You hear the sounds of motorboats on the lake, waterbikes scooting up and down, crackling fires in the firepits and the voices of neighbors. Dogs barking. ATVs racing up and down the road, legal or no. Not to mention the birds singing, the humming of the insects and the gentle pitter-patter of raccoon feet on the roof.

The joy of living in a cottage community on the lake, however, comes on Sunday evening. Or on Monday of a long weekend. Everyone goes home. The boats are berthed, the waterbikes parked. The ATVs are garaged. The cars go home.

That is when you truly get to hear the sounds of summer. The loon calling on the lake. Again, the pitter-patter of raccoon feet passing over your home. The birds calling early in the morning.

The sights of summer are splendid. Sunsets over the lake are often breath-taking. Occasionally we catch sight of the local heron flying up and down the lakeshore. Friends paddle by in their canoes or kayaks, often stopping by the dock for a wee visit. The trees are green, as is the grass. The cats love to sleep outside on the deck, in the sunshine. Even the daughter goes outside to study in the sunshine.

And me? Well, I do enjoy the summer sun as much as anyone!

I am reading the book my daughter got for me for Mother's Day. Victorian Lace by Jane Sowerby. Eye candy for sure, awe-inspiring, and dare I say it? Tempting. Yes. I am tempted to try one of the patterns. Haven't decided which one as yet, but that's part of the dreaming.

Knitting pictures next time. The lace shawl for daughter's prom dress is finished, but not blocked.

What are the sights and sounds of your summer?

Spring is here!

Spring has arrived in my corner of the world. How do I know? The grass is green; I've raked the yard; and the silly cats think that 4:00 am is the perfect time to go outside. Pace, pace, pace. From one window, over the bed and the sleeping bodies to the next window, repeat ad nauseum. Makes me want to be catless--except that she is so good at catching mice.

Another sure sign of spring is the Knitter's Frolic. This is always a good time, even if you do happen to own a wool store. This year my wonderful husband watched the store for me while I frolicked. I saw lots of heavily-discounted novelty ribbon yarns, which is a sure sign to me that they are losing their appeal. (Finally!) I saw lots and lots of hand-painted wool as well as space-dyed wool. I browsed at a lot of patterns and books, some of which will be making their way into my shop.

I did, however, break down and make a few purchases.
Yes, indeed, that is a Fleece Artist sock kit. I've wanted one for the longest time and decided that this year I was going to do it. And I did. There are two skeins of Koigu as well, for the same reason. And finally, a whopping big hank of SeaSilk from the Handmaiden. 150 grams--600 metres. For a shawl. I'm not allowed to talk about it ... yet ... so you'll just have to wait to see what pattern I use and why.

I also finished a sweater for the store.
Patagonia from Auracania. This is a thick-and-thin cotton yarn, hand-dyed. Interesting. Knits up well and quickly, which is good. But not my cup of tea. Fortunately, this is a store sample. The pattern came from Auracania Moments, a book filled with many delightful designs.

Finally, just for myself, a pair of completed socks! Will they become Christmas gifts? I'll never tell!

Remember Dr. Suess?

The daughter is taking drama this term. This means that she frequently has presentations--including the need for costumes and props. In honour of Earth Day, the current project for her story-telling assignment is the Dr. Suess story of the Lorax.

This necessitated a stage set, which she and her group constructed during and after school. Then came the props and costumes. Could I make a Thneed?
Yup.

Could I make Bar-ba-loot ears?
Yup.

What you don't see here is the efforts to construct the Swome-swan wings. Sorry.

All in all, it was a lot of fun to help her with her drama project this week. Too bad I don't get to see it being portrayed.

In other news, I spent Monday with a couple of friends learning how to make hand-dyed and patterned yarns. We made self-striping yarns. We made fair isle yarns. We made zig-zag yarns. And then we made rainbow yarns. All in all, it was a great deal of fun. Actually, it was a blast. I just might have to do this again--after I knit up all this sock yarn!

What's happening at the store?

I remember when I opened the store that I promised that I wouldn't make the blog into a marketing tool for the store. I think that I've held true to that promise. Until today's post. Because today I have to tell you what a wonderful guy my honey is.

You see, he was at the store for the two weeks that I was recovering from my appendectomy. While there, he decided that there were some changes that needed to be made. For instance, see these baskets?
There are 14 of them. Previously, they held all the non-bamboo knitting needles, crochet hooks and circular needles that I owned. It was a mess. When someone came in looking for a specific size, one had to dig through the baskets to find the needles. If I had them. Which I didn't always, because keeping track of what I had was difficult.

In addition, I had one of those twirley-magazine display racks. It had 48 slots for books, and assumed that all books would be approximately 8.5 x 10.5 inches. In a perfect world, this would work. However, in the real world in which I live, only some of the books were the proper size. And I had more than 64 different titles.

So Doug decided that I needed a better way to display my magazines and needles. He scratched his head, sketched, scratched some more, measured, and sketched. He came up with a great idea, and he built it. This is what my pattern books look like today:

He even made allowances for the booklets which aren't 8.5 x 10.5 inches! Isn't he wonderful? I especially LOVE the way he utilized every last bit of space to make the needle display. Now my customers can select their pattern, and pick up the necessary needles without taking more than a step or two.
We discovered that I had lots of needles. Lots and lots of needles. So he built another needle display for me!
I do believe that he must be the greatest and most supportive honey in the world. (If yours is better, don't tell me. I want to continue to live in my fantasy world!)

I was interested in playing around with some more felting ideas, and using some Noro as well as the Nature Wool. So I tried this idea on for size--a mitred square with a cabled handle running around the exterior of the squares. The colours are just wonderful. The Nature Wool really brings out the jewel tones in the Noro.

The big question is what will happen when I felt it. Will everything shrink uniformly? (In my fantasy world, yes!) Will the bag lose its shape? Will the washing machine die? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other questions.

I keep remembering stuff

I know that I wrote about the wonderful weekend I spent visiting my brothers and sisters. But there were so many activities, so many people to see, that I didn't tell everything about the weekend. And I keep remembering things that I wanted to say.

For instance, on Friday evening my husband and I joined my youngest brother and wife and attended a concert at the State Theater in Kalamazoo, MI. My brother told me that the theatre was worth the price of admission. He was right. (Fortunately, we enjoyed the show as well!) The theatre was built back in vaudeville times, and has been lovingly restored to its period splendor. The ornate plaster, the lights, the roomy seats. And just to top it all off--when the lights go down, the "stars" in the ceiling light up. Truly, if you have the opportunity to visit this venue, I would strongly recommend it.

Accompanying the wonderful blues music was a veritable feast of "cajun cooking." There is a gentleman who comes to provide food for concertgoers. His prices may be cut-rate but the taste is out of this world. Doug had beans and rice, which was tasty although not my favorite. Then he tried the seafood linguine, which was yummy. I polished off a piece of BBQ chicken that was to die for. I even licked my fingers, in public, all the way to the second knuckle.

On Saturday night, we were invited to a Battle Creek Knights basketball game. Turns out that my brother is the head IT guy for the team, which position comes with season tickets. My elder brother and his wife scored 4 tickets, and shared them with Doug and I. Just to round out the evening, my third brother also came. The first half of the game was OK in that the home team was out-scoring the visiting team. At half-time, however, the visitors got a royal arse-chewing from the coach. They came out just smoking. That 16-point lead the Knights had disappeared in a heartbeat. The fourth quarter was a nail-biter. The Knights finally won in the last 5 seconds or so. It was an exciting game--even if I don't watch much basketball and didn't know anyone on the team!

Sunday was spent relaxing and visiting, which was greatly enjoyed by all. Well, I know Doug and I enjoyed it. I hope the brothers and sisters did!

In knitting news, I finished a store display.
I started this sweater just after Christmas, knitting with Paton's Chunky Shetland from the Creative Knitting shown. The pattern itself is rather simple if you can count to 15. I kept forgetting which number came after 12, so had a difficult time with the knitting. Then when assembling the sweater, I discovered that the sleeves were MILES longer than the body. This in and of itself is not unusual because one's arms are generally longer than the waistband of the sweater. And the sweater really is a bit on the short side. (At least that's how it appears in the magazine.) However, 10 inches was excessive in my humble opinion. In a fit of pique, I threw the sweater in the project bin, closed the magazine and started something new.

Months later, I decided that the time was right to finish off this bad boy. The problem with having a hissy fit and closing the magazine is that you now don't know which magazine the pattern was in. And I look at a lot of magazines and patterns every week. Do you know it took me a good two weeks just to find the pattern again?!

Anyway, I did persevere and finish the sweater. If you ever make this sweater, I cannot caution you enough about being careful with the measurements. The zig-zag effect makes measurement interesting. The sleeves are still about 2 inches too long, and this was AFTER adding approximately 7 inches to the length of the body. Maybe this type of pattern shrinks when no one is looking?

In home knitting, I am so very pleased to show this wonderful little knit:
This beauty comes from Paton's Around the Seasons (#548). I used 15 balls of royal blue Zara and 1.5 balls of light blue Zara. (I did have to make allowances for the fact that Zara is a DK and the pattern was written for worsted, but that was just a matter of changing needle sizes.) The fair isle was a breeze considering there were only two colours and I had been taught the best way to perform the maneuver. (Thank you very much Irene and Cathy!) The stitch definition that Zara provides is just phenomenal.

The best part of finishing the sweater? I had a mere 48 inches left of the blue yarn. Yes, you did read that correctly. 48 inches. There may have been enough to knit one more row of the neck-band ribbing, but I didn't want to take any chances. It was enough to cast off and say "I'm done!"

My daughter (who is 16) is known to claim that she "wants to marry" whatever it is that she has seen and she really, really likes.

I'd marry Zara quite happily.

Happy Easter

In the absence of my wonderful daughter, my husband and I were able to travel this past weekend. Finally!

My sister delivered a wonderful baby boy in the first week of November. 5 months ago. We saw the original hospital pictures. Then nothing. Now, I understand that life gets pretty busy when you have a baby. But -- five months with no pictures? What kind of mean trick was my sister playing on me?

We spent the weekend visiting with my brothers, sisters and father. On Saturday, I was privileged to meet Sam. Remember how important it was to not wake the sleeping baby? With her first baby, my sister was foolish enough to frequently wake the sleeping baby. Didn't bother Emery at all. She'd visit with all and sundry, smile a bit, and go back to sleep. She learned to sleep all night at an early age. She napped very well.

So now my sis is paying the piper. Little Sam finds sleep to be something which must be avoided At. All. Costs. During the night, during the day, doesn't matter. Sleep is to be avoided. Sis states that if she'd had him first, he'd be an only child.

My opinion? He's a keeper, and cute as all get out. But then, I'm prejudiced.

Today I'm going to talk about my sister's knitting. Remember--she's sleep-deprived and the mother of two small children. She fears that her brainpower is diminishing. She set herself a challenge: two socks, one needle. One inside the other.
Note that she didn't even use two different colours. She found the inspiration on Knitty, and is working diligently. Personally, I'm in awe. THIS girl has knitting mojo all over the place.

Her husband, on the other hand ... well, let's just say that he gave her another challenge:

If socks can be knit one inside the other, why can't sweaters be done the same way?

Bon voyage, mon cher!

Departure day finally arrived as of Wednesday, April 4. Yes, I know that was almost a week ago. I've been busy.

Carrie had been warned to travel light. In fact, the school advised the students to pack everything into a suitcase of a size that the kids could haul up three flights of stairs. Carrie took this advice to heart, and packed as instructed. As we walked into the school, with her carrying everything, she even commented that perhaps she had packed too heavily. What do you think?

Yes, this is everything that she needs for a 10-day trip to Europe. When she saw what the other kids were bringing, she was amazed. They were even more amazed at how little she was bringing.

I haven't heard a peep from her, which I am interpreting as good news. I've checked out the trip blog, didn't see her photo, but have followed the tour's progress across England and France. What an amazing opportunity for these kids! I can't wait to hear all about it when she gets back.
I couldn't post last Wednesday evening because Doug and I had to go to T.O. to view his daughter's artwork. It was opening night at some gallery (location forgotten, unfortunately), and she had work displayed. It was really cool, and I hope to be able to post some photos of her next gallery debut. (I think the big day for th next dispay is the 19th or 20th of April.)

In knitting news, I finished a sweater for a friend. The friend's daughter was having a baby, and the baby gifts had progressed without incident. The sweater for the big brother, however, was a totally different story. She slaved and laboured for four months over the silly thing, and finally got most of the back completed. Since the baby had already arrived, she asked if I could help her with it. I did.
This is Sirdar Toddler Aran, and the design is from a discontinued Sirdar booklet. Probably a good thing as I found several errors in the pattern instructions. In any event, I did finish the sweater. The cables on the front were really cool:
The photo doesn't really do them justice, nor does it show the colour well. It is supposed to be a sage green.

We spent Easter weekend visiting family in Michigan. Some time this week (depending on how busy I am in the daughter's absence) I hope to post photos of the trip--including the challenge my sister set for herself.

Happy knitting!

April Fools Day -- no joke!

I really don't know where the time goes. I know. I say this same phrase every week. And every week, I REALLY mean it.

For example, my lovely daughter leaves for her big trip to England, France and Belgium in three days. THREE DAYS!! Wasn't it just yesterday that we went to that meeting where the trip was announced and we had 15 months to prepare? No? Wasn't it just yesterday that ... well, I'm sure you understand. And it's really tough for an over-protective mom to let her darling daughter venture so far from home, without my eagle eyes keeping watch over her. Plus she's told me--she can't wait to see all "those French guys!" Is it any wonder that I have difficulties sleeping?!?

In other news, Doug and I have gone back to the pool and started swimming. Tomorrow is my official last visit to the surgeon, but it's been 6 and a half weeks since surgery. She promised me I'd be close to or at 100% at the four week mark. So it didn't seem unreasonable to venture back to the pool. The week of my appendectomy, I was swimming 11 laps at the pool. Tonight I did 8. Not too shabby when you consider that I haven't been getting much exercise of late. Mountain bike season is coming , and I do so want to be ready.

In knitting news, I have been working diligently on the Zara sweater for myself. The body is finished. And the first sleeve--The colour-work was finished and everything! Rather than use double-pointed needles, I tried to work the sleeve using Clover bamboo circulars and magic loop. Unfortunately, there was no cooperation from the needles. I have resorted to doing the sleeve on two circulars, which seems to be working well. The reason? I seem to be all thumbs and no fingers when using needles other than circulars. I get tired of bending over and retrieving needles all the time. I have only 1/2 inch before I slip this sleeve onto the holders and start the second sleeve. Possibly even tonight.

If time slips away from me yet again, Happy Easter!

A busy week

Another week has passed me by. Bringing warm weather, sunshine, a pleasant evening at the Uxbridge Music Hall watching Amadeus, and a quiet evening with friends. I really don't understand how time gets away from me so quickly. Is time going by as quickly for you too?

I got some Sirdar Just Bamboo into the shop for summer knitting. The samples looked really nice, so I ordered it in. Got each and every colour, along with some very nice patterns. I debated and debated, and finally decided on which top to knit, and colour. And knit. The truly frightening and interesting thing about this yarn is that the ball band warns you that "This yarn does not knit to standard guage." Intriguing, yes?

I knit up the top, and brought it home to block. On the needles, the yarn was amazingly soft. I did the wet block technique (dump the garment into a sink of water) ... and was immediately terrified. That beautifully soft top suddenly became ... wood-like is the best description I can find.

Undaunted, I spread the top out on the towel to dry, and waited (im)patiently. Gnawing my fingernails. To my absolute surprise and delight--I found that the yarn dried to its former beauty. Having one project off the needles meant that I needed to start another. I decided it was time to spotlight the Luxury Fine Merino Superwash. What a cute sweater for a baby, eh? And not only is the yarn delightful, the pattern was excellent.
And how's this for a teaser? I should have Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's new book in my store by the end of the week!

For those interested, I now have the Knitting in Ontario web-ring functional! Yahoo!

March Break -- and the end thereof!

Another March Break has come and gone at my house. My daughter enjoyed a nice, quiet week. She had a movie party one day, hung out at the shop a couple of days, and generally slept, read and worked. All in all, a nice week she declared. Albeit too short, which is a common complaint from everyone. Except most parents.

The truly startling realization which arose from March Break is that her trip to Vimy Ridge with her school will occur in two and a half weeks. Yes, indeed. Two and a half weeks. A mere 17 days! Now THAT'S exciting!

As a result of her quiet March Break, my week was likewise quiet and relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that I finished another babyset for the Durham Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Once again, the set comes from directions contained in a McCalls Baby Knits publication from the 1970s. This little set qualifies as my March socks of the month, as well as the Lenten knitting challenge at the Knit & Chat board.

Since I had finished a home project, it was time to start something new. Always a delight to be able to rummage through stash and ponder the possibilities. While I would dearly love to make the Entrelac socks in the newest Interweave Knits, I don't have the yarn in hand. I'm trying to be good and use up stash. (I'm not sure why, it just seems right so to do. Possibly this has something to do with the upcoming Knitter's Frolic on April 27.)

So I decided to try my hand at fair isle again. Now that I know how to do it better, it should be far more enjoyable.
This luscious blue yarn is Zara, acquired at last year's Frolic. I had purchased some coordinating colours of Zara from my friend's shop before she closed, in multiple colours. But the design that called to me most clearly was this one, titled "Weekender," design 11 from the Paton's book shown. It features two colours only--the main colour and the contrasting. I'm about half-way up the body already, and I'm switching between Continental style and English style.

I'm also working on setting up a web-ring for Ontario knitters, called interestingly enough, Knitting in Ontario. It's a little more complicated than I thought. I've managed to create the ring. But not to set up the home page, nor a sign-up mechanism. Patience is a virtue, and I do have a couple of children who can do good things with computers. If push comes to shove, I'll enlist some assistance.

A Windy Monday

While I'm still recovering from the appendectomy (just in case the doctor is reading this, I'm resting lots and taking life easy!), I have been doing a fair bit of knitting. Some for the store, and some for my projects.

This is a pullover destined for the Dulaan shipment. It's a size 4, knit with 6mm needles and Pinguoin yarn that I inherited from a friend. There wasn't quite enough of the Pinguoin, so I added a mystery (albeit probably Paton's chunky) yarn for the ribbings. Orginally, the pattern was for a hooded sweater with a kangaroo-type pocket in the front. Running short of yarn meant some modifications. The collar turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. (The link provided is a newer blend of the tweed. Mine is 53% wool, 41% acrylic, 4% viscose and 2% poly. It is an interesting blend and quite a nice knit.)

When Christy visited my shop a while back, she brought along a friend. The friend loved the lonely Noro sock on display and wanted a pair of socks just like it. Unfortunately, there was only one ball of that colourway remaining. So what does an enterprising and helpful shop-owner do?
She knits a second sock to match the first, sort of, and sells both balls of wool. Especially helpful to the plan was the knowledge that the friend didn't knit. Whew!

About a month ago, a very nice lady came into the shop and inquired about the felted bag hanging in the window. I explained that it was a sample bag, not for sale, and assured the nice lady that she certainly could make one herself. I taught her to knit, sold her some wool, and she was off to the races. In record time, she completed one bag, only slightly discomfited by my emergency surgery. She came back in with the finished bag, which I brought home to be felted. She then purchased more wool to make another bag. This is her second project:
Paton's Classic Merino topped with Brazilia. Of her own design. Blythe, you are a talented lady! Well done!

A plethora of finished objects

Finally, I have been able to gather in one place the camera, fully-charged batteries, and the finished items which I've accomplished in the last little bit.

Firstly, I offer the Accursed Sweater. Knitted from a pattern in Paton's Around the Seasons (#548), I used Smart Superwash (11 balls) for the main colour and Zara for the contrasting colours. The superwash was a mite thinner than the Paton's Super Wool called for, so I had to go up two sizes in needles. The sleeves are just barely long enough and I'm contemplating picking up stitches from the bottom cuff and adding more length there. Maybe. Maybe not. Here is a close-up of the yoke. The colours here are far closer to reality as there was no flash used with this photo.
Doug has worn it both during and post-skiing and pronounces it delightful.

Secondly, I offer the February socks. These were knit two at a time on a very long Addi Turbo, while recovering from the appendectomy. Waiting for the morphine and codeine to clear the brain tissues. Slightly muzzy-headed. And I only screwed up once and knit onto the second sock with wool from the first. Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself.
The socks were made with Regia 4-fadig Strato Color no. 5738. There is sufficient left that I can make cuffs, heels and toes on another pair of socks. Nice.

Finally, I completed the mat and mitts I was designing for my knitting class in Uxbridge. Cables galore. I am particularly proud of the decreases at the top of the hat. I managed to complete them while keeping the ribs and cables pretty much intact.
The pattern is available, if desired, by sending me an e-mail. I'll be happy to share.

That's all--for today. I have one more hat for the class, but I'm not quite ready for show and tell. Hopefully this week ...