New Squirrels, Big Boxes, and More Adventures!

I really should write down my blog ideas when they come to me. I had quite a few, and then…they escaped. Apparently, my squirrels took them somewhere. But I’ve rounded up enough to get us started! ;-)

Julie and I just got back from H & H in downtown Houston. It’s always so good to see our reps and catch up. This event wasn’t as big as the one in Chicago, and it was primarily a fabric show; but, you know us. We still managed to find plenty of fun things!

For starters, we found a beautiful line of buttons, all made in Italy. We ordered some lovely ones, and now we’re waiting for them to arrive. Sometimes the smallest finishing touch makes such a difference in a project!

Meanwhile, poor Kim was back at the store trying to hold down the fort while the deliveries kept coming. Big boxes, too! Our Re:Designed, shipment arrived, along with a new line we’re very excited about: Natural Life. We’re revamping the store just a bit, and all these arrivals are giving us plenty to work with. Thank you, Kim, for keeping things going while we were out finding even more things to bring home!

And, of course, I found a brand-new craft.

Yes. Another one.

It’s painting with stencils using Butter Paint, and it is quite fun! Julie, as usual, encourages these new hobbies of mine. You would think she might say, “Doris, don’t you have enough to do?” But apparently, we have not reached that point yet. ;-) 

You’ll be seeing this new hobby in the store very soon because, naturally, I’ll be offering it as a workshop. Would you expect anything less?

Julie also has some great plans for fabric we found at the show. We came across beautiful handles for our “Get Holiday Ready” purse workshop on the knitting machine, and we’ll have some lovely fabric color choices, too. We have two dates available: October 16, and October 19.

And here’s the wonderful part: you don’t have to know how to use a knitting machine. You just need to know how to knit and purl! We’ll help you with the rest.

Becky from Chaos Fibers was there, too, and I got to see some of her beautiful yarn dyed in mohair. Yum! That will be coming to the store soon. Buttons, fabric, handles, mohair…my brain was having a very good day.

When Julie and I get away from the store, we have a chance to dream and plan more fabulous things for you—and for us! We get excited, one idea leads to another, and before you know it, we have a whole new list.

Which brings me to a little secret…

We’re planning another Stitch Adventure Kit, in addition to our existing one with ArtYarns! I’ll share more about that soon. January will kick off a whole new round of adventures, and we can hardly wait.

Now, on another note, our February 2027 knitting retreat in Brenham sold out in exactly three hours!

Three hours!

We were thrilled by your enthusiasm, but also sad that some friends who have attended our retreats before weren’t able to get a spot. We love having that time together, and it’s hard knowing someone wanted to come and couldn’t.

So, Julie and I started brainstorming again. You can probably guess where this is going.

A staycation retreat!

We’re hoping for April or May and are still looking for a location, so keep your fingers crossed. The idea is taking shape, and we’ll share more once we have the details worked out.

We get such an adrenaline rush planning these events. There’s something about imagining everyone gathered together, learning something new, working on projects, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company that keeps the ideas coming.

Until then…I’d better write a few of them down before the squirrels run off with those, too! ;-) I just added another workshop - as the squirrel really moved fast, before I could say no! Watercolor Mixed Media Workshop