June 21, 2012

Wow, two posts in one month. I see the talking to I gave myself is working!  I am going to try to get updates out every two weeks instead of once a month.  I forget so many things I want to talk about when a month goes by!

We have just received our HUGE order of Cool Wool 2000 and Cool Wool Melange.  This has been my favorite wool for knitting sweaters for a very long time.  It knits up beautifully on a US 6/7 needle and cables in it are just gorgeous.  This is the wool we are recommending for the Cable Vest Class starting in July.  Here are just a few of the 47 colors we now have in stock!  And here is a picture of a sweater made out of cool wool.  Perfect for any climate.  A garment does not have to be bulky to be warm, this sweater is a wonderful example of that and one of my favorite sweaters.

I am so eager to start the vest, but I have been behaving

very well, and getting my lace blouse done first!  Back is done, both fronts well on their way and should be finished by this weekend.  During the week I will sew it together and start on that awesome lace button band which is what made me want to do the top.  I am still sticking to the New Year's Resolution of  button bands only, no pullovers!  First time I have ever stuck to a resolution!!

Before I forget, I want to take a minute to thank Jamie Zalenski for bringing by some knitting novels to the shop.  I don't usually read these kind of books as I live them.  But Jamie is so nice and I thought it was wonderful of her to bring the books by.  I took them home and felt a little obligated to read them, so very glad I did!  Thank you Jamie, How to Knit a Love Song by Rachael Herron was a very inspiring read and made me have a renewed love for my shop and the people who frequent!  I am reading the second one now, How to Knit a Heart Back Home, and I hear she has another one out Wishes and Stitches.  I will be looking for it.  We have been passing the first book around amongst the Thursday nite ladies and they all seem to really like it.    So, Jamie, thanks again!

The 3/50 project has been at it again.  Thank goodness for organizations like this one.  Their main goal is to help promote and support small brick and mortar businesses.  To learn more about this please click this link http://www.the350project.net/home.html.   If you are in Texas here is a link that provides names of business that are small brick and mortar businesses and need our support to survive in this economy.   http://www.the350project.net/states/TX.html  if you are in another state, just look up your state and see who you can help keep in business. 

It is tough all over, my sister just got laid off for the 2nd time in 1 1/2 years.  After working for a big bank for over 20 years, they got bought out by a big bank and her job went with the sale of the bank.  After looking for 19 months she found another job in the banking industry, just to have the whole division laid off last Friday.   Her husbaned works for a company where they all took 40% pay cuts so they could keep their jobs.  Melinda, a friend of the shop looked for two years before she just got hired in a retail store.  She is a degreed teacher.   On the other hand there are some benefits to being a little on the slow side.  My husband owns a tile business, floors, counter tops, tubs, back splashes, etc.  We have had the granite in our garage for new counter tops for about 6 years now and the last two weeks I have gotten a new kitchen!  Lots of remodeling being done at my house, but I am willing to share, so if you have considered putting in tile, now would be the time to give him a call.  He does give free estimates!  817-473-0698!   Here is a picture of the new counter tops and back splash

OK, short and sweet, time to get some paperwork done and order some new yarns!  It is Thursday and we will have our Therapy Thursday tonite. Between vacations and school, kids and summer, we know it will be awhile before we see some of you at Therapy!  We miss you Loreen, hope school is going well, Alpha, we miss you and hope that grandson wins those baseball games.  Lourdes, it's Thursday!!! Jamie, and Jeni, it's Thursday!!!!!  Have a wonderful day, turn that air down or come share ours and knit and crochet to your heart's content!

October Craft Fair

October 13th- Saturday, 10-4 - reserve a booth space and sell your hand crafted products.  Just in time for the craftfests, the fair and cooler weather.  We have about 14 spaces we are going to charge $35.00 for each space.  Set your space up any way you would like.  We are looking for jewelry, toys, sewn items, paintings, anything you can make with your hands.  If you are intersted in booth space, please contact Tarie at the Yarn Heaven.  817 -22-69276 or email work4yarn@yarnheaven.com.  Booth space must be reserved at paid for by September 22, 2012.

Yarn Heaven Update June 7, 2012

Good Morning, as I sit here typing, I can't help but giggle a little bit and that saying "the best laid plans" keeps running thru my head.  I have been trying since Tuesday to get this out and here it is Friday morning.  Yes, we have been busy at the store, but it is what is behind that scenes that has kept me a little overwhelmed and super busy.  So, let me tell you what we have going on.  I am really very excited about it.  They say if we are not always learning then our brain gets stagnant, well, in my case, my brain is on overload! 

We have been hearing for years about locally Individually Hand Dyed yarns.  To me that meant yarn that was unique and one of a kind, never to be repeated again.  The confusion comes in when we have customers come in and ask us for this kind of yarn and in the same sentence refer to Lorna's Laces, Mountain Colors, Malabrigo, Fleece Artist just to name a few.  We carry several of the above mentioned yarns, but they are not Indy Dyed yarns as these yarns are sometimes referred to.  They are commerically dyed.  That means they have a receipe for a color that they repeat over and over again.  These colors can be bought in dozens of yarn stores all over the country and can be reordered at any time with a long wait time to receive the orders.  After discussing this with several other yarn shop owners and customers we have realized that what many of you want is those one of a kind skeins not commerically dyed.  So, we decided that we would look locally for women who dyed and spun yarn and yes, now you know what is coming.....

Yarn Heaven now has it's own, individually hand dyed yarns.  Dyed, spun and blended right here in the DFW area.  They are limited editions and will never be repeated again.  You will neve have to worry about seeing yourself coming as the quantities of these yarns are going to be limited and when they are gone, they are gone.  We introduced them last night to our Therapy Thursday group and the response was wonderful...actually sold out of one color completely!  The rest of the yarn is either in the process of drying and more to be painted this weekend.  The entire collection of Yarn Heaven's Limited Edition Hand Paints will be available on Tuesday, June 12.  We have lots of wool/silk mixtures and 100% wool as well as some Angora/Wool blends.  We will be finishing our sock and lace weight this weekend.  Our intentions is to be dying every 3 to 4 months as long as there is an interest in this type of yarn. 

What I have learned from this experience is why hand paints tend to be a little on the expensive side.  It is alot of work!  Preparing the yarn, preparing the dyes, testing color batches, testing the color on the different yarns, it is really quite a process, and an interesting one at that.  I have learned so much and have truly learned to appreciate my commericial hand dyers as well.  My life is ruled by color.  I love all the beautiful hues.  It was fun to suggest a color combination and see it come to light.  Sometimes what looked good in my head, did not look as good as I thought it would in yarn, and the really interesting part was how the different kinds of yarn dyed with the same exact color would appear so differently on each different yarn.  When I place my order to today with Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden I am going to be sure to tell them how much I appreicate the work they put into their beautiful yarns.  When we place our next order of Mountain Colors Crazy Foot Sock Yarn I will again tell them how much I appreciate the work they put into dying their yarn.  I am trying to plan a date for hand dying here at the shop so y'all can come see the process and what goes into it.  Just like knitting, there are so many ways to achieve the same thing in hand dyeing.  Our ladies have kettle dyed the yarn, meaning they actually cook it on the stove!!

Doesn't this look like alot of fun?

And the final results of the last picture is....

We hope that you will enjoy the endeavors of our local ladies, the yarn is soft and wonderful and the colors are scrumptious!

Our new class schedule as also posted.  The last June Class and the 1st class in July have been requested by a very dear friend of the shop.  Andie, came to Texas a little over a year ago.  Walked into the shop in October, learned to crochet, came back three weeks later and learned to knit, and I swear an addict was born!  She is an amazingly quick learner and her thirst for knowledge puts a song in my heart.  We are now trying to cram her brain full because two months ago she got promoted and in order for her to have that promotion she has to move back to Michigan.  With all she will be learning in her new position and settling back into a new location, she feels there might not be time for knitting lessons for a while, so we found patterns that would teach her what she needed, thank goodness she picked great patterns.  We already have three people in each class and they are limited so please call or email the shop and sign up before all the spaces are full. 

This is knit in public week, take your needles, or your crochet hook and go to a public place and be seen!  Today and tomorrow we will have chairs outside for those that want to come knit.  Couldn't be more public, with thousands of cars a day going down 360, and believe me you will be seen knitting in public!

As I stated earlier we are getting ready to place our Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden order, this is the company with the fabulous Sea Silk with kelp in it and their silk/wool and kelp yarn.  If there is a color that you would like us to order for you, please let us know. 

We have scheduled October 13, 2012 Saturday for our Craftfest Day!  Reserve a booth, read the next entry for more details.  We do expect the spaces to fill quickly!

And it's always an open invitation for Therapy Thursday.  Anytime after 5pm, come join us for lots of laughter and fun, oh, yes and the knitting/crocheting also! We appreciate your continued support!