Ahhhhhh

Look what I found at my doorstep this morning. Claudia Handpainted Yarn in the Silk Lace. Need I say more?

Paying bills AKA ranting

This will not have any pictures unless I can find one showing me very frustrated. I have finally sat down to pay bills. And of them is my Charter bill. First I see that supposedly someone ordered a movie off of PayDemand. It wasn't me, I was off working that day. My son, Ian, and I decide that it was probably my husband, who says it wasn't him. So I call Charter and they say that it played for 2 hours. Hmmm, I go to Wikipedia and they say that movie runs for 93 minutes. Isn't 2 hours 120 minutes? For $3.99 I am not going to argue, but I do put a block on pay movies. No more. You want a movie, you will have to pick up the phone, figure out which number to call, then go through the process of ordering one. No more accidential getting a movie that lasts 120 mins when it should only be 93 minutes. The bill is still not paid as I am told that to pay my bill on the phone will cost me $8. I love it. I am paying them and I get to pay an additional $8 for the pleasure. So I tell them I am not going to do that and I go to the Internet. The Internet tells me that to pay my bill I have to have a security code, but it does not tell me how to get this security code. I call Charter back and this time I get a nice man that I cannot understand. The little I do understand is that I can go to my local Charter office and they will give me my security code, he cannot give me my security code over the phone. Now, how is that all of the other bills I pay on line do not require this? I have never had to drive to the local office of whatever to set up my account on the Internet. In fact, 20 minutes before I was talking to Charter, I had paid my CellularOne bill on the phone, without being charged $8 for the honor. They took my money for free. I explain that the Charter office is in Traverse City, which is an hour's drive away from my home, it is 8:30 at night and I do not think they are open. So sorry, that is what I have to do. So......no Charter bill paid tonight. I will admit it is my fault that I waited until the night before the bill was due, but they really make it hard to take my money. So, tomorrow I will call my local office and see what they tell me. Really wish that the local cable company had not sold out many years ago to Charter. I do not like losing the local home page to something that talks about things I could care less. In fact, I changed my home page to Leelanau.com. Much nicer, they talk about things I care to read.

Busy at the shoppe

It has been busy at the shoppe this week. On Friday, Susan brought in this vest. It is from the Simply Shetland 2 book.
Kathy is modeling the back for us.






Susan also made up this hat for us in a gorgeous blue color from ShiBui Knits Highland Wool Alpaca.



















Yesterday, Melody went to an open house given by Pat McKean. She sent her over to us and here is part of what we bought. Her pins and shawl pins are on the left of the shadow box. On the right are our pins from Romi.















Kate brought in her dog, Archie, with his knitted coat.














Along with her finished shawl made out of qiviut.
















Then Amy came in with her mom and brother and here is the knitted hat with flaps that Amy knitted out of Naturally Tussock Worsted.















And in the meantime, Melody added inside lights to our shoppe.

Power outages, shawl pins, and books

Remember I said that I was going to keep a log of how often the power went out? Well, two days after that it went out again for about 4 hours. Then on Tuesday ago, it went out at our house at 10 am and came back on at 7 pm. I was at my job in Leland, and we lost power around 12 noon and who knows when it came back on. At home, my husband built up a fire in the fireplace and took a nice long nap under the down comforter. At the office, we have a generator that kept part of the building going - the part that has the bathrooms and furnace. So guess where I stayed? I went through my piles of paperwork (it does need to be weeded out every now and then), but went home at 5 pm. My son and I picked up a friend and we went out for dinner at the Happy Hour. Which was nice. I stayed warm, had good company, and stayed happy. By the time we got home, the power was back on.

I tried to find a picture of what it looked like Tuesday and this is the closest I can come - a picture of Fishtown, in Leland, taken by our neighbor, Keith Burnam. Keith runs the Leland Report and if you have not visited his site - go there now. He has amazing pictures. He verifies my feelings that wherever you go in Leelanau County, you find beauty.

Just want to remind you that we have a Wish List and Gift Certificates. Come in, fill out a card, and list everything in the shoppe that you would like. We have the lavender products (soap, potpourri, lip balm, lotion, and spray) from Leelanau Lavender Breezes, funky jewelry, shawl pins, books, baskets, along with books, patterns, and yummy yarn. In fact, check out some of the shawl pins that just came in.

After you have finished filling out the Wish List card, send your family and friends in for gift giving ideas. Friday, December 14, from 5 pm until 8 pm is set aside for the men to come in for holiday shopping.

Below are several books that have just arrived at the shoppe. Interweave Press updated the Harmony Guides and they are worth having in your library. I had the chance to quickly skim one yesterday and not only do they show you different stitches, but they also intersperse the pages with quick tips. Come on in and check them out.

Another book we just received is Indigo Knits. Lots of sweaters, some throws, and other great knits using denim yarn.

Thanksgiving Sale

Those of you who are reading the blog will have a sneak preview of the sale for this weekend. All socks will be 30% off and all books are 20% off. We will also have some yarn on sale for $2. a skein. There - that should be an incentive to stop by this weekend.

Here are some samples of what we have in books:




















And, by the way, have a Happy Thanksgiving and drive safely. My 2 daughters are coming up from Michigan State tonight and tomorrow and I hope that all is well for them. And for me - as I am driving into Traverse City to pick up my 20 yr. old baby - today is her birthday and she is leaving East Lansing before her sister. Catching a ride with another student. And of course they are calling for snow and my snow tires are not on yet.

Hugs.......

Touring the Leelanau Wineries

Last Saturday, my child support counterparts from other counties, drove over and kidnapped me from the yarn shoppe. I will admit that I went willingly. We had signed up for the Toast the Season wine tour and I was ready to take a day off.

Our first stop was at Gill’s Pier Winery. I am familiar with them as the owner’s father is Scott Koeze of the Koeze’s Nuts out of Grand Rapids. Scott has Friesian horses and he allowed my eldest daughter the opportunity to work with these animals. But that is another entry. Anyway, Kris, Scott’s daughter, and her husband own Gill’s Pier Winery. We received a nice bucket, a Christmas ornament, a glass with wine in it, and food to dip into a chocolate fountain.

Our next stop was at Leelanau Cellars . They sell my favorite wine “Winter White.” I was first enticed by the cobalt blue bottle, but then found out I also liked the wine. Here is a picture of us toasting our wine.

We then visited Good Harbor Vineyards. Here are several pictures of us. Would you ever believe that during the week we are serious and hard working?

We had lunch at the Early Bird in Leland and then headed down to Chateau Fontaine.This is a place I have never visited, but have driven by many times, so it was good to stop. It is located on an old farm and you can still smell that. They had great food and pleasant staff. In fact, all of the wineries had both of those – along with the interesting wines.

Next stop was Bel Lago, where we met several people who had wine glasses hanging around their necks. Unfortunately, we did not take a picture, but it was an interesting concept. You could tell these folks were serious about their wine tasting. I drew a picture as I was trying to figure out how to knit one of these. An I-cord would work for the strap, it was the holder of the glass that stumps me.

On to Longview Winery. This is also in the same building as a restaurant. I can remember when, several years ago, an empty building was torn down in Cedar and this went up. They have large posts on their front porch which makes me think of the wild west. I used the same sign painter they did, Dennis Gerathy.

We then headed back to the shoppe in Suttons Bay and here we are.

All in all, it was a great day. Good company, food, and wine. Thanks Leelanau Peninsula Vinters Association. And thanks to Betsy who worked for me that day.

Dear Camp - Friday, the 16th

Remember this Friday, the 16th is Dear Camp. For all you who are home on your own, whether it is because you are single or widowed by hunting, and for those of you who are not home on your own – bring a dish to pass and a project and we will hang out from 6 pm until 10 pm. If you need some suggestions on what to bring, I like chocolate. But if you want to be good, I like salads and quiches. Or appetizers and dips. If we get a large group together we can have lots of good food to munch on.

This is a quickie

This is Kathy's Baby Surprise Jacket made out of Lamb' s Pride Superwash.

This is Darcy and she is wearing the Ganomy. A very nice hat from Elizabeth Zimmermann' Knitter's Almanac. The yarn is Cascade's Autunno. Warm and soft.

Kathy is wearing a felted beret and scarf knitted out of ShiBui's Baby Alpaca DK. The beret pattern is from Ann Budd's Book of Patterns and the scarf is Jill's Choice. Also very soft and warm.


This is Carrie wearing her Mogul Moebius made out of Cascade Jewel Paints. I am coveting this. She can give it to me when she tires of it.






Okay, I have to go now.

Bye.