One year ago today I opened the doors of the shop. It has been an interesting experience, to say the least, especially as I had no previous experience with owning a retail business. I have learned a LOT - about retail, about yarns, about knitting, and about myself. And I have been blessed with meeting some wonderful people, many of whom have become regular customers. I currently have over 750 names in my customer database!
This Saturday is River Park Day, and the official celebration of the shop's first anniversary. There will be a parade at 10 AM, most of the local merchants are having a sidewalk sale, there will be food vendors and a magic show for the kids. Come on into the shop - there will be excellent deals to celebrate the anniversary and show my appreciation for all my wonderful customers.
Thank you for a great year.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Artyarns does it again
Today I got a bunch of new Artyarns patterns - all but one are one-skein patterns. There are lots of lacey wraps and shawls, at all skill levels. And yesterday I spoke with Iris Schreirer of Artyarns - she tells me they are coming out with four new yarns that are to die for! New cashmeres, new silks, new blends. I'll get all the details at the trade show next month, so stay tuned.
Purls of wisdom: "There are liars, damned liars, and statisticians." Mark Twain
Purls of wisdom: "There are liars, damned liars, and statisticians." Mark Twain
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The ultimate knitting retreat
In the course of looking for information on cruises (our long-postponed honeymoon) I came across something I absolutely have to share with you - CraftCruises. These are cruises targeted to crafters of all persuasions: knitters, crocheters, beaders, cross-stitchers, and on and on. Naturally, I clicked on the tab for knitting cruises, and the next one is described as "The ultimate lace knitter's dream cruise", departing July 25, 2011.
This is a 21-day cruise that will include London, Amsterdam, Dale of Norway in Bergen, Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers, the Shetland Museum, and Storkurinn Yarn Iceland, as well as others. Myrna Stahman will be the instructor. The link for the cruise website is here.
Had I known about this cruise sooner I could have planned for it, but I didn't so I will not be able to go on this one. But if any of you do, Bon Voyage! (read in the voice of Bugs Bunny).
This is a 21-day cruise that will include London, Amsterdam, Dale of Norway in Bergen, Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers, the Shetland Museum, and Storkurinn Yarn Iceland, as well as others. Myrna Stahman will be the instructor. The link for the cruise website is here.
Had I known about this cruise sooner I could have planned for it, but I didn't so I will not be able to go on this one. But if any of you do, Bon Voyage! (read in the voice of Bugs Bunny).
Friday, May 6, 2011
Interweave Summer is in!
The Summer 2011 issue of Interweave Knits is in, and it is full of good stuff. The patterns are good, but only a few of them make me want to throw my priorities list to the winds. It's the technical articles in this issue that really grabbed my attention.
Most notable is the one on designing your own pictorial lace motifs. The example in the magazine is an elephant design created by sketching it onto graph paper, then figuring out what types of yarn over-decrease combinations to create the effect. The article goes on to illustrate and explain what effects one gets from these different combinations and their placement. Very enlightening.
Another interesting article is the Artist Spotlight on Ben Cuevas. He knitted an entire skeleton using Cascade 220 and #3 dpns! He used a very fine sock yarn and #0000 needles for the teeth. This is not anything I am likely to do in my lifetime, but it is worth looking at from a design creativity perspective.
Purls of wisdom: every day you waste is one you can never make up.
Most notable is the one on designing your own pictorial lace motifs. The example in the magazine is an elephant design created by sketching it onto graph paper, then figuring out what types of yarn over-decrease combinations to create the effect. The article goes on to illustrate and explain what effects one gets from these different combinations and their placement. Very enlightening.
Another interesting article is the Artist Spotlight on Ben Cuevas. He knitted an entire skeleton using Cascade 220 and #3 dpns! He used a very fine sock yarn and #0000 needles for the teeth. This is not anything I am likely to do in my lifetime, but it is worth looking at from a design creativity perspective.
Purls of wisdom: every day you waste is one you can never make up.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Cool new patterns and other stuff
Greetings, my fellow fiber-holics! I am pleased to announce I have started carrying Schoolhouse Press patterns. If this is only ringing a faint bell with you, these are patterns (mostly) designed by Elizabeth
Zimmerman (e.g., The Green Sweater), Meg Swanson, and Barbabra Walker. In all fairness there are other designers, too. I have some fabulous designs in, including the Baby Surprise pattern, which comes with options from infant through adult sizes!
Effective May 19 the shop will be closing at 5 PM on Thursdays. I will still be open until 8 PM on Fridays. There just hasn't been any business after 5 PM on Thursdays; in fact, only twice in the last year has anyone come into the shop after 5 PM on Thursday.
The sign-up sheet for the bus to Stitches Midwest is filling up - make sure you reserve your seat soon!
Purls of wisdom: Whether you think you will succeed or fail, you are right.
Zimmerman (e.g., The Green Sweater), Meg Swanson, and Barbabra Walker. In all fairness there are other designers, too. I have some fabulous designs in, including the Baby Surprise pattern, which comes with options from infant through adult sizes!
Effective May 19 the shop will be closing at 5 PM on Thursdays. I will still be open until 8 PM on Fridays. There just hasn't been any business after 5 PM on Thursdays; in fact, only twice in the last year has anyone come into the shop after 5 PM on Thursday.
The sign-up sheet for the bus to Stitches Midwest is filling up - make sure you reserve your seat soon!
Purls of wisdom: Whether you think you will succeed or fail, you are right.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Diary of a Mad Housecat, Part 1
My name is Elwood. That is the name my humans gave me; the name my mother gave me cannot be pronounced by humans. My brother Jake and I are beautiful all-white cats. I am a bit taller than Jake and my tail is more impressive, but we are truly spectacular felines.
My first memory is of being taken from my mother and put in a shelter cage with Jake. It was small but clean. They fed us and petted us, and every now and then we went to another place were lots of humans could look at us and hold us. That's how we acquired our present humans.
The day we arrived at our new home there was a big thing in the corner decorated with lots of toys. It looked a lot like a tree, but didn't smell or feel like a tree. Every time we took one of the toys off the tree we were told "no" - I don't know why they put toys out if we aren't supposed to take them and play with them. There are other cats, too. Jake is especially fond of Midget - actually, he goes on and on about how beautiful her whiskers and tail are, till I am sick of hearing about it. I must admit Midget is very nice, though.
There is another black and white cat named Dana - she was pretty bossy at first, and tried to push us around a lot, but seems to have accepted us. Occasionally Jake gets mad at her and wants me to figure out how to light the stove - he thinks we should burn the witch. No thumbs, though.
The orange cat named Mandy hates us with a passion. She is always growling at us, even when we aren't doing anything. Mama says her face will freeze that way. The other white cat, Alexis, is crazy. Just plain nuts, but harmless. And then there is Lorelei, who is terribly shy but is trying to learn how to play with us. She cries a lot and says she wants Katmandu.
We have lots of nice food, just not enough. Seriously - who can get by on half a can of cat food a day and unlimited dry food? We have nice filtered water, too, not that nasty smelling and tasting stuff at the shelter. And LOTS of clean litter boxes. Our humans use different litter boxes in different rooms than ours. They are full of water, and after the humans use it the water disappears; it's a lot of fun to watch. And we get cuddled a LOT. That's really nice. I especially like the tummy rubs and chin rubs.
Jake and I are gradually learning the language of our humans. Sometimes they punctuate their speech with a squirt bottle of water, but we are trying to break them of that habit. I have learned a lot of words I don't really know the meaning of, like "violin factory" and "Chinese restaurant". Mostly we hear these words when we are exploring the counter in the kitchen or sharpening on the couch. Really, how can anyone expect us to walk all the way to the sharpening post every time the urge strikes? Mama gets pretty mad when we eat the houseplants, too, but why put out a buffet if it's off limits?
About the third day we were at our new home Jake and I discovered that it is really big - lots of room to run. We had not been able to run at all in the shelter, we were always in that little cage. We can really get up some speed here. A few nights ago I was stretching my legs and going for a new speed record. When I went over one end table I accidentally knocked some stuff off. Mama was really upset, used the word "irreplaceable" and cried. I have tried to be very good since then - at least when she can see me.
There is this toy we like that the humans call a "cricket". It makes a small dot on everything, and we get to chase it. Try as we might, we never actually catch it. Someday....
My first memory is of being taken from my mother and put in a shelter cage with Jake. It was small but clean. They fed us and petted us, and every now and then we went to another place were lots of humans could look at us and hold us. That's how we acquired our present humans.
The day we arrived at our new home there was a big thing in the corner decorated with lots of toys. It looked a lot like a tree, but didn't smell or feel like a tree. Every time we took one of the toys off the tree we were told "no" - I don't know why they put toys out if we aren't supposed to take them and play with them. There are other cats, too. Jake is especially fond of Midget - actually, he goes on and on about how beautiful her whiskers and tail are, till I am sick of hearing about it. I must admit Midget is very nice, though.
There is another black and white cat named Dana - she was pretty bossy at first, and tried to push us around a lot, but seems to have accepted us. Occasionally Jake gets mad at her and wants me to figure out how to light the stove - he thinks we should burn the witch. No thumbs, though.
The orange cat named Mandy hates us with a passion. She is always growling at us, even when we aren't doing anything. Mama says her face will freeze that way. The other white cat, Alexis, is crazy. Just plain nuts, but harmless. And then there is Lorelei, who is terribly shy but is trying to learn how to play with us. She cries a lot and says she wants Katmandu.
We have lots of nice food, just not enough. Seriously - who can get by on half a can of cat food a day and unlimited dry food? We have nice filtered water, too, not that nasty smelling and tasting stuff at the shelter. And LOTS of clean litter boxes. Our humans use different litter boxes in different rooms than ours. They are full of water, and after the humans use it the water disappears; it's a lot of fun to watch. And we get cuddled a LOT. That's really nice. I especially like the tummy rubs and chin rubs.
Jake and I are gradually learning the language of our humans. Sometimes they punctuate their speech with a squirt bottle of water, but we are trying to break them of that habit. I have learned a lot of words I don't really know the meaning of, like "violin factory" and "Chinese restaurant". Mostly we hear these words when we are exploring the counter in the kitchen or sharpening on the couch. Really, how can anyone expect us to walk all the way to the sharpening post every time the urge strikes? Mama gets pretty mad when we eat the houseplants, too, but why put out a buffet if it's off limits?
About the third day we were at our new home Jake and I discovered that it is really big - lots of room to run. We had not been able to run at all in the shelter, we were always in that little cage. We can really get up some speed here. A few nights ago I was stretching my legs and going for a new speed record. When I went over one end table I accidentally knocked some stuff off. Mama was really upset, used the word "irreplaceable" and cried. I have tried to be very good since then - at least when she can see me.
There is this toy we like that the humans call a "cricket". It makes a small dot on everything, and we get to chase it. Try as we might, we never actually catch it. Someday....
Sunday, April 10, 2011
My name is Arvilla...
...and I am a history geek. There - I said it. I love history, especially anything from around 800 AD to 1900 AD. When Shotime had "The Tudors" series on I waited impatiently for each new episode / season (Tudor England is a particular favorite of mine). I love the Starz series on Spartacus. Last night I discovered "The Borgias" on Shotime.
One of the things I enjoy most about historical productions of this ilk is observing the accuracy of the costumes and architecture. I am hardly an expert on either, but as a result of touring Hampton Court in 1980 I do know that doors were not commonly in use in the time of Henry VIII. This made some of the scenes in the "Tudors" series a bit unfaithful to history, but did allow for the drama of a slammed door.
The costumes, however, were very accurate, and the costumes in "The Borgias" are fascinating. One of the things I like to look for is knitted lace. So far I have not seen a great deal of it, but I will continue watching, just in case.
There - I have justified my history geek-ness as knitting research.
I am looking into getting some Schacht rigid heddle looms in the shop, and possibly some spinning wheels. Please let me know if you are interested in either. Kristen will teach classes in weaving, and you will be able to try weaving first to see if you want to get a loom. The ones I am thinking of carrying are the Schacht Cricket loom - a very, very affordable entry level rigid heddle loom, perfect for someone who wants to experiment with weaving without making a big cash investment. I hope to eventually have one of each Shcacht wheel available for people to "test drive", so you can order the wheel you prefer.
Purls of wisdom: Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano
player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"
One of the things I enjoy most about historical productions of this ilk is observing the accuracy of the costumes and architecture. I am hardly an expert on either, but as a result of touring Hampton Court in 1980 I do know that doors were not commonly in use in the time of Henry VIII. This made some of the scenes in the "Tudors" series a bit unfaithful to history, but did allow for the drama of a slammed door.
The costumes, however, were very accurate, and the costumes in "The Borgias" are fascinating. One of the things I like to look for is knitted lace. So far I have not seen a great deal of it, but I will continue watching, just in case.
There - I have justified my history geek-ness as knitting research.
I am looking into getting some Schacht rigid heddle looms in the shop, and possibly some spinning wheels. Please let me know if you are interested in either. Kristen will teach classes in weaving, and you will be able to try weaving first to see if you want to get a loom. The ones I am thinking of carrying are the Schacht Cricket loom - a very, very affordable entry level rigid heddle loom, perfect for someone who wants to experiment with weaving without making a big cash investment. I hope to eventually have one of each Shcacht wheel available for people to "test drive", so you can order the wheel you prefer.
Purls of wisdom: Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano
player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"
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