Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Yarn Garden in Carlisle, PA

Our first stop on the tour of LYS's (local yarn shops for the two non-knitters reading this) is The Yarn Garden in Carlisle, PA.

The Yarn Garden is located at 52 W. Pomfret St. The first 4 to 5 blocks of this street are an artist's dream. There are all kinds of creative shops, artist's studios, and eating establishments.

The proprieters are Hillary & Jill and you could not ask for two kinder people. They both love to knit and really care about their customers.

Their shop features a huge picture window. A table, sofa, and chair directly in front of the window create a wonderful sitting area with abundant natural light--the perfect place to make color choices about new projects or just sit and knit on works-in-progress. Besides the front window, the shop has other windows bathing most of the space in natural light.

The yarns are mostly seperated by type/fiber and are either in cubby-hole shelves or hanging on the wall. They carry a wonderful (if slightly consevative and predictable) sellection. They have many of the smaller, independantly produced yarns and carry everything from lace and sock to cottons, wools, silk and some novelty yarns. They even have a beautiful selection of pure qiviut (the really, REALLY good stuff) and qiviut blends (more affordable and just as soft).

The two story building provides ample room for their yarns, pattern books, needles, and accessories to be displayed artistically without feeling crowded. There is also room upstairs for a classroom/meeting room, a kitchen area, a bathroom, and ample storage.



There is also a patio off the back of the shop where customers can enjoy a lovely breeze or the scent of nearby flowers when the weather allows.

A cup of coffee, a little conversation, a sock to knit on (or lace, or cables, or....) and the world is a perfect place. That's what you'll find here.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Welcome

Hello. My name is Susan Stacy Baiman Taliaferro. You can call me 'Sue'. In all actuality I will answer to just about anything but 'Sue' seems easiest and most straightforward.

This is my new job. My new life. If you came here from my existing blog http:moreyarnforme.blogspot.com then you are well aware of this change. For those who haven't read my earlier stuff here's the short version. I was recently laid off from my job in a wholesale food warehouse. Now, I am starting out as an independant designer. Of knitwear and knitting patterns.

This blog is devoted to that endeaver. I am currently working on a number of designs. The first few will be submitted to Knitty.com. Unfortunately, I can't show my designs here before I submit them.

Even as I am working on some things that I can't discuss I will also be working through themes, issues, design elements, and just working on the many aspects of my craft. So, I am sure I will have plenty of things to discuss.

One of the avenues I am starting to explore is working with the local yarn shops, their proprieters, and their customers. With that in mind I will be first introducing you to these wonderful places.

So, welcome on this journey with me. It should be a fun ride (hopefully not too bumpy). Our next stop will be the Yarn Garden in Carlisle, PA. (Please keep all hands and arms inside while the ride is in motion.)