I know there's another snowstorm just around the corner waiting to suck the wind out of my sails, I'm not even tempted to put my Sorels away. My hats, mittens and scarfs are still crammed into their little cubby holes which is where they will stay until July. I was feeling a bit panicked that I wouldn't finish my Birkin in time to wear it before it got warm, then I remembered it's only the end of March, I easily have until Memorial Day, it is northern Vermont afterall. It's a tough argument, I've been outside the last 2 days raking and bagging leaves in little more than a t-shirt and jeans, I have tan lines, WAHOO! The sap is running like crazy, the robins are back, my garden has little buds of life popping through the dirt. The Vermonter in me knows that winter isn't finished with us, despite the fact that it is officially Spring, we Vermonters march to our own beat, gives us our charm and an interesting sense of fashion. Where else can you literally experience, April showers, a snowstorm and sunshine all in one day? Try dressing for that....
Of course I can't help but get excited for warmer weather when I have all of this gorgeous new yarn arriving at the shop. Zinnia is back in stock, I added a couple of new colors at the request of my adoring customers. I have a rainbow of colors in the Jawoll sock yarn, endless combinations for your next pair of socks. If you are interested in the Happily Knitting Sock book, let me know and I can order more, again, I've sold out all 25 of my original order. I do have my copy at the shop if you'd like to take a peek, it's just a fun book full of quirky designs. I'm waiting for their second book to get translated into English, stay tuned, I've seen the preview, coffee socks, yes please!!
This past Friday I attended my Zoom meeting with Andra and several LYS shop owners around New England. Every now and again Andra has a special guest, last week it was Pam Grushkin. Ever feel like one of your prayers has been answered? I think I hit the motherlode...I've struggled for years trying to offer classes that folks found interesting. What I learned in my meeting is I'm not the only one that struggled with finding the perfect equation to make it happen. The time and energy involved in getting the planets to align often left me feeling like a complete failure. I'd take suggestions, order the yarn, get an instructor and no one would sign up, seriously?? UGH!!! As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, with my lovely new space, I HAVE NO CLASSROOM ANYMORE!!! My defense mechanism had been convincing myself that classes didn't matter, simply because I felt like it wasn't an option. No point in dwelling on something that simply couldn't happen anymore. Enter Pam Grushkin....
Pam has been teaching classes since the early 2000's, mostly in Westport, CT. As with all of us, this pandemic has taught us to be resilient and think outside the box. What Pam has done is create a virtual knitting classroom that you can participate in, BRILLIANT! The pressure is off me, that feels great! I no longer need to find 10 students to participate in a class in order for it to be worthwhile for the teacher. The disppointment of having to cancel a class due to lack of attendance is a thing of the past. Say what you want about our "new norm" and "virtual reality" but in a lot of ways it has made our lives a lot easier. Basically, you go onto her website, the classes are listed and you enter your coupon code from my shop and get 10% off the class. I will, in turn, offer 10% off of your class materials like I always have when you sign up. She is in several shops all over the US, you could be taking classes with folks out in California, pretty cool. You can take a look at her classes on my website, go to the Events page. I am really excited about this opportunity and feel you will benefit from having such an experienced knitter so easily accessible, AND she's nice!!! Pam has said that teaching virtually is actually easier than in person, can you believe it?? She has a camera positioned over her hands and can demonstrate the technique several times. It's less time consuming than going around to each individual, you actually can learn more in a class as there is less waiting time. Did I mention she's nice?? I encourage you to take a look at her website, contact me if you have any questions/problems finding it. I'm really happy that I can offer classes again, learning something new is always fun and keeps your skills sharp.
We will be meeting tomorrow evening from 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch, via Zoom. I can either email you the link, or you can find it on my website under the Events page. Make it a great day and I hope to see you soon!
Katy