I know...........

I've been very slack about blogging lately, but really I haven't had much to blog about.  I think it's just the season, work is hectic, and all the hustle and bustle about getting everything done is just a time sucker.

But Mr "D" was home for a couple of days and he really stepped up to the plate.  I'm afraid the granddaughters missed a lot of fun. Grampa was cutting and pasting and using up all their craft paper.
Look what he did,

these are for all the big people in our family and I'm aftraid the little people are getting little packages this year.
He decorated the tree all by himself for the first time.

I must say, we have a very eclectic assortment of ornaments.  Since the children were small we tried to add something new to the tree every year. Whether it was store bought or hand crafted, usually the latter.  I still have the beaded wreaths they made at school or scouts and brownies, the baby in a milk pod manger (from nanny), my crocheted snowflakes,  the mini stockings I knit last year, the plastic canvas dog house for our long departed dog,  my favorite ornament with Miss "P's" little fingers painted on to look like snowmen (darn kid made me cry), and lots of glass balls from many years of Christmases.
But I had the best surprise today when Mr "D" came home from work today.

I hadn't got anything new for the tree this year and he came home with the most awesome ornament.  Anyone who knows us knows exactly how much this little Timmie cup meant to me.  I'm still smiling.

And if I don't get back to blog till after Christmas, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday.
Oh, and we'll have some more yarn in the shop before the new year.

Sunshiny weekend mornings......

are what I love most on the weekends.  Getting up having bacon and eggs for breakfast (cooked by Mr "D" of course) and then lounging with a hot cup of tea and my knitting.
Well yesterday started off that way, but Mr "D" thought it would be a great idea to get dressed and take the dog for a walk. Bah.........don't tell him, but I actually enjoyed it, the air was crisp but there was no wind so it was perfect walking weather. We worked our way over to Tim Horton's (in the center of town) and then he decided to take the long way back, so we continued down the highway and along the back road home.  All in all it took a good hour or so, only because we had to stop and let the Lady dog play at the park too.
Our day continued on with him dusting, cleaning and vacuuming and that means I retreat to the studio.  When he cleans it's a love/hate relationship for me.  I love the fact that he's cleaning but all the cuss words and angry looks on his face are a total pain in the butt.
So this is what I did all afternoon,

This is a new base Boss Cat and I are trying out, it is 75/20/5 SW merino/nylon/stellina (silver sparkles).
I loved dyeing this up, and Boss Cat missed all the fun.  It has a nice twist like our Barn Cat and House Cat and the sparkles are lovely but really hard to capture on camera.
You can see them a little better here drying.

Even though I was hoping to go for another walk this morning, Mr "D" is doing double time at the Post Office today. Yes, my friends it's that time of year when the Christmas cards and parcels start flowing, and we work longer days to get the job done.
So I think I'll take this opportunity to go back down to the studio and dye up some Bamboo blend  that we're testing out for the shop.    Do you think Boss Cat will get wind of it and show up?

Progress.....

Slow and steady, I am getting some knitting progress.
First up, Miss"P's" poncho is coming along.  Several years ago, I stopped putting myself under pressure to get things knit for Christmas and that has just worked out fine for me, but I really would like to get this one done to put under the tree, only because I have promised this poncho to her for a very long time.

 The purple yarn is Nashua Creative Focus, that "Boss Cat" picked up a Julie's tent sale and the blue and natural are Wandering Cat Big Cat. The pattern called for seed stitch for the edging, but I didn't like it very much so I ripped back and started a slip stitch stripe which I'm liking much better.

And of course I had to start another striped sock, No-Purl Monkeys,  in Barn Cat, but I'm still looking for the right colour name for this one. Any suggestions?

I totally forgot to blog about these pretty pouches by Offhand Designs. I picked them up a Julie's several weeks ago, one for my many Addi circs, and one for my Addi Clics. Gorgeous, aren't they?

 I'll be back to the dye pots this week-end, I have lots of ideas running through my head right now.

Plans gone awry...

I really had the week-end all planned out, I had a million things to do.  Then Mr. "D" said "Road-Trip" and all my plans went out the window. 
Now, my family (especially "Boss Cat") know how much I hate shopping. It's like pulling teeth just to get me to go out and buy myself some clothes.  So when Mr "D" noticed my slippers were in such bad shape he decided to take me for a new pair, and he was not waiting for Christmas.
We left early Saturday morning to go to my favorite shop for slippers. Robinson's General Store in Dorset.
This is a one stop shop. You can get everything here from gifts to hardware to groceries, and only 3 or so hours away from home.  I even got a few things for Christmas gifts.

 Old slippers:

 New slippers:  OMG, they look the same except new.  I'm so set in my ways.

 The scenery was beautiful. Even though were into November and there are no leaves on the trees I still find beauty in the Sumac.

My other favorite thing about road trips is I get to knit non-stop with no interruptions.  I actually got to finish my socks, that have been languishing in my sock bag for a very long time.

This is one of the very first skeins of Top Cat we dyed, Ruby Slippers, and I've been hiding it in my stash forever.  It's a very simple pattern I did and I'll be writing it up soon.
So, today was for catching up with the chores that were put off yesterday and Boss Cat dyed up some goodies for the shop.

Alone again....

Mr. D is off with the boys for another week doing boy things, so I spent the week-end playing with some Wandering Cat yarn.  They just need to be skeined up and you'll see these in the shop very soon.   I'll announce the date after I consult with the Boss Cat.

And my striped socks are almost finished so I'll post the picture in a couple of days.

It's that time of year again...

Knit one for someone.

I've been busy...........

Winding, winding and more winding.

What's a girl to do...

with a week off of work.   Well, I'm working on my Tea Leaves Cardigan...  Madelintosh Vintage.  Julie is now carrying some of Madelintosh yarns in her store.

I'm actually past the armholes already.
I'm working on Miss "P's" poncho, but it's on hold till I dye up a contrasting skein of  yarn in blue as requested by the little princess herself.  I'm much farther along on this also.

and, I've been trying my hand at dyeing up some self-striping yarn.  You may just see some of this in the shop real soon.

I really don't like having this many things on the go at once, so I better stick to one and get it done.

My first....

I had a really crappy day at work yesterday, but when I got home I found a package in my own mailbox.
One of Wandering Cat's favorite blogs is Smoking Hot Needles.  I've actually been reading Monika's blog before we even got into dyeing our own yarn, and she has since become one of our favorite customers.
Well now the tables have turned, she has opened her own shop to sell her hand spun yarn.  I've been such an admirer of her spinning and maybe some day I'll give it a whirl myself, but until then you can find her gorgeous hand spun here, and I must say I absolutely love this yarn, and will treasure it for a long time.

I even think I've found a pattern to do it justice.  So if you love eye candy, and just some good old stories about 2 silly dogs pop on over to her blog and check it out.
Thank you Monika, I LOVE it.
I almost forgot the kids came for Thanksgiving turkey on Sunday and Miss "Robo" modeled her gorgeous sweater for us.

Another long weekend coming...

and guess what we have!   Barn Cat. 

These are just a few lovelies we'll be putting in the shop on Saturday.  I'm not quite sure what time yet but you can check here or on our Rav group as soon as we know.

September..

I had been wanting to do this pattern for a long time, and what a perfect time of year.
Septembertuch

Yarn:  Wandering Cat Yarns Slinky Fingering in Peacock
When I dyed the yarn, the first thing Boss Cat and I said was "Julie".  So I knit this for her, to thank her for all the wonderful things she does.

What happens at Knit Camp.............

stays at Knit Camp.  Apparently this is rule one.  I heard someone say that at dinner.
But I can share a few moments with you:
I took 2 classes with Jared Flood (aka:  Brooklyn Tweed)  What a gracious man. He taught us new techniques and gave us so much information I had no time to take many pictures.
I did sneak a shot of him sitting with one of our knitting ladies.

 My other class was with Elise Duvekot from Knit one Below.

 and here's a shot of all of us on the last evening.

It's really hard to come back to reality after such a great weekend.
You can see more pictures on Julie's blog. I would just like to say  what wonderful hostesses she and her sister Beth are. They make the whole weekend worth it.  Thanks Ladies.

Just in the nick of time....

I finished the project for Julie just in the nick of time.  The Fair is tomorrow. Whew!!
Here it is.....Scarf-Neckwarmer by Filtura Di Crosa

Pattern: Scarf-Neckwarmer
Yarn:  Filatura Di Crosa Cincilla and Zara
Needles: 6mm

Totally snuggly and warm, and talk about an easy pattern..............can you say garter stitch.

Labour Day weekend....

We had a small update today, I'm sorry I didn't post about it earlier, it's been a very busy week-end.
We had a short visit with the girls yesterday, actually I did, while Grampa and Daddy went fishing.

I did get some knitting done, I'm on a dead line for Julie, and I'm more than half way there.  The KW Knitters fair is this Saturday, so I have a couple more days to finish.  Good thing it's garter stitch. I'll post all the details when it's done.

My Rowan.....

I finished Rowan's Helena this week.  I really love this pattern, it's the second one I knit for the same little lady.  The first was when she was a baby and now she's 2yrs old and I think it will look awesome on her.

I knit it with our Stray Cat sport yarn and when I first dyed this up, Rowan went right for it and kept saying Rowan, Rowan, so Rowanberry was born. It's very hard to photograph the beautiful undertones of colour, but you can definitely see it up close.
I had the girls for the week, and they certainly kept this old gramma busy, I forgot what it was like to have 2 young ones underfoot.

They're back at home now, and I really miss them, but I think Lady dog misses them more.

We should be back to the dye pots this weekend, we have some new colours to test out, so we'll keep you updated when they will go in the shop.

Day 4.....

Gramma is still alive and kicking, and so are Miss "P" and Robo baby.

Unfortunately, all I seem to be doing is laundry and emptying the potty.  At least there has been no wet floors or underpants, so that's a good thing.

Miss "P"s first attempt at dyeing yarn. We got some chunky yarn from Knitpicks and when Robo baby went down for a nap we slipped downstairs to the studio.


Gramma's proud. Tired but proud.


We also went to visit Julie's House (as Miss "P" calls it) to drop off the longest ever knitting assignment I think I have ever done. Not because it was hard, but I was just having trouble getting into it.

Update

I can't find the "Boss Cat"  so I'm going to make an executive decision and update everything we have dyed in the past couple of weeks.  We have a couple of dozen skeins of sock yarn, and if I don't put it in the shop now, I'm just going to keep it all for myself.

I've also put all of our Fat Cat DK, Stray Cat Sport and Big Cat Worsted on sale at 10% off.  And don't forget about the free shipping on orders of $100 or more.
I'm off next week, but I have 2 young house guests coming to stay with Gramma so the only dyeing going on will be Miss "P" trying out her skills on some Chunky Monkey yarn, that she'll be knitting up herself.  There will be photos, I'm sure.

Old but new...........

We have another yarn added to our clan.  Introducing Fluffy Cat in Lace weight.  This is the same lovely make up as our Fluffy Cat fingering, 70/20/10 Alpaca/Silk/Cashmere but in a 2 ply lace weight.

The only thing is, this will be a limited edition yarn for a short time and when it's gone, it's gone.  There will be a new base replacing this at a later date, but we'll talk about that another time.
We're hoping to get in the studio this week-end to dye up some more, but in the meantime in honor of our Civic Holiday this week-end we're giving free shipping on all orders over $50.
Boss Cat and I would like to clear out the old stock and we'll be putting in new stock very soon.

Ding, Dong...............

Well we arrived back home safe from the "Sound".   It's the first time I actually took some photos that weren't yarn.  I really enjoyed this new experience.
Congratulations to Ron & Jenn, and my 2 lovely girls.

What a perfect spot for a wedding.  You can see more photos on Boss Cats blog. 
There's nothing quite like our "robobaby" to provide the entertainment.

And during our drive home today, I got to knit for hours.........................pictures later.