What I did with December

Well gosh.  It seems like just last week I posted, and now here it is, three weeks later.  I haven't gone into hibernation...I promise. 

One of the coolest things I've done since I wrote last was knit the Feather 'n Fan Organic Wrap
by Jane Thornley.  Talk about fun!  I met Jane through her group on Ravelry and knew I was in hog heaven when I saw this design.  You can purchase it and download it from her website in just a couple of minutes...and then prepare to have a blast.
I raided my ample stash for yarns for my first one.  Actually, I plan to do the capelet version next, and I think it may be a stash project, also.   What's really cool about it is that there really isn't a wrong move to make while knitting it.  Turns out I mis-read her instructions, and was increasing at a horrendous rate when I shouldn't have been, so I started decreasing wildly and it all turned out just fine.  If you're on Ravelry, check out the Jane Thornley group and have a blast.

The clearance sale is on, and for those of you who haven't checked it out yet, just pop over to the Sale page of our website and you can download a list of what's still available.  We've been feeling like Santa's Elves, packing huge boxes and mailing these yarns off to all corners of the world (seriously...we had an order from Australia!). 

While the rest of the nation suffered tremendously from it, the snow storms that came through here

on December 8 & 11 left us with a fantastic amount of snow for the opening of ski season, just up the road.  I am, as many of you know, little better than a 6 year old when it comes to snow.  I stayed home and raced around with the camera like I'd never seen any before.  I'll share some of those with you here.

Then, when reality hit and I had to go back to work on the 12th, I took this photo while driving to work,

to show you my commute.  After years of spawning my way up or down Interstate 5 in SoCal, this morning drive is always a reminder of how fortunate I am.
The last photos were taken at sunset, as I was raiding our local pizza parlor for take out dinner.  Enjoy!  ---Martie

The week in review

Great news this week...our web store design is finished and I am compiling a list of what I want to offer there when we open it early this new year.  At the top of my list are spinning & felting fibers, hand spun and Malabrigo yarns. 

So...with this in mind, I'm now spending as much time as I can spare spinning new yarns. 

This week's haul included what may be one of my all time favorites, and I've named it Turquoise and Copper.  There are four skeins, and they are soft and squishy and begging me to keep them.  What to do?  Sell, keep...sell, keep...hmmmmm....I guess I have another month or so to decide!

When those four skeins came off the wheel, the next to be spun accidentally ended up being perfect companion yarns...I have named them Copper Curls.  I have tried to adjust the color to show you more accurately what they look like, and hope it gives you the same feel I had when I named them.  These are also in the stash for the new web store.  Boy...I just realized something...we'll have to have a grand opening when it goes live...and I should probably think up a contest to offer some of our treasures for prizes!

Yesterday Monte and I managed to inventory a lot of the yarn back stock we didn't bring over to the new shop.  Please read my page posting on this, about the big sale coming.  You won't want to miss out!

We came home last night, under a storm warning for a warm storm front that was supposed to bring us up to 10" of snow above 7,500 ft.  Our home is just around 7,800 feet, and here's a picture

of what I saw outside the kitchen window this morning.  I should name this photo "Bob's World", because he spends many hours each day, surveying the forest and watching for invader animals like birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional coyote.  Oh...and last, but not least, a photo of Bob, watching his world.

I hope you all have a safe and fun weekend! ---Martie

Lost in Cyberspace

Oh dear.  I have too many eggs to sit on these days (figuratively, please).  I mentioned to you that I was invited to join Ravelry and now I am a woman possessed.  Someone please send me suggestions on how to budget on-line time...it is taking a toll on my "free" time.  I should be ashamed to admit I'm so weak...but for those of you who already belong, surely you can sympathize.  If you can't, then please forgive me and try to understand.  Think on-line knitting and crocheting candy store...or worse. 

Just to pop in now to let you know I've not completely stopped all things creative...I knitted this shawl
this past week for something fun and easy.  It's the Malabrigo shawl pattern again, but this time I used Noro's Iro yarn (Color 18, I think...and no, unfortunately, we don't have it anymore).  It is to donate to a friend's shawl ministry here in Taos.  I love it so much, I may knit another with what I left in my stash...

The new Harmony guides

For those of us who have long been fans of the Harmony guides,

they've just been republished by Interweave Press (edited by Erica Knight).  They are beautifully done.  Many kudos to Interweave and Erika Knight for doing such a great job with these good old reference books.  These are in the shop, just in time for a great holiday present for your favorite knitter (maybe you). 
They're a nice size and would fit handily into your knitting bag...and something I would rarely say about a reference book...they're pretty, too...very pleasing to the eyes.  I'm planning on stashing one of each for the pile on my nightstand.

Seems that this incredibly beautiful weather we've been having is going to change, just in time for Thanksgiving Day.  Snow is predicted for Weds and Weds night, so we're hoping for a snowy day to sit in front of the wood stove and reflect on all we have to be grateful for.  Among the many things I'm grateful for:

• A great family and home



• Our good health



• Great pets



• Great friends



• A fun business and all the many friends it has brought into my life



• That I can now fit into jeans one size smaller



• That I can stick turkey pot pies into the oven on Thursday, open a can of cranberry sauce, and spend the rest of my day spinning and knitting.

A friend from the shop sent me this fun holiday greeting.  I don't know who to credit for this, and I hope it's OK to use it, because I sure think it's fun.  I share it now with you:

May your stuffing be tasty;
May your turkey plump;
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Ravelry

Woo hoo!  We received our invitation to Ravelry
this week.  I only applied about two weeks ago, and we were #43,XXX something on the list (no kidding)...so I am heartened by the speed with which our invitation arrived.

So what is it?  For those of you who haven't been keeping up, it's THE place for knitters and crocheters to unite, from all over the world, to share about their work.  It is data base that goes so deep I hestitate to make you think I totally understand all the possibilities...just let me say here that it's now all I want to do (well mostly...it's like a magnet).

I have fallen down the rabbit hole and am loving it.  Check it out if you haven't.  If you're already a member, drop me a note...we are listed as TaosSunflower.  In a few weeks, I'm going to start a group so we can all keep in closer touch on our projects.  Let the party begin!  ---Martie

Cat days of fall

Ok, so this is a lousy play on dog days of.....whatever, but I couldn't resist it.  This incredibly warm and sunny weather we're having has us all wishing we could just hang out outdoors.  I would like to point out that if the rest of us are working our hind ends off indoors, at least the kittens of Taos Sunflower know how to live. 
I happened to be on my way outdoors to photograph a WIP today when I spotted little Miss Tinker, draped over her bro, B.C. (stands for Baby Chester).  By the time I got the camera out and got in closer, B.C., who lives in fear of me grabbing him for the dreaded trip to the vet, took off like the wind.  Little Tinker patiently sat and posed for me.  She is about as big as a minute.  I don't know if she was always going to be small, or if having her spayed so young did it...but she's absolutely adorable and the apple of our eyes.  ----Martie

We're back...

and even better than before, we think.
During our two weeks of being closed, we've moved the shop into the end of our building, to the room we (mistakenly) used for back stock for so long...not considering that it has all the windows and natural light.
For those of you who remember how hard it was to see colors in the "old" shop...you'll be happy at this first big change.  Next, I pared down the height of all the shelving, so it's nice and open and, well...clean feeling.  Know how some yarn stores make you feel like you're smothering (happily or otherwise) in shelves?  We took care of that!

We opened the doors yesterday morning, waiting to hear what our customers had to say.  The first person in the door
(I apologize for not asking your name!) was aghast at how great it feels, and had so many compliments I wished I'd had a bouquet of flowers to give her...I wanted to smother her with hugs, I was so happy that SHE was so happy.  We know we have lots of you who love our shop (thank you thank you thank you) and any kind of change always harbors the possibility of making someone unhappy.  Here's a photo of her, along with Linda and Joan at the counter.

Before we could turn around twice, a group of visitors from Colorado came in and were having such fun,
I decided to play paparazzi again. Here they are (notice the model in the Nancy Shawl?):

I've also included some photos from different places in the shop, so if you can't get here for a while, you can see some of what we've been up to.
Notice all the natural light, fighting with my camera but blessing the shop.

To those of you who made the trip to visit us while we were closed, I apologize again for not being able to let you in...there really wasn't any point...there were yarns in bags strewn everywhere.

To the local woman who came to see us, found us closed, and got nasty with me about me not considering her time was worth something...well...if you're even reading this, which I doubt...I hope you can find happiness shopping in another yarn shop somewhere else.  ---Martie