And it goes on and on and on.....

Not much blogging time today - it's 4:45pm, 39 degrees celsius and I'm covered in this whenever I'm knitting.
According to my calculations which can be unreliable - I have 213 of these points to do - I'm on 50. I can't possibly cast on anything else until I finish because if I stop I may never pick it up again. It's the gorgeousness of it all that keeps me plugging away. Oh - the yarn - Tanis Fiber Arts Aran - looks like it's going to finish up with about 9.5 skeins. Totally worth it - just look at those colors.

Alright, alright, alright, already!

Here's the beginning of Girasole. Lots of people are knitting it as part of a KAL that my knitting friend came up with! I didn't want to officially join but I had to cast it on.....it's amazing! Here it is at the beginning with it was just a tiny little thing on a tiny 32" circular needle.
And now....I am knitting a mammoth project. A gargantuan project with 640 stitches on a 47 inch circular needle. I'm on the final chart of 7 charts and then apparently have a bunch (and I mean a bunch) of thingys to do for the trim. I do love it - seriously, love it but I must say all those stitches in one round can be challenging. My hands are achy even. However....here's what I think about this project despite the amount of work involved.

1. It's a genius design.

2. It produces a shape that I've never knit before in one piece.

3. Yes 640 stitches can be daunting but it's actually very simple.

4. Yes 7 charts are alot but again....actually very simple.

5. People are going to think I'm brilliant when it's done.

6. I love doing it so much I actually contemplated knitting it 2 more times for gifts.

7. A boy designed it! Yay boys!

8. It's just a big blob right now but will be spectacular when it's done.

9. The yarn I chose is fantastic - Tanis Fiber Arts of course! My new fav!

10. When I'm done I think I should knit this.....again another brilliant boy design!

While we are doing the circle thing, you might as well have a look at this one!

Ordering instructions for We Wear Red

Attn: Cathy Goldman
I tried to find an email address for you but with no luck so here's the answer to your question. Sorry for the delay but for some reason I missed your first comment.
You can order the kit from this link - it takes you directly to the We Wear Red section of Pick Up Sticks or you can order by phone 1 866 780 5648 or you can come by the shop if you are local.

It's Here and It's Great!

Here's two more pics of We Wear Red - the one on the left was taken outside and the one below was taken inside. It's tough to get this color right - but trust me....it's goooooorrrrrrgeous!

What a wonderful way to support the Heart Truth and to honor my mom!

Another One Bites The Dust

Ulmus is complete.

2 skeins of Malabrigo Sock Yarn - exactly the colors the pattern called for. I'm very proud!

New Samples and some knitting

We have two new store samples -thanks to Linda!

The first is the vest from the cover of Spring/Summer 09 Vogue. We knit this is Twilley's Freedom Sincere DK Organic Cotton - it took 8 balls - pretty spectacular for $56, I'd say!

The Noro is Design #11 from Flowers by Jenny Watson. Colorway is Chirimen #8. Very cute and very versatile.

I also have been knitting - almost done Ulmus - just 14 more rows of the lace border. Not quite as easy as it sounds because it increases stitches every other row. But....I loved knitting it and think it's just gorgeous. By the way....I carry all Kirsten Kapur designs in the shop now so ask for the book next time you're in!

And I've been fiddling with a scarf design in Starry from Dream in Color. I also have idea for 2 different colorways of Indigo Moon for another scarf. What is it with me and scarves?

We Wear Red Colorway

Here are the first pictures of We Wear Red - it was hard to get a good shot because of it being a cloudy day yesterday. Tanis says it's a true red, not pink and not orange. Remember also it's a tone on tone - I think it's gorgeous and just the color I had in mind!

Yay Tanis!

Big Announcement!

See this banner? It means that Pick Up Stick is having a Knitalong and Fundraiser for the Heart Truth, a division of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. My mom died a premature death of heart disease and was plagued with unusual symptoms - none of which necessarily pointed to heart problems. By the time they figured out her heart trouble, she needed bypass surgery but the damage already done was so significant that she didn't survive it. 25% off the yarn and kits will go directly to the our drive to raise money to educate women on heart disease. We have a fundraising page here but more importantly are the knit along details.

I've commissioned a special colorway of yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts called We Wear Red AND....I have permission from Pamela Wynne of Flint Knits to use her amazing February Lady Sweater. (this is a free Ravelry download) I love this sweater and especially love that it's called February - with Februrary being heart month and all. I have kits on the Pick Up Sticks website put together by size and I also have yarn avalaible as well. My goal is that this color red will signify knitters who are concerned with women's heart health. So if a sweater doesn't fit your budget or your needs - how about a scarf or a pair of socks.

The knitalong kits will be delivered by July 1st which would have been my mom's 68th birthday and we will have knitalong evenings at the shop every Thursday evening (beginnning July 2) through out July from 6pm - 8pm. There's a Ravelry group - We Wear Red and there's a flickr group - We Wear Red to support long distance participants. As soon as I have a picture of the yarn I will post it right away - kits must be ordered by June 13th to give Tanis a chance to dye up our yarn!