Much new sock yarn has been added to our sock corner in Diva. I figure with the warmer and longer days of spring and summer, a quick, easy to carry knitting project is in order. With that reasoning in mind, I knit socks, many times the same sock pattern but different yarns. With Indulgence there are so many colors, I think I can knit all summer long! Of course, first I am taking a few weeks to detour into crocheting as a friend recovers from some surgery and needs something new to do. It has been years since I taught someone how to crochet but I am certain it will be accomplished in a mere twinkling moment! Happy Spring - we are expecting warm days the rest of this week!

It's in the shop now baby!

For the past several months I have had a sample of boucle yarn on my office desk from Schaefer yarns. I would look at it. Fondle it. Pet it and remember the little poncho I knit from my last boucle yarn I carried in the shop. Finally, I picked the yarn up from my over worked office desk on a gray, rainy morning and called a sales rep to order. 

Amy's new crochet work from a Weezie Wear pattern.

Great color! It matches my house!

When it arrived, I once again went through the fondling and petting stage of having all this wonderful yarn in my shop and stash. 

Dreamy boucle yarn!

This week, in between wacky weather that promises to warm to 62 by the weekend, I am going to begin a project with this yarn! stop in and say hi to me in either the bead shop or the yarn shop and I'll show you what I am up to! xo, Lois

Around the Shop

The spring yellow lobby display!

The wall of color and inspiration.

New Interlacements yarns.

The back room with lots of baby projects & yarn! 

I love the business of owning a yarn shop. I get excited and happy when I think of all the color, texture and feel of yarn. I plan on what yarn needs a swatch for the shop or what yarn I want to make something from. New yarn is the best and maybe I won't have time to do a big, complicated project but I can make a simple scarf or shawl or cowl and in doing that, I get to play with the newest of new yarns!

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!