Tuesday, January 26, 2016

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Where to start. This is a blog post that is not easily written. I've sat down more than once to write it, but just couldn't find the words....

I have so many emotions going on inside me right now. After nearly 14 years of working at Katja's Quilt Shoppe, I am resigning.  This is a decision that didn't come easily.  Working there has been a lot of fun and a great challenge.  Katja has been so amazing to work for and I will truly miss her and my co-workers.  Having said that, I'm not going far.

In my last post I mentioned a project that was both exciting and terrifying.  Just a few doors down from Katja's, a retail space has become available and I have leased it.

I'm opening a yarn shop !  Knit2 will open it's doors early spring and I am so excited !
The knitters in town, me included, travel quite a distance to buy yarns we can't get here. So many people have expressed their wishes for a yarn shop, so I thought "why not?"

Things are coming together and I'm officially in freak out mode.  To settle my nerves, I've been knitting of course.  I want to open with samples to inspire : )


a finished pair of work socks that my daughter wants SO bad


Just a little sampling of some of the yarns I will be carrying. My goal is to support local artisans as well as those from farther abroad.  Suppliers have been sourced and meet-ups arranged.


Now comes the fun part of designing the space.  Oh the possibilities !  I'm so looking forward to showing you before and after photos  : )  Squeeeeeeel

This huge project will be a window display.  I want to make sure people know it's a yarn shop : )




Thanks for reading today.

 If you are local, do you have a favourite yarn?  Is there a particular one you think I should know about?  Let me know in the comments or e-mail me the info.
Also, I hope you will pop in and say hello !

75 comments:

  1. Oh, Carla, I couldn't be happier for you!!!! What a super thing, to have a wonderful yarn shop full of beautiful skeins of yarn, run by a qualified and friendly knitter!!! I certainly and wholeheartedly wish you much success in your endeavour!
    Sure will miss your smiling face at Katja's though :)

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  2. SO excited for you Carla!!! Oh, if I were only close to you, I'd be there every week .... And I'd be broke LOL!!! Congratulations and best wishes for an amazing new career :*)

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  3. Wow Carla! Well done to you. I wish you the best of luck for your big venture xx

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  4. Wow!! Congrats Carla!!!!!! So exciting!

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  5. Exciting and looking forward to our business relationship!

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  6. How very exciting Carla. I'm not a knitter but always love seeing all the colorful yarns when I'm in a couple of local shops that carry both yarn and quilting fabrics. Wishing you all the best in this new adventure.

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  7. Wow~That IS exciting!! Good for you! I wish you the best!!

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  8. Congratulations on having the courage to
    Take a risk! I would love to do the same thing!

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  9. Oh my goodness! That is so exciting, Carla! I wish you the best!

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  10. That is sooooo exciting! I wish I lived closer.now I "get" the big needles. Wishing you a load of fun with Knit2.

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  11. Wow, congratulations! That's awesome. The giant needles make more sense now. 😆

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  12. I'm not a local, coming from upstate NY, but I wish that we had a great yarn shop where I live. Most of my yarn comes from the internet. Good luck to you!

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  13. Congrats! And as far as yarn goes, the softer the better and I do so dearly love my variegated yarns and threads.

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  14. This is awesome Carla. I love knitting too. I don't have a favourite yarn but I am eager to try all kinds of new things. Give me a call. May His Grace and Favour continue to fall on you.

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  15. Ooooh how exciting for you. Congratulations

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  16. Congratulations Carla... A big step for you sounds like fun challenging exciting scary exciting all in one breath. I'll see you there!

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  17. This is exciting news! Hope the new adventure is filled with success and happiness.

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  18. Congratulations! Wonderful/exciting news! So many young women/men are knitting these days. I think it's great our young people are learning & enjoying this skill.
    Carpe Diem

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  19. Congratulations, I am so happy for you, following your dream. I know you will do wonderfully at your new endeavor.
    I certainly will be a customer,

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  20. Congratulations, Carla! I'm excited for you!

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  21. So excited for you Carla! I hope you will have some classes as Kendra wants to learn to knit "for real", not on the plastic hoops she uses now to make her scarves!! I know you will have an amazing, bright, welcoming shop!

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  22. Ooooh, Carla, these are fantastic news! I wish I lived there! Wow, I can imagine how excited you are and having millions of plans for the shop! Congratulations and good luck! Show and tell us soo more! x Teje

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  23. Wow, so thrilled to hear that you are doing this for all of us!! Can hardly wait!!
    Wishing you all the best!! Glennis

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  24. Congratulations Carla!!!!!!!! I can hardly wait to see what you do!

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  25. That is so exciting. I'm really happy for you, hope it is a huge success.

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  26. Carla, I am absolutely thrilled for you and wish you the very best!!!

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  27. {sssqqqquuueeeaaallll}

    I'm so, so excited for you!!! I can't even put it into words. I think this will be an amazing venture for you... and it sounds very serendipitous! I'm excited to see what yarns you will carry, I'm sure I will be drooling constantly. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

    (And now that pillow that says "knit" makes even more sense!)

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  28. Congrats!!!!! I may be learning how to crochet soon. I don't know anything about yarns, sorry.

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  29. Congratulations Carla! What exciting news. I'll definitely come by to say hello and check out your wares! ...and since you asked, I'd like to see some bamboo yarns in your shop. I used to get a great worsted-weight bamboo-wool blend in town at a certain 'big box craft store' but they've stopped carrying it. I made great hats for my girls with it!
    I'll miss seeing you at Katja's and I wish you all the best with your new endeavour! :)

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  30. I am so glad you aren't going far...I will be there on opening day! Congratulations....p.s. If you need any help making small samples let me know I'd love to help

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  31. Too, too excited for you, lovely Carla! It will be the loveliest yarn shops in all of British Columbia!! Ladies will be clamoring to visit and chat about all things woolly. I can't wait to have a bo peep at your knitted window display; it looks positively fascinating!

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  32. How very exciting for you! That window display is going to be fabulous! Good luck with the shop. I'm not local, but I'll be watching your blog for updates just the same!

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  33. Congratulations! So excited for you Carla.
    Will miss you at Katja's and your quilting blog projects but excited to see your new shop and maybe learn to knit

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  34. I've just popped over after Kim at Sarah Lizzies mentioned you "Carla up in Kamloops". I haven't been following your blog, but read this exciting post, and wish all the best of luck in your new endeavour! I don't have a decent yarn shop near me, so I know how frustrating that is. I'm sure you will draw in lots of knitters desperate for a good source of yarn.
    Wendy :)

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  35. How exciting for you Carla! I was ridiculously happy for you when I read this post. I also love that you'll be near the yarn shop. Most of us do more than 1 thing and as a quilter/knitter/stitcher I'd love for my favorite shops to be near each other. A good restaurant nearby would mean for a real reason for a road trip. Of course, Florida is such a long way away. I'm hoping you'll continue with the blog so I can visit from afar!

    Yarns - as a traveler I always want to see what is going on locally. I love that you're going to feature local yarns. As a local, I want what is new, hot and trending to try out along with the old favorites. I know you're going to come up with some great stuff!

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  36. How exciting! Of course you needed the giant knitting needles! I like the fact that you will be so close to Katja's. It makes the two shops stronger. Go to one to buy fabric ... oh, while I am in the neighbourhood, I should just stick my head in next door to see if there is anything interesting in the yarn shop ...
    Self-striping sock yarn is a must. I am a sucker for little notions like stitch markers and the like. Even when I am being restrained and not buying new yarn, I will treat myself to something like that.

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  37. I know nothing about yarn or yarn shops but I'm sending you all the good wishes I can muster. Looking forward to your before/after photos!

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  38. Wow! Congratulations Carla. What a nice surprise. I know that you will do well and I'll be sure to check in with you. I don't do a lot of knitting, but do some of the easy stuff. Willa

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  39. Congratulations. This is very exciting news. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing all that you do!!

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  40. Congratulations and best of luck. I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience. You already have an awesome window display to draw people in!

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  41. Fabulous news Carla, I wish you every success with your exciting new adventure.

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  42. So many people congratulating you and wishing you well - and me too!! All the very best for your exciting (even if a little scary) adventure.

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  43. What fabulous news - congratulations! I can't wait to see photos of your window display and the yarns you stock. Hope it's a huge success!

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  44. Congratulations and good luck in your new venture. It must be soooooo exciting for you and I wish you great success. Hopefully being near Katja's as you can send each other customers and advise them accordingly. I look forward to hearing all about it and hope that you still manage to squeeze in a little quilting. I'd miss your inspiration.
    Jo in Liverpool, England

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  45. I'm a very happy hooker, I can not wait to visit your store, how very exciting for you and all of us. Good luck, in this adventure.

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  46. Oh my goodness, how exciting!! I am sure you will succeed fantastically! Can't wait to come visit when I come for my May visit! I hope eventually you will venture to an online shop as well, you know I would support you.
    Congrats!

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  47. I wish you all the luck Carla! We owned a bookstore for years and it was fun and rewarding in so many ways. I bet yarn customers are just as wonderful as book customers. Can't wait to see what you do with your space as the window displays were one of my favorite parts of setting up my bookstore. Enjoy your new adventure!

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  48. Hi Carla, I am your newest follower, just popped over from Melody's blog. What a wonderful, brave step you have taken - I am thrilled for you. Best of luck with your new venture. Kaisievic http://kittenstitching.blogspot.com

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  49. I'm a very elementary knitter - all I can do is the diagonal Grandmother's Favorite dishcloth pattern. I'm currently working on making a baby blanket using that pattern. While I have no suggestions for you (due to my limited ability and experience) nor am I local, I wish you much luck. I am sure you will do well and your shop will be wonderful. Do keep us posted on your shop. What a great adventure!

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  50. Congratulations, Carla!! You are going to be so awesome at this!

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  51. Congratulations, Carla. I've missed your smiling face in the store the last few times I've been in there. I just retired from my job, too, after nearly 14 years and... I was thinking it's time to learn how to knit! What a wonderful coincidence. Guess I'll be seeing you!

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  52. Congratulations on your new adventure,

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  53. Congratulations and best wishes, how exciting. When I'm going through Kamloops I'll drop in. Edith from Calgary

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  54. Wonderful news, and you are not that far away either. Will you do online shopping too?

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  55. Wow! Congratulations Carla! I was just catching up on some reading and saw this now. The large knitting needles look so fun!!!

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  56. Such exciting (and terrifying) news--but if anyone can do it--you can! I'm really excited for you and look forward to fun things coming out of your new shop. Congratulations!! Woohoo!!

    :) Elizabeth

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  57. Congratulations, Carla! You sound so excited...what a big and wonderful undertaking! I hope you do well.

    I'm not even one of your blog readers....I was on another quilting site, and over on the sidebar I always scroll down other blogs' recent posts (scouting for giveaways--ha!) and found your listing titled Big Announcement. Now...curiosity got the better of me and I just had to click over to see what the big announcement was. Happy Knitting to you!

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  58. How very exciting!! I'm not a knitter, but I'd sure pop into your shop :-)
    Best wishes ~ Tracy

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  59. That's wonderful news! I'm so excited for you! Wish I was a lot closer...
    Can't wait to read your updates as things come together!

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  60. Exciting news Carla. I have always treasured your advice for fabric colour choices. I am sure the knitters will now benefit from your knowledge too. Happy knitting! Hazel

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  61. How very exciting!! I wish you all the best in your new endeavor. I'll be watching to see some pictures. Those are super giant knitting needles - must have been fun to work on.

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  62. Carla! Thrilled to bits for you! Such exciting news! I know you will be a great success. Can't wait to come by when we are next in town
    Blessings my friend!

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  63. Congratulations! What an exciting next phase in your creative life! There are so many people who would love to be able to do this. Good for you!

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  64. Congratulations! Such wonderful news!

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  65. I'm just catching up with my blog reading and wow! what news you have. Congratulations on starting a new adventure in your life. Knitting is gaining popularity in our town, too and I've just heard that the tiny shop is expanding. Will you eventually have an online business? I wish you lots of success and will definitely visit the next time I'm in Kamloops!

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  66. Woohoo!!!! What superbly exciting news. I love the shop name and I look forward to your updates. You contain so much spectacular creativity, it somehow seems only right that it should spill on over and fill a shop for other creatives. Congratulations on this new chapter!

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  67. Our internet has been off for awhile and I am just getting this good news today. Congratulations. i hope you will still have some time to blog and post pictures. You have been a great inspiration with your quilting. I started sock knitting 2 years ago and I am hooked after 20 years of being hooked on quilting. My favourite socks were made out of a yarn called Hacho, it was hand dyed and spun in Peru. I hope to stop by your shop next time we travel through Kamloops. Blessings in your new adventure.

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  68. Our internet has been off for awhile and I am just getting this good news today. Congratulations. i hope you will still have some time to blog and post pictures. You have been a great inspiration with your quilting. I started sock knitting 2 years ago and I am hooked after 20 years of being hooked on quilting. My favourite socks were made out of a yarn called Hacho, it was hand dyed and spun in Peru. I hope to stop by your shop next time we travel through Kamloops. Blessings in your new adventure.

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  69. This is SO exciting. I'm so thrilled for you. And LOVE the name you chose!!

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