A little competition's a good thing, right?

Okay, so here's a little competition...

What I've done - and I like to think this was pretty darn clever - is to tap into the Totally Locally Fiver Fest promotion. So, what I want you to do is either count up, or just guess, the number of lines we stock in the shop which cost five pounds or less. You don't need to count each individual greetings card, but different types of yarn need to be included separately - some cost less than a fiver and some cost more.

When you have your total, email it to me at:
threebagsfullwoolshop@googlemail.com
or just write it down with your contact details and hand it in at the shop. You don't need to include what you've counted - just the final number will be fine.

The competition ends on the last day of November and it'll be that day's total lines I'll be taking as the definitive answer. I'll notify the winner the following week.

The prize is two hanks of the gorgeous Noro Yuzen, which is 34% silk and knits up beautifully, so don't forget to enter!

Don't mention the C word

I know what you're thinking...Christmas. But no, not that C word. The one I'm thinking of is Copyright. If you want the ins and outs of copyright, you'd need to go onto ravelry to check out the numerous long and depressing debates there have been on the rights and wrongs of the situation, allowing all the while for the fact that the relevant laws vary from country to country. (You'll need to set aside at least three weeks because the debates are long, convoluted, often ill-humoured and tend to go round in circles.)

In the meantime, all I can say is...no, sorry, I'd love to be able to photocopy patterns for you, particularly when they're only made available in collections that cost nearly £10, but it's illegal and it would also deprive the original designer of the cash they're due from the sale of their work. So I can't.

Sorry.

Ready for a quiet week now...

Well, we had a great time over the two days of the 15th and 16th, altho' sitting in a chair knitting for several hours each day was surprisingly exhausting! Thank you to all those people who took part, all who brought along 'one (or more) they'd made earlier' and those who took yarn home with them on Saturday with the intention of finishing something to drop into the shop sometime this week, not forgetting those who donated wool, drinks and biscuits. Phew.

Because items are still dribbling in I can't be sure of the final tally, but so far there are 48 hats in various styles and sizes, about 15 little cardigans, 6 or 7 sets of mittens and bootees, and finally 2 blankets. (I'm halfway through a third one myself so will have to get a shift on to finish that this week.)

Not sure when or how the handover will take place - low key or fanfare? Can't decide...

In the meantime tho' I think we've decided that the knitathon should be an annual event. Mark it in your diaries for next October! Here are just a few of this year's goodies...

What am I like??

I forgot to tell you that anyone taking part in the Knitathon next Friday and Saturday will get 10% off any purchases made while they're taking part! Which means, of course, that you can do your bit for a good cause and grab a bargain at the same time...

Charity Knitathon

I really need to learn how to add a few bells, whistles and tricks for this blog - otherwise I won't sufficiently grab your attention with news of...THE THREE BAGS FULL KNITATHON!!

All knitters and crocheters are warmly invited to join us at the shop knitting clothes for premature babies over the two day period: 15th to 16th October. If you can offer maybe half an hour or an hour while you're shopping in town that would be brilliant. Seems like baby clothes for prem babies are always in demand - presumably when baby goes home the clothes do too, so the hospitals need a never-ending supply. The clothes we make will be handed over or sent along to our local hospital, Calderdale Royal. (Altho' they don't know it yet!)

We have some baby wool (altho' if you have some spare baby acrylic, please bring it along) and we have patterns for both knitting and crochet, but if you could remember needles and hooks that would be great.

Alongside our Knitathon, on the 15th - which is towards the end of Knitting Week, Wool Week and Mental Health Week - Refresh Café in the Piece Hall is also hosting a big one-off knitting group to publicise the mental and physical health benefits of knitting and other crafts. So you could spend a little time with us and a little time with them. One stone; two birds. Besides I've tasted the Refresh chocolate cake and it's pretty good.

The hard sell...

...doesn't come naturally to me. When people buy enough wool for a jumper I have to stop myself from saying 'Are you sure you want all that?'. It's not a good trait in a shop owner. So, I'm acting all out of character here and mentioning two or three non-yarny things in the shop which I particularly like, in the hope you might like them too.

First up:

These are Knock On Effect shoulder bags sold through the shop to raise money for - you guessed it - The Knock On Effect, which is a fund-raising project started by my teenage niece, Rosie. They're good value (just £6), environmentally friendly, they raise money for cancer relief charities and they look good. Be honest, what more could you ask for?

Then we have:

Yes, these are buttons. It'd be hard to show you on a blog the brilliant selection of buttons we have at the shop, but we have duck buttons, smiley face buttons, shell buttons, wood buttons, modern ones, classic ones, big ones, little ones, buttons like cars, flowers, DIY tools, dogs...well, we just have loads of buttons. And every one is gorgeously gorgeous. The main range costs £4.25 a card and the number of buttons on the card depends on their size. Others start from £1 for 5.

And finally:

How cute is he? Four inches tall and safe for children from 12 months, £2.45 each. You can't resist, can you?

I don't have a website yet but send me an email (threebagsfullwoolshop@googlemail.com) if you want anything, or just need some info.

Ho hum

I should have a website - of course, I should! I have a blog; I have a ravelry presence; I'm planning a newsletter. But what I need is a website. Because - and this frustrates me no end - people assume buying from a website will be cheaper than buying from a shop. Particularly those people who walk past my shop, muttering: 'It's expensive in there!'
I want to drag them in by the scruff and make them look at the prices...to show them the print outs of websites quoting more than Three Bags Full for various yarns...to point out the ebay advert offering one yarn at lots more than we're charging, plus postage on top.

But what's a shop owner to do?

Get a website, that's what.

I'm working on it.