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.

Meika was a hit at the store

Meika's first day at the yarn store went great. It started with her meeting her new Great Grandparents

It wasn't too long before my Mom had her in the store to get a real good look at her.


Then she had to meet some of her Quadra Island cousins

They sure are a cute bunch and were quite delighted to finaly get to hold the baby.

And the last picture of the day was Brenda holding Meika. She happily put her sock knitting aside for a few minutes to get her turn to hold the baby. Meika is wearing the little hat I made with Bernat Baby lash, the same hat Ming had on in last nights post. It is too big on Meika.
The general concensus of the day is that Meika will be a knitter. She has nice long fingers for holding needles and good knitting genes.
It was a fun day at the store as usual. Lots of visitors and shoppers. I also had a visit from my friend Karen's husband Murray to tell me the great news that her Grand baby was born last week. They have a Grand daughter too, so I really need to load up on pink yarn.

A great surprise

Earlier tonight I was busy writing my blog and my husband arrived home from a trip to Vancouver. He came in the door carrying is suitbag and said to me "Here take this" so I reach for his suitbag and he said not that, this and held down the bag and there was my grand daughter Meika. My daughter popped up behind him. This was the best surprise I have had in years. I was seriously very blue about not getting to spend much time with my daughter and her new baby this week. So this has really cheered me up.
Here she is - My great daughter Megan and my sweet little Grand daughter Meika.

So everything else I was writing about in my blog pales in comparison but here it is.

I made this little baby poncho and hat using Bernat Baby Lash. It is so soft and quick to knit, the pattern is on the ball band. Doesn't Ming look cute in it.


My Mom made this little sweater using Opal Petticoat. It turned out really cute and only took 1 ball of yarn.

Notice we are both knitting pink girly items these days. Well this is where I was earlier in the blog when I got my big surprise.
If anyone want to meet Meika and my daughter they will be at the store tomorrow a lot. My Mom and Dad will be meeting Meika for the first time. I will take lots of pictures. Should be a fun day.

Home now

I got home late Monday night and I have been very busy catching up on all my eBay sales, household chores etc...... not to mention showing everyone I know pictures of our new grand daughter.
Her name is Meika Layne Shaflik. She is the cutet baby I have ever seen (could be a bit partial) and she is very good. She already sleeps for 4 hours during the night. My daughter doesn't know how lucky she is.
The little newborn hat and sock sets were a big hit in Vancouver. I sold out of the ones my daughter didn't take for Meika.
Here are some pictures of her in the little hat and sock sets.

This is Meika in a hat and sock set made from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn. She is wearing a shirt from her Dad's band Catapult.

Meika is modeling the Opal Petticoat set I made her.

And last of all here is a picture of Meika sleeping peacefully under the Heirloom shawl that Mom made for her out of Regia Silk. Notice how little she is. She is only taking up 1 square of the shawl and there are 16 squares in it. Lots of room to grow there.
Now that I am home things are slowly coming back to order. Thanks for everyones kind understanding about the delays in last weeks auction shipping. The last of the parcels are going out this morning.

The Baby is here !!!!!!!!

My daughter had her baby June 14th at 6:37 PM. She had a baby girl, 6lbs, 8 oz.The name is yet to come. She is perfect and my daughter is doing fine. I was able to make it to Vancouver in time to help her with the birth. Here are a few pictures.

This a picture of my husband and I a few minutes after the baby was born.

My daughter Megan and the new baby resting under the Heirloom shawl.

This is my daughter Megan and her sweet little baby. the baby is weaing a hat made with the new Opal petticoat. Looks great on her. We change hats about every few hours so she can have a new look all the time.
She will be coming home from the hospital today and I am staying to help them out for a few days. I am sure there will be many more pictures to follow.

I will be back next week. I have access to a computer now so I should be able to carry on the eBay as usual but there will be some delays in shipping. Sorry if that is inconvenient for anyone. But look at these pictures and you will understand why.
My Mom will be running the store so we are business as usual. I am just away having fun with my daughter and new grand daughter.

New Sock Yarn - Regia Brasil

I have a new sock yarn available it is really nice. It has a short pattern repeat and the colours are great. It is available at the Buy it Now section of my eBay store.
I am making a hat using the Brasil 5480 right now and it is great . Will post a picture when done.
On the home front we are back from the hospital and everything is OK. I got lots of knitting done while in hospital but nothing finished as usual. I worked on the pink poncho, the new hat and a top I started using Eco knits cotton. I wish I could stick to something and get it finished. I love starting new projects. I need more self discipline.

May be delays in eBay shipping

Sorry but I may not get the parcels sent out until Monday this week. My boy is in hospital and I just came home for a few minutes to pack for him and send out invoices. I will try to get some done tomorrow if can get home. I stay with him a lot when he is in hospital.
He has an infection and we are not sure where yet. So I am sure everyone will understand if I am a bit late.

Trunk Yarn Store

This picture just goes to show that people who love yarn will buy it anywhere, anytime. We went for lunch today with the Machine Knitter's club and after lunch we all retreated to Ethel's Trunk to see what yarns she had to sell. It just looked so funny I had to get a picture.

Of course I had to buy some yarn to add to my already gigantic stash of cone yarn. How can a person resist a good sale out of the trunk of Ethel's car.

The Baby Blanket is done

Well our new grandbaby can come anytime now. Mom got the Heirloom shawl done last week. It is amazing. She made it with Regia Silk sock yarn, a blend of silk , wool and nylon. It is incredibly soft.
Here is the picture of Mom and the finished baby blanket. Mom is very happy the blanket is finished before the baby came.

this is a close up of one square and the edge. It is so pretty.

This blanket will become a family treasure.
My Grandmother gave my Mom the pattern and my Mom knit this blanket for my oldest brother and now she has knit it again for her first Great grand child. That absolutely fits the blankets name Heirloom.

I haven't blogged much this week as I have had to hire a new person to care for my special needs guys. I have been interviewing and training all week. We even have had to alter the store hours but I am happy to say I was able to hire someone so things should get back to normal around here soon. I am intensely training this poor girl as she needs to be ready to take over for me when I go to Vancouver for the baby's birth and who knows when that will be, could be any time now.

I actually got all the socks knit and here is a picture of my favorite pair. They are made with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Socks in River colour.


In the hand knitting department I am making a poncho out of Shetland Chunky in rose colour. It is turning out quite nice.
Machine knitting aside from socks I am making a lace shawl with Fiddlesticks Country Silk. It is beautful yarn. I just got some new colours in the store and I just couldn't resist knitting some. I will post pictures when done.

Closing early tomorrow night

I have to close the store at 5:30 tomorrow as my Mom is going to work and they catch the 5:50 ferry home. I can't work tomorrow. Sorry if that causes problems for anyone. I have had a bad week so I haven't got much done. I got 8 of the 9 socks knit on time and thank heavens the last pair weren't urgently needed. I am finishing them tonight. I will post some picture tomorrow. The heirloom shawl is nearly done. We are so glad the baby wasn't born before the shawl was done. Mom is on the home stretch with it. She has it all sewn up and a bit more border to knit. It is amazing. I can't wait to see that sweet little baby wrapped in it.

6 down - 4 to go

That is the sock count. I am just starting on the 4 pair that need to be done by Sat. I also knit 5 pair of baby socks and have enough yarn for a few matching hats. I took a break from sock knitting yesterday but I am back at it today. Hand knitting I am working on the last square of the Heirloom afghan my Mom and I are making. She has it all sewn up except the last square and a bit of the border she is working on. If my daughter can hang on to the baby for a week more it will be done. Her midwife said she could have the baby anytime now. She is 37 weeks and her due date is June 17th.
The store was great yesterday as usual. So much fun I can't call it work. I don't have any picutes but I will on Sat. I will take some pictures of our booth at the Sat. Market.

What a great Sale that was

Just as my title suggest the sale went great. My post yesterday was just before I went and sat on the couch to watch a movie. Fell asleep and then got up at midnight and went to bed. I really was exhausted.
The sock yarn star of the sale was the Opal Petticoat everyone loves it. I have to order more already. I also sold lots of Fortissima
The first market went well also. I got so many orders for socks that I will be knitting for many hours this week. I have 2 pair adults and 1 baby pair knit already 8 adults and 9 baby pair to go.
One problem I have with knitting socks is I don't waste any yarn I have to wind it onto a spool to knit using my knitting machine so once its on the spool I knit until it is gone. So making 10 adult pair of socks means I also knit 10 baby pair. So I will really knit 20 pair this week.
The store was packed yesterday all day. My brother and his family came to visit for the holiday weekend so they were there for a while. I gave my niece Jessie aspool knitting set and showed her how to use it. She was well on her way to knitting miles of cord when she left. She is going to stay with me for 2 weeks this summer so hope to teach her to knit. She is quite eager to learn.

There were a few people in the store yesterday with knit items one was a lady and her grand daughter. She made her grand daughter this poncho with Sirdar Yoyo. It looks so cute on her. She is also teaching her to knit and they came in to get some sock yarn.
The poncho sure looks great.
Karen was in with another baby sweater completed. Hopefully the next picture of Karen will be holding the baby wearing the sweater. It is fun to have someone to share my excitement with about the new grandbaby. I wonder who will be a Grandma first. I will keep you posted.


Isn't that sweater sweet. She made if with Sirdar 4ply confetti colour. The buttons are little Kuala bears.
Well I better go knit some socks.

Well I am exhausted

That was a great sale. It actually put a visible dent in the sock yarn section of the store. I am too tired tonight to think so I will write a decent post with pictures tomorrow. I have 10 pair of socks to knit before next weekend. 6 pair by Tuesday, wish me luck. I might just burnout my knitting machine. Better go get started winding yarn.

Socks, socks, socks

I have benn knitting socks. Not as many as I hoped I would get done this week but I got a few done. I want to have lots of examples of the socks for Fun knits big sock yarn sale this weekend.
Here is a picture of the socks I have knit so far.

The are (left to right) Fortissima 9094, Opal Petticoat, Opal Springtime, Regia Cotton 4086, and Opal Magic Turquoise.
I love the new Opal petticoat. It is such nice soft colours and the yarn seems extra soft too.

Tomorrow I hope to get a few more pair of socks done. I have to decorate the store window with socks for the sale. This should be fun. I hope a lot of people come.
I also got 2 more squares done on the baby afghan this week only 2 left to go.
My daughter's baby dropped the other day and she is getting lots of false labour. Her Midwife thinks she may deliver early. Her due date is June 17th. Hopefully the afghan will be done in time. Mom and I may have to do some speed knitting if that baby comes early.
Thanks for your kind comments about my son walking. He is still doing good and making very slow but steady progress.

My Son took his first steps today

This is an off knitting post but I feel like shouting this from the roof tops. My son who is special needs took his first steps alone today. He is 17 years old so this is a very long time in coming. We have been working with him for years and years and I always beleived he could learn to walk. For the last year every Monday the local Physio Clinic allows us to come in and use the parallel bars. At first we were thrilled when he would stand alone hanging on to the bars occasionally he would take a step with one foot or move his hands on the bars but today he got it. Today he walked up and down the bars one foot after the other just like he had done it all his life, he turned and got himself into the chair then got back up again with a little coaxing and did it again. We just stood there and watched and cried for joy. Its hard to describe the feeling when you have waited so long for something. My son was very proud of himself too. That will be hard to top.
A great day!!!
I don't know if he will ever walk completely unaided, but this is sure a great start.

The Star of the Store yesterday

The star of the store yesterday Layla a 5 month old baby in shopping with her Mom. I got to hold her and play with her while her Mom shopped. She was so cute and she posed for a picture wearing one of my baby hats made with Opal Brasil 5001.

The store was great yesterday. Very busy all day. I got a lot of work done and feel ready for the Big Sock Yarn Sale next weekend. That should be great fun. We are also going to start our booth at the Farmer's Market that day too. It should be a very busy weekend.

My one accomplishment I am proud of this week is this lace poncho that Ming volunteered to model for me.
It is too big on her but she didn't mind.
This is my first attempt at lace knitting with my Mom's new Brother knitting machine. It was a lot of work but worth it. Lace knitting is very fun on the knitting machine. I hope to do lots more.
On the hand knitting front I have been whipping up scarves for samples for the store to showcase the yarns. I love combining the yarns to get new looks. I have also been working on the baby blanket that Mom and I are making for the new grandbaby. It is amazing how different 2 people can knit. Mom knits tighter than I do so I have to go down 2 needle sizes to get the same tension. I will post a picture of the blanket when finished sometime within the next month. My last accomplishment for the week was a matter of necessity. Last weekend my son's shoe laces broke and we have no where on Quadra to get shoe laces on Sunday. He needed to wear these shoes to school on Monday so I made him some using left over sock yarn. I used 3 strands together and crocheted a chain. I used Lorna's Laces Rainbow and 2 Kroy yarns a black and black and white. Well these shoe laces were a big hit at school.
I was thinking these would be great to include with a pair of socks for a child as a gift.

Very busy week

This has been a very busy week and I haven't had any time to write in the blog. Sorry for anyone who follows this. I got in some new sock yarn this week and just list it on eBay. One of the yarns I wasn't expecting until early summer came in early. That it the new Opal Petticoat. I think it is the nicest colour that Opal has come out with yet. I am sure this will be a big seller. I plan to make socks for me and a baby set from this for sure.
The other yarn that came in is Opal Prisma.

It is great. The colours are so rich. I love the rusty brown and the sage green and of course the navy. I think I will make a pair of navy for myself it will look great with jeans.

Today will be a busy day at the store. Next weekend I am going to have my annual sock yarn sale. I will post more details on the web site later in the week. I have lots to do to get ready for that.

Another Baby sock mistake

Wow you can tell I am a sock machine knitter when it comes to writing a sock patterns. Thanks to Audrey who has made baby sets from my pattern, it is now corrected.
The first line under Shape toe should read
Put the first and last stitch from needle 2 onto needles 1 and 3 respectively.
I only made the little pink pair by hand the rest of the baby socks I have made on the machine.
If anyone else finds a mistake or has a suggestion on improvements please e-mail me at shelmack@telus.net and I will eventually have a perfect pattern. You are all great proof readers.
If anyone has a Passap knitting machine and wants the machine knit version let me know. I have a chart I made for all sizes of socks based on the pattern in the Passap manual.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's who read this blog. Especially Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. She helps me out so much and I just say Thanks. Well thanks is not enough. My Mom taught me everything I know about knitting, she fixes most of my mistakes and finishes things that I just can't get done. She works for free in the store and much much more. I love you Mom and Thanks for all you do for me.!!!

Yesterday my friend Karen came in the store. Karen and I have a lot in common right now. Her daughter is also expecting a baby June 20th, my daughters due date is June 17th. Karen is an avid knitter and has an impressive wardrobe for her grandbaby too. She brought in one of the sweaters she made to show me yesterday. Isn't it cute. It is a cable and check pattern made with Sirdar Snuggly. She also had the back done of a baby sweater in confetti Sirdar and we are anxious to see the finished sweater.

She is also waiting to know the sex of the baby before she really gets knitting. I will have to restock the store in blues or pinks once we know.
It is fun to have that in common and to be able to share our excitment and knitting for our first Grandbabies.
I actually haven't knit anything for the baby this week. I am slipping. Mom is working on a beautiful blanket for the baby and I am going to help her finish that over the next few weeks. It is made with Regia Silk in cream colour and is it ever amazing. It is from an old pattern called the heirloom shawl. She made this same blanket for my oldest brother who is now 50+.
The store was busy yesterday. Lots of new customers and it was a fun day. Too cold and windy to sit outside and knit. I had all the knit items on display outside. I sold a few things but not too much.

Mom and I thought we didn't have enough to go to the market but when I got it all spread out yesterday I realized we have plenty for a booth at the market. I think we will start selling at the market on the May 24th weekend. I had better get busy making socks. They are my best sellers.

Today at the store we are going to have a table outside with knit items for sale. Hopefully some will sell for Mother's Day gifts. The Quadra Island Farmers Market starts today and I am usually in that. I don't usually start going until the May 24th weekend and then go every Saturday until Sept. It is cloudy then sunny this morning and I can't really decide if it is going to be a nice day or rainy. I have to set up a tent if it is going to be rainy and not if its sunny so I will write this blog and hopefully the weather will decide what to do.
I have been so busy I don't have much made for it. I usually have 20-30 pair of socks in all sizes for sale. This year I have 2 pair of women's and about 8 pair of baby. No mens's or childrens. I NEED to get knitting. Last night I knit 3 pair of short socks out of cotton. I used Opal cotton 1171 and Regia cotton 4086. I like them both equally. Maybe the Opal a little better. It feels denser knit up.
Here is a picture of the socks I made last night. The ends aren't in yet. The Opal pairs I didn't match up as I was trying to see if I could get 2 pair out of a ball of yarn. Came close but needed about 10 gr. from a new ball to finish the last sock.

The socks are all the same size its just looks like they are different the way they are layed out.
Well it looks like the sun is going to shine here today so I better get busy and start setting up our mini market.
I will post pictures later of our set up.

So this is what it's all about

Last night at the store I was sitting talking with one of the knitters about my summer plans for the store. We were discussing teenagers and that some seem to have interest in knitting. I said we should have a summer program where they can meet once a week and learn knitting, new stitches etc. Just in the middle of this in walked the cutest 12 year old girl with a box she got for Christmas. It contained knitting needles , wool and a learn to knit book.
She is left handed and the book went into great detail about how to knit left handed and nobody could help her. I sat her down and told her (hopefully I don't offend and left handers) that knitting requires 2 hands and she doesn't need to knit left handed so I showed how to knit. By the time she left the store she had knit 4 rows all on her own. She wasn't awkward knitting at all. She is going to be a knitter, She even found her only mistake and asked how to fix it. She had 2 balls of Boa in her little box of knitting too and wants to make a scarf so I told her to work on the knitting for a few days and come in on Sat. and we could give the Boa a try.
I haven't taught a young person to knit in so long. It felt so good.
I asked her what she thought of having a teen knitters group over the summer and she loved the idea and would come.
My son is the last young person I taught to knit and he is 31. He is also left handed and learned fine from me. He was 16 and had no money and wanted Christmas presents for his friends. He got the idea of using left over wool from my huge stash and knitting stocking hats for all his friends. Well he knit about 20 hats. They were quite a hit.
I love teaching people to knit. It is so cool to watch it click, when they realize what they are doing. Young people learn so quickly. Hopefully there are more teens on our island that want to learn to knit. I think they would be a fun group. I could turn them into great yarn consumers !!!!

On the knitting front.I finished the socks with Noro Kujaku and started a pair for my husband using Hemp/ Wool. He is going to test drive a pair made with this and see if they wear well or wear out quickly. They knit up very quickly so I should be done in a day or 2. I will post pictures when I get some taken.

A little mistake is fixed

Thanks to a very fast knitter who has already knit my baby sock pattern she found a little mistake. It was in the shaping the heel part and I had inverted the k1 sl1 after the k6. Now it is fixed so if you print the pattern earlier today you might want to correct that or print a new one.
Hey I am mostly a machine sock knitter what do I say!!! Whoops

Thanks Ann - I was telling her my new Grandbaby will have to change socks 3-4 times a day to wear all the pairs of socks I have made that child. That baby will have the best looking feet in Vancouver and the best sock collection ever. I think I will make a little clothes line mobile for the baby.

Guess what I finished the baby sock and started a new pair of child's socks using Noro Kujaku, This yarn makes great socks. I will post the picture when done. I am starting to get hooked on hand knitting socks. They are really cute. The poor lonely poncho is still in waiting. I just can't get at it. Anyone want a 7/8th finished poncho to finish. It is haunting me.

A day of finishing items

Today was my day to finish knit items and patterns. I got 90% of it done. One item I am knitting is so borrrrrrrring that it will take a miracle to finish it. It is the poncho I am making out of Noro Silk garden , that in itself should keep me knitting. As soon as I am done posting this blog that is the only thing I am allowed to knit on until it is done. It is 85% done, I just have serious knitters block on this item.
The rest of the Noro I am finished. I got all the ends sewed in and the patterns written and even a picture taken. I took 2 group shots as I didn't feel like doing individual pictures.
Here is all of the knitting I have done so far.

I took a picture of the table items so you can see them better


My favorite stuff is the shawl, the baby stuff (vest,leg warmers, hat and booties) my sweater and the Noro socks. They are incredibly cosy. I put reinforment yarn in the toes and heels so they should wear well. The hats are from my patterns I wrote last year.
This was fun but a lot of work. Once the poncho is done I will send all this to get photographed for the book. He wanted easy patterns and these are sure easy. Once the poncho is done I have a great idea for a childs hooded jacket with Noro. I think that will be my next project.
The new Noro colours will be loaded into the Fun Knits eBay store tonight.

As promised I have loaded the pattern for the baby hat and socks on my web site.
It is really quick to knit this set. This will be my new baby present from now on.
The whole set takes about 35gr. of sock yarn.
I still have to finish the little pink sock. Maybe after the poncho. Maybe before the poncho hmmm!!!. How many ways cans I put off the poncho.

Another picture I have to show is my patio set. I actually found a level spot and put it up yesterday, no one got to sit at it because it started to rain shortly after I set it up. So we sat and knit in the store yesterday. Had quite a few knitters in and it was a fun day as usual.

Not many Blogging Moments this week

I have been so busy. I blame the fabulous weather on my lack of time to blog. We have had a 2 week stretch of summer weather and I have been really busy in the garden. So between the Yarn store, eBay store, the garden and not to mention my real job I haven't had 2 minutes to sit down and write until just now.
On Wed. the store was fun as usual. Brenda came over for a while. It was fun. She shopped and then we looked through my boxes and boxes of new yarn. It's more fun sharing it with someone who loves yarn as much as I do. I had great restraint and didn't start a new project. Came close for a few minutes. We didn't get much time to just sit outside and knit but it was fun anyways. Heres the new yarn I got in.

I will start with the Opal
The new Opal Rodeo Cotton is wonderful. It is so soft and the colours are quite mute. They would make great summer socks. I plan to knit a pair for myself if it ever rains again. I love to knit on the machine on rainy days.
The new Opal Silk (to see these look at the same link for the cotton)is amazingly soft. I will definately knit a pair of these. I might hand knit these as it feels so nice I would hate to waste in on machine knitting.
Both of these yarns are on eBay this week. So far no bids on the new yarn but lots of people are looking at it so its just a matter of time.
Speaking of hand knitting I have knit some sets for a Newborn baby using sock yarn. They are so cute and I am going to post the pattern on my web site later this weekend. They are great for using left over sock yarn and would make a great baby gift.
Here is the picture of the sets I have made so far.


See I can knit socks by hand.
Here are my boxes of Noro yarn.


I still haven't list these on eBay yet but I will tomorrow or Sunday. The colours are amazing. If I had nothing but time and money I would keep it all and knit it all for myself. Good thing I don't have either.
I am a few days off finishing my Noro projects for the pattern book. When I am finished I will post pictures of everything I made. This weekend I am going to finish it all. Wish me luck. It better be a long weekend.
Tomorrow I will post pictures of the new patio furniture I bought for the store. It is lovely but we haven't got much level ground to put it on so I think we are going to build a deck. Project # 201 on the list of things to do.

Very Relaxing day at the store.

Yesterday was a great day at the store. Hmmm - How many post do I start that way.--
Anyways it was fun. The sun was shining and I spent most of the day out in front of the store knitting with other knitters. I didn't have any books, inventory, rearranging etc to do so when there were no customers we sat and knit. When we did have customers they joined us to sit and knit after shopping. I am going to buy a patio furniture for out in front of the store as it is a perfect place to sit and knit or look at pattern books on nice days. We have great shade from the many trees, a nice view and the breeze off the ocean. I can't think of a better place to relax and enjoy knitting. Here is a picture of Mom and Carrie sitting knitting.
Mom is working on a heirloom Lace shawl for our new grandbaby coming and Carrie is working on a dishcloth. I was working on a Noro Shawl but I am not in the picture.( I took it)

Here is a picture of the storefront with the flowers blooming.


Here is Carrie's finished dishcloth. She is quite pleased with it. Whipped it up in about an hour.

Carrie is the owner of the store I rent for Fun Knits Yarn Shop. She also has a Bed and Breakfast and Cottage rental for Vacations. I have added a link to the home page at funknits.com You can contact Carrie to get inforamtion about her rental's. This is a great vacation spot for knitter as you couldn't get any closer to our great little yarn store.

New on eBay this week is Spring time yarn from Opal


Coming next week at my eBay Store new Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden colours for 2005. This yarn will be available as a" Buy it Now" item. I will sell it by single balls. Kureyon will be $7.35 US and Silk Garden will be $8.35 US
and
Opal Rodeo Cotton and Opal Silk These will be on the auction. I can't wait to get this yarn. The silk is what I am dying to see and feel. It should be here by Wednesday and available at the store then. I will put it on the auction Thursday.
I will be getting the new Opal Prisma in a few weeks.

I Taught Ming to Knit

On Wed. I was so bored at the store I taught Ming to knit. How sad is that.

She is wearing a hooded sweater and socks I made with Opal 6ply 1126
She then she progressed to knitting socks. She has just turned the heel on a Noro sock. Smart doll and she looks so proud of herself.


It was quiet in the store on Wed. as it was the nicest day we have had all year so far. It was warm and sunny and a great day to be outside. I spend a lot of the day on the bench outside the store. See why here is the view.

We will lose a bit of the view once the leaves are out in full.
I have a new listing on eBay today -
"All About Knitting Afghan"
It is a real bargain as it retails for $150. US or $195. Canadian. The starting bid is $95. US. I am going to keep one of these and knit it for the couch in the store.

Regia Jubilee India #5472 is back

A lot of people have been inquiring about when I could get more of these colours in Jubilee. I hope you follow my blog so you can hear the great news. It's here.

I just got in a shipment of yarn from Diamond yarns and they so nicely let me order extra of the popular Regia jubilee colours. The most popular colours are
India 5472

Trivoli #5473

and Oslo #5471

so get them while you can.
I also got a great shipment of Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden. I just love that yarn.
I am busy right now trying to find plces to put it in the store.
I love getting in new yarn.