Into the gold

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all the Canadians who read this. Enjoy your turkey dinner and your friends and family. We are having our turkey tonight and lots of friends and family will be here. Should be fun.

I am into the gold on the Batik shawl. I really like it. I put it on 2 needles to see how big it is plus get a better picture. it is a little over 3 feet wide. I have the rest of the gold to knit and then gold to red. i am knitting ith 2 gold and 1 green now so I am nearly done with the green.

It is taking a lot of yarn I had to get into a 2nd skein f green so i know it will take a 2nd of red and gold too. It feels so nice. I can't wait to finish it. we certainly are having shwal weather here. It was stormy and windy all night. We lost power for a few minutes  so nothing drastic. Living on an island when the power goes out on a holiday weekend you worry.

The store was great on Saturday. I had a young man in who wants a sweater made with the pure Alpaca so I need to make that this week. I am making it on the machine so it should go fairly quickly. I got the back done yesterday. He also wants 2 pair of Owl socks. They are a nice guy colour and will match his sweater well. Mom was at the store all day and it was quite busy. Lots of knitters in needing fall projects.

I bought a swift for the store when it first opened but I have nowhere to put it up at the store. Since I had to wind all that alpaca I brought it home. I was busy doing other things in the bathroom (supervising my son) so this is where I set it up. I had to take a picture as I thought it was funny. Who else winds wool in the bathroom. It worked really well talk about mulit tasking. Well the alpaca is all wound I just need to find time to knit.


My daughter and Meika are coming tomorrow for a few days so I am really looking forward to that.

My son is very busy working on recovering the web site so it looks good again. So hopefully soon when you go to funknits.com it will look good again.

Batik Shawl

When Brenda came to the store last week and I saw her shawl I was very inspired to make one. I was also inspired by the turning leaves to make the shawl in three colours using Opal Batik, red, green and gold. I am just into the green and I can't wait to get into the gold to see how it looks. I am knitting it with 3 strands of Batik held together. I did 20 rows of all red then 20 rows 2 strands red and 1 green, then 20 rows of 2 strands green and 1 red, then 3 green etc. I am pleased with it so far. It is very thick and soft and that was the feel I was looking for. Too bad I have to work and do so much. I wish I could just knit all day and night an get this done. It is nice to knit and is knitting up quite quickly as it is thick yarn with the tree strands held together.

I have been soooooo busy. The kids are out of school in BC as the teachers are on strike and the girl who works for me with my special needs boy is away sick so I have had my boy 24 /7 for the last few days and will have for the next few days too. I know for all you mothers who have kids that seems like, big deal, but with a deafblind very busy teenager that is a big deal. He is doing great right now and is extremely active and wants to be played with all day. He is wearing me out. I was thinking of teaching him to knit. I know other blind knitters. Maybe that is what I will do today with him. My Mom has to work in the store as I will be working at home all day. I hope she has a good day.

 

Shawl fun

I had a great day at the store yesterday. It was busy all day  and I got orders for 2 more sweaters to knit and more socks, so I should be busy this week.

Brenda came to the store and we had a nice visit. It was fairly quiet so we had time for fun. She helped me pick out colours for a sweater that my Mom is going to make me for my birthday. Lucky me. I will post about it once I know for sure the colours I want. Brenda.'s shawl is amazing. It is so soft and snuggly. The sweatermaker yarn is really nice. I need to get more in the store soon.

I decided I want to make that shawl too. I am going to use 3 colours of Batik and 3 strands thick. I am going to try and do a shading change of colours.

I haven't done a swatch yet to see how it will look but I can see it in my mind and it looks great. I am too lazy tonight to wind yarn so it will have to wait.

My son is going to help me with my web site to get it looking good again. I think we are a long ways from having the online store but it is going to be a work in progress for a while. In the meantime there is always eBay. I better go get knitting. 

Free Shipping this week only

I am offering free shipping on purchases of 400 gr. of sock yarn or more from my eBay Store

As with any sale I have to have rules so here they are.
This offer of free shipping is for the US only but I will reduce the cost of shipping in Canada and Overseas by the amount of the US shipping cost. I hate that it costs more to ship items in Canada than in the US.
I live in BC Canada and I can ship to anywhere in the US for cheaper than I can ship to Canada. If I ship 2 balls of sock yarn to Victoria, BC it cost $1.00 more than shipping the same yarn to Florida.

The reason I am having this sale is to THANK all my loyal customers and help with the purchase of your sock yarn for Christmas knitting. I hope you will take advantage of this sale and stock up.

I will blog later today with my lost post from yestrerday.

I lost my blog post

I had a great post written and even some pictures and I lost it somehow. It vanished into cyber oblivion. I am too tired to do it again, so tomorrow I will repost it.

I can post pictures again.

Thanks to my friend Brenda I can post pictures again. She sent me a link to Photobucket and it seems simple to post pictures. ( I need simple when it comes to computers) First picture was a picture taken this morning of Meika talking to me on the phone. She looks so cute I just had to share that one.

This is what I am working on right now. It is a baby sweater for Meika of course but I will use it as a store sample until she grows into it. It is a pattern in the new Schachenmayr Baby Bravo Journal and knit with Baby Bravo Soft 

I am waiting for a few more colours of this yarn to come in and then I will be offering this as a kit on eBay

Now to a funny story about my shawl I was making for the Legion auction that I worte about last week in the post titled My web site is down.

I made the shawl and it was huge so when I finally cast it off I realized just how huge it was. it was over 12 feeet long. No one could wear that so  didn't know what to do so of course I took it to Mom and together we problem solved the shawl. We cut it in half and sewed it togehter and left a neck hole and it became a poncho. I didn't get a picture of it finished but it was really nice. I hope it sold at the auction last night. If not I am sure i will get it back then I will get a picture of it. Once again thanks so much Brenda I feel in touch again now that I can post pictures.

For the locals that buy yarn from my store - I am sending in an order to Lorna's Laces. If you have any request please email them to me at shelmack@telus.net by next weekend. I have a sample selection at the store if you want to come in on Wednesday and look at it.

Photobucket

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

Knitting and Internet frustrations.

I am computer illiterate. I must confess. I am trying to make a new internet site and am very unhappy with my efforts so far. I am a long way off opening the online store unless I get some help. I got a site running this morning that has basic
information so atleast that is better than what the site has been saying for weeks.
As for knitting frustrations. I have been knitting a shawl for the Legion auction next week and I finally got it done. I cast it off and it is at least 12 feet long. I couldn't beleive it. I am taking it to Mom's on Monday so we can work on it together and try and make it into a wearable garment that can be auctioned off.
Of course I can't post pictures yet as I am not sure how. The method I used to use is gone and I haven't figured out how to post them using my new internet site yet.

FRUSTRATION PLUS++++++.
Things will improve. I need my Son to come and visit he is great at all this internet business and he can usually show me how to do things like post pictures. Once I am shown I can do it but I sure can't figure it out on my own.

On the lighter side
The store was great fun yesterday. I met a few new people and had lots of visitors in the store. Everyone is starting to knit for Christmas so the store was really busy. I should start thinking about knitting for the Christmas craft fairs soon.

My Web Site is Down

For now my web site is not working. I have changed over to shared hosting and we are building an online store. My nephew Andrew in Arizona is helping me, the beauty of the internet. I am not sure how long the site will be out of service but I am sure it will be worth the wait. Sorry for anyone needing the free pattern. If you email me I can send it to you.
My yarn sale went good yesterday. It would have been better but we had glorious summer weather here. Who wants to think about knitting fussy scarves in the hot sun. I am knitting a large shawl to be auctioned at the Legion fund raiser on the 24th of Sept. It is nice. I am knitting it end to end , 200 stitches on 10 mm needles. Using Gjestal Naturgarn in teal and white I am alternating the teal and the white and a row of novelty yarn in between each wool row. I am using Online Smash Printin colour 114, Xanadu Matallicin colour 8, Jewels in colour 4 and Starlight in colour 4.
I tried to post a picture but that isn't working either. I kind of wish I hadn't changed over from a system that I know for something I have to learn. I am no computer genius that is for sure. But if we can actually get an online store functioning this delay will be worth it.
I was talking to a help line person yesterday and she said she couldn't learn to knit, she had tried several times but she sure was able talked me through my computer problems. I told her that if she looked at knitting as mathematical instead of a craft she could get it. I hope that works.

New Yarn and Patterns on EBay

I have just list 3 new yarns and 8 new patterns on eBay.
These patterns are from Bee's Knees Knits
Holli Yeoh has given me permission to sell her great patterns in my eBay store

These are amazing patterns and knit up beautifully. If you look at my earlier post at the picture of the Wednesday Knitter you will see Carol's sweater is the pattern Ruby from Bee' Knees Knits. It is a really cute pattern and her sweater looks great.

The New sock yarns are 2 from Online - Sierra and Caribbean
The colours are just great and I can't decide which one I like best. I think I like 735 and 733 the best in the Caribbean series. These are the ones I plan to knit first.
In the Sierra series I love the 580 and 583 the best.

The other new sock yarn is the Regia Canadian Fashion collection. It has 12 yarns and they are named after a City or Province in Canada. The colours are great. they are very vibrant and fun. I am having trouble picking a favourite in this yarn but so far I like the Vancouver, Ontario and Edmonton the best.

I am offering all these yarn as buy it now so you don't need to bid on them just buy them. I am making this real easy as I now everyone wants new sock yarn for all those Christmas sock you need to knit. I have full stck of all the colours but as they sell you will need to email me to see if I still have your favourite colour.

My daughter can knit

Well try to imagine my surprise when my daughter announced to me she can knit. I made Meika a pair of really cute booties with a sheepskin sole and she loved them and wanted more in different colours plus she wants to make them to sell. She told me she could knit because she has watched me so much. So I showed her how to start the booties and sure enough she can knit and purl and do increases, decreases etc. She picked it up so quick. So here are 2 pictures of Megan, the first one she is knitting and nursing Meika, I remember doing that with her,maybe that is when she started learning to knit. The second picture is her first finished bootie.


I am just thrilled she is taking up knitting. Nothing like having a baby to motivate the knitting gene in someone.
I made a little ponch set for Meika. it is out of Plymouth Outback and Mohair that I got at elann years ago. I made the booties with the sheepskin soles. Here is Meika in her little set. She loves looking at her feet right now and she loved all her new booties.

Meika is now 12 weeks old. She is so much fun. They were here visiting for a few days and have gone back home today.
Yesterday at the store was great we had a lot of knitters enjoying the sun. They all had lots of finished projects but I had to take a group shot due to lack of time. So here they are left to right:
Marnie - is working on a sweater back, not sure what pattern but it sure looks nice and she had a little baby sock and hat set finished and another really cute baby hat.
You can se them if you look close
Ginny - has her first pair of finshed socks and a sweater made with Noro Silk Garden she is working on. Both look great
Megan - is working on bootie #2
Judy - didn't bring her knitting but she has new yarn so maybe next week she will have something
Carol - has her little Bees Knees sweater nearly finished. it is really cute.
And of course Meika in the middle learning to knit so she can surprise her Mom and Grandma someday.
Mom was camera shy and busy in the store.


I am in for a really busy few days. We are having a sale on Saturday, 10% off all the novelty yarns. I just got in a pile of new yarn that needs to get inventoried and in the store by Sat. Hopefully I can get it done today. Here is some of the new yarns. I have a lot to do.

I got in the new sock yarn from Regia and Online the colours are amazing, plus the Llama wool, Llama angora sock yarn. Wow is it nice
I will post about that later

Can anyone give me a hint of how to center my blog again. I am not sure why it is over at the side and i don't like it but can't see how to change it. If you know what I should do could you email me at shelmack@telus.net Thanks

The surprise yarn arrived

My favourite yarn has arrived.
My yarn tree in the store needed new decorations so I bought some Colinette Giotto and Isis for it.
It looks fabulous. This pictures doesn't do it justice at all

The colours are great and sadly one of the skiens of yarn was a little messy so I had to buy it, then I had to but its partner to make a store sample(My new excuse to buy yarn).
I have at least 3 scarves on needles right now(all store samples)

but reason didn't prevail and I started a colinette shawl. The colours are amazing together.
I am knitting it 2 rows Giotto and 2 rows Isis. It is growing very quickly.
The store was fun today. I totally rearranged the store. I got a big new revolving rack that hold an amazing amount of yarn so I filled it up. I forgot to get a picture of it in my Colinette excitement.
Yesterday I also got a sample of some Llama sock yarn from a friend. She is sending me some for in the store. The colours are rich and natural and the yarn is very soft. It is blended with merino wool and the bottom white on the swatch is blended with Angora. It is amazing yarn and the socks it makes are super nice. I am going to make myself a pair of Angora llama socks once it comes. I can't wait.They need to be knit with reinforcing yarn for the heels and toes.

Off to knit more on the shawl.

Back from camp

We are back from camp and it will take at least a week to unpack. It is amazing the amount of stuff you need to take when you have a child with special needs. Its a good thing we have a big van. Anyways we had a good time. There was a lot going on for all of us and it was great to see some old friends and meet some new families. We also got to see Megan and Meika. Here is a picture of them in their Harley shirts
She is growing up so quickly and she is so much fun to play with.
We were able to visit with all our kids but for some reason only got pictures of Meika.
I got a bit of knitting done while I was away. I am knitting a sweater for a customer using ecoknits cotton. I will post the picture when it is done.
Yesterday was very busy at the store. Gary and Stephanie the Reps. from Diamond and Nova yarns came to see us with all their suitcases full of yarn.
Wow that is fun. Talk about getting yarn overload.
I ordered lots of yarn and new patterns for the store.
One thing I am excited about is the new sock yarns. Regia has a new line of yarn called the Canadian Fashion series
Sorry the colour samples are so little but it is the only one I can find.
The other sock yarn I ordered was the Online Sierra I have been waiting for this yarn to reappear. It is really nice so I am glad I can order it again. I also ordered the Online Caribbean Collection
These colours are great and I can't wait to knit some of these socks.
I also orderd lots of scarf yarn,. pictures to follow.
The new Noro Silver thaw

I ordered all the colours and enough to make a sweater for myself out of #3 colour. I love this yarn. It is sooooooooooo soft.
I also ordered a few other yarns from Schachenmayr, Rosato in colours 52, 35, 33, 72, 01 and 52. This is very soft yarn and would make a lovely substitute for angora.
Sportic in a few colours,
52, 53, 31, 33, 70, 71,12, 10.
This yarn is very nice bulky yarn and should be fun to make up some patterns for.
I also got a new Baby yarn - Baby Bravo Soft in great bright colours.
Now I need a bigger store or more creative shelf packing methods. Any ideas are welcome.
Did I mention I ordered lots of pattern too.
Now I can't wait for it all to come.
I also ordered one surprise that I will post a picture of when it comes.

Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised.
First is Meika wearing her Opal Rainforest Tiger hat. I used the pattern on my web site to make it.

Meika is now 2 months old and weighs over 12lbs. She is one healthy happy girl. We are going to Vancouver to Family camp later today so I get to see her again. Can't wait to hold her and play with her.
Here are the pictures of the shawl kits and shawls i purchased on the trip.
Sweatermaker Large Shawl is made of 3 yarns all hand dyed and hand spun- 100% Wool, Silk and wool 50-50% and loopy mohair.

Sweatermaker Small Shawl is made of 3 yarns all hand dyed and hand spun- Mohair, Silk and wool 50-50% and loopy mohair.

Here are the kits. Her colours are amazing

I also bought a load of her hand dyed, hand spun pure wool. It is so soft. I knit a hat as a sample and will show that next time. My camera was full so missed that picture. The yarn and the colours are amazing.
Here are my bags of alpaca I came home with

These were heaping bags but I sold some before I got this picture. One of the neat features of this yarn besides the quality and softness is that each skein has a tag that says who's yarn is in the batch. The picture I have isn't too clear but it shows tha Alpaca's picture and their name.


I will be back on Friday. Anyone needing help or questions answered I will have access to a computer so will be able to contact you. If you haven't paid for the yarn from last weeks auction it will be sent next Monday. If you have paid it will be in today's mail and you will be notified.
Better go and get packing.

What a week

My husband and I went on a mini holiday this week. We left Tuesday morning and came back Friday night. That doesn't sound like a big deal to most people but when you work in the field we are in this is a big deal. It is quite complex to get a break from home when you look after special needs people. The week went great. I call it a week as it sounds better than a few days. We decided to go to Victoria and stop at all the yarn stores on Vancouver Island along way. First we went to Uptown Yarns in Courtenay. It is a nice store with lots of great yarn. I got lots of ideas from their store. I was interested in the Sweatermaker brand of yarn hand spun and dyed by a local fiber artist so I got her name from them.
Then we drove to Victoria. We didn't stop at the Naniamo stores as I have been there before. The next day we went to Beehive Yarn store. Well they have every yarn I have ever heard of and plenty I have never heard of before. It was there I was able to make a comparison between Fleece Artist, Handmaiden and Sweatermaker yarn. I was impressed at the quality of the 3 yarns and the Sweatermaker was as nice as the previous yarns so I vowed to get in touch with the supplier.
I arranged to meet her on our trip home.
The next day we went to Salt Spring Island and saw the store there. Then we went to the St' Marys Alpaca farm and bought some fabulous alpaca for the store. This is wonderful yarn. Sadly to say I am very allergic to alpaca and spent the rest of the day itchy and watery. I actually had to get medication to settle it down. What a shame as I love alpaca. Mom is knitting some samples for the store with it as I think it would kill me to knit with it.
We spent the rest of the day just being tourists.
Our last day was the busiest. We went to Sideny and saw 2 yarn stores. They were both great and I got many more ideas for my store. On the way home we stopped at the Loom in Duncan. It is loaded with yarn. The next stop was Courtenay again and a visit with the Sweatermaker yarn owner. What fun that was. I love her yarn and came home with a Van full of it. I will post pictures tomorrow. I m too tired tonight.
This trip was wonderful. My husband and I had a great time and he is the best. When he got bored with the yarn store he just amused himself somewhere else. He works with leather and he always managed to find a leather store near a yarn store so that was convenient.
When we went on this trip I really wanted to see how my new store compared to other stores and I came home feeling really good about the Fun Knits Yarn Shop. I got great ideas to use and a few new lines of yarn for the store. A very succesful trip plus we went out for dinner every night, went to the IMAX theatre and to the show one night. I actually got to sleep late a few mornings (a real treat).
I will post pitures tomorrow of the new yarn and also Meika in the Opal Tiger hat.

Going on a mini holiday

I am going on a holiday for a few days. My husband and I have a few days off so we are going to Victoria. I plan to go look at the big yarns shops down there and get some ideas for the store. I also plan to not plan and just go with whatever happens. I really need a break and this will be a perfect mini holiday. I will bring some knitting as we will have lots of time in the car. Mom is going to run the store on Wed. and I will be back on Friday to take care of the eBay auction and be here for the market and store on Sat.
The next week we are going to a Family camp in Burnaby for a week. We take the kids every year and it is great. It is a camp for families with deafblind children. That makes it sound bleak but it is really great fun. It is neat to be with families that have the same challenges and share stories and fun.
So I probably won't blog too much in the next few weeks.

NO pictures today

I was so busy yesterday I didn't have time to get any pictures. The store was just hopping busy and I was running around all day. The Wed. afternoon knitters came and had a good time knitting. Carol is working on socks, Ginny was busy making tension swatches for a Noro sweater, Carie was working on her hooded sweater for a new grandson and Marnie was so excited because she just bought a new house that she forgot to bring any knitting. We remedied that quickly and I got her some of my leftovers for her to knit an end to end scarf. Mom and I both had knitting with us but didn't knit a stitch.
The funny part of the day was last evening a couple of young girls rode up on their bikes. Shelby a 13 year old knitter has been working on a Boa scarf. She is doing very well but had dropped a stitch. When she pulled it out of the bag the yarn was so hopelessly tangled I couldn't beleive it.
We found the stitch and fixed that, then started to work on this tangle.
What a mess. We found the other end of the yarn and started to untangle it. She went home with it half untangle and the rest was for her and her friend to finish. I'll bet they are still working on it. I really enjoy the kids that knit. Shelby's friend wants to learn to knit too so hopefully she will start soon. I figure anyone who declares they want to learn to knit while in a mess like that Boa tangle must be sincere. Today I need to knit sock, I have 4 orders and am out of adult socks for the market again.

A good reason for not blogging

I have a good reason for not blogging all week. Look who came to visit.
Megan and Meika. My 2 pretty girls.


Meika is now 7 weeks old and she is so much fun. She is starting to smile and get playful so I have got nothing done this week except play with Meika.
Here is a picture of her smiling. She is so cute. She is a really good baby and sleeps about 5 - 6 hours at night now. She is mostly happy but when she fusses wow can she scream.

Now down to business. I have got no real knitting done this week. The little Opal Batik and 6 ply sweater just needs a front and then it is done. I got a few scarves done as store samples (good excuse to play with new yarn).

The store has been really busy, Wednesday was great fun. A lot of local knitters were in and I got some pictures of what a few of them are knitting.
Ginny is new to sock knitting and this is her first sock finished and the second well on it way to done. Good going Ginny

Carol is working on a hood sweater for her grandchild. She is working on the front. The basket in the picture was hand made by her friend. Carol uses it as her knitting basket. It is really nice.

As we sat at the table knitting Marnie was working on a scarf with Baby Monkey and Austerman Spot. She finished her scarf as we sat and chat so I took a picture of her and the scarf with the ends not sewn in yet.

Yesterday at the store was pretty slow. The weather is great and I think everyone was at the beach swimming. The market was very busy for the morning but slowed down in the afternoon.
We are going to the beach later, my neice Jessie is still here so we will take her for a swim.

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.