Moving!!

Yep, we’re moving!! But, it’s still in Weyauwega, although the whole thing is a bit complicated. We wanted to find a permanent home for The Knitting Nest and were intrigued by the idea of living on the same property where we work. And we found one that fits the bill!

103 W. Main Street has a main house that seems larger than our current home (although that may just be the layout), a “cottage” that used to be a chiropractic office, and a large garage (that’s heated!). We love the main house – it has a great floor plan and a bathroom upstairs. The cottage will make a wonderful yarn shop. It does need some work to transform it, including paint, but it’s not a ton. The garage is heated and very large, so Patrick can do his woodworking there, even in the winter.

So, how are the logistics of this going to work? We are going to rent the 103 W. Main property starting the first of February. This allows us to get most of our stuff out of our current house and facilitate getting it sold. As soon as our current house is sold, we will close on the 103 W. Main property. During this entire time, The Knitting Nest will remain open at it’s current location. The owners may be a little dragged out and exhausted, but we’ll still provide quality yarn and great service!

When the 103 W. Main property is completely ours, we will do the necessary renovations on the cottage, create some parking, put up some signage, and move The Knitting Nest to it’s permanent home. And, don’t worry, you won’t miss the move!! We’ll make absolutely sure that everyone knows about it!! The shop location will change, but we will still carry the same quality products you’ve come to expect. We hope that this move will make it easier for Patrick to do even more woodworking so we can sell even more of his hand-turned wooden knitting needles, shawl pins, and more.

That’s what’s up with us. It’s going to be a crazy spring. Somehow we’re going to work all this around my headaches and the kids getting schoolwork done, but we’re optimistic (or psychotic!). Hang on for the ride – it’s going to be a blast!

A Few of My Favorite Things–c2knits

Despite the recent temperature drop and threat of snow for us here in and around the Northwoods, spring really IS on it’s way.  And that means knitting short-sleeved sweaters, bags, hats, and other spring and summer items.  I’m especially excited about this because I really have very few spring and summer knitted items in my wardrobe.  How has that happened if I’m such a dedicated knitter?  Simple.  I give away much of what I knit.  This year, though, I decided that I wanted to make some sweaters to put in my own wardrobe.

My first sweater is a top-down short-sleeved raglan T-shirt made with Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton yarn using c2knits pattern Zoe.

I love the sweater and the pattern!  The pattern is easy to read.  It tells the knitter exactly where to put the stitch markers and how and why to use two different colors of stitch markers.  There is some flexibility in making the sweater a bit more fitted by casting on fewer stitches under the arms (which I’ll probably do next time), but that really doesn’t add complexity if you just want to work the pattern as written.

One issue I had was that the sweater turned out longer than I’d like, but that is because I was lazy and did the measurement while holding the sweater in my lap.  Next time, I will get up and measure the sweater while laying it out on the table.

The other issue I had is that the pattern called for the edging on the bottom to be done in reverse stockinette.  I have never had success with this kind of cuff on the bottom of a sweater – it always flips up unless you steam iron it every time you wear it.  I was very loathe to try it again, so I tried doing a hem, but that was flipping up as well.  I ended up switching to smaller needles and just finishing it in stockinette which made a nice rolled edge, which I also like.

Since I loved this pattern so much, we’re carrying several of the c2knits patterns in the shop.  I’ve got another sweater on the needles using Sierra (a cotton/wool blend) that I think is going to be lovely as well.

Stop by the shop and check out our new patterns and we’ll help you find a wonderful yarn to complement the pattern and give you a great new summer sweater!!

Technique Tuesday–Binding Off

 

You’ve worked so hard at casting on, knitting, and purling in your knitting project, and now it’s time to bind off (or cast off) to get the stitches off the needle!

The most common form of binding off is called the chain bind-off and is worked by knitting two stitches then pulling the first stitch over the second stitch.  When you are down to just one stitch, you break the yarn and pull it through the loop, weave in ends, and you’re done!

This is a very serviceable bind off and it’s what I use most of the time.  Here are some great pictures and video.  You can also bind off in purl stitch or in a combination of knit and purl if that’s what the pattern calls for.  But, there are some improvements:

1. How to avoid the “nub” at the end of the bound off row.  I love how elegant this is.

2. Tricks for beginning and ending a bind off in the middle of a row.

3. How to make your circular bind off nice and neat.

There are other ways to bind off.  For a more flexible bind off, I knit two stitches, slip them back to the left needle, and then knit them together through the back loop.  It can make an edge look a little “ruffly”, so I only use it when I want the extra flexibility.

You can also use “Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off”.  I haven’t used this before, but will be starting a project where I will use it very soon, so I’ll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, people are raving about it!

And, as always, you can stop in at The Knitting Nest in Weyauwega to ask questions!

The Window

One of my absolute favorite things about our shop location is that we are on Main Street and we have a huge display window. Not only does the window take up most of the front of the shop, but it’s got a very large windowsill, making it ideal to decorate. For people walking or driving by, it will catch the eye if it’s decorated well.

I’m not the most visually artistic person, so I was a little concerned about how we were going to make this huge window look good. Patrick and I were also hesitant to put real yarn in the window because it’s not UV protected.

Not to worry, though! Cathy Speigelberg from Premier Petals and Kasi Pagel from Focusing Life Photography, both Main Street businesses in Weyauwega, came to our rescue! I asked Cathy for help in doing the window and she was more than happy to oblige. Later that day, she came by with Kasi with lots of ideas. One of them was that Kasi would take some yarn to her studio and photograph it so that we would have pictures of yarn instead of actual yarn in the display.

The night before we opened, Cathy came over and made our window look just gorgeous. She used a Fall leaf garland, some wooden apple buckets, three pots of mums, the framed photos, and some magic to come up with this:

Is this amazing, or what?!! I am so excited that other Main Street businesses are supportive of our little shop. I am so grateful to Cathy and Kasi for putting together this beautiful display!

How We Got Here

How in the world did an electrical engineer from Louisiana and a family doctor from Florida end up opening a yarn shop in Central Wisconsin? That’s a very good question and has a long and involved answer. But, I’ll try to give you a short version.

Patrick and I met in Laville cafeteria at LSU. After he graduated, he went to Colorado Springs to work for a defense contractor. After I graduated, I started medical school at Tulane University in New Orleans. While I was in my 2nd year of med school, Patrick quit his job and moved to New Orleans because we were in love and wanted to get married. So, on June 6, 1992, we got married. Two years later, I graduated from Tulane med school and we moved to Kentucky for my family practice residency. After residency, we moved to Waupaca for me to join ThedaCare Physicians as a family doctor. Whew! That’s the first 28 years of our lives in one paragraph!

I worked for ThedaCare for 10 years as a family doctor and loved it. Our kids were born in 1995 and 1998, and Patrick was a stay at home Dad. In 2006, I quit working because of chronic migraines (despite many, many attempts at traditional and alternative treatments). Patrick got his teaching certificate to teach high school math and started MathTools, a math tutoring business. We’ve homeschooled our kids this entire time. When I was working full-time, Patrick was the “homeschooling parent”. After I quit working, I supervised their education. OK, there’s another 10 years of our lives in a paragraph!

In about 2001 or 2002, I started knitting, partly because I wanted to find a relaxing hobby that would help me keep the migraines at bay but also because the nurse-practitioner with whom I shared an office wore some amazing sweaters that she knit herself. (True story: One morning, I got into the office and said, “Tina, help!! I started with 15 stitches, but now I have 29!!” Tina looked at my work and showed me that I was making yarn-overs instead of bringing the yarn between the needles when I was going from knit to purl. Thanks, Tina!!) When I quit work, I kept knitting. I found that I could do easy knitting even with bad headaches, and when I was feeling well, I would try more adventurous techniques. Eventually, I was doing socks, cables, entrelac, and lace. And I was (and still am) completely addicted to knitting and yarn!

I would often joke to Patrick that we should open a yarn shop so we could keep up with my yarn needs. About six or eight months ago, I made this joke, but Patrick said, “Why don’t we?” Well, because a yarn shop needs to have regular hours, which I can’t keep because of the frequent migraines. Patrick pointed out, though, that he could be the one to keep the regular hours and make sure things happened when I don’t feel well while I could work only on my good days.

Hmmmmmm. Could this work? Well, after several months of lots of research, hard work, and prayer, The Knitting Nest is open. Patrick is there the vast majority of the time, and I’m there whenever I can be. So far, it seems to be working. (OK, it’s only been a week, but I’m being optimistic!) Patrick has been learning to knit so that he can help customers when I’m not available and so that he can teach classes.

So far, the whole family has been involved in getting this venture off the ground. And we’ve enjoyed it! I can work when I can, and don’t have to feel guilty about staying home on my bad days. Patrick and I are working together, which is good because we really like each other! And the kids are learning a lot about business.

Not exactly a fairy tale and I don’t see any fairy godmothers around (although Patrick makes a great Prince Charming), but that’s how we got here. And it looks like this is going to be a great next stage in life.

Yes, “The Guy” Knits!

“The Guy”, of course, refers to Patrick.

Since knitting and crochet are done most often by women in our society, it’s a bit unusual to find a man who can knit and crochet.  But, I am married to such a wonder!  Actually, though, men have been knitting for centuries.  It is believed that knitting started as an offshoot of tying rope for nets.  The earliest examples we have of knitting are from Egypt, but there were definitely knitting guilds in Medieval Europe.  And only men were allowed in the guilds.

Hand-knitting became the realm of women, apparently, when knitting machines in factories became common.  However, men have been known to pick up the needles and yarn when needed since then.  Soldiers in World Wars 1 and 2 would knit their own socks.  Even today, there are a number of hunters who knit their own hunting socks – a nice, tightly knit pair of wool socks can be a godsend when you’re sitting in a tree stand all day.

Patrick took up crochet about ten years ago, about the time I took up knitting (but that’s a story for another day).  At first, he made Zelda (from the video game) hats for the kids.  Then, he made me and Lydia some very fun hats with brims.  For a few years, he spent more time carving and doing wood-working than he did crocheting.

It was about 8 months ago that Patrick and I decided that we were going to pursue the dream of a yarn shop.  And Patrick started knitting almost immediately.  Since Patrick has seen me work to learn to knit Continental style after initially learning to knit English style, he decided that he wanted to learn to knit Continental right from the start.  And he did.  He started by making a dishcloth.  Then he moved on to knitting in the round and making a hat.  And then a sock.  Right now, he’s working on a hat with cables for Christopher.  In less than a year, he’s learned techniques that took me ten years to learn.  (Although, he will be the first to admit that his knitting isn’t as neat as mine and he isn’t as proficient with the techniques since I’ve had more years of practice.)

One of the really interesting things about Patrick knitting is that he’s a walking advertisement for our shop.  It’s pretty normal to see a woman knitting or crocheting in public, but not to see a man working with yarn.  Whenever Patrick sits down and pulls out knitting (like at Christopher’s orthodontist appointments, etc.), he knows he’s likely to get some attention and questions.  Which is just fine with us!  He’s happy to talk about knitting and give people our cards to get the word out about The Knitting Nest!

What does this mean for our customers?  It means that Patrick or I (Catherine) can help you with your knitting questions in the shop (and Lydia’s not too bad at it, either).  We are pretty equally well-versed in all of the fiber-types and yarns that we carry.  Patrick will be able to teach all of our classes.  So, don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Even when “The Guy” is running the shop!

 

And We Open Tomorrow!!

 

Tomorrow is the Big Day!!  At 10 am, The Knitting Nest opens it’s doors to the public!  So, what are we up to today?  You guessed it – we’re finalizing all the little details.

- Signs to remind people that we have baby yarn, buttons, and sock yarn in the back room.

- Cleaning the window and the front door.

- Last minutes organizing and straightening of yarn and notions.

- Knitting models

- Display window – Cathy (from Premier Petals – down the street) is coming over this evening to set up the window with some help from Lydia.  I’m so glad there are artistic people who can help make our wonderful display window beautiful!

- Social networking (that’s my job!)

We can’t wait to get started on this new adventure of entrepreneurship!!

Progress–August 1, 2011

Only 22 more days till we open!!  We’ve got tons to do despite all that’s already done.  Here are our most recent accomplishments:

1. We have a logo!!  If you are reading this in a reader, come to the site so you can see the header with the logo.  We are thrilled with the results.

2. The Universal Yarn and Mango Moon Yarn is all priced and placed into wire display cubes.

3. The Cascade Yarn is about halfway priced and put into cubes.

4. The needles and notions are ordered!!

5. Patrick and I discussed the story layout last night, but it is subject to change.

6. I’ve finished one of my shop model projects – a hat with Mango Moon Recycled Silk and Bumble Bee.

7. I’m working on a shawl, a cardigan, and a baby blanket.  I’m glad the kids can help Patrick with the pricing and inventory!!

22 more days!!  Hope to see you then!

A Nest

Why did we choose The Knitting Nest as the name of our yarn shop?  We could have called it a million different things – Martin’s Knitting And Crochet, Weyauwega Fibers, etc.  Even if we want to have alliteration, we could have used The Knitting Nook,  or The Knitting Niche (to name just a few).  The Yarn Barn or Martin’s Yarns would have given us something rhyming.  So, why The Knitting Nest?

According to Dictionary.com, one of the definitions of nest is “a cozy and secluded place”.  When people hear the name The Knitting Nest, we want them to think of a place where they can be comfortable working on their knitting or crochet.  We hope that people will think that it’s going to be a cozy place where they will feel welcome.

How did we come up with the name The Knitting Nest?  In large part, it was by making a long list of potential names and then crossing out what wouldn’t work.  The reason that The Knitting Nest even got on the list is because of my “nest” at home.  I have a rocking chair in the living room with my knitting supplies and laptop on my left side and my books and other necessities on the right.  When I’m in my “nest”, I feel sheltered and happy.  I even blogged about the parts of my “nest” here.

Patrick and I have been spending a good bit of time pondering how we are going to make our shop really BE The Knitting Nest.  The first thing is that Patrick and I are (we hope) naturally very welcoming and enjoy having people around.  We are also making a sitting area in the front of the shop for people to spend time working on a project or just visiting with friends.  Of course, we’re going to have classes, which are great ways for people to meet each other.  And, every Thursday night will be an “open crafting night”, when people can come to the shop and work on their current project in the company of others.

Selling yarn and supplies is, of course, the primary goal of the yarn shop, but we wanted our name to reflect our desire to develop and be part of the fiber arts community, so we are The Knitting Nest.  We are looking forward to meeting lots of crafters and to providing a space for the crafting community to develop friendships as we work together.

A Busy Day

This has been a very busy day for The Knitting Nest.  Every day brings us closer to our opening!

1. We got our Lavishea order this morning!  We got a display box and testers in each scent along with a complimentary “Man Bar”.  We’ve put the  box in our window so people can start to see some of our products.

2. Patrick and I ate breakfast this morning at the Pine Café, a little diner next door to the shop that is only open in the morning.  Not only did we get a yummy start to the day, but we met the owner and let her know about our shop.

3. The Knitting Nest joined the Chamber of Commerce today and Patrick went to the meeting at noon.  We’re becoming part of the community!

4. Patrick made a lot of good contacts at the Chamber meeting today, one of whom stopped by the shop to drop off information about his products and services.

5. Our order from Mango Moon arrived!!  We got Recycled Silk in worsted weight and DK weight as well as Bumble Bee in three colors.  They also sent me a sample of Pastiche, which I LOVE!!  (Maybe we’ll get some Pastiche the next time we order.)

6. A woman from another downtown business stopped in to say that her 8 and 10 year old daughters are learning to knit and are very excited about our opening.

7. Patrick signed us up to host the Chamber’s Business After 5 for the month of August.  We’ll have lots of community business folks through our shop that evening – more ways to get the word out about our little shop.

8. Patrick has the computer, cash register, and Square Up all set up.  We also got a price gun and labels.  It feels so official!

9. Patrick and I went to the Weyauwega Fiber Arts Circle meeting tonight and really had a great time.  Chris, the owner of the Coffee Klatsch was working on a beautiful glass mosaic tabletop.  (I realize that glass is not a fiber art, but we don’t discriminate, even based on craft!  Besides, we like Chris!)   Brandy, whom I had met online, but not in person, came for the first time tonight with her spinning wheel.

10. Brandy taught me and Patrick how to use our drop spindle!  We’ve had it for over a month but Patrick and our daughter couldn’t quite get the hang of it.  Brandy was good enough to show us how to spin the roving into yarn and to help us fix our mistakes.  By the end of the evening, Patrick and I had both made a respectable-looking section of  single-ply yarn!

Yep, it was a busy day.  And now, I’m going to relax for a while before bedtime.  And have happy dreams about beautiful yarn!

WIP–Works In Progress–July 19, 2011

 

While we’re waiting for our yarn and other stuff to arrive and while it’s about a zillion degrees outside, I’ve been working on a few knitting projects.  I’m about over the “Fair Isle sweater debacle of 2011”, but I’m not quite ready for more colorwork.  Besides, I need to make things for display in the shop.

This is a Mobius scarf that I made from some yarn from local sheep.  (No, we haven’t gotten our yarn back from the mill.  I bought this skein from the woman who owns the sheep a couple of months ago.)  The technique isn’t hard once you learn to do the cast-on and it’s really quite fun.  This one is probably going to be a model in the shop for a while, but I may confiscate it or knit another one for myself since my current scarf, while also a really cool Mobius, is made from a cotton blend yarn.  Up here in the Great White North, a wool scarf is definitely a good idea come wintertime!

The Mobius scarf is a circle with a half-twist in it.  Some people have called them Infinity scarves since there’s no end to it.  The rows of stitches are also longitudinal in the Mobius scarf instead of horizontal as in most other kinds of scarves.

When we were at camp, I was working on some bookmarks out of cotton crochet thread, and one of them used a stitch pattern that is a variation of brioche stitch.  A few days ago, I looked up how to do two-color brioche rib stitch.  It was a little tricky to learn and I had to rip it out a couple of times, but I’ve finally got the hang of it.  And it’s totally addicting!!  I like how the two sides are different colors.  I’m making this with Cascade 220 worsted weight wool in black and red, the colors of the local high school, so it will fit in nicely with our first window display.

My current project for decorating The Knitting Nest is a knitted and felted “nest” (aka bowl).  I came across a free Ravelry pattern that uses the Mobius technique for the rim of the bowl that I’ve modified to use with worsted weight yarn.  I’m using a bunch of leftover earth tone colors from different brands of yarn.  I hope that it ends up looking kind of irregular, like you’d expect a bird’s nest to look.  When it’s done, we’ll put some stuffed birds into it for a shop decoration.

The picture is of the rim of the bowl.  It is knit with the basic Mobius technique but instead of having 1/2 a twist, the pattern had me put in two more full twists (or 4 half-twists) for a total of five half twists.  Now I need to pick up stitches around the rim to knit the body of the bowl.  The twists are supposed to be equally spaced so that it looks like flower petals.  So far, I’ve done the picking up stitches twice and ripped it out both times.  Deep sigh.  I think this will look great when I’m done, but it may be a challenge until them.

I’m also working on a pair of socks for my daughter made from some KnitPicks wool.  And, I’m making a pair of socks using the “two at a time socks on one circular needle” for the shop using Heritage Paint sock yarn from Cascade.  Pictures of those projects to be posted later.

What are you working on?  Anything fun and exciting?  The Weyauwega Fiber Arts Circle meets Thursday night at 6pm for crafting at The Coffee Klatsch in Weyauwega.  You are welcome to come and bring whatever you are currently working on!!

 

Who Am I?

My question is really, “Who am I in The Knitting Nest?” Patrick is the business owner and is going to be responsible for the day-to-day financial workings, getting items priced and on the shelves, etc. While we have been doing most things jointly, there are at least two or three days each week when I'm completely useless for a good bit of the day because of migraines and then another day or two when the headache isn't bad, but I'm just worn out. I don't think I can really count myself as a business manager.  I will be doing lots of knitting of models, helping to teach classes, and various and sundry other things.

I think we should have interesting titles, kind of like how Starbucks employees are “barristas”, Disney employees are “Imagineers”, and Apple sales employees are “Evangelists”. Patrick is the owner, so we can call him “Boss”, “Chief Yarn Dude”, or “Head Honcho”. I wanted to be the “Yarn Goddess”, but after the fiasco with my Fair Isle sweater, I don't think I can equate myself with a deity yet.

Here are some ideas I've come up with for a job “title” for myself:

1. Knitting Aficionado. According to Dictionary.com, aficionado means “an ardent devotee”. That seems to fit, although it's not very inclusive.

2. Yarn Connoisseur. Hmmmmmm. Maybe.

3. Knitting Nest Accomplice. That makes me sound like a criminal. I think not.

4. Yarn and Social Media Maven. Getting closer.

5. Girl Friday. Umm, no.

6. Knitting Nest Gofer and Yarn and Social Media Artiste. Too long.

7. The Mom (my son’s contribution). Rather limited – I'm only “Mom” to two people.

I'm not so thrilled with any of these. What do you think? Maybe I should just be “Catherine” and let people try to figure it out from there?

Hitting The Ground Running . . .

We are home from Family Camp 2011.  It was a wonderful week of relaxing up in the Northwoods – probably my favorite week of the year!  We were without computers and the internet for the week (well, except for Patrick being able to connect on his Blackberry, but I’m not bitter or anything) so we couldn’t do “real” work.  That didn’t keep us from dreaming and brainstorming while we were there.  We came home with lots and lots of ideas – some of them even good!

Tomorrow morning, Patrick and I will be taking the wool that we skirted to the mill for processing and spinning.  We would like to have that yarn and roving available when the store opens, but that may be stretching it.  But, we will have the yarn from local sheep within a month or so of opening.

Before camp, we met with our first yarn rep.  Next week, we are scheduled to meet with another rep.  We will also be contacting the other vendors whose products we’d like to carry.

And, then, there are all those ideas . . . We came up with some interesting ways to display yarn.  We also talked a lot about shop layout and can’t wait to start experimenting with the furniture.  It’s going to be a busy, but fun, couple of weeks!

Coming up: Blue Hills Alpaca and Mill, Project updates

Progress–June 17, 2011

We signed the lease today!!  Our shop is at 131 East Main Street in Weyauwega.

 

We have a retail space, now we need to get fixtures, computer, phone, email, and, of course, YARN!!!!

Our landlord said that our mailbox was across Pine Street (crosses Main Street) and pointed in that direction.  I didn’t really understand what she meant, so when I drove up there later today, I looked again for the mail box, but couldn’t find it.  When I went home, I looked again and found that it’s actually on Alfred Street, which is parallel to Main Street and a block behind our store.   The Post Office is actually closer to the shop than the mailbox!!

Getting Started . . .

A couple in their 40s is starting a yarn shop despite having absolutely no retail experience.  Sounds like a mid-life crisis to me!

But, it’s not.  Patrick and I have been married for 19 years this month.  Until five years ago, I was practicing medicine (Family Practice) here in Central Wisconsin – and I loved it!  Unfortunately, I developed debilitating migraines that make it impossible to practice medicine.  After I quit working, we moved about 6 miles down the road to Weyauwega and I have been a stay-at-home mom homeschooling my two kids.  (Patrick was the homeschooling parent when I was working full-time.)  Patrick got a teaching certificate for secondary math and set up MathTools, a tutoring business.

I learned to knit a couple of years before I quit working.  At first, it was just scarves and hats.  When I took a three month leave from work, I made my first couple of sweaters.  Since then, I have been absolutely hooked!!  I love fibers – my current favorite is Alpaca.  Patrick and I have jokingly talked about opening a yarn shop, but I never took the idea seriously because I know how much work it’s going to be.

Patrick brought it up again about six months ago, but this time he was serious about it.  He knows how to crochet and is learning to knit.  He’s not quite as passionate about fibers as I am, but he enjoys working with them.  He also loves wood-working and is planning to learn to turn knitting needles and shawl pins.

So, we’re starting a yarn shop!  And, it’s the best of all worlds.  Patrick will manage the day-to-day “gotta get done now” stuff, while I will be involved mostly with choosing what to sell, how to decorate the store, etc.  Basically, I can work when my headaches aren’t bad; I can sit in the shop and knit when the headache is moderate; and I can stay home with an ice pack on my head when it’s bad.  When I can be in the shop, Patrick can use his extra time to do his wood-working, some of which we can then sell.

Where are we now in shop planning?  Good question!  We sign the lease on the shop space tomorrow.  We have the LLC set up as “The Knitting Nest”, so Patrick will probably open our bank account tomorrow.  We have an appointment to talk with someone about artwork and a webpage (that will link to this blog).

We are talking to someone about buying some local wool and having it spun into yarn at a Wisconsin mill.  We want to visit the mill and see how the wool goes from fleece to yarn.  In the shop, we plan to have pictures of all the steps in processing wool to educate our customers.

We’ve also got an idea about fixtures (shelves, etc.).  We will be meeting with the accountant to learn to do our bookkeeping. 

And, eventually, we’ll order yarn!!  The locally produced yarn will probably be 10-15% of our inventory.  The rest will be high quality brands of all different types of fiber.  And we’ll have all the other things that knitters/crocheters need – needles, hooks, stitch markers, etc.

As you can see, there’s still a good bit to be done, but we think we can open in early Fall.  Keep an eye out for blog updates!

Tomorrow – my current knitting projects and some pictures (I hope)

The Knitting Nest!!

The Knitting Nest in Weyauwega, WI will open in fall, 2011 at 131 East Main Street. This is where I will blog my current knitting/crochet/fiber arts projects as well as our progress on opening the shop. I hope you join us for the adventure!