He came back!

The UPS man made it through the snow! Gotta feel bad for him on days like this. Rear wheel drive and now empty.... doesn't handle well at all, I learned.

Stay tuned for less blurry, pretty, put-away pictures...

Waiting....

I've made space for the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and the chunky Peru by Katia. This shelf has been empty for almost a week now because I thought it was coming last Friday. AND, as I write this, I watched the UPS truck drive right by my store without stopping! I hope he comes back. He was sliding around the corner because of all the snow....

Check out two of the yarns made in the sock yarn dyeing class by Cynthia (on the left) and Lisa (on the right) ....

Aren't they great???? Can you see the differences in the patterns? Cynthia is an artist and did not want to follow the directions of putting the dye on in stripes like Lisa did. She decided to just put the dye on radomly. They both came out great even though two different techniques were used.

And so it's been snowing here again today. I've cancelled tonight's knit-in because it's just supposed to be horrendous until tomorrow morning. What a great day to be on the couch knitting!

Progress

I'm making progress on several fronts!

First, I'm FINALLY done with inventory. I counted the buttons yesterday (using my perfect memory for those buttons that were sold since Dec 31) and finalized all my lists. Yay.

Second, I prepared everything I need to prepare for the accountant for taxes. Yay.

Third, I finally figured out how to use my MP3 player and am currently listening to a very good book. It's perfect when Paul is playing Grand Tourino (play station racing game). I can listen and knit/crochet at the same time. Love it.

Fourth, I'm coming along nicely with my crocheted beach tote:

Yay. If I'm really ambitious tonight, I'm going to finish the main bag (except for the handles). It's 12 inches high right now and i need to get to 15 1/2 inches before doing the top edge. I have to give props to my sweetie who sat next to me while I crocheted (and watched tv) the past two nights and continually pulled yarn out of the ball for me. I'm telling you, I wouldn't have gotten this far if I had to stop every few minutes myself. I'm hoping there is something good on tv tonight that he wants to watch so the rapid progress can continue.

As he was pulling, occassionally he'd get to those parts where a little blob/sort-of-tangle of yarn would come out. He asked, "What is this called? Is there a technical term for it?" When I said, "I don't know. It's just a blob," he decided it should be called a "web". There you go. Start using it.

And here is what my cat does all day:

It's her chair. No one else can sit in it.

Just when you think you're making progress...

I know you all can relate.... I woke up EARLY this morning, thinking I'd give myself an hour and a half to work on my crocheted beach bag. It's been going along so slowly because I've only had a few minutes here and there to work on it. So, there I am, on the couch, crocheting, with the morning news on, and I decide to check and make sure I have the right number of circles in my row. I was FOUR short! I had to rip back about two of my three inches, since I apparently lost them gradually. Ugh. In my frustration, I proceeded to make the ripped out yarn into a huge tangled mess which took quite some time to undo. So much for my hour and a half. Now I'm counting after every row.

So, at the store today, I decided instead of working on the bag, to finish crocheting the edges around my granny square scarf:

It looks great. I just love it. I'm going to wear it all the time.

I also meant to update in my last post about the sock dyeing class. It was great fun and I'm waiting to see the final products (participants had to take the dyed yarn home to microwave, rinse and dry). Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures. And that was after having Paul rush down to the store with batteries for the camera! I have a terrible habit of leaving the camera plugged into the computer and letting the batteries drain. However, I did go to BJ's and got a 48-pack so hopefully I won't run out for a while.

I finished my Valentine's window today:

Just a little something to keep things lively during this long winter. Especially since today they came to take down all the lighted garland from my railings!

Catching you up....

Wow, it's been over a week since I've posted here. Sorry about that. Again, pretty busy. We have a new president. I spent much of Tuesday on the couch, riveted by all the goings on on the TV. And crocheting my beach bag (for the class in March):

I have a long way to go. It's about 24" long and I have to crochet until it is 17" high. Right now it's 3" high. I'm using the Cascade Sierra which is 80% cotton, 20% wool. Very nice yarn. Especially for a beach tote (or it could be a market bag).

And knitting my Lucy bag (for class tonight):

This is just the bottom with a few side rows done. I've done 30 of 120 rows. I got lots of colors of Ella Rae Classic in last week and my Lucy bag is made with two of them (the olive #18 and the eggplant #28). I love these two colors together.

I've also recently started another Noro striped scarf to use as a sample at the store for Silk Garden, since I gave my other sample to my sister for Christmas.:



Colors 282(left) and 279 (right). Paul and I went to a holiday party for his car club on Saturday and I started knitting this in the car on the way down. In the dark. No joke. It wasn't too difficult. I needed to turn the light on a couple of times when I stopped paying attention, but otherwise not bad. Love, love, love these scarves. They are so easy and so stunning. My mom loves the one I made her for Christmas and has called several times to tell me how much she loves it and how many people have commented on it.

Speaking of my mom:

These will soon ( I hope soon) be the replacement cashmere socks for those I made her for Christmas and didn't fit.

Have you seen the new hospitality area at the shop????

I got a cool one-cup-at-a-time hot beverage maker. It makes coffee, tea or cocoa. All different kinds. Decaf, half-caf, caf, hazelnut coffee; herbal tea, regular tea... I tell ya, it's almost like you were at Starbucks. But not.

Blocking in progress

Top: Branching Out scarf for the beginning lace class. (my blocking leaves something to be desired, I think, but it's 10:20pm and I'm tired.)
Bottom: Red Hot Granny Square Scarf which I made from the granny squares I will be teaching this Sunday. It's actually not done yet. I have to crochet around the edges. I will be showing that in class but wanted to do an initial blocking first.

Spent most of the day trying to do some catching up on paperwork. Finally got time to put the squares together then soak both pieces. Also spent some time trying to figure out how to work my new MP3 player - bought with xmas money! I really wanted to get one so I could listen to books while I knit. Hopefully the best of both worlds. I've missed my reading so much since I've been needing to do a lot of knitting.

New Year craziness

It's been a really crazy week with lots going on. The store was busy, life was busy. Today's fun? Dealing with Mandy and the pieces of the dog bed she ate....last week. Dogs are a mystery to me. Why, why, WHY do they eat things that aren't food? It only makes them throw up. Then they eat their throw up and it's a vicious circle. Sorry if that's disgusting -- it's just been that kind of day. Which started at 2am when I had to take her out to do her business (I'll spare you THOSE details). Now I'm worried she'll have some sort of blockage, so I have to monitor her "business".

Anyway, on to shop stuff. Finished the Baby Surprise Jacket I was working on while I taught the class:

I'm sending this to my best friend's daughter, Stephanie. She is adorable and will look even more so in this. Speaking of those cute little flower buttons, I realized I forgot to count the buttons during inventory. Put it on the to-do list.

I also finished the store sample of the Irish Hiking Scarf, made with Kathmandu Aran:

I'm expecting a big shipment of yarn today - Ella Rae Classic, 100% wool. It will replace the Plymouth Galway and apparently felts really well. My big dilemma will be where to put it - I see another store re-arrangement coming!

Inventory madness

We got the inventory done on Monday night in about three hours. I counted, Paul documented. There are 3,711 balls of yarn in the store. 690 patterns (who knew?). It was rather boring, but highlighted by the candy Paul brought and made us take a break to eat each hour. I told you it would be riveting...

Here is something more interesting....

A topiary-ish pig! It is on the front lawn of a home on Main Street and I think it is the cutest thing. I just noticed it the other day so I'm not sure if it has always been there.

That's all for now. Not too much blogging lately because things have been rather hectic with inventory and all. Hoping things will calm down so I can get back to regular blogging....