Originally posted June 7, 2006
Yes, I’m leaving very early Friday morning – the limo comes at 4:45 a.m. – alas what one does for the love of knitting! Now I know that I have some explaining to do. I haven’t posted in almost a month and why am I going to Indianapolis…..here are my excuses/reasons:
1. I should not complain. I had 3 months worth of orders squeeze themselves into the month of May, which customers were expecting to be delivered in a timely fashion; so I couldn’t just sit there and enjoy myself – musing through my weblog, knitting, crocheting, gardening etc….I had to WORK!!!
2. Then I had decided in February to take a booth at TNNA – booth 142 for anyone going. At the time, of course, I did not even think about the work involved – it’s a little like starting a very intricate lace shawl – buying the pattern and the yarn is a breeze. Even casting on isn’t that bad. It’s somewhere after the first or second row that you realize the commitment involved. The booth had to be designed; the design executed – fortunately Dorothy Siemens of Fiddlesticks Knitting did most of that. But patterns had to be labelled; kits priced; forms created. The booth had to be shipped; all the small business items like staplers, pens, fishing line…Fishing line????? – indispensable, if you a
re hanging anything -had to be included and nothing forgotten. Anyway – it’s all done and I had a day or so to collect my thoughts before heading out to the show.
3. Then there was this machine to take yarn off cones and wind it into balls that refused to work the way we wanted it too. Well we bowed to its idiosyncrasies – we had to or the orders would never have been filled. I guess you just have to be a mechanical engineer or something to appreciate this sort of thing – well it is a lovely shade of blue!
4. Then there is the never ending new website, that may end up becoming the never launched old website at this rate. Still lots of fine tuning and no time to do it!!
So now that I have made my excuses. I’ll make my apologies and try and make amends after the show with at least some comments about TNNA for those who have never been. This is my first time. I know I will be in awe. I hope to keep you posted.
Oh why all the crocheted scarves? This is what a lot of nervous energy will do. I couldn’t sit still, just thinking about all the work that had to be done – so I started crocheting in a yarn that we are now distributing – Fiddlesticks Knitting – Zephyr. It’s 50% silk and 50% merino and too beautiful to resist. Fiddlesticks Knitting has 7 knitting patterns in Zephyr including the Peacock Shawl – more on that later.
Carol