Sunday, April 29, 2007

Digging Spring!



It is a beautiful Sunday today. Almost like Spring! Wait! It is Spring. I got out to do some raking and to keep Kessie from digging up the garden...

So many branches from the tree snapped off over the winter. Kessie now has a nice pile to drag around the backyard should she desire.


This week at the store was a good one. I got most of my orders in so I now have various shades of Hempathy and Bonsai. I just got Svale in an off white but it is a good summer top colour.

I picked up a few books at the library on Monday evening on knitting. I am loving Folk Bags and I am planning a Saturday class with lunch to make the Camel bag or the Carpet Bag.

I am still working on Bob Blankie from Mission Falls, Peony bag from Interweave Magazine, a basic sock in Tofutsies and I have started the Camel Bag from the Folk Bags book. Now, my friends that is only the knitting I am doing at the store! At home I am getting close to finishing my sweater, looking at the Swallow Tail Shawl and thinking about the Rowan poncho I started last summer. Do you think that 7 WIP's is enough? Probably not! ...because I just remembered I am also knitting a Rowan sweater for an order! Anybody think that 8 is enough? (wasn't that a title for a movie?) ...ACHH! I just remembere another WIP! Cotton Patagonia Poncho using a Knitty pattern! Can I stop at 9? Should I start something else to make it an even 10? Please stop me!!

Svale scarf is done.

Now it is time to go back outside!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Kniterary-The Store


I took a picture of the store for an ad I am putting in the local paper. It seemed like a good excuse to show all of you as well!

What a perfect Sunday today!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Wednesday Already

Wednesday at the store has been relatively busy. I had several browsers and a few purchasers. The word about the store is spreading.




View of the store and Hand Maiden Yarn

I had a customer who is from the local knitting guild and I enjoyed chatting with her. I am going to have to work the 2nd Wednesday of every month into my schedule to attend the guild meetings.

I am working on Bob Blankie from Mission Falls with their cotton. It is such a fun blanket in garter stitch. The pattern is available in their Wee Ones 3 book which I have in the store. Mission Falls has great colours in their merino wool line as well as their cotton line. I am fast becoming a fan.


I am also slowly working on a sock with Tofutsies. Tofutsies is a sock yarn made from soy with crab and shrimp fibre in it. The shell fish fibre gives them an anti bacterial quality. Tonight I teach my second sock class. I wonder how my student made out this week?


I am starting to knit a cardigan called Betty from Rowan book #38. (hmm...a blanket named Bob and a cardigan named Betty...Next month I knit only 'C' named items...Ha!) It is a time consuming knit because on every right side row an increase is made in every stitch. Then! on the wrong side the pattern is K2tog, P2tog the whole row... Easy enough but makes the kniting slower. I guess I charge more?

This is the Betty yarn with the Tofutsies (tweefutsies)

I am also knitting the Leaf Scarf from Knitty in Svale, I am finding the ball doesn't go very far so it is going to end up being a very short scarf since I only have one ball that the sales rep left me to try out. How do I feel about Svale? I like how it looks in the lace pattern, it has a cotton look to it since there is only 10% silk in it. Since I am not a sparkly type of gal the cotton look and feel appeals to me. I don't like how easily it splits while working with it because it slows me down considerably.


Oh, and I am knitting a bag from Cabin Fever Tweed. I like the way it looks and it should make an excellent beach bag
.



I have finally figured out how to arrange my classes for the rest of the Spring and probably the Summer. I will be posting the schedule on the store site www.kniterary.com within the next few days. I have been hoping to have a felting class soon but I just went to the very cobwebby basement (did I mention the house is 100 years old?) to check out the washing machine I saw down there and realized that it is not usable. Darn. I will have to rethink how to run a felting class. Maybe hand felting? Has anyone tried it? How successful was it if you have? At some point soon I will have to invest in a small machine for the class area I guess. (just add it to the growing list of wants and needs)... Steamer is going to come first though.

I will have to save this post till I get home since I cannot download any pictures here yet. Yes! Our newly cleansed computer is back home and functioning well!

Enjoy the rest of your day! It is nice and sunny here and warming up slightly.

I saw my first crocuses the other day!

Monday, April 16, 2007

kniterary..2 weeks and counting...

This is the logo of my newly acquired store! I really like it.




My first day at the store. I am trying to figure out how to work the cash register. I pretty much have it figured out by now but I still make the occasional mistake! See all the knitting needles behind me? The shelves you can see in the front are some of my sock yarn.



I have now changed around some of the shelves but the sweater I still have up on display. Jim had to let me have his sweater to show off!

The sheep and the chicken! The chicken in the Muskoka chair now guards my business cards on the front desk.




Here I am still trying to figure out the cash register....

So I have been in the store for 2 weeks now. I am loving it! People are starting to get to know me and that the store is open. I have at least one person everyday who is just discovering the store.

A few orders have been placed. Coming soon...a refill of needle stock, some summer yarns and lots of patterns!

Classes are slowly getting started but many seem interested. Next month I will be having a felted Yoga bag day!

Thursday night Sit N' Knit is continuing so for those in the area come and join us!

I have been doing alot of knitting (pictures soon). A bag with Cabin Fever cotton/acrylic blend, a pair of socks with Tofutsies yarn and a small lace scarf with Svale.

My favorite part of being in the store is being able to help people choose yarn and progress through their projects. My second favorite part is the amount of knitting I actually have time to do!

More pictures soon!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Secret!

I am back with my secret!

I have purchased a yarn store!

Kniterary

Yesterday was my first day in!
After a month and half (or so) of planning and legalizing it I am the proud owner!

I watched The Secret one time and I put my postive thoughts out into the universe and my dream arrived!!

I have no pictures as of yet because my internet on my home computer is down and I can't download onto the store computer yet!

Check out the web site though....

www.kniterary.com.

If you live in the Greater Toronto Area make sure to make time to drop by and see me!

I promise pictures ASAP!