Bike to Work Day
18 May 2012 Leave a Comment
Today is Ride Your Bike to Work Day. I ride my bike to work a lot – now that I have a bike that is. And now that I work in town. No more 1.5 hour commute in the car anymore!
So I rode my bike to work. In gale force winds. Ok, maybe not gale force, but strong enough that it almost stopped me dead in my tracks (on my wheels?) when it gusted. But I made it!
Then I blocked an afghan. Total non-sequitur but it was an important part of my day. I’ve been working on this afghan – baby sized- for a while. Not focused working, just slow and leisurely hooking on it. Then I ran out of white yarn. I own a yarn store. I don’t often run out of yarn, but white is the color of choice for blankets this summer in McPherson. In case you are interested. So, I received the yarn – finally – then panicked the dyelots wouldn’t match. They don’t, but it’s not to far off, especially since the blanket is granny squares separated by borders.
But most importantly it’s done so now I can work in the three lace projects I’ve got going. And planning for Knit in Public Day. And birthday knitting.
May the 4th Be With You
04 May 2012 Leave a Comment
I have crazy friends and I love them! And my friends tend to be nerds, or as my brother-in-law likes to say “We prefer Intellectual Badass!” And this is the 4th of May. As in “May the 4th be with you.” Star Wars humor.
Yoda hat
And this May 4th coincided nicely with a baby shower for two of my friends. I made them, well technically the baby (but let’s be realistic, the kid isn’t going to care or understand for many years, so it’s for the parents really), a felted Yoda hat and a Yoda baby bottle cover.
Yoda bottle cozy
The bottle cover may be the cutest thing I’ve ever knit (to date – I don’t discount that something cuter might be knit in the future)! I want to make them for everyone. I think I will alter it into a can cozy, maybe felt it. I’ll post pictures!
May the 4th be with you!
And don’t forget next week is the anniversary party so come by for cake (or other yummy munchies), a free set of beaded stitch markers with every purchase over $5 and sales!
I’m giddy!
25 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
Do you realize that I opened the store on May 10, 2011? That means Oh Yarn It turns 1 in 15 days!
“Celebrate good times! Come on!” Yes, I’m singing “Celebrate” in my head. Be glad I’m not singing out loud – that’s a scary thing!
I’m party planning - a really long party. Like a weeks worth! Want a preview?
Birthday Cupcake
Doubt that my cake will look like that, but there will be cake. And sales. And free stuff. More about that later. Back to planning!
Potential
17 Apr 2012 2 Comments
I spent some quality time with my roses this weekend. Most people know I’m crazy about yarn. I don’t think most people know that I’m crazy about growing roses too. Not long stem, cutting roses. But old-fashioned rose bushes. The type you find growing wild around old farmsteads. The ones with wicked thorns, tons of multi-petaled blooms and oodles and oodles of scent. Make you pass out in ecstasy scents. I have 7 growing in my back yard. I name them all.
Sid Bloom
Sid in Bud
There is Sid and Sid Jr. Sid is HUGE! A good 8 feet tall and about 8 feet by 6 feet in area. He’s an Autumn Sunset and he Vicious (hence the name – Sid Vicious. Get it?). Sid Jr. is a miniature version of Sid; he’s only about 1 foot by 1 foot.
Then there is Gladys. She’s an American Beauty and one of the first of my rose collection. I picked her up at Wal-Mart one day just because. She had a number of really rough years; this year she is coming into her own.
Double Knockout in Bloom
Then there is the baby rose and the carpet rose; these are the two without first names. The carpet rose grows very low to the ground, about 2 feet tall and covers an area about 4 feet square. He originally had a friend – a yellow carpet rose – but he didn’t make it through the first year. I planted to carpet roses because I really don’t like mowing that part of the yard. He is covered with tiny red roses throughout the summer, but they aren’t as fabulous in the smell department. The baby rose, like Sid Jr. are actually Mom’s. My oldest sister brings her roses quite often rather than cut flowers for things like birthdays, anniversaries and so on. Mom will take them into the garden when the weather gets warm enough and plants them around the patio.
“This is a blog about yarn,” you might be saying to yourself. And I say “this relates to yarn. ” How? you ask. Well, let me explain.
The quality time I spent with my roses involved counting buds (pointless activity because I always lose count then just say “lots”). Those buds, the potential flowers, are like yarn to me. What will they look like? Will they be big or small? Can they possibly smell as good this year as I remember from last year? Will they attract bumble bees and butterflies? Will I pick them and put them in bowls or let them stay on the bush until they make a golden and red carpet in my yard?
A new skein of yarn is the same (except for smell. MOST yarn doesn’t smell – or at least you hope it doesn’t. Unless it smells like nice, clean wool. And maybe I’m unique for smelling my yarn). What will this yarn be? Will it be a sweater? Or a scarf? Will it be big for an adult or small for a baby? Will I keep it or sell it or give it away? Yarn has the potential to be almost anything. Even a rose. Or a garden of flowers.
Flower Garden
thirty-one party
14 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
I fell for thirty-one bags and totes a few weeks ago at the women’s fair so I scheduled a party at the store. This is your invite (maybe your 3rd if your one the mailing list and facebook). Thursday, March 22 at 6 pm to whenever. Bags that work for knitting, cross stitch, make-up, hauling kids stuff, storing yarn – about anything you can think of! And there will be snacks! I’m so excited I can hardly stand it – purses, yarn and snacks – my three favorite things! And it’s Knit, Crochet, Socialize so bring your projects too!
Yarn wins!
08 Mar 2012 1 Comment
Big surprise there, I know!
But it was a tough decision. The problem is, I wanted to buy more than I did. I hate having to pace myself on yarn. I just want to buy it all so I can share it with everyone! So, what I bought was:
New Yarns
Feza Premier and Dazzle. I’ve had these before but sold out during the holidays.
Blue Heron. This is a line of yarn I haven’t carried before. It’s luscious! Remember the cartoon “I want to love him, and squeeze him, and pat him, and call him George” – my quote may be slightly off – well that is this yarn. I want to cuddle up with a skein and snuggle it – which maybe a sign that I need to get counseling, but I’m going to ignore it. What I have in the store right now is a Cotton/Rayon/Flax (ie: linen)/metallic blend. Not too metallic, just enough to glow, slightly. And the skeins are HUGE – 570 yards! What will be in the store – after it’s dyed – is a Rayon Metallic; again, just enough metallic to make it glow. And it is silky!!!!!! And 550 yards. I have a couple of skeins that I’m going to use to make up a sample or two. To get an idea of how much yarn is on one of these skeins – a scarf made with one skein is longer than I can hold up, and I’m tall! It dragged the ground.
Really long scarf
Ok, I think I’ve gushed enough – time to deal with my still-not-monogamous-knitting-problem. I finished a sock and a jabot (a fancy ruffly neck tie). And have 4 more things in the starting process. I think that equals two steps ahead and four back.
Happy yarning!
Yarn overload!
07 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
It’s coming soon! The overload of deciding which yarn to order! The stress is overwhelming. Or maybe I want to focus more on accessories, but that yarn is squishing and that one is so pretty…. It’s too hard! Can’t I just buy one of everything?!
Stop. Deep breath. Ok.
The yarn rep isn’t even here yet and I’m already stressing.
Stay tuned for the outcome. Suffice to say, new stuff will be here soon!
