IT is coming!!

What is IT!!? It IS

The Crafty Lady is in the final stages of getting her on-line store up and running. We will be asking for your e-mail address to add to our till program - automatically giving you our store loyalty discount on all purchases.

You will be able to check if we have more/different colours of a favourite yarn in stock, put in a request for a special order, if you did not purchase quite enough for your current project - you will be able to buy on line. We can even mail to you.

The Crafty Lady is working on this - as I write. For her, this is taking time from crafting, creating/designing new projects and working on a computer. 😇 Margaret and I are keeping her well stocked with coffee. The sun late last week also helped as she could not be outside much.

Winner of the $25 Crafty Lady gift card: Betty Golley

Winner of the $50 Crafty Lady gift card: Jennifer Pugh

Congratulations to both of you, and thanks to everyone who entered our draw and shopped during Lacombe Days!

Summer can be a time of closet clearing, re-thinking the current wardrobe and checking dates on the contents of the kitchen cupboards/fridge.

 

Your children have grown, you have changed shape (speaking only for myself and personal experience), your colouring has changed (or your hair colour) - during the rainy days, when everyone is "bored", clearing the clutter can be mind-blowing. 

It can be a great time to review the contents of your yarn stash. When you are so motivated, please consider donating any of the yarns which no longer talk to you. These yarns may be left over from a completed project, yarn you were gifted when it no longer spoke to the neighbour/aunt. When you have collected some (and this can be part balls) please bring in to The Crafty Lady. We have people who can not afford to buy and donate, who are waiting for your yarn to make blankets, afghans, lap-ghans, for Inn From the Cold, The Mustard Seed, Red Deer Hospice, Ronald McDonald House, Red Deer Hospital, etc. There are several areas of ongoing need.

Speaking of bits and pieces, odd balls and skeins - The Crafty Lady has re-stocked the Orphan basket! This is a great place to get 1 ball/skein of something for a really great price. Our orphans are all great yarns, the only problem for us is, they are the last of a dye lot, a discontinued colour or line. Currently, there are acrylic yarns, wool and acrylic/wool blends in the basket. Come and take a look.

This is a great place to get an unusual bit of yarn - at stash prices - to finish a project or create small items.

Orphans

75% off Marked Prices

while they last 

Written by Anne, currently working on reducing my stash . . . stay posted - one trunk donated! and several single ball projects under way

Fresh Out of Ideas

Do you ever have a day like that -- where it seems that your brain cells are completely empty, nothing there: nada, zip, nothing?

Sometimes those days can go on for weeks!  That's when you find yourself in a creative slump -- nothing appeals.  You might have six projects on the go, and not one single one is calling to your heart.  Not. One.

Worse, yet, you're not tempted by anything in your project queue, or in your yarn stash.



You take a walk.

You have a nap.

You try to settle with what  was hitherto a good book.

You surf the Internet -- Pinterest and Ravelry -- for ideas.

You might be saying to yourself, "Drat!  Everyone else seems to be having so much fun with what they're doing.  What's wrong with me?!"

There's only one thing for it: get out and party!  

Say what?!

It doesn't have to be a big deal.  We're not talking invitations, catering, setting up a bar, hiring entertainment.

Not that kind of party. Just see if you can get together with a couple of good friends for time together -- preferably in the form of coffee or a meal out, or a short road trip to visit other places of interest (including yarn shops, of course!), with some music in the background.  Go out to a movie together, or to a museum or art gallery -- or take in an evening at one of those 'paint party' places where you come home with a painting or a painted mug or bowl.

This isn't a time not to whine and commiserate (well, maybe for the first five or ten minutes!), but a time to share easy conversation, some good food and/or drink, funny stories and...eventually...ideas.

There!  Don't you feel better now?  😉

And just in case your new ideas involve yarn...this week The Crafty Lady provides you one more opportunity to party -- with colour!

Party Time Chunky

from James C. Brett

Colour #PT 7

100 grams = 153 metres (167 yards)

100% acrylic

Regular Price: $9.00

Sale Price: $2.25!

PLEASE NOTE: there's a limited quantity -- in only one colour-way.  

One ball will create an adorable "stuffie"; a couple will make a bright and cheerful kid's sweater; and four will make a colourful, cuddly baby blanket!

This happy yarn is sure to shake loose some new yarn-craft ideas, whatever you decide to make with it.

Take time to party -- and we'll see you in The Shop!

*Written by Margaret, who believes that any day that includes yarn is worthy of a party!

Summer is a time of colour

Can you see the very busy bees thoroughly enjoying the flowers?

The Crafty Lady is allergic to flowers, so I am providing some Mother Nature's colour in two views.

Overlooking Kalamalka Lake, British Columbia

Over the past several years, colouring books have become very popular as hobbies and to help wile away idle time when you can not knit, crochet or quilt. 

Quoting from Coloring for Dummies For Adults (available from Chapters/Amazon, etc.)

 "Coloring? Isn’t that for kids? Certainly not! Coloring is for all ages. Coloring is a great hobby for adults. It’s the ideal way to relax after a hard day and perfect for giving your creativity a boost. For many people, the coloring of a beautiful picture is a kind of meditation. You focus on what you’re doing at that very moment and forget everything around you". 

Colouring can be something you do alone, in a group, listening to a podcast, watching TV. Colour can feed your creative side while being very meditative. You can find colouring books at several price points, on many types of paper, and you can use anything from markers to crayons, to coloured pencils, or expensive artists paints. 

One other bonus - there are no rules! You can use any colour, you can colour inside or outside the lines - or draw your own creation. There is so much more to colouring as an adult. While colouring you can be a child again - create a masterpiece, or more than one at the same time. You can share, you can keep, you can hang on the wall/fridge. 

I invite you to read this article from the International Bipolar Foundation website, which you may find very interesting http://www.ibpf.org/blog/new-hobby-consider-coloring-books-adults. 

This week's special is right up the creative colour avenue. It is also a chunky yarn, so your creation will work up very quickly. 

Kureyon Air

By Noro

100% wool

Reg. $20.00

75% Off

$5.00

Kureyon Air has two plies, spun with less twist than many manufactured yarns.   It can be a little difficult to see, because the yarn has such a “rustic” loosely spun effect, but if you untwist it you will definitely get two plies in your hand. It’s how they get the striated effect that shows up in some dye lots (like, black and orange blurred together.)

As far as I can tell it is manufactured in Japan, hence the Japanese name for the yarn: くれよん (pronounced coo-ray-oh-n) is the Japanese pronunciation of the English “crayon;” thus, the literal name of the yarn is “crayon.”

Summer is the time for vibrant colour, this is one of the yarns to consider working with this summer for winter colour. And - It is 100% wool and will felt. Check out some of the projects on Ravelry. 

Written by Anne, as I enjoy summer colours! 

Life's STILL a Cabaret!

Photo Credit: www.moviegoods.com
via Wikipedia

"Put down the knitting, the book and the broom; time for a holiday..."

Well, maybe not the knitting!  For those of us in the "know", knitting and crochet are key parts of any holiday, especially if one's vacation time calls for an extended road trip.  As long as you don't knit and drive (!), it's the perfect activity to wile away hours in the car or plane or on the bus, going from Point A to Point B.

In our Thursday 'gig' at The Shop, Anne and I were both kept hopping, serving customers who'd started their road trip and finished a project (or two!) already, or who were preparing to hit the trails for a road trip, or were planning a camping trip and needed something to do on the lakeside, around the fireside or in the camper or cabin on a rainy afternoon.

However you spend your summer holiday, we hope you do it with a view to genuinely relaxing -- putting away thoughts of what's going on in the Wider World, letting go of demands and pressures, and really enjoying life in the moment -- just as you would if you were in a cabaret.

That's why this week, for our Super Special Sale, we're offering you a light, quick-to-knit (or crochet) cotton-polyester blend that will be fun to work with on summer afternoons/evenings.

Cabare 

(note the accent on the 'e')

from SMC Select

50 grams = 55 metres (60 yards)

78% Cotton

22% Polyester

Regular Price: $10.00

Sale Price: $2.50

We have a variety of colours available, all in yummy summery pastels -- and enough of some to make a summer sweater, an open-work summer shawl, an elegant lacy wrap or...well, you get the idea!

Wherever and whenever you find yourself yarn-crafting this month and next...we hope you're celebrating time away from life's demands, the blessing of being able to create something lovely, and the joy of relaxing with family, friends, fresh air and good food.

Start by admitting from cradle to tomb
It isn't that long a stay
Life is a cabaret, old chum
It's only a cabaret, old chum
And I love a cabaret!

-- From the theme for 'Cabaret' 

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Won't you join me?

*Written by Margaret, who's enjoying her 'cabaret knitting' under the shade of an old tree in her back garden.  Bliss!

Did you celebrate Canada Day?

Listening to Sunny 94, it sounded like every community in Central Alberta had some form of celebration over the weekend for Canada Day.

YES! We actually have patriotism!!! We all like a great party.

On Canada Day there were so many great celebrations, fireworks, face painters, pancake breakfasts, bouncy houses, magicians, balloons twisted into dozens of shapes - including a maple leaf!!

One of the bonuses of community events is the opportunity to see the creativity of our neighbours. When you start actually looking, how many of your friends and neighbours are creative/crafty be it woodworking, carving, painting, stained glass, writing, gardening, quilting, knitting, needlework, beading, metal working, crochet? I live in a community of about 200 people. There is at least one person who is active in at least one of these skills, and I know there are others who have additional skills within our community.

Just for curiosity, I was reviewing some of the older blogs and discovered it is 2 years since Anna Maria moved to the island. Thus Margaret and I were privileged to assume the blog writing. Anna is still writing stories and living on the island in an historical home.

Where we were, on Canada Day, we had rain, sunshine and great temperatures. Some of the events had to shift from the park to the community hall, but we all had fun! Did you take a minute, to join in singing our national anthem? Please copy and paste this link for a very sincere rendition: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1559637571711/  - Margaret was unable to walk me through how to post the link, sorry.

Occasional rain is in the forecast for the next 10 days or so. With the cooler temperatures we are having this is a great time to stock up on projects for the fall and winter, including planning for Christmas gifts.

This week's special is right in line with planning and dreaming - Berroco's Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Tonal!! As this yarn also comes from south of the equator (see Margaret's blog from last week) this is a real treat to feature for our 75% off Sale.

Ultra Alpaca & Ultra Alpaca Tonal

by Berroco

200 m/100g

50% Superfine Alpaca/50% Peruvian Highland Wool

Milled in Peru

Reg. $16.00/$20.00

75% OFF Sale

$4.00/$5.00

This yarn is great for toques/hats, mittens, cowls/scarves - it is light weight and warm, speaking from experience. Over 45,000 projects have been created in these yarns. There are lots of ideas on Ravelry.

On a different note (puns intended) and not to blow our own horn, we had a customer in last week, with a visitor from Europe. The local customer was overheard to tell the visitor, "The Crafty Lady is the best yarn shop in Western Canada". Thank you to the customer!

Speaking for myself - it is a combination of the owner, our staff - and our customers who help make us one of the best. We learn from you, and when we don't know we all go looking for information.

New yarns have arrived - in limited quantities:



Written by Anne, happy to have wonderful yarns to work with.