Back on track...

Ok, I'm back on track. So after the dropped stitch I showed you two posts ago, I ripped it back a couple rows and kept going. Then, I realized I was short a stitch again! I couldn't figure out where, then tried to rip it out and then couldn't get the stitches picked back up and finally decided to scrap the whole thing. Hence, the last post. I started over and am happy to report that the second time around using the provisional cast on and creating the picot edge went MUCH better. Yay! I almost back to where I was when I scrapped it. Cute, huh?

Sock update

...'nuf said.

Arrrgh!

See that little stitch on the lower needle? That is the stitch I apparently dropped 4 ROWS AGO which is just before I started knitting the pattern rows. I brought the stitch up 2 rows but hit the hole and now I can't go any further, so I'm going to have to go BACK! Argh. That's what I get for trying to knit something complicated at the store when other things are going on.

Forget-Me-Not Sock

For those of you who were at the knit-in last night and witnessed my very aggravating struggle with starting my sock, I finally finished the edge. Here it is!

For those of you who weren't there, I learned a new technique : making this picot edging for my sock. It involved using a crochet hook and waste yarn to create a chain, then picking up and knitting into the back loops of the chain, then knitting and YO-ing for a while, then picking up the stiches knit into the chain to knit together with the existing stitches. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so frustrating because I kept messing it up. But, thanks to the encouragement of the knit-in-ers, I eventually got the hang of if. Woke up early this morning to keep working on it and finally got the whole edge done. Hopefully by the time I get to the second sock I won't have forgotten how to do it. I think it is very cute, though, and will be a good summertime sock.

This pattern is the Forget-Me-Not sock which I found through the Crystal Palace Yarns website www.straw.com . I'm using their Panda Cotton in periwinkle (one of my favorite colors!).

We had fun at the knit-in, especially talking about food! The time passed quickly and we didn't even realize it was already 8:30. You must come join us - Wednesdays 6:30-8:30.

Not really a yarn shop thing

I left the shop on Saturday and decided to finally try to "open" the pool. The pool came with the house (which we moved into in October). We weren't looking for a pool. We decided that we'd just take it down. Then, I started thinking about it. Paul didn't. We struck a deal. Keep the pool if Liz takes care of it. However, some of the stuff is really heavy. So, Paul helped. We spent over an hour trying to get the water out of the cover of the pool. Water that was full of scummy, yucky leaves and about a million TADPOLES! It was so gross. We finally go the cover off and were pleasantly surprised to see that the water in the pool looked fairly clear. We expected it to look like the water in the pool cover.

Then we just looked at each other. Now what? We have no idea how to work a pool. So, today I went to the pool store and watched the amused face of the young man who was helping me and trying to answer my questions. What is the round hole in the pool for? What is the square hole for? Will all these chemicals kill the 10 frogs that took residence in the pool after we took the cover off? (the answer to #3 is no)

I think I'm set but first the pool needs more water. We narrowly avoided a well disaster yesterday after trying to bring the water level up. The water pressure in the house got very low and the water was coming out of the faucets in sputtering trickles. A little scary. So we have to do it gradually to allow the well water to replenish.

Despite Paul's dislike of the pool and not wanting to bother with it, he seems suspiciously excited at the prospect of using it...

Big Friday night happenings at (in front of) the yarn shop

Ok, so it was about 4:40pm Friday and Yvette had just come in for her usual Friday afternoon visit/fluff the shelves session. She and I were both looking forward to 6pm when we could pick up our dinners from the Altamont Free Library BBQ Chicken Dinner fundraiser. The doors and windows were open and there was a nice breeze. Then, we heard this sort of crash and scraping sound. We ran to the door and see a stretch limo in the middle of the street (straddling the yellow line) in front of the shop. The front end looked REALLY low. Turns out, it turned the corner from Maple onto Main and broke a ball joint -- and if you know anything about cars (which I sort of do since it's my husbands hobby and I get things through osmosis)... that's not good. It's really bad. You can't even move the car. So, the limo driver lets out the EIGHT people in the car and Yvette invites them all to come sit on the porch while they figure out what to do.

The car is the only limo in this driver's "fleet", so there is no replacement coming. A nice man who lives nearby, offered to drive some of them to their destination. They were going to the Altamont Manor for a wedding that started at 5pm. They had apparently also called the Manor to see if someone could come get them, and the Manor suggested they walk. The Manor is about 1 mile straight up a VERY steep hill from here. Luckily the bride wasn't there yet (we found out later) becuase HER limo was now stuck in the traffic caused by this limo's breakdown! Her limo ended up going by at 5:10pm.

To complicate things, the aforementioned chicken BBQ's first pick-up time was 5pm so there was even more traffic in town than usual. And, boy were people testy. It drives me nuts when it is very clear there is some sort of traffic jam because NO ONE is moving, yet someone still feels it necessary to beep their horn, thinking it will moves things along.

Then there were the many RV's passing through town to go up the hill to the lake campgrounds up there. The limo was smack dab in the middle of the street, with very little room on either side. A car could fit by, going very slowly. But the RV's.... they STILL insisted on trying to get by, rather than taking Maple Street as a detour. One RV was stuck backing up and moving forward for about 5 minutes, trying to get by, until it finally ended up hopping the curb. We thought it's tires were going to pop. Luckily the store was not too busy at this time, or I would have missed all the excitement!

Anyway, it made for a fun 45 minutes. Ah, small town life.
(and the chicken BBQ was really yummy.)

blogging

I was so excited to start my own blog - and now I'm woefully delinquent in actually blogging! It's been so busy that I just haven't had the time. However, now that the newsletter, with 3 months of classes scheduled, is out and the "Making Room for Inventory" sale is over, I'm feeling a little less crazy.

I also had a visit from a yarn rep the other day. Of course he could only come on Tuesday, my day off! Figures. Wow, is it ever hard to decide what yarns to buy - I wanted everything he showed me! Now, before you start asking what yarns are coming in... I still haven't made my final decisions. Soon, though. Soon! Interesting that the three yarn reps I have seen have all been men and none of them knit. Not sure how that works, because I'd think somone who knits would make the best salesperson. They've all been doing this for many years though, and I think all of them have said to me, "I don't knit, but I know yarn."!

Just finished the second felted clog/slipper class and everyone seemed to be happy with their clogs! It's so neat to see the different colors everyone picks. Someone suggested we have a pajama night to show off the finished slippers. I have two more classes scheduled, so maybe in the fall we'll do just that.

Tonight is the Altamont Free Libary Chicken BBQ! It takes place right across the street from the store. How convenient and yummy.

It's Hot

Oh. My. Gosh. It's hot. Really hot. 97 degrees yesterday, and it's supposed to be 95 degrees today. I feel like I'm wilting. I'm a HUGE wimp in the heat. Big whiner and complainer. And the cat and the dog are lolling around, shedding like crazy. I feel like I'm lint brushing and vacuuming every 5 minutes. I think I've killed the nice New Guinea impatiens hanging plant my mom brought me to put on the porch of the shop (sorry Mom!). I've been watering it, but I think it just got too hot. The petunias, on the other hand, seem to be doing well.

But, have no fear, the shop will be nice and cool. I'm not afraid to use the A/C. My view is that money spent on heat in the winter and A/C in the summer is money well spent. None of this put-on-a-sweater/ sit-in-front-of-a-fan-in-your-underwear stuff. I need to be comfortable - especially if I'm going to be knitting. I'm hoping the shop can be a nice refuge for those that don't have A/C -- or heck, even if you want to conserve your A/C. Come use mine!

So, I've been getting ready for my first sale. Lots of re-arranging of yarn (again) and making signs and advertising. Hopefully the word is out - because there are LOTS of good deals. For those who haven't seen elsewhere--- Making Room for Inventory Sale, June 11-15; Lot of yarns are 30%, 40% and 50% off. Also a "the more you buy, the more you save" sale. Spend up to $25 (on regularly priced items or sale yarn), get an additional 5% off your total purchase. Spend $26-$50, get an additional 10% off your total purchase. Spend $51 to $100, get an additional 15% off your total purchase. Spend over $100, get an additional 20% off your total purchase.

As the name of the sale indicates, I'm hoping to be able to then bring in some new yarns. It is SO difficult to decide what new yarns to carry. There are so many out there, and as I've asked customers what they like, I get so many different answers. So far, I'm narrowing in on Rowan. This requires signing up with a new distributor, so it's a little more involved. But I'm also bringing in a line from Euro yarns called Mirasol. The Mirasol Project supports local communities in Peru through the sales of the Mirasol Yarn Collection, which includes yarn made from the animals tended by these communities for generations in the Peruvian highlands. They have some really beautiful yarns and I'm excited to bring them to the store. Go here to learn more... www.mirasolperu.com

I'm off to lock myself in the bedroom with the A/C and work on my felted clog for Thursday's class.

A day off...

I'm actually taking a whole day off from the store for the first time in 5 weeks. My family keeps telling me I need to relax a little on the days the store is closed. The store is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so that is prime time for me to get certain things done such as clean and place orders; and so far I have gone in every day that the store has been closed. However, we ALL need time off, right? It's OK. (That's me trying to convince myself I don't need to go in today...)

Ok, so I drove by today to make sure the flowers I planted out front weren't dying (have you seen them? They are very pretty!). Oh, and I'm writing this post for the shop blog.... and I went to pick up the shop mail at the post office.... but I didn't go INTO the store. I've been told that running a business consumes your life and that even when you aren't there, you are thinking about it in one way or another. That is very true, but so far I'm really enjoying myself.

That's all for now. I'm off to finish a scarf I'm knitting for a shop model. (That doesn't count as "work" on my day off!)