Much needed

I got to spend three whole days with my family this Thanksgiving. It was a MUCH needed break. I've been working myself into the ground, and the weekend was the first good night's sleep I had in months. We left Wednesday at 7:30 am. My brother in law picked us up and we just hung out all day. Except for a brief trip to the grocery store (day before Thanksgiving, wow!), it was just a day to knit, talk and chill.

Thursday was all about cooking and eating. It was a perfect day. A light snow was falling, and while the turkey was cooking we took a walk just long enough to get really cold and need to come back to some hot cider!

I finished all the pieces to David's sweater in the morning, and now I just had to do the dreaded sewing up the sides of the body and sleeves.


Here's a detail shot of the handspun and cables


Here's my sister's cat enjoying some afternoon sun and some shoes. Two of his favorite things


I finished the sweater on Thursday night in time for David to wear it the next day. Here's David looking adorable on my sister's porch



















Friday we did our traditional, walking around downtown Ann Arbor looking at all the cute little shops. This, of course, was followed by a dinner full of leftovers. All in all, a perfect visit.

Saturday, David and I left for the airport at 5:00 am. We landed at 8:00 am and we went right to the shop. We got to the shop at 8:45 am, and David stayed with me until 10:00 am. He helped me restock all the shelves, and get ready to open. I then put in an exhausting sales day that went to 7:00 pm. I've never been more tired. Today I'm still recovering, gearing up for another trip into the retail world during xmas shopping time. Wish me luck!

to paraphrase Bette Davis . . .

Retail is not for sissies. Saturday gave me a tiny glimpse into what my life would be between now and Jan 1st. From 9:00 am - 7:30 pm I did not stop moving! We are selling out of stuff as fast as the new boxes come in. We are getting so many deliveries at the shop it's hard to keep up sometimes. It's my own fault (since I do the ordering). It's a live and learn for me. It's my first christmas in retail and I'm just trying to get the hang of the ordering. My first round of books I was WAY too conservative, and all the great titles sold out in the first three days. I placed a second order the day after the first order arrived . . . and don't get me started on the yarn. My biggest dilemma is what I'm going to pick out for myself before it's all gone.

David's sweater is coming along swimmingly. The handspun (maybe my last on the spindle, now that the wheel is here!) is a little chunkier then the Luxury Tweed, but the flecks of color running through the handspun looked rocking with the tweed.


Here's a close up, it still doesn't show the color's to the best effect


Because I want to use every inch of the handspun, I am knitting the front, back and both sleeves at the same time. As soon as I switch back to the Luxury Tweed, I'll go back to knitting the pieces separately.

Got to sit by my roaring fire and spin on my new wheel.

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