Serenity Knits

Scarf Workshops

2011-11-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

"Once again, it's Christmastime. How can I be completely blindsided by a holiday that happens on the same day each year is absolutely beyond me. You'd swear they only announce the date for Christmas in November and I have maybe three weeks to cope with the news. Once again I am nowhere near ready....." from "Yarn Harlot, the secret life of a knitter" by Stephanie Pearl MacPhee.

Are you a little behind in your Christmas knitting? Maybe we can help. For the next three Saturdays we are offering FREE SCARF KNITTING WORKSHOPS for a few of our favourite quick knits.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3rd from 3pm - 4:30pm

SLIP STITCH DESIGNS

#1 cowl on Ravelry, HONEY COWL, can be knit either short or long. A simple slip stitch pattern creates an interesting waffley texture.The original design was knit in DK but the pattern offers advice on adjusting for various weights of yarn. The pattern is a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-cowl

Several versions of LINEN STITCH scarves can be found on Ravelry. One very large & colourful version is MINI-MANIA knit with bits of left over sock yarn.

A FREE DOWNLOAD for Mini-Mania can be found at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mini-mania-scarf

Mini-mania is a huge scarf knit with very fine yarn so it may not be your best choice for last minute Christmas knitting. Many people have knit smaller versions of linen stitch.

Linen Stitch knit with Misti Alpaca Hand Paint sock yarn.

Linen stitch in Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk

For a really quick project a Linen Stitch Cowl. Above is CHICKADEE COWL. Several knitters posted their finished cowls on Ravelry with their lovely pooches as models.

Chickadee Cowl is a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chickadee-cowl

A slight variation on linen stitch is TIME WARP shown below. Linen stitch slips single stitches, Time Warp slips multiples.

Time Warp is a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/time-warp

All these patterns involve "slipped stitches" which is a very easy technique once you understand a few basic rules.Most of these designs can also be adjusted to use chunkier yarns which would make them an even quicker knit. We have store samples knit in linen stitch with Debbie Bliss Riva (chunky) and Woolly Bully (bulky) which knit up in 1 or 2 evenings.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10TH from 10:00AM - 11:30 AM

YARN OVER ELONGATED STITCHES

There are a number of interesting patterns which use elongated & dropped stitches.The simplest version is one such as DROP STITCH DRAMA SCARF shown below.

Close up of drop stitch detail.

This basic drop stitch pattern can be found as a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.stitchscene.com/#/drop-stitch-drama-scarf/4549092286

A more interesting use of elongated stitches is one of my favourites I have been knitting for years. I call it my YARN OVER WAVE scarf. Grouping stitches of varying lengths produces little oval shaped pools which are a dramatic use for hand paint yarns. The little patches of special stitches allows the yarn to purposely colour pool creating fascinating and often dramatic designs.

Yarn Over Wave Scarf knit with Fleece Artist Sea Wool.

A very effective use of this stitch is knitting a scarf length wise with a Noro style yarn.

There are several patterns on Ravelry using this stitch. I have my own favourite available at the store.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17TH from 10:00am - 11:30 am

TRIANGLES

There are hundreds of Triangular shaped shawls and scarves on Ravelry. My favourites are the shallow skinny ones with long tapered ends and not to long at the point. One of my absolute favourites is ROLLERCOASTER.

Detail of ROLLERCOASTER.

One of the things I love about the structure of Rollercoaster is how it can be knit with any amount of yarn. You start with 2 stitches and gradually increase until the size you like or until you are almost out of yarn, and them cast off.

Rollercoaster is truly just a triangular scarf, not a shawl.

Rollercoaster is a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rollercoastertriangle

Rollercoaster with a little lace inserted shown above. FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cablecoaster-peekaboo

SQUIGGLE, a variation on Rollercoaster with some dropped stitches inserted. FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elefantenkringel

Another shallow triangle scarf I love is AZZUS shown below. The structure of Azzus is different from the Rollercoaster triangles; it also starts with a few stitches and increases in a top down direction. Rollercoaster is knit side to side. Both produce long skinny triangular shaped scarves. Azzus also can be knit to any size or until you run out of yarn.

With a little help understanding proper placement of increases and/or decreases, these scarves and their variations quickly become TV knitting and can be easily adjusted to any weight of yarn, even chunky if a really quick knit is needed

Azzus is a FREE DOWNLOAD at

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/azzus-shawl

I have a pattern for a lace and garter stitch variation knit in Misti Pima Cotton & Silk which has been very popular.

All these workshops are FREE.We do ask;

1. Please, only yarns purchased at Serenity Knits

2. Please give us a call at 905-710-3283 or drop us an e-mail at info@serenityknits.ca, subject scarf work shop dated ___. We would just like to have a general idea how many people to expect.

3. A few of the patterns are Free Store Patterns which we will be happy to provide. For patterns for which links have been provided, please download your own copies and bring them to the class.

Any questions, feel free to give us a call.

Beth

Open House Recipes

2011-11-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

Every year we get requests for the same three recipes so I have re-posted an old recipe blog from 2009. ENJOY!!!
Beth

Serenity Knits celebrated its Fourth Annual Christmas Open House this past Saturday, November 21st. All the treats were well received but we had repeated recipe requests for three in particular. So here they are!!

Karen’s Chocolate Christmas cake

Ingredients:
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 250 g pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup candied cherries, cut into quarters
1 cup candied mixed fruit
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Melt chocolate chips in microwave oven (medium setting, stirring often) or in top of double boiler over hot water. Add softened cream cheese, stirring until well blended and no visible streaks of cream cheese remain. Stir in candied fruit, cherries and almond extract. Add marshmallows last, stirring gently. Press batter (thick) into a waxed paper lined loaf (approximately 4 x 8 inch) pan or 8 x 8 inch cake pan (if you prefer squares). Chill well before slicing into slices or squares. Store covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Leslie's Cheese Dip

1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 medium white onion, finely diced
2 cups Hellmans Mayo (full fat, not lite & only Hellmans)
Mix well. Place in oven proof container. Bake at 350 until top is brown. Serve with crackers or bread.
Note: This dip can be made in advance, stored in frig and reheated by stove or microwave to serve.

Sugar Plums: From “Victorian Christmas Crafts”by Barbara Bruno

Sugar Plums are an ancient treat probably originating in the Middle East where whole figs were transformed into the original glace fruit by long and repeated simmering in sugary syrup. Victorians, always ready to guild the lily, added nuts, orange rind, a variety of dried fruits and brandy, to create the “Sugar Plum visions dancing in heads” in the Victorian Christmas poem, the Night Before Christmas.
Ingredients:
3 pounds of dried mixed figs, dates, raisins & currants
1 ½ pounds of blanched almonds
½ pound unsalted shelled pistachio nuts
½ pound of crystallized ginger
finely grated rind of 2 oranges
2-3 tbsps brandy (or orange juice if you prefer)
white granulated sugar

Method:Finely chop and mix all ingredients except brandy and sugar. Use a food processor or grinder because you want the ingredients to be well chopped/ground. Add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy to help make the mixture stick together. If you would prefer not to use brandy, use the juice of one of the oranges instead. Mix WELL. Form the mixture by hand into small balls, approximately a tablespoon at a time. Roll them in sugar. Store the Sugar Plums in a covered container. It is best to let them meld for a few days but they can be served right away. They will keep for several weeks in a covered container.

We are glad you enjoyed our Christmas treats and are pleased to share these recipes with you.

Beth & Karen

Carol Feller

2011-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

When Gabriela and I attended Knit Camp in Scotland last summer, one of our "tutors" ( as they are referred to in Scotland), was a delightful young Irish woman, Carol Feller. We had not heard of her, but her class sounded very interesting; a vest, knit sideways, with adjustable short row shaping in the mid section to create a flattering custom fit, fascinating cap sleeves also done with short row shaping similar to a sock heel. The vest was called Raspberry Layers, shown below modelled by Carol herself.

Raspberry Layers

Being EXCELLENT STUDENTS, Gabriela and I, and our new friend Jenny from South Africa, arrived early, took our seats, organized our knitting paraphernalia and were ready to patiently wait for the class to begin. Carol arrived, with bags of yarn and a friendly smile and " Hello, are any of you my assistant for the class?" We answered "Hello, but no, we are students." She looked a little panicked, class was due to start in about 10 minutes. (A little side note: We had a blast at UK Knit Camp, but it became a study in poor organization and a nightmare for many of the tutors) We asked if she needed help which she quickly accepted. Gabriela and I began hand winding skeins of yarn for the class. Carol went searching for the missing class notes which the organizers were to have had copied and ready for her. (A scenario we saw played and replayed all week. The poor teachers.) Gabriela & I hand wound all the yarn, Carol returned with the missing notes and a wonderful class started. Fifteen minutes into the class the missing assistant arrived!! The class was wonderful and really interesting. We got a taste of the unusual structural design elements for which Carol has become known.

Upon our return from Knit Camp , we were delighted to discover Leitmotif, a Carol Feller design on the cover of Interweave Knits, Fall 2010. Karen had fallen in love with it and was planning a KAL.

Leitmotif front view

Leitmotif's beautiful cabled back view

If you are interested in viewing all of Carol designs, her website is stolenstitches.com
Her design approach combines her training as both an artist and a structural engineer, emphasizing seamless construction and clever shaping techniques to create flattering, tailored
garments with interesting shapes and textures. Her patterns for men, women, and
children are widely published in books and magazines, including Knitting in the
Sun (Wiley, 2009), More Knitting in the Sun (Wiley, 2011), Twist Collective,
Interweave Knits, Knitty, and Yarn Forward.

Carol's designs can frequently be found in Interweave Knits. Her little Draped Vest appeared in Spring 2011. Use of short row shaping is common in Carol's sweaters.

Spoked Cardigan was the cover garment for Interweave Knits Weekend 2011. Designs knit sideways are popular with Carol.

A close up of the detail on Spoked

Carol can also be found in Knitty. Below Iced from Knitty First Fall, 2010.

Many of Carol's sweaters are one piece top down designs. Iced is knit top down and then the front bands are picked up and knit later. Carol uses a lot of "seamless construction" techniques so when you are finished knitting you are done!! Iceling Hat & Cardigan, how cute.

You can find ICED at

http://www.Knitty.com/ISSUEff10/PATTiced.php

I have been eying this pattern for some time now because we have several chunky yarns the perfect weight, especially Berroco Vintage Chunky which comes in several great colours.

Iceling is available in pattern version.

The most recent Knitty, Deep Fall 2011 has a great cabled mitten pattern, Ambroso.
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff10/PATTiced.php

Carol has also included a fingerless version.

Ambroso mitts can be found at http://knitty.com/ISSUEdf11/PATTambroso.php

Carol also has several patterns. Adrift, knit with lace weight yarn as a vest.

The pattern also includes a 3/4 sleeve version.

Carole is fond of stoles;Maelnad

Centrique with instructions for a large and a small version. Carol has both charts and written instructions for her lace. I have knit the small version of Centrique and it was one of the most well written , clear, patterns I have ever had the pleasure to knit.

Nepal Wrap

Captiva

She is also fond of fine yarns.Talamah below is knit topdown in sock yarn.

So is Eilonwy

I was thrilled to see Carol publish her first book. If you enjoy cables, you will love this book. In addition to the 20 patterns for garments and accessories for men women and children, Carol shares the rich Irish history of knitting and tweed yarns.

From her blog, Carol at Trunk Show and book signing in her home town of Cork, Ireland.

Carol has four sons. CONTEMPORARY IRISH KNITS has patterns for all ages, several nice children's designs. Now that I have a grandson, Caherciveen below is very tempting. It is sized from 2 years to 12 years.

Dangan below is either a shawl

or smallish lap blanket.

I have totally fallen in love with Glengesh below. As soon as my Christmas knitting is done, I have some beautiful red tweed just waiting.

One of customers has a lucky granddaughter who will be receiving a gift of Listowel from Grandma.

The cover garment , Kilorglin has some of the most beautiful cable combinations I have ever seen. Carol does love cables.

As I was drafting this blog, Interweave Knitscene winter 2011 arrived. Among its many beautiful designs, Wragby Cardigan from Carol Feller. Wragby on Carol.

Wragby in Knitscene.

Looking over the pattern for Wragby, Gabriela discovered that Wragby is more or less a worsted weight version of Iced (knit in chunky). Other than the yarn weight there is only a small difference in the shaping of the front band. Gabriela will be offering a class on Top Down Knitting in the new year which offers Iced and Wragby as a choice of class projects. Winter 2012 classes will be posted very soon.

I haven't knit a sweater in a long while. I think that might change soon.

If you are interested, we have Carol's book and several of her patterns available.

Beth

KOLLAGE SOCK-A-LICIOUS

2011-08-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, we discovered the incredible square needles from Kollage. They have become a customer favourite, especially among sock knitters. Browsing their website, Karen & I both fell in love with their Sock-a-licious sock yarn. It is 70% Fine Superwash Merino, 10% Mulberry Silk and 20% Nylon. Their colours are mostly soft, tonas style handpaints.

7807 Grape (in stock)

7812 Indian Rose (in stock)

7801 Mango (on the way)

7814 Purple Heart ( on the way)

7813 Sangria (in stock)

7811 Stormy (in stock)

7815 Sycamore (in stock)

7807 Heather (in stock)

7810 Blue Mist (in stock

7809 Blush (in stock)

All the patterns from our original order for Sock-a-licious have sold out but the patterns for the following designs are on the way.

Bellingrath Shawl in Blush

Sanoma Socks

Keegan Hat & Socks

Lover's Knot Socks

Normally, Serenity Knits does not announce yarn or patterns "on the way", but we wanted you to know about a unique opportunity to participate in a Ravelry KAL with one of Kollage's designers, Anne Hanson, using Sock-a-licious. For details on the KAL connect to this link

http://kollageyarns.com/kal_anne2.php

You have a choice of 2 shawl projects - Little Iris or Leaf Prints pictured below.

Leaf Prints (front & Back)

Little Iris (front & back)

The KAL doesn't start until September 5th. We have ordered both patterns a couple of new colours of Sock-a-licious which we expect to arrive just in time to join the KAL. If you want to check out Kollage their website link is

http://kollageyarns.com/index.php

Beth

Elizabeth Zimmerman

2011-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

It is impossible to guess how many knitters have been inspired over the years, by the patterns, books and teachings of master knitter, Elizabeth Zimmerman. Gabriela and I are both teaching classes focusing on two of her famous patterns, the Baby Surprise Jacket and the Pi Shawl. I thought I would tell you a bit about this remarkable lady.

Elizabeth was born in England in1910 and attended school in Switzerland & Germany. She and her husband Arnold Zimmerman, whom she affectionately refers to as "The Old Man", moved to the United States and eventually settled in Wisconsin. Their home, a converted schoolhouse, became Schoolhouse Press; a mail order knitting business, still based in the original schoolhouse and run by her daughter, Meg Swansen, herself a master knitter, teacher and designer.

Schoolhouse Press publishes several books based on Elizabeth's designs. They are all wonderful.

Elizabeth was a fascinating woman. She was very funny. Interspersed with patterns and knitting techniques, are funny personal stories about her life. One page you are reading a description of one her unique knitting techniques. The next page is stories of how she knits on the back of a motorcycle without the old man being aware she is doing so. He evidently didn't want her to knit while on the motorcycle, feeling it was enough of a distraction she did not lean into the curves properly.

I enjoy her book "The Opinionated Knitter". It contains Elizabeth's newsletters, "Wool Gathering". Additional text and photographs were added by her daughter Meg. Treat yourself to this book. You will learn and you will laugh, a wonderful combination.

In addition to being funny and creative, Elizabeth was obviously a very intelligent woman. The structure of her designs suggests a mathematical mind with a thorough understanding of geometry.

One of my favourite EZ designs is the Baby Surprise Jacket from the Opinionated Knitter. Knit in one piece with strategically placed increases and decreases, it looks nothing like a jacket when finished. See above. After two strategically placed folds and two short shoulder seams, you have the cute little jacket you see below, knit in Kureyon Sock Yarn

The Baby Surprise Jacket is the Number One most popular Jacket on Ravelry with 14,973 projects posted.

Another great book is the Knitters Almanac

Where you find patterns for several more of EZ's now famous designs.

The February Sweater, the #4 Cardigan on Ravelry with 6131 posted projects.

The #1 Cardigan on Ravelry is the adult version of the February Sweater with 11035 projects posted. The pattern for the February Lady Sweater is a Free Pattern linked on Ravelry.

I love her Ganomy hat above, and below with matching Mitered Mittens and Scarf

Gabriela is doing a class this summer focusing on Elizabeth's Pi Shawl, also from the Knitters Almanac. With her knowledge of Math and Geometry, Elizabeth was aware that

Pi = Circumference of a circle divided by the diameter.

I won't bore you with all the theory on Pi. What is important to know, and Elizabeth obviously understood, the ratio between a circle's diameter and its circumference remain constant. So if you want to knit a circular garment, every time the diameter(ie number of rounds) doubles, so should the circumference(ie the number stitches). The increase in the number of stitches can be done as you go along, or all at once in one round. The all at once in one round option makes it easy to place various patterns within the "rings",with out having to worry about incorporating stitch increases into an existing pattern

A quick check on Ravelry and you will find hundreds (1597 to be exact) variations of the Pi Shawl.

A little fluffy felted one as a cat blanket or chair seat cover, I'm not sure.

Gorgeous lace shawls with elaborate lace in single colours.

Each one with different lace patterns placed within the rings.

With a bit of Math & Geometry, the formula can be used to create a semicircular half-Pi shawl.

Just plain stocking stitch with special colour placement is very effective.

The designer of this Pi aptly named it Eggplant Afghan and created it with a number of subtly varying shades of yarn.

Kureyon Sock yarn

More Kureyon Sock Yarn

Rainbow Kauni

Tonal Handpaint.

Ranco Sock Yarn

One of the really neat options available for a Pi Shawl or Afghan is a border that can be knit on joining as you go and cast off.

A Stash buster with simple eyelet rounds

An elegant shawl done is lace weight yarn.

My absolute favourite was the lovely bride who used a lace Pi Shawl as her veil. How beautiful is that.

Gabriela has been working on samples. A lace skirt knit with 4 shades of Bamboo

There is still space in both classes and we do have a few of Elizabeth's books. And just arrived, a new book of Elizabeth Zimmerman designs

Knit One Knit All

Elizabeth had evidently wanted to publish a book of garter stitch designs which was not done before her death, Her daughter Meg has published this book of her mother's garter stitch designs. Some samples came from patterns Elizabeth had written but never published. Other patterns were created by deciphering pieces Elizabeth had knit but for which no pattern could be found. The designs were carefully analyzed, reknit and patterns developed. If you are a knitter who enjoys unusual structures, you will love this book.

Beth

Jeannette Fraser

2011-06-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

With much sadness, Serenity Knits brings news of the death of Jeannette Fraser. Jeannette is pictured above on the right, with Maria, one of her many knitting buddies at Serenity Knits.

Her obituary appeared as follows:

Jeannette Diane Fraser

Passed away peacefully after a lengthy fight, at York Central Hospital, Richmondhill on Friday, June 24, 2011, in her 66th year. Beloved mother of Brett Foran and his wife Lori. Proud and loving grandmother of Jacob, Madison and Megan. Daughter of Edith Larkin and the late John Larkin. Survived by her sister Susan Campbell of British Columbia. Loving aunt of Reid and his wife Cindy Smith and their children Anson and Kurtis, and Kieron and his wife Hilda Smith. The family had a small closed visitation as per Jeannette's request. The family would like to thank the staff at York Central Hospital and the members of the CCAC who had the opportunity to care for Jeannette. Donations can be made in Jeannette's name to the Canadian Diabetes Association. Online condolences may be made at http://www.roadhouseandrose.com/.

Jeannette was a delightful woman, full of life despite her health issues. She participated in several classes at Serenity Knits, making many friends along the way.

Serenity Knits is collecting signatures and notes of sympathy in a book which we will hold at the store for the next couple of weeks and then pass it on to Jeanette's Mom, Edith, also a regular visitor to our store. If you would like to be included, please drop by, or e-mail us a note which we will print and include.

Beth

Serenity Knits

Summer Fun

2011-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Two of my favourite summer pastimes are knitting and reading; in front of the fire on rainy days and out in my gazebo when it is warm. On trips to the cottage, I give more thought to books and knitting projects than I do wardrobe. It should not be surprising that some of my favourite "reads", in fact books which I have read several times, are all the Yarn Harlot books by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee .

Stephanie is funny. Her books are about knitting, knitters and just about anything "knitterly", but I am sure they would be funny even to someone who has never picked up a pair of knitting needles. I think Stephanie could write about road signs and make it funny. She shares stories about her knitting adventures and mishaps, her family and friends. I enjoy things which make me laugh. Laughter is good for the soul; lowers your blood pressure, reduces stress. Laughing is just so much more fun than being worried or sad. My introduction to Stephanie was several Christmases ago when a friend gave me a gift of "At Knit's End". I read it and was hooked.

I was delighted to find out this very funny knitter also had a blog. Every day, after I check my e-mails, I check to see what the Yarn Harlot has to say. You can find her blog at

http://yarnharlot.ca/blog/

Stephanie has written several books which have all become best sellers. I have enjoyed each of them. My favourite is Knitting Rules. It is a wealth of information about knitting techniques, yarn and knitting tools. One thing I like are the basic patterns found in this book for hats, socks, scarves, shawls and sweaters. Her "SOCK RECIPE:A GOOD, PLAIN SOCK" from Knitting Rules is the second most popular sock on Ravelry with over 7000 posted projects.

Some of her stories are priceless; the loss of her favourite DPN while on a road trip with her family in a rented van. I won't ruin the punchline by telling you the story.

As teachers we often quote her to illustrate a point. It can sometimes be a struggle to convince even experienced knitters that correct yarn weights, the appropriate needles and a proper gauge swatch are essential to producing a garment that fits. This is not an exact quote as I am working from memory (which is not always good at the best of times). In one of her books Stephanie says of swatching and gauge;"You find a pattern you really like, but can't find the yarn it calls for, so you substitute something that sort of looks like it, you didn't have 4.5 mm needles it recommends, so you used your 5mm, you were in a hurry so didn't want to waste time with a swatch. You will be one lucky knitter if the sweater actually fits, it is more likely it won't and you can't blame the pattern!!"

In the "Yarn Harlot", there is an hilarious chapter named simply " IT". Let me quote part of the opening paragraph:

This chapter has been my inspiration to start my Christmas knitting in July. Last year it worked out pretty good for the first time. The only unfinished gifts were some hats for my very young nephews who were probably happier with the toys anyway.

All of Stephanie's books are reasonably priced paper backs, usually available at Chapters. Treat yourself to one or two or all of them. If like me you read them several times, you will get more than your monies worth out of them.

Her next book, "All Wound Up" is due out in the fall of 2011.

One final note, in addition to being a wife, mother, author, blogger and self-admitted addicted knitter, Stephanie is Canadian. I enjoy when her blog or books reference downtown Toronto and I recognize the area she is talking about. She is also a bit of a local celeb, throwing out the first pitch at last years Stitch N Pitch.

No word if she is up again this year but Stitch N Pitch is set to go for July 20th.

Stitch N Pitch 2011
Toronto Blue Jays vs the Seattle Mariners

WHEN: Wednesday, July 20th , 7 pm

WHERE: Rogers Centre (or as lots of us remember it ... the Sky Dome)

WHO: You, your family and your friends (non-knitters welcome)

HOW MUCH: $20 at your local yarn shop

Serenity Knits will be selling tickets for pick up at the store, up to July 13th. Tickets may be purchased for pickup at the stadium after the 13th.

For more details on Stitch N Pitch 2011 (including goody bags and door prizes), visit the Stitch N Pitch Blog

http://stitchnpitchtoronto.blogspot.com/

The Streetknit Project (http://www.streetknit.ca/) will be at the game collecting hand-made outerwear (hats, mitts, socks, scarves, even sweaters) to be given to the homeless.

Beth

TOFUtsies

2011-05-30T13:29:00.001-07:00

I totally understand how animal fibers are spun. I sort of understand linen and bamboo. Soy is still a bit of a mystery to me. But the one that totally confuses me is chitin. According to Wikepedia, chitin is "a long-chain polymer of a N-acetylglucosamine, a derivative of glucose". I don't understand what that means, but there may be some biology or chemistry buffs out there who do. Chitin is found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans (i.e. shrimp, lobster, crabs). Some one has figured out how to create fiber/thread from chitin. Thread made from chitin is very flexible and strong. One major use of chitin is surgical thread. As surgical thread it is biodegradable, wears away as the wound heals and has properties which actually accelerate the healing of wounds. You are probably wondering what all this has to do with knitting. South West Trading Company has a lovely sock yarn, TOFUtsies, which is a blend of 50%superwash wool, 25%soysilk fiber, 22.5% cotton and 2.5% chitin. We usually advise customers knitting socks to look for yarns with a bit of nylon which adds durability. TOFUtsies uses the very strong chitin fiber for durability instead of nylon. So you can now knit socks with yarn containing fiber made from shrimp and crab shells

TOFUtsies is very soft, feels much more like cotton than wool. The plies which make up a strand of yarn are various colours, so these yarns knit with a tweedy look to them. Some called POWERSTRIPE have a Noro-ish type self-striping effect. Right now we have 7 colours. I went on Ravelry to see what people were knitting with it. Most people were knitting socks.

Colour 728 shown above was used in a cute little pair of ankle socks with a feather and fan cuff.

Pattern at http://media.wendyknits.net/knit/featherandfansock.pdf

Colour 730

Looked gorgeous in the Knitty pattern Cachoeira (above) found at

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring09/PATTcachoeira.php

or Pomatomus (below) also a Knitty pattern

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwiwnter05/PATTpomatomus.html

Colour 798 (above) looked great in Cookie A's Monkey socks (below)

Pattern from Knitty at http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTmonkey.html

Monkey is the most popular sock pattern on Ravelry with over 14,000 posted projects

Some one had created their own ankle height version of Monkey which I liked for a summer sock.

Colour 848 looked great in socks.

Not a great picture of the socks but couldn't resist the dog. The picture below shows the yarn colours better.

Colour 921 in socks from Wendy Johnson's Socks From the Toe Up

Powerstripes Colour 930 below.

Powerstripes Citron #931

Another look at 930, a Powerstripes colour

Socks a la Carte has several great sock patterns.

A lot of postings on Ravelry were shawls. Annis (below) as it appears in Knitty created with a lace yarn

Looks very nice in TOFUtsies

Pattern at http://knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTannis.php

A few had knit Knitty's Citron shown below in the original Malabrigo Lace

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTcitron.php

One posting showed the start of what I believe would end up being a very attractive Citron knit in 2 colours of TOFUtsies

I was not surprised to see a few Clapotis

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html

in TOFUtsies

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. In sock yarn it is about a newborn size.

One posting combined TOFUtsies and Louet Gems sock yarn to create a slightly BSJ for about a one year old.

I am working on a pair of socks, and Gabriela on some lace. We will post them when done. Come check it out, I think you might like it.

TOFUtsies
50%Superwash Wool, 25%Soysilk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% Chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells)

8st to the inch on a 2.75mm

100 gm ball, 425 meters

Machine Wash & Dry

We have 7 colours: 728, 730, 798, 848, 921, 930, 931

And the book: Knitting Socks a la Cart

Beth

Novels for Knitters: Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street Series

2011-04-11T14:01:00.001-07:00

In the mood for some light summer reading? If you haven't discovered "The Blossom Street Series" by Debbie Macomber, I suggest you check them out. For those of you familiar with the series, I discovered a new one this past weekend at Walmart (30% of the cover price at Walmart). "The Knitting Diaries" contains three short novels by three New York Times Best Selling Authors; Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery and Christina Skye. To be honest, I haven't read it yet, but I have read and enjoyed immensely all of the other six Blossom Street books. In a world full of earthquakes, financial doom and gloom, federal elections etc, etc, I crave happy endings. Debbie's novels are entertaining, easy reads where all the loose ends are tied up and everyone ends up happy. Debbie has published over 150 romance novels. Knitting figures prominently in the seven books in the Blossom Street Series. If you are interested in reading this series, I suggest you read them in order, the stories sort of build on each other. "The Shop on Blossom Street" is first.

Then "A Good Yarn" is #2

The Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn revolve around a yarn shop, it's owner Lydia and her group of knitting class students. Book #3, "Susannah's Garden" is about the flower shop next door to the yarn store. How cool is that coincidence. (If you have never visited Serenity Knits, we have the most incredible flower shop, Blooming Wellies, next door to us)

#4 is "Back On Blossom Street"

#5 "Twenty Wishes"

#6, Summer on Blossom Street

#7, her most recent, "The 21st Wish", is a follow-up to" 20 Wishes". It is part of a 3 novel anthology called "The Knitting Diaries"

I thoroughly enjoy Debbie's novels. They are not deep or complicated or award winning novels, just simple entertaining stories that frequently hit the New York Times Best Seller List. So I am obviously not the only one who enjoys them. We have copies of several of her Blossom Street books at the store which you are welcome to borrow if you would like.

Beth

Flip

2011-04-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

With Easter around the corner, I thought I might re post a blog entry from last fall. Last October we lost one of our pets due to poisoning from contact with a lily. We did not know lilies even in small amounts are fatally toxic to cats. It is unbelievable how big a hole in you life can be created by the absence of a silly 8 pound ball of orange fluff. Flip was just over 3 years old.

A delightful, silly little critter.

We were not entirely sure what breed she was but there is a very good chance she was Maine Coon. She had these crazy furry paws. She was also a cat who seldom went any where slowly, and loved to execute rapid sneak attacks on our other pets, especially Misty. She would barrel down the hall at top speed, jump at/over Misty and slide (very little traction with those furry paws) over the kitchen tile floor right into the wall!!!! Then she would just give you this look that said; "I meant to do that", and scurry off.

She always had to be in the middle of things. My daughter is in law school at Queens but comes home frequently. Flip would waste no time letting her know if she wasn't getting enough attention.

Flip did not respect boundaries. If she could reach it, it was hers.

She loved my yarn. If I left yarn unguarded it would often disappear. Usually she would wait until I left yarn unattended and then make off with it. I do most of my knitting in our family room. We have two couches together in one corner, I usually sit there to knit and a large stash of yarn tends to accumulate in the corner between the two couches. Often Flip would perch on the arm of one couch staring at the yarn, just waiting for me to leave so she could steal something. I always found this pose of hers so amusing, wish I had a picture of it because it reminded me so much of one of my favourite cartoons, "Snoopy the Vulture"

Flip has been gone since last October, we still miss her. But we still have lots of furry company.

Misty, aka Mystical, aka Misticat, at 14 is the matriarch of the herd.

My Bella. One of the many common interests Karen and I share is our fondness for animals. Karen also has a Black Lab purchased from the same breeder where I purchased Bella. Sierra is a couple of years older. It is kind of nice to think Bella and Sierra are probably at least cousins if not possibly siblings.

The newest addition is Sylph.

Sylph is not fond of Bella. Bella has bad knees and can't manage the stairs. So Sylph usually hangs out on the stairs or the window seat on the landing.

The following is a repeat of last October's post on lily toxicity as a warning for all cat owners as you are considering floral purchases you might be planning for Spring/Easter.

The following was originally posted October 2010.

It has been a very sad weekend in our home. And it is very bitter pill to swallow knowing it all could have been prevented if we had known that:

LILIES OF ANY KIND, EVEN IN VERY SMALL AMOUNTS, CAN BE FATALLY TOXIC TO CATS.

I have owned 7 cats over the last 30 years and am an avid gardener. I am so annoyed with myself that I did not know. Many, many knitters are also animal lovers. If like me, you were not aware of this danger to your cats, I hope this information will help prevent a similar tragedy in your home. Following the events of this past weekend, some Internet research has revealed that lily toxicity in cats has only been widely recognized in about the last 10 years. So if you have been relying on older sources of information, they may not have stressed or even mentioned this danger to your beloved pet. My sources for this information are the vets who cared for our cat Flip, and the Internet. Smaller details may not be perfectly, scientifically correct, but the bottom line is not in doubt: If your cat ingests any part, of any species of lily, it will be fatal in an extremely high percentage of cases. In large amounts, the cat becomes extremely ill and dies within a few hours. In smaller amounts, if the cat survives the initial ingestion of the plant, the toxins cause permanent kidney damage. In many cases, the kidney damage is so severe, it causes death or necessitates euthanasia. The insidious part of the lily issue is that even cats which normally might not bother with your plants are at risk. Many cats get bits of pollen on them just by being near or rubbing up against the plant, which then is ingested when the cat grooms itself. This is what we believe happened to our little darling Flip. She was not particularly interested in munching on plants. I had a bouquet of flowers on the island in the kitchen - daises, chrysanthemums, freesia and lilies. The lilies had started to drop petals but most of the others were fine, so I just left them. Our best guess is that Flip decided to investigate some petals which may have fallen on the floor, some pollen became attached, which was then ingested during grooming. It was probably only a very small amount of pollen, but enough to shut down her kidneys leaving us with no real option other than euthanasia. How cute was this face.

Studying - did we discover an especially important bit of information needing highlighting?

Nothing like a good stretch.

She was a beautiful, funny, gentle, little creature who gave us much joy and will be so, so missed. I found a website sponsored by The Cat Fanciers' Association which lists plants toxic, and non-toxic, to cats. You can check it out if you would like more information.

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

Beth

Lucy Neatby

2011-03-28T08:26:00.001-07:00

My apologies for how long it has been since our last blog. So much has been happening to keep us busy and we really should let you know about some of it. Most recently we were delighted to host two workshops with designer and teacher Lucy Neatby British by birth, Lucy has lived for many years in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Lucy is very fond of colour and is well know for her designs using various techniques for colour knitting. Her famous Andean Vest which she models above has 40 plus colours in an intricate fair isle design. Below, the back view of Lucy's Andean Vest, the most incredible sample of knitting I have ever seen. It is truly a work of art. In 2009, Sandi Rosner, Cat Bordhi and Lucy were the judges for Knitters magazine "Think Outside the Sox" contest. Cat Bordhi and Sandi Rosner are another two of my favourite designers/knitters (Both have published several books each, many of which deal with socks or sock yarn). The book by the same name is an eye popping collection of 60+ winning designs from the contest. We started in the morning with "Lucy's Hot Sock Tricks"

New Cast on perfect for socks.

Picot edging

Avoiding holes.

Toe grafting tricks

Everyone had a lot of fun

Lots of time for questions and individual help.

If you missed the class, many of Lucy's tips and tricks are included in her book

"Cool Socks Warm Feet"

Or her two sock DVD's,

Sock Techniques 1 & 2

We normally have all three in stock.

Every one was particularly impressed with Lucy's sock design

Fiesta Feet seen below.

Most of Lucy's designs are knit in her

Celestial Merino

sock yarn. She has 8 colourways of hand painted super wash merino. These are just a few of them.

Aquarius

Sea Shell

Fiesta

One of Lucy's popular scarf designs, seen above, is

Sea Lettuce

which knits up beautifully in any yarn but is especially nice in Lucy's Celestial Merino

The Sea lettuce pattern sold out quickly but we have more on order and still have a few skeins of Celestial Merino.

In the afternoon, our class was

Dabble into Double

Double knitting is a form of knitting in which two fabrics are knit simultaneously with two yarns on one pair of needles. A little tricky at first but Lucy quickly got us going.

One striking example of double knitting is Lucy's scarves

Bubbles

above and below

And

Paintbox

Starting of slow with just one colour.

Nearly got the hang of it

Finished practising and on to the real thing with the fabulous Kauni.

If you missed the class, Lucy's DVD on Double Knitting can get you going.

Part of the reason Lucy's Double Knitting scarves are so incredible is a special yarn from Denmark called

Kauni

Bubbles and Paintbox use Kauni colourway EQ which is literally the rainbow of colourways. The rainbow skein is paired with a solid contrast.

Lucy's Fishtail scarf using just Kauni EQ

A shawl I found on Ravelry in Kauni EQ.

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket

Evelyn Clark's Swallow Tail Shawl, originally published in Interweave Magazine, is now a FREE DOWNLOAD on the Designer's website http://www.evelynclarkdesigns.com/pdf/Swallowtail.pdf

Even more magnificant in Kauni shown below.

Summit from Knitty Issue 31, Spring & Summer 2010 Free pattern at

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTsummit.php

Look at it in Kauni

Another Lucy Neatby resource you might enjoy is her new book on finishing techniques.

Karen has the pattern and vowes to attempt Lucy's

Fish Mural/Wall Hanging

seen below. Good luck Karen!!

Special thanks to Lucy's freind, Mary Pat, who helped us connect with Lucy. By the way, Lucy is wearing a very rare pair of boots and can you believe it, she knows some one in California who has a pair just like them!

Mary Pat, Gabriela and Lucy.

Mary Pat, Karen with Stitches and Lucy.

And we leave you with one of Lucy's most recent designs which she shared with us

Udderly Devine

Udderly Devine is being modelled by Desdemona, a long haired highland cow who resides on Big Tancook island (of the coast of Nova Scotia, area 3 miles by 4 miles approximately) where Lucy's photographer Hillary Dionne lives.

We don't have the pattern yet but we are working on it, it has just been published. If you like, each of the teets can be knit with holes in the tips which can be used to strand your yarn through if you wish to use it as a knitting pouch.

Thank you Lucy for a wonderful day. We received so much positive feed back from the students and were delighted to be your host for the day.

Beth

Serenity Knits still has in stock several colourways of Kauni and Celestial Merino.

We also carry many of Lucy's patterns, books and DVD's

Rowan Colourscapes Chunky

2010-11-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

While looking for something entirely different, I found a scarf I had started almost 2 years ago. I have no idea why I had set it aside. It was 95 % done and was turning out just great. Why it got lost in the bottom of a knitting bag, I don't know. Maybe I had been distracted by a Fleece Artist order. I decided to just finish it off but I couldn't find the pattern. The pattern, Cora, was a free download on the Rowan website ( http://www.knitrowan.com/). I logged on to download a fresh copy.

CORA
Cora is knit in Rowan Colourscapes, a chunky, self striping yarn which is available in a beautiful rainbow of colours.

Cora was knit in colourway Spring #442

Looking around on the Rowan website I noticed a few new FREE patterns for the Colourscapes

KEW, above, is knit in a new colourway for this season, Jungle #447,

Jungle #447

Some of my other favourites

Candy #443

Autumn #438

Ghost #435

Rowan has two books dedicated to Colourscapes. The original is called COLOURSCAPES CHUNKY COLLECTION

COLOURSCAPES FOLK, the second collection of designs, includes several patterns for men.

Lily knit in Cherry #431 is from the Colourscape Folk collection.

Cherry #431

CAMELFORD
Camelford is another FREE PATTERN from the website knit in Moody Blues below.

Moody Blues #444

POLZNEATH, another FREE PATTERN on ROWAN WEBSITE

Done in colour Heath #432

Treat yourself to some Rowan Colourscapes, colours by Kaffe Fassett. There are so many colours and designs to choose from, you are sure to find a project you like.

Beth

Serenity Knits 5th Annual Christmas Open House

2010-11-22T10:59:00.001-08:00

Open House Recipes
Serenity Knits celebrated its Fifth Annual Christmas Open House this past Saturday, November 20th. All the treats were well received but we had repeated recipe requests for three in particular. So here they are!!

Karen’s Chocolate Christmas Cake
Ingredients:
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 250 g pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup candied cherries, cut into quarters
1 cup candied mixed fruit
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Melt chocolate chips in microwave oven (medium setting, stirring often) or in top of double boiler over hot water. Add softened cream cheese, stirring until well blended and no visible streaks of cream cheese remain. Stir in candied fruit, cherries and almond extract. Add marshmallows last, stirring gently. Press batter (thick) into a waxed paper lined loaf (approximately 4 x 8 inch) pan or 8 x 8 inch cake pan (if you prefer squares). Chill well before slicing into slices or squares. Store covered in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!

Leslie's Cheese Dip
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 medium white onion, finely diced
2 cups Hellmans Mayo (full fat, not lite & only Hellmans)
Mix well. Place in oven proof container. Bake at 350 until top is brown.
Serve with crackers or bread.
Note: This dip can be made in advance, stored in frig and reheated by stove or microwave to serve.

Sugar Plums
From “Victorian Christmas Crafts”by Barbara Bruno
Sugar Plums are an ancient treat probably originating in the Middle East where whole figs were transformed into the original glace fruit by long and repeated simmering in sugary syrup. Victorians, always ready to guild the lily, added nuts, orange rind, a variety of dried fruits and brandy, to create the “Sugar Plum visions dancing in heads” in the Victorian Christmas poem, the Night Before Christmas.
Ingredients:
3 pounds of dried mixed figs, dates, raisins & currants
1 ½ pounds of blanched almonds
½ pound unsalted shelled pistachio nuts
½ pound of crystallized ginger
finely grated rind of 2 oranges
2-3 tbsps brandy (or orange juice if you prefer)
white granulated sugar
Method:
Finely chop and mix all ingredients except brandy and sugar. Use a food processor or grinder because you want the ingredients to be well chopped/ground. Add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy to help make the mixture stick together. If you would prefer not to use brandy, use the juice of one of the oranges instead. Mix WELL. Form the mixture by hand into small balls, approximately a tablespoon at a time. Roll them in sugar.
Store the Sugar Plums in a covered container. It is best to let them meld for a few days but they can be served right away. They will keep for several weeks in a covered container.

2010 - This year I added about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries to the fruit and 2 or 3 tablespoons of Gran Marnier instead of orange juice or brandy.

We are glad you enjoyed our Christmas treats and are pleased to share these recipes with you.

Congratulations to Our Door Prize Winners
Sock Blockers - Audrey Cawthry
Kaffe Knits Again - Margaret McDonald
Woodsmoke Woolworks Kit - Hien Le
Weekend Knits - Lori Rawling
Sheep Accessory Bag - Joan Meggit
Gabriela's Vest Kit - Mary Grace Fong

Beth & Karen

A Few of My Favourite Things Part 1

2010-11-13T11:31:00.001-08:00

This will be the first of a few blog entries about something special happening next year. Something I am very excited about. Some of you will probably figure out where I’m going with this. If at the end of this blog, it is still all a mystery, stay posted. More will follow and all will be revealed at the end.

1. New Brunswick Indian Summer
No one will ever be able to accuse me of being impartial when it comes to New Brunswick. I was born and grew up in Fredericton, have oodles of family still living there and continue to visit regularly. Check out my blog dated July 15, 2010 on my most recent visit home. New Brunswick’s nick name is “The Picture Province”. It is beautiful everywhere, any time of year. New Brunswick is crisscrossed with rivers and streams too numerous to count - the Saint John River Valley is beautiful beyond description, the Mirimichi is heaven on earth for salmon fisherman. It is dotted with hundreds of lakes - my favourite of course Grand Lake (see my blog Butterflies and Other Bugs dated May 3, 2010 ). Bays and Straits off the Atlantic Ocean surround over half the province - Bay of Fundy and the smaller Passamaquoddy Bay to the south and southeast are scenic, popular tourist locations. New Brunswick does not have any true mountains (although a few big hills try to trick skiers by calling themselves mountains), just lots and lots of big rolling hills. Most of New Brunswick is heavily forested with a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees. Spring and summer, the forests are a beautiful thick lush green. The rivers, streams and lakes are a clear, unpoluted blue. The ocean is mesmerizing. The foliage season in New Brunswick has to be seen to be believed. There are not enough superlatives to describe the beauty of the fall scenery. Clear blue waters and foilage colours, in particular the maples which turn every shade of the yellow, orange, red portion of the colour wheel. Consider yourself very lucky if you have had the opportunity to experience a New Brunswick Indian Summer, that last hurrah of warm weather in late September, early October, just before the snow starts to fly .

Click on the icon in the middle of this screen for just a few breathtaking pictures of New Brunswick in autumn.

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/

If you would like to explore New Brunswick a bit, use this link to the New Brunswick Tourism Website

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/

2. St. Andrews by-the Sea

New Brunswick is a pretty small province. Nothing is more than a couple of hours away. Any event, or location you might wish to attend or visit, can pretty well be a day trip. Other than visiting my relatives who live all over southern New Brunswick, the only village I have visited and stayed for several days at a time is St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea. It is very inviting and just seems to insist you stay for a few days to experience the full affect. It is a very old community. The earliest settlers (other than Canada's First Nations) were United Empire Loyalists. It is located in the far south west corner of New Brunswick on the Pasamoquody Bay, a smaller bay off the Atlantic, adjacent to the Bay of Fundy. It has all the beauty and charm one would expect of a small coastal village. It is a popular tourist location in the summer. I love the older central core of the village - lovely heritage type homes that all have little English gardens and look like they were just painted last week. I won’t attempt to list them all here, but for the size of it, St. Andrews has a lot to offer in terms of interesting shopping, history, restaurants and inns, outdoor and nature experiences. If you travel to New Brunswick, don’t by-pass St. Andrews just because it appears to be pretty small (it is), because it has a lot to offer.

The "castle" in behind with the red roof is the Algonquin Hotel. More on that later.

Main Street St. Andrews

Cottage Craft Yarns, established in 1915. It is located on the waterfront, adjacent to the piers.

St. Andrews is home to a large Marine Biology facility. Visitors can arrange to go whale watching on the Bay of Fundy right up til mid October.

For a small village there are several restaurants, inns and tea rooms to enjoy.

The following link will connect you with a tourism site with detailed information on all that St. Andrews has to offer.

http://www.standrewsbythesea.ca/visit/

3. The Algonquin Hotel

Sometimes when you are travelling, at the end of the day, you just want a clean, comfortable place to get a good night’s sleep. Other times, part of the joy of the trip is the “experience of where you stay”. Given the opportunity, everyone should treat themselves to the experience of a Hotel like the Algonquin. The Fairmont Algonquin is a Tudor style, resort hotel located in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada's first seaside resort town. (Notice a connection developing here?!) It was built in 1889. The impressive four-storey, half-timbered structure with its castle-like facade has 80 guest rooms, each with its own fireplace and water closet. It officially opened in June 1889. It has been open continuously ever since.

For more on all that the Algonquin has to offer, follow the link below. http://www.fairmont.com/algonquin

These have been just a few of my favourite things. More clues to the SPECIAL SOMETHING HAPPENING NEXT YEAR will follow soon.

Beth

Pictures from Scotland

2010-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have just arrived at Glasgow Airport. If you think I look tired, you are correct. Gabriela managed to sleep but not me. Three buses, and an unwelcome tour of the University of Stirling Campus (No one seemed totally sure where we were supposed to register), we arrived for the first event, the "Clapotea Party" where we met Jennie from South Africa.

No one else was drinking tea, so I decided to take advantage of my first opportunity to try some Scottish beer.

There is a large loch right in the middle of the campus. It is rather long and sprawling but not very wide at any point. This bridge across the loch was our most direct route from our dormitory to the cafeteria and class rooms.

The grey building in the upper left corner was our dormitory. The loch was home to a large flock of swans, several ducks and some other rather odd looking birds Gabriela and I could not identify. We were told that all swans in the United Kingdom belong to the Queen and as such are protected.

At one end the loch narrows to just a few meters......

and then opens into an area bursting with beautiful water lilies. The swans seemed to prefer the more open areas of the loch, but the ducks seemed happiest among the lilies.

Remember, all this beautiful scenery is not a park. This is right in the center campus of one of the largest universities in Scotland

At the bottom left you can see just a bit of the lily pond. The hills in the background surrounded about two thirds of the campus.

We walked this path several times a day. It led from our dormitory, to the bridge. The whole campus was incredibly clean and free of litter. It was a pleasure to roam.

Every where you went there were herds(I don't remember the correct term for a collective of rabbits) of the most adorable little brown bunnies. We found one little black guy who was always on the same grassy hill every time we passed by.

I will forever think of Scotland whenever I see a rabbit.

Our first class was knitting side to side with a delightful young Irish woman, Carol Feller. That is Carol in the green.

Carol's website, Stolen Stitches, if you would like to see more of her designs.

http://www.stolenstitches.com/pattern-shop/raspberry-layers/#
You can also view many of her designs on Ravelry.

Our class project was her Raspberry Layers Vest seen below, being modelled by Carol.

Gabriela has turned this vest and its short row shaping techniques into a class for the fall.

Coincidentally, Carol is also the designer for Karen's Leitmotif Cardigan KAL. Details of the KAL are on our website under classes.Leitmotif also involves side to side knitting. It is knit from the center back. A very ingenious short row shaping produces a beautiful seamless sleeve shoulder.

There are still a few spaces left in this free KAL with Karen.

On Wednesday I attended a class on Cowichan Style knitting. Cowichan knits are the designs made famous by the West Coast Canadian First Nations Salish who reside in the Cowichan Valley area of British Columbia. In addition to teaching and designing, the instructor Jon Dunn, also dyes. He is well know for his "Sushi Sock Rolls". I picked up this earthy brown/green colourway and I am still looking for the perfect project. Jon's sushi rolls have very, very long colour repeats, sort of like Zauberball yarns but producing even wider stripes.
Jon's website.

http://www.easyknits.co.uk/

He is also on Ravelry as Easyknitter.

Friday for me was one of the highlights of the whole week. We were in a class with the Jared Flood, knitting his beautiful Girasole, which is Italian for sunflower. As soon as she got home, Gabriela grabbed a bag of a deep green shade of Rowan Tweed and started knitting. Look for Girasole among her fall classes. Cascade 220 would be an excellent choice for this project. But if you want to treat it like the heirloom it will become, try the Rowan Tweed DK. It will require 15 balls which would normally cost $165. We have decided to offer students in the Girasole class a special price of $125. We have correct amounts in several colours.

Jared's website if you care to see more of Girasole.

http://brooklyntweed.net/blog/

Believe it or not, Gabriela and I passed up one of the PUB nights for a walk around the far end of the loch.

We sat in the last rays of the sun watching the silly swans playing and we think, fighting.

They would glide along and then all of a sudden totally tip upside down, head deep in the water feeding on something.

They were not at all afraid. The darker ones in the back were the younger swans. Again my memory fails me for the correct name for baby swans, I think it is something like signets?

The William Wallace (remember Braveheart) memorial is on the grounds of the University of Sterling.

Gabriela walked the 264 steps to get these pictures for you from the top. That is the city of Stirling of in the distance.

The hills...... no need to guess why the phrase highlands is so often associated with Scotland.

One evening several of us piled on a bus for a 45 minute drive to Loch Katrine. It is only a few kilometers away but the road was very narrow, hilly and winding, so slow speeds was the only way to go. I was happy to hear from our driver, Lennox, that he had been driving "coach" in these hills for 36 years.

Jennie and I waiting for our turn to go out on the boat.

We chatted with designers Annie Modesitt (in the red resting her head on Jennie's shoulder) and Norah Gaughan. It was another one of the highlights of the week to meet Norah, the shorter lady with dark hair and glasses.

Gabriela and Fiona discussed favourite hair colours. Her hair now has purple highlights, but for her recent wedding, Fiona had teal highlights to match her dress.
The boat arrives.

Lady of the Lake is one of only 2 motorized boats allowed on Loch Katrine. The loch is the main water source for Stirling and Glasgow. Lady of the Lake and her sister boat or powered by fuel made from recycled cooking oils. Any fuel residue or leakage is therefore nontoxic and biodegradable. The only other boats allowed on the loch are canoes, paddle boats and sail boats.

Again, the hills. Breathtaking. The corner of an island which shows up in the bottom left corner was of interest to me. My McElman ancestors were driven from Scotland during the Highland Clearances. They escaped to Ireland. Two brothers eventually came to North America, one to Massachusetts and the other to New Brunswick. There are very few McElmans in North America but I am told we can all trace our ancestors back to these two brothers. Our guide on the Lady of the Lake told us this island was often used as a hiding place during the Clearances. I might have gazed upon the very spot which was the start of my family's journey to Canada.

Three-quarters of the loch was surronded by steep hills.

Sunset on Loch Katrine.

Pictures courtesy of Gabriela (She has about 750 more if you want to see them)

Beth

We are back.

2010-08-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

Gabriela and I are back from UK Knit Camp 2010. What an incredible experience. Gabriela took over 800 pictures which we will go through and share with you later. I thought I would just give you a few highlights.

It was Gabriela's first trip to Scotland and my last trip was about 20 years ago. Getting there was 3 airports, 2 flights, 2 bus stations and 3 buses, and we only got lost once. I think we did very well. For travelling knitters - both of us has Addies in our carry on luggage and no one even blinked an eye. They had us removing shoes, sweaters and jewelry, throwing out water, but not even a raised eyebrow about metal or bamboo Turbos. In the actual travel department, all went very smoothly and on time except our last flight Sunday night from Heathrow. We were late leaving and had to land in the midst of those horrible thunderstorms Sunday night. I am a very nervous flyer under the best of circumstances. The dark clouds and lightning all around us coming in was a little disconcerting. I was pleased our landing SEEMED to be going so well. I emphasize SEEMED. We were about a couple of hundred feet off the ground in our descent, when all of a sudden, the pilot gunned the engines, we ascended sharply and went into a steep bank to the right (my side of the plane). I immediately went into deep breathing mode which I learned years ago to calm myself when absolute terror is taking over. Gabriela was so sweet. She immediately went into "Mother Mode" ( which is ridiculous because I am the one old enough to be her mother). She grabbed my hand, very calmly announced every thing was OK and covered the window with her pillow so I couldn't see. I am kind of laughing to myself as I write this, but I sure was not laughing at the time. About 2 minutes later the pilot came on to apologize and explain. Evidently there were a lot of planes stacked up waiting to land due to the storm and he was a little uncomfortable with how close some of them were so he thought it best to move to a less crowded area for a while. A big loop down to Oakville and back and we eventually landed very smoothly without mishap. I am glad it was the last of 4 flights for the trip and not the first.

The University of Stirling has a huge, beautiful campus. Gardens and flowers were everywhere. The buildings are lovely, extremely clean but set up like absolute mazes. I felt like I was participating in a psychology experiment. Every important activity of the day was in a different building separated by literally kilometers of paths, halls, bridges, elevated walkways. We stayed in the Main Halls of Residence. The cafeteria and pub were in the Atrium Student Center. Our classes were in the Cottrell Building. Our dinners were in the Stirling Management Center. The Marketplace and weekend activities were in the Pathfoot Building. We were constantly lost. If you are interested, click on the link below for a virtual tour of the campus. To help you appreciate the scale, Gabriela and I guess it was about a kilometer from our residence to Haldanes cafeteria in the Atrium.

http://www.external.stir.ac.uk/tour/flash.php

We quickly got into walking mode, we really had no choice, and enjoyed our travels throughout the campus. I forgot to mention, in addition to the distance between buildings, everything is either up or down hill. The campus is over run with the cutest little brown rabbits absolutely everywhere. All the lawns were perfectly trimmed and I did not see one lawn mover while we were there .... the bunnies?? The loch we walked across everyday was home to dozens of white swans and ducks. And the campus was incredibly clean and free of litter.

The classes were wonderful. Gabriela and I both took classes with
* Carol Feller, a delightful young Irish woman who coincidentally is the designer for one of Karen's KAL's, Leitmotif Cardigan. The workshop was on knitting garments from side to side. We learned a couple of neat tricks and shaping techniques which Gabriela plans to share with you in a class this fall on the Raspberry Layers Vest.
*Donna Druchunas, a designer and author of several knitting books from Colorado. Donna's class was on reading Japanese charts and patterns. It really is true. Thanks to Donna's notes and explanations, it is possible to knit from Japanese patterns without being able to read a word of Japanese. I plan to acquire some of the books Donna shared with us and when you see the exquisite lace and cable designs Japanese designs are known for, you will understand why the effort is worth it. Again, Gabriela has plans around classes in Japanese designs.
*Jared Flood. Jared, aka Brooklyntweed, was amazing. The workshop was his afghan Girasole.

I took a class on Cowichan knitting with a delightful Brit Jon Dunn while Gabriela took a lace class with Liz Lovick.

In addition to the teachers we met in class, we also met Nora Gaughan, Nancy Bush, Annie Modisett, Lucy Neatby, Pat Ashforth & Steve Plummer from Woollly Thoughts, Debbie Stoller from the Stitch & Bitch Books.

We also met knitters from all over the world; England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Canada, USA, Australia and last but definitely not least, Jennie from South Africa. We shared a drink with Jennie our first evening there and spent most of the rest of the week in her delightful company. Jennie, if you are reading this, we started missing you as soon as we dropped you off at the train station Saturday.

And we bought lots of wool, we like to call it research.

Once we get ourselves organized we will share some of Gabriela's pictures with you.

It was fun but I'm glad to be back.

Our next adventure; I've heard about a knitters retreat in Argentina this coming March and a new Canadian Knit Camp/Yarn Fair being organized for the Fall of 2011 in St. Andrews By-the-Sea, New Brunswick. I'll keep you posted on both.

Beth

Interweave Knits Fall 2010

2010-08-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Interweave Knits Fall 2010
arrived today. The patterns and articles are outstanding.

Karen has selected LEITMOTIF by Carol Feller, found on page 38, as one of the two Knit-A-Longs which she has planned for this fall. (Karen's other Knit-A-Long, the Chevron Jacket, can be viewed in the July 27th blog "Introducing The Empire Club").

LEITMOTIF has a number of interesting techniques:

*it is worked side to side beginning at the center back

*beautiful cable and ladder lace panels, which are reversed from the center back to create a pleasing, symmetrical mirror image

*short-row, capped sleeves which will allow for a smooth seamless sleeve

*an I-cord bind off

I think you will appreciate Karen's help mastering these special techniques.

The yarn we have selected for this Knit-A-Long is the new

DEBBIE BLISS LUXURY ARAN TWEED.

This tweed is 85% wool, 15% angora. It is a luscious soft yarn which most people would find comfortable right against the skin.

It is available in 29 colours. Please click on the following link to Diamond Yarns' website to view the colours.
http://www.diamondyarn.com/d/yarn/debbie-bliss-luxury-tweed-aran/
This Knit-A-Long is FREE, but you need to register. The class will be Tuesday evenings, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, beginning late September/early October. Call in to reserve a spot and order your yarn. Yarn orders need to be received by September 22. Please give a first and second choice for colours. We will make every possible attempt to acquire your first choice, but can not guarantee it.

The magazine also has articles about two of my favourite knitters;
Elizabeth Zimmerman and Barbara Walker. Elizabeth's books are great fun to read and knit from.

My favourite is the OPINIONATED KNITTER, where you will find the original pattern for the BABY SURPRISE JACKET.

There are 12,220 BSJ's posted on Ravelry

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-surprise-jacket-so01b

Another of my favourite knitters is

BARBARA WALKER

I know I am only one of many, many people who admire Barbara. If I can take the liberty of quoting the Yarn harlot's August 14, 2009 blog entry;

"Then (and I know you'll love this as much as I did) then that lovely lady, Barbara Walker, put some stitches in for you, and she did it while telling me what a wonderful time the whole summit had been for her. (I somehow managed to stay conscious the entire conversation, which was a miracle, considering that the voice in my head was screaming OH MY GOD BARBARA WALKER IS TALKING TO ME along with BARBARA WALKER IS KNITTING ON TINA'S SOCK!) She's a very graceful lady. "

Barbara is the author and stitch designer of my most favourite stitch dictionaries. I use them constantly. The sweater she is wearing above is a stunning example of Mosaic Knitting, the subject of one of Barbara's books.

I have several of Barbara and Elizabeth's books in my personal library. Many are $30 plus books, a little more than many knitters wish to spend. But I am sure you would enjoy them. I will bring my collection into the store. If you would like your own copy of any of these books, we would be happy to order them for you.

Interweave Knits Fall 2010

is a treasure trove of information and designs. Don't miss out.

Beth

Introducing the EMPIRE CLUB

2010-07-27T12:13:00.001-07:00

Serenity Knits invites you to join The Empire Club.

Membership in the EMPIRE CLUB is offered FREE to Serenity Knits and our customers by our newest yarn distributor, OLD MILL KNITTING. With your free membership, you will receive a monthly e-newsletter. OLD MILL selects from among their various yarns, one specific yarn to feature for a 2- 3 month period. It may be a brand new yarn, or new colours and patterns for a yarn from previous seasons. Each newsletter will include coupons for free patterns or discounts on the purchase of the featured yarn. The patterns and yarns they will be promoting will be available at Serenity Knits.

To join, give us a call at 905-713-3283 or e-mail us at info@serenityknits.ca and give us your name and e-mail address. That is all there is to it, no fee involved and no purchases necessary. If you wish to take advantage of any coupons or discounts, visit Serenity Knits where you will be able to see first hand the merchandise being promoted. We will honour your coupons.

If you join up right away, the yarn currently being featured is Twilleys of Stamford - Freedom Spirit
BLEND: 100% PURE NEW WOOL
BALL WEIGHT: 50G
YARDAGE: 120M
NEEDLE SIZE: 4MM
TENSION: 22 STS 28 ROWS
Freedom Spirit produces a fantastic fairisle look the easy way, all from the same ball! Made from 100% pure new wool, Spirit is a smooth yarn which is highly enjoyable to knit and produces lovely fashionable and classic garments from a collection of designs available in books and individual patterns.

The cover garment for the above book is knit in colourway Bliss

The attractive Chevron Sweater Jacket (above) is knit in colourway Verve

Their patterns come in both books and individual leaflets. Their designs are good classic garments that will be in fashion for years.

This Bias Knit Sweater (above) is in the colourway Fire.

Other colours

Destiny

Soul

Calm

We have ordered 10 colourways, all the books and several leaflets. Karen has fallen in love with the Chevron jacket and is considering it as a group knit-a-long project for the fall.

The featured yarn for September/October is Naturally Aran Tweed.

ARAN 10ply 95% NewZealand MERINO 5% WOOL KNOPS

Needle size: 4-5mm / US 6-8

Tension: 20sts 26 rows 4"/10cm

Approx 92m / 101yds per 50 gram ball
Care of garment: hand wash, cool iron, dry flat in shade.

We have ordered books, leaflets and 8 colours.

The designs are again fairly classic garments.

The book of children's designs are absolutely adorable.

If you have any questions about THE EMPIRE CLUB, please feel free to speak with Karen or me.

Beth

July 31st Update

Part of our order of Freedom Spirit has arrived. We have about 8 of the colourways and several books and patterns. We are in the process of planning our classes for the fall. Gabriela and Karen have both selected garments from the Freedom Spirit Collection as class projects.

Karen is planning a Knit-a-long with the Chevron Sweater Jacket (pictured earlier in this blog) as the project.

Gabriela is planning an instructional class in Mitered Knitting with the Bias Knit Sweater (pictured earlier in this blog) as the class project.

Gabriela is thinking of Thursday afternoons, starting in late September. Karen is considering Tuesday afternoons, also starting in late September. Look for the final dates and times for these classes when we post our FALL CLASS SCHEDULE in late August.

If you join The Empire Club before August 12th, you will receive via their e-newsletter, a coupon for a 10% discount on the purchase of Freedom Spirit Yarn. If you sign up after the 12th, your membership will start with the September Feature, Naturally Aran Tweed. The Freedom Spirit Discount Coupon will expire the end of August, but OLD MILL KNITTING has generously offered to extend the expiry to the end of September. So if you think you might be interested in either of these classes, sign up for the Club before August 12th so you don't miss out on the coupon. If you are eligible for a student discount, we will apply both the student discount (10%) and the Empire Club discount - a total of 20% discount.

Any question, give us a call or drop by.

Beth

New Brunswick in July

2010-07-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

I have just returned from ten wonderful days in New Brunswick visiting with my family at our cottage on Grand Lake. My timing was perfect, I missed the heat wave. The pace of life is much slower down east. Everything is simpler and less complicated. Fredericton Airport, one entrance, one departure gate. It doesn't get much easier.

Fredericton is an old city, one of the oldest in Canada. The Saint John River runs through the centre of the city.

I grew up in the part of Fredericton know as Devon, on the north side of the river. The picture below is of the business district of the city located on the south side of the river. It is taken from the park at the end of the street where I grew up.

The picture below is of Queen Street, in the center of the older business district of Fredericton.The building with the tower is Fredericton's City Hall. The larger building beside it is now the New Brunswick Department of Justice offices and courts. Over the years this building has served many purposes. My mother attended teachers college there. In my day, it was a high school where I attended grade 10.

The park below is one of many green spaces in and around Fredericton.

A few hundred yards down this path from the park, you will reach the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

The contributions of Lord Beaverbrook, a wealthy media baron in his day, are evident all over New Brunswick but especially in Fredericton. Several world class paintings were donated by Lord Beaverbrook, his wife Lady Dunn and their son, Sir. Max Aitken, to the gallery which bears the Beaverbrook name. In the front entrance of the gallery is a Salvador Dali painting, Santiago El Grande.

I can not begin to describe how breathtaking this painting is. It is very large, I'm guessing maybe 15 by 25 feet. You can get lost in this painting. The painting depicts one of the saints ascending to heaven with Christ. There are benches placed immediately in front of Santiago El Grande. The painting is so large and so beautiful, you really need to sit awhile and immerse yourself in all the detail of this masterpiece.

Being an old city, Fredericton is full of historic buildings. The building above was originally military barracks, now serving as a museum. This is also right downtown Fredericton on Queen Street. The greens in front are often full midday with folks from neighbouring business and government offices enjoying lunch in the park.

This lighthouse is not on some remote ocean shore. Also, right downtown on the Saint John River banks, it serves as a Tourist Information office.

Swimming in the river is a little iffy. I lived a 5 minute walk from the river and have never swam in it. But the river chanel is wide and deep enough for use by pleasure craft.

Fredericton is the home of my Alma mater, University of New Brunswick. All those red brick buildings on the hill are UNB. Established in 1785, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) is the oldest English language university in Canada and was the first public university in North America.

UNB shares a campus with Saint Thomas University.

The bridge in front of this row team used to be a train bridge. Rail service through Fredericton stopped years ago. The bridge has been converted to a foot bridge and is often used by students on the north side of the river on their way to classes as it connects with the foot of University Avenue which leads directly to the campus.

Just a couple of hundred yards down Waterloo Row from the "train bridge" is Christ Church Cathedral built in 1845.

A Saturday tradition for many Fredericton residents is the W.W. Boyce Farmers Market. It is open Saturdays, all year. During warmer months, the out door spaces around the market building are full with dozens of vendors with fresh produce, herbs, flowers & bedding plants, handcrafted garden furniture ....... the list goes on and on. During winter months there are fewer vendors using only the indoor spaces.

Farmers Market is where I discovered Tim who makes our fabulous shawl pins.

It is where I also discovered Barb, aka Woodsmoke Woolworks, who designs a line of the cutest hats, socks, mitts & sweaters you will ever seen.

We have samples of Barb's hats and carry all her patterns. Barb uses Briggs & Little, a rustic east coast yarn, but Cascade 220, which we always have in stock, is a perfect substitute.

Morning Glories

Sheep and Lambs

Market offers opportunity to check out local crafts.

We always go to market early in the morning and enjoy "breakfast" from any of the dozens of food stands including many ethnic cuisines.

Most produce vendors are organic and/or small family farms. Their produce may have been collected just that morning and doesn't get any fresher.

New Brunswickers have a sense of humour. You think our gas prices are bad. It is always worse down east.

The highway from Fredericton to Grand Lake travels along the Saint John River through prime produce farming areas. Several produce stands have been in existence along this route for years. One in particular always gets a lot of attention from tourists for their giant potato man which has stood outside their produce stand since I was a kid.

While at the cottage I managed to do a lot of knitting. I have four young nephews, 2 aged 4 and 2 aged 6 who want fish hats for Christmas. This adorable design, called Dead or Alive, is free on http://www.knitty.com/

You can find the free pattern here. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php

I knit 3 pairs of socks while at the cottage. My niece Lisa had never seen self-striping sock yarn. She hasn't done a lot of knitting but decided she had to give it a try. We headed off to the only yarn shop in Fredericton. I had just heard about it from one of our sales reps who had just been there.

When I arrived at Yarns on York, I could not believe it. When I was very young, my Dad owned a magazine, candy & tobacco shop. Yarns on York was in my Dad's old shop!!!!

Lisa feel in love with colour 930.

Later, at Chapter's getting some magazines, I found my favourite sock book which I use as the reference for my sock classes, so I bought Lisa an early Christmas present. I was also pleased to find another neat sock book......

I felt rather stupid when I got back to Serenity Knits and realized we have it also.

I bought one of my favourite kids books for my little nephews. Bunnicula, described as "Twilight" for kids, is a story told from the perspective of a family's pet dog. When the family bring home a new pet rabbit, their other pets are convinced it is a vampire. It is hilarious. If you have to read kids books, it is nice if you can at least enjoy them also.

After Market & Chapters, we wanted to go one of my favourite restaurants but it was just getting too hot. El Burrito Loco has some of the best authentic mexican food I have ever tasted and I love Mexican- have been eating it for years from dozens of places including Mexico. The Canadian owner lived in Mexico for several years. When she and her Mexican husband returned to Fredericton, they opened this little restaurant and I have never tasted better, more authentic Mexican food.

Back at the cottage we cooked up our own Mexican feast. I am the youngest of 5. I have 9 nieces and nephews most of whom are married with kids of their own. At any point and time, there can be up to 30 people at the cottage. It is busy but fun. With several people to share the work load of preparing food, we eat very well. Mexican is a family favourite. We often use recipies from an old Better Homes and Gardens book now out of print. The white wine sangria recipe in this book with fresh strawberries and pineapple is out of this world.

This year, my sister-in-law Joyce, took it upon herself to tell everyone not to bring desserts!!!!! I was not consulted on this but it was probably wise. The 5 pounds I gained in 10 days probably would have been 10 if all the desserts we normally have on hand had been there. We were very good. One niece ignored the ban and brought a huge pan of a gooey peanut/caramel type squares which lasted one day. July is the height of strawberrie season in New Brunswick so we had to have strawberrie shortcake a couple of times. But other than that, we were pretty good. The worst is my sister-in-law Joan. She hosts a weekly cooking show on a Nova Scotia cable network, East Link, called Welcome to My Kitchen. Every recipie she uses has to be made 2 or 3 times so she always has a freezer of great stuff, especially sweets, which she usually brings to the cottage.

We can not get Welcome to My Kitchen up here, but if you go to their website

http://www.eastlink.ca/eltv/

there is a link to all the recipies Joan has cooked. And if you have a problem with any of them, I have an in with the chef and can get your questions answered.

Any way, lots of good company, good food, good weather, cold beer and knitting. It was a great ten days.

Beth

Vogue Knitting 1955

2010-06-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

One of my amusements is collecting old magazines. Every couple of months, I browse through the magazines at Goodwill and Value Village. Over the years I have acquired quite a collection. They are fun to look through. A recent find was a 1955 Vogue Knitting Magazine in mint condition. I thought you might enjoy a peek.

If you are familiar with British Currency and know how much 2/6 equals, please let me know.
The coat on the cover is actually quite attractive. I am no fashion diva, but I think you could easily wear this coat today.

Boleros were popular. I don't know about the hair and eyebrows, but again, the bolero is nice.

The last several seasons, cowls and shoulder shawls have been very popular. Last winter's fashion mags called the shawl/scarf/stole that was joined in one big ring Infinity Scarves. In 1955, they called them Ring Stoles.

Shawls were popular.

The pictures in some of the advertisements could almost fit into today's magazines.

Sirdar was around.

Aero

Coats

Jaeger

Patons

I'll leave the magazine at the store if you would like a better look.

Beth

"IT"

2010-06-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

Do you follow the Yarn Harlot? I think Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a.k.a. the Yarn Harlot, is one of the funniest people I have ever known. ( I use the word "know" rather loosely here. I have never met Stephanie, but have read all her books multiple times and regularly read her blog, so I feel like I know her.) I heard her speak once. By the end of the evening, my cheeks were aching from laughing so much. My favourite of her books is "Yarn Harlot, the secret life of a knitter".
I am particularily amused by a chapter titled simply "IT". Let me quote part of the opening paragraph:
"Once again, it's Christmastime. How can I be completely blindsided by a holiday that happens on the same day each year is absolutely beyond me. You'd swear they only announce the date for Christmas in November and I have maybe three weeks to cope with the news. Once again I am nowhere near ready....."
The first time I read that I laughed out loud, that is so me. So when I read it again the other night, I said to myself : "Not this year. You are going to start early!!!!"
Before I move on, if you are a knitter and do no not know the Yarn Harlot, do yourself a favour. This is her blog address;
http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ .
Visit it and see what she is up to. She also has seven best selling books.
Back to avoiding "IT" (not to ruin the story, but "IT" is the crazy state of mind and circumstances the overambitious knitter finds them self in, when it is almost Christmas, and all those hand knit gifts you had carefully planned and depended upon having to give away by December 25th are not finished). So, I am getting ready to take a few days off and go home to New Brunswick to visit family at our Grand Lake cottage. I have to take knitting so why not start Christmas knitting. I can make samples for the store and then have them ready for early December when my gifts need to be off in the mail. My first thought was mittens would be good. Patons has a marvelous new little book just on mittens.
Last night I finished my first pair. So many people I know are in to texting and Blackberries that I thought convertible mitts would be great gifts.

I used one of my favourite yarns, Atacama, 100% alpaca hand dyed yarn by Araucania. The colours are gorgeous, the alpaca is so soft and as a worsted weight yarn, the mittens knit up fast. One pair done, tips grafted, ends woven in, in 2 nights of TV knitting.

There are several colours of the Atacama to choose from, but I might try some for the guys in Cascade 220 Heathers.

The next pattern from Next Steps 7 I think I will try is for mitts knit with sock yarn.

Atacama and Cascade 220 are unfortunately hand wash which I don't think would be great for my younger nieces and nephews, but most of our sock yarns are machine wash & dry. Perfect and great colours to choose from.

Thrum mitts are another favourite of mine. My eldest daughter Megan has moved to the burbs and has a bit of a walk to the Go Train station, so I think she might appreciate some warm woolly thrum mitts next winter.

Since we opened 4 years ago, I think we have sold more Fleece Artist Thrum Mitten kits than anything else in the store. They are fun to knit and warm to wear.
A current obsession of mine is a string market bag called Monteagle from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I have knit several already, using a number of different yarns but my favourite is the one I knit in Louet Euroflax Linen, the fiber used in the original design. The pattern is free on line at

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/pottercraftnews/blog/images/masondixon_bag.pdf and you can get 2 bags out of one skein of Louet Euroflax. This one is knit in Seafoam Green colour 18, only one of 26 colours.

Now that I have knit a few, I think I might experiment with some other stitch patterns. I like this variation I saw on Ravelry.

This market bag can be purchased as a download on Ravelry. Follow the link below
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/breezy-market-tote

If all goes well, I would really like to whip up a few of these as gift bags for Christmas. They knit up remarkably fast and are kind of fun.

Another Christmas project I want to knit, is a couple more Clapotis Scarves. There are 15, 433 Clapotis posted on Ravelry. None of them are mine and I have knit over a dozen , so I wonder how many have actually been knit. You can find the free pattern at:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html

Use this one if you are on Ravelry and want ot take a look at the 15,433 Clapotis posted

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/clapotis

Photos courtesy of Knitty.com.

I find it somewhat amusing that, with all the Clapotis scarves/shawls I have knit, that when I now find myself in a position that I "need" one, the only one I have not given away is not suitable for the occasion. Gabriela and I are going to a "Knit Camp" in Scotland this summer. One of the events is a Clapotis Tea Party where you are expected to wear a Clapotis. The only one I still have is knit with wool Noro Kureyon sock yarn. As gorgeous as I think it is , I expect it would be too warm.

Kureyon Sock yarn Colour S95.

So when I pack my various knitting projects for the cottage, I hope to knit up a few Christmas gifts, but there will be at least one project for me, a summer Clapotis to take to Scotland.

This year, I will avoid "IT".

Beth

Butterflies and Other Bugs!!

2010-05-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have always loved just about any dog or cat I have ever met. I also have a soft spot for smaller furry things - squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, even white rats. But I was a little surprised when I recently realized I was also very fond of a lot of different bugs? After thinking on it for just a little while, I realized, of course, it was because I associated these bugs with one of my favourite places on the face of the earth, Grand Lake, New Brunswick. I grew up in Fredericton and spent all my summers as a child at my family's cottage on Palmers Cove, Grand Lake.

Grand Lake is New Brunswick's largest fresh water lake. This view of Grand Lake is just down the beach from my cottage.

This is my "Frog Pond"!! This pond was a couple of hundred yards down the beach from our cottage and was a favourite destination for my cousin Shelly and I when we wanted to go for picnics. In the spring I would catch pollywogs. A pollywog is the infant frog which first emerges from the egg. They have a fat round body, a long tail and no legs. I would catch a few and keep them in a fish tank. Once they had grown their legs, I would release them back to the pond. Much to my mother's dismay, they sometimes preempted my release plan with their own escape.

Sunsets at Grand Lake were spectacular. As much as we enjoyed our days on the beach, the nights were fun as well. There were about 15 cottages on our cove and lots of kids. Kick the can, hide and seek, bonfires, marshmallows, sleeping out on the beach - no TVs or computers for my generation. My favourite companion was my cousin Shelly. Her dad, my uncle Bob, was a journalist and communications advisor with the United Nations and they lived all over the world. But every summer they came home to Grand Lake and stayed in my grandparent's cottage next door to ours. One of our favourite night time adventures was catching fireflies, my number one favourite bug. Seeing fireflies flitting through the forests and meadows behind our cottage was just magical.

They are harmless, gentle little insects. I don't think they know how to bite. We would catch as many as we could, put them in a glass jar with twigs and grass and lots of air holes. If you caught several, they actually did emit enough light to provide just the right illumination to be a fabulous prop for ghost stories, another favourite Grand Lake activity. By the way, we had our own Palmers Cove ghost. According to our parents, the ghost was the spirit of a Confederate Soldier who walked the road leading from the highway into our cove. I never once saw him and am convinced it was something our parents made up to keep us from wandering to far from the cottages at night.

We always released our fireflies unharmed the next morning. It is not good karma to hurt something as magical as fireflies.

Another favourite bug was the dragonfly. They would rest for hours sunning themselves on the rocks on the beach. They looked just so weird but in their own way beautiful. Their bodies and wings were a mish mash of iridescent jewel tones. We never tried to catch dragonflies. Not because we were afraid of them. You really didn't need to capture them to be able to look at them. If you sat on the beach long enough on a sunny day, one or two dragonflies would always come along, rest awhile on the rocks near you and enjoy the sun along with you.

By now you are probably wondering - "What does all this bug stuff have to do with yarn or knitting?" It started with a pair of Fair Isle Socks form Red Bird Knits called "Flutter By" which was part of the Trunk Show we had for a couple of weeks.

This picture does not begin to do them justice. They were knit with a black background and Arequipa hand paint alpaca sock yarn for the butterfly motifs. Unfortunately the sock has moved on to the next Trunk Show location but we have the pattern and yarn. Karen has fallen in love with them and is considering using it as the class project for a summer class on knitting Fair Isle Socks. I also love these socks. Because they are beautiful and because I love butterflies, another of my favourite bugs.

My favourite butterfly is the Monarch.

These magical little creatures migrate to the forests of Mexico in winter.

A trip I hope to make one day is to the specific forests of Mexico where millions of Monarchs come together, covering the trees. One of our knitters, Zelda, is a travel agent and has found for me all kinds of information on tours to the Monarch migration sites in Mexico.

Twice a year, our 2 main GTA yarn distributors, host open houses for yarn shops to preview new yarns. Gabriela and I were wondering around in yarn heaven aka Diamond yarns warehouse. I was looking at sock yarn. I mention to Gabriela - "That yarn looks like monarch butterfly colours". Gabriela wandered over to look and picked up an information sheet - On Line Supersocke 100 Butterfly-Color!!!! A whole line of self patterning sock yarns in various butterfly colours.

We grabbed a couple of bags to try them.

I had not knit with the On Line Sock yarn before. In addition to liking the colours and patterns, I very much like the texture of this yarn. It is so, so soft. Now that I have butterflies and other bugs on the mind, I am seeing all kinds of knitting opportunities. Woodsmoke Woolworks has bumble bee and dragonfly hats. I have found several mosaic stitch patterns with butterfly motifs. The new Vogue Stitchionary # 6 featuring lace, has two butterfly lace patterns. I might just have to try some of them. I'll let you know.

I know there are lots of bugs we all love to hate, but many are magical little creatures that add beauty and interest to our world.

Beth

2010-04-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

SERENITY KNITS IS PLEASED TO BE HOSTING A
RED BIRD KNITS TRUNK SHOW
Friday, April 30th until Monday, May, 10th.
Sock knitting is phenomenally popular. Sock yarns are among the most fun and colourful yarns on the yarn store shelves today. The hand painted and self-patterning yarns can make even a novice sock knitter look like a genius. Just don't tell any one the yarn did all that colour work, not you. In addition to the incredible selection of sock yarns, there are so many wonderful designs available to tempt you when you are ready to try something a little more challenging. One such designer, until just recently a local gal from Toronto, is Robyn Gallimore, a.k.a. RED BIRD KNITS. Red Bird Knits offers around 100 sock patterns in a variety of yarns, weights and stitches. We will have on display samples of 20 different RED BIRD KNIT SOCKS from Friday April 30th until Monday May, 10th. The accompanying photos can only give you some idea what you can expect, they can't begin to do the socks justice. You need to come see these socks, they are true works of knitting art.
Lace and cables in YORK MINSTER done in fingering

SNOWY WOODS , fair isle knitting in fingering weight.

More fair isle in fingering, SETESDAL
Beautiful Malabrigo sock in RIVER cables and lace

RED FOX,which derives its name from Fleece Artist Red Fox Trail Socks in which it is knit.

MUD FOOT, an unusual fair isle in fingering weight.

MEXICAN DANCE, a modular knit with self-striping fingering yarn.

LABYRINTH, a mosaic design created using a solid and a multi- coloured self patterning yarn.

KNOT GARDEN, rich cables knit unfortunately in the discontinued Lana Grossa Mega Boots, but Zauberbal could substitute perfectly.

One of my favourites, JUST BAA, fair isle in fingering weight.

GRAPHITE, fair isle in fingering

FLUTTER BY, colourful fair isle using Arequipa painted alpaca sock yarn and a solid .

The computer does not do this one justice. FAUX IS FAIR uses multi-colour Berroco Metallic sock yarn and plain white in these absolutely gorgeous socks. The pinky/mauve parts have little specks of metallic silver in them.
FANA, more fair isle done simply but very effectively in 2 colours of fingering weight yarn.

CURLICUE, a wonderful mosaic knitting design, much easier than it looks.

BUD FIXATION, slip stitch and fair isle in Cascade Fixation, a cotton /elastic blend DK

ANDES, a very south American influenced fair isle.

ANDANTE, a chevron style lace in a rich tweed.

Serenity Knits has patterns for all the 20 twenty trunk show samples as well as many others.

RED BIRD KNITS patterns normally retail for around $7 but we are offering them at $5 during the trunk show. We have the original yarn used for many of the featured socks and reasonable substitutes for most others.

We hope you make it in to see these wonderful designs.

Beth

PS Added April 28th
During the RED BIRD KNITS TRUNK SHOW we have decided to offer a DESIGN YOUR OWN KIT SPECIAL. Pick a pattern at the special show price of $5 (Normal retail $7), and you will receive a 20% discount on the purchase of the yarn you need to knit it.
We have also decided to add several new classes to the Spring & Summer Schedule:
*For the Beginner Sock Knitters: Getting Started Knitting Socks
*For Experienced Sock Knitters, 5 new classes each focusing on a particular technique: Fair Isle Socks, Modular Socks, Mosaic Socks, Lace Socks and Cable Socks. These classes should be added to the schedule in a couple of days.
Beth

Our New Employee

2010-03-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

The blog has been on hold with so much activity at the store - classes, wonderful customers, beautiful yarns and lots of knitting fun - and no time for updating our blog. The arrival of our new employee just couldn't be overlooked. Stitches started work at 8 weeks old and has been working hard at greeting our knitters and friends. He is Karen's new sheltie (Shetland sheepdog) puppy and will be accompanying her to work every day.

He is a little slow at picking up new knitting techniques as he keeps falling asleep during Karen's classes.

Stitches does make up for his lack of knitting skills with his cuteness! He is learning to herd all of the sheep in the store and loves everyone who wants to play or give him a tummy rub. We are confident that he soon will be able to answer all your yarn questions.

Posted by Karen

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! May this be the start of a year filled with much joy and happiness (and even some beautiful yarns and knitting projects that turn out perfectly).

This was the winter wonderland that greeted me outside our front door this morning.

Beth and I spent the "holiday" taking our annual inventory of the store. It is certainly not one of our favourite days - just hours of counting all the balls of yarn, patterns and knitting accessories with no chance to play with them. We truly appreciate our great customers who took advantage of our Boxing Week Sale and stocked up on yarn - you helped to save us from many more hours of tedious counting. It also gives us some room to bring in exciting new yarns.

Hopefully everyone had the opportunity today to start a new knitting project. It is a great New Years's tradition among knitters. The Christmas knitting is behind and you have a chance to try a new fibre or technique. Enjoy the knitting celebration!

Karen

Fleece Artist

2009-12-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Last week, I was re-reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's book, Yarn Harlot (the secret life of a knitter). As I read the chapter entitled simply "It", I received some comfort knowing I am not the only one this happens to every year. Let me quote the first few lines for you.

"Once again, it's Christmas. How can I be completely blindsided by a holiday that happens on the same day each year is absolutely beyond me. You'd swear that they only announce the date for Christmas in November and I have maybe three weeks to cope with the news. Once again I am nowhere near ready ..."

Sound familiar? It sure does to me. I have several half pairs of socks waiting to be finished and one or two whole scarves I haven't even started yet. And to make it worse, many of them are for family from one end of Canada (Kamloops, BC) to the other (Kingston, NS) and should already be in the mail. I think it may be Chapters and Home Depot Gift Certificates again for some of my mail-away gifts. My kids are accustomed to receiving one sock with a promissory note the second will arrive ASAP.

If you find yourself in the same boat, we might be able to help. We have just received an order from Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden. If you still have some time for a small project, we have a large selection of thrum mitten kits .......

..... in a rainbow of colours. Fleece Artist never disappoints.

Several dozen new skeins of sock yarns - Casbah, Trail Socks, Somoko and a new Fleece Artist Sock yarn Nyoni. Nyoni is a machine washable blend of 65% merino, 20% kid, 10% nylon and 5% silk for $12. Yes $12, that is not a typo.
We have also received 4 ply Cashmere, Seawool and a Mulberry/Tussah Silk blend, all perfect for scarves.

If you don't think you have time to whip up even a small project, and the intended recipient is a knitter, they would probably be just as happy with a gorgeous skein of anything Fleece Artist or Hand Maiden. When it comes to hand painted yarns, nobody does it better.

And last, but by no means least, if your loved ones need any suggestions for you, feel free to send them in, we would be pleased to help them pick out something for you. If the colour ends up not quite right, we are always happy to exchange unwound yarn.

We hope the next couple of weeks are not too hectic for you and that you have moments when you can slow down and thoroughly enjoy all the pleasures of the season. And if a little bit of knitting happens to be one of those pleasures, enjoy.

Beth

Knitters' Fair Fun

2009-09-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

For 18 years On the first Saturday after Labour Day, the Kitchener / Waterloo Knitting Guild hosts the largest knitting show in Canada. This was the 18th year of the much anticipated event. The Waterloo County Knitters' Fair brings together knitters from all over the province of Ontario and beyond.
This year Serenity Knits set up their booth along with the other 77 Vendors at Bingman's Conference Centre in Kitchener / Waterloo to showcase their beautiful yarns.

We brought three trucks loaded with yarn, patterns, samples, shelving and displays for the show. The night before the event, Beth and Gabriella can be seen hard at work assembling and stocking while my husband Steve volunteered to stay back in Newmarket at the store. We appreciate Steve's willingness to handle the store while we're away, but we always guessed he likes it so much because it provides a great new audience for his numerous jokes!

The morning gives us a chance to work on some last minute details - like Beth dressing the mannequins (above) and Matt (Karen's son who graciously ran our cash register all day) lovingly finding homes for our sheep collection (below).

Some of our features included a lace collection from the designer line of "Queen Anne's Lace" including Zephyr and Country Silk which are the yarns used in her patterns

Gabriella designed sleeves for Vogue's Botanical Medallion vest. We had Nashua's Creative Focus Cotton paired with the pattern for a beautiful effect.

Louet's Euroflax linen is one of our year round favourites. The fall colours are rich and the knitted fabric drapes like a fine linen suit - without the wrinkles.

We had Rowan's Colourscape yarn made of 100% lambswool in all the new colours released this fall.

Here we are set up for the show to start and waiting for the nearly 2000 knitters to head through the door and be immersed in the knitting frenzy.

There was unfortunately no time for pictures of all the great knitters who visited us. Our only regret of the day was that we didn't have the chance to shop at all the other vendors to add to our own knitting stash.

Posted by Karen

Fall is Arriving

2009-08-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

After a single week of hot, and humid days of summer, we are already feeling the crispness of fall here in Newmarket. Perfectly on time, our new fall line of yarn is arriving. Each day brings more yarn and with it our twice a year dilemma of what to do with all the new selection.

There are some terrific new Chunky weight yarns for warmth and quick fashionable knitting, which seems to be very popular this season. The collection includes the new yarn called "Sirdar Chunky Escape" - same great yarn as last year's Escape DK - only chunkier, with exciting new colours and patterns to highlight this wool rich blend.

Kertzer has introduced Tweed Montage, a beautiful chunky weight tweed, subtly self striping in a rich array of colours (above right two columns of yarn). We have restocked Marble Chunky and the coordinating Northern Chunky - and it has actually found a home in one of our units. There are several new pattern booklets for all of these yarns. You can see one of the sweaters made from the Tweed Montage above, right.

Rowan introduced Kaffe Fassett's "Colourscapes" chunky 100% lambswool last fall. It was so amazing last year and this season they have added to their colour range with a selection of pastels and earth tones (including masculine hues). There is a new pattern book featuring Colourscapes sweaters and accessories. I am already working on "Jess"; a garter stitch edged, collared cardigan in the colourway "Northern Lights". After working on several fine gauge knits in the summer, this project is just flying off the needles.

The top units, above, show off the pastel collection of Colourscapes, with some of the richer colours on the bottom.

We also have the Zitron's "Zauberball" - translation: Magic Ball and its partner "Zauberball Crazy ". It is a fingering weight yarn with large, vibrant stripes. Gabriela designed the cute little sweater that uses only one ball of either of the Zauberballs for size 1 year or 2 year (pattern in store).
There are all the new colours of Noro's sock yarns - so popular for brilliant shawls as well socks.

We have brand new "Baby Marble", "Country Silk", more patterns, new books .... and a UPS truck pulling into our parking lot ..... more boxes of excitement!

Posted by Karen

Queen Anne's Lace Trunk Show

2009-07-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the launch of our "Queen Anne's Lace" Trunk show at Serenity Knits.

Anne Corcoran is the creative genius behind Queen Anne's Lace which includes a magnificent collection of lace shawls and scarves. We have 20 of her designs displayed in our store from July 18th to July 25th, 2009.

Anne's "Poetic Shawls II - Summer's Day Shawl" (shown above) was inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 which begins: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely....."

Designs for Queen Anne's Lace also derive their inspiration from nature with designs such as "Woodland Solace Scarf and Shawl" which attempt to catch the interplay of light and leaves - so magical in a forest.

We will also be offering a selection of the yarns Anne uses for most of her designs including Zephyr (above) and hand dyed Country Silk (below) - shown with the patterns.

Also as a bonus for customers, we are holding our Summer Clearance Sale until August 1st, with discounts on selected summer yarns (see our web site for details).

Posted by Karen

Dyeing Sock Yarn

2009-05-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Our last shipment from Louet contained sock yarn dyeing kits in a choice of 5 colour themes (reds, browns, blues, greens and purples).

Of course we had to try the kits out for ourselves. It was no surprise that I chose the purples while Beth experimented with reds and greens and Gabriela the blues. My cat, Whisper, inspected the contents. The kit contains three skeins of soft fingering weight undyed yarn, three shades of dye, a "Soak" fine fibre wash packet, squirt bottle and a booklet of complete instructions and even a knitted sock pattern.

The kit even seems to have a really fascinating cat toy included in the packaging.

The first step is to completely saturate the yarn with water that has a small quantity of Soak solution added. The yarn happily sits in the bucket for at least an hour while you have the chance to work on another knitting project.
The skeins are placed side by side on a waterproof surface -a garbage bag on the kitchen table worked well for me. The directions tell you how to mix the dyes and in what order to use them. They have helpful suggestions - but the spacing and width of the bands of dye is up to you. Above was my first dye application in Silver Birch. Here is dye number 2 in a deep red.
The final dyeing sequence fills in any white spaces. At this point I'm feeling a little worried that my technique might be a little "unusual". This was not what I expected from a one of a kind hand-painted yarn. I shouldn't have worried though - Louet has this process mistake proof.

The dye is set in the microwave oven for 8 minutes - in plastic bags so that there is no mess!
The colours in the yarn have blended and deepened. Next they need a good rinse to remove any excess dye. You hang the skeins to dry and like magic you have created beautiful hand-painted yarn. The entire dyeing process takes only about an hour. The yarn was dry by the next day (it actually hung in the bathtub - I wasn't prepared to tempt the squirrels and birds) and ready for knitting.

And here is the finished yarn and a sock knit by Beth using one of the skeins of the beautifully soft fibre.Beth and Gabriela also enjoyed the dyeing experience using different colour theme kits with great results.

The kit was a wonderful way to take the mystery out of the technique of hand-painting. It is a mistake proof introduction to dyeing yarn and the results will be beautiful and unique every time.

Posted by Karen

Serenity Knits at Knitter's Frolic

2009-04-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Serenity Knits was at the 12th Annual Knitter's Frolic on Saturday. It is an event for knitting enthusiasts sponsored by the Downtown Knit Collective. The excitement happened at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. There was great shopping at the knitter's marketplace, where vendors like ourselves showcase their yarns, patterns and knitting accessories.

Here is a glimpse of our booth. You can see our 100% sugar cane yarn named "Ruca" from Araucania's collection and Louet's Euroflax sport weight linen (that is rapidly becoming Karen's favourite summer fibre).

Above are some of the sample garments in Louet's Euroflax, Nashua's Silk and Daylily, Rowan's Colourscape and a girls dress designed by Gabriela in Cascade's Fixation and Butterfly Cotton 10.

We included Nashua's 100% Silk and Daylily in our collection of beautiful yarns.

We have a jewelry designer from Canada's east coast sculpt unique silver shawl pins for us. Also from Canada's eastern shores were Barbara Telford's adorable "character" hats such as her "Cat & Mouse" or "Frog and Lilypond" designs. We stocked sweater kits using Misti Alpaca's new handpaint pima cotton and silk blend yarn.

Many thanks to our friends and customers who visited us throughout the day. Even Beth, Gabriela and I enjoyed the adventure of shopping at the displays during the few moments that we could get away.

Posted by Karen

Even More Spring Yarn

2009-04-07T20:23:00.001-07:00

This was the view from our front step this morning. This unexpected return of winter happened just as the crocuses, daffodils and tulips were peeking out in the gardens. Now I don't feel so bad about not having all my winter knitting projects completed.

At Serenity Knits, we had a very different view. Even more boxes of spring yarn arrived today. Beth is ready to dive into the Misti Alpaca selection. It includes a beautiful silk and pima cotton blend in a double knit weight.

An hour later, the above shipment arrived from Louet. It includes some exciting linen and special dye-your-own yarn kits.

Somehow I get the feeling that my winter projects will be on hold now for a few months. Welcome Spring!

Posted by Karen

New Spring Yarn

2009-03-03T17:44:00.001-08:00

It has been a long while since I last kept you posted on our days at Serenity Knits. Spring arrived here over a month ago when the deliveries of the new yarns began at the store. Since then, everything seems like a fun and crazy blur. We held a winter clearance sale to make space on the shelves for our new fibres. Beth then began scurrying about rearranging the store, transforming the shop into an array of cheery springtime colours. Almost everyday a new delivery would arrive and more winter yarns went into summer hibernation.

Above is one of our favourites. This yarn is made from 100% sugar cane. The colours remind us of candy floss. Beth laughs at me when I tell customers that the yarn is made from "candy canes" - oops. It is incredibly soft with a beautiful drape and lustre and knits to a double knit weight (22 sts / 4 inches of stocking stitch). Gabriela has already made a summer tank top that is hanging in the store as a sample of this amazing fibre.

On the right is a sampling of some of the colours we are carrying of Estelle's "South Pacific". It is another DK weight yarn of 100% Pima Cotton. Each skein has 250 meters per 100 grams. We have a huge selection of patterns that are perfect for spring and summer wear for this so soft cotton.

The left side of the above display shows another new yarn for the season from Sirdar, called "Juicy DK". It is a blend of 80% bamboo and 20% cotton. There are terrific leaflets and a booklet (The Juicy Book) designed exclusively for this yarn, full of fashionable summer wear. The women's leaf yoke top is the display sample shown above.

I've only touched the first display - when I remember to bring my camera in there will be another preview of spring knitting. I can't wait to cast on!

Karen

Arizona Vacation Knitting

2009-02-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

On my last post I shared some highlights of my recent vacation with my father in Arizona. What was missing was my chronicles of knitting adventures on that trip. I confess that when I'm packing for at holiday, the first thing that I think about is the knitting projects I will take with me - very typical knitter's behaviour. I plan excursions to the local yarn shops in the area and my special souvenirs include yarn treasures that I have found.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of yarn shops in Arizona. The first shop that I found was appropriately named the "Red Rock Knit Shop" in the heart of the red rock town of Sedona. Being a warm weather climate, I was afraid that knitting wouldn't be as popular as it is here in Ontario. My tourist perspective is that warm clothing is needed for the cold evenings (we had to scrape frost off the car windshield five mornings during the week we were away). We all know that it's hard to improve on a cosy sweater or socks to keep toasty warm.

Jerome is an historical town that is filled with artistic shops and quaint inns and restaurants. The drive alone is exciting - a mile high above the surrounding landscape, accessible by a narrow, winding road complete with tight turns and few guardrails. The town originally thrived as a copper mining town and then became a ghost town when the resource was no longer in demand.
Someone saw the potential as a tourist haven and the old buildings were restored and filled with unique offerings. The town's yarn shop (above), named "Knit 1, Bead 2" has been in business for 27 years. The store is owned by the most helpful and talented, Erica. She displayed her yarn grouped by colour, turning the store into a rainbow of possibilities. It certainly gave me plenty of souvenir options.
Yes, that is a "KnowKnits, Go-Knit" bag in my had that I did take on the sight seeing plane ride over the red rock mountain formations of Sedona, AZ. We arrived at the airport early for our flight and I knit while I waited, but honestly didn't knit while flying over the most breath-taking scenery.

After our days of sightseeing, there was always time for knitting - a true holiday luxury and a bonus to be able to knit outside in February! I had packed several projects using yarn that we don't carry at Serenity Knits. Beth and I like to refer to this as product research. We can't possibly carry all the available yarns (although we would love to), so it is fun to work with different fibres when we have the opportunity.

Many of you have asked me about my yarn souvenirs. I couldn't find any locally produced or dyed yarn. In reality, I never saw a sheep during the entire vacation. Instead, some 100% silk, hand dyed in Australia (blues and purples of course) befriended me and traveled home with me. It is a beautiful addition to the memories of the vacation.

Posted by Karen

My Special Winter Getaway

2009-02-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I left Beth alone with the store and took a vacation with my 88 year old father to Arizona. The beautiful desert lands of the state had been a favourite vacation destination for my mother and dad. Mom had said that if she ever had the opportunity, she would like to go back to Sedona in Arizona as she found it the most beautiful scenery and atmosphere in the area. Unfortunately, my mother never had the chance to return, but I had the privilege of going on a "memory trip" with my dad.

We stayed in a resort on the outskirts of the town of Sedona. It is in an area known as "Red Rock Country" due to the magnificent red mountains that you can see in every direction. The rock formations have been "dyed" with iron oxide and the majority of stores, buildings and homes are covered in red stucco and display a distinctive "adobe" architecture.

We spent our days seeing the tourist sights of the area and then my dear dad would head off to bed early in the evening, leaving me the luxury of a few hours of knitting time every night.

We drove north through snow in Flagstaff, AZ (a ski resort area) to the Grand Canyon - and yes the white stuff is snow! The elevation is so high that snow is a common occurrence in the winter months. I had always thought of Arizona as a hot desert area and was given quite a surprising climate education.

Pictures can't do justice to the breathtaking scenery at each lookout of the Grand Canyon. It is truly a natural wonder of the world.

Another excursion to the northeast of Sedona brought us to the famous "Painted Desert" and "Petrified Forests". This time the soil has been "painted" with other naturally occuring chemicals to display layers ranging from greens, blue and purples to reds and oranges - a rainbow in both the mountains and minerals within the petrified logs. The chemist in me (pre-yarn store days) had a perfectly wonderful time.

I am aware that this has not seemed like my usual knitting blog entry. It is proof that I can actually be found without knitting needles in my hands (occasionally). You'll need to wait for my next entry to see that this trip did include plenty of yarn and knitting adventures - no surprise there!

Karen

Mosaic Socks

2009-01-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Serenity Knits Newsletter readers and regular visitors to the store, know that I, Beth, am not fond of winter. A true Canadian, I often complain about the weather. We had a recent visitor to our plaza who most definitely does not share my opinion of snow and cold. Dakota is the faithful companion of the window washer at our plaza. In the summer Dakota usually hangs out under the bushes. Last week, during a class, one of the students glanced out our front window and with some degree of shock asked, "What is that????" I should mention here that Dakota is rather large. Dakota was perched on top of the ever increasing snow banks in our plaza parking lot, enjoying the snow and sun, reminding me very much of the childhood proclamation; "I'm the KING OF THE CASTLE".

Could he look more comfortable? Nice to see someone enjoys the snow.

My idea of winter fun is a warm fire and a new ball of sock yarn. Sock yarns and sock knitting classes continue to be popular at Serenity Knits. We have an amazing selection of sock yarns if I do say so myself; self-striping, solids, semi-solids, handpaints, wool, bamboo, alpaca, fine & DK weights. We will soon be carrying an amazing cotton/elastic DK weight sock yarn from Cascade which is a lot of fun to knit with and perfect for the "no-wool please" knitters.

During an afghan class with Karen, one of the students, Julie, was happy to show off her most recent pair of socks.

Julie taught herself to knit socks guided by our favourite beginner sock book, "Getting Started Knitting Socks". On sabbatical this year from teaching, Julie has been treating herself to a few knitting classes. She is already an accomplished knitter but is having fun learning some new and advanced techniques. She took a class with me in the late fall on MOSAIC knitting. The socks below were class samples I knit out of Koigu.

The magic of mosaic knitting is that you are actually knitting with only one color at a time, but the results mimic a complicated two-color pattern. The trick is in the slip stitches and the technique. In addition to being simpler than Fair Isle, because you are not stranding or carrying the two yarns at once, it is not as thick as Fair Isle and uses less yarn. The pattern Julie used for her socks is exactly the same pattern I used in mine. The two pair of socks show very effectively how different the same pattern can look with different yarns. In case you are wondering, yes I did mean for the pink and yellow socks to be a pair. Knitting the background of one in pink, with yellow contrast and one in yellow with pink contrast allowed me to still get a complete pair of socks from two skeins of Koigu. I call these my "dare to be different" socks inspired by my daughter Addie. As a child Addie would purposely wear two different socks. At 21 she still does but these days it is more often an indicator that clean laundry is low.

Julie quickly learned the Mosaic technique in the class. Her yarn choice was inspired by another sample sock I had knit. The above sock uses a very simple mosaic pattern. It is knit using the fabulous new Noro Kureyon sock yarn and solid black Aracania Ranco. For those of you not familiar with Noro Kureyon, it is a Japanese yarn best known for its beautiful, wide, self-striping colour patterns. Each skein of Kureyon gradually and subtly progresses through several colours. Many Kureyon colourways consist of rich jewel tones. When used in Mosaic knitting with a black or very dark solid, it produces what I have decided to call Stained Glass knitting because in my opinion it is the knitting version of stained glass.

Julie's sock were knit with Noro Kureyon, colour S180 and black Lana Grossa sock yarn.The Mosaic pattern for both hers and mine came from the book on Mosaic knitting by Barbara Walker, the definitive collection of mosaic patterns.If you are tempted to try mosaic knitting, we have the yarns and books you would need. Classes are also available.
One last look at Julie's Stained Glass mosaic socks.

Well done Julie.

Posted by Beth

Spring will soon be here

2009-01-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here in Newmarket, Ontario, we are totally immersed in a true Canadian winter. I am actually one of the few people who enjoy the season, just as long as the snow conditions are great for skiing and that driving is safe enough to actually be able to reach the ski slopes. Below is a picture taken from my knitting room window at home.

This last week has run through the many facets of our winters from freezing rain, slush, heavy snow accumulations with poor visibility, high winds (translates to drifting snow) and bitter cold temperatures. Not one day was what I would consider a good ski day possibility.

During this cold spell, Beth and I have taken great comfort in choosing the new yarns for spring. Our sales representatives have braved the weather to bring us the newest selection of beautiful yarns and patterns. The colours are so bright and refreshing. We are amazed at the vast array of fibres that are available. Adding to the ecology collection of soy, bamboo and seacell are new additions such as sugar cane! Knitted fashions continue to follow the runway trends (as well as keeping some traditional favourites) and the pattern books and leaflets are right up to date. The tank and t-shirt type styles are such quick knits and use only a few balls or skeins of fibre compared to their winter counterparts.

Of course we have ordered extras of our favourite colours and fibres so that we can knit plenty of store samples to showcase the new yarns (we know - it's a tough job - having to spend so much time knitting, but we do what we need to do! - just ignore our big smiles when you see us knitting when you come to visit the store).

The yarn will be arriving the middle of February so that you can have a head start on your springtime fashions and gifts. It should provide that needed break from the winter woes.

Posted by Karen

Back to my Routine

2009-01-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

These last few days, I have been feeling the same way that my black lab, Sierra usually does. Like most dogs, she thrives on routines. Her morning schedule starts with breakfast which should be served promptly every morning at 6:30 (and don't even think about sleeping in on weekends!). A walk to retrieve our newspaper at the end of our lane way follows. For being such a great helper, she receives a biscuit. The cat then needs a proper greeting (not that the cat thinks that a sniff, lick and chase is a proper greeting). By then, I have finished my own breakfast and the cereal bowl is empty and needs to have the final droplets of milk cleaned out with that efficient slurp of her tongue. It's not pleasant to face those sad eyes if Sierra ever misses a link in the morning routine. She's certainly not opposed to some added excitement in her day - she has never refused extra walks or treats, but it is just comforting for her to have some measure of order and predictability.

The last few weeks at our store have been anything but routine. As usual, it's been a time full of fun and excitement - just all at a much quicker pace. There have been customers racing to finish knitting their Christmas gifts. We met many family members and friends of our knitters who wanted to buy the perfect yarn and patterns for a new holiday project. We laughed along with the customers who bought themselves special yarn luxuries to guarantee that they would have the right gift under the tree. Then there was the Boxing Day frenzies with "stash enhancement" goals in mind. Some knitters were organized with lists so they could start on next year's Christmas gift knitting. Still others were planning their traditional "New Year's New Project". We saw hundreds of customers, but I must admit that I missed the chance to talk to many if them in all the hustle and bustle. I always like to hear about the plans for the new yarn and to discuss their latest finished projects. The store started to show signs of disarray (a horror for someone like me who craves organization) and many of the shelves had bare spots where colourful skeins should have been. The entire "holiday" ended with inventory - our day full of all counting and no knitting!

This week has been a return to routine at the store. The pace has slowed down so that we can once again visit with our knitters. The shelves are restocked and inviting with their kaleidoscope of colours and beautiful textures.

And just like Christmas all over again, we received a new shipment of yarn from Fleece Artist. It is a vibrant selection of Hand Maiden Casbah. This is a luxurious blend of merino wool, cashmere and a little nylon for durability - perfect for pampering the feet on these cold winter days.

Another little part of my dog's routine that would be so nice to embrace - a nap would be perfect about now!

Posted by Karen

Oh It's the Most "Dreaded" Time of the Year

2009-01-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

I usually look forward to my days at work. What knitter could complain about a day filled with beautiful yarn, enthusiastic customers who love to knit and our classes full of students eager to learn more about the joys of knitting. We can order whatever yarns we want. We are the first to see the newest knitting books, magazines and accessories. Part of our job is of course knitting. Most of the time it is a dream job. Gabriela even says that she comes to work to play.

But, one day a year we dread coming to work. Sure, the day is spent holding ball after ball of the wonderful fibres - it's just that all we have a chance to do is count the yarn. We are required to do a year end inventory and there is no knitting time possible. What a challenge - more of a temptation - holding and feeling all our favourite yarns, thinking of all the possibilities and then not being able to knit a single stitch.

Above, Gabriela patiently counts the hundreds of balls of Rowan yarn.

Beth has tackled the books - so many pattern ideas and each one becomes another number...

It has been a long day, and we are glad that inventory is behind us for another year. We are exhausted and can only think of heading home and relaxing for the rest of the evening.......it's knittting time!

Posted by Karen

Knitter's New Year Tradition

2009-01-01T09:37:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! We hope that taking time for yourself to knit each day is part of your new year's resolutions.

Serenity Knits would like to thank our wonderful customers for their loyalty, support and encouragement throughout the past year. Your knitting projects have amazed and inspired us. You have been generous in sharing the results of your many hours of work to make so many others happy. The garments that you have made for yourself look fabulous! You should be proud of your creativity, whether you are a beginner or an advanced knitter.

Strive to learn some new knitting techniques this year. Play with colour, discover new fibres, tackle cables or lace. The possibilities are endless - which is part of what makes knitting so much fun.

A New Year's tradition for many knitters is to celebrate by choosing a new knitting project. It doesn't matter that you have several other projects on needles waiting to be completed. A fresh beginning with new yarn can make a perfect start for the year. It can inspire and motivate you for a creative year ahead.

I was a little concerned about following the knitter's New Year tradition myself this year. I inventoried six UFO's (unfinished objects) that were each within a day's knitting of being complete. Most of them are garments for me and would be welcome for wearing in the store when we have a cold day.

As I was about to sit in my knitting chair to work on one of the garments, I was greeted by a familiar sight. My cat, Whisper, had taken over the chair, again. The only compromise that he accepts is to sit on my knee and "help" me knit. Beth has made an adorable cat bed for our resident store "cat" from Cat Bordhi's pattern in her "Second Treasury of Magical Knitting". It was time to make one for Whisper and my stash even had the required Manos del Uruguay waiting.

The feline bed starts as a mobeius band and then picked up stitches are knit into a bowl like shape. The project is then felted and shaped into a comfy cat retreat.

I tackled my list and finished the "Tucson" caplet from one of the new Manos Classico Wool booklets. It is now spending the next day or two on the blocking board.

That freed my conscience to start the new - New Year's project. It should be a quick and easy knit and hopefully Whisper will have his very own version soon.

However, when I went back to the blocking board to place the damp towel over the caplet to let the moisture do its magic, I found Whisper - off my chair and onto the knitting. I guess I could save myself the knitting time of his new bed and just give him the capelet - it's obviously already been approved.

Posted by Karen

Creative Christmas Projects

2008-12-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

The hours of late night knitting to finish our Christmas gift projects are now behind us. The sight the recipient trying on the completed garment and breaking into a grateful smile is the reward that makes all of those hours of knitting so worthwhile.

During the four days of our Boxing Day Sale, Beth and I had the fun of seeing many of these lovely gifts.

Erika's talented mother made her this cute hat and sweater set. She is one of the best-dressed young ladies to visit the store; always wearing a lovely knit outfit.

This is the first sweater that Lisa has knit. She was part of "My First Sweater" class that ran in the fall. You can't see the proportions here, but it is a tiny sweater that is a gift for her soon to be born son (about 2 weeks from now and we can't wait for an introduction). Lisa also knit him a little hat that will keep him snugly on his way home from the hospital.

We first met Ruffles in the springtime as an "bundle of love" little puppy. Her mom, Pat, picked out some colourful Noro yarn to make her a sweater for walks in the cold when she grew to be a "big girl". What a perfect result! She is so proud of her coat of many colours and is sure to be toasty warm on her outings.

Yes, I did finish my one and only knitted gift this year. I was working on the toe of the second sock for my Dad as Steve drove us to London to see him last Sunday (sorry no time for a picture - and they didn't get blocked). I was very realistic with my available knitting time this year and still almost missed the deadline. My dad has enjoyed his hand knit socks since I first started knitting them for him over thirty years ago. He knows the effort and love that goes into each stitch and is happy to show them off whenever he has the chance.

What really impressed me was the planning of many of our customers in the days right after Christmas. Many were thinking about next year's gifts and were stocking up on yarn so that they could get an early start on their knitting. I admire that type of organization and fore site! Several of you even had lists! You are truly an inspiration for the rest of us. That is the type of attitude that can make Christmas knitting so enjoyable and really takes the pressure off when the holidays arrive next year. Just knit one gift a month and by next Christmas most of your gift list is solved. That even sounds like a good possibility for a New Year's resolution.

Posted by Karen

Karen's Disney Vacation Knitting

2008-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

Beth and I have often commented on what a fine line it is between work and play when you own a yarn store. We absolutely love what we're doing and knitting is play for us - but often we are knitting store or class samples - for work. You can see that it is often difficult to differentiate between whether the fun is working or playing.
Last week was completely play for me! My husband, Steve took me on a week long escape to Florida. We stayed at a resort at Epcot Center, which is part of Disney World in Orlando. This was the first time that we had gone there without the kids. We missed them, but did enjoy the chance to just do what we wanted, which of course included some knitting time for me.

I'd knit by the pool, while my husband checked his emails and conducted business. This was a great setting for his office for a week and I never have any complaints about his need to work when I have my knitting.

Disney world is known for its line-ups for whatever you want to see and do. We were there at the so called "slowest time of the year" and I was still glad that I had my "waiting socks" always with me tucked in the Go-Knits bag. Steve would pull out his Blackberry to check messages while I happily knit away. We must have looked like a couple with a huge communication problem, but were we ever efficient.By grabbing snippets of knitting time throughout the day, I had managed to knit almost an entire sock in the week. It's my only Christmas knitting project for this year. The socks are for my father who really does appreciate the effort and even proudly shows off other pairs that I have knit for him. He has size 13 feet, so enjoys the custom knit size factor.

After the fireworks displays at night, or other times when I had room to spread out, I would work away on a new store sample. I am making a vest-like capelet in Manos del Uruguay using one of their new patterns called "Tucson" from booklet #9. Hopefully it will be ready for viewing in the early new year.

My favourite adventure was "The Living Seas" featuring Nemo and his friends. One of my other major interests outside of knitting is swimming. Nemo represents a philosophy that I hope to carry on for years to come. Over and over he repeats "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...."; a perfect attitude of determination, both in the pool and in other aspects of life.
Substitute the words "Just keep knitting, just keep knitting...." and you'll have the motivation to finish up your Christmas knitting. Who could imagine that a little clown fish with a broken fin could have so much influence.

Scarf Knitting

2008-12-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Karen is away on a much deserved vacation, leaving me with a few tasks that are usually hers. This is not normally much of a problem - I have been on my own in the store many times. But this time, I have been left to do a blog entry. This is my maiden voyage into the world of blogging. It’s actually a little scary. But at least I am talking with you about one of my favourite, familiar knitting projects – SCARVES. Scarf knitting is an often maligned obsession which I passionately defend. I love scarves! Here are a dozen reasons why scarves are wonderful
1. Scarves can be as easy or as complicated as you wish; straight garter stitch or complicated cable. Scarves are perfect for beginner knitters but the right pattern can still challenge the most experienced.

These 2 scarves are samples of a beginner and advanced scarves you could learn in the class on short rows.

2. As a gift, they are perfect. They always fit. A scarf is never too tight. A nice scarf never makes your hips look bigger.

3. They are small, portable projects, good for the car or dragging off to the rink while your child plays hockey.

4. They are a fabulous opportunity to indulge in a luxury yarn that you would never consider spending the price to knit as a sweater.

5. There are hundreds of free patterns on the Internet for just about any style scarf you may want to knit. Or dig out your favourite stitch dictionary and design your own.

This scarf is from a simple Rib Lace Pattern from one of my favourite stitch dictionaries. It has a gentle ripple to it which is accentuated beautifully by the subtle striping found in Nashua Geologie.

6. In February, when winter is dragging your spirits low, a bright colourful scarf brightens everyone’s day. (Fun, bright socks can do the same, but that is for another blog)

7. I love to play around with colour. Scarves really lend themselves to playing with colour, especially with the self-striping yarns.

This simple "Skinny Scarf" was so much fun to knit in two contrasting but complimentary colour ways of Kaffe Fassett self-striping sock yarn. A Kf&b in the first stitch and K2tog at the end of the row sets the stripes on the diagonal and makes it even more interesting.

8. Many scarves knit in a fun chunky, yarn can be completed in an evening when time is in short supply.

This "Skinny Scarf" uses 2 balls of Needful Joy; a self-striping chunky yarn. I knit this scarf in an evening while watching TV.

9. They can be the perfect project for those one or two balls of yarn that have been sitting in your stash forever.

This scarf used up 2 orphan balls of Woolly Stripes. All those colours are from one colourway!

10. If one of the reasons your stash is overflowing is because you also happen to be afflicted with an addiction to sock yarns, many sock yarns are just as much fun in a scarf as they are in socks.

This simple "Yarn Over Wave Scarf" is stunning in Fleece Artist merino 2/6 sock yarn. One skein makes a generous large scarf.

11. They can be an easy way to practice a new technique without the extra complications of shaping.

This scarf is a pattern I developed as a class project for the Short Rows & Lizard Ridge course. You can have fun playing with the vibrant colours of Noro Kureyon as you learn the short row technique used in the Lizard Ridge Afghan.

12. Most scarves when you are finished knitting, you are done; weave in a few ends, you might need to do some blocking but no complicated finishing.

So have some fun, take a break from larger projects and knit a few scarves. Many of the scarves in this blog and others on display in the store come with patterns free with the purchase of yarn. There is still time to knit up a few last minute Christmas Gifts.

Posted by Beth

Cozy Afghans

2008-12-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

It's afghan season. With the long hours of darkness and chilly nights, an afghan is perfect for a knitting project that will give you warm results. Many of this season's afghans are knit square by square, so you will never become tired of the same pattern. An afghan can be one of the most appreciated gifts or keep one for yourself to snuggle under while you work on other knitting fun.

Gabriela made this afghan for a class she taught called "Entrelac and Lace". It is based on a pattern in "The Best of Interweave Knits". There is no sewing together at the end of the knitting as squares are picked up during the construction and the border is knit onto the main section. Done in a fine weight yarn, it becomes a lacy shawl. In a heavier yarn, it grows into a delicate afghan. She will be teaching this class again in the new year.

Kris completed her "Great American Afghan" in record time using Cascade 220 yarn. She admits that the squares are a little addictive - you just want to keep knitting to see how the next one will look. She is already halfway through a second afghan in heather greens (for herself this time), using squares from the Tech Square Afghan booklet by Joanne Clark. Kris is an accomplished knitter, but was thrilled at the different techniques that she mastered by working the unique squares.

Ann knit this beautiful heirloom baby afghan (above) for a friend who was expecting her first child. The pattern is from Nicky Epstein's book, "Cover Up", with the "Baby Booties" square as an added touch in Ann's own design. It was made from the incredibly soft SRK "On Your Toes Bamboo" in ivory.

Unbelievably, I have completed knitting my 25 squares for the Great American Afghan. I looked at each square as a mini project and sandwiched the knitting around my larger sweater projects. It was nice to have such a portable piece of knitting that tucked into my Go Knit pouch and followed my everywhere. There were so many new techniques that I picked up while knitting the squares. I always tell my knitting friends that one of the reasons I love knitting so much is that there is always something new to learn. Admittedly, it will likely be the new year before I have a chance to tackle the assembly and border.

We have several afghan classes scheduled for the winter session, starting in January. (Check our website at http://www.serenityknits.ca/ for class details). Challenge yourself to learn new knitting skills as your cozy afghan grows. Warm winter wishes!

Posted by Karen

Christmas Open House

2008-11-17T08:17:00.001-08:00

Serenity Knits was lovingly decorated and Beth had arranged the festive treats in anticipation of our 3rd Annual Christmas Open House. Beth's traditional Sugar Plums are such a favourite and so many have requested the recipe that it is included for your enjoyment below.

Sugar Plums: From “Victorian Christmas Crafts”by Barbara Bruno

Sugar Plums are an ancient treat probably originating in the Middle East where whole figs were transformed into the original glace fruit by long and repeated simmering in sugary syrup. Victorians, always ready to guild the lily, added nuts, orange rind, a variety of dried fruits and brandy, to create the “Sugar Plum visions dancing in heads” in the Victorian Christmas poem, the Night Before Christmas.

Ingredients:

3 pounds of dried mixed figs, dates, raisins & currants

1 ½ pounds of blanched almonds

½ pound unsalted shelled pistachio nuts

½ pound of crystallized ginger

finely grated rind of 2 oranges

brandy

white granulated sugar

Method:Finely chop and mix all ingredients except brandy and sugar. Use a food processor or grinder because you want the ingredients to be well chopped/ground. Add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy to help make the mixture stick together. If you would prefer not to use brandy, use the juice of one of the oranges instead. Mix WELL. Form the mixture by hand into small balls, approximately a tablespoon at a time. Roll them in sugar.

Store the Sugar Plums in a covered container. It is best to let them meld for a few days but they can be served right away. They will keep for several weeks in a covered container.
Enjoy.

Merry Christmas, Beth

Our guests arrived for the fun, friendships, treats and yarn sales. It was a great time to stock up for Christmas knitting projects.

Erin brought in 7 month old Hayden for a visit. We were 1st "introduced" to him while Erin was taking a crochet class. She made a beautiful blanket to welcome him. He came back to the store as a newborn and now as an active, bouncy and so cuddly little fellow - that Karen can't help snuggling. He will be one of the best dressed babies we know with his talented mom providing the knitted outfits.

Some of our guests arrived on four legs. We always have a treat jar with dog treats right next to the candy dish. This is "Honda", a rescue greyhound accompanying her owner, Isabelle. She had been a race dog and after her career ended, Isobel provided a loving home for her retirement.

Serenity Knits 3rd Annual Christmas Open House Door Prize Winners
Entrelac & Lace Class with Gabriela: Edith Larkin
Sheep Accessory case with Tape & Eucalan: Lorna & Silvia Au
Two Skeins Koigu Sock Yarn: Mary Lou Strathdee
Scarf Kit: Sue Lavigne & Mary Joe Brown
Slip Stitch & Mosaic Knitting Class with Beth: Erin Mahoney
Great American Afghan Class with Karen: Kirsten Ruhland
Knitting Gifts Book: Lorna & Jayne Beardsmore
Little Box of Scarves: Nancy Prime
Go Knits Bag: Deb Yew
Ginger Candy: Edith Larkin
Stitch Technique Class with Karen: Julia Cheng
Getting Started Knitting Socks Class with Beth: Heidi Brautigam

Congratulations to all our winners.

Posted by Karen

Deck the Halls

2008-11-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

We had plenty of fun at the store today decorating for the holiday season and preparing for tomorrow's Open House. This is our 3rd annual Christmas celebration that we plan to coincide with Newmarket's Santa Claus parade.

Gabriela designed a new seasonal yarn wreath.

We chose special door prizes for our customers, such as a series of classes, yarn, scarf kits, books, accessory filled sheep and more...

The shelves were stocked with new yarns just waiting to become a treasured gift. Our displays were overflowing such as this one with "Go Knit" bags that make knitting projects perfectly portable.

There were decorations to hang, including Mr. Felted Snowman.

With the decorating and preparations complete, Gabriela has "visions of sugarplums dancing in her head" - waiting for the arrival of Beth's homemade sugarplums that have become a traditional part of our Open House celebration. Customers can warm up after watching the parade with hot cider and enjoy other sweets and treats.

Now the real fun begins with planning the perfect knitted gifts from the huge selection of featured yarns, books and patterns. We look forward to welcoming the holiday knitting season with our friends tomorrow.

Posted by Karen