You may notice that I have deleted a lot of the old entries on the blog. Most of them were posted when the only people reading my blog were other knitters and any of the personal stuff that was on there was just too personal to be linked to the store website. If you are feeling like you've missed out on my whole life story before now, believe me, it was not too exciting. But here's a recap:
We lived in the Houston area (Baytown) and had an insurance agency in Pasadena, right down the road from Gilley's, where they filmed Urban Cowboy, which was the very first movie we ever went to see on a date. My parents used to live in the Woodlands so I shopped at Twisted Yarns quite a bit - then they moved to Katy, where my little brother and his family live, so I started shopping at Yarntopia. We bought a second home in Austin so we would have somewhere to stay for Longhorn football games and were hoping to live here full time somewhere down the road - once we got our kids settled. (They are both still in college) We ended up here full time sooner than we ever imagined- thanks, in part, to a major bonehead move by the insurance company my husband worked for to decide to no longer offer health insurance to their agents. Stupid, huh? So, in the span of the last 6 months we have sold an agency we both worked at full time, put our house in Baytown on the market, moved up here full time, opened my knitting store and are in the process of opening up a brand new insurance agency with a different company and a whole new staff. (Whew! Did I forget anything?)
I can't think of anything else - there is a button on the right for the store - I did not mean to make it so darned HUGE - but I'm used to blogging from my computer at work and this computer/cashregister is taking a little getting used to. I will work on it tonight.
Ta-Dah!
Here is the final version of the logo for the store - I have also started a Ravelry group for anyone who wants to join. I'm thinking we might have a "Name the Birdie" contest for the Grand Opening.
Oh yeah - GRAND OPENING: SATURDAY OCTOBER 13th!
We will be having wine and cheese and something a little more appropriate for the morning hours. Hopefully the Lorna's Laces and the Hill Country Sock Yarn will all be here by then...if not, the party will go on anyway!! The next day we will be closed while I rest and go yell for Tom Brady to kick the Dallas Cowboy's butts.
Saturday was just awesome. I finally got to meet a lot of people who have been giving me email advice and it was wonderful. I know some people took some pictures - We had a big group in here last night knitting (we barely had room!) and a group of nurses from St. David's newborn nursery here today that are going to make Tuesdays their day to hang out - one of them is a teacher who is teaching the rest of them to knit.
I have been contacted by a counselor at a nearby elementary school (Williams Elementary) who is going to start teaching second graders to knit in October and they are hoping to have two field trips here to the store - one to buy yarn and after they have made some squares they are going to bring them to the store and felt them. The counselor was really excited about it and I think it's going to be really neat!
I got the library cards and card holders for my books to set up a library - now all I need to do is find the rest of my books! And maybe somewhere along the way those sockapalooza socks will show up. I have not given up!!! Someone in my house made her Senior Presentation today so I'm hoping the stress level in our house will drop significantly. And now I am going to go home and do something I have not done for a long time - cook dinner....if I can remember how.
Okay folks - I am getting back to business here and have some more questions for everyone.
1. The Grand Opening.
I was going to do that this weekend but I am still not ready to host a great big party. I have heard from Lorna's Laces that my shipment is about a week away so I don't want THOSE boxes sitting around. And I still can't decide what to do. Cookies? Wine and Cheese? Double Dave's? Input Please?
2. The store logo and website is not ready and I really want that going to announce things. Besides, that is what I'm waiting on for business cards.
3. Knitting Teacher Extraordinaire is still not here for good. Hurry!! I have a list started for you! (No pressure, Really!! I know you're dealing with a lot.)
4. Lorna's Laces will do a dye recipe for some special sock yarn that is exclusive to our store. Twisted Yarns in Houston already has the UT colors reserved. Sorry. I tried to yell "No Fair! I'm in Austin - They're not!!!" but it was no use. So......I'm going to do two schools. Texas State and that other little school down the street that I have given SO MUCH MONEY TO. Hopefully this spring I will proudly wear a pair of socks to a certain someone's graduation there!!
I had a couple of ladies here knitting yesterday evening so everyone is welcome to come on up on Monday evenings. I would love for Mondays to turn into Potluck Night. I also had someone in here yesterday from Brooklyn that read about the store online!! (Hi Nicole!) So, thanks to all you guys who have entered little things on all the meetup pages and Ravelry and where ever else you're commenting on the store. Let me know about it - I'd love to read what everyone's writing!
Let's hear your ideas for the grand opening!
I think I earned my yellow bead this week.
Thanks to all of you who came by to check on things these last few weeks and Please have patience with us as we finally get it all together.
I still have lots of cool things planned. I am going to make Sunday afternoons "Show and Sell" - get it? (Instead of Show and Tell? Oh okay, I realize you're not all as slow and tired as my very few remaining brain cells are today.) Anyway, If you make something that has to do with - or for - the fiber arts world and want to hang out here on Sundays and sell it - be my guest. If you want to offer a class on something - talk to me about it - I'm open to anything - so far.
I just realized yesterday that the Emmys are tomorrow night. Wow - what hard choices. James Spader, Denis Leary, Hugh Laurie and James Gandolfini. (Oh yeah, and that weasel from 24 that keeps stealing it) They are all such good actors but I sure wouldn't mind sitting on a balcony overlooking downtown Boston with that first one........ What about you guys?
We were actually open yesterday for all knitters whose name started with a S - ha-ha. Customers number one and two were Sue and Stephanie. Still having credit card issues but it's getting worked out. I will be here all day from now on and our Grand Opening will be September 22. I need a week or so to work out the kinks of the cash register and all that junk. Oh yeah, and that mountain of Cascade still to be logged into the computer. Some of you think I'm kidding..... Some of you have seen the evidence. It's downright scary.
Come. Sit. Knit.
Make yourself at home.
I'm back to thinking Oh My God, Where am I going to put all this freaking yarn??? 3 boxes of Cascade down - 9 to go. Yes, NINE MORE TO GO.
I got the credit card info last night and will work on it this afternoon.
Shhhhh - maybe tomorrow............shhhhhh.
As usual, there's a few more over on Flickr. Back to work.
The Top Ten Ways I Know My Husband Loves Me:
10. You quit a very profitable job so I could open up a yarn shop.
9. You moved away from the town where you were born so I could open up a yarn shop.
8. You let me bring Miss Kitty up here with me early so I would not be lonely.
7. You have gone off and left your only son and sports conversationalist (Is that a word? I don't know and I'm too tired to care.)
6. Yesterday you learned how soft alpaca yarn is - yes, I saw you fondling your first yarn.
5. Last night you learned all about double pointed needles and why it was so damn necessary for you to get down on your hands and knees and find that #2 DPN that I dropped on the plane while we were sitting on the runway in Puerto Rico.
4. You have learned this week that a ball of yarn can be used to threaten contractors and stock brokers in ways you have never imagined.
3. You have also come up with some very creative uses for a size 35 single pointed needle.
2. You are still speaking to our daughter even though she has become a pain in the butt lately.
And the NUMBER ONE REASON I KNOW MY HUSBAND LOVES ME:
He has gone back to Ikea this morning for 6 more book shelves!!!!
I will be living at the yarn shop this weekend in an attempt to unload the last 15 boxes - feel free to drop in and look around but I still do not have credit card software and merchant number information and will not be "OPEN".
There are a few new pictures of the store on Flickr - we have been working from 9 to 9 every day for the last few days and still have SO MUCH TO DO. It took three phone calls to get the tags to print out correctly and the scanner is still not working - that phone call will come tomorrow while I am waiting on the alarm company to show up and hoping to open up the Cascade order - FINALLY!!!
Unless a miracle happens tomorrow we will not be open for Saturday - I am still waiting on the bank to send the credit card software. Kind of an important little feature for a store. AND the contractor is still. not. finished. Grrrrrrrrr. I am considering threatening him with bodily harm with yarn...I already have a few things in mind. I have to go to bed so I can get up bright and early and print out more little sticky tags and stick them on yarn. What fun!!!!
Look for me - Knittingnest - of course!
All but 3 bookcases are put together - and we're all totally exhausted. Taking the night off to play on the computer. There won't be any stash pictures for a while - my complete collection of yarn - including the still lost Sockapalooza socks & yarn - are in huge zip-lock bags and will not be coming out until the store is ready to go. Then I will imagine there will be a photo corner set up with a tripod for a while for anyone who wants to use it to take their own pictures for Ravelry.
The contractor is coming Monday to FINISH EVERYTHING. Cross your fingers. Hope everyone has a good weekend and a Happy Labor Day.
