Why February Why?

 I’ve never been a sports minded person. Even though my older brother was a high school cornerback, I never understood the fascination with football. Now, before you inundate me with comments about all the tight little tushies in their tight little pants, might I remind you that I live in Central Alberta where some men still know how to properly wear their jeans and I don’t have to wait for football season to appreciate that.

My other brother was never able to fully participate in sports because of an inner ear imbalance but you can ask him virtually anything about hockey, baseball or football and he will always have the correct answer for you. Me, not so much. I think I know which sports play for the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup but could mix them up on any given day.

I can’t be bothered with tennis or golf - GOLF - I would rather watch paint dry! And I have taught art classes.  I have watched paint dry. Way more exciting than golf.

Me, I like math. And physics. I would watch billiards. All the caroms and combination shots. I actually played pool in my younger years when corrective lenses were big enough that I wasn’t forced to peer over the top of them to see fuzzy outlines of the balls on the table. The only way I could do that now is to wear contact lenses.

And now that I am older and have time for it, I league bowl with the seniors. No, I am not old enough to collect my pension, but the seniors aren’t as competitive as my age group and I’m just there for the fun. Not sure I could enjoy it as a spectator sport though.

One sport that I love to watch on tv is curling. Again, because physics. Mom and I are avid armchair skips. I would never be able to actually play the game but I enjoy calling the shots before they’re made and knowing I made the same call as the professionals.

Curling season starts in February and goes for a full two months. Even though they had to cut the season short last year due to COVID, they have created a bubble in Calgary this year and the four main competitions are being held back to back with slight breaks in between. They play three rounds per day - all televised - and I tape them all. Why don’t I just relax and enjoy them in real time you ask? Because this is also inventory month. Those of you in retail understand the dread that phrase can create.

Inventory involves counting, recounting and, in my case, rearranging the furniture. Why not? We’re already pulling yarn out of its bins so why not give it a new home at the same time? This year, it is also the opportune time for me to prep the yarn for travel in the mobile store. Because of that, I have been able to widen the aisles in my warehouse because I was able to remove one full shelving unit. (For those of you who feel you will never use algebra in your lifetime, I feel sorry for you. I used it multiple times just this week to save me from the hassle of eyeballing my measurements and wasting time and energy doing so.)

So, let’s do some more math. Because of the short breaks between the Scotties, the Briar, the Doubles and the Worlds, let’s assume an average of two games per day for the next two months. At 3 hours per game x 60ish games per month x 2 months, that’s 360 hours of curling to watch. Most days Mom and I can watch a half game (1.5hrs) per day - cos we have lives - so a maximum of 240 viewing days and that takes us well into the fall unless we binge watch once we’re done inventory. So, yes, February can be a little overwhelming.

Written by Lori, TCL owner, who shouldn’t complain about February being so busy and revel in the fact that I get to enjoy curling for 3/4 of the year!

Coming Soon to a Market Near You

 Now that the deep freeze is almost over, for the next week or two anyway, I am in the process of taking inventory. Yay (she says unenthusiastically). But there is a bright side to this year’s inventory process. This year, as the yarn is counted, it is being loaded into packing containers and clear display bags. Why, you ask? Because it is getting ready to go on the road!

IKEA has the Parkla storage line which includes a 7”x19”x22” zippered, virtually indestructible polypropylene ‘cube’ that I learned this weekend will hold approximately 50 skeins of yarn! These will act as my warehouse on the road.

I am also using IKEA’s Skubb shoe boxes and 12”x13” boxes in the cabinets above the yarn display for more immediate access to the more commonly used yarns. Pictures to come later when I do the final reveal. ;) 

All of this will make the mobile store much more manageable this year, and since I have my regular display cubes in the van, you may be asking why I need clear display bags. Not all markets are outdoors. And the indoor markets (and some outdoor ones too) have different requirements.

Farmer’s markets have an 80/20 rule where 20% of the vendors may be retail vendors. 80% must be created/grown by the vendor. Non-Farmer’s markets are quite often 100% vendor-made and, in order to sell in those markets, I have created knit/crochet kits using Crafty Lady exclusive patterns.

So for those markets, all the guesswork is done for you. You want a One Seam Sweater in an 18 month size?  Just choose the package with the colour you want. If the combination you want isn’t there one week, go online and order a custom kit (order all the individual components) to be hand delivered at the following market.

The kits come in a variety of patterns from headwear, neckwear, footwear, sweaters and gloves using a variety of fibers (wool, alpaca, cotton, hemp, ...). Still working on whether or not needles and hooks can be sold separately or if I have to specify kit prices as with or with out tools.

So now, you can look forward to The Crafty Lady serving you in even more ways! Yay!

written by Lori, determined TCL owner, who is making the best of the icky weather.

-53 With the Wind Chill

 The last time I remember temperatures like this was a lifetime ago. I was living in Peace River and teaching at an elementary school in a nearby community. I believe it was the winter of ‘86-87. I was fortunate enough to live across a green space from my fellow teacher otherwise half the students would have been without an instructor. I could walk to her place without getting frostbite; the car refused to acknowledge the turn of a key despite being plugged in.

Twice that winter it had to be towed to a local garage to thaw out and, despite that history, the car was sold to a young Peace River man at the end of my tenure there.

Thankfully, I currently have at my disposal two vehicles that endure this kind of weather with few complaints. One resides year round in a carport without being plugged in. The other has not yet been plugged in this year. I may have to plug it in today 😉. Even in - no, especially in this weather - online sales are the go to for many people and I have to venture out to the post office to get product off to their rightful owners. Carport vehicle it is.

Written by Lori, cozy TCL owner, who is wishing you all a comfy snow day with no need to venture out into the polar vortex. 

Two Projects Using One of the Newer Yarns in Stock - Cascade Yarns Anthem Rondo

 Many people freak out if they don't have the exact yarn that a pattern calls for. Many others just go full steam ahead with a yarn that's kinda the same size.

I decided to create two 18 month size sweaters: one following my own One Seam Sweater for a gauge of 15x30=4" on 5.5mm needles originally created with James C. Brett Marble Chunky, and the other following a free Yarnspirations pattern for a discontinued yarn, Bernat Mosaic, with a gauge of 16x32=4" on 5mm needles. If you are familiar with how knitting gauges work, you can get both of these gauges from the same yarn because the bigger needle has more ease, meaning the fabric relaxes enough to have fewer stitches in the same space.

The yarn I chose for both projects was Cascade Yarns Anthem Rondo, a long striping aran weight yarn which is actually smaller than the Marble Chunky and smoother than the Mosaic, which was a thick thin yarn.

So, how did they turn out? Well, I design according to the Craft Yarn Council guidelines with the recommended amount of ease so the sleeves of my One Seam Sweater look extra long in the rainbow (#07 Prep) colour because they aren't super deep at the armhole. The sweater based on the Bernat pattern (#04 Open Seas) (I say 'based on' because I knit the sleeves sideways, a trick you can do with garter stitch without changing the size of the garment piece) look more proportionate when laying flat but the sleeves are closer to 3/4 length sleeves than full length like my OSS. Guess what? They both came out to pattern gauge!

The bonus is that there was enough yarn left over from my OSS, that I was able to whip up a matching hat with about 2m to spare. The Side to Side sweater had only 5m to spare. If I actually sewed the seams together as recommended, there would have been less than that!

written by Lori, satisfied TCL owner, who is happy with the way both sweaters turned out.