Seems that our website’s first page is called “Home Page.” Makes sense to my English-major mind, but actually – - for techy reasons, this is not good. “Favorite-ing” our website means that the bookmark will be “Home Page.” Bummer! So we have now connected with a techy friend who is going to help us make that work better. (Give us a few days. . . . ) And . . . . added to that, you can’t really find our website well on this blog. (So my previous satisfaction making all this social media work, has evaporated very quickly.)
So thanks for your patience as we get all this information up and running the best possible way!
Here’s our website: www.TheArtfulYarn.com
We’re also on: www.ravelry.com (under groups: The Artful Yarn)
We’ve just started a Facebook page: The Artful Yarn – Chagrin Falls (but it is very much in its infancy)
The website has most of our upcoming October classes and events (the website can’t hold all of them all right now – hence the techy person!) so keep checking back. We’re having a great time and meeting tons of fiber folks – knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, dyers, fiber artists, quilters and more!
Have a fun weekend! If you’re in Northeast Ohio – check out The Great Geauga County Fair in Burton! It’s amazing, tasty, fun, musical, thrilling, scent-ful, and comforting all in one!
Cheers!
Okay, time for confession! My name is Cathy and I am a Knitter. That’s “Knitter” with a capital “K.” You will never know this by my Ravelry profile and my two litte projects highlighted in my notebook and maybe a couple of stash pictures that I took when I received a new digital camera for Christmas – which was co-opted by the husband and now we can’t find the right cords for it.
For me a capital K knitter is the person with way more stash than they will ever knit. And I don’t like calling it a stash – sounds cheap and tawdry. And my yarns aren’t like that at all. I have a collection. This description was shared with me a couple of years ago by another stasher – I mean – collector. I like “collector” better. Of course, now I have guilt that my collection has no rhyme or reason to it. I know folks who just buy sock yarns. Or really really like red yarn. You get the ideaa. My yarn collection is just – well – it’s just pretty yarn that I have collected from everywhere I go. And I can tell you where I bought it and what was going on when I bought it. Like the beach yarn I bought when the car battery died and The Boys (sons and husband) went to play laser tag while we waited for a tow and I hid among the cubbies of Malabrigo and loopy mohair in Kitty Hawk. And now I have family and friends who add to my collection. I like to be in relationship with my yarn. That’s why you’ll see little backgrounders in the cubbies at The Artful Yarn. It’s just so cool to know stuff about your yarn!
A capital K knitter also has more than 3 pairs of size 8 needles because we have 3 sweaters going at once along with a shawlette, a washcloth, a sock and …. that’s all I’m admitting to right now. Confession only goes so far. But this capital K Knitter now owns a yarn shop – how insane is that?! I live inside a yarn collection! Which lives inside an Herb Shop that smells like the Secret Garden! Another confession – it’s not work at all! It’s heaven!
So please know that while I have only 2 little projects on Ravelry, I have knitted cable sweaters for my sons that still endure, socks that I actually wear and show to real people, wraps, several items for girl babies (because when you have sons – girl babies are so sweet to knit for), a top-down sweater that does not see the light of day and my share of felted totes. Right now I am knitting an easy shawlette with yarn from Blue Ridge Yarn, Bambie, that is flying along and gives me a chance to throw a little lace into the mix.
I guess all this is to say that like you, I just love yarn, the act of knitting and being in fellowship with other folks who like to knit and/or crochet too. It’s fun to “play” yarn together and I hope you’ll come visit the shop soon. Introduce yourself and let us know if you’re a captial “K.”
You can check out our website at www.TheArtfulYarn.com or visit us in person at: 17 East Orange Street, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, 44022. Want to talk? Call us at 440.321.9754.
The Artful Yarn is open! We are so thrilled to have opened just three days ago and are having a ton of fun! Meeting new folks is always the best part and we met quite a few over this past weekend. It’s quite a rush to see that folks embrace our vibe of woman-owned, family-owned businesses from right here in the USA! Plus they are diggin’ the whole hand-dyed, hand-spun or hand-painted, organic, recycled, minimally-processed vibe – along with US-sourced fibers where we can. The Wall o’ Yarn (as we call our one big wall) is a beautiful, colorful sight!
Now we are getting the whole social-networking thing up and running. Thankfully we have a 16-year-old son who can just come click-click something on the computer and there’s a link on the website. I should have the website up in the next day or two. Have to – because the Sun Paper is running a little article about The Artful Yarn this week! How cool is that!
So grab your calendar now! We’ve got some fun class ideas which will be posted on our website: www.theartfulyarn.com and we are going to be open on the first Thursday night of every month for Chagrin First Thursdays. That night all the stores and restaurants in Chagrin Falls are open until 9:00 PM. So we are having Yarntini Night! Come sit and knit, crochet, spin, anything fiber fun from 6:30-8:30 PM. It’s a great chance to get away from home, work, somebody’s practice, volunteering, whatever! Just come and relax!
We also have Learn to Knit (and Purl!) classes running every Sunday afternoon for just $10. Again, check out the website for the details on that and how to register.
So psyched to be open and looking forward to meeting all of you! Come visit us. Tell us what you think, what you would like to see and what you would like to do in the way of classes or events. And if you’re an awesome teacher, let us know if you are interested in teaching something at The Artful Yarn!
I am so psyched! We’re just a few weeks away from opening and I can see things really shaping up. Wrapped up yarn buying for the near term. Still have a few colors to select for a couple of yarns, but I think I’m getting there. Some yarns will be dyed just for The Artful Yarn and will come in a little later in August and some in September. People have been very supportive and are working hard to help get things to us by our opening. We plan to get into our space the weekend of July 15 to start painting and assembling cubbies, etc. I’ll keep you posted on a firm “Opening Day” date.
Originally we weren’t going to offer books, but seeing how well our space is being planned by April, our designer, we’re going to offer some books and special edition magazines. One magazine is called, Jane Austen Knits. As an English major and huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, I decided that was a sign! Hahaha! The cover photo of a ruffley scarf/cowl sold me instantly! We’ll have some great yarn to knit that item for sure!
We are also going for a real mix of fibers, textures and colors. A little bit of everything! You’ll have to come visit the shop and let us know what you think. The thing that’s really great about working with smaller producers is how nimble they are. We’ll be able to special order yarns for projects quickly with few restrictions on quantities which will be really nice.
Thanks for checking in at our blog! We’re posting in two categories for now but as things really get geared up, we’ll post new updates in different categories. Enjoy the week!
There’s something very satisfying about working directly with fiber artisans. They are so close to their craft that you can almost be in their shoes. Yesterday I talked to the owner of The Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon. As we were talking I thought I heard soft “baa-ing.” I mentioned that to her and she said in fact that “yes” she was out in pasture where the ewes were calling to their lambs as they moved up the mountain to a different grazing place. I mean, how cool is that?! She even walked closer to them so I could hear them better and she explained the scene to me – old popular trees bounding a green pasture and up ahead the mountains. I could even hear the wind! It was awesome!
In another phone call to Blue Ridge Yarns, the mom of the mother/daughter duo was running in to catch the phone while hanging skeins of yarn to dry. She was so great to talk with! And really coached me on my yarn selections and questions. Inevitably our conversations turned to online fiber sites, email, websites and all things technology. The juxtaposition of these two phone calls with the reality of our techy world made me marvel. If we did not have the amazing access through the internet or even the phone, we probably never would have “met” yet a very “high touch” craft has brought us together. This is what I love about knitting – the ability to connect with people across miles, ages, circumstance and ability to find common ground where we can celebrate beauty, fun and creativity. All of that from one hook, or two needles or one spinning wheel and some amazing fiber. How cool is that?!
Just a quick post to let you know that as we bring in new yarn and accessories we’ll share that info with you here.
The Artful Yarn will feature mostly hand-spun, hand-dyed, or hand-painted yarns from local, regional and US domestic sources where possible. We’re all about women and/or family-owned companies who are doing things sustainably. (We think that’s a word and if it isn’t, we just coined it!) We’ll also have needles, some notions and other cool stuff – and some opportunities to knit in the collective. We’re going to try for a weekly blog posting. So hope you will keep us in your “Favorites” and check us out. The 15-year-old son is helping us get all 2011 with a website, FaceBook, Twitter account, etc. Give us some time to get that whole groove established. In the meantime, we’ve got a Ravelry group “The Artful Yarn” where you can join us for info and conversation as well.
Cheers!
Information, stories and thoughts by The Artful Yarn divas on yarns, knitting, life and more. And, oh yes, happenings at our little yarn shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Life is about moments. Read this amazing line in a Baume & Mercier timepiece ad this past week. It so profoundly resonates with me right now as I thrill to launch The Artful Yarn this summer. Like the moment when I walked into The Village Herb Shop and Kathleen Gips, the owner, asked me, “Cathy, you knit don’t you?” And the moment I said “yes” and knew that I was on the edge of a dream. The moment I contacted the photographer (in Italy!) of a favorite knitting book and asked for permission to use a photo of his in the shop and how much would that cost and he said, “Yes! Use it and good luck. No charge!” The moment I walked into the space for the shop with my decorator friend, April, and she so totally understood the groove I wanted. The moment I walked into TNNA and nearly cried because there had been many moments leading up to that day when I thought I wouldn’t make it there. My dad had had a stroke and then passed away during all the crazy fun moments for planning for a little yarn shop. And the moments keep piling on – delicious and scary and fun and awesome!
Life is about moments! Imagine the moments when you knew, just knew, that you were doing something significant for your life story. Maybe it was choosing a major. Maybe it was taking a job or quitting it. Maybe it was getting married or deciding to have kids. Maybe it was saying “no” when everyone thought you were nuts not to say “yes.” Life is about moments. In a world where technology and media and social networking can overwhelm us, knitting or crocheting gives us a chance to take a moment. To work with something beautiful, to think about a person, to contemplate a decision, to be creative, to connect with something tangible and ethereal at the same time, to be practical and artistic, to reconnect with ourselves. To take a moment for whatever we want in whatever way we want. This week, I’m focusing on moments. I hope you will too!
