I Think It's Spring (Finally!)

If the weathermen are right, and around here the chance of that might be about 10%, it's supposed to be about 70 degrees tomorrow. I have been pondering this thought for a couople of days now. Hmm, what does warm outside feel like again? I'm not sure. But, again if the weathermen are right, we are only going to have one day to find out.

The message here seems to be - air out the house on Saturday, let the sunshine in, dust out the cobwwebs that couldn't be seen - but DON'T under any circumstances put those winter clothes in moth balls. Not yet anyway.

At least here in Seattle, the daffodils, tulips and even the leaves on the trees come out no matter what. When we were in Chicago two weeks ago, I was surprised to find that back there that wasn't the case. There wasn't a flower in sight and not even a hint of a leaf thinking about coming out in that cold weather. And, they say Seattle has a short growing season! HAH!

Chicago was a wonderful experience. This was the first trip to The Windy City for either of us and we weren't disappointed. Chicago is beautiful, the people were so friendly and the time went by all too quickly. I was experiencing some culture shock though. I learned that there are about 7,000 taxis in Chicago. Compare this to about 300 in Seattle and you will get some idea of what the streets of Chicago must look like - kind of like Sturgis, South Dakota when all the bikers show up for their big August event. It was something else.

There are no jaywalking laws in Chicago, at least none that I saw observed. Beth and I must have looked pretty silly to the locals when we were standing at the corner of the street waiting for the light to turn green and the walk signal pop up giving us the OK to cross.

We learned a lot while we were at the conference. It's going to take some time to process it all, but eventually it will happen and you will see some positive changes at the shop.

Speaking of shops, it's almost time for the LYS Tour. We have the passports available to pick up anytime. They can't be stamped though until the Tour is underway. This is going to be a fun time. The shops all have some great plans for the event. Even if you know you can't make it to all 24 shops, try to stop in at a few and become a part of the excitment.

What is Happening at The Yarn Stash

Last Sunday was quite a day. We had two designers, Lisa Ellis and Sandy Payne, in who gave free demonstrations. Sandy demoed how to incorporate beads into our knitted projects and Lisa showed us how to do "twining".

Who knew there were so many things yet to learn as a knitter. One would think after over 50 years of knitting, I would know it all. Hardly. Both techniques that were shown Sunday I have never done, but I certainly plan to incorporate this into my future knitting.

If any of this sounds interesting to you and you would like to know more, both Sandy and Lisa have agreed to teach classes in our shop giving a more hands on approach to what they showed us in their demonstrations.

They say you are never too old to learn, so I am embarking on a new and exciting endeavor. Beth and I both signed up for the Master Knitter program. We are expecting our materials in the mail any day and we can hardly wait to get started. I suspect that I'm going to find out that there is a whole lot about knitting that I don't know, but when I get "really smart", stand back. I'll be a knitting fool.

My Special Daughter

Two days in a row. Only nineteen more days and this blogging thing will be a habit.

I would like to brag just a little. I think I have the coolest daughter in the world. I read Beth's latest blog and I was so impressed. First of all, I think she is an amazing writer, I always enjoy reading her blogs, but this blog was special.

As Beth mentioned, last Friday we attended the memorial service of a very special lady who was important to so many people. Beth's remarks moved me to tears. Her capacity to express thoughts that so many of us seem to be unable to put into words is truly remarkable.

I would like to tell you about some of the things that makes my daughter unique, but she would most likely have a few words for me (she does have a few faults after all and voicing her opinions to me can sometimes be one of them). Beth has a big heart as many of our customers can tell you. She has been known to drop everything to lend a helping hand to someone in need without giving it a second thought.

So today, I would like to say what I don't say nearly enough --- Beth, I love you and I am a lucky lady to be your Mom.

OH, HELLO AGAIN

I see the last time I posted was October 24th. Anyone want to take a guess as to why it took meso long? It's that old password thing again. I put all my passwords on my PDA so I would never forget those gruesome passwords again and, what do you think happened then? I moved all my passwords to a protected place on my PDA which of course requires a password. You can probably guess where this is going.

Well I'm actually smarter than that. I wrote the password on a piece of paper so I couldn't forget. Then one day shortly after carefully saving my PDA password, I decided it was time to clean off my desk and away went the piece of paper.

I'm happy to report that all of my passwords are still safely locked away from me on my PDA. So back I go to Beth with my hat in my hand begging her to please just one more time figure out how I'm supposed to get onto my blogsite.

I'm trying to figure out what the lesson here really is, and I have come to the conclusion that I should stop cleaning house.

A lot has been happening at The Yarn Stash since my last blog. We completed our first full year as yarn shop owners and so far, so good. By far, the best part of the business is all the new friends we have made. How could Beth and I be so lucky?

Now we are looking forward to 2008. We have started off the new by bringing in a new line of wool for our shop. It is Shepherd Wool and we have the entire collection. It is so nice and all 70 colors look so pretty on the wall.

In March Beth and I are very reluctantly boarding a plane (neither one of us likes to fly) to Chicago to attend the first ever conference for yarn shop owners. We have no idea what to expect, but we both agree that getting out of town for a couople of days sounds like great fun.

As we learn more about what to expect in Chicago, I'll keep you posted. OK, I know what you're thinking. If I don't post any more often than I have been, my next post will probably be after we get back. Very funny! HAHA!!!

Well, all of you smarty pants out there, I'll have you know my New Year's Resolution is to is to post more often. So there.

Blog, or knit?

To blog, or to knit? That is the question. Based on how often I manage to blog, you can probably guess what I have been doing lately.



New yarns and new patterns have been coming into the shop and I want to try them all. The problem I have is that there are still only 24 hours in a day. So please forgive me if I am not the world's greatest blogger. Truth be told, I'm not even close.



For those of you who come into the shop, please mark Sunday Nov 18th on your calendar. We will be having a designer here in the shop by the name of Jennifer Hagan. She is just the most gracious lady. If you haven't heard of her yet, you will. This lady is heading to the top. Her designs have appeared in several magazines, but the real feather in her cap so far is that one of her designs is going to be on the cover the upcoming book "Son of Stitch N Bitch".



You won't want to miss her trunk show. She will have patterns here as well and I can almost bet she will be more than happy to autograph the patterns for you.



There will be more about this on our website.



You know, having moved our shop to 152nd has proved to be entertaining as well as being a good decision.



Thursday, during the storm, we had more than our share of entertainment. Across the street where the new town square is being built, there is a huge mound of dirt that they have been protecting with an enormous tarp held down by cinder blocks.



Well folks, when the wind picked up, they may have well been trying to hold down that old tarp with toothpicks. It started lifting off the ground like some big black hot air balloon. Workers around the construction site scrambled to secure the tarp. I would guess there were about seven of these burly guys doing what burly guys do best - thinking they could outsmart Mother Nature.



They were holding onto the tarp, trying to get the blocks down again, when WHOOSH, here comes another burst of wind. What we were watching friends, looked like an exaggerated version of Mary Poppins. The tarp took flight again and these men were no longer touching ground.



The tarp tore and one fellow actually fell, not far, but I bet he was happier to be laying on the ground than contemplating the possibility of soaring over the tops of the buildings in our little community.



Now I have to give credit where credit is due. The workers kept on trying to secure the tarp (you would have thought that dirt was gold) and finally got it secured by the time their shift ended. But, and this is the part I don't think we should mention to these guys, the wind didn't die down for hours after they left, and guess what kept right on flapping in the breeze.

Sometimes I have to wonder how civilization has come as far as it has.

So, What Have I Been Doing Lately?

So, what have I been doing lately? Trying to get onto the computer. Beth says it's so easy and you probably agree with her. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't always find computer stuff easy.

Let me explain: 1. I have more than one site that I visit, this blog, Ravelry, my bank accounts, my email (not one but two of those) and on and on. 2. Each one of these sites has secret signs and passwords, not one but two. Every site wants a username and then to top it off they want a password! Well be patient with me please. I have only owned a computer for about 10 years now and I finally understand the terms "username" and "password"

Understanding and getting it aren't the same. I understand the need for secrets when it comes to computers. After all, I wouldn't want anyone to know how embarrassingly small the numbers in my bank accounts might be, or find out that I'm not a major shareholder of Starbucks coffee. What I don't get is what the consequences of my actions might be when the computer asks me questions like "Do you want to proceed?"

Well, hell yes I want to proceed, so if you asked me a question like that then that can only mean if I proceed, I might be going down the wrong path (that is a computer term isn't it?). Is there any place on the computer screen where I can ask "What will happen if I do? Nooooo. There I am left to guess. I have time to think about the fact that when it comes to computer education I am almost ready for the first grade.

If I say yes I wish to proceed, am I going to get where I was hoping to go or is something really awful going to take place, like wiping out all my files and being left with an empty screen not to mention an empty computer.

Now everyone knows that our whole identity is stored on our computer, and I'm just not sure that I want to commit computer suicide. So, no I don't always get it. But rest assured everyone, if you ever read of someone who is involved in identity theft or hacking into government computers and stealing top secret information, my name won't appear on the suspect list. Sadly that will most likely be because I answered the "Do you wish to proceed" question in the affirmative and I committed computer suicide. I no longer exist. I don't get it.

Now I'm going to skip the post options spot on the screen (is that the same as Do you wish to proceed?) and tap the publish post button and go do something I'm inifinitely more familiar with. I'm going to knit. Whew!