Just catching up...

Catching up on some knitting news...

• Have been disgustingly sick with a cold lately - enough to miss my Wednesday night meeting at the Barnes and Noble in Manchester with my knitting buds. Trust me - I have to be near dying to miss that. But was able to go last week, where we firmed up plans to go on a knitting retreat next month, at the Grand View Lodge in Randolph, NH. We are leaving Friday after work on Feb. 24, and not coming back to the real world until Sunday. Can't wait - no men, no housework, no nothing to do but spend time with good friends and knit. The Lodge has a great store for knitters. Looking forward to ferreting out the deals and unique fibers / tools.
• Finished one Booga Bag for my sister in law for Christmas. Just have to felt it. Yeah, I know it's late, but in my family, Christmas get-togethers and present swapping can dribble into the summer. We aren't big on planning until the last minute! Anyway, I have felted the bag and i-cord once, and it needs another go-round. My friends Gina and Donna have figured out the perfect formula for felting in Gina's washing machine, so we will be having a felting party soon to get everyone's projects done at once. These bags are incredibly easy to make - I can do the knitting in the round while stuck in traffic. Noro Kureyon behaves very well in the dark!
• On the needles - I am working on the Mary Jane sachet / sweater from Knit Picks, as well as their Leaf-Edged Shrug for my almost-daughter Jesse. I call the shrug the Cheeto-sweater. She chose the Knit Picks Shine in Apricot, of all colors, and it looks like Velveeta or Cheetos - even raises the temperature of the air around it, I swear!! But it's what she wants...
• Finally finished my potholder afhgan (crocheted - don't gasp) and gave it to my best friend Lisa (Jess's mom) for Christmas. They enjoy snuggling up in it - that reminds me - I have to get a pic of the whole family under it and post it!!

Brainstorm Session 1

I have been thinking about what it would take to open a craft shop / cafe. It's amazing how much you can think about on an hour commute to work.

Considerations:

Floor Plan - how much space is needed, and for what?
Inventory - would I have to offer products for sale? would that be the primary source of income?
Cafe - menus, staffing, health codes, insurance
Craft Area - layout per space, rental fees, annual memberships (why couldn't I offer annual sign ups, just like a gym??)
Entertainment - music? chick flicks? special events?
Staffing
Overnights - even weekend events - how about renovating a bed and breakfast??

Sorry - it's been awhile...

Was just thinking that since I have so little real time to knit, or scrap for that matter, that building a blog that would be interesting for anyone but me is probably out of the question right now.
But what I can do is brainstorm here what it would take to build a business like Scrap n' Knit - develop a business plan, right here. With your input.

So if you are lurking and you come across this post, think about this - if you could go somewhere relatively close to your house, to work on your hobbies in the company of others, what would entice you to walk in the door? Would you want to see products for sale? What kinds of space would you use or even want to rent?

I think about / daydream about putting together a place in which folks could bring their work, store it temporarily or rent long-term spaces, eat nummy food, drink fantastic coffee, watch chick flicks - an estrogen haven. What would appeal to you at a place like this?

Welcome to my Blog Site!

Welcome to my blog - Scrap n' Knit. Get it? It's an outright admission that I am totally addicted to scrapbooking and knitting. Add an obsession with my cats and you have a day / life that barely includes time for my job!

I have a dream - that someday, after I win PowerBall, I will open a storefront by the same name, to offer a space for other addicts to come to and work on projects. The store will include a coffee bar, and offer soups, desserts, and other yummies to fortify my customers as they scrap or knit at well-lit, comfy workspaces. On top of that, I would love to be able to keep an inventory of all that yummy yarn that I drool over at my LYSs!

But for now, this blog will have to do. I will share my project successes and failures - not the least of which is a crocheted hat that metamorphasized into a totebag. Just need to fire up the digital camera and you can have a good laugh!