Clearing complete

So everything is cleared. We have also done some shaping as there were a few low spots. I think it turned out really nice. Now we will be planting nice trees (the ones we removed were really scrubby and mostly alder) and we will also fence the perimeter this year. My husband worked really hard on this running back and forth from his office to check on things and organizing what needed to be done. I think were both really happy with the way it turned out - and the weather has been very cooperative!










Oh ya, I've been knitting. I am working on samples for the BC Creative Expo in November. I will be able to post some pics this weekend.

I have added quite a few new yarns to our line up. We now have Austermann Step, Ecco Cashmere and new colors of malabrigo silky merino. The silky merino will be posted over the weekend.

The new yarns I have on order include:
Dream in Color
Avery Allison
Dyed in The Wool Handmade
several new colors of Malabrigo Lace and all colors of Malabrigo sock.

One new yarn that I haven't ordered (but I am going to order) is the Mission Falls Wool. I just received their wholesale package today and I am looking forward to putting that order together.

Have a great weekend everyone and I hope to start posting more regularly. with knitting content. :)

Week 1 of Construction

My DH and I bought 3 acres this past spring. We're now starting to clear and develop it so I thought I would show you pictures as we go.

Background - one side of the property backs onto the freeway. This made the place much more affordable for us but it is something we will have to deal with along the way. I would rather listen to some traffic noise that make huge payments, but that's just me.

Below: Most of the place was cleared but several small alders poked there way up again. The trees in the background are going to be taken out.

The picture below is day 1 of clearing. It was so exciting to finally see the work starting. The excavator will probably be 6 days clearing and raking. We then will be using a bulldozer to shape some of the areas. You can't tell in the photo but two sides of the place have rolling hills and some of the lows areas need shaping to keep water from collecting.

As more clearing happens it is easier to see the shape and we're even happier than before. The flat area (in the above photo) is where the house will be and the pasture has nice rolling hills. Perfect!

Since this is a knitting blog, I should include some knitting huh? Well, I don't have alot to share. I am making an order this week for some new yarns. I did re-order all the Malabrigo Sock but the supplier is sold out. I actually only received half the order in the first place. If I had received my whole order, I wouldn't have sold out so quickly. That's life I guess!!

Next week will be knitting related. I am working on some new things and will share them next week.



It's

Malabrigo Sock Yarn

We have the Malabrigo Sock Yarn in stock. It came in a couple weeks ago but I am just getting around to blogging about it now. Here are a few pictures: caribeno is on the left, in the middle from left to right is Stone Chat, Violeta Africana, Boticelli Red and Arcangel, the picture on the far right (from left to right) is ochre, turner and lettuce.

New Yarns Arrived

I received ALOT of new yarn. We just got in:

Ella Rae Classic - really nice 100% wool, great price and great for felting

More Malabrigo - need I say more?

Ranco sock leaflets

These.....

will be opened and posted asap. I will also be sending out a newsletter with sale items. I am going to be having a sale coming up in the next week.

New Yarns Coming

The store is currently in an expansion phase. I have been thinking and looking at yarn from everywhere. I am trying really hard have something for everyone. [I know what you're thinking here - you can't please everyone, I know that too, I get that life lesson all the time, but I insist on trying because if you throw enough mud, eventually some of it will stick].

Back to the yarn. I received Malabrigo Silky Merino and it is just as beautiful as you can imagine. Malabrigo has a nice variety of colors and there could be a variety of projects out of this yarn - fingerless gloves, sweaters, t-shirts, scarf, hat and pretty much anything else you want, except maybe socks.

The next shipment I am receiving will be from SWTC (South West Trading Company). I didn't know much about this company until I started doing research and they're grrrrreat. They have all these cool alternative fibre yarns (and lots of wool, silk). They are a family based company out of Arizona. Joe, one of the owners, couldn't be nicer.

We wanted to order lots of stuff from them but we need to expand slowly. So this is what we are getting:

SWTC:
Pure - 100% Soysilk, 50 gr. 8 great colors.

Vickie Howell Collection - Love - 70% Bamboo/30% Silk, 50 gr. This is soft, soft yarn. 11 colors.

There will also be patterns to support these yarns.

Lanaknits
allHemp6 yarn - 100% hemp
I haven't tried Hemp yet but I wanted an alternative to wool and Hemp seems to be a good source. Lanaknits also has several patterns to support the yarn.

I will also be ordering Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn and ???? (not sure what else yet).

Louet
Riverstone - 100% wool.
This will be at a great price. It will be a nice sweater yarn or great for felting.

Gems - 100% superwash wool.
This is a very popular yarn and it is machine washable and dryable.

That's all for now. I hope everyone looks forward to the new yarns.

Understanding

It's Friday, sunny, a long weekend ahead and I have to admit that I am a bit bummed. I am bummed due to alot of things but this post is directly related to knitting and my online store. I wish I felt local support like the brick and morter stores get supported. I have plans of opening a brick and morter store one day but I wonder sometimes if I would get support.

Anyways, I am not going to keep going down that road. Nobody needs to hear me ramble on about this.

I finished the back of the Patagonia Cardy. I wasn't fond of the neck/shoulder shaping. I will probably change it when I get the front panels done and look at it again.

Most hand dyed yarns should be knit alternating skeins every few rows but in this case I did not do that and there is no pooling effect at all. I am really pleased with the color.

I hope everyone has a good long weekend.

Happy Mother's Day

I have always thought about my mom (not just on mother's day). It's a heck of alot of work being a mom. Even though I have always appreciated my mom, I understand more, now that I am a mom, how much work she did.

I would like to say to all mothers - Happy Mother's Day. Spend today accepting the love of your family.

BC Creative Expo

We have a booth at the BC Creative Expo on November 7 & 8, 2008. The show will be at the Trade and Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC. It is a great craft show with a little of everything - quilting, beading and stitching. My booth will be 20 x 20 so expect alot of new yarns and some surprises!!

I have a FO to show: it's the ever popular Booga Bag . I used Noro Kureyon in color #215. I will be making another bag using Noro Transitions.

Speaking of Noro. I will be looking at new fall yarns next week and I will be adding to my Noro lineup.

Now, I am off to work on a few 'new' things for the store. Stay tuned!

Sewing and Craft Show

Tomorrow is set up day for the sewing and craft show. I am really excited about this show as there is going to be a variety of booths (translate that to some shopping) and it is quite a large show so it will be busy.

I am going to be taking the new Kureyon Sock yarn with me so that should be a huge hit!

I'll update with pics at the end of the show. I was going to insert a picture of spring on the west coast but, well, it hasn't felt like spring. So, here is a picture from our family trip last fall. One of our stops was in Hyder Alaska where we watched grizzly bears.

Araucania Ranco Sock

I like Araucania Ranco. I cast on Ranco Solid #492 (it's sort of a dusty rose pink color). I am using 2.5 mm knit picks harmony needles.















The next thing I need to start is my Christmas knitting. I am a rather slow knitter so the sooner I start the better. Has anyone else started Christmas knitting?

busy week ahead & 10% sale

Wow, lots of things to do this week.

The property I talked about a couple of weeks ago, well, we bought it. So now we are getting through all the paperwork. The closing will be tuesday. My husband and I have never bought property before so we had no idea of all the things to be done.

If that's not enough, I am getting ready to go to the Sewing and Craft show in Abbotsford on April 4, 5. I am really excited about this show. I have lots of new stuff to bring with me.

One final note, everything in the store is 10% off. I might also be receiving my Noro Kureyon Sock yarn this week which I will include in the sale.

Happy stitching!

New Projects

I started a scarf, "Branching Out" from Knitty.com. It's a good first lace project for me. I am using Malabrigo Baby Merino Lace in the color Intenso. I really like the color as it knits up. I wasn't a fan of the color when it came into the store but I really like it now and it is soooo soft.












I also started another scarf project using Araucania Atacama in color 510. It is alpaca and it's soft and very easy to knit with. Again, I wasn't fond of the color and I really like it now. I'm using Allison Isaacs pattern "My so called scarf". A very easy pattern, portable and lovely to look at!














My next project is going to be a pair of socks in Araucania Ranco. Ranco is a great sock yarn and very affordable at $12.95 100grams (1 pair adult average size socks). We carry both the semi solids and the multi colors.

I hope everyone had a good Easter long weekend.

Fibre Fest 2008

This was my first year being a vendor at a Fibre Festival. It was well worth the effort. My mom helped with setup (this is her):
















My mom also worked the 2 days of the festival. She really enjoyed herself (I think). We didn't buy any fibre but we did get two books. We bought the Ashford Book of Spinning and the Ashford Book of Dyeing. I was really pleased that we found them. I bought them from Legacy Studio - family from Alberta who were really nice people. We made lots of new friends.

Here's a couple of pictures of the booth once we finished setting up.

I rented a 10 x 10 booth which was way too small. Next time I would rent a 10 x 20. It gives people more room to browse. Also, I would not use so much cube shelving and buy something with hooks. Alot of people had trouble browsing through the Lorna's Laces. It is difficult to see the colors when it is piled.

In the last few months I have learned alot about what yarns I want to carry and the Festival helped me understand what people want and how people shop. In the end, it was a great experience.

In other shop news:

We just received Malabrigo Aquarella. It is a polar weight and comes in fabulous colors. I will also start carrying the Gruesa line which is the same as the Aquarella but in monochromatic colors. We also received more lace.

We also received more Noro Silk Garden and we now carry the Silk Garden Lite.

I will be expanding the Noro line so if there is something you think we should be carrying and are not - please let me know.

3 days til Fibre Fest

Here in the lower mainland area of BC we have an annual Fibre Fest. This year the event will be on Mar 7, 8. This is my first year attending (because it is also my first year of the store). I am actually a bit nervous. I don't really know why I'm nervous but I have never done anything like this before and I want to make a good impression. My mom will be there Friday afternoon and all day Saturday so that will be nice. She is really looking forward to it.

In other news I have several orders that keep getting delayed. That has been disappointing because alot of the yarn was supposed to be here for the show. I am intending on ordering everything available from Malabrigo. I have ordered the silky merino, lace, merino worsted and aquarella. The next move will be carrying all the colors. It is truly a beautiful yarn. I have also ordered more Noro. I have ordered the sock yarn, silk garden lite and silk garden.

I did however, receive the Araucania Ranco. I tell ya, that's a good deal. I have always really liked Araucania and the Ranco and Ranco Multi are a great deal.

Now, on the home front, my husband and I are actually looking at buying realestate!! Considering the prices these days, that is pretty scary. We found an affordable piece of property. It is 3 acres about 1 hour outside of Vancouver. It is affordable because it backs onto the Freeway and there is no house or buildings (just bare land). But to us - it's a little patch of heaven:) There is currently an offer with subjects that expires on Friday March 7. Our realator said it doesn't look like the subjects will be removed which means we can put our offer in. So hopefully, March 7 will be a lucky day at Fibre Fest and we might buy our first piece of land. woohoo!!!!

I'll take pictures of our booth on Friday. My daughter will be with me for a couple hours on Saturday so I am sure that she'll talk me into buying her some purple yarn - since everything is purple these days.lol

Kool-Aid

My mom and I tried Kool-Aid dying today. It was fun and my son helped (he's 19 months). I have ordered some acid dyes but I wanted to try the kool-aid for fun.

Both skeins were 100 grams each. The directions call for 2 packages of kool-aid per 50 grams but I didn't buy enough. The first skein I used 2 packages of grape and the yarn came out like a mulberry color and the second skein we used 3 packages of orange and the color is salmon. I would try the orange again but use only 2 packages - I think that would make a great pale salmon color. Here's a couple pics:

My son washing yarn.

The grape color isn't showing up too well. It really is alot nicer 'in person'. The orange turned out really bright but it's nice too.

I also received new yarn yesterday. I got some of the colors in Noro Matsuri and Noro Taiyo. They are both new yarns for 2008.

I am hoping to receive the rest of my order before I go to the Abbotsford Fibre Festival March 7 and 8.

Brioche scarf, new yarns ordered

The weather today is awful. It's rainy and windy. I have admit though it makes for a nice day to stay inside and knit. I started a scarf today for my daughter. I'm using Mirasol Miski. It is 100% baby llama and is so very soft. The color is #102 and I am using the brioche stitch.














News in the shop:

I placed an order for the new Noro yarns (Taiyo and Matsuri) and Araucania Ranco. Taiyo won't be in for awhile due to a factory delay - we haven't been given a date yet. The Matsuri and Ranco should be in by the middle of February.

Enjoy your Monday!

New Price Promotion

All of the prices in the store are dropping today. We want to stay competitive, even with the larger stores. I would love to order more yarns and more colors and give our customers better choices, so that will be a goal for 2008. For now I hope that we are offering a good variety and some beautiful colors.

Noro's Kureyon sock yarn should be here soon. I have heard alot of mixed reviews on it. Some people have said it's too scratchy and wouldn't even try it! Others say that once it is washed it softens up. I like Noro and I believe that it will be just fine. I'm looking forward to knitting some socks with it. We have ordered all 12 colors so it will be exciting to receive it all and start knitting.

The weather here has been so yucky. We have a normal high of about 4 degrees at this time of year. Lately it has either been wet snow like this (below) or it has been 1 or 2 degrees and a really cold rain.

FO - I am almost done my sweater jacket for my daughter. All I need to finish is the collar and weave in some ends.

I am not totally pleased with how it turned out but it will keep her warm. She loves purple so it's on to a purple scarf and hat for her using Mirasols Miski 100% baby Llama - it's sooooo soft I can't wait to try it.

Happy New Year

For some reason, starting a new year seems like there is new hope for things. It feels like a change can actually happen. This year my focus is going to be on having fun and enjoying myself. I have my online store to work on. I have my kids who are getting to a really fun age. My husband and I will have our motor finished by the spring so we can cruise around in our camaro this summer and maybe go to Mission Raceway Park a few times. I have a feeling that this is going to be one good year!

On to other news. Lorna's Laces has arrived and is now up online Valley Yarn. We will receive the new Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn in January as well. We have ordered all 12 colors. There is a sale on right now with 10% off everything in the store until Jan 8.

I haven't posted for awhile because of the holidays and because I was working night and day trying to finish my mom's Christmas gift (featured below - sorry for the blurry picture, our camera needs some serious help).

Last night I started a pair of socks for myself. I am going to fit some knitting in for myself but I am going to budget my time because I was so behind this past Christmas and that really takes the fun out of it for me.

I don't have a plan for this sock yet. I just cast on last night and started the ribbing. I love Lorna's Laces. It is so beautiful and soft. This color is 901 Baltic Sea and I am using Knitpicks 3.25 mm harmony needles (which I love love love and they're very pretty).