Under construction.....

Mary Artymko, a very talented local artist, stopped in yesterday to begin work on the bulkhead as you walk in the store. There's more to be done but this is the start - nice, eh? I'm almost done Grandpa's socks - I should have them ready for a picture tomorrow - I love the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn! Oh - and guess what arrived today - a big box of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select - their premium sock yarn. It's gorgeous!

Is It That Time?

Is it time to think about Christmas knitting? Probably - I have some ideas - I want to knit my eldest daughter 7 pairs of socks. She used to make fun of me for knitting so much until I gave her socks last year for Christmas - no she hounds me relentlessly for more socks! I want to knit thrum mittens for my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and niece and nephew - plus there's my grandchildren. I guess I really should get started. Let's make a list:

Laura - 7 pairs of socks
Joey - thrum mittens
Joanna - thrum mittens
Owen - thrum mittens
Paige - thrum mittens
Katelyn - sweater
Lindsay & Dan - baby blanket for the new baby arriving in the Spring
Aunt - thrum mittens for walking
Uncle - thrum mittens for walking
Andrew - one pair of socks
Jeremy - one pair of socks
Jordan - thrum mittens
Liam - sweater
Quinn - sweater
Emma - sweater

That's 9 pairs of socks, 4 sweaters, 7 pairs of thrum mittens and a baby blanket. Hmmm! Yup - better get going!

Grandpa's Socks

My grandfather will be celebrating his 90th birthday on October 19th and these are for him. We went to see him yesterday and he is pitifully weak and wouldn't get out of bed. He would hardly speak to me except for kissing my hand. He's gone down hill very quickly since my grandmother passed away in June and really - looking at him yesterday I cannot figure what it is that's keeping him here - especially when I know how happy he would be to be with my grandmother again. I've learned so many lessons from my grandfather - unfortunately, the grandpa that he was is long gone due to dementia and a weak heart - but as recent as our last visit he remembered to tell me how to fry fresh zucchini with flour and egg. Whenever I had a problem, even as an adult, his answer was - it never gets darker than midnight. I can't tell you how often I've thought those words over and over whenever I'm worried about something. He's always answered how are you doing grandpa? with good, thank God. He is a man of great faith - he always told us whenever God turns the page and your name is there, it's your turn so no sense worrying about what's going to happen. He had a wonderful sense of humor - just two years ago, when he met his great, great grandson for the first time - he told my grandmother not to get any ideas about having another baby. He's led a long and wonderful life - he is a grandfather like no other - as his first grand daughter, I was fortunate to spend many, many of my growing up years with him - he is the reason I love horses, I was a regular at the race track with him. When the first subway opened in Toronto, I was just small but grandpa took me for a ride on it that very first day - in fact, we made several trips up and down the subway over the whole day. He even still has the stone I got stuck in my nose when I was three years old. So...these socks are for him - warm and cosy for his days in bed, each stitch with a little bit of all of the love I have for him. Noro Silk Garden S252
See what came in the mail today - I am a needle pig! I don't need them but had to have them - aren't they pretty?

Got my knitting!

Today I drove myself and therefore ended up arriving with my knitting. Here's the Clapotis under construction. I've made some adjustments to the pattern because Casbah is more of a sock weight than what was originally called for - so I did 14 repeats of Section 1, will do 18 repeats of Section 2, work Section 4 and 5 as written.

Also - instead of using markers which really get in my way and slow down the progress, I purl the stitch which will be dropped. So in between the stitches that are knit in the back there's a purl stitch hiding. Sorry for the blurry photo ;)

And this arrived today - a new dyer that's producing a wonderful, springy, gorgeous Aran weight. I love this yarn just as much as I love her sock yarn! Just ordered 8 colors - 10 skeins of each. Better start looking for a good Aran pattern because I will want to cast on as soon as it arrives. Any suggestions? Have you tried Flat Feet? The arrival of this box caused lots of commotion in here - I ordered 66 sets and every single one was different - that meant 66 photos, 66 resizes and 66 new entries on the website - phew!

Clapotis from Casbah

Well, well, well! I just went to take pictures of the work in progress however, guess where my knitting is. The trunk of my Honda - Greg drove me to work this morning and he said he would get the stuff from the trunk but he forgot. Hmmmm! So now I have to post about something that's been on my mind.

Why are people famous for doing nothing? Kim Kardashian was just voted off of Dancing with the Stars (thank goodness!) and I can't figure out what's so special about her. I mean if my dad had been on the defence team for OJ Simpson and driven him all around LA in a white Bronco being chased by police, I might just bury my head in the sand and never look up again. But instead, she's famous? Something is definitely wrong with that. And the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians - who on earth wants to keep up with the Kardashians?