Pop Up Update

Well, the snow is almost all gone and the flood from a week ago was a one-off (we hope!). This has given me a chance to focus on the RV renovations!

The first job was to put the battery back into the front end so that I could move the motorhome into a more convenient location so I hooked it up to the battery charger in the morning and installed it later that afternoon. Success 👍until the next day when I checked to see if the battery was still charged 👎so I boosted it and let it run for the prescribed minimum 10 minutes (according to Google). That must have been one of the true things on Google because it is still going strong 👍.

The next task was to remove the jutty-outy part of the kitchen counter - the part that makes it impossible to get from one end of the RV to the other if someone has opened the fridge. I took all kinds of pictures and videos of the inside of the cabinet so that I knew where all the anchor points were for the countertop; where the (currently inert) electrical bits were so that I could uninstall the bits that are housed on the side wall to be removed; and where the water and propane lines were so I didn't damage them as they are NOT currently 'inert'.
I figured I could get a lot of the preliminary work done before calling in help for those tasks. I found all the right sized bits for my power drill and my manual screwdriver and got to work.

The TV, DVD player and outlets (GFI, 12 volt and cable) all came out without a fight. Okay - that ONE screw in the TV stand has refused to let go of the TV but that didn't stop me from removing the TV stand from the already tiny countertop.

I discovered that the manufacturers used a Kreg jig for joining which makes for a beautiful finish but meant I had to use my manual screwdriver because the plumbing was in the way of my power tool. Good thing I play the piano (strong fingers, hands and arms) and used to teach junior high (patience of Job) because it took a while to get all the screws out of the front face of the offending peninsula. (Haha. You thought I didn't know what the jutty-outy thing was called, didn't you 😉)

Nothing moved. I mean nothing. All the screws that were hiding in their angled hidey-holes had been removed and the countertop and face were solidly held together. Turns out they used brad nails, screws AND glue! I've decided that it is a good thing that most of the Farmer's Markets are not getting the go ahead this year - the exceptions being the ones that are going online - and that social distancing will not be possible in the RV. It is going to take all summer just to renovate!

So glad so many of my customers (including some new ones) followed me online. This social distancing is great for introverts like me but not so good for businesses like mine where the customers want - no, NEED -  to 'pet the squishies'. So for now, I will persevere with the renos, keep filling orders, continue entering data into the improved website so one day you can actually enjoy the experience of ordering from www.craftylady.ca/, and plan for the Pop Up season next summer.

Oh! Some show and tell!

After Mom inherited the original Adult One Seam Sweater, I finally got around to making my very own One Seam Sweater using Caron Cakes (yes, I used contraband yarn again). It will be finished later this evening (Monday) but here it is with just the bottom halves of the sleeves to finish. 😁 I started it less than a week ago!!!

 written by Lori, grateful TCL owner, who loves having all this extra time right now to do the things she HAS to do as well as the things she LOVES to do.

Does This Mean Spring Is Finally Here?

So. Have I ever told you that my mother is amazing?

At 86 years young, she was out at the warehouse with me for the better part of Friday soaking up her portion of the flood with the 2 gallon shop vac while I was manning (womanning?) the 10 gallon shop vac, all in an effort to keep the yarn and everything else in the warehouse dry.

See those sandbags there? She continued sucking up water while I made two trips to pick them up. Don't worry. We may refer to her as Mighty Mouse but I was the one who was slinging the sandbags around.

After almost seven hours straight of hard labour, we finally stemmed the flow of the garden runoff enough to go in and have supper.

A big shout out to a couple of the town staff for coming to remove the ice buildup on the back alley that was trying to keep pace with the garden runoff.

Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end of the day and I still managed to fill a number of orders after supper.

We managed to recuperate over the weekend and by Sunday evening the garden was a soggy mess with no snow in sight and the sandbags kept the water at bay. Yay!

On Saturday, it occurred to me (and one of 'the faithful') that we were missing Knit Night. She has been taking courses via Zoom and I had just had my own first experience with Zoom earlier in the week. What if we had a virtual knit night? We could still have conversation and camaraderie. We could still show off our WIPs and FOs. And because none of us would have to drive home afterwards, we wouldn't have to limit our refreshments to coffee or tea. 😉

So let's see how many of you read to the very end of the blog today.
If you would like to participate in a virtual Knit Night on Thursday evenings between 6 and 9pm, leave an affirmative comment.
If you don't want to/can't participate for any reason, say so. I still want to know if you read this far.

Written by Lori, thankful TCL owner, who has a dry floor thanks in part to my very own Mighty Mouse. Love you Mom.

A Happy Snowy Easter to Everyone!

HAPPY EASTER!

I finished a few projects that I've been meaning to get to -
all the previous Christmas/birthday gifts are done and these arm covers for the couch and chair, (of which I made two different variations so I wouldn't get bored)!

They are actually a much darker taupe so the fact that they look this light grey means the sun is out! YAY!!

As you can see, Easter week was quiet for us due to the stay at home orders.
We kept in contact with friends and family through the internet and phone. Because Mom is so-o impressed with all the zoom choirs and orchestras that have been showcased on TV,
I will teach her how to at least use Facetime before this is done so that she can see that her sister in assisted living really is okay. Baby steps. 😉

I am still rearranging the warehouse. Almost everything is in its new home and I am still filling and delivering a few orders every day. When I am finally happy with the way the warehouse looks, I will post a video so that you can see that the store is still a going concern. And that has to happen soon because, when the snow goes away, I have to start on the motorhome / pop-up store!

I'm not sure how many Farmer's Markets will be running this summer, and for those that do, they will probably be cutting back on the numbers of vendors to allow for the physical distancing protocols. The silver lining is that I will have more time to get the motorhome exactly the way I want it.

So ... in the time that it took me to write this blog, this happened.

< On the back deck, you can see how much snow was left before it started up again.

< In the front yard, the trees have kept the new snow on the road. And just look at the 'fog' in front of the trees. Really coming down!

Remember, it was sunny when I took those first pictures.














But not to worry, I have faith that Mom will have her garden in before May 9th as she always does so snow all you want, Mother Nature, Spring is already here. Just gotta let it show up.

written by Lori, happy TCL owner who can't wait for all the greenery we should have had for Easter.

Bring Me Basics

I was approached by Lacombe Online to take part in BringMeBasics, a new venture designed to keep everyone happy while shopping local during our 'down time'. None of us really want to spend this time spring cleaning, do we? So why not learn a new skill? I have different jewelry making projects as well as knit or crochet accessories at this time. Prices include everything you need to make your projects, except basics like tape, safety pins or scissors. If you need those, hop on over to www.craftylady.ca and I will do my best to hook you up with what you need.

Even without BringMeBasics, it is wonderful to know that I have enough loyal customers trying to keep themselves sane that my online / phone / email sales, and therefore deliveries, have kept me busy (lots of hand sanitizer!) You know, I didn't think I'd be selling skeins of DMC floss any more so I was just going to leave them in boxes until I had the yarn exactly where I wanted it. Nope. Guess what was in high demand this week. Really high demand! I have decided that I will probably keep it as regular stock after my suppliers have once again been deemed necessary businesses and I can reorder. Elastic was also in high demand this week because of all the people making masks. Yay!!!!! Sadly, I am now completely out of the sizes that work and cannot bring more in until my suppliers are deemed essential businesses again.

On a personal note, I have still been finding time to play with yarn. I am especially pleased to announce that a pair of Lorigami Socks that I started way back in September(!) were finished on Wednesday and sent out Friday. The intended recipient has been waiting patiently but I think she will still be surprised when they end up on her doorstep.

The third of the late Christmas presents is now complete and I have decided that they will be birthday presents instead. That means plenty of time to finish the last one.

I have also been working on a crochet project at my mom's request - covers for the arms of the couch. Thankfully she is happy with my pattern choice because I can work on them while we watch the Scotties and Brier that we taped and never had time to watch. (And, no, you can't spoil it. We already know who won.)

Most importantly, stay safe, stay busy and enjoy the time you have at home.

(Side note: the link to the Lorigami Socksabove states that you will receive a paper copy if you purchase it from this website. I can email a digital copy if you prefer. The new webstore will have digital copies - another reason I am making the switch.)

Creativity and baking

So ... who else has been baking up a storm?

We're all creative people here, and we all know that being creative is what keeps us sane.

I was at the post office last week and ran into a retired businessman I know who said he had been trying to convince the man who had bought his business to close during the stay-at-home order because he knows the business is not essential. I said I was at the post office because I was delivering sanity to a customer so I know mine is an essential business. He agreed because his wife is one of us. He knows  the consequences of NOT having something to do to relieve the stress, especially right now.

But even with all the lovely yarn I am surrounded by on a daily basis, there are times I just can't knit or crochet another stitch. Sacrilege, I know!
So Mom and I have been scouring the internet (me) and hard copy books (Mom) for new recipes - mostly breads - that can be made with or without yeast (it was hard to find the first couple of outings to the grocery store) and with or without a bread maker (we have two). We have determined that the bread maker is great for making the dough but it just doesn't make a nice loaf for sandwiches so we throw it into a regular bread pan and into the oven it goes.

We've made regular white bread, coconut flour bread which is more like a pound cake, (if we'd had crushed pineapples to throw over top, they would have made it taste like a Pina Colada cake! Next time 😋) and Irish soda bread so far. We even tried these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! Sadly, they didn't last long ;) Because of that, we're trying to stay away from the sweet baked treats but when the banana is too ripe even for me and the sour cream is past due, you gotta make a banana loaf and a mahogany cake - and pop them in the freezer immediately! Okay Mom and I shared one piece to make sure it was okay before gifting some to one brother and my mom's 'other daughter'.

So glad I am getting some work done on the rv (sorry, no pictures yet) or I would be needing to buy a new wardrobe after this social isolation thing we're doing.

I don't normally ask for feedback, questions, etc on this blog, but since I no longer get to see everyone at the store, I would love to see what projects you're working on or have finished, or even some of the baking you've been experimenting with just to keep your hands busy. So, please leave your comments below and I will leave you with one more 'recipe' I am going to try next time I can't find yeast. Use this yeast 2:1 compared to regular yeast.

written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who obviously won the recipe race since I have links for all the recipes 😉

And the people stayed home.

I've been seeing this posted in many different ways on Facebook and it is a good reminder for people to slow down and just start to live again. I also was fortunate enough to be able to read this below.

Remember when we used to say, "I wish I had time to ....."?

Time for action my friends.

So let's share what we are doing that we never had time for before ...

I will start doing mine tomorrow!

- Corinne Nowoczin (a wise woman I just happen to be related to)

She's right, you know. Now is a great time to hit that To Do List with fervour. I personally am getting around to finishing my Christmas 2019 projects when I'm not fulfilling orders from the online store, working on the website, the warehouse, or the RV. Two are done (shown in part below) and I have three more to go.

If you're like me and leave Christmas presents until it is (almost) too late, now is a great time to start. I know you have patterns and yarns and buttons, etc. that have just been waiting patiently in your stash hoping to be used sooner rather than later.

We're probably going to have a lot of babies born before the end of the year and they're all going to need blankets and sweaters and hats. What a great way to use up those finer weight yarns.

For those bits and bobs that you just can't bring yourself to throw out, making Temperature Blankets is an option but most people say they get too big if you do a full year size. So do a Vegas Blanket instead. I used to be able to find all sorts of images and patterns for these until Temperature Blankets became popular. Now, nothing. So here's the gist of it. It can be either knit or crocheted. It uses up stash at an amazing rate and the pattern changes every single row so you don't have to memorize a pattern.

VEGAS BLANKET

Ingredients

One die and one coin

Six different colours or colourways of yarn (numbered 1 through 6)

(use a favourite afghan pattern to determine how much yarn you will need)

Needle or hook the proper size for your yarn

Knit Recipe 

Again, gleaning information from a favourite afghan pattern, leaving a 6" tail, cast on your preferred number of stitches with yarn colour of your choosing. Cut yarn leaving a 6" tail. These tails will form a fringe so make sure you are casting on enough stitches for the full length of your afghan.

Next row: Roll your die to determine which colour to use

Flip your coin to determine which stitch to use.

Heads = knit     Tails = purl

(or whatever variation you want to use)

Continue in this manner, remembering to leave 6" tails for fringe, until your afghan is your preferred size or until you run out of yarn. You can always add more fringe the traditional way if you have just a smidge more yarn to use up.

Crochet Recipe

Again, from a favourite afghan pattern, leaving a 6" tail, chain your preferred number of stitches with yarn colour of your choosing. Cut yarn leaving a 6" tail. These tails will form a fringe so make sure you are chaining enough stitches for the full length of your afghan.

Next row: Roll your die to determine which colour to use

Flip your coin to determine which stitch to use.

Heads = single crochet     Tails = double crochet

(or whatever variation you want to use)

Continue in this manner, remembering to leave 6" tails for fringe, until your afghan is your preferred size or until you run out of yarn. You can always add more fringe the traditional way if you have just a smidge more yarn to use up.

Even though this is a random pattern, the results are always gorgeous.

Hope this free pattern helps to keep you sane through your self imposed isolation and I want to see all your finished projects on my Facebook page.

If you get really adventurous, you could use one of these. 😁

written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who has a cat that never sits on my lap, has a cat sleeping on my lap while I work at the computer.

Serendipity or just good timing?

ser en dip i ty

(noun)

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

Or as I like to describe it - a happy accident. 

Way back in November when I made the hard decision to close the brick and mortar store, I never thought I would be looking back on that day and thinking, "Wow! Sure glad I did that when I did!" Who knew we were going to be inundated with a pandemic? Who knew people were going to be hoarding toilet paper? TOILET PAPER!!! I don't know about you but if I am forced to self quarantine for a minimum two weeks, I'm hoarding food and yarn, NOT toilet paper!

Food and yarn are two of the most important things to have on hand if I have to hunker down with Mom and Myles (the cat) for an indeterminate amount of time. Mom is an avid gardener so we have canned and frozen food to get us through virtually anything and, while we don't stockpile as a habit, since Mom and I recently became roomies, we have two households' worth of dry goods that we are still trying to make our way through before they go stale. We also have three freezers full of food. Yes, I said three freezers. Don't judge. One is full of homemade pies just waiting to be baked from frozen. And if we run out of cat food, we can cook some of our meat without onions or garlic and Myles will never want to go back to canned. And I must have had a premonition of this outbreak because I DID stockpile coffee just recently. I thought it was so I could always have some on hand in the warehouse but who knows?

Honestly, one thing I do know is that it will be years before I run out of yarn. If things shut down to the point that I am unable to even go to the post office to ship out online orders, I can use my personal stash as well as the store yarn to play with the floor loom and knitting machines I have inherited over the years that are housed in the warehouse so that I can start selling finished goods once all this silliness is past. They don't call knitting a post-apocalyptic life skill for nuthin'. 😜

*edit* Since writing this blog two days ago, things have changed in the province of Alberta and we are choosing to be homebodies, only going out when necessary. That also means knit night has been cancelled indefinitely. I don't think I'm smart enough to be able to take credit for this being a case of good timing. At this particular point in time, I am all for calling my decision serendipitous.

written by Lori, cautious TCL owner, who was going to use this blog as a warehouse update but got sidetracked so here are a couple photos.