Greetings from my kitchen counter! It's been a while since I've blogged- time really flies when you are having fun running a great yarn store!
May has been a great month so far. We had a super visit with my mom over Mother's Day. It was wonderful to have her on the Outer Banks and wonderful to have a week with her at Knitting Addiction's new location. I think she was a little amazed at how much we have grown and how busy the shop is. The visit wasn't near long enough, but we did manage to sneak in some fun around all the work days. Fish tacos from Mama's and a great day at Coquina Beach with Britt and all the dogs made the weekend fun. Mom helped a ton around the shop, inside and out. She tagged yarn, stickered shopping bags and pulled the last of the evil weeds from the front flower beds. There is a little more mulch to put out and a couple more plants to settle in, but the flower beds are really looking great. (Thanks again, Mom!)
We are working hard and really getting excited about what the summer will bring. There has been a definite change of pace at the new location, so there are some challenges that come with the change in pace. We are analyzing the inventory, investigating what new things to add, including a couple really helpful people, and in general gearing up for a busy summer season.
Lots of cool stuff getting knitted and shown off around the shop. I am remiss in not having pictures of all of the following to show off on the blog, but I have to mention a couple really neat finished projects customers brought in to let us see. Dee started the recent stuffed critter craze, knitting the giraffe out of Itty Bitty Toys, by Susan Anderson. Then came the monkey. Then Kathryn saw the giraffe and had to get in on the fun. Another giraffe out of "Spud and Chloe", an amazingly cute lamb with "Heaven" fluff, the long puppy that can wrap up in an itty bitty blanket and plans for a fantastic purple sock yarn hippo. Britt and I are contemplating the projects we should knit out of "Itty Bitty Toys". The book rocks if you have small people to knit for and are bored with sweaters.
Newport Cotton by Ellyn Cooper has been a popular yarn for the spring. It has been knitted into several cute summer sweaters and I just finished the "Waves and Sunsets" wrap out of it. Newport is a really beautiful mercerized cotton, dyed in Ellyn's signature colors and wonderful to knit. The "Waves" wrap is a simple rectangle worked in version of feather and fan to really show off the amazing colors. It has been a huge hit since I finished it. The pattern is written and the sample is out and available to swish around your shoulders to try on. The drape and weight are amazing. It should be a great wardrobe addition to a sundress or simple summer outfit.
Several new and fun "not yarn" additions have been added to the inventory at Knitting Addiction. We have a fresh shipment of Circular Needle Clutches by "Offhand Designs". They are simply the best storage option I have ever used for circular knitting needles. I have the sleeves of mine labeled by size of needle and I typically have multiple sets of a size in a sleeve. Mine easily contains size 2- 13 needles with some sleeves to spare. It has been in use for nearly 5 years and still looks like new, even after a minor event with a certain black dog when she was a puppy. A bit of an investment at first, but well worth it to have your stock of circular needles in one easy location.
We also have a new double point needle storage option. Karen from "Karen's Kreations" has created a great double point roll that can easily keep a dozen sets of double point needles contained and organized. Great fabrics, accented with clever buttons and velcro to keep it folded and tidy make for a really nice addition to a well organized knitting bag. Karen has also created a great "Bucket Bag" that has tons of space for projects, clever pockets and a sturdy drawstring handle. Yippee for the grommet set!
We just added "Knitknotes" this week. If you have ever struggled with how to let the lucky recipient of a knitted gift know that you knitted it, Knitknotes might be for you. Cute cards with clever sayings like, "I made this. You better love it." come packaged 4 to a pack with matching envelopes for $4.50. There are several sayings to pick from and a great card with care instructions to let folks know to be gentle with your labor of love.
On cards and notes we also added in Gayle Adoline's clever hand-crafted cards. (If the name is not ringing a bell, that's Britt's mom, creator of all sorts of clever things- yarn ball wreathes anyone?) Gayle is sending us selections of cards created with knitters in mind. Cute birthday and greeting wishes, all handmade and all really cute. The selection will change with the week, so check them out when you come in.
The rain has taken a break and I'm ready to get out and get a short run in, so I'm going to end this one for now.
Happy Knitting!
