See You in Septmeber!

When the kids were in School and the summer months were really only July and August the summer went too fast. This year both of them started their summer jobs in April, the summer just seems to be endless, until this week, and now I think where has the time gone.

Many things were planned, nothing accomplished! I may be on Holidays from the Shop, but next week is catch up week with life. There are the shopping trips to get everyone back to school. The Gardens to attend to, the daytrips we planned to visit and yes the house that still needs staining.

The Shop is closed for the Week, but you are all too busy with perhaps the same kind of stuff.

Have a great week!

Classes!

Here's the list so far:

September: (Minimum to run the classes is 3, maximum per class is 6.)

Beginners Knitting:

2 lessons, Knit and Purl

Tuesday Evenings: 7 - 8:30 pm September 21 and 28

Wednesdays Afternoon: 1:00 pm - 2:30 September 22 and 29

($30 for 2 lessons, yarn included. Bring 4.5 needles)


February Lady/Baby Knit-a-long:

September 21, 28, October 12, 19. 7pm - 8:30 pm $50 for 4 Sessions.

(Pattern here, Yarn must be purchased at Soper Creek Yarn )

Mitten Club:

Friday Evenings, "Friday night knitting" with a purpose. September 17, October 8 and 29. (7 - 8:30 pm)

Learn a variety of techniques or teach us all something new you learned about knitting, while making mittens for yourself or for a gift or to add to our fundraising.

We hope to be able to sell the mittens created be the members of the 'Mitten Club' and customers and friends of Soper Creek Yarn. All the proceeds will go to charity. UNICEF during October, and others to be decided by the 'Club'. The Mittens will be on sale during Applefest, Santa Claus Parade and Moonlight Magic. Leftover mittens will be donated to our local Women's Shelter.

Back to finishing the Windows, tomorrow and Friday the Shop is open until 8 pm

Closed next week for Holidays!

23 on 23rd

Yesterday was The Girl's birthday, 23 on the 23rd. When your age and birth date match it's sometimes known at a 'Champagne Birthday'. Although she was home there wasn't much time to celebrate. She came home to get to a concert in the big city and today she is making her way back 'home' to finish work and then back to the Farm for a week of bonding with her family. (That's partially why I am on holidays too!) I was surprised how much I missed her when she was home.



She managed to give me a 'Birthday' present too! (I think Mom's should get a present too!)

Saturday night she was sitting on the couch and pulled up a pair of Addi Turbo needles and some chunky 'Malabrigo' and Knit! She made a lovely pocket sized swatch! Where did she learn.

She said she did it too prove to me that she could, but secretly I think she kind of liked it!

Kids, they just keep surprising me!

Done! Done!...

One Hundred and Seventy Three helmet liners, knit by 43 knitters! Done!Sales Rep picked them up today! Done! Clapotis, from knitty, started January 09 sat behind the cash desk waiting to be finished since last summer, took 3 days to finish! Why do we do that, leave stuff so close to being done? Go find something you have been working on and finish it, do it now!

Then you can come and see me and see all the new yarns and patterns!

I am now working on a few last details of an 'event' planned for next week! I am taking a few days off! (Yup Holidays for Tina!) Don't quite know what we will be doing. Perhaps staining the house, visiting with The Girl and moving The Boy to University!


The Shop will be closed for Holidays the week of August 30th - September 7th (Labour
Day).

More details later, and yes I threw out that skein of yarn!

Not worth it!

I was going through my stash at home, I have stash, some of the stash goes back to Rickaby days! (shhh don't tell those at home!) I came across a free sample of some yarn from a supplier. Pretty colours, hand dyed and lace. Merino/angora and something else. Maybe I should try something? I untwisted the skein onto my swift, which is permanently set up in front of the TV, I began to untie those nasty loops that keep the skein together. They broke in my hand. Then I tried to put it onto the ball winder, broke again. The yarn literally shreds itself!

What to do, the thought of throwing out yarn is completely wrong. (Must use every scrap of every yarn always!) This yarn is not worth using. Crap in Crap out, you get what you pay for, life is too short to use crappy yarn!

Tomorrow is garbage day at home, I have told myself and now I have told you, it's going into the bin. It will be painful to watch it go, but it's not worth any ones time and effort to use!

Maybe while I am feeling ruthless I will do the same for some other yarns in my stash!

How to stain a house:

Step #1. Wait almost 3 years after the house really needs staining.

Step #2. Take can of stain from last time to paint store, they don't make it anymore. Decide on a new colour.

Step # 3. Select the hottest summer on record, and choose most humid day possible.

Step # 4. While picking up cans of stain to take outside, drop one sending a significant amount of stain over the back room, including 2 pairs of wife's shoes.

Step #5. Curse.

Step #6. Clean-up back room, needed it anyway.

Step #7.* Stain for an hour and decide it's too hot, quit.*

Repeat from * to * until finished.

Be careful what you wish for..

It's hard to imagine that just 2 years ago at this time I was thinking and looking into opening my own Yarn shop! Some nights I lie in bed and think: "Holy cr#p I opened a Yarn Shop!" like it's some sort of dream.
With the dream also comes the reality. The reality that some days are better than others. That I don't have complete control over the Yarn Universe and shipments don't arrive when they are supposed to and yet the rent still needs to be paid.
This past week I have been on the phone with more than just one supplier questioning the timing of the shipments promised a week ago or more! (Truly not always their fault, I have to remind myself that I am not the only yarn shop in the World.)
So today this arrived: Inside: All the new colours of Marble Chunky! 5 new colours all just lovely. Good thing I made room!

Last night I worked on this, in my other life I sew Jumpers, sometimes, for my friend Karen's store 'Gather'. I haven't made any in a while but the regular sewer is at the cottage preparing for her son's wedding! This is the first of the set, there are only 7 to do. (I have made thousands of these over the past 10 years, it all came back very quickly!)

On the knitting front: I finished this shawl, Colonnade, made with Manos Wool Classica. Notice the pet restraint system. I thought I was done my shawl phase. Apparently not!

Yarn Harlot's Page a day calender suggests that this should be 'Love your LYS Day!'. (Personally I think everyday should be Love your LYS Day!) Go out there and buy something from your favorite shop, even if it's not mine.

Today is Moonlight Madness and the shop is open until 10 pm.

I am glad I wished for my own shop! The work is challenging but inspiring and I have met so many wonderful caring people, it is the best job!

Thanks!

Tina

P.S. We are counting the Helmet liners tonight, I wanted to send 100 and you have made at least 145. (They are being delivered late next week if you are working on one and want to drop it off, I have a mail slot in the door!)

Getting Ready for Fall

We went back in time on Sunday. Harlaine Heritage Day was held on a family farm near Oakwood. I had my head in a knitting project while he drove so I have no idea where we ended up. (Working on samples..more and more samples.) My Husband and The Boy were interested in the machinery, its fascinating to see how much of the 'old' technology still exists in the new machinery. We think we are clever now, but those first farmer/engineers really made big changes in farming when they invented the first mechanized machines.



Knitting really hasn't changed much in thousands of years. We still knit with two pointed sticks and use yarn that is really just a long piece of something flexible.



Unlike Farming we now knit for fun! Knitting was almost a necessity, some cultures assign the job of knitter to one of the family. Children were taught knitting at an early age so that they could contribute to the family in some form. Today we knit for many reasons; keeping the family totally clothed is not one of them (fortunately).

Arriving almost daily are new Yarn and Patterns:


Splash a lovely acrylic blend that knits into a self striping pattern.

What are you going to knit next?

We are planning a fall event to happen soon.

Don't forget about Midnight Madness, Friday!

Next Week:

Next Friday (August 13th) is Downtown Bowmanvile's Moonlight Madness & Busker Festival. This annual event draws a great crowd. Come to Bowmanville and see the Buskers perform, there is a 'Teddy Bear Clinic" and enjoy dinner Cafe Style while listening to various musicians performing along the main street. King Street will be closed to traffic and parking during the event. Come early for a parking spot and spend the evening in Bowmanville.

The BIA would like all the shops to stay open until 11, but I will be here until 10 ish.

Some of the stores will offer great clearance prices on sale items others will work all week to get the new Fall merchandise displayed. I will be doing a little of both.

If you don't like the crowds and the chaos, come Saturday!

On the home front next week.....I purchased 10 gallon tins of stain from Abernethy's paint store to stain our house! I bought extra brushes, anyone?

Have a great weekend.

Keeping very cool..what a great day today!

Four Hours!

Four Hours of Beading!

Remember the Ugly Lace thing 'frogged' a couple of weeks ago. I decided to make 'Shetland Triangle Shawl' instead. I wanted a big shawl but the more I knit the more I had to 'make' myself knit. This past week I forced myself to only work on this project, no other knitting was allowed. Not that it was difficult or boring, just that its beige and the needles were tiny. It took 20 minutes to do a row near the end. I could have quit after any of the pattern repeats but I wanted to use up as much of the yarn as I could and I knew that if I didn't make it big enough I would regret the decision to 'wimp' out and finish before I was truly happy.

Sunday I decided it needed beads, but because it was getting larger, one row was not going to be enough. 168 beads and 4 hours later I finished the shawl Monday afternoon. Blocked it before supper and unpinned this morning.(Click on the picture to make them bigger)

It's lovely and drapey and the pictures do not do it justice.

I think I am through my 'shawl' phase.

See you soon.