Misery to Bliss in Four Month's Flat

Wow!  I just reread my previous blogs which were all written long before I even considered opening a shop.  Back when knitting was just a hobby that I loved (and still do) and before yarn completely changed my life.  So please allow me to fill in the gaps.  I'll spare you the boring details and try to stick to the highlights. It's funny how things happen, how life just happens sometimes. 

December 2013 - I had a Pinerest board called Harps & Thistles where I saved photos of Ireland & Scotland and thought it would be a great name for a business someday. Nothing specific, possibly yarn or knitting related.  Maybe a part time online something-or-other, something to do in my retirement.  As luck would have it, the url was available and I bought it, thinking that since retirement was several years down the road, I'd have plenty of time to figure things out.

April 2014  - My job as a corporate Project Manager was suddenly eliminated. What in the world would I do without endless meetings, conference calls, reports and deadlines?  How would I possibly get by without someone critiquing my every move?  Was this actually relief I felt?   I don't remember consciously making the decision to open a yarn shop but the next day I started the Harps & Thistles Facebook site.

May 2014 - OK, so I didn't take into consideration that I was still a fairly novice knitter and that I really didn't know a lot about yarn.  I didn't take into consideration that I'd never worked retail or owned a business (but I did sell Home Interiors back in the 80's so that had to count for something).   Fake it 'til you make it right?  I knew to the very core of my being that somehow this was going to happen and that it needed to happen in time to participate in Northeast Ohio's Yarn Discovery Tour, so off I went.  Head down and full speed ahead!

June - Oh ye of little faith...  you bankers and real estate owners who poo-poo'd the idea of a yarn shop as a viable business.  Apparently you don't understand the tenacity and dedication of knitters once they have their mind set on a specific project.  Especially one with an outcome of a stash beyond their wildest dreams.  Where there's a will there's a way and in the end the knitter persevered!

July - KEYS!  I have keys to a gigantic empty space and what a space it is!  A quaint 96-year-old building with great parking and just a block off the interstate.  I started collecting secondhand furniture and fixtures and came up with the brilliant idea that the classroom table and all 8 chairs needed to be shabby chic'd.  I finalized my logo, ordered signage and hired a painter.  By this time I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 people following me on FB and was starting to get excited about meeting all of them! 

August - Attended Stitches Midwest (what was I thinking!?) to assist Three Irish Girls with their booth, oh yeah, and also to attend the impromptu birth of my cousin Erin's sweet baby girl.  Mad dash upon returning... arranging furniture & fixtures, checking in boxes and Boxes and BOXES of yarn. Shelves were delivered just 5 days before opening so a huge THANK YOU to my son for putting them all together and the ladies in my knitting group for attending my shelf stocking party and supporting me from beginning to end.  And at the risk of turning this into an acceptance speech, I also need to thank my husband who never wavered in his support and my family who were there to help with anything and everything I needed.

By the time I opened for business on August 26th I had nearly 600 followers on FB and was a little nervous that they would all be waiting for me when I opened.  They weren't all there that day, but eventually they all stopped by to check us out.  Many have since become friends and I can't imagine life any other way.

My dear friend Martha was my very first customer!

It's hard to believe, but in just two short weeks we will celebrate our one year anniversary.  Man oh man have I ever learned a lot these past 12 months.  Not just about yarn and knitting and running a business, but also about the importance of keeping an open mind and heart, about trial and error and about always treating people as you would want to be treated.  I'm finally doing what I was always meant to do and I thank my lucky stars each and every day!

Yarn Junky

Hi, my name is Cindy and I’m a Yarnaholic.  I wasn’t always an addict.  There was a time when I could walk into a local craft store and purchase just a skein or two of acrylic and be on my way.  Then a so-called ‘friend’ of mine told me about some wicked Merino that could be found at the local yarn shop around the corner and I was hooked.

At first I could control my purchases… just buy a skein here and there to add to my stash.  But then I visited a shop that was going out of business, everything was 50% off and my addiction kicked in full throttle.  I think I lost consciousness for a bit and when I came too and emerged from the shop I couldn’t even bear to look at the receipt and the damage I had done to my credit card.  Yes, it was shameful but did it stop me?  No.  Somehow I was able to justify the purchase... “It was just this once” and “It’ll never happen again.”  But it did happen again!  Within a few weeks I was scoping out other yarn shops and I was no longer satisfied with simple wool.  I moved on to wonderful blends of alpaca, silk and cashmere.  My baskets at home were overflowing and I had to purchase shelves and storage bins to accommodate my bounty.

Then one day another ‘friend’ pointed out to me that I needed to buy enough yarn at one time to complete a PATTERN.  What a great concept!  But now, not only did I need to purchase more yarn, I also needed to have a multitude of patterns that would accommodate any quantity of yarn that found its way into my life.  If yarn is like crack, then patterns are heroin.  I started out slowly by going to libraries and buying back issues of magazines.  This quickly lead to my setting up a knitting book search on Paperback Book Swap and purchasing actual magazine subscriptions.  Before I knew it I was becoming too impatient to wait for books on PBS and started ordering them directly from Amazon.  They quickly started piling up… more shelves and more storage were needed.  To date, counting the book I got in the mail yesterday, my library includes 94 books, 45 magazines and 77 single patterns for a total of 3,183 patterns (I am forever indebted to Ravelry for helping me keep track!!!).

It’s comforting to know that there are others out there like me, we go to meetings on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we talk about our addictions and where we got our last ‘fix.’  We pass around luscious skeins of yarn and covet each other’s stash.  If a rehab exists we will avoid it at all cost and will happily live out our days like the yarn junkies we are.

New to Tunisian Crochet!

Just finished my first project AND learned a new skill!   While it was as easy as I had expected, I did have to refer to one book and one YouTube video to get me through it.  The pattern I used was Tara’s Tunisian Scarf with Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK yarn in turquoise.  OK, it doesn’t look EXACTLY like the picture, but close enough.  After all, I'm not a perfectionist and 'Close Enough' is one of my mantras...  it makes life so much easier!  One side of the scarf is much stretchier than the other which gives a somewhat diagonal look (I actually kind of like that) and the reverse side is every bit as nice as the front - bonus!  All in all, I’m very happy with the results.

So here’s my take on Tunisian Crochet…

1    1)  It’s super easy, especially if you already know how to crochet, although it’s a bit more complicated (but not much). 

      2)   It’s a bit monotonous… you crochet stitches onto the hook, you crochet them off of the hook.  Kind of like wax on, wax off for Karate Kid fans.  But does the monotony come from the Tunisian Crochet technique itself or because it was a scarf and scarves are typically boring?  This may require more investigation. 

      3)  It’s super quick!  Once I got the hang of it I flew through the project.  And the best part is that if you screwed up, you just had to rip it out to the beginning of the 'wax on' row where you only had one stitch on the hook and take it from there.

      4)  I love the look and the weight, heavier than knitting and more dense than typical crochet.  I blocked it last night (well as much as you can block bamboo) and added some beaded fringe to jazz it up a bit and really love the results.

My conclusion?  I need to break out the Tunisian Crochet book I bought and try a pattern that’s more challenging. There's an afghan in there with several different stitches and a sweater that I absolutely adore.   Someone at our knitting group last week said that she had great results doing Tunisian Crochet Entrelac, but I’m not sure I’m ready to try that.  Mostly because I don’t want to spoil the fun of the knitting Entrelac class that I’m taking at the end of the month.  I know that makes absolutely no sense since they are two different techniques, but somehow it would feel like cheating.

So now what?  Well, I have a trip to Boston in a couple of days and trying to navigate a new subway system seems like enough of a challenge so I'll be 'chasing butterflies' for awhile...  Maybe just grab one of the hundreds of projects I have in my stash to take along.  (Of course if my husband is reading this the number would be much lower.) Needless to say, I've already mapped out a couple of local yarn shops to visit in Boston where I intend to make purchase of my typical yarn souvenir.  At first I thought I would just peruse the aisles, petting the yarn and purchasing whatever spoke to me in the softest, dreamiest 'voice.'  Then it came to me...  I need to get some red fingering yarn.  Yep, I'm going to knit a pair of Boston Red Sox!  :-)

 Photos are taken with and without flash.  The flash shows off the color better but I think the stitches are more distinct without it.

My Knitting Bucket List

Given my focusing disability I decided that I need to start a list of exactly what I plan to work on in the coming year because if I don’t I will continue to chase butterflies (which is a euphemism for mindlessly knitting one pattern after another).  So here goes…

1   1)      Tunisian Crochet – I have the yarn and pattern so I am hooked up and ready to go!!!  I also have a book to help me through the hard stuff but I don’t expect there will be much of that.  I know, famous last words.

2   2)      Entrelac – I’m signed up for a class at the end of October with Amy…  can’t wait!  I took a class before and was impressed with my ability to learn to knit backward since attempts at backwards stuff has always proven to be somewhat detrimental for me (roller skating springs to mind).  My daughter was able to march backward in formation while playing the saxophone in the marching band and I was absolutely fascinated by that.  I bet she’d make a great Entrelac knitter.  Except she doesn’t knit.

3   3)      Colorwork – Stranded/Fair Isle, Intarsia, Brioche…  LOTS to learn here!  From my brief (I’m talking no more than 10 minutes) attempt at Fair Isle I’m pretty sure this is going to require a class, maybe some one-on-one instruction and possibly therapy.  I’ll see what Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet festival has to offer, I’m sure someone there can get me through it…  well, maybe not the therapy but that’s not really yarn related anyway.

4   4)      Dying yarn with natural ingredients – I bought some undyed yarn and an Indigo plant at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in the spring.  The plant is doing great but it’s still very green, isn’t some part of it supposed to turn blue at some point?  There was an article in a spring magazine that gave instructions on how to dye yarn in big jars of water set in the sun, kind of like sun tea.  That was my purpose for buying the plant and yarn, but it’s October now, not much sun so I guess this one will have to hold off until spring or summer as long as the plant doesn't die.  That’ll buy me some time to figure out the whole green to blue dilemma.

5   5)      Spinning – I bought a drop spindle last year and received a spinning book as a gift AND I have roving.  Originally my husband Jerry thought he’d like to learn how to spin yarn but that was very short lived.  One of our members was spinning at SnB last Saturday.  She made it look really easy.  I’m pretty sure it’s not.

6   6)      Knitting Math – From what I can tell, this is very similar to Algebra or Trigonometry or one of those math courses that I was able to avoid in college.  Then you add in increases and decreases and right slanting stitches and left slanting stitches and my head starts spinning again.  Are there formulas involved?  Do I need a special calculator?   

7   7)      Design a cable pattern – See ‘Knitting Math’ above…  with the added bonus of graph paper and cable needles!  Can my Scottish heritage be revoked if I screw this one up?

8   8)      Double Knitting  - Another technique for which I’ve already taken a class but you know us old dogs, if you don’t use it you lose it!  (I actually lost it a long time ago)  This technique brings to mind a guy I dated in the 70s that always wore stretchy polyester pants, whom I sometimes now refer to  as the ‘Double-knit Wit.’  I know, that’s not nice and it has nothing to do with knitting, but when you’re an old dog you tend to not care.

 

Wow, isn’t that a great list?!   I can feel myself getting better and smarter by the minute! :-)

Knitting Books... Necessity or Obsession?

I counted the other day and I have 70+ knitting, crochet and needlework books...  and that's not including knitting fiction & essays. In my defense, I acquired many of them through Paperback Book Swap (great website!) so they didn't cost me anything, not technically anyway.  I just can't help myself!  I love my knitting books almost as much as I do the yarn itself...  well maybe not quite that much, but pretty close.

My favorite books are ones that walk me through a new technique or teach me something I don't already know.  Please note that I have not actually read any of these books, hence my reason for taking a year to become more proficient at needle arts...  I have to somehow justify their purchase!

So here are just a few of my favorites (or what I think will be my favorites once I've read them... they all have great pictures!):

The Knitter's Life List by Gwen W. Steege - 'To do . To Know . To Explore . To Make - 1001 Inspirations for Every Knitter - 122 Techniques & Tips to Learn - 69 Styles and Traditions to Explore - 64 Personalities to Meet - 33 Yarn Fibers to Try'...  WOW!  I could probably spend my next year just working my way through this book.  There are check lists with each chapter that list designers to get to know, techniques/patterns/yarns to try, things to learn and places to go.  I haven't actually read any of the chapters but I have started checking off things that I've already done or know and it's helping me to identify some of the things I want to learn this year.  AWESOME BOOK!

The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes - 'Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn' - All about fiber, its properties, where it comes from, how it's made, how it knits up, what types of projects it's best suited for and some great patterns too boot.  There's a section in the back with instructions on 'Care & Feeding' as well as how to figure out yardage (WPI).  Believe it or not, I have actually read a portion of this book and it has helped me tremendously when selecting yarn for a specific project.  Highly recommended!

The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe - A great book for those us who LOVE lots and lots of colors and need to better understand how they compliment each other (or don't).  But it goes way beyond that!  It also explains about striping, variegated yarn, stranded knitting, intarsia, helix knitting (I have no idea what that even is!), twined knitting, double knitting, modular knitting, entrelac...  wow, I have more to learn than I thought!  This is going to be another great reference for me this year.

Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague - The first almost half of this book is all about body measurements, sweater construction and creating a perfect fit.  Each sweater pattern in the book is accompanied with constructing & fitting notes, approximate finish measurements, yarn requirements and recommendations for each size, as well as the usual gauge, instructions and charts.  You're also provided with a free e-book (scratch off code in the back) from which you can print out the charts for customizing, as well as anything else you might need.  Absolutely brilliant! 

Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith - The 'Little Red in the City' for your feet.  For anyone who has a desire to knit the perfect sock, this one is for you.  Andi explains how to measure your foot and how to adjust a sock pattern to your measurements.  The book includes step by step foot measuring instructions as well as several amazing sock patterns.  Can't wait to get started!

I also have books on Tunisian Crochet, Entrelac, knitting design, felting and embellishing as well as several needlework books (some vintage) that I plan to use throughout the year.  I'm quite anxious to get started and have selected Tunisian Crochet as my first project since I think it will be the easiest for me.  Stay tuned!!!

Full Speed Ahead Without a Map!

So I've made the decision to spend next year honing my knitting skills and learning new techniques.  But where do I start?  For those of you familiar with Myers Briggs personality scores, I'm an ENFP.  Which means I tend to plow full speed ahead without looking at the map.  I seldom (by seldom I mean never) read a pattern all the way through before I start knitting, which has led to more than a few hours of frogging and reknitting.  And swatching is pure torture.  I'm a big picture kind of person, let the details be damned.  The motto of an ENFP is 'If you're in control, you're going too slow!' 

When I say I want to learn new techniques I don't necessarily mean I want to LEARN them, I just want to know how to do them.  Learning means having to read a book or watch a video or take a class and pay attention and then apply that lesson to whatever it is I want to know how to do.  That takes way too much time!  I'm OK with reading patterns because they are in steps and I'm good at following step by step.  As I stated before, I don't read ahead so as long as the steps are in the correct order we're good to go. And pictures are even better.  If there's an illustration or photo of what I'm supposed to do that means I don't have to pay close attention to the directions!

Some of the techniques I want to learn / know how to do are:

Tunision Crochet - I already have some gorgeous bamboo yarn and a beautiful scarf pattern that were gifted to me.  Still need to get the hook but I think this one will be easy for me since I already know how to knit and crochet.  Or maybe it will be harder because I'll skip over things thinking I already know that part.  I did buy a book... it has nice pictures.

Entrelac -  I like the woven look of Entrelac, especially if it's done in self striping yarn.  I did take a class a couple of years ago and it didn't seem too hard... and I learned to knit backwards!  A skill that I can't necessarily work into my resume, but I was quite impressed with myself.

Fair Isle/Stranded Knitting - This one I can tell is going to be a huge challenge for me because of the attention to detail that must be required for something that awesome.  I'll most likely save this one for last...  or next year (which means 2015).

There are several others but my head is spinning right now from thinking about all the focus and details and time that will be required for this whole learning process and I can't think of what they are.  I'm sure I'll come back to them later, maybe after a glass of wine... or two. 

Follow the link below if you're interested in discovering your personality type.  It's amazingly accurate and really helped me to understand myself a little better. 

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp 

Yarnin'

Yarnin' is what my granddaughter Mattie called knitting when she was three.  She was always wanting to 'yarn' with me so I would give her a fat crochet hook and a ball of yarn and she would wrap it around and around the hook.  She's 9 now and over the years we've progressed to a bit clumsy but recognizable version of crocheting and knitting, although her attention span has not progressed enough to actually make something.  I'm guessing that will come soon enough and when it does I will rejoice in the fact that I've FINALLY won someone in my family over to the wooly side!

I learned to crochet when I was about 10 years old.  We were visiting my Aunt & Uncle in Security, Colorado and on the long drive from Ohio I had brought along a spool of string with which to make a very long chain.  I didn't know it was crocheting and I was using my fingers to reach through the loop and pull the string through.  My Aunt Linda gave me my first crochet hook and showed me how to use it to, not only create the chain, but to make the turns to create rows of single crochet.  I was hooked!!! (No pun intended...  well, maybe a little)  So the trip back was spent getting the knack of using the hook and perfecting my single crochet stitch.  Although at the time I didn't know that you were supposed to chain one at the beginning and so my projects always took the shape of a lop-sided triangle.  Eventually I bought a book and it was all downhill from there.

Crocheting was fun and relaxing and creative!  And I was constantly making something...  arm chair protectors, afghans, doilies, baby blankets...  I even designed and crocheted curtains for my back door.  Once I made a lace table cloth which turned out beautifully!  Unfortunately that was back before I knew about yarn weights and gauges and when I was finished it touched the floor all the way around the table.  Thinking back, I wonder how it was that it never occurred to me to measure the size of the project against the size of the table I was making it for.  But then again, at the time I was a strict pattern follower so I just kept on going.  No coloring outside of the lines for me!  For a time I used the table cloth as a decorative bedspread but now it just sits in a beautiful pile in the corner of my closet.

Some day I'll figure out something to do with it, or maybe I'll just will it to Mattie.