A new shop for me!

Hi there!

Once again it has been a long time between posts, I don't know why, but I haven't really found my blogging rhythm this year, but there has been plenty happening behind the scenes!!  

I guess the biggest thing that has happened since I last posted is that I've moved Little Woollie Makes Yarn Store into a proper shop in Hastings, a town not far from my home.   I no longer run it from home and it feels much more legit!

It has been a big decision to move into a shop.  Would it be the right move? Could I cover my rent?  Plus all the other expenses that crop up with a lease?  Would I find more customers?  Would they buy from me?  Would I get bored being tied to a shop all week?   There were plenty of unknowns!!

In the end I just decided it was time to give it a go,  if it doesn't work at least I will have given it my best and will not die wondering!  So the last few months have been a whirl wind of leasing a shop, setting it up, moving everything from home to here, and getting open!  Luckily I have an awesome family that have given me a lot of help and been very encouraging and supportive, it would have been a lot harder without them!

So you know what?  I am now running a local wool shop!!  Yay!  I can hardly believe it myself!!

Little Woollie is no longer just an online shop,  people can come and give the yarns a squish and see all the beautiful colours in the flesh, much better!! :)

I have to say, I have had so much fun over the last few weeks, setting everything up, meeting lots of gorgeous yarn loving people who all get what I'm trying to do here, it is so good!!

I have a lot more space than I did at home, so I have been busy sourcing new stock and approaching suppliers on my wishlist, so many new things coming into the shop over the next few months, it's going to be great!

So here are a few pics I took of the shop this morning, it is looking nice and colourful at the moment, I really like coming here to work each day! 

......my green table and chairs is a nice place to work at, and I popped my 'little woollie' sign up too, it still gets lots of nice comments even though it's looking a bit the worst for wear these days! 

....there is pretty much yarn everywhere you look! :) .......

......I am trying to get  more patterns in store, I didn't really stock patterns when I was at home, so it has been fun seeing what I can find.

....My dad made me some great peg boards so I could hang up the skeins of Ultra Pima Cotton, I am so happy with how this looks, so good to see all the colours in one glance!  there are a few holes where I've sold out of some colours, but I have more stock coming so it should be refilled soon! :) 

The shop is at 1/99 High St, Hastings, Victoria, on the Western Port side of the pretty Mornington Peninsula, if you are ever down this way, pop in and say hello, I'd love to meet you! 

(One other good thing about working in the shop is that I don't get distracted by home things, so  I am trying a new thing where I write a blog post every few days, we will see how it goes!  I have lots of things to share with you! ) 

Have a great day everyone, signing off from Little Woollie headquarters in Hastings!

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Kate Selene Yarn : New loveliness in the shop

Hi there!  

I hope you have had a great day, it's been a good one here! 

The other day a big box of gorgeous yarn arrived at my house, it came all the way from the UK and was something I have been looking forward to receiving with great excitement.   It was full of amazing 4ply sock wool and some very squishy DK/8ply as well.  These amazing skeins are from the super talented indie dyer Kate Selene, and I feel very lucky to now be stocking some of her beautiful speckled yarns in my shop! 

As you can imagine, I was drawn to Kate's awesome use of colour,  there are so many interesting and beautiful colour combinations in each skein.  Totally gorgeous.  It is also very soft and squishy merino wool, so just fabulous on all fronts! 

I think it will be a lot of fun making something with this yarn, a big colour adventure!  Just the spur on I need to learn how to knit sock!

I have added all these wools to my shop, you can have a look at them over here if you're interested. 

I did go a bit crazy taking photos of the yarn when it arrived, I just couldn't get enough of all those colours!   

Thank you so much Kate for all your hard work,  I am so happy to welcome your yarns to the Little Woollie Makes Yarn Store family! 

I have had so many new yarns coming into the shop recently, I am going to have fun sharing them with you all over here! 

Getting organised - Groups and classes for early 2016

Hi there everyone !

How is your day going?  I'm hoping you're having a cracker of a day like me! 

I'm feeling very productive today, I have been planning the classes and crafty groups that I'm going to offer here at my studio/shop, and it is quite exciting thinking about all the good things that could happen. 

I am also nearly finished with a big blanket that I am making for a lovely customer, so that is making me happy too.  It's always nice when the end is in sight!  I'll show you that one when it is totally finished, I think it deserves a tadah post all of it's own! 

So here is the list of crafty groups and classes and workshops that I have come up with so far.  Hopefully there is a time that will suit most people, it is hards to cater for everyone, but I am trying to have some day things and a night thing too for people who work. 

Classes and social stitch groups for 2016

Yarny Crafty Social Club
Tuesdays : 10.30am -12.30am or
Fridays : 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Bring what you are working on (crochet, knitting, embroidery, whatever!) for a bit of social crafting with me and other lovely crafty peeps. Morning/afternoon tea and a good yarny chat provided ! These are weekly group, so bring a friend and let's get these groups growing!
$5.00 a head.
Starting next week, Tuesday 2nd February
and Friday 5th February.
Email me, Julie, at littlewoollie@hotmail.com for any further info or to say you're coming!  I'd love to meet you! :)


First Wednesday of the Month Crochet Club
This is a monthly get together on a Wednesday evening, 7.00 -9.30, for more social hooky time.  $5.00 a head.
Email me if you would like to come along, everyone is welcome!
Starts back up first Wednesday in February, ( 3rd Feb) .


Beginner Crochet Lessons
I am offering beginner crochet lessons on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. 10.00am -12.00, $25.00 a head.  (Some Saturday mornings are available too) If you'd like to learn how to crochet, don't be shy, feel free to get in touch and we can book a time. Crochet is a great thing to learn with a friend, groups are generally very small and I am happy to do private lessons.
Email me, Julie, at littlewoollie@hotmail.com for more info or to book time.


Tapestry Crochet Workshop
Saturday 27th February  1.30pm -4.30pm
Learn the fabulous technique of tapestry crochet to extend your creative options in crochet.  You will need to have basic crochet skills to do this class.  All materials and a pattern are provided, and there is cake and coffee! $40 a head.
Email me if you'd like to come along! littlewoollie@hotmail.com

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So that is that! 

If you live anywhere near Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula and would like to join in with any of these or if you have another idea for something I could offer, feel free to get in touch! 

Have a great day!  

Talk soon! :)  

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Hello New Year!

Hello there!

Its already the 5th of the month, and I haven't even wished you all a Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely New Year and have enjoyed the holiday time, we have had a lovely break and I am now gearing up for a big 2016!

Yesterday I spent some time cleaning up the shop and rearranging things, trying to create a bit more space in there.  I can't believe this time last year I was dreaming about this studio/shop, it feels like it's been around for longer than10 months,  I have certainly filled the space very quickly!

It looks so nice now all tidy and inviting, I just had to take a few photos.  It is so much fun and I feel lucky to have a physical shop that people can come to and but their yarn.  Online is great, but I love being a shopkeeper and I think having both an online presence and a bricks and mortar shop means I can reach a lot of people and share some gorgeous yarns!

 

......my shelves of glorious MoYa and Vinnis colour yarns, it is hard to part with this lovely stuff.......

....there is actually room to move around without bumping into things now! Yay! ........

........I love my shelf of Misti Alpaca yarns, so colourful and touchable!!.......

.........I managed to find room to bring back my little couch, so happy with this, it's a great spot to crochet and a bit more comfy than the table and chairs..........

I feel quite energised by my tidy up, I can't wait to work in my shop this year.  

I have decided to open more often, I am thinking Monday to Thursday 10.30am -2.30pm, and other times by appointment still.  

I am also going to start advertising that I am here a lot more, I don't think many people know the shop exists as we are not on a main street and are a bit tucked away. 

 Hopefully the shop can get better known in 2016. :) 

I think a restructure of classes and crochet groups is also on the cards, something to work on later in the week! 

So are you all ready for a great new year?  

What plans are you making for 2016? 

I have lots, I love beginnings, I'm just not that great at following through on things, something I am very aware of and am trying to address this year! :) 

Talk soon! 

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New yarn in the shop - Cascade 220 Superwash!

Hello there! 

How has your week been going? 

I have been a busy girl putting on my shopkeepers hat this week. 

You might remember the order of Cascade 220 Superwash that I received a while ago, well  I have finally spent some time uploading photos of the new yarn and putting it in my online shop so now it is all there ready to buy!  

I am so happy to be finally stocking this wool, I have heard lots of good things about it,  and am so looking forward to making something with it, it feels so soft and the colours range is fabulous!  I currently have 58 colours in stock, and am planning on adding to that in my next order, so there really is a colour for everyone! 

It can be worked at an 8ply gauge with a 4mm hook/needles or as a 10ply with a 4.5/5mm hook/needle, I think it is technically classed as a light worsted weight yarn, but it feels very close to an 8ply in my opinion!  And I love the big 100g balls, so much potential crafty fun! 

If you'd like to have a look you can see them over here! 

........this colour palette looks familiar to me :) I still love this combo of colours! .....

It really is a pleasure being surrounded by all this inspiring colour!! 

The shop will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 - 4pm for anyone who would like to visit in person, just email me (or ring) for the address at littlewoollie@hotmail.com :) 

Or by appointment at any other time, just give me a ring! 

( my contact number is on my shop page here)

Talk soon! 

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The Little Woollie Makes wool studio - tadah!

Hello! 

How is your day going?  

I'm having a good one, I've had a crochet lesson with a lovely girl and am getting ready for another one this evening, I really love all this crafty work!  

So anyway, I have finally got my studio/shop nearly organised so it's time for the virtual tour and grand tadah!!   I cannot tell you how excited and happy I am to have this space completed, my friend Ed, the carpenter did a great job and I am so loving spending time in here!!

(Apologises for the huge amount photos, but I just couldn't choose which ones to leave out!) 

   

It is nice and colourful and I think it shows of the beautiful yarns well, I so love having all the wool out of their plastic bags, the colours really shine now!

So now I'll let you have a bit of a wander through my new space, enjoy! 

Now local yarnies can pop in and choose their wool in the flesh,  I can run classes and workshops, and I have a good place to run the online side from too! 

Very happy here!! 

Of course all the yarns can be found here at Little Woollie Makes Yarn Store online, although my new stock of Cascade 220 Superwash hasn't been added just yet.  

I hope you are having a happy, colourful day like me! :) 

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Progress on the wool studio!

Hello!  How has your weekend been?  

We have had a lovely start to the school holidays, perfect weather today, and a nice week forecast ahead, I have lots of gardening planned and a lot of Little Woollie business to attend to while the boys relax and enjoy their break. 

I thought I would show you how my wool studio is progressing, I am hoping to get it finished this week and then paint over the Easter break, very exciting!! 

... so here is the dividing wall going up to give us a smaller storage area at the back for all our junk and the studio at the front, that's Ed, our friend who is a great carpenter, and doing this reno for us. :)

.... looking towards the front with the garage doors gone and the new glass doors and windows in, starting to look like a room!  

............And here are the cubby hole shelves being installed to become part of the wall.....

......framing is all done, ready for plastering......

.......plaster is in place ready for finishing.......

....here is my wall of pigeon hole shelves with the plaster in place, you can get an idea of what this will look like when its finished now, there is not too much more to do!  

It is very exciting, almost time to start thinking about colours to paints this space!  

Next up Ed is going to finish the plastering and lay the floor, hopefully finished this week, before Easter.  I am going to paint it myself with the help of my dad, and then I can do the fun stuff like filling those shelves and decorating this crafty space!  I have been a bit impatient and already placed a new order for Cascade 220 Superwash in a heap of colours, 

I am sure I will fill up this extra space fairly quickly! 

Next time I show you it will be all finished and I can do a big tadah! 

It has been all about wooly things around here recently, I have got a few finishing touches to put on my first newsletter before I send it out on Wednesday, if you are interested in receiving a newsletter from my little wool shop, feel free to sign up, I will be having special offers and other interesting things, should be quite exciting as my little shop continues to grow bit by bit.

So that's about all I have today,  have you got anything interesting happening this week? 

Are you you going away for Easter, or having a few days at home? 

Talk soon! 

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