It's Not Officially Winter!!!

Good Morning Everyone!

Can you believe it's still Fall? I hope that made you chuckle a bit...We've got to be breaking some crazy records for the coldest Fall Days lol. I know many of you have completely switched gears to full on sweater weather, I know I have. The past couple of mornings have been brutally cold, thankful for no wind, but reminded me how warm wool is. More accurately, how superior wool is to any man made materials. I think about the craziest things when I'm out with Bernie, most recently just how warm my wool mittens are. I had memories of the hours I spent outside as a kid sledding, building snowmen and forts, and having snowball fights. What was on my hands? The wool mittens my Mimi made for me, yes, they were insulated with love of course. But seriously, I had double lined wool mittens and my hands were never cold.

I'll take it a step further, indulge me. I don't walk slowly, ask my daughter, so my "walks" with Bernie are at a brisk clip, mostly to keep up with him (good for the heart rate, too). I have fleece lined pullovers I wear underneath my jacket, the key to warmth is layering, but layering properly. I was reminded of the fact that synthetic materials really just suck, they aren't warm. Believe when I say, I could feel the difference when I decided to switch out the fleece and just wear a wool sweater. I no longer felt the wind through my jacket, my body temperature was better regulated, I wasn't sweating to death, just warm and cozy. To those of you who still think all wool is itchy, you're wrong, 100%! There is a huge range of microns in wool which measures the diameter of individual wool fibers. The lower the micron count indicates finer, softer wools ideal for next-to-skin wear (merino) while higher counts mean courser, more durable wool for outerwear. Take it a step further and mix that merino with alpaca and silk, oooh, la, la...And while I have your attention, allergies to wool are extremely rare, I've done some research, at best, you may have a sensitivity to wool, but allergy is unlikely. I know this from wearing very itchy wool hats growing up, but it was worth the itch to stay warm.

Speaking of merino, guess what I have arriving today??? Marla from Manos del Uruguay, it is not only BEAUTIFUL, it is so SOFT!!! I've been wanting this yarn for awhile, and since dysfunctional Junction Fiber Mill decided they no longer wanted our business, I found another source. It doesn't have the long color repeat, but it is perfect for doing colorwork (Shifty 2.0 comes to mind). I have also sent an email out to a lovely sheep farm in Maryland, Feederbrook Farms, inquiring if I can open an account with them. I've had several customers ask me if I'd seen or heard of their yarn, I hadn't. Their story is charming and the work they have done is most admirable, I really hope that I can do business with them. Also arriving today, a restock of the Cocoknits Maker's Boards and the Ruler/Needle Gauge. I am expecting an order from Berroco as well, they have experienced some serious delays in their overall operations. Shipping had been halted for over a week while they did a computer migration, really stupid timing for sure. I apologize to those of you who have been patiently waiting for drop ships and special orders, I promise the wheels have slowly started turning again.

Lastly, you may need to sit down for this big announcement, I AM GETTING A HUGE SELECTION OF CROCHET HOOKS!!! This is exciting for a lot of reasons, mainly, I have been getting so many NEW customers in the shop, YAY!! They are crocheters, YAY!! I've been hearing about crochet being this huge rage, shops around New England have been experiencing this influx for awhile, I just hadn't. I know things tend to trend late up in our neck of the woods, so imagine my sheer joy when I encountered this wonderful new group of fiber friends. I just received a notification that the order is out for delivery TODAY!! It was never my intention to exclude crocheters, it has more to do with supply and demand, guess what? There's a demand!! I may need to reconsider my personal position with regards to crochet and pick up a hook and take a good stab at it. Perhaps that will be my New Year's resolution, watch out Kay, I may be showing up at your house on Monday evenings for support.

We will be meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6-7:30, for Stitch and Bitch, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day, stay warm friends, wear the wool, and I'll see you soon!

Katy

P.S. Wait until you see my "other" latest project, Downeast by Alicia Plummer, it's GORGEOUS! You won't believe it's 100% organic merino (La Pampa), it seriously doesn't feel like wool, stay tuned I'm going to be knitting like crazy today.