Wool Shop - Open

There's just a hint of irony in the fact that today, the A-frame sign arrived for "kniterary." OK - so it's 35 degrees out - are you telling me people don't knit in hot weather. Well - maybe they knit, they just don't shop for knitting in 35 degree weather. I know this much is true because I have had only one person in today but sold nothing. Not a major problem really (if you don't count how much I spend monthly in rent, yarn, etc.). Maybe every knitter in Durham is wise to the fact that a 20% off coupon will be in tomorrow's Whitby This Week and so the onslaught... OK - wishful thinking! So I'm leaving early tonight - 7 instead of 8. I hope no one will be disappointed.

It looks like tomorrow I will finally have my business cards/bookmarks. I asked my designer to make bookmarks instead of the traditional business card - a bit of a play on kniterary/literary. After more than a month, I'll be happy to see them.

The slow day has been great in many other ways. I managed to spend quite some time on an Operations Manual for the shop. Help for my helpers! And, I've been knitting away on the Bloomfield Cardigan - only 18 more rows of one sleeve to go. Did I mention my friend Lou and her 10 year old Mission Falls vest. If it weren't for her and that vest, I wouldn't have the yarn to finish my cardi. Turns out she had leftovers of the colours I ran out of. This is really cool, or sweet, given I only met her two years ago. What are the odds! Once the knitting is finished, only 48,923 ends to weave in - oh joy! Labour pales in comparison. (I'll have to post more pictures - but I've run up against a power problem - turns out that leaving your camera hooked up to the computer sucks the life out of it- must continue reading instructions.)

Yesterday, while rooting through some of my UFOs, I found a great pattern for a Mohair Throw. The yarn I resurrected from the sweater my mum knit me when I was 15 should do nicely. I took the sweater apart a few years ago, carefully washed and packed it away, waiting for inspiration. It is a beautiful coral red. Only last night did it occur to me that a throw this colour would look fabulous in our living room. I grabbed the needles from my bin on the way home last night and can see progress today! Can't wait to get home and knit. I think I will forego the fringe around the entire perimeter as suggested and keep to the ends only.

Of course, the slow days in the shop costs me in other ways too. Last week I decided that I would treat myself to a birthday gift - and purchased Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules and Mason-Dixon Knitting. MDK has an adorable picot-edged jean jacket for little ones that I thought would be perfect on Julia. So then I was off to the Lands' End site looking for deals - and sure enough, found a boy's antique indigo jacket on sale. The Rowan Handknit Cotton in Fruit Salad will be perfect for the project. Then it will be off to the quilt fabric store for just the right print from which to make the blanket-stitched heart for the back panel. Lots of time for me to finish this before the fall and/or cooler weather arrives.

As for my bigger projects, I'm aiming to start the drop-in knitting night on July 27 - two weeks tonight. I've still got to get proper lighting installed in the back room, but I'm making some progress. Also, some slow progress is being made with the kniterary web site. The husband of one of my customers is a talented web guy - I've given him some sites to look at and some ideas to ponder. In other words, it's getting there! I really need a spot to advertise classes, provide updates on new stock, announce the shop's existence, etc.

I'll keep you posted!