Baby, it's cold outside

I picked out two skeins of Misti Alpaca Chunky and knit up a quickie neck warmer, infinity scarf.

Cast on 200 stitches with a size  needle and knit until you run out.  Garter stitch and the baby alpaca make a great combination.

Changing yarn

We have a sample in the shoppe knit from  Austermann Step.

Cynthia knitted that item out of Misti Alpaca sock.

Isn't it amazing that changing the yarn makes such a difference in the item?

Bringing in the new

Several weeks ago I bought a new washer and dryer.  I had had my others for about 25 years.  When I was looking at the washers I knew that I did not want a front loader as I wanted to have the ability to open the door during the wash cycle.  I ended up with a Maytag washing machine and yesterday used the hand wash cycle with crossed fingers on several of my husband's wool sweaters.  Have to admit that I was pleased they came out clean and not felted.  Previously I washed our wool sweaters in the machine by filling up the machine, letting the items soak, and then set the machine on spin.  This time, I put the items in, added my wool wash, set the machine to hand wash and started it.  Absolutely amazing!

I also finished up the Windschief and


Bandana Cowl and ran them through the washing machine. How nice not to worry.

Whining time

Not fair.  I have to sit at the shoppe and wait on the lucky customers who come in, buy yarn and patterns and then get to knit.  While I get to do my paperwork (gag) and drool over what others make.

Like Carrine who made this cowl

 
Or a customer who came in today and bought yarn to make two pairs of this, Knotty Gloves.

I am still working on the Takoma and have started the Bandana Cowl.  The cowl was suppose to be a quickie knit, except I did not understand knitting and purling the wraps.  I ended up  decreasing instead of knitting and purling wraps and it wasn't until I called Michele at Yarn Market that I figured out what I was doing wrong and now I am moving along on the cowl.

Okay, back to the paperwork.  And you knit along.......

Patterned socks

Jill knitted up socks for us from the book, Sensational Knitted Socks.

Ribbed Lace, eight stitch,  Crazyfoot by Mountain Colors

Yarn Over Cable, eight stitch, Opal

Chevron pattern for self-striping yarn,  Fortissima Color


















Four stitch ribbing, Blue Heron Sock Plus

The book is written by Charlene Schurch.  She starts out with an explanation of an anatomy of a sock along with other sock basics such an explanation of gauge and foot measurements and sizes.  It is a great basic book that includes patterns such as different lace, cables, and ribbing.

Takomaing

I know, I have said it before.  I am going to knit this or that and I never do.  Well, this time, I really do plan on knitting the Takoma.

Takoma picture from Knitty

I have picked out my colors

and I have kinda swatched

when I started to knit a turtleknit pullover out of the Eco.  But it never felt right and I frogged it.  Then the Takoma came along and I was intrigued.  Jill pushed me and I joined the Takoma Kal.

I am going to steek it as I really do not enjoy purling and this sweater would be almost half purling if you did not steek it.  Susan says that she thinks adding nine stitches should work for the steeking, so that is what I plan on doing.  Another knitter mentioned Eunny's article on steeking, so I will need to reread that.  It has been a while since she first put it out on the internet.

Joining a KAL makes it less lonely, and you get to read about others making mistakes and that always makes me feel better, 'cause I tend to make mistakes when I knit.  So learning about others' mistakes will hopefully make me less likely to make mistakes, or at least I am counting that it will make it less likely. 

I will be using cascade Eco in the colors of red 8450, evergreen 8462, creme 8010, and periwinkle 6902.  The pattern only calls for three colors but I am throwing the periwinkle in there in the spirit of this sweater.

If you want to join us, let me know.

Ready for a quickie?

Trendsetters has a new yarn out called Bodega.  It is knit into a tube and you work with the tube to make a ruffled scarf.

I learned how to use it by watching this.   

I suggest using the crochet hook as it holds onto the stitches.  I used one half of the skein and a size F crochet hook.  It took me about one half hour and the next time should be about 20 minutes to make the scarf. 

This is the 417 Fall Leaves colorway.

At present we have 418 Amazon Jungle, 415 Lipstick Kiss, and 413 Lilac Meadows in stock.  All of the other colors are on backorder.  I will warn you that if you think you are interested, you should get down here.  Two weeks ago we sold all of this yarn in a day and a half.

If you want to make a scarf, but do not have a lot of time - this is the answer.  You can also make one scarf for $13.50.  Not bad for a quickie.




 

My new love affair

The longer I knit, the more I understand how the Yarn Harlot was named. I fall in love with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride.  Then I fall in love with Opal sock yarn.  Then I fall in love with ShiBui Baby Alpaca.  And then Fiona started dyeing for us and I had a new love.  You get the idea.

My latest love is with Madelinetosh Vintage.  I love the feel.  I love the springness.  I love, love the colors.

I am knitting two items out of Madelinetosh Vintage.  One is the Chevron Baby Blanket and the other is the   Windschief.

The yarn feels good in my hands.  And the colors are wonderful.  I think I read somewhere that the dyer calls it semiglazed.  Whatever it is, it is lovely.  It makes my heart go pitty pat.   I want to stay up all night and knit and stay home all day and knit.

Whimisical World of Thomas Joseph

Last week we received a new line of notions - the Whimsical World of Thomas Joseph.

We have key chains 

Cool Dude

coasters, mugs, magnets, jigsaw magnets, Christmas Cards, and an assortment of greeting cards.  

Hand wash only

Stop by and check them out.  They are good for a chuckle.

A non-knitting day

Every now and then I will take a day off.  On those days, I like to do what I never have to do.  Baking and cooking are some of those.  Here is some 5 Minute Artisan bread waiting to go into the oven.

I took the smaller one and made pecan rolls out of it.

My eldest daughter, Kristina, is engaged and we are having her new-to-be family over tomorrow.

Lasagna is on the menu and I have started cooking it.

Have a great weekend!

Toshing

Lace and sock wound up.

Boxwood and Briar lace

Love Madelinetosh!

Here is the order we just received from Madelinetosh.

We broke them down into separate boxes to make it easier to put them out on the shelves.

Tosh Lace - 100% superwash merino wool, 2-ply yarn.  950 yards.  Lovely.

Tosh Vintage - 100% superwash merino wool, worsted weight.   200 yards per skein.  Huggable.

Tosh Sock - 100% superwash merino wool.   395 yards per skein.   Squishy.

Stop by and check them out.  They are hand-dyed and luscious.

Wrap it up

Several months ago I saw some lovely scarf kits from Schaefer Yarns.   The Heather Ludlow Linen Stitch All Knit Scarf kit to be precise.













 I promptly contacted Schaefer and ordered the kits in every colorway (six of them).  They came in yesterday and I am not disappointed.

 

The scarf is worked in the round - all knit, no purl.  You use a linen stitch which gives it a woven texture.  The yarn is Heather:  55% merfino wool superwash, 30% silk and 15% nylon.  I am becoming addicted to silk as it gives the yarn such a nice sheen.

Each kit is made up of three different skeins, most of them named after strong women such as Rosa Parks and Elizabeth Zimmerman.  Then each kit is named after a woman artist:   Magdalena Abakanowicz, Diane Itter,  Claire Zeisler, Lenore Tawney,  Anni Albers,  and Shelia Hicks.

And you get a nice see through bag to carry everything around.

It just keeps coming

 We received more Third Coast and Up North from Fiona.

    

Up North

Spring Woods II

Peach Melba

Slipping into Twilight

Cherry Blossoms on Silver

Flowering in Glen Arbor

Need a closer look?   

Then we have more Third Coast.

 

Cherry Popsickle

Vines & Wines

Winter Gloming

Blue Spruce

Foggy Day on Cathead Bay

Early Fall Dune Climb

Leelanau Lilac

 Loverly, loverly, loverly ( to take a phrase from My Fair Lady).

Fiona has done some tonals for us this time and they are beautiful.

Friends are good

This is what Doreen did for me.

 No more tangles, no wishy washy yarn.


Thanks, Doreen.  Anyone who would spend a trillion hours untangling yarn for someone else is truly a friend.

One of the reasons it takes me so long to knit an item

This past Friday, Tammy, my yarn representative from Blue Heron yarns, came in and I was able to purchase some yarn that day. 

I picked out a skein of Rayon Metallic in the Cactus/Silver colorway and started to wind it into a ball.  Almost to the end I looked over at the ball and it looked a little weird.  I stopped winding and realized that about half of the wound ball was hanging all over the place.

Here it is - 5 hours later.

Betsy stopped in yesterday and said that Doreen likes to work on tangled yarn, so I left it on the table and will be calling her today and will ask her, pretty please, to finish untangling it, because I am now at the point of cutting the %^&* yarn to finish untangling it and I really do not want to do that.

Another trunk show! 
This one is from Knit One, Crochet Too and we are featuring 2nd Time Cotton.   We have the Seed Stitch Yoke Cardi,




















Double Tee,  Chevron Trim Top, and

Hey Teach.

I liked Hey, Teach when it first hit Knitty and I like it even better in person.  I would knit it with a 3/4 length sleeves and a longer body.

Yarn Alert!

Fiona has mailed out more yarn. 




We should have it out by Thursday.


Edited on Thursday - um, maybe Friday?

Puppy power

We like dogs.  And on almost every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, I will bring in one of our dogs.

Molly
















Emma   





















T-Bone

Emma and Molly are our 10 month old Scotty mix puppies and T-Bone is our son's dog. I think he is around 5 years old and who knows what  breeds he has in him.  He is an animal shelter special. 

4th of July

Yup.  I am sentimental.  I get goosebumps when Amazing Grace is played on the bagpipes.  I also like Judy Collins' version.  And I like a good marching band with drums.  I like parades and Leland has a great parade every 4th of July.

I have turned down opportunities to be in the parade because I like to watch the parade. This year my husband, Scotty, son, Ian, and Ian's dog, T-Bone, were in the parade.

 They were in a Dodge M 37 military powerwagon/weapons carrier from the Korean War era.

The Leland Marching Band.  They only get together for the parade.

A 51-52 Chevy.  This car has been in the parade ever since we have been watching the parade and I love the combination of colors.

My favorite bank, Northwestern.  Their folks are very helpful and friendly.

M-22 was packed with people.  People standing, people in chairs, family buffets set up.  It was a great day for a parade and a great day to celebrate our freedom.  Thank you to everyone who has given us this opportunity.