thanksgiving is just around the corner! at long last, the rep from crystal palace yarns will be here soon. i cant tell you how excited i am to be able to carry their variety of yarns. and i want to thank so many of you who have been helping me with ideas for my new shop. the many yarn shops you guys have visited may give you ideas that may work for me - i know i'm always on the lookout when i am at a yarn shop as to how to display yarns, incentives to offer, etc., so keep the suggestions coming please.
oh my where do i start? october has been a really fun month and very busy for me. our sock class has been a big success - twelve students in all, including our youngest student ever - taylor (10 years old)! denise, taylor's mom, is taking our class and her daughter wanted to come along with her and is doing exceptionally well, especially for being a beginning knitter as well. to be honest with you, after that first class and i had about 3/4 of an inch done, i was seriously having second thoughts about this whole sock idea and what kept going through my mind was OMG OMG OMG OMG. but i decided i had to plug on to set a good example and because i probably have been knitting the longest out of any of us, soooo on and on and on and on i knitted that ribbing.. plus i didnt want a 10 year old to beat me! FINALLY it seemed like i was making some progress and it was going more smoothly and all of the sudden i had about 4" under my belt! and i actually started to ENJOY IT! monte shared with me that she wanted to have both cuffs done before the second class and i really thought that was a splendid idea so that was my goal as well, that way when we got to the heel-turning class, we could do both so it was fresh in our minds.
i have finally come up with a name for my shop. i have decided to go with RaggZ & FriendZ because we have all become good friends as well as good knitters. thanks to all of you for allowing me to have this wonderful opportunity and i want you all to share it with me!
on october 18th, andrea, the rep from JUL designs visited my shop and showed me the wonderful pieces they make. check out their site at http://juldesigns.com/. their purse handles, pedestal buttons, shawl pins, and one of a kind closures will dazzle you. look for the display at my shop in november. believe me, these are items you dont find just anywhere and will give that hand knitted finished project the special touch it deserves. she will return november 3rd to show me a line of wool yarns that is not carried anywhere here in pennsylvania! it's called mountain meadow yarns and is out of wyoming. http://www.mountainmeadowwool.com/ check out their site - its worth looking at! their motto is 'Mountain Meadow Wool Mill is committed to building a company with respect for nature, ethics and sustainability.' this is right up my alley. i hope to have their beautiful yarns available in the next couple of weeks.
SPECIAL OF THE MONTH: i will be offering a special each month of the year and our first special for november will be this: any orange or brown yarn 10% off, excluding sale yarns.
i am also going to feature occasionally a raffle prize. every time you make a purchase (minimum $10), your name will be put into a cookie jar and one name will be pulled out on the last day of the month. november will be our first month for this and the prize is a 2012 knitting calendar - a pattern for every day of the year! the name will be drawn on november 30th and the winner will be announced in the december newsletter.
NEW STUFF:
red heart yarns will be added to my list of choices this month. i have recently placed an order with them and should be receiving it soon. i realized that, due to the fact that i was predominantly felting my end products that i was featuring wool more than any other yarn. excuse me for saying this, but red heart used to be what i call your 'grandma' yarn because it was cheaper and all the grandmas made afghans out of it - remember all those colorful afghans in granny squares or in a wavy pattern? yes we all had at least one of them. but red heart has listened to demands and have developed some beautiful yarns - acrylics, cottons, and blends and the colors are absolutely gorgeous. the first saroyan shawl (the one with the leaf edge) was knitted in red heart boutique treasure (color - abstract). you can see the sample at the shop.
also new -- knit-ins will be normally be held the 2nd and 4th tuesdays of every month from 1 in the afternoon to 8 in the evening, so drop by and we can knit together on any project you may have going at the time. november will be the exception to this rule due to the sock class finishing up on the 2nd tuesday, so for november only, open knit-ins will be tuesdays november 15th and 29th. in december we will go to 2nd and 4th tuesdays with the same hours.
i want RaggZ & FriendZ to feature unusual items as well, including Mountain Meadow (mentioned above), special yarns by elisabeth drumm and possibly some yarns from local spinners.
UPCOMING CLASSES - schedule has not been determined yet but there will be a thrumming class coming soon, as well as our first amazing stitches $5 class. sorry didnt get things squared away before this letter went out. also coming after the first of the year will be a class on the saroyan shawl (leaf edge shawl on display). everyone is getting busy now with thanksgiving and christmas quickly approaching and most of us are finishing socks and working on projects for christmas, so i will send out a separate announcement when the class schedule has been determined.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
thursday nov 3 dolly llamas meet at eugenia's 1:00 - 3
thursday nov 10 purl'n gurls latrobe coffee bean 12:30 - 3 (last scheduled coffee bean appearance til 2012)
saturday november 26 ligonier country market christmas show at the Y in ligonier
nov. 25, 26, 27 10-5 log cabin christmas show, 117 hay lane, murrysville
december 1 purl'n gurls at raggz shop
courtesy of stormy blue, here is a link to a great resource from classic elite: http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/WebLetter/Stitches/Stitches.php
i asked my FriendZ for some reasons why people should come to my shop instead of other yarn shops so here are the results. these are not my reasons - thanks go to paula, monte, cathy kable, kathy acita, maryann, laura, nancy, linda, sally, and eugenia.........
TOP TEN REASONS TO SHOP AT RAGGZ AND FRIENDZ:
10. Homey atmosphere
9. no city traffic and free parking
8. extensive selection of yarns and specialty materials, such as leather straps, closures & shawl pins
7. fun classes
6. the best coffee in town (old linn run coffee roastery coffee located in rector, pa)
5. friendly, helpful service
4. raggz the dog
3. the owner loves what she does and it shows (that's ME!)
2. a fun place to sit and knit
1. best prices in town!
quote for this month: 'you can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.'
--malcom forbes
