LYS Tour

Oh my gosh - where do I begin? We had so much fun meeting everyone that came out on the tour. It was toasty hot to say the least but everyone was in good spirits and seemed to be having a great time. Many long hours went in to planning the tour and making it such a huge success. Thanks to all involved in the planning and to everyone that participated. It was exhausting to say the least but more fun that a barrel of monkeys! We are still trying to recover. :)
In June we will be starting the Great American Aran Afghan knit along - we can hardly wait! We will be selecting a different block each month - some more challenging than others - it will be tons of fun. Hopefully everyone can can start with us next month but if not, join in anytime.
Saturday, June 14th is Worl Wide Knit in Public day. We are planning on taking over the sidewalk in front of the shop and camping out - should be fun.

2 Days to GO!!

I can't believe that the LYS tour is in two more days!! We have been frantically working on getting things ready. We are so excited and looking forward to the tour. It was so much fun last year. I have been knitting, knitting, crocheting and knitting to get ready. I think me fingers want to fall off. I did take a break and read "Twenty Wishes" - FABULOUS book. I love a book when you feel like you know everyone in the story. Debbie Macomber's are like that - I read them all.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day - we had dinner at Granny's house and we were so happy that Sharon was able to join us. She is such a treat. Deffinately one of the great things to come out of owning the yarn shop - fabulous new friends. Spending the afternoon with such a delightful person as Sharon was a pure bonus.

The tour starts in 2 days and in 7 days the girls are heading to Disneyland. I'm excited for them as well. They are going to have a blast! Maybe I can rest when they get back - sounds weird I know - rest while they are gone - not possible - too much of the worrying type mom for that.

Maggie - I think I might still call in sick - what do ya think??

Life Goes On

Sadly, on Sunday April 30th sweet little baby Maddison passed away. Today Mom & I chose to close the shop for little bit this afternoon to attend her memorial service. We felt honored to be asked to attend.
Since we learned of her passing, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Thinking about my own children. I now look at them just a little bit differently - they truly are precious gifts. When they start getting in a mood & fighting I find myself pausing just briefly to listen before I go play referee. When the girls are off giggling and playing I find myself lingering just a little longer to hear that sweet noise before I join them in a cup of pretend tea and that plastic play food sandwich. I hug them just a bit longer (maybe harder too) and at bedtime I kiss them one extra time on the check after they are asleep.
My children drive me crazy, push my buttons and plum wear me out by the end of the day but I wouldn't want them any other way. I have found myself thanking God each night for my three precious ones and sending a prayer Rachel's way to help her get through her loss.
Hearing the stories of how strong Rachel was in caring for baby Maddison made me question my own abilities. Could I do what she did? Would I have the strength? Thankfully my parenting journey hasn't taken me any further than a couple of ER visits at it's worst. I pray each day that I will never have to test my strength and courage in such a way, but if I ever do I will think back to Rachel & Maddison to search for guidance.
Thank you Rachel for showing me how to be a better mother. Maddison's time on earth may have been short but she touched the hearts of many and although I only saw her through pictures, she has left a lasting footprint on my heart.

I Survived!!

Oh my goodness!! I survived the trip to Chicago! I actually had a fantastic time, learned a ton and met some absolutely wonderful shop owners from around the country! I didn't think it was possible to cram so much information into such a short time but YMN (Yarn Market News) really pulled it off.

We found out as we were boarding the plane at SeaTac that Deb from Village Yarn & Teas and Karen from Acorn Street were on the same flight with us. I knit all the way (well just about) to Chicago. When we landed the four of us found a taxi and headed to the hotel. After checking in we went out in search of some Chicago deep dish pizza. We walked several blocks to Gino's East and had some absolutely wonderful pizza (and beer). We got back to the hotel in time to change and get ready of the cocktail party

This is the sweater that I knit for the cocktail party. You can't see it in the picture but there are 1957 beads on this baby. I got this crazy idea to add beads to my sweater that I started about a month before the conference - it never occurred to me that I would end up loosing sooooo much sleep trying to get it done before the trip. It weighs a ton but sparkles just enough to count.

After sitting in meetings for most of the day on Tuesday, Mom & I decided we needed a little break. We headed off in search of gifts for the kids and the Bean. We found the Lego store (kids covered) and stepped outside to catch a cab across the river. I think the taxi drivers must be mind readers - you barely walk up to the curb and think about hailing the cab and there they are. Quite the shock to the gals from Seattle where hailing a taxi is not aloud. We found out that there are over 7000 taxis in Chicago. Anyway the Bean was very, very cool!!!

After our little shopping/site seeing trip we headed back to get ready for dinner at Riva on Navy Pier. We took another taxi down to the pier and wandered down the way to see Lake Michigan. All I can say about that is WOW!!! What a beautiful site!! We wandered inside the building a ways and saw some absolutely breath taking stained glass pieces that were on display. Dinner was fantastic - we ate and drank until we were stuffed to the gills. We tried to get a taxi back to the hotel but ended up in a limo instead. We (11 of us) were waiting for the taxis when Karen walked out and found a limo - he said he would take us back to the hotel for $50 (limo ride for $5 - not a bad deal)

After the meetings wrapped up on Wednesday and we had checked out of the hotel, we all boarded the bus to Lorna's Laces and several Chicago area yarn shops. These pictures were taken at Lorna's Laces. What a fun tour that was - very enlightening for a yarn shop owner. To see just exactly what happens behind the scenes when you place an order and why it can't just magically appear at your front door as soon as you hang up the phone - very interesting. That is the owner of Lorna's Laces in the back of the picture

showing us how they dye their yarns. Below is a picture of various yarns recently dyed hanging up. Here is all the yarn waiting in all its wonderful color glory to be hanked and labeled and sent off to a wonderful LYS near you. After we left Lorna's Laces we headed over to Arcadia Knitting and Nina's. A special thanks to both shops & those at Lorna's Laces for allowing us to come in masses to tour their shops. Imagine you own a yarn shop and had a bus full of yarn shop owners show up to say "Hi". Unfortunately we weren't able to continue on the tour because we had to catch our flight back to Seattle.

Our goodie bags from the conference were so massive that we had to check our luggage on the way home. I did teach Mom a thing or two about packing though. She tried to convince me that I needed to pack a bunch of her stuff in my suitcase - HELLO - my suitcase was full. I had put all of my clothes in my carry on just so I could get all the yarn, books, needles, patterns, samples and the kids Legos in my luggage. I showed Mom how to stuff yarn in places that really didn't exist. I did find the lovely little note in my suitcase as I was unpacking it at home after the flight that said they had searched it in security. I chuckled - imagine what a bunch of knitting needles, Legos, books and charging cords (cell phone and PDA) look like on an x-ray.
OK - so the trip was totally worth all the costs. We learned so much - seriously like a crash course. We will most definitely go again - hopefully it will be closer to home. We did bring some snow home to Seattle for everyone - you are all very welcome & we hope you enjoyed it.
A very, very special thanks to Laura for filling in at the shop for us while we were away. She did a fantastic job - as if we had any doubt. Not sure what we would ever do with out her.

The Countdown Is On

Oh Boy - We have stepped into March which means that in less than a month I will be getting on a plane for Chicago - HELP!! I am not a flyer - I don't have wings (angel ones maybe at times but that's another story). If anyone has any suggestions, tips and or aids to help ease my stress about this trip please let me know. The conference itself will be fun, its just the getting there and back. Do you think they could move Chicago just a little closer to the west coast before the end of the month? I don't have my sweater done for the conference, my socks aren't finished - in fact all of my knitting is behind - what's new.

I do have a reason for slacking off on my knitting. One of our very dear customers grand daughter was born a bit too soon. The precious little one weighed in at 1lb 9oz. I dropped all of my other projects to knit a few hats, booties and mitts for this little pumpkin. I keep them all in my thoughts and prayers. I have mailed off the baby stuff so now I can resume my knitting projects. God bless you little Maddison!! XOXOXO

I took a 2-handed fair isle class today. What fun!! 'Cause I needed yet another project, I am trying to knit up a shop model - so far so good. Fair isle has always scared me because I knit a bit an the tight side - so far I don't seem to have any problems.

I Dropped My Knitting

Holy Crud!! I dropped my knitting! Today was the 50th running of the Daytona 500 - prior to the race NASCAR did a wonderful tribute to past drivers. While I was watching and knitting just waiting for the green flag to drop Brooks & Dunn were up on stage singing (love them) when out from under the stage rolls Dale Sr's #3 car. I gasped loudly and dropped my knitting. I was very moved by the moment and let's just say that the makers of Kleenex made some big money today. The tears were flowing as they reminded all that 10 years ago today that car was in victory lane. Any NASCAR fan can tell you that even now watching replays of that Daytona 500 when Sr won still, and always will, bring tears to even the toughest of men. Many kudos to the folks of NASCAR and all involved with the prerace festivities for putting on such a fantastic tribute and one heck of a great kick start to this racing season. Congrats to Ryan Newman for winning!

The Big Day

As I sit here on the eve of the Daytona 500 (for me it's like as Christmas Eve is for the kids) I can't help but think back to years past - most notibly the race Dale Sr won and sadly the race that cost him his life. People (the non-followers of the sport) often ask me why I like racing so much - I wonder why they don't. I often hear how prople say how boreing it is to sit and watch the cars go around in circles over and over. Let me tell you it's not!!! If you have never taken the time to watch NASCAR I recomend that you watch it tomorrow. DW - my favorite announcer - will keep you in stitches from the green flag to the checkered. Like I told Betsy, there is something to be said for excitement of watching these guys fly around the track at close to 200mph riding on the bumper of the guy in front of him. It's precisssion, timing and raw power!! It's a sport and an art all in one. I will be the loud one on the couch cheering JR on - come join me!

Yesterday Shannon and I ventured down to Tacoma for the Madrona Fiber Arts. It was pretty cool. All those colors, textures and talents crammed into one room. Weavers, spinners and dyers all showing off their skills - made you want to run home and CREATE something spectactular. I had a great time with Shannon - we so rarely get out without the children - maybe we should have followed I5 south and kept going - just kidding - we had mother type things to do.

On the note of the children, my girls are slowly recovering from what has been a very nasty bug. Thankfully the fevers are gone and hopefully the coughing will subside shortly. It has been several days since I have slept for any length ot time - maybe tonight.

Back to the races - Mom & I are spending our NASCAR veiwing time knitting afghans for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. We joined the NASCAR group on Ravely and will be knitting along with many others for this wonderful cause. If you decided to take a gander at the race tomorrow and are not sure who to cheer on think #88. JR nation (his dedicated fans) will welcome you with open arms. If you just can't wrap yourself around JR (don't know why you wouldn't) there is always Kasey Kahne - his eyes would make anyones heart skip a beat. Grab your knitting, curl up on the couch and cheer the guys on - it will take your breath away.