Customer Appreciation and our Second Anniversary!!!

I know ... time has flown. We have been in business for 2 years and don't know where the time has gone.

But we couldn't have done it without you!

So, thanks. A lot.

And please, drop by on Saturday September 27th, 2 - 4 p.m, for a nibble and a nosh, on us.

Our First Ewe Crawl!

We're back! Our bums are a little sore from the 'extreme driving', but we are happy and content and have seen Wool! Yarn! Angoras! Boucles! Ribbon Silks! Recycled Sari's! Hand dyed, varigated, home grown, Maine wool, New Hampshire wool, beautiful sock yarn made in Canada, but bought in Maine ... and the Hand dyes! (i know, i already said that but you should see.... these are just the blues!)

Our first EWE Crawl was a resounding success - our wallets are still reeling! And we've eaten enough lobster ... And we've met fabulous people (hi Chesley!), skilled people (Tess, i bow to you!) and some not so terrific people who could care less if we were in their shop at all! Surprising, i know. Because we are such fabulous people! And consider ourselves quite entertaining!

Special thanks to Muriel for watching the shop on Tuesday and Taryn (my baby girl) for watching the shop the rest of the week - couldn't have done it without you guys!

Will we do it again?ABSOLUTELY!

Stay tuned for trips to East Coast of Canada, West Coast of US and Scotland!

Get ready - here it comes!

Okay, i'm getting excited! New stuff is starting to arrive weekly and we should have all our new winter stock by end of August! At which point i'll have to schlepp all the summer cottons up to the attic and i'm NOT looking forward to that - speaking of which, all the summer cottons and cotton blends are on sale - 40%. Get in here guys and take advantage of a really good sale! I REALLY don't want to schlepp!

What's new? Socks, Socks, Socks! 8 new colours of Arequipa sock yarn, which is a blend of Alpaca, superwash wool and nylon.

AND a new beauty, Cadenza - Superwash Merino wool and Tussah Silk! This is also a sock yarn and with a prominent twist x 6 wonderful shades.



Classes continue to make the shop hummmmmmmm - a new class schedule is being made up - check our website for updates. One fun class will be the HatMittScarf Class - Almost full at this point and very reasonable. One full ball of Marble Chunky will net you a hat, pair of mitts and a scarf! We will be making this up as a kit as well for your Christmas shopping! (i know it's early, but you gotta get going on those Christmas pressies!) We currently have 3 colours (had 5 but they flew off the shelves!) and 8 more colours are coming.

Hey, did you know that knitting is the new Yoga? It's calming, slows your heart down, and can be described as a moving meditation. Who knew?

I'm In!

Okay - i'm going to bite the bullet! I'm going to enter into the fray! I'm going to see what all the commotion is about!
What, you ask?
I'm going to dye my own wool! I know - it's crazy! Don't these dye people know that you can buy coloured yarn? In some very lovely colours i might add.
I've ordered the blanks. I've ordered the dye. I've picked up the Koolaid (not just for tweens hair anymore!)
I'll let you know how it goes. You never know - this may turn into a class!
And i'll take pictures so you can see what kind of a mess i can make.
Any takers that want to jump into the dye bath with me????

new things all the time!

Opening a new business is all about new things - and yesterday we had our first ever 'Kids Learn to Knit' class! After we all chose our wool (pink, pink, and oh, pink!), got it wound into a ball from a hank, and kinda cast on, we kinda knit! It's very fun watching little light bulbs go on in Hannah, Phoebe and Alexis' heads! They're knitters and they're proud! The girls will come back for a few more weeks and when we're done, we'll have a felted purse completed. Kinda! (Alexis and Hannah are concentrating.)
We are still running a full board of classes - go to our website and see what's available. The summer is the perfect time to learn new stuff.
And other new things - the Website is finally up and running and looking wonderful! Check it out at www.onthelamb.ca.
If you're looking for a new project and want to keep it small for the summer, how about trying our 'Wellness Cap' program? We have kits assembled or you can purchase yarn at 25% discount and i provide the pattern. The 'Wellness Caps' will be going to Princess Margaret for their patient program.
New sock yarn has been arriving and will continue to arrive weekly, as will more Alpaca, Camel, Eco Yarns, chunky's, and more dk's!
Drop in for a look and say hi!

Anne, KIP and sales, sales, sales!

If you didn't manage to make it to the shop for the Anne of Green Gables Festival - you missed a real treat! We had a wonderful Country Fair, under pretty white tents, reminiscent of Anne's days. There was a knitting bee (populated by our very own KnitWits), in support of KIP (did you know that it was the third International Knitting in Public Day?) We had our good friend Judy Findlay, master spinner, spinning alpaca and taking on all and sundry for a quick lesson. And for those who wished, slightly naughty t-shirts with our logo on the front and risque sayings on the back!

We also had an old fashioned apothecary, wine tasting, ice cream for the little and big kids, baby lambs and real live exotic Alpaca's! Northfork Farms supported us with their Alpaca's and they came armed with all sorts of information! (i want one, but Purl would be put out)

Yes, it's been busy around here - Gonna be even busier 'cause we're gonna have some big sales! We've got to - i just spent hours with reps buying for the winter. And we've need more space! So come in - all Cottons are 25% off for the month of June! and there are still lots of colours to choose from.

And a door crasher sale: Real Worsted - $1.00 per ball! Great for afghans, children's sweaters, dog sweaters! Goes in the washer and dryer! Stock up - This sale will not be repeated.

Remember that if you want to get away from the laundry and dishes, Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 is drop in day. Drop in with your knitting, pick up a project while you're here and enjoy yourself!

Wow! Who knew a Yarn Crawl would be so much fun! But i must confess, before last week, who even knew what a Yarn Crawl was????
We met lots of new friends and got reacquainted with old ones. The other shops involved, Serenity Knits, Needles and Knits, Unwind and Pick Up Sticks reported an exciting day as well and all agree that we must repeat! We will have even more savings for you and perhaps other exciting things! Like maybe a spot sale? Or break a balloon and get the percentage listed inside off your days sales? Or the 25th customer through the door gets 30% off, not just 15%! The ideas are endless and you will be the happy recipient!

In fact, the Yarn Crawl was so successful, we're going to do it again! Look for an announcement sometime in October for a November date - just in time for your Christmas knitting!

And a special thank you to Pam Diggins who was so helpful in organizing the Yarn Crawl event and even worked a coupla' hours in the shop!! Thanks Pam - what a trooper (and she even had the flu!) And of course, thanks to Mom (the Junner!) Where would i be without you?

News at On The Lamb
Our winter project "Warm Hugs" has been completed. We donated 6 baby afghans to Women's Shelters in Durham Region through IODE. A special thanks to a committed knitter who knit most of the squares. And special thanks to my Knitwits who assembled the squares into afghans!

Our new charity project: Chemo Caps in conjuction with Princess Margaret Hospital. If you care to knit one, drop in for a free pattern and 25% discount on yarn you purchase to do the cap. If you are knitting from your stash - NO WOOL! or wool blends. Chemotherapy patients often endure very sensitive skin (and cold skin!) and prefer to have the softest of soft! Please support us in this endeavour and help support our friends and neighbours at Princess Margaret. (And before you ask, Oshawa General doesn't need our help, neither does "Look Good, Feel Better", and i never heard back from Hospital in Newmarket. I asked.)

So what else is new at On The Lamb - i'm happy to report that the ship did not sink without the captain - while i was having minor surgery the helm was capably held by Taryn, Muriel, Junne and the Knitwits! Many, many, many thanks to them. (apparently, i, like many, are totally replaceable!)

Are looking for the best summer project that's not too large and doesn't weigh heavily in your lap? - consider socks! We have wonderful Kaffe Fassett sock yarn and spectacular Arequipa (alpaca sock yarn from Peru) as well as 15 other types. The colours are brilliant and you will have trouble picking out just one! These ain't your gramma's socks anymore!

As a special thank you to all our wonderful customers, we are offering 25% off on all cottons and cotton blends! Yep, that's right. Until when? Until July 1st. Then i'm putting the cottons away and bringing out the bulky's. I know, it's not even warm yet! But the buying season for winter has begun and we need to make room! So come in and get that project that you need for the dock! (frequent buyer cards not applicable for cottons.)

Normally in May i would say stay cool - but at this time, i'm gonna say, stay warm and keep knitting!!!!! And just because she's so darn cute, but still not allowed in the shop - here's Purl!