TNNA in San Diego

Alex and I have been crazy busy these days. First, we launched our newest site, Knitch Magazine, and now we're getting ready to leave on Wednesday for the TNNA Conference.

If you haven't yet checked out Knitch, take a look. It's a fashion magazine for knitters -- and we've got lots of free patterns to check out. There are also interviews with industry dignitaries, Norah Gaughan and Cameron Taylor-Brown.

Our new Web Mistress, Jenny McCutcheon, worked her tail off to design and develop this site. It was great to see her first project go online and get such terrific response so quickly. We've already turned our attention to the Spring issue which ought to be really good. We'll be interviewing lots of people while we're at the TNNA Conference.

It's being held in San Diego so it'll be nice to escape the cold temperatures of Ohio. Alex and I plan to walk along the Embarcadero to get a little exercise...as if walking the trade show floor won't be enough!

We're meeting with lots of our suppliers to check out their newest yarns -- Berroco, Westminster, KFI. And we'll also see the fashion show on Friday night and take a good look at all the wonderful displays of new yarns, patterns and accessories. It's a fun show, though exhausting.

I hope everyone's keeping warm. It's so terribly cold across North America right now. I'm thinking of knitting myself a cosy wrap to keep me warm on airplanes and at home and the office where we keep it a little cool in the interest of reducing our carbon footprint...and our energy bills!

2DI4 Duo Yarn is now at Yarnmarket

2DI4 is a hand dye co-op sponsored by Cherry Tree Hill. It was started to help independent dyers gain access to base yarns and dyes without having to meet large minimums.

The unique ”2DI4 Duo” is the first release, and it’s selling quickly on Yarnmarket.

The “2DI4 Duo” starts as one 450 yard hank of 80% superwash wool and 20% nylon yarn. Then it’s divided in half and tied together with a gift tag. This enables the knitter to knit both socks, mittens, or gloves at once, ensuring that each pair will look similar and that one sock, mitten or glove can be knit from one duo. Plus, it’s conveniently portable.

Each gorgeous colorway is dyed in limited quantities and will not be repeated, so make sure you get your favorites while they last.

The Mirasol Yarn Project helps Peruvian Children

We're always excited when we can contribute to a worthy cause. So we're delighted to introduce Mirasol yarn. The philosophy behind the Mirasol Project is to support local communities in Peru through the sales of their lovely yarns. A percentage of the profits are invested in establishing and running a boarding-house for local children. The project focuses on an infant & child-care program with after-school support for older children so that the alpaca shepherds' families in the region have a secure place where the children can develop their potential.

So, when you purchase this yarn from Yarnmarket, you're helping families thousands of miles away. Isn't that nice?

We've just added three terrific yarns: Chirapa, Qina and Tupa.

Ultra-soft Qina is 80% baby alpaca and 20% bamboo. It's sensationally soft to knit & crochet with and is a delight to wear next to your skin. The bamboo gives a touch of sheen, and the alpaca adds loft and a pretty haloing effect. I'd recommend this yarn for any light worsted knitting & crochet projects.

Chirapa yarn is beautifully crafted of 100% merino wool and then hand-dyed in spectacular color combinations. It's ideal for more than just sport-weight sock projects, so check out the patterns for brightly colored kids' wear and lacy shawls and scarves.

Tupa is superbly crafted in 50% silk and 50% merino wool to achieve splendid drape & sheen. It also provides wonderful warmth, wearability and softness. This incredible 2-ply yarn shimmers with the lovely depth of color jewel tones found in their gemstone namesakes.

Please take a look at these yarns and consider them for your next project. By choosing Mirasol yarns, you'll be doing a world of good!

Awesome Possum!

We're elated to announce that we've just added Supreme Possum Merino Sock Yarn to our ever-growing inventory. This gorgeous yarn is from New Zealand where the little critters are considered a nuisance...but are famous for their fabulously warm fibers. This is a blend of 40% possum, 50% merino and 10% silk, so it's nice and light while it's wonderfully durable. We're selling seven gorgeous colors in a 50g skein of fingering yarn for $11.35 each.

One nice thing about this yarn is that 5% of every purchase goes to saving New Zealand's native birds.

We've got some free patterns available for this yarn, so check them out!

Happy New Year!

Well, this was one heck of a year, wasn't it? In the US, we survived the longest election campaign in the history of the universe. We watched a bunch of rich guys take their private jets to Washington to beg for our hard-earned tax dollars. And we watched the stock market tank because our banks were irresponsible in their lending practices.

To make matters worse, we're told that this is just the beginning of the Big Credit Crunch.

Okay...so it wasn't the best year ever. But let's be thankful for all the good things that happened.

We elected a man who sincerely hopes to bring positive changes to our country. The American automotive companies are now -- finally -- going to respond to what the market actually wants and needs. And the banks are going to be more cautious with our money.

That's all good.

At Yarnmarket, we saw a lot of good things happen, too. We added a couple of new YarnMartians to our staff. Jenny, our Web Mistress, is doing great work for us online. And Emily is helping us fulfill orders to knitters throughout the world.

We added oodles of new yarns to our inventory from over 70 manufacturers, we expanded the products we carry on our sale site, BargainYARNS, and we launched Knitchmagazine.com, our online fashion magazine. We also helped a lot of yarn shops test new products or fulfill orders through YarnMerchant.

Pat, Michele, Susan and Stefanie completed our Showroom and it's absolutely gorgeous. Every day we have visitors stop by to look at our 700 brands of yarn (yes, 700!)and to shop from the thousands of bins in our warehouse.

Jan helped Alex select the new yarns we've added and wrote her popular newsletter and bulletin twice each month. Research we did on her publications showed that our customers really appreciate the information she provides about yarns, patterns, fashions and charities.

Josh created our BargainYARNS newsletter and introduced The Bargain of the Week. That's when he takes a popular yarn from Yarnmarket and puts it on sale at BargainYARNS for just one week.

Our pickers and packers -- Amy, Alma, Julie and Lisa -- were very busy in 2008 because we're getting many more orders than last year. Lori and the other Lori ensured we got our new merchandise from boxes in the back to bins on the shelves as quickly as we possibly could. And Tina and Brenda saw that every single order was handed over to Marlin each evening when he arrived.

On the customer side, Lynn, Sharon, Susie and Jill ensured that every one of our Yarnmarket shoppers received the best service we could possibly provide. Pat, Josh, Stefanie and Susan were always delighted to help out whenever they could.

Over at Yarndex, Sharon, Susie, Pat and Susan also did a heck of a job keeping the online yarn directory current with over 4500 yarns. (We're always so happy when we visit sites like Ravelry and see how much knitters depend on the information from Yarndex.)

So we've been pretty darned busy. And that's all very positive.

On the personal side, I'm very happy to be working with my husband, Alex -- the man who, when recently asked if he loves me as much when I'm fat responded, "Yes. But it has to cover a larger area, so it doesn't seem like it's as much."

Boy, I laughed so hard I almost choked. For 27 years he's kept me entertained with his very dry, twisted wit. (The kids are sometimes shocked that I don't haul off and belt him. I guess they don't understand.)

Before the year ends, I'd like to thank everyone at Yarnmarket for all their efforts throughout the year, all our manufacturers and their representatives who are so wonderful to work with, our beloved Marlin the UPS guy, and -- mostly -- all the shoppers who have entrusted us with their orders. We really appreciate that you have chosen Yarnmarket to be your online store, and we hope that we've provided you with the top quality service we promise.

I'd also like to give thanks to Dr. Shields of Cross Creek Veterinary Clinic here in Pickerington, Ohio because he provides such wonderful care to many YarnMartian's pets. This year he comforted Alex and me as our cat, Hannibal, needed to be put to sleep. (I still cry when I think about Hannibal.) He also tended to Scarface, the stray who needed medical attention. And he's now taking good care of Gatsby, Michele's pussycat. I think Dr. Shields is someone to be admired. He does the work he loves and he does it well. He is less concerned about money than he is about the welfare of his patients. And he is very quietly kind, caring and sincere.

Maybe in 2009, we'll learn to celebrate nice guys like Dr. Shields rather than larcenous business people, dishonest politicians, airhead heiresses, reality TV stars, and others who deserve our contempt rather than fame.

That will be my wish for 2009. I wish that all you nice guys out there get the recognition and rewards you deserve. It's been a long time coming.

Thank you, Frank Mahovlich!

Last week I wrote about our wonderful 27th Anniversary. Alex had gone all out -- giving me a Frank Mahovlich puck, Maple Leaf shirt, cake and card. Well, yesterday I was utterly astounded to receive an official anniversary greeting from THE Frank Mahovlich!

Isn't that something? Now a Senator in the Canadian government, Frank Mahovlich took the time to send us a very nice letter and an autographed photo of himself in his Maple Leafs uniform when he was Number 27.

What a thoughtful, unexpected surprise!

You know...I really don't want expensive gifts like gold and diamonds. Anyone with a credit card could buy me that. I am so much happier with my NHL hockey puck and sweater...and now this thoughtful gift from the man who inspired the celebration.

Thanks, Frank. You were one of the all-time greats on the ice, and you're one heck o f a nice guy, too. I hope our goofy idea catches on and that other Canadians decide to celebrate their 27th Anniversary in your honor.

Yarnmarket December Bulletin has arrived!

It's here! We've just released our newest bulletin, jam-packed with information about new yarns, patterns and other ideas for the holiday season.

In this issue, Jan is featuring new yarns from Berroco, Louisa Harding, Cherry Tree Hill, Regia & Aslan Trends plus new colors from Sirdar & South West. Also, she's offering some quick & easy gifts for your friends & relatives. Remember, there are only 9 days until Christmas!

As always, Jan is also presenting new projects to give your winter wardrobe a fashionable boost, and she's including information about terrific new books, patterns & magazines to inspire you.

Here's one of the free patterns Jan has included in this week's bulletin. It's made with our own Caledon Hills yarn.

We hope you enjoy our quick overview of what we've added to the store over the past two weeks. Be sure to subscribe to the Yarnmarket Bulletin so you'll get up-to-date information about our new yarns, projects and patterns.