Inner circles

There's a lot to be said for the Internet community. I think back to my earliest childhood, in a remote corner of Iowa, and the way my mom would have to holler into the phone to request her 'turn' to use the party line. I think there were four households on one line. You never knew which of the neighbors might be eavesdropping. Primitive, I know, but perhaps not so far from today's phenomenon of blogs, forums, and groups. Words make their way around, and idle gossip becomes damaging as it gains an audience, never mind it's lack of verification.

Opening a yarn and fabric shop has been one of the most exhilarating things I've ever attempted. It has put an incredible strain on my husband and children, taxed our finances beyond what is even conceivable to most people, and has daily sent me into panic fits that have (just once) landed me in the emergency room. On the flip side, though, are the new people I've met, the new friends I've made, and the incredible privilege I have to help people live beautifully through their desire to create. I get to teach people to knit. That is such a wonderful gift to be able to bestow upon others, and in turn to learn from them how to better communicate, to be patient, to be kind. Hard lessons for anyone to absorb, made more difficult by the stress of paying off ten grand of wholesale fabric in sixty days, or the astronomical amounts poured into making the shop a pleasant place to hang out and knit. I'm not bitching, and I'm not bitter... I poured all that out to Melly and Lotusknitter... (sorry about the e-mail rant, Mel...)

If this all seems disjointed and confusing, it is purely a reflection of the turmoil I'm trying to cope with. I want the chance to earn my customer base. To provide quilters and knitters with the best possible materials in a warm and friendly atmosphere, to offer rare and wonderful handpainted yarns and fabrics in happy colors so that others may create useful, beautiful things... these are my goals. There is no fee to plant yourself in a comfortable chair, there is even an RO system installed so your tea/coffee won't have the weird 'tap water' taste, and a good many of the yarns are under ten bucks, and buy two, get one free as well. Come in and see if you don't like it here... I think you just might.

I wanted to tell anyone in the vicinity of the shop that there is now an enormous pile (440 balls worth) of Berroco yarn at 'Clementine's dry goods'. When I say pile, I mean that, quite literally it is in a pile in the middle of the floor. It would seem I've got no room. The only way to fix this is to have a sale, so grab your plastic and get thee to the dry goods, quick! Some of the rockin' fab new Opal 'Zirkus' sock yarns arrived today as well. Sorry about the commercial plug. I am a desperate knittah. At least until further notice.