Visitors from far away

Yesterday was a great day at the store as usual. When it first opened there where people waiting to get in. They had walked on the ferry to come to the store. We talked a bit and then I realized how far this woman had come to go to my store. She is from Baltimore visiting her parents in Edmonton, Alberta. She got the name of the store from the Lorna's Laces website. and decided to look us up while in the area. She was looking or Lorna's Lace sock yarn but she found lots more yarn to enjoy also. She had fun. Her parents were very patient while she shopped. I went home and got some magazines for her Dad he was so bored.


The internet sure does connect people all over the world.
My neice 8 year old Jessie arrived yesterday for a 2 week visit. My brother and his wife have gone off on a motorcycle trip to a big bike show in the States. Sounds boring to me but they are very excited, now if it was a yarn show I could understand.
She is so cute but she doesn't want to learn to knit. I will try and change that. We will see.
I gave her a little shawl I made last spring. It is made with hand dyed yarn and it fits her perfect. Here is Jessie wearing her new shawl.

Here is the back. her little lamb is wrapped in a fuzzy scarf.

My last picture of the day is what your house looks like after a rainy day at the market.

Nothing really got wet as we have a tent but it all gets damp, so I have to make sure everything is dry before it is put away for the next market. That is just the scarves. the sweaters are all hung up and the socks are over at the store. Mom's towels are waiting for the scarves to dry and then they get the couch next.
lots of fun. Pray for sunny Saturdays for the rest of the summer.

A Very Fun Scarf

On Wednesday there were a lot of knitters at the store for the afternoon. It was fun. I got a picture but somehow deleted it. So sorry. Marnie was there and working on one of her scarves. She knits them about 150 stitches wide and changes yarn every row. She mixes up her left overs and make these fabulous scarves. I am sorry I don't have a picture of her scarves but I will get some soon I hope.
She inspired me. I have leftovers of every yarn imagineable so this was the most fun scarf I have ever knit and I am sure I will knit plenty more.
I cast on 150 stitches and left a long tail. This becomes the fringe. Knit one row with a yarn then add a new yarn for the next row. tie these yarns together and leave a nice long fringe. That is it. I used 24 yarns and some of them twice so I think I knit 30 rows.
Here it is

Here is a close up


Some of the yarns in it are
SRK Ranee, Sari, Fizz, Mango Moon Sari Silk, Online Punta, Gjestal Naturgarn, Bernat Boa, Katia Scala, Patons Anna, Classic Wool, Ecoknits cotton, LL sock yarn Baby Monkey, Butterfly Cotton, Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden, a really pretty ribbon I can't remember the name of and a few other yarns that are nameless but really nice.
This is a fun way to use up yarn leftovers.
Also at the store on Wednesday I taught our next knitter to knit. She picked it up really easily.

Welcome to the world of knitting Robin. We hope to see many knit items from Robin, Her Mom is also a new knitter so they are going to inspire each other.

Poncho done

I have been finishing things this week. So far the poncho is done. I knit it with 2 strands of Patons Classic wool in the colour Paprika. It was quick to knit.
Jennifer is modeling for me. She works with my special needs son during the day. She kindly modelled this for me.

I also got the back and a front done on the Batik and Opal 6ply sweater.
Opal Batik is on sale this week on eBay. I have a lot of this yarn in stock


I like it but will need to see it finished to know if I really like it or if its just OK. I'm not sure if it is worth the work to write up a pattern.
Back to knitting.

My favourite 6 year old knitter.

Kate is sure a quick learner. On Wed. I taught her the basics of knitting and she was supposed to come back Sat. for lesson 2. Usually the first part of lesson 2 is correcting huge mistakes or starting over. Kate came for lesson 2 late in the evening as she spent the day at the beach with her family. She had about 3" done on her scarf and not too bad, She had gained and lost the odd stitch but nothing too serious, so we decided that it would be a swatch and I showed her how to purl then cast off.
She got it very quickly.
Then she cast on again for the real scarf and knit 5 rows before she went home. I was amazed she recognized every mistake she made. She took her knitting back anf fixed her mistakes. She is going to be a pro. Her she is very proud of her accomplishments.

She was telling me how much she likes knitting and she knits in the car, on the ferry and at the beach. I thought well she is one of us.
Later that night I was talking to my Mom and she asked if Kate came for her lesson. I told her yes and that she had done a fair bit of knitting. My Mom was really surprised as Kate had found my Mom at the market in the morning and asked her for help. They had to tear out the original knitting as it was such a mess and cast on again. All the knitting that little girl had done, was all done on the Saturday in the car, at the beach and on the ferry. I hope she can find someone to help her where she lives. She is from out of town. I told her to come and see me everytime she visits her Grandma. I know she will be a good knitter.

The store was fun on Sat. and I actually got some things finished but don't have pictures. I got 6 pair of socks knit for the market, another scarf with the hand dyed, a little hat made for Meika with the Opal Rainforest Tiger and some more knit on the Sirdar Yoyo sweater. I have a cable poncho neary done and have just cast on a kids sweater using Batik and the Opal 6ply. I am designing a sweater with the 2 wools. It is turning out great. I will post pictures later.

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday so we had a birthday party for him at the store. We ordered a Pizza (Yes you can get pizza on Quadra) and had cake. It was fun. It was a nice day so we sat out at the picnic table. The cake was a big hit all day as the knitters arrived.
Here is a picture of Mom, Dad ,Judy (my sister) and Bella our dog all enjoying pizza.

I gave Dad some socks for his birthday. He got a pair of Rainforest Owl and Regia cotton 4078. He liked the socks a lot but he loved the box they came in. I only thought I gave him socks not socks and a hat. That was funny

The store was really busy yesterday and a lot of people came to enjoy sitting outside knitting and eating cake.

We also had a 4 legged shopper. Maggie was in with her owner Lisa. I think Maggie likes yarn as much as Lisa. She has good taste, here she is checking out the Lorna's Laces.

Last thing is a picture of Kate our youngest knitter. She is 6 and learning to knit. She is going to be a great knitter. She pays very close attention to every stitch. She knows how to cast on, knit and fix mistakes already. Next week we will work on purl and cast off. I love teaching kids that young they are like little sponges. Kate is making a nice red scarf.

So it was a great day.

All Around great day

The day dawned yesterday with a clear blue sky. It has been many weeks since I have seen that. The weather here in BC has been dismal for summer, endless rain, wind and cold. I was very happy to see such a great day. I went and set up for the market in the sun. What a pleasure. The market was great today. Lots of tourists on the Island and Mom and I sold plenty.
I had friends drop by today also, which made the day special. Uli,Evan, Erika and Brenda came by and then Uli and Brenda came to the store once it opened and we had a great time looking at all the yarn, new books and of course knitting outside at the picninc table. It was fun to just chat about knitting with knitters who love knitting as much as I do. I only got one picture, way too busy talking.


I am actually in the picture too. You can see me in the reflection taking the picture. The box of sale yarn was Batik. I had a one day sale of it and that went well.

Erika, Uli and Evan's daughter is sooooooooo cute. I have only seen pictures of her on Uli's blog and she is way cuter in person. She is just full of life. She had a great time playing with her Dad while Uli shopped and hung out.
Lisa a new knitter came by the store to get some tips on a new baby sweater she is making. We sat outside too. I was hardly in all day. What a pleasure to have such nice weather and such nice people to sit and knit and enjoy it with.
Today is just as nice so I need to get out and enjoy it.

Parrot Socks

Here is a picture of the Parrot socks. They are a children's size and I am making a larger size with the rest of the yarn. They turned out nice. I have an order for a pair of Ladybug and a pair of Zebra so I am anxious to knit those. I will post pictures when they are done.


We actually got some nice weather here and got to sit outside and knit for a while yesterday when the store wasn't busy. It was busy most of the day as I got in some new books and everyone wanted to look through them plus the Rainforest yarn was a big draw for the sock knitters. We are supposed to get nice weather here the rest of the week. It finally feels like summer here.

Rainforest Arrived

Wow the Opal Rainforest Sock yarn is really nice. It even feels nicer, more body than most sock yarn. A few things I was surprised about. The ladybug is a darker red than the picture shows. The picture looks a bit pink but it is very red. It is nicer than the picture. I think. The Flamingo is very pink, soft pink to bright pink to burgundy. Nicer than the picture once again. The third yarn that is nicer than the picture is the Owl. It is a very soft brown. I love it. The other colours are amazing too but the pictures are very accurate. I am definately keeping a ball of each colour for myself. I am about to make a pair of Parrot socks and will post a picture when done. I want to make a few samples for the store to show how it knits up.

Noro Bay Hoodie done

I am always so pleased when I finish something. For every finished item I usually have 10 more things on the needles. Here is the picture of the Noro Hoodie. I can't wait to see it on Meika, it should fit her by fall I hope.

As soon as I was finished that I cast on for another hooded sweater for 1-2 year old using Sirdar yoyo. This stuff knits up so fast that I got the back done up to the armholes during a good movie last night. It will be realy cute when done and I will have enough yarn left for a larger sweater too.

The market was OK yesterday. We got rained out near the end and had to pack everything up in a huge hurry. Now hopefully we will get a sunny day this week to dry the tent before next Saturday. None of the sweaters got wet thanks to the fast action of Mom and Dad, by the time it rained I was at the store. The store was great fun. Lots of fun visitors. aone of our little students was in with a dropped stitch in a Boa scarf. Mom helped with that and she is happily knitting again. I love to see the kids knitting. I didn;t have my camera with me yesterday. I should buy one for the store and just leave it there or get a better memory so I remember to bring it.
The Rainforest is still showing a lot of interest on the internet and at the store. The tropical Fish is in the lead for #1 today. I am basing the interest by the number of people who have marked these items as "watching" at the eBay store
1. Tropical fish
2. Chameleon
3. Tiger
4. parrot
5. Ladybug
6. Flamingo
7. Zebra
8. Owl
Poor little owl he has been in last place everyday.

Todays Favourite

The order changed overnight and now Tiger is the favourite of the Rainforest collection
1 - Tiger
2 - Tropical Fish
3 - Flamingo
4 - Ladybug
5 - Chameleon
6 - Parrot
7 - Zebra
8 - Owl
I would like to make a pair of Tiger socks myself. I think I will when it comes in. They look fun.
Today is the day for the market. It is cloudy this moning but the sun is peaking out now and then so hopefully it won't rain. We have had terrible weather here so far this summer. I got the Noro baby sweater done and will post a picture later. It is really cute.

Favourite Rainforest so far

According to my eBay records so far the favourite Rainforest Opal is the Ladybug. I have more people watching that one than the others, The order of interest is Tiger, Chameleon, Fish, Flamingo, Zebra, Parrot and Owl. That could change but that is the order for now. I think I like the Parrot the best.
This yarn is going to sell quickly. The interest in this is amazing. I am offering the entire collection as Buy it Now and have sold 2 already.

Opal Rainforest has arrived in Canada

I was just notified that my shipment of Opal Rainforest will arrive early next week. I can't wait. This is going to be a great yarn. The colours are amazing.

It will be interesting to see what the best seller will be.
Please leave a comment as to what your favourite colour is in the rainforest series. I am curious. I think the Parrot colour will be a best seller but I have been wrong before.

Teaching knitting

I had an 11 year old girl in the store tonight for knitting lessons. She bought the book, yarn and needles last week and arrived tonight with about 4 rows knit. She had cast on 22 stitches and was going to make a scarf. By the 4th row she had about 55 stitches and a real mess. We have all been there, so she got the hardest lesson of all I made her tear out her hard work and start over.
I showed her how to cast on then ripped it off and made her do it, she did it. Then she knit a row and counted her stitches and it had grown by 2 so I made her find the mistakes and take it back and fix it. I feel if you are going to learn to knit you need to know how to fix a mess too. She was very careful the next row to have the right amount of stitches on the needle. I told her that she was to check after every row and make sure she had the right stitches or fix it. She knit one more row then I taught her to purl. She was a quick learner. After a few rows of stocking st. she learned to cast off. She was very proud of her perfect square. She will be a good knitter. Before she left we she cast on for the scarf she was starting to make and I knit 5 rows for her and told her the rest of the scarf should look that good and she should cast off 22 stitches at the end of her scarf. She will be a perfectionist knittter.
What a meany I am.
The store was busy today and I sold lots of socks. I got orders for more so I better get knitting. The Noro baby sweater is done except for 1/2 in. on the last sleeve. Pictures of it tomorrow for sure. It is really cute.

I had a great week

This last week was great getting to visit my daughter and Meika. They went home yesterday and today I have decided to clean up and organize my office. Beleive me it needed it. I will take an after picture once I get all my shelves organized. I wouldn't dare have shown a before picture.

I had a great day at the market and at the store on Saturday. There are lots of tourists on the Island right now and the knitters don't have any trouble finding the store. We set up our booth at the Farmers Market every Saturday on Quadra. Mom and I both look after the market until noon and then I go and open the store. This week it was very busy and we were both busy all morning. My dad sells vegetables and he was sold out before noon. He even went and picked more peas, sold them within minutes.
Here is a picture of our booth at the market just before it opened.

We sell sweater, scarves, socks, hats, lots of baby items, kitchen towels and of course yarn. Since I opened the store I don't bring as much yarn to the market I just tell people that want yarn to go to the store when it opens.
There are about 20 - 30 booths every week and lots of wonderful crafts for sale. this week I bought another plant for my front garden and Mom bought the cutest little knit doll for Meika.
I started a baby sweater yesterday. It is really cute. I am nearly done and will post the picture when done. It is knit with Noro Silk garden and the pattern is Opptuna from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's Book #2 I am making it in colour # 84 I thought this was a great colour for a fall sweater. I have the front and back done and am working on the hood. I am doing a 6 month size. Meika is so tiny that it will probably be big on her in the fall, but she will grow into it.