Now that things are fixed, we’re starting to meet regularly on Sunday and Wednesday nights in the Craft Underground. We’re still figuring out if we can put in a lift to connect the spaces, but it’s a little bit back-burnered now. On our days off on September 21-22, Elizabeth will be helping her mom move and I’ll be helping our son move out of state. So we’ll be very busy in the run up to that and the aftermath. Then from Friday, Sept 25 to Sunday, Sept 27, we’ll be out of town at a wedding and the shop will be closed. Our Sunday Nerd Night in the Craft Underground on the 27th will happen as scheduled, but probably without the Star Trek episode.

October is always a busy retail month and we have a lot of catching up to do in producing hand-dyed yarn and project bags for SAFF and the holiday season. So it’s not the best time to be distracted by other things, but that’s life for you. If you need a Stitch Doctor, please call ahead to set something up, because we can’t guarantee Elizabeth and I will be in the shop together at any particular time. But if you’re thinking about joining us for a stitch group, please do! No matter how busy we get, building community is the most important thing for us. There’s going to be a lot going on for all the rest of the year and into 2027, so come see us sometime!

Going to a con with my yarny family is one of the great joys of my life! Crazy stuff always happens and it makes me want to be a better, friendlier person. I’ll tell you some stories later when I have time, but it feels good to be back at the shop. Lots of stuff coming up, so keep checking this space.

We have a new extra-floofy yarn, Mirasol Rit’i, which is similar to Pouffe but solid colors instead of stripey, with even more yardage! I’m knitting another cardigan that will be both warm and ultra lightweight.

We have a new tweed DK yarn made from recycled fibers, Juniper Moon Harris. They say DK is the new worsted. Is it because of increased yardage? Global warming? I don’t know, but this one is so nice!

And we have new colors of Llama Umi and Symfonie Diva.

Don’t forget we have so much on sale to make room for new yarns. There’s more coming!

Due to a routine medical procedure, we’ll be closed tomorrow from 1 to 6. Our schedule won’t be affected otherwise. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Also FYI, we’re still waiting on parts and insurance to get the AC fixed, but our temporary portable ACs are keeping the space plenty comfortable (although a little noisier than usual).

We are fully stocked on Malabrigo and we have a portable AC running until the HVAC can fully be restored. We also passed all our inspections for the Craft Underground, so things are rolling along! Come visit us and share what you’re working on, whether it’s simple, crazy, cute, or absolutely unhinged (my personal favorite).

Several of us have cast on different projects now, and we are finding them to be pretty challenging! Not only because the projects themselves are complicated, but because they are written in a very idiosyncratic way. As a pattern designer myself, I know that it isn’t easy to write instructions in way that everyone will understand. Still, there are common expectations, symbols, terminology, and so on. In these Ursa Major patterns, some of those are present, and some of them are off in left field.

The good news is that once you figure out what the designer is wanting you to do, it all makes sense. It just takes a little more decoding at the outset than most patterns do. And that’s the advantage of a knitalong, we can help each other figure out what the heck is going on!

Some clever copper harvester stole the pipe between the wall and the AC compressor last night, netting them about 30 bucks and killing most of the systems in the building and venting all the coolant.

They are coming back tomorrow to try and fix things.

This is what happens when income inequality grows so much and the rich declare open war against the poor. To be clear, the people who did this suck. But the lack of good jobs and a social safety net sucks much, much more. Also, if you need thirty bucks that bad, just ask. We’re not made of money, but we’re not the enemy.

We are getting close! Inspections next week and then the official Certificate of Occupancy.

We’ve been doing cleanup and painting work for several weeks and are starting to move furniture and supplies down in anticipation of getting our Certificate of Occupancy approved from the city. The Dye Studio is ready to go. The refrigerator and projector have arrived, along with plenty of folding tables and chairs. We’ll be moving one of the couches down this weekend and we’ll be on the lookout at the ReStore for others. Next week we’ll have a couple of inspections and hopefully get full approval shortly.

We’re sad that we weren’t able to build stairs down from the shop, but we’re still investigating a lift. It will be more expensive, but it might be doable. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. We can’t wait to invite folks into the new space to gather and craft amazing things together!

Since Berroco was bought by a private equity company, we’ve been experiencing declining service from them, just as you’d expect. The new owners pushed back against influencers who were promoting the Melt the Ice hat, too. So we are replacing their yarns in the shop where we can. We’ve brought in Universal Deluxe Worsted Superwash, only $12 a ball (except the tweed is $13).

Also we got more Kelbourne Keystone, a worsted wool/acrylic blend for only $9 a ball.

And we got lots more Lamb’s Pride Worsted, still $18 a ball.

The Berroco Ultra Wool is now on sale, only $11.20 per ball. We still have quite a bit, so if you’re in mid-project, come and get it now!