Finally found some time to stop in at Starstruck Cat Design (http://starstruckcatdesign.com/) shop. It is always a treat and I hadn't been there for a several months. Was delighted to explore the shop expansion. It has a second display area and a separate classroom. Jill (the shop owner) said they had opened the added space May 1st and it will allow the shop to host more than one group at a time. The large table is still in the main room now by the windows and a smaller round table is in the second room with the training room in the back.
There are so many fun and wonderful things to discover in the shop beside the yarn/fiber. Today I found postcards and notecards with photography by Jane Corbett (summerhousephoto.net). She is the local photographer who did the beautiful photos for the shop's 2011 calendar. The photo postcard of George the resident cat lying on his favorite spot on the old treadle sewing machine by the window was first of my items to purchase. I love dogs and cats but am sadly allergic to both. So it is a treat for me to see George who is both handsome and mellow as well as incredibly soft. (In case you are wondering, I don't have allergy problems when visiting a shop with animals, especially if it is clean and does not have carpeting.)
Next to-be-purchased item was issue #2 of Craft Sanity (http://craftsanity.com/) magazine. I remembered that Jill said that she would have an article in it. Turns out it is an article/instructions on how to weave a bicycle basket -- what fun! She graciously volunteered to autograph the article (something I would have been too shy to ask if I had even thought of it before leaving the shop).
I've talked about the delightful Craft Sanity magazine before. Yes, it is a bit expensive for a magazine/book but it is made by a small business in neighboring Michigan. It is in an 8-by-8-inch, heavy paper format with beautiful photography and graphics with 40+ pages of content. It is a nice mix of crafts including sewing, knitting, weaving (basket and fiber), crochet, and baking as well as a couple interviews. I don't buy many magazines in part because they are generally packed full of ads but there are just a few appropriate craft ads in Craft Sanity.
I splurged on a very well designed small fabric knit tote handmade in Greenwood, Indiana by barbs & knots. It is a small fabric bag approximately 8x8 inches, lined with both a loop to hand carry or fit over your wrist and a drawstring. Inside is a pocket and a small loop that can be used to run your yarn through. She even used a bit of stiffing in the bottom so the small bag can sit flat on a surface. You see, the knit bag is perfect for small knits like socks or a hat. It will easily hold even a large skein of sock yarn or regular skein of worsted weight yarn (like the Cascade Cherub Aran 240 yard skein in colorway 19 I also purchased) and will keep my small knit project tidy and portable. This is a much better solution than stuffing my project in my purse or small backpack. Plus the knitting sheep fabric was cute and my cell phone fits perfectly in the inside pocket.
Jill has a great eye for finding interesting knit/crochet notions and accessories. There are the fun, colorful stitch markers, the jewelry made from re-purposed aluminum color knitting needles, handmade and painted needle and stitch gauges, bags, etc. from other Indiana/USA small artisans and businesses. There is also the locally produced roving and handpainted yarns that complements the commercial yarns, etc.
Of course, there is also the basket weaving and wool strip rug hooking classes and materials. If I can make a market basket I am confident you can too. Jill's basket weaving class was easy, fun and the end product is beautiful. Some day I will try one of the rug hooking classes. Hope to see one of you there too.
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