My crafting tends to wax and wane, and right now it's definitely waning. As I plod toward Christmas and work gets busier I find that I barely have the energy to sketch out new designs, let alone make anything. Part of the problem is that I'm recovering from what I have billed Death Cold 2010; I haven't really thought clearly since last Sunday and spent nearly 72 straight hours in bed earlier this week (as you may have guessed, I am not normally a particularly restful person). The rest of the problem is that my yarn supply is criminally skimpy right now. When I crocheted as a hobby buying materials wasn''t that big of a deal. Now that I'm having a going at entrepreneurship, budgeting and cost-benefit analyses make trips to the yarn store a little less fun. Now I feel like I can only buy yarn once I've sold something. While my sales for this month have been good I never got the major holiday pop that I've been hoping for since July.
I hope that the cute local yarn store near my parents' house, the Woolly Lamb, might have some good sales after Christmas. If any of you are in Western New York, the Woolly Lamb is well worth a visit. It's one of those quaint yarn shops that has been in business for many years, and perusing their shelves is like wandering through a really beautiful candy shop. It's a cozy space with couches and chairs, and there are always people working or talking about their projects (one of the hallmarks of a great neighborhood yarn shop). The prices are reasonable for the range and quality of yarns offered. The variety is amazing, the colors delicious, and the textures diverse and intriguing. It's also crochet-friendly. I mention this because, as a crocheter, I am very put off by yarn shops that only cater to knitters -- i.e. only selling knitting patterns, not stocking hooks, etc.. It's those shops' loss -- especially since crochet projects use about 1/3 more yarn. One of the best things about the Woolly Lamb is the staff. The women I've met who work their are knowledgeable, kind, patient, and eager to share many years of wisdom.
I actually have a special place in my heart for this shop because of something that happened in my house a few Christmases ago. I had carelessly left my stocking on the floor (this would have all been avoided had I simply hung it by the chimney with care) when our belovedly devious Cairn terrier caught wind of a Truffalo bar inside. Rocky took the shortest route to the chocolate bar and chewed a large hole in the wonderful knitted stocking that I have had since I was a very little girl. Tears ensued. When I headed back to Brooklyn my mother took the stocking to the Woolly Lamb for a consult, assuming that it was a lost cause. Not only was the woman there able to fix it, she was even able to match the circa-1982 yarn!
Stay tuned for another review of a shop in my very own Brooklyn, my beloved Brooklyn General Store. Want to know why I tend to leave BGS with a tummy as full as my wallet is empty? Check back soon to find out.
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