A few happenings around Diva today. I think I am doing more knitting for the shop that I ever have before and I like it!

A customer in the shop today with a lovely felted bag.

Hamster alert!

Those cool wool pet kits, where our little
hamster came from!

Cozette - a new yarn of silk, cotton and polyamide. I knitted a swatch.

Crochet Stories

Today is March 6th and I just realized it is National Crochet month so I am going to finish one crochet project, an afghan, and begin another. I learned to crochet from a Hasbro children's toy kit when I was about 10. No one in my family did any kind of handwork so I am totally self taught and have always thought of my crochet work as " Lois' way. " I was never entirely certain that I was doing it " right " but since I liked the end results, I was happy.

When I left a bunch of good girlfriends in Virginia and moved back home to Port Townsend, I made each one of them a crocheted afghan figuring that every time they used it, they would be wrapped in memories of our friendship and love. That was over 25 years ago and I still think of the hours I spent pouring love into those afghans. Now, I have more girlfriends in my life and I spend way more time knitting, but I am revisiting the story of those afghans and thinking that this month, I will begin making more love stories.

Today in the yarn shop several things happened that made it a crazy day and a wonderful day. The credit card machine was invaded by trouble when the processing company experienced a system wide series of failures. That's a lot of words to say that the swipe machine would not process a credit card. Seventy five minutes later, we had a machine that was sort of fixed. After stomping my feet in a little snit of balled up anger ( get it? yarn balls? ball of anger? ) it managed to spring to life and work! Ta da!

Rebekah has officially joined the staff and will be taking Amy's position while she returns to full time family life with the new baby she is expecting anytime after tomorrow. Wonderful!

I also wound yarn into a ball to begin a new crocheting project while on the phone for those 75 minutes! It calmed me and inspired me all at once.

Finally, I have begun the sample made from The Wooly Lady, wool felt kits we have in the shop. This is the first evening of adding the edging to the floral shapes. I am rather liking this hand work!

Dear followers - I am so confused! I am trying to network link or whatever my main blog, charmsbylois.blogspot.com and I know many of you are trying to follow that blog but when you sign up to follow, you are linking to the diva blog and following it. Does that seem confusing enough for you? It certainly is for me! If you want to follow me, Lois, that bead and charm woman, please go to www.charmsbylois.blogspot.com. I write both blogs but seldom get around to the diva blog. Many thanks!

This finger of mine, the one that most recently had surgery has kept me from doing any serious knitting so with that in mind, I had to come up with some other less " finger strenuous " activities.

I had purchased this pair of cheap gloves from the local pharmacy, not a chain store by the way, for 99¢  and added felt beads to the edge creating a berry nice cuff! I used pearl cotton and wove the ends in so from the inside, you do not see the pink thread ends. I bet you could make many gifts with one package of felt beads, gloves and pearl cotton. Next, I think some beads and sequins are in order on the beads on the gloves!

( p.s. Please follow me on www.charmsbylois.blogspot.com - to follow my charming ( ! ) arty life. )

It took me awhile but I finally did a nice crocheted scarf from this ribbon. I love the bit of sparkle in it and how that sparkles winds and twists its way through the scarf. The yarn is moving pretty fast in the shop and we have made it available in 6 yard skeins for all the kumihemo crafters out there. We next head to to the Portland Bead Society show in November and they have requested we bring lots of fiber. Their wish is our command and much of this ribbon yarn will be with us in Portland.

One of my current knitting projects. Socks!

Hoo, boy! The best laid plans of mice and men and women who knit..... I really did mean to post more often but you know how time flies. Much new yarn and books have arrived in the shop and I am knitting here and there like a crazy woman. I am also deciding on when to have a Diva sale and some fall Diva classes. Any input?