the light at the end of the tunnel

Summer is not the best time to work at a yarn shop. This is not a surprise, you say? I didn't mean it to be - just a simple statement of fact. When I first started working in a yarn shop, it was in the summer - two years ago, actually. Then, I was thrilled it was the off-season, as I knew I had, well, everything, really, to learn.

Last year was a particularly bad summer at the yarn shop for me. My former co-workers and I were gradually realizing that the shop we loved was slowly being allowed to die. Killed off is too strong a term, perhaps, but that is more what it felt like. When the yarn reps called to make appointments to show the new fall yarns, they were put off and postponed and lied to, really, until they got the message, and began spreading the word that Miss Chickpea's was not long for this world. How embarrassing and sad that was.

So this summer is pretty awesome in comparison to that. It's a slow time of year, sure, but things are happening here at My Sister's Yarn Shop, let me assure you. Last month, Judi, our shop owner, took all of us to Columbus to attend TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) Yarn Market, which is a big deal in the knitting world, in case you didn't know. We saw the booths of dozens and dozens of vendors, all displaying their newest yarns and needles and patterns and buttons for fall, which, as you can imagine, is a big season for yarn and knitting. We had a fantastic time, and were overwhelmed and excited by all that we saw there.

What's happening at the shop now, though, is the truly exciting part. The yarn reps have come and gone, we have ordered our yarn, and any day now, the new fall yarn will start arriving. It is time to make room for all that yarn, and I, for one, can't wait. Can't wait for the UPS man to start bringing us boxes and boxes full of yarn. Can't wait to start putting the skeins of beautiful wool and merino and alpaca yarn on the shelves.

And here's one thing I know for sure: when the new fall yarns start arriving, the customers won't be far behind. Can't wait to see them!

with the new season, a new job

Yesterday I shifted yarn for five hours. That might sound arduous or maybe boring to some of you, but you would be wrong. I loved it. I loved the color, the feel, even the smell of all that yarn. It was the semi-annual yarn shift at My Sister's Yarn Shop in Uniontown, just off I-77, north of Canton. Yesterday was my first day of work there. I look forward to many more.

I was in the shop a few weeks ago telling Judi, the shop owner, how much I missed everything about working in a yarn shop, but most especially when all the new yarn and pattern books for the season arrive. "Well, would you like to come work for me?" Judi asked, to my surprise. "Yeah!" was the best reply I could come up with, so here I am. Judi is a hands-on shop owner, which means she actually knows how to knit and help her customers when they get stuck. Further, she works every day, and knows her customers' names and preferences. This is going to be different.

I will try to keep you posted, but, hey, I'm going to be working, so cut me some slack.