E-Newsletter: June 25, 2008

Dear Reader,

To quote Sally Field at the 1985 Academy Awards^*, you like me! You really like me! The response to the first edition of our renewed newsletter was astounding, and very gratifying. Putting together the pictures and stories of our week is a task that is time consuming but enjoyable, and your enthusiasm is just the positive reinforcement I need to keep me at the computer each week. Without further ado, I give you the second edition of News from Yarn Expressions.

^* She didn’t really say that. The quote is “…I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”.

What’s New in the Store

A Sea of Boxes
I really thought I’d gotten better at spacing out shipments so we didn’t have this kind of log-jam of boxes any more. Guess not! Nevermind that, you say, what’s inside those boxes?

• Lovely spinning fiber from Louet. Our regular supply of Corriedale, Shetland and BFL, plus dyed and undyed merino/silk blend, dyed and undyed pencil roving (lots of new colors of Northern Lights), and their brand new organic merino.
• Oodles and oodles of books from Martingale and Notions Marketing. In fact, I was so fixated on ordering Charlene Schurch’s new Little Box of Socks that I ordered it from both places. That means we have plenty!
• Traditional Christmas stocking kits from Yarn-Craft Supply. We haven’t had these kits for a few years, and someone called to inquire if we’d stock them again. I promised to get some for her at market, and ended up getting enough for us to have a good selection at the store. These are the stockings that your grandmother made for you - I have one with my name and my year of birth on it that was made for my first Christmas, back in the dark ages. Also from Yarn-Craft Supply, a generous number of new baskets, hand woven in Africa. They come in both round and oblong shapes. We intend to use them as shopping baskets at the store, but they’re also for sale, should you take a shine to one.
• New shades of Kureyon from Noro, and a few shades of Kochoron, a bulky wool/silk/angora blend, also from Noro.

P.S. There’s NO Red Heart in that box. One of our suppliers re-uses boxes whenever they can, which is how this box arrived on our doorstep.

What We’re Working On

Too Many Boxes = Little Time to Knit
Staff projects haven’t changed much since last week, due to the above influx of boxes. Time we’d normally spend knitting is spent opening boxes, counting contents, labeling said contents, making sure we can find said contents in the computer when we need to… You get the drift. I do have something to show you though.

Every night before I go to bed, I spin for at least half an hour. It calms and soothes me, gets me ready to sleep. A couple of months ago I decided that I wanted to make an Adult Surprise Jacket for myself out of handspun yarn. You can see a picture of my red fiber stash in this blog post. What you see here is the first skein spun from that stash. I am inordinately pleased with it. It’s a little heavier than I had hoped, but the colors are exactly what I wanted, and I can’t wait to spin more.

If you’re interested in learning more about spinning, read all about our new spinning group in the section What’s Going On Around Here, Part II, below.

What You’re Working On

Busy Hands
Just moments after I pushed the “send” button on last week’s newsletter, I had an e-mail back from my friend, Elli, complete with picture of a sweater she’s making for a young person of her acquaintance. I don’t dare say too much about it, because she says it’s a surprise, but I do know that it’s made from K1C2’s TyDy, one of our favorite summer cottons. I think this little jacket will be a well-received surprise, don’t you?

Remember to send us pictures of your projects, completed or in progress. This is the community bulletin board!

What’s Going On Around Here

Veni, Vidi, Colorati (with apologies to J. Caesar)
This past Sunday, 12 women showed up at Yarn Expressions to learn how to hand paint yarn. Using kitchen safe dyes from K1C2 called Culinary Colors, everyone proceeded to put their favorite color combinations on two hanks of wool/nylon blend sock yarn.

Some went for dark shades, some for brights. Some left white space, some layered shade after shade to give a watercolor effect. Everyone left with two wet hanks of yarn to hang up to dry, and instructions to let us see the finished product. Juliette brought her finished skeins in today for all to see. See?

What’s Going On Around Here Part II

Crochetville Swatch Party Getting Closer
Crocheters, the swatch party is almost here. Have you registered yet? Reservations need to be made in advance so we know how many goody bags to put together, and how much space we’ll need for visitors. The date is July 13th, the time is 1:00 in the afternoon, the cost is $10.

Amy came in this week, to show us what she’s been working on — this lovely vest using two shades of Malabrigo Silky Wool. This and many more inspirational ideas for using crochet in modern, comfortable garments can be seen at the Crochetville Swatch Party at Yarn Expressions. Don’t miss your chance — register now.

What’s In the Works

Spinning Group Starts in July
Interest in spinning has picked up quite a bit this year, which leads me to offer time at the store for a spinning group. We’ll meet twice a month, on the first and third Monday, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. Accomplished wheel and spindle spinners, novices and those who are curious about spinning are all welcome. July’s dates will be the 7th and 21st.

 

We’re leaving for North Carolina in the morning, to celebrate our anniversary (32 years and counting — my how time flies!) and to visit our daughter. Now that the newsletter is written, I can go finish the laundry, take Alex-the-border-collie to dog scout camp and pack my bags. Thank you again for letting me come into your home and share the news from Yarn Expressions. I’ll be back next week with more new yarn to share.

Until next week,

and all the crew at Yarn Expressions