Some of my projects

I knit at night while watching TV, which keeps the hands out of the snacks! So I thought I would show you some of the things I and customers have made with yarn that I have dyed, which also gives you an idea of how the yarn works up.

 This is yarn dyed in honour of the Toronto Blue Jays. I cast on 68 stitches using 2.25 mm needles. I have a line of Team Socks in my web store, so this will show you how those colourways knit up.

This is a pair of socks knit with my Confetti colourway, also 68 stitches, 2.25 mm needles.

I have a line of yarn called Maryanne's Bliss, which is 70% merino wool, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon, and I have a gradient method of dyeing. This is a Pretty Basic shawl (pattern free on Ravelry) knit with one skein of the burgundy gradient on 4.5 mm needles.

This is a pattern of my own design (Maryanne's Shawl) which I give away free with yarn purchase. It is knit out of Maryanne's Sparkle in Dazzler colourway.

I also hand dye sock blanks. My friend Sheila knits the blanks for me with her knitting machine and I then go crazy. The sock at the bottom illustrates how they knit up. I dye them so that you can get a matching pair of socks if you knit one from the middle, and the other from the outside.

This is a Reyna shawl (pattern free on Ravelry) knit by a customer in Maryanne's Socks in my Licorice Candy colourway. So cool!

It's been a while ........

Yes, I did not meet my goal for 2016, which was to write a blog once a week. So it's time for some catching up.

In May, my husband and I cruised to Alaska for the 4th time. The previous cruises were in the summer and we had gorgeous weather. Ketchikan, Alaska claims to be the rainiest town in all of North America, but we had yet to see a drop of rain. So cruising in May gave us a bit of trepidation. We flew to San Francisco from Kamloops, and spent 3 nights there.

Boy, did we get rain! Our first day in San Francisco was gloomy, but the second day when we took the cable car was a downpour. But we had umbrellas!

We boarded the Norwegian Gem and cruised under the Golden Gate bridge, but I have to admit that cruising under the Lion's Gate bridge in Vancouver is much more exciting! And guess what? The sun came out and stayed with us the entire time we cruised, for the next 8 days.

Sunburned in May in Alaska!

We visited Sitka, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan, and I managed to find yarn stores in Sitka and Ketchikan.

We are heading back to Alaska for the 5th time next May. I belong to a Tuesday night knitting group (Needlemaniacs) and discussion came up about a group cruise. Before long, at least 9 knitters and 3 husbands have signed up! 

Stay tuned.