Silver Linings
Was I deceived or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?
—John Milton
The challenge of operating a retail business within the context of a pandemic isn’t without opportunity for change and growth. One day, you have a business that relies almost entirely on in-person shopping; a few weeks later, you have the beginnings of an online store, you can provide curbside pick-up with barely a second thought, you’ve expanded the ways you communicate with customers and help to meet their needs, and you have the confidence of knowing that you’re not done building solutions that started as emergency measures.
Make no mistake, it’s still challenging, and often stressful. But with the support of the very best customers out there, along with the camaraderie of other yarn shop owners solving the same set of problems, it’s possible to keep moving forward. Thanks for coming along for the ride—there’s more to come!
Current open hours are Monday - Friday, 7am-3:30pm, and Saturdays, 9am-1pm. In-store shopping: mask required for the duration of your visit; two customers at a time; avoid any wait by scheduling at yarnfolk.com/scheduling. And we’re always open at yarnfolk.com/shop!
Schitt’s Creek meme: Alexis asks David what he is doing; he replies that he is reorganizing his knits.
…to learn (and do)
CURRENT CLASSES & EVENTS
Social Stitching via Zoom
Wednesday, JuLY 15, 12:00-1:00pm SOUNDTRACK KAL https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88351111252?pwd=WFpkR2pLaEx4d1dMSFI3OXl4dWJ5Zz09 OR open Zoom and enter 883-5111-1252 for the meeting ID
Of course, you can work on whatever you like!
Thursday, July 16, 4:00-6:00pm https://us04web.zoom.us/j/981942707?pwd=TExyQlRPWnB3OW40QkFZRCs5aVRtQT09 OR open Zoom and enter 981-942-707 for the meeting ID
Friday, July 17, 12:00-1:00pm https://us04web.zoom.us/j/741980568?pwd=bXp1ellFUHNqS0lUaFYvS1ord3Fndz09 OR open Zoom and enter 741-980-568 for the meeting ID
PASSWORD FOR ALL MEETINGS IS 330044.
...to anticipate
Ten colors of Tartlet Sport from Kim Dyes Yarn
When I’m looking at new yarns to bring into the shop, I’m thinking about what sells vigorously and consistently, what I want to change up, and where my weak spots are. Hand-dyed sport weight yarn has been a category I needed to bolster for awhile, so it was the first base I chose to order from Kim Dyes Yarn. It was so hard to limit myself to choosing ten colors, but I love them all from deep-toned and rich to subtle pastels—all of them richly layered. The 4 oz. skeins contain a generous 385 yards each, too!
…to inspire
Knitting pattern, two unwound skeins of Kim Dyes Yarn Tartlet Sport, one caked skein, and a partial swatch still on the needles.
While I have a project selected for a shop sample in Kim Dyes Yarn Tartlet Sport, I assembled Ravelry bundles of Sport Weight Shawls and Sport Weight Sweaters. Note that I was specifically thinking about hand-dyed yarns when putting these together—perhaps your next project is here!
...to stitch
Soundtrack
Still working steadily on Soundtrack—and I have both sleeves complete, along with several inches on the body. This is the part that really does zip along for me. (The second sleeve, on the other hand, took forevvvvvvvver.)
The yarn is Ultra Wool Fine in Granite, stranded with Aerial in Silver for the main color, combined with Tiramisu in Gelato for the contrast stripes—all from Berroco.
[image: marled grey mohair sweater with pink yoke stripes, in progress—sleeves and yoke complete]
