Drum Roll Please!

FINALLY!

Finally I have some news about my whereabouts this coming Farmer's Market season. Now realize, this is still contingent upon future health recommendations, but until things change, my itinerary is as posted below.

Note that some of the locations are indoors and some outside; some full yarn store and some kits-only. Regardless, the plan is to keep rotating stock so that it is a new store each week. As mentioned in a previous blog, if you don't buy it in person one week, you can probably (hopefully) still buy it online and have it delivered any given following week.

MONDAYS - will most likely be my personal day and / or the day I teach classes at the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre. COVID has me owing them a few.

TUESDAYS - starting May 4, then every OTHER week, you will find me at the Stettler Agriplex 3-6pm.

WEDNESDAYS - I will (tentatively) be at the Ponoka Curling Club in the morning (10am - 1pm) starting June 2 but that has not yet been confirmed at the time of publication.

In the afternoon (3-7pm), I will be found at the Wetaskiwin Ag Grounds starting May 12.

THURSDAYS - I will be plying my wares in Leduc from 10am to 1:30pm (starting date TBA).

In the afternoon (4-7pm), I will be parked at the Downtown Camrose Market starting June 10.

FRIDAYS - I will be at the Lacombe Farmer's Market 9am - 1pm starting May 21.

In the afternoon (4-7pm), I will be at the Lakedell Market, in Westerose, starting May 14. They are currently at retail max.

SATURDAYS - starting May 22, I will be rounding off my week with a visit to The Market at Red Deer 8am - 12:30pm.

SUNDAYS - I don't care how many markets are open on Sunday, that is the day I and mine go to church so you won't find the store at a market.

That is a total of 9 - count 'em - 9 markets that I will be attending every week this year. (Okay, 8 every other week for those of you who were paying attention.) This year, they are all fairly close to home. Depending on the success of these markets, I may stay with this collection or I may choose to expand my reach for those of you who don't live centrally. We'll see what this year brings.

Please note that the starting dates are all over the place. I will be forever grateful for your enthusiasm but please don't show up three weeks before the market you're going to actually opens up! That's a long time to wait to be first in line. 😉

Until the market in your area opens, the best part for you, the customers, is that the online store is still available 24/7!

written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who thought she'd never use another day planner but may need one to keep up with this not perfectly consistent schedule.

No News is Good News, Right?

Other than the dump of snow overnight between Saturday and Sunday, not much has changed since the last post.

Don't want to bore you rambling on about the same old same old, so -

If I haven't heard back from more than one of the Farmer's Markets, that's good news right?

I'll update when I know more.

written by Lori, TCL owner, who doesn't know what else to tell you.

The Phone Update!

 Quick update

The Crafty Lady now has its very own cell phone!

That means you can text me now!

YAY!

The number is

403-506-7239

It is still in the process of transitioning from one carrier to another so there may be a glitch or two for the next few days but, YAY, a new phone number! 

And for those of you who didn't read the blog earlier this week, the landline (403-782-7238) still works too. 

This was Supposed to be a Phone Update :(

 Today's blog is late but for good reason.

Remember a couple of blogs back when I said that I think I had a solution to the texting to landline problem? The new mobile number for The Crafty Lady is xxx-xxx-xxxx. (You will see down below how long I waited to get it done as far as it got but the number isn't right. I need to fix it before I give you the actual number.) I will retain the landline number (403-782-7238) because I'm old school like that. Besides, it's a daily reminder that Dad took the time to research the perfect phone number for my business endeavour. (The last 5 digits spell out CRAFT)

As I am still trying to fill out the weekly Farmer's Market schedule, I took a road trip with my two roomies on Saturday. Nothing like needing to know what the roads are like before I take a well-loaded RV onto them. Based on the roads we took, I came to the conclusion that Tuesday will probably only have one stop, if any. I also learned why/how Big Valley got its name. Beautiful valley nearby but absolutely impassable with the amount of yarn I'll be carrying. I don't want to be spending all my profits on a new transmission! Don't let the gently sloping road on the far side lull you into thinking I'm a wimp. The road down to the bridge at the bottom is nowhere near that gentle and its a single lane bridge so there would be times I would definitely need my brakes (and transmission) when I get to the bottom.

At least the three of us were able to get out of the house for a day.

As for the new phone line, the process started at 10am this Monday morning with the installation of a new modem in the warehouse and at 3:20pm we are almost finished the process. It will be convenient having a dedicated business cell phone so that I will know when I should answer in a business-like manner and when I can just be Lori 😁

written by Lori, impatient TCL owner, who can't wait to get out on the road!

It’s the Little Things

This may not look like much to you, but to me it means that the pop up store is one step closer to being road ready. It took about three hours to do the backsplash in the kitchen/till area - half of which was washing down the portion directly behind the stove with TSP, rinsing, and air drying three separate times just to cut the grease before applying the tiles.

This area took just under four squares of the stick on tiles that I bought from one of the local dollar stores. The remaining tiles can be seen on the counter in front of the sink. If you’ve considered buying those tiles but wasn’t sure about the adhesive, I can tell you right now that it sticks immediately so be careful when placing your tiles. Also, there is a definite left/right up/down to the tiles which I didn’t realize until it was too late. If you zoom in above the stove you will see where there is no ‘grout’ between the tiles because I butted up two ‘grout less’ sides together. I’ll know better next time. If there is a next time. Meanwhile, learn from my mistakes. That way, I won’t have made them in vain. 😉

My last modification in the RV will be in the bathroom and, yes, it needs to be done before I hit the road because I will even have some stock in there. For those of you who stitch, my floss and tapestry yarn will be kept in organizers in the shower and the tapestries (yes, I still have canvasses for sale) will be on a shower curtain rod and on full display when the door is opened.

Written by Lori, excited TCL owner, who hopes you all had a great Easter and is looking forward to seeing you all on the road very soon!