Putting things in perspective

Sometimes we all go thru life looking at the little things that happen to us as major obstacles. A pattern that just won't work, a broken needle. Then something happens that puts it all in perspective. I just learned that a friend's son was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq last week. He was 30 years old. Marine Sargent Shawn Martin. Semper Fi

Working In The Shop

I worked in the shop in Cooperstown on Saturday. It was a nice day and quite a lot of people came into the store...many bought things, too. My first sale of the day, in fact, was one of my afghans. It was knit on the diagonal-like a dishcloth-on size 13 needles with Red Heart's Baby Cloud. Those afghans knit up pretty fast and look good. Most of our baseball hats (knit in Sugar and Cream Cotton yarn and embrodiered to look like a baseball) had sold. And the new summer sweater I had done in sport yarn with cables instead of ribbing was gone, too! I enjoy finding out that things have sold and luckly I had enough stock with me to fill in the holes on my shelves. Unfortunately, that was the only thing of mine that sold on Saturday. The rest of the day's sales were pretty well spread out to the other members of our co-op. One of my last sales was to a gentleman who was wasting time before a family wedding. He was a 'step' and I guess they don't have much to do during a family wedding. He was looking for something for his wife whose name was MaryEllen. One of our members is also named MaryEllen and he ended up buying over $30 worth of her beeswax candles and one of her hand-made baskets just because the name was the same! He was a very nice guy, too. I started another summer sweater yesterday and hopefully, will finish it tonight. Mom was busy knitting a baseball hat when I got home Saturday night so there should be a couple of them ready for me to work on, too. I want to get the shelves full before the end of this week. Cooperstown should be hopping this weekend and next week! Oh, the Doobie Brothers are in town for a concert tonight. Wish I was there instead of here at work, after all there is life beyond knitting, isn't there?

Too Hot To Knit???

We went to Speculator to our camp this past weekend and went to a pizza buffet at a local diner with a group of our friends. (Most of the other patrons there were locals so you know the food was going to be good.) The buffet had app. 10 different toppings on the pizza. It was a serve yourself/all you can eat thing with a glass of ice tea and dessert included in the $7/person. The pizza was pretty good and none of us went away hungry! Even my mother, a lst generation Italian-American, agreed that the pizza was good! I took my knitting to camp with me and worked on baby socks. I've done so many I can almost do them without thinking. Last night I started a v-neck, raglan-sleeve cardigan that I've done before and couldn't get it started. I'm blaming the color--soft navy--and the weather--it was too hot. Hopefully I'll do better tonight. I have to work in Cooperstown on Saturday and want to have it done by then. Mom knit a bear that I had found online and I did a matching cardigan for it without any trouble but the kids' size was beyond me. Oh, well, that happens sometime, doesn't it?

Cooper Country

I finished putting together those komono-type cotton sweaters my mother had made, and they ended up looking pretty cute. I had trouble with the edging, couldn't make sense of the crochet directions for awhile then suddenly it all made sense. Could be the time of night it was, who knows? While I was working at the shop (Cooper Country) in Cooperstown Saturday, I was talking with a customer about knitting and she told me how she uses short cables instead of ribbing to jazz up an otherwise plain sweater. I tried it and it really does look great! Have I done 10 minutes on the shop yet? It's a co-op in it's 34th year. I've been involved for over 20 years and we actually have 1 member who's been there the entire time! We're all scheduled to work a certain number of days during the year which determines our commission. There aren't any other fees and to the general public, the shop is just a gift store with hand-made articles. We have about 20 members this year which is low for us. (We do better with 2 or 3 more.) If you're ever in Cooperstown, stop in and see us. We're open April thru Christmas, 10am-5pm, and we're located next to the batting range in the Doubleday Field Parking lot. Besides my knitting, we have a weaver, a quilter, a candlemaker, basketmaker, woodcarver, potter, decorative painters, woodworkers, rustic woodworker, silversmith, glassmaker, stuffed animal maker who uses recyled real fur coats and more! It's a real treat to stop in!

Put down those knitting needles!

Last night I went to a class on tole painting held here at the Library. It was fun and I almost mastered 1-stroke leaves. Everyone went home with a wooden plaque that they painted and a smile. I think I'll take the second class in the series next month. But I'm not trading in my knitting needles for a paint brush just yet!! This morning I started putting together cotton komono-type baby sweaters that my mother had knitted. I have to crochet around them and sew on buttons so they're not quite ready for the shelves but 1 may make it by tomorrow. They're looking pretty cute!

Summer Time and the knitting is fast and furious!

I guess it's really summer and the tourists are in Cooperstown. All sorts of things have been selling, things that were experiments and things that I liked and (I thought) no one else did. My shelves look very empty and that means it's time to knit! I'm looking for a pattern for a one- piece baby romper. Saw one in a catalog but can't find the catalog now! I have a skein of sport yarn that's been sitting next to me for about 2 weeks asking to be made into something. I bought it just coz I liked the color and I think it's time to use it...maybe there's enough for a sweater set? I just ordered some new sock yarn, too. One with aloe vera and jojoba and another with chitin(extracted from shells of crab and shrimp) and soysilk. If those make up as soft as the bamboo/wool blend they will be very nice. And tourists always go for the odd thing on the label!

Can Never Tell What Will Sell

I can't believe the way things sold in the shop this week! I was disappointed about my sales over the holiday weekend and never expected sales would pick up on Tues & Wed!
A smaller Rona Lace shawl (that I had made in acrylic sport yarn as a receiving/christening blanket with an infant size sweater to match) that had sat on the shelf for 3 weeks sold! The vintage-style sweater-coat with the peter pan collar that was made for the fashion show also sold. And a couple of those eyelash scarves that I made 3 years ago sold. My mother had pumpkin hats and bibs sell, too. But none of the baseball hats. I don't understand, the shop is in Cooperstown, after all.