Next...

The other day a friend and her brother stopped into my store for a visit. She brought me a Sarbucks Latte, she had a coffee, and her brother had a caramel apple drink of some sort. It smelled really good. We all enjoyed our drinks and after we were done, M (the brother), let Tiger lick his Caramel Apple cup. Well that was it....Tiger cleaned that cup, we could have brought it back to Starbucks, it was that clean...

The REALLY funny part was that Tiger wouldn't put the cup down. He carried it around my store for 45 minutes. We laughed the whole time and took a few pictures. It was Hilarious... DD thought that maybe he could be the next Starbuck's Rep.! I love this picture...but you can't see the logo...

Here is another pair of the Blender socks. These are knit using leftover bits of blue yarn that I had from the many pairs that I have knit over the years. They started out being for DH but I used a 2.25mm needle on them and they wouldn't go over his instep....OOOPS, they are now mine! I really like them. I found that using the 2.25mm needles the knit fabric is very sturdy, and I love the way the yarns mingled together. It looks like it is one yarn only!

I really love this pattern however, these will be my last pair of Blenders for a while. I have a few skeins of gorgeous yarn that I want to knit with next. The next pair is definately for DH, since I messed the last pair up! I bought some Cascades Heritage Handpainted yarn in the colourway 'Thunder'. This is not a great picture...the colours really do remind me of a thunder storm!

DH is looking forward to these ones! I am not sure of the pattern for them yet, as DH won't wear anything to fussy. But I think this yarn deserves more than just a ribbing on the socks.

On the Durrow Sweater front. OMG! I don't know what I am doing wrong but there is DEFINATELY something happening there... I knit the front and back without a problem, but then who can't knit a 4 x 2 rib...LOL.

NO... my problem is with the sleeves and the wandering cable that is on them. I knit the first chart 18 rows and I thought there was something a little off. I looked on Ravelry at the other projects and my sleeves did NOT look like theirs. So I called my Durrow Guru, Beth, because she has made this sweater before. I stopped by her place on Wednesday and she had a look at it and...Yep, I was right...there was something wrong! Well she frogged it....no she RIPPED it back and highlighted the chart and sent me on my way with her DH's sweater so I could SEE what it was supposed to look like. I thought this was a great idea. I get home and start again...DH is sitting next to me, happy that I am working on his sweater again. I followed the pattern to the symbol, exactly, there was NO WINE involved, I swear, nothing! Just me, the chart, needles and the yarn. I get to row 10 this time and I look at it....OMG!!!!!!!! Again there is something wrong...so I put it away, poured a glass of wine and called Della. She told me not to touch it till she saw me 2 days later and she would have a look at it.

Fast forward to Friday evening....I see Della....and YEP! I did something wrong! She RIPPED it back this time...and since it was late and I was very tired we decided that I would leave it till I see her later today so she can Watch me knit the cable. She thinks that maybe I am twisting something. I don't think I am but then if I was doing it right I wouldn't have had to RIP it out twice!

So here I sit waiting for Della to arrive...

Happy Knitting!

It Never Fails To Amaze Me....

How my body decides to give up when I have a day off! I have been sick AGAIN! It started on Sunday with a tickle in my throat, then by Sunday evening I had it pretty much full on...Monday was a bad day at work for my nose. It ran away...and then yesterday (my day off) I felt like crap. My body ached, my head was stuffed and I was coughing and sneezing. Then low and behold ...today I am back at work and feeling MUCH better. What's with that...?

On the knitting side...

I have been working on DH's Durrow sweater. I have the front and back completed and am working on the cabled sleeves. But I think I have done something wrong as it doesn't look quite like the rest of the projects on Ravelry. I have asked a friend, SPALC, to have a look at them since she has already finished this sweater for her DH. So hopefully I am just seeing things (since I have been sick) and I don't have to frog them out and start over again but if I do I want to do it soon since I only have about 4 inches done.

I am also working on the toe of the Blender socks in blue. WOO HOO I guess there are a few good things to being sick...I knit them all day yesterday. Well I knit them and napped! I should be finished this evening. I will post pictures tomorrow (hopefully).

On the basement reno side...

We got the panelling and trim up. It is not perfect but looks a whole lot better. We still have quite a bit of work to do but we are on our way. The tasks that we have left are to lay the wood floor, put trim on the floor between the carpet and wood floor, put the baseboard on, paint it all, have the gas stove hooked up and then re-stucco the top part of the wall.

Before we can lay the flooring we have to move the old wood stove...I swear it weighs a tonne. I can't lift it with DH. We need another body and DS & DD are really not the bodies to use. I may have to get my brother to come over and give us a hand. Maybe I will get him to come on the weekend so we can get it done!

The floor we are putting down is only going to be in the foot print of the previous hearth area. It will be butted up to the carpet. The wood we have for that area is an exotic hardwood. It is about the only thing exotic in my life! I am very much looking forward to having it all done. I really miss the woodstove but a gas one will be even better as I can just flick a switch to have it start. I was never really good at chopping the wood, and lighting the fire!

Hopefully the next time I post it will all be done....(are you going to hold your breath?)

Happy Knitting!

March Break Approaching!

March break is approaching and DD & DS are BOTH going away for a week snowshoing with their youth group! I believe DH is laid off for yet another week! Even my friend, Della has March Break off. Apparently I am doing something wrong as I have to work! Oh well at least I have my 'Trusty Dog, Tiger' to keep me company at work.

Here are yet another pair of Blender Socks. This time they are for a Dance Mom Friend! They are knit using left over orange yarn. I really like how they turned out.

This is my woodstove and Fred Flintstone hearth that didn't pass the Insurance inspection. It really was a horrid site. The chimney was installed UPSIDE down! The hearth was intruding into the room by about 5 feet, We ripped it all out. One of the boulders weighed about 150lbs. It took everything my son and I had to carry it up the stairs in the rubbermaid bin and put it in the dumpster! We have since insulated, drywalled and are in the process of putting the panelling up. The floor will have an exotic hardwood in place of the stone and we will be installing a gas stove. This should all be done in the next few weeks! I am so looking forward to getting it done and having the basement put back together again!

I will post a picture later when I get home of the progress that we have made. It really is amazing how much bigger the room looks without Fred's fireplace in it! It is alot brighter as well.

I have been working on DH's Durrow Sweater. I have finished the Back piece and am 3/4 done the front. After that then I get to start the Sleeves. They have cables on them. I am still a little aprehensive about doing that many cables but I have been told that I can do them 'No Problem!'.

I am also knitting ANOTHER pair of Blender socks in a blue colour this time. I started them for DH but they don't fit over his arch....so they are now mine! OOPS...I promise Honey the NEXT pair will be for you! LOL

Happy Knitting!

February Blahs Means More Knitting & Cleaning!

OK so yet again I have not posted as much as I would have liked. Sorry to anyone who awaits the next posting of my life!

I have been knitting and cleaning.

Cleaning
I have been cleaning out my store. I have owned it for about 3+ years and finally decided that I don't need all the crap that was left by the previous owner. A few friends and DH gave me a hand and motivated me to get it done. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! OMG! I now have lots of room in the back to actually package goods now. OK, I have a packaging & shipping business and I have customers come into my store with their goods and I get them ready for shipping. The business is "PakMail". In case you didn't know packaging products are VERY bulky and don't conform to the neat little spots that I would like. Have you EVER tried to fold many pieces of bubble wrap and not have it fall over in a pile! Well it doesn't work that well. So THAT is the type of thing I am dealing with, in addition to, all of the other stuff that was left here. Well most of the crap is gone now! I even have room in the back area for a comfy chair! I have been watching "Clean Sweep" on TV in the mornings before I come into work and that has motivated me to get it all done!.

Knitting
I have been knitting socks...still...again! I finished the pair for DH's sister (SIL). We (DH & I) were going to mail them to his sister in a plain unmarked envelope but he was going to be near there so he decided to drop them off instead. We put them in the envelope and addressed it. DH found all of my shiping labels and went to town. He put Fragile stickers, heavy 25kg labels and keep upright ones as well. He even put 2 handles to carry it. It was hilarious. I wish now that I had taken a picture of it. He left it in her mailbox. I got a call later on that day and she was killing herself laughing.! But appreciated the socks. She even had them on!

They are knit in a plain basic sock pattern that I use. The yarn is Four Seasons Gründl Hot Socks Print in a blue print.

The next 2 pairs are knit using the Blender Sock pattern. I love how these turn out. They are truly One of a Kind! I have been making the heels, toes and cuff a solid (leftover) colour and the main body is knit using 2 colours at a time. It really is easy!

The brown pair is for DS. He loves them. The pattern is Unique!

The Pink pair is Mine! It is knit in the same pattern as well. I am currently working on an orange and brown pair for a friend and DH has said that he wouldn't mind a pair of Blender sock as well. His will be in blues as I have quite a bit of leftover blue yarn from previous socks.

I have also started DH's sweater. The pattern is Durrow. The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted in a Charcoal Heather colourway. DH is looking forward to it being finished. I am about halfway through the back piece. It will be a little while before it's done. Everytime I pick up my socks to knit DH says "That's not my sweater?!" So we now have a deal. I get to knit socks in the morning and when I am out anywhere otherwise I am working on his sweater! It keeps him happy and I still get my sock knitting done!

Happy Knitting!

The Weather...What Did We Do?

The Weather.
Sometimes I wonder what we did to Mother Nature to make her angry. Really, I mean look at the quantity of snow we have had this year and now the rain. I swear that I saw Noah's Ark float by last night when I went to pick up DD from work. I haven't seen rain that heavy in the winter ever!. Now this morning we had driving rain and the wind...it's strong enough to make you put an effort in standing up straight.

On the knitting side ...I have been doing alot of plain knitting. I have finished another pair of Blender socks (for me this time). I knit up a Hot Water Bottle cover for my DD in pink left over yarn. I am working on another pair of plain socks for DH's sister. They are in a blue verigated colour. She received a pair last year for Christmas but they don't go with everything that she wears so she asked for a pair in blue to go with her jeans. They are working up quick.

I was sitting at DD dance class the other evening and one of the Mom's commented that she really liked the socks...so I think my next pair will be for her! Again I will just do a plain pattern or even another pair of the Blender socks. I REALLY like how they turn out! Truly one of a kind and all from leftovers!

On the home front. We had to remove our wood stove recently, as it did not meet the safety code. The chimney was installed upside down and the unit was too close to everything. So we took it ALL out. Every last BOULDER that was part of the hearth. I swear that the whole thing looked like Fred Flintstone put it in. It was God awful! We are starting to replace the surround that will go back in the void that is there. We will panel the back wall to match the rest of the Rec room and replace the floor with an engineered hardwood. It will just be a part area inlaid in the carpet. We have a gas stove to put back in that place. Hopefully it will be done soon, maybe before March. Funny how when you have something, like a woodstove, and you use it. You really miss it when it is gone. I LOVE to look at the flames moving, they are so soothing.

This coming Monday is a holiday, Family Day. So my store is closed on Saturday to allow for a long weekend. I figure this will be the perfect opportunity to get a good portion of the rec. room insulated, drywalled and maybe even panelled. That will leave the inset of flooring left to do. Once that is all complete then we can have someone come in and hook up the gas stove.

Well I think that's it for now. Sorry about not posting pictures today, I will try to post them tomorrow.
Happy Knitting!

Win Fall!

So you may remember a little while ago that I won a contest. It was for Sock a Month Knit Along 6. Well I won 2 other blog contests around the same time. I won on WoolGirl and Abby's Blog AND on Simply Sock Yarn Company's blog as well. With Christmas fast approaching the yarn sending got pushed to the back burner...well I finally received my win fall!

From the SAM6, I won this skein of yarn from QuteCowGirl. It is a nice combination of greens and blues. I think DH may get a pair of socks from this yarn!

Wool Girl sent me a skein of MadelineTosh Sock yarn in the colour way Rhubarb. It is gorgeous, pinks, greens and some yellow. This will definately be for ME! I also received a sock project bag made by ZigZag, and 4 little note cards. The bag is orange and so far I have seen DD eyeing it up as she loves orange.

Along with the WoolGirl Prize was my order from them. I broke down when WoolGirl had her after Christmas sale and bought a few skeins. I bought 2 skeins of MadelineTosh Sock yarn and a skein of Farmhouse Yarns Fannie's Fingering yarn in the colourway Grapes on the Vine.

AND from the Simply Sock Yarn Company I won a beautiful skein of Seacoast sock yarn in the Autumn colourway. (Photo to follow later.)

I figure that since I won 3 times, I am finished for a LONG time in the winning dept. Things in my life usually happen in threes, so I am done. TOO bad, I wish one of my wins had have been in the lottery area but HEY if I can't win the lottery then Yarn is just as good!

On the knitting side I have finished 2 more pairs of socks this month. I knit a pair in a bright stripe for DS. They were knit using 2.75 mm needles and Regia stretch yarn.

DD wanted another pair (Big Shocker!) Only hers are Monster socks or Franken Socks. She just wanted footies, so I knit them using the left over bits from all of the other socks I have knit. They are almost a matched pair.

The next FrankenSocks that I knit will be totally mismatched. I started an new pattern for the FrankenSocks. It is similar to the Blended Sock on Ravelry.

I also finished the Hot Water Bottle Cover. It was a nice fast knit. I think I may knit a few more of these as gifts. DD wants me to knit her a cover for her March Break Snowshoe trip! I had better get started soon I guess.

WOW! -21 With the Wind Chill it is -31!

Can you believe this weather...minus 31 outside. This is insane weather. Tomorrow the windchill is going to make it minus 34. Sunday it is supposed to be a balmy minus 5. After the past few days it will seem like spring!

Tiger and his feet have been having a few troubles the past few days with the salt and cold on the sidewalks. So today we decided to put his boots on. Here he is this morning as we were leaving for work with his coat and boots on. He does NOT like the boots at all. He tolerates the coat but the boots...not so much. When I finally got them on his feet, he just stood there...once he started to move he did the freaky idiot walk. DH and I had a good laugh at Tiger this morning.

On the knitting front....I have been busy sock knitting. So far this year I have finished 3 pairs of socks.

Pair one is for DH. They are a 3 x 2 rib made from Briggs & Little Tuffy yarn. I believe that it is a worsted weight. DH is happy with them. They fit a bit snug but there is some give and they will stretch. They were a fairly quick knit but, for me the yarn is too rough, but for DH they are perfect!

Pair two is just a plain basic pattern, knit using 64 stitches on 2.25mm addi needles. They are from a skein of Opal that I had. I haven't decided who they are for yet. DD has her eye on them. I think they may be for me...we shall see.

Pair 3 is the same as pair 2. just a basic sock on the 2.25mm needles. This yarn is Patons Kroy. A good hard wearing yarn. I thought the colours were different when I bought the yarn and I am not too knocked out with them. I thought they were more purple, so DD may get these instead of the orange ones.

I am now working on a Hot Water Bottle cover, and deciding on which yarn to use for the next pair of socks!

Last week my knitting group got together for our Secret Santa gift exchange. We decided to do it in January rather than December so we could keep the giving going! Besides everyone's life was crazy prior to Christmas. This way we were all at our regular place. We all haven't been together since September. It was a really nice evening. The company was great and all the gifts received were wonderful. There was even some talk about doing the exchange again...like maybe in July!
I personally received some really colourful roving to spin, a calendar that has a knitting pattern on each and every day of the year, some knitted dishcloths and a few other goodies.

I would have taken more pictures but my camera battery died and I only got the 2. Take my word for it..it was a lovely evening!

Well I have to get back to work! Have a great weekend and try to stay warm.

Happy Knitting!