Soooooo ..... did you want to know what huge amounts of wool look like!

It came.

From Berroco.

133 pounds.

Beautiful.

Sock wool.

Vintage Wool.

Peruvia.

Ultra Alpaca.

I have no room.

Where will it go?

Teeexxxture! Funnnn! and WWOOOWWW!

Remember i told you yesterday that this fall is all about texture? I just unpacked some amazingggggg wools/acrylics. We're talking large needles, easy patterns and projects finished in one night! These wool/arylic blends are wonderful and they're from Italy, my home town, in case you didn't know! The pattern support is really cool and funky and the scarves you can whip up - i'm not even kidding! Gor-geee-ous.

Spazzola, by Naturally, is a very elegant wool/acrylic/poly blend that has exciting, unexpected and rapid changes in volume. Remember those scarves from a couple of years ago? Eyelash yarn, polyester junk? Think those scarves "all-grown-up-and-moved-to-New York!" The colours of black, taupe, cream and silver are everything the well-dressed woman would want in a scarf. Knit on 12 mm needles, you'll do one a night. I know, because i did. Took about 3.5 hours and i stopped for dinner. It was just a burger, but i stopped! Please come and see the sample in the shop.

Now, Bocciolo, by Filature Di Crosa (very well respected name in yarn) is Fun, Fun, Fun! It's a bit wild and woolly with rapid increases in volume as well, in popular and also wild and funky colours: black/grey, cream/taupe, teal/navy and my fav, purple/hot pink with just a little lime green! Wohoooooo! Scarves, hats, touques, mitts! Funky oversized vests. Wild felted slippers! Go for it!

And for those who want the youngest ones in our lives, or ourselves, to be wrapped in super soft organic cotton - LOOK at the wonderful shades: peapod, rice pudding, maize, laundry, bone and scrumble. So soft, so gentle, so laid back. Can't you just see a baby blanket made out of squares with each of these colours? I can and i don't even have babies. (Well i do, but they are 23 and 27... unless you count Purl, but she ain't gettin' ahold of this stuff!) Just wondering, what colour do YOU think scrumble is?

Come see. And try not to get bowled over by the 133 lbs of wool arriving shortly from Berroco ... wonder what's coming? Oh, my goodness! guess what just came in? ....... Help! i've been overcome, surrounded and drowning in wool! But ooooooh, isn't it all just so lovely? I need MORE space!!!!!!

PS ummmm, did anyone notice the lovely pictures, and the beautiful backgrounds? Yup. I just thought that up. Just went outside and set up piles and wool and took pictures. Just came to me. Just like that. Hmmmmmmm...

... it's been so long!!!!!

Hey! I've missed you guys - it's been awhile since an update! Sorry 'bout that ...

What have i been doing? Buying wool. Putting away wool. Moving cabinets to make room for wool. Buying wool. Canceling wool 'cause i bought too much. Putting wool away in tiny, tiny places 'cause there's no room for wool. And while i have been blogging, this arrived! More wool! And 133 pounds is arriving tomorrow from Uxbridge, MASS. Ay yi yi!

Our regular KnitWits, who meet each Thursday, spent today in a special endeavour. One of my wonderful customers, Cynthia, knits up 12" blocks for me. By the dozens. And dozens. And my Mumma (god bless her!) stitches them together into either baby blankets or lap throws. We ultimately give them to the IODE ladies (Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Emire - hardly British, huh?) who make sure that the blankets and throws get where they are needed.

Today, Mumma brought the blocks in, and she and Carol stitched a baby's blanket together. Now, Carol doesn't know it, but while she was stitching with Mumma, i snuck about 35 squares into her car. Now she's going to be making the blankets! (just kidding, but i think we'll make this a monthly endeavour - take some of the heat off of Mumma!) Those are Donna's hands in the lower right of the picture - she was helping too!

I told you last week about Isis, the wonderfully soft drapey yarn that arrived. I've been sloughing away at the Pomegranate Cardigan in the Isis Book and thought you'd like to see a little progress. Aren't those chevrons at the waist to dye-for? They also appear on the cuffs and the collar. And all you need are 4 skeins! I know!

This year ladies, and gents ... it's all about texture, here at On The Lamb! Stay tuned to 'feel' good. You're really going to know all about tactile sensations. It'll be a bumpy ride.

Ok - that's enough texture metaphors - watch this blog for more!

oops... i did it again ...

ooops ... i did it again ... What you ask? Re-ordered (for the third time!) Namaste Knitting Bags. And moved-everything-around-the-shop! (If you say it fast, it doesn't hurt as much!)

Why? Welllll, i had to.

You see, i don't think i left enough room in the corner for the fireplace (yes! Fireplace!), and we KNOW how wonderful a fireplace would be and we DON'T want the fireplace man to get here and say "There's not enough room."

So i had to move a cabinet. I moved it over near the teaching table and then i put the all the socks yarn in it. In order to put the sock cabinet there, i needed to move a library cabinet, which for awhile was hanging around in the middle of the floor. (i haven't yet found a home for it ... ) At the same time, we moved the DK weight over to where the Chunky was and the Chunky and the Worsted to where the socks were, and then the Lopi cupboard from up-high to down-low, beside where the fireplace is going to be. Where there is now enough room.

AND now i have to find room for 4 more Zuma bags and Buddy cases. Which are selling like hotcakes. And a place for the Library cabinet ...

See. oops ... i did it again ... just not like Britney ...

And i'm winding, and winding and winding...

Isis. Iona. Giotto.

I love these yarns from Colinette. Really i do. I think the colours are amazing and the textures are terrific. It has great pattern support and the patterns are forward thinking with modern details like Chevron borders and feminine shaping.

But i hate how they ship it - the "put up" as they say in the biz. They tie 9 hanks together with the 10th and stuff it in to a plastic bag. Then i shake them out, undo them and wind them up into skeins.

I know. You don't feel sorry for me at all. Afterall, i'm doing what i love and like i said, the fibers are amazing.

It's just that i have 145 to do. (sniff) And it's nice out. (sniff) And i want to go and play in the pool. (sniff) (what a whiner!)

Come and see them - once i get them wound, they will be works of art - i just wish the 'put up' was different.

It's new - it's Isis!

Isis was a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshiped as the ideal mother, wife, matron of nature and magic.

It's called Isis; this stuff is like magic and will keep you warm, just like your mother's arms. (get it? See how i did that? Little segue for you ... that stuff's not easy to do, you know ... as my previous blog clearly illustrated ... sorry 'bout that one!)

I love the watercolour transparency of this yarn. It's 100% Viscose so it has a wonderful drape. It feels like Chenille and knits up on 7mm needles. I'm knitting a romantic looking cardigan with Chevron borders that only takes 4 hanks. It's knit in the round and divides for sleeves. Very easy, 2 row repeat patten on the border of cuffs, waist and collar.

Won't be long before

it's in the shop!

There is very good pattern support for ISIS, especially for those fans of shawls (gotta remember that this little heat wave won't last - won't be long before we're into fall weather!) Lots of flowy, showy shawls.

I even love the names: Raphael, Toscana, Gauguin, Sahara. How romantic, eh?

Well, judge for yourself ... huh? huh?

beautiful ... (sigh)

Boobies, boobies everywhere!

See Lynn.

See Lynn knit.

See Lynn knit for charity.

See Lynn knit SEVEN Knitted Knockers in one week!

See Lynn going to a good place!

Yeah Lynn!

... and you've lost your tape measure again!

Did you ever think about the Golden Ratio ... and how does it relate to knitting? (go on - you do!) Artists, designers, painters, plastic surgeons, mathematicians all know about the Golden Ratio. It is said that the pyramids were built using this ratio. And now Knitters are in the game too!

Simply put, the distance from one portion of your body to another is in direct proportion to another. For example: measure the width of your mouth at rest, then measure the width of your nose, the ratio on an attractive face will be...1.618. All the ratios on your body will be ... 1.618. If you were ... perfect. Mine are 1.4287. I'm not so perfect.

Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of the human body emphasised its proportion. The ratio of the following distances is the Golden Ratio: (foot to navel) : (navel to head). Get it?

However, did old Leo ever know that the distance from the tip of your thumb to the first joint is approximately 1"? Did he realize that the distance from your palm to the tip of your center finger is approximately 4"? Did he see that the span of your hand, with the fingers spread very wide, from the tip of your thumb to the tip of your center finger is approximately 7"? Huh? Did he? This is very handy when knitting socks.

Why to tell you this? How many times have you been caught without your tape measure? See? ... just a little bit of knowledge ... and just in case you wanted to take this further ...

The mathematics of the golden ratio and of the Fibonacci sequence are intimately interconnected. The Fibonacci sequence is:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, …

The closed-form expression (known as Binet's formula, even though it was already known by Abraham de Moivre) for the Fibonacci sequence involves the golden ratio:

Disclaimer: Of course, inner beauty is more important than external beauty... yeah, and i'm a six foot blond with a swan-like neck and a voice like Barbra Streisand!

The smell of paint is in the air!

... and things they are achangin'!

My new neighbour is moving in - well, she's painting anyway! Very exciting! Lovely colours, lovely shop, lovely lady. You'll meet her, i'm certain. Taryn already calls her Lisa Kitchen; her shop will be called The Passionate Cook's Essentials; lots of good gadgets, gifty's, books and lessons. Yes! Lessons. In conjunction with Don's Tin Mill, Lisa will be offering Cooking Lessons. How fun!

So. Now when you come to visit ON THE LAMB, you will also see the latest in kitchen stuff, buy some wonderful jewellery and have a spectacular lunch. And if the spa lady is there, maybe have a pedicure.

Really. Is there any reason to go anywhere else?

Theeeyyy'reee Baaacckkk!

Namaste Bags are back in stock!

The last delivery sold out in two weeks. So avoid hesitation. Be deliberate. Get in here and get your handsome Namaste!

And my light honours yours.

Our very own Sock Semi-Summit!

figurative: sum•mit - the highest attainable level of achievement.

No pressure there.

Perhaps some of you follow the Yarn Harlot's blog? Well, she is hilarious, very well known internationally (which is great for a Toronto gal) and she is planning a Sock Summit in Portland Oregon this weekend. 3000 people applied for something like 500 spots. Wildly popular.

Remember the definition of summit (at the top of the page?) Uh, huh. No pressure.

So we are planning our very own SOCK SEMI-SUMMIT! You know. Just below the summit. Because to call ourselves the Summit is putting a lot of pressure on ourselves and who needs that? So while we will aspire for excellence, we'll settle for damn-fine.

There's limited space, but the SOCK SEMI-SUMMIT! begins Friday September 4, at 10:30. We will meet for 4 Fridays: dates are September 4, 11, 25 (i know, we skipped a week) and October 2, always at 10:30. The cost is $75.00 (includes taxes), instruction, pattern, wool and needles. AND coffee! And unlimited exposure to ellen if you need it to clear up foggy issues.

And if you are diligent and practice lots, you'll have at least one damn-fine sock done.

You need to reserve your spot, and we don't consider you registered until you've paid.

I just can't help it .... and i can't stop!

Diamond Yarns is a distributor that i use quite extensively. They not only carry their own Luxury yarn (think Mulberry Merino!), but also several imported lines like Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding and Colinette.

My Diamond rep just left. Before she arrived, i had steeled myself to ONLY order the Colinette yarn. Afterall, that's why she was coming. We made the appointment for ONLY Colinette Yarn. And i was ONLY going to order 1 more line to add to the wonderful Ribbon Giotto already on hand (to which i will be adding 5 more colours, arriving first of September which will make 10 colours of that little beauty.)

I ordered 3 lines. In 5 colours each. And then i ordered wonderful Malabrigio sock yarn, 100% wool with a hand so soft your eyes will close in ectasy. Mine did. And a whole bunch of pattern books (there is a cardi in the IONA book - mmmmmmm)

And she's going to call me with more details about 2 more lines.

I just can't help it ... and i can't stop.

There should be a group for Yarn Buyers like me. We could call it CYBA - Canadian Yarn Buyers Anonymous. I would just say "Sorry, i can't join you for lunch, i have a CYBA meeting this afternoon."

But it probably shouldn't be anonymous - we need all the help we can get.

I wish i could stop.

Aaaaah August...

On this hot, humid, stinky day, it appears summer has arrived.

August 4th.

I'm knitting sweaters for the fall, planning for Christmas, receiving heavy winter yarns, moving cottons up to the attic, pouring over patterns so i can recommend quickies for Christmas gifts.

And then this. August 4th. Hot. Humid. Stinky.

Oh, wait. Is THIS global warming?

Wonderful, crisp and 'green' too!

No, it's not a salad! It's our terrific ON THE LAMB 100% natural cotton carrier bag that will make you feel so virtuous about shopping! You can slip veggies and a carton of milk quite easily inside.

They just arrived, and i have to say they are really handsome! MUCH nicer that those bags you get from very large grocery stores and dollar stores.

AND they will tell everyone that you have the good taste to buy your yarn at ON THE LAMB!

Only $9.99 while supplies last. (if you spend over $250.00, i'll give you the bag for free!)