Friday, July 18, 2008

Off to see the sun

I'm here in the shop doing some last minute things before I jet off to CT tomorrow. I won't be able to update the Stash website from there, so I will try and post anything new and exciting here. This week we received a shipment from Dream in Color, and Nathalie and I are casting on our February Lady Sweaters. I think that will be a good holiday project, though I may only be able to work on it indoors in the air conditioning! Every time we get a box of Dream in Color, its as if we have never seen it before. I think we each fall in love with a different color every time

There is a box of Misti Alpacas in transit which will include our all time scarf favorite, 100% Baby Alpaca Chunky. This time we will have solids as well as handpaints. Some of the colors are to follow, so we should be getting another box in a few weeks.

We also have the new issue of Knitscene. This may be their best issue yet. I have to make the Kimono socks. Put those in the list!

Talk to you from the other side of the pond! Happy Knitting!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Summertime



Its (sort of) summertime here in London. More like eternal springtime, which can sometimes be nice. The kids are finishing school this week, and I am looking forward to sleeping in, and not having to make packed lunches! I will be making my annual pilgrimage to Connecticut next week to enjoy some sun and sand. I will also do my best to scope out the yarn shops in CT and NYC to see if there is anything new and exciting that might be great to have at Stash.
On the knitting front, I have finally finished my Aleita vest.

Alietavest

I am loving the way it fits, though I had some stress regarding the tension. Why do they not tell you whether or not tension should be in the round? Maybe it doesn't effect everyone, but for me it really makes a difference. I had to do one for the bottom half, and another for the top, which was knit flat. I would imagine that if you are a beginner, you could end up having to rip this out, or have a real problem with the fit when it is finished. Anyway, its done now. I have moved on to a sleeping WIP, my Icarus shawl. I love the fact that it was about a third finished when I went back to it. Talk about instant gratification! I am on the second chart in less than a week.

As for the shop, the internet site is up and running after a few blips with the payment gateways. We are now taking both Paypal, and credit cards. I would have liked to have a stock control on the site, but as we run a separate system in the London shop, it is not possible right now. If all goes well, we will have to look into some sort of integration. Meanwhile, I have been very diligent about letting customers know if something is not in stock, which hasn't happened much anyway!

I have also put up a link on the site for a newsletter that will be published monthly. You can sign up here. I hope to have the first one out next week, and then after I come back from my trip.

Happy Knitting!