Teddy Bear Pinwheel

I have had a lot of requests for this pattern so here it is

Pinwheel Teddy Bear Sweater

Small amount of Worsted Weight yarn in 3 colours. I used elann Peruvian Highland Wool

A – Bisque
B – Irish Moss
C - Spiced Wine

5.5 mm ( US 9) double pointed needles.

5.5 mm (US 9) circular needles 40 cm and 60 cm (16” ).

Stitch marker.

2 stitch holders.

Scrap yarn.
Gauge: 18 st. and 24 rows = 10cm / 4" on 5.5mm (US 9) needles.

Directions:
Using 5.5mm double-pointed needles and first colour (natural) cast on 8 st. Place 2 sts. on the 1st needle, 4 sts on the 2nd needle, and 2 sts on the 3rd needle.

R1: Join in a round being careful not to twist the stitches. Knit into the front and the back of each stitch -16 st. on round, mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move this up every round.

R2 and all even number rounds: Knit.

R3: yo, K2repeat to end of round, (6 sts on 1st needle; 12 sts on 2nd needle; 6 sts on 3rd needle).

R5: K3 yo, repeat to end of round. (8 sts on 1st needle; 16 sts on 2nd needle; 8 sts on 3rd needle).

R7: K4 yo, repeat to end of round. (10 sts on 1st needle; 20 sts on 2nd needle; 10 sts on 3rd needle).

R9: K5 yo, repeat to end of round. (12 sts on 1st needle; 24 sts on 2nd needle; 12 sts on 3rd needle). Change second colour B (Sage) on round 9.

Change to circular needles when you need to.

Continue increasing in this manner, changing colour every 9 rounds.
Continue until you have 9 st. between increases.

Next Round: knit the first set of 10 stitches, place the second set of 10 stitches on a holder, cast on 10 stitches using a provisional cast on - see below for provisional cast on instructions (this will be the sleeve later), continue knitting 4 more sets of 10 stitches , slip the next 10 stitches on a holder, cast on 10 stitches using a provisional cast on, knit the last 10 stitches.

Continue in pattern increasing and changing colour every 9th round until you have 15 stitches in each section.

Provisional cast on:
Using a crochet hook, a knitting needle, and a contrasting colour yarn, make a slip knot.

Put the crochet hook through the slip knot and hold in front of needle.

Bring yarn around the needle, from left over top of needle behind the needle then over the hook and make a stitch (the yarn around the needle is the stitch).

Repeat this until 10 stitches on the needle.

These stitches will become the other half of the armhole when needed and you continue knitting on these for the round sweater.
The Edge:

Change to colour B and knit 1 round

Next round, Knit into the front and back of every st.

Next round purl

Cast off
Sleeves:
With colour B and 5.5mm double pointed needles, pick up the 10 stitches from each side of the armhole (20 sts for each sleeve). Place a marker at the beginning of the round. Knit 10 rounds

Next round, Knit into the front and back of every st.

Next round purl

Cast off.
Sew in the ends.

What Next

I have had a lot of people ask me what will I do next.  The answer is I don't know. It has been a little over a month since we closed the store. It took us 2 weeks to move out of the store and clean it ready for the next tenant and then the twins were born. That was a big event. So I haven't had much time to think about What next. For now I am going to get my yard looking good, knit and weave for all of my grand kids and enjoy the summer off. One of the reasons We closed the store was I realized I hadn't had a holiday except yarn shows in 6 years so I think I will take a long overdue holiday this summer.
I miss the store a bit and I am left with the world's largest stash, which I may use up if I live to be 180.
The one thing I don't understand and I have heard other people who retire say this too " I don't know how I had time to work"

Twins arrived

Robert Allan Mackie

Hannah Adrian Mackie

Zyan William Zamisky

Meika Layne Shaflik and her new puppy Rocky

So sorry I am late with this post - the twins arrived safely on April 19 mid afternoon. They were each 6 pounds and 19" long. They are very sweet. There names are Hannah Adrain and Robert Allan Mackie. They stayed in hospital for a few days to get the feeding sorted out and now are home, happy, healthy and gaining weight. I didn't get near as much time with them as  wanted to but will see them soon again.
Above are pictures of all our grandchildren. I feel so blessed.

Fun Knits is closed and 1 last sale

We closed the store last night for good. The sale went amazing and I think every knitter on Quadra has enough yarn to do them a while.
We are heading to Naniamo today for one last show. The Vancouver Island Weavers and Spinners are having a retreat this weekend in Naniamo at the Grand Hotel  - 4898 Rutherford Road - There will be 4 vendors selling at the market and it is open to the public on Saturday afternoon 10 - 12 and 1-3. Everything in our booth will be 50% off. We still have lots of sock yarn, undyed yarn, a few philospher Sweater kits and some Louet sweater kits. Some books, needles and notions. Lots of Briggs and Little, Tempo and Tempo chunky all 50% off
If you are in the area come by for some great yarn bargains.

Sale 50% off everything

We just got back from Fibres West and sold loads of yarn but we have tons left. The store is still quite full and the selection is great. So shop early for the best selection. We are closing for good March 31.

Fibres West March 18-19

We are packed up and heading to Fibres West in Abbotsford. We are taking a huge amount of yarn, fleece, books and notions with us. Everything will be 30% off for the weekend since we are closing the store. We have so much sock yarn to sell so if you knit socks you don't want to miss this sale.
Hope to see you there.
Since we have most of the store with us, we are closing the store until next Tuesday March 22. The sale will continue in store until it is all gone or the end of March.

Grand son #1 arrived

This is the newest member to our family. Zyan William Zamisky born March 5 at 9:39am. He weighs 8 and 1/2 pounds and is 21 and 1/4 inches long. Isn't he just perfect. We are extremely pleased to announce that Mom, Dad, Meika and Zyan are all doing fine. I can't wait to spend some quality time with this little guy. I think he looks a lot like his Dad.
Now we are awaiting the twins safe arrive in late April or early May. Nothing like spring babies.

Fun Knits is Closing

Linda and I have decided we are both retiring from selling yarn. We have had fun over the last few years but know it is time to move on. We are having a great sale in store.

 Sale 30 % off everything - some yarns as much as 50% off

 All of the product will be taken off the internet as it will be too hard to manage accurate inventory counts. For internet customers please call the store for purchases 1-250-285-275. We will throw in a bonus for all orders over $75 - free shipping.

This month we are going to Fibres West March 18 -19 so the store will be closed while we are away as we will be taking most of the stock with us. We will be closed March 16- 20. This will be a great sale at Fibres West so if you are planning to attend don't miss our booth. 30 -50% off.

So come in or phone soon for best selection as the yarn will sell quickly at these prices.

As for the Sally Melville retreat  Sept 29 - Oct 2 . This is still happening and we look forward to seeing all of you who are coming. We do still have a few spaces left in this retreat.

Tea Towel Exchange on Ravelry

I participated in a tea towel exchnge on Ravelry. I made 7 towels and sent 6 of them to Sandra who organized this for Jane Stafford. Then I received 6 tea towels plus the one of my own I kept. So I know have 7 great tea towels. This was a fun exchange and I learned a lot about weaving as usual.

The towels I wove were tartan.

Yarn Kabobs Anyone

So what do you do with stray needles and yarn laying around and you don't know how to knit very well. Meika my 5 year old grand daughter has a solution. She made yarn kabobs. I thought I would share this so if anyone is really bored and tired of knitting they could try this. She had a great time making them

Meika proudly showing her 2 finished yarn kabobs

Meika making yarn kabobs

4 finished yarn kabobs

Very Fun Baby Knitting

I am having a lot of fun knitting baby sweaters. I knit this little sweater using a free pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple. I knit with 10 different colours of Malabrigo worsted yarn in random Fair Isle that I made up as I knit. This sweater is for Megan and Zach's baby who is due early March. We don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl but this sweater will suit either sex. The little store teddy bear is modelling it for the pictures. The close up pictures of the patterns show the colour more accurate.

Next I will knit sweaters for the twins a boy and girl. I talked to my son last night so I got an idea of what they would like for sweaters.

Store Winter Hours

Linda and I decided that we will have winter hours for the store. It is cold,dark and even snowy today so we think these hours will be great for us and for our customers. More knitting time.
 So until end of March we will be open
Tues - 10 - 4 - opening at the usual time to accomodate the spinners group
Wed - Sat 11 - 4pm
Shelley

Pink Ocean

Finished my pink ocean ripple wrap, and I do so love it. Sweatermaker Island Hues Lace, my own pattern (free on our website). Used about 575 metres, for a finished length of 72 inches after blocking.

A New Year and some New Knitting

Do you make resolutions? I don't make sweeping resolutions as a general rule, but when it comes to knitting I do have some goals for this year.

1. Freeform knitting. I am hugely inspired by Jane Thornley, and would like to complete some freeform knitting this year.

2. Knit a sweater for myself. Both of my guys have gotten sweaters in the last year, it's my turn for a nice new sweater.

3. A pair of socks a month. I was inspired by the Yarn Harlot's self-imposed sock club in 2010, and will be trying something similar (although I may not have 12 pairs worth of sock yarn in my stash). I always give my mum socks at Christmas, and it would be great to have some pairs already put aside.

4. Finish my blanket! Again, both of my guys have blankets that I knitted, and I have been working on mine for two years. Mr. Kate even had the audacity to mention he might be due for a new one!

In the meantime, I am continuing to knit up a storm, currently working on fingerless mitts (found a great free pattern from Ravelry - Camp Out Fingerless Mitts), the first pair of 2011 socks and my Ocean Ripple in Pink. I so love Sweatermaker Island Hues Lace!

What are your goals in knitting/fibre this year?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Linda, Deb, Kate, Susan and myself. We are going to be closed all next week to reopen Jan 4. so we can all spend time with our families and I can start knitting for all of my new grandbabies. We found out last week the twins are a boy and a girl. We had a nice Christmas here and more to come as family arrive home.

Here is a cute picture of Pumpkin on her first Christmas. I put a bow on her this morning and she has proudly wore it all day. Isn't she sweet.

Huge Boxing Day Sale at Fun Knits before Christmas

Linda and I thought for a long time how we could best say Merry Christmas to all of our customers and what a better way than with Boxing Day sale before Christmas. So here are the details of our sale.
Our Boxing Day Sale Dec 21 - 24.

The entire store will be 10% off. All worsted weight and bulky yarn and fleece will be 30% off, including amazing yarns like Noro,  Malabrigo and Lopi. All novelty yarn 40% off. We have discontinued yarn and fleece on for 50 % off. Come early for the best selection.
For more information email or call 250-285-2751.
We aren't posting this sale to the internet store as our program can't deal with multi % , but will happily honour the sale to all phone customers, just call 250-285-2751. Don't forget orders over $50. have free shipping. So a phone call to the store is nearly the same as shopping in person.

Our holiday hours will be open Dec 21 – 24 10 am - 5 pm and then we are closing until Jan 4, 2011.

Fun with Cables

I am really into cables right now. I designed this scarf called Fun Reversible Cables. It turned out great. I knit it with Galway 100% wool, forest green.  It is really fun to knit and goes quite quickly because of the changing cable rows. I designed it so it would flair out at the bottom and lay flat and then around the neck it would be narrower with just rib rows. It is very comfortable around the neck and everyone who has tried it on loves how it feels.
It is warm and stays in place. Has all the properties of a good looking functional scarf.

This scarf goes well with the Variations on a Theme Fetching Hat that is another free pattern just below the scarf. To complete the set you could knit the Fetching fingerless mitts that are so popular.
I knit this scarf for a friend but after Christmas I am knitting this for myself in red Malabrigo.  It takes 1 1/2 skein so you would have enough with 2 skeins for the hat or mitts. You would probably need a 3rd for the entire set. The scarf only took a few days to knit so you have time to knit this for a Christmas present for someone or yourself.

My Variations

I couldn't resist Shelley's new pattern, Variations on a Theme (pdf link). I didn't have a worsted that I wanted to use, so I pulled out a skein of Eco Wool. This is a DK 100% wool yarn. Because of the thinner yarn I cast on 10 stitches more. The resulting hat is a perfect fit (although it won't be for me).

Great pattern - I think the headband is up next!

Hats hats hats



I have been having fun knitting hats the last few days. With our sale all week of worsted weight yarns I have been inspired to design some hats.

Roll Brim Diaginal Lace Hat in Galway Paint

The first Roll Brim Diagonal Lace Hat is on our free pattern page and is a hat I designed for with Noro yarn but it looks great in Galway Paint. Galway paint has the subtle colour change within one colour range and looks great in this hat.



The second hat pattern  called Variations on a Theme which is also available on the web site and  is designed to go with Fetching fingerless gloves. I have made several pair of these and have always wanted a matching hat. So here it is. I knit this with Galway. I am knitting the matching Headband with Green Galway and will post a picture once it is complete.



Variation on a Theme - Fetching Hat knit in Galway



Today's sale yarn is Hayfield Aran a great huge ball (400gr) would make great hats scarves and mitts for the entire family with just one ball.



Did you notice we added another special - Free shipping to all orders over $50. for the month od December. A great time to stock up.





Anniversary Sale !!!!

Starting Tuesday Nov 30 Fun Knits is having a sale. This is to celebrate several anniversaries. It is Fun Knits Blogs 6th year here is the 1st post. The store opened Jan 2005. We moved to our new location and opened Nov 30 2006, The other anniversary is Linda and I became official partners a year ago 2009. I realize looking back at blog post that I never even blogged about that. ( I was totally burned out). Linda has saved Fun Knits. I was quite exhausted running the store and a Group home for special needs people and ready to quite the store when along came Linda. We talked about it for a while and she worked at the store for a few months and became invaluable. Now a year later after our official partnership I couldn't do the store without her, she is the best partner I could have imagined. She does all the things I do very poorly like the book keeping and so much else. I think we have a great partnership  -   Thanks Linda   -   Even this sale was her idea. So join us in celebrating our years of Fun Knits and hope of many more to come.

We are having a sale all next week. Each day there is a different yarn on sale for 25% off. This is for web orders and in store sales as well. Each sale will go for 24 hours starting at 10 a.m. one day till 10 a.m. the next.


The sale starts Tuesday, November 30th with Galway Paint. Great 100% wool and felts beautifully. Wednesday, Dec 1st is Tempo Worsted - lots of colours. Great for children’s sweaters as it can be thrown in the washer and dryer. Thursday, Dec 2nd is Hayfield Aran weight yarn. Friday, Dec 3rd is Briggs & Little Soft Spun. Great yarn from Canada. Sales finishes up on Sat, Dec 4th with beautiful Galway worsted weight - solids and heathers. Don’t miss this great sale for last minute Christmas presents or get a jump on yarn for your 2011 winter projects.