Knits Well, not Blogs Well

Ok, I admit to leaving my blog by the wayside and even the odd contemplation on dropping it altogether.  Nowadays, I'm all over FaceBook, Ravelry and Twitter for personal and shop use and it feels like I've said it all (or at least enough).
I can't believe how far I've come in the past year.  October 2009 was the month that I (with lots of help) repainted 222 South Beach Street in Daytona Beach and organized it into a yarn shop.  Here's a picture of a the shop as we celebrate Mary Ann's retirement from Second Grade.

It was open before the Halifax Art Festival in November (pfhew!) and in full swing by November.  I found a brilliant fellow-knitter and friend in Weelamb and she took over the store while I visited Ireland for New Year's.  She not only took over the store, she totally kicked butt!  And I won't have to worry about traveling to Ireland again any time soon or Germany.  My personal life is destined to be focused on the American continent and somewhat single for the time being.
The shop did well last winter and spring.  I was so glad to see Snowbirds dropping in for an on-the-road project before heading North for the summer, but it drove home the fact that a large portion of my knitters were leaving.  With the help of knitters, crocheters and close friends, we've come up with some great new classes at the shop for the warmer months and I've been excited to see how many full-time resident knitters/crocheters there really are in this area. 
In the middle of these warm months, I found a great advantage (and deal!) to move into the space next door.  It's more than double the shop space, which gave me room to move the class area to the back and make the overall shopping experience much more relaxed and roomy.  Here's a couple pics of the new space (226A South Beach St).

It's not been an easy summer, but, being that it's my first, it's supposed to be rocky and I *am* very happy to still be in operation.  Just think how many shops don't make it their first year!!  Also, Tammy just signed her lease 4 doors north of me to start her coffee shop Sweet Marlay's and it's encouraging to hear that panic and digestive issues are par for the course :)

There's lots more going on and even some good news in the personal arena.  So I'll be back to update later this month.