Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Summer and Christmas

Since the store just opened last November this is the first summer of our retail lives. Everyone has said that sales slow during the summer months and that has happened. However, we have new customers that seem to find us on a daily basis and that helps keep the enthusium alive. We have also had a few classes that have generated quite a bit of interest. The Log Cabin quilt class held in June was an incredible hit with our store knitters. If you haven't heard about these you need to visit http://www.masondixonknitting.com/ . The quilts are gorgeous and can be made from almost any yarn you desire. I've seen them in Sublime Extrafine Merino DK (yummy and gorgeous), Takhi Cotton Classic (bright and beautiful), and Berroco Ultra Alpaca (soft and spectacular).

As for yours trulies journey into the world of knitting. Hey, if I own the shop then I need to know how to knit, right. I can truthfully say I have mastered the long-tail method of casting on. I am an expert at knowing how to cast on because after I cast on and knit a few rows I always see a mistake and I rip it out. Then, I just cast on again. Practice makes perfect and I am a real champ at this method of casting on. The knit stitch is my next step and I promise to continue working faithfully on this until I get it right. Thanks in advance for your support. I'll post my progress as soon as I make some.

I'm also thinking about another sale. During these hot summer months a (menopausal) woman like me can only long for the cooler winter months. So, I think a "Christmas in July" sale might be appropriate. I love the holiday season and since I own the store I can celebrate the season anytime I want to. Details will be posted later. Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Getting on the web

In an effort to get this blog noticed by the web spiders I am putting in this link:
Technorati Profile

Welcome little guys!

The first of many (I hope).

Ready or not here we come! We (or I) have ventured into the age of blogging! In this first post for "In the Loop" let me tell you a little about myself and my shop. I am a (mumble, mumble) year-old Nana who discovered she had a yen for yarn. I am fairly adapt at using a crochet hook, but do not know how to knit very well . . . (yet).



What, you may ask is someone who doesn't know how to knit doing opening a yarn shop? Well, I am glad you asked. You see - anytime I wanted quality yarn to make any of my crochet projects I had to drive 30 to 45 minutes to a yarn shop. And with working full time during the week that usually meant that my yarn shop trips had to be made on Saturdays. And making that trip was hard to do on Saturdays, so I spent a lot of time without quality yarn. Then about 3 years ago an idea was planted that if "someone" needed to open a local yarn shop - why not me! I spent a lot of time praying about the idea, and then a lot more time praying about the idea, and then a lot more time praying - well you get the idea. So, last November (tah! dah!) Common Threads Yarn Shop opened for business. Our community has been wonderful in their support and I was fortunate and blessed to add two proficient knitters (and friends) to the staff. I have continued to work my full-time job in addition to working at the shop on certain days. (Hey, I still have one child in college and two who have finished college.) I am fortunate that I love my job and I still need a regular pay check. . . and my creditors like my continued employment.



However, because of working two jobs my posts probably won't be on a daily basis, but I'll post as often as I can. My next post will probably have info about my trip to TNNA last week. Ohhhh, the yarns I saw! I almost went into shock. See you soon.