No knitting!

No knitting to report - although I do plan to settle downstairs and work on my blanket - shortly. Thank goodness for air conditioning otherwise there'd definitely be no alpaca knitting tonight. I was visiting my grandmother today and remembered that I had said I was going to post some pictures of her garden. Unfortunately it's not in full bloom yet - tulips are gone and roses haven't started yet but you can still see how much work this must be for my dear 87 year old grandma. She has always loved gardening and it shows. This particular garden has also had
pictures in the local community paper. This

shot is only about half the entire length of the garden.

This post was meant for last night - but for whatever reason, I couldn't load the pictures. I'm off to the yarn shop today - 12-9 and it's the SnB - which I love! Hopefully, Sarah's Baby Cashmerino will come in - I keep forgetting to tell her I was able to get it.

Batteries Working!

Here's some shots of my lace progress - I personally think it's beautiful! The 2 strands of Sea Silk go really well together. I've also been working valiantly on my alpaca blanket - I have 4 sections left to go with 215 stitches per row and 32 rows per section. Yikes! Not a pleasant project with all this humidity.

I'm sure there will be more yarn in the mail today - it's a real treat to receive yarn in the mail! I will post more pictures of my recent acquisitions as soon as they arrive.

We've ordered an above ground pool - it should be coming this week! I can't wait - it's going to make a great summer for the kids. Not too mention the mom who won't be able to do anything in the house because I have to watch the kids. Poor me!

The teenage boy has risen and wants to be driven to school - seems they won't let him back into his first period class without some demonstration of his commitment on his part. Fair enough - however, he is not committed and so there goes that! Hopefully, he will learn some lessons in Korea about the ways of the world. I keep telling him he won't be able to go if he doesn't straighten up but my husband and my dad insist that it will be good for him to be on his own. I'm afraid this boy is going to have learn things the hard way.

Batteries Died

Ok so I realize I'm giving my digital camera a work out with all the picture taking but this morning, it chose the most inopportune time to die! I was taking pictures of my Sea Silk progress - got a bad shot - which is here - and then nothing! Except for the polite message that says "Please change the batteries." Well, I don't have any other batteries for the camera so that is not possible. Unfortunately, all I have is this badly lit, blurry picture. Is this the Stormwater Shawl? Uh....no....because you see - well, it drove me nuts! So I've changed to another lace pattern called Horseshoe and designed my own. Kind of designed my own - actually it's more Meghan's design then mine - she was just being kind! I'm alternating two skeins of Sea Silk which I thought were more alike than they actually are - but it's going together really well. The lime skein had alot less blue - but just enough to make it work. Speaking of Sea Silk, we are down from 20 skeins to 9 at last count! I promise all clearer picture as soon as I charge those **&%^%### batteries!

Mail Call

Look what I got in the mail today! Isn't is beautiful? It's Sweet Georgia sock yarn. The colors are so vibrant - and it came packaged beautifully - lovingly wrapped in tissue with a Sweet sticker holding it closed. There is nothing better than receiving yarn in the mail - now if I could just afford to have it arrive daily!

More yarn.....

Just when I think I have all the yarn I could possibly use - you know, in case sheep become extinct - I buy more! Hand Maiden Sea Silk came into the store yesterday and of course, I had to have some and.....yup! started another project! The Stormwater Shawl - I'm using a mostly solid blue and a varigated with lime, blue, pink. The picture is not great.




















These are the Trekking XXL sock yarn that came in this week to the store as well. They are amazing but you will all be glad to know that I restrained myself. Well, at least up until now.

Today I am off to my grandmother's - I'm going to take the camera and take pictures of her garden. You just have to see what this amazing 87 year old does with flowers.

WWKIP (World Wide Knitting in Public) posters are in the window of the shop - we have classes scheduled that day and plan to do them outside provided the weather co-operates. Come and join us on June 10!

Ok one child is successfully gone to school - the teenage boy - who, by the way, has been excused from 2 classes this semester due to poor attendance (no surprise there!) and poor marks. He came home last night all mad because he only wanted out of French - he wants to stay in Geography and the Vice Principal said no. What is that about? If he wants to stay in the class, he should be allowed to stay - am I right?

Button, buttons, buttons

Since I'm on such a fix up the blog thing - I am proud to say I managed to get my knitting blog ring buttons loaded. Yipee! Aren't I smart? Now I feel like a real blogger!

Found it!

Did you sense any hysteria in my last post? I couldn't get my blog to load with all the pictures etc. All the other blogs I read were fine - just mine was messed up! I was up past midnight figuring it out and finally had to change templates. This caused me to lose all my changes - it seems this morning I've managed to sort it all out. Actually I like this template better anyway. Today is a long day at the shop - better go back to bed for a bit once the kids go to school!

Yarn diet? Not for me! I ordered the Charlotte's Web shawl and Koigu yarn online and also, another Koigu shawl with the yarn and pattern. Seems my sock addiction might now include lace!

Where is my blog?

Seems my blog is missing - it has an address, it has a background but it has nothing else. Help!

Where is my blog?

Seems my blog is missing - it has an address, it has a background but it has nothing else. Help!

More lace progress.

Here's some more progress on my lace shawl! It's going really well and I've made it through one whole repeat with no tearing back. I've completed two repeats now. I had promised myself that as soon as the ball of yarn that I was using was done that I would switch to my alpaca blanket - but did I do that? - nope I'm well into the third repeat with a new ball of yarn. I love how it's coming along - the pattern is called Bamboo Shoot Shawl.

Here's our 2 year old Golden Retriever, Misty and my daughter's cat, Spy.... they are the best of friends. It is hilarious to see Misty and Spy running around together - we all think that Spy either thinks he's a dog, or wishes he was one.

Here's Kings Deputy, one of our 6 horses! He is a retired racehorse. Retired due to injury - we brought him back from a race track in New Mexico. He healed for about 6 mos. with a woman who really saved his life and then when he was well enough - home he came! My eldest daughter,Laura, was his groom when he raced and they formed a special bond. She was devastated when he was sent to the US to race and was ultimately claimed by another farm. She followed him via the internet and knew immediately when he was injured. Through lots of luck and determination, we tracked down his trainer and arranged to have him back. He was her 21st birthday present. Now he lives a life of leisure here with his other horse friends.

Lace?

Here's my first lace shawl - custom designed by Meghan J. just for me. Well, it started out for me but now it's so great, once the shawl is finished we are going to take a picture and Meghan will sell the patterns to the store. Unwind Yarn House! How great that we will have exclusive patterns designed by our gifted teacher!

Remember those Koigu socks a few posts back - well, they are now a shawl. I ripped them out after seeing Meghan work her shawl in Kersti. I figured it was a much better use for the yarn since the socks didn't fit my daughter anyway.


I started out doing the shawl with this silver Bamboo lace from Blue Moon Fiber Arts but decided for my first try I'd be better off with something a bit thicker. This yarn is beautiful and so silky. It's 100% Bamboo. The hand dying is very subtle and almost looks lavender in some lights.







Socks That Rock in color Highway 30.
It's really, really, really nice and it came really, really, really quick. This is one of the five mystery skeins I ordered.











Another Socks That Rock in Tanzanite! Both Sarah and I are the proud owners of this one!

Meghan got Lover's Lane and Canyon Road (I think?)










Here's the progress on my Blue Sky Alpaca blanket. It really is stunning but time consuming. It's hard to keep at it with all this amazing new yarn arriving but I'm determined.

I met Meghan's mom today - what a great woman! - she showed me all her WIP - she wants to have 365 pairs of socks on the go so that she can work on a different one every day. They are off to Italy soon - hopefully, she will join Trek Along with Me and we'll have some hiking and knitting shots from Italy.

The latest shop news is that I've applied for Unwind to be the organizer for WWKIP. That means WORLD WIDE KNIT IN PUBLIC DAY. It's June 10, 2006 and it's the second annual. There are organizers all over the world. As soon as I'm accepted I will post all the info here and all of you can help me spread the word. Come to Unwind and unwind in public!

No Batteries!

No batteries for my camera - I knew they were getting low and meant to charge them last night but forgot. That's probably because I was comatose when I got home from my dad's. I'm disappointed because I had lots of pictures to share.......

1. progress on Blue Sky Alpaca blanket
2. new Socks That Rock - including Sarah's - since you didn't come to the shop you could have at least seen it before tomorrow.
3. picture of pattern I am going to use for my Trek Along sock - it's Old Shale Two Yarn Sock Pattern from Stitches of Violet- I'm going to do it in one color.
4. some amazing bamboo from Blue Moon Fibre Arts which I am going to knit into my first lace shawl. Meghan is going to design a pattern for me - bless her heart! And yes, tomorrow at exactly 2 pm I am going to cast on another project.
5. pictures of Opal Petticoat from the store - nope, haven't bought any yet but I will. Just trying to satisfy the urge to own it by taking pictures of it.

Finally, I have decided Meghan and I are trouble together. She emails me a link for some hand spun, hand dyed sock yarn. Seems innocent enough, right? Well, it is amazing stuff - unlike anything I've seen so I suggest that perhaps we should order some. In record time, she emails back that she's up to ordering and sends along her color choice. So what do I do? Do I remember that just this past Wednesday I said I was on a yarn diet - not a chance - just like lightening I emailed the order in. Now, us two troublemakers, will be the proud owners of this new, never before seen sock yarn, hand spun, hand dyed and EVERYTHING by the end of next week. IT'S SHIPPING TOMORROW! I now officially make no money at Unwind because it all goes directly back into yarn purchases and.....I'm not sure what Meghan does at her day job because she sure does email me back quick. Maybe she gets paid to answer her email - what a job that would be. :)

UNWINDERS ARE GOING TREKKING!

Sarah C., Meghan J. and me have joined Trek Along with Me! That's 3 for the Unwinder team - anyone else care to join us. You start knitting your socks June 1 and then take picture of progress ending with a hike wearing your new socks. We're just hiking around Fairy Lake. We thought we could open the store on a special night just for us Trekkers! Anyone else interested in joining us? Leave a message here!

My dad is all safely tucked into his new home and we are all exhausted - glad I get to work tomorrow and unwind at Unwind! Ok - so I'm tired and it seemd funnier when I was thinking about it.......

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Isn't this sheep just the cutest? He was a gift from Sarah - I just love him. Thank you so much! You know, I live on 7 acres and it wouldn't be impossible to actually own live sheep. But that would mean lots of work - dirty work - and I much prefer the finished product. Beautiful yarn. Besides that the 8 horses that live here might not want to share the limited paddock space with sheep.

Today my dad is moving into his house. It's a really nice Royal home - I'm so glad he will be close. It was amazing to see the house delivered - it came in three pieces was placed on the foundation and there you go - a house complete with a bathroom, toilet, sink, shower, kitchen cupboards, ceramic tile, carpet - truly amazing. My eldest is over there helping him move, my husband just left to help and I'm here watching the baby. Little Liam - he's so sweet! It's raining which makes things messy - especially because it's essentially a construction site.

I loved yesterday at Unwind - I came home last night and told my husband that I love, love, love being there. I was there for 11 hours yesterday and could have stayed even longer. We had a great day and the SnB was fun - Sarah's mom started her sweater - socks are done, yeah! - and signed up for the Socks on Two Circulars class that I'm doing. We have Lopi on sale and she was even looking at that for a sweater. She is starting a stash - can you believe it? How exciting!!! We wondered last night if there was maybe some kind of yarn -a- holics group because us regulars are totally addicted. We are planning an overnight to the Waterloo Knitters Festival (I think that is what it's called) - I wonder who'll come home with the biggest haul.

Meghan stopped in - she brought her Socks that Rock in progress - oh my! - they are amazing. She said it's no wonder they are so popular - they are pure joy to work with. She also came in wearing her Charlottes Web shawl which she made from a variety of yarns - not just Koigu and it is as equally amazing as all of her other work. We are soooo lucky to have her as our teacher at Unwind. Thank you for the card - you are invaluable to us!

I have no other progress to report other than my alpaca blanket - I only have 4 more sections to complete and I am committed to finishing it before casting on another sock. Even though I've now taken to carrying around my next sock yarn project - skein rolled into a ball, needles ready - truly I think it's in case I weaken. But I can't - I have three socks already on the go - two finished without mates and one in Cascade fixation underway. Not to mention that Opal Petticoat cotton came in the store yesterday - there is some really, really nice colorways - more yarn begging me to take it home. Yeah right?!?!

I've got to choose a pattern for my Trek along with Me socks - any suggestions?

Socks that Rock?

Ok - so this morning I get an email from Lettuce Knit that more Socks that Rock! have arrived. I quickly go to the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website, choose my colors and wait for 11 am. That's what time the shop opens. Well, I got sidetracked at 11 am and didn't manage to call until 1:20 pm - a mere 2 hours and 20 minutes later and guess what? Only 5 skeins left out of all that they received. Seems I was not the only one wanting this yarn. Well, of course, I snapped up those 5 skeins like nobody's business. I suppose you could say I might, perhaps, have a sock yarn addiction when I will buy it sight unseen.

I am valiantly fighting off the urge to cast on yet another pair of socks. The Lisa Souza sock yarn is sitting on my kitchen counter calling my name. But I must resist - I have to finish this alpaca blanket - June 27th is creeping up and that's the day my son leaves for Korea so that blanket has to be done.

Got the ok from Wendy today to order lots and lots and lots of Koigu for Unwind. Yipee!

And the baby girl has a name - Jillian Oscella MacAlpine. Worth the wait!

I could not wait!

I couldn't wait for another to day to do another post. I went to the post office to pick up my parcel - even though it said it wouldn't be there until tomorrow and guess what?

Lisa Souza Sock! Isn't it beautiful? The far left one is for Meg, and the far right one is for Sarah and the three in the middle are for......ME!

Finally

some time to blog! I had a nice Mother's Day - it was also my mother-in-laws birthday so we had a nice dinner out for that. I got some great gifts from my kids and husband. Including this beautiful I Wish You Angel.
It says:
When you're lonely
I wish you LOVE
When you are sad
I wish you JOY
When you're discouraged
I wish you HOPE
When your spirit is empty
I wish you BEAUTY
When you're troubled
I wish you PEACE

It was the gift I wanted as a remembrance of my mom. It comes from Where Angels Tread at 234 Main Street in Newmarket (immediately to the north of Unwind)


This one's for Meghan - first Trekking sock finished! Way before Wednesday and the Souza Sock! yarn is at the post office.











And here's a picture of just some of my stash....this took up 3 whole steps and there was still more but this is some of the best. Included here is Rowan Polar, Alchemy Yarns of Transformation, Fable Alpaca, Cascade, Knit Picks, Trekking, Fleece Artist, Socks That Rock, Sock Candy, Manos Cotton Stria, Koigu, Lorna's Laces Sock Yarn, Catalina Alpaca, Mission Falls Cotton. All this lovely yarn was joined yesterday by some Bernat acrylic eyelash - my husband bought it for me as a joke. Isn't he funny?

A full day!

Wow! I had a full day today - the shop was very steady so I really had no time to knit - it frustrates me not to make any progress but my husband does remind me that I am not paid to knit - which is true!

We sold out of Sensational Socks today and have only 7 balls of Trekking left out of 20. Meghan and I finalized the June class schedule. And Wendy's lovely baby girl is still unnamed.

Tomorrow we are going to Woodbine racetrack for a day of thoroughbred racing and lunch. It's a belated celebration for my dad's birthday. The buffet at the racetrack is amazing! You can eat for 5 whole hours! Pure joy!

This morning before work, Greg (my husband), Lisa (my sister) and I went to Future Shop and buy my dad his gift - we bought him a 37" LCD TV - it looks like a giant flat screen monitor. Lisa and I were so excited we were on the cell phone to my dad before we even got out of the store - neither of us can keep secrets! Since it was such a large purchase we've decided it's his birthday, Father's Day, housewarming (he's moving to a new home on our farm) and possibly Christmas.

We've been two days without home phone service - I have called Bell Canada 3 times and they said it would be fixed by 9 pm tonight - it's 9:09 and still no phone. It's really beginning to bug me - especially when cell phones are so unreliable. I swear if someone was holding a gun to your head and you needed that cell phone to work it wouldn't.

One last thing - we are going to join a Trekking sock knit-a-long as the Unwind Team. Anyone interested? So far there is Meghan, me and Sarah. You have June - August to knit your sock and you have to take a picture at least once a month wearing the socks and hiking somewhere - Fairy Lake sounds like a good place to hike. :)

Nice weather, eh?

Today is definitely a sit and knit day - but did I get to do that? - nope! instead I got to go to Yonge and Sheppard and wait and wait and wait to apply for my son's passport. I did get a few rows in of my Koigu socks - I stopped into Zeller's and they had some yarn that I will not mention, on sale - I was just dying to go tell all the ladies about Unwind but my husband said he would muzzle me if I even dared. He probably also knew that I would have to try and talk to them about this particular type of yarn versus what I love. And we all know where that will lead........don't even try to win an acrylic versus natural fiber argument with me.

The SnB was fun last night - Sarah's mom is actually starting a stash - it's too exciting. This from a woman who has taken a really long time to knit a pair of socks and who had to be practically dragged to the SnB at first! We all decided to go to the Da Vinci Code together - and wondered if we could get glow in the dark needles. How mad would that make the other movie goers?

We were actually in stitches - laughing stitches - when my sister brought up a pot bellied pig that used to live on our farm. George, the pig, was vicious. We couldn't go outside when George was out. My husband would stomp all over the house complaining about that ??&!!##@ pig digging up our lawn but would anyone go out and do anything? Nope, because George would come after you. I can't tell you the times I came running in the house being chased by George. George was the pet of a tenant on our property and he was very protective of her. So much so that if we even stepped off our porch while he was out - he'd come snorting after us! Make no mistake pot bellied pigs can move. There was a time when my son and husband had to do something electrical in her apartment and my son had to hold George off with a stick while my husband dealt with the problem. Even my son - tough boy that he is - said that was a vicious pig!
Here's the progress on my Trekking sock - I actually turned the heel and started the gusset at the SnB - not something I usually do in public because it requires my full attention. It's looking great! To the right of the Trekking is......more Trekking yarn! I just could not help myself - now that brings my Trekking total to 7 which includes the one I'm working on.

And my little bit of progress on my Koigu sock - this is what I worked on at the passport office - just straight knitting so it didn't require too much concentration!

I found another work in progress that I need to add to my list - it's a beautiful royal Blue Sky Alpaca worsted hand dye baby blanket for my grandson.

So that's 3 socks in progress, two blankets and one silk scarf! I am committed to finishing all of these before I start anything new - really, I am, I mean it!


Except if the Sea Silk from Handmaiden comes in - now that definitely deserves to be cast on - I can't wait to make the Stormwater Shawl.

Hopefully it will stop raining because I'd like to go by the store tonight and visit with Meghan - she's got a full sock class and I'm sure I can pick up some tips!

No pictures today?

No pictures to post today because I have not picked up my knitting all day - I was running around this morning for the yarn shop then I came home, went back to the yarn shop for the second time to unpack and enter the Trekking. Ohhhhh it is beautiful! I had a new comment today from knickkname - my cousin got the Angel Bear at Hallmark in Aurora - it's in the same plaza as No Frills and Staples. It's one of the Boyd Bears.

Speaking of that bear - isn't it great when someone gives you a gift and it really shows that they get who you are. Not too often does that happen - it would be comparable to my husband searching high and low for unique yarns and then surprising me with them. Like that is going to happen!!!!

Tonight is American Idol - ok I admit it - I am a reality TV junkie. I can't help myself - I really hope Taylor wins - he feels the music in his toes! I just love watching him. Tomorrow is my day at the shop with the SnB tomorrow night - yahoo - that's my favourite. Hopefully I will have some progress to share tomorrow or the next day.

Ah trekking!

Not to be out done by my friend, Sarah - I just had to cast on my very first pair of Trekking XXL socks and......they even have a pattern which is kind of a first for me. I say kind of because I've done patterns on other socks I've knit but usually tire of trying to remember it all so switch to straight knitting to finish. The yarn is not quite as orange as it photographed but it is amazing. The pattern I'm using is Elongated Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I just ordered 3 copies of that book for the store. I know it will sell like hotcakes to our loyal sock knitters.

Here's my WIP list:
Trekking Sock
Cascade Fixation Sock
Koigu Sock
Blue Sky Blanket
Sweaterkits Silk Scarf

I had others but I've abandoned them permanently. Now on to a little jewel I think I've discovered. Sweet Georgia yarns! These yarns are handpainted by Felicia Lo from Vancouver, B.C. She has a store online called the Sweet Shop and I have tripped across a few posts about the yarn. I decided to take a look and was checking the website all weekend only to find the shop down for maintenance. So this morning I logged on and ordered about 6 skeins of her yarn. Checking back this afternoon - guess what - it's all sold out! Now I can't wait to get it. I got notification today that my Sock! yarn from Lisa Souza is on the way too! Has anyone checked out Esty.com - it's a site that sells all things homemade. It has some amazing hand painted yarn on it as well. So much yarn - so little time!

Isn't this a lovely sock? It's Koigu done on my new Addis. It is practically perfection - however.....IT DOES NOT FIT MY DAUGHTER! She tried it on this afternoon and said she had to keep her toes curled for it to fit! Now do I want to take out the toe and try to add another inch - no! no! no! Perhaps I will donate them to the store, Unwind, for window display. I had a small amount of yarn to finish this sock so decided to do the toe even though now I see I probably did
have enough yarn to add another inch! Ugh!



This is the second sock underway - I suppose I will knit this one bigger and then go back and redo the first toe.

Sarah asked the question on her blog today - when do you panic? I was panicking yesterday as I was approaching the end of my ball - fat lot of good it did me!

Lots will be new in the store this week - we are expecting 30 balls of Trekking XXL sock yarn, about the same amount of Opal petticoat collection, plus some Opal handpainted. Guess I will be working for yarn yet again!

Look what I got! Addi Double Pointed needles! In fact, I got 2 sets - 2.25 mm and 2.5 mm! Aren't they beautiful? The yarn is Koigu Kersti - I just love the speckles! Makes me want more of it! Now I have to google more Koigu yarn! Oh well! Last night was our Stitch n Bitch at Unwind - all the regulars were there. Anne, one of my former knitting students, who is valiantly working on a sweater that she keeps ripping back out! Debbie (Sarah's mom) who has completed her second sock heel! Sarah was also there, with her work on the Sea Silk scarf for the store - that girl can knit! Erin was there - she used to live above the yarn shop but still makes the trek down the street since we've moved. Last but not least was Michelle our resident RCMP officer.

Tomorrow is a PA day so Emma (my youngest) and two of her friends are off to the movies. They want to see The Wild - do you think I can knit in the dark? Probably, but then I wouldn't be able to admire my new Addis! Saturday I am at the shop all day - hopefully, I will have lots of knitters stopping by to knit with me!

Progress!

Here's the progress on my Blue Sky Alpacas blanket. It is sooooo beautiful I wonder why I'm giving it away. I'm on the 4th section and it is keeping me very interested (despite 215 stitches and k1 sl 1 for one row and knit for the other row!). I haven't touched any other knitting since starting this and must admit that I am missing my socks! Today I am off to the dentist - at Royal York and Bloor - why do I have a dentist way down there? I have no idea - it's getting a bit far when the trips are more frequent.

I had a great day at Unwind on Saturday - Sarah and Erin spent some time knitting with me and Lachman - my first knitting student - stopped in for a visit. The shop was busy with browsers - all good! Lots of new yarn is on it's way - I can't wait!

I have the pattern for Handmaiden Stormwater Shawl and that is definitely going to be my first stab at lace knitting. It's gorgeous! We only have one skein left in the shop - more is on the way soon!

One more bit of news - I have mastered the swift and ball winder - customers asking for their skeins to be wound no longer makes me sweat! I am the notorious yarn tangler at the shop - I've tangled silk, I've tangled dreadlocks from Fleece Artist - you name it, I've tangled it! Thankfully, that's all in the past.......I hope!