december 1 2012 raggz newsletter

i briefly had a new addition to the shop.  a little fuzzy orange kitten who was taken from her mother at 3 weeks (!) and was to be drowned along with her siblings if no one took them.  so  three nice people each took one to save them from death.  the lady who originally took her has 3 or 4 small dogs and kitty inadvertently scratched one in the eye and her husband was adamant about the cat having to GO after a $400 vet bill.  so this is how she came to be my shop cat.  her name was originally 'apple' due to the fact that she was adopted on the way to the delmont apple festival.  she is a soft orange color (see her photo below) and zach suggested i name her something to do with knitting.  something to do with knitting i asked?  for some reason my mind drew a blank but he suggested purl, so purl it was.

she is super playful, as all kittens are, and i'm not sure a yarn shop is the best choice for a playful, curious kitten (see below).   she was just walking on my keyboard and somehow printed something!  i will have to go see what (and how) she managed to print something. 

i did learn something - do not cut yarn while watching the kitty do her business in the litter box (her back end was precariously close to the edge of the box and i was wondering if she was going to shift) and as i was watching, i was at the end of a project and had just bound off so i was cutting the yarn but i ended up cutting the cord to one of my addi clicks!!!  lesson learned...

BUT as it turned out, purl is at her new permanent home at the mocks.  ali had been wanting an orange cat and since purl was over here by herself most of the time, it wasnt fair to her and now she has the best home a kitty could ever want!  and i get to visit her often too but i must say the shop has been extraordinarily quiet these past couple of days.

DID YOU KNOW?  december has five saturdays, five sundays and five mondays this year - this only occurs once every 800+ years!!!

thanks to everyone who stopped by the ligonier christmas market show at the Y last weekend.  it proved very successful and was a lot of fun.  as always, we appreciate your support throughout the year!  but there are other shows and open houses to go to and i am going to try to make this a handmade christmas for all of my loved ones.

MORE HOLIDAY SHOWS:

december 1 from 10 - 5 is an open house at raspberry hill alpacas and art studio located 1212 harrison city export road about 1/2 mile north of schramm's farm.  there will be jewelry, alpaca products, and pottery; light refreshments will be served.  for more information, contact laura tepke at 724 744 1697

friday nov 30 and saturday dec 1 from 3 to 7 each day is the annual Faith-full Calligraphy open house located at 1417 beech drive in latrobe.  for more information, contact ginny at FaithfullCalligraphy@comcast.net     Ginny was a vendor at the ligonier market this summer as well as the ligonier market christmas show last weekend.  she has beautiful cards and art designs.  for the purlin girls, this show is pretty close.

friday nov 30 and saturday dec 1 is the I Made It Market Christmas Show at bakery square in pittsburgh.  i have never attended but hear its a great show.

dont forget about the Snowflake Showcase at the Greensburg Art Center.  it runs through December 22 and there are loads of nice handmade gifts there, some from folks you know, including donna, cathy rosensteel, and myself. 

last but not least is the log cabin christmas market at 117 hay lane in murrysville which has locally crafted and handmade unique gifts and art.  november 30, dec 1 and 2 from 10 to 5.

WHAT'S NEW?

wooden goodies by mr. jim!  handmade wooden shawl pins, buttons, and adornments made locally.  just wait til you see them - they will put the finishing touches on any shawl or purse!

what else is new:  local artist lisa marie wilt wrote and illustrated a child's book entitled 'thank you notes - a young person's guide".  this wonderful little book explains to children the importance of writing a thank you note.  it is really adorable and funny.  this book is accompanied by a mouse decked in santa gear for this time of year.  i have never seen anything like it and will make a great gift for that child or grandchild in the family.

there is a possibility in the very near future the mouse will be knitting...  also a great gift idea.

new handmade christmas cards by alison mock have arrived just in time.

this week the sale bin had more goodies added to it including some Patons 100% wool yarn as well as other unique yarns.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:(not a lot going on this month due to the hustle bustle of the holidays)

thursday, dec 13  at noon - purlin girls at the bean in latrobe

thursday, dec 20 dolly llamas at raggz

tuesday, dec 11 KA 1 to 5

tuesday, dec 11 tuesday night knit club

fridays from 10 - 5 store open 

i was also able to secure some new colors in the fuzzy lopi yarn which looks so pretty and fuzzy made up in the duffer slippers monte started us all on. one skein is all that's needed unless you do a two color pair.  this project can be done in an evening and would make great christmas gifts!

to make the bottom safe for smooth floors, i sewed some patches of suede along the bottom but my friend used 3-d paint from joann's that makes the bottom non skid as well!

my newsletter will now be bi-monthly so it isnt so long, but i dont think i did too well this time.  sorry!

Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit.  And- it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.   - Elizabeth Zimmermann

toodles!