Memory Error

I actually have had time to post the pictures, but unfortunately there was a memory card error. Now, normally when I make a comment like that I'm alluding the fact that it will take me several moments of contemplation to remember anything other than my name. And in Kindergarten I was actually marked down for my recollection of my name (we were to spell The, I automatically put an A on the end). But in this case, there actually was a memory card error, and I thought the pictures of Music to Knit to were lost, but this morning david was able to transfer the pictures onto the computer. The memory card is nolonger usable, but fortunately had another memory card lying around the house. Such is not the case for my brain, but such is life.

I've been so busy I've entirely forgotten we have a blog. Yay crappy memory.

We had our second Music to Knit to last night. The local Eagle Rock band REC played and a singer/songwriter Drew Gasparini. They were both really good. I had booked them both without first hearing their music (true to the That Yarn Store style).

I'll post pictures when I get home, or when I get the time I never have tiiiimmmeee.

Today is super busy. We've had a slow couple of weeks and we actually got to the point where we weren't sure of the fate of That Yarn Store, but today has made me optimistic about our little venture.

Playing today ...

Playing today at That Yarn Store is Agustin Lara, Nostalgia.

Word of the day 9/25/05

gor·mand·ize
v. gor·mand·ized, gor·mand·iz·ing, gor·mand·iz·es
v. intr.

To eat gluttonously; gorge.

Word of the day 11/19/05

paucity \PO-si-tee\, noun:
1. Fewness; smallness of number; scarcity.

Dancing hat

Here's the front and back of the teddy bear sweater.

And the karma hat. Jessamy's going to put bunny ears on
it soon.

I think every dancing hamster needs a hat, especially this
guy. He's danced to Kung Foo Fighter so many times an arm has fallen
off.

Accidental Yamaka

During my shrug class last week I was asked what I like to knit. Hats. Why? Because they are easy, fast, you can actually wear them, and I happened to be working on one at that second. After casting on and knitting a row or two I naturally put my project aside and decided to make a teddy bear sweater. Well, I "finished" the hat last night, and you can tell I had recently been bragging. Yup, I love to make hats so much I purposely don't use a pattern so that I end up making them an inch too short.

omphaloskeptic

One who obssesively stares at his or her navel.

word of the day 11/15

triskaidekaphobia: fear of the number 13

Word of the Day 11/10/05

comestible \kuh-MES-tuh-buhl\, adjective:
Suitable to be eaten; eatable; esculent -- noun: Something suitable to be eaten; -- usually in the plural.

Getting better all the time

Business has picked up in the last week. Especially weekdays, which have been as busy as weekends. We're thinking it might be the weather? What's really odd is that this past Saturday we didn't have any beginnging classes, something that hasn't happened in a while. And of course, now that I write that today has been very slow.

I decided to start a small short-sleeved shrug in a nice light blue with the Breeze to sell at the holiday fair one of our customers is organizing. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the needles. At home all I had was a size four and size eight and one size 7. If you ever start a yarn store with your family don't share your needles. Anyway, the eights would have been way to big, so I started on the fours. Four hours and six inches later I realized that it would take over 10 hours to make this small shrug.
Now we get to sell a nice blue purse.

avuncular
adj.

1. Of or having to do with an uncle.

Word of the day 11/04/05

acumen

quickness of perception or discernment.

Word of the Day 11/03/05

moil \MOIL\, intransitive verb:
1. To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge.
2. To churn or swirl about continuously.

shrug

Today someone came into the store and asked if my shrug was machine knit, saying that the stitches were really even. When I said I had hand-knit it, and that I can notice all the uneven stitches in it she replied that she doesn't keep anything that she knits, since she can always see her mistakes. Is this unusual, or are we all just a walking mass of self-criticism?

Word of the day 10/29/05

Nomenclature
A system of names used in an art or science: the nomenclature of mineralogy.

10-25-05

gallimaufry \gal-uh-MAW-free\, noun:
A medley; a hodgepodge.

afganhs for afghans email

We're making afghans (mittens, hats, socks, sweaters, and vests, too)
... for
Afghans! Join us!

afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian and educational people-to-people
project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and garments to the
beleaguered
people of Afghanistan.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hello Knitters and Crocheters for Afghanistan,

We are happy and grateful to report that we made goal on our campaign
to
clothe 5,000 Afghan boys and girls for this winter.

Thank you so much for contributing to this collection of hand-knit and
crocheted blankets and wool garments for the children. Thanks to those
who spread
the word among fiber friends. We received gorgeous, lovingly made
gifts. Makes
our hearts pound with joy and hope to see the personal generosity
extended to
people on the other side of the world.

The incoming flow of donations was very slow over the summer. Making
our goal
did not seem likely. However, about a week to 10 days before the
extended campaign due
date, the gifts started to arrive much, much faster -- we received
probably
half of the collection in the final week. Folks truly rallied to clothe
the
kids in time for the winter.

We delivered around 5,860 hand-knit and crocheted blankets and wool or
wool-blend sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks for shipment to
Afghanistan. Of
this total, hats numbered 3,625. Close to 500 pairs of mittens. Close
to 500
pairs of socks. Almost 700 sweaters. Blankets numbered 570.

(We do receive inappropriate gifts that are not on our list of
requested items and used items that we cannot send. We always make sure the
useable items are sent to worthy local domestic charities where they
will be
appreciated.)

Our volunteer sorters and packers here in the San Francisco Bay Area
were awesome. We had to hustle like never before to get the incoming
packages
sorted and reboxed for the container. The last two days were
overwhelmingly busy
(dark chocolate is our official fuel of choice). The end product was
103
obsessively sealed large cartons labeled and ready to travel overseas
to Central
Asia. We rented a 14-foot U-Haul truck to get the cartons to the
staging area.
(Ann drove, and no one got hurt.) We are fortunate to have attracted a
capable, action-oriented, and fun local group that ensures that your
donations get handled properly -- we get energized by seeing the
fabulous,
first-class incoming hand-knit and crochet work.

In addition to volunteer knitters and crocheters, our local sorting and
packing crew, grassroots group and ad hoc organizers, flyer
distributors, elann.com for their Canadian mailing service, our
web talent (Marcy and Inga!), and many other voices that get the word
out and cheer us on, we thank
the San Francisco office of the American Friends Service Committee for
partnering with us on the intake of thousands of packages and sharing
space to work.

This current collection of hand-knit and crocheted blankets and
garments will
be distributed to orphanages, clinics, and children's centers in Herat,
Jalalabad, and Kabul. We'll report back when we have a better sense of
an arrival
date and information about how our gifts were received. Transport and
getting
through customs and other often labyrinth steps will take a couple
months. For
this current load, we are working with International Orphan Care and
state
orphanages and other relief agency partners for transport and
distribution.

Meanwhile, we hope that the image of thousands of Afghan children
wearing our
handmade, beautiful, warm gifts this winter warms you now. We may get
photos eventually to share, but that would be icing on the cake.

Please note, for those who wish a written acknowledgment or
confirmation, we
do ask that you email us at the time you send your gift, or include a
SASE
postcard or envelope that we can mail back, or use the confirmation
services of
whichever postal service you use. We don't have the people-power and
resources
to mail out personalized, written notes, and appreciate your
understanding. We
rely on the efficiency and power of email and the Internet -- could not
have
developed and maintained this program (so relatively cheaply and fast)
without
it!

We often wish we could travel together to Afghanistan to distribute the
blankets and garments firsthand and to throw a big blow-out happy party
for the
kids, but that takes a lot of funding and organizing. We do what we can
from here and leave the other steps to the
specialists who work in the field. Maybe one day we'll see peace and
security
prevail in Afghanistan ... and we can visit as tourists to a
functioning, rebuilt
country.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Next due date?

We're not yet sure of the exact next due date, but probably during the
first
quarter of 2006. We'll post the information on our website when we can
confirm. Meanwhile, we continue to welcome your donations of blankets
and wool
garments. Additional details will always be on our website for
reference.

For program details and mailing addresses, see our Guidelines page --
http://www.afghansforAfghans.org/blanket.html

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Again, a heartfelt thanks to all who joined in on this campaign to
clothe
5,000 Afghan children for the winter.

The world's needs seem especially endless right now. We'll be keeping
our
focus as long as Afghanistan needs our caring and as long as
generous American and Canadians continue to respond with their own
hands. Thank you
for extending your compassion, your time, and your talent. Thank you
for
remembering the Afghan people.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Our best,
Ann and colleagues at afghansforAfghans.org

Word of the day 10/21/05

Perezosa (spanish)
Someone who is slugish , slothful, idle, lazy

Word of the day 10/20/05

nostrum: a medicine whose effectiveness is unproved; a questionable remedy.