Customer experience

We've been talking in the shop about our experience of wool shops. Now you have to bear in mind that if there is a wool shop within, say, a thirty mile radius, I will visit it. On our recent six days in Hinderwell, I visited Bobbins in Whitby twice, and Ripping Yarns http://rippingyarnsaltburn.wordpress.com/about-2/  in Saltburn, also twice. So I have a lot of customer experience.

There's been quite a lot of comment on Ravelry www.ravelry.com recently about friendly/unfriendly wool shops, so we had a discussion about it. We agree that we don't want to crowd customers: if they went to browse, then that's what they should do. On the other hand, the thought that they might walk out for lack of welcome is upsetting.

I was absolutely appalled on Friday. A lady brought in a piece for help on why she couldn't get the tension right. The wool shop had sold her a 6mm circular instead of 10mm. When I got the 10mm out to show her, she was speechless. Not only that, the pattern specified a 40cm circular. Now not many shops sell that size, it's too specialist. So the shop sold her a 100cm one - for a hat! We hope that the problem was caused by the shop person's ignorance, rather than lack of care. But there should be someone, in a shop that sells knitting supplies, who knows what s/he is doing!

We believe we have the balance almost right, offering help and support where wanted. We'll try almost anything: yesterday we were working on yarns for a freeform monotone project that a lady and her husband were going to make together, and discussing techniques. And one of the regular jobs, helping people match up buttons and yarn.

But if I'm really honest, we're just knit -  and crochet - ophiles, and we love to share the pleasure!

Preparations for Marie Curie are going on. Sally has organised fliers which arrived from Scotland this week, so we're handing those out. The sales table is developing; in addition to her pink elephant, Lynne has made a purple one, a pig and a couple of cats. Doreen is sewing up a pig (which I've already spoken for, it's going to be so cute).

This, at last, is Caroline's jelly baby. I liberated him and he's clipped to my Yarndale bag.

The photos today are works very much in progress - yes, all mine. The top photo - still working on daffodils. Then there's the motifs for Happypotamus. Then there's Venus:

And a new design I'm working on:

I did promise to introduce Sarah and Jess this week, but it's Sarah's birthday so they were recovering from a party. Poor Sarah has a rotten chest infection. Hope she's better soon!