Monday, March 31, 2008

Araucania Ranco Sock

I like Araucania Ranco. I cast on Ranco Solid #492 (it's sort of a dusty rose pink color). I am using 2.5 mm knit picks harmony needles.















The next thing I need to start is my Christmas knitting. I am a rather slow knitter so the sooner I start the better. Has anyone else started Christmas knitting?

Sunday, March 30, 2008

busy week ahead & 10% sale

Wow, lots of things to do this week.

The property I talked about a couple of weeks ago, well, we bought it. So now we are getting through all the paperwork. The closing will be tuesday. My husband and I have never bought property before so we had no idea of all the things to be done.

If that's not enough, I am getting ready to go to the Sewing and Craft show in Abbotsford on April 4, 5. I am really excited about this show. I have lots of new stuff to bring with me.

One final note, everything in the store is 10% off. I might also be receiving my Noro Kureyon Sock yarn this week which I will include in the sale.

Happy stitching!

Monday, March 24, 2008

New Projects

I started a scarf, "Branching Out" from Knitty.com. It's a good first lace project for me. I am using Malabrigo Baby Merino Lace in the color Intenso. I really like the color as it knits up. I wasn't a fan of the color when it came into the store but I really like it now and it is soooo soft.












I also started another scarf project using Araucania Atacama in color 510. It is alpaca and it's soft and very easy to knit with. Again, I wasn't fond of the color and I really like it now. I'm using Allison Isaacs pattern "My so called scarf". A very easy pattern, portable and lovely to look at!














My next project is going to be a pair of socks in Araucania Ranco. Ranco is a great sock yarn and very affordable at $12.95 100grams (1 pair adult average size socks). We carry both the semi solids and the multi colors.

I hope everyone had a good Easter long weekend.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Fibre Fest 2008

This was my first year being a vendor at a Fibre Festival. It was well worth the effort. My mom helped with setup (this is her):
















My mom also worked the 2 days of the festival. She really enjoyed herself (I think). We didn't buy any fibre but we did get two books. We bought the Ashford Book of Spinning and the Ashford Book of Dyeing. I was really pleased that we found them. I bought them from Legacy Studio - family from Alberta who were really nice people. We made lots of new friends.

Here's a couple of pictures of the booth once we finished setting up.






I rented a 10 x 10 booth which was way too small. Next time I would rent a 10 x 20. It gives people more room to browse. Also, I would not use so much cube shelving and buy something with hooks. Alot of people had trouble browsing through the Lorna's Laces. It is difficult to see the colors when it is piled.
In the last few months I have learned alot about what yarns I want to carry and the Festival helped me understand what people want and how people shop. In the end, it was a great experience.
In other shop news:
We just received Malabrigo Aquarella. It is a polar weight and comes in fabulous colors. I will also start carrying the Gruesa line which is the same as the Aquarella but in monochromatic colors. We also received more lace.
We also received more Noro Silk Garden and we now carry the Silk Garden Lite.
I will be expanding the Noro line so if there is something you think we should be carrying and are not - please let me know.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

3 days til Fibre Fest

Here in the lower mainland area of BC we have an annual Fibre Fest. This year the event will be on Mar 7, 8. This is my first year attending (because it is also my first year of the store). I am actually a bit nervous. I don't really know why I'm nervous but I have never done anything like this before and I want to make a good impression. My mom will be there Friday afternoon and all day Saturday so that will be nice. She is really looking forward to it.

In other news I have several orders that keep getting delayed. That has been disappointing because alot of the yarn was supposed to be here for the show. I am intending on ordering everything available from Malabrigo. I have ordered the silky merino, lace, merino worsted and aquarella. The next move will be carrying all the colors. It is truly a beautiful yarn. I have also ordered more Noro. I have ordered the sock yarn, silk garden lite and silk garden.

I did however, receive the Araucania Ranco. I tell ya, that's a good deal. I have always really liked Araucania and the Ranco and Ranco Multi are a great deal.

Now, on the home front, my husband and I are actually looking at buying realestate!! Considering the prices these days, that is pretty scary. We found an affordable piece of property. It is 3 acres about 1 hour outside of Vancouver. It is affordable because it backs onto the Freeway and there is no house or buildings (just bare land). But to us - it's a little patch of heaven:) There is currently an offer with subjects that expires on Friday March 7. Our realator said it doesn't look like the subjects will be removed which means we can put our offer in. So hopefully, March 7 will be a lucky day at Fibre Fest and we might buy our first piece of land. woohoo!!!!

I'll take pictures of our booth on Friday. My daughter will be with me for a couple hours on Saturday so I am sure that she'll talk me into buying her some purple yarn - since everything is purple these days.lol