What will you be knitting in the new year?

Sorry to have been quiet for so long. As all of you, the pre-HOLYdays kept me plenty busy.
I just HAVE to share with you what our 8 year old Granddaughter was up to. We celebrate Christmas Eve and after Church and dinner and just before we open presents, we like to do something to really bring home the reason for the season.

So Caitlyn decided to write a script and we were all assigned parts to read. Here she is at the computer, learning how to do things in Word. She came up with a great script (short but sweet). When she read it to me she said: "If someone doesn't like it I will tell them: DEAL with it! This is the way I wrote it!!" After the "play" she and her daddy entertained us with Christmas songs.

My sister and her husband are here on a visit from Seattle. We went through pictures from our trips earlier this year and it made me realize that I still have not shared pictures with you from the yarn shops we visited in Europe. Stay tuned: I will do that soon!

Perhaps YOU have out of town visitors here. I do hope that you'll have a chance to bring them by the store. As time permits, you will find me at the store more this week in case you have time to stop by. Do you remember our former store manager, Mia? She and her husband Robert are in town to visit their family. She has already been at the store twice and I hope she'll have time to visit with us again.

So now that most of the hussle and busstle is over, perhaps we will all have time to sit back and relax a bit and think of what we'll be knitting next. Why not drop us a line and let us know what you are planning.

Talk to you soon! God bless you!
Gaby

It was probably our biggest bag sale ever!

Wow!! What a day it was! I put most of the pictures on a page. There are a lot of images, so please be patient. I reduced their size, so you should be OK.
http://yarnlady.com/newsletter/2006/decemberbagsale.htm

Anyway, we had a great day! Thank you to everyone who came and who stood patiently in the long lines! We had 3 registers going, but it still took quite a while to get everyone processed. I know you got some great yarn at even greater prices. No doubt you know what you will make with all that yarn. Remember that we have just loads of patterns in our library- from single leaflets to the wonderful hardcover patterns now on the market, and of course the knitting magazines.
Also please remember that you can sign up for one of our many classes offered at Yarn Lady. There is so much to learn from our yeachers and each other.

Cherie and Niqua tell me that they are working on a newsletter with more information for you. Please make sure that you read it when it comes! As always, we will select one lucky winner to receive a prize just for reading our e-mail.

If you made it to our sale, you can e-mail us with your comments or comment right here on the blog. We love to hear from you!

Talk to you soon!
God bless you!
Gaby

Our greatest Bag Sale is almost here

So today Clayle and I were at the storage unit getting ready for the big day! We filled rack after rack with all that great yarn. I had to make a list of what's on the racks so we can make a pricelist, so I thought perhaps you would want to have an idea of some of the yarn that we will have.

Please keep in mind that this is only a partial list, since we will have another 50+ boxes full of yarn in our playpens.

If you use yarn for any reason, you will want to be there. If you're a quilter, you will want to be there. If you've ever thought of making your own designer throws, you will want to be there. Take my word for it: you will want to be there!

Pssssssssst........ I'll be baking chocolate chip cookies tomorrow and we'll have them on Saturday for you early risers.... Of course, the coffee will be on as well.

Here is the partial list of yarns you will be able to buy at 75% off....

7 Septembre 10 pack Baruffa
Adhoc 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Aquarius 10 pack Trendsetter
Aton 10 pack Trendsetter
Aura 10 pack Austerman
Barcelona 10 pack Austerman
Barcelona 10 pack Austerman
Bell 'Epoque 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Bergamo 10 pack Muench
Bongo 5 pack Filatura di Crosa
Bugia 10 pack Trendsetter
Calliope 10 pack Trendsetter
Capri 10 pack GGH
Carezza 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Chic 10 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Chispa 20 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Cinta 20 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Coconut 10 pack Trendsetter
Coconut Perla 10 pack Trendsetter
Cometa 10 pack GGH
Cortina 10 pack GGH
Cotone Mouline 20 pack Filatura di Crosa
Cruz 10 pack Muench
Daniela 10 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Dynasty 10 pack Muench
Eclipse 10 pack Trendsetter
Eleonora 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Emmy 10 pack Trendsetter
Emozione 10 pack Austerman
Esprit 10 pack Trendsetter
Euforia 10 pack Trendsetter
Fabu 10 pack Muench
Fee 10 pack Muench
Firenze 10 pack Plymouth
Firenze Boucle 10 pack Plymouth
Fortissima Sock Yarn 20 pack
Giardino 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Iguana 10 pack Trendsetter
Jewel FX 10 pack Berroco
Jolina 10 pack GGH
La Picola 10 pack Austerman
Legacy 10 pack Trendsetter
Linea 10 pack Trendsetter
Linie 97 Iceland 10 pack OnLine
Loto 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Ludique 10 pack Plassard
Lullaby 10 pack Berroco
Marabella 10 pack Trendsetter
Maratona 10 pack Baruffa
Marco 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Marco Stretch 10 pack Austerman
Masai 10 pack Trendsetter
Mayfair 10 pack Austerman
Melody 10 pack Austerman
Microlana 10 pack Austerman
Microlana Fine 10 pack Austerman
Mohair Buffo 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Murano 10 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Opulent FX 10 pack Berroco
Paola 10 pack S Charles
Plata 20 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Policash 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Pom Pom 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Prisma 10 pack Filatura di Crosa
Ravello 10 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Samoa 10 pack GGH
Scarlet 10 pack Austerman
Siam 10 pack Trendsetter
Sir Galli 10 pack Muench
Spumante 10 pack GGH
Streamers 10 pack Ironstone
Topacio 20 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Torino 10 pack Tahki Stacy Charles
Vintage 10 pack Trendsetter

Yarn Lady's Famous Bag Sale 75% off regular price

As you might have guessed, we made it home safe and sound. We've been doing a lot of sleeping. I guess the trip was a bit stressful and we need the rest.

Did you have a great Thanksgiving? We hope you didn't spend all of your money on the day after Thanksgiving and that you saved some for our Famous Bagsale!
For more information on our bagsale, check out our last newsletter at
http://yarnlady.com/newsletter/2006/06november20.htm

Since we are almost giving the yarn away, you will want to be there early for best selection.

Wonder what this picture is? Well it's a picture of one of our darling sewing baskets. When we were in Germany a couple of years ago I fell in love with them and we bought a bunch of them. It turns out that everyone loves them, just not at the price we needed to charge for them- sooo we won't be carrying them anymore. We do have a few left which we are selling below cost. So if you want one for your special someone for the holidays, then you better act quick. Call the store and Janice will get one out to you as quick as she can. 949 770 7809 or email her at mailorder@yarnlady.com
See you on Saturday. The Bagsale starts at 8 AM and ends promptly at 3 PM. Bring 10 of your best friends!!
oh, and please bring an unwrapped gift for our Toys for Tots drive.

God bless you!
Gaby

Isn't God good?

We were just watching the news from our hotel room in Phoenix and saw that many of the areas we just drove through are being pounded with severe weather.....

Thank God that the kids were alright in that center that was destroyed!

Lord willing, we'll be home tomorrow.
See you there!
Gaby

Getting closer to home

We're getting closer!!! We can almost smell home!

So we've had a couple of days of hard driving. Hotels for some reason or other were all full in two locations where we had planned to stay the night, which forced us to put in a lot more miles than we normally do.

Yesterday we were bucking 50+ miles/hour winds. Literally head on. I hope our poor truck has recovered today. Actually, Dutch and I both pray that it's still out there when we are ready to leave. We are really gunshy now and worry about it more than we used to.

I don't know if you've ever driven along Interstate 40. There are LONG stretches between facilities when you hit Texas and New Mexico. Finally there was a rest stop. Now there are PARKING places with no facilities along the way. Who ever thought of that!! Must be a guy thing!!! So here we got to a REAL rest stop and I along with women streaming out of others trucks and cars made a bee line only to find a sign saying CLOSED due to power problems. Mind you the lights were ON!! I wish I had a camera on me to record the looks on our faces and get to interview people right on the spot regarding their thoughts at the moment...... In fact, if you saw Opera's show lately where she and Gail drove cross country, you kind of know where we are.

But I am so very thankful for the clean rest areas and for the gas stations that provide facilities. I'm especially thankful to those whose job it is to get up every morning, knowing that their job is to clean lots of toilets that day.

So I pulled out my knitting. I was working on a poncho to replace one of the ones that got stolen. I think I am pleased with it. It's a little different from the old one which is probably good, since we needed a new look. When we get home I'll take a picture and write the pattern. Dutch is often cold- what am I saying: he is ALWAYS cold!! So I decided that he needed to wear a hat to bed since he wears his hair real short. So after we landed in the hotel last night I made him a hat and presented it to him all proud just in time before he went to sleep. Of course he didn't wear it...... But it's COLD outside, and he may be thankful for it yet :-)))

So Phoenix, here we come tonight!. We've already talked to Mia and told her we are coming. She is teaching knitting at her house so we'll have to squeeze some time in between. We'd also like to visit with Rob and Kay Shields (hi!!!) and perhaps Dutch's cousin. We'll see. So we'll probably be home late Friday.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I'm very aware of the love it takes to remember to pray. I so wish I were more diligent about it.

Talk to you soon!!
God bless you!
Gaby

People to thank

Before I forget, I do want to thank the people again who have come to our aid and to all of you who have prayed.

I couldn't have a first, second, third.... list but I want to be sure to thank Chuck.
Chuck was one of the men who worked the Stitches show and unloaded our trailer and brought things to our booth. If you remember, the trailer had to be towed from Philadelphia to Baltimore and there it sat without us being able to move it. The convention center gave permission to leave it near the loading dock for the duration of the show. Chuck and his colleages emptied and then loaded the trailer for us and then Chuck offered to bring his own truck to move the trailer and keep it at his house for us until we knew how we would get it home.

This morning we met up with Chuck who brought our trailer back to us and helped us hook it to our new vehicle. Since we needed to have electric brakes installed on the car for the trailer, he told us exactly where to go to have it done. He even called a few hours later to make sure everything worked out all right. On his truck he has a bumper sticker that says something to the effect: Does this look like the face of a people person? I told him: "YES! It does!!!" God bless you Chuck! We so appreciate you!

Even the car salesman, who saw us under immense pressure and not from our best side, called today just to make sure we had gotten the electric brakes and were now safely on our way.

The list goes on and on.....

Speaking of the place that installed our brakes: I don't think we ever had such good service! We barely got out of the car that they went to work, replacing a tire which was severely damamged by the thieves, installing a new hitch, bending metal straight here and there and, of course, installing the electric brake connection.

There are some bad apples out there but there are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many good ones!!!
Praise God!!!!!!!!!

Going home at last

Well, I just saw Niqua's post. Looks like we are in front of a computer at the same time on oposite sides of the country..

Indeed, we are finally on our way home! While driving the last few hours, I mentally went over what I would have to say to you here and so many things came to mind then and of course now I draw a blank.....

I told Cherie yesterday that we were soooooo tired of hanging out in Philly, waiting for a descision by the insurance company and then the ardious chore of choosing a new car to buy to take us home. I HATE buying cars. So many choices and then all the haggling...... All our insurance is with one company and they have been on the phone with us a LOT. But since vehicles were taken, personal clothes and business property (yarn etc) we are dealing with three different departments. Some at home and some out here on the East Coast. YIKES!! Who can keep it all straight. As helpful as they have been, it still is very very frustrating. The day before yesterday the local insurance agent told us to hang in there another day before he would officially declare the van totalled. We couldn't make any arrangements until we knew if we were still responsible for the vehicle.

In the meantime all the hotels in the Philadelphia area were full so we couldn't stay two nights in a row except for one place. Looking for hotels alone drove us slightly crazy and when we looked for a way to get the trailer home things didn't get any better. Anyone that Dutch contacted said: too big- too far... Niqua found a moving company who might fit it on a truck going West but they wanted about $6000 for the pleasure. OUCH!!

So we decided that we needed to buy a new car anyway since we are now minus one car and we would rather put the money towards that. As I said before, I HATE buying cars!! We had to buy one big enough to pull our trailer but not so big that it would be impossible for us to drive around town. Pressure!! I could fill pages with the details.... not fun when you're far from home. Our old van was paid for and this one costs MEGA $$$$. Oh well..... Insurance will probably only cover 1/10th or so.

But we are so thankful that we have the means to make our choices. We can't even imagine how people fare who have lost everything and have no place to go and no money or credit. While insurance will hopefully re-imburse us for portions of all this, we do have lots of out-of pocket expenses with hotels, car rentals, phones, meals, clothing we had to buy and on and on. I have a whole new respect for organizations like the red cross who come to peoples aid when they are in need.

So now we're finally back on the road again and going home! Of course we don't hold anything against Philadelphia- we had many wonderful visits there, but this time around, we are so glad to be going home. We have learned so much and found again that when things get tough, we draw closer together and we needed that.

Cherie bought some special yarn at Stitches for all our "girls" who "kept the homefires burning" on the home front and at the show. Now they tell me that they like the yarn so much we will have to carry it!! And we promise that we will as soon as our budget allows.

We're in North Carolina tonight and plan on driving about 400- 500 miles a day.
We'll wave at you as we drive by your house!

Thank you so very much for all of your prayers. Please keep praying as we drive the remaining 3000 miles. Did we mention that we won't be driving to shows anymore, but that we'll be shipping? Speaking of bagsales, the one at our store is less than a month away. PLEASE mark your calendar for the first Saturday in December. Stay tuned for more information and please check out our website at www.yarnlady.com if you've never heard of our bagsale.

Gotta get the clothes in the dryer. Talk to you again when I can.
God bless you!!!!!!!
Gaby

Save the date!

Save the Date! Our semi-annual Bag Sale is scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd.

We have surprises for you that you won't want to miss.

Come rain or shine!

What's Next

Many people are calling and asking "What has happened since Gaby wrote her thoughts".
Since the end of Stitches East, the staff members have flown home and are now back at the store. They have lots of stories to tell as well. My parents went back to Philadelphia to find out what and/or when the van would be finished and they could come home. Much to their surprise, the cost to repair the van was enourmous and the insurance company decided to have the van totalled.

Ok, now they are in the same boat that they were in before Stitches and that was "How were they going to get the trailer home without a vehicle to tow them?" I have tried contacting numerous companies to see if they would tow it back to California. Most of them laughed at me and said no way. I am shocked as to how little resources there are in Philadelphia to get someone towed. I joke with customers who are at the store that if anyone wanted to start a towing business to do so in Philadelphia.

Our only options are to ship all the product home and sell the trailer while there or buy another car and tow it home ourselves.
After numerous phone calls and lots of praying, my parents purchased another vehicle and I am happy to say that they are currently on their way home. I am not sure how long it will take them to get home, but I am just glad that they are at least heading west.

Again, thank you to all those wonderful people who have given their all to help my parents during this crazy ordeal. I know my parents are greatful and are looking forward to thanking each and every one of you.

Niqua

Thoughts from Gaby

So we just returned from dinner in Amish Country. As I probably told you before, they have been so much on my mind and such an inspiration to me. When I walked back into the hotel lobby after discovering that our vehicles were gone, I sat on the couch, unable to really believe that this has happened. The first thing that came to my mind was how the Amish FORGAVE the man who hurt and killed their children. How could I do any less. We only had THINGS stooen, not children.

We are waiting for word about our van. Even though it was recovered, it blew the transmission within three blocks of where we took posession of it again. So now the question is if it is worth fixing with the other damage or if it will be totalled by the insurance company. If they do that, we won't have anything to tow our trailer home with. So God is giving us a time of rest now -albeit expensive with hotel bills and rental cars..... But that's only money. Dutch and I are fine, just very tired.

Although the van and trailer were recovered by the police, the thieves did get away with some things. We had brought three big suitcases full of additional merchandise and models and samples- some of which we just completed... computer equipment, and this list goes on. Because we were going to be on the road for close to 3 weeks, I had packed a lot of clothes and shoes. I didn't know what kind of weather we would encounter so we had everything from winter coats to bathing suits along. All of it is gone. From the trailer they took a rack full of Prism yarn and two hand trucks. Don't know why this is all they took from there- perhaps they were interrupted.... I had a carry-on suitcase full of Dutch's and my shoes, as well as a rain-type jacket and some oter warm clothes...that, too, is gone. So now the insurance company tells us that we must file another report in which we give them a list of everything that was NOT recovered. It looks like we will be wrapped in paperwork for some time.

We do not condone theft or crime of any sort. But after driving through neighborhoods the kind of which we have never seen before on our way to the police yard, in a way I do pray that someone will get warmth from my winter coat, good use out of my new walking shoes, perhaps one of the model garments that was stolen will make someone feel special in a way they never did before. I pray that God will turn for good that which the thieves meant and did for evil.

Before we left on this trip, my older brother in Nova Scotia wrote me a Bon Voyage letter in which he said that above all else he wished us KINDNESS along this trip. We have been showered with kindness from every corner. We are so grateful to all of you! We know that through all of this, good will come and hope that we are open enough to be used as vessels for God.

We are so thankful for all of our staff who helped us through this and held down the fort at home and we are especially proud of our "little" girl, who made things happen back home and set heaven and earth in motion to get her parents off that road. I can just imagine how she felt when she had me on the phone telling her that I was sitting alone in the dark and cold in front of an X rated establishment with cars honking at me. But it wasn't raining and I still hadn't wet my pants (I was there a LONG time) and I had a beach towel I could wrap around me for a bit of warmth. We didn't break down in the middle of the desert or some deserted place. We had people call us trying to help and we did have a rental van that could get us to a warm and safe place to sleep. Our profound thanks goes to the tow truck drivers, who came to our rescue.

So now please pray with us that we figure out a way to get our trailer (and us) home. Yesterday was Dutch's (and Caitlyn's) birthday and we had a wonderful time celebrating with our whole group. We always wonder how many people to bring to help us with the show because of the expenses involved. This time we had Cherie, Jan and Jenny as well as Elaine along. We needed each and every one and were so very thankful they were there. God does work in misterious ways His wonders to perform. I look forward to what's next. As I have access to computers, I'll keep you posted.
God bless you!
Gaby
(from near King of Prussia, PA)

Praise God!

I just got off the phone with my mother. Yes, she finally got her phone charged and now I can talk to her. She said that they got there at 2 am (11 pm PST) and that they felt bad for the tow truck lady because she had been up since 5 am and still had to drive back to Philly and go back to work again at 5 am. Thank you Lyons Trucking Company for getting my parents out of a bad situation.

My mother said that the staff at the convention center and the people running Stitches were such a blessing this morning. They had two workers ready with fork lifts and pallets and they allowed my parents to drive in and on the floor to unload. Note, they could not do this until 8 am (5 am PST) and the show was to start at 10 am (7 am PST). They had to hurry and get things set up and ready for the Market to open. Thank you to all who have put their time and effort to help my parents during this time of need. Without all your help, love and prayers, my parents would not be where they are now... safe, warm, fed and with all the people they love to work with. She said that the booth is almost up and ready, and Kaffe Fassett is there for his book signings. Cherie is working as fast as she can checking out all the people who want to purchase items. The booth is filled with people and hopefully it will all turn out for the best.

If you are in the Baltimore neighborhood, please stop by and give my parents and our staff a big hug. They could sure use it!

Thank you to all that were there and helped my parents, our staff, the staff at Stitches, the police in Philadelphia, Lyons Towing Company, Trendsetter Yarns, Muench Yarns, all the staff here at Yarn Lady, Rancho Capistrano Christian School for the assistance with my daughter while I was on the phone helping my parents, State Farm, my husband and all those whom I may of forgotten. Your love and support that you have given us during this time will never be left un-noticed.

Thank you Lord for watching over and protecting my parents!

Niqua

Help and Support

At this point, the word has gone around to other yarn companies and people were calling the store asking how they can help. Kirstin Muench of Muench Yarns has offered to send knitted samples over night to Stitches to help replace the items that were stolen. Hopefully it arrives in time and it could be of some use for the girls at the booth. Thank you Kirstin for your love and prayers during this whole ordeal.

It is now midnight (9 pm PST) and my parents are still there waiting to go. The tow truck lady was waiting for some lights to be placed on the trailor, as the ones that she had were too small. I called Cherie and informed her that my parents needed a place to park the trailor once they arrived, preferrably next to the convention center so the unload in the morning will be a little easier. Cherie did not know where they could drop it off as it was late and she didnt know who to contact. I felt bad, but I am in California and I dont know who to call either. Remember, there is no parking for large vehicles there in Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Find out if there is an end to the never ending saga!
Niqua

Holding On

So now that my parents are waiting for the tow truck, the tow company calls them and says they will be at least another hour because they dont have the right truck to handle the ball that is on the trailor. So they wait some more in front of the sex store and in the dark with no food and no jackets and its cold outside. Cherie called and said that the mouse of the lap top that she is using for a register at Stitches (Stitches is now open and customers are shopping the Market) is not working and the battery is dead. She needed to know how to open it and to insert a new battery. They were not going to tell anyone about the ongoing saga but customers were walking by and asking why they had such a large booth with little to no product. They thought they had better start explaining what has been happening and the customers began to understand. They starting selling most of the product that they did have. It ended up being a great sale day for them with little to no product to sell. The other vendors were helping the girls which is very much appreciated.

With everything that has been happening with my parents, I wanted to have a back up in case some thing else went wrong. I called Cherie to track Barry Klein down at Stitches. Barry called me back and asked what he could do to help my parents. I asked if there were any vendors there with a hitch. He said there was and that vendor said that after the show ended for the night, they would be happy to go down and help if needed. (They couldnt leave their booth until 10 pm their time). I told them thank you for offering, but that I needed to get my parents out of that area now and into a safer location. Barry informed me that he had a representative in the area and to give him a call. I called their main office in Van Nuys, Ca and Heidi called that rep and asked about the area. He informed Heidi that it was not a good area, especially at night. He offered to help and asked all his neighbors who had SUV's if they had a hitch. Again, no one had a hitch. I asked Heidi if the rep (Andy) could at least go there and be a third person there while they wait for the tow truck and to bring my parents some food and coffee. He said it was not problem as he was just 10 minutes away.

More to come!
Niqua

Break Down

My parents are heading up to Baltimore to finally participate at the Stitches show when the van breaks down in the middle of an intersection in South Philadelphia. At this point, they are not going to get back to Baltimore in time for the help. I called Cherie (our Business Manager who is waiting for my parents at Stitches) and informed her that they are not going to make it and to make arrangements for them to come in later. Now Cherie has to do plan B for the bank, bags for when they do sell product, set up the booth the best that they can for what they have, etc. The girls are troopers and are working tiredlessly on their end to help.

At first glance, my parents though that the van needed fluids, so my father took the rental van and went to go look for some fluids while my mother stayed behind hoping that she doesnt get rear ended. (Remember, they are in the middle of an intersection). My father comes back and nothing is making the van work again. The van is now dead and needs to get to a mechanic asap. Fortunately for them, a Ford dealer is right around the corner. They called AAA and they came and got them off the intersection and they took only the van to the dealer. It is now 3 pm (12 noon PST) and my parents are calling me in California for help. They need assistance with finding a van with a hitch to help pull the trailor up to Baltimore. Their cell phones are dying and they cant find anything. At this point, my parents have had no sleep or any food. I spent most of the day on the phone calling rental companies and Uhaul companies looking for a truck with a hitch. Wouldnt you know that there were absolutely no one who had a hitch. One lady gave me a confirmation number at a Uhaul about 20 minutes away from my parents stating that there was a 14 foot truck with a hitch waiting for them that they could take to Baltimore. Once my father got there, it was not available. Now they still have nothing and it is beginning to get dark outside. The staff at the store, our insurance reps, Barry from Trendsetter Yarns (while at Stitches) are now assisting me with finding other means to help get my parents up to Baltimore. Finally, a towing company says that they will tow my parents up to Baltimore, but that the driver couldnt be there for at least an hour. With my parents cell phone almost completely dead, I had to find out how they were holding up. My father was still driving around town, getting lost looking for a hitch to tow the trailor while my mother stook guard over the trailor and the products that they had to take out of the van before it went to get repaired. My mother was not a happy camper at this point in time because it was dark now, she is standing in front of an adult sex store and people who were driving by were now honking at her. If you know my mother, that does not stand well with her. I called my father and said to get back to my mother asap and just wait as I have help on the way. I was afraid every time the phone rang as I didnt want anything else to go wrong.

Stay tuned for more!
Niqua

Recovered Van & Trailor?

Ok, one would think that there is going to be a happy ending here and now, now that my parents were in Philadelphia and were able to get the van and trailor back. Let me add here that it was a long and hard day for my parents, the girls, the staff at Stitches, the staff at Yarn Lady and myself. I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to all those who were helping me today. I could not keep calm while in California without all of the love and support.

My parents picked up the van and trailor from a yard (not sure if it was the police impound yard or not). They noticed that the drivers side window was smashed in, the only way to start the van was to use a screw driver, there is some red paint on the trailor (looks like someone hit them or they hit something) and all the luggage was still missing. Besides all that, everything else was still there. The only bad part is that my parents still have no clothes to change into. At this point, they have been wearing the same clothes that they traveled there in which was now four days ago. I told them to get some new clothes and they said when this was all over they would. Right now, they needed to get out of the area and to a safer location. Besides all the clothes now being gone, some product that I had sent with them and all the knitted samples were also now gone. I figure its a blessing that those are they only things missing. My concern was for my parents.

My father is now driving their van and trailor in tow and my mother if following behind with the rental van and now they are heading back up to Baltimore. Wait, the saga doesnt end here. Trust me, it only gets worse!

Stay tuned!
Niqua

The Saga Continues

Hello!
I thought I would update you on the continuing saga of the stolen items while at Stitches East. A lot has happened within the last 24 hours.

The last we had mentioned was that the van and trailor were stolen and my parents no longer had any of their luggage. After a couple of days sitting and waiting to hear from the police, my parents finally decided to rent a van and head up to Baltimore where they can be with the girls while they try to figure out what their next step would be and all their options. The staff at Stitches were very helpful and supportive during this entire saga. They gave my father some insight and more options to consider. Just when my parents and the girls were just about ready to pull the plug and come home their cell phone rang at 1 am (10 pm PST). It was the police calling stating that they found the van and trailor. They asked if they could come over and pick them up within the next hour. My parents jumped up from a sound sleep and got ready to make the trip back down to Philadelphia.

One thing that most of the exhibitors at Stitches has been complaining about is the lack of parking for large vehicles, such as vans and trailors. Needless to say, my parents had to park their rented van blocks away from where their hotel was. At 2 am (11 pm PST) they went to the parking garage where their van was parked and found that they were not open until 5 am (2 am PST). They noticed a Holiday Inn across the street and thought they could just sleep in the lobby over there until the parking garage opened. The front doors to the hotel were locked because of the area they are in. After a little persuasion, the hotel staff finally opened the front doors for my parents to come in but said that they dont allow people to sleep in the lobby. Therefore, my parents had to stay awake for the three hours until the garage had opened. They didnt mind because it was safer than being on the street.

The garage opened finally and now they are heading down to Philadelphia where they can get the van and trailor and hopefully get back to Baltimore before 3 pm (12 noon PST) so they can get help with setting up the booth at Stitches. In the meantime, the girls are working at bringing over from the hotel all the books that I had pre-shipped to the booth using the suit cases that they had brought with them. They had to travel over 2 blocks each way toting the products.

Stay tuned to more of the saga!
Niqua

YIKES!! Yarn stolen!

Well, here we are in Philadelphia ready to resume our trip to Baltimore for Stitches East and then back home again. We were trusting that our van and trailer were still safely parked where we left them. Sure enough, they were. So we happily drove to a nearby hotel to spend the night, had a good rest and when we came out the next morning, there was just a pile of glass where our vehicles had stood.

So now we're hanging on to our cellphones, hoping that when the phone rings it will be the police, telling us the vehicles were found. Please pray with us that this may be the case.

We had a little bit of merchandise shipped in for Stitches East, so Cherie and Elaine, Jan and Jenny will be there. If you are going to Stitches, please stop by the booth. We are having booksignings with Kaffe Fasset and Brandon Mabley as scheduled. Dutch and I will hang out in Philadelphia hoping that they will find our stuff in time to still bring it to the show.

A few years back, I lost my diamond engagement ring. After the initial shock and looking everywhere, I thought: we lost two children. Loosing a diamond is nothing. So here we go again. As upset as we are about the theft of our vehicles and merchandise, compared to loosing two children, it's nothing.

Stay tuned. As I have access to a computer, I'll keep you posted. First we have to go clothes shopping. All we have with us is our little carry-on bag with underwear. All our other clothes were in the van. My face also looks pretty scarry, since my make-up was taken from me at the airport........ Other than that, we're just great!

Gaby

Muench Yarntasting

YOU are cordially invited to our next Yarn Tasting!

This time Kirstin Muench herself will be flying in just for the day to bring to you her newest yarns and patterns and model garments.
So you wonder just what IS a yarn tasting?

Some years ago it occured to me that folks might want to be able to try out some yarns before they buy them. Yarns are expensive and we don't always know how they will knit up. Should you go with the suggested needle size? What gauge will you get?

When I first thought of this, I also wanted folks to experiment and kind of break out of their mold. I dumped a bunch of yarn on the table and said: Here! Have fun!! Use different needle sizes, use two or more strands together and see what happens, try different patterns and by all means try colors alone or in combinations that you would normally not use.

So the idea caught on- first with Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns who changed the concept a bit. He had us set the table with paper plates and placed a different ball of yarn on each plate. Knitters and crocheters are now encouraged to cast on about 20 stitches and "play" with the yarn. Then change seats or pass the plate along to someone else. You see a yarn you like on someone else's plate, ask for it and play with that. Barry also brings a big trunkshow of sweaters and projects made from these yarns and everyone gathers around to see and try them on.

Now most of our suppliers do this and this has become a very popular event at our store and this week we are so pleased to welcome Kirstin Muench to our store for her very own version of this exciting event. She is a funny lady who knows her yarns and her business well. For many years I have been one of her "Ersatz- Moms" which to me is such an honor! (Ersatz means replacement in German)
Kirstin Muench is the US representative of GGH and the owner of Muench Yarns.

To learn more about Kirstin and her wonderful yarns, as well as her company, please go to http://www.muenchyarns.com/pages/happypeople.html

This Yarn Tasting happens on Saturday, October 21st, 2006 from 11AM to 2PM. Call our store to sign up.
949 770 7809 There is only a $5.00 charge for this wonderful event!

See you there!
Gaby

Four knitting worshops with Judy Pascale

We were so blessed to have Judy Pascale come and teach 4 knitting workshops at our store! Hope you didn't miss it!! At Yarn Lady we bring you many of the best, nationally known teachers to show us up close and personal what they specialize in and would love to teach you.

Judy was here for two days and showed us her special techniques for Beaded Belts, and her Shapely Shawlettes. These two were special project classes. If you ever have a chance to take one of Judy's classes, you just have to sign up for them. She was very informative as well as witty and had so many great samples and hand-outs.

During her Measure, Modify, Knit and Armhole Success classes we learned so much about proper fit and better ways to knit your garments to even make finishing easier and more professional. We often hear that knitters are intimidated by "professional" teachers and knitting classes in general because they think that they have to "know more" before they can take a class. Perhaps they might even stick out in class or not be able to keep up. It was so much fun to have one such person in one of these workshops and I can tell you that she WAS able to keep up and she DIDN'T stick out and she came away feeling that classes are fun and very do-able!

Seldom do we have such positive feedbacks from everyone who attended the classes. If you weren't there for these classes, you must clear your calendar for any upcoming ones. Check our website at www.yarnlady.com and tell your friends!

Tomorrow is the big day!

The day is almost here when Judy Pascale is coming to teach at our store. She is teaching not one, not two, not three, but FOUR workshops! If you haven't signed up yet, you need to do it quickly. You can call our store in the morning or go online at http://yarnlady.com/classschedule/workshops/06pascale.htm and do it here.

You've probably been wondering why we haven't posted. We have just been so busy re-arranging the store and planning new events, getting ready for Stitches and just plain recouperating from our trip.

So slowly but surely I'll get around to telling you about all of the things that are happening. Of course I have no way of knowing if you are actually reading this, so if you are, please drop us a note, or click on "blog this" and sign up and send us your comment.

Judy will be staying at our house with us. Now I'm not the perfect hostess.... My motto is: here is the fridge, here is the cupboard, help yourself. Actually I've been doing a bit of getting ready. I will do my best to let her rest and not pick her brain too much. When Sally Melville stayed with us we had such a good time together, sitting around and knitting.

In a couple of weeks, we have another surprise for you! As you know there will be a workshop with Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns. What you don't know (and we didn't either until just recently) is that he is coming on another day with a filmcrew in tow. Yes!!! They are filming for a show in OUR store! Don't know what all will happen, but if you just happen to drop by on Wednesday, the 25th of October we'll all find out.

Now they tell me that I'm to keep these posts short and sweet. But I have always been too longwinded and I guess I'm not going to change here.....

Last week several of us had the pleasure of teaching (?) about 65 gals from the MOPS group at our church to knit in about a half hour. Whew!! That was me with the microphone: "Now everyone make a slipknot....... A slipnot is just like tying your shoelaces..." So this Friday we get to do another session and see what they remember. The goal is to make a decorative flower. Then we'll have one more chance the following Friday. How great it would be though if at least some of these young mothers would actually learn and ultimately pass this wonderful talent on to their kids?

So enough for today. If you want in on Judy's classes, better hurry!

God bless you!

Gaby

Judy Pascale is Coming!

Hello,

Judy Pascale is coming to town, October 13th thru 14th. Judy will be teaching four workshops (Armhole Success: Measure, Modify, Knit: Shapely Shawlette: Beaded Belts). You can find our more about each of these classes on our website at www.yarnlady.com. Sign up now while there are spaces available. We have heard that a couple knitting groups are planning on signing up, so dont be left behind. See you there.

Niqua

Remodeling Store

Hello Everyone!

We are in the process of remodeling our store to help make it less over whelming and more enjoyable. Please bare with us as we make these improvements over the next few weeks.

Niqua

Knitting in Norway

So here we are on our last day in Norway..... I've been checking in on local yarnstores... saw LOTS of sheep everywhere saw the main office of Dale of Norway and I have lots and lots of stories to tell and pictures to show.

Can't wait to get to a computer other than this one in the hotel lobby without people waiting in line to use it after me. I hear that the worshops with Melissa Leapman are going well in the store as well.....

Sorry about the typos... talk again soon

Happy knitting

Gaby

Knitting on my way to Europe

So Dutch and I are leaving in the morning for a trip to Norway, Paris and Germany. I wondered if I should take my knitting and if they would even allow knitting needles on the flight. So I looked around the site that tells me all of those things and it definately says that knitting needles and crochet hooks are allowed. But just in case, I put another pair of needles in my checked luggage in case the confiscate mine.

Now that school is starting things will get a little more "normal" around your house I hope and you will find the time to come and take one of the many classes and workshops Yarn Lady has to offer.

Our next one is with Melissa Leapman this coming weekend. http://yarnlady.com/classschedule/workshops/06leapman.htm

You've seen her on TV and now you can see her in person and be inspired by her talent.

I'll be looking for yarn stores in Europe as much as my tight schedule will allow. The last time we went I noticed that the stores are quite small (at least the stores that I saw) and neatly organised. There was a lady behind the register counter, where you stood in line and when it was your turn, you said: " I would like......." and she went and got it for you and rang it up. It was interesting and much different from the way it works at our store. It kind of reminded me of going to the butcher and the baker.....

Our staff will be at the store even though we're gone and I know they will take good care of you as always.
See you when I get back!!

Knitting and crocheting with friends

I had to cover a shift at the yarn store last night. It is always interesting when I do that, since I'm not there that often and I'm not totally up to date with all the new things that are there (and all the new register procedures:-)))

But as I looked around the store I was so blessed to see so many of you there, taking classes and just fellowshipping with other knitters and crocheters. I stood on a chair and just took pictures in a circle and no matter in which direction I looked, there you were.

Thank you so much for participating in all of the classes, workshops and special events we have here for you at Yarn Lady. Without you it wouldn't happen!

Please make sure you check out our class and workshop schedule so you don't miss any of the events that are coming up!
http://yarnlady.com/classschedule/index.htm

More travel pictures

The proud grandma in me can't wait to share some pictures with you from our trip.

We travelled with a 15 passenger van and a big trailer full of YARN. As you can see, we barely had room for our luggage and OURSELVES!!
Now our vehicles are safely (we trust) parked and in late October we will be flying back to Philly and driving to Baltimore for the next Stitches show. We have scheduled several book signings with Kaffe Fasset and Brandon Mabley in our booth. If you remember they were teaching at our store not too long ago. So if you find yourselves at Stitches East this Fall, be sure to stop by our booth!
See you there!

About yarnstores and lace knitting

As you probably know, we drove from our store with our van and trailer full of YARN to Chicago to do the Stitches show there and then on to Philadelphia. We logged about 4000 miles with the sightseeing detours we took.

We weren't really on the lookout for yarn stores but more for things that would entertain our 7 year old granddaughter, who was travelling with us. (How fun was that!) On our second night's stop, we were in Ogden, Utah and were directed to eat at a certain restaurant and when we came out what do we see but a yarn store right next door!! Of course it was late in the evening and it was closed, but we did press our noses against the window and took a picture.

From there we stopped in Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore and then went on to meet our teacher, Martha at her parent's home in Sioux Falls, SD. Martha just happened to be there visiting with her husband and kids and invited us to meet her parents and see the wonderful old house she grew up in! What an honor! She also took us to see the Cathedral of Sioux Falls and showed Caitlyn the huge pipe organ.

Also in Sioux Falls is the home of XRX-inc.
XRX, in case you don't know, is the publisher of Knitter's Magazine, as well as the publisher of many of your favorite knitting books. They are also the organizers of the Stitches shows. We were invited to come and see their offices and meet the staff. Isn't it wonderful to get a behind-the-scenes look?

Elaine Rowley, who is the editor of the books, showed me the samples of the newest book Victorian Lace Today, that they are working on and I got to meet Lizbeth Upitis, the lady who is doing much of the proofing.

I told Elaine that I wasn't much for lace knitting but then she showed me the samples of the items which will be in the book and she made a believer out of me! There are lots of very wearable things and some of them are not too difficult to make so even the beginner can have a shot at it. Look for this book on our bookshelves soon. You will love it!

What this proved to me again is that things do look different when you get to see them in person. Please remember that we schedule many yarn tastings and other events for you at Yarn Lady so you CAN touch and feel and try on and see in person.

What's been happening....

I haven't reported to you yet about our trip and here we are, about to leave on another one....

At Stitches I could take pictures of our booth only, since photography was strictly prohibited. Understandable, since everyone has their best new designs and ideas "out there" and with copyrights and all..... The point IS that you get to see so many great things and just like in our store, we hear over and over again how overwhelming it all is.

In our booth, we of course had our famous bagsale. (If you're going to Baltimore, do we have a surprise for you!!) We also had a lot of Anny Blatt Angora at half price. On the last day we looked in our pen and found a couple of PEOPLE in it. They, of course, were not for sale at any price!

Of course there was a huge list of other items as well but it always pains me when I have to tell someone that we don't have that particular item with us, but we carried a big van and trailer full of inventory with us and just couldn't fit another thing in.

If you remember Tirzah who used to work for us and her little boy, Robbie, who grew up in our store before and after birth...they came to visit as as you can see, Robbie is about to have a little brother or sister.

If you've never been to a Stitches show, you owe it to yourself to go. For more information go to www.knittinguniverse.com The next show will be in Baltimore and Kaffee Fasset will be the featured speaker. I understand things are pretty well sold out, but, hey, there is always room for one more, right? If that's a little too far for you, the next show will be on the West Coast again.

Remember our special events on Saturday

Just wanted to take a minute to remind you that tomorrow (Saturday August 19th) from 10-4 we are having a very rare sale at our store involving all Prism yarns. You will want to make sure that you come in to select from our huge supply of Prism yarns. http://yarnlady.com/prism/sale060819.htm

Also, we have the great pleasure of welcoming Fayla Reiss for a Freeform Crochet Workshop. Purses are the hot thing and Fayla will be showing you how to make her fabulous creations using freeform crochet. You will need to have the basic knowledge of crocheting and enjoy just having fun. In freeform, there is really no set pattern. We hope to convey to you the idea of how to make this happen and once you understand that and get comfortable with it, the sky is the limit as to what you can create with this technique.

There are still a few spaces left in class so check out the details on our website http://yarnlady.com/classschedule/workshops/06reiss.htm and call the store to sign up (or you can sign up online)

Also on hand for all of this will be Barry Klein who is the co-author of Fayla's book. Come and meet them both and get your books autographed. See you here! God bless you!
Gaby

Day Four - Pack Up Day

Hello!
Today is the most anticipated day of the entire show. It is the day when every thing is done, you not only get to see how your sales went, but you get to pack every thing up and see if you can get what's left in our van and tailor to be hauled to Baltimore for Stitches East in November. The last minute attendees are coming back for those items that they wished they bought the first time they were in our booth and the ones who just could not do with just one of anything they bought....had to buy another to bring to a friend or add to their stash. A lot of our cards, special orders and interest in our store happens on this day. They want to make sure that they can get more once we are gone. This is why we do these shows....advertisement and meeting new people across the nation. My parents (Dutch and Gaby) asked me once back at the hotel if I had fun doing this, as they were sitting there while being fully exhausted and could barely move. I said yes, because I enjoy meeting all the people, making new contacts with designers to come to our store to do workshops for you to take and for what it will create at our store afterwards - a BUZZ of excitement and knowledge of our store.
So we are all packed up now.....having to pack certain items that are staying in the van and trailor and others that needs to go back to the store until the next show when we have to bring them back when we go to Baltimore. It is tricky to get every thing in suitcases with trying not to make them too heavy or else you will pay for them at the airport and also making sure you have room for everything that needs to go home. The glitches that are going on at the airport now with being on orange alert are also making things a bit more challenging. We will get through it with smiles on our faces.
Tomorrow, Stefan, Caitlyn, Elaine and I will be flying home, back to California. Dutch and Gaby will be bring the van and trailor to Baltimore before flying home on Wednesday. See you when we get back.
Niqua

Day Three at Stitches

Hello!
Today was our most busiest of them all so far. We had lines around our booth just to purchase their items. I had all I could do to keep myself calm and concentrating on each customer as they came to the register. I didnt want to stress out by looking at the large lines. I can not image how it will be in November when we will be having at least four book signings done by Kaffee Fasset and Brandon Mobley. It will be busy then too!
We are having a great time. Still have not been able to get away to see what other vendors are selling. We will try to walk around before market opens tomorrow (last day). Barry Klein came by our booth again as well as Colleen Davis. Apparently, Colleen has produced a new Free Form DVD. Colleen asked us if we would be interested in selling it and we said we would. The DVD is very popular, in fact, we have sold all the copies we had today. Colleen said she will give us more tomorrow. Good thing, because we have many people still asking for it.
Patterns seem to be the most popular item that we have, besides the purse handles. Good thing that we have lots of those. Many customers that knew Jan and Jen (our new and wonderful teachers from Chicago) have come by to say hi and that they missed their beloved friends. "Hi Jan and Jen from Chicago! We miss you"
Well, tomorrow is the dreaded day! First, we have to attend a vendor meeting, then take a quick walk around before market opens. Once market opens, we sell those last minute items before we have to prepare to pack up until the next Stitches in Baltimore.
Off to work - until tomorrow!
Niqua
P.S. Guess who we got to see today as a special surprise? Do you remember Tirzah and little Robbie that use to work at our store about a year ago? They moved to Chicago so they could be closer to family while Tirzah's husband went back for more education. Little Robbie is walking and talking and was having a blast eating an ice cream and afterwards climbing in the play pen full of yarn. He apparently is a climber and is very good at what he likes to do. Tirzah is expecting her second child. She is due in a couple of days. She looks really good and is in good spirits. They both said to say hello to everyone!

Day Two at Stitches

Hello there!
Well, we made it through the first day here in Chicago. We are a bit tired, but the attendees are very excited to see us back here at Stitches. (For those who did not know, we have not attended for a couple of years). The show is going well. It is surprising that certain items are selling better than others, but who is to know what will sell and what wouldnt when you are packing? Any which way, we met with Barry Klein from Trendsetter Yarns, Kerry from Prism, Fontelle from Great Yarns, Sally Melville and Melissa Leapman. Melissa is very excited to be coming to our store to teach four workshops in September. If you have not already signed up, sign up soon. Melissa said that these workshops are a lot of fun and so far, all of the ones that she was teaching at Stitches were sold out. Dont be left out - sign up today on our website or by calling our store.
Elaine, Gaby and I are eager to walk around to see what other vendors are selling, but we can not manage to get away. We are trying out a new accounting system and so far, I am the only one who knows how to run it. With a few minor problems with our printer and running out of certain patterns, we are managing to get every customer serviced.
More tomorrow!
Niqua

Arrived Safely in Chicago

Hello,
Yes, we all arrived safely in Chicago before the major developement at all the airports. We are a little concerned about when we have to go home, but we will deal with that later.
The booth is all set up and we are very tired. Tonight, we have to begin selling for a couple of hours before we get to go back to the hotel to get some much needed rest. I will do my best to attach some images later on to give you a better feel of what we have to do at these shows.
Until tomorrow.
Niqua
P.S. Guess who came by our booth today? Chris Bylsma of Chris Bylsma Designs. She said she had a great time at our store and was looking forward to coming out again soon.
P.S.S. Just as we were walking over to our hotel, we ran into Sally Melville. She also said she was very excited to be coming to our store in January. I still need to talk details with her, but please be sure to sign up for her classes. You don't want to miss all the new and exciting things she has been making and designing - WOW! Stay tune for more information regarding her workshops.

Off to Stitches Mid West

Hello!
As you know, Dutch and Gaby (owners of Yarn Lady) have left for Stitches along with my daughter Caitlyn some time ago. Today, they called and said they made it safely and are awaiting Elaine, my husband Stefan and my arrival tomorrow.
I will do my best to keep you informed of all the BUZZ at Stitches for those who are not able to attend. Please check out our Yarn Lady Buzz on a daily basis to see what went on that day in our booth. If you are able to attend, please come by our booth and say hello. Our booth numbers are 427, 429, 528 & 530. We won't be hard to miss with Elaine in our Bag Sale Play Pen. We will also be having show specials, please ask us about them. Don't miss out!
Until tomorrow!
Niqua

Our first meeting of Stitches From The Heart at our store

Yesterday the ladies from Stitches From The Heart met for the first time at our store. We so enjoyed having them and seeing the wonderful little things they make for mostly preemie babies. As you can see they had a big bag full of things that will be passed on to someone in need.

Their brochure says it all:

"Let your heart embrace newborns in need of warmth as they leave the hospitals. Join the volunteers who bring love and warmth to needy infants."

If you would like to get involved with this worthwhile organization, check it out at http://www.stitchesfromtheheart.org/patterns.html

Stitches from The Heart will be meeting at our store on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Please bring your love, your yarn and your needles and join these lovely ladies.




Here is a letter we just received from Peggy Baxter (holding the yellow bag full of goodies):


Dear Gabby, Niqua and the entire Yarn Lady staff,

Thank you for allowing me, on behalf of Stitches From the Heart, to come to your store this afternoon and promote this great charity that I have become involved with. I was overwhelmed by your kindness, generosity and enthusiasm. Everyone from your store was so nice and genuinely interested in what we are trying to achieve. I am really looking forward to next month's meeting (Aug. 23, 2-4PM) and if you can think of anything else I should bring or do, please let me know. Oh, yes, regarding the baby hat sizes, we often say, think of making hats that will fit:
Grapefruit (average newborn)
Orange (small newborn)
Lemon (preemie)
Lime(small preemie)
Walnut (superpreemie)

Oh, course, Stitches LOVES any size hat and will find a baby's head to fit it. We even like to have toddler hats. Blanket sizes are good from 18" square to 30" by 40" rectangles. Again, we love anything and there is always a need for these items. Sweaters and booties are great also, but not as needed as the hats, from what I understand, but we do need them, as well as knitted or crocheted stuffed animals. Hope this additional info helps and let me know if you can think of anything else you might need to know.

Thank you again for a most enjoyable afternoon and am looking forward to next month's meeting.
"Keep stitching for the babies"
Peggy Baxter

It's getting down to the wire! We are leaving for Stitches in a couple of days and I'm still knitting and still have to write the patterns and photograph the models!!! All this yarn and so little time!! It's a good thing we don't have much company because there would be no place for them to sit!! My couch is covered with WIPs in various stages of completion. What does YOUR couch look like?

Back to watching HGTV and Knitty Gritty and Knit one Purl One. Is there a foot activated remote control to fast forward through commercials and still keep knitting?

Don't forget that today we have ladies at our store from Stitches from the Heart. Here is what we said in our newsletter about that:

We here at Yarn Lady have received so many blessings that it is important to us to give to those less fortunate.

We are thrilled to announce that Peggy Baxter of Stitches From the Heart will be in our store on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 2pm to 4pm to sit and knit and crochet with you. This is a fun activity, a chance to made new friends and gives a purpose to those who have a passion for knitting and crocheting, but have run out of family members to give hats and scarves to.

Stitches From the Heart accepts donations of items for any size baby from super preemies to big newborns and even toddlers. Peggy will bring with her "official" stitches, pattern booklets and info booklets for you to use. Bring your finished projects or your yarn and sit and knit or crochet with Peggy, starting July 26th.

I'd like you to meet Betty!
Would you believe she produced a Gift Certificate which was awarded to her- did you say 9 years ago, Betty?? She won it because of the sweater she is holding up below. Great work, Betty!!

Of course we reminded her that these certificates are only good for one year, but we thought that an exception was in order.

Did you know that Yarn Lady sponsors the Orange County as well as the LA County Fairs? So if you happen to win best of show for any knitted or crocheted item you may well be the lucky recipient of a nice gift certificate from us.


If you look closely at the pictures, you will also see Betty holding a wonderful purse that she made. I forgot where she got her inspiration but the purse is great. It is also lined in a fabric to match the yarn.

Bring in your knitting and crocheting for us to admire and we'll take a picture and post it here.

As soon as Barry was done showing all the garments everyone was invited to try them on. We should have had more mirrors!

The pink thing that Nancy is wearing was not a part of the Fashion Show, but it is a baby blanket that I made and it also looks great as a shawl. You decide!

Well I have so much more to tell you and you've probably been wondering why I am posting so much. Perhaps you know: we are leaving on Friday to go to Stitches Mid-West. We are leaving a few days early because we are taking our 7 year old granddaughter. So we'll take the long way and go through Yellowstone and we're just planning on having the best time with her.

But, as you can imagine, Niqua and I are still trying to think of all the things to pack. We are driving a 15 passenger van and pulling a big trailer, both of which are packed to the brim! I'm talking be careful when you open the doors! So now I'm still knitting samples to take with us and I want to get them done because I still have to write the patterns for them. I just brought home two more suitcases full of yarn and needles and stuff- did I mention we have no more room??

Niqua wanted me to remind everyone that we encourage you to use your leftover yarns to make 4x4 swatches and bring them to the store. We'll have a party to assemble them all into throws for charity. Remember that we have open knitting and crocheting on Monday and on Friday nights. We'd love to have you come.

See you there or at Stitches!

So don't forget to sign up for the workshops we have at our store this coming weekend!
Chris Bylsma is coming to teach two workshops. Friday will be all about felting. She does some really cute pillow rolls, or you can choose to make a great felted bag. If you've wondered what all the fuss around felting was all about, sign up for this class and catch the bug! I overheard someone at the store say today: "I could never do this!" Well of course you can!! And that's what we have these classes for! To sign up go to our website at http://yarnlady.com/classschedule/workshops/06chrisbylsma.htm or come on in and we'll get you signed up. Talk a friend into taking the class with you! We will even serve you lunch!

Oh, before I forget- on Saturday you will be making the "Crayon Jacket"
Chris told us that this is one of her most popular classes. (I just checked: It's sold out at Stitches) You can bring all of your left-over yarns to use along with the 5 or so balls you will probably need to buy that day.

You will be asked to pay only $80.00 for each class (and that includes lunch). I just looked up what the charge is at Stitches and there you would have to pay $135.00

At Yarn Lady, we try to bring you popular "Name" teachers at very reasonable prices. We want you to think of us as THE place to go for instruction and for your yarn.

Watch our newsletter for dates for Melissa Leapman and others to teach at our store. Don't miss out!

So here is Alberta trying on a wonderful creamy sweater and scarf made out of handspun Cashmere. Barry is modelling a scarf made out of the same yarn. This is for when you want to be extra good to yourself....
btw: you can see closer pictures of all of these garments on Trendsetter's website for now and we are working on getting them onto ours. The patterns are at the store and you can come in to buy them and the yarn to go with them or you can call the store.
http://trendsetteryarns.com/pattern33a.htm

The next picture shows Karen in a very open shawl. Barry showed how they had hot-glued some special pailettes on there. It was quite interesting. You could wear it open as a shawl or simply scrunch it together and then it would look like a scarf. Very cool!!




Then Barry held up a cute little sweater made out of Pandora Shadow and it looked great with him holding it. But here's my point: it looked soooooo much better when Jen tried it on!! Alas, the sweaters went back home with Barry to make the rounds around the nation. Some of them will come back to us as store models (they have a special program) and others we will have to wait for.

My point? Next yarn tasting or fashion show, please be there!

When you get to try on these wonderful garments, Barry is right there to tell you more about them and to tell you how he thought they should be worn and what he was thinking when he designed them. Where can you get that??