Everything in the store is at least 50% off

Wow!! Here we are, counting down the days and reducing the prices to 50% off the regular price. Today we made the difficult decision to not do mailorder any longer. Since we don't have that much to mail out, we have had to suspend the pick-up service and mailing something out now requires a trip to the mail center or post office. Being shorthanded already has made this difficult.

Thank you for the many letters of encouragement we have received. We're saying good-bye to our "baby" but we know that it will be in good hands and that Ginger and Steve and our staff and teachers will take it to new heights and exciting things will happen.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity, do drop in and check out what we have left. If you live too far away- our apologies. Please watch the newsletters and the website for news and reports and find out what's next.

Our son-in-law was here over the weekend and installed a new computer for us here at home. Now I need to figure out how to use it!!! :-)))

Annoucement from Dutch and Gaby

Happy Easter!

Easter is the most exciting news for Christians like ourselves! The cross is empty and Christ is risen!

We have more earthly exciting news at Yarn Lady. As you probably know, we have been looking for someone to adopt "our baby" and it seems that someone will. We are excited to know that what God has built over the last almost 20 years will go on and everything that is familiar and lots of new things will be there for you to enjoy. Our staff is excited that classes will continue and there will be a place for you to come and spend time with friends and fellow students. The new owners have lots of great ideas and enthusiasm to share with you when the transfer is complete. There is even a plan to move to a new location where the rent is cheaper so things can move on more smoothly.

To make things easier to transfer and move, we are having a sale of 25% off all yarn in stock. It is first come- first served, so be sure to shop while the selection is best!

I'll still be available through the month of May and after that, although no longer in the yarn business, you will be able to reach me personally via my blog at http://sayhitojesusforme.blogspot.com/

I hope you're as excited as we are! There is a bit of sadness as you can imagine. We have had a wonderful season and I will miss everyone a great deal! Perhaps down the road I will be able to sit at the table as a customer, go to Stitches as a student and just go down memory lane and count my blessings. Dutch and I love to remember how we started and how God built our business. We truly know that He wanted a yarn store and that He built it! It was a pleasure to be able to be His hands to do this. For the job, He brought us many wonderful and enthusiastic employees and countless loyal customers. We thank you all! May God richly bless you!

Memories

I was looking through the reams of pictures we have. What memories they bring back! I'll keep adding to this, so come back if you're interested.

Merry Christmas from Dutch and Gaby

Love Personified

We have been given many gifts this past year. God has graciously granted us another year with each other and although we have had many experiences with doctors and hospitals, Dutch is still with us. The economy is very bad for us as it might be for some of you. Our dreams of passing our store on to someone else don’t seem to be coming true and we must close the curtain on what was and is a great experience. The kids are happy in their new surroundings and although they, too have experienced some bumps in the road, we are all rejoicing because we know that we are in the Hands of God. When the storms rage in our lives, God seems to reach down and say: “Peace! Be still!”

As I sit here writing this letter, a storm is raging outside of our walls. The rain is pouring down and the wind is howling.
I thank God for the protection of the walls around me, knowing that many at this time do not have such protection.
I thank God for warmth, knowing that many are cold at this very moment.
I thank God for food, knowing that we have abused it and that so many multitudes are hungry.
I thank God for family and friends, knowing that many souls are lonely and without support.
But mostly, I thank God for Jesus, who truly is love personified. When God created everything, He also created us in the image of Himself. He didn’t create us as slaves, but with a free will so that we might choose to love Him. We all have fallen short of that goal and this sin now separates us from His love. But God didn’t stop there. To show His love to us again, He came to redeem us and bridge the gap between Himself and us. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) He took the punishment we deserve on Himself because the debt is more than anyone could pay.
And we have the choice to accept this, the greatest Christmas Gift……. or not.
May the Prince of Peace reign in your heart this Christmas!
With much love,
Duane and Gaby Monson
http://sayhitojesusforme.blogspot.com/

Luke:1- 46And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 50His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

Bag Sale

It's been quite a while since I have posted on this blog it seems. I have been so busy writing on my personal blog. Since I last wrote, we have elected a new government, are fretting over the economy, mourn with victims of natural disasters and more! During all of this one thing hasn't changed: God's love for us and His plan for our lives!

Since you are reading a YARN blog, you probably agree that working with fiber gives you many hours of relaxation and helps you forget the outside world. Wow!! That sounds pretty lofty!! The fact of the matter is that we are all fiber junkies! I've heard it said that we don't ever have to USE it all, as long as we collect it.

I do have a more serious story to tell.... A number of years ago, a year or two after the Laguna Beach fires, we had one of our first bag sales. Back then they were still a lot smaller and we had a much smaller selection. People were going through the yarn and making little piles for themselves of the things they were considering. One lady had a huge pile next to her, which made Dutch a bit uneasy because it seemed to him that she was just setting yarn aside that she would later throw back into the pile. He finally found a way to tactfully ask her if she intended to buy any of this yarn. Her response was that she planned on buying it all. She had lost her home in the fire and had come to a previous bag sale to try to replace some of what she had lost. Emotion overcame her and she left. This time she felt that she was ready to purchase fiber again. She did in great quantities and we pray that she enjoyed using it.

My heart goes out to those who have lost everything in this year's fires. I rejoice with them that no lives were lost and mourn with them for their losses of memories and material possessions.

I can count my blessings!

New Blog from Gaby

As some of you probably know, Dutch and I have retired due to health reasons. We want to publicly say a great big THANK YOU to our wonderful staff, who are "keeping the home fires burning" as they say. Business is cyclical in any case and when the economy falls into the toilet to boot... well they have their hands full!

We also want to thank YOU, our loyal customers. We appreciate your continued patronage! We feel that Yarn Lady is and hopefully will be a place where you can come and fellowship with other knitters, crocheters and spinners. A place to gather and forget about the news of the day for even a little while. We thank you for spending your money with us, when things are uncertain and tight.

So many people are asking how Dutch is. I have decided to start another blog where I talk about those things. If you're interested, you can log on to http://sayhitojesusforme.blogspot.com/

God bless you all!

Knitting @ Angel Stadium

The whole country has been exited about Stitch and Pitch events where a bunch of stitchers go to a baseball game together. This sounded like fun to us in Orange County but it seemed the Angels needed some convincing that there would be any interest. Some people including our own Cherie went to bat and made it happen! The event was a great success and we showed them!! The Angeles never thought we could drum up this much interest! Thank you to Lindy Garber for your help in making this a reality. 175 tickets were sold!!! Thanks also to Jasmine Matthews of the Angels for your help!

A great day was had by all and the Angels won in extra innings. Talk about getting your money's worth! Even the weather co-operated with clear sunshine. If you went, you got lots of excersise, climbing up to the seats and back down to get the goodie bags. By the way, Thank you also to our suppliers who donated lots of stuff for the goodie bags. Thank you also again to Cherie for getting them all stuffed and delivered!

If you were there, PLEASE e-mail the Angels and let them know how much fun it was! We want them to be on our side next year and make this event even greater!

What a difference knitting and crocheting can make

I just looked at the date of my last post.... Yikes!! I had no idea it had been this long.

So many things have happened and are happening that time gets away from me. One of the many things that have inspired me this summer is Michelle Yung's blog 6° 18' N 10° 48' W
http://livinlavidaliberia.blogspot.com/

I challenge you to read the musings and reposts from this young woman who serves on a Mercy Ship in Liberia and uses her knitting talents to help others. There have been others who have crossed paths with me, who inspire me as well with the way they use their talents to brighten someone else's life. Email me, if you would please, if you use your talents in any way to help others. Do you knit or crochet for charity? Tell me about it. gaby@yarnlady.com

As Michelle put's it: And then again, it is not about knitting. Knitting is just an excuse to be able to sit with them, talk to them, encourage them and love them. It opens them up, stirs up excitement and builds a bridge between languages, continents, oceans and lands. It is a very simple way to tell them a very simple truth:You are valuable. You are unique and one of a kind. You have a purpose. You are no accident.You have a Creator who loves you very much.