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. 

Blowing Someone Else's Horn This Week

Thanks Margaret for putting me onto a woman whose creative bone is as warped as mine! These gloves are a 'must try' as soon as I have time!

They are the brainchild of none other than Jeny Staiman whose first name you may recognize from “Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bindoff” which I made use of in the cover photo of my Basic Toe Up Sock pattern. I fell down the Ravelry rabbit hole and discovered some of her other unique patterns (a few of which were already in my queue) but I was unaware of who their author was until this weekend.

                

written by Lori, apologetic TCL owner, who is keeping this blog short because I know you didn't even make it this far because of the rabbit holes this blog sent you down. Sorry. 😉

God Works in Mysterious Ways

 I couldn't get motivated to write my blog this weekend. Not even a quick mashup a la Stephen Colbert's Meanwhile segment. My guess is someone was forcing me to wait until I had a chance to read a message on Ravelry this morning.

I reached out to Lady-Orange on Ravelry last week because I wanted to use pictures of her finished Lorigami Gloves because she has made way more than I have. I checked Ravelry this morning to find she had messaged me back with humble permission.

The following link spells out exactly why I design the way I do.

Lady-Orange's Lorigami Gloves

Thank you, Lady-Orange, for putting my motivations into words.

written by Lori, grateful TCL owner, who appreciates each and every one of you who embrace my evil genius 😉

Why Lorigamivan?

First of all - thank you to all the people who have started following me on Instagram. I know it is a little harder to find me there because there are so many variations of Crafty Lady on that platform that I had to choose something that would be recognizable as uniquely me.

So far, no one has asked me why I used Lorigamivan as my 'handle' so I have to assume they/you are all familiar with my Lorigami glove and sock patterns. For those of you who are not familiar with these patterns, let me explain why I choose the name.

Here are a couple of comments from those adventurous enough to make my original Lorigami pattern:

"This is, hands down, the freakiest thing I’ve ever knitted. But it’s genius." - yarmando on Ravelry

"Quite the challenge. Thank you guru1, but I’ll be very careful what I say next time I’m in the shop, lest you should have any more fiendish patterns lurking…" - cdn on Ravelry

Then I came out with my Lorigami Socks.

"Having made the lorigami gloves (and the baby mitered coat,) I figured I had to give these a shot" - cdn on Ravelry

Not to toot my own horn, but with comments like that, I have to think that people will remember the name Lorigami.

But where does the VAN part come in? Well, a couple of years ago, I already had my mobile store in mind. I was going to buy either a cargo van or a box truck and convert it into a mobile store. Then I realized that, with a little tweaking, the motorhome would work. It's not a van, but LorigamiRV just didn't have the same ring to it.

So, I'm still trying to get the RV ready for the spring and, once it is on the road, there will be more Instagram content for those who like to see more pictures 😊

written by Lori, TCL owner, who is getting excited about 2021!

Where Will I Pop Up Next? (Location, Location, Location)

 New year, new schedule.

COVID-19 put a big damper on a lot of people’s plans this past year. Mine included. When I made the decision last year to close the brick and mortar store and take my ‘show’ on the road, I had no idea that I would be blessed with an entire year to plan! And you know what? I’m no further ahead in my planning than I was this time last year. (Anyone want to steal my title of ‘World’s Best Procrastinator’?)

In all fairness, I have had my hands busy with the website and rv renovations, but that doesn’t take away the fact that I need to let you know where to find me, and I need to do it as soon as possible. That’s where you come in. 

I want some feedback from you as to where you would look for me. Should I be trying to get my foot into Farmer’s Markets when my category (retail) is capped at 20% of the total vendors? Or would you be more likely to try to find me in mall parking lots or the like? Any and all suggestions are welcome as I need to start contacting market coordinators and/or town or city administrators ASAP. I’m even open to showing up at retreats but have no idea who to contact for those since I’ve never been to one myself.

Written by Lori, TCL owner who is determined to put 2020 in her rear view mirror and set her sites on one of the best years this little yarn store has seen!