At Knitters Fantasy the other weekend, a customer was looking through the bundles of gorgeous, adorable mini-skeins that we’d brought to introduce people to the Mini-Skein Club. She was completely lost in them, studying each one intently as she moved her hand from bundle to bundle, looking for exactly the right colours.
The mini-skeins have sold like hot-cakes at every show we’ve taken them to. There’s something irresistible about hundreds of miniature skeins of SpaceCadet yarn all piled up together!
And even though we normally sell the mini-skeins exclusively through the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club, I love taking them to shows. Why? Because it’s so much fun to watch people suddenly spot them, come rushing over to look more closely, and then — just like the customer at the show the other weekend — get totally lost in finding their perfect combination of colours.
And the mini-skeins start so many conversations. “What do you use them for?” (answer: here) “What could I make with them?” (answer: here) And my favourite, “So, what is this club you do?” I love that one because it gives me the opportunity to explain how the club works. Each month, club members receive a parcel of mini-skeins in colours that I’ve chosen for them (as a complete surprise!). The mini-skeins are made up of a variety of SpaceCadet fingering yarns, so you get a chance to try the different yarn types. And that the best thing is that you can cancel your subscription as soon as you have enough Mini-Skeins for your project. See what I mean? It’s a great club!
After looking carefully every single bundle, my customer finally chose a favourite. And, as she walked over to me to pay for it, she clutched it in front of her chest with both hands. She had a huge grin on her face and light in her eyes that told me she had just found herself some treasure.
“So,” she said, as she reached into her bag for her credit card, “what made you start this club?” She had set the bundle of mini-skeins down on the table, but one hand rested lightly on them — protecting them, laying claim to them. I smiled to myself. If she could see herself in a mirror, the answer to her question would be obvious.
The shine in her eyes… her hand on the yarns… the little moment of joy they’ve already brought her and all the joy her new mini-skein project will bring her when she gets home…
HomeSpun Yarn Party was amazing! So much fun, so many people, and a near mob-scene at one point!
But first, let me just remind you that there are only two days left to join the SpaceCadet’s yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. I’ve already been working on the yarn and goodies for the first parcel and it’s going to be fabulous, so if you’ve been thinking about joining and haven’t had a chance yet, don’t wait! The Yarn Alliance closes for subscriptions on March 31.
Ok, now, back to HomeSpun… The place was hoppin’, absolutely crazy. It was wall-to-wall indie spinners and dyers and, the minute the doors opened, it was wall-to-wall fiber-loving customers too. At one point, I actually found myself pushed out the booth on the other side of the aisle, and physically unable to get back into our booth! It. was. wild!!!
And I’m tickled pink to tell you that part of the reason for the madness was… everybody loved the SpaceCadet tattoos! I was hoping people would like them — they loved them. I was running around the booth just trying to get one on everyone who wanted one. Customers waving and gesturing, calling out, waiting for me to put a tattoo on them — or even taking a couple and putting them on each other. Before I knew it, there was little SpaceCadet all over the place. I was thrilled!!!
I stuck one on my cheek, of course (but you’ve already seen that). And then I got a bit risqué and stuck one just below my neckline…
But then, some of my customers thought that was the perfect spot too!
And the thing about the tattoos is that they were the perfect icebreaker. Suddenly, all the customers waiting in line were helping each other put them on, discussing whether they should go for shoulders, wrists, or biceps… It was so cool to see so many people getting into the spirit! Oh, and then… they started comparing yarn. Of course they did! It’s what fiber people do!
Lots and lots of customers sticking SpaceCadets right there on their cheeks. Including my two lovely assistants…
(Don’t they look fabulous?!?)
We came home feeling on fire — happy, exhilarated, exhausted. HomeSpun lived up to everything we hoped, and our customers were so much fun. Our next show is Knitters Fantasy on April 14 and it’s going to be a crunch to get ready for another show so soon but… I can’t wait!
Hey, don’t forget — only two days left to sign up!
The last couple of days have been crazy busy — I’ve been running around doing last minute things to prepare for HomeSpun Yarn Party this Sunday in Savage MD. But yesterday and I had to stop everything and play for wee bit.
Just stop and play, like a kid.
Because something wonderful arrived in the post. Something I’d ordered completely on a whim, and just hoped it’d turn out all right, thought I’d probably love it but wasn’t really sure…
When I ripped open the package I found this…
And I immediately let out a squeeeeee!!!!
And then, I immediately did this…
(Disclaimer: My nose is not that big. Somehow, I seem totally incapable of taking a close up that does not involve either enlarging my nose to alarming proportions or causing it to become misshapen in a startlingly Gérard Depardieu-esqe fashion. Seriously. I have no idea why. Also, the crazy amount of out of focus area? That hides wrinkles. Yeah, I can see some of you nodding.)
But back to the tattoos. Ok, now, I admit I’m probably a lot more excited about this than you are. The thing is, I love my little SpaceCadet. He hangs out with me all day long — on labels, on my project bag, and on the original drawing I made of him, stuck on the corkboard over my desk. So to see him suddenly appear on a bunch of temporary tattoos just made me feel downright giddy. I mean, a SpaceCadet tattoo! How cool is that?!?
So, If I Wear One, Will You Wear One Too?
Ok, how does this sound… We’ll be taking these funky little SpaceCadet tattoos to HomeSpun and giving one to every person who signs up to the SpaceCadet mailing list (oh yeah, a copy of the SpaceCadet’s Guideand a tattoo!). And — and here’s the fun part — for everyone who puts their tattoo on right then and there, we’ll give them 10% off their HomeSpun purchase! How does that sound?
And if you’re not going to HomeSpun but you really really want one of these cool little tattoos, just remind me in the notes of your next order and I’ll pop one in your parcel. And when you wear it, you gotta send me a photo! Ok?
(Hey, don’t forge: InterStellar Yarn Alliance memberships will be open for only another 7 days. If you’ve been meaning to join and haven’t yet, don’t let the subscription time close before you get a chance!)
HomeSpun is a fantastic event that showcases indy spinners, dyers, and other makers. It’s not the biggest show you’ll ever go to but the quality of fibery goodness is simply off the scale!
And it is an incredibly fun show to do — the atmosphere is electric! Because the people who come to HomeSpun truly love hand-dyed and it is so exciting to get to meet them, see their projects, talk about the yarn and the colours they love. I can’t wait!
So, if you’re in the DC-Baltimore area on March 25, come to Savage Mill in Savage MD, and fall headlong into hand-dyed nirvana. We’d love to see you!
Shop Update
And in case you can’t make it (…or in case you just can’t wait!), I’ve done a shop update. There’s some incredibly gorgeous laceweights in semi-solid colours, and Estelle and Stella in variegated colourways that will take your breath away.
Every time I do a show, I get nervous as the day approaches. A million thoughts go through my head… Have I dyed enough yarn? Is the colour balance right? Do I have everything we need? Will the weather hold? Will the booth fall down? Will I end up in hospital?
**sound of a record scratching**
Will the booth what?!? Will I what?!?
Ok, those last two questions are not usually on my mind …but they should have been for the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival. It many ways, it was a weekend of near disasters — but I think every one had a silver lining. I think.
First, let me tell you how fabulous the festival was — because it was! There was everything that makes a yarn show wonderful: colour, yarn fumes, that amazing feeling of collective fiber frenzy when you know everyone around you feels exactly the same way you do. But there was something more than that…
There was the first big snowfall of the year. And while that was a bit of a disaster for a lot of people who weren’t able to get to the show, the upside was that the quieter crowds meant that we had the chance to really take the time to talk to everyone who came in the booth. It was so wonderful to meet you guys! I loved being able to chat about projects and yarn choices, to show off all the great things that can be made with Mini-Skeins, and just being able to make that connection with our customers. The snow made the whole show that much more personal.
We also got to host the Ravelry Meet-Up on Friday night and, again, it could have gone so wrong. At the last minute, we found out that there were no goody bags — we had the goodies, but the bags had never arrived! There we were with yarn samples, coupons, and all sorts of fun stuff from the vendors and… nothing to put them in! The silver lining? I found out how much great friends are really worth. With only 45 minutes to go, and while I manned the booth, my sister and my friends Natalie, Christine, and Amy kicked into action. Christine actually went out in all that snow, driving around in a part of town she didn’t know at all, until she found the gift bags we needed. And when she got back — with only minutes to go until the Meet-Up was due to start — the four of them hit right into stuffing those bags as fast as humanly possible. And they saved the day — the Meet-Up was a huge success! When I finally closed the booth, I walked back into the room to find party in full swing, people introducing themselves, and getting to meet other Ravelers they’ve known for months (or years!) only online. There were great prizes from the vendors. And there were goody bags — thanks to some exceptional teamwork from people who really stepped up when it was needed.
And then there was the booth… That really was a near disaster. We built new booth furniture but just didn’t have time test it properly… Do you remember this?
Well… when we walked in on Friday morning, it didn’t look like that. It was… well, it was leaning. But the upside to it was the teamwork thing again — we got the whole booth reworked and swapped out in about 30 minutes. Who’da thought we could do that?!? And, once we did, I remembered an important life lesson: there’s nothing so bad that you can’t find the funny side of it — even a booth that’s leaning. Well, y’know, once it’s been fixed.
(Still, I’m now in the market for a good local carpenter. Anyone got one they can recommend?)
And then the last near disaster really was a near disaster. Do you remember that, on set-up day, I woke up feeling decidedly under the weather? Well, I kept expecting it to get better (I really did!), but it really didn’t. On Saturday, I was ok-ish, but by Sunday it was bad. Baaaaad. So bad, in fact, that the asthma which I was diagnosed with last year and apparently have had all my life (who knew? I always thought I was just really unathletic!)… that asthma decided to kick in hard and, being new to it, I didn’t really know what to do. In the end, my breathing was so constricted that I actually had to leave the booth with Natalie and my sister and get myself to the ER. They got me breathing again but that illness that started it off… it is one mean beast. It’s turned into bronchitis and, twelve days later, I am still sick enough that I am stuck in bed all day. Twelve days!!! Honestly, it’s driving me mad.
(My mother has been round every day, with chicken soup and taking care of my family and all the stuff I can’t get to so that I can stay in bed. The woman deserves a medal — seriously. I can’t thank her enough.)
So, I can honestly tell you that the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival was one of the strangest yarn shows I’ve done so far. Nothing went as I expect it to! And yet, while it definitely had some hair-raising moments, I think it had far more upsides than down. I got the chance to sit down and really get to know our customers in a way I’ve never been able to at any show before. That was wonderful! I found out what a good team I’ve got. And friends who really come through when I need them. And, after it’s the show’s over and it’s all done, I’ve got a great mum who takes great care of me. Upsides indeed.
And now, I need to go make another cup of tea. …TWELVE DAYS, PEOPLE!!!
Timing is everything, isn’t it? After weeks of frenetic work in the studio to prepare for Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet (50lbs of yarn dyed in two days, anyone?), nights of help from friends and family, planning and packing and redesigning the booth… the eve of the festival is upon us. And when I woke up this morning, I realised right away that I am sick.
But today was set-up day, and so we set up the newly redesigned booth (How newly redesigned? Still building the fixtures this morning!). There’s five more tubs of yarn to hang up, but here’s how it looks so far…
I was exhausted by the time we finished! I could have happily crawled under that table and gone to sleep. I am honestly planning to take my teapot and keep it under the table, tuck up in its tea cosy, to keep myself supplied in healing cups of steaming hot tea all day. I don’t think I’ll make it through the day without them!
And because all the yarns are at the show, I will of course be closing the shop while we’re there. Timing, y’know. If you’re in the area, come and see us and meet all the yarns in person. And if you’re not, I’ll have the shop back up and running early next week — and I’ll be adding some of those lovely new yarns I’ve been dying in the last few weeks.
Oh and hey, if you’re on Twitter, keep an eye on the hashtag #pghkc for live updates from the show from me and lots of others — and to find out whether I’ve given up and curled up under the table with my cup of tea!
