Slogging? You Betcha!

I recently joined Mason-Dixon's Slog-A-Long and if you've got that project that you're "just trying to get through" or it's "killing me a little bit with every stitch," then this is the place to find solace and comfort that you are not the only one who slogs, but that there are people who find enthusiasm in that Long-Haul project. :D

I am slogging on these size double zero needles and Socks That Rock mediumweight in the colourway Covelite. They are so purdy. I had them done, but discovered that in my Design It Yourself Way I had forgotten to note how frequently I increased and ended up with 10 extra stitches which contributed to a drastically different feel and fit. One that did not please me. RRRRIP! Out came the ends, undo the short little seam, and then unravel a good four inches of knitting. Basically, everything I'd done that day. But that's the beauty of it. Now I can fix it and do it right.


I'm also slogging on a brown-sweater for my friend Shawnathan. He has been patiently waiting since NOVEMBER. I feel guilty, because he paid for the yarn (mostly.) I am never allowing somebody to pay me to make them a sweater ever again. It's too much pressure, and it's too much guilt. I will make sweaters for people how and when I like.

Some brief shop news. I will be writing up some crochet patterns, including a variation on the triangular Silk Garden shawl you see in the shop now. The triangular version will be free with the purchase of yarn, while the variant will be available for purchase. They both take 4 balls of Noro Silk Garden. I will be bringing in the variant sample on Saturday, so ya'll can see it starting Sunday.

That reminds me! We will be closed this Saturday (i.e. Tomorrow) because we are doing another inventory. We're going to be trying to do these about every 6 months in the future, but we really needed to do this one going into the summer season so that we have a better idea of what to order and what maybe we ought not re-order.

I was reading a blog post written by Laurie of Crazy Aunt Purl today wherein she talks about her inability to comprehend the shootings that have taken place recently and all the other events which are connected to the deaths of the people at Virgina Tech. I share this sentiment with her, and like her I will not be writing a great deal on it just because I cannot encompass it in my head. I cannot possibly articulate myself. I feel a deep regret and sadness for the loss of the students' families, friends and colleagues.

HURRAH!

In case ya'll didn't hear, our Brandon passed the Bar Exam and is now all Laywerly an' stuff. Go figure, right? I always knew knitters were the smartest people.

Real post coming in a few days.

- Rodger

Eheu

The past month has been a tiring one and I am looking forward to when things settle down at the shop and we can really get into the groove of doing what we do best: Providing for our customers.

I think it is important in every business to know the people you serve, and know them well. When you're having a bad day and you want to go home, it is much easier to enjoy work when you genuinely care for the people who come into your establishment. When the first thing you want is for them to be happy, then it is that much easier to go the extra mile for them and to have fun doing it.

So it's frustrating when you can't do everything you want to do for your customers. When they only need one more skein of that perfect colour. When a gal needs the one size of needles that we're out of. When the last stitch markers just got bought and somebody wants to start an epic piece of lace.

I just want to say thank you to all the people who come into the store, even just to check us out, and I hope that someday I will know all your names, have all the answers, and always, always have that last skein that you need or the last set of double points in town.

Until that day, I hope that you will have as much fun coming into the shop as I do working there. I feel lucky every time I talk about work with people, because I don't have a job. I have a beautiful community which I feel privileged to be a part of.

I think I speak for all of us when I say,
Thanks to the Carols, Larissa & Martin & Sebastion, Surena, Suzanne, Kim, Betty, Victoria, Michelle & Isabelle, Jan, Kabira, Heather, Donovan and her girls, Mary, Suzie, Marnie, Kathy, Ellen, Momma's Night, Tuesday Night SnB, Thursday night SnB, every guy who ever came in to pick up a pair of needles for the first time, and every knitter that I've ever met. Y'all are the best people I know.


- Rodger